Old Lu and the other four Grand Elders were meditating inside their own private chamber, which surrounded the altar, guarding it closely.
Normally, none of them trusted each other enough to cultivate in such close proximity—but this time, they had no choice. They feared that the man and the demon cat who killed Hanbing would return to sabotage their work.
Even though a powerful formation had been placed around the area to prevent spatial travel, that mysterious man had clearly mastered some kind of advanced spatial technique capable of bypassing their spatial disruption barrier. None of them felt comfortable entrusting this important task to a weakling.
While they meditated as usual, suddenly at the same time, their eyes snapped open. All five Grand Elders dashed outside at once, having simultaneously sensed a disturbance within the altar's area—an intruder, without a doubt.
"In the sky!" one of them shouted, drawing the others' attention upward.
There, the massive amount of clouds was swirling violently. At the center of the vortex, a massive hole had formed, radiating with divine light—as if something divine, something overwhelming, was descending from heaven.
Their instincts screamed in unison—they knew something terrifying was descending upon them, something that would endanger their lives.
"Quickly! Activate the formation!" Chu Hui shouted, his voice sharp with urgency.
Old Lu glanced at Chu Hui with a hint of dissatisfaction.
This Chu Hui was a member of the Blood Origin Clan, the ancestral clan of the Blood Fiend Palace. He was sent from the Palace to replace Hanbing to manage this place.
He always acted superior, issuing commands like he owned the place. Still, Old Lu suppressed his irritation and nodded to the others who were waiting for his signal. The moment they saw Old Lu's nod, the Grand Elders moved into action.
Chu Hui grew angry upon seeing the others hesitate to follow his command, waiting instead for Old Lu's approval.
'How dare they!'
But despite the surge of irritation, this was not the time to throw a tantrum. The threat loomed right above their heads.
Other Grand Unity experts, sensing the disturbance as well, emerged from their cultivation chambers and lent their power to the formation.
Instantly, the altar's defensive formation surged to life. A crimson barrier spread outward, anchored by countless runes and pattern formations. Even the Blood Moon above glowed ominously, channeling its dark light into the array to reinforce it.
Their response was quick—within just a few seconds of the cloud storm forming, their defenses were already up.
Not letting them wait long, the swirling storm clouds burst open as a massive divine sword descended and stood suspended in the sky.
The divine sword was as massive as a mountain, entirely forged from radiant light that flickered like flames. Its blade tip pointed downward, aimed at the ground.
All the demonic cultivators who witnessed the appearance of the divine sword turned pale. The aura it radiated was unlike anything they had ever encountered in their entire lives—vast, suffocating, and absolute. It surpassed even the Grand Elders… far beyond!
The five Grand Elders were no different from the other experts—their expressions turned pale. The aura radiating from the sword was not something that should exist in this realm. It belonged to a higher plane... the Ninth Heaven.
It was the aura of a Complete Dao!
They were doomed. The same thought appeared within the Grand Elders' minds.
Chu Hui couldn't believe this was happening to him. He was the prodigy destined to ascend and join the path of blood and domination with the Blood Ancestor in the Ninth Heaven!
His path should not end here!
With that thought, he began to escape, taking out an escape talisman, intending to teleport away from the area.
However, his attempt was futile—he soon recognized that spatial travel had been blocked by the spatial disruption formation, one that was meant to be used against enemies, but now it had turned against its own master.
"NO! This can't be! It's against the Heavenly Rules!" Chu Hui screamed in disbelief as the Divine Sword began to descend.
…
Hengsheng watched the scene with his mouth wide open.
The power of the Fiend Slaying Sword, a tier 7 skill scroll, was beyond his imagination.
The massive sword of light descended. Burning the atmosphere, destroyed everything that obstructed the sword's path.
The moment its tip touched the formation's barrier, the defensive formation shattered like fragile glass—completely useless. In the blink of an eye, all the demonic cultivators within its range were disintegrated, turned to dust, erased without resistance.
