Zhou Di had not died completely. After Xu Qing shot his head to pieces, he underwent a bizarre new transformation. Eyes grew from his nipples, and his navel split open, becoming a mouth.

He looked just like Xingtian from the myths and legends.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

At this moment, the Sacrificial Dao Array mutated further, forming a three-layered array diagram. The formless Sacrificial Dao Power grew even more terrifying, now potent enough to affect beings of the Second Realm and even the Third Realm.

BANG!

Cangzhou Prefecture.

The phantoms of the Four Symbols Divine Beasts let out mournful cries as the Ten Thousand Spirits Four Symbols Array exploded. Countless cracks spread across the entire array before it shattered completely.

CRACK! CRACK!

Moreover, as the Ten Thousand Spirits Four Symbols Array shattered, Xu Qing’s Level 50 Wooden Buddha Bell could no longer hold. It, too, was covered in a dense web of cracks.

With a BOOM, it exploded and was completely destroyed.

’The Wooden Buddha Bell.’

Xu Qing’s mind reeled. The moment the Level 50 Wooden Buddha Bell shattered, he sensed it and looked toward the Cangzhou Prefecture.

"The Ten Thousand Spirits Four Symbols Array couldn’t hold on either!" Xu Qing said.

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!

The three-layered array diagram had formed, and the Sacrificial Dao Power it unleashed was so terrifying that even beings of the Second Realm and Third Realm were being sacrificed one after another.

"AHHH!!!"

Great Zhou Martial Country.

The Nine Provinces Land.

All across the land, piercing screams and mournful wails could be heard.

BUZZ!

A bloody mist poured from the seven orifices of countless beings, flying into the sky and merging with the Sacrificial Dao Array, making it even more terrifying.

"Huo Yuanjia!!!"

THUD!

Zhou Di had been resurrected, but without his head. He had become a headless monster, had seemingly lost his sanity, and had undergone a deceitful transformation, turning into a Deceitful creature.

"I want you dead!"

Clearly, Xu Qing’s arrow had blown Zhou Di’s head apart. Although the Sacrificial Dao Array resurrected him, the loss of his head caused a deceitful transformation during the process.

As a result, Zhou Di had transformed into a headless Deceitful creature.

From now on, Zhou Di would never be able to maintain a normal human form. Even if he succeeded and stepped into the Fifth Realm, he would never possess a true human body.

Naturally, Zhou Di’s hatred for Xu Qing had reached its absolute peak.

RUMBLE!

Zhou Di roared, locking onto Xu Qing. He raised his hands, and the Sacrificial Dao Array unleashed a vast torrent of Sacrificial Dao Power, which coalesced into black Sacrificial Dao Divine Thunder that struck down at Xu Qing.

DONG! DONG! DONG!

With a thought, Xu Qing’s pupils contracted. Sensing the appalling danger, he unhesitatingly summoned the Level 10 Cangzhou Dao Bell.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The sound of explosions erupted.

The black Sacrificial Dao Divine Thunder all struck the Level 10 Cangzhou Dao Bell but was blocked by it. Xu Qing was, for all intents and purposes, completely unharmed.

"How could this be? How?"

"He... he’s not dead..."

"Impossible! This is impossible! How can this be?!"

"It’s over... It’s all over..."

"..."

At this moment, the twelve Strongest at Perfect Law Realm Perfection revealed looks of despair. They had just played all their trump cards, believing they had utterly annihilated Zhou Di.

But in the end, Zhou Di was still not dead. He had been resurrected by the Sacrificial Dao Array, but because he had lost his head, he underwent a deceitful transformation and became a headless Deceitful creature.

Now, Canglingzi and the others had no more trump cards. They could no longer unleash an attack comparable to the Fifth Realm, and even Xu Qing had used up his trump card.

And so, Canglingzi and the others felt a profound sense of despair.

’This is a huge problem now.’

Xu Qing’s expression was incredibly grave.

"AHHH!!!"

Suddenly, at this very moment, a piercing scream rang out.

Because, as time passed, a fourth array diagram gradually formed, superimposing itself over the third. This created a fourth-layer array diagram, resembling a four-tiered altar.

And once the fourth array diagram formed and stacked with the others to become a four-layered altar, the Mighty Power of the Sacrificial Dao Array rose to another level.

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!

Even Canglingzi and the others were affected. The formless Sacrificial Dao Power acted upon their bodies, as if trying to Refine their Origin into a bloody mist and absorb it.

Most importantly, once the Sacrificial Dao Array had formed the fourth-layer array diagram, now a four-tiered altar immense enough to cover the entire Great Zhou Martial Country, chains of purple-gold light descended from it.

Moreover, these purple-gold chains were like sharp spikes falling from the sky, piercing straight into the body of the True Dragon that had been transformed from the Dragon Vein of the Great Zhou Martial Country.

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!

The True Dragon born of the Dragon Vein struggled and roared, but it was useless. It was slowly being pulled into the Sacrificial Dao Array.

With the True Dragon from the Great Zhou Martial Country’s Dragon Vein being taken away by the Sacrificial Dao Array, Canglingzi and the others had a moment of respite. Xu Qing also quickly put distance between himself and Zhou Di.

At this very moment, Xu Qing’s mind was racing, desperately trying to find a way out of this situation.

However, he had no clue what to do.

The crisis was becoming more urgent by the second.

"Hahaha..."

Zhou Di laughed wildly, his headless body radiating extreme arrogance. He savored the terror of the Sacrificial Dao Array, which had already blood-sacrificed most of the living beings in the Great Zhou Martial Country.

