The Black Sky City Collapses, the Holy Demon World Officially Goes to War

The night over Heitian City was torn apart by the golden light of the dragon vein.

That golden radiance shot into the heavens, illuminating the mountains and rivers of the Darklands for thousands of miles.

Demonic beasts across the wasteland prostrated themselves on the ground.

Loose cultivators in the valleys looked up in a daze.

Countless underworld assassins, fugitives, demonic cultivators, and hidden agents of the sacred lands all felt, at that moment, an ancient pressure rising from deep within the earth.

It was as though the slumbering dragon of Jiuzhou had opened its eyes.

Or as though the entire world were silently demanding an answer.

Who touched my roots?

Within Heitian City, the Myriad Treasures Pavilion had already collapsed halfway.

The underground auction hall was completely exposed to the night sky.

Amid the shattered building, holy light, demonic qi, sword intent, corpse mist, and lightning intertwined into a sea of destruction.

Countless martial artists fled from the ruins.

Some ran while vomiting blood.

Some ran while stuffing auction items into their robes.

One man had made it halfway out before realizing that the head tucked under his arm wasn’t his own. He was so frightened that he threw it away on the spot.

Another loose cultivator burst from the ruins and threw his head back in laughter.

“I’m rich!”

The next moment, a sword beam descended from the heavens, carving a hundred-zhang fissure into the ground beside him.

The loose cultivator’s laughter abruptly ceased.

He looked down at the half a spirit stone in his arms, then up at the battle between the Martial Gods in the sky.

Afterward, he calmly placed the spirit stone back on the ground.

“I suddenly feel that wealth is merely something external to the self.”

A demonic cultivator beside him nodded as well.

“Your realm of enlightenment is profound, fellow cultivator.”

“Not at all, not at all.”

“Then could you move your foot off my storage pouch?”

The loose cultivator fell silent.

This was Heitian City.

Even when the sky was falling, there was always someone who would check their wallet first.

Tonight, however, the sky really was about to fall.

Old Man Heitian had emerged from his coffin in his true form and was battling the Demon Lord above the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

One was a half-step transcendent powerhouse, half-rotted and half-alive, with dark laws coiling around his body.

The other was a peak Martial God, his demonic qi soaring to the heavens. His origins were mysterious, and his combat power far surpassed that of ordinary peak Martial Gods.

Every collision between them caused another section of Heitian City’s grand formation to collapse.

The blackwood staff swept across the air, causing the void to cave in.

The Demon Lord struck out with a fist, and demonic flames scorched the heavens.

Old Man Heitian roared, “Who exactly are you?”

The Demon Lord sneered. “You don’t deserve to know.”

Old Man Heitian’s gaze darkened.

“You’re merely a peak Martial God. If this old man’s blood and qi weren’t decayed, you would have died ten times over!”

The Demon Lord shattered the surging darkness with one punch and said coldly, “If I were at my peak, you wouldn’t even be qualified to speak to me.”

Both of them felt they were getting the short end of the stick.

One resented growing old.

The other resented being crippled.

Yet when they fought, each was more vicious than the last.

Wang Hao stood atop the ruins of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, watching with great satisfaction.

“The Demon Lord is still somewhat useful.”

Yin Jiuyou had just returned from the direction of the pavilion’s treasury. Hearing this, the corner of his mouth twitched.

That was a peak Martial God blocking a half-step transcendent powerhouse for you.

And His Majesty’s assessment was merely “somewhat useful”?

Were his standards a little too high?

Still, Yin Jiuyou did not say it aloud.

Because he knew that His Majesty was in a very good mood.

When His Majesty was in a good mood, he only tricked people.

When His Majesty was in a bad mood, he would even find ways to squeeze every last benefit out of his own people.

Yin Jiuyou handed over a storage ring.

“Your Majesty, I have retrieved the treasuries on the first three floors of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.”

“Spirit stones, pills, strange materials, damaged weapons, cultivation manuals, jade slips—thirty-seven categories in all.”

“Everything above the seventh floor is sealed by Heitian City’s core formation. We cannot open it for now.”

Wang Hao accepted the storage ring, his brows drawing together slightly.

“Only the first three floors?”

Yin Jiuyou lowered his head.

“This subject is incompetent.”

Wang Hao waved his hand.

“It isn’t that you’re incompetent.”

“It’s that they’re too unreasonable.”

“They open a business, yet they lock the treasury.”

Yin Jiuyou fell silent.

He realized that he had begun to understand His Majesty’s logic.

That might not necessarily be a good thing.

The New Emperor Sword flew over from a distance.

It transformed into a young man, a piece of black strange iron still clenched between its teeth.

“Master!”

“I couldn’t bite through the door to the seventh floor!”

Wang Hao glanced at it.

“Aren’t you capable of eating just about anything?”

The New Emperor Sword looked aggrieved.

“That door has a restriction. One bite and my teeth got electrocuted.”

Wang Hao asked, “Swords have teeth?”

The New Emperor Sword froze.

It lowered its head and began to think.

That was right.

Where would a sword get teeth?

