Indra chuckled low, regarding the boundless Asuras roaring at him with disdain.

With a gentle sweep of his Vajra of Thunder, half the sky became shrouded in dense black clouds, within which countless thick bolts of lightning writhed and circled. Suddenly, accompanied by a deafening thunderclap, they plummeted down, manifesting as a colossal forest composed entirely of lightning bolts seemingly growing from the earth itself.

The countless Asuras suddenly turned translucent amidst the streaks of lightning. Accompanied by myriad wails of agony, in a single strike, hundreds of thousands of Asuras were pulverized by Indra. Moreover, innumerable others had their limbs severed and bodies scorched by the thunder-fire, collapsing onto the ground incomplete and twitching, issuing frantic and despairing screams.

Yet, many brave and mighty Asura warriors blocked the lightning assaults with their shields, riding water buffaloes, fierce tigers, or other bizarre mounts like multi-headed pythons, surging toward Indra and the other Devas like a foul gale.

These Asura warriors vigorously wielded their weapons, launching ferocious attacks against the Devas led by Turatura. The glint of their blades tore through the void; the sweep of their axes shattered the earth. The multi-headed flails in their hands danced across the sky like world-ending thunder, and the darts they hurled crisscrossed the firmament like a torrential downpour. Crimson flames engulfed them as they attacked the Devas with all their might.

Even more powerful Asura generals expanded their forms to a hundred li in height. They excitedly brandished the myriad branches that served as their arms, hoisting mountains forged from black iron, bronze, obsidian, and Mystic Seal Stone from the Three-Linked City's black iron fortifications, hurling them with all their strength toward the Devas.

With such a host of fearless Asura warriors and such formidable attacks, even the leadership of the Devas, whose cultivation rested between the mid-stage and upper-stage of Great Golden Immortal, found it difficult to withstand such relentless assaults. They had no time left to unleash large-scale killing moves, forced instead into passive defense.

Indra too manifested his multi-headed, multi-armed Dharma Form, but most of his arms clutched heavy golden shields. Countless arcs of lightning coiled around his shields; he blocked and parried ceaselessly, fending off the attacks of the Asura warriors.

Blade light struck the shields, axe light chopped against them, the flails crashed down with massive roars, and countless darts peppered the surfaces.

Indra’s Shields of Thunder continuously sputtered light halos, and streaks of lightning shot out from them like venomous snakes, hissing as they snaked everywhere. Occasionally, an Asura warrior struck by a lightning bolt would convulse and drop to the ground.

Suddenly, the battle-skilled Indra let out a loud laugh. He leaped high into the air, springing off his war chariot, and hurtled toward an Asura general standing over three hundred li tall. He swung several shields, shattering the mountain held by the Asura general, and then brought the heavy, dazzling Vajra of Thunder down forcefully upon the general's head.

The Three-Linked City shuddered slightly. The Asura general erupted with blinding lightning, his body exploding like shattered stone. Countless fragments of flesh were entwined with thick electric light, and even as the heavenly clear spring lotuses rained down, his body stubbornly refused to knit back together.

Indra’s potent lightning force obstructed the divine power of the Three-Linked City, preventing it from healing the Asura general quickly.

Judging by the trend of his recovery, even with the formidable healing magic of the Three-Linked City, unless a sufficiently powerful Asura Demon King helped dispel the Thunder God power from him, he would not truly die, but he would remain incapacitated for a century.

The Devas, witnessing their leader strike down the strongest among the Asura generals with such a sharp and mighty blow, immediately let out joyous cries, praising Indra’s brilliance, greatness, divine valor, and invincibility.

Indra proudly raised all his weapons, spinning his body with satisfaction so that all the Devas could clearly see his radiant face.

From afar, a loud reprimand suddenly echoed: “Shameless Indra! You creature wearing a ram’s testicles! Is your courage and might only sufficient to contend with our low and mid-ranking Asura generals?”

An Asura, using divine arts to transform his body until he was taller than Mount Sumeru, with skin the color of dark violet-jade and an utterly hideous appearance, strode menacingly toward them. Each footfall covered a massive area spanning tens of thousands of li.

