“A pox upon this Celestial Tribulation! Accursed whelp, did you dare despoil my Heavenly Demon Prefecture’s capital?! ” roared a voice, thick with ancient fury.

“Damnation! Cursed be all! Cursed be this child, and doubly cursed be this Tribulation!” another voice bellowed, laced with venomous rage.

A third voice, however, erupted in mad laughter. “Ha! This Celestial Tribulation! My ancestors were born amidst such trials, cultivating by overcoming them! Today, I shall see for myself the potency of this so-called heavenly might!”

The furious roars thundered from the earth, and from the ruins of the once-proud capital, a deafening rumble, rivaling the very heavens, arose.

Five titanic surges of energy erupted from the ground, piercing upwards. Though the oppressive might of the heavens bore down, these surges shattered the air for a full ten fathoms.

Within these bursts of power were five ancient figures, their hair white as winter frost, yet their eyes burned with an unholy, demonic light. The passage of countless years etched itself upon their wizened faces. They were bare-chested, their gaunt bodies radiating a primal aura of untamed wildness.

The crimson clouds roiling above convulsed, descending a further three inches, a celestial frown upon the world.

The very ground beneath the ruined capital splintered and groaned. Wang Lin, caught in the maelstrom, felt blood seeping from his pores. The bones within his body creaked and groaned under immense pressure, and his flesh felt as though crushed beneath mountains.

He stood, his feet planted, as the earth crumbled around him, his legs sinking to the knee.

An oppressive weight, carrying the very decree of the heavens, descended, directly assailing his mind. A voice of unimaginable authority roared within his very soul.

Wang Lin, struggling, lifted his gaze to the sky, silent but defiant.

Amidst this heavenly terror, the five elders seemed not to suffer, but rather erupted in raucous laughter. With a defiant ‘whoop,’ they levitated from the shattered earth, suspended in mid-air.

“Ah, this feels magnificent!” cried one of the elders. “No wonder our forebears said that while Heavenly Might is nothing but donkey dung, it feels so good to be crushed by it!”

“Lies!” countered another. “When did they say such drivel? They clearly stated that the Heavenly Dao is nothing more than a harlot! If you don’t want to be pinned beneath her, you need to find a way to pin her beneath *you*!”

“You both spout utter nonsense!” a third interjected. “I have read every tome left by our ancestors a hundred times over! Never have I seen such words!”

The five elders fell into a heated squabble, each vying to have the last word.

The heavens, incensed, reacted. The crimson clouds surged downwards a full eight inches!

The ground roared, the entire capital’s surface collapsing beneath the pressure, sending a shockwave rippling outwards. Though no dust rose, the earth pulsed with serpentine cracks, extending far beyond the ruined city, touching even the outer reaches of the Heavenly Demon City.

The five elders fell silent. As if struck by an unseen hand, they plunged from the sky, crashing back into the earth.

Wang Lin, at the epicenter of the heavenly assault, heard the sickening crack of bone. His legs, already buried, sank further, until only a fraction of his torso remained above the shattered ground.

The five elders, scrambling to their feet, shook their fists at the heavens, cursing with unbridled fury.

“We are descendants of the Ancient Demons! We reside beyond the Law! We are beyond the Heavenly Dao! Your donkey dung Celestial Tribulation has no power over us!”

As they shouted, a torrential wave of demonic energy washed over the city. The five elders rose into the air, their demonic power enveloping everything. Together, they soared upwards, aiming directly for the heart of the crimson storm.

The wrath of the heavens unleashed itself again. This time, the crimson clouds plummeted a full fathom!

The entirety of the Heavenly Demon City seemed to be crushed in a single, colossal hand, transforming into ash and dust.

The earth buckled and split with earth-shattering force, fissures widening to yawning chasms. The ground beneath the Heavenly Demon City shattered completely.

Wang Lin coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body nearing complete collapse. In an instant, he was buried deep within the earth, leaving behind only a deep, ravaged pit.

The five elders, moments away from striking the crimson clouds, were hurled back down to earth once more, leaving behind five more craters in the ravaged landscape.

“Damned Celestial Tribulation! You destroyed my Heavenly Demon City! I’ll fight you to the death!” roared one of the elders, erupting from his crater in a rage.

Wang Lin was beyond feeling. Buried deep beneath the surface, all sensation had left him. His meridians were shattered, his bones pulverized.

To fight the heavens was to embrace annihilation.

Yet, Wang Lin’s eyes remained open, blazing with defiance. His body could be crushed, his soul shattered, but his spirit remained unbroken.

“Mortals cultivate and seek to ascend, often avoiding the Heavenly Dao’s punishment by any means necessary,” whispered a voice, echoing in the depths of Wang Lin’s mind.

“The Heavenly Dao does not fear those who seek to evade it, for to harbor such intent is to no longer be truly defiant.”

