In the southern Fire Spirit Hall of the Primordial Wilderness, the encampment of the Fire Crow clan.
Within the rear mountains of the Fire Crow clan, a sculpture of a fire crow, engulfed in flames, suddenly erupted in a surge of fire. Layer upon layer, like fire dragons, it ascended into the sky, the scorching flames billowing upwards, illuminating the heavens for tens of miles.
Abruptly, accompanied by a mournful howl, the flaming fire crow sculpture was extinguished. The once warm sculpture plummeted to freezing temperatures, becoming chillingly cold.
"Clang!!"
In a secret chamber within the rear mountains, a door suddenly opened. A middle-aged man, appearing panicked, scrambled out and looked towards the extinguished sculpture.
"This... impossible!"
"No... it can't be... the Ancestor is a top-tier Creation Realm expert, and he is accompanied by the Wilderness Master. How could he have fallen? How could he have fallen..."
The man was Wu Qian, the chieftain of the Fire Crow clan. His tiger-like eyes widened, and he let out a wail of grief as he stared at the gradually cooling sculpture.
"The Ancestor is one of the four great Demon Ancestors of the Heavenly Demon Wilderness. If the Wilderness Master doesn't intervene, who could possibly destroy the Ancestor? No... no... Ancestor...!"
With a roar, his elemental energy erupted, and a fierce wind howled through the rear mountains. Streams of elemental energy shot from his body into the void, shaking the entire mountain range with rumbling sounds.
"Ancestor... Ancestor... If you are gone, how can my Fire Crow clan stand in the Heavenly Demon Wilderness!!"
"How could the extreme north hold the Ancestor..."
"Father, Father, something terrible has happened!"
Just then, Yun Tao and Nian Ze, with panicked expressions, arrived at the rear mountains. Seeing their father, who was usually steady and formidable, now with eyes about to burst, they knelt and roared towards the heavens.
The heavens and earth rumbled!
"Father!"
Yun Tao, seeing her father's breakdown, felt a sense of dread. "Could it be that Father has learned of the news of Ma Xi and the fifty million troops being annihilated?"
After the Han Green Dragon Legion annihilated fifty million Fire Crow soldiers, they swept northward. Yun Tao's defensive lines crumbled one by one. Now, the Han Green Dragon Legion was less than five hundred miles from the Fire Spirit Hall.
"Tao'er, Ze'er!"
"Ancestor... Ancestor..."
Wu Qian looked at Yun Tao and Nian Ze before him, his eyes regaining a flicker of focus. He tremblingly pointed a finger towards the fire crow sculpture deep within the rear mountains. "Tao'er, Ze'er... Tao'er, Ze'er... The Ancestor... the Ancestor...?"
"Father, what's wrong?"
"The Ancestor was with the Wilderness Master, accompanying him to the extreme north. What has happened to you?"
Yun Tao, her voice choked with tears, supported Wu Qian. Her father was the second most important figure in the Fire Crow clan, governing a vast territory. How could he be so distraught?
The fire crow sculpture in the rear mountains had been perpetually ablaze. Why had it extinguished today?
The fire crow sculpture was linked to the Ancestor's life and death. This matter was known only to the successive chieftains of the Fire Crow clan, intended to stabilize the hearts of the clan and prevent disunity.
"Tao'er, Ze'er... Look, is the sculpture still burning? Is it, is it!!"
"Yes, I must have seen wrong, I must have seen wrong. The Ancestor has reached the pinnacle of martial arts, how could he fall so easily? No... no..."
At this moment, Yun Tao reacted instantly. She hurried to look at the sculpture. Suddenly, her pupils constricted sharply. The flames had not just extinguished; the sculpture was covered in a myriad of cracks.
Since she could remember, this sculpture had burned ceaselessly for thousands of years, standing stable in the rear mountains. From her father's disarray and breakdown, she had sensed something!
The Ancestor had fallen!
The sky had fallen for the Fire Crow clan!
Something major had happened in the extreme north, and the entire Savage Realm was likely to be thrown into chaos!
...
As Meng Tian led the Qiongqi Legion westward towards the Serpent God Temple, in a snake cave far to the west within the Serpent God Temple, a ten-thousand-zhang long snake, shimmering with red light, suddenly roared towards the sky, and all the snakes in the cave wailed in sorrow.
The long snake transformed into the form of a middle-aged man, his eyes glistening with tears, his chest heaving violently!
"Ah!!"
The man roared towards the heavens, and the countless snakes in the snake cave prostrated themselves towards the sky. "Where is Gao Yi? Have him come to see me immediately!"
"Yes, Clan Chief!"
This man was Ku Fan, the clan chief of the Serpent God Temple, a peak eighth-level Creation Realm expert.
