The Roc’s eyes were extremely sharp and expressed strong emotions.
Sage Douzhan had overcome the limits of the physical body but had now exhausted the strength because of it.
How would he continue to bear the catastrophe?
This catastrophe was inadvertently caused when Sage Douzhan was crystallizing the battle matrix and not relying on his own strength, which meant that even in Sage Douzhan’s prime, he might not have been able to bear the catastrophe of the Great Path.
Above the sky, the horrific light of catastrophe of the Great Path wandered between heaven and earth, as if trying to discern the whereabouts of Sage Douzhan.
The Roc looked up and watched the horrific light of catastrophe of the Great Path coming in its direction. Its eyes were extremely sharp.
Within the Roc, Ye Futian stood quietly. The Roc was an ancient god that he had created by borrowing everyone’s spiritual will, controlled by him, just as if it were an incarnation of him.
The Master fought for the Palace, and he did so at the risk of his own destruction.
Now that the Master had fallen, he would be the one to block the catastrophe.
Incomparably brilliant golden glow of light flowed over the large body of the Roc and lightly veiled it with the dazzling light of the stars, all of which were superior defense rules power.
The violent light of the catastrophe came towards them, and with a loud bang, the light of the stars was broken in an instant, and the body of the Roc trembled fiercely. All Ye Futian could feel was that his will would collapse and he would be destroyed. But as the will of the emperor was burning, his eyes showed extreme determination.
If he fell, the Master would undoubtedly die.
Boom! Boom! The raging light of catastrophe of the Great Path that had not yet scattered was now madly bombarding the Roc. Its body started to show cracks, and the immense body of the ancient demon god seemed on the verge of destruction. Inside, Ye Futian’s will was interrupted, and his clothes were stained with blood, but he was unshaken in his determination.
“Battle matrix formation.” A loud cry came from the Heavenly Battle Matrix that was led by Yuan Hong and other powerful cultivators. They had positioned themselves above the Roc and formed the battle matrix. Yuan Hong, now clad in the divine implement armor that was discarded by Sage Douzhan, stood at the highest position.
Still, horrible light of catastrophe showered down and penetrated the battle matrix. Yuan Hong’s body trembled, but he still stood there; the entire Heavenly battle matrix shuddered.
In the void, the light of catastrophe of the Great Path was diminishing; just a few more waves of impact and the catastrophe would pass.
Boom! With yet another loud bang, the Heavenly Battle Matrix collapsed. Yuan Hong’s body fell from the sky, and the light of catastrophe continued to impact Wang Xiang and hit the body of the Roc. Even more cracks now appeared on the Roc, making it look as if it was on the verge of destruction.
“Allow me.” A voice was heard, and another figure could be seen coming forward; it was the royal cultivators led by Huang Xi. They had also formed a battle matrix. An immense Sovereign Aura exploded and the gigantic battle form of Renhuang appeared.
“Be gone.” Huang Xi looked up and glanced at the catastrophe of the Great Path, then took the initiative to attack. A mighty force swept heaven and earth, and legions of an army clad in armor rushed out to strike. It was an extremely strong martial arts rules illusion, but the army of apparitions was lost in the light of catastrophe, and the horrible light blasted on the battle form of Renhuang, violently rocking the bodies of Huang Xi and the others.
“It’s almost disappearing.” Those who watched the battle from afar seemed to stop breathing. Their hearts beat wildly and their fists clenched tightly, as if it were they who were experiencing the catastrophe.
All the people from the Barren State, even those who were just watching, were extremely nervous.
They must hold the line.
In this Sacred War, the beliefs exhibited by the powerful cultivators of the Holy Zhi Palace had a strong impact on them.
The Holy Zhi Palace must win.
“If this catastrophe can be overcome, Sage Douzhan will be transformed, and so will the Holy Zhi Palace,” someone in the crowd said with a solemn but clear voice.
