Boom!
The entire Dark Territory seemed to be overturned, boundless majestic power erupted, Master of Fate and Progenitor Yan both struck, displaying terrifying methods never seen in past, present, or future, charging toward the front of the Heaven-Slaying Hall to stop Grand High Priest Wu Yue from manifesting the demon halberd's body.
And Grand High Priest Wu Yue was not afraid at all. In front of the Heaven-Slaying Hall, dark divine light erupted, and all the Dark Beings knelt and bowed there, their piety reaching the extreme, as if they felt no fear at all.
Within that dark divine light, there was the sound of a coffin quivering; a blurry bronze object lay across there, inside which a gap seemed to have opened, hazy light gushing out, making it impossible to see what was within.
In an instant, the terrifying force that charged over was swallowed by the dark divine light, then turned into a black torrent that swept back into the Heaven-Slaying Hall, where everything remained as steady as a rock, without the slightest tremor or change.
Only the phantom of the Coffin of World Burial in the void grew increasingly solid, as if about to burst out from the Heaven-Slaying Hall; endless blood-red light flooded heaven and earth, casting reflections across all eras of the myriad worlds.
Progenitor Xu, who was fighting the three High Priests, watched this scene seemingly without any surprise. Beneath his wide sleeves, immeasurable light gushed out; he raised a palm to evolve the primordial chaos of the cosmos, as if three thousand great worlds were born and destroyed, evolving within nothingness and colliding toward the three High Priests.
Amid the traces of their battle, all scenes shifted, as if they were fighting from ancient times to the present.
The cold-faced High Priest, though injured, was unafraid; his long sword whistled as it slashed down, the River of Time blurred and evaporated, and all traces dissipated.
Another High Priest brought out a jade bottle, from which innate light emerged, and various Great Dao runes evolved, seeming to form a mighty river in which the auras of fate and years flowed, capable of drowning everything. Another High Priest activated an ancient seal, spewing majestic power downwards toward the front.
"Fellow Daoists, we must not delay, quickly stop her."
Progenitor Xu also spoke, looking not as relaxed as one might imagine.
Boom!!!
Without needing further words, Progenitor Yan and Master of Fate also felt the terrifying pressure; above the Heaven-Slaying Hall, the demon halberd loomed across the sky, its blurry phantom seeming to crush everything, causing the auras of fate, years, and spacetime to become chaotic before it.
Progenitor Yan's expression had long since changed, no longer relaxed and casual as before.
He let out a roar, and the boundless black hole behind him was like a dark sun rising from the darkness, absorbing all energy and matter, devouring all light.
He pushed with both hands, as if rolling this black sun forward to crush everything; the myriad worlds rumbled like an apocalyptic millstone destroying all living beings, and endless dark aura cascaded like a waterfall, surrounding him like a peerless fiend.
However, Grand High Priest Wu Yue's face was icy cold, her hands raised in a lifting posture, and a supremely sharp killing intent locked onto Progenitor Yan.
Master of Fate also sensed this killing intent, his face changing slightly; without concerning himself too much, his figure dissipated on the spot. This was a killing intent in the true sense; no matter which spacetime or universe he fled to, he could not avoid it, as if a heavenly decree had severed his fate—an inescapable karma.
The only way was to sever that karmic tie in this instant. He did not know what terrifying consequences would come from being pierced by that phantom of the demon halberd, but his vague premonition told him that things were going wrong.
The fog of fate that he originally could not deduce or perceive was now being somewhat dispersed.
In those images, he saw himself bleeding.
Pfft...
And just at the moment when Master of Fate's figure vanished.
Progenitor Yan not far away let out a miserable cry; the black hole before him was splitting apart, and a terrifying demon halberd phantom had pierced him at some unknown moment, pinning him in the void with cold light.
Black blood flowed ceaselessly, every drop containing unspeakable majestic power, yet now he could not move.
All the experts of the Yanmo Faction's expressions changed drastically, as if unable to believe that their Progenitor had been pierced like this between heaven and earth, his true body coughing blood continuously, utterly ruined.
Grand High Priest Wu Yue frowned, not sensing any feedback from it.
"You've fallen for it, hahaha..."
Amidst his miserable cry, Progenitor Yan suddenly burst into laughter; the black hole before him was shrinking, its originally broken edges continuously scattering into countless strands of mist, coiling around like immortal black-gold vines, firmly trapping that demon halberd phantom within.
He used his own body as a prison, seemingly wanting to refine that demon halberd phantom into his body.
"I followed the Lord of Heaven's Proxy for so many years; how could I not know his methods? How could I not know that you possess such a method? Today I was waiting for you to bring it out."
"I had long since fused my true body with Dark Matter; I am darkness and darkness is me. Standing in the Great Dark Realm, boundless majestic power is added to me, with endless immortal array patterns inscribed within, just waiting to refine this fierce weapon's phantom."
"Your action, on the contrary, benefits me."
