On the Yunzhou continent, inside the royal capital of the Great Qian Dynasty, thick smoke filled the air, the flames of war raged everywhere, and cries of grief echoed from all directions.
More and more black passages opened up as demonic cultivators scrambled to harvest souls, blood, and cultivation bases, cruelly stripping the people of their lives.
Xiao Hongye was very strong, and Su Qian and Huangfu Cheng were also very strong.
They were the top cultivators of the Nine Provinces.
Yet they could not stop the apocalyptic scene before their eyes.
The earth was sinking, the people were wailing, and countless blood and tears fell, flowing upon the homeland that had nurtured them.
For instance, the Wenren clan had exhausted their entire clan's strength to guard three passages to the death. A clan of several thousand was now reduced to only a little over three hundred people still desperately resisting.
Or the Li family, where countless cultivators bled and sacrificed themselves, using their own bodies to block the entrances, only for their blood and souls to be snatched away by giant black hands.
Or Murong Fu and his wife...
Anyone in the city with any cultivation was trading their lives to fight, yet it was all in vain.
“Wah! Uwah!”
A little girl hid by the side of the street, her eyes filled with tears as she watched her parents being reduced to skeletal remains by demonic cultivators. The pinwheel in her hand was still spinning with a creaking sound.
Perhaps even in death they could not understand how the royal capital, which had been so lively during the day, could become their grave by night.
“Oh, a pure child. Come and aid my cultivation.”
The demonic cultivator smiled cruelly, reaching out with a black palm to grab the little girl's head. Just as he was about to extract her pure blood and soul, a powerful hand crushed his skull, sending blood and brains spraying everywhere.
The black soul tried to flee, but another hand caught it, burning it to ashes in an instant.
Wang Xuanyi calmly picked up the little girl and tapped her forehead with a single finger, casting a calming sleep spell to put her to sleep.
Everything had happened too quickly—so quickly that he had no time to fully prepare, much less imagine such a catastrophe.
A hideous face emerged from the shadows. Before the figure could finish speaking, a loud bang echoed, and the demonic cultivator exploded into a mist of blood, their soul instantly set ablaze.
“Have a good sleep.”
Carrying the little girl, Wang Xuanyi arrived at an attic where dozens of children and twenty to thirty adults were lying—all of them ordinary mortals without a shred of mana.
After settling the girl down, Wang Xuanyi set off again toward the Li family estate. The old geezer and Shi-niang were still there, and he had to go support them.
He killed every low-realm demonic cultivator he encountered along the way.
Although he had mastered some of the sealing techniques of the Heaven-Sealing Dao Immortal, he could not resolve the expanding black passages. He had to save his energy for the Ten Thousand Soul Banner.
Wang Xuanyi looked at the cultivators who had died because of the passages, his expression betraying no emotion.
Just as the Immortal Phoenix had said, no one could master an immortal spell in a mere moment, and Wang Xuanyi was no exception.
To counter the horror of the Dao-Absolute Sovereign Weapon, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, Wang Xuanyi focused all his energy on that forbidden technique. He had no time to comprehend anything else.
After a brief moment, Wang Xuanyi saw the Li family estate engulfed in the flames of war. He sensed the powerful auras within, along with a familiar scent.
The Li family estate, which had been grand and majestic just a few hours ago, had now turned into another battlefield, littered with flesh and severed limbs.
Demonic cultivators were still pouring continuously out of three black passages. There were quite a few Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators, more than ten in the Soul Formation Realm, and even two in the Void Return Realm.
“Human Dao Fist Print!”
“Great Demon Bone Fist!”
Bathed in demonic blood, Mo Yan's aura flared as he battled a demonic cultivator of the same realm. Laws enveloped his fists, and the power of the Great Dao bloomed.
Bang!
The two fists clashed, and the terrifying aftershock sent ripples through the air, instantly destroying everything in the vicinity.
“I will assist you!”