“The Heavenly Dao fears only those who do not flee, but choose to fight. Such beings are erased, and you are not the first, nor will you be the last…”

“Others ascend without triggering such Tribulation; you, however, chose to directly confront the Heavenly Dao. Thus, Tribulation descends!”

“The Heavenly Dao does not allow the emergence of a third type of defiant being. In the dawn of the cosmos, a race existed, as old as the heavens themselves. Some possessed unmatched strength, proving the Dao through might and defying the heavens through sheer force. Others wielded powers that could shatter the very Dao, resisting with overwhelming celestial arts. Others revelled in slaughter, their bloodlust altering the very fabric of reality!”

“They called themselves… the Ancient Ones.”

“The Celestial Tribulation could not break them; the might of the heavens could not force them to submit. They became the first kind of defiant being.”

“Millennia passed, and the Ancient Ones fragmented. The wielders of unparalleled strength called themselves the Ancient Gods. The blood-soaked wielders of slaughter became the Ancient Devils, and the masters of Dao-shattering celestial powers… the Ancient Demons! They became the second kind of defiant being!” The voice whispered, Wang Lin’s body was breaking; still, his mind remained calm.

“Are you… an Ancient Demon?”

“I… am an Ancient Demon.”
Wang Lin pondered in silence.

“Alas, I am incomplete. From the moment of my awakening, I was within the Demon Drum. I can sense it; its very hide is a fragment of my former self. For countless ages, I have been bound to this drum, unable to stray too far. Through certain arcane powers, I crafted the Dragon Pool, and instructed its people.”

“I can sense within this Demon Spirit Land, that in the other eight Demon Counties, there exist others like myself. They have chosen a similar path, creating their own places of enlightenment, akin to the Dragon Pool, and nurturing their own peoples…”

“Over these endless years, I and these others like myself have communicated, yet we have never… never been able to unify our thoughts. Each seeks to devour the others, to grow stronger. This, perhaps, is the only way for us to become whole!”

“Thus, the Demon Spirit Nine Counties have been locked in ceaseless war for ages. The arrival of cultivators has tilted this endless struggle. It is why you, mortals of cultivation, are permitted to exist within the Demon Spirit Land.”

Wang Lin’s spiritual sense echoed, “There is a reason for your coming to me with such words.”

“Indeed. I can aid in the restoration of your form, help you weather the Tribulation of the Heavens. Within the Heavenly Demon County, I can grant you sufficient power. In return, I require a task from you: to retrieve the sacred artifacts from the other eight counties!”

Wang Lin remained silent, a long moment passing. Slowly, he spoke, “The Demon Spirit Land has existed for an age untold. I cannot be the only Defier of the Heavens to appear…”

Before Wang Lin could finish, the voice sighed, cutting him off gently. “You are not the first Defier. But you are the first to cultivate the path of the Ancient God from the body of a mortal! I can sense the aura of the Ancient God upon you; faint, yet pure.”

“Those I have instructed within the Demon Spirit Land cannot bear my power. Their mortal forms are too weak to contain my essence, even the strongest among them. For I am not of their kind!”

“The bodies of cultivators, though stronger than those of this land, are still limited. Only a rare few can endure a sliver of my strength…”

“You are more suitable than any other. This is why I have chosen you.”

Wang Lin paused, then said evenly, “Restore my body, and grant me the power to defy the Heavenly Tribulation!”

“As you wish,” the voice resonated.

In that instant, buried deep within the earth, Wang Lin’s physical form was enveloped by a vast, ethereal power. At an impossible speed, he began to heal. His meridians reconnected, stronger than before.

Bone upon bone solidified, completely restored, their very structure reforged with tenfold strength.

Flesh renewed itself in a blink. All of this was accomplished in a mere moment.

Celestial power coursed through Wang Lin, flowing through his meridians. Simultaneously, the vast power that surrounded him contracted, merging into Wang Lin’s very being.

Above, the five elders had just struggled from the pit. They were about to unleash their fury, but they froze. Their eyes snapped toward the pit where Wang Lin lay.

“That… that is the aura of the Ancestor?” one elder breathed, eyes wide.

“It feels like the Ancestor…”

From the depths of the pit, Wang Lin’s body rose. His long hair flowed without wind, his eyes remained closed, yet an immeasurable demonic force emanated from him.

Despite the pressure of the heavens, Wang Lin ascended. It was as if the power of the celestial realm could not hinder him. As he rose, the demonic force around him solidified behind him, taking the shape of a phantom one hundred yards tall!

The phantom possessed two great horns, and a chilling aura. Its skin was the color of bruised twilight. Its emergence caused the crimson clouds above to tremble, accompanied by the roars of thunder.

It was as if a demon god had been born into the world!