Then what had hurt just now?

It sank into a profound confusion regarding the bodily structure of strange artifacts.

Wang Hao ignored it.

He looked toward the seventh floor of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

Black light flowed there, while formation patterns covered every inch of it.

Clearly, that was where Heitian City kept its true treasures.

But breaking the formation by force now would make it easy for Old Man Heitian to notice him.

More importantly, the various sacred lands and demonic sects had already begun to react.

There was no way Wang Hao could seize the fragmentary dragon-vein map and remain unnoticed forever.

Sure enough.

A Martial God from the Taiyin Sacred Land stepped through the air.

His hair was white as frost, and his gaze was cold and sharp.

“Wang Hao, hand over the fragmentary dragon-vein map.”

On the other side, a Martial God from the Yellow Springs Demonic Sect approached slowly, standing atop a river of souls.

“Great Xia’s emperor, the fragmentary map is not something you can take away.”

The Martial God from the Sword Ruins stood with a sword case trembling behind him.

“Wang Hao, if you are willing to hand over the fragmentary map, the Sword Ruins can guarantee your safe departure from Heitian City.”

The White Bone Martial God let out a sinister cackle.

“You believe anything the Sword Ruins says?”

“Wang Hao, give the fragmentary map to my White Bone Demonic Sect. We’ll refine a substitute-death corpse puppet for you.”

People from the Blood Lotus Sacred Land, Blood Prison Demonic Sect, Golden Watchtower Sacred Land, and Myriad Souls Demonic Sect also surrounded him.

For the moment, they set aside their mutual grudges.

Not because they had reconciled.

But because the item in Wang Hao’s hands was simply too tempting.

The fragmentary dragon-vein map of Jiuzhou.

It was no ordinary treasure.

It was connected to the course of Jiuzhou’s ancient dragon veins and to the forbidden pact once jointly signed by the sacred lands and demonic sects.

Whoever possessed it might gain the upper hand when the great age of turmoil arrived.

Wang Hao looked calmly at the people surrounding him.

“What are all of you doing?”

The Taiyin Martial God said coldly, “You know perfectly well.”

Wang Hao sighed.

“Just now, I exposed Heitian City’s conspiracy and protected the world’s dragon veins.”

“You don’t thank me, and now you surround me.”

“People’s hearts have truly grown cold.”

The Yellow Springs Martial God sneered.

“You incited this chaos, seized the fragmentary map, and now you dare claim that you protected the world?”

Wang Hao nodded.

“Of course I dare.”

“Because the fragmentary map is safer in my hands than in yours.”

The White Bone Martial God said darkly, “And what makes you think that?”

Wang Hao answered solemnly, “Because I have more morality than all of you.”

The entire battlefield fell silent.

Even the Demon Lord, who was fighting in the distance, nearly wrenched his back at those words.

The New Emperor Sword whispered, “Master, what is morality?”

Wang Hao replied, “Something you don’t have.”

The New Emperor Sword suddenly understood.

“Then Master doesn’t have it either?”

Wang Hao’s expression turned blank.

“You’re not getting your strange iron today.”

The New Emperor Sword was horrified.

“Master’s morality is boundless!”

Yin Jiuyou silently turned his head away.

This sword was indeed becoming more and more like His Majesty.

The Taiyin Martial God no longer wished to waste words.

He raised a hand and spread a domain of a cold moon.

In an instant, everything within a thousand zhang was frozen solid.

“Seize him!”

The Yellow Springs Martial God attacked almost simultaneously.

The river of souls surged backward, and countless ghosts formed a claw that reached toward Wang Hao’s storage space.

Sword qi from the Sword Ruins tore through the air.

White bone corpse puppets roared.

Blood fiends from the Blood Prison soared into the sky.

Golden light capable of suppressing souls descended from the Golden Watchtower.

The Myriad Souls Demonic Sect unfurled its banner of ten thousand souls.

Seven factions of powerful experts attacked Wang Hao at the same time.

The sight was terrifying beyond compare.

Even if Wang Hao was a second-level Martial God, even if he possessed divine-grade martial techniques, it would be impossible for him to withstand all of them head-on.

Yet there was not the slightest trace of panic on his face.

Because this was precisely the moment he had been waiting for.

He suddenly raised his hand and took out a black seal.

The Myriad Contracts Origin Seal.

Wang Hao pressed his palm down.

Countless auras of contracts erupted from the seal.

In an instant, an indistinct black trade contract appeared on each of the seven powerful figures.

The contract’s aura was not particularly strong.

Yet it was unmistakably clear.

Taiyin Martial God’s expression changed.

“What is this?”

Yellow Springs Martial God’s pupils contracted.

“A contract with Heitian City?”

Sword Ruins Martial God’s voice sank.

“Why is there such a thing on me?”

Wang Hao threw back his head and laughed.

“Are you all still pretending?”

“You secretly signed contracts with Heitian City long ago, conspiring to bid for the dragon-vein fragment map.”

“And now that I’ve exposed you, you want to silence me by killing me.”

