Just before Yu Yuanchen crossed that shocking Godhood Tribulation in the Meteor Mountain Range, the core of the Temple Alliance—Imperial Dragon Pass, located tens of thousands of miles away—was shrouded in an unprecedented atmosphere of gravity and tragedy.
Imperial Dragon Pass, the headquarters of the Knight Temple and the foremost fortress of the human resistance against the Demon Race, now resembled a wounded beast, silently licking its wounds under the afterglow of the setting sun.
The pass walls were scarred, with traces of intense combat and dark red bloodstains that had yet to dry visible everywhere. The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, blood, and a sense of oppression that bordered on despair.
Temple Alliance headquarters, the supreme Council Hall.
The atmosphere was so heavy it felt as if it could drip water. Seated on both sides of a long table were six figures with profound auras, though their brows were etched with undisguisable exhaustion and resolve. They were the masters of the Six Great Temples of the Temple Alliance, the highest decision-making body of the human resistance.
Occupying the main seat was a middle-aged man wearing heavy platinum armor, his face stern but his eyes filled with deep fatigue. He was the current master of the Knight Temple, holder of the God Seal Throne of Protection and Mercy, and the God Seal Knight of Defense and Coordination—Yang Zhou.
The spirit power within him was as vast as the sea, having reached the peak of the Ninth Tier Level Six; he was the undisputed anchor of the Alliance. Yet at this moment, this God Seal Knight, known for his defense and resilience, wore a look of heavy burden.
Sitting beside him was a burly man with a cold expression, radiating a sharp, murderous aura. He was the deputy master of the Knight Temple, holder of the God Seal Throne of Doomsday and Slaughter, and the God Seal Knight of Judgment and Trial—Han Tao.
His spirit power was also at the Ninth Tier Level Four, making him the sharpest spear of the Alliance. At this moment, the veins on his tightly clenched fists were bulging, and his eyes burned with unyielding battle intent and a heart prepared for death.
The other five were the deputy masters of the Warrior Temple, Magic Temple, Assassin Temple, Soul Temple, and Priest Temple. They were likewise top-tier human powerhouses, all with spirit power above the Ninth Tier Level Three, but at this moment, everyone's complexion was exceptionally grim.
Although the demon attacks outside the five great passes guarded by the other five temples were also extremely fierce, upon hearing the news that the Demon God Emperor would descend upon Imperial Dragon Pass, they had gritted their teeth and squeezed out one Ninth Tier Level Three expert each to provide reinforcements.
"Is the... information confirmed?" the deputy master of the Warrior Temple, an old man with white hair and beard but knotted muscles, asked in a hoarse voice, breaking the suffocating silence.
Yang Zhou slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the group, his voice low and raspy: "The decree of the Demon God Emperor Feng Huan has spread throughout the demon territories. One month from now, on the night of the full moon, he will personally arrive... at Imperial Dragon Pass."
Despite having been mentally prepared, when these words were spoken by Yang Zhou, a collective gasp still echoed through the Council Hall. A cold despair spread through everyone's hearts like a plague.
The current Temple Alliance could be said to be at an extremely awkward moment.
Unlike when the demons first invaded, when they possessed many legacies from the era of the Glorious Papacy, nor like three thousand years later when the protagonist group was born and had accumulated a considerable foundation after a long period of secret preparation, giving them the confidence to fight the demons. Furthermore, they were currently facing a highly ambitious Demon God Emperor.
Demon God Emperor Feng Huan! The second supreme existence in the history of the Demon Race to break through the threshold of a million spirit power! A powerful, cold, and highly aggressive monarch! Under his rule, the demon offensive against the Temple Alliance had been unprecedentedly fierce; human territory was constantly being compressed, and experts were falling one after another.
Now, this supreme emperor of the demons had finally lost his patience and was going to take action personally to crush the last hope of humanity.
"He intends to settle everything in one battle, to completely destroy our Alliance's will to resist!" the deputy master of the Magic Temple, an old woman in magnificent robes, said, her hand holding her staff trembling slightly.
"If Imperial Dragon Pass falls, the Alliance... will exist in name only." The deputy master of the Assassin Temple spoke in a cold voice, the gaze beneath his mask flickering with icy light.
The deputy master of the Priest Temple was a middle-aged woman with a gentle temperament; her eyes were filled with compassion: "With the Demon God Emperor taking action personally, how can we... possibly resist?"
How to resist? This was a question everyone knew the answer to, yet no one wanted to face. A million spirit power—that was the boundary between the mortal and the god-level! Even if all the experts of the Six Great Temples combined their strength, in front of a true god-level existence, it would be nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot!
Yang Zhou and Han Tao exchanged a glance, both seeing the resolve in the other's eyes.
Yang Zhou took a deep breath and said in a low voice: "We have only one chance. By combining our strength and using our lives as a catalyst, we will forcibly activate... the God Seal Throne of Eternity and Creation."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire room was shocked!
