Aura surged across the ancient cosmos, while Taixu imprisoned the ancient demon.
One sword shattered the firmament, the array broke and mercy was no more.
"Hahaha... brat, to push this old man to this point, you have truly earned a place among the supreme powerhouses."
The demon ancestor burst into maniacal laughter.
"However, the foundation of our demon race is not something a little beast like you can fathom!"
With that, the old man swiftly formed a series of bizarre hand seals.
"Hum—"
A terrifying soul banner flew out, instantly swelling to hundreds of feet in size as it soared above the demon encampment.
The old man wore a cruel smile and shouted with a tremor: "Rise, blood sacrifice, and welcome the descent of our ancestral war god."
Following the demon ancestor's cry, an intricate array disk slowly rose from within the demon camp.
As the array disk spun, the vital energy of one demon powerhouse after another rapidly withered, and those majestic streams of blood Qi surged toward the soul banner.
"Madman, a thorough madman, actually sacrificing the lives of his own demon kin just to activate an array. Truly merciless."
Qin Xingchen glared coldly at the demon ancestor and spoke with indignation.
Yet the old man offered no response, only quickening the seals forming in his hands.
With the old man's movements, the fluttering soul banner in the sky grew increasingly terrifying in momentum.
The world below began to tremble violently under the banner's oppressive might. In an instant, the earth shook and the mountains quaked, rivers and peaks shattering into pieces.
Black cloud after black cloud began to gather in the sky. As the soul banner rippled, a destructive aura shot outward, converging into a blood-red beam of light that soared straight up, piercing deep into the cosmos.
Wherever this eerie beam of light passed, giant stars instantly shattered, transforming into black holes.
Deep within the cosmos, amidst this perennially dark stellar region, a blood-red giant pupil slowly opened.
Faintly, a terrifying coercion spread outward. From the surrounding silent darkness came a series of trembling, low whimpers.
Clearly, the creatures imprisoned here held extreme terror toward the owner of this eye.
"Hum—"
Suddenly, a red beam of light guided the way, piercing through layers of dark fog to reach this pitch-black stellar domain.
A distant, profound voice echoed from within the dark fog: "Since my descendants seek it, this ancestor naturally cannot stand idly by. Yet this is the purgatory of gods and demons; though we cannot leave this place, I can split off a sliver of divine sense to assist you all!"
From the dark fog came a series of tremendous clanking sounds, resembling heavy chains dragging across the ground.
A flash of red light emerged, plunging into the beam of light and disappearing.
The beam of light then began to slowly retract.
Back in the Hengjie Star Domain, the glow of the grand array grew increasingly brilliant.
More than half of the demon youths had been devoured until nothing remained but skeletons. When a gentle breeze blew, the skeletons turned to fine dust and dissipated into the heaven and earth, while wailing spirits vanished into the soul banner. A terrifying, gloomy aura permeated the sky.
"This looks like some sort of blood sacrifice array! Could they be summoning something extraordinary? It seems I cannot give them too much time to cast this spell."
Thinking this, Qin Xingchen no longer hesitated, his gaze hardening. The three swords rapidly merged, transforming into a silver-gray longsword.
"Three-Life Sword Art, Demon-Subduing Technique."
The Three-Life Sword shimmered with brilliant light, and an ocean-vast momentum spread outward.
Amidst misty dreams and shifting smoke, the phantom of a heavenly deity materialized in the void, bearing dual horns upon its head, clad in golden armor, its exposed skin glowing with an eerie silver-gray hue.
Upon its arms, muscles bulged like coiling dragons, as if terrifying power lay dormant within.
It wielded a black spear, exuding an overwhelming momentum capable of standing against ten thousand foes alone.
"Go."
Qin Xingchen let out a fierce shout, pointing his sword forward.
As if guided, the heavenly deity phantom lunged fiercely toward the grand array.
Seeing this, the old man's expression turned frigid, and he slashed a palm toward the demon god phantom.
A spiritual energy handprint arrived in an instant, striking the demon god phantom squarely.
"Boom!"
An explosion rang out, black fog billowed, and dust filled the sky.
"All flash and no substance, yet so easily broken."
Yet before the old man could finish his laugh, a dark figure soared out from the smoke and mist.
