Emperor Weide manifested all of his pseudo-Domain. Although he tried to focus it around Empyrean Asura, he couldn't control it very well, especially in his current condition. So a large part of his pseudo-Domain seeped out and expanded throughout the battlefield. Imperial hymns chanted by Emperor Nuwa's voice could be heard. High in the sky, the clouds parted to show three golden characters. Their light seemed to purge all sins from the world. All the humans present wanted to kowtow before Emperor Nuwa's absolute presence. Unfortunately, they couldn't, as they had to fight the Supplicant Tyrants.
Morale skyrocketed. However, Sun Liao, the two other Sages, and all the chief elders knew what was about to happen. Emperor Weide did not intend to survive this fight. Honestly, Sun Liao, Sect Leader Xuan, and Matriarch Huang had no problem seeing Emperor Weide die. However, it would be bad for the current battle. On the other hand, they had to take Empyrean Asura down as fast as they could. Although they could probably still make do if he got to the regrown body of Demon God Da Mo, it was preferable if Empyrean Asura's body was dead before that. Indeed, for Cao Yun's plan, it was best if Demon God Da Mo had no other body to return to after revealing the Reborn Demon's body.
Seeing how the fight was unfolding, Sun Liao was upset. He knew that Mo Tian's help would become absolutely necessary. Thus, it meant that they would have to honor their agreement with him. If Sun Liao had his way, he would make sure that Mo Tian didn't survive this fight. After all, it was a very likely possibility. Despite his resentment, though, Sun Liao would not endanger the Hongchen Kingdom just for vengeance. Besides, he could still get his revenge later on. Considering that his brother had gone to the extent of giving more strength to the butcher of his entire family, Sun Liao couldn't just spit on his determination and abnegation.
Cao Yun had conflicting emotions. He couldn't even blink, worried that he might miss anything at all. Right now, he was certain that he was going to watch the death of Emperor Weide, the man who was the origin of all of this. Unfortunately, Emperor Weide was right. Without him, Cao Yun would have never reached his current status. In fact, with what Cao Yun knew today, it was more than likely that the Hongchen Kingdom would have fallen. The attack on the capital would have been a success, and the Hongchen Kingdom would have been slaughtered. Worse than that, Mo Tian might have succeeded. If he had fully unleashed Demon God Da Mo's body, he would have destroyed the Hongchen Kingdom because of his stupidity. Indeed, Demon God Da Mo's Demon Soul would have sensed it, and he would have done everything to grab it. Mo Tian's Soul Embryo would have been crushed, and Demon God Da Mo would have come back in all of his glory.
In other words, Cao Yun had to admit that Emperor Weide had saved the Hongchen Kingdom. But then again, if he had never helped the demonic cultivators in the first place, things would have been very different. No one, not even Emperor Weide or Cao Yun, could imagine how things would have unfolded. Anyway, there was no point pondering over what could have been, they had to deal with what had actually happened.
'Domain of the Three Confluences'!
Emperor Weide could quite literally feel his Soul Embryo rip apart. He was pushing too far, too fast. Within his sea of consciousness, he could sense the Turbid Demons lashing out and attacking his very soul. However, he didn't relent. He had to take down Empyrean Asura. Whether his deeds would be recognized or not, whether he would be remembered as a virtuous emperor or a ruthless tyrant, he had to succeed. The only thing that ever mattered to him was the survival of the Hongchen Kingdom and its ideals. Even if Emperor Weide had to bend and pervert those ideals, they had to survive after him. He didn't have the luxury of having scruples or even a conscience. He was a ruler. Millions of people, and billions yet to be born, were under his responsibility.
As he knew that these were his final moments, Emperor Weide felt satisfied. That being said, he did feel bad for the people who had to be sacrificed. Of course, he would do it all over again, and even worse than that. Still, he knew that those people had not deserved it. This time, sacrificing himself truly felt good. Although he was dying, he could enjoy this moment to the fullest. There was no doubt. This was the right decision. All of his life had been true to his goal.
'Convergence of Three Absolute Virtues'!
