The appearance of that vast expanse of land in the sky made Furylo's body tremble, causing him to forget to wield his divine arts. In the demon army camp, countless demon soldiers raised their heads, blankly staring at the spectacle overhead.
Not only them—nearly every living being in High-Emperor Heaven, whether human or demon, slave or exalted god or demon, even the exotic beasts of mountain and sea or the tiniest ants and insects—all raised their heads at this moment, gazing at the massive planets and the magnificent, boundless continent pressing down from the sky.
It was a phenomenon so shocking it defied description—a spectacle of grandeur none had ever witnessed in their entire lives!
The enormous planets hung so low they seemed within reach; the mountains on the continent dangled like pointed spears, and the oceans gleamed like blue gemstones.
Strangely, though suspended above High-Emperor Heaven, the waters of the great seas did not fall, nor did they flow into this world.
Furylo's body trembled, forgetting to seize Butcher, Quinn Shepherd, and the others.
Quinn looked closely and saw that the beams of light connecting the continent and High-Emperor Heaven were emitted from enormous altars—each altar as imposing as a mountain, visible even from below.
Quinn blurted out, "That's... Luofu Heaven!"
His voice shattered the surrounding shock and silence. Butcher, Granny Sue, and the others were all startled; Crippled Joe hurriedly asked, "Quinn, what kind of place is Luofu Heaven?"
"It's the demon world—the realm where these invading demons come from."
Quinn quickly pulled out Transmission Flags, planting them all around the group at lightning speed. He said, "I've been hit by Furylo's eye-technique—he captured me, and in his illusion I became him and saw Luofu Heaven. That world is almost destroyed now."
"Why would the demons suddenly drag their own Luofu Heaven over here? What are they planning?"
Granny Sue frowned, puzzled, and whispered, "Are they trying to bring all the demons into High-Emperor Heaven at once?"
Grandpa Blind's gaze grew deep as he shook his head. "Sue, you can't see the details of Luofu Heaven. The demons didn't move it here—there are over twenty gods and demons on those altars, clearly their doing. And they're not actually moving Luofu Heaven to High-Emperor Heaven, but..."
His voice grew agitated: "They're performing a Blood-Sacrificing Luofu Heaven!"
"Blood-Sacrificing Luofu Heaven!"
Everyone was shocked and tried to look closer, but Quinn had already activated the Transmission Flags. The flags whirled and roared, sending them into the divine city.
Just as Quinn activated the Transmission Flags, chaos erupted in the demon camp—a True Demon was ambushed!
It was a true dragon, bursting from a youth's waist. In the instant when all the demons were distracted by the sky, the divine dragon struck, severely wounding the True Demon. That 'demon youth' moved with uncanny speed, darting behind the True Demon.
His divine arts were even stranger—a dizzying barrage of attacks left the True Demon dismembered into eight pieces.
The demon camp was thrown into chaos. Before the demon gods could react, the 'demon youth' produced a box—the box opened by itself and swallowed the eight dismembered pieces of the demon god.
That 'demon youth,' carrying the box, mounted the divine dragon and soared into the air, with a host of demon gods frantically chasing after him!
Meanwhile, light flickered in the divine city as the teleportation array appeared. Before the group could recover, Quinn once again activated the Transmission Flags—the light hadn't faded before it blazed up again, sending everyone out of the city.
He triggered the teleportation array over and over, and after several jumps, they finally escaped four or five hundred li.
Quinn, his magic power exhausted, swept his sleeve to collect the Transmission Flags. "This is as far as I can take us," he said.
Lina the Spirit Fox quipped, "I know, it's because Bruno the Fat Dragon is too heavy!"
Bruno the Dragon-Qilin hung his head in shame.
Everyone hurried toward Departure City, all straining to see the sky, but still couldn't make out much.
But in Grandpa Blind's eyes, the lands and mountains, lakes and seas of Luofu Heaven were collapsing—mountains crumbled, oceans evaporated, and rivers writhed in midair like twisted serpents struggling to survive!
The scene was utterly terrifying!
To blood-sacrifice an entire world is at once awe-inspiring and unbearably desolate.
Then they heard a deep, resonant sound from the sky, like a great whale lamenting in the sea—long and mournful, as if another dying world was crying out. Though the sound held no human emotion, it made listeners weep uncontrollably.
Even though that world belonged to the demons, every world is a mother to its children. Hearing a mother's death-cry, one can't help but feel it in their bones.
"Luofu Heaven hasn't actually been brought closer."
Granny Sue suddenly realized, whispering as they rushed toward Departure City, "Luofu Heaven is still in its original place. It's the power of this blood-sacrifice that has opened space between Luofu Heaven and High-Emperor Heaven, making it seem as if it's right above us."
Furylo felt a chill in his heart. He looked up at Luofu Heaven, the world that raised him, ignoring Quinn's escape and the chaos caused by Xing'an's attack on the True Demon.
The demon world's Luofu Heaven was being transformed by the blood-sacrifice into pure energy, pouring into High-Emperor Heaven.
The Woodcutter Sage had succeeded.
Brilliant as he was, Furylo instantly knew who was behind it.
Ever since the Woodcutter Sage's gamble at Departure City, he had vanished—only now does it become clear he went straight to the demon homeland, Luofu Heaven, to set up the altars for the blood-sacrifice!
