Chapter 2156: Annihilation of the Clan

Chapter 2156: Exterminating the Ancestors

"I am from Zhu Tian, spare my life!" Wails filled the starry sky, mostly from those who had submitted to Taowu. The Taowu race was being hunted, and as their lackeys, they too were pursued.

In response, neither Ye Chen nor Chu Xuan and the others felt any pity. This was war, an unending battle to the death. Having chosen the wrong side, they had to pay the price in blood.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Splendid blood flowers bloomed frequently in the starry sky.

Such battlefields were numerous across the cosmos, affecting vast star domains and countless stars. Everywhere, fierce fights raged, turning the heavens dark and the earth dim. At a glance, the smoke was stained red with blood, and the domains were littered with dyed bones and shattered magical tools—a scene of utter carnage.

This war was no longer just Taowu against Xuan Huang; it involved the entire Zhu Tian.

There were no war drums from Zhu Tian to summon them; all fought of their own volition. Each one exuded a murderous aura, harboring a blood feud with Taowu that could not be reconciled. Whenever they spotted one, they struck to kill.

The powerful Taowu suffered defeat after defeat. Peak Zhundi-level warriors were chased across the stars by Zhu Tian's Zhundi wielding imperial weapons, leading to countless deaths. Those below Zhundi fared no better, no matter where they fled—cultivators were there to surround and intercept them.

As for the other Hong Huang races, not a single one appeared, let alone offered aid. Each had become mere spectators. Taowu had brought this upon themselves and could blame no one. If they sought to drag other Hong Huang races down, they had to be prepared for their own annihilation. Now, they served as a bloody example.

It was unclear when the starry sky finally fell silent, the rumbling sounds fading away.

By then, all the Taowu who had escaped to the outside were completely exterminated.

Forces from Zhu Tian converged like streams from all directions, gathering in a desolate stretch of starry sky. This was the Taowu race's lair, hidden though it was, it could not escape detection. It was a vast spatial realm, and through the great rifts, one could still glimpse the Hong Huang demon lands.

The star domain hummed with energy as Zhu Tian's cultivators stood shoulder to shoulder, blanketing the sky like a dark curtain that obscured the world's order. Zhu Tian war banners fluttered fiercely in the stellar winds, but the most dazzling sight was the imperial weapons, suspended in the void and radiating brilliant light.

"Hidden deep enough!" Kui Niu Huang sneered, his bull body stained with blood, his large eyes gleaming brightly. He had visited this place more than once but never realized it concealed the Taowu lair.

"Why else would they be called shrinking turtles?" Sheng Yuan Huang cursed loudly, his golden fur also dyed red with the fresh blood of the Taowu race. The killing had been thoroughly satisfying.

Ye Chen opened his eyes to scan the area and, seeing no imperial corpse, finally relaxed. If it were like the Tengshe race, that would be troublesome. Imperial corpses weren't the issue; what was feared was if they gained sentience.

"There must be plenty of treasures inside." The talents of Xuan Huang all had eyes shining brightly.

"You all truly intend to fight to the death?" roared a Taowu Zhundi from within the ancestral land. He was a peak Zhundi who had evaded the imperial path's annihilation and fled back to the lair.

His words made the various race emperors want to laugh. With the fight already at their doorstep, what do you think?

Zhu Tian offered no reply. What responded to the Taowu Zhundi was a barrage of ultimate imperial weapons, all unleashing their imperial might. The imperial light condensed to an extreme, each beam carrying destructive power. Even before they fully struck, this vast starry sky was crumbling inch by inch.

At the sight, the Taowu Zhundi staggered back, his face twisting into a grotesque expression, pale as death. Even now, he couldn't accept the reality of their crushing defeat. How could the mighty Taowu be driven to their doors and attacked by a swarm of ants?

Was this the price of arrogance? Indeed, it was.

Taowu was strong, but against the entire Zhu Tian, defeat was inevitable.

Buzz!

As the starry sky trembled, over a dozen imperial weapons swept out beams of light, shattering swaths of space. The blinding radiance fused with world-ending power, all directed at the Taowu barrier.

Boom!

