Primordial Era: Starting with slaughtering all the gods and Buddhas in the sky

Inside the abandoned well underground palace, dampness clung to the base of the walls like a dead snake.

Half of the well wall had collapsed, with broken bricks and black bones buried in the mud and water. The air was filled with the stench of blood, dust, and the burnt smell of earth fire. Huang Chen sat down with his back against a cracked stone pillar, his chest still trembling. His palm pressed tightly against a broken corner of the Humanity Town Prison Monument, his knuckles turning pale from the excessive force.

The roar of the collapsed outer city still echoes down through the thick layers of earth.

With each sound, fine sand fell from the ceiling of the underground palace, landing on his shoulders and hair.

Huang Chen didn't move. He first crushed and swallowed a Qi-replenishing pill, then used the medicinal power of the Rejuvenating Pill to slowly suppress the churning heat in his internal organs.

The Prison Guardian has really gone too far this time.

The coordinate stele corridor, the outer market general account, the resentment of the imprisoned humans, and the backlash all crammed into this one night. The dark, ancient patterns on the stele seemed to come alive, crashing into his sea of ​​consciousness in waves, making his temples throb and his ears ring.

Huang Chen took a breath, and a vein throbbed slightly on his forehead.

"Oh shit.

'

He cursed under his breath, tightening his grip on the monument with his fingers, using the karmic fire lotus to protect his soul and forcefully suppress the backlash that threatened to drag him into endless wailing.

Fire slowly spread deep within the sea of ​​consciousness.

The illusory image of the crimson lotus rotated petal by petal, burning a narrow path through the chaotic resentment. Huang Chen followed that path, gradually calming his breathing, circulating the "Primordial God and Demon Technique" and the Desolate Ancient Body Tempering Scripture to reconnect his broken blood and qi.

Time passed little by little.

There was no sun or moon in the underground palace, only a faint wisp of gray-white light seeping in from above the well opening.

That wasn't light; it was more like a layer of cold seeping into the deathly silence before dawn, when the sky was just beginning to break.

When Huang Chen opened his eyes, his back was already soaked with sweat.

He raised his hand and wiped his face, his palm covered in dried scabs. His injuries hadn't fully healed; his left rib still ached faintly, and the backlash from the Prison Suppression Monument had only been temporarily suppressed, but at least he could still move.

He laid out the complete coordinate ledger.

The thing looked like a piece of skin that had been peeled off, with curled edges and its surface densely covered with names, coordinates, seals, and delivery quantities.

Each stroke looked as if it had been scraped from human bones, with dark red stains still remaining between the characters, and it smelled sweet and fishy.

Huang Chen placed the tokens from the City of Ten Thousand Demons aside, then took out half of the living leather general ledger and the bone slips of the ledger, comparing the items one by one.

He read very slowly.

The slower he went, the colder his expression became.

The clues from the outer city, Bone Lamp Slope, Skeleton Moon Pool, Cold Soul Ferry, and even the earlier Black Wind Demon Cave, were all forcibly strung together into a single thread by this master ledger. The thread was buried at the very bottom, climbing all the way up, and finally resting on the same name.

The Fang-Cracking Demon General.

Huang Chen stared at those four words without even blinking.

Beside the main ledger, there was a half-broken fang brand. The mark was crude, like a giant beast biting into flesh, and you could even see the bloodstains that had been splattered when the mark was made.

Further down are the number of blood collected, the batch number of the transport, and the border garrison camp number.

There's an older, lighter note.

—The old accounts of Black Wind Cave, the mopping up of the remaining villages in Xiling, the three jackals, the seven rats.

Huang Chen paused for a moment.

The next instant, it felt as if something had stabbed him hard in the chest, and his whole body tensed up. Many images that had been suppressed deep in his mind suddenly surged up.

Wildfire.

The sound of crying.

The sound of a jackal tearing flesh, its teeth grinding against bone.

And then there was that old man, his face covered in blood, carrying him as he rushed into the woods, turning back and cursing as he ran.

"Run! You brat, don't look back!"

'

"Live!"

"First, stay alive—"

Huang Chen's veins bulged on the back of his hand as he squeezed the general ledger so hard it made a cracking sound.

He saw it again.

A tall, demonic figure broke through the fence and emerged from the fire, its mouth filled with fangs, its shoulders draped in animal skins, and its hand dragging a blood-stained banner.

