Chapter 114: Mobbing

A gang-up!

Bullying the few with the many?

The Dragon God, the Primordial God King, and the Great Sage Kunpeng did not find anything wrong with ganging up. After all, they were facing the Heavenly Dao.

It was one of the only two supreme existences in this world; the other, equally powerful, was the Emperor of Fengdu. The difference was that the former possessed a physical body, while the latter did not, requiring a mortal vessel to manifest.

The last time the Heavenly Dao had parasitized a human, the Ancestor of Thunder had led over a hundred Creators into a decisive battle against it. In the end, only these thirty-six remained.

"Bullying" is a matter of relative strength. The three of them were not even certain they could defeat the Demonic Manifestation of the Heavenly Dao.

Boom!

The Demonic Manifestation of the Heavenly Dao clashed with the Great Sage Kunpeng. The Great Sage drew upon the source of Chaos; his left hand was "Hun," representing ultimate chaos, where various forces tangled and interwove beneath his fist. His right hand was "Tun," representing ultimate void, where all things would be consigned to nothingness beneath his palm.

With a fist in his left and a palm in his right, he charged at the Demonic Manifestation. His palm wind tore through the Sea of Chaos, and his fist-force rent the eternal skies.

The Demonic Manifestation merely raised a single hand in response.

The collision was violent, sending ripples that churned the infinite Taiyin energy of the Chaos Sea into ten-thousand-layer waves. The Great Sage Kunpeng was sent flying by a single strike.

"You fools," the Demonic Manifestation sneered, thunder flashing from its mouth. "You can observe me, but I cannot observe you?"

"Your weaknesses and flaws are laid bare before me." Its black hair billowed like three thousand galaxies. "Even when ganging up on me, you are not qualified!"

The Demonic Manifestation extended a finger. Instantly, an infinite, swirling light of the Primal Beginning condensed under its fingertip into a cloud-cataract spanning thirty thousand miles, snaking toward the Great Sage Kunpeng.

The moment the Great Sage was struck away, the Primordial God King launched his attack.

His muscles bulged, and the terrifying power within his flesh condensed into a physical manifestation: a crimson true dragon. The aura it emitted made the void tremble and all living beings shiver; even the Inner-View Qi Refiners hundreds of thousands of miles away were forced to their knees.

He gripped his massive Flowering Axe, and the crimson dragon dove directly into it, causing a majestic surge of power to erupt.

Simultaneously, the Dragon God charged at the Demonic Manifestation. His divine treasure was a long spear, blue as washed silk and shimmering with azure light. Held in his hand, it felt as though he had seized all the waters of the Nine Heavens, Ten Earths, and the Sea of Chaos itself.

The two deities converged on the Demonic Manifestation from left and right.

The Demonic Manifestation shifted, transforming into a form with three heads and six arms, wielding different treasures: the Cloud-Swallowing Sword Pellet, the Four Symbols Divine Banner, a bone banner, and the Golden Elixir Dao Tree. It manipulated these four treasures to block the two Creators.

The Cloud-Swallowing Sword Pellet and the Four Symbols Divine Banner were chosen by the Demonic Manifestation for their unique properties, while it viewed Xu Zhong’s other treasures as mere dross.

The Cloud-Swallowing Sword erupted with divine light, meeting the Flowering Axe. In an instant, the thousand-year-old peach wood core of the sword began to fracture, and its Geng-metal and Xin-metal embryo neared disintegration.

The Four Symbols Divine Banner absorbed the power of the Demonic Manifestation, conjuring the Four Symbols of the Heavens to summon the Four Divine Beasts. These beasts appeared not as mere projections, but as entities; they occupied the four corners, suppressing the power of the Flowering Axe.

At that moment, the Demonic Manifestation struck downward with a palm.

Heaven and earth collapsed instantly; the overwhelming force caused the entire Chaos Sea to shake.

The Primordial God King exhaled, spitting out the Embryo of Taiyi to block the blow.

Innate deities control the four Gates of Xuanpin and understand the Great Dao, but they cannot articulate its mysteries. Creators, however, aside from controlling the gates, also command the power of the "Primordial." The Embryo of Taiyi symbolizes the state before the heavens and earth were separated, rendering it indestructible.

After blocking the strike, the Primordial God King utilized a Daoist technique to conceal his form within the fabric of the universe, making himself imperceptible and unobservable.

The Demonic Manifestation prepared to unleash its ocular arts, but the Great Sage Kunpeng was already upon it.

The divine light erupting from his hands pierced the heavens, shattering the earth and causing rivers to flow backward.

The Demonic Manifestation frowned, exhaling a gale of Chaotic Destruction that dispersed the chaos unleashed by the Great Sage, restoring the mountains and rivers to their places.

But the Great Sage was faster, throwing another punch immediately. He was using speed to break all techniques.

The Dragon God followed suit. They fought like madmen, howling, their movements growing faster and faster.

"As long as we are faster than your ability to think or even react, you will be beaten to death!" the Dragon God’s eyes burned. "This body of yours hasn't even molded a soul—how fast can your reaction speed be?"

The Demonic Manifestation smiled. The Dragon God was right.

Its power came from Xu Zhong’s mental strength. His heart harbored the power of the Demonic Manifestation, which could be fully mastered the moment it awoke. However, control of the body relied on the soul and the Indestructible Spiritual Light. Xu Zhong’s soul was fragile, and his Indestructible Spiritual Light was weak. His control over the body was not strong—in a divine war, it could even be considered weak.

