Outside Jinling City.

Cen Hongyue was meditating and refining Qi.

Suddenly, a strong sense of foreboding surged up.

She trembled all over, feeling a gaze upon her, and could only crouch down, shivering before it.

Then, in her sea of consciousness, a translucent, illusory talisman appeared from nothing.

"Is this... a Daoist talismanic decree?!"

Cen Hongyue's eyes widened as she recalled the ancient prophecy: "Is the Heavenly Demon Tribulation about to come?"

Once the tribulation arrives, both righteous and demonic will face a deadly crisis!

Compared to disciples of major sects who have sects to rely on, the odds of death for loose cultivators are much higher.

Her face turned pale as she infused her divine sense into the talisman, a string of information emerged:

[Name: Cen Hongyue]

[Cultivation: Seven Realms of Cultivation · Spirit Infusion]

[Battle Merit: 0]

[Mission: Pending release]

...

"Indeed... just as the rumors say, once the Daoist talismanic decree is issued, you must accept it... It's said this talisman is mysteriously connected to Zhengyi Dao's sect-protecting Spiritual Treasure—[Record of Zhengyi Dao]. Through [Record of Zhengyi Dao], the Master of Zhengyi Dao can directly manage countless loose cultivators... Killing a Heavenly Demon automatically converts into merits, redeemable for precious elixir pills, magic artifacts, or even daoistic texts... But if one flees in battle, defies orders, they don't even need the disciples enforcing laws to act, the talisman itself will claim our lives!"

Cen Hongyue looked at the talisman in her sea of consciousness, a talisman so high and boundless that only a Great Saint can erase it, and then at her two disciples, falling silent.

...

The same scenario was occurring continuously in various locations, east and west.

West.

Upon a grand cathedral, the bells rang out, emitting sacred radiance.

One young Knight after another, clad in armor, rode their mounts, gathering at each holy land.

"The Lord has descended with might, we will face a holy war!"

Priests announced in the cathedral: "Those who obey the Lord's will shall ascend to heaven!"

"Holy War!"

"Holy War!"

Countless warriors adorned in flower petals marched towards the battlefield amidst blessings.

And more magic guilds, demon exorcists, and other extraordinary organizations also took immediate action.

For a time, the prices of various materials in the transcendental market surged like a rocket, seeing no end.

...

East.

"Hua Feng, today you can't run."

In the wilderness, two loose cultivators were in a chase.

The cultivator behind shouted, releasing a black smoke, within the haze seemed to conceal a large black banner, with white skulls waving upon it.

Hua Feng, the one escaping ahead, was dazed by the black smoke, his limbs instantly weakened, collapsing to the ground, as he watched his approaching enemy with a face of despair.

At that moment, both he and the pursuer Liu Jinyue shuddered simultaneously, with a talisman emerging in their sea of consciousness, spilling out a series of information.

"Heavenly Demon Tribulation, Daoist talismanic decree, how could it be now?"

Hua Feng lay on the ground, laughing heartily: "During the tribulation, all comes down to the battle, those with a talisman must not massacre each other, any defiance will lead to annihilation! Seems my life isn't meant to end here, hahaha..."

Yet his laughter stopped abruptly as he saw Liu Jinyue emotionlessly advancing: "What do you intend to do? You should have received a talisman, right?"

"I have a deep blood feud with you, twenty-seven lives from my family, how could I let you live a moment longer, even if it costs me my life, I will end yours!"

Liu Jinyue swung a slash, a green blade light appeared, severing Hua Feng into two pieces.

The next moment, his frenzied, joyful laughter froze, the talisman in his sea of consciousness exploded, extinguishing his soul entirely, leaving a corpse limply collapsing to the ground...

...

In a coastal location.

"Again, Heavenly Demon Tribulation, Daoist talismanic decree!"

Inside a shrine, a group of elders and juniors gathered, faces full of worry.

"Clan Leader, what should we do?"

A few elders, appearing middle-aged, looked at the Clan Leader smoking dry tobacco.

"With the Daoist talisman in place, there's no way around it!"

The old Clan Leader shook his head, tapped his pipe against the stone tiles: "Listen up, once the task is displayed on the talisman, you must complete it timely and fully, or you'll risk your lives... and implicate the family! Xiao San!"

"Present." A middle-aged man stood up.

"Our Zhang Family is just a minor loose cultivator family, with shallow foundation. Have you gathered the number of people receiving the talisman this time?"

The middle-aged man answered steadily: "Just as recorded in the dossiers, everyone in the Five Realms of Cultivation—Nirvana and above, has received a talisman! No exceptions! Our family has six recipients in total, five in the Five Realms, one in the Six Realms... That's our highest combat strength!"

"What else can we do? If we'd known beforehand the Heavenly Demon Tribulation was imminent, we would have postponed Xiao Qing's breakthrough from the eighth branch..."

The Clan Leader sighed.

"Clan Leader, I don't fear the Heavenly Demons, and I heard that battle merits can be exchanged for plenty of good items, isn't it true that our family's ancestors rose to prominence by killing demons on the battlefield, earning merits and redeeming a daoist text?"

A young man at the end stood up, fearless like a newborn calf facing a tiger.

"Alas..."

The Clan Leader could only smile bitterly: "Let's first arrange the aftercare, after I'm gone, the position of Clan Leader will be taken over by Jin Yuan from the third branch."

"Yes!"

An elderly man with graying hair rose, his demeanor calm with little sign of delight.

...

Headquarters of Iron Blood Society.

In a certain hidden basement, a group of people wearing various iron masks sat together.

"Is the Daoist truly overbearing, is there really no way to break this talisman?"

An upper voice tremblingly asked.

"Heh, breaking it... is of course impossible! Otherwise, why would those two Daoist sects allow loose cultivators to rise? You know we practice extremely sinister cultivation techniques, don't they fear us defecting? It comes down to this talisman, disobedience means death!"

Another upper echelon replied with a cold laugh.

"We might not stand a chance, but aren't there Great Saints? Boss, you have connections with those crazy women from the Heavenly Mother Sect, do they have a solution?"

The initial speaker asked, unwilling to give up.

"If one achieves the Great Saint level, naturally they can resist the talismanic decree..."

The Iron Blood Society's Boss answered calmly, continuing as the others' eyes brightened: "But destroy the talisman, and the Dao Ancestor will certainly sense it, a deserter Great Saint might provoke the descent of a Dao Ancestor's avatar... Even more tragic ends! Don't harbor false hopes, as far as I know, even those crazy women plan to obediently head to the Heavenly Demon Battlefield... Haha, we believers of the Evil God, have to battle with the Evil God's followers, it's truly amusing to think about..."

A group of iron-faced people fell into utmost silence.

They couldn't fathom the thoughts of the two Dao Ancestors.

It's crucial to know that an Ancestor is an Ancestor, and a Daoist sect is a Daoist sect.

To Time's Ouroboros and the Master of Gates, it matters not whether human affairs are dominated by Daoist or loose sects; as long as they're enlisted as cannon fodder in times of war, it suffices!

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