Chapter 1938: The Golden Light Shatters

Fang Chen quietly observed the Ancient Demon, continuously calculating the odds of victory if his one hundred thousand Yin Soldiers were to fight the Ancient Demon.

Fang Chen's advantage lay in the immense numbers of the one hundred thousand Yin Soldiers under his command. Among them, there was no shortage of Limit Breaking combatants, but their actual combat power was a tier below genuine Limit Breaking experts. As for the Ancient Demon, he might already barely possess the methods of a Half-Saint.

He could use an army of weaker opponents to drown out a stronger one. The key question, however, was whether doing so could force the Ancient Demon to hand over Little Immortal Honglian.

"The odds of success are at most fifty percent. With a fifty percent chance, if he wishes to leave, he can extricate himself at any moment. There is nothing that could force him to release Daoist Hongzhi. Furthermore, he seems to possess some sort of method to suppress the abnormality within his body."

Fang Chen observed meticulously. According to the descriptions the Old Master and the others had provided, the Ancient Demon should already be considered "terminally ill," whereas Saint Jinyang and the others still had a chance to purge the "infection" from their bodies.

Despite that, the Ancient Demon was able to suppress the sinister energy inside himself. This indicated that he had either mastered some special method or possessed something that helped him temporarily suppress it. He could currently bring out almost the full extent of his strength, but he probably couldn't maintain it for very long

Time ticked away, minute by minute, second by second. After an unknown duration, Saint Jinyang and the others managed to regulate their conditions one after another, slowly opening their eyes.

Saint Jinyang said heavily, "Ancient Demon, you must give us an explanation."

"An explanation? What explanation? Hasn't the trouble already been resolved by me? Could it be that you still wish to discipline my adopted daughter on my behalf?" the Ancient Demon replied with a faint smile.

Saint Jinyang was momentarily at a loss for words.

Saint Luoxue spoke up. "Since the matter has passed, there is no need to bring it up again. Next, we'll have to trouble you to put in some effort to break through this layer of Sarira light. The person we want is upon this boy. We must capture him alive."

She pointed at Fang Chen.

The Ancient Demon chuckled faintly. "What is the rush? With the Soul Suppressing Stele present here, where could they possibly escape to? Now that you have recovered, stop pushing all the work onto me. You all must contribute as well."

"That is only natural."

Under the Ancient Demon's lead, Lu Fengshen and the others launched another fierce assault against the golden Sarira light. This time, however, the Ancient Demon unleashed an offensive far more terrifying than before. It was clear that although he appeared calm on the surface, the matter concerning Little Immortal Honglian had already driven him into a towering rage.

Shi Xinghai no longer concealed his strength either. The four ninth-transformation immortals under his command followed closely behind him, joining forces with a multitude of experts from the Minor Immortal Realm to form a force that wasn't any weaker than Lu Fengshen's group.

The destructive power they erupted with was staggering. Even Saint Jinyang and the others couldn't help but instinctively glance at Shi Xinghai.

Conversely, the first emperor of the Black Sun Empire, who had been the first to appear, appeared a cut below these powerhouses. The same went for the ninth-transformation Great Yin Demons under his command.

"If this continues, the emperor's Sarira light won't last much longer either." Lang Daochun slowly rolled up his sleeves. "We have no choice but to fight now. In a moment, the Grand Commander of the God Slaying Army and I will deal with the first emperor of the Black Sun Empire and Shi Xinghai together."

Motian Dizang said indifferently, "I shall deal with Lu Fengshen."

Chen Feifei wore a faint smile. "Dealing with Lu Fengshen shouldn't be an issue for Motian Dizang. There aren't actually that many experts under her command. However, I am afraid you two aren't strong enough to go against the first emperor of the Black Sun Empire and Shi Xinghai's group by yourselves. We will assist you."

The ninth transformation experts from various factions nodded.

"Yes, exactly."

"Then what about this Ancient Demon?" Lang Daochun asked. "You all should be the ones to face the Ancient Demon instead. Just leave the first emperor of the Black Sun Empire and Shi Xinghai to us."

