Those who had experienced that great battle would forever remember that the sun was shining brightly, and the vast army of demons and monsters, stretching as far as the eye could see, surged like a tide.
Less than a hundred miles away, the human cultivators had also gathered, poised for battle.
The air crackled with a deadly aura.
"The human race is as prosperous as ever."
The Demon King lowered his gaze, a half-smile playing on his lips.
The Earth Demon had long been terrified by the Demon King's methods. Even with the Demon King inhabiting the body of a Heavenly Demon, the Earth Demon harbored no thought of rebellion.
Hearing the Demon King's musing, the Earth Demon hesitated, unsure whether to respond, when the Demon King vanished before his eyes.
He looked into the distance and, as expected, saw the Demon King's figure above the human army.
*Thump! Thump!*
The Earth Demon felt his heartbeat growing louder in his ears.
Was the final great battle finally about to begin?
"Demon King?"
Although Old Ancestor Jing Zhi's tone carried a barely perceptible hesitation, both she and the elders from her side had confirmed the identity of the demon before them.
Apart from the Demon King, no other demon possessed an aura that could compare to his.
"Jing Zhi, Yan Yan, Wu Qian... it's been a long time."
The Demon King greeted several old ancestors with a shallow smile, his current mood evidently good.
In contrast, the expressions of Old Ancestor Jing Zhi and the others could only be described as grim.
"Demon King, you broke the contract you made with Old Ancestor Jing Hong, and now you've personally torn it apart. You're a person of no faith. Aren't you afraid that the Old Ancestors of the various sects will find out and retaliate against you!"
To this day, Old Ancestor Jing Zhi and the others could not comprehend why the Demon King would shatter the peace treaty and personally descend to participate in the racial war.
While the demon race had the Demon King, their various sects also had Old Ancestors who had ascended to the upper realms. The Demon King's actions were clearly making enemies for himself.
The Demon King shouldn't have been so foolish as to make such a decision.
Unless he was confident that no one could threaten him after doing so.
Old Ancestor Jing Zhi's brow furrowed heavily, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart.
"They? They are all too busy looking after themselves to deal with me.
Oh, right, you don't know yet, do you? The Fairy Jing Hong you so admire, the one you revere as a deity, is actually a promiscuous, attention-seeking slut.
Because of her, the entire upper realm is in chaos. Your five great sects have turned against each other, fighting amongst themselves. It's quite the spectacle!"
The Demon King's schadenfreude was undisguised, glaringly obvious.
"Nonsense! How dare you slander Old Ancestor Jing Hong!" Old Ancestor Jing Zhi's body trembled slightly with anger.
Xu Yi stepped forward to support her arm, her eyes deepening.
"Shameless demon, trying to sow discord!"
"Hahahaha, you Demon King, spouting such nonsense, it's hilarious!"
"Exactly! To fabricate such rumors, you truly take us for fools!"
"..."
The old ancestors of the various sects and the cultivators from the Jiuzhou Continent were filled with righteous indignation. They believed the demons, true to their reputation as shameless scoundrels, dared to slander Old Ancestor Jing Hong with such lies to destabilize the morale of the army. It was truly despicable.
The Demon King seemed to have anticipated this scene and did not get angry. He stroked his chin and clicked his tongue in amazement, "They say the human race is favored by the Heavenly Dao and possesses great comprehension, yet no one has ever mentioned that you humans are all blind and foolish, mistaking trash for treasure."
The reason the Demon King was not quickly ending the battle was that he wanted to witness firsthand the destruction of their faith.
From the first moment he saw Liu Jing Hong, he had seen through the stained heart hidden beneath her seemingly ethereal facade.
He found it amusing, so he paid a little more attention to Liu Jing Hong.
Then, he watched as everyone in the Jiuzhou Continent, as if possessed, treated Liu Jing Hong as an unattainable, pure goddess, frantically pursuing her.
He had laughed, and later chose to join them.
Now it seemed his decision was indeed wise. Not only had he preserved the demon race's strength, but he had also instigated internal conflict within the human race.
Since the Demon King had decided to reveal Liu Jing Hong's true face today, he would not give others a reason to doubt him.
"Why do you think I signed the peace treaty back then? It wasn't because I was captivated by her charm, nor was it because I feared the human race.
She told me that if I didn't sign the treaty, the demon race would surely perish, but signing it would allow them to survive. For this day, I have waited a thousand painstaking years..."
Old Ancestor Wu Qian sneered, forcefully interrupting the other's words, "Demon King, don't you find your words ridiculous? Did Old Ancestor Jing Hong possess foresight, predicting the future? You believed her with a single sentence, so if I say the demon race will perish today, will you believe me?"
"Of course, I don't believe what you say, but Liu Jing Hong is different. She is a thief. She can steal the luck of the Heavenly Dao, and naturally, she can also glimpse some of the heavenly secrets.
You regard her as a divine being who protects all living beings, unaware that she is the demon who has plunged the Jiuzhou Continent into chaos.
I am a born demon, and so is she."
As his words fell, the entire field fell silent.
A few breaths later, a torrent of curses erupted.
The curses were naturally directed at the Demon King.
Cultivators possessed firm minds and were not easily swayed.
Furthermore, Liu Jing Hong's righteous and dignified image was deeply ingrained in their hearts. It was impossible for the Demon King's few words to change their minds.
Among the crowd, only Xu Yi and Ji Bu Wang exchanged a brief glance, then lowered their heads and remained silent.
The demons and monsters were confused.
They did not understand why the Demon King was not attacking directly and pulverizing all the humans, but instead, was here chattering with them, wasting time.
However, the Demon King's thoughts were beyond their comprehension. They could only glare grimly in the direction of the humans, suppressing their inner ferocity and telling themselves that it was close, very close.
"Demon King, you think your lies can shake our Dao hearts? You think too little of us," Old Ancestor Jing Zhi said coldly, suppressing her discomfort.
"They won't believe it until they see the coffin," the Demon King's expression turned slightly cold. He flicked his sleeve, and a massive scroll slowly unfurled in the air.
The patterns on the scroll were lifelike, so much so that one could clearly see the details of the figures' robes.
"It's the Fire Cloud Pattern!"
A cultivator from the Da Qi Sect exclaimed in shock.
The Demon King scoffed, "Da Qi Sect, Xuan Ji Sect, Xuan Qing Sect... do you recognize the people in this painting?"
The young disciples of the five great sects looked bewildered, but the venerable elders within their sects had a drastic change in their expressions.
How could they not recognize the cultivators engaged in fierce combat on the scroll as the Old Ancestors of their respective sects who had ascended to the upper realms?
"Fake, it must be fake..." a elder from the Imperial Beast Sect mumbled.
Xu Yi was also looking at the figures on the scroll. Her intuition told her that the scene depicted here must have actually happened.
The five great sects, which had guarded and assisted each other in the lower realm, had become mortal enemies in the upper realm.
Were all these changes brought about by Liu Jing Hong?
Xu Yi found it inexplicably ironic.