Chapter 118: The War Begins

“Ding, confirmation complete!”

The system’s voice rang out inside Lu Ye’s mind.

He had watched the entire scene play out—and couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

“Didn’t expect you to be such a good actress.”

“Ding! This system is capable of anything!”

“What exactly were you confirming just now?” Lu Ye asked.

“Ding! I was confirming whether the Vermilion Bird is truly kind and compassionate, or just a sanctimonious hypocrite preaching self-righteousness on others’ behalf. I can now confirm—she’s the latter.”

“You didn’t even make her suffer that much this time,” Lu Ye said with a smile.

Just earlier, the system had played the role of a vengeful maiden, forcing the Vermilion Bird to make a choice—sacrifice one to save many—and let her explode herself.

“Ding! That’s because this time, I didn’t need to do anything!”

The system sounded absolutely sure of itself.

When it came to dealing with the Vermilion Bird, there was no need for further verbal strikes.

What would happen next... would make everything clear for her.

Whether her kindness was genuine or fake, she ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) would find her own answer soon enough.

Lu Ye nodded. He’d been thinking the same thing.

Yes—true virtue, or false virtue—it would all be laid bare soon.

After all... she’d been parasitized by the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor.

Lu Ye thought to himself: if he injected a strand of his obsession into the Demon Emperor’s body... what would the Vermilion Bird do?

He found himself starting to look forward to it.

Lu Ye returned to the Daodao Sect.

At the Hall of Inquiry.

The moment he stepped inside, he received the report.

Just as expected—the demon race, monster race, Buddhist sect, divine race, ghost cultivators, spirit race, and the alien coalition had all gathered together. Now, murderous intent surged as they barreled toward the Daodao Sect.

They had already crossed five thousand li—and at their current speed, they would reach the sect within half an hour.

“Still no response from the Myriad Ages Sect?”

“None!”

Liu Changfeng, however, showed no signs of anger.

“If the Myriad Ages Sect no longer wishes to be the leader of the Great Wilderness, then after this battle—someone else will take that title!”

“Pass down my command!”

“All cultivators—take your positions, fulfill your duties, and prepare for battle!”

Black clouds rolled in.

A terrifying wave of killing intent was already pressing toward the Daodao Sect from afar.

Lu Ye was currently traversing the sect’s protective formation. Half an hour—plenty of time to upgrade the array a little.

After thirty minutes of reinforcement, the formation’s defensive power climbed another two levels. Of course, the spirit stone consumption skyrocketed accordingly.

But at the brink of life and death, who could care about the cost?

All the cultivators brought themselves into peak condition.

If the Daodao Sect fell, then the entire Great Wilderness would likely have no force left capable of resisting the alien coalition’s advance.

Boom!

A colossal golden finger, radiating dazzling Buddhist light and wreathed in thunder and lightning, stabbed down toward the sect’s protective formation.

The formation flared with divine light—

—and instantly blasted the golden Buddha finger into dust.

"Kill!"

Countless furious roars erupted from the depths of the black mist. In the next moment, a storm of demonic arts and divine techniques burst forth—countless spheres of light of every color hurtled toward the formation like a world-ending flood.

There were too many.

Far, far too many techniques.

Among them, no shortage of devastating high-grade spells.

Blotting out the sky. Shattering the earth.

Inside the formation, the human cultivators unleashed their own divine powers—hurling them back at the alien coalition.

From the very first moment, the war plunged straight into its most intense stage.

So many spells filled the air that the heavens dimmed, the spiritual energy went berserk, and the threads of fate turned chaotic.

The sheer force of it all—enough to make a coward collapse on the spot from fear.

Lu Ye joined the fray, unleashing his divine technique.

Right from the start, he cast the Heaven and Earth Tribulation Art.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Massive bolts of tribulation lightning tore down from the heavens, crashing violently into the ranks of the coalition army.

The defensive formation the alien forces had constructed shattered on the spot.

A vast number of their troops were reduced to ash.

All-out assault!

The intensity of this battle far surpassed anything from before.

The coalition army launched wave after wave of frenzied attacks against the Daodao Sect’s protective formation, hammering it until it trembled violently—but still, it showed no signs of breaking.

Yet the invaders weren’t panicking.

Though they’d lost many soldiers, none of their true elites had died yet.

Time ticked by.

“The Daodao Sect’s defensive array is indeed formidable. When we bombarded the Jiuli Heavenly Dynasty’s national protection formation, cracks were already forming by now,” came the calm voice of the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor from the rear.

“I’ll have a little fun!”

The Heavenly Demon Emperor suddenly swung his Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

In an instant, a flood of black mist erupted—composed of endless souls, wailing in torment—as it surged toward the Daodao Sect’s protective array.

Boom!

The entire formation shook violently.

Over ten thousand spirit stones were instantly ground to dust under the pressure of that single blow. Disciples of the Daodao Sect rushed to replace them at top speed.

Thanks to the massive stockpile of resources Lu Ye had provided, the Daodao Sect wasn’t exactly swimming in wealth, but they were more than well-prepared.

“Hahahaha! That Ten Thousand Soul Banner of the Heavenly Demon Emperor truly is the strongest demonic artifact from before the Nine Heavens Era. Impressive!” the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor laughed heartily.

“Amitabha. This humble monk shall also test the weight of the Daodao Sect’s defenses.”

Back then, it was the Daodao Sect’s Dao Bell that shattered the Buddhist Sect’s protective array. The Buddhist sect had never forgotten that grudge.

Now, a massive golden nine-ring monk’s staff expanded crazily in midair. From it, faint chanting could be heard as golden light spread, dyeing the black mist gold.

Truthfully, the Buddhist Sect stood out awkwardly among the alien coalition.

After all, Buddhist radiance was supposed to counteract demonic and evil energy.

But at this point... who cared?

The nine-ringed staff slammed down toward the sect’s defensive formation.

Boom!

The staff was instantly shattered by the force of the formation.

The Daodao Sect’s barrier trembled again.

“Hahaha! Good!”

“My turn!”

The Ancient God King of the divine race hurled a punch. His powerful body radiated overwhelming blood energy and divine might as his fist slammed into the barrier.

More and more alien powerhouses began attacking.

The likes of the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor and the Ancient God King—these were beings at the peak of the Tribulation realm. They had lived for countless years, and the only reason they hadn’t transcended yet was because the laws of the minor world were incomplete. Attempting tribulation ascension here risked flaws in their ascension path.

It wasn’t that they lacked ambition—they just couldn’t stomach leaving before squeezing every last resource from the First Heaven.

Now, the human race was divided.

And just recently, another wave of Grand Ascension experts had already ascended—giving them the perfect opportunity.

They were thrilled.

Absolutely delighted.

One terrifying strike after another slammed into the protective array.

Inside, the Daodao Sect kept releasing spells nonstop—slaughtering the coalition’s soldiers in droves.

And so, half an hour passed.

The Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor’s expression darkened. The Heavenly Demon Emperor’s hand clenched tightly around the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, veins bulging.

The head monk of the Buddhist Sect looked grim. The Ancient God King’s eyes were practically spewing fire.

“Why hasn’t the Daodao Sect’s protective array broken yet?!” the Heavenly Demon Emperor growled through gritted teeth.

Not only had it not broken—it didn’t even look close to breaking.

They didn’t care how many low-level troops died—but at this point, the death toll was getting ridiculous.