The God Seal Throne of Eternity and Creation was the supreme foundation of the human Temple Alliance, the legendary throne of the Creator God; even the other five God Seal Thrones of the Knight Temple were merely imitations of the God Seal Throne of Eternity and Creation.
Its origin and history were filled with mythological color. This throne was not only one of the few super divine artifacts on the Saint Demon Continent, but it was also the subject of a legend.
Three thousand years ago, a turning point shook the Saint Demon Continent. The 72 Demon God Pillars, which originally belonged to another plane, suddenly tore through the void and descended upon this continent. This event marked the beginning of the tragic fate of the human race.
Facing the suddenly arrived powerful Demon Race, the native human population fell into despair. Just as the human race was on the verge of extinction, a miracle occurred: a mysterious, incomparably magnificent throne, radiating powerful light and supreme majesty, descended from beyond the heavens with a meteor shower and was later taken away by the Temple Alliance.
Later, the demons launched another attack on humanity. This time, the Seventy-Two Pillar Demon Gods did not dispatch the demon army to attack humans; instead, the seventy-two Demon Gods themselves, led by the first generation Demon God Emperor, charged directly into the Temple Alliance.
In the end, fifty-two Demon Gods broke into the interior of the Alliance headquarters, and the twenty Demon Gods who died in battle were all resurrected within their respective Demon God Pillars. When the Demon Gods saw the God Seal Throne of Eternity and Creation, they naturally recognized it as an extremely precious treasure and prepared to seize it.
It was at this moment that the God Seal Throne of Eternity and Creation erupted; it suddenly burst forth with incomparable, brilliant, nine-colored light. The God Seal Throne suddenly split apart, transforming into a set of armor and a divine sword shining with nine-colored golden light.
The armor seemed to come alive, grasping the divine sword to launch an attack on the demons. Its attack process was very simple: it actually wrote ten large characters in the air, ten complex characters that did not belong to the Saint Demon Continent.
With the nine-colored golden light intertwined, of the fifty-two Demon Gods, only eighteen survived to leave in front of these ten characters, and even the first generation Demon God Emperor was severely injured, causing the Demon Race to suffer a great loss of vitality. These ten characters were the God Seal Throne of Eternity and Creation itself. Only then were humans able to reverse the tide of battle, repel the demons, and bring hope for rebuilding the light.
After this eruption, it completely lost its original luster and remained silent in the Knight Temple for thousands of years.
Over the past few thousand years, although the Temple Alliance had been trying to activate the power of the God Seal Throne of Eternity and Creation, no one had been able to gain its recognition.
However, someone had proposed a desperate measure: to have God Seal Knights use their lives as a catalyst to stimulate the most essential power of their respective God Seal Thrones, using that to communicate with the God Seal Throne of Eternity and Creation and thereby trigger its power.
Because the other five God Seal Thrones were all crafted using the meteorites that shattered when the God Seal Throne of Eternity and Creation descended as material, imitating the God Seal Throne of Eternity and Creation, there was a certain connection between them.
It was just that the people of the Knight Temple had never dared to try it, but they had kept this method in reserve, intending to use it for mutual destruction if they ever truly fell into a desperate situation.
"Temple Master!" "Brother Yang!" the other five deputy masters exclaimed, their eyes filled with shock and grief. They knew this was almost the only possible way to contend with the Demon God Emperor, but the price was too heavy!
Han Tao slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his voice resolute: "There is nothing to hesitate about! The Demon God Emperor's goal is to destroy the foundation of our human race! Behind Imperial Dragon Pass are billions of our compatriots! As one of the only two God Seal Knights of this generation, I, Han Tao, am willing to accompany the Temple Master! With our blood, we will temporarily awaken the power of eternity. Even if we cannot kill the Demon Emperor, we will break a few of his teeth! For the human race, we will fight for a glimmer of hope!"
His words carried a tragic heroism that diluted the despair in the hall and ignited the final bit of spirit in everyone's hearts.
"That's right! If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold! My Warrior Temple is willing to give everything to defend Imperial Dragon Pass to the death!"
"The Magic Temple, all mages, will coexist with the pass!"
"The Assassin Temple, all Dark Blades, will become the most lethal thorns!"
"The Priest Temple will do its utmost to protect the safety of the warriors!"
"The Soul Temple will also fight the Demon Race until the final chapter!"
The five deputy masters stood up one after another, their gazes firm. Since there was no way to retreat, they would fight to the end!
However, just as this tragic and resolute atmosphere reached its peak—
Rumble—!!!
An indescribable, terrifying pressure, as if descending from the nine heavens, swept across the entire territory of the Temple Alliance like an invisible tsunami! It was not just at Imperial Dragon Pass; every powerhouse with spirit power reaching the ninth rank or higher felt it at this moment, looking up in horror toward the distant southeast!
That pressure was not directed at any one person, but rather felt like the arrival of Heavenly Might, carrying a supreme will to judge all things and reshape the universe! Even someone as strong as Yang Zhou or Han Tao felt their souls tremble in the face of this pressure, as if ants were gazing up at the firmament!