“Sacred grounds, demonic sects—it turns out you’re all filthy.”

The crowd erupted in fury.

“Nonsense!”

“You’re slandering us!”

“Wang Hao, you shameless bastard!”

Wang Hao nodded.

“You’re getting anxious.”

“That means I hit the mark.”

This was the terrifying aspect of the Myriad Contracts Origin Seal.

It did not need to truly prove anything.

It only needed to make something resembling evidence appear on another person.

With the world in chaos, the dragon-vein fragment map having surfaced, and Heitian City sealing the city and slaughtering people, that tiny bit of evidence was enough.

Because people had already arrived in the distance.

Boom!

In the eastern sky, an icy moon rose.

Reinforcements from the Taiyin Sacred Ground had arrived.

To the west, the Yellow Springs Soul River stretched across the night sky.

The experts of the Yellow Springs Demon Sect had arrived.

Farther away, sword cries shook the nine heavens.

White bones paved a road through the sky.

Blood lotuses bloomed across the sea of clouds.

Blood Prison dyed the mountains crimson.

Golden palace radiance descended like a heavenly palace from above.

A black tide of countless souls veiled the stars.

One Martial God after another, one ancient ancestor-level figure after another, was crossing the void.

They had yet to arrive, but they had already seen the aura of the contracts within Heitian City.

They had seen the golden radiance of the dragon veins.

They had seen the Sacred Grounds and Demon Sects attacking the Great Xia Emperor together.

They had also seen Heitian City’s grand formation sealing off all directions, with Old Man Heitian personally taking action.

At a time like this, the truth was no longer important.

What mattered was one’s side.

Among the Taiyin Sacred Ground’s reinforcements, an old woman in icy robes shouted sternly:

“Disciples of the Taiyin Sacred Ground, heed my order!”

“Take back the dragon-vein fragment map!”

From the direction of the Yellow Springs Demon Sect, an old man in black robes roared:

“Disciples of the Yellow Springs—charge into Heitian City!”

From the direction of Sword Ruins, ten thousand swords rang in unison.

“Disciples of Sword Ruins, slay the demons and seize the map!”

From the White Bone Demon Sect, clouds of corpses rolled across the sky.

“Refine every sword cultivator and reclaim the clues to the Ancient Corpse King’s heart bone!”

The Blood Lotus Sacred Ground and the Blood Prison Demon Sect issued their orders almost simultaneously.

“Kill!”

The Golden Palace and the Ten Thousand Souls Sect no longer held back either.

Outside Heitian City, the various experts who had originally come merely to investigate erupted into violence the moment they saw one another. Old grudges and new hatred burst forth together.

When Taiyin saw the Yellow Springs, it remembered the Cold Moon Mine.

When the Yellow Springs saw Taiyin, it remembered the Soul Well.

When Sword Ruins saw the White Bone Demon Sect, it remembered the Broken Sword Mound.

When the White Bone Demon Sect saw Sword Ruins, it remembered the heart bone.

When the Blood Lotus Sacred Ground saw the Blood Prison Demon Sect, it remembered the secret poison and the herb-gathering teams.

When the Blood Prison Demon Sect saw the Blood Lotus Sacred Ground, it remembered the three thousand blood slaves who had died suddenly.

When the Golden Palace saw the Ten Thousand Souls Sect, it remembered the craftsmen’s souls that had been auctioned off.

When the Ten Thousand Souls Sect saw the Golden Palace, it remembered the Soul-Suppressing Nails driven into the entrance of the Ancestral Soul Hall.

All their hatred converged above Heitian City.

Like a blood-red ocean.

It was merely waiting for the final bolt of thunder.

Wang Hao was that bolt of thunder.

He suddenly raised his hand.

The Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda flew into the sky.

Its gate opened.

The thunder phoenix on the eighth level soared into the heavens.

The thunder phoenix did not attack any side.

It struck the enormous black iron command plaque at the center of Heitian City.

No killing was permitted within the city.

Boom!

The black iron plaque exploded.

Its fragments fell like meteors.

The four words engraved upon it shattered into ash amid the lightning.

Wang Hao’s voice rang throughout all of Heitian City.

“Heitian City has hidden the dragon-vein fragment map and colluded with both the righteous and demonic factions, throwing the world into chaos.”

“Today, in the name of the Great Xia Emperor, I abolish Heitian City’s decree of neutrality!”

“If you wish to prove your innocence—”

“Then use your blades to prove it.”

Those words were vicious beyond measure.

Use your blades to prove your innocence.

Wasn’t that simply telling everyone to fight?

And yet—

Every single person needed to prove themselves.

The Taiyin Sacred Ground needed to prove that it had not colluded with Heitian City.

The Yellow Springs Demon Sect needed to prove it as well.

Sword Ruins, the White Bone Demon Sect, the Blood Lotus Sacred Ground, the Blood Prison Demon Sect, the Golden Palace, and the Ten Thousand Souls Sect—all of them were in the same position.

And the most direct way to prove it was to hack the other side to death.

Because once the other side was dead, the right to explain the truth would return to them.

Boom!