"You can save these people in front of you, but what about the others?"
The Demon God chuckled coldly, mocking.
In an instant, He shot up to a higher position, into the vast, boundless expanse, with a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.
The clouds above seemed to be churned by turbulent currents, with demonic energy swirling and traversing. He twisted his neck, his expression a mix of pain and ecstasy, and flung his arms towards the sky with a roaring cry.
"Aooaah—"
A sharp, piercing shriek reverberated through the clouds. Centered on Him, the surroundings were suddenly unobstructed, laid bare for all to see.
As if his mouth and nose were pierced by beams of light, the wind and clouds shifted dramatically, and the sky and the deep darkness around began to gradually collapse.
Completely fragmented, "Eternal Night" was finally shattered at this moment. The darkness that had been pulled up as a protective shield before their eyes also ended.
*Pat-a-tat—*
Scale-like light mirrors penetrated the shattered darkness, dense as arrows, one beam after another, cluster after cluster—
When the long-lost dawn once again poured into everyone's eyes, strangely, no one reacted.
They were stunned and dazed.
Raising their hands to shield their eyes from the harsh light, they found that what their hands grasped was not joy or warmth, but a heavy gloom and darkness that welled up in their hearts, causing them to shiver with cold.
Someone shook their head, their voice hoarse, and murmured softly, "Broken... destroyed... it's all over..."
*Pfft—*
The冥王 (Ming Wang) emblem on Gu Junshi's forehead underwent a mutation. Centered on the emblem, blood-red threads spread across her face like mottled spiderwebs.
Gigantic waves churned within the depths of her pupils. She spat out a mouthful of blood, her aura becoming disheveled and chaotic.
Steadying herself, she reached up and tentatively pressed the piercing pain on her forehead. A searing heat instantly spread from her fingertips to her entire arm.
She withdrew her hand, tilted her head to look at the sky, her expression like ice that had not melted for millennia, unyielding and unsubmissive.
Far above in the sky, she was slightly hunched over. the sharp wind whipped her hair wildly, like a hard sword being bent under immense pressure.
She slightly raised her face, facing the cold white light, while a faint, lingering black mist coiled around her.
Gu Er had been watching Gu Junshi all along. Seeing that she had vomited blood after "Eternal Night" was broken, his throat tightened, and he turned to look anxiously at Cheng Hong.
"What's going on? What happened to her?"
Cheng Hong panted, his fair sleeves brushing against his robes as he helped up the dying abbot of Mohe Zen Monastery.
The old abbot was one of the great powers who had previously blocked the death tribulation for everyone. His eyes were now tightly closed in pain, his lips pale, and he was unable to move.
Cheng Hong knew that after this battle, the old abbot's time was likely limited, so he could not abandon him.
He also looked up at Gu Junshi, his delicate, jade-like jaw tightening resolutely, his entire body's muscles subconsciously in a state of alert.
"Eternal Night was woven with her divine consciousness. The Demon God shattered it, which has already severely wounded her." His words trembled as he struggled to utter them.
Gu Er was shocked. He clenched his fists, his expression complex, and stammered, "She... she can't possibly defeat the Demon God?"
This question, filled with confusion and worry, struck a heavy blow in everyone's hearts.
Their faces changed drastically, their hearts sinking, and panic was an insufficient word to describe their state of mind.
If even Gu Junshi could not win, who else in this world would save them?
The immortals or gods from the upper realm?
If they were truly going to come, they should have appeared long ago. Why was it that until now, it was a woman who had achieved enlightenment by killing her husband who was desperately holding this world together?
Beside them, Yan Tianjiao pulled off a hair tie from his head and re-tied his scattered, frost-covered hair at the top. A few stray strands of hair hung messily on his cheeks. His face was as white as cold frost, and his lips were as red as flames.
He said with a look of utter desolation and mockery, "The Demon God, whom even the Heavenly Dao could not deal with, why do you think Gu Junshi can? Should we just do nothing, placing all our hopes on one person? And why should she bear all our hopes on her frail, delicate shoulders?"
Lu Ziyin scratched his face a few times and crouched down, holding his head in despair, "She clearly made so many preparations, and there was a glimmer of hope..."
"Don't forget the saying: in the face of absolute strength, all schemes are futile," Venerable Southern Yuan walked over, having overheard their conversation, and sighed.
True Man Huang Shou clapped his fists and added with extreme disappointment, "Futile, everything is futile."
"Where do your allegiances lie? You don't even wish Gu Junshi well, and you're praising that demon, the Demon God?" Ru Lan yelled angrily at Yan Tianjiao and the others.
Just as they were about to say more, the "Heaven Devourer" above began to wail in agony, unable to withstand the excessive demonic energy it was swallowing. Its cries were incessant, making one's scalp tingle.
Soon, its smooth, sleek body began to crack. Fissures spread from its tail fin to its abdominal cavity. It thrashed its colossal body violently, churning the heavens and earth.