The old man turned around to shield the monster, but was flipped over by its claw, and the entire protective line was torn apart like rotten grass.

It's not a mistake.

Not a dream.

that's it.

"Cracked tooth".

Huang Chen's voice was a little hoarse, as if there was sand or gravel stuck in his throat.

"So it was you."

Just then, a system notification sounded.

[Ding! Host has been detected locking onto a core target of blood feud.]

】

[Hidden Quest Triggered: Blood Debts Arise]

[Mission 1: Slay the Fang-Cracking Demon General.]

【Task 2: Reclaim the vengeful spirits of the human race that have been incorporated into the demon army's battle flag】

】

[Reward: Main story level unknown]

The handwriting appeared before my eyes, cold, hard, and shiny.

Huang Chen stared at those few lines of text, remaining motionless for a long time.

Then he slowly rolled up the ledger and put it into his storage container, his movements frighteningly calm.

The calm is only superficial.

The fire in his heart was burning up to his throat.

He glanced down at the Wan Yao City token in his palm.

The bone tablet was cold to the touch, and it was engraved with dark patterns indicating the deployment of border troops. It was a key that had been brought down from the outer city.

With this, he can enter the garrison.

Huang Chen stood up.

As soon as he straightened up, the old wound on his left rib twitched. He frowned, raised his hand to cover himself with the Human Concealment Veil, and then fastened the Ash Bone Mask.

He didn't need to look in the mirror; he was already intimately familiar with it. Every disguise and infiltration was like burying himself deeper into darkness.

Only half of the collapsed well remains at the exit of the underground palace.

Only half of the collapsed well remains at the exit of the underground palace.

Huang Chen climbed up the broken bricks and bones, his fingertips gripping the damp well edge, when a gust of wind rushed in. The wind carried the mixed smells of burnt wood, demon blood, broken stalls, and damp earth, making his nostrils ache.

It was still dark.

The vast area outside the City of Ten Thousand Demons looks as if it has been gnawed by a giant beast.

Collapsed walls, overturned vehicles, embers of fire, and corpses lay scattered haphazardly across the ground. Yet, the true City of Ten Thousand Demons still stood in the distance, its outline bathed in the bluish-gray morning light, like an ancient, ferocious beast crouching motionless.

Huang Chen lowered his breath and moved forward, staying close to the shadows.

Despite the chaos in the outer cities, the border garrisons were not completely thrown into disarray.

The closer they got to the city, the denser the patrols became, and the sounds of demon soldiers' armor clashing, low horns blaring, and shouts mingled together.

He stopped behind a section of charred stone archway and glanced at it from afar.

The encampment covered a vast area, surrounded by a chevaux-de-frise of bone stakes and iron chains. Inside, rows of black tents stretched out in a continuous line, with three large pillars in the center, each topped with a skinning demon lantern. The tent in the very center stood out prominently, with a half-rolled demon flag stuck in front of its entrance, its edges stained with old blood, rustling in the wind.

Huang Chen lowered his gaze.

That place looked like a grave.

He moved to the side and inserted the token from the City of Ten Thousand Demons into a groove in a bone door. A crisp click immediately came from the crack in the door, and the dark patterns along the bone groove lit up for a moment before quickly going out.

The door opened.

Huang Chen slipped inside.

The camp smelled even worse.

The smells of alcohol, meat, blood, monster excrement, and simmering bone broth mingled together, penetrating straight into one's lungs.

Several little demons on night duty were dozing off by the brazier, their armor plates not yet fastened, and half a bone with meat still in their mouths.

Huang Chen walked past them from behind, his footsteps so light they were almost silent.

The further you go in, the heavier the air becomes.

Near the central tent, the ground was covered with streaks of dried, dark red blood, as if someone had poured buckets of blood onto the ground and let it congeal.

Several demon soldiers knelt outside the tent, their heads bowed low, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Low chewing sounds came from inside the tent.

Click.

Click.

Like teeth chewing on some hard bone.

Huang Chen stopped.

The next moment, someone spoke from inside the tent, their voice rough and grating.

"The outer cities are abandoned?"

'

No one dared to look up, and a demon soldier replied in a trembling voice.

"Returning, returning demon general, the coordinate stele corridor is completely destroyed, the black-faced contract officer is also dead, and most of the people and goods have been abducted—"

"waste.