Now, the Woodcutter Sage truly possessed the leverage to blood-sacrifice Luofu Heaven!
Lady Lurien, however, was unfazed—after all, she had seen worlds destroyed countless times before. In Youdu, there are innumerable shattered worlds forming Tu Bo's Nine-Bend Horn, with countless remnant souls howling and shrieking in those black realms.
"Capturing the Qin boy is what matters!"
She made a snap decision and rushed in pursuit of Quinn and the others. At that moment, the blood-sacrifice in the sky above Luofu Heaven abruptly stopped, and a voice from another world rang out: "Furylo, will you choose truce, or will you let Luofu Heaven be annihilated?"
Lady Lurien sensed trouble and looked back at Furylo. Furylo's three faces were expressionless; one face turned toward Luofu Heaven. After a moment, his thunderous voice echoed: "Celestial Teacher, I make a pact with you—let us temporarily make peace! Both sides will split High-Emperor Heaven; my demons will take half, the other half is yours. You control Luofu Heaven, holding leverage over my demon race, so you can rest assured."
"Agreed!"
The sky split open, and a gigantic face appeared—only the face, with no ears—abruptly looming overhead. It gazed down at Furylo, and its voice rumbled like thunder: "Will you swear by Tu Bo?"
Furylo solemnly replied, "I swear by Tu Bo!"
Butcher, Grandpa Blind, and the others, racing toward Departure City, also witnessed the scene and heard the exchange. Granny Sue shook her head, "Who is that silly old man? Foolish enough to swear a Tu Bo oath with the demon sovereign king—he'll be lucky if Furylo doesn't cheat him out of his last pair of pants!"
The Oldridge Village elders all nodded repeatedly.
Quinn asked cautiously, "Granny Sue, does that face in the sky resemble the Woodcutter Sage from our murals on Holy Arrival Mountain?"
Granny Sue examined it, shuddered, and said, "Isn't that the Woodcutter Sage's face?"
"So it is the Sage."
Granny Sue's smile blossomed, enchanting and sly. "Then he won't lose out swearing a Tu Bo oath with Furylo. All the cunning devils in the Holy Saint Cult learned their tricks from the Great Nurturing Demon Scripture, but when it comes to scheming, this Sage is the ancestor of them all."
Her smile left everyone dazed, and they instantly forgot she had just called the Woodcutter Sage a silly old man.
Lady Lurien's eyes flickered as she looked into the distance, about to pursue Quinn, when Furylo calmly said, "This concerns the survival of Luofu Heaven. Lady Lurien, you'd best not act rashly."
Lady Lurien frowned—this was a rare opportunity to capture Quinn and his companions. But she was wary of the face in the sky. If she forced the issue, Furylo might even turn against her under pressure. She decided to wait for now.
"Don't worry. I promised to hand him over to you, and I won't go back on my word," said Furylo.
Lady Lurien laughed. "If you dare break your word, I might just help High-Emperor Heaven wipe out your demon race."
Furylo shook his head. "You won't. The Celestial Teacher comes from the Pioneer Heavenly Court, and your hatred for them runs even deeper than your grudge against my demon race. There's no way to reconcile that."
Lady Lurien glanced at the direction Quinn and his group had fled, suppressing her urge to act. She wasn't afraid of Furylo or the Woodcutter Sage, but if both attacked her at once, she wouldn't fare well.
"But I will keep my promise to you."
Furylo's main face was sealing the Tu Bo's Pact with the sky-face, while his left face said to Lady Lurien, "He's already fallen under my divine art—any mirror or water surface will now be under my control."
Lady Lurien finally relaxed and smiled. "I truly admire your mastery of spatial arts."
Young Master Cyrus Qi frowned slightly. "Then, Marshal, what about our agreement...?"
Lady Lurien gave him a sweet, bewitching smile and said in a husky voice, "Whether I'll let you borrow Quinn depends on what you plan to do. Though you're a noble from the Heavenly Court, the heavens are high and the emperor is far—even His Majesty can't easily command a regional marshal like me."
Young Master Cyrus Qi remained composed. "I understand. Once Quinn is in hand, lend him to me and I'll make it worth your while."
At last, Quinn and his companions arrived at Departure City and breathed a sigh of relief.
Departure City was already filled with troops. The Imperial Preceptor of the Everpeace Empire, True God Pang Yu, and others were overseeing the defenses. Seeing the group arrive safely, they finally relaxed.
The Apothecary took out a mirror and tidied up his appearance, not wanting to look disheveled.
Quinn leaned in for a look and his face changed dramatically, eyes fixed on the mirror—inside, Furylo was walking toward him.
Just as the Apothecary put away the mirror, he chuckled, "Quinn, you have just as many mirrors on you as I do—why borrow mine?"
Quinn shook his head and cried out, "Granny Sue, I've fallen for it again!"
He recounted what he'd seen and how Furylo had captured him before. The Oldridge Village elders all looked at him with disdain. Grandpa Lame sneered, "Quinn, tripped up twice in the same place—you've let us down!"
Grandpa Blind nodded, "I always said Quinn was still young and too naive!"
The Apothecary sighed, "Exactly. The Village Chief always worries that Quinn is too innocent and will suffer losses. And now it's happened—he's been caught out twice!"
Cold sweat poured down Quinn's forehead. "Enough with the sarcasm—what should I do?"