The golden characters in the sky were 'Unity', 'Duty', and 'Destiny'. They moved like moons orbiting the Piaolu planet and aligned perfectly with Emperor Weide's sword. Their light focused like a lens directly on the tip of his sword. For an instant, every cultivator wielding a sword could feel it shake. Just before the end, Emperor Weide had achieved the Sword Soul, the martial state above the Sword Spirit. It was as if all the swords on the battlefield wanted to bow toward Emperor Weide.
The Emperor's Soul Embryo was in shreds. However, his will and determination were moving his body. With the last bits of sanity and reason, Emperor Weide was one with his sword and plunged it straight toward Empyrean Asura's heart. Nothing in the universe existed but his sword and his enemy's heart.
Empyrean Asura was unable to move, trapped in Emperor Weide's pseudo-Domain. It was much stronger than before. Despair had pushed Emperor Weide to the brink of destruction, and beyond. By sacrificing his very Soul Embryo, he had unleashed all the strength of his pseudo-Domain. Of course, Empyrean Asura could still break it if given enough time, which was precisely what he lacked. The sword pierced through his heart. It stabbed his blood armor as if it were paper and entered the vital organ of Empyrean Asura. The impact was so powerful that his heart literally exploded in his chest. It had already been damaged, but now, it was utterly destroyed.
No Accomplished Demon could live without their heart. It was the most essential part of their cultivation. Of course, human cultivators couldn't survive such a wound either. Just as they couldn't survive being beheaded, of course. That being said, such limitations were said not to be true for actual immortals. Maybe immortals wouldn't really want to put it to the test, though.
Empyrean Asura was staring at death directly. His flesh was dead, there was no way around it. Empyrean Asura had actually been killed by insects, by mere humans. A few centuries ago, he would have crushed them without even thinking about it. And now, three of them had pushed him this far?! Of course, what were centuries for Demon God Da Mo were millennia for the Hongchen Kingdom. Anyway, Demon God Da Mo was infuriated and frustrated. But all things considered, it was only a minor setback. He could reform a better body with his own blood. Besides, he could take over some bodies in the meantime. In the end, he would come out stronger. Nonetheless, he absolutely needed revenge, right now. His enemy was clearly dying, but he had to be the one to end his wretched existence.
With his dying breath, Empyrean Asura grabbed the sword with his remaining arm and pulled on it. The blade got deeper into his chest and helped Empyrean Asura get closer to Emperor Weide. The Emperor was just happy he had slain his enemy and didn't care what happened to him now. Empyrean Asura didn't hesitate and sank his teeth into the neck of Emperor Weide. He ripped out a large chunk of his neck, to the point where Emperor Weide's cervical vertebrae were slightly visible. Obviously, such an image shocked everyone.
Now that his neck was so badly hurt, Emperor Weide couldn't let out a word. Besides, he didn't have the strength to talk anyway. However, he focused his very last thought on his spiritual senses. As his soul was collapsing, it spread throughout the battle so that everyone could hear his last words.
"Mankind is the treasure of the Hongchen Kingdom! All men, no matter how long they live or how bright they shine, can shape the world. Protect our Hongchen Kingdom until the very end!"
Emperor Weide had used a phrase from Ancestor Wu, who had founded the Wubei Sect. "Mankind is the treasure of the Hongchen Kingdom!" was the number one rule of the Wubei Sect. But he had also added Saint Xun Ke's words, the man who had sacrificed his Soul Embryo to save Emperor Nuwa's life. Of course, seeing Emperor Weide sacrifice his life in such a manner brought Saint Xun Ke's sacrifice to everyone's mind. Finally, he had added his own command to all.
Although the shock of Emperor Weide's death was immense, this didn't break morale. It had the opposite effect. The cultivators were galvanized. Cao Yun, Sun Liao, Sect Leader Xuan, and Matriarch Huang realized the effects of his words on everyone. It was insane. Everyone could feel a powerful surge of vitality throughout the battlefield. Even Cao Yun himself could feel his heart beat slightly faster. Despite himself, he was excited and wanted to avenge the death of mankind's Emperor. His hands were shaking, both from excitement and from frustration. Now, there was absolutely no way to either reveal the truth about Emperor Weide or to erase his legacy.