The Taowu barrier shook violently but did not shatter.

This protective barrier was extraordinarily domineering, originating from the Taowu great emperor and reinforced with imperial path formations. The array patterns were densely packed, swirling on their own and dazzling to behold.

"Stabilize the imperial array!"

The Taowu Zhundi roared hoarsely, making a desperate last stand, hoping the other Hong Huang races would lend aid to help the Taowu escape. Otherwise, extinction was certain today.

The various race emperors snorted coldly and stepped into the heavens, personally wielding the imperial weapons. Meanwhile, Zhu Tian's cultivators were not idle, collectively raising their hands to channel vital energy and empower the imperial weapons.

Now, the entire starry sky shook. Annihilating halos filled the universe, with ultimate principles dancing wildly, carrying world-ending might as the starlight turned apocalyptic.

On the second strike, the imperial weapons quaked together, their beams merging and piercing straight through the Taowu barrier. This boom was like a death knell for hell, tolling for the Taowu race.

Exterminate the clan!

Sheng Yuan Huang bellowed, gripping his imperial weapon iron staff and charging in first.

Exterminate the clan!

The various race emperors roared in fury, each wielding their ultimate imperial weapons to attack.

Exterminate the clan!

Zhu Tian's cultivators howled, their eyes filled with bloody tears as they surged in from all sides. Their hatred for Taowu was no less than for the heavenly demons. Since the Hong Huang's unsealing, how many kin and disciples had perished at Taowu's hands? This was a blood debt, to be repaid in blood to honor the spirits of the dead.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The rumbling shook the universe, echoing through the star domains.

Gazing afar, in that Hong Huang demon land, mountains and peaks collapsed one after another, ancient cities, towers, halls, and relics all turned to historical dust under Zhu Tian's assault. The entire Hong Huang race was slaughtered amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

This was a massacre, with no mercy. Beating hearts had all turned ice-cold, driven only by slaughter. The Taowu forces collapsed like a landslide, unable to withstand Zhu Tian's onslaught. Their sole imperial weapon struggled futilely, its light dimmed under the pressure of over a dozen others.

Ah!

Taowu roared in anguish, their cries tragic as one after another fell. The flying blood and bones stained the skies red and covered the earth. The clan extermination war was ferociously brutal.

When the roars finally died down, the great battle came to an end.

The Taowu had truly been exterminated, following the Tengshe race as another Hong Huang clan wiped out. At a glance, the scene was strikingly red, with true mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.

As for the Taowu imperial weapon, it had long fled—imperial weapons could escape if they wished, and no one could stop them.

With the battle over, the blood-soaked demon land was crowded with figures.

The fight was done, but spoils still needed to be claimed. Across this vast battlefield and Hong Huang demon land, treasures were everywhere—from magical tool fragments that could be collected and reforged into divine weapons, to spiritual flowers and exotic grasses that were rare delights for alchemists, and immortal pools with dense origins that no one would pass up. Anything that could be taken was not left behind.

The most active one was Ye Chen's Chaos Cauldron.

That cauldron was incredibly proactive, with high intelligence, darting everywhere to gather magical tool fragments and devouring them in heaps. Wherever it went, everything was stripped clean.

"Have some shame! Leave some for us!" Curses rang out one after another.

The Chaos Cauldron paid no mind, sweeping as it went. Its master was shameless, and it was just as thick-skinned, moving at an astonishing speed.

Deeper in, a underground palace was blasted open—it was the Taowu treasury, filled with source stones, secret scrolls, and magical tools beyond count. The various race emperors couldn't help but sigh and click their tongues in amazement.

From the Hong Huang era to the present, the Taowu race had emerged to cause chaos at intervals, amassing untold wealth. Now, it had all been seized by Zhu Tian in one fell swoop.

Dividing the spoils was a bit chaotic, with shouts echoing endlessly.

Ye Chen didn't get involved. The share for Da Chu was handled by the divine generals. With Tianjiu's nature, he'd grab as much as possible without holding back—his skill at claiming assets was top-notch.

Compared to the treasury's treasures, Ye Chen valued the spiritual flowers and exotic grasses more.

