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Chapter 977: The End of the Sima Clan

The palace square fell into an eerie silence.

Within the Celestial Net, a slight smile appeared on Su Rou's face, though Su Meiniang remained expressionless. Meanwhile, Mr. Tanuki, his cultivation sealed, wore a bitter expression—not of excitement, but of deep resignation. Qingqiu, he thought, was beyond saving.

Sima Qing and Cheng Baiyi both glared at Zhong Shan with a murderous aura, the animosity between them long established.

Zhong Shan's gaze fell on the massive Celestial Net, and in a fit of rage, the purple tail of the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail lashed out.

"Scoundrel!"

Elder Ma, with a swift motion, brandished a purple sword. Surrounding the sword were crackling bolts of lightning, which, as the sword struck out, formed a tempestuous storm, surging towards the massive Heavenly Tail as if intending to swallow both it and Zhong Shan in one fell swoop.

The terrifying purple sword seemed to carry the power of a heavenly tribulation, its overwhelming might crashing forward with unstoppable force.

A surge of sword energy!

On the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail, Zhong Shan coldly remarked, "You call that a sword?"

Hearing Zhong Shan's words, Elder Ma's face flushed with shame and anger, and the purple sword in his hand unleashed an even more powerful surge of energy.

With a single glance, Zhong Shan directed the tail of the Heaven-Destroying Sword to clash with Elder Ma's purple sword.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion reverberated through the sky, creating a shockwave that obliterated countless buildings in its path. The sky filled with lightning, which crashed to the ground, further destroying the palace.

"Snap!"

The tail of the Heaven-Destroying Sword remained unscathed, while Elder Ma's purple sword shattered into pieces with a resounding crack.

Shattered?

Elder Ma's hand was left bloody and mangled, the fragments of his purple sword falling to the ground. His mind was seized with terror as he watched the tail of the Heaven-Destroying Sword continue to sweep toward him.

"Boom!"

Elder Ma quickly pulled Cheng Baiyi away, narrowly avoiding the tail, which then softened and wrapped around the Celestial Net.

"Stop!" Cheng Baiyi shouted in fury.

But Elder Ma held him back tightly, preventing him from rushing forward.

"Chomp!"

The Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail swallowed the Celestial Net in one gulp.

The crowd was struck with fear.

Swallowing the Celestial Net—Zhong Shan cared little for such a treasure. By digesting the artifact, the two women trapped inside would be freed. Turning back to the group of people, Zhong Shan's gaze hardened as he considered who would perish next.

But just as Zhong Shan turned, he caught sight of a streak of green light rushing towards him.

It was Sima Qing! His eyes had turned an eerie green, and the green light shot out from them at an astonishing speed.

Zhong Shan barely had time to raise a protective barrier.

However, the green light managed to pierce through the protective barrier, instantly entering Zhong Shan's body.

Zhong Shan's expression changed, realizing he was in trouble. The Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail quickly moved to shield him, but apart from the tails associated with the Heaven-Destroying Sword, the other four tails suddenly slowed down dramatically, moving at only a third of their original speed.

Even worse, Zhong Shan found that his own movements were sluggish; it now took three times as long to raise his hand.

Sima Qing's face turned pale, clearly indicating that using this ocular technique required an enormous amount of energy.

"Brother Cheng, Zhong Shan has been hit by my Great Slowing Technique. His speed is now only one percent of what it was. Quickly, now's the time to kill him!" Sima Qing shouted urgently.

One percent? In truth, Zhong Shan was only slowed to one-third of his original speed.

Hearing this, Cheng Baiyi immediately prepared to strike.

"Wait!" Elder Ma quickly grabbed Cheng Baiyi's arm.

"We can't fight him head-on. We need to leave now!" Elder Ma urged.

