Wei Lan launched himself into the sky after confirming Kaolin with a firm nod, cutting through the chaos with such speed that even the thick layers of clouds trying to slow his ascent trembled at his sight and parted, granting him passage as a trail of light formed behind him.
Halfway up, he raised a hand and summoned a bolt of demonic energy that coiled and twisted into a spiralling sphere and then hurled it towards Xiyan – just as Kaolin had told him to. The strike hit her with so much force that a burst of energy erupted on impact, snapping the transfer of qi between her and the chained Demon God, thus interrupting the Succession.
She tumbled backwards, limbs flailing as the Demon God's qi poured from her ablaze sigil and spiralled back to its master before she lost consciousness and plummeted through the heavens, while the dragon spirit thrashed its massive wings and resisted, roaring and spitting fire before it too went dormant.
Wei Lan caught her before she hit the ground, just inches from the battlefield that raged on without respite below. Kaolin surged past them through the air, wind tearing at his robes and eyes locked on the Demon God up ahead, who was still bound by the celestial chains, but would not be for long enough. The moment the god's qi fully returned to him and the chains shattered, it was all over. Thus, there was no time to hesitate, no time to spare; he had to reach the Demon God before it was too late.
"Go!" he shouted at Wei Lan as he saw the other hesitate, lingering mid-air with Xiyan in his arms. "Get her out of here!"
Wei Lan did as told, albeit reluctantly, and then vanished into the distance, speeding towards the far side of the battlefield where her brother waited. Kaolin's eyes rose once more to the sky and rapidly approached the Demon God, whose glaring eyes were laced with confusion as well as dread as he was finally within reach.
"You… stopped her?" he said, in utter disbelief. "Why?" Then, at once more urgent. "Why would you!?"
But Kaolin did not answer. Instead, he lifted both his hands, and the golden chains powered by what remained of his celestial qi wrapped tighter around the ancient god. He then closed his eyes, the weight of the decision he had to take pressing on him, knowing there was no turning back now. Then, with a sharp inhale, he flew his eyes open and resumed the Rite of Succession exactly where Xiyan had left off, or rather, before the demonic qi could merge with the ancient god's core once more.
Realising what Kaolin was trying to do, the Demon God's crimson eyes widened before he thrashed violently, straining against the golden chains as if sheer force could shatter them. When he failed, a peal of laughter tore from his throat, echoing all across the battlefield in pure madness. Just as suddenly, his expression hardened, and his unhinged eyes locked onto Kaolin with a terrifying focus.
"You dare devour me without an Evil Bone, Kaolin!? That your soul will not shatter into pieces the moment you try!?" And when Kaolin did not reply and resumed the ritual, which caused every strand of demonic energy to draw from the god's core in a surge of writhing pain, he hissed through gritted teeth: "Even if the heavens favour you, tell me, do you truly believe there will be no repercussions, no price to pay for meddling with their will!?"
Kaolin doubled over before forcing himself upright as the dark energy from the ancient god's core entered his body with a violent jerk, merging with his corrupted core. The violent surge strained every muscle until his jaw locked against the crushing pain, yet at last, he responded – the look in his eyes that of a madman who cared neither for the will of heaven nor for any repercussions to come.
"Who said," he rasped, every word a battle against the pain twisting within and distorting his senses, "that I lacked an Evil Bone?"
Without giving the Demon God a chance to decipher the mystery behind those words, he shut his eyes again, jaws clenched and shaking through the searing pain and began to chant the scriptures he knew by heart – perhaps since the moment he was brought into existence – and as he did so, the phoenix spirit soared up behind him, wings unfolding and mirroring his gestures as powerful glyphs arose one after another around them in a circle.
His Celestial core, the Demonic Arts, and the Forbidden Arts collided once more, but this time not to fight one another, but to forge him an Evil Bone in place of a Divine Bone, and his body arched so violently that his veins bulged as though hellfire was burning through every fibre of his very being.
Then, with a cry that split the vast sky, he was wrenched into the air with his arms spread wide and his form trembling as the power of the divine ritual he was chanting dragged him towards the seven layers of heaven as streaks of qi burst outwards from his core and engulfed him in a blinding light.
Glyphs shattered and reformed around him, too, each crack punctuated by bursts of blood from his lips, his qi channels tearing open under the strain, but he did not stop chanting the scriptures etched into his very bones, not even for a second, determined to see the formation through, whether he survived it or was torn apart in the attempt.
Below, the warriors of Yueluo Gu, Huan-Yue, and Yinlin could only watch in horror as the battlefield once again came to an abrupt pause. Wei Lan shielded his eyes against the foreign energy spilling from Kaolin's body, confusion etched across his face as he struggled to grasp what was unfolding –until Guo Lan's voice broke through the chaos, stunned and not quite believing what he was seeing, either.
