An inexplicably familiar scent

A crimson hairpin.

It appeared simple and unadorned, as if it were just an ordinary hair accessory worn by women in ancient times.

Yet none of the stone statues believed this was merely a common hairpin.

"This object can pierce the boundary barrier. After shattering the barrier... bring the Demon Ancestor back."

After a long silence.

The slender, monkey-like grotesque among the stone statues stepped forward.

"Creak, creak~~~" As it rose, the grating sound of bones grinding together echoed.

Clearly, it had not moved for a very long time.

"Lord Demon Sovereign, your subordinate is willing to go."

With that, it took the scarlet hairpin.

After receiving the hairpin, the eerie stone ape gazed into the distance, then slightly bent its knees and leapt with tremendous force!

Its figure instantly vanished from the spot, moving at an extreme speed.

In the blink of an eye, it traveled from the center of the abyss to the outside of the boundary domain.

After leaving the Demon Palace, the stone ape's body did not become colossal like the Ghost-Faced Evil God Mother's; its size remained that of an ordinary man.

"Is this the boundary barrier?"

Once free from the black mist, the stone ape's form gradually became visible.

A grotesque monkey-like face, with terrifyingly protruding teeth, slender limbs, and arms so long its hands nearly reached the ground.

The stone ape held the hairpin close against the boundary barrier.

"Hehehe, it truly is the power of the Great Dao! Such magnificent Great Dao power... condensed into this boundary barrier. Demon Ancestor... how immensely powerful you must be!!!"

The stone ape trembled with excitement, its limbs shaking uncontrollably, like a madman in the throes of a fit.

"I, born of demonic essence... can I truly challenge the Demon Ancestor?"

It had lived long enough for its memories to become exceedingly blurred, and after falling into corruption, they grew even more indistinct.

It only knew that the Demon Ancestor was the one who created the origin of the Demonic Path, the true progenitor of all demons. All subsequent beings bearing the name 'demon' flourished under its shadow.

Including the Corrupt Demonic Path they now followed!

"How familiar this Great Dao power feels..." The stone ape reached out and stroked the boundary barrier, which was constructed from the purest Demonic Path power.

"But... bang!" The stone ape raised its hand and thrust the hairpin bestowed by the Demon Sovereign into the boundary barrier.

A grin spread across its face, "But unfortunately, I now cultivate the Corrupt Path."

!!!

The boundary barrier, constructed from Great Dao power, a solid shield that could even block Corrupt Immortals, was effortlessly pierced by a single hairpin.

The hairpin was even made merely of wood.

And the barrier began to crack, radiating outwards from the point of puncture!

"Creak, creak—"

Like a spider's web... more cracks spread, frantically expanding!

"BOOM!!!"

With a tremendous roar, the boundary barrier constructed by Jiang Che's system power was shattered, leaving a gaping hole.

After the barrier was breached, the surrounding Great Dao power attempted to mend and seal the hole, but the hairpin acted like a nail. Where it was lodged... the barrier within a radius of hundreds of miles could not repair itself.

"Hehehe..." The eerie stone ape stepped through and slowly entered the Mortal Realm. Following behind it, black mist gushed in, and countless evil spirits flooded into the Mortal Realm.

"Demon Ancestor, where are you?"

...

"What the hell? The boundary barrier is broken?"

Jiang Che had been accompanying Shen Yu, teaching their unborn child prenatal lessons, when suddenly a palpitation struck him, and then the boundary barrier was shattered.

"Strange, something capable of shattering my boundary barrier? Could it be an Immortal Emperor descending?"

Jiang Che stood up, his gaze burning as he looked towards a specific point in the sky.

The Mortal Realm was breached again, causing another uproar.

And this time, it was a genuine, gaping hole, the kind that couldn't be plugged.

Jiang Ruoxu, who had just caught his breath, was utterly terrified.

"Holy... holy shit! How the hell is it broken again! Bro, are you even capable?"

It must be noted, he was still live-streaming!

And this time, the opponent's force was clearly formidable.

[Tsk tsk tsk, the Mortal Realm is probably done for this time.]

[Last time, that Ghost-Faced Evil God Mother couldn't shatter the barrier, but this time it's completely broken, right? Streamer, what trick do you have up your sleeve now?]

[Damn these guys, they deserve the evil spirit invasion. I won first place in the last sect competition... was supposed to be rewarded with a Saint-grade spirit stone, but damn it... because we had to pay your 'protection fee,' my Saint-grade spirit stone is gone!!!]

After the incident of Jiang Che forcibly collecting protection fees, the reputations of Jiang Che and Jiang Ruoxu within the Nine Heavens were thoroughly tarnished.

Especially Jiang Che, already a name on the "This Vermin Must Die" list, was now universally despised—though perhaps not by the young ladies.

"Shut the hell up, you bunch of idiots!" Jiang Ruoxu also revealed his true nature, directly starting to argue with the live-stream comments.

Since his reputation was already in the gutter, he began embracing the 'infamous but popular' route.

Whether it was good or bad publicity, as long as people watched him show off, he could gain 'show-off points.'

[Tsk tsk, still being stubborn? With such a huge hole, later-stage Martial Gods, Nirvana-stage, even Creation-realm evil spirits can come and go as they please. What are you going to survive with?]

[Still live-streaming here? Might as well start preparing your own coffin?]

Jiang Ruoxu no longer had the mind to read the comments; his mood was extremely heavy.

He had tried to contact Jiang Che but couldn't reach him. Right now, Jiang Che was his pillar.

If even Jiang Che couldn't solve such a thorny problem, then Blue Star probably couldn't be saved.

Because the reputations and public perception of Jiang Che and Jiang Ruoxu were so poor, many within the Nine Heavens took pleasure in their misfortune.

However, many of the great emperors and even immortals within the Nine Heavens who had placed their bets began to panic.

If the Mortal Realm truly fell, how could the Immortal Realm be consolidated in the future? How would their plans for longevity be realized?

For many immortals, finding their own Great Dao origin was nearly impossible. After all, only a handful of immortals achieved transcendence and enlightenment. Compared to transcending for eternal life, they would rather wait until the Immortal Realm coalesced to obtain longevity.

"This is bad! The Mortal Realm is in peril!"

"Immediately! Send reinforcements to the Mortal Realm now! The current teleportation altars can transport experts up to the early Nirvana stage. Gather the Nirvana-stage cultivators from our clan..."

"The Jiang Clan's Imperial Son must not be lost!"

Soon, large numbers of high-level cultivators descended to the lower realm via teleportation altars.

And at this very moment, Jiang Che had arrived at the edge of the shattered boundary.

Watching the swarming army of evil spirits and the boundary barrier that could not heal, Jiang Che narrowed his eyes.

A strangely familiar aura!