Chapter 66: Top-Rank Great Demon

"Senior, many of the frontlines ahead of us have already been attacked by large numbers of demon beasts."

Outside Jiuyou's cave residence, a middle-aged scholar tremulously reported the current situation in the Abyssal Sea.

His voice was kept very low, but it still trembled uncontrollably. He was afraid not only of the Soul Wraith Ancestor inside the cave residence, but also of the massive Beast Tide approaching.

"Especially those three Ninth-Tier Demon Beasts, they seem to have regained their minds and are extremely cunning. Every time they appear they sneak attack the various Nascent Soul elders guarding the frontlines, then immediately hide. When other frontline seniors rush to support, they can't even find a trace.

Several Early Nascent Soul seniors have already been killed, and lower-rank cultivators have suffered heavy casualties."

He swallowed and continued.

"Based on the reports from ahead, this large-scale Beast Tide is still advancing, already not far from our defensive line. There are also several emanations of Eighth-Rank Great Demons hidden among them, so... we must prepare thoroughly and be ready to respond to the next changes at any moment."

Inside the cave residence, no movement came for a long moment. The depths were dark, quietly exuding waves of cold energy.

Cold sweat dotted the scholar's temples. He slightly raised his head and stealthily glanced toward the depths of the cave.

Suddenly, a hoarse, somber voice rasped from within, like rusted metal scraping.

"Understood. Tell everyone on the defenses to be ready. Activate all Island-Protecting Grand Formations, defend to the death. If anyone deserts their post—"

"Kill without mercy!"

As the words fell, a layer of frost slowly formed on the stone wall at the cave entrance, coldness surging in all directions.

The scholar shuddered all over as if he had been absolved of some great sin. He quickly cupped his hands in salute and retreated a few steps before turning to leave. His back was soaked with cold sweat; it was only after he had walked a hundred zhang away that he dared to breathe deeply.

Not long after the scholar left, the defensive line where Jiuyou stood flickered with spiritual light. Formations arranged across beaches and reefs activated one after another, and Island-Protecting Grand Formations shrouded island after island. Spiritual radiance flowed, forming a continuous copper-and-iron wall extending for thousands of miles.

But within half a day, the blood-red glow on the distant horizon drew nearer and nearer. The blood mist spread to the gates of the defensive line where Jiuyou stood. The roaring cries of countless ferocious demon beasts poured out, deafening, making countless cultivators sweat profusely.

The Beast Tide had arrived, abruptly.

No warning, no probing.

Within the boundless blood mist, countless demon beasts surged like a black torrent from the meeting place of sea and sky. They roared and bellowed, eyes full of bloodthirsty frenzy. Lower-rank demon beasts surged in the front, higher-rank ones in the rear, dense and overwhelming, stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Everyone, take your positions!"

Jiuyou's voice suddenly echoed above the defensive line, cold and steady. He hovered midair, robes fluttering, cyan mist rolling around him.

The Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain hovered at his side, its red-golden flames leaping, painting half the sky crimson. In those murky aged eyes, a ghostly radiance now blazed like twin will-o'-the-wisps.

On the defensive line, tens of thousands of cultivators were pale, clutching their magical implements and treasures, legs shaking uncontrollably. Yet they did not retreat, and there was no road back.

Jiuyou swept a cold glance downward, his heart utterly unmoved. The only use of these low-level cultivators was to take the brunt of the lower-rank demon beasts, saving him some effort.

"Kill—!"

Someone shouted first. Before the shout fell, the demon horde had already surged into the defense zone. Spiritual light flashed, spells scattered, the sounds of slaughter shook the heavens.

Jiuyou did not rush to act. His Divine Sense, like an invisible web, covered the entire battlefield, searching for those higher-level emanations hidden among the lower-rank beasts. He sensed three Eighth-Rank Great Demon auras, distributed across the defensive line. Ninth-Tier Demon Beasts... had not yet appeared.

But he did not hurry. The patience of prey always runs out before that of the hunter.

Jiuyou made a small move.

The Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain transformed into a bolt of golden light, thundering into the demon mass. The red-golden flames exploded; within a hundred zhang, lower-rank demon beasts were instantly reduced to ash, not even able to let out a final shriek.

The Nether Capital Gate opened at his back, and hundreds upon thousands of Soul Wraith Puppets howled as they surged out to shred the demon beasts.

The Nether Capital's Frozen Domain then unfurled, frost blanketing the skies and freezing the sea within hundreds of zhang into ice. Those trapped beasts could not move and were slaughtered at the puppets' mercy.

Jiuyou drifted calmly in midair, motionless, expression relaxed, yet his Divine Sense remained tightly fixed on those hidden special auras.

Nether Capital Ghostfire ebbed and flowed in his palm, Cyan Chain slithered like spiritual serpents through the fray.

Every strike felled dozens or hundreds of beasts.

A white-jade bottle hovered above his head, a transparent membrane shielding him.

The Heavenly Light Mirror was tucked in his sleeve, ready for sudden attacks.

And the finely crafted shell armor he had recently acquired had long been practiced into at his side; in a pinch it could withstand a Late Nascent Soul's blow.

But he never unleashed his full strength.

This scene was not worth his all-out effort.

Besides, the real big fish had not yet shown its face. If things went wrong, he had the Hundred-Mile Inch Hairpin in hand—three hundred miles in an instant—no one could stop his escape.