The speaker was an old man, great in age, with a very powerful presence. He was also a well-known figure in the Barren State—Sage Deadwood—who was numbered 29th on the Barren Sky Ranking.
“Indeed, in this Sacred War, the Holy Zhi Palace is unified in its conviction, with the participation of all the principalities in the Barren State, fighting side by side, unconcerned with life or death. This spirit is worthy of those listed on the Barren Sky Ranking, we ought to be ashamed.” Another walked out, and many people exclaimed, recognizing the person as another cultivator on the Barren Sky Ranking.
Among those who came to observe the battle, many were the strong cultivators and well-known figures from all sectors of the Barren State.
“If so, do you dare to fight?” someone spoke.
Sage Deadwood turned his sight to the rear and said clearly, “Many of you are top cultivators from the Barren State, enough to form a super army of sages and nobles. This time, the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty led cultivators to invade and instigated the Sacred War, intending on destroying the Holy Zhi Palace and establishing themselves in the Barren State. Now the battle is heating up with hefty costs. If we participate in the war, we can change the tide. Would anyone be willing to join me in driving the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty out of the Barren State?”
“I wish to battle.”
“Barren State cultivators do not fear battle.”
“Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, get out of the Barren State!”
Voices were heard in response, and suddenly, everyone was affected by this sentiment. As they stepped forward, a majestic army started to form.
The cultivators of Zhisheng Cliffs and Xihua Sacred Mountain stood amongst the crowd, and their faces revealed a slight shock.
“If so, then get on with it.” All cultivators stepped forward with awesome momentum, its magnificence pressuring those around it.
On the other side, the Great Zhou Sacred King blinked and looked into the distance. He saw the army heading for him, and with an extremely cold look, he said to them icily, “You dare challenge me?”
His voice trembled between heaven and earth, like thunder in a clear sky, wanting to break the force of these strong cultivators. He knew that these people were affected by the passion for this war, and joined in the heat of the moment. As long as he could jolt them out of it, it would be enough to stop them.
Sure enough, as he finished his sentence, many had stopped in their track, plagued by doubts. After all, this was the Sacred King, with the legendary existence of the saint plane.
“The cultivation of the Great Path should be determinate in heart and mind before there is the opportunity for enlightenment, such as in the case of Sage Douzhan.” The old Village Chief surveyed the cultivators and declared, “Cultivation is the cultivation of the heart, regardless of sanctification. If one cannot face the world with honesty, enlightenment is meaningless.”
Many people who heard the words from the old Village Chief felt moved in their hearts, and boiling blood coursed through their bodies. This wisdom was also from a saint, and the words of saints were enlightening.
“Fight.”
The army continued forward. Great Zhou Sacred King looked extremely upset. The old Village Chief looked at him and said, “Great Zhou Sacred King, do you see? In this battle, the army of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty will surely be defeated.”
Clearly, Great Zhou Sacred King never expected this turn of events in the Sacred War. He had guessed that the army of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty would be able to raze the Holy Zhi Palace in no time.
But at the moment, everything had deviated from how he had imagined.
At the moment, the light of the catastrophe of the Great Path below descended again, with Huang Xi, Yuan Zhan, Ye Futian, and the others resisting this last bit of force.
Finally, the light of the catastrophe of the Great Path above the firmament gradually subsided; they had blocked it successfully.
The faces of those within the army of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty were extremely disturbed. The Divine Catastrophe had not annihilated their opponents.
The Roc looked down at the body of Sage Douzhan, and upon the golden body, there was still a sacred brilliance flowing about. At the moment, he felt that all his spiritual will seemed to have collapsed, but on Ye Futian’s face, there was a smile.
Afterward, when he looked up, he saw an army coming from the distance and declared loudly, “We are the cultivators of the Barren State, coming to your aid.”
“Smite.” The voice trembled between heaven and earth, and the mighty army of sages was now striking the scattered Golden Phoenix Army of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty.
Ye Futian felt warmth in his heart, but when he looked at the people of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty, he felt chills all over.
