257: Chapter 257 Humanitarian Punishment of Witchcraft

Just as Patriarch Tian Yuanzi was filled with worry, deep within the Void Realm, that emerald-gold will—which had once descended and possessed a majesty so supreme it was beyond comprehension—did not completely dissipate.

It transformed into an imperceptible streak of light and, instead of returning to that unspeakable source, quietly attached itself to the space fluctuations left behind by Chu Changsheng that had not yet fully calmed.

This wisp of will, like the most intricate Dao patterns, traced back along the fundamental connection between Chu Changsheng and the "World Tree Dao Seed"—silently and soundlessly.

Above Wuji City, the atmosphere was frozen like eternal black ice, cold enough to freeze a Cultivator's Divine Soul. It felt as if the air had been extracted, leaving behind only a suffocating sense of oppression.

Great Wu Emperor Wu Tianba was clad in black-gold imperial armor, the nine-dragon patterns inscribed on it shimmering with a dull luster. Every scale of the armor had been stained with countless blood and glory, embodying ten thousand years of iron-bloodedness and majesty.

He held a dark-gold dragon-patterned halberd; the shaft was pitch black as ink, and the dragon patterns were blood-red. Where its tip hung, the Void Realm automatically cracked into fine black fissures, as fragile as glass—wisps of Chaos Qi drifted from the cracks, only to be instantly devoured by the dragon might on the halberd, without causing even a ripple.

Shenwu Imperial Dynasty's Jian Xiaotian was dressed in snow-white robes, immaculate and unstained, forming a sharp contrast with the heaviness of Wu Tianba.

He carried nine layers of sword wheels on his back, each one resembling a miniature sun. Invisible Sword Qi swirled and flowed around them, slicing apart all the clouds within a hundred-mile radius.

The sky was so clear that not a speck of dust could be seen; only the sharp Aura emitted by the nine sword wheels permeated the air like a physical substance, making the atmosphere stagnant and heavy—as if it would be sliced apart in the next second.

The two stood side by side like two immortal war gods, their Auras intertwining to vaguely form an invisible barrier—resisting heaven and earth.

Behind them stood the army formations composed of the elites from both dynasties. Millions of soldiers connected their Auras, and their blood energy shot straight into the clouds like wolf smoke, condensing into a giant phantom of a war beast that spanned the sky, its fangs bared and eyes fierce—as if it wanted to devour everything.

This iron-blooded force, gathered from hundreds of millions of living beings, carried an unyielding determination that vaguely resonated with the will of all living beings in the Southern Region—causing heaven and earth to change color, and the sun and moon to lose their radiance.

Opposite them, the four Great Ancestor Witches were in rags, their witch robes stained with dark red blood. Their once upright bodies were now slightly hunched, their Auras withered and weak; it was clear they had been heavily injured in the previous confrontation, and even standing was difficult.

But the chill in their eyes was more biting than the gale in the deepest parts of the Far North Ice Plains. This was the savagery and brutality originating from the Primordial Era, the indifference and ruthlessness that viewed all living beings as straw dogs—as if they would drag the entire Southern Region to the grave with them, even if they were to die.

"Wu Tianba, Jian Xiaotian, do your two Imperial Dynasties wish to rebel?"

Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi's voice was as hoarse as two rough grindstones rubbing violently together. Every word carried a tearing pain, yet relying on the supreme might of an Ancestor Witch, it clearly overpowered the roaring winds and clouds—resounding in every corner of Wuji City, carrying an unquestionable pressure, as if to intimidate the two.

"Not rebellion."

Emperor Wu Tianba's voice seemed to be squeezed out from the depths of the Nine Nether Hell, thick and dull. Every word was wrapped in the iron-blooded intent accumulated over thousands of years—shaking the Void Realm slightly: "It is restoring order!"

The moment his words fell, the dark-gold dragon-patterned halberd behind him suddenly erupted with a heaven-shaking dragon roar that resounded throughout the universe!

The nine dragon shadows coiling around the halberd shaft opened their eyes simultaneously, their dragon pupils blood-red. These were the "Nine Extremity Dragon Souls" formed by the heroic souls of the royal family who had died defending the territory throughout the ten thousand years since the founding of the Great Wu Dynasty!

The Dragon Souls roared, drawing upon the human Luck of heaven and earth. The light on the halberd became increasingly blazing, and an earth-shattering Aura erupted, sweeping out like a tsunami—causing the four Great Ancestor Witches opposite to involuntarily change their expressions.

"The Imperial Ancestral Temple is old, the Witch Dao is decaying!"

Emperor Wu Tianba's voice carried an unquestionable determination, as if declaring the end of an era: "The Southern Region needs a new order—an order that belongs to Cultivators, to pioneers, to this era!"

