Chapter 479: Market

The Ancient Gods and Dao Lords are beings of the world’s rank, possessing the essence of the world itself.

Precisely because of this, they also bear responsibilities toward the world!

If they lose their minds and seek to destroy the world, or recklessly kill, they will naturally be despised by all living beings within the world. The resentment and karmic forces thus generated could eventually even cause a Dao Lord to lose their status!

Therefore, even though the Three Ancient Gods and Five Sect Patriarchs schemed to manipulate calamities, they did so secretly, using their disciples and even mortal factions as their main agents. In this way, even if many lives were lost, it would not be counted heavily against them.

However, someone like Wu Ming personally killing hundreds of thousands was an act of sheer madness. The Blood River Dao Lord admitted to himself that if he acted similarly, he would immediately be forsaken by the Heavenly Dao, his essence destabilized, and eventually attacked and destroyed.

Yet Wu Ming, committing such a grave transgression, appeared so calm and indifferent, which left him utterly perplexed.

“Utter nonsense!”

The Slaughter Dao Lord was so furious his face turned red.

He had originally conspired with the other gods to defeat this formidable enemy, but who could have guessed that the opponent would suddenly overturn the table? Who could possibly tolerate such an act?

“Violet Luo Dao Lord, dare you come with me to the Outer Heavens to settle this?”

However, the Slaughter Dao Lord was not Wu Ming; he still hesitated to unleash a full-scale battle within this world and immediately shouted.

“Indeed, Violet Luo Dao Lord, you have betrayed the Heavenly Dao and our sacred oaths. What do you have to say for yourself?”

Not only the Brahma God and the Light God, but also the Miaoyi Dao Lord, Linglong Dao Lord, and the Blood River Dao Lord stepped forward. This was not merely a matter of attitude but of stance!

“Hehe… What do I care if the whole world becomes my enemy?”

Wu Ming swept his gaze around. He knew that if he started a fight here, the other Dao Lords and Ancient Gods, reluctant to cause collateral damage, might end up being defeated by him one after another. Still, he sneered and flew straight toward the Outer Heavens.

The Outer Heavens refer to the periphery of the world, where destruction is not a concern, and even the full power of Sages can be unleashed.

In the case of the Great Zhou Western Records world, the Outer Heavens were a chaotic expanse, yet somewhat different.

When Wu Ming arrived, he saw another streak of light coming from the east, transforming into an emperor adorned in regal attire, with a dignified appearance. Wu Ming couldn’t help but smirk inwardly: “Even though I am the Creator of this world, I am being chased and attacked by these late-stage Golden Immortals. There’s truly no one quite like me…”

“Heavenly Jade Emperor, you’ve arrived as well. Excellent!”

The Slaughter Dao Lord nodded slightly and, together with the other six, surrounded Wu Ming: “Violet Luo, why have you betrayed the Heavenly Dao and violated our sacred oaths as Sages?”

“Heavenly Dao?”

Wu Ming smiled proudly: “Do you even know what the true Heavenly Dao is?”

Miaoyi and Linglong Dao Lords exchanged glances, their eyes flickering with doubt.

Even a Dao Lord, under the kind of reckless actions Wu Ming had taken, would have their essence destabilized, giving other Dao Lords an opportunity to eliminate them.

But this Violet Luo, having gone to such extremes, still maintained a stable and formidable aura, which was truly puzzling.

The Sages, having calculated this, edged closer together, realizing that Violet Luo must possess a great secret, and resolved to unite and force him to reveal it.

The Blood River and Light Gods exchanged furtive glances, secretly communicating something.

Meanwhile, Wu Ming calmly observed his encirclement, while inwardly musing: “I created this world. Even if it’s just an illusory paradise, it’s a waste to use it solely for cultivating Reincarnators. Now that the Western Records is nearly over and the world’s cycle is ending, it would be a pity to abandon it…”

“What exactly do you intend to do?”

Although Wu Ming was merely contemplating the usage of the illusory paradise, the other Dao Lords were alarmed and shouted at him.

“What do I intend to do?”

Wu Ming smiled faintly: “Naturally, to destroy this world!”

…

“Attack!”

Seeing the Dao Lords leave, the scattered cultivators, demon immortals, and even Reincarnators under Zhang Tianxiang could no longer contain themselves. They rode their magical artifacts and charged toward the Eastern Expeditionary Army.

With Wu Ming’s earlier strike giving them an advantage, the entire Eastern Expeditionary Army was now in chaos. Even the high-level cultivators were not faring well, being cut down from their mounts, some fleeing immediately in beams of light, creating a scene of utter despair.

“Hahaha… Who would have thought that we could achieve such a great victory so easily!”

Ji Fu, amidst the army, was elated: “Sixty thousand defeating five hundred thousand! Even with the help of the Dao Lords, Zhang Tianxiang must have the Dragon’s Blessing, making him unbeatable!”

Xin Jue was not as optimistic: “This is just a one-time opportunity… I secretly used my magic to observe Zhang Tianxiang’s fortune and saw signs of decline after reaching its peak… I’m afraid that after today, this world, and even the main tribulation, will no longer revolve around him…”

“Even so…”

Ji Fu took a deep breath: “We must make full use of this opportunity! Completing the main quest isn’t hard; we should seize the chance to complete as many side quests as possible!”

They gazed at the ground before them, now resembling a sea of molten lava, the result of Wu Ming’s casual strike earlier.

