I want to tread the heavens

In the distant starry sky, the war has entered its most brutal phase.

The "Zhou Tian Xing Dou Grand Formation," formed by 100,000 heavenly soldiers, was originally an unparalleled battle formation capable of annihilating even a Grand Luo Golden Immortal. Yet, it was now teetering on the brink of collapse under the onslaught of a demonic tide a hundred times larger than itself. Every breath, stars were extinguished; every moment, lives were lost.

The collision of demonic energy and celestial power unleashed a silent yet devastating burst of light in the vacuum.

A towering "Star-Devouring Demon General," standing three thousand feet tall, wielded a giant axe engulfed in ghostly flames, cleaving five interconnected defensive stars in two with a single blow. The eight thousand celestial soldiers stationed on those five stars, along with the stars themselves, were reduced to the finest particles in the axe's light, without even a chance for reincarnation.

"brute!!!"

A celestial general clad in golden armor, his eyes bloodshot with rage, was the commander of the eight thousand heavenly soldiers and a veteran of three hundred years of battle. Watching his troops vanish before his very eyes, this fierce general, who had already reached the peak of the True Immortal realm, went completely mad.

He burned the very essence of life, burned his immortal soul, and burned the possibility of reincarnation.

His entire body transformed into a golden meteor that traversed the star field, crashing into the Star-Devouring Demon General at a speed that transcended time and space.

boom--!!!

The light generated by the self-destruction was millions of times brighter than a starburst.

The devastating shockwave swept across an area of ​​100,000 miles, vaporizing hundreds of thousands of demon soldiers. Even the Star-Devouring Demon General had half of its demonic body shattered, letting out a painful roar.

But that's all.

The demon general's shattered body rapidly regenerated amidst the surging demonic energy, returning to full strength in three breaths. It grinned maliciously as it raised its giant axe, the blade reflecting the despairing faces of the heavenly soldiers behind it.

"An ant is still an ant." The demon general's voice was like the wailing of ten thousand ghosts. "No matter how much they struggle, it's nothing more than..."

The words came to an abrupt halt.

A bolt of purple lightning struck its crown without warning.

Not one.

It is billions of paths.

Throughout the entire seventh defense zone of the Purple Qiong Starfield, all the stars that had not yet extinguished their lightning simultaneously lit up with lightning. That lightning was not ordinary heavenly lightning, but the "Innate Purple Heaven Divine Lightning" triggered by Ling Zhan with the Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Spear, an unparalleled divine power transformed from the first lightning born at the creation of heaven and earth.

Billions of bolts of lightning were born from the void, converging into a long river of lightning that stretched across the star field, completely engulfing the demon general.

This time, regeneration failed.

The destructive laws contained within the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning erased the very concept of the Demon General's existence at its most fundamental level. When the lightning dissipated, the three-thousand-foot-tall demonic body had vanished without a trace, leaving not even a trace of demonic energy or a remnant soul, as if it had never existed in this world.

"It's the garrison commander!"

"The Venerable Lei Huang has made his move!"

The remaining heavenly soldiers erupted in thunderous cheers, their morale soaring.

But Ling Zhan on the observatory showed no joy on his face.

Instead, a trickle of golden blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"You can't do it anymore." Su Yingxue supported his swaying body, her voice filled with heartache. "That primordial Dao injury has already eroded your immortal soul. If you forcefully use the Great Dao of Thunder again, you will..."

"I know." Ling Zhan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze still coldly fixed on the distance. "But the more demon generals we kill, the more children in the rear can survive."

The "children" he was referring to were the heavenly soldiers whose average age was no more than five hundred years.

In the immortal realm where years are often measured in tens of thousands of years, five hundred years old is truly still just a child.

"Report—!!!"

A blood-stained figure stumbled and rushed onto the observatory.

It is Yue Rong, the left forward.

This veteran general, who had fought alongside Ling Zhan for eight thousand years, was now in a gruesome state. Half of his body was corroded by some highly corrosive demonic energy, his flesh melting away to reveal stark white bones. Countless tiny demonic insects wriggled within the charred wound, frantically gnawing at his Golden Immortal-level body, yet they were forcibly suppressed by a terrifyingly resilient primordial immortal power.

With each step, golden blood gushed from the wound, leaving a trail of shocking bloody footprints on the Starfall Jade Steps.

"Governor! Dongxuan, Xiji, Nanheng... all gone!"

Yue Rong knelt on one knee. This tough man's voice was hoarse like a broken gong, and what flowed from his eyes was not tears, but a golden liquid mixed with blood:

"All the guardians of the three stars have perished in battle, not a single one survived! The cores of the stars have been corrupted by 'Corrupting Star Demonic Energy,' and are... are transforming into a demonic lair! Within three hours at most, new Star-Devouring Demonic Generals will be born there!"

Ling Zhan's pupils suddenly contracted.

Su Yingxue's face turned as pale as paper in an instant.

Dongxuan, Xiji, and Nanheng—these are the triangular pillars of the Seventh Defense Zone, three ancient stars arranged in the order of the Three Powers. They are not only the core of the defensive array, but also suppress an ancient spiritual vein beneath the Ziqiong Starfield. Once these three stars become demonized, the entire spiritual vein will become nourishment for the demon race, and what will be born will not be one or two demon generals, but hundreds or even thousands!

"How many of the Seven Deadly Sins Demon Lords under the Demon Emperor have arrived?" Su Yingxue asked quickly, a slender, transparent immortal sword already appearing in her hand.

