The Vermilion Bird Divine Bird obeyed Jiang Chen's every word. Upon hearing what he said, it showed no mercy—its imposing aura surged instantly as it launched an even fiercer assault on Ancestor Luchan.
In an instant, Ancestor Luchan was overwhelmed by pressure. Feeling the near-frantic onslaught of the Vermilion Bird Divine Bird, he found himself struggling enormously.
The divine bird's might, comparable to a clash between gods, and its world-darkening power of attack, completely crushed Ancestor Luchan.
An endless sea of fire surrounded Ancestor Luchan, tempering his flesh and annihilating his divine soul.
Ancestor Luchan knew perfectly well that he could not defeat the Vermilion Bird Divine Bird. What terrified him most was that, under the divine bird's suppression, he had no opportunity to flee.
A tragic scream rang out. Within the chaotic sea of fire, Ancestor Luchan was utterly devoured by the Vermilion Bird Divine Bird—both flesh and divine soul reduced to nothingness.
At that moment, the alliance's rear formations collapsed in disarray. Seeing Ancestor Luchan actually destroyed before their eyes, the faith of these alliance cultivators crumbled entirely.
Jiang Chen rose into the sky, the Dayu Bow held high, and thundered: "Kneel and live, stand and die! Surrender and triumph, resist and perish!"
The Vermilion Bird Divine Bird spread its wings, and the rolling sea of fire surged in this direction.
Thud. Thud.
One after another, under the divine bird's terrifying pressure, cultivators dropped to their knees and raised both hands overhead to signal surrender.
Clearly, before absolute power, these cultivators had entirely lost the will to fight.
Xiahou Zhen was dead, the Xiahou clan's forces had been annihilated, and now even Ancestor Luchan had been destroyed. Leaderless, how could they possibly have any fight left in them?
"Take them all prisoner!"
The Grand Elder led the sacred ground's powerhouses forward to sweep the battlefield clean.
The tide of battle had completely turned.
With this main battlefield cleared, the remaining anti-sacred-ground alliance cultivators scattered across various defensive sectors and hidden corners would pose no further significant threat.
In less than one hour, the Eternal Sacred Ground was fully recaptured.
News of Ancestor Luchan's death and the Xiahou clan's destruction spread through the Divine Capital like a plague, reaching every corner.
The entire Divine Capital erupted in uproar. No one had imagined that the anti-sacred-ground alliance's grand offensive would end this way.
Nearly all the cultivators had become prisoners of the sacred ground. Though this was not a complete annihilation, it was no different from one.
The imperial court was shaken!
The Xiahou clan was shaken!
The entire anti-sacred-ground alliance was shaken!
The cracks that had already appeared in the anti-sacred-ground alliance widened dramatically overnight.
…
In the inner court of the Divine Capital's imperial palace, the Divine Kingdom's Emperor, the Xiahou clan's patriarch Xiao Yao Hou, and various other leading figures had gathered urgently to deliberate on countermeasures.
The anti-sacred-ground alliance's forces may have appeared formidable, but after this battle, their morale had clearly plummeted to rock bottom.
The Emperor's expression was grave beyond measure. As he read the intelligence reports brought back from the Eternal Sacred Ground, his hands beneath his sleeves trembled ever so slightly.
All of this was far beyond anything he had anticipated.
They had factored in every variable for the Eternal Sacred Ground—its full complement of fighting strength included.
Nearly everyone had been convinced that this offensive, even if it failed to completely conquer the sacred ground, would at least cripple it beyond recovery.
Never had they imagined that the battle could take such an inconceivable turn.
"How is this possible? How can this be?" the Emperor muttered to himself. "Someone explain to this throne—what exactly happened? Our court's Ancestor Luchan was a half-god being. How could the Eternal Sacred Ground possibly have killed him? This cannot be true!"
"Your Majesty, please review this secret report. It contains a detailed account of the battle. Ancestor Luchan was destroyed by an ancient divine bird. That savage creature carries the bloodline of the Vermilion Bird, one of the Four Divine Beasts."
"What? The bloodline of the Four Divine Beasts?" The Emperor's eyelids twitched. "Since when did the Eternal Divine Kingdom possess the bloodline of the Four Divine Beasts? What is this Vermilion Bird Divine Beast all about?"
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely true. No one knows the origins of that Vermilion Bird Divine Beast. But according to intelligence from the scene, it appears to be connected to someone within the Eternal Sacred Ground."
"Who?"
"Shao Yuan—the same fellow who killed Xiahou Zong at the Heavenly Talented Sword Assembly."
Xiao Yao Hou, who had been sitting with a dark expression all this time, felt the muscles on his face twitch upon hearing this. "What did you say? The Vermilion Bird Divine Bird is connected to Shao Yuan?"