All the cavalry on Zhang Tianxiang’s side kept a wide distance from the molten terrain, chasing and attacking the scattered and fleeing Eastern Expeditionary Army. Especially the knights clad in chainmail were their favorite targets.

In the midst of the great defeat, chasing and attacking retreating enemies was the easiest way to gain achievements.

Ji Fu and the others deeply understood this principle. However, they now had no time to deal with these minor soldiers and knights. Their true targets were the Western cultivators, especially those who were isolated or severely injured.

Once encountered, they would immediately gather their forces to surround and kill them. Even killing one would be a significant gain!

“Woof! Woof!”

After chasing for half a while, having already reaped countless lives, they suddenly saw a mass of black-red clouds in the western sky, which was then struck down by a sword beam, accompanied by the barking of a wild dog.

“You won’t escape, Wild Dog Demon King!”

The sword beam flashed, about to catch up, but unexpectedly, a formation was released from the black-red clouds, trapping the sword beam inside: “Five Elements Life and Death Formation! You actually abandoned such a formation…”

At this moment, the demon cloud temporarily trapped the sword beam but could not maintain its form, landing on the ground and transforming into a giant canine the size of a hill, with numerous sword wounds exposing flesh and bone, a terrifying sight.

“It’s the Wild Dog Demon King?!”

Ji Fu and Xin Jue exchanged glances, both seeing disbelief and eager excitement in each other’s eyes.

“It’s said that this Demon King attained immortality from a domestic dog, especially excelling in formations. Now it seems the rumors are true!”

Xin Jue raised his eyebrows, exuding a heroic aura: “What do you think? Let’s team up! Kill it and split the rewards!”

“You say it so easily. This demon is one of the seventy-two Demon Kings of the Western Regions… known for its ferocity. Even though it’s already severely injured, it won’t be easy to deal with…”

Ji Fu hesitated, but then saw the Wild Dog Demon King charging toward them and sighed: “Well, we have no choice now. It’s not about whether we spare it, but whether it will spare us. Judging from the look in its eyes, this Wild Dog Demon King still has its ferocity intact and seems eager to make us its extra meal!”

“Master!”

Zhu Si, despite having undergone several Reincarnation tasks, still felt uneasy at the sight of the Demon King charging toward them: “There’s infinite military merit to be gained on the battlefield. Why fight to the death here?”

“Fool!”

Xin Jue sneered beside him: “Even if we want to escape, it’s already too late now!”

Indeed, the next moment, the Wild Dog Demon King charged right in front of them. Zhu Si was so shocked he could almost clearly see the demon’s blood-red eyes and its sharp, white teeth.

“Scatter!”

Xin Jue immediately shouted: “This Wild Dog Demon King excels in formations, possessing two major formations. One is the Five Elements Life and Death Formation, which it used to trap that sword immortal. The other is the Tai Mountain Formation, imprinted on its demonic body, providing incredible defense!”

“Spirit Sword, emerge!”

Ji Fu formed a sword seal with his hand, and his human-realm artifact transformed into a red line, piercing through the air and striking sparks on the Wild Dog Demon King’s body, leaving a shallow wound: “Indeed… the effect of the Tai Mountain Formation is still active!”

Seeing the large sword wound, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, realizing that despite his rapid progress, he was still far behind the sword immortal who had inflicted serious injuries on the Wild Dog Demon King.

“Now what?”

Seeing the Wild Dog Demon King opening its bloodthirsty maw and swallowing a Reincarnator along with his horse, Ji Fu roared.

“This demon’s ferocity exceeds even my expectations!”

Xin Jue’s expression turned grave: “We have no choice but to fight for our lives!”

Once cornered, even Zhu Si’s face revealed a fierce expression, which was the attitude a true Reincarnator should have!

…

Within the Core Temple space.

A flash of white light, and Ji Fu’s figure appeared, though his condition was pitiful. He was missing an arm and a leg, with a terrifying claw wound across his chest, and a strange black aura covering his face.

“Core Temple, immediate healing!”

Ji Fu struggled to utter these words.

Buzz!

A column of white light descended, enveloping him entirely.

The Core Temple’s healing was indeed extraordinary. The black aura on Ji Fu’s face quickly dissipated, and even the stumps of his missing limbs were wrapped in a glowing aura, regenerating flesh and revealing new, smooth limbs.

“Phew… Finally survived…”

Ji Fu touched his chest in relief. Even a severely injured Wild Dog Demon King’s combat power had exceeded his imagination, causing heavy losses among the Reincarnators, and even Xin Jue was devoured by one of its innate divine techniques, leaving no remains.

This made him realize even more deeply that surviving the Core Temple missions required not only intelligence and strategy but also a bit of luck!

[The mission has ended. Calculating results…]

A grand voice from the Core Temple echoed, displaying numerous scenes from the Great Zhou Western Records, finally settling on the moment when Zhang Tianxiang captured Altai and the Western Church Pope.

Leading an army to attack a nation, capturing its ruler and questioning him before the troops!

Recalling how he accidentally became part of this epic scene, Ji Fu couldn’t help but feel a surge of exhilaration.

[Calculation complete. You have earned 3,275 major merits this time!]

[You have completed three Reincarnation missions. The trading market is now open!]

As the Core Temple’s prompt sounded, a door slowly materialized before Ji Fu.

Then, just as he placed his hand on the door, the entire Core Temple space shook violently, causing Ji Fu to wear an expression of shock: “What has happened?”