The copy has 0 error tolerance, and the last words on the ground are all wrong for me.

Chapter 485: Expected Attack

With the full power of the Ziwei Exorcising Array, spiritual energy overwhelmed demonic energy, dispelling all the demonic energy from the outer perimeter of the demon realm.

Under the impact of spiritual energy, the demons either hid deep within the demon realm or were exposed to the spiritual energy, falling into a weakened state.

The Demon-Slaying Army re-entered the Demon Realm. They could have avoided using Shuanghu City as a gateway, but they still teleported to Shuanghu City first.

The outer perimeter of the Demon Realm was shattered, becoming the main stage for cultivators. However, this time, the Demon-Slaying Army's marching speed was actually slower than before.

The reason is that, in addition to the Demon-Slaying Army, tens of thousands of craftsmen from all over the Great Xuan region also rushed to join them on this trip.

They spent three days escorting the craftsmen to the area determined by the array diagram, after which the craftsmen began to build the main altar for the sacrificial ceremony.

The altars within the lands of the Four Demon Kings each govern one of the four types of calamities. In ancient times, when a complete sacrificial ceremony to the heavens was required, it would be performed at the main altar located near the Heavenly Gate.

Since the main altar was located in the demon realm, they built a new main altar themselves, which not only replaced the original altar but also allowed the rituals of worshipping heaven and earth to overlap, laying the foundation for the subsequent joint worship of heaven and earth.

In order to protect the craftsmen as they completed the main altar, the members of the Demon-Slaying Army could only stay nearby and wait for orders.

Many computer games feature a scene where the protagonist controls a hero who helps villagers gather herbs or mine minerals—a setting that has been criticized by countless people.

Initially, the players shared the same attitude.

What a joke! We are noble players, with a full range of skills. We have been to more worlds than ordinary people have crossed more bridges. Our hands are for slaying monsters, not for digging rocks for you.

However, when everyone heard that it would take at least three weeks for ordinary craftsmen to build the altar, they immediately became restless.

To be precise, it was the four major organizations that couldn't sit still anymore.

The fact that the world dungeons have progressed smoothly so far without any major changes by the Light Society is largely due to the fact that the pacing of the world dungeons is different from common sense.

Under Peace's guidance, the players almost immediately formed a united front, and the speed at which they progressed through the dungeon storyline was like a rocket, accelerating the dungeon storyline, which should have taken at least a hundred days, to the final battle in about ten days.

This bizarre dungeon progression gave the players in the Wasteland absolute dominance. Many of the arrangements made by the Light Society in advance were rendered useless before they could even be implemented, as the world's progress had already surpassed their stage.

However, once you stagnate at the same stage, the longer the stagnation lasts, the more flaws will be exposed.

At that time, the enemy will be in the dark while we are in the light, and the four major organizations will be put on the defensive.

Thus, under the call of the four major organizations, and with the small task rewards given by the Great Xuan Dynasty and the Humanity Alliance, players participated in this construction.

The altar, which would normally take three weeks to erect, was set up by the players in just twelve hours.

The next day, the Demon-Slaying Army split into two groups according to the previous plan, and went to deal with the remaining two demon kings.

They can run away, but they can't hide. They could hide before, but now that the outer layer of the demon realm has been breached and the advantages of humans and demons have been reversed, how can they hide now?
Without the Demon King guarding it, the Demon King's inheritance site could not last long. The altar of the inheritance site was seized, and the Demon King's power was like water without a source, unable to last.

But when the Demon-Slaying Army arrived at the places where the Earth and Water Demon Kings inherited their power again, they found that the Earth Demon King and the Water Demon King had indeed hidden themselves.

Dude, the Demon Slayer Army has already come to your doorstep for a home visit, aren't you coming back?
The Fire Demon King doesn't go home because those are our own people. They are players, and the power they gain can be retained. Once the Demon Realm is destroyed, they can turn around and join the Great Xuan Royal Family.

What do you mean? You've given up your homes but abandoned the base. Do you have a way out?
Without the presence of a demon king and the support of abundant demonic energy, the land of inheritance crumbled at the slightest touch before the demon-slaying army, and the remaining demon generals and guards were easily wiped out.

The Demon-Slaying Army quickly took over the two inheritance sites, Earth and Water, and the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices used human fortune to launch a strong attack on the Demon King's inheritance sites.

It will take at most one day to break through the demonic energy barrier of the inheritance site and make it accessible.

Seeing that the Demon King had surrendered without a fight, the Wind and Fire armies prepared to return to their respective sacrificial altars.

They took over the altar for worshipping Heaven, further disrupting the cycle of earth, water, fire, and wind, which would make it easier for the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to act.

Before leaving, Gu Zhihan called out to An Rong.

The Earth Demon King's surrender without a fight, easily relinquishing the inheritance site, did not make Gu Zhihan happy; instead, it made her worried.

