Ch. 1334 - The Heavenly Court Suffers Heavy Losses, Skywind City

Radiant Gold looked up at the sky, his expression shifting between gloom and uncertainty.

Many of the Heavenly Court’s Grand Emperors had already been sucked into the vortex.

These were Grand Emperors, beings who were invincible in the lower worlds.

Yet now, swallowed by the vortex, they vanished without a sound.

Seeing that the situation had grown hopeless, Radiant Gold gave a cold snort and said, “Then let us summon the Celestial Talisman.”

He stretched out his right hand, and a powerful force began to gather in his palm.

His eyes suddenly widened, two beams of golden light bursting forth and illuminating the energy forming in his hand.

That energy started to twist and transform until, after a short while, it took the shape of a rune.

The rune was strange, its markings incomprehensible, like tadpole script, curling and flowing across its surface.

But the moment the Celestial Talisman appeared, the entire world around them was suppressed.

“Annihilate,” Radiant Gold uttered two words and threw the talisman outward.

Once it left his hand, Radiant Gold collapsed to the ground, utterly drained.

Sweat poured down his face, and he didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger.

He was a Sage Monarch, normally an unmatched existence, yet merely activating the talisman a little had left him like this.

If one wanted to unleash the talisman’s full power, only an Infinite Dao cultivator could do so.

But Infinite Dao cultivators had not yet openly appeared in this age. Sage Monarchs were already considered invincible.

As the Celestial Talisman flew forward, it swept across everything in its path. Even though the Lich had sealed the surrounding void, that void was still shattered apart, everything within destroyed.

The talisman rose into the air, hovering high above and radiating vast divine light.

The void, once dominated by the Lich, was now completely subdued. Even the Lich himself was pinned down, unable to move, while the vortex above his head vanished without a trace.

“It worked,” Radiant Gold said with a faint look of relief, though there was pain in his expression.

“What a pity to waste a Celestial Talisman. These Ancient Demons are truly hateful.”

“Radiant Gold, something’s wrong,” said the old man beside him, frowning as he stared forward.

The Lich, though trapped in place, seemed to grow stronger instead of weaker.

His already blood-red skin deepened in color, becoming an even more ghastly crimson.

The veins beneath his skin bulged visibly, and his massive body began to swell like an inflating balloon.

“What is that creature trying to do?” Radiant Gold asked, confused.

Normally, anyone suppressed by the Celestial Talisman would be completely powerless unless they were an Infinite Dao cultivator.

“This is bad, he’s going to self-destruct!” the old man’s face changed as realization struck. He shouted, “Everyone, leave the Ancient Demon Realm immediately!”

The Ancient Demon Realm had been sealed by the Lich, preventing anyone from escaping before.

Now that the Celestial Talisman had taken control, they could finally move freely again.

All the Heavenly Court members fled in panic, but it was already too late.

The Lich’s body, having swelled to its limit, exploded.

The roar that followed sounded as if it could tear a hole in the heavens themselves.

Even without the destructive force, the sound alone made many Grand Emperors vomit blood, their souls wounded.

When the explosion spread, everything was obliterated.

A mushroom cloud bloomed across the sky, fire flaring and waves of flame surging outward.

Even Radiant Gold and the old Sage Monarch fled in terror, not daring to hesitate for an instant.

The explosion within the Ancient Demon Realm raged on for three full hours.

When it finally ended, and all the dust and flames were gone, the Heavenly Court survivors regained their senses.

They turned toward where the Ancient Demon Realm had once been.

Originally hidden within the void, it now no longer existed, the void itself had been burned away and reduced to nothingness.

That ancient existence, which had ruled the Godfiend Abyss Heaven for countless ages, was finally gone.

The Ancient Demon Realm had been destroyed, the Lich’s self-destruction powerful enough to erase everything.

But outside, Radiant Gold’s face looked grim.

He was covered in dust, his robe torn and tattered, no trace of the Sage Monarch’s former dignity left.

“What are our losses?” he asked coldly.

“Of the eighteen million Grand Emperors and ten Saint Sovereigns who came with us, at least fifty percent... are dead,” one of the Grand Emperors answered hesitantly.

Hearing that, Sage Monarch Radiant Gold’s heart trembled and he almost collapsed.

This was one of the greatest losses the Heavenly Court had suffered in a billion years.

Since the end of the Demon Descent Era, the Heavenly Court had risen to near-total dominance over the world.

Across the Nine Heavens, all powers, no matter how great, had to kneel before them.

Yet now, such heavy losses had struck for the first time.

“Damn it! I knew keeping those Ancient Demons alive would come back to haunt us,” the old man said angrily. “We should have wiped them all out from the start.”

“That was the Holy Progenitor’s decision. Do not speak recklessly,” Radiant Gold warned sharply.

No matter the outcome, the Holy Progenitor’s decree could never be questioned.

“So what do we do now?” the old man asked helplessly. “We can’t just return and report failure like this.”

“Send word across the entire Godfiend Abyss Heaven,” Radiant Gold said through gritted teeth. “Place a bounty on every demon. Whoever kills a demon may come to the Heavenly Court for a reward. A great reward.”

Outside Skywind Valley, there stood Skywind City.

“Wind follows fate, sky follows destiny.”

These words were carved on the walls flanking the city gate.

At that moment, Xu Zimo and the Ancestral Warden stood before the gate.

They had arrived through a teleportation formation, but the formation for Skywind Valley was located outside the city, not within.

Skywind City differed from other places in one remarkable way, the wind here had form.

It was said that the wind itself was formless, without color or shape.

That was true for ordinary wind, which lacked any special attributes.

But here, the wind merged with all kinds of elemental properties, and thus it appeared in many colors.

The city had wind in every season, though no one knew why.

“Where is Skywind Valley?” Xu Zimo asked as he gazed at the city ahead.

“When I came here before, this place was still Skywind Valley. How has it become a city now?” the Ancestral Warden said in surprise. Then he added, “Let’s ask around. We haven’t paid much attention to this region, but something must have changed.”

Xu Zimo nodded slightly.

The legacy of the Ancient God was too important, he could not afford carelessness.

The two entered the city and found a tavern.

If one wished to gather information, taverns were the best places, full of all kinds of people from every walk of life.

“Wind-Rising Ape.”

That was the name on the tavern sign, just three characters, but the structure itself was striking.

Built like a colossal ape holding up the sky, it towered one hundred stories high and was one of the most eye-catching buildings in all of Skywind City.

As soon as the two stepped inside, they could feel the lively bustle and prosperity within.

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