Countless Asura warriors and Deva armies were crushed under this Asura’s feet. But what enraged Indra was that any Asura trampled beneath this giant's foot remained completely unharmed, while every single Asura Deva beneath his steps was instantly reduced to pools of blood. Especially since a dense trace of demonic energy churned within these pools of blood, preventing them from quickly recovering and rejoining the battle.

Furious to the point of explosion, Indra bellowed, “State your name! I do not kill nameless, petty thieves!”

Indra’s fury stemmed not only from the huge losses sustained by the Deva army but more so because this colossal Asura dared to touch upon his deepest, oldest shame—many, many years ago, Indra had an illicit affair with the wife of an immensely powerful ascetic immortal. When the old immortal caught them, he directly cast a spell to castrate Indra.

That old immortal’s power far surpassed that of Indra and even many other Devas at the time. Indra, then only a nascent Great Golden Immortal, was utterly incapable of repairing the damage. It was only through surgery performed by the Devas that he had two ram’s testicles reattached, which finally restored his virility.

This damned Asura had struck at the greatest humiliations of Indra’s entire life in a single breath.

Furious, bordering on hysterical, with eyes bloodshot, Indra raged, summoning swirling storm clouds, countless lightning bolts, and a thunderous roar potent enough to shatter heaven and earth. He charged with all his might toward the Asura. “State your name! I do not kill nameless, petty thieves!”

Due to his status as Heavenly Emperor and out of a sense of dignity, Indra demanded the Asura warrior identify himself once more.

The massive Asura laughed, a booming sound. “I am the son of the great Asura King, Pishuna, named Taroda—the embodiment of the terrible demonic thought of slaughter that he controls. Venerable Heavenly Emperor, I am only five thousand years old; it is natural you do not recognize me!”

An Asura of only five thousand years? This meant Asura Taroda was only a few hundred years older than Gu Xichen. For the Protector Devas, who had existed for immeasurable eons, Taroda was essentially a newborn infant.

Hearing Taroda reveal his name and age, the enraged Indra immediately let down his guard. He casually shook his head and wildly swung the Vajra of Thunder toward Taroda’s head.

Unlucky Indra had forgotten one critical detail: the divine powers and magical abilities of the Protector Devas were entirely different from those of the Eastern Immortals and Western Buddhas. The Protectors were born with immense might; the foundation of their lifetime’s achievements was often established within the first decade of their birth. Through harsh asceticism and brutal sacrifice—if they could steel their hearts to torture their flesh and soul—the Brahmanic Demonic Arts could grant them tremendous power.

When Little Daoist Zhang and his peers practiced the Brahmanic Demonic Arts for only a few decades, through cruel self-mutilation and asceticism, they attained power equivalent to an initial Great Golden Immortal. Taroda’s father was Pishuna, one of the most terrifying figures among the Asura Demon Kings, the Lord of the Sixth Heaven of the Six Desires in Buddhism, holding a terrifyingly high status. With such a father, how could Taroda’s strength, even at five thousand years, be negligible?

Facing the casually thrown Vajra of Thunder from Indra, Taroda felt utterly disrespected and flew into a rage. He drew the divine weapon crafted for him by Pishuna, the Lord of the Sixth Heaven of the Six Desires—a golden lotus staff—and struck back at Indra with all his might.

Five thousand years of ruthless training and brutal refinement, which included slicing off his own skull and organs for secret offerings to the ancient demonic gods secretly worshipped by the Protectors to gain power, further violated the rules of heaven and earth, fusing his three souls and six spirits into one. The horrific screams generated during the dissolution of his soul tempered his power. The strength Taroda possessed was in no way inferior to Indra’s. One casual, the other giving his all, Indra was struck backward by Taroda’s blow.

The lotus head of the staff slammed violently into Indra’s body, shattering the skin that was fair, seemingly a mixture of white jade and silver, causing a gush of golden divine blood to spray out.

