188: Chapter 188 Requiem for the Heroes!
"Roar—!!!"
The overwhelming resentment and power of darkness merged, transforming into a tangible black tide that swept out from behind Carlos's half-step Immortal King demonic body. Behind him, the countless blurred yet majestic phantoms of heroic spirits let out a silent roar that shook the very soul.
It was not a pressure of power, but a collapse of will, a crumbling of faith.
On the Heavenly Court's side, the soaring morale that had just reached its peak after slaying two Grand Unity Golden Immortals was instantly shattered by this sorrow coming from the deepest depths of their hearts.
"No... that... that is the founding ancestor of my Yuhua Immortal Dynasty, the head of the Seven Great Divine Generals under the Yuhua Immortal King, 'Divine General Po Jun'! I once saw his divine bearing on the oldest murals in the ancestral hall..."
In the Yuhua Army, a white-haired, battle-hardened Taiyi veteran felt as if he had been struck by lightning when he saw one of the phantoms holding a giant axe and still maintaining a charging posture. His immortal sword fell to the ground with a 'clack,' and for the first time, a despair more terrifying than death appeared in his cloudy old eyes.
That was the faith that had supported him through countless bloody battles! It was the pride etched into the bones of every citizen of the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty!
But now, their hero, the ancestor they were so proud of, had become the sharpest blade in the enemy's hand, baring his most hideous fangs at his own descendants.
"Old Ancestor Ao Mie... you... how could you..."
Among the Dragon Guard Army, bursts of mournful cries erupted. Countless true dragons saw those familiar figures—the martyrs in the history of the Dragon Clan who had shed their last drop of dragon blood to resist the darkness! They were the legends every new generation of the Dragon Clan grew up listening to!
If they were asked to fight the monsters of the Boundary Sea, they could shed every last drop of blood without even blinking.
But now, they were being asked to swing their claws and fangs at these former heroes, at their own ancestors?
*Pfft—*
A young dragon warrior, his mind failing him, was actually invaded by the aura mixed with resentment and darkness. His dragon body shook, and a large mouthful of dragon blood sprayed out, his golden eyes quickly being dyed with a layer of greyish decay.
His Dao Heart had shattered!
One, two, ten, a hundred...
This terrifying "Dao Heart Trauma" spread like an invisible plague through the Heavenly Court's army. Many soldiers lowered their weapons, their faces filled with endless pain and struggle; rather than strike at their own ancestors, they would rather stand there and wait for death.
The entire front line of the Heavenly Court's army began to show signs of collapse before this silent battle for the heart.
Inside the zhou tian star boat, Li Daoyan's tender little face was pale. He felt the operation of the Zhou Tian Star Array become sluggish because of the shaking faith of the soldiers.
This was a war that required no physical action.
With just one move, Carlos had destroyed the most precious thing the Heavenly Court's army possessed—their Battle Intent.
"Haha... Hahahahahaha!"
Looking at the painful, struggling, and desperate faces below, Carlos's demonic body, which had expanded to cover the sky and sun, let out a deafening burst of wild laughter.
He enjoyed this moment far too much!
He enjoyed the ugly state of these creatures who claimed to be of the light when faced with the collapse of their faith!
"Look! Look closely! This is the final end of everything you protect!"
"Death is not the end; falling into darkness and becoming a servant of the Dominator is the only destiny for you lowly creatures!"
He opened his arms like an evil god embracing his followers, and the roars of the billions of heroic spirits behind him became even more violent and shrill!
Despair, like ink dripping into clear water, quickly blackened the entire battlefield.
However, just as Carlos's piercing laughter reached its peak, just as all the Heavenly Court soldiers were plunged into endless sorrow and vacillation, on the verge of total collapse—
"Waa—"
A clear cry of a baby resounded through the entire chaotic starry sky without warning.
This cry was not loud.
It was even somewhat tender and weak.
Yet it was like an invisible holy sword condensed from the purest Laws of heaven and earth, instantly piercing through the thick darkness, piercing through the soul-shaking laughter of the demon god, and piercing into the deepest part of every living being's Sea of Consciousness.
Carlos's laughter stopped abruptly.
The movements of those violently roaring heroic spirit phantoms also suffered a moment of stagnation.
The suffocating clamor of the entire battlefield strangely quieted down under this cry.
Everyone was stunned.
Simultaneously, they turned their gazes toward the source of the sound—the distant Southern Heaven Gate.
What was that sound?
It didn't sound like any immortal art or Divine Ability, nor did it sound like the clashing of weapons.
It was the purest, most primitive, and most fundamental cry of a newborn.
The sound of a new life being born.
It was like the first sound that rang out when Chaos was unopened and the Grandmist was undecided.
Clear, clean, and filled with infinite vitality and hope.
