77: Borrowing Heaven, Killing Heaven

Above the Western Land, Qing Wu placed the four directional flags at the core areas of the four cardinal directions.

He had already obtained four of the Innate Five Directional Flags; the missing one should be within the Qilin Clan.

Although one was missing, it was not a major problem.

Because at the center of the Western Land was Mount Sumeru, the very place where the great battle was brewing; he could not possibly run over there to set up a Formation, could he?

Not to mention he did not have the central flag; even if he did, Luo Hou certainly would not agree.

The four flags were connected to each other, encompassing the entirety of the four core areas. Once Qing Wu activated them, the Formation could be deployed immediately.

In addition, leaves of the Firmiana tree were scattered across the Western Land, each landing precisely on the nodes of the earth veins. Upon landing, they took root, echoing the Innate Five Directional Flags.

Fine golden veins faintly lit up across the earth veins of the entire Western Land.

These veins pulsed like meridians, connecting the power of the four directional flags into a web.

At every node, a cluster of Nirvana true fire burned quietly, providing energy for the Formation and serving as a defensive barrier when necessary.

"Can these arrangements protect the Western Land's earth veins?" Yuan Feng asked.

Although she did not know what would happen next, judging by Hongjun's invitation and Qing Wu's attitude, she could realize what the upcoming battle would be like.

Qing Wu shook his head. Honestly, relying on these four flags, it was impossible to protect the entire Western Land's earth veins.

And he had not planned on being able to protect all the earth veins either.

The Four Swords of Zhuxian, in the hands of a Saint, had the power to reset Chaos and reopen the earth, water, fire, and wind.

Commonly known as: "I'm not playing anymore, so nobody gets to play either."

Although Luo Hou's current ability had not reached the level of a Saint.

But given the might of the Four Swords of Zhuxian, the power unleashed by detonating the entire Western Land's earth veins was not something to be easily dismissed.

He could only hope to protect as much as he could.

After finishing this, the two stood quietly in the Void Realm, looking toward the Devilish Qi-filled Mount Sumeru...

At the summit of Mount Sumeru, magic clouds surged like a raging sea.

Luo Hou stood upon the 12th Grade Black Lotus of Annihilation. His scarlet eyes pierced through layers of space; he could feel that someone had set up layers of arrangements across the Western Land.

In an instant, the Devilish Qi entwining his body transformed into countless hideous ghost faces, emitting shrill shrieks.

"Such audacity!" Luo Hou's killing intent surged, shaking the mountain until rocks tumbled down.

He reached out and summoned, and the Four Swords of Zhuxian flew out in response, hovering before him.

Each sword emitted a suffocating baleful qi; wherever the sword tips pointed, even space itself became distorted.

But he had no mind to worry about these minor details now.

Originally, the Luck of the three clans was collapsing, which was the best time for him to achieve Dao validation through slaughter.

The appearance of the Heavenly Dao had given him a new obstacle.

But it also pointed him in a direction: achieve Dao validation through slaughter, slaughter all living beings, sever Karma, and annihilate Luck.

And the simplest and most direct way was to destroy this Heavenly Dao.

Luo Hou looked up to the sky and laughed, his laughter filled with frenzied killing intent.

His black robes rustled, and the 12th Grade Black Lotus of Annihilation bloomed with dazzling, world-destroying black light, dyeing the entire firmament ink-black.

Luo Hou suddenly pointed his finger at the sky, and the God-Slaying Spear flew out in response, its tip pointing straight at the firmament. "A mere newborn Heavenly Dao, and you think you're worthy of blocking my Dao validation?"

The Four Swords of Zhuxian circled around him, each sword emitting excited tremors.

Luo Hou stepped on the black lotus and ascended into the sky step by step. With every step he took, a lotus of magic flames appeared beneath his feet, burning away the suppression from the Heavenly Dao.

His Aura climbed steadily, quickly breaking through the Peak of the Hunyuan Golden Immortal, and continued to advance toward a higher level.