As for the life and death of these human cultivators, what did it matter to him?

On the sea, ice and fire intertwined, corpses floated, blood stained the water red. The pressure on the defense line lightened, and morale surged.

Jiuyou kept his vigilance. His Divine Sense swept the battlefield repeatedly, leaving no hint unexamined.

At that moment,

an extremely subtle aura flashed from within the northeast cluster of lower-rank demon beasts. It was swift and retracted; if Jiuyou's Divine Sense had not far surpassed his peers, he would not have detected it.

"Hmph, something hiding its head and exposing its tail."

Jiuyou snorted coldly.

He did not immediately turn, but stealthily recalled the Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain to hover at his side, pretending to deal with the front demons. Nether Capital Ghostfire quietly congealed in his palm, gathering power.

The aura drew nearer. Three hundred zhang. Two hundred zhang. One hundred zhang.

Just as it was about to strike, Jiuyou abruptly turned. The Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain, wrapped in red-golden flames, smashed down on the hiding place of that aura!

Boom—!

A sharp, piercing cry rang through the clouds.

A white figure shot up from the demon mass, wings spreading to a span of hundreds of zhang.

It was a massive white crane, pure snow-white, yet with eerie blood-red light along the wing edges. Its eyes were not a beast's vertical pupils but crimson, glittering with guile.

A Ninth-Tier Demon Beast, the Gale Crane.

Its sneak attack exposed, the Gale Crane shrieked in fury, flapped its wings hard, and innumerable wind blades slashed toward Jiuyou like sharp swords.

"Looking for death."

Jiuyou snorted coldly. The Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain swelled with the wind, becoming a hundred-zhang peak that blocked in front of him. Wind blades struck the Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain, spewing dazzling sparks but failing to move it.

His figure flickered. He swept out from behind the Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain; Nether Capital Ghostfire bristled to strike. A spectral blue beam shot forth, aiming straight for the Gale Crane's skull.

The Gale Crane barely evaded, narrowly escaping. It flapped its wings again, whipping up a massive tornado that carried countless stones and seawater, sweeping toward Jiuyou.

Jiuyou neither dodged nor retreated. He raised a hand and summoned the cold of the Nether Capital Gate, colliding head-on with the tornado. Ice and wind braided together with a thunderous roar. The sea within hundreds of zhang froze and was then shredded by the gale, scattering shards of ice.

After several exchanges, Jiuyou had sized up the Gale Crane. It was stronger than the Ninth-Tier Thunder Centipede he had faced earlier—faster and more agile in attack.

What concerned Jiuyou more was that the beast showed a trace of intelligence. It no longer fought like a blind brute; it had learned to dodge, circle, and even feint.

"Interesting. Among the beasts infected by the blood mist, some have recovered a sliver of consciousness. However—"

Jiuyou's voice turned suddenly icy.

"That is all."

He drove the Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain to full power. Red-golden flames danced frantically over the ancient relic, temperatures soaring. Even the seawater steamed into a white haze. Under his Divine Sense, the relic became a bolt of golden light, darting through the battlefield. Each strike was accompanied by the Gale Crane's wails.

Though lightning-fast, every evasive move the Gale Crane made was predicted under Jiuyou's vast Divine Sense. The Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain followed like a shadow, striking its body again and again. Shell cracked, feathers scattered, blood spraying—the beast's cries grew ever more pitiful.

At last the Gale Crane realized this human was beyond its ability. It flapped its wings furiously and tried to flee.

"Trying to run?"

Jiuyou sneered. He unleashed Nether Capital Ghostfire with full force, a spectral blue beam a few times wider than before blasting out. The beam moved too fast for the Gale Crane to dodge and pierced its left wing.

The Gale Crane uttered a tragic cry and pitched, tumbling from the sky.

Jiuyou raised his hand; the Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain shot high, red-golden flames leaping across the relic as it prepared the final blow.

At that instant—

an abrupt anomaly occurred.

A horrifying, suffocating wave erupted from beneath the sea. It came without warning, so fast Jiuyou had no time to react.

A chill ran down his spine; his hair stood on end. A deadly instinctual crisis detonated in his heart.

The sea exploded. A spectral blue light, carrying cataclysmic force, shot from the vortex, surging straight at Jiuyou! Where that light passed, the sea rolled back and the void twisted as if heaven and earth would tear apart.

"Not right, it's a trap!"

Jiuyou's pupils contracted sharply.

He was in the middle of chasing the Gale Crane, the Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain still out front, the white-jade bottle's defense not yet fully deployed. This strike came too suddenly and too treacherous; it was clearly aimed at him!

There was an even more powerful beast waiting.

Waiting for him to be entangled by the Gale Crane, waiting for him to show a flaw.

The Gale Crane took advantage of this to struggle desperately, dragging its broken body to flee, but Jiuyou could no longer attend to it.

The light point drew ever closer.

Thoughts flashed through his mind: the Hundred-Mile Inch Hairpin couldn't be activated in time, the Golden Sun Heavenly Mountain couldn't be recalled, the white-jade bottle's defense couldn't withstand an attack of this magnitude...

One hundred zhang.

Fifty zhang.

Ten zhang.

In Jiuyou's pupils, the world-rending radiance grew ever brighter.