On this day, the bright moon above the snake cave was dim, emitting a faint bloody glow. This moon was not the moon in the sky but merely a layer of skin shed by the current Demon Ancestor of the Serpent God Temple during his regression to his ancestral form upon breaking through to the Creation Realm. It nurtured the Demon Ancestor's aura, and the tribe's members, the great tailed snakes, benefited greatly from cultivating here.
Therefore, besides the chieftain of the great tailed snakes, only newborn great tailed snakes were nurtured in this place.
Soon, Gao Yi rushed over. Upon seeing Clan Chief Ku Fan, he immediately knelt on the ground. "Gao Yi pays respects to the Clan Chief!"
"Gao Yi, you will immediately obey my command and seal the Serpent God Temple. Have An He go to the Yan Snake Cave and inform the Yan Serpent clan that our great tailed snake Ancestor has unfortunately fallen in the extreme north. Have the Yan Serpent clan make their plans accordingly!"
Ku Fan looked at the moon above the snake cave, his voice cold and devoid of life. His blood-streaked eyes glanced at the blood-stained moon, then he closed them, his face etched with sorrow and grief.
"Clan Chief... the Ancestor..."
Gao Yi's face suddenly changed dramatically, his eyes bulging, and his voice filled with emotion. "The Ancestor...!"
"Go. I want other clan members to know of this matter. Publicly announce that the blood sacrifice day of our great tailed snake clan is approaching, and we are sealing the mountain in advance!"
Ku Fan waved his hand and turned away, his back appearing weary and aged.
"Yes..."
Gao Yi stood up, his former vigor gone. His body seemed to have aged by thousands of years. Trembling, he leaned on the wall, glanced at the blood-stained moon, and then tears welled up in his eyes as he walked out of the snake cave.
Ku Fan opened his eyes, faint bloodstains flashing in his pupils. He looked at the blood-stained moon, and the muscles in his face began to tremble. "Ancestor, for the sake of my great tailed snake clan, your descendant offends you!"
"Boom!"
A ten-thousand-zhang long snake shot into the sky, its bloody maw wide open, looking at the blood-stained moon. Its tail whirred, as if emitting some strange signal. Suddenly, drops of blood fell from its tail, and the blood-stained moon began to move.
The unfurled snake skin, tens of thousands of zhang long, transformed into Ku Fan's true form. He instantly surged into the blood-stained snake skin.
A series of tragic roars echoed within the snake cave for several hours before gradually subsiding.
...
In the Heavenly Demon Wilderness, on Hengtian Mountain, the encampment of the Primordial Aurochs lineage.
"Reporting to the Clan Chief, the Han Qiongqi Legion, with a total of four hundred thousand troops, has left the sphere of influence of our Hengtian Mountain. However... however..."
Inside the main hall of Hengtian Mountain, a Primordial Aurochs at the Tongtian Realm knelt on one knee, his face pale and his voice hesitant.
"However what?"
"Speak!"
"What else can my Primordial Aurochs lineage not bear at this point!"
At this moment, Bo Xiang, unlike the day when Du Guxin was present, spoke with a hint of killing intent, exuding the full majesty of the clan's Grand Elder.
"Reporting to the Clan Chief and Grand Elder, the Han Qiongqi Legion has left approximately one hundred thousand soldiers stationed at the old site of the Blood Python. The commander of this army is a woman, and her cultivation realm has reached the first level of the Creation Realm!"
"Hmph, I thought it would be Du Guxin himself stationed here. For the human army to want to take down the Serpent God Temple alone, they would still need Du Guxin, a top-tier Creation Realm expert!"
"However, this is also good. A mere first-level Creation Realm expert will not take much effort to deal with later."
Bo Xiang heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this, stroked his beard, and scanned the entire hall with a smiling face.
"Indeed. A human daring to dream of destroying the Serpent God Temple is merely wishful thinking. The old ancestor of the Serpent God Temple is no weakling. Even our own ancestor has lost to him several times."
"The Han Qiongqi Legion only has that one top-tier Creation Realm expert. Although I was captured these past few days, I haven't been idle!"
"Oh?"
Bo Xiang looked at Hu Lifu, who was sipping tea. The injuries on Hu Lifu's body had also recovered significantly, his pale face now showing a hint of redness.
"Elder Hu, have you uncovered any useful information during this time?"
"Cough, cough!!"
Hu Lifu put down his teacup and coughed slightly, attracting everyone's attention.
"Reporting to the Clan Chief and Grand Elder, we all have some understanding of the human race's situation. Although the Han has Du Guxin, a top-tier Creation Realm expert, the human race has been weak for a full ten thousand years!"
"In just a hundred years, how many human prodigies like Du Guxin can emerge? I fear there is only one such person in the entire southwestern human territory!"
"A top-tier Creation Realm expert, how difficult is that to achieve!"
"During my time in the enemy camp, I discovered that the human race has not fully become strong. While there are quite a few Creation Realm experts, their top-tier combat power is far inferior to ours."