Indra shrieked in terror, glaring furiously at Taroda as if seeing reflected in him the countless great Asura Demon Kings of history who had once chased Indra away with his head covered!

Poor Indra; since ascending the throne of the Heavenly Emperor, he endured a crushing defeat every so often. Each time, the veteran Indra lost to Asura heroes who were barely a few thousand years old, or even just a few hundred or tens of years old.

Each time, Indra was stripped of his armor and fled, sometimes even losing his wife to his opponent. If it were not for the favoritism shown by Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, Indra would have long been deposed from his throne, and he and his Deva brethren would have long been chopped into minced meat by the Asuras. This time, too, he lost to Taroda, a loss that had become depressingly routine.

With a large section of his ribs broken and bleeding all over, Indra was sent flying with a mournful howl, tumbling through the air in a manner that looked almost deliberate, flying toward Gu Xichen, who was soaring toward the scene on clouds.

The posture suggested that Taroda and Gu Xichen were allies. Taroda, fierce as a hungry tiger, had tossed the wounded little lamb that was Indra toward Gu Xichen, the primordial venomous dragon cloaked in sheep’s skin.

Gu Xichen, transformed into an Asura battle warrior, let out a whoop of triumph, shaking his thick three legs excitedly and wildly swinging his arms to strike at Indra. He roared, “Long live the great Asura King Taroda! Brothers, let us fight hard and overthrow these damned Devas! Take their women, strip them of everything!”

Seeing Taroda defeat the terrifying Heavenly Emperor Indra with a single blow, the Asura warriors present felt their blood boil. Further incited by Gu Xichen’s seductive demonic sound, which mixed with the confusing tones of the Great Desolation Scripture, these Asura warriors completely disregarded life and death, charging suicidally toward the Devas.

Even the immensely powerful Taroda was dazed by Gu Xichen’s soul-confusing sound. Rolling his eyes and pondering for a moment, he suddenly began swinging his lotus staff like a maddened bull, haphazardly rushing toward the cluster of Devas.

Gu Xichen laughed wildly, swooping in and knocking Indra down with three or five heavy punches.

Considering the sheer weight of his fists now—a casual strike could pulverize stars and turn the void into chaos—Indra, whose cultivation barely scraped the upper-stage Great Golden Immortal rank and wasn’t even considered strong among the Devas, was instantly knocked unconscious after several blows to the head from Gu Xichen.

Gu Xichen began frantically ransacking Indra’s body for weapons and ornaments, acting like a starving ghost who hadn't eaten in a hundred thousand generations.

Unlike Chamatunda and other Protector Devas, Indra held a special status and importance among the Protectors. Every ornament he wore was a treasure blessed with Buddhist Dharma by powerful Buddhas. His weapons were not divine weapons forged from Buddhist Nianli (willpower), but rare treasures born with Indra when he came into existence. His armor, shields, and the Vajra of Thunder were an entire set of Innate Sacred Artifacts.

This set of Innate Sacred Artifacts was several grades superior to the innate black staff of Mo Yue Long Gen. Furthermore, they were enhanced by the merit accumulated when Indra assumed the throne of the Heavenly Emperor, making them an incredibly powerful set of rare artifacts.

Heaven only knew how crippled Indra truly was: possessing such a powerful set of Dharma treasures, dozens of Buddhist protective artifacts, and a slight edge in raw power over Taroda, yet he was wounded by a single staff blow.

How this Heavenly Emperor managed to cling to his position among the Protector Devas for so many years without being overthrown could only be attributed to the excessive favoritism shown by the Triad of Great Brahma.

Satisfied, Gu Xichen stripped Indra clean of all treasures, even pocketing the several glittering rings on his fingers.

These rings were extraordinary. Though merely decorative, each was embedded with over a dozen powerful spells, including instantaneous lightning strikes capable of instantly slaying a primary Great Golden Immortal, immediate injury healing, defense against soul-confusing magic, and immunity to water, fire, wind, and lightning attacks. In terms of practicality, they were even better than the highest-grade immortal artifacts personally refined by Gu Xichen.