In this battlefield filled with death, resentment, and despair, the appearance of this cry was so out of place, yet so... heart-shaking.
There seemed to be a peculiar magic in that crying sound.
It did not dispel the darkness, but like a ray of warm sunlight, it shone into the cold and desperate hearts of every Heavenly Court soldier.
The pain and struggle on their faces did not disappear, but their nearly shattered Dao Hearts seemed to be gently held up by a soft hand, no longer falling.
"Brother... is it...?"
In the center of the battlefield, a look of surprise also appeared on Li Qingyue's face as she looked at Li Changsheng beside her.
A flash of surprise also crossed Li Changsheng's face, but he quickly thought of something. In his eyes, which were always as calm as an ancient well, a soft look of joy appeared for the first time.
He gazed toward the Southern Heaven Gate and said softly, "A younger brother, or sister, has been born."
At the same time, in Li Xuan's Sea of Consciousness, an unprecedented System notification tone filled with celebratory meaning exploded!
[Ding! Congratulations to the host on the birth of your fourteenth child!]
[Detected that the host is currently in a special combat environment. The child's Bloodline Awakening has undergone an unknown mutation due to the dual stimulation of 'Heroic Spirit Resentment' and 'darkness origin'...]
[Congratulations to the host! The fourteenth son is born with the 'Great Vow Pudu Sacred Body'! Surpassing Quasi-Immortal Emperor Aptitude! He is the ultimate nemesis of all dead souls, resentful spirits, Heart Demons, and darkness in the Myriad Realms!]
[His voice is the Sanskrit sound of nature, capable of calming and settling the soul! His blood is Glazed Sacred Blood, capable of purifying the demonic source! His vow is the Fire of Grand Vows, capable of lighting up the darkness!]
[Ding! Receiving feedback from the child's Heaven-Defying Aptitude! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the supreme Buddhist supreme Divine Ability—[Great Pudu Zen Light]!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for a cultivation Breakthrough! Promoted to 'Grand Unity Golden Immortal Third Heaven'!]
Boom!
A surge of magic power, several times more vast than before, exploded within Li Xuan's body. On his Chaos Sacred Body, in addition to the original Daoist divine patterns, golden, strange lines filled with Zen and compassion slowly emerged.
Countless supreme methods regarding "transcendence," "purification," "soul-soothing," and "demon-subduing" poured into the depths of his Primordial Spirit like a divine revelation.
With just a thought, he had completely mastered the [Great Pudu Zen Light] Divine Ability.
Li Xuan slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze pierced through the endless void and landed on the infant he was holding in his arms, who had just been born and was still wailing.
The child was carved like pink jade, and at the center of his brow, there was naturally a faint golden '卍' symbol.
To others, that crying sound was hope and vitality.
To Li Xuan, it sounded like acting spoiled, a complaint against the filth and wretchedness of this world.
A gentle smile unique to a father appeared on Li Xuan's face.
"Good child, don't cry."
He gently patted the infant in his arms.
And the crying that resounded through the battlefield seemed to really understand his words, as it gradually ceased.
On the battlefield.
After a brief moment of astonishment, endless rage appeared on Carlos's face, which was composed of pure darkness!
"Playing tricks!"
"You think the mere cry of an infant can shake the Dominator's will? Wishful thinking!"
He activated his Demonic Technique again. The red light in the eyes of those heroic spirit phantoms, which had just calmed for a moment, flared up again. Boundless resentment mixed with even more violent power of darkness, transforming into a sky-covering demonic claw that slammed down towards the center of the Heavenly Court's military formation!
He wanted to completely crush that ridiculous hope that had just arisen, along with this army!
However, just as that demonic claw was about to fall.
A melodious, ethereal, yet infinitely compassionate and solemn strange "music" suddenly drifted from the direction of the Southern Heaven Gate.
It was no longer a cry.
It was a kind of... song.
A song that could not be described in words.
At times it was like a morning bell or evening drum, Awakening the world.
At times it was like a Bodhi flower blooming, Zen naturally arising.
At times it was like a fierce-eyed Vajra, subduing demons and devils.
This song turned into visible golden ripples, gently undulating towards the entire battlefield.
This was the "Requiem for the Heroic Spirits" unconsciously emitted by the fourteenth son, the infant Li Xuan named Li Cihang, after sensing his father's comfort!
The golden ripples brushed over the bodies of every Heavenly Court soldier.
Their wavering and shattered Dao Hearts began to heal at an incredible speed. The sadness and confusion in their hearts were dispelled, replaced by an unprecedented calm and peace.
"This... this is..."
The veteran of the Yuhua Immortal Dynasty had tears streaming down his face. He found that when he looked at the phantom of 'Divine General Po Jun' again, there was no more struggle in his heart, only endless compassion and the determination to set him free.
This was not betrayal, but salvation!