Elder Ma's grasp jolted Cheng Baiyi back to reality. He knew that Zhong Shan also possessed a terrifying ocular technique, one so powerful that it bordered on the unnatural. Sima Yuan's death, Ran Deng fleeing like a frightened rat, the demise of the previous leader of the Purple Cloud Sect, and even the fate of Old Ancestor Xuemei—all these events were etched into Cheng Baiyi's mind. Moreover, Elder Ma's hand, which was still trembling from the injuries inflicted by the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail's tail strike, made it clear that they couldn't afford to take any more risks.

"Let's go!"

Elder Ma pulled Cheng Baiyi, and the two quickly retreated.

Seeing them flee, Sima Qing was furious. Sensing his anger, King Weiwu leaped into action, moving to confront the now-slowed Zhong Shan. All eyes were on this confrontation, particularly Sima Qing, whose face had turned ashen from the immense energy drain of his technique. He was desperate to see Zhong Shan defeated.

"Shh!"

The world seemed to fall silent.

Suddenly, a slender purple sword emerged from Sima Qing's chest.

The fearsome assassin had struck again, seizing the perfect moment for another fatal blow. Sima Qing looked down at his chest in disbelief.

Was he really going to die so ignobly, assassinated in such a humiliating manner?

"I don't believe it! I haven't even established my holy court yet! I was supposed to conquer the world! I refuse to accept this!" Sima Qing's mind screamed, but it was too late. The Dark Emperor's strike was deadly, piercing his heart and immediately extinguishing his soul.

A sudden turn of events—Sima Qing was dead?

King Weiwu, who had just taken to the sky, froze in mid-air.

"Your Majesty!" King Weiwu cried out in shock.

But after delivering his fatal strike, the Dark Emperor vanished into the crowd once again.

"Your Majesty? Who is your majesty?" A woman's voice suddenly called out from above.

The Sacred King of Taichu and the Nine-Tailed Princess had emerged, glaring angrily at King Weiwu.

Meanwhile, Zhong Shan had disappeared. The moment Sima Qing died, the slowing technique that had affected Zhong Shan was completely lifted. Moreover, the Celestial Net, a treasure reputed to be the closest to an ancestral immortal artifact, had caused Zhong Shan, who was already immune to most ancient immortal artifacts, to break through from the peak of the Great Immortal Third Heaven to the Great Immortal Fourth Heaven.

At the Fourth Heaven, Zhong Shan's speed wasn't comparable to the Invisible Body technique, but he was still much faster than most Great Immortals.

Zhong Shan shot towards Cheng Baiyi with incredible speed.

Elder Ma, who had just been severely injured by the Heaven-Destroying Sword, was also moving slowly due to his wounds, unable to escape as quickly as he needed to.

Zhong Shan was closing in on his prey when Elder Ma, realizing they had no chance of escape, made a desperate decision.

"Go now! Take the Purple Cloud Dojo to our Grandmaster! The Wind Tomb Domain is no longer safe. I'll hold off Zhong Shan!" Elder Ma's face was filled with determination.

It wasn't that Elder Ma wasn't afraid of death, but there were things he had to do—Cheng Baiyi had to survive. If Cheng Baiyi died, Elder Ma knew that no matter where he fled, he would be doomed, along with his descendants.

Faced with the dire situation, Cheng Baiyi didn't waste time; he turned and sped away as fast as he could.

Elder Ma positioned himself in front of Zhong Shan, pulling out a disk-shaped artifact, clearly an ancient immortal treasure.

"Fool!" Zhong Shan's eyes flashed with fury.

A severely injured ancient immortal? The Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail would suffice.

Zhong Shan moved to bypass Elder Ma in a blur.

"Die!" Elder Ma's eyes gleamed with madness.

"Boom!"

With a thunderous explosion, Elder Ma activated the disk, causing it to detonate violently. The blast shook the very fabric of the void, causing intense spatial ripples.

The sudden tremors startled Zhong Shan. In his current state, even as a Great Immortal, he couldn't withstand the destabilizing effects of the space around him.

With a swift thought, Zhong Shan wrapped himself tightly in the protective embrace of the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail.

