"Considered rogue cultivators, I suppose. I'm Jiu You, he's Lin Qiu," Jiu You nodded and gave a brief introduction.
"Thanks, Miss Jiu You, Brother Lin," Feng Changnian plopped down in front of the campfire, gasping for breath.
"This God-Demon Battlefield is incredibly dangerous at night. We don't dare wander around. It's a stroke of luck to run into you two."
Jiu You nodded, feeding the fire, but didn't say much.
"You mentioned a Demon ruin earlier?" Xu Zimo asked curiously.
"Technically, it's the tomb of a powerful Demon," Feng Changnian replied. "This must be your first time here in the God-Demon Battlefield."
"It's my first time," Xu Zimo responded.
"After centuries of exploration, most obvious treasures in the God-Demon Battlefield have already been plundered. These days, those who come here are mainly looking for ruins," Feng Changnian explained.
"When powerful individuals of the God or Demon Races died, their people would bury them with funerary items. Treasure hunters target those tombs for the burial goods."
"I see," Xu Zimo nodded.
"You two don’t seem like you're here for tombs. That means you're hunting down descendants, right?" Feng Changnian grinned.
"You know quite a lot," Xu Zimo said.
"Of course. Our Wind Thunder Tower is closest to the God-Demon Battlefield, so we come often," Feng Changnian said.
"People who come here are either tomb seekers, hunters of God or Demon descendants, or younger cultivators looking to train."
"Who says we're not here for the tombs? Let's go take a look tomorrow," Xu Zimo said.
"I'd advise against it. The tomb is already surrounded by people from Nine Dragon Villa. Unless you're very strong, you won't even qualify to go in," Feng Changyin chimed in.
"If you're going, we’ll come too. Safety in numbers," Feng Changnian looked at Xu Zimo and said. "I can't let go of this; I feel like that tomb isn't ordinary."
"Isn't this God territory? Why would there be a Demon's tomb here?" Jiu You asked suspiciously.
Judging by territorial divisions, the Demon Race wouldn't bury their own here to avoid the God Race from desecrating the tombs, something that had happened in the past.
"Who knows? That stuff's ancient history, we can't make sense of it," Feng Changnian shrugged indifferently. "Why don't we consider teaming up? Strength in numbers."
"You lead the way," Xu Zimo nodded.
The sky grew darker, and the moon in the sky became increasingly strange.
The five of them stoked the campfire even higher, resting under the large tree or meditating while leaning against its branches.
...
Wind Thunder Tower wasn’t a particularly powerful sect. Its strongest cultivator was only at the Fusion Heaven Realm.
Feng Changnian and his companions were considered prodigies in their sect. Having recently reached the World Paragon Realm, they came to the God-Demon Battlefield hoping for some adventure or perhaps a lucky encounter.
As the group rested, war drums suddenly echoed across the heavens.
The booming of drums was like thunder, exploding in their ears.
Reflected by the moon above were two beams of light, one a blood-red and black hue, the other a clear blue.
The two beams faced each other across the land.
And then, shadows suddenly appeared across the earth.
On the left stood countless god warriors, handsome figures with one, two, or even three pairs of wings behind them.
Vast god power surged from their bodies. There were hundreds of them, holding various weapons and wearing matching golden robes.
On the right, another horde of shadows emerged, surrounded by overwhelming Demonic energy.
They came in all shapes, some had horns and human bodies, others had pitch-black skin like skeletons.
Some were entirely made of white bones, with eyes burning with demonic fire. The oppressive Demon aura from them covered half the sky.
The war drums roared. The two factions stood thousands of meters apart.
Each side, like humanoid beasts, charged toward the other.
Xu Zimo and his group were caught directly in the center of the battlefield.
Seeing this, Feng Changnian turned pale with fear, trembling all over.
"We’re surrounded by obsessions!" he shouted, snapping everyone out of their daze. "Run! If we don't, none of us will make it out alive!"
Feng Changyin and Feng Yuer didn’t hesitate and dashed left, hoping to escape the battlefield before the fighting fully erupted.
"Run, Miss Jiu You!" Feng Changnian called out, seeing Jiu You standing still.
Jiu You didn’t respond. Instead, she turned to Xu Zimo.
"You go first. I'll be fine," Xu Zimo said, waving his hand.
"No. If you're not going, I won’t go either," Jiu You shook her head. "If you die, we die together."
"Don’t you want revenge anymore?" Xu Zimo asked.
"If you die, I don’t have the power to avenge anything," Jiu You replied.
...
The drumbeats were deafening, as if echoing through tens of millions of years, descending upon this vast land from ancient times.
What they saw now was a reenactment of the great war between Gods and Demons. These beings had long since died. What remained were their obsessions.
Through the endless passage of time, even after their bodies had turned to dust, their bones to ash, these obsessions continued to drive them, fighting again and again through the ages.
Drumbeats and thunder mingled as nearly a thousand figures clashed across the vast plains.
Feng Changnian and the others barely escaped at the last moment. Panting heavily, he looked back with fear.
"They didn’t make it out?"
"Sigh, what a shame."
Xu Zimo stood calmly, his back to the Demon forces, eyes fixed on the charging God warriors.
His gaze was steady and deep. The strands of hair on his forehead fluttered slightly. His black robe moved with no wind.
Jiu You looked nervous, watching the approaching Demons.
Some of them raised long blades. Others were wrapped in chains. Their eyes burned with demonic fire, exuding soul-crushing pressure as they charged at her.
Jiu You quickly dodged, weaving between the Demon warriors.
Their true enemy was the God Race; they didn’t pay much attention to her.
But even without deliberately attacking her, there were simply too many of them.
One hit her directly, sending her body flying backward.
The obsessions of the Demon warriors trampled over her fallen form and continued charging toward the god army without pause.
Because Xu Zimo was so close to the action, the battle was now about to sweep him in.
"Watch out! Get out of the way!" Jiu You shouted anxiously.