Chapter 386: The Battle for Cultivation

"Embroidery?"

The Blood River Patriarch and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master both went still, then stared at the elderly woman with expressions of startled uncertainty, "You are not the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress?"

At those words, the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress's deeply lined face pulled into a mocking smile, "I am naturally the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress. Only not the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress you are acquainted with."

As she said this, her gaze moved over the two men's condition, and she showed no particular urgency about striking at them, only narrowed her eyes and asked, "The demonic cultivation within the vortex, why give up on it so quickly? If you do not want it, it will all be a gift to me."

The Blood River Patriarch's and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master's expressions shifted rapidly. The black lines within their bodies were now advancing on their limbs, and both were straining to suppress them with their demonic arts, still unable to stop them at all.

Even so, neither of them was willing to simply withdraw.

The Blood River Patriarch and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master exchanged a look, then both fixed their eyes on the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress, "Regardless of who you are, you will not be leaving here tonight."

The moment those words fell, both men exploded into action. Setting aside the black lines for the moment, they struck first and aimed killing blows at the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress.

Clearly they had made up their minds to deal with the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress first, then handle their own situation and whatever remained of the demonic cultivation in the vortex.

After all, the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress was the greatest threat facing them tonight. Only by killing her could they feel completely at ease.

Otherwise, the longer they delayed, the weaker they would become as their cultivation continued to drain, until they would be no match for her at all.

But faced with the Blood River Patriarch's and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master's assault, the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress only gave a cold laugh. She made no move to fight back, only retreated and dodged.

"Even if you two join hands and kill me, it changes nothing. You cannot escape the devouring of the Earth Demon Spider Veins."

The Sun and Moon Demonic Empress's aged voice reached the Blood River Patriarch's and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master's ears, and she broke into a wild, uninhibited laugh.

At those words, both men's expressions changed sharply as the realization hit. Their eyes blazed with fury, "So all of this was your doing."

Their killing intent skyrocketed, and their strikes became even fiercer.

In an instant, the entire area around the dark pool was engulfed in roaring demonic energy, blood rivers surging and yin winds howling, as though intent on tearing the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress apart.

But the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress was completely fearless and refused to engage them directly. Her figure became a shifting silhouette of the sun and moon, flitting continuously through the air in every direction, evading the killing strikes from both men.

At the same time, the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress watched the Blood River Patriarch and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master growing ever more frantic as their cultivation drained away, and her face filled with contempt, "You two fools, dying without even knowing how you died, and yet blaming it on me. Your stupidity knows no bounds."

At those words, the Blood River Patriarch and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master's fury reached its peak, but both kept silent and focused entirely on trying to kill the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress before them.

Because the time left to them was running out.

But the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress's voice did not stop. She dodged and continued to speak, "Did you truly think the Demonic Patriarch left those Demonic Cores just for anyone to take? Did you truly think that any person who collected nine Demonic Cores could simply receive the legacy he left behind?"

"If that was what you believed, then you always underestimated the Demonic Patriarch, and being used as a tool serves you right."

At those words, a change crossed both the Blood River Patriarch's and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master's eyes. Their attacks did not stop, but the Blood River Patriarch, suppressing his fury, demanded, "What do you mean by that? Was all of this not something you arranged?"

The Sun and Moon Demonic Empress let out a sinister, echoing laugh. Her figure was nowhere to be seen, only two ghost-light-wreathed silhouettes of the sun and moon floating in the night sky, trailing countless afterimages across the darkness.

"For two incompetents like you, I would hardly need to arrange anything. I only went along with what was already in motion. The one who truly arranged all of this was the Demonic Patriarch himself, a thousand years ago."

"You demonic world figures think the Demonic Patriarch left his legacy for you. But have you ever held a mirror up to yourselves and asked whether you are worthy?"

The Sun and Moon Demonic Empress's voice sounded in the ears of the Blood River Patriarch and the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master, and the two men were now burning with rage.

It was becoming clear to them that the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress had not been injured at all, and was in fact concealing a level of demonic cultivation that surpassed both of theirs.

And with their own strength steadily declining, trying to kill her together was now clearly beyond them.

"There is no time left. We have to abandon the demonic cultivation. We must retreat immediately."

The Blood River Patriarch's face was dark as he looked up at the two glowing silhouettes of the sun and moon above him, then with great reluctance glanced back at the demonic vortex still churning in the air. In the end he hesitated no longer, turned, and fled.