After all, the Sacrificial Dao Array had already formed a four-layer array diagram, turning into a four-tiered altar.

BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!

Soon, the Dragon Vein of the Great Zhou Martial Country was completely integrated into it. The Sacrificial Dao Array had been built with the nation’s Dragon Vein as its foundation in the first place.

Now, the two had simply become one.

And so, countless Array Patterns spread out and swiftly interwove. Then, above the fourth array diagram, a fifth diagram split off at an incredible speed.

CRACK!

The fifth array diagram superimposed itself upon the fourth.

If one could stand in the heavens at this moment and look down upon the entire Nine Provinces Land of the Great Zhou Martial Country, they would see that the whole nation was covered by the Sacrificial Dao Array.

However, the Sacrificial Dao Array had now evolved into a five-tiered altar. The entire five-tiered altar was majestic and enormous, glowing with a purple-gold light.

It had countless interwoven patterns.

Furthermore, its specific formation resembled a five-story pagoda.

"It’s all over."

Zhou Di looked up, noticing the change in the Sacrificial Dao Array. "The five-layered array diagram has formed. The Sacrificial Dao Array that I laid has evolved to its final stage."

"Therefore."

"All of you will become my nourishment."

"No one can escape."

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Countless explosions rang out.

The Sacrificial Dao Power surged, spreading throughout the entire array. The power generated by the five-layered array diagram was so immense that it could affect not just those in the Fourth Realm, but even those in the Fifth Realm. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Thus, Xu Qing was also affected.

"Hahaha..."

SWOOSH!

Zhou Di threw his head back and laughed wildly, feeling incomparably jubilant, excited, and thrilled. He shot into the sky, passed through the Sacrificial Dao Array, and arrived at the very top of the altar, standing in its center.

"The Celestial Dao is vast, the Human Dao is fleeting..."

Zhou Di sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. He began to chant some kind of incomprehensible scripture, his hands forming one Dharma Seal after another.

BUZZ! BUZZ!

Finally, countless streams of light surged into Zhou Di’s body.

"AHHH!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream rang out.

The Fengdu Deceitful King was the first to fall. He let out an extremely piercing cry as his entire body was forcibly Refined into a sky full of Deceitful Mist by the Sacrificial Dao Power.

Of course, this Deceitful Mist was the Origin of the Fengdu Deceitful King.

Now, it was all absorbed by the Sacrificial Dao Array.

’How could this happen?!’

Despair.

Profound despair.

At this moment, the Demon Lord and the Demon Lord also fell one after another. They had exhausted all their means and unleashed all sorts of Divine Techniques, no longer hoping to kill Zhou Di, but merely trying to break through the Sacrificial Dao Array’s blockade.

Obviously, that was impossible.

If they had tried when the Sacrificial Dao Array first formed, Xu Qing and the others would have actually had enough power to break the blockade and escape the Great Zhou Martial Country.

Unfortunately, the Sacrificial Dao Array was now complete. Forget Xu Qing and the others; even an ordinary Fifth Realm expert trapped inside would likely be unable to escape.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two loud bangs.

The Demon Lord and the Demon Lord were sacrificed one after the other.

Three of the twelve Strongest at Perfect Law Realm Perfection had now been sacrificed.

As time went on...

The Master of the Confucian Sect of the Great Zhou Martial Country, the Master of the Martial Sect of the Great Zhou Martial Country, the Master of the Immortal Sect of the Great Zhou Martial Country, and so on—they too were all sacrificed after exhausting all their means.

They couldn’t resist.

They couldn’t fight back.

The completed Sacrificial Dao Array was no longer something Xu Qing and the others could oppose.

DONG! DONG! DONG!

Xu Qing summoned the Level 10 Cangzhou Dao Bell, forming a defense that shielded his entire body. It temporarily blocked the Sacrificial Dao Power that was constantly spreading from the completed Sacrificial Dao Array.

However, Xu Qing could feel the state of the Level 10 Cangzhou Dao Bell. In ten minutes at most, the Level 10 Cangzhou Dao Bell would also be destroyed by the Sacrificial Dao Power.

When that time came, even Xu Qing would be unable to stand against the completed Sacrificial Dao Array.

They were on completely different levels.

"AHHH!!!"

Xu Qing heard another scream.

"Amitabha Buddha!"

THUD!

The Master of the Buddhist Sect of the Great Zhou Martial Country perished. After uttering the Buddha’s name, he transformed into a sky full of golden mist, which was all absorbed and Refined by the Sacrificial Dao Array.

’Damn it!’

Xu Qing’s expression was grave, his face incredibly dark. ’The twelve Strongest at Perfect Law Realm Perfection are almost all dead. Even the Master of the Buddhist Sect of the Great Zhou Martial Country has perished.’

’Now, only Canglingzi, the Master of the Daoist Sect of the Great Zhou Martial Country, is left.’

"Huo Yuanjia."

Canglingzi shouted, his face pale, "Do you have any other ideas? This poor Daoist can’t hold on much longer! Is everything really going to go according to Zhou Di’s will?"

Xu Qing took a deep breath but didn’t respond to Canglingzi.

Because Xu Qing truly couldn’t think of any way out.

"AHHH!!!"

The next moment, a piercing scream rang out.

Canglingzi followed in the others’ footsteps. His entire body was sacrificed into a mist of light, which was then Refined by the Sacrificial Dao Array and used to Sacrifice to the heavens...