However, this battle had been calculated by Jiang Chen from the very beginning — including the exact reaction Ancestor Wang Ban would have. Every detail had been accounted for with meticulous precision.
The moment Ancestor Wang Ban shot into the sky, he intended to activate his escape technique. What he hadn't anticipated was that the Four Divine Beasts had already laid out the Four Divine Beast Domain, wide open like the mouth of a waiting sack, inviting him to plunge straight in.
Though Ancestor Wang Ban was powerful, the Four Divine Beasts' true spirits had been steadily growing stronger with each successive clash against the demon race's Divine Dao ancestors.
By now, the Four Divine Beasts' true spirits had improved considerably compared to when they had first entered Myriad Abyss Island. The Four Divine Beast Domain they controlled in concert had only become more refined, more seamless in its coordination.
The moment Ancestor Wang Ban entered the Four Divine Beast Domain, he felt as though he had been sealed inside a completely enclosed space. The elemental onslaughts of earth, water, fire, and wind erupted simultaneously, pinning Ancestor Wang Ban within.
He thrashed about like a cornered beast, trying every means of escape — all to no avail.
Jiang Chen didn't hesitate for a single instant. He brandished the Water-Fire True Dragon Rope, which unfurled into an inescapable net and descended upon Ancestor Wang Ban in the blink of an eye. A flash of light, and the demon ancestor was bound tight.
The entire battle had unfolded as though rehearsed hundreds of times — not a single surprise, not a shred of suspense.
Under Ancestor Wang Ban's eyes, wide with despair and horror, Jiang Chen landed before him.
No matter how he struggled, the Water-Fire True Dragon Rope only tightened around Ancestor Wang Ban further.
Jiang Chen smiled faintly. "Save your efforts. You're not the first demon ancestor to be bound by this treasure of mine, and you won't be the last. Struggling pointlessly will only add to your own suffering."
Indeed, just as Jiang Chen said, when the Water-Fire True Dragon Rope restrained its captive, remaining still was one thing — but struggle, and the rope's binding force would grow ever tighter, burrowing deep into your flesh and bones, penetrating your very soul. That combined water-and-fire invasive pressure was more terrifying than any hell or purgatory imaginable.
After struggling for a time, Ancestor Wang Ban clearly realized that Jiang Chen's words were no empty threat. His face drained of color, and his eyes filled with utter despair.
It was at that moment that Jiang Chen snapped his fingers. "Everyone — the perfect moment to annihilate the Wood Demon lineage has arrived!"
The Four Great True Spirits, An Jiaye, and the cultivators of the three Sacred Lands led by Ziche Min within the Eternal Sacred Land had all seized upon this turning point. They surged forth in a coordinated assault, launching a devastating counterattack against the Wood Demon lineage.
The Wood Demon lineage, now leaderless, still had several half-step Divine Demons at the forefront. But under the onslaught of the Four Great True Spirits, even those half-step Divine Demons couldn't put up any lasting resistance before being obliterated by the overwhelming offensive.
With even the half-step Divine Demons falling, the Wood Demon lineage's resistance crumbled further. They had never been a race suited for direct frontal combat in the first place — facing such a ferocious counterattack, they were forced into a fighting retreat. But under the assault of the Four Divine Beasts, there was virtually no chance for any Wood Demon cultivator to escape unscathed.
In less than half an hour, the purge was declared complete.
Nearly all the Wood Demon parasitic worms had been incinerated to ash by the First Sun Fire. Among the Wood Demon cultivators themselves, at least nine out of ten had perished — the rare one or two who slipped through the cracks had simply been extraordinarily lucky.
Led by the Four Great True Spirits, the battle came to a close just like that.
Even after the fighting had ended, the cultivators of the three Sacred Lands still wore expressions of disbelief on their faces. It was obvious that only moments ago, each and every one of them had believed the end had come — they had steeled themselves for a fight to the death, fully prepared to perish.
None of them had expected that the moment Jiang Chen appeared, the tide of battle would shift in an instant, producing a complete and earth-shattering reversal.