At those words, the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master similarly said nothing and shot backward in the opposite direction from the Blood River Patriarch.

By this point, the black Earth Demon Spider Veins had already invaded and covered most of both men's limbs and were even creeping toward their necks.

It was predictable that within a very short time, their entire bodies would be completely overrun and devoured by the Earth Demon Spider Veins.

"Trying to run? Too late."

The Sun and Moon Demonic Empress's cold voice rang out, and the two glowing sun and moon silhouettes in the sky shifted in an instant, shooting after the Blood River Patriarch's retreating figure.

In what seemed like a single blink, the two demonic silhouettes transformed into two enormous grinding wheels roiling with demonic energy, appearing above the Blood River Patriarch's head and crashing down toward him.

"What the Demonic Patriarch left in the Demonic Cores was for his chosen inheritor. Did you think you could take what was not yours and escape without consequence?"

The Sun and Moon Demonic Empress had launched after him but arrived first, manifesting before the Blood River Patriarch and directly cutting off his path.

The two demonic grinding wheels caught him from above and below, trapping him between them. Only by channeling streams of blood-fiend energy in every direction from his body could he barely manage to withstand the crushing pressure of the grinding wheels.

"Impossible."

The Blood River Patriarch's expression filled with shock. The power the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress was now showing was far beyond anything he had imagined.

But in the next moment, the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress simply gave a cold laugh and raised a hand. With the fall of her terrifying demonic power, the blood-fiend rivers surrounding the Blood River Patriarch collapsed and scattered.

The Blood River Patriarch spat a mouthful of blood, and before he could even react, was bound by streaks of sun and moon demonic light and drawn from a distance directly into the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress's grip.

"Did you truly think you were any match for me? Earlier I was simply letting you think so. Otherwise, how would you have so obediently become my 'human demonic medicine'?"

The Sun and Moon Demonic Empress suddenly bared her teeth, staring at the Blood River Patriarch and laughing.

"You... you are not the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress. You are the Great Xuan emperor?"

The Blood River Patriarch forced the words out with great difficulty, but had absolutely no power to resist.

The Sun and Moon Demonic Empress said no more to the Blood River Patriarch and, gripping him with one hand, vanished from where she stood in an instant and shot after the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master without pause.

At the same time, Wenyue, who had not acted throughout, had already caught up with the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master and moved to subdue him.

"Out of my way."

The Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master's face was as dark as it could be. An enormous spectral hand reached out with overwhelming force and slapped directly toward Wenyue, blocking her path.

Wenyue's eyes moved faintly. She raised a hand and struck back against the yin-energy-laden spectral hand, while the vast true energy around her body transformed into rolling clouds of hazy mist that billowed down toward the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master.

Boom.

The two palms met, ghostly energy shaking through the sky. But Wenyue was sent flying outright, her true energy thrown into chaos, her face pale, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

It was clear enough that in raw martial cultivation, she was no match for the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master before her.

But then again, as the First Palace Mistress of the Inviting Moon Palace, she had never been known for her fighting skill. Poison and intoxicants were her domain.

And even as Wenyue was sent flying, the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master was enveloped in the hazy mist.

Very quickly, the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him, his limbs and body beginning to go soft and limp.

"You are courting death."

The Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master shook his head hard, let out a howl like a raging ghost, and his figure shot after Wenyue, clearly intending to kill her.

But when the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master had crossed barely half the distance, he suddenly came to a dead stop.

At the same moment, a look of horrified shock appeared on his face.

He found, suddenly, that he was mired in place as though sunk in mud, unable to move at all. Even channeling his demonic arts with everything he had, he could not break free.

At that moment, the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress arrived, holding the Blood River Patriarch in one hand, having come racing after the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master at speed.

But before she even got close to the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master, she abruptly stopped.

Then, her clouded gaze shifted, settling on a figure standing beside the Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master, and she narrowed her eyes slowly, "Just as I suspected. So it really is you."

"Great Palace Mistress, you have done well."

At that moment, Daoist Qingyu spoke softly and gave Wenyue a quiet nod, then looked toward the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress who had just arrived, "It has been several days. How has Your Majesty been keeping?"

The Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master's eyes darted sideways, and found Daoist Qingyu in her blue-gray robes standing at his side.

It was clearly her work that had him bound immobile where he stood.

