Chapter 235: Chapter 229: Darkness in Turmoil!
So, they’re really from the Shenxiao Sect...
Hearing Qi Xiu announce his identity, Feng Siji silently nodded. Even ancient major sects like the Shenxiao Sect have dispatched disciples down the mountain.
It seemed the situation in Dianchuan Province had become perilously unstable.
Though the Fire God Sect is not an Ancient Sect Nobility, as one of the strongest new sects beneath the ancient teachings, its strength is not to be underestimated. They also controlled quite a few channels and resources. Otherwise, they would not have been able to lie in ambush here, waiting for an opportunity to assassinate these Demonic Evil Cultivators.
Seeing a great cultivator from the Shenxiao Sect like Qi Xiu arrive on the front lines, Feng Siji immediately understood. It seemed the situation in Dianchuan Province had indeed slipped to the edge of a cliff. One misstep could lead to a plunge into the abyss.
"Fellow Daoist Feng, your ability to lead everyone here to resist the Demonic Evil Cultivators makes you a true model for us cultivators."
"Not at all, Brother Qi. Your techniques are heaven-reaching. With just two Rune Arrays, you managed to defeat these thousands of Demonic Evil Cultivators. Compared to you, I, Feng, am far inferior."
Having witnessed Qi Xiu’s methods firsthand, Feng Siji was sincerely filled with admiration. Although the Fire God Sect also specialized in aggressive combat, and he himself was a Blood-Stained Great Cultivator, for him to eliminate such a large number of Demonic Evil Cultivators with the ease Qi Xiu demonstrated, as if picking flowers... Truthfully, he knew he was not capable of it.
"Heh, you are too kind."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Qi Xiu prepared to depart.
Now, almost all the Demonic Evil Cultivators entrenched in the entire Divine Sorrow Ridge and the northwest region of Dianchuan Province had emerged from their lairs. The 360 groups of Demonic Evil Cultivators previously hidden within the province had all sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, revealing themselves. Their numbers were far greater than any major sect or noble family had estimated. And among these Demonic Evil Cultivators, pure-blooded Demons accounted for almost half.
Pure-blooded Demons, with their intrinsically exceptional bloodlines, possessed formidable combat strength. Unless they were cultivators from an Ancient Sect Nobility, ordinary Human Cultivators would need at least a two-to-one, or even three-to-one, advantage to match a peer-level Demon. However, the disciples and clansmen of the Ancient Sect Nobility were ultimately few in number. To face this overwhelming tide of Demonic Evil Cultivators, the main force still consisted of the more numerous, but ordinarily powerful, Human Cultivators.
And now that the Demonic Evil Cultivators had suddenly displayed such a vast force, the Human Race of Dianchuan Province was beginning to feel overwhelmed.
Just as Qi Xiu took action and dealt with the wave of Demonic Evil Cultivators sweeping towards Yangshan Prefecture, a life-and-death battle, a maelstrom of blood and violence, had thoroughly erupted on the border between the Human Race territories and the Demonic lands of Dianchuan Province. The border between the two powers—Yangshan, Yuantong, Shuyang, Meitan, Qingjun, and Baiwu—all six prefectures had turned into battlefields.
Almost every sect and noble family among Dianchuan Province’s ten major Ancient Sects and eight great houses had joined the battle, along with numerous minor sects and families. Furthermore, the County Yamen had mobilized 8,000,000 troops of the Demon-suppressing Army! The number of Human Race forces invested in the battle had approached 10,000,000!
The land shattered, and the sun and moon lost their light! Demons danced wildly, and mournful cries filled the air. Every inch of land was stained red, transforming it into a scene akin to the hellish realm of Abi.
No one knew when this endless battle would conclude, how many Human Cultivators had died, how many cities had fallen, or how many civilians had suffered. The cultivators who joined this great war only knew one thing: if they could not staunchly hold back this dark tide, the entire Dianchuan Province would be completely transformed into a kingdom of Demons. The billions of civilians within the province would all become food for the Demonic Evil Cultivators.
However, the forces mobilized by the Demonic Evil Cultivators this time far exceeded the estimates of the County Yamen and the Righteous Path forces.
「Three days after the darkness erupted.」
The number of Human Cultivators who had perished in battle had already reached a terrifying 100,000! This figure was already greater than the total number of cultivators who had fallen in Dianchuan Province over the past century. Some of the minor sects and families were directly wiped out. Nearly every day, a large number of cultivators perished. Their protective Body-Protecting True Gang shattered, falling from the sky like meteor showers. But as long as the turmoil did not settle, the sacrifices would not end.
「On the seventh day of the outbreak of darkness.」
The seven Kings of the Divine Sorrow Ridge appeared on the battlefield! The arrival of these Dao Experts dramatically shifted the tides of battle.
As Primordial Spirit Bosses represented the pinnacle of this world, taking action would entangle them in significant karma, detrimental to themselves. Thus, they seldom acted unless absolutely necessary. Thus, Dao Experts were the true supreme powers on the field. A single Dao Expert could reverse the tide across a large swath of the battlefield.
The arrival of the seven Kings immediately cast a pall over the entire battlefield. The Human Race forces of the Righteous Path felt immense pressure, their morale plummeting. The Demonic Evil Cultivators, on the other hand, grew even more rampant and arrogant.
The Dao Body Realm was an entirely transcendent state. The gap between it and the Blood-Stained Realm was even greater than that between ordinary mortals and Blood-Stained Great Cultivators. They were simply not existences on the same level. A thousand Blood-Stained Realm cultivators, facing a single Dao Expert, could only scatter and flee.
