The spiritual energy was restored, and he became a mortal immortal in two days.

The dark gold scales shattered inch by inch, two of the three heads had exploded into a bloody mist, and four of the six arms were broken!

He struggled to stand up, but found that he couldn't even move a finger. Chen Xuan's fist force had shattered all his meridians and cracked his original demonic core!

"No...it's impossible..."

The Demon Emperor's last remaining head emitted a hoarse voice, "This Emperor...this Emperor has cultivated for thirty thousand years..."

Chen Xuan walked up to him, looking down at him.

"Thirty thousand years is not as good as nine thousand eight hundred years."

"Because you have never truly cultivated yourself in these 30,000 years."

"You only plunder, only devour, only destroy."

"And I—in every lifetime, I break through my own limits."

He raised his hand, his five fingers loosely clenched.

"Eternal Return to Origin - Sealing the Heavens".

Nine golden chains flew out from Chen Xuan's palm.

Each chain corresponds to the inherited power of an alias—Xuantian, Cangming, Hunyuan, Wangu, Beiming, Danxia, ​​Kunlun, Qingcheng, and Renjian.

Nine chains pierced through the Demon Emperor's broken, ten-thousand-foot-tall true body, pinning it to the void!

The Demon Emperor roared, attempting to self-destruct and perish along with his own essence: "Heavenly Demon Disintegration—"

But the chains suddenly tightened! The power of self-destruction was forcibly suppressed, and its essence was frantically extracted by the nine chains!

"No--!!!"

The Demon Emperor roared in despair, "I am not reconciled! I have cultivated for thirty thousand years!"

"I have devoured three worlds! I am the Lord of all realms! How could I possibly be defeated by a mere mortal?!"

Chen Xuan looked at him calmly.

"Ten thousand years ago, I sealed you away to give you a chance."

"Today—I will not make the same mistake again."

Bring your five fingers together.

"Eternal Return to Origin - Annihilation".

"Bang--!!!"

The celestial demon emperor, his true form spanning ten thousand feet, exploded into a sky full of golden dust.

Light dust falls and sprinkles across the world.

Those cities slain by demons, after being covered by light and dust, saw withered trees come back to life, scorched earth sprout new buds, and wildflowers bloom in the ruins.

The souls of the human cultivators who died in battle were allowed to rest after being brushed away by the light dust, and they turned into specks of white light that rose into the sky.

Their smiling faces could be vaguely seen in the white light.

That was liberation, relief, and the satisfaction of witnessing humanity's victory.

The Demon Emperor's 30,000 years of cultivation was purified by Chen Xuan and then used to nourish the mortal realm.

Forever sealed outside the sky

Although the Demon Emperor is dead, the ten-thousand-mile-long rift in the sky still remains.

Deep within the rift, countless evil spirits lurked, ready to pounce.

Beyond the heavens, there are even more beings of Demon Emperor caliber, coveting the mortal realm.

Chen Xuanfei flew to the bottom of the crack.

He formed a hand seal, and nine-colored light flowed around his body.

"Returning to the Origin for All Time, Forever Sealed"

Nine beams of light shot out again, but this time they didn't fly back into his body; instead, they flew towards the ten-thousand-mile-long rift.

The Xuan Tian Sword Intent guards the northern end of the rift.

The Azure Sea Sword Technique guards the eastern end of the rift.

The Hunyuan Seal Method guards the western end of the crack.

The power of ten thousand Gu was used to guard the southern end of the rift.

The power of the Northern Sea guards the center of the rift.

The energy of Danxia landforms repaired the edges of the cracks.

The Kunlun Three Seals stabilize the crack structure.

The imprint of Qingcheng seals the root of the cracks.

The power of the Human Line transformed into the final barrier, completely enveloping the entire rift!

The nine inheritances have been transformed into nine eternal seals.

The vast cracks began to slowly close.

From both ends toward the middle, inch by inch, foot by foot, mile by mile, they closed together.

From the depths of the rift came the roars and howls of countless demons. They tried to break out, but crashed into the barrier of nine seals, like moths to a flame, and evaporated instantly.

After three incense sticks burned.

The vast rift has been completely closed.

The sky returned to its original state, a clear, deep blue.

Sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone on the earth, warm as spring.

The celestial passage has been permanently sealed.

From then on, extraterrestrial demons were no longer able to descend upon the human world.

Chen Xuan slowly descended from the sky.

His aura subsided. The power of those nine inherited strands had all been used to seal the outer heavens and no longer belonged to him.

His cultivation level declined from the peak of the Integration Realm all the way down.

Late stage of Body Integration, Middle stage of Body Integration, Early stage of Body Integration, Peak stage of Void Refinement, Middle stage of Void Refinement, Early stage of Void Refinement, Peak stage of Deity Transformation, Middle stage of Deity Transformation, Early stage of Deity Transformation, Peak stage of Nascent Soul.