Thus, the Demonic Manifestation’s speed of thought and reaction was far inferior to that of the three Creators. This was the flaw it had exposed in such a short time.

"Die!" the Dragon God roared, thrusting his spear, releasing ten thousand feet of cold light. Space rippled like a mirror, spreading outward from the point of impact.

The entire Chaos Sea boiled. This strike was terrifying, aimed directly at Xu Zhong’s Niwan Palace. If Xu Zhong were killed, his inner demon would dissipate, and the Demonic Manifestation would vanish along with it.

This was the second flaw.

The Great Sage Kunpeng stomped on the earth, drawing upon countless stars; chaotic energy filled the realm. In an instant, ten thousand stars fell from the sky—a scene of total annihilation. Each meteor was actually a punch he had thrown.

The Demonic Manifestation’s eyes were filled with cold, intense indifference. The Reincarnation Cave-Heaven behind it swelled to an immense size, separating heaven from earth, cutting off the clouds above and the earth’s foundations below, as the Thirty-Three Layers of Heaven condensed behind its head.

It stood outside the Thirty-Three Layers, transcending all existence.

In that moment, the Thirty-Three Layers of Heaven melted into its Dao Tree Golden Elixir. Its technique was vast and majestic, the blade light it swung shattering the falling meteors into streaks of light that pelted the ground.

But those were no streaks of light; they were clearly the blood of the Great Sage Kunpeng. His arm had been severed again by the Demonic Manifestation. Yet this time, he had no chance to cut it off; the limb exploded into a spray of blood. Had he not used the power of Creation to suppress the destructive force, half of his body would have been reduced to gore.

At the same time, the Dragon God’s spear pressed against the hollow of the Demonic Manifestation’s throat.

The spear-light triggered ripples, causing mountains and seas to collapse, everything to perish. But the Demonic Manifestation was no ordinary foe. While its soul was not strong, its physical body was incomparably resilient. The spear tip pierced only the flesh, coming to a halt against the bone.

The power erupting from the spear shattered the secret reservoirs of its body, yet the next moment, they regrew.

*Whoosh!*

The Demonic Manifestation exhaled the Light of the Primal Beginning, severing the Dragon God’s spear. Instantly, the waters of the entire world were affected, reversing their currents and coming to a standstill.

The Dragon God seized the opportunity to lock the Demonic Manifestation’s arms, using a Daoist technique to force its three heads and six arms to retract.

The Demonic Manifestation attempted to strike back, but the Great Sage Kunpeng immediately utilized a grappling technique to pin its left side.

For a fleeting moment, it could not move. And that moment was stretched infinitely by the Epoch Divine Array.

"Are you trying to create an opportunity for him?" the Heavenly Dao incarnation spoke. It struggled, trying to break free from the suppression. But the others had clearly planned this for a long time; otherwise, the presence of the Epoch Divine Array could not be explained.

At this moment, the Primordial God King, who had been hidden from the incarnation, charged out from the void. The Flowering Axe in his hand was imbued with the aura of the Great Dao, surging with the power to move mountains and seas, manifesting a river of stars.

It was the River of Time.

The Heavenly Dao naturally had no past, present, or future. It existed eternally, born with heaven and earth. This River of Time was clearly directed at Xu Zhong.

Reflected upon the River of Time were Xu Zhong’s past, present, and future. However, his three incarnations were hazy, their faces shifting constantly—one moment looking like Xu Zhong, the next like Situ Nan.

"Oh?" The Heavenly Dao incarnation sensed this change and was somewhat surprised.

But clearly, the Primordial God King and the others did not notice. To these deities, all humans looked much the same. Even if they had noticed, they would likely have assumed the Demonic Manifestation was playing tricks to deceive their senses.

Thus, the Heavenly Dao incarnation made a small move, pinning Situ Nan to the River of Time and reflecting his three incarnations there, while Xu Zhong vanished without a trace.

The next moment, the Primordial God King struck.

His axe-light spanned eight hundred years, cutting through the past from the present, severing Situ Nan’s past incarnation.

Deep within the Mingzhao, Situ Nan was exploring a hidden cavern for opportunities, congratulating himself on his scheme to make Xu Zhong his scapegoat. Suddenly, a brilliant axe-light arrived from the past, severing his past incarnation before moving to strike his future self.

"How can this be?" The Primordial God King witnessed the past incarnation being killed in the River of Time, but his perspective suddenly shifted to the Mingzhao, where he saw Situ Nan.

He realized he had struck the wrong person.

But the axe would not stop. It passed through his present self, severed his future incarnation, and circled back to kill his present self.

Situ Nan trembled, his hair standing on end. If this axe fell, he would be completely erased from the world.

However, the axe stopped.

For at that moment, the Demonic Manifestation had broken free from the Creators, sending the Primordial God King flying with a single slap. Its gaze pierced the infinite space, landing on Situ Nan. Sensing the inexplicable anger rising from Xu Zhong’s heart, it could not help but mutter, "Enemies are best slain with one's own hands."

The three Creators were sent flying. The Demonic Manifestation pursued, intending to finish them off.

But then, the White Jade Capital drifted down from the sky, bearing a bronze coffin. Behind the White Jade Capital were the Primordial Supreme Emperor, Bai Ze, and other newly ascended Creators.

They looked down at the miserable state of the Dragon God and the others. The Golden Crow God sneered, "It seems you truly are old, rotted, and decayed. Without the Ancestor of Thunder, you cannot even handle the Heavenly Dao."