Before his voice faded, his arm exerted sudden force, muscles knotted like iron, and the dark-gold dragon-patterned halberd slashed through the air with the power to tear heaven and earth apart!

This halberd strike was not aimed at Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi and the other Ancestor Witches, but at the ground below Wuji City—the branch of the Imperial Ancestral Temple that had stood for ten thousand years, symbolizing the rule of the Witch Dao!

The halberd light was like a blood-red rainbow spanning heaven and earth. Wherever it passed, the Void Realm shattered layer by layer like glass, and countless space fragments splashed, emitting a harsh roar—as if heaven and earth were trembling under this one strike.

What was condensed within this halberd light was not only the Golden Core Late Stage Peak cultivation that Emperor Wu Tianba had painstakingly cultivated his entire life, but also a kind of brand-new, barbaric "Human Luck" that used the will of hundreds of millions of living beings as firewood, forcibly plundered and forged with iron and blood!

This was not the divine protection obtained through sacrifices, but the supreme authority belonging to all living beings, to the era, carrying an unyielding determination and dominance—sworn to sever the shackles of the old era!

"You dare—"

Behind Ancestor Witch Xuanyuzi, the four Great Ancestor Witches shrieked simultaneously, their voices filled with unbelievable fury and horror.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple was the Foundation of the Witch Dao's rule over the Southern Region, the place of their faith; how could they allow anyone to desecrate it?

Disregarding their heavily injured bodies, they simultaneously opened their mouths to spew out a mouthful of their lifeblood essence. The essence transformed into four blood-red rainbows in the air, roaring out like fire dragons and merging into the ancient witch artifacts in their respective hands.

Instantly, the four witch artifacts—bone staff, stone axe, copper bell, jade tablet—blossomed with brilliant blood-red light simultaneously. The four rays of light intertwined and wrapped around each other, forming an incredibly thick blood-red barrier—countless Primordial witch patterns emerged on the barrier, moving like living creatures, emitting a terrifying Aura that suppressed the ages, attempting to block the heaven-opening halberd light.

"Boom—!!!"

A thunderous sound that shook the past and present, as if the collision when heaven and earth first opened—the blood-red barrier only lasted for a breath before it shattered under the terrifying impact of the halberd light!

Countless witch patterns shattered inch by inch, turning into blood-red light spots flying across the sky, like withering flower petals.

The four Great Ancestor Witches were hit hard, flying backward in unison, blood spraying endlessly from their mouths, staining a large expanse of the sky red. Even the surfaces of the ancient witch artifacts in their hands had dense, tiny cracks—clearly, they had suffered heavy injuries, and their Auras were becoming increasingly withered.

But that peerless halberd light had also been weakened by more than half. The remaining light blade, like an unwilling dragon, carried monstrous rage and slashed fiercely onto the protective barrier of the Imperial Ancestral Temple branch!

"Boom—!"

Runes exploded across the sky, golden light and blood-red intertwined, and the entire Imperial Ancestral Temple branch shook violently, as if it were about to collapse at any moment.

The eaves broke in response, crashing heavily to the ground and stirring up dust everywhere. The light on the protective barrier instantly dimmed, covered in spiderweb-like cracks—clearly, it could not last much longer. The symbol of the old era was tottering at this moment.

Just at this moment, Jian Xiaotian moved.

The nine sword wheels behind him suddenly began to rotate, faster and faster, like a streak of light—finally merging into one!

The light dissipated, and a simple, unadorned bronze longsword appeared in his hand.

The sword body was covered in rust and filled with the marks of time; one could even see several chipped notches. It looked like a burial object just dug out from the ruins of some ancient battlefield, completely lacking the brilliance and majesty a Divine Artifact should have—it was unbelievably ordinary.

But the instant Jian Xiaotian's fingers gripped the hilt—all the "sharpness" in heaven and earth seemed to be instantly drained by this bronze sword!

The roaring gale no longer cut people, becoming soft and docile; the blinding sunlight became restrained, losing its scorching heat; even the reflections from the swords and blades in the hands of the soldiers in the city below instantly dimmed, losing all their edge—becoming like ordinary iron.

Mountains, rivers, vegetation, air, light... the "sharpness" contained in all things in the world, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, frantically gathered toward that bronze sword!

The sword body remained covered in rust, but an indescribable Aura of sharpness permeated from it. This Aura was not an explosive outward release, but the extreme of restraint—as if it could cut through time, sever space, make heaven and earth bow before it, and make all things lose their color.

"This sword has no name."

Jian Xiaotian took a step forward, and lotus-shaped sword ripples spread out in the Void Realm beneath his feet. Each petal emitted a pure Aura of sharpness, as if every step was taken on a node of the Dao: "Let it send the decaying Imperial Ancestral Temple to its grave!"