Even the demons and monsters fighting in the distance were affected. They were blown away and fell by the shockwaves. Then, a sharp infant's cry rang out, its sound piercingly mournful, startling everyone.
"That's Gu Junshi's mount, isn't it? What's wrong with it?"
Like a dying cry, every howl made one's heart clench.
"Look!"
At this sight, the Heaven Devourer suddenly plunged headfirst into the demon horde. Its body exploded completely. After the heavens and earth were bleached white and deafened, a ringing silence ensued.
They stared blankly at the sky, their expressions blank, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
"It... it did that to save us..."
"I didn't expect..."
Gu Junshi stood motionless, a fixture in place. She watched it all unfold. Seeing that the Heaven Devourer knew it couldn't survive, it selflessly threw itself forward, taking those demons with it in a fearless sacrifice.
It understood her heart.
Her lips were pressed together tightly into a straight line.
"Heaven Devourer..."
She reached out her hand, and soon a luminous pearl, flowing with azure waves, flew into her palm.
It still pulsed with life.
She clenched it tightly.
"This is only the beginning. Gu Junshi, how many death traps can you block for them?" The Demon God laughed maniacally, but in the next instant, He faltered for a moment, His expression turning stern and calm, His eyes fixed deeply on her. "These people are not worth you doing this. Why bother?"
Gu Junshi retracted the life pearl, her cold eyes glancing at him, and she curled her lips. "He wants to kill, I want to save. The process is merely a game of chess between the Demon God and me, unrelated to others."
"Is it truly unrelated?" the Ghost Infant retorted.
"He kills one person and gains a portion of strength. I save one person and gain a portion of merit..." Her gaze swept down, encompassing all the living beings of Fengdu and the entire Twenty-Eight Heavens.
"It's just a matter of one waxing and the other waning."
The Demon God's expression changed again. He shook His robe, which rippled with blood-red waves, and condescendingly looked down at her with His pervasive, wicked gaze. "Do you still think you are playing a game of chess with Us? Hehehehahaha... Gu Junshi, do you think—are you worthy?"
The three words fell heavily, and a stream of black energy, flashing with violent power, shot straight towards Gu Junshi's location.
She didn't even have time to react before she was hit directly, plummeting rapidly from the sky, and then crashing fiercely onto the ground.
*Boom—*
The earth trembled and shook, dust billowed, and the ground, subjected to immense impact, instantly formed a sunken crater with a diameter of one li.
The shockwave stirred up a thousand feet of smoke and dust, making it impossible for people to discern the situation within. They all cried out in shock.
"Gu Junshi—"
"Sister—"
However, the Demon God's attack offered no respite. The sky above flashed with red light again, like blood-red clouds, and a column of black energy relentlessly and repeatedly struck the crater, *boom, boom, boom, boom, boom*—one after another, gouging it until it was unfathomably deep.
Gu Er, Tan Ya, and the Human Emperor could no longer bear it and attempted to charge forward, but they were blocked by a "ghost wall."
"Do you want to die?!"
A thunderous beast roar sounded from above their heads.
Large swathes of shadow fell. Gu Junshi's ghost monster army, which had appeared at some unknown time, now completely surrounded them, like the most solid armor, densely packed.
A snake tail thicker than a small mountain whipped the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
"Don't cause trouble for Our King!"
"I fear you'll be reduced to dust by the Demon God's demonic energy impact before you can even get close, you group of suicidal human cultivators, *tsk*."
The torrent of scolding rained down on them. They retreated in shock, the muscles in their faces twitching and trembling, leaving them speechless for the moment.
Cheng Hong remained relatively calm, knowing that Gu Junshi would not fail so easily.
"The mortal world mourns, heaven and earth weep. As beings of this realm, even if we cannot resist the Demon God's attack, what... what can we do for her?" Cheng Hong's clear eyes slightly narrowed as he asked earnestly.
A deep, peculiar voice answered him, "What can you mortals do? Do nothing. Pray with your hearts. Do you believe you can worship her as a god?"
For a moment, no one knew how to respond.
Indeed, Gu Junshi was saving this small world and their lives. However, everyone standing there had their own beliefs and convictions.
They had once regarded her as a scourge, a person of malicious intent. Her strength was indeed admirable and made them look up to her with unattainable awe, but they did not genuinely believe she was someone worthy of their heartfelt submission.
Like a warlord forged in chaotic times, she was powerful and dominant, able to suppress all dissenting voices, but she could not, like a sage ruler, gain the recognition and support of those who upheld morality and wise scholars.
Cheng Hong was stunned for a moment. After a long pause, his expression seemed to vanish as he softly said, "This humble monk understands."
While the others were blocked and had lost their direction, Gu Er could not afford to wait any longer. He rushed forward, intending to break through the encirclement.
"Get out of my way, I'm going over there!" he said coldly.
"Do you really intend to go?"
Upon hearing this, the Green Ox Ghost turned its massive ox head. It gazed down from above at the figure below, smaller than its own toe.