Two full moons stood adjacent across the heavens, one blood-red and the other scorching emerald, both buzzing and humming with unnatural, eerie sounds as they painted the western half of the world crimson and the eastern half emerald. The stars had been replaced by millions of ghastly souls flying in circles, letting out unsettling cries accompanied by the scraping sound of metal chains dragging across the ground.
The space within a thousand li of a breathtaking mountain was riddled with bends and tears, highly unstable. However, even that paled in comparison to the great mountain painted red with blood. At its feet lay tens of millions of corpses, both human and monster alike, floating in a river of blood that completely submerged the foot of the mountain.
"Bi Si, you scoundrel! Your time has finally come!"
"Bi Si! Your debt from a century ago, I have come to collect!"
"You villain, I told you I would live to see your demise! It turns out that night is tonight!"
"Bi Si! Three centuries ago, you reverse refined my entire clan to further your demonic cultivation. Unfortunately for you, I, Li Mu, survived, and today I shall repay the favor tenfold!"
"Bi Si! My wife! You stole my wife twice!!!!"
Curses rained down from every corner. Soldiers numbering in the tens of thousands maintained tight formation, their generals and commanders hidden within the encirclement as they hurled threats at the lone figure standing at the center of the mountaintop. Their eyes burned with hatred, yet the terror infesting their hearts betrayed them completely.
Even though they held the advantage in numbers, none of them dared advance. A dying dragon was still a dragon. A single swipe of its claws could swat a tiger dead. Only the divine general of death could command such terror and hatred from his enemies at the same time.
Contrary to expectation, the divine general of death was a young man who looked no older than eighteen, with snow-white hair so long it rested upon the blood-soaked ground beneath his feet. His skin was as pale as the moon, and his eyes were emerald with a trace of darkness shaped like slits, giving them a distinctly reptilian look.
The man was dressed in black and green robes, garments clearly intended for celebration. He wore no armor. His body was riddled with countless deep gashes and stab wounds. Dozens of arrows and spears clung tightly to his flesh, while his black dragon glaive, smeared in blood, dripped fresh crimson from its tip.
Bi Si's face was elegant, composed, and empty, even in this crucial moment. There was no fear, no regret, no rage. His eyes reflected the emptiness in his heart.
'It has been five centuries since I began walking this path…'
Bi Si raised his face toward the millions of souls dancing in circles across the heavens. Every single one of them had once been a member of his undying horde, terrorizing the central plains at his beck and call.
'I gave so much for this… for this very day…'
'The day I was meant to become a God is the day I finally meet my demise? Hehe… the irony.'
Bi Si slowly shut his eyes, silently enjoying the cool mountain breeze brushing against his face, causing his hair and robes to whip in its wake.
His mind raced as memories of his entire life flashed before his eyes in an instant. From a nameless slave of the Bi clan who suffered beneath a cruel master, to the day he stumbled upon the manual of that demonic supreme art that promised immortality and invincibility to any who cultivated it diligently.
Its demands had started simple, but they had quickly turned ugly as he rose through the ranks and built his own army. In its defense, it had kept its promise. He had remained undefeated… until today.
From a mere slave, he had become the patriarch of a noble family, then a general, then a king of a subsidiary kingdom under the Great Gan Dynasty, and finally the rebel leader of the greatest revolutionary army in the history of the Gan Dynasty.
Through all of it, Bi Si had sought only one thing: the immortality his supreme art had promised him.
"On the day of the two heavens' descent, one hundred million lives will be lost beneath the eyes of the two moons, and only then will the gates of heaven open…" he muttered.
For this simple goal, Bi Si had traveled far and wide, reaching the edges of the continent in search of knowledge.
For this simple goal, he had started wars that led to the deaths of tens of millions.
For this simple goal, he had followed the sickening method of preserving his youth that his supreme art had provided.
He had lived for over five centuries, watching everyone dear to him die one tragedy after another. On this very day, after centuries of war and after capturing and enslaving millions, he had ordered his army to execute them before falling on their own blades, all to complete the one hundred million demanded.
Never had he imagined that the ritual would be ruined at its most crucial point. Not only had he been badly wounded, but the backlash had also fatally damaged his soul. He was only half a step away from death…
"YET I REGRET NOTHING!" Bi Si's eyes snapped open, and his grip on his dragon glaive tightened until the sound of bending steel rang through the air.
The entire army of tens of thousands sucked in sharp breaths as the vanguards raised their shields and closed the gaps within the shield wall. Archers nocked their arrows, while commanders and generals held their breath, their undiluted focus fixed entirely on Bi Si's figure.
"That rascal is about to make a move!"
"A dying dragon is still a dragon! Don't lower your guard!"
"Villain, I'm not afraid of you! Come on, let's get it over with!"