She approached An Rong and repeatedly reminded him to be careful of his surroundings, as the sacrificial ceremony was not the end of the attack on the demon realm.

She kept taking out various pills and stuffing them into An Rong's hands. In the end, she even took off her own protective magic treasure. An Rong stopped her, saying that he knew what he was doing. Gu Zhihan bid farewell to An Rong with eyes full of reluctance.

I witnessed the whole thing from the sidelines. Only after parting ways with Gu Zhihan did he speak up and ask:

"Peach Fairy clearly knows some inside information and really wants to tell you. Aren't you curious?"

An Rong shook his head slightly, clutching the Qiankun pouch Gu Zhihan had given him, a look of melancholy on his face, and said:
Even immortals often find themselves unable to control their own destiny.

"And she also knows that I can only be ruthless enough to do it if she doesn't tell me."

Wu Chang asked thoughtfully:

"Judging from what Tai Sui is saying, you already know who is behind this?"

An Rong sighed and said:
"I had a premonition a long time ago, but I always hoped that they would stop when the celestial beings arrived."

"Unfortunately, they failed to recognize the overall trend, or rather, they were blinded by power."

"Your Excellency Peace, you celestial beings come from overseas immortal mountains, where spiritual energy has never ceased. Do you really think this spiritual energy will make the world a better place?"

Wu Chang did not answer, because he could tell that An Rong already had the answer in his heart and did not need his advice.

Moreover, from the player's perspective, the source of extraordinary power is the corruption of the abyss, which often represents chaos and loss of control.

On their way back, they passed the newly built main altar, where they saw Emperor Zhaoning and Lü Changgeng.

Lu Changgeng stopped An Rong and brought up the side quest he had previously given to Wu Chang's main body, asking An Rong to cooperate in pushing the sacrificial ceremony to the third stage as much as possible.

To show his sincerity, Lü Changgeng offered twenty-seven Heavenly Gang Exorcising Swords imbued with demonic energy, and asked Emperor Zhaoning to issue a side quest, ordering Heping to find three Celestial Beings equivalent to Grandmasters to assist in the progress of the sacrificial ceremony.

Under Wu Chang's leadership, the Great Xuan Royal Family attracted most of the players, especially those ranked players with Grandmaster strength, who were all under the Great Xuan Royal Family's command, making it difficult for Lü Changgeng to gather enough manpower.

He could only recruit six ranked players, barely enough for the Earth and Water altars. To gather assistants for the Wind and Fire altars, he would need to ask Emperor Zhaoning to intervene.

If it were before, Wu Chang would have thought that Lü Changgeng had shed a lot of blood to get Emperor Zhaoning to intervene.

However, ever since he learned that Lü Changgeng and Emperor Zhaoning had been cooperating for a long time, and that Emperor Zhaoning was even more likely to be someone favored by the Guangming Society, he had a new understanding of the relationship between the two.

These two old men, though seemingly at odds, might actually be acting under orders from the Guangming Society, putting on a show for the gods.

However, Lü Changgeng was foolish, believing that the Celestials had their eye on him, while Emperor Zhaoning was wicked, hiding behind Lü Changgeng and using the path Lü Changgeng had paved to complete his own scheme.

However, now is not the time to break off relations. At least on the surface, Emperor Zhaoning and Lü Changgeng still hold the moral high ground.

They disagree, but many others will.

An Rong agreed to Lü Changgeng's request with a smile almost without hesitation. Wu Changjian also did not refuse and agreed to help An Rong and Sect Leader Tang arrange the necessary manpower.

Arranging six ranked players is not a problem for Wu Changzhen.

True Self, Cold Mountain, and Sword Star are in charge of Anrong's Fire Altar, while God Tongue, Maga, and a ranked player from the Administration Bureau are responsible for it.

These side quests, which involve him, are safe, and practically free, are so numerous and plentiful that there's never enough for him.

Unlike last time, this time it's to activate the sacrificial ceremony, so we don't need to bring too many people.

Players below the Grandmaster level are assigned to the main altar to guard it and provide the human fortune belonging to the Celestials.

Among the Fire Demon-Slaying Army, there are as many as 242 players with the Grandmaster realm. I, Wu Changzhen, have separated 100 of them and sent them to the Wind Demon-Slaying Army to help the main body complete the sacrificial ceremony.

It's not good to let all the high-level players attracted by his reputation end up benefiting An Rong. Anyway, An Rong can't use them all, so the extra players can be sent to Calabash Mountain to serve as human batteries for the main body.

Wu Changzhen, along with the remaining players and An Rong, continued their journey towards Xinwu City.

When they arrived in Xinwu City again, the painter had already left, and the city's decorations related to him had been cleaned up to avoid any misunderstanding.

