The Final Sacrifice

Original was dead. Killed, thrown into the Demon Well, leaving no trace in the Dead City. He who had been one of the most renowned half-ancestors in heaven and earth, who had presided over Kunlun with countless disciples and followers, who had been worshipped by the millions of ants he himself had scorned—in the end, this was his fate.

The colossal hand that had been gripping the Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge faced off briefly with the towering figure—the one suspected to be Suiren. Then it vanished from the sky, only to reappear directly above Xiao Chen’s head, striking like thunder.

Bang.

The Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge came crashing down, slamming Xiao Chen viciously toward the Demon Well. A force of annihilation tore at his form and spirit, nearly scattering both into nothingness. But at that moment, the Yellow-Clay Altar blazed with auspicious radiance, enfolding him in its embrace. The eight ancient lamps shone together, freezing the Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge in place and preserving his life.

In an instant, he felt the primal power of an Ancestral God—pure intuition. The divine force emanating from the Yellow-Clay Altar stabilized his crumbling form, and he swiftly fled the Demon Well.

The Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge struck again. But this time, the Burial Shroud rustled as the towering figure stepped forward, sealing the heavens and blocking the bridge once more.

Suddenly, a world-ending aura erupted from the far reaches of the cosmos. The vast fluctuations shook the mountains and rivers of the Nine Provinces.

The hand that held the Heaven-Reaching Death Bridge trembled, then tore through the sky and vanished toward the outer realms.

Distant battlefields beyond the heavens had changed; the hand was forced to retreat.

In the distance, Laozi, Xing Tian, Great Yu, Zhuang Zhou, and the others also sensed the anomaly beyond the firmament. They transformed into rainbows of light, trying to charge through the sky, but a supreme force sealed the heavens, blocking all paths. They could not break through.

They knew something terrible was about to happen beyond the sky, yet even half-ancestors were powerless—they could only watch tragedy unfold.

Dong.

The death knell tolled again. Tongtian Jiaozhu, still locked in battle, gave a bitter cry. His body split into four parts and five pieces, devoured alive by the Demon Well, vanishing in an instant.

The hundred-thousand-strong army in the Dead City roared at the heavens, their power surging even stronger.

The great illusory destruction came: the four illusory worlds collapsed utterly. Only the true world remained. As the death knell tolled, half-ancestor after half-ancestor fell. Everything was reaching its end.

But the ultimate extreme of illusion was eternal and undying. Fierce battle raged at the end of the heavens.

Everyone across the land felt a nameless grief, as though their closest kin were about to perish.

It was a call from the blood—the bond of a single lineage. Many already sensed that an Ancestral God was about to fall.

"Ah!"

In the Dead City, the towering shadow suspected to be Suiren let his long black hair fly wildly, as if mad. The Burial Shroud billowed with black mist. Green light shot from his eyes, tears glistening. He soared into the sky, but after rising a mere thousand zhang, his body began to dissolve and crumble. He crashed heavily back into the Dead City, gouging a man-shaped pit in the ground, and lay there for a long time before slowly rising.

He could not leave the Dead City!

Far in the distance, Xing Tian gave a great shout and charged toward the outer heavens, his twin blades dancing, his murderous aura shaking the Milky Way. He hacked at the sky with all his might. Laozi, Sun Wu, Zhuangzi, and the others also donned bronze armor and iron mail, wielding ancient weapons, joining forces to break the heavens.

But the sky was sealed; no one could shake it.

In the Dead City, something crystalline glimmered. What was it?

Bloodstained, crystalline flower petals.

Xiao Chen’s heart ached as tears streamed unbidden down his face.

He looked up at the sky. A tragedy seemed to be unfolding beyond the firmament, but he could do nothing to change it. He could only let heaven and earth’s great sorrow pour down upon the world.

All he could do now was hasten to quell the chaos in the Dead City. The hundred-thousand heroic spirits were in revolt, the Dead City was seething, and half-ancestors were falling one after another.

Xiao Chen walked through the void, a blood-dripping War Sword in hand. He caught up with the Demon Lord Satan. The Eight Aspect Worlds, the Eight Lamps, and the Eight Syllables trembled in unison. He raised his sword and struck—Satan’s head flew into the Demon Well. His headless body spurted a tower of blood, then split apart and followed into the abyss.

At that moment, the death knell tolled repeatedly. The Demon Well swallowed the illusory half-ancestors on its own.

