Immortals of the End Times

Inside the Demon Roc Sect, in a magnificent golden hall.

The Golden Roc True Lord sat upright on the jade throne, his golden feathers dazzling and radiant, as if cast from gold. A faint spiritual light surrounded him, giving him a somewhat celestial air.

At first glance, it really looks like a spiritual beast enlightened by a Taoist master, without a trace of evil.

At this moment, celestial music filled the hall, and experts from three immortal sects and Taoist schools stood respectfully, discussing the matter of slaying demons and eliminating evil with the Golden Roc.

The crowd was extremely polite in their speech, and their eyes revealed deep reverence.

This awe stems, in part, from the fact that this Golden Roc True Monarch has reached the perfect Nascent Soul stage and possesses formidable strength.

On the other hand, it was also because behind him stood the mighty and powerful Daoist Lord who subdued demons and manifested sainthood.

"That's right, you're absolutely right!"

Golden Roc True Lord nodded slightly, a hint of barely perceptible smugness flashing in his golden eyes.

He quite enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention.

Those awe-inspiring gazes, those respectful addresses, and the continuous stream of cultivation resources offered.

Looking back, although he was the overlord of one of the nine major demonic forces in the Hewai Liezhou, he was ultimately nothing more than a notorious demon leader.

In the eight states where the righteous path flourishes, have those self-proclaimed righteous cultivators ever given him a kind look? They all wanted to kill him.

If he hadn't been so quick-witted and hadn't sought refuge with that Daoist master in time, how could he have achieved such glory today?

Now, in this land of Kyushu, he can do whatever he wants.

Even those arrogant and prestigious sects had to show him respect.

"So what if my comprehension is poor, my Dao heart is unclear, and I cannot step into the Nascent Soul stage?"

Golden Roc True Lord sneered inwardly.

Although he was limited by his innate talent and comprehension, making it difficult for him to break through the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul stage, his cultivation at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage was still among the top in the world.

Not to mention, with the help of Daojun's reputation, many rare resources can be easily obtained.

Such a long lifespan and such a revered status are many times better than the fearful demon life of the past!
Yao Peng's mind raced, and his eyes also concealed ambition.

If he can return to his ancestral origins or comprehend the true essence of the demonic path in the future, he may well be able to open the door to the Divine Transformation realm.

However, due to his master's authority, he dared not delve deeply into that demonic path, and could only secretly plot it in his heart.

"Once I have accumulated enough resources, even if the end of the Dharma arrives a hundred years from now, I can still survive for more than three hundred years with these resources."

More than three hundred years later, I can still soar through the heavens!

Yao Peng was secretly pleased with himself, his eyes flashing with golden light.

After dismissing the three visitors, he spread his wings and instantly transformed into a golden rainbow, soaring towards the forbidden area behind the mountain.

He didn't believe for a second that his master and Daoist Cangyun could truly succeed in their fight against the end of the Dharma.

He had heard of the terrors of the Nine Heavens; countless Saint-level beings had perished there.

More than eighty years ago, he was already shocked that his master was able to escape unscathed.

"The calamity of the Dharma-ending Age has lasted for tens of thousands of years; how can human power stop it? I would be wise to make plans as soon as possible."

He made a hand seal, and the restrictions on the back mountain opened immediately.

What unfolded before them was a gloomy, prison-like forbidden area.

It was found that many demonic beasts and demonic cultivators were imprisoned there.

Even some sane and normal cultivators were locked up by heavy restrictions, uttering curses and wails.

At this moment, an elderly cultivator with white hair and beard had chains piercing his collarbone, his body covered in blood, yet his eyes were still wide open in anger.

Seeing the demonic roc flying towards him, he spat out a mouthful of blood and hissed, "Golden Roc Demon! You are a spirit beast under the command of the Demon-Slaying and Saintly Dao Lord, yet you commit such heinous acts, harming your fellow Daoists. Do you have even a shred of shame?"

"Old man!"

The demon roc narrowed its golden eyes slightly, and with a gentle flap of its wings, it stirred up a fierce gale.

It landed with a sneer, its eyes flashing with ferocity: "In the cultivation world, strength reigns supreme. What's the point of talk about good and evil? When you humans slaughter livestock, do you ever speak of morality?"