Progenitor Yan laughed loudly; the pierced wound was healing rapidly, Dark Matter flowing, and surprisingly no flesh or blood could be seen within, as if it were merely an empty mass of dark mist.
Master of Fate, who appeared in the distance, secretly frowned. He had thought there might be an accident, but it seemed he had still somewhat underestimated Progenitor Yan and Progenitor Xu.
They had planned for many years; how could they have no preparation? How could they not have anticipated the Heavenly Faction's methods?
He did not want to waste too much energy here. After all, only in a full-strength state could he be qualified to plan his own matters; the so-called favors were mostly perfunctory, just like what Progenitor Xu had promised.
If things went wrong, he would certainly, as just now, escape at the first moment; he could not waste himself in such a place.
If things went smoothly, he would naturally not mind lending a hand.
"Is that so?"
"Then did you anticipate this?"
Grand High Priest Wu Yue's cold and indifferent voice rang out, but now it seemed to carry an emotional fluctuation.
It was mockery.
And also disdain.
In front of the Heaven-Slaying Hall, the rumbling of the coffin grew more intense; now blood-red light shot into the sky, and a vast sacrificial altar appeared. She stretched out a snowy white, jade-like hand from the mist and let her own blood drip onto it. Her blood was crystalline, brilliant, and fragrant, yet carried a dense dark aura.
However, within that drop of blood, it seemed to contain a hazy mass of light.
Blood flowed like a stream, wrapping that hazy light mass as it fell onto the altar. Grand High Priest Wu Yue's aura weakened, and even the mist around her dissipated greatly.
Vaguely, one could see a slender, graceful figure within, with skin as white as jade, wrapped in a mist-like gauze dress, indistinct and hazy.
And that snowy white hand seemed to have lost all its color...
Her movements did not stop, still letting her blood drip.
As blood dripped onto the altar, the entire Dark Territory seemed to come alive; endless Dark Matter madly surged over, blotting out the sky and covering the earth.
Even more, at that moment, the Land of the Dark Source beyond the Vast Expanse of myriad worlds trembled, as if some power was about to summon it over.
In the next moment, an enormous ancient bronze coffin, enveloped by endless Great Dao runes, suddenly burst out from within the Heaven-Slaying Hall.
The sealing symbols inscribed on it were being erased one by one, and a mysterious aura descended upon the altar, resonating with the bronze coffin.
The coffin within seemed to come to life, a breathing rhythm emerging; each breath was like the sea undulating, like mountain roars and tsunamis, pressing down so that all dark souls felt they would shatter and explode.
Jing Tianyun in front of the Heaven-Slaying Hall, looking at that hazy mass of light, trembled continuously from excitement and elation, about to kneel and bow down.
It was what Gu Changge had instructed him to bring to the Nightmare Demon Domain, to personally hand over to Grand High Priest Wu Yue.
He did not know what it was, but he knew that after Grand High Priest Wu Yue sensed the aura of that hazy light mass, she had been in a state of extreme shock and excitement, an emotion that could not calm down for a long time.
Progenitor Xu, who was fighting the three High Priests, had remained unruffled, as if he was held back by them and unable to interfere in other matters.
But now, seeing Grand High Priest Wu Yue's action, his expression finally changed; he even withdrew his hand at once and shouted angrily, "You really are a madwoman. So you indeed made contact with the Lord of Heaven's Proxy long ago."
Progenitor Yan and Master of Fate still somewhat did not understand the meaning of Progenitor Xu's words, not knowing why his expression changed so.
But both of them vaguely sensed that something was amiss.
"Could it be that the Lord of Heaven's Proxy has truly revived..." Progenitor Yan's expression changed again and again, staring fixedly at Progenitor Xu.
However, Progenitor Xu paid him no heed.
Now, the entire Dark Territory was trembling; the boundless Great Dark Realm, vast and infinite, saw terrifying dark runes shooting up from the border barrier zone.
Grand High Priest Wu Yue's own state was changing; it was as if she was about to sacrifice herself, but in truth, at this moment the entire Dark Territory had turned into a boundless grand altar.
All living beings in this territory and heaven-earth were the nutrients on the altar.
From her body erupted endless dark light, and the gaze she cast at Progenitor Xu and the others was indifferent to the extreme.
Panic, despair, horror, terror... these emotions swept across the entire Great Dark Realm like a tidal wave in an instant; all beings of the Eight Tribes were plunged into this fear.
Some tried to charge out, but were quickly obliterated by the shooting dark runes, turning into torrents of energy that returned to this heaven-earth altar.
"So you were plotting against me all along."
Master of Fate's expression quickly turned ugly. He finally realized where the indistinct image he saw earlier came from—it was not being pierced by that demon halberd phantom, but truly bleeding out here, becoming nourishment for the sacrifice.
He had already tried to deduce it; once the altar was formed, no one could leave, not even him now.
This was a dead end.