Shao Mengyuan agreed, "Indeed."

Cold sneers surfaced upon the faces of Chen Feifei and the others. What a great idea. Given the Ancient Demon's strength, wouldn't whoever faced him simply drop dead on the spot?

Lang Daochun had no choice but to look toward the few Yang Gods present. "Seniors, what do you think? Can you defeat the Ancient Demon?"

"Even if all of us were tied together, we wouldn't be enough to match him alone," Daoist Yun Que sneered coldly.

The crowd looked at one another in dismay. Seeing that Yun He and Fang Zhentian didn't deny his words, that final strand of hope within their hearts vanished.

Lang Daochun sighed. "If we cannot deal with the Ancient Demon, then all is lost. Who could have imagined that this lunatic would truly succeed in refining an Inner Domain? Though he is barely a Half-Saint, an existence that would have been completely unranked in the past, placed within the current Nine Realms, he is entirely capable of steering the situation single-handedly."

Lin Qiao couldn't help but shout, "Everyone, if you still do not invite Emperor Huang Tian at this moment, what are you waiting for?"

The crowd exchanged glances.

A well-meaning person remarked, "It is impossible for us to invite the Fallen Immortals down. They know we won't do it, and we know they won't do it either. To put it plainly, whatever becomes of the Nine Realms' situation this time has absolutely nothing to do with your Major Immortal Realm anymore."

Lin Qiao frowned deeply. "Why must it be so!? What did the Fallen Immortals do wrong?"

"You Fallen Immortals did nothing wrong; that is simply their nature," someone replied indifferently.

"Then I shall watch and see how you all manage to survive." Lin Qiao sneered coldly. "Not allowing Emperor Huang Tian to descend to the Mortal Realm will definitely be the thing you regret most in this lifetime!"

The crowd ignored Lin Qiao entirely. The Fallen Immortals could be utilized, but placing one's hopes upon them was an absolute recipe for unreliability.

Fang Zhentian spoke up slowly. "Saint Chenxiang, Saint Heifo, do the two of you truly intend to follow Jinyang down this dark path until the very end?"

Saint Chenxiang stated indifferently, "Saint Fang, since we chose this path, we can only follow it all the way to the end. There is no other way. The struggle between us has nothing to do with personal grudges. Do not blame me."

Saint Jinyang sneered coldly. "Why bother paying them any heed? They are nothing but grasshoppers at the end of autumn. They won't be hopping around for much longer. Our path is the truly correct path. Look at them. What does it matter if they are like that? Down to this day, whose fist is the biggest?"

After saying that, Saint Jinyang gradually increased the force in his attacks.

He was clearly impatient to destroy the layer of the emperor's Sarira light.

Someone looked solemnly at Fang Chen. "Monarch Fang, has the soul of that outsider truly been completely annihilated?"

"What is the meaning of asking that now? If we cannot defeat them, all is lost anyway. The outsiders' arrival is inevitable. It's only a question of when," someone else remarked indifferently.

The crowd's thoughts stirred. After thinking about it carefully, that really did seem to be the case.

The outsiders were bound to arrive eventually, unless they could win this battle today and elevate the Motian Dizang to the position of the Heavenly Dao. Only by that time would the Nine Realms, possessing a Heavenly Dao, have the capacity to resist the invasion of the outsiders.

***

Blackness had completely crept over the emperor's Sarira light. Under the corrosion of this sinister force, the golden light barrier was teetering on the verge of collapse.

The corners of Saint Jinyang's mouth curled up into a slight smile. "You are about to lose."

His gaze deliberately lingered on Fang Zhentian for a few breaths.

By this point, the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower had completely regained its tranquility. No one paid it any attention. Only Fang Chen reacted immediately, flying over and retrieving it. The moment the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower entered his palm, a highly unique sensation instantly welled up within Fang Chen's heart.

Before he had the time to quietly examine it, the sound of the golden Sarira breaking rang out. In a flash, the golden light shattered. There was no longer any barrier separating the two sides.