'

As soon as the voice fell, a dark figure suddenly flew out of the tent.

boom!

Before the demon soldier could even scream, his head exploded, splattering bone fragments and blood everywhere. The other demon soldiers shuddered and crouched even lower.

"In one night, we lost the head office, lost face, and lost the surrounding city."

"How have you lot managed to survive until today?"

'

The curtain was ripped open by a giant claw.

Huang Chen finally saw the Cracked Fang Demon General clearly.

It was a wolf-like demon nearly ten feet tall, with shoulders and back as broad as a wall, its entire body covered in stiff, grayish-black fur, and an old scar running from the corner of its eye to its jaw. The most striking feature was its two outward-facing fangs, thick, long, and deathly white, with dark gold tips, like weapons that had been nurtured in blood and medicine for a long time.

It was covered in half a suit of bone armor, and seven or eight shriveled skulls hung from its waist.

Each skull has a tiny nail embedded between its eyebrows, which makes a soft knocking sound when the wind blows.

Huang Chen's eyes darkened instantly.

The Fang-toothed Demon General stood at the entrance of the tent, his nostrils flaring slightly, and suddenly looked in one direction.

"It smells like a stranger."

The surrounding demon soldiers were startled and looked up.

Huang Chen stopped hiding.

He removed the ash-bone mask, flicked his wrist, and threw it directly onto the blood-soaked ground.

The ashen face rolled halfway in the firelight, then landed with a thud, revealing his bloodied, wounded, yet terrifyingly cold face.

The demon soldiers were stunned.

The fanged demon general also stared at him, first slightly startled, then grinned, revealing even whiter teeth.

"Human race?"

'

"You're that bastard from out of town."

Huang Chen took a step forward.

Do you still remember that little village in Xiling?

The fanged demon general narrowed his eyes, as if he were rummaging through some old, unresolved matter.

Two breaths later, it actually laughed, but the laughter was rough and unpleasant.

"Xiling?"

'

"I have slaughtered hundreds of villages. Which one are you referring to?"

As it spoke, its nose twitched again, and suddenly, as if it had smelled something interesting, it exhaled hot air from between its fangs.

"etc."

"The smell on you... seems familiar."

'

Huang Chen stared at it, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"An old man carrying a child ran into the mountains, and you smashed half of his shoulder with one swipe of your claw."

'

"The souls on your flag were taken from him."

The fanged demon stared at him for a few moments, then, as if he had finally remembered, a cruel realization flashed in his eyes.

"oh."

"That old man."

'

"Even in death, he clung to my flagpole, his fingers were burned."

It grinned.

"So that little brat actually survived until now."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ground beneath Huang Chen's feet exploded.

He was like an iron ball that had been compressed to its limit and then released, instantly rushing to the front of the Rift Fang Demon General, tearing through the wind with his right fist and smashing it straight in the face.

Too fast.

The fanged demon general raised his arm to parry, and with a deafening roar, their fists and claws collided, the shockwave overturning the brazier and sending the surrounding demon soldiers flying backward. Large sections of the tent's fabric were torn apart, and the wooden pillars cracked.

The fanged demon general took a half step back, his eyes suddenly turning fierce.

"court death!

'

It roared suddenly, its demonic aura soaring into the sky, and the pressure of a half-step Celestial Immortal pressed down like a mountain. Huang Chen felt a weight on his shoulder, his wounds throbbing, and the ground beneath his feet sinking inch by inch.

But he didn't back down.

Pulsefire Battlefield, open!

boom!

Crimson gold flames erupted from beneath his feet, instantly igniting the solidified blood lines on the ground and transforming them into a scorching battle zone.

The heatwave rolled in, and even the air seemed to crack from the heat.

The monument to the Humane Prison is erected!

Huang Chen flipped his left hand, and the broken ancient stele crashed heavily in front of him. The stele's patterns were interwoven with black and gold, which suppressed the howling demonic wind around him.

The fiery red lotus blooms once more!

A crimson lotus bloomed in his sea of ​​consciousness, and a layer of crimson fire emanated from Huang Chen's body through his meridians, as if he were wearing a burning humanoid armor. The fire did not burn flesh and blood, but only burned vengeful spirits and sins. As soon as it appeared, the skulls and waist ornaments around him emitted sharp ghostly cries.