“Guard the Master,” Ye Futian commanded. The Roc floated in mid-air, and with a flash of its wings, it dragged on with extremely exhausted spiritual will and headed towards Zhou Huang with a renewed attack.
Zhou Huang’s state, at this time, was no better than Ye Futian’s. He was wounded by Sage Douzhan and was seriously injured. If it were not for the battle matrix, he probably would have already died.
The Golden Phoenix Sword lifted and Zhou Huang’s body seemed to be burning as the golden blade of light moved between heaven and earth.
Buzz! Golden brilliance shone between heaven and earth, and the space seemed to have come to a standstill. Zhou Huang felt the space-freezing rules power and looked terrible. He lifted the Golden Phoenix Sword with great difficulty, and the power of the rules that could tear all powers tore through the space-freezing rules, and the Golden Phoenix Sword stabbed the Roc that was descending.
Boom! The body of the Roc did not hesitate as it dove and continued swooping down, its claws grabbing downward. While the Golden Phoenix Sword was still on top of it, terrible rule powers could be felt blocking its way, even though it continued to keep going. Incredible brilliance penetrated the claws of the Roc, but at the same time, the other claw tore down and slammed on Zhou Huang’s body.
Zhou Huang’s body shook violently, and it felt like all his internal organs were shattered.
“Be gone.” Zhou Mian and Sage Wuliang attacked at the same time. Even though they were also seriously injured, they could not watch Zhou Huang being slaughtered without a good explanation for Great Zhou Sacred King, so they would strike back at all costs.
The Roc split open its wings and collided with the attack of the two. In an instant, the Roc, Zhou Mian, and Sage Wuliang were simultaneously bounced off, and the huge body of the Roc seemed to be on the verge of falling.
Having suffered from the catastrophic light of the Divine Path, the concentrated power of the Roc had already been greatly impacted, but Ye Futian just wanted to continue the velocity of the attack and put down the Great Zhou Sacred King’s eldest son.
“Retreat.” In the void, Great Zhou Sacred King had a frosty look in his eyes and ordered the retreat. He knew that the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty had lost all advantages and the momentum was now completely reversed.
The people of the Barren State were ferocious and unafraid of death; even the onlookers had participated in the Sacred War.
His eldest, Zhou Huang, almost died at the hands of Ye Futian. Zhou Mian and Sage Wuliang were almost at their end. If he did not withdraw now, the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty would pay a very hefty price.
In the other direction, other cultivators of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty started to disengage after hearing the command from Great Zhou Sacred King, fighting as they withdrew.
“Let’s go.” The divine implement wings behind Zhou Mian opened up, taking Zhou Huang and Sage Wuliang, and quickly galloping away in retreat.
The body of the Roc was once again suspended in the sky, watching the hurriedly retreating Zhou Mian, its eyes gave out a frosty look.
Buzz! Both wings tremored, and in an instant, the endless golden radiance of the wings slashed downward, madly chopping at the Golden Phoenix Army and those who did not retreat in time. In a flash, screams after screams were heard, and many had left their lives on the battlefield.
Soon, the army of the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty receded like the tide. After a brief chase by the cultivators of the Holy Zhi Palace, they returned to Ye Futian and gathered at the side of the Roc.
At this time, the body of the Roc disappeared, and the figures of Ye Futian and the others appeared. He looked up and stared at Great Zhou Sacred King in the void; his look remained frigid.
“This is only the beginning,” Great Zhou Sacred King spoke coldly. His eyes swept across the cultivators who were present.
“Of course,” Ye Futian responded. “The day the Sacred War ends will be the day the Great Zhou Sacred King dies.”
“You don’t know what you are talking about.” The Sacred King huffed and left.
Ye Futian looked at the figure that gradually faded, and his eyes showed his extreme determination. Afterward, his body fell weakly from the sky. Not just him, but many of the strong cultivators participated in the battle matrix were exhausted and started to fall!