Seizing the opportunity, the Patriarch of the Li family charged forward, swinging his blade horizontally toward the demonic cultivator's neck. The fierce sword qi was unstoppable.
Clang!
A great halberd blocked the sword qi beside the demonic cultivator, deflecting it. The other demonic cultivator, enveloped in black mist, pointed at the Patriarch of the Li family and said, “Let's fight again!”
The halberd was ancient, emitting a black obsidian luster all over. It was engraved with depictions of heinous beasts, and a sharp black light flickered at its tip, making it look like a vicious ancient beast.
“Slash!”
With a hideous expression, the demonic cultivator held the black halberd, raising both hands over his shoulders. Pitch-black lightning clung to the blade as he chopped down with immense force toward the Patriarch of the Li family.
The Patriarch of the Li family gathered his mana, channeling it into his sword, and lunged forward to meet the blow.
Clang!
The sword and the black halberd clashed, instantly sending sparks flying in all directions. As their majestic mana locked, the two glared at each other, their faces contorted with rage and savagery, evenly matched.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Both retreated a step before clashing once again.
Sword light dazzled and sword shadows moved like the wind, with overwhelming sword qi crisscrossing the air. The black halberd gleamed with a cold light, its body incredibly sturdy. The peerless demonic cultivator swung it like a gale.
In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged hundreds of moves. When they parted again, the Patriarch of the Li family was covered in wounds, with a prominent bloody gash across his chest.
The demonic cultivator was in no better shape, having lost a thigh. The sword strikes had pierced his protective demonic energy, leaving dozens of sword wounds on his body.
On Mo Yan's side, although the two were in the same realm, his strength was clearly inferior. In one clash, the demonic cultivator roared, his demonic energy peaking as he threw a supreme punch, sending Mo Yan flying.
With a spit, Mo Yan coughed up a pool of black blood and crashed into the ground, creating a hundred-meter-deep crater.
He had only recently stepped into the Void Return Realm. Though his cultivation was stable, he lacked actual combat experience at this level, making it difficult to resist these demonic cultivators who relied on evil techniques to boost their power.
Furthermore, he was distracted.
Li Yarou and the other cultivators of the Li family were being besieged by eight Soul Formation Realm demonic cultivators. Mo Yan's momentary distraction out of worry had resulted in his severe injury.
“Lin Ang, scram!”
Mo Yan stood up from the crater and looked at his former disciple. The killing intent in his eyes materialized as he dragged his exhausted body forward and unleashed a palm strike.
Terrifying power of laws surged. Mo Yan attempted a powerful execution with peerless momentum, but he was blocked by the Void Return Realm demonic cultivator, who shattered Mo Yan's killing move with a single palm strike.
The demonic cultivator retracted his hand and licked his long fingernails, looking at Mo Yan with a teasing grin. “Hehehe, we can't let you ruin the fine play of a former disciple slaughtering his own kin.”
“You beast!”
Mo Yan's hair flew wildly. With the Heavenly Myriad Scroll hovering above his head, he threw out a fist print and charged forward. His entire aura flared, as if he had merged with the Great Dao, and the laws of order rumbled for him.
“I said, you cannot join the battle.”
A zither appeared before the demonic cultivator. With a pluck of his hands, a piercing demonic sound rang out, forming ripples in the air. His mana transformed into blades and swords, carrying bizarre runes that suppressed the others.
Zheng!
Water-like ripples spread through the air, passing right through Mo Yan's charging body, draining his strength. It caused his eyes to fill with blood as he clutched his head, his face contorted in agony.
“Mo Yan!”
Seeing this, the Patriarch of the Li family raised his sword to assist Mo Yan, only to be blocked by the other demonic cultivator. A black halberd sliced through the void, slashing toward his neck.
Had he not dodged in time, the Patriarch of the Li family would already be a corpse.
“Your opponent is me.”
Wielding the black halberd, the demonic cultivator laughed cruelly and tangled with the Patriarch of the Li family once again.
Rate on N.U.