Especially since the materials for these rings were exceedingly rare: the eyeballs of billion-year-old poisonous dragons, bone beads from billion-year-old spirit snakes, and spirit beads condensed within the shells of primordial spirit turtles. These materials were now impossible to find in the Three Realms. Unlike ordinary innate materials which could potentially be sourced from the Chaos Space, these spirit beasts were completely extinct.

Having satisfied himself by thoroughly stripping Indra bare, Gu Xichen delivered a hard kick to his forehead and casually tossed him into a throng of frenzied Asuras.

The Asuras, suddenly seeing the plump, cute Indra fall from the sky, went utterly berserk with delight. They wildly swung their weapons and swarmed him, viciously hacking at Indra.

Weapons of all kinds—swords, spears, blades, and halberds—rained down, and Indra’s body was instantly splattered with flesh and blood, hacked beyond recognition in the blink of an eye.

Gu Xichen’s punches were too heavy, especially since the force carried a trace of peculiar Chaotic Law. After being struck by his heavy blows, Indra couldn't wake up immediately. Even though he was being hacked to pieces as if he’d just emerged from a juicer, he remained deeply unconscious.

The battle-crazed Asuras cheered loudly. They excitedly grabbed the severed pieces of Indra’s flesh and distributed them among their kinsmen, gleefully sharing the flesh of the noble Heavenly Emperor. With every piece consumed, the Asuras felt their strength increasing, and their power becoming purer as many impurities were driven out.

Suddenly, the Asuras roared out. Indra’s flesh possessed such a miraculous effect?

During the ancient wars between gods and demons, the Asuras had devoured countless unfortunate Asura heavenly soldiers, but apart from tasting delicious, there were no other benefits. Unexpectedly, the flesh of a high-ranking Deva possessed such a marvelous effect! The news spread rapidly, one telling ten, ten telling a hundred. All the Asuras present began shouting: “Eat the Heavenly Emperor’s flesh! Hurry and eat the Heavenly Emperor’s meat!”

Crack, crack, swords and blades continued to fall, as Indra’s flesh was chopped into pieces and distributed among the multitude of Asuras.

Innumerable lotuses carrying clear spring water poured down from the void. Tiny drops of clear water merged into Indra’s body; the flesh hacked away regenerated rapidly. In a flash, a complete, smooth, chubby, tender, and cute Indra lay on the ground.

A few Asuras shared a piece of Indra’s newly grown flesh and discovered that the regenerating flesh still possessed the magical effect of enhancing and purifying strength. Innumerable Asuras went completely insane. Including Taroda, dozens of Asura Demon Kings who rushed over organized countless Asuras into a powerful defensive formation around Indra, dedicated solely to guarding him.

Dozens of Asura generals, renowned for their swordsmanship and respected by the Asura populace, cheerfully approached Indra. They set up sacrificial altars made of pure gold, placed Indra upon them, and began methodically slicing off his flesh to distribute to the Asuras present.

The other Deva leaders, witnessing this scene of Indra being sold off like a pork hog, were enraged to the point where their internal organs seemed to leap out. They were so furious they wanted to destroy the entire world. Yama and the other most powerful Devas rushed over, leading their boundless divine soldiers to join the assault on this layer of Asura city. Clouds of converging divine soldiers rolled across the sky, and the sheer pressure of their divine power made the Three-Linked City tremble.

But even more Asura Demon Kings, along with their elite marshals and generals, arrived leading their elite troops.

These Asura leaders, who had caused catastrophic disasters for the Devas in history, along with some of their allies—the Yakshas, Dragons, Mahoragas, and other Protector Deva tribes increasingly inclined toward demonic power—confronted the Devas without yielding an inch. Indra’s flesh continued to be sliced off piece by piece and distributed to the Asuras.

But this time, it was the numerous Asura Demon Kings who first received Indra’s flesh.

Led by Pishuna, the Asura Demon Kings obtained Indra’s flesh. They quickly stuffed the flesh into their mouths and chewed vigorously. A warm current surged within them, and their cultivation rapidly ascended at a speed a hundred times faster than their painstaking practice. Their demonic power, previously laden with impurities, was rapidly purifying, making them progressively stronger.

