Chapter 326 - 323: Demon Sect Leader

Chapter 326: Chapter 323: Demon Sect Leader

SLASH— SLASH—

The sounds of fierce battle echoed from the main peak of the Demon Sect.

Blood nearly pooled into streams, and bodies fell one after another.

The thick stench of blood filled the air, stimulating everyone’s minds, whipping them into a frenzy and melting away the strings of reason.

He Chong of the Kunlun Sect transformed into a man made of pure crimson flames and leaped into a group from the Demon Sect.

In an instant, the bluestone tiles melted into magma. Everywhere he passed, the flames clung to his victims like a festering cancer.

Even being touched by a single stray spark would cause the fire to spread rapidly across the entire body, burning it to ash.

"Die, you Taoist scum!"

A Demon Sect woman roared as a silver spear tore through the curtain of fire, stabbing at He Chong’s back.

The spear’s tip trailed a comet-like tail of white light as it pierced through the air.

Without dodging, He Chong’s flaming head was instantly impaled and blown apart by the spear, sending blood flying.

But then, before the widened eyes of the Demon Sect members, intense flames erupted from He Chong’s neck cavity.

His shattered head was filled by the flames, reforming into flesh and blood.

In the blink of an eye, it was as if nothing had happened. He turned back with a mocking gaze.

"You’ve clearly reached the First Turn. Have you never heard of the Kunlun Sect’s undying bodies, the Ice and Fire Dual Absolutes?"

As his voice fell, the blood that had splattered from his exploded head immediately transformed into thousands of fiery tongues.

Every cultist touched by the blood screamed in agony, turning to ash within moments. A scorched stench mixed with the smell of sulfur filled the battlefield.

Farther away, He Chong’s junior sister had transformed into a five-meter-tall being of pure ice, running through the Demon Sect’s ranks.

Any cultist who came within a ten-meter radius of her found their body rapidly stiffening.

The Demon Sect cultists, eroded by the frigid air, froze into ice sculptures in mid-swing, only to be shattered into dust by the onrushing Martial Artists.

Dozens of meters away, the figure of Guan Weiliang, Sect Leader of the Kongtong Sect, was blurred to the point her face was unrecognizable.

It was the result of an ultimate physical body, vibrating tens of thousands of times per second to become indestructible.

Any weapon—saber, spear, sword, or halberd—that struck her would be vibrated to pieces. Nothing could breach her defense.

Not far from her, some Demon Sect cultists silently clutched their gushing necks and collapsed.

On the mountain path winding with streams of blood, Zen Master Xuanxu stood with a solemn and dignified air.

Every swing of his Gilded Zen Staff stirred up a hurricane. Three or five burly Demon Sect members had just leaped up when the gale slammed them into the rock face, dark red pulp seeping from between the shattered stones.

In this Martial Dao world, the limits of each Martial Artist’s physical body were not vastly different due to worldly suppression, and they were further constrained by stamina.

In a pure melee fight, even a Grandmaster could not physically withstand the combined assault of dozens with Transcendent Bodies.

But that was only if they didn’t use their Heart Image inheritance.

Relying on their Fourth Turn inheritances, these Grandmasters of the Martial World were invincible until their Heart Images were depleted.

With the righteous faction pouncing like ferocious tigers, they fought their way from the foot of the mountain to the midway point in a single push.

"Something’s not right..." Zen Master Xuanxu frowned as he retreated into the righteous faction’s ranks to recover his breath. "We’ve been advancing like a hot knife through butter, but we’ve only encountered low-level resistance from the First and Second Turns."

"None of the Demon Sect’s Kings, Guardians, or the Four Symbol Banner Masters have shown themselves. It feels more like token resistance."

The figure of Layman Yu Duan of Mount Emei appeared beside him. "Perhaps they’re trying to wear down our stamina, preserving their main force for a decisive battle at the summit."

"No matter what, with our six great sects taking action today, we will definitely annihilate the Demon Sect in one fell swoop," said Zhang Yuanqiao of Wudang.

"But... has there been no sign of Young Hero Fang Can?" Xuanxu frowned, a note of worry in his voice.

Not long after the demon-slaying assembly ended late last night, they suddenly received a message from the Yanfeng Sect’s Sect Leader: Fang Can had vanished from his room. He might have met with foul play, and there has been no trace of him since.

"It was most likely the Qiankun Qi Bag, one of the Demon Sect’s Four Banners." Zhang Yuanqiao of Wudang frowned. "An effigy of Young Hero Fang Can was left in his place."

"That Qiankun Qi Bag can only be used once every ten years. After engraving a person’s likeness onto the effigy and tossing it into the bag, the target will mysteriously sense something. As long as they make a sound in response, they will be sucked into the bag, swapping places with the effigy."

"That Wei Yixiao saw the young hero’s face. Young Hero Fang, being new to the world, probably didn’t know about the Qiankun Qi Bag’s strange power and fell for the trick."

"Such devious Demon Dao methods! We’ve lost a great general. It’s simply impossible to guard against!" He Miao sighed.

...

Outside, Wei Yixiao scratched his head as he looked at the shriveled bag. "Did that kid get in or not? Why is the bag still so flat?"

"The Qiankun Qi Bag contains its own space. Since the effigy has been placed inside, as long as the target dares to so much as grunt within a day, he will inevitably be sucked into the bag."

"I can already feel something inside. We just have to wait half a day for the bag to open on its own, and then we can grab him."

