Chapter Fifteen: Only One May Remain—Immortal or Demon

"Hahahahaha, such baleful energy, so much baleful energy!"

The man in black spread his arms wide, laughing recklessly as the murderous aura from billions of miles around converged upon him. Some came from the dead of the Three Tribes, but far more originated from the countless innocent beings who had perished, caught in the crossfire of the great war.

"Who are you?" asked the Ancestral Dragon.

At the same time, the Primordial Phoenix and the First Qilin watched the black-clad stranger warily. They had always believed themselves to be the mightiest beings in all of the Primordial World, yet now, faced with this terrifying new figure, how could they not be astonished?

"Me?" The man in black glanced at the three, struggling to stand, a contemptuous smile playing on his lips. "I am Rahu, and I am about to become the Patriarch of Demons!"

"Patriarch of Demons?" The members of the Three Tribes exchanged confused glances, clearly having never heard the title before.

"How pitiful," Rahu tutted, shaking his head. "But I must thank you. If not for you, how could I have acquired so much baleful energy?"

"It's you!"

The Ancestral Dragon was the first to react, and the Primordial Phoenix and First Qilin quickly followed, their eyes blazing as they fixed Rahu with their gaze.

"You’ve finally realized, but it’s far too late."

Rahu gave a flippant grin before raising his head to the heavens. Endless baleful energy gathered, and a sea of blood boiled beneath his feet.

"Heaven above, hear me: I, Rahu, today draw upon boundless baleful energy to prove the path of Demons, to inaugurate a golden age of demons, and may all beings in the Primordial World cultivate the demonic way!"

Thunder rumbled.

A will descended from the void. Rahu received this will, a slight frown crossing his face.

"Only one of Demon and Immortal may exist? Hmph, just as I thought..."

His expression grew solemn. With a flick of his spear, he mounted the Twelve-Petaled Black Lotus of Destruction and ascended high into the sky, roaring, "Hongjun, are you not coming out yet?"

His voice surged forth, imbued with vast magical power, echoing thunderously throughout the Primordial World.

Millions of miles away.

Li Tian heard the voice and glanced in that direction, murmuring, "Rahu? So it’s about to begin..."

Nuwa’s face was ashen. "Who is that?"

The moment she heard the voice, she seemed to behold an endless sea of corpses and blood rising, wails unceasing, and a suffocating killing intent washing over her.

Fuxi’s expression was grave. "This is no place for us to linger. Let’s retreat further away!"

...

Meanwhile, as Rahu’s words faded, a brilliant immortal radiance quietly appeared in the distant sky. Accompanied by ethereal music, an old man in simple robes drifted gracefully into view.

The Ancestral Dragon and the others followed the enchanting music with their eyes and were surprised. Such mighty presence—this must be another formidable figure. May he defeat that demon!

"Rahu, you incited the war among the Three Tribes for your own selfish desires, plunging the Primordial World into endless suffering. Are you aware of your crimes?"

Hongjun stood upon the Creation Jade Disc, Taiji Diagram in his left hand, the Pangu Banner in his right, auspicious clouds above his head, his entire being surrounded by infinite immortal light. He faced Rahu, his expression calm and severe.

"Crimes?" Rahu smiled oddly. "I bear not a trace of karmic burden—what crime is there?"

Hongjun’s face remained impassive as he turned to the Ancestral Dragon, Primordial Phoenix, and First Qilin, speaking gently, "Honored friends, the baleful energy arose from the strife among your three tribes. Will you now repay this karma, dispelling the murderous aura, and deny further strength to this demon?"

Rahu sneered, mocking, "Hongjun, how cunning you are—trying to force them with righteousness. Let’s see if they’re willing to pay the price!"

Under the gaze of both Hongjun and Rahu, the Ancestral Dragon, Primordial Phoenix, and First Qilin fell silent. Yet, soon they raised their heads, eyes resolute.

