The petrified Grand Dao descended, blotting out the sun and suppressing everything.
"Ah..."
"Lord of the Realm, spare us."
Screams echoed through heaven and earth.
All the Heavenly Emperors who had escaped were instantly crushed into mincemeat.
"Seal."
The Grand Dao churned, and the bedrock directly sealed the entire Stone Realm.
The Stone Realm, along with its energy-infused flesh and blood, entered the domain.
...
"This guy has gone mad." Chen Fan's expression was grave.
From his recent actions, he had discerned something.
"What is he trying to do?" asked the Mad Emperor.
"He wants to refine the entire world."
It was the Immortal Emperor who spoke. "The Stone Lord wouldn't easily kill the offspring of an eighth-tier Great Emperor. There must be a reason.
In the chaos, what is most attractive? Naturally, it's cultivation... I suspect the Stone Lord is killing to advance to the Great Emperor realm."
It was just a guess, but it was likely true.
Chen Fan said, "By refining all living beings in the entire world, combined with the Mountain River Seal, he has a chance to break through to the seventh tier."
"Mm."
Everyone agreed with this explanation.
Rumble.
The Stone Realm began to shake.
Within the sealed Stone Realm, a slaughter was unfolding.
All Heavenly Emperors were within the Stone Lord's killing range, including Li Po.
The slaughter was boundless.
Blood, energy, Grand Dao... everything was being gathered by the Stone Lord.
His crimson eyes were filled with madness.
...
"Let's go." The Mad Emperor spoke.
Chen Fan did not move.
"City Lord?"
"I think..."
Chen Fan said calmly, "Since we were born human, killing is permissible, but not like this."
What did he mean?
The others did not understand.
Chen Fan slowly said, "Whether strong or weak, for resources, for survival, for power, killing is acceptable.
To be honest, I've killed quite a few people over the years, but... what the Stone Lord is doing has crossed a line."
Everyone has a bottom line.
Was Chen Fan a good person?
No.
But in the context of the Life and Death Realm, he was considered a good person.
To other worlds, he was an invader.
Yet, the Stone Lord's actions involved refining his own people, his own subordinates, merely for survival.
"This person has truly gone mad."
Chen Fan sighed. "I don't want to meddle, but... I can't stand by and watch."
This act of slaughtering even his own people had crossed his bottom line.
"Hoo."
Beside him, everyone exhaled.
They understood that the City Lord was preparing to act.
To be honest, none of them felt it was the right time to intervene. Facing a mad sixth-tier Heavenly Emperor, they were hesitant.
Was the City Lord a good person?
Yes.
Though others might not see him that way, everyone in the Life and Death Realm believed the City Lord was a good person.
Wasn't it precisely because he was a good person that they were willing to follow him to their deaths?
Towards outsiders, no action would be excessive.
But towards his own people, the City Lord's kindness was boundless.
Having such a leader was their fortune.
Old Demon Chu said, "City Lord, just tell us what to do."
"Battle."
His words were resolute. "We don't concern ourselves with how Emperor-level experts act. We only care about ordinary people. Now that the Life and Death Realm is a fifth-tier Great World, capable of housing tens of billions of beings, if we lack people, we'll replenish them from the Stone Realm."
"Good."
Not only could they save people, but they could also strengthen themselves.
This was a business worth pursuing.
"Let's go."
With their decision made, there was no need for further hesitation.
...
The Stone Realm.
"Ah..."
Screams echoed throughout the upper realm.
The Stone Lord's slaughter began from the upper realm.
As for the beings in the lower realm, he could annihilate them all at any time if he wished.
A group of cultivators who weren't even at the Emperor realm were no different from ordinary people in his eyes.
They were merely slightly larger ants, easily crushed with a single step.
"Everyone, gather."
Li Po, as the Stone Lord's most loyal follower and the strongest among them, was the first to initiate resistance.
Behind him, regardless of past grievances, even those who were once subordinates of Ni Chang followed.
In a blink of an eye, over thirty Heavenly Emperors had gathered.
Their Realm Lord had gone mad and intended to slaughter everyone.
They did not wish to die.
At this moment, only by joining forces could they have a chance to survive.
"Li Po."
The Stone Lord's blood-red eyes shot up. "You too wish to betray me?"
Li Po's actions enraged him further.
One by one, were they all going to betray him?
"Stone Lord."
Li Po's expression was solemn. "You have gone mad, slaughtering everyone. Do you intend to refine the entire Stone Realm as resources for your advancement?"
Li Po understood the Stone Lord's intentions clearly.
He directly exposed them now.
"So what?"
Boom.
The Grand Dao Universe shook and suppressed them.
Li Po and the others joined forces, resisting the suppression of the Grand Dao Universe.
The Stone Lord's voice echoed through the heavens and earth. "As slaves, you must have the awareness of slaves. If this Emperor needs your lives, you must offer them."
"You are truly mad."
Li Po's last shred of hope shattered.
"Battle."
Over thirty Heavenly Emperors united. Against any other sixth-tier Heavenly Emperor, they would have been victorious.
However, the Stone Lord was the realm's master.
As the owner of the Grand Dao Universe, the petrified Grand Dao held natural suppressive power over Li Po and the others.
Petrification was the primary Dao.
All others were branches.
How could an arm possibly twist a thigh?
"Sever."
The Stone Lord, in his madness, directly severed Li Po's branch of the Grand Dao.
This was the authority of a realm master.
"Ugh."
Li Po spat blood.
With his Grand Dao severed, he could no longer draw upon his own power.
Now, only the Grand Dao energy within his body could be used.
However, doing so also caused damage to the main trunk of the petrified Grand Dao, causing it to tremble slightly.
"Kill."
Li Po was heavily injured, but the others continued to resist.
They jointly repelled a falling divine mountain.
"Sever, sever, sever."
Since he had made his choice, the Stone Lord directly severed half of the Grand Dao branches.
For a time, both sides were spitting blood.
Severing too many at once, the Stone Lord could no longer bear it.
"Hahaha."
Yet, he was laughing madly.
Compared to his own injuries, Li Po and the others were far more tragic.
"Kill."
The Stone Lord drove the divine mountain forward.
With a 'boom', two Heavenly Emperors of the Stone Realm were instantly crushed into mincemeat.
Terror.
Li Po roared tragically, "Everyone, sever your Dao, sever it yourselves..."
Actively severing a branch was different from having the main trunk severed.
When a branch had control, it could inflict greater damage on the main trunk.
"Sever."
One person shouted, and with a 'crack', their face turned pale.
At the brink of life and death, there could only be one voice.
"Crack, crack, crack."
In an instant, all the remaining individuals severed their Grand Dao.
"Ah..."
The immense backlash nearly caused the Stone Lord to lose control of the turbulent Grand Dao Universe.
The Grand Dao Universe was already deeply scarred.
"Kill."
The Stone Lord Heavenly Emperor suppressed them again.
One by one, former subordinates, loyal subordinates, were slaughtered.
Death spread rapidly.
No one was a match for a sixth-tier Heavenly Emperor.
Moreover, this was his home turf.
In an instant, out of more than thirty Heavenly Emperors, only a dozen or so remained.