High above the void, Dijun and Donghuang Taiyi had already noticed Ling Wudao's actions, but simply chose not to intervene and stop him. After all, they did not dare to truly drive the Human Race to complete extinction; if they were to do so, Sage Nuwa and Sage Taiqing would undoubtedly come looking to settle accounts with them.
"Second brother, this human kid is no ordinary person. To instantly obliterate over a dozen Daluo Golden Immortals in the blink of an eye—his strength is at least at the late Daluo stage."
Donghuang Taiyi looked coldly down at Ling Wudao below. "Big brother, I actually cannot see through this kid's cultivation level at all. I'm afraid he is far beyond just the late Daluo stage."
"If we use his flesh and soul to forge the Witch-Slaying Sword, it would be infinitely better than slaughtering those ordinary humans."
"I will go down first to test this kid. I want to see just how strong his cultivation really is."
"Second brother, we don't have the time to play games with this kid. Sage Taiqing is currently holding Nuwa back, so we must quickly gather the flesh and souls of the Human Race."
"Big brother, I have no intention of playing with him! If we leave him unchecked, it will be extremely difficult for our army to harvest the flesh and souls of the humans."
With those words, Donghuang Taiyi instantly plunged downward.
Meanwhile, looking at Ling Wudao before them, the Three Ancestors all wore expressions of sheer astonishment. After all, they had been completely helpless just moments ago when facing over a dozen great demons at the Daluo Golden Immortal level, yet Ling Wudao had resolved the threat in an instant. How could they not be shocked?
Suirenshi spoke up, "Kid, when did you become so powerful? You instantly dealt with enemies that even the three of us couldn't handle."
"Human Ancestors, a century ago I chanced upon a mysterious expert and took him as my master, and thus I attained this ability."
"Also, Human Ancestors, please do not call me 'kid' from now on. I now have both a surname and a given name."
"My surname is Ling, and my given name is Wudao!"
Hearing this, the Three Ancestors wore expressions of wild joy. It was not because of Ling Wudao's name, but rather because of his extraordinary capability—he could instantly obliterate over a dozen Daluo great demons and even extract them safely from the center of the explosion. If he were to use that same divine ability to evacuate all the clansmen below, the flame of the Human Race would never be extinguished.
The Three Ancestors exchanged a glance, instantly reading each other's thoughts. Just as Suirenshi was about to ask Ling Wudao to evacuate the clansmen, a deep voice echoed in their ears.
"Kid, your strength is quite impressive. To make my Heavenly Court lose over a dozen Daluo Golden Immortals, you are worthy of the Emperor himself taking action against you."
Hearing this, Ling Wudao and the Three Ancestors all raised their heads to look up into the void. They had not expected to draw Donghuang Taiyi's attention so quickly; evacuating the clansmen now was likely impossible. The only remaining option was to stall Donghuang Taiyi for as long as possible while letting Wudao take the clansmen away.
With this thought, Suirenshi said, "Wudao, you have the ability to take our people away. The three of us will hold him off. Go quickly and lead the clansmen away from here. As long as you all survive, the Human Race will not perish."
With that, Suirenshi, Youchaozi, and Ziyishi flew up to stand before Donghuang Taiyi.
"Your opponents are us."
"Wudao, hurry and take the clansmen away."
Hearing Suirenshi's words, Ling Wudao instinctively clenched his fists. Indeed, he was the only one capable of leading the clansmen away right now; if he were to face Donghuang Taiyi instead, absolutely no one would be left to protect the remaining people. Frustrated as he was, he knew this was the only viable path.
Therefore, Ling Wudao flew toward the statues of Nuwa and Taiqing.
"Everyone, I will take you away from here. Gather together quickly."
However, the moment Ling Wudao finished speaking, only a tiny fraction of the people gathered together, while the vast majority remained kneeling in desperate prayer before the statues of Nuwa and Taiqing.
Seeing this, Ling Wudao's anger flared to its peak.
"What use is bowing to these two statues? The Monster Clan has invaded our Human Race, and if the Sages had not given their tacit consent, how would the demons ever dare to commit such an atrocity?"
"Furthermore, you have been kneeling and praying this entire time, yet why have the Sages not appeared? They are Sages of Heaven and Earth; the moment we pray, they perceive it. The fact that they still haven't shown up by now—doesn't that explain everything?"
Upon hearing Ling Wudao's words, all the kneeling clansmen fell into a sudden, stunned silence.
That's right! Divine Mother Nuwa and Sage Taiqing still hadn't appeared after all this time. The meaning was painfully obvious—they had been abandoned.
Realizing this, the kneeling clansmen stood up one after another. The blind devotion in their eyes had vanished entirely, replaced solely by a fierce determination to survive.
Seeing that his people had stopped worshiping the statues of Nuwa and Taiqing, Ling Wudao felt a slight sense of relief. If they had continued to kowtow, the Human Race would truly have been reduced to mere tools for the Sages to harvest Merit.
Just at that moment, the Three Ancestors plummeted from the void.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Three consecutive impacts rang out as the Three Ancestors crashed into the ground, instantly blasting three massive craters into the earth.
Witnessing this, Ling Wudao snapped his gaze back toward Donghuang Taiyi high above in the void. *Damn it! I might be able to handle Donghuang Taiyi alone, but if Dijun and the Ten Great Monster Saints join in, I won't stand a chance—not to mention the hundreds of millions of monster troops backing Dijun up.*
There was simply no resolving this predicament through normal means, unless a Sage or an entity above the Sage realm intervened.
*Wait... an entity above the Sage realm!*
He remembered he still had a Future Talisman on him. Right now, he had no choice but to gamble everything on that talisman, praying that his future self possessed strength that surpassed the Great Dao itself.
As long as his future self wielded power superior to the Great Dao, he could seize this exact moment to turn the tables and reverse his fate.
Meanwhile, outside the gates of Nuwa Palace, Nuwa stared coldly at Taiqing and Yuanshi Tianzun.
"Two Senior Brothers, you had better step aside, or else do not blame this Junior Sister for turning hostile."
Taiqing shook his head and said, "Junior Sister Nuwa, your cultivation is at the Three Heavens of Sagehood, but my cultivation is equal to yours, and with Junior Brother Yuanshi here as well, you stand no chance of winning."
"Junior Sister Nuwa, the Human Race is destined to suffer this calamity; you must not go against the great trend of the Heavenly Dao. If you insist on acting against the heavens, this poor priest and your senior brother will have no choice but to join forces and stop you."
Hearing the words of Yuanshi and Taiqing, Nuwa's suppressed fury erupted instantly. A vast, overwhelming aura surged from within her body, displaying her cultivation at the Three Heavens of Sagehood in its entirety.
"Very well! Since both Senior Brothers are determined to block me, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
With that, Nuwa directly summoned the Red Hydrangea and the Shanhe Sheji Tu, charging straight toward Taiqing and Yuanshi.
Far away on Jinao Island, Tongtian witnessed the horrific casualties suffered by the Human Race, and a trace of pity welled up within his heart. Although this was the great tribulation of the Human Race and a manifestation of the Heavenly Dao's grand design, all things in creation retained a glimmer of hope for survival, and the Human Race was no exception.
Recalling the founding tenets and doctrines he had established when he first created Jiejiao, Tongtian immediately stood up.