The magistrate of Xinwu City was still in charge of An Rong and Wu Chang. Under his leadership, the group arrived at the place where the Fire Demon King inherited his legacy.

The painter, being one of their own, thoughtfully retrieved his mark from the inheritance site before leaving, allowing everyone to enter easily without waiting for the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to handle the matter.

Now that spiritual energy has gained the upper hand and demonic energy has declined, the threshold for humans to enter the inheritance grounds has been lowered, and even a group of grandmasters can enter.

An Rong arrived at the altar and, just like Wu Chang himself, imprinted his consciousness onto the fire altar.

"You helped the Earth Immortal of the Human Alliance gain control of the Fire Sacrifice Altar, and you made a great contribution to the Great Xuan Royal Family in eliminating demons and upholding justice. Contribution value +1000." "Your current contribution value is: 13550, ranking 1st among all players."

Once An Rong had completely taken control of the sacrificial altar, the group formed a battle formation according to the sacrificial ceremony calculated by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, awaiting the signal from Emperor Zhaoning.

About three hours later, a pale red light appeared on the fire altar. In the darkness, a force was drawing the altar, causing the fire-based power within it to merge with the other three forces.

This signaled the start of the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven, marking the beginning of its first phase:

Juji.

The "auspiciousness" in "gathering good fortune" encompasses many aspects, including human fortune, the wishes of all beings, and offerings to the gods, and is the key to initiating the sacrificial ceremony to heaven.

Emperor Zhaoning had extensive experience in earth-worshiping ceremonies and was adept at leading the heaven-worshiping ceremony, which shared the same origin.

Each sacrificial ceremony proceeded smoothly and without the slightest error.

In conjunction with the earth-worshiping ceremony in Zhenyue City, the two complemented each other, quickly putting the heaven-worshiping ceremony on track and entering the second stage.

To ward off disaster.

Once the ritual for warding off disasters began, the leaders of the ceremony changed from Emperor Zhaoning to four earth immortals.

Four Earth Immortals walked with the steps of the Big Dipper, moving across the altar and awakening the primordial energy within the four sacrificial altars.

The reason why the sacrificial ceremony to heaven requires four earth immortals to lead it is because guiding the four elements and making them operate in accordance with the sacrificial ceremony requires a lot of energy.

If we follow Lü Changgeng's plan, we can find the remains of an immortal in the sacrificial altar. With the remains of the immortal, we can easily carry out the sacrificial ceremony.

However, now, the Seven Star Immortals have not left any immortal remains, so the Earth Immortals have to bite the bullet and fill in the gap.

The Seven Star Immortals were originally in charge of the sacrificial ceremony. They were all powerful among the lower-level gods, only one step away from becoming middle-level gods.

The work of the Seven Star Immortals has now been handed over to the Earth Immortals, who are below the level of demigods. One can imagine the pressure they face.

An Rong only lasted for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before his forehead was covered in sweat, making it difficult for him to continue and triggering the first safety measure prepared by Lü Changgeng.

Twenty-seven Heavenly Gang Exorcising Swords.

When the Ziwei Exorcising Array purified the Demon-Suppressing Blood Talisman, it also purified the Tiangang Exorcising Sword. The transformed spiritual energy within the sword was injected into the sacrificial altar, instantly greatly reducing An Rong's burden.

Under the sacrificial ceremony, the demonic energy in the demon realm began to stir and started to break free from the control of the demon realm.

The crimson demonic aura gradually faded, turning into a color between red and pink.

The demonic energy was dispelled by the ritual to avert disaster, and the spiritual energy surged forth, crushing the already cracked demonic realm and leaving it riddled with holes.

With just a little more effort, the entire demon realm could be shattered.

Unfortunately, the ritual to ward off disaster ends here. To go further, the ritual needs to be pushed to the third stage.

Imperial edict.

On the altar for offering sacrifices to Heaven, An Rong had no time to rest. He adjusted his steps and continued with the third stage.

The spiritual energy in the Heavenly Gang Demon-Slaying Sword has been exhausted. Having reached this point, it needs the assistance of celestial beings.

Wu Chang led over a hundred players into Xinwu City, not to let them watch the show; now was the time for them to make their move.

With over a hundred players simultaneously channeling their energy, the pressure on An Rong instantly decreased, making the consumption of the Edict stage much easier than that of the Disaster Relief stage.

As the sacrificial ceremony entered the decree stage, the demonic energy in the demon realm, which had faded in color, separated from the demon realm just like the sacrificial ceremony that Wu Chang had seen before, splitting into four streams and flying towards the four sacrificial altars.

The demonic energy transformed into red clouds that enveloped the sky. Under the control of the imperial edict, it gradually transformed into a star map and took the shape of a sacrificial ceremony.

If we continue to the fourth step of the ritual, the "Descent of Auspiciousness," then the sacrificial ceremony can transform these calamities into auspicious omens, spreading them throughout the world and promoting the cultivation of all cultivators.

