91: Chapter 91 Too Late!

Sixty miles southeast of the capital.

On an abandoned hilltop, eroded by demonic energy until it was as pitch-black as charcoal.

Xue Du sat cross-legged.

Its demonic body was covered in dense, grayish-white cracks, looking like a piece of porcelain about to shatter.

These were the wounds caused by the spiritual energy storm in the capital.

The rejection reaction caused by pure spiritual energy infiltrating its demonic body was like filling its meridians with gut-wrenching poison.

Even with its Golden Core Great Perfection cultivation, fully driving its demonic core to heal itself, three days had passed, and the cracks had not only failed to fade but were faintly showing signs of spreading.

Because the demonic energy within a fifty-mile radius of the capital had permanently decreased by seventy percent.

And demonic energy was the lifeblood of demons.

Just as a fish cannot live without water.

Demons cannot live without demonic energy.

To Xue Du, the concentration of spiritual energy around the capital was like a cultivator being thrown into a swamp of ten thousand poisons.

Every breath it took was like pouring poison into its body.

It had to retreat sixty miles away, to the edge of the spiritual energy storm's influence, to barely stabilize its crumbling injuries.

The Golden Core in its abdomen hummed and trembled, operating extremely unsmoothly.

Xue Du could clearly feel that its strength had fallen by at least one major realm.

With its Golden Core Great Perfection cultivation, the combat power it could currently unleash was likely only at the level of the Golden Core Stage's middle phase.

But the injuries were not what terrified Xue Du the most.

What terrified it most were the messages that had been coming in from all over Great Li for the past three days.

Urgent messages, like death warrants, fell into its hands one after another.

In Qingshi City in the northern border, thirty thousand Mortal besieged the Black Iron Spire and detonated themselves collectively, causing two late-stage Qi Refining demons to perish on the spot.

In Tiesuo Town in the northern border, twenty thousand Mortal detonated themselves; the stationed demons were completely wiped out.

In the Southern Border tribal villages, Mortal from eight villages united and rushed to the nearest demon stronghold, detonating together; the demonic energy within a ten-mile radius was wiped clean.

In the East Sea fishing village, fishermen rowed their boats to surround the demon patrol boat on the sea and collectively detonated on board; the spiritual energy storm directly vaporized that demonic iron ship along with the demons on board.

The content of every message followed the same template.

Mortal gather, surround the demons, collectively detonate, demons perish.

Simple, brutal, efficient.

So efficient that it made Xue Du's scalp tingle.

Only then did it realize that the detonation of millions in the capital was not an isolated case.

That was just a signal.

A signal that detonated the entire Great Li!

Those Mortal were not detonating themselves aimlessly from the start; they were organized, targeted, and tactical!

They knew where the demons were.

Every Black Iron Spire, every demon stronghold, was a marked target.

They knew how many people were needed.

Precisely mobilizing enough Mortal based on the strength of the stationed demons.

They even knew how to surround them.

Swarming in from all directions simultaneously, leaving the demons with nowhere to escape.

This was not a riot.

This was an all-out war meticulously planned for three years.

And the weapon was the lives of the Mortal.

Xue Du forced itself to calm down.

It desperately needed a reason to put its mind at ease.

"Do not panic."

Xue Du whispered to itself.

"Those who have used the Mortal Self-Severing Method are already dead. The dead cannot sever themselves a second time."

"Millions died in the capital, and a few million more died across the various regions..."

"A total of ten or twenty million dead? No, let us say thirty million."

"In the entire Great Li with over a billion Mortal, thirty million is but a fraction."

"It is merely killing the goose to get the golden eggs. They have burned through the bravest batch of people; the remaining rabble cannot turn the tide."

"Change the place, change the capital, and re-establish order."

"As long as that mantra is completely extinguished and not allowed to spread further, the situation can still be controlled."

Xue Du repeatedly confirmed this conclusion in its heart.

Then it issued an order.

"Pass on my order—"

Xue Du's voice reached its highest pitch, carrying the demonic might of the Golden Core Stage, booming within a radius of several miles.

"From this day forth, seal the entire territory!"

"It is forbidden for anyone to mention, spread, or practice anything related to the Mortal Self-Severing Method!"

"Those who have recited it, kill!"

"Those who have heard it, kill!"

"Anyone who has anything to do with the Mortal Self-Severing Method, kill!!!"

Xue Du's vertical pupils were bloodshot, its voice becoming hoarse from extreme rage.

"I would rather mistakenly kill a million than let a single one go!"

Once the order was issued.

The remaining ruling machine of the Great Li Dynasty began its final round of frantic operation.

The Zhenfu Division mobilized in full force.

The surviving demons led teams personally, colluding with the Ti Cavalry of the Zhenfu Division, to launch an unprecedented purge across the various regions.

No trials, no questions.

Those gathered in groups of three or more were killed on the spot.

Some were dragged out of their homes just because a neighbor reported them reciting some mantra in the middle of the night.

Some were cut in half in the street just because their child drew a straight white vertical line on the wall, which looked like a pillar of light.

Some did nothing at all, merely looking up at the blue sky after the spiritual energy storm, their expressions appearing somewhat moved.

Then they died.

Xue Du felt that its strategy was flawless.

Fear is the best tool for ruling Mortal.

As long as one kills ruthlessly enough and kills enough, the remaining Mortal will once again become obedient blood-fodder.

This logic has been used for tens of thousands of years and has never failed.

It is a pity, however, that it is too late.

The seventy-two streets and alleys of the outer city of the capital.

The Zhenfu Division's purge entered its third day.

It was also the third day after Xue Du issued the "kill a million" order.

In three days, the number of Mortal killed had already exceeded hundreds of thousands.

The streets of the capital were filled with a thick stench of blood, mixed with the unique, chilling scent of demonic energy, making one nauseous.

But what Xue Du waited for was not fear and obedience.

It was a response that caused it to completely collapse.

In the seventy-two streets and alleys of the capital's outer city, the chanting of the Mortal Self-Severing Method sounded simultaneously.

Not whispered secretly, not spread privately.

It was tens of thousands of Mortal walking out of their homes, standing in the streets and alleys, facing the direction of the Black Iron Spire, chanting in unison.

The chanting converged into a tide, reverberating over the capital like rolling thunder.

Those Mortal who had survived the spiritual energy storm in the capital and lived through the three days of the great purge.

They no longer cared.

Zhao Heng's death allowed them to see the blue sky.

The blades of the Zhenfu Division allowed them to see the fear of the demons.

The news of demons perishing from the detonation at nodes across various regions spread through every alley as if it had grown wings.

They knew one thing.

Demons can really die.

And the way to make demons die was in the hands of each and every one of them.

The Ti Cavalry of the Zhenfu Division charged into the streets and alleys.

But this time, facing the Mortal swarming onto the streets like a tide, those Ti Cavalry could not lift their blades.

Because there were too many people.

Too many to kill.

Too many that the Ti Cavalry, upon glancing into the crowd, could see their own mothers, their own wives, their own brothers!