Ironically, Emperor Weide would enter history as the Emperor who had sacrificed himself to vanquish their mortal enemy. Historians would never find out the truth, even those who would find some events strange or ambiguous. Cao Yun knew that Emperor Huang Cixi would make sure to get rid of any evidence. Indeed, the image of a heroic Emperor was better for everyone in the Hongchen Kingdom. In order to balance things out, she would also raise the reputation of the Cao family.
In that moment, Cao Yun thought about his family. If he wanted his family's name to survive the ages, he had to eclipse Emperor Weide's sacrifice today. It wouldn't be an easy feat at all. The very second he thought about it, Cao Yun felt bad. He wasn't acting for glory or fame, he was trying to save the Hongchen Kingdom. But, then again, fame and glory weren't for him, they were for his name. He did want the Cao name to survive this battle.
Emperor Weide's pseudo-Domain completely collapsed under the roars of all the cultivators. Instead of dying, one would have thought that Emperor Weide had won. And in a sense, he had.
His pseudo-Domain cracked everywhere and exploded into tiny shards of glass that simply dissolved into thin air. It felt as though reality itself had been broken into pieces. In the center of it all, Emperor Weide and Empyrean Asura's bodies were intertwined. The sword of the emperor was stabbing through the back of Empyrean Asura, whose teeth were firmly lodged into his raw neck. The two corpses fell to the ground below.
Before Empyrean Asura's body hit the ground, something happened. The two bodies stopped moving. All the blood from Empyrean Asura's body and even Emperor Weide's body simply left them. Their pale, dry flesh collapsed and hit the ground. Above them was a huge shadow made of literal blood. This blood mist coalesced into an almost corporeal form. Everyone could recognize the shape. It was perfectly aligned with all the descriptions and depictions of Demon God Da Mo. There was no possible doubt, this was Demon God Da Mo's Demon Soul.
Dian Mo himself shuddered within Cao Yun's sea of consciousness. Demon God Da Mo's presence spread through the entire Heidai Peak, even beyond the array formations set to trap him. Of course, it was mostly focused on the battlefield. Despite their vigor and ardor, all the humans felt their blood freeze in their veins. Some Mortal Warriors even fainted as the blood stopped circulating for too long. This was the terror of a Reborn Demon's Demon Soul who had learned the Dao of Blood. Now that he didn't have anyone to hinder him, Demon God Da Mo could unleash all of his power.
Sensing Demon God Da Mo's true strength, Cao Yun was sincerely terrified. Although it wasn't as bad as he had feared, it still was worse than he had hoped. Clearly, his Demon Soul was injured. Indeed, Cao Yun could feel weaknesses here and there. As an Exalted Demon himself, he could sense that the Demon Soul before him was incomplete and damaged. However, it was still absolutely terrifying. Even if all of mankind united against this creature, they would never win. They wouldn't lose, but they couldn't kill it. In fact, even now, Cao Yun tried to imagine a battle against this Demon Soul.
With his Drop of Wrath, Cao Yun was confident that he wouldn't die. He wouldn't lose. But many would perish, and Demon God Da Mo would absolutely escape. As such, Cao Yun controlled and restrained himself. He had to wait for the right moment to strike. Unfortunately, this still wasn't the right moment. However, now, they could finally let Demon God Da Mo get to the Devil's Jail. In fact, they were counting on it. Soon, very soon, Cao Yun could reveal himself in all of his power. Destroying such an abomination would clearly bring honor and glory to his family's name.
Finally, mankind would be free of that demon. Millennia of pain and torment would soon end. However, Cao Yun was afraid that another part of Demon God Da Mo's Demon Soul still existed in the Withering Fusang Domains. Even if that was the case, Cao Yun would have more than enough time to prepare himself. Moreover, he would have to go there no matter what happened. This was the only place where he would finally be able to liberate mankind for good. They wouldn't have to live under the fear of Demon God Da Mo or the yoke of some curse they didn't deserve.