It strode to the iron cage, its sharp claws scraping against the steel bars, sending up blinding sparks: "Aren't the lives of chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep lives? You think killing is your right, but we demon beasts are committing heinous crimes if we resist?"

The old man's breath caught in his throat upon hearing this, his withered hands clenching the chains so tightly they clanged: "Nonsense! If the Daoist Master knew of your actions, he would surely..."

"Snapped!"

The demon roc's wings slammed against the iron cage, causing the entire prison to tremble violently.

It approached the cage gap, its golden eyes reflecting the old man's ferocious face: "Old man, you should be glad that I am no longer the Demon Roc Sect Master of yesteryear."

Otherwise, why would I need an excuse to wipe out your Xue family? When I massacred your entire clan back then, you were still in your mother's womb! How could I have allowed even a portion of your Xue family to escape?"

It suddenly chuckled sinisterly, its sharp claws lightly tapping the top of the cage: "But rest assured, if you dare to oppose me, I will soon reunite your whole family."
"At that time, turning your Xue family into demons is a matter of my mere word. How would my master possibly know?"

Just then, a demonic bird with iron feathers suddenly broke through the air and landed beside the demonic roc. It bowed respectfully and reported, "Reporting to the True Lord, the Blood Wind Demon King has been chasing those two escaped fish for more than three hours and has not yet returned. I am afraid that something may have happened."

"Oh?"

Yao Peng narrowed his golden eyes: "You haven't even captured that mere Nascent Soul cultivator yet? You should have killed him on the spot when that kid sneaked around spying on the forbidden area in the back mountain last time, but you let him get away!"
"By my order, regardless of whether that brat discovered anything, he must die."

Before he finished speaking, the entire Golden Roc Hall suddenly trembled violently.

A majestic voice, as powerful as thunder, suddenly descended:
"If I don't let him die, who dares to touch him? You beast, you've grown incredibly audacious!"

The sound was like thunder from the heavens. The moment the demon roc heard it, all the golden feathers on its body stood on end, and dazzling golden fire burst out from between the brilliant feathers.

The demonic bird beside him was so frightened that it immediately prostrated itself on the ground, its forehead pressed tightly against the jade brick, and cried out in a trembling voice, "Greetings, Daoist Lord!"

"My lord!!"

The demon roc's pupils shrank to needle size, and the stone bricks under its claws shattered with a crash.

Its entire body was extremely tense, and its mind sensed that once-familiar pressure, but now it was wrapped in a killing intent that could freeze its bones. Its wings instinctively tightened and loosened, and its mind struggled violently.

They wanted to escape, but dared not.

"Boom!!"

The ground suddenly cracked open, and hundreds of dark gold vines burst forth from the earth like raging dragons.

In an instant, countless vines intertwined and transformed into a towering figure three zhang tall.

It was clearly the image of a demonic tree clone entwined with the Dao patterns of the Jianmu tree, its thick trunk naturally covered with dark golden overlord Dao patterns, as if it were wearing a suit of black iron armor.

His facial features were sharp and angular, his eyes blazed with eerie green flames, and his chin was covered with long, needle-like whiskers.

But in its giant vine-like palm, it was holding the dying Blood Wind Demon King.

The instant I saw the Blood Wind Demon King.

Yao Peng's face turned deathly pale instantly, but upon seeing that the newcomer was actually the master's demon tree avatar, his tense nerves relaxed slightly, but he was still shaken to his soul by the overwhelming pressure of the Nascent Soul stage.

This demonic tree clone was completely different from the main body's handsome appearance. It exuded a suffocatingly domineering aura and vigorous vitality, majestic and domineering, making people dare not be presumptuous.

Its eyes darted around, suppressing its unease, and it immediately spread its wings and bowed, its expression obsequious, saying, "Your Excellency's arrival is truly an honor! I have failed to greet you properly; I do not know what kind of little demon you hold in your possession, Your Excellency."

Zhao Wuji ignored him, standing with his hands behind his back, his double pupils like a blood moon hanging in the sky, his cold gaze sweeping over the prison in the mountain.

But then they saw countless demons roaring, some cultivators who had fallen into demonic possession wailing, and some conscious cultivators whose collarbones were pierced by iron chains and bound inside.

"You beast! You've certainly grown some guts."