The expression on the face of the fanged demon general finally changed.

"What kind of fire is this?"

! "

Huang Chen did not answer.

He took a step forward, causing the ground to crack, and his second punch was even more powerful than the first, slamming into the left fang of the Rending Fang Demon General. With a crisp crack, the thick, long fang was broken in half on the spot, flying away covered in blood.

The fanged demon roared in pain and retreated violently, spreading its arms in a fit of rage.

"Demon army banner, come forth!"

'

Suddenly, a burst of black light shot into the sky from behind the main tent.

A tall old flag burst forth from the ground, its pole seemingly forged from a single spine, its surface jet black with a reddish tinge, and its edges adorned with fragments of broken bone.

The most terrifying thing was that as soon as the flag was unfurled, countless blurry figures immediately poured out, and cries, curses, and screams instantly filled the entire camp.

Huang Chen was startled.

He saw it.

Deep within the flag, there was the phantom of a hunched old man, half of his shoulder broken, yet his hand was still tightly gripping something.

There are also many tribal souls whose faces are no longer recognizable, entangled together by black and red lock patterns, twisted and rolled, unable to escape.

The old man's phantom image raised its head.

The eyes were long gone, leaving only two dim embers of soul fire.

But Huang Chen still recognized him.

It felt like someone had stabbed his chest with a red-hot iron rod, the pain so intense that his breathing became erratic. All the old, deep-seated resentments surged up in an instant.

The Fissure Fang Demon General burst into wild laughter.

"You recognized me?"

'

"This flag is very useful. The more the human race hates it, the brighter it burns!"

'

With a flick of its hands, the demonic flames of the battle flag swept down.

The black and red flames, accompanied by the wailing of countless vengeful spirits, resembled a collapsed sky.

The battle domain of pulse fire around Huang Chen trembled violently, and the Humanity Prison Suppression Stele emitted a heavy hum, with fine cracks even appearing on its surface.

Blood trickled from the corner of Huang Chen's mouth, and the muscles in his arms bulged.

He forced out a deep breath, his five fingers digging deeply into the edge of the prison-suppressing monument, his palms splitting open instantly. Blood flowed down the monument's lines, but the monument itself suddenly gleamed from the surge of this humane blood energy.

"Old man."

Huang Chen stared at the flag, his voice low and hoarse.

"I'm late."

The next instant, he charged straight at the demonic flames of the battle flag.

It wasn't a clash of magical techniques.

It's not about maneuvering remotely.

He just kept pushing forward, step by step.

With each step, his back cracked so hard it made his teeth ache, and the protective flames were suppressed even further.

The vengeful spirits within the flag pounced on him, and the karmic fire lotus swept over him, burning the tangled black chains until they crackled and shattered.

For the first time, the fanged demon general showed shock and anger on his face.

"Are you crazy?!"

'

Huang Chen rushed forward and punched it in the chest.

boom!

Bone armor shattered.

The second punch landed on his jaw.

The fanged demon spat out a mouthful of blood, and another fang broke off as well.

The third punch, the fourth punch, the fifth punch...

Huang Chen didn't care that his body was cracking, whether his ribs were breaking again, or whether the demonic fire was still burning.

He crammed all the hatred, anger, resentment, and blood debts he had suppressed for so long into his fists and pounded forward with each punch.

The fanged demon general swung his flag in retaliation, but it was blocked by the Prison Suppression Stele.

It swung its claws at Huang Chen, but Huang Chen shoved it away right in the face.

It wanted to back out, but Huang Chen wouldn't let it.

It tried to take flight, but Huang Chen grabbed half of its bone armor and slammed it to the ground. The ground collapsed with a deafening roar, and the surrounding demon soldiers were so terrified that they dared not even approach.

"Don't you like tearing people apart?"

Huang Chen smashed its sternum with a punch, and blood splattered all over his face.

"Don't you like collecting souls?"

Another punch landed, and the Cracked Fang Demon's left eye exploded.

"Come."

Huang Chen was panting heavily, his hands covered in blood, but his voice grew increasingly harsh.

"Keep collecting."

The fanged demon was utterly terrified.

Half of its body was smashed, its demonic core vibrated, and its soul fire flickered wildly. It opened its mouth and roared desperately, "Stop! I am a border soldier of the Ten Thousand Demon City—"

Huang Chen grabbed its head.