Progenitor Xu's expression was also unsightly. He denied it, saying, "Fellow Daoist, do you not know that I too have been plotted against?"
"However, it confirms my previous speculation—he indeed set up a scheme waiting for me to appear. Heh, if this plan succeeded, I would obtain his physical body and truly transcend freely..."
"But now, he is one move ahead; my plan has simply failed."
As his words fell, Progenitor Xu's figure dimmed, and then a terrifying, surging aura came from within his body.
His Dao Fruit split open; he made no struggle, understanding that all this was meaningless, and then with a bang he exploded, turning into scattered ashes and vanishing.
"You..."
Master of Fate's expression at this moment was as if he had eaten a dead fly. Progenitor Xu had used him and the many experts of the Eight Tribes in a grand gamble—if successful, he would advance further; if not, he would still gain useful information and test the truth.
No matter what, Progenitor Xu came out ahead; only he suffered heavy losses.
It was obvious that Progenitor Xu had long been prepared to abandon everything before him, so this body was discarded without the slightest hesitation, no futile struggle.
Progenitor Yan was also dumbfounded for a moment, quickly realizing Progenitor Xu's intention. His expression went from fury to wretchedness, and finally despair.
At his level, whether there was a path to survival was obvious at a glance. Grand High Priest Wu Yue clearly carried the aura of origin left by the Lord of Heaven's Proxy, which allowed her to borrow the power of the Coffin of World Burial in this way, turning the entire Great Dark Realm into a Grand Sacrificial Ritual altar.
From ancient times to the present, no living being had ever escaped after stepping onto the Grand Sacrificial Ritual altar.
Bang!
He was also decisive; similarly knowing there was no retreat, this was already an all-or-nothing gamble, so the next moment his colossal body exploded, without any struggle, directly choosing Dao-death.
"So unwilling..."
Master of Fate's emotions quickly calmed; he glanced at the two child attendants who had accompanied him for so long, sighed, and then his entire figure also exploded in an instant, choosing self-destruction. If he struggled, death would only be more wretched.
In this Great Dark Realm, powerful as they were, facing such sacrificial force, they could only retreat; resistance was impossible.
When this Grand Sacrificial Ritual began, even all worlds could be sacrificed, let alone living beings; no matter how strong, they were merely offerings.
Moreover, this was a Grand Sacrificial Ritual initiated by Grand High Priest Wu Yue using her own origin and the origin left by the Lord of Heaven's Proxy; who in all the worlds could escape?
"Fortunately, I still have a contingency, but this body has fallen like this..."
As consciousness faded, the entire Great Dark Realm resounded with boundless sacrificial chants, as if summoning some existence to revive.
In front of the Heaven-Slaying Hall, Grand High Priest Wu Yue watched this scene calmly and indifferently, withdrawing her bloodless hand, without any surprise.
The origin true blood bestowed by Gu Changge was her greatest trump card against this situation; without it, she might indeed have fallen into Progenitor Xu's trap.
But now, it no longer mattered.
"Grand Sacrificial Ritual, commence."
She spoke, and the four High Priests returned to their positions, standing on the four sides of the altar in front of the Heaven-Slaying Hall. All the charging beings of the Eight Tribes, without exception, turned into sacrifices; even though they were fellow Dark Clans, they could not escape.
Those who had defected, including some Dharma Protectors, were also no exception, becoming sacrificial offerings.
Before the Grand Sacrificial Ritual, all worlds are equal.
"Progenitor Xu probably still has a backup; he is truly terrifying. Even in such a situation, he still didn't force me to act."
"Had he long anticipated today's scene, and therefore kept some reserves? No matter what, he always has a fallback."
The Fourth Sacrificial Priest Qiluo felt deep terror in her heart; if she had chosen to rebel, she would probably be in the same predicament now.
On this day, throughout the Vast Expanse of myriad worlds, countless spacetimes and universes, countless Great Thousand Worlds, and countless living beings saw this scene; the firmament seemed to become transparent, reflecting a boundless, ancient altar.
Upon that ancient altar, boundless majestic power emerged, turning into a blood-red passageway that pierced through heaven, earth, and spacetime, about to plunge into some region beyond the chaos, as if summoning something to descend.
That region was shrouded in dense dark mist year-round, cold, deep, devoid of any life; everywhere were ruined universe fragments and spacetime rifts; all order of heaven and earth had withered and fallen there.
Deathly still, shrouded in darkness, the ground was full of ravines and rift valleys, from which dark mist gushed out, strand by strand, continuously seeping from those spacetime rifts, as if staining the myriad worlds, polluting all universes.
All Dark Matter in the myriad worlds seemed to flow and spread from here; this was the source of darkness, as if it had been so since time immemorial, never changing.
The sky was overcast and dark, without the slightest vitality; ominous and eerie auras lingered; throughout endless ages, almost no living being had ever set foot here.
That was the Land of the Dark Source!