"This aura... could it be... a Heavenly Tribulation?!" Yang Zhou exclaimed, his face filled with disbelief. He was well-read and had seen records of "Heavenly Punishment" and "God Tribulation" in ancient texts, but he had never imagined that in his lifetime, he would personally experience such terrifying Heavenly Might!
"Such power... could it be that the Demon God Emperor... has angered the heavens and brought down a Heavenly Punishment?!" Han Tao's voice was dry; this speculation made even him feel a sense of dread. Aside from the Demon God Emperor, who had broken through a million spirit power and stood above all living beings, he could not think of anyone else who could trigger such a terrifying celestial phenomenon!
The Council Hall fell into a deathly silence. Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events. If it were truly the Demon God Emperor triggering a Heavenly Tribulation, regardless of success or failure, it might be a massive variable for the Alliance! If the Demon God Emperor failed his tribulation, it would naturally be a blessing from the heavens for the Human Race! If he succeeded... perhaps, while he was heavily injured, it would be the perfect timing for them to fight to the death!
"We must investigate this clearly!" Yang Zhou made a prompt decision, a flash of determination in his eyes. "Brother Han, you remain at Imperial Dragon Pass to oversee the defenses and prepare for a potential attack by the Demon Race army. I will go to investigate personally!"
"No! Hall Master, you are the pillar of the Alliance; how can you move lightly? I will go!" Han Tao immediately objected.
"It is precisely because I am the pillar that I must go!" Yang Zhou's tone was unquestionable. "If it truly is the Demon God Emperor undergoing a tribulation, only by wielding the God Seal Throne of Protection and Mercy can I possibly observe from close range and retreat unscathed. Rest assured, I will take several ninth-rank colleagues from other temples with me to look out for one another."
In the end, Han Tao could not sway Yang Zhou. Soon, a squad of ninth-rank powerhouses led by Yang Zhou, including five vice hall masters, quietly left Imperial Dragon Pass and rushed toward the direction from which the pressure originated—the Meteor Mountain Range.
They traveled day and night, relying on their keen perception of Heaven and Earth Origin Qi, and finally arrived at the outskirts of the Meteor Mountain Range on the evening of the fifth day.
However, the scene before them left them dumbfounded, and they could hardly believe their own eyes!
The scene they had imagined, of the Demon God Emperor struggling under a Thunder Tribulation, did not appear. Instead, two figures, like Divine Demons, were engaged in a world-shaking battle above the ruined lone peak in the center of the mountain range!
One of the figures was incredibly familiar to them; it was the nightmare that kept the entire Human Race restless—the Demon God Emperor Feng Huan!
He wore magnificent dark purple demonic armor, with giant Heaven-Defying Dragon Wings on his back, and held a greatsword wreathed in dark red demonic flames. Demonic energy surged around him, as if a master of the abyss had descended. His aura was so strong that it far surpassed any member of the Demon Race Yang Zhou and the others had ever seen; he had indeed stepped into that legendary realm of a million spirit power.
What was even more heart-palpitating was that in the void behind him, there was a faint, towering, dark red pillar engraved with countless demonic runes, emitting a terrifying pressure—it was the supreme sacred artifact of the Demon Race, the super divine artifact, the Heaven-Defying Dragon Pillar! With the support of this pillar, the power of the Demon God Emperor seemed endless!
Yet, his opponent was a completely unfamiliar powerhouse!
That person stood tall, shrouded in armor that appeared simple yet flowed with purple-gold lightning. His face was handsome and youthful, his black hair loose, and his eyes, deep and majestic, seemed to contain a world of thunder. He held a divine spear about twelve feet long, with a lifelike five-clawed thunder dragon coiled around the shaft. Every strike invoked the thunder of heaven and earth, with purple-gold electric light ravaging the sky, standing toe-to-toe with the Demon God Emperor's surging demonic energy without losing any ground!
What shocked Yang Zhou and the others most was that the aura emitted by this mysterious powerhouse was not spirit power, but it was purer and more noble than their spirit power, as if it were a brilliant Divine Might that transcended the laws of heaven and earth! Its intensity even faintly suppressed the Demon God Emperor, who was bolstered by the Heaven-Defying Dragon Pillar!
"Could this be... Divine Might?! Who... who is he?! Could it be that the Heavenly Tribulation from earlier... was triggered by him?!" The vice hall master of the Magic Temple said with a trembling voice, almost incoherent.
"It's not spirit power... it's another kind of power... but it's purer and stronger than the Demon God Emperor's demonic power... could this... could this be... a god?" The vice hall master of the Warrior Temple muttered to himself, his eyes filled with shock and confusion.
Yang Zhou stared fixedly at the battlefield, his heart pounding. The God Seal Throne of Protection and Mercy in his hand trembled slightly, transmitting an unprecedented palpitation. He suppressed the raging waves in his heart and whispered, "Observe the situation! Restrain your auras; do not let yourselves be detected!"
High above in the sky, the battle had entered a white-hot stage.
───────────────
Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: GodKun-Chan