With half a game of chess, I vanquish all demons!

The lower realm of barren rocks.

In the darkness of night, the bare, rocky mountains stretch into the distance, presenting an endless expanse of desolation.

A giant in jade armor, with two discs floating behind its head, radiating fluorescent white light, and as tall as the stone mountain beside it, emerged from thin air and stood still for a long time.

"finally……"

He uttered two words, snapping out of his seemingly endless journey.

He looked down and saw that the jade-like body suddenly became transparent. In the chest where his heart was, he saw himself—'Zhao Yao' was curled up there with his eyes closed, like an infant.

He is Zhao Yao, so who am I?

He clearly noticed the subtle changes in how his thoughts were working.

Gazing intently at Zhao Yao's heart, the jade-armored giant pondered deeply, gradually coming to understand.

That "Zhao Yao" is not the real Zhao Yao, but rather the human side of Zhao Yao!

"I am also Zhao Yao!"

This is Zhao Yao's divine nature awakening!

Bang~ Bang~

Bang~ Bang~

Bang~ Bang~ Bang~ Bang~ Bang~ Bang~ Bang~

As soon as He thought of this, thunderous sounds, like drums, boomed and resounded around Him, permeating the heavens and earth, and invigorating everyone's spirits!

What's going on? Where is that drumming coming from?

He was filled with doubt, examined himself, and quickly understood the wonders of his body and the various powers he carried.

A halo of light shone, and moon dust gathered in a dish, both hovering behind his head. They had a similar origin, yet they brought him different powers.

That halo was a talisman given by the Heavenly Dao of the Demon-Slaying Great Realm. It was proof of His legitimate identity in the Demon-Slaying Realm and also a condensation of a trace of power from the Heavenly Dao of the Upper Realm.

The disc formed by the gathering of moon dust is the other half of a talisman given by the Heavenly Dao Will of this desolate lower realm. It is proof of His legitimate passage through this realm and also contains a trace of the Heavenly Dao's power.

Both are tied to this mission to vanquish demons.

Therefore, the Heavenly Dao of both realms routinely granted Him the identity of a deity from the upper realm and the convenience of traveling in this realm.

What exactly are the benefits of this trip to the mortal realm?

He spread his arms, looked around, chuckled, and decided to explore slowly.

bang~

bang~

The thunder drums started beating again.

This Thunder Drum is a celestial ritual brought down to the mortal realm by a deity from the upper realm. He was merely a powerful warrior, hence he could only produce the sound of one drumbeat.

"Stop making that noise, or you'll scare that monster away..."

He murmured to himself, and his enormous, mountain-like body began to shrink rapidly, and the thunder drum stopped ringing.

As His form shrank, the humanity that had been shrinking in His heart was about to merge into His divine body. However, on the chessboard deep within His soul, a vortex of suction suddenly appeared in the jade chess piece, swallowing up His humanity.

On the half-finished chessboard, the three original primordial energy figures in the jade chess piece with its distinct layers of flame were no longer there. The human nature that had just been absorbed had taken over and now resided in the form of 'Zhao Yao'.

"Funny~ Fun!"

He looked inward at the chessboard, and as it shrank, he raised his eyebrows and smiled.

The jade-armored giant shrank in size, but it was more like its primordial energy was compressed. The shimmering white light around its body also grew stronger as its size decreased!

He originally had no ability to change his size; his current giant body was merely a change in the exchange rate of the 'upper realm body' falling into the lower realm.

Furthermore, because His body contained three miniature beings of primordial energy, He possessed an energy state that allowed Him to be continuously compressed.

At the foot of the rocky mountain, His form eventually shrunk to the size of an ordinary human, about two meters tall.

He was clad in jade armor, his entire body radiating light, like a candle flame gently illuminating his surroundings. Against the backdrop of the sun halo and moon disc behind his head, the sense of holiness was particularly strong.

"It looks pretty good, but to be honest, I'm just a wild god, haha~"

He made a self-deprecating joke, laughed heartily, and strode towards a human settlement ahead.

In Zhao Yao's predecessor's memories, the stories of martial artists who vanquished demons in the lower realms of the Demon-Slaying Great Realm were generally divided into three categories.

One type is officially appointed martial artists who are formally employed and appointed by the Heavenly Dao Division.

One category consists of the remaining disciples of the former Heavenly Dao Sect, who have been replaced by the Heavenly Dao Division.

Another type is the situation often seen in vernacular novels, where, like the ancient people, by chance, they are directly appointed by Heaven and descend to the mortal world due to the will of Heaven.

This is the final situation He is in now.

In the Demon-Slaying Realm, the Heavenly Dao Sect has lost its way, and the Heavenly Dao Division will inherit it!

Today, the Daoist authorities have their tentacles spread throughout the Demon-Slaying Realm. Although they do not participate in human affairs, they act on behalf of Heaven and govern all the heavens.

If the people of the Heavenly Dao Division knew about His current situation, they would surely send someone to arrest Him!

"The Lower Realm of Desolate Rocks, Desolate Rocks Mountain, is named after a place in the Upper Realm... This realm should not yet be recorded in the Heavenly Dao Division's 'List of Names of All Heavens,' which is quite a bargain for me..."

As He assessed His own situation, He entered the human settlement at the foot of the mountain, where He noticed various unusual occurrences.

Ahead lies a flat square.

In the square, desiccated corpses in various poses lay silently and motionless.

He looked at the place, paused for a moment, glanced around, and then stepped forward again.

"Brother, wake up, brother..."

As He ventured deeper, at the end of the square, behind a weathered stone statue, the sound of a child crying gradually became clearer.

He went around the stone statue and saw the weak child who was holding a dried-up corpse and crying.

The child's body was half-withered, his chest was barely rising and falling, and his life was already on the countdown.

As He watched this scene, His eyes were kind and compassionate. He sighed softly in his heart, and with a radiant aura, He raised his hand and pointed, sending out rays of light that fell upon the child.

The child's thoughts drifted into darkness, and he could see nothing, yet he clearly felt a warmth, and within that warmth, he vaguely saw a person radiating light.

This strange person shared some of the light with him, which made his aching body feel less uncomfortable.

The child, eyes unfocused, raised his intact arm, reaching out towards it as if to grasp at a star:

"Who are you? You are shining. Are you a star that fell from the sky?"

"Yes, I am a star that fell from the sky. Is there anything you want?"

I'll give it to you when you wake up.

He crouched down and continued to transmit his vital energy to the child, speaking in a gentle voice.

"Stars, stars~ Run!"

The child suddenly began to rise and fall anxiously, his weak breaths giving a crucial reminder.

Don't be afraid~ Don't be afraid~

Don't worry, I know what you're going to say. It's okay, everything will be alright.

He reached out and stroked the child's hair, gently comforting him.

"That's good that you know..."

The child gradually calmed down.

"...I want a flower. My mother says it's the most beautiful, the most beautiful flower in the world..."

As the child spoke, his voice grew weaker.

He helped the child up, gently lowered his body to the ground, stood up, and looked around the square.

The corpses, each in a different pose, remained frozen in place, frozen in the same position as when they were alive: some were desperately running away, some were kneeling and begging, some were attacking with spears, and some were huddling together for warmth.

The demon has been here.

The demon killed them, taking away their vital energy and life.

"Then let's meet and see what you have to offer me."

As He spoke, a thought arose within Him, and His whole body shone brightly, with the moon disc behind His head rotating counterclockwise.

In an instant, the stars shifted and everything went backward!