"This is the true essence of the Great Dao of Slaughter!"

Luo Hou laughed wildly and opened his arms. More and more Devilish Qi gathered, condensing into the true form of a Demon God.

The Demon God's true form had three heads and six arms, standing tall between heaven and earth, possessing an Aura of supreme dominance.

"Today, I, Luo Hou, shall let this Primordial World know—what true Dao validation through slaughter is!"

The World-Destroying Black Lotus suddenly surged, and countless hideous magic patterns appeared on its petals.

These magic patterns resonated with the Sword Qi of the Four Swords of Zhuxian, condensing into a giant sword that spanned heaven and earth in the Void Realm.

The dao rhyme of slaughter flowed on the sword's body, emitting a terrifying Aura that made all living beings tremble.

Luo Hou gripped the sword with both hands and slashed fiercely at the firmament: "Break for me!"

This sword strike contained his lifelong insights into the Great Dao of Slaughter.

Wherever the sword light passed, time froze, space shattered, attempting to sever the heavens with a single strike.

Hum!

Above the firmament, the Qi of Yin and Yang flowed, the dao rhyme of the taiji diagram rippled out for hundreds of millions of miles, suppressing this world.

The two Qi of Yin and Yang intertwined, and Luo Hou's heaven-severing sword strike was briefly suppressed, coming to a halt.

Immediately after, five-colored radiance burst forth from the taiji diagram, revealing the power of the Five Elements, continuously brushing away the Devilish Qi.

The Five Elements and Yin and Yang worked together, their dao rhymes constantly intertwining and transforming, complementing each other perfectly.

Luo Hou's heaven-severing sword strike was gradually worn down, finally dissipating into nothingness.

For this first collaboration, the two were quite surprised; they had not expected such an effect.

"Yin and Yang, Five Elements..." Luo Hou recognized the people who had struck; they were old acquaintances, so there was no need to announce their names to each other.

The next moment, a heaven-startling axe light flashed, wrapped in endless Chaos Qi, and slashed down at the Demon God's true form.

The pangu banner revealed its world-destroying Aura; the Demon God's true form appeared slightly insignificant before it.

With a single strike, it directly obliterated the Demon God's true form.

Space rippled, and three figures appeared in its wake; they were Yang Mei, Qiankun, and Hongjun.

Luo Hou smiled contemptuously, but his eyes were fixed on only one person.

"Hongjun, you've finally come." Luo Hou felt quite excited upon seeing the white-robed Daoist appear.

But seeing him still wearing an expression as calm as an ancient well, as if everything was under control, Luo Hou's expression turned cold, and monstrous killing intent mixed with Devilish Qi surged out.

Hongjun flicked his robe sleeves, and the All Heavens Celebration Cloud was unleashed, shooting out endless brilliance, drawing the Devilish Qi into it.

"Luo Hou, you only care about your own slaughter, inciting the Primordial World's catastrophe, causing the three clans to erupt into a great war and shattering the heavens and earth."

"Now you want to achieve Dao validation through slaughter; are you trying to destroy the entire Primordial World?"

With this move, Hongjun immediately elevated himself to the moral high ground.

However, Luo Hou ignored his act. "So high-sounding; in the end, you are also just borrowing from Heaven to validate your Dao. How is that any different from me?"

"It's just that our paths differ, and it's not your place to criticize me."

One borrowing from Heaven, one killing Heaven; they were two diametrically opposed paths.

Conflict was inevitable.

Subsequently, Luo Hou looked at everyone present with a sinister smile.

"Everyone here, one by one, who doesn't want to validate the Dao? I advise you: who can guarantee that your own Dao doesn't conflict with the Heavenly Dao?"

"Can you guarantee that without me, you would all be able to validate your own Dao?"

It must be said that Luo Hou was worthy of being the character who single-handedly incited the great war of the three clans, an old hand at playing mind games.

With these few words, he pointed out the contradictions between the two sides.

And he hit the nail on the head, sowing discord among them.