"BI SI, WHERE IS MY WIFE?!!!"
Bi Si listened to their trembling voices and frantic movements, inhaling their fear as though it were nourishment, causing his emerald eyes to burn with fiercer power.
"Be it in life or in death. My Undying horde answers to me alone!"
Buzz!
With those words came an unnatural chill. The mountain winds grew fiercer, causing eyes to dart around in panic.
Dong!
As he slammed his weapon against the ground, a strange bell-like war drum resounded, accompanied by bursts of dark green fire erupting from the torches scattered across the mountain, the very torches initially prepared for his ritual. The millions of souls orbiting beneath the two moons halted at once, their gazes lowering in response to the voice of their divine general of death.
"He is using that technique again? Impossible!"
"That's impossible! His meridians have ruptured, and his soul is damaged. He shouldn't be able to!"
"He must be willing to burn whatever remains of his lifespan to deal with us. Even in death, you refuse to repent of your sins!"
"BI SI, HAND OVER MY WIFE BEFORE YOU DIE!!!!"
Hmph!
Veil of Undying Legion!
"Heed my call, my Legion. Rise from the graves, pits, ditches, fields, oceans, seas, rivers, and deserts. Ride for your general one last time!"
Dark green miasma surged out of Bi Si's body, spreading to every corner of the mountain, seeping through cracks beneath shields and flowing into the corpses scattered everywhere, through their noses, eyes, mouths, and even their ears.
The bodies began trembling, fidgeting, and jolting as unintelligible sounds escaped their mouths. Limbs twitched. Hands clenched into fists, then loosened again. Slowly, one by one, they began dragging themselves off the ground.
Tension soared as the corpses scattered around and even among the army began rising as well, gripping hearts with terror. Before the commanders and generals could issue any orders, their armies had already collapsed into panic, with everyone fleeing in every direction.
At the final moment, they had already lost hope. The divine general of death was a figure who could single-handedly turn the dead into his personal army. He had never lost wars because the dead, whether they had belonged to his side or the enemy's, were all his to command.
Fighting him was the same as fighting him and all your allies at once. The moment someone died, they became an enemy. The memories of the terrors they had endured against this demonic horde were still fresh in their minds. It was not an experience anyone wished to suffer through a second time.
However…
Cha!
Everyone froze, and their heads slowly turned in Bi Si's direction. One of the zombies he had summoned had wrapped a hand around his neck like a woman embracing a man, its teeth buried deep into his throat.
With one savage pull, black blood jetted out with astonishing force, spraying more than thirty zhang from his position. He staggered back, his hand hovering over his mangled throat, yet his eyes remained empty and his mind stayed calm.
A hint of surprise flashed through his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by understanding. Demonic arts were brutal. Once they sensed weakness, they turned to bite their wielder.
By then, the soldiers finally caught on to what was happening as all the zombies began charging at Bi Si with cruel, ravenous eyes.
Harrumph!
Grabbing the zombie that had bitten him by the head, Bi Si crushed it in one hand, causing blood and brain matter to splatter in every direction, some of it even staining his cold face.
The next moment, he was swarmed by several zombies. His glaive flashed, and with a single swing, dozens were torn in half, their bodies blasted apart and hurled in multiple directions by the sheer force of the strike, causing everyone watching to gasp in shock.
Bi Si had just had his throat ripped open, yet he remained as fierce and ruthless as ever. Truly, a dying dragon was still a dragon. Even tigers did not dare approach.
Keeeeeeesssssshhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiii!
Millions of souls cried out, their resentful voices weaving together into a symphony of terror as they swarmed downward like an endless horde, covering the entire sky.
Bi Si said nothing and showed nothing. With mechanical precision, he raised his glaive above his head, and dark emerald qi burst from his body with overwhelming might, though only for a fleeting instant.
Blegh!
The black dragon glaive fell to the ground with a heavy bang as Bi Si grabbed at his throat and coughed up mouthful after mouthful of black blood with violent force. He gagged and gasped for air as though he were drowning in his own blood.
Gah!
One after another, vengeful souls poured into his body, wreaking havoc on his flesh, mind, and soul all at once. He staggered back and forth, swaying from side to side, barely remaining upright beneath the assault.
At the same time, dozens of zombies rushed forward. Some drove broken weapons into his chest, back, neck, and even his arms. Others leapt onto him, sank their teeth into his flesh, and tore him apart piece by piece.
The broken army stared in absolute silence as Bi Si's gruesome end unfolded before their eyes. The man who had ravaged the Central Divine Continent with an undying army, causing more than thirty percent of its population to meet gruesome
ends at his hands, was now being brutally torn apart by the same evil that had helped him destroy so many lives.
This… this was justice!