Even the great Demon Kings like Pishuna and Ravana detected a trace of terrifying lightning aura within Indra’s flesh. Through his flesh, they began to perceive the very rules of thunder. If they mastered the Law of Thunder, the Devas’ most powerful weapon against the Asuras would become completely useless.

Pishuna, the Lord of the Sixth Heaven of the Six Desires—the most calculating, the most powerful, and the highest-ranking among the Asura Demon Kings of the Protector Devas—chuckled sinisterly: “Eating Indra piece by piece is too slow. How long must we wait until all our children have eaten his flesh? Set up an altar! We shall use Indra as the sacrifice, offering the unique, precious offering of the heavens and earth to the three hundred and sixty million primordial demonic gods, and let us all gain power simultaneously!” Three hundred and sixty million primordial demonic gods? Gu Xichen’s heart spasmed violently.

He knew that the Brahmanic Demonic Arts of the Protector Devas relied on various terrible ascetic practices and sacrifices to gain in a short time the power that cultivators and Buddhist practitioners would need tens of thousands or even millions upon millions of years to acquire. This power, though mixed and impure, and inherently suppressed by immortal or Buddhist power, was undoubtedly extraordinarily strong. Gu Xichen had long been puzzled about the source of such vast power.

But listening to Pishuna, it seemed this power originated directly from the three hundred and sixty million primordial demonic gods born on the Earth Origin Star? Yet, many of those primordial demonic gods had perished or gone into seclusion, and existences like the Great Evolution Fiend Blade Balance Wheel had been fused by him. So where did the power these Protectors gained from their sacrifices truly come from?

Did some primordial demonic gods still exist in this universe? Or were they actually sacrificing to some rule beneath the Heavenly Dao, and the power they gained was essentially a reward from the Heavenly Dao’s rules?

With a subtle movement, the Primordial Spirit of Taiyin silently emerged from Gu Xichen’s body, quietly transforming into a ferocious, hideous Asura warrior, puffing its cheeks and baring its teeth as it squeezed close to the side of Pishuna and the other great Demon Kings, standing ready in the posture of a loyal guard to the great Demon Kings. With the Primordial Spirit of Taiyin nearby, it should be enough to steal the secrets of this sacrificial method, right?

Of course, this was still not entirely safe. Gu Wuchen summoned forth the Solar Primordial Spirit, which likewise morphed into an Asura warrior and slipped toward the Demon Lords.

The Celestial Deities in the void heard that the Asuras intended to use Indra as a sacrifice to offer to the Primeval Demon Gods, and these deities instantly went mad. Indra’s life or death was not their primary concern—or rather, not all the Celestial Deities had the presence of mind to care about Indra’s fate.

But they understood that if Indra, the Heavenly Emperor, were sacrificed, the Asuras would gain terrifying power from this utterly unbelievable offering—a destructive force potent enough to make the Celestial Deities tremble.

Indra’s personal cultivation level aside, his status was too unique. He was the Heavenly Emperor among the Guardian Heavens, a position acknowledged by a significant portion of the Heavenly Dao. Certainly, this Heavenly Emperor position did not compare to the stature of Haotian Shangdi, who truly commanded the Three Realms, but Indra was, after all, a certain iconic entity operating under the Heavenly Dao.

If the Asuras sacrificed him, they would undoubtedly gain immense power and unprecedented rewards, but the Celestial Deities might be even more directly erased by a segment of the Heavenly Dao’s rules. Such an event had never occurred; no one knew the terrifying repercussions should the Asuras succeed in sacrificing Indra—perhaps the entire Asura-Celestial race might vanish into thin air along with the fallout.

The Celestial Deities charged toward the Asuras, a mixture of rage and terror driving them. The situation was so grave, so horrifying, that even Yama, who was invariably the most solemn, the most level-headed, and never one to panic, became utterly bewildered. He lost all composure, his heart adrift, unsure of his whereabouts or how he should possibly react.