211: The ancestor has risen from the dead! He demands a blood sacrifice for all living beings!

Jiuli Divine Dynasty, Imperial Palace Forbidden Ground.

The Hall of Ten Thousand Ancestors.

This was the darkest heart of the Divine Dynasty, shrouded year-round in an impenetrable blood-colored mist.

In the air, the smell of rust and decay had frozen time; even the wind had died here.

At the center of the hall, a blood-colored altar was built from the skeletal remains of countless living beings.

Atop the altar, the body of the Old Ancestor of Jiuli was as withered as dry wood, appearing like a stone carving forgotten by time.

The fire of his life was already like a flickering candle in the wind.

To prolong the national fortune, he had sat in silent meditation on this altar for three thousand years.

During three thousand years of slumber, he burned his final Emperor Realm Origin, barely maintaining the pressure of a Great Emperor to deter the increasingly powerful Great Xia Divine Dynasty.

The price was heavy.

His consciousness had long since become muddled under the erosion of time, his will as thin as a cicada's wing.

He had become a golden treasury guarded by no Soul.

He was completely defenseless against the approaching predator.

A wisp of pitch-black devilish intent, invisible to the naked eye, passed through the curtains like a ghost and quietly hovered above the crown of the Old Ancestor of Jiuli's head.

Within that devilish intent was the greedy and triumphant silent evil laugh of the Netherworld Heavenly Demon.

"A perfect skin! A dying Great Emperor is simply a wedding dress custom-made for this seat!"

"Once I swallow your Divine Soul and occupy your Physical Body, I shall be the supreme Dominator of this Jiuli Divine Dynasty!"

"Launching a war in the name of the Divine Dynasty and performing a blood sacrifice on billions of lives to restore my power—who could possibly suspect me?"

The Netherworld Heavenly Demon's wild joy boiled within the devilish intent.

It was destiny!

Although he had encountered an incomprehensibly terrifying Demoness right after being born, it was a blessing in disguise, as he had found such a seamless plan!

"Old thing, your Physical Body, your Divine Dynasty... I'm taking them!"

The devilish intent transformed into a highly condensed poisonous needle and pierced into the Sea of Consciousness between the Old Ancestor of Jiuli's brows!

Boom!

Enormous waves surged within that chaotic and turbid Sea of Consciousness!

"Who?! Who dares to intrude upon this Ancestor's Sea of Consciousness?!"

The remnant will that had slumbered for three thousand years was jolted awake by the sharp pain, letting out a weak roar.

An illusory Dharma Image of a Great Emperor, appearing as if it might dissipate at any moment, struggled to coalesce, filled with shock and uncertainty.

"A thing whose Soul is nearly rotted away—how are you worthy of questioning this seat?"

The Netherworld Heavenly Demon's devilish intent instantly expanded into a Heavenly Demon Dharma Image dozens of feet tall!

With two horns on its head and four wings on its back, its devilish might was like an ancient divine mountain, crashing down to suppress everything!

In just a single encounter.

The Old Ancestor of Jiuli's illusory Dharma Image was crushed until it cracked inch by inch, letting out an overburdened wail!

"You... an Outer-Domain Heavenly Demon?!"

The Old Ancestor of Jiuli's will was swallowed by endless horror.

This pure, destructive Devilish Qi was so similar to the dark turmoil that swept the continent described by his Seniors!

"Weren't you suppressed in the Immortal Burial Abyss?!"

"Suppressed?" The Netherworld Heavenly Demon let out a contemptuous, wild laugh. "A mere broken Seal from a lower plane thinks it can trap this seat forever? Old thing, stop your nonsense and become the first portion of nourishment for my return to the world!"

The Heavenly Demon Dharma Image opened its bloody maw.

A black vortex capable of swallowing heaven and earth bit down fiercely toward the Old Ancestor of Jiuli!

"No—! You brat, how dare you!"

The Old Ancestor of Jiuli let out a desperate howl, a look of resolute madness flashing in his eyes!

"The lands of my Jiuli—how can I allow a demon like you to defile them! This Ancestor... commands you to burn!"

His illusory Dharma Image burst into flames. The last trace of Imperial Dragon Qi intertwined with his Emperor Realm Origin, transforming into a golden sword of judgment. Carrying the tragic resolve to perish together, it slashed upward against the current toward the heaven-swallowing demonic mouth!