Ultimately, it stopped at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

His blue robe was stained with blood, and his face was pale.

After the nine inheritances dissipated, his body felt as if all his reserves had been drained, leaving him so weak that he could barely stand.

But his eyes remained bright.

He did it.

Nine thousand eight hundred years of planning, nine generations of inheritance, and the ultimate strike that returns to the origin of eternity.

Everything was for this moment.

"gentlemen--!"

Wu Minghuang flew from the direction of Zhengzhou City, stumbled and landed in front of him, hugged him tightly, and wept uncontrollably.

"Sir...you scared me to death...I thought...I thought you weren't coming back..."

Chen Xuan gently patted her back: "I said I would come back."

Shangguan Wan'er, clutching her chest wound, staggered over.

She was badly injured, her face as pale as paper, but her eyes were filled with tears of joy.

"Master...this disciple...this disciple thought I would never see you again..."

Chen Xuan raised his hand and gently placed it on her shoulder.

A gentle stream of true energy flowed into her body, stabilizing her injuries.

"You've all worked hard," he said softly.

Pei Hanchuan arrived from the northern frontier, covered in blood, his Hanchuan sword chipped.

He knelt on one knee, his voice hoarse: "Master, your disciple... has not failed you."

Chen Xuan helped him up: "Well done."

Shen Cangming was helped by his disciples to fly over. His lifespan had been burned by more than half, and his face looked decades older.

He knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably: "Sword Master... Sword Master... the East Sea Sword Sect... has held on..."

"stand up."

Chen Xuan helped him up, saying, "Shen Lang can rest in peace with a descendant like you."

Sha Wanli was carried in by disciples of the Hunyuan Sect. He had sealed the demon with his own body, half of his body was petrified, but the light in his eyes had not been extinguished: "Ancestor... disciple... disciple has protected the Western Desert..."

Chen Xuan pressed down on his petrified shoulder, channeling his Primordial Chaos Power into him, and the petrification slowly subsided: "The Primordial Chaos Sect is fortunate to have you."

Taiqingzi flew over, supported by Yuxuzi.

His golden core was shattered, and his cultivation level had plummeted to the Foundation Establishment stage, but there was no regret in his eyes: "Holy Master...this old Daoist...this old Daoist can still cultivate...cultivate for another three hundred years...and follow the Holy Master again..."

Chen Xuan grasped his hand: "I will teach you the Danxia Elixir Cultivation Technique. Within a hundred years, your Golden Core can be restored."

Ying Yuehua led the Ying clan members as they flew over, kneeling on the ground: "Holy Master! The Ying clan has guarded the Demon-Suppressing Tower for generations, and today... today we have finally received the Holy Master's summons!"

Chen Xuan looked at the group of guardians who had stood firm for nine thousand years, remained silent for a moment, and then bowed respectfully.

"The Ying family has protected us for nine thousand years; Chen Xuan will remember it."

Ying Yuehua trembled violently and repeatedly kowtowed, saying, "Holy Master, no! The Ying family cannot bear this!"

Chen Xuan straightened up and looked at everyone.

These people, covered in blood, are still alive.

These people, whose cultivation levels varied, none of them retreated. These people came from all corners of the country, yet they fought to the death for the same goal.

"Gentlemen."

He spoke, his voice not loud, yet it carried throughout the entire hall: "Peace on earth is not the work of one person alone."

"It is you—every cultivator who held the line to the death, every warrior who fought with their life on the line, every mortal who would rather die than retreat—who together protected the human world."

"I didn't win this battle."

"Humans won."

Everyone knelt down and shouted in unison:

"Long live the Holy Teacher!"

"Humanity will live forever!"

Chen Xuan looked at the old friends kneeling all over the ground, at the mountains and rivers in the distance that were recovering their vitality, and at the crack in the sky that had closed.

Nine thousand eight hundred years of vicissitudes flashed through his eyes.

Then he laughed.

"Get up, everyone."

"I'm home."

Three months after the war, human reconstruction

Three months after the war in outer space ended, order gradually returned to the human world.

The Lingxiao headquarters released a global announcement summarizing the casualties of the war: more than half of the human cultivators were killed or wounded, thirty-seven Golden Core cultivators perished, and six Nascent Soul cultivators died in battle.

The number of civilian casualties was kept below one million, far lower than the most pessimistic estimates.

Because Chen Xuan ultimately used the essence of the Demon Emperor to give back to the human world, healed a large number of people on the verge of death and brought many ruins back to life.

At the end of the announcement, Wang Mingyuan added a sentence in his own handwriting:

The survival of the human race in this battle was entirely due to the efforts of the Holy Master Chen Xuan.

Lingxiao suggests that this day of the year be designated as "Peace Festival" for eternal commemoration.

This announcement was sent to every corner of the world.