Those who cannot be converted by the Soul-Converting Banner shall be converted by physical means

“Caw——”

After the soul fusion of the Three Celestial Venerables collided with it, Wuxiang’s twisted body emitted a piercing sonic wave.

Something inside Wuxiang seemed to be trying to burst out; its body bulged forward in some places and backward in others.

It grew ever more grotesque, its form swelling to a thousand meters in height!

“Shiiiii—”

With jets of white steam spraying from its surface, Wuxiang’s distorted body finally stabilized.

Now, it had taken a vaguely humanoid shape, its outer layer a hard, metallic surface like a suit of armor.

It bore sharp horns on its head, a tail behind it, and its eyes and face resembled those of the Dragon-Human race.

“Clang—”

Wuxiang tore off its left hand with its right, transforming the limb into a pitch-black war halberd.

Then a new left hand grew back.

It studied its new hand for a moment, seemed to find it imperfect, and with a thought, turned it into a razor-sharp claw, gleaming with cold light.

You arrived at Shen Qingshan’s side.

Shen Qingshan sighed.

“The Dragon-Human Celestial Venerable has gone mad. To win, he even sacrificed himself!”

Towering as you now stood, Shen Qingshan looked like a mere speck beside you.

Shen Qingshan proposed resuming the original plan: lure Wuxiang to the outer seas and seal it temporarily.

Studying Wuxiang, which now appeared so human-like, you spoke with concern.

“That trick probably won’t work anymore…”

Wuxiang’s voice came as a chorus of the Three Celestial Venerables.

“Chen Yi!! Though we die, we have bestowed consciousness upon Wuxiang! Let us see how you stop Wuxiang from destroying the human realm!”

With these words, Wuxiang swung its war halberd.

The blade’s icy radiance struck from the coastline all the way to a mountain range ten thousand li away. The earth shattered, the ground collapsed, and the sea reversed its flow!

Floodwaters roared in, waves rising over ten meters high!

With immeasurable power, Wuxiang kept sinking the land, aiming to drown the continent in seawater.

Remember the old warrior king of the Soaring Freedom Sacred Land, the one who was curious and had nothing better to do?

He flew for years and still never reached the ocean’s edge!

Shen Qingshan grasped Wuxiang’s intent.

“It’s trying to flood the continent! Block the waters!”

Shen Qingshan led a host of Martial Sages, charging to the front of the flood, using their own cultivation to resist the brute force of nature and hold back the deluge.

Wuxiang laughed arrogantly, flickering to a distant point thousands of li away, and resumed smashing the continent.

“Let’s see how much you can hold back!”

The halberd struck against a suit of armor.

You made no move to attack. Instead, you let Wuxiang’s blow land on your body clad in the Mountain River Armor.

“Hahaha! Chen Yi! You’re out of tricks!”

Hearing the voices of the Three Celestial Venerables, you grew furious.

You knew they were already thoroughly dead.

This monstrosity was fundamentally still Wuxiang.

Wuxiang had devoured them, mimicking them.

And now, their obsessions and grudges tainted Wuxiang, shaping its current state.

“Damn it! I can’t fight back—how am I supposed to win?”

Wuxiang’s earth-shattering force came crashing down on you, burying both you and the halberd deep beneath the ground.

“Boom!!”

The lush forests shattered, the ground sank, the crust fractured, and rubble flew thousands of meters into the air!

Seawater poured in through this breach once more.

The floodwaters thundered across the land, rushing from the west coast toward the nearest region: the Western Wastes.

Lives were swallowed by the flood; the land turned into a white ocean.

The homes of the Western Wastes’ people collapsed, countless drowning in the waters.

Martial artists could barely protect themselves, but the flood moved faster than they could flee, and soon they were all submerged.

Only Martial Kings could take to the skies, temporarily escaping the waters.

Watching the flood surge endlessly eastward, some Martial Kings who could have fled chose instead to stay and fight it!

They dove into the waters, using all they had learned to resist the raging tide, until they were completely overwhelmed.

Entering a state of unity between heaven and man, your spiritual awareness expanded manyfold, covering the entire Western Wastes.

Seeing those horrors and those magnificent sacrifices, your heart burned with urgency.

“Seven Luminaries Immortal Array!”

You were forced to play your final card.

“Great Fiend! Awaken quickly, help me form the array!”

You called upon the mark the Great Fiend had left on you, rousing him.

“Elder Shen, forget the flood! Rise to the star domain and take your position!”

Shen Qingshan glanced back at the Martial Sages still struggling in the waters, grit his teeth, and left his post to ascend to the star domain.

You left too.

Staying here could not defeat Wuxiang; you had to activate the Seven Luminaries Immortal Array.

Soon, you flew to the Celestial Ridge.

Beneath its many peaks lay buried the remains of dragons and phoenixes.

On the way, when you passed over the capital of the Great Qian Empire, you informed Li Chengqian to awaken Li Wentian’s power.

“Hu Tian’gong! Awaken the dragon and phoenix!”

Hu Tian’gong emerged from the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

He already knew all that had transpired.

For him, this moment was agonizing.

Reviving the martial-god-level power of the dragon and phoenix required more than just the demon souls stored in the banner.

To serve as array eyes, that would not be enough.

They needed living beings.

Furthermore, those serving as array eyes risked being consumed.

In other words, if they won this battle, the balance of power between humans and demons in the human realm would tip—the demons would no longer pose a threat.

Still, Hu Tian’gong hesitated only briefly before beginning his magic to summon the power of ten thousand demons.

All those calculations meant nothing unless the human realm survived.

If Wuxiang annihilated everything, talking about the demons’ future was pointless.

Thus, the seven martial-god-level array eyes now included Shen Qingshan, Li Wentian, the Great Fiend, the Dragon God, and the Phoenix God. Two more were still needed.

Li Lingyue?

She was still in seclusion, striving to break through to the martial god realm.

Where could they find two more martial gods?

You shook the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, releasing two souls.

Qing Tai!

Can Xing!

These two—the first Dragon-Human earth venerables to fall—could not be converted by kindness, and so had been sealed in the banner all along.

“Lao Wan! Convert them!”

The Ten Thousand Soul Banner gave a bitter laugh.

“Bro, haven’t you tried this a dozen times? And asked Old Shen to try too—no dice! Their souls are too strong.”

Qing Tai gloated.

“Heheh, human scum! Think you’re so tough just ‘cause you’re huge, huh? Trying to refine me? You can keep dreaming for your next life! Hahaha!”

You swung your fist down!

“Boom!!”

“Convert!”

“Boom!!”

“I said convert!”

“Boom!!”

["Reform him, now!!!"]

[Reformation successful.]