"Shennong, why must you? What’s the point? With only a remnant soul left, how can you contend with me? Better to return, seal yourself as an ancestor, and keep your corner in peace." A vast voice came from beyond the heavens, echoing across the Nine Provinces, shaking the mountains and rivers.

Shennong’s voice was calm, without joy or anger. "Born as an Ancestral God, exerting my strength to the end, dying without regret."

"To die for ants—pitiable and lamentable." The icy voice shook the heavens.

"Our paths differ. I am already a dead body, no need to linger. There is no immortal man under heaven, and no immortal god. Whether a peerless genius or a common mortal, in the end, all is but a handful of yellow earth."

"Who said this is the great illusory destruction? Without destruction, no creation. If I do not perish, illusion does not perish. I will endure for eternity. Today, I will overturn heaven and earth!" The icy voice came from beyond the sky, shaking the Nine Provinces. "Shennong falls. From this day forward, there are no more Ancestral Gods under heaven; only ants remain. I will reorder the world and establish an earthly divine kingdom."

"For my people, I give my last strength." Shennong’s final words trailed off. A vast, sacred radiance exploded beyond the heavens, rushing toward the ultimate extreme of illusion.

Boom.

From distant stars, brilliant beams of light shot forth, and then petals rained across heaven and earth. The world wept together.

At that moment, the whole world grieved. Everyone looked up to the sky, and even those who did not know what had happened felt a sharp pain in their hearts from the ancestral blood flowing in their veins. Tears fell from every eye.

Flower petals withered across the sky, each crystalline petal stained with flecks of blood. The凄艳 red was horrifyingly vivid, stirring sorrow in every heart, filling every eye with hot tears.

Dead. An Ancestral God was dead. Shennong had vanished.

All the plants and trees of heaven and earth seemed to die of grief, withering and fading. The mournful air of autumn filled the human world.

Bloodstained falling petals drifted everywhere.

A shroud of grief, heartrending and soul-crushing.

The Ancestral God Shennong had fallen!

Suddenly, boundless rays of auspicious light shot skyward, bursting into thousands of brilliant colors. The omens of good fortune soared to the heavens!

At that moment, holy radiance flooded the world. What was this? The Ancestral God had just vanished, so why did auspicious light surge?

Rumble.

Thunder rolled through the nine heavens. All things welcomed spring. The withered flowers and trees suddenly sprouted new shoots, reborn.

Why was this?

Then all the half-ancestors understood.

An Ancestral God!

A new Ancestral God had been born in heaven and earth!

Serene celestial music filled the sky. Endless light shone in all directions. Auspicious colors poured down upon the world. The vigor of spring filled every heart.

It was a strangely beautiful scene: everyone smiled through tears, grief and joy mingled together, sorrow and peace coexisting.

A sacred sword, shimmering with brilliant light, slashed across the sky, breaking the sealed heavens.

"The Xuanyuan Sword!"

"It’s the Yellow Emperor!"

"The Yellow Emperor has become an Ancestral God!"

At that moment, all cultivators understood what had happened. Just as the Ancestral God Shennong fell, the Yellow Emperor had ascended to the realm of Ancestral God.

In ancient times, the Yellow Emperor had been infinitely close to the Ancestral God realm, but he fell in the war of that age, dying in the Dead City. Only one soul escaped. After endless years, he had finally achieved Ancestral God status.

He brought hope from despair. The Xuanyuan Sacred Sword cleaved the heavens, charging into the outer realms. Laozi, Xing Tian, Renwai Ren, Zhuang Zhou, and the others followed the sacred sword toward the beyond.

"Shennong chose his death well. He calculated that you would ascend at this moment."

"The illusory will shatter in the end."

"I shall endure for eternity. Today, I break and then establish, creating an eternal divine kingdom that none can stop."

Collision after collision shook the heavens. Each exchange produced a black hole. This was the peak battle of Ancestral Gods, beyond the comprehension of outsiders.

Above the Nine Provinces, bloodstained falling petals danced alongside boundless auspicious light. Great sorrow contained great hope.

At that moment, the Dead City fell silent. The half-ancestors inside had all perished. The hundred-thousand heroic spirits stood like fossilized statues throughout the city.

Xiao Chen felt utterly drained. A force from the Demon Well was calling to him—irresistible. His soul seemed ready to leave his body at any moment.

The Undying Ancient Lamps left him, flying above the Demon Well and slowly rotating. His petrified body gradually recovered, and the shattered Stone Man reappeared within him. He had lost his great power.