With a flash, the figure lunged toward the grand array once more.
"Not good, no wonder this brat was acting so unfazed."
Yet in the split second the old man was stunned, the heavenly deity phantom had already reached the edge of the grand array.
It thrust its spear fiercely forward into the array.
With a crisp rip, a tear was pierced into the array, and wisps of red blood Qi leaked outward from within.
The heavenly deity phantom swept its spear horizontally once more, and a fissure nearly tens of feet wide appeared upon the array.
Seeing this, the old man was struck dumb. This was an array formed by the combined efforts of numerous demon powerhouses, bolstered by the power of the soul banner!
And it was pried open with a single thrust? Did it have to be this absurd?
In truth, this was only natural; the vast majority of the array's power was being used to forge the void passageway, leaving the power maintaining the array itself negligible.
"Explode—"
A lingering voice echoed as the heavenly deity phantom contracted its form and then detonated violently.
A massive explosive force erupted from the breach, and the terrifying turbulent current of primordial Qi continuously tore at the array's structure.
Then came a thunderous roar. The array collapsed entirely. The guiding beam of light slowly retreated deep into the cosmos until it vanished completely.
Qin Xingchen let out a secret sigh of relief, thinking it a close call—had the summoning succeeded, who knew what kind of terrifying entity might have been called forth.
Watching this scene, the old man slumped in defeat, letting out a roar of frustration and reluctance.
"How could this be? It was so close to succeeding—could it be that this old man is truly destined to perish here today?"
"Old man, tell me, why must you all be like this? If your granddaughter hadn't come to provoke me in the first place, how could I have beaten her into grievous injuries? Instead of reflecting on your mistakes and seeking retribution, you plotted to take our lives. Everything happening now is nothing less than bringing trouble upon yourselves."
A fierce glint flashed in the old man's eyes as he spoke viciously: "Little beast, my granddaughter is so ravishing and peerlessly radiant, how is she unworthy of you? Not only did you fail to cherish her, but you beat her into heavy injuries, nearly destroying her soul and body. I wish I could tear you limb from limb."
"Enough, what's done is done, there is no need for further words. Since ancient times, history has been written by the victors; everyone has their own dao and logic, and we merely stand on different sides. From different perspectives, our encounters and actions differ entirely."
"Very well, say no more. I no longer have the strength to fight, do as you will with me. But I must tell you a secret—guess how I found this place."
The old man's lips curled into a triumphant, sneering smile.
Qin Xingchen was momentarily stunned. He had been pondering this very question; he had long since laid down creation array patterns across this realm. There wasn't even a single Creation-realm powerhouse in this stellar region, so how had they found him?
Suddenly, a possibility crossed Qin Xingchen's mind: "Could it be her?"
"Yes, yes, you guessed right. For the sake of that useless younger brother of hers, she didn't hesitate to betray you. For all your talent as a peerless hero, you still lost to a good-for-nothing. Pitiful, truly lamentable."
A smile bloomed on the old man's face. The thought of Qin Xingchen's misfortune brought him endless joy.
"I understand the cause and effect of this matter. It is only human nature, so why should I be angry?"
Though a trace of disappointment lingered in the depths of Qin Xingchen's heart, he could still understand Yanran's actions.
"Hahahaha, you're nothing more than a simp, simping all the way until you have nothing left."
The old man laughed more and more hysterically, to the point of spouting nonsense.
Qin Xingchen wore a dark expression. What on earth? This old man must have lost his mind. Starting random personal attacks out of nowhere.
"Heh, there are many things an old fossil like you could never comprehend. But I do feel rather sorry for your granddaughter. Considering everything you've said, I think she is quite suited for the job, wouldn't you say?"
Hearing these words, the demon ancestor flew into a rage instantly.
"Little beast, you are unworthy to speak her name, nor do you have the qualification."
"I am right here, life and death are yours to decide; blame only this old man for his inferior skills."
"Very well, it is time for this to end."
With those words, Qin Xingchen struck out with a final sword toward the old man. The sword Qi, laden with the power of the stars, slashed ferociously toward him.
Watching the rapidly approaching sword Qi, the old man felt no strength left to resist. Though his heart brimmed with reluctance, not a shred of regret showed upon his face.