The sudden intrusion of Jiang Chen’s name in the conversation left a profound impression on the demons.
Forefather Celestial stayed silent for some time. His unreadable eyes swept past his fellow forefathers. Other than the Celestial Demon Seven, the other nine tribes had suffered grievous losses and totalled a mere twenty-something forefathers when put together, well short of thirty.
Such a paltry number simply beggared belief.
The golden tribe had been almost entirely eradicated. Forefather Goldenhowl was the only one left, other than a small group coming from the desolate wildlands. Busy with missions in other territories, this group hadn’t followed the rest of the tribe to Myriad Abyss, or they would’ve been slaughtered as well.
Out of eagerness for fame, the golden tribe had turned out in full force and led the charge in Myriad Abyss. For this precise reason, they’d been struck down the most.
But the wood tribe wasn’t far behind. To this day, not a single one of them had returned from Eternal.
A spare force had stayed behind in the desolate wildlands, but it was nothing more than a single divine forefather leading a handful of soldiers. It wasn’t nearly enough to salvage their authority among the ten tribes.
Not to be outdone, the monster and giant tribes’ fighting potential had also been cut down to a third.
The blood tribe was far better off. Having stayed away from Myriad Abyss’ turmoil until now, they’d been spared similar disgrace.
The yin tribe likewise hadn’t been involved thus far. As a result, other than Forefather Stonefiend sealed in the human domain, they were mostly unscathed.
Jiang Chen had killed another demon sealed in the human domain: Forefather Evilshadow of the shadow tribe. However, this tribe had also lost Forefather Shadowless as a result of his partic.i.p.ation in the battle at the Rejuvenation Isles.
As for the winged and fire tribes, their rank and file was mostly safe and sound, but the first batch of their forefathers had died to the last.
All in all, those were staggering casualties.
The celestial and blood tribes were the only ones entirely intact. Everyone else had been hit to some degree.
Forefather Celestial gravely said, “This is my cross to bear. This disaster stems from my misjudgment. To think a single, untried young human would end up wounding us more severely than the entire previous war combined!
“Something else must be afoot. Summon everyone who’s seen him. Their cultivation matters not, we need to learn every single detail about his fighting abilities!”
He’d realized by now this youngster could shake the very foundations of his race and was prepared to take every precaution in reply.
As it turned out, not many had seen the young lord in person, but there were thankfully some exceptions. Goldenhowl was one of them, but he’d been thoroughly played, taken on a merry chase and denied the opportunity to fight the runt until the very end.
Hence, as the first one questioned by Forefather Celestial, he could only offer a ghastly smile.
“I’d recognize him anywhere, even if he was a pile of ash, but don’t ask me how he fights. He ran circles around me. d.a.m.n it, I’ve been smart my entire life, but walked straight into this brat’s trap!”
In fact, most at the scene could more or less empathize with him.
They all knew of his outstanding strength. He’d been the most powerful demon to previously set foot on Myriad Abyss and ranked in the top five, arguably top three among their race.
His misfortune secretly amused the other tribes, but the situation was too grim for them to rejoice.
Subsequently, the other demon cultivators narrated their own tales, gradually painting together a detailed picture about Jiang Chen and his battle characteristics.
Counting off his fingers, Forefather Celestial summarized, “First, powerful divine realm sacred beasts fight by his side. Second, he has a treasure that can paralyze his opponent. Third, he possesses another item that s.h.i.+nes with a divine light as blinding as the sun…”
A blood demon forefather suddenly opened his eyes at the third factor, crying out despite himself, “A divine light as blinding as the sun? Can it be… the Great Verluriyam Torch?”
Forefather Celestial himself showed a reaction at this name.
The Ancient Veluriyam Palace had been one of the most powerful human sects in the past, the number one leading faction. Other than Celestial himself, no demons could match the Great Divine Veluriyam in strength.
The torch itself was this human’s supreme treasure and had caused no small amount of grief to many a demon G.o.d, so they weren’t unfamiliar with it.
“It’s very likely, very likely!” Forefather Celestial murmured, an intense glow in his eyes. “To think there are people left who can still use it! Old man Veluriyam seems to have found a successor.”
Not even he could dismiss the Great Divine Veluriyam’s strength. This human was the chief reason mankind hadn’t been conquered.
But his extraordinary power was the least of his qualities. More prevalent were his charisma, discerning eye, his logistics insight, and most of all, his prestige among his kin.
He’d rallied what had been a fragmented lot and unified mankind into an organized whole. Resistance would have been a pipe dream without his presence, but humans had ultimately weathered the demonic onslaught, before luring them step by step deeper into a trap before ultimately sealing them.
Before that, the Great Divine Veluriyam had also eliminated quite a few demon forefathers with his own hands. If demons were to have nightmares about humans, this man would definitely take center stage.
“The kid seems to possess a miraculous escape skill as well. Not even Daoist Goldenhowl could capture him. He’s probably obtained the Divine Veluriyam Talismans,” someone added.
“But he s.h.i.+ed away from a direct confrontation with Daoist Goldenhowl. It’s proof he can’t match Daoist Goldenhowl in strength. This gives us a rough idea about his ability.”