However.

How could his will, worn full of holes by time, contend with a Heavenly Demon at his peak?

The golden sword light touched the black vortex like a clay ox entering the sea.

Without even a single ripple, it was swallowed, torn apart, and ground to nothing.

In the Old Ancestor of Jiuli's final consciousness, flashes of his youthful high spirits, the congratulations of ten thousand dynasties when he ascended to Great Emperor, and... his helplessness and resentment when facing the rise of Great Xia passed by.

"It's over... Jiuli... is finished..."

Ultimately, everything turned into pure Soul energy and was completely absorbed by the Netherworld Heavenly Demon.

*Burp~*

The Netherworld Heavenly Demon let out a satisfied burp, and his Heavenly Demon Dharma Image became a bit more solid.

He had swallowed the Divine Soul and, moreover, received those vast memories spanning tens of thousands of years.

The Netherworld Heavenly Demon's will completely occupied this Physical Body.

On the altar, the mummified body gave a sudden jolt, and a thousand years of dust fell away.

In the next instant.

Those eyes, which had been tightly shut for three thousand years, snapped open!

They were no longer turbid and decaying.

They were a pair of crimson demonic pupils filled with endless evil, tyranny, and madness!

"From this day forth, I am the Old Ancestor of Jiuli!"

He slowly stood up. Within his withered body, a completely different, terrifying Emperor's pressure—filled with the aura of slaughter and destruction—erupted!

The entire Hall of Ten Thousand Ancestors trembled violently!

He took one step forward, and his figure vanished.

When he reappeared, he was already standing within the majestic imperial court of the Jiuli Divine Dynasty.

"Old Ancestor?!"

"It's the Old Ancestor! The Old Ancestor has ended his seclusion!!"

The civil and military officials were jolted from their heated debate, followed by an eruption of earth-shattering wild joy and clamor!

They fell to their knees one after another, moved to tears of excitement, as if they saw the dawn of the Divine Dynasty's revival!

"We welcome the Old Ancestor back from seclusion!"

"We wish the Old Ancestor holy peace! May your immortal blessings be eternal, and your longevity be without bounds!"

The mountain-shaking, tsunami-like cries of worship resounded through the palace.

The "Old Ancestor of Jiuli" hovered in mid-air, his indifferent gaze looking down like he was watching ants as he scanned these lowly and laughable "descendants."

He ignored the worship. With a cold voice containing supreme demonic might, he directly issued his first decree after his "Rebirth."

"Hear my decree!"

His voice wasn't loud, yet it struck everyone's hearts like a thunderclap.

"The sons of my Jiuli have been silent for too long."

"So long that the world has forgotten who the former Dominators of this land were!"

His crimson demonic pupils looked toward the east, in the direction of the Great Xia Divine Dynasty.

"From this day forth, my Jiuli Divine Dynasty declares war on all dynasties and Sects surrounding the Great Xia Divine Dynasty!"

"Within one month, I want to see the battle flags of my Jiuli planted throughout the Eastern Region of the Central Province!"

"Anyone who does not comply shall have their cities slaughtered and their Sects exterminated; not even a chicken or dog shall be left alive!"

By the end, his voice carried a cruel fanaticism.

"I shall use the blood of billions of living beings to announce the... renewed greatness of my Jiuli Divine Dynasty!"

The words fell.

The mountain-shaking, tsunami-like sounds of worship came to an abrupt halt.

The entire court was as silent as a grave.

The Jiuli Emperor kneeling at the front had his wild joy frozen into a deathly pale expression. The tassels of the imperial crown atop his head jingled due to his body's violent trembling.

He felt the familiar yet strange, terrifying pressure emanating from the "Old Ancestor." A fear originating from his Soul left him without even the courage to lift his head.

A white-haired old marshal's turbid eyes erupted with wild Battle Intent, his iron fists clenching until they cracked.

On the other side, an old man wearing the robes of a Prime Minister turned pale, his lips trembling. However, under the scan of those crimson demonic pupils, he forced himself to swallow all words of counsel back into his stomach.

The entire court was completely enveloped in a bizarre atmosphere—a mixture of fanaticism, fear, and extreme confusion.