"Heaven above: I, the Ancestral Dragon, am deeply culpable. I vow to emulate Great Pangu and transform myself into the Sea’s Eye, ensuring the oceans never dry, and from henceforth, the Dragon Tribe shall command the clouds and rain in service of Heaven, to atone for our sins!"

"Heaven above: I, the Primordial Phoenix, am deeply culpable. I vow to emulate Great Pangu and become the Undying Volcano. From this day, the Phoenix Tribe shall not emerge save for great calamity, and wherever we pass, treasures will remain!"

"Heaven above: I, the First Qilin, am deeply culpable. I vow to emulate Great Pangu and become the Earth’s Veins. From now on, the Qilin Tribe shall forever guard the Primordial World’s land, bringing forth auspicious light, and wherever there is a Qilin, there shall be good fortune!"

As their words fell, the heavenly order responded, bestowing boundless merit. Half fell upon the remnants of the Three Tribes, offsetting their karmic debts, while the remaining ninety-five percent scattered across the vast land, dissolving the murderous aura.

In an instant, the entire Primordial World was cleansed. The Ancestral Dragon, Primordial Phoenix, and First Qilin transformed into blue, red, and yellow rays of light, becoming the Sea’s Eye, the Undying Volcano, and the Earth’s Vein, respectively. Moved by the heavenly order, they were placed in different regions, and the surviving members of the Three Tribes were relocated away from the battlefield.

"I didn’t expect they’d actually do it!" Even Rahu was stunned, but soon he laughed heartily again.

"But Hongjun, do you think this alone can defeat me? Without the murderous aura as my power source, I can’t unleash the full might of the Immortal Execution Sword Array, but with my peak quasi-saint power, unless four peak quasi-saints attack together, none can break the formation!"

His expression hardened. With a wave of his black robe, four pitch-black, murderous swords appeared and, aided by the formation diagram, rapidly formed a great array that enveloped Hongjun. Yet Hongjun made no move to evade, his face expressionless as the array swallowed him whole.

"You don’t even bother to dodge? Hongjun, are you really so confident?"

Rahu snorted coldly, then entered the array himself to take command.

But almost immediately, Rahu’s expression changed. Hongjun stood calmly within the Immortal Execution Sword Array. Above his head appeared three blossoming flowers, from each of which emerged a figure resembling Hongjun—each a peak quasi-saint. These were Hongjun’s Three Corpses!

Rahu panicked, abandoning control of the array and raising the Godslayer Spear to strike at one of Hongjun’s clones. But Hongjun was prepared; he immediately summoned the Taiji Diagram and the Creation Jade Disc to block. Rahu was repelled, and Hongjun and his three clones seized the chance to rush to the four foundation points of the Sword Array.

Moments later, with a series of thunderous booms, the Immortal Execution Sword Array was thoroughly destroyed. Rahu, unwilling to accept defeat, roared, "No!!!"

Hongjun and his three clones gazed at him impassively. "Rahu, your sins are grave. End yourself."

Rahu’s face was shadowed. With the Sword Array broken, he knew he had lost, and the demonic path would decline from that day forth. Yet he was not resigned.

"Hongjun, do you truly think you’ve won? No! As long as I, Rahu, exist, the demonic way will not perish. The day your immortal way wanes, my demonic way shall rise again!"

With a final furious cry, Rahu poured his entire being into the Twelve-Petaled Black Lotus of Destruction, wildly channeling his power, intending to self-detonate with the lotus.

"Not good!" For the first time, even Hongjun’s eternally calm face paled. He quickly retracted his Three Corpses, protected himself with the Taiji Diagram, and sped frantically into the distance.

With a deafening explosion, the whole Primordial World shuddered. The self-destruction engulfed billions of miles, and, together with the devastation from the previous war, nearly the entire western half of the world was destroyed. Save for a few remote corners, ninety-nine percent of the mountains, spiritual veins, and living beings vanished—thus began the future barrenness of the West.

By then, Hongjun had fled far enough to escape serious harm, though he was still affected, coughing lightly. Looking back at the ravaged land, he could not help but exclaim, "Rahu, how dare you?"