However, the pressure from the seven Kings lasted only for a moment before being suppressed by an endless, brilliant, and dazzling starlight that descended from the heavens. Above the smoky, gray, and sullied sky, great chasms had appeared, from which pure, bright starlight poured down.
Five towering figures, adorned in robes seemingly woven from constellations and wearing tall crowns, their faces hidden in shadow, made a majestic entrance. These were Dao Experts. They were from one of the ten Ancient Sects of Dianchuan Province: Star Mansion Sea Cliff!
"If you Dao Experts wish to enter the fray, then we shall certainly accompany you. We’ll see who kills more, and faster," the five Dao Experts of Star Mansion Sea Cliff spoke in unison.
Instantly, the sky blazed with the light of over a hundred million dazzling stars, each vaguely targeting the spot between the eyebrows of every Demon on the battlefield!
As one of the Ancient Sects, Star Mansion Sea Cliff ranked third among the ten Ancient Sects, second only to the Shenxiao Sect. Their sect’s True Scripture Volume, the *Beidou Polar Star True Martial Mysterious Skill Secret*, could channel the power of the Big Dipper starfield. The Big Dipper governs death; the Southern Dipper governs life! Thus, the combat power of Star Mansion Sea Cliff’s cultivators was extremely formidable. When the starlight shone down, an inescapable aura of death and slaughter descended. In terms of pure destructive power, it was even superior to the Shenxiao Thunder Skill.
Seeing that the five Dao Experts from Star Mansion Sea Cliff were about to channel the Big Dipper’s starlight and take direct action, the seven Kings, knowing their task was merely to delay, turned and retreated, not daring to engage in a true fight to the death. And seeing the seven Kings retreat, the five Dao Experts from Star Mansion Sea Cliff also gradually vanished.
Dao Experts did not directly participate in the battle. This was an unspoken understanding between the Human Race and the Demons. Because once those of the Dao Body Realm joined the slaughter, the destructive power and casualty count would increase exponentially. For the time being, neither the Human Race nor the Demonic Evil Cultivators wished to see this situation unfold.
And so, this battle, akin to a meat grinder, continued to churn amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood...
「...」
"Search! That Daoist must be hiding within these mountains! He bears the blood imprint of our kinsmen. The moment he dares to activate his Escape Light, I will immediately sense it!"
"Search!"
"Even if we have to turn this mountain range upside down, we must drag him out!"
Dark clouds roiled, and demonic aura surged skyward. An Elephant Demon—with a greasy, green-fanged face, wearing tattered armor, and possessing enormous ears—carried a giant spiked mace, its blood-red eyes blazing with killing intent. Beside it stood five Blood-Stained Realm Demons, wreathed in demonic aura and roiling demonic clouds, their presence ferocious. These five Demons had overbearing auras, each standing dozens of zhang tall. They stood upon the Demonic Poison Cloud in mid-air, resembling a mountain range spanning the horizon—majestic and terrifying.
Deep within the mountain range beneath these five terrifying Demons, Qi Xiu, situated within the Hunyuan Palace, narrowed his eyes. He looked up, calmly observing the five Demons above, each at least at the sixth layer of the Blood-Stained Realm.
This Elephant Demon has been consistently after me. Even if I stay within the Hunyuan Palace and let them pass, it will turn around and catch up in no time. There must be something on me that allows it to continually track my whereabouts.
Scanning himself from head to toe, Qi Xiu’s eyes glinted with a purple light as he meticulously examined every inch, leaving no spot unchecked.
Nothing?
Confirming there were no marks of any kind on his physical body, Qi Xiu furrowed his brows.
I am protected by Human Path Merit; thus, all divination and calculation Dharma Gates are ineffective against me. But how is this Elephant Demon able to find me every time?
Stroking the Golden Cry Jade Beads on his wrist, Qi Xiu lowered his gaze in thought.
If I cannot eliminate this Elephant Demon’s tracking method, I’ll have to keep ducking and hiding. These Demons are powerful and of pure-blood lineage. It’s difficult for me to take them all down alone. Right! If it’s not on my physical body, could it be... on my soul?
With a flash of insight, Qi Xiu abruptly thought of his soul.
Unity of spirit and flesh!
Within the Ancestral Aperture between his brows, Qi Xiu’s soul slowly opened its eyes. A streak of purple light flowed as, using the Observing Qi Skill, he began to meticulously inspect his own soul form.
A moment later, Qi Xiu’s gaze suddenly sharpened.
There really is something!
He saw it on the back of his soul form’s ankle: an extremely ancient, beast-shaped character was emitting a faint red glow, suffused with the aura of a venomous Curse.
This must be how that Elephant Demon has been able to track me.
His gaze flickered as Qi Xiu carefully recalled when this mark might have been placed on him.
Could it be...
A memory involuntarily surfaced, and Qi Xiu had a sudden realization. Many years ago, not long after he had started cultivating, he had tricked three Demons in a place called Red Flower Town. Later, he had used the power of his Entering Dao Heavenly Gang Calamity to severely wound the three Demons. After successfully reaching the Initiate Realm, he had slain those three Demons! As the three Demons lay dying, their leader, a Lion Demon, had furiously roared that they were from the Gu Clan. If he dared to kill them, an elder from their clan would surely come to seek revenge.
I didn’t expect that after all these years since the young ones died, the old one has finally come looking.
Shaking his head with a slight chuckle, now understanding the situation, Qi Xiu rolled up his sleeves, his gaze lowering.
Back when I, Qi, was in the Common Realm, I was able to trick and kill your three juniors. Now that I, Qi, have become a great cultivator, I must naturally treat all with the same regard. Since you all have been relentlessly pursuing me... Then I, Qi, shall be generous. I’ll send you all to your deaths.