"It's… It's Soul-Crushing Way!" he stammered, then abruptly turned to face Wei Lan. "You have to do something! If we don't stop him, he might…"—and when he realised the gravity of his own words, he trailed off—"…die?"
Even Immortal Lord Zhenhai staggered behind them, muttering in disbelief as his eyes fixed on what was happening in the sky, "The Soul-Crushing Way with a corrupted core? How is that…" He met Wei Lan's and Guo Lan's equally confused eyes. "…possible?"
But none of them replied; they could not. The Soul-Crushing Way was never meant to be used in such a way, not to mention the consequences that might fall upon the one attempting the impossible.
Above, Kaolin's form jerked and convulsed with each searing pain rising outwards from his corrupted core. The energies crashing into him were not merely immense and out of control; they were malevolent and vicious as well, just like their master, the Demon God.
Every ounce of dark qi that surged into his body brought with it a flood of memories that did not belong to him, as the Rite of Succession and the Soul-Crushing Way bent to his will and merged into a single ritual of clashing formations.
When he snapped his eyes open halfway through the completion of his Evil Bone, they glowed with an otherworldly red, not entirely his, not yet, but they would be soon enough. Then, as he once again regained control of his limbs and descended, he raised his hand and lashed a bolt of demonic energy at the ancient god, who shrieked in agony as what remained of his qi was torn away too and drawn into Kaolin's core before a final, shattering scream rippled through the heavens before it too was cut short, leaving the ancient god silent and a part of him forever.
Kaolin lingered mid-air for longer than he wanted before the transformation truly began and wrapped around him like a hissing serpent. His robes blackened and bled into crimson, his armour twisted with demonic energy laced with malice, before he descended from the skies with the grace of a fallen star, landing upon the battlefield without making a sound. One knee met the earth first, and his hand gripped the hilt of the blade on instinct, the one owned by the Demon God now his to command. Yet he did not rise or lift his head to face either side. Not yet.
Around him, there was nothing but silence and a suffocating dread in the biting air left in the wake of his transformation and the bloodbath on the ground, the kind that sank deep into the bones so that no one dared to speak or draw a breath in anticipation of what was to come, as if breaking it would bring dire consequences from which there was no escape.
The Demon Army stared at him with a blend of awe and fear; something within their blood recognised him as their new lord and master, which only deepened the confusion stirring in their minds. Even the army of brotherhood lowered their weapons, just as confused by the spectacle before them as the swirling aura of dark qi pulsed around Kaolin like it was alive.
Still, he did not look up or address any side, lost instead in the swirl of bleak thoughts of what he had just done, or rather, managed to do against all odds – until a voice pierced the stillness, one that assured him to rise and snap out of whatever took hold of him that very moment.
Zhenhai, "…Kaolin."
He straightened and scanned the sea of brave warriors before him as they observed him with unspoken fear as well as hope. Who would he protect? The ones that saw him as their new lord and knelt before him on the battlefield, swearing allegiance to him as if they were one single entity, or the army of brotherhood Kaolin himself trained, whose lives he had shaped with his own hands, and watched over?
He did not speak, though, not yet – not even as Wei Lan slid into place beside him without making a single sound, ready to fight on either side of the battlefield with a single command that would slip from his bloodied lips and decide the fate of all before them.
"So," he said, "this was your plan from the start? To replace the Demon God? You could've at least hinted you'd do that, don't you think?"
Kaolin turned to face, his grip on the Demon God's sword heavy with the spill of innocent blood. "And you wouldn't stop me?"
Wei Lan broke into a bitter smile as he looked away. "I sure as hell would!" His voice then grew solemn once more. "Xiyan's with her brother… and safe." And when Kaolin arced his brows low, nimbly added. "Thought you might want to know."
"Since when did I ask you to tell me useless things?"
"Right," he said with a subtle smile tugging at his lips before letting his eyes wander to the Demon Army still kneeling before him. "I guess that means we're about to rid this world of the demons, then?"
Kaolin returned his smile, albeit it was no smile at all but a grim reflection of the absurdity of their plight, before he too turned to face the Demon Army and his grip on the sword tightened.
"Try to keep up."
The crimson blade carved a deadly arc as he swung, obliterating an entire row of demons before they even grasped what was happening, so that their blood sprayed all over the battlefield. Withdrawing his sword, Kaolin met Wei Lan's gaze once more as panic swept through the remaining demons now on a desperate flight.
"If you can, that is."
And with that, the final charge began.