Chapter 112: Kill Them All

The Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation raised the Golden Elixir Dao Tree.

As the essence of its Qi poured into the tree, it instantly erupted with supreme divine light. Dragons and phoenixes danced within the radiance, Qilins roamed the void, the Four Divine Beasts treaded the four corners, and the stars of the heavens circled in its midst.

In that moment, heaven and earth acted in unison, and the myriad paths converged upon it.

The entity transformed the Golden Elixir Dao Tree into a blade and swung it horizontally downward. The strike was vast and unrestrained, as if intending to cleave the endless stars of the firmament in two.

Booming echoes crashed one after another.

This immensely massive blade light sliced the elixir cauldron clean in two. The energies of Taiyin, Taiyang, and primordial chaos were all annihilated under the edge. The blade light then pressed its advantage, descending directly upon the neck of the Faceless One.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A piercing sound of metal striking metal erupted, with sparks leaping between the blade and the neck. The entire grotto-heaven shook violently, and in the next heartbeat, a brilliant flash of light split the domain in two. The blade light extended into the Sea of Chaos, whipping up waves ten thousand fathoms high and inciting the demons and monsters hidden in the mists.

They fled in a frenzy.

But before they could escape, the blade light overtook them, instantly severing flesh, blood, and soul, leaving only skeletons to plummet to the earth.

"How can this be?" The Faceless One was startled. Sensing the surging demonic intent in Xu Zhong and the cycle of reincarnation revolving behind his head, it stammered, "You are not an avatar of the Heavenly Dao..."

Before the words had even faded, a thunderclap rang out like spring’s first strike.

Boom!

Xu Zhong shook his bone banner; instantly, fierce divine light transformed into thunder dragons that soared forth, tearing through the Faceless One’s protective aura and nearly ripping its head away.

The Faceless One raised its hand, which was gnawed by the thunder dragons, spraying divine blood and exposing gleaming white bone. Yet, as if feeling no pain, it smashed the thunder dragon into smithereens with a single punch.

The sky was filled with lightning light, drifting down like snow.

Its power surged through every fiber of its being, and a pitch-black long spear erupted from behind its head. Gripping the weapon, it gave the shaft a shake.

Instantly, the spear tip spun incessantly, painting the sky with magnificent colors—a shimmering brilliance of fire and silver with the power to destroy the world. Everything in the grotto-heaven was pulverized into microscopic dust, invisible to the naked eye.

Yet, as it unleashed this spear technique, the star-like wounds within its body burst open, spreading wider. Streams of blood splattered everywhere; wound connected to wound, turning into vast swathes of emptiness. The secret vaults within its body began to crumble, teetering on the edge of destruction.

Despite this, the Faceless One did not retreat an inch. Its fighting spirit soared, nearing madness. It pushed its cultivation to the absolute limit.

Its limit was drawing near to that of a Creator.

Yet, even with only a thin line between these two realms, it was like a chasm as wide as the heavens.

It was powerful and mad.

The Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation, however, did not yield. The cycle of reincarnation behind its head spun continuously, pouring out rolling demonic energy infused with the power of Qi, making it stronger with every clash.

The Demon Manifestation swung its blade, carving out slice after slice of light. Each slice was like a continent, concealing ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains and billions of sentient beings. The demonic nature and obsessions of these beings were the source of the blade's power.

Bang!

A massive explosion rang out. A storm of extreme sublimation expanded from the core in all directions.

Nearly three thousand miles of mountains were blasted into residue, and great rivers were evaporated in an instant. Further away, mountain ranges trembled, deserts boiled, and the oceans churned into waves that blotted out the sun, plunging the world into darkness.

In an instant, innate gods awoke from the mountains, rivers, and oceans, using their supreme divine powers to suppress the storm. Only such terrifying power could be subdued by the innate gods.

They watched with burning eyes, gazing at the battlefield three thousand miles away.

The Faceless One parried with its spear, the tip directly knocking the Dao Tree from the hand of the Demon Manifestation. At the same time, it opened its mouth and spat out seven rays of divine light that pierced the void, aimed straight at the Demon Manifestation's brow.

The Demon Manifestation did not fear, a white banner flying out to hover behind its head. It manifested thirty-three layers of demonic clouds, wrapping around the seven rays of light. Instantly, the divine majesty erupted, cracking the very earth beneath their feet.

A gale of extreme intensity blew from the bone banner, assailing the Faceless One’s body in an attempt to pulverize it.

Ignoring its injuries, the Faceless One shattered the four Gates of Xuanpin. Primordial energy flowed out, covering its body like thousands of intertwined chains of Dao. Bathed in this source energy, the Faceless One’s eyes filled with crazed killing intent, and it discarded the spear to block with its bare fists.

As the spear hit the ground, it transformed into a mountain range spanning a thousand miles.

The power of its fists was formidable, smashing the gale to pieces, leaving only droplets of golden divine blood dripping from its knuckles. The Faceless One shifted its form, pushing its Dharma Manifestation to the limit—sixty-six thousand feet tall. It roared, carving a void into the sky that turned into streaks of purple clouds—a hundred thousand acres of purple thunder. The next moment, this thunder fell as a torrential rain, roaring down for a thousand miles without cease.

The Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation reached out, pulling hard, and tore the torrential purple rain apart.

But by then, the Faceless One had already appeared before the thirty-three layers of demonic clouds. It threw several punches, making the void tremble and howl, shattering the clouds. It then raised both fists and brought them down.

Its fists pressed down the sixty-six thousand feet of Taiyin energy, compressing it into a layer of extreme spiritual light, purging all spiritual energy from the space.

As the punch landed, the Demon Manifestation remained calm.

"Then take my punch!"

It, too, threw a punch. It was not as dazzling as that of the Faceless One. Yet, this simple, calm strike sent the Faceless One flying back for countless miles, plowing a deep abyss into the earth.

The Faceless One spat out a mouthful of golden divine blood and, seizing the moment, grasped the mountain range that spanned the ground, refining it back into a long spear.

For at this moment, the Demon Manifestation had already gripped its blade and swung it toward the Faceless One's head.

This strike was likewise plain, yet it possessed unparalleled blade intent—a strike of supreme sublimation that spanned heaven and earth.

From this blade, the Faceless One saw three thousand six hundred types of blade intent, thirty-six thousand variations, and three hundred and sixty thousand flashes of light. The Demon Manifestation had fused them all into this one strike.

*I cannot block it!*

This was the first thought that entered the Faceless One's mind. Yet, even knowing it could not block, it summoned its courage and parried with the spear.

Bang!

The collision produced a deafening roar. The spear buckled rapidly at the point of impact, bending like a crescent moon. The blade light shattered, and countless fragments embedded themselves into the Faceless One's body. These fragments transformed into tiny blades within its flesh, erupting with intent from the inside out, aggravating every other wound.

Pfft!

The Faceless One spat out a spray of blade intent. All its wounds were merged into a state of chaos by the blade light, governed by the intent and eroded by the Great Dao, making them impossible to heal. Golden blood splashed across the sky, and undying spiritual light flowed backward into the heavens like starlight.

The Faceless One was sent flying thousands of miles away. How could its cultivation possibly rival the Heavenly Dao?

"Are you stalling for time?" the Heavenly Dao avatar asked, retracting its blade. The weapon instantly transformed back into the Golden Elixir Dao Tree. Its thirty-three branches supported thirty-three cycles of reincarnation, cleansing the Yin and Yang and the Great Dao with supreme utility.

Just as the Faceless One tried to speak, a destructive force erupted from its wounds, and the words it tried to utter turned into fragments of its own viscera. As these pieces hit the ground, they turned into a holy mountain wreathed in innate energy, brimming with the purest power.

It used the power within its body to stabilize its wounds, then looked up and grinned, "I am indeed stalling for time. It is only a pity that those fools are still watching from the sidelines."

"Do they not know that once the Heavenly Dao is born, it will consolidate the Great Dao of heaven and earth? If you are not killed early, you will transcend the Creators. At that point, no one in heaven or earth will be able to stop you, and we shall all die."

These words were spoken for the Demon Manifestation to hear, but also for the innate gods and Creators watching from the periphery.

"They know, and they understand. But they do not know my true nature, and they fear that if they step forward, they will be cut down by me just like you. So they watch you—they watch you being killed by me, hoping to find my flaws in the techniques I use to slay you."

"And then, in one strike, deliver my death."

The Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation spoke just as the Faceless One had, addressing the towering Dharma Manifestations surrounding them. Their manifestations were immeasurable, spanning heaven and earth like pillars holding up the world.

"So I, too, am waiting. Waiting for them to act, so that I may kill them all," the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation grasped the Dao Tree and pointed it at the Faceless One. "Otherwise, why do you think a lowly innate god like you has survived until now!"

With its black hair flying and a gaze of disdain, the Demon Manifestation possessed an air of invincibility, looking down upon all sentient beings.

"But I can wait for them no longer. They have watched too many of my techniques and likely know how to break them. If I let them continue to dissect my Dao, they might truly find my flaw."

"So, go ahead and be on your way!"

The power of creation and destruction surged from the Demon Manifestation, intending to erase the Faceless One from existence entirely. Its power pierced the river of time, connecting the present with the past and the future, reflecting the Faceless One’s three incarnations. It prepared to sever the river of time and strike down all three versions of the god at once.

"Then come!" the Faceless One laughed maniacally, its hair streaming in the wind. It opened its arms, meeting the blade light with its own flesh and blood.

However, in the next instant, a Creator stepped forward, raised a fist, and unleashed six cycles of reincarnation, tearing the blade light asunder. He stood before the Faceless One, gazing at the Heavenly Dao Demon Manifestation.

It was a deity, half-human and half-dragon, with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a dragon.

"Heavenly Dao, it has been a long time." This dragon god seemed to share a history with the Demon Manifestation, greeting it with familiarity. "Old friends, come out! It is time to loosen our joints!"

In an instant, thirty-six Creators emerged from the void, greeting the Demon Manifestation with familiar ease.

"Very good, very good." The Demon Manifestation gripped the Dao Tree and laughed incessantly. "This time, without the Ancestor of Thunder, I wonder how you plan to cut me down."

"And I, for one, intend to beat you all to death."