The Yellow-Clay Altar no longer protected him. Xiao Chen collapsed weakly onto the platform, so close to the Demon Well. After the great battle, having lost his precious artifacts, he seemed gravely wounded. He coughed up blood and laughed bitterly to himself. "Where are the gods in this world? There are only powerful people. It’s just that too many people want gods to exist, and so gods are born."

The battle beyond the heavens continued, but it was no longer his concern. He couldn’t help even if he wanted to.

Not far away in the sky, a spirit-like young girl in snow-white robes, with a nimble little beast beside her, flew over with a light laugh.

"Xiao Chen, you’ve survived safely. Everything is over." Qingqing smiled, her beautiful cheeks dimpling.

"Ya-ya ya-ya!" Keke blinked its big eyes, chattering happily.

They had witnessed everything. During the battle, they had tried several times to rush over, but seeing that Xiao Chen was safe, they held back their impulse.

Xiao Chen wiped the blood from his lips. He tried to smile but couldn’t. The Demon Well had locked onto him; at any moment, it could swallow him.

The hundred-thousand heroic spirits vanished without a sound. Heavy footsteps echoed through the empty streets of the Dead City, carrying far into the distance.

Suiren, his body shrouded in mist, walked step by step to the edge of the Demon Well. He raised a finger and pointed at the sky.

Qingqing’s body instantly burst with tens of millions of beams of light. She seemed to be talking in her sleep. "I am… condensed from the life radiance of a fallen Ancestral God. The Yellow-Clay Altar is formed from the flesh and blood of Ancestral Gods. Now only the life radiance is needed to water it, to completely seal the abyss."

"What are you saying?!" Xiao Chen’s body went cold.

"Ya-ya ya-ya!" Keke also cried out in alarm.

Suiren finally transmitted a spiritual fluctuation. "The abyss must be completely sealed. Otherwise, the calamity will know no bounds."

"I… understand." Qingqing’s spiritual awakening came at Suiren’s touch. In that instant, she understood everything. She showed no sorrow, only a hint of a smile. She murmured, "So… I am also this great."

"Impossible!" Xiao Chen cried out. "I don’t believe it!"

"I do believe it. I was born from the condensation of heaven and earth’s primal essence." Qingqing laughed lightly. "No need to be sad. If there is a next life, we will meet again." She was so free and easy, utterly unafraid.

"Her essence, your blood and soul—merge with the Yellow-Clay Altar to seal the abyss forever."

"My blood and soul?" Xiao Chen looked at Suiren.

"Yes. You were born in the ancient village of the Yellow River, and long ago you became one with the Yellow-Clay Altar."

Qingqing gave a sweet smile. "Then I won’t be lonely. We’ll die together."

"But… I don’t want you to die." Xiao Chen was deeply dejected.

"Ya-ya ya-ya!" Keke cried out in alarm. It could not bear to lose two loved ones in a single day.

"Let the Yellow-Clay Altar absorb her life radiance." Suiren’s spiritual fluctuation was low and heavy.

In the end, Xiao Chen guided the Yellow-Clay Altar as it slowly rose. The Eight Syllables of Origin vibrated in unison. In the sky, Qingqing gradually faded, turning into specks of light that flew and merged into the Yellow-Clay Altar.

The snow-white little beast wept loudly, its ya-ya sounds filled with sorrow. Suiren held it fast.

Qingqing was still smiling, the image freezing in that moment forever.

Xiao Chen felt tears rolling down his face. He had killed Qingqing with his own hands. Reality was so cruel and merciless. He murmured:

"A maid named Qingqing, pure and ethereal, Eyebrows like condensed charm, autumn waters holding poetic grace. Red lips soft and tender, jade teeth crystalline. Amidst the stirring of mortal dust, the War Sword clangs. Soul exhausted, scattered into void; I die without regret. Yet because Qingqing is lost, my heart is lonely and desolate. Ice skin harboring jade bones, rosy cheeks turned to yellow earth. Today I part with Qingqing; in a future life we shall meet again."

Bang.

Xiao Chen’s body of flesh and blood suddenly burst apart. Blood sprayed, and his corpse fell into the abyss.

Blood stained the Yellow-Clay Altar. After absorbing the life radiance, the Ancestral God’s flesh and blood shone brightly, then flew into the abyss.

Boom.

The Abyss of Evil was sealed forever.

"Ya-ya ya-ya!" The little beast wept, held tightly in Suiren’s arms.

But soon, Suiren crumbled into a pile of yellow sand. His life had long since ended in ancient times; he was sustained by nothing more than an indestructible will.