His wives were quite efficient too. With a wave of her jade sleeve, one patch of spiritual grass vanished, and with another wave, a patch of immortal flowers disappeared. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that wherever this family passed, the spirit gardens were left completely bare—it was almost moving to watch.

"Come on, a gift from your wife." The only absent one, Nanming Yushu, descended from the void, holding a flickering flame in her jade hand. It was entirely red, delicate as a flower.

"Oh, it's true fire." Xiyan said with sparkling eyes.

"The legendary Chi Mie True Fire?" Biyou exclaimed in surprise.

"Thank you, wife." Ye Chen rubbed his hands and stepped forward excitedly. This true fire was on par with the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, though its only flaw was that it wasn't complete.

"Aren't you going to thank us?" Chu Ling pouted.

"Come on, exclusive special edition for everyone." Ye Chen pulled out a storage bag and handed them out one by one. Everyone present got one, all special products from Da Chu.

"Shameless." The women's scolding came in perfect unison.

"This is a treasure, I—" Ye Chen's words cut off abruptly as he suddenly turned, his deep eyes fixed on the depths, then bursting with radiant immortal light.

In an instant, he vanished with a whoosh.

The women raised their eyebrows and hurried after him. Clearly, Ye Chen had found a treasure.

Deeper in, Ye Chen stopped and dove into the ground.

When he emerged, he was grinning from ear to ear, having found a great treasure. In his hands, he held a fire lotus blooming with purple flames—it was the Earth Heart Fire Lotus, an essential material for refining the Nine Turns Soul-Returning Pill, long extinct in the outside world.

When the women arrived and saw the fire lotus, their eyes lit up too, as if they recognized it.

The veteran experts who arrived later felt a pang in their hearts. They'd been too busy dividing spoils to notice this Earth Heart Fire Lotus. This extinct immortal grass was far more precious than anything in the treasury.

By the time night fell, the raid truly concluded.

Returning to the starry sky, the various races' ultimate imperial weapons hummed again, blasting the Taowu lair to pieces and burying the blood and bones of the Taowu race. Along with it, the legends and myths of the Taowu emperor were completely interred in the river of time.

This bloody day held profound historical significance.

What was exterminated was not just Taowu, but an entire imperial lineage.

If the Taowu great emperor knew this in the afterlife, what would he think? He had shaken antiquity and illuminated the ages, commanding the universe, yet his descendants were so incompetent, tarnishing his imperial prestige.

Borne by the stellar winds, the various races returned in triumph.

Those skilled in divination mostly gazed into the void. The great war and reckless use of imperial weapons had disrupted the tribulation tides, leading to more tribulation Zhundi perishing as a result.

Ye Chen was also gazing, seeing more clearly than anyone else.

There were indeed those perishing in the tribulation, but fewer than expected, for their destinies were extraordinarily resilient. Even with the tribulation disrupted, their foundations remained unshaken. Returning to Zhu Tian was only a matter of time, though that period might be exceedingly long.

Passing by Wang Xuan Star, the various races paused to bow before the heroes' monument.

Meanwhile, people like Chen Yi went with wine flasks, pouring libations into the starry sky to honor the son of Yan Emperor. Though he had died, his heroic spirit would be eternally engraved in the world.

Ye Chen stood quietly, gazing into the void. Tianzhi was still in the black hole, wasn't she?

"What are you looking at?" Kui Niu and Xiao Yuan Huang asked, one on each side, also gazing up. Their monkey eyes and bull eyes were round, but they saw nothing.

Ye Chen didn't respond, his expression a bit awkward. He was the one who had brought Tianzhi in, but now couldn't get her out. It was embarrassing. The Seven-Colored Peacock race didn't know yet, and he hadn't mentioned it. He'd just have to wait for his eyes to be unsealed—in that time, Tianzhi should be fine.

Little did he know, the one in the black hole had cursed him a thousand times over.

"We're back." Bei Sheng murmured softly, sending a message to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen quickly withdrew his gaze, understanding the implication—it must mean the children of the realms had returned.

With that, he exchanged a few words with the women and left with Bei Sheng.