"I have no enmity with you. Why are you acting against me?"

The Ten Thousand Malice Demonic Sect Master's expression was full of startled uncertainty. Daoist Qingyu's appearance had been entirely beyond his expectation.

Daoist Qingyu did not answer his question, and the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress not far away looked at Daoist Qingyu with a hollow-eyed smile, "I actually guessed long ago that you would have an interest in the Demonic Patriarch's Demonic Cores. As it happens, these two human demonic medicines are right here. I will give one to each of us."

"And we can split the remaining demonic cultivation in the vortex evenly between us."

At those words, Daoist Qingyu's expression was as gentle and kind as ever. She looked at the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress for a moment.

Then she slowly turned to look at the sky behind her, and quietly said, "The young master has been following this poor nun the whole way here. I ask that you come out and let us meet."

At those words, whether the Inviting Moon Palace's First Palace Mistress Wenyue or the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress, both followed Daoist Qingyu's line of sight.

But the two waited for a moment, and the sky showed no movement at all. No one appeared.

The Sun and Moon Demonic Empress frowned faintly, a sense of unease quietly rising in her heart. She looked at Daoist Qingyu and asked, "Who is this young master you speak of? Would I know this person?"

But Daoist Qingyu gave no answer to the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress's question, and simply continued watching the sky, as though waiting quietly for something.

The clouded light in the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress's eyes flickered. She understood clearly that the Daoist Qingyu before her was far from the simple figure the Great Xuan martial world believed her to be, and was not the sort to make claims without substance.

If she said someone was following, then someone was.

With that thought, the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress swept her eyes over the area, and in the next instant her gaze came to a sudden stop, fixing on the edge of the dark pool shrouded in seven-colored misty light.

There, at some unknown point in time, an enormously large black cat had appeared.

And the large black cat, sitting this close to the dark pool, had not fallen unconscious at all. On the contrary, it was bright-eyed and full of energy, lying at the pool's edge and occasionally extending a paw to bat at the water, apparently trying its utmost to investigate the secrets of the pool.

At the same moment, the Inviting Moon Palace's First Palace Mistress Wenyue also caught sight of this, and immediately recognized the large black cat's identity.

"It is that creature?"

Wenyue spoke in startled disbelief, and Daoist Qingyu, who had been waiting for Li Musheng to appear, followed the sound and looked, and saw the large black cat at the pool's edge.

In the next instant, Daoist Qingyu vanished from where she stood and appeared at the large black cat's side in an instant.

Seemingly sensing someone's arrival, the large black cat, deeply focused on its treasure hunting, snapped its head around. Finding Daoist Qingyu appearing right beside it gave it a genuine shock.

But seeing it was someone it recognized, the large black cat showed no fear. Instead it let out a meow and extended its paw toward her, gesturing with obvious annoyance.

Clearly it was complaining that she had appeared like a ghost without making any sound, and not saying a word of warning beforehand, nearly making it think one of the demonic cult lords was about to ambush it.

Daoist Qingyu took in the large black cat's performance, then swept the surrounding area with her gaze, and still saw no sign of Li Musheng anywhere.

Then her gaze settled back on the large black cat, and she asked, "Why are you here alone? Where is your young master right now?"

At those words, the large black cat glanced at Daoist Qingyu, then let its round green eyes sweep over the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress and the immobilized Blood River Patriarch and the others.

Finally, it fixed Wenyue with a fierce glare.

Clearly bearing a deep grudge, it had not forgotten the business of the snatched promissory note and the poisoning.

But very quickly, the large black cat withdrew its gaze.

After all, Li Musheng had just said something about someone following them and then set it down and gone off to deal with whoever it was. Right now, without Li Musheng behind it for support, it was definitely no match for that evil woman Wenyue, and the wisest course was to keep a low profile for now.

And in response to Daoist Qingyu's question, the large black cat had no intention of hiding anything. It began gesturing immediately.

The general meaning was that Li Musheng would be there shortly, and it had not come alone. There were others following behind.

A warning to everyone present, including the evil woman Wenyue, not to touch it. The consequences would be severe.

Daoist Qingyu clearly understood what the large black cat was saying, and her brow creased slightly.

Not far away, the Sun and Moon Demonic Empress looked at the Blood River Patriarch in her grip, where the Earth Demon Spider Veins were already close to covering the man's entire skull.