"The Qiongqi Legion venturing deep into the west will inevitably clash with the Serpent God Temple in a life-or-death struggle. We only need to set up a defensive line near Fu Hao, then dispatch most of our clan's elite forces and ambush them in the westernmost city controlled by my Primordial Wilderness. When the time is right, we will launch a pincer attack from two fronts, and we can capture both the Serpent God Temple and the human race in one fell swoop!!"
"At that time, what human race, what great tailed snake clan, will all be annihilated. Only the Yan Serpent will remain, what can they possibly do!"
Hu Lifu spoke with disdain. His words struck a chord with Wen Peng and Bo Xiang. With Du Guxin overseeing the human race, they would inevitably fight to a mutual destruction with the great tailed snake clan, and then they would fall into their hands.
"Hmph!"
"Clan Chief, Grand Elder, Third Elder is correct. How difficult is a top-tier Creation Realm expert to achieve? There are only a few such individuals across the four great wildernesses, and they are all existences that have cultivated for tens of thousands of years to reach such a peak. For a mere human race to produce such a prodigy, who are they trying to scare? Does one top-tier Creation Realm expert think they can overturn the heavens!"
"Clan Chief, Grand Elder, my Primordial Aurochs lineage has been suppressed by the Yan Serpent and Great Tailed Snake clans for a full million years, repeatedly pushing us to the brink. This opportunity is a once-in-a-million-year chance. Heaven wants to destroy the Great Tailed Snake clan and strengthen my Primordial Aurochs lineage!!"
"Clan Chief, the Demon Ancestor of the Great Tailed Snakes is in the extreme north. At that time, we will only raise the banner of destroying the human race and take the west along the way. I doubt they will have anything to say!"
"We will also join forces with the Demon Ape clan, promising them one-third of the Serpent God Temple's territory. With the Demon Ape clan, the combined strength of our two clans will completely crush the Yan Serpent clan!"
"Clan Chief, let's do it! Such a great opportunity cannot be missed!"
An elder roared, his robes rustling, as if the entire world was about to belong to the Primordial Aurochs lineage.
"Bang!"
Grand Elder Bo Xiang slammed his hand on the table and stood up, his eyes filled with cold light. "Clan Chief, what everyone has said is correct. The human race's overconfidence and rash advance has given us an excellent opportunity. We will launch a two-pronged attack, annihilate both the human race and the Great Tailed Snakes, cripple the Yan Serpent, and unite with the Demon Ape clan to dominate the four directions!"
"Since that is the case, Hu Lifu, you will lead two hundred thousand troops to strictly guard the Fu Hao army. Remember, when the time is right, you will eat this human army in one go for this Clan Chief, and then march south to reclaim lost territory!"
Wen Peng stood up.
"I obey the Clan Chief's command!"
Hu Lifu's eyes glinted with coldness. The humiliation inflicted upon him by the human race would be repaid with blood.
"Bo Xiang, you will immediately lead fifty thousand troops westward and closely monitor the movements of the human army and the Serpent God Temple!"
"Yes!"
Bo Xiang stroked his beard, a smug smile on his face.
"The human race is attacking the Serpent God Temple. We must seize this opportunity to take down the Great Tailed Snake clan in one fell swoop and dominate all directions, thereby proclaiming the supreme glory of my Primordial Aurochs lineage!"
...
"Clan Chief, the Ancestor... the Ancestor... she has fallen!"
"What?"
In the Blood Spring Wilderness, the death of Yu Xin, coupled with the annihilation of fifty million troops, had thoroughly alarmed Xue Ranhe, the clan chief of the Blood Feather Crane clan.
The high-ranking officials were in the main hall discussing how to deal with the advancing human army when this news suddenly echoed through the hall like a thunderous explosion.
Grand Elder Min Wu fainted on the spot, while Xue Lingyu was flustered and unsure how to respond.
"Bang!"
Xue Ranhe slumped powerlessly into his chair and murmured, "The Ancestor... how could the Ancestor...?"
The human army was advancing like a broken bamboo, sweeping eastward and conquering more than half of the Blood Feather Crane clan's territory. Now, the Ancestor's death had completely plunged the Blood Feather Crane clan into an abyss.
The extreme north had gathered the top fighting forces of the three great wildernesses, and the battle had erupted in an instant. However, no one had expected that after only a few days, their own Ancestor would fall.
"Go, go, dispatch our troops and continue to strictly guard against the human army!"
"Furthermore, Yu'er!"
"Yu'er!"
"Ah... Father!"
Xue Lingyu snapped back to his senses, his face filled with terror.
"You are the hope of my Blood Feather Crane clan. You and Zhan Song, take our clan's secret treasures and flee to the Blood Phoenix clan first. The Ancestor was on good terms with the Blood Phoenix clan in her lifetime, and I believe they will not make things difficult for you!"
The Blood Feather Crane looked at Xue Lingyu with a bitter smile. As long as there was the Blood Spring, their Blood Feather Crane clan would have a day to rise again.