Zhao Wuji's face, formed from vines, held a half-smile, his double pupils radiating intense domineering intent. "You used my name to commit this despicable act, and now you still want to use jokes to get away with it?"

"My lord, this is a misunderstanding!"

The demonic roc's feathers bristled, and it was about to argue when the demonic bird beside it kowtowed repeatedly, shattering the ground bricks, begging for mercy: "Daoist Lord, spare my life! I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong!"

"Could it be Senior Daoist Manifestation Lord?"

Just then, a hoarse shout suddenly came from the nearby prison cell.

The old man from the Xue family, dragging his crippled body, knelt tremblingly and pleaded, "I beg you, Daoist Lord, to slay this wicked fiend! This wicked fiend..." "Insolence! Do not slander me before the Lord!"

In a panic, Yao Peng's golden eyes snapped open, and his wings whipped up a fierce gust of wind as he prepared to silence him.

"Beast!"

Zhao Wuji let out a cold snort that was like a thunderclap, and instantly the entire mountainside shook. Thousands of dark golden vines burst out of the ground, like a group of dragons stirring up the sea, heading straight for the demon roc.

Each vine was entwined with the Dao patterns of Jianmu, and the void shattered wherever it passed.

"My lord!!"

The demon roc's golden eyes narrowed sharply, its heart pounded wildly, and its wings suddenly burst open with thousands of golden rays. With a gritted tooth, it darted towards the mountain's exit like lightning.

"Trying to escape? Even with the speed of a golden roc, how can you possibly escape my grasp?"

Zhao Wuji stood with his hands behind his back, not even lifting his eyelids, his domineering aura intense in the Dao seal between his brows.

Under this oppressive force, the air seemed to freeze, and even the light distorted around him.

“Swish swish!!”

Hundreds of dark gold vines rose into the air, each one wrapped with ancient Jianmu Dao patterns, sealing off the entire void like a net, actually suppressing the void within a radius of a hundred feet into an iron plate.

"Tsk!"

The demon roc's golden feathers exploded, and the dazzling golden light shooting out from between the feathers was enough to cleave mountains in two.

However, when these proud golden feathers cut into the vines, they sparked a trail of dazzling sparks.

The feather, imbued with the full force of a Nascent Soul stage demon's attack, failed to leave even a trace of white.

The vines coiled around the demon roc like dragons and snakes, instantly turning it into a cocoon. The sound of bones cracking rang out like popping beans, and the demon roc's proud body twisted and deformed like paper.

"My lord, spare my life!"

Just as the demon roc was about to escape with its nascent soul and spirit, it was horrified to discover that even its nascent soul was locked within its dantian by countless fine roots.

Like birds caught in a net, they have no power to resist the true pressure of a god-level being.

"This"

Inside the mountain, the old man from the Xue family stared wide-eyed.

The imprisoned cultivators were even more horrified. Was this the power of the Demon-Slaying and Saint-Manifesting True Monarch?
Without even standing still, he crushed a Nascent Soul stage demon like an ant!

"My lord, I know I was wrong! Please have mercy on me!"

The desperate howls of the demon roc began to echo within the mountain's belly, its golden feathers pierced by sharp vines, leaving streaks of blood seeping out.

The usually imposing demon king, faced with absolute power, finally revealed his cowardly and bullying nature.

"Beast!"

Zhao Wuji's cold eyes flashed like lightning, and his double pupils instantly locked onto the surging demonic energy deep within the Yao Peng's primordial spirit.

The primordial spirit of this demonic roc was infected with the demonic nature of the six ancestral demons. Although the infection was not deep, it was still a form of taint.

If not for their greed giving rise to evil thoughts, they would not have been infected.

Ultimately, it was just wishful thinking.

A murderous glint flashed in his eyes, and his five fingers suddenly clenched, unleashing thousands of dark golden vines that coiled like dragons and pythons: "Your wicked nature is hard to change! You cannot be allowed to live!"

"Do not!!"

The monstrous roc's mournful roar abruptly ceased.

Suddenly, barbs erupted from the vines, instantly shredding the fully formed Nascent Soul demon body into a bloody mist.

In the blink of an eye, the roots devoured all the broken bones and remnants of the soul.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"My lord, spare my life!"

The demonic bird beside them was already terrified, smashing the jade brick to pieces with its forehead.