After that, the light illuminated the area for a moment before slowly fading.
Hengsheng stunned.
'Is that all...?'
'Is that all it takes to end the war?' Hengsheng thought, a strange emptiness welling up in his chest as he stared at the fading remnants of divine light.
Shortly, Hengsheng's eyes burned with desire once again.
If he could wield such power regularly...
He would be unstoppable!
How many deaths of his people could have been prevented?
In past years, Hengsheng did not participate in the war because he didn't want the enemy to recognize him, but he didn't prevent others on his side from joining.
During the war period, many of his employees were killed, and some from the Lan and Wang Clans also died, as the war was always brutal, death was inevitable.
Hengsheng felt like he was being too much of an edgy, so he stopped his wild thoughts and resumed his observation.
When all the light faded, the scene revealed itself. The entire area had become a barren wasteland—scorched and lifeless. Only the Blood Moon Altar remained standing, untouched. It had been shielded by the crimson moonlight above.
Hengsheng also spotted the five Divine Artifacts lying on the ground—they belonged to the Grand Elders.
Hengsheng was quite surprised that there were things other than the altar—protected by the Blood Moon's light—that had managed to survive the overwhelming power of the divine sword.
The Divine Grade was truly another level.
Greed kicked in. How could he let them lie there, waiting for someone else to collect his war spoils?
He didn't immediately go to retrieve them. Instead, he surveyed the area to ensure there were no remaining enemies or other threats. After confirming it was safe, he covered himself within the Concealment Veil and then opened the Dimensional Vortex, teleporting directly to the altar.
On the wasteland, the five Divine Artifacts disappeared without a trace as Hengsheng, hidden within the Concealment Veil, retrieved them into his Item Storage.
He was very happy with this harvest. The Divine Artifacts were indeed valuable—even for him, who had nearly endless wealth. Currently, he owned only seven of them: his own Timbergrasp Cycle, the Divine Staff from the wicked woman, and these five new ones.
Hengsheng suppressed his joy, as there was still one more thing he needed to inspect. He hovered toward the Blood Moon Altar.
He wasn't surprised that the altar had survived the divine sword's power—the moon itself had protected it. This meant the altar was under the protection of the realm's power, something that couldn't be easily destroyed.
He inspected the altar, trying to move things around, but nothing seemed to affect the Blood Moon in the sky.
What he truly wondered was how to stop the Blood Moon from appearing.
What needed to be done?
A reversal of the ritual, perhaps?
In the end, he decided to leave this matter to the experts from the Xia Clan—they were the ones who understood ritual matters best.
He turned around, about to open the dimensional vortex, going back to his mansion.
However, before he could go, he sensed an overwhelming aura pressing down on him, not only him but the entire area. He could feel the gaze staring down from the sky.
Hengsheng did not dare to look up, since he was afraid that this unthoughtful action would make whoever was gazing at this place notice his presence. Instead, he made himself look as insignificant and small as possible and then opened the Dimensional Map to see what was happening through it.
…
"Chu Shen!" The voice rang throughout the sky, and then the old man's figure appeared.
"You are not permitted to interfere in the Lower Heaven! Return to your place!" The old man, who appeared to be a venerable Earth Immortal—or what Hengsheng knew as a False Immortal—shouted at the man in the dark red robes.
"Elder Ming, you're overreacting. I merely came to observe," the man in the dark red robes smiled warmly and replied with a calm and respectful tone.
But the old man Ming did not fall for this facade.
"Hmph! You think we don't see through your intent? Do not cross the line. If you do… in the name of Heaven, we will erase you and your demonic den!" the old man said without regard for face.
Chu Shen was not angry; he smiled and replied.
"If my presence offends you that deeply… very well. I shall leave, as you request." Chu Shen left, as he did not want to have any conflict with the Tianming Empire just yet.
But before disappearing into the void, his amber eyes briefly locked onto a specific spot—on the small cultivator who was trying to hide his own presence. He had memorized this person's aura, and then he left.