Ling Xiao's gaze was bone-chilling. Having fought to this point, he naturally had no intention of stopping easily. Even if the Ancestral Witches were the "Protagonists of the Great Calamity," they had to pay a price for their actions.
He pointed a finger, and a Golden Crow Divine Feather transformed into a peerless sword. It pierced straight through an Ancestral Witch, causing a massive spray of blood to dye the starry sky crimson.
Ju Mang let out a frantic howl, feeling the very breath of death descend upon him.
"Retreat, quickly!"
Di Jiang saw that the momentum was lost and victory was impossible. He was unwilling to continue a losing battle.
At this moment, Ling Xiao's robes were stained with blood—wounds sustained during his clash with the Pangu phantom—but he was largely unharmed, his majestic bearing as sharp as ever. Because Ancestral Witches were born with incomplete spirits, their Physical Bodies were their greatest Treasure Trove. At their level, their physical toughness was comparable to Innate Spirit Treasures. To them, their bodies were "Innate and Indestructible"; once broken, the consequences were catastrophic.
"You think you can come and go as you please? It's not that easy!" Ling Xiao shouted. His body streaked across the sky, unfettered by the laws of heaven and earth, instantly cutting off the path through the firmament.
The stars were covered by his presence. With a single hand that "shrouded the heavens," he struck down with an unstoppable, all-destroying force. Nothing could withstand him.
Bang!
She Bi Shi exploded in mid-air. This strike contained a multitude of Laws, fixing him within the Void Realm before smashing him into eight pieces. A torrential rain of blood poured down, saturating an entire region of the earth.
Though Ling Xiao was injured, his combat power was now greater than when the fight began; his Dao and Laws had been tempered into something even more solid.
Rumble!
Ling Xiao unleashed a punch that drained the color from the world. The starry river was pierced through, and the power of his Laws suppressed the surrounding Void Realm. The Ancestral Witch of Wind (Tian Wu) slammed into a spatial barrier. Fierce gales erupted, forming a massive storm between heaven and earth, but he could not escape.
"Suppress!"
Ling Xiao flicked a finger and whispered a single word. Space began to peel away, and Major Thousand Worlds overlapped one after another. He trapped the Wind Witch within these worlds, using the weight of entire universes to grind him into trillions of fragments.
At his realm, all Dao techniques were available at his fingertips, allowing him to kill his enemies through various inconceivable means.
The Ancestral Witches no longer had any heart for battle; they thought only of escape. Qiang Liang clutched Ru Shou's head in his hands while carrying his torso over his shoulder, leading the retreat. In truth, ever since the formation collapsed, he had been ready to run. He had the foresight to pick up Ru Shou early so he had a "valid" reason to run faster—otherwise, his brothers might think he was a coward.
I might not be the best at fighting, but I'm definitely the best at running.
Ling Xiao strode forward, accompanied by thunder and wind. His Aura was earth-shattering as he pursued the Witches alone, slaughtering everything in his path.
"Why did the Pangu Formation collapse?"
The living beings of the Great Desolation who were watching the battle were still immersed in the pressure of the Creator God one moment, only for it to vanish the next. It came and went without a single sign of warning.
"Haha! It can only be said that the Wu Clan committed too much evil and suffered a heavenly backlash. Even the heavens are on Ling Xiao's side!"
"The Ancestral Witches are defeated! A day of universal celebration!" Some great powers were ecstatic, sensing that there was finally a way forward. One expert, who had been bullied by the Witches and had his Dao-site stolen, felt such joy and relief that he nearly reached a breakthrough on the spot!
"Victory! A total victory!" Ji Meng roared in excitement, happier than he had ever been in his life. "Haha! Even the Twelve Capital Gods Fiend Formation is useless now!"
Heaven only knew how he had survived these millennia, living in constant fear that an Ancestral Witch might suddenly appear before him. Even the usually calm and steady Bai Ze couldn't help but be moved. To them, this was a legendary, era-defining moment.
The Yao and the Wu had fought for countless years, yet they had never truly defeated the Twelve Ancestral Witches. This scene was something they hadn't dared to dream of.
"To think that the one who finally saved the Yao Race... would be Fellow Daoist Ling Xiao." Bai Ze sighed, feeling a sense of inexplicable irony. The goal the entire Yao Race had failed to achieve after years of effort had been accomplished by Ling Xiao alone.
In a certain celestial land, Nuwa witnessed the total collapse of the Wu Clan from beginning to end. Her expression was complicated; while she felt a sense of relief, she was also frustrated by her own perceived powerlessness.
Ling Xiao had helped her yet again, defeating the Witches and resolving the current crisis of the Yao Race. Without realizing it, she had already come to owe Ling Xiao far too much. From the first meeting at Mount Buzhou until now, the Karma had piled up.
With so much Karma owed, how am I ever going to pay him back?!
East Sea Dragon Palace.
The Old Dragon saw the scene and slammed the table in excitement, his aged body feeling a long-lost surge of hot blood.
"Good! Good! Good!" He said three times to express his joy.
"Hmph! The Wu Clan wanted our Dragon Clan to submit? Now they know the consequences!" Ao Zhan shouted at the air, acting as if his clan had been the one to defeat the Witches. He was full of pride.
The Old Dragon nodded in agreement, then his expression shifted. He looked at Ao Zhan and said solemnly:
"Send the order down. Tell the children to get active. Go out and find some treasures—fill our treasury to the brim."
Ao Zhan froze for a moment, then asked with a strange expression: "Does the Elder mean..."
Given his intelligence, it wasn't hard to guess the purpose. They were preparing for Ling Xiao's next visit! The Elder was truly a sly old fox; only he could think of such a subtle yet dignified method of bribery.
Ling Xiao continued his pursuit, eventually reaching the Wu Clan's Ancestral Land and descending before the Pangu Temple.
His gaze swept across the vast land of the Witches, encompassing their countless tribes. Around him, the Great Dao Laws bloomed, and infinite auspicious light flowed. His Aura was growing increasingly powerful.
This grand, boundless, and domineering presence made millions of Witches feel their scalps tingle. Their bodies betrayed their will, trembling in fear until they felt the urge to prostrate themselves.
Once, they had bullied all other races in this same manner, treating others as mere ants. Now, the roles were reversed. It was the first time in their lives they had felt this way!
"Ling Xiao, you go too far! Today, we shall fight to the death!"
From within the Pangu Temple, Di Jiang's voice roared in fury. The entire temple began to glow, radiating Chaos Qi. It launched itself with a violent force, shaking the vast firmament.
Ling Xiao raised his hand—a slow but powerful movement. His hand grew larger and larger as he propped up the sky, forcibly halting the descending Pangu Temple.
Rumble!
Immeasurable Divine Power bloomed. Eternal celestial light and a world-shaking killing intent erupted, crashing violently against Ling Xiao's hand.
"Be crushed into meat paste!" The Witches roared from inside, frantically pressing the temple down to crush Ling Xiao.
Sizzle!
Ling Xiao's gaze shifted. Celestial fire flooded the area, and golden divine flames instantly encased the entire temple, leaving not a single gap.
In just a few breaths, the Pangu Temple began to glow red. A distinct scent of roasting meat began to waft from within.
"Stop burning! Stop! We're almost cooked!"
From inside the temple, the frantic, exasperated screams of the Ancestral Witches echoed out!