As Zhao Wuji's gaze swept over, the demonic bird instantly froze like an ice sculpture.

"When you were taken under my command, you were still before this demonic roc, and I considered your sincere confession."

Zhao Wuji raised his hand and pointed, a golden mark entering the demonic bird's brow. "Then I will cripple your cultivation, return you to ignorance, and transform you into an ordinary wild beast."

The demonic bird screamed and its feathers fell. Its golden core shattered instantly, and its demonic aura melted away like snow meeting the blazing sun. In the blink of an eye, it degenerated into an ordinary mountain sparrow, flapping its wings and fleeing in panic.

With a slight flutter of his sleeves, Zhao Wuji caused the prison cell in the mountainside to collapse.

As the chains snapped, countless prisoners staggered and knelt, shouting their gratitude to the Daoist Lord.

His gaze pierced through the rock wall, catching a glimpse of two trembling figures outside the valley.

It was the brother and sister who had escaped death.

"You two may come in."

Zhao Wuji calmly gave the order, his voice echoing in the void: "The Demon Peng Sect has been purged, so you two will temporarily take charge of its supervision."

Soon, cultivators from the Immortal Saint and Qilin sects will arrive to take over.

The cultivator surnamed Hu trembled violently and immediately pulled his junior sister to kneel and kowtow, saying, "We will obey the Daoist Lord's decree!"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Wuji's figure, formed from dark gold vines, crumbled inch by inch.

The roots, like dragons returning to the abyss, carried the Daoist essence of the Jianmu tree and disappeared into the earth's veins.

The rock strata closed silently, leaving only a wisp of divine power slowly dissipating in the void.

"The six ancestral demons are ultimately a hidden danger."

Within the secret realm of the Pot Heaven, in the land of the Heavenly Venerable's inheritance, Zhao Wuji suddenly opened his eyes, the golden pattern of the Intercepting Dao flickering between his brows.

"Even my wicked beast, who had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, could be corrupted by demonic nature. Although he brought it upon himself, this kind of demonic nature..."

He frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping across the nine-leaf sword grass floating beside him like lightning. "We have to be careful."

But the cyan sword reflected the many Daoist images of the Nine Tribulations Heavenly Venerable on the opposite side.

The gray-clad figure stood alone and isolated; the white-clad figure exuded a sharp and imposing aura; and the black-clad figure radiated a terrifying murderous intent.
Before each illusory image of a Celestial Venerable, there was a clone of him sitting cross-legged, comprehending the Dao.

He is still seeking enlightenment. The path after attaining enlightenment is obscure and difficult, and every step forward requires painstaking effort.

Fortunately, he received guidance from the Heavenly Venerable, which was like a beacon in the darkness, allowing him to cultivate at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary Dao-merging cultivators.

"Perhaps... another thirty years."

He secretly estimated his progress in breaking through, hoping that he might be able to comprehend other Heavenly Venerable Daoist techniques and even attempt to ascend to the Nine Heavens Palace again.

"point!"

Zhao Wuji made a hand seal with his fingers together and gave a soft shout.

In an instant, another clone emerged from within him.

With a flicker of his robes, the clone stepped out of the inheritance grounds and instantly landed in the Immortal Court Pill Hall of the Thirty-Third Heaven.

"Buzz!"

The dragon-shaped medicine furnace in the center of the hall sensed the arrival of the visitors; the patterns on the furnace body seemed to move as if alive, and the dragon's eyes shone with spiritual light.

Now that he has entered the Dao Integration stage and wields the Nine-Leaf Sword Grass, a supreme treasure for killing, he is completely unafraid even if the Heavenly Dao is once again drawn by cause and effect and sends down punishment from afar.

"The time has come."

The clone stared intently at the medicine furnace, its gaze burning.

Inside the medicine furnace, eighteen points of light transformed into the phantom images of the Nine Yin and Nine Yang Pearls, floating and sinking within the furnace, with the Yin and Yang energies circulating endlessly.

Once his Nine Yin Nine Yang Pearls are fully perfected, he can use the ancient illusory image of the Nine Yin Nine Yang Pearls in this medicine furnace to deduce the ultimate mysteries of all seventy-two Earthly Fiend Techniques.
(End of this chapter)