Unfortunately, even a mortal immortal wouldn't be able to persist to this point.

Of the four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—the earth where Peach Fairy resided was the first to break down and lose its connection.

Secondly, there was the flood altar where Lü Changgeng was located. Although it wasn't completely severed, its supporting strength had clearly weakened.

The main force for completing the ceremony rested entirely on the two altars for wind and fire.

Wu Chang's main body is characterized by energy attributes, so continuing to sustain himself is not difficult. However, he is not a true Earth Immortal of the Human Dao Alliance, and he cannot possibly exhaust his energy to fulfill the ambitions of Emperor Zhaoning and Lü Changgeng.

His true form immediately withdrew from the sacrificial ceremony, leaving even earlier than Lü Changgeng.

Seeing that Wu Chang's true form was so resolute, Lü Changgeng stopped acting and disconnected.

During the sacrificial ceremony, only An Rongshicheng remained. He believed he had some strength left and wanted to continue supporting the ceremony. However, in the blink of an eye, he was the only one left standing among the four altars.

At the same time, as the demonic energy was drained, the demon realm was completely unable to resist the spiritual energy, and the barrier of the demon realm immediately became fragmented.

Seeing that the imperial decree phase had ended, Emperor Zhaoning, located at the main altar, presided over the formation. Taking his own fortune as the guide, he used the joint sacrifice of heaven and earth and the resonance of spiritual energy in the world to condense a golden dragon, which rushed straight towards the demon realm.

The golden dragon formed by the joint sacrifice of heaven and earth is no less powerful than the golden dragon of fortune when purifying the blood talisman used to suppress demons.

The golden dragon charged into the demon realm, and wherever it passed, the demons were instantly pulverized by the spiritual energy and absorbed into the golden dragon, transforming into its power.

The golden dragon seemed to be treading on blood-red clouds, rushing all the way to Liuyun City, climbing vertically along the city wall, and crashing into the sky above Liuyun City.

Click.

Accompanied by a crisp shattering sound that resounded throughout Tianlan Province, a huge crack appeared in the sky above Liuyun City, as if the sky had been split open, and blood-red liquid demonic energy cascaded down from it like a waterfall.

The golden dragon charged straight up towards the blood-red waterfall, crashing into the crack and causing the demonic waterfall to stop flowing.

The golden light of humanity's fortune soared into the sky, creating cracks in the heavens that were filled with demonic energy.

If Wu Chang were to see this scene, he would realize that it is exactly the same as the scene when the demon realm appeared in the world, as described by the resentment of the cultivators guarding Yan City.

Looking at the cracks in the sky that were filled with demonic energy, no explanation was needed; all the players knew that it was the Heavenly Gate.

Emperor Zhaoning rode a golden dragon and broke through the Heavenly Gate with great power. Even he himself did not expect that this attack would be so effective, actually stopping the flow of demonic energy.

The reason why the golden dragon formed by the human destiny was so energetic was, of course, because a vengeful spirit was slow to run during the sacrificial ceremony and contributed a lot of power to this attack.

On the fire altar, An Rong, who had just left the sacrificial ceremony, leaned against the altar, panting heavily.

That final blow almost drained him completely.

Not only him, but more than a hundred players around the altar were also affected by An Rong, with only one or two tenths of their energy remaining.

Apart from Wu Changzhen, his true self also withdrew from the sacrificial ceremony at the same time as his main body, and was not dragged into the ditch by An Rong.

But he didn't show it; instead, like the other players, he was pale and looked weak.

He mingled in the crowd, waiting to see if any fools would come to their deaths.

On the altar, An Rong was also waiting for something, but his expectations differed from Wu Chang's; he did not want to face what was about to happen.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Less than two minutes after the sacrificial ceremony ended, they felt the earth shake violently. With a loud bang, a huge rhinoceros horn smashed through the wall of the inheritance site.

As the rhinoceros horn was pulled out, a large amount of foul-smelling, cold seawater poured in, covering the entire land where the Fire Demon King had inherited his legacy.

A dozen or so cultivators walked in through the breach. The one in the lead had white hair and beard, a kind face, and the appearance of a benevolent elder.

Wu Changben had met the old man at the Human Alliance meeting. The old man was Gu Yuchen, the head of the Benevolent Heart Pavilion and Gu Zhihan's master and grandfather.

Gu Yuchen looked at An Rong and slowly said:

“An Rong, I knew you were destined for greatness, but unfortunately you are not on the same path as us.”

"You are blessed with great fortune, and you can turn misfortune into good fortune no matter what danger you encounter. Neither the Fire Demon King nor the Wind Demon King can do anything to you alone. I am very curious, now that the Earth Demon King and the Water Demon King have gathered together, can you, who are weakened, still turn danger into safety?"

(End of this chapter)