Perhaps the Demon God, always arrogant and prejudiced towards the insignificance and inferiority of humans, would never have guessed that Gu Junshi’s defiance, her unyielding spirit, and her disrespect stemmed from an inner core that refused to bow or surrender to anyone.
The more He sought to crush her, to break her proud spirit, the more her fighting spirit ignited.
To battle men, to battle heaven, to battle demons, was an endless joy.
The unsettling factors permeating the air transformed into visible, black, elongated hooks, shooting out from Gu Junshi's manifested body, aiming directly at the Fiery Evil Eyes in the sky.
The chains "swooshed" as they stretched upward, their flashing brilliance more secret than stars or moon, piercing through the Demon God's domain barrier.
The Demon God had not lied; although He could see through Gu Junshi’s past and present, her origins and whereabouts, there were still aspects of her that He could not fathom. Like a figure standing in the light, she always cast a shadow that defied comprehension.
Vaguely, He felt a sense of dread towards this soul from another world, who had merely stepped into the Immortal Realm.
“Gu Junshi, by whose power do you rely? The Heavenly Way? No, the Heavenly Way only trusts its Son of Heaven. In the eyes of the Heavenly Way, all others are but ants, their lives of no consequence, mere pieces on its chessboard.”
The Demon God mused inwardly.
Gu Junshi, currently engaged in battle, wielded a power that was neither spiritual, nor immortal, nor even demonic. Yet, it seemed capable of merging with all things in the world. He could not discern its nature for a moment, but it gave Him a strange sense of familiarity.
“Gu Junshi, my Lord will personally show you the vast chasm separating immortals and gods.”
In the next instant, the enormous, sinister red eyes blazed with light, and the swirling demonic energy drew in a vast number of ephemeral creatures, infusing them with demonic power. They were continuously reshaped and transformed, ultimately becoming indescribable, terrifyingly grotesque beasts.
Vast amounts of demonic energy pierced through clouds and earth, like countless swords and halberds thrusting straight down from above, sweeping in all directions.
Following this, the sky was shattered like a sieve, and countless black vortices appeared in the distorted heavens.
“Gu Junshi, were it not for your assistance in freeing Me from the Four Symbols’ confinement, you would already be dust and smoke. I shall give you another chance. If you persist in your obstinacy and refuse to submit, then you shall have no reincarnation!”
Gales howled, lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled.
Those vortices gradually expanded, and colossal demonic creatures of level nine and above fell from them. A single one of them obscured a vast expanse of the sky, let alone their countless numbers, which completely filled the heavens.
These demonic creatures had long ago been killed or driven into the depths of desolate forests by cultivators thousands of years prior, rarely seen in the present day. Yet now, they emerged all at once.
These corrupted demons and summoned monsters were separately unleashed by the Demon God into the Twenty-Eight Heavens, as if He had thrown open all the cages, unleashing a horde of inhuman beasts that knew only slaughter into a crowd to ravage and claim lives.
At this moment, disaster descended upon each of the Twenty-Eight Heavens due to the Demon God's unrestrained demonic energy. His power gradually recovered with the passage of time, also affecting this small world.
Had Gu Junshi not summoned Him prematurely, it was likely that upon His descent, the entire Twenty-Eight Heavens would have fallen into eternal night, followed by an endless darkness that siphoned life force. There would have been no resistance, perhaps not even a chance to react.
Once a significant portion of this small world's life force was drained by the Demon God to sustain Himself, even the Heavenly Way would be unable to stop Him.
Gu Junshi's divine sense was immeasurably vast. As long as she willed it, she could sense every movement within this small world.
She had overestimated herself and underestimated the Demon God’s condition. Even though He was not currently making a move to destroy the world, a single localized surge of demonic energy had plunged this small world into immense calamity.
Her expression instantly turned grim.
At this moment, others in Fengdu City also sensed the unusual atmosphere. When heaven was about to bring forth destruction, the earth would move, beasts would roar, birds would cry, thunder would rumble, and lightning would strike, tearing through the thick cloud cover like chains of light.
“This is bad, the demons incited by the Demon God have invaded the lower realm!”
“The other realms still possess some ability to resist, but only the human realm…”
The cultivators of the immortal sects all wore expressions of shock and panic, but at this moment, they were also overwhelmed, unsure if they could even escape themselves.
“Is the Demon God impatient to display His might in this small world?” Gu Junshi mocked.
The Demon God said sinisterly, “Since you refuse to obey, then let My subordinates feast first, drawing more life force for Me, and creating more vengeful souls, turning this small world into an unending purgatory.”
“If I ask you to spare the innocent, you surely won't listen. Since that is the case, let’s see whether your subordinates are faster, or I am.”
As soon as Gu Junshi finished speaking, her external manifestations pierced through clouds and burrowed into the earth, scattering in all directions, transforming into thousands of streaks of light that sped across the land. Wherever they passed, demonic creatures exploded, their bloody remains turning into pink mist.
The Demon God watched as Gu Junshi was willing to divide her strength, sacrificing herself to save these insignificant mortals. He could not believe she would truly make such a choice: “Gu Junshi, you actually intend to save them?”
Gu Junshi’s main body remained in place. Facing the Demon God, she smiled calmly and said, “Their lives have nothing to do with me. I am not compassionate towards the suffering of all beings, nor do I wish to achieve Buddhahood. I simply do not want your power to grow any further.”
As she spoke, a vast and towering aperture opened on her body, revealing a dark door exuding a dangerous aura – the “Gate of the Yellow Springs.”
“Gate of the Yellow Springs…”
His crimson eyes widened slightly. A thought flashed through his mind with extreme speed, but before he could grasp it, the Gate of the Yellow Springs opened two-thirds of the way, and Gu Junshi summoned one hundred thousand withered bones from the River Styx.
She infused them with death qi, nurturing them back to life.
For every demonic creature the Demon God summoned, she countered with a greater number of ghostly beings. The sky became a boundless ancient battlefield, and the opposing “soldiers” were as numerous as the stars – black demonic creatures and white skeletal legions.
Seeing Gu Junshi truly unleashing her full power to confront Him, the Demon God's side was finally completely angered by Gu Junshi's attitude. He could tolerate her provocation and probing for a time, but He could not accept her choosing the opposing faction and standing against Him.
Since she wished to protect those incompetent beings, He would use His thunderous power to make her acutely realize how foolish and ignorant her actions were.
“You certainly deserve a lesson!”
Countless massive and thick demonic pillars shot down from the sky. They possessed a more terrifying and brutal power than the water columns in tsunamis or storms, their impact sufficient to destroy all mountains and forests within sight.