I don't care who you are.

boom!

With the final punch, he smashed its head into the ground from above.

The skull cracked.

Brain matter mixed with demon blood splattered everywhere.

The enormous demonic body twitched twice, then finally stopped moving.

[Ding! Hidden quest stage one completed: Slay the Fang-Cracking Demon General.]

】

Before the system notification had even finished, Huang Chen had already turned around and lunged at the demon army's battle flag.

Even after Crack Fang died, the battle flag continued to struggle, its surface swirling wildly like a living thing, trying to strangle the vengeful spirit within again.

Huang Chen pressed his left hand on the monument and grabbed the flagpole directly with his right hand.

scoff!

His palms were burned and torn open on the spot.

But he didn't let go. He just let out a low roar, and the karmic fire lotus rushed down his arm and into the flag.

The black and red flag twisted wildly, screams exploded one after another, and the chains binding the vengeful spirits finally began to crumble.

Disperse!

'

Huang Chen suddenly pulled.

He tore the entire battle flag in two.

boom!

Countless gray-white soul lights, like a tide that had been trapped for too long, surged out from inside the flag.

Cries, sighs, and low murmurs mingled together, swirling above the burning demon camp.

The old man's illusory figure was also among them.

He was so badly injured that he was almost unrecognizable, but he still turned towards Huang Chen and, just like many years ago in the wildfire, raised his hand to try to push him away.

Huang Chen stood still, his Adam's apple bobbing.

A single sentence stuck in my throat, causing me pain.

The old man's illusory figure paused for a moment, then slowly dissipated.

The surrounding tribal spirits and vengeful human souls also dissipated piece by piece in the light of the karmic fire and the Prison-Suppressing Stele. There were no more screams, no more tearing, only the wind passing through the burnt-out tents, swirling up the remaining ashes.

[Ding! Hidden quest completed: Blood debts avenged]

[Rewards being processed...]

[Gain a massive amount of karma!]

】

[Gain a huge amount of merit!]

The system panel started flashing wildly in the next instant.

It felt as if a scalding river had suddenly poured into Huang Chen's body. His blood and qi surged, his bones vibrated, and the barrier that had been suppressed deep within his meridians for so long was forcibly loosened by this massive accumulation.

He stood there, his eyes slightly closed, and the energy around him rose upwards in segments.

The flames of battle did not dissipate; instead, they burned even more fiercely.

Dark red steam billowed from the cracks in the ground, and the ancient patterns on the Prison Suppression Stele lit up in circles.

Huang Chen's chest heaved, and dark gold witch patterns slowly emerged from under his skin, spreading from his shoulders and neck all the way to the back of his hands, like the bone veins of a ferocious beast that had been dormant for too long being awakened again.

boom!

He felt another jolt within his body.

An invisible barrier was breached, creating a crack.

Huang Chen spat out a mouthful of blood, which contained fine black bits that burned into wisps of smoke upon hitting the ground. He opened his eyes, the fire in them now deeper, heavier, and colder than before.

The camp had been burned to the ground.

The bone pillars crackled and shattered in the fire, and one black tent after another collapsed.

The demon soldiers in the distance finally reacted, screaming in terror as they gathered in this direction, but were deterred from approaching by the out-of-control fire and oppressive atmosphere in the camp.

Huang Chen bent down and picked up the half-shattered head of the Rift Fang Demon.

In his other hand, he held the Humanitarian Town Prison Monument.

Blood trickled down between his fingers, drop by drop, hitting the scorched earth.

The morning light finally pierced through a corner of the clouds, shining on his face and also illuminating the real City of Ten Thousand Demons in the distance.

The city walls stand tall, and an eerie aura hangs in the air.

Countless pavilions, bone towers, and beast-shaped eaves pressed their outlines against the gray-white sky, like a sea that swallows people whole. On the city wall, an even more powerful aura, alerted by the fire, was faintly probing towards the border army camp.

Huang Chen stood in front of the burning camp, neither hiding nor leaving immediately.

The wind whipped up sparks and swept them past his temples and the hem of his clothes.

The fanged demon gently shook the shattered head in his palm, blood still dripping from its broken fangs. Huang Chen raised his hand and expressionlessly slammed the head to the ground.

boom.

The skull rolled into the fire.

The fire suddenly shot up a considerable height.