No matter whether mortal or divine, everyone felt fear in the face of the unknown.
No matter how great their power or how potent their divine arts, the effect was the same.
Unknown meant uncontrollable—and you could never predict what would happen next.
That was the source of fear.
In that moment, as all color drained from the world, every god present grew solemn.
Almost every deity braced for defense—and Hanyue Xi retreated at once.
She was afraid—not of dying afterward, but of dying too quickly, missing the chance to witness the battle in its entirety.
Honestly, Hanyue Xi was genuinely curious. In this parallel world, what level of strength did Ye Yu possess to compel two elders of the Jiyue Pavilion to come after him?
He must be terrifyingly powerful—but in an instant he had altered the very hue of heaven and earth, yet she felt almost no divine-energy fluctuations from him.
“ tch tch tch—this is only the beginning?” she thought.
She was not the only one to fall back; Chen Guangju also executed a tactical withdrawal, putting as much distance between himself and Ye Yu as possible.
To Chen Guangju, this man radiated mystery. Did that old dog Goulangt’s analysis hold any truth? Don’t want to be proven wrong...
“Where’s that old dog? He was just standing here—now he’s vanished!” Chen Guangju cursed inwardly, then cloaked himself and retreated another ten paces, finally feeling a sliver of safety once he’d placed every Jiyue Pavilion deity before him.
But not a moment later, a soul-chilling shiver stabbed through him, as if a blade had been placed at the shoulder of his very spirit—one light push, and his soul would be cleaved in two.
That imminent threat of death was sheer torture.
Chen Guangju gritted his teeth, steeling his mind, and looked up.
A pair of colossal golden pupils filled half the sky, staring down at them with icy indifference, as though they beheld nothing more than insignificant ants.
Then countless purple magic runes materialized, spinning madly before him, accelerating until they blurred into a single violet radiance.
Those lights coalesced into an immense demonic torso—though only the upper half could form, so vast was its scale that it blotting out the heavens.
An ancient, resounding demonic chant echoed across the void, gripping souls.
Scores of primeval beasts appeared—submitting to this Demon God like loyal subjects: the Dragon of Fate, the Phoenix of Nirvana, twisting and spiraling around him.
A destructive aura swept the field.
The Jiyue Pavilion gods all craned their necks, eyes vacant with disbelief.
Against such an invincible foe, ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) none dared resist; many fell to their knees, begging for mercy.
Humble? Shameful? Not if it meant survival.
Hanyue Xi could not help widening her eyes. Though the Demon God did not gaze upon her directly, its supreme pressure pressed relentlessly on her soul.
Only submission could grant a chance to live; otherwise, all that awaited was annihilation.
Was this the full extent of Ye Yu’s power in the parallel world? A Divine Lord? Or the legendary Divine Sovereign?
Terror like this overwhelmed the mind.
First Elder Du Yu stood unmoving at the front, eyes fixed on the vision above, his expression a tangle of confusion, doubt, and disbelief.
At that moment, old dog Goulangt’s voice rang out from every direction: “Calm yourselves—this is nothing but a phantom Ye Yu crafted! Shatter the illusion!”
The Demon God made no visible sign of reaction, but the surrounding beastly apparitions roared in fury, shaking the ground.
The tremor stifled any thought of resistance among the gods once more.
Yet a few bold deities remained: one Grand God–level Ghost Deity gripped his spear and charged toward the massive Demon God, bellowing, “A mere illusion—I fear you not!”
All eyes turned to witness the outcome of this lone challenger and to test whether the scene was real or phantasmal.
The answer came in the next instant: two ancient beasts seized the Ghost Deity midair and tore him apart.
His spear tumbled earthward, piercing another demon’s tail as it fell.
As excruciating pain seized that demon, its anguished roar struck like a command, jolting every god present back to reality: this was no illusion but a true, terrifying Demon God.
“Goulangt, you son of a—!” over eighty percent of the gods silently cursed Goulangt in their hearts—including Chen Guangju himself.
Chen Guangju watched the gods flee and tempted to follow, but Elder Du Yu remained rooted in place. Concern furrowed his brow as he whispered by spirit-sound, “Elder Eight, this Demon God’s aura is likely late Divine Lord or even Divine Sovereign level. We cannot match him—let us retreat.”
Du Yu did not turn but shook his head slightly. “It’s wrong—very wrong. I sense this is no illusion, yet something doesn’t add up. I must uncover the truth.”
Chen Guangju was stunned. He knew Du Yu was stubborn, but not this stubborn. “If you won’t go, then I will.”
Acting on caution, he slipped away in the chaos.
The other Jiyue Pavilion deities also tried to escape—but luck was not on their side.
Countless beastly apparitions rained down, heralding the hunt’s true beginning.