The sword seemed to contain a miniature galaxy, its starlight swirling and emitting a vibration that made the very space tremble.

"At least three!" Yue Rong's eyes widened in fury, his teeth grinding together. "I personally witnessed the Gluttonous Demon Lord's true form... That beast was devouring the remaining life on Dongxuan Star! Men, women, children, cultivators, and mortals—he spared no one!!!"

Before the words were finished—

boom!!!!

The entire Heavenly Palace trembled violently.

Outside the observatory, the fortieth layer of defensive array that had been maintained for tens of thousands of years—the "Star River Sky Curtain" composed of projections of three hundred and sixty stars—burst open like glass struck by an invisible hammer, cracking into countless spiderweb-like fissures.

The cracks spread rapidly, and three breaths later, the entire sky collapsed with a deafening roar.

Billions of star fragments fell like a torrential rain, each leaving a long trail of light in the void, like a poignant meteor shower.

And beyond the shattered sky—

A gigantic face that obscured half the starry sky slowly emerged.

The face was blurry, its features hidden in the churning chaotic demonic energy.

Only those eyes.

Those were two rotating black holes that devoured all light. No, not black holes, but something far more terrifying—it was the projection of "nothingness" itself onto the present world. Wherever the eye could see, space, time, matter, energy, and all concepts of existence were wailing, collapsing, and returning to utter "nothingness."

Even the light of the stars was mercilessly swallowed up by those eyes, disappearing without a trace.

Heavenly Demon Emperor.

A forbidden being who ruled the Heavenly Demon Starfield for ninety million years and personally destroyed thirty-six Great Thousand Worlds, plunging countless beings into an eternal nightmare.

He finally descended in person.

"Ling Zhan, Su Yingxue."

The Demon Emperor's voice resounded directly deep within the souls of all living beings.

It wasn't a sound transmitted through the air, nor information conveyed through divine thought; it was a "conceptual shock" directly imprinted on the level of consciousness. Each word was as heavy as billions of stars, pressing down on the soul of the immortal, causing it to shatter and their Dao heart to tremble.

The heavenly soldiers, whose cultivation was lower than that of a true immortal, coughed up blood from their seven orifices and their souls cracked the moment they heard the voice.

Even the celestial generals at the True Immortal level turned pale and had no choice but to sit cross-legged and do their utmost to stabilize their Dao hearts.

Only Golden Immortals like Ling Zhan, Su Yingxue, and Yue Rong could barely stand, but even they were suffering from surging blood and disordered immortal essence.

"Hand over the 'Son of Devouring Heaven,' and I will allow your souls to enter the cycle of reincarnation."

The Demon Emperor's voice was indifferent, without threat or temptation, simply stating a fact.

It's as if handing over the children and letting them enter the cycle of reincarnation is already an immense blessing.

Ling Zhan and Su Yingxue exchanged a glance.

In each other's eyes, they both saw the resolute determination they had long anticipated.

really.

The demons launched this unprecedented invasion, indeed for their child, for the unborn Ling Xiao, who possesses both the Starfall and Devouring Heaven bloodlines.

"dream."

Ling Zhan only said two words.

The Nine Heavens Thunder Strike Spear was raised.

In that instant, he changed.

He was no longer a gentle husband, no longer a man about to become a father, and no longer even a commander who would feel heartache for the deaths of his heavenly soldiers.

He is the seventh guardian of the Ziqiong Starfield, the "Thunder Emperor Venerable" who once used thunder to kill three demon lords and made the demons from beyond the realm tremble in fear, and the sharpest spear of the Ling clan in this generation.

The spearhead pointed at the Thunder Avenue, which had been dormant deep within the star field, and was brutally awakened, torn apart, and forcibly requisitioned.

"Lei Lai."

Words become law.

Within the entire Seventh Defense Zone of the Purple Qiong Starfield, all the stars that had not yet extinguished their flames simultaneously erupted with unprecedented lightning. This time, it was more intense, more violent, and more... resolute than before.

Billions of purple lightning bolts were born from the void, each as thick as a galaxy, with countless lightning runes arising and ceasing within them. They converged, compressed, and condensed, finally transforming into a lightning spear that stretched across the star field. At the tip of the spear, a point of lightning was condensed to its extreme, which was the projection of the "First Lightning of Creation".

This shot burned away a third of Ling Zhan's original Dao foundation.

It was a truly desperate, life-or-death strike!

"A trivial skill."

The Demon Emperor's voice carried an indifferent mockery.

A gigantic hand covered in jet-black scales emerged from the demonic clouds. The hand was indescribably large; its five fingers spread wide enough to obscure half the starry sky, and it gently grasped the thunderous spear.

It's not about resisting.

It is "握" (wò).

It was as if it wasn't a blow capable of destroying the entire world, but rather a trivial toothpick.

Thunder clashed with the Demon Hand.

No sound.

Because the medium through which sound propagates has long been completely annihilated by the collision at the level of laws.

There was no light.

Because the light itself was also swallowed up by the "nothingness" generated by the collision.

There is only the struggle between "existence" and "non-existence".

It's just a battle between "having" and "not having".

Three breaths later—

The giant hand paused slightly.

Then, continue pressing down.

But in that brief pause, everyone saw that three of the demon's fingers shattered.

The black demonic blood poured out like a celestial river, each drop containing a terrifying power to corrode the Great Dao. Wherever it passed, the void was scorched with wounds that would never heal, and even time itself became disordered.

The Demon Emperor is injured.

Although it was just a minor injury, it was still an injury.