When the temperature of the Demon Lord's domain plummeted, it was as if everyone had been plunged into an endless icy abyss and hell itself—even their very souls were trembling.
Defect to the Demon Race?
It was far too shocking for them to process. Many of the cultivators present, while hardly paragons of virtue and no strangers to committing evil deeds themselves, had been steeped since birth in a single unshakeable belief: demons were terrifying, demons were the mortal enemies of all humanity, demons were a plague upon which all must declare war.
Thus, every human cultivator carried in their very bones a deep-seated hatred and fear of the demon race. They despised demons, abhorred them, and feared them to their core.
In their wildest dreams, they had never imagined a day would come when they would swear allegiance to the demon race.
Yet here and now, they were forced to face this choice.
Either submit to the demons, or die.
In the ancient era, when the Demon Race invaded the
Just as the Heavenly Demon Lord had said—if not for his current state of decline, when he desperately needed manpower, he would never have deigned to look twice at these human cultivators.
After all, the elites of humanity in this day and age would have been nothing more than ordinary foot soldiers in the ancient era. Though humanity back then was not the most powerful race on the
In the present era, however, Emperor realm powerhouses within human territory were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, let alone being "as plentiful as dogs." The current number of Emperor realm experts, compared to the ancient era, was likely less than one ten-thousandth.
Of course, the same logic applied in reverse. During the ancient Sealing War, the Demon Race had also suffered catastrophic losses. Aside from certain Demon Lords and Demon Emperors who were virtually impossible to kill, the vast majority of demon warriors had perished as well. The demon race's power had been severely diminished.
The Heavenly Demon Lord had been sealed within the Holy One Sect's sacred ground, slumbering for over a hundred thousand years. When his demonic consciousness first began to stir, it was utterly powerless against the formidable sealing formation.
However, as the ages ground on, the Holy One Sect's sealing formation had weakened year by year. And with every degree of erosion, the Heavenly Demon Lord's demonic consciousness awakened a little more.
It was like a pair of scales—as one side lost weight, the other steadily rose.
With no one to maintain it, the sealing formation could only grow weaker with time.
This was the same situation as the desolate Demon Sealing Lands.
Feeling the overwhelming demonic might of the Heavenly Demon Lord, those warriors with weaker resolve found their spiritual senses trembling, teetering on the verge of collapse.
Before long, someone broke.
"My Lord, this humble one is willing to serve the Demon Lord!"
"I am also willing to serve the Demon Lord!"
Those lower-level Emperor realm cultivators, their spiritual consciousness already on the brink of shattering, could no longer resist. Those whose willpower was even slightly stronger found that when their breath wavered for just an instant, their knees buckled and they sank to the ground in submission.
Once the first person stepped forward to pledge allegiance, the second followed, then the third…
Like dominoes—as soon as the first fell, those behind offered virtually no resistance, collapsing one after another.
In the blink of an eye, an enormous swath of cultivators had dropped to their knees.
Only a scant twenty or thirty remained standing—almost exclusively the Emperor realm powerhouses from the Upper Eight Domains, along with a handful of peak Emperor realm and exceptional Emperor realm experts.
They could still barely endure the Demon Lord's overwhelming demonic pressure.
After all, they hailed from the great powers of the Upper Eight Domains. They understood that once this decision was made, it meant an irreversible break with the human world—they would become the mortal enemies of their own race.
They knew better than anyone what such a betrayal entailed. It was not merely a betrayal of their respective factions, but a betrayal of all humanity, a betrayal of their entire heritage…
Even after death, they would be forever branded as a disgrace to the human race, their infamy lasting through the ages.
The Emperor realm experts from the Heavenly River Palace and the Heavenly Sound Temple exchanged glances with Emperor Yunlan. Clearly, they had lost all certainty of their own.
"Heh heh heh…" The Heavenly Demon Lord smiled coldly. "If you wish to display your backbone before this Emperor, I will grant you that chance."
The moment his words fell, the Demon Lord's oppressive aura surged once more.
Those Emperor realm cultivators bore the brunt of it. Under the crushing assault of demonic might, their spiritual consciousness ballooned like air pumped into an ever-expanding balloon, threatening to shatter at any moment.
Ahhh!!
Emperor Shaoyang's eyes went scarlet as he erupted with a thunderous roar: "My Nine Sun Heavenly Sect will never submit to the demon race! Charge!"
Emperor Shaoyang had finally broken loose. Leading the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect's forces, he blazed outward like a blazing sun, hurtling desperately toward the exit.
Clearly, he refused to submit to the demons—and even more so, refused to become the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect's greatest shame.
"Emperor Shaoyang, we'll cover your escape!"
Several of the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect's warriors, sharing a silent accord, transformed into streaks of light and hurled themselves at the invisible barrier of light.
Emperor Shaoyang's face twisted in shock, and he bellowed: "No! Don't!"
"Divine Solar Crown—Nine Suns Annihilate the World!"
"Break through!"