"Rumble..."

After a series of violent shakes, Zhong Shan reappeared in the devastated landscape.

As he retracted the Eight Extremes Heavenly Tail, the world around him became clear—an entire region had been reduced to a desolate, sandy wasteland.

Cheng Baiyi had vanished without a trace, and Elder Ma had sacrificed his life.

Zhong Shan felt a strange sensation. Who exactly was Cheng Baiyi? A mere Great Immortal with two ancient immortals serving under him, even willing to die for him? The Purple Cloud Dojo must be more complicated than it seemed.

With a flick of his sleeve, Zhong Shan dismissed the thought and flew back to the palace square.

When he arrived, he saw that King Weiwu had been subdued by Su Meiniang.

The rebellion had failed utterly.

Although Su Meiniang had regained control of Taichu, her expression remained somber. The ministers who had been saved rejoiced, and the rebellious forces quickly surrendered.

"Sacred King, you've returned at last!" A group of elderly ministers exclaimed in relief.

Nearby, Mr. Tanuki's face was grim. Though Su Meiniang had regained control of Taichu, the question lingered—was Taichu still the same? Qingqiu lay in ruins, the Fox Realm had been opened, and the curse upon the Fox Clan was unleashed. The fate of the land was reflected in the weak, eighteen-clawed golden dragon of fortune in the sky.

"Citizens of Taichu, the Sima family has committed treason, and the ringleaders have been punished. I decree that all members of the Sima clan are to be executed. Any who kill a member of the Sima clan will be pardoned for their crimes and rewarded!" Su Meiniang declared coldly.

This was the art of power. The Sima family had lost everything, and those who had sided with them in the rebellion could now save themselves by turning on their former allies. The Sima family was doomed.

All across Taichu, the sounds of battle rang out, but now the fighting was to suppress the rebellion, not to further it.

In the distance, three million souls of the Qingqiu clan approached.

"Sacred King!" The souls of Qingqiu were filled with sorrow.

Though it was their first time seeing Su Meiniang's face, her aura made it clear who she was. Moreover, she had just commanded the golden dragon of fortune.

Su Meiniang remained silent, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. The situation had deteriorated to its worst.

Opening her eyes, she turned to Zhong Shan. "Thank you for your help."

"You saved Da Qiong once," Zhong Shan replied.

With a faint smile, Su Meiniang shook her head. "Taichu was born for the Fox Clan, and now that the Fox Clan is cursed, Taichu's survival is meaningless. But I appreciate your help nonetheless."

Zhong Shan said nothing more, but reached into his robe and produced a small banner.

"Baosi asked me to give this to you before she died," Zhong Shan said.

Seeing the Demon-Summoning Banner, Su Meiniang was momentarily taken aback, while Su Rou, standing nearby, looked slightly pleased.

Su Meiniang took the banner, glanced at Zhong Shan in surprise, and nodded deeply. "Thank you. With the Demon-Summoning Banner, there may still be a sliver of hope!"

"Oh?" Zhong Shan asked, intrigued.

"Our ancestor left behind a prophecy. The Demon-Summoning Banner might hold the key to breaking the curse," Su Meiniang said, her eyes gleaming with a glimmer of hope.

With that, Su Rou and Su Meiniang exchanged a glance, their auras flaring. Su Rou revealed nine fox tails, while Su Meiniang showed one, and as they touched, they combined into a single ten-tailed fox.

Raising her head, the ten-tailed fox called out to the heavens, "All foxes of the world, heed my command!"

"Qingqiu is in turmoil, and the ancient curse has befallen the Fox Clan. Disaster is upon us. Return to Qingqiu within the next eight years and enter the Fox Realm to escape the calamity. After eight years, the Fox Realm will close, and you will face your tribulations alone!" The ten-tailed fox declared.

"All foxes of the world?" Zhong Shan's eyes widened in surprise. Could the ten-tailed fox really summon every fox across the world?

To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8