The nun chuckled. "I don’t know why you’re so fixated on this kid, making me waste my once-in-a-decade chance to catch him for you."

"Our Sect Leader will soon be able to use his divine technique to annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop."

Wei Yixiao gave a dry, wicked laugh. "You have no idea how hot that kid is. I was afraid you all wouldn’t be able to walk straight after seeing him, so I just nabbed him. I plan to imprison him as a long-term blood slave."

"You and I are the closest in the Holy Sect. When the time comes, I’ll let you have him for a few days."

In response to the Bat King’s words, the nun simply smiled and shook her head.

「Meanwhile, in a lightless space.」

There was no up or down, no left or right. It was like the dawn of creation, a formless chaos.

Fang Can’s body was floating in this chaotic void...

...sound asleep???

There was no gravity, no sense of time, and no air, yet the young man’s expression was utterly peaceful.

Do the right thing at the right time.

Late at night, one should get a good round in and then sleep peacefully. Only that could be called healthy.

After being inexplicably transported to this space in the middle of the night, Fang Can had peacefully fallen asleep.

He had to admit, this was his first time sleeping while floating as if in outer space. The experience was quite novel.

As for things like how to get out, the completely relaxed Fang Can decided to think about it after he woke up.

’Why work so hard for no pay? It’s not dangerous here, so of course I’m just going to keep sleeping.’

At this moment, even the young man’s sleeping posture was one of utter relaxation.

His five limbs were spread out naturally, and he showed no discomfort even in the airless environment.

Several miles away, a fierce-looking, armored middle-aged woman gazed at the smoke-wreathed mountain peak and slowly pulled a blade of wild grass from her mouth.

"Ptooey!" She spat out the remaining grass pulp and commanded in a loud voice, "All troops, hear my order! Surround the foot of the Demon Sect’s mountain."

"Whether they’re from the righteous path or the Demon Dao, anyone who comes down from that mountain—leave no one alive!"

"’Vigilantes who use martial arts to defy the law!’" The fierce woman sneered.

"From this day forward, our horses will trample the Martial World! Let’s show that bunch of ’great heroes’ what ’under all heaven, there is no land that is not the king’s’ truly means!"

The order was given and immediately followed. An army of one hundred thousand surged quietly toward the foot of the mountain.

Keeping their movements to a minimum, they silently crossed a distance of more than ten li and surrounded the mountain’s base.

Meanwhile, the righteous faction, completely unaware of what was happening at the foot of the mountain, was already seeing red from the slaughter.

With the Fourth Turn masters clearing the way, they had pushed their forces to the summit, losing only a few hundred people amidst the corpses of the fallen Demon Sect minions.

And so, the strongest forces of the righteous and evil paths finally met at the peak.

Over ten thousand people from both sides gathered on the mountaintop.

Due to the sheer numbers, most people waited in the paths and corridors to prevent congestion.

They waited only for the command to charge and dye the entire mountain peak with blood.

Gathered on the cloud-piercing summit, Xuanxu’s eyes were filled with fury as he observed the Demon Sect members before him.

As he had expected, all of the Demon Sect’s top experts were waiting at the summit.

Compared to the eight Grandmasters from the six great sects, the Demon Sect had far fewer masters.

The Four Symbol Banner Masters were only at the Third Turn, and the only Grandmaster-level experts present were the four Kings. The remaining Vice-Leader was nowhere to be seen.

"Demon Sect scum! Our six sects have ascended the mountain together. Your doomsday has arrived," Layman Yu Duan of Mount Emei said coldly, her sword held ready.

Zhang Yuanqiao of Wudang echoed her, "I advise you all to surrender without a fight! We will only execute the ringleaders. All who resist will be killed!"

"Where is your Vice-Leader, Yang Xiao? Why isn’t he here? Has he already vanished and gone into hiding?"

"Bullshit!" Wei Yixiao sneered. "Hahahahaha! Today is not the doomsday of my Holy Sect, but the day of death for you self-proclaimed righteous path of the Martial World."

"Why do you think we let you come up the mountain so easily? It was to restrict your movements." The Golden Lion King, Xie Xun, sneered. "All the better to annihilate you in one fell swoop!"

Faced with the Demon Sect’s provocations, the righteous side just sneered, assuming it was all just tough talk from a cornered enemy.

Even the Demon Dao practitioners looked as though they were mourning their parents. They had already resolved to die and were prepared to take a few enemies down with them.

CREAK, CREAK—

Just as the two sides were trading trash talk, a faint, grinding sound came from behind the Demon Sect Grandmasters.

A few members of the righteous path sensed something was wrong, and the clamor gradually died down.

They then saw the previously missing Left Vice-Leader, Yang Xiao, dressed in white robes purer than snow, slowly advancing while pushing a wooden wheelchair.

The faint crunching of the wheels on the bluestone tiles drew everyone’s attention.

In the chair sat a slumped, decrepit old woman. Her disheveled gray-white hair covered her face like dry grass. Her eyes were cloudy and unfocused in a face crisscrossed with wrinkles, and drool soaked the front of her robes, dribbling from the corner of her crooked mouth.

Her withered, shrunken body was wrapped in a large black robe, looking for all the world like a candle flickering in the wind.

The moment their eyes fell upon the old woman, the faces of the great sect leaders all changed. "Dongfang Wuji!"

At his words, the scene fell silent once more as everyone stared at the old woman in the wheelchair.

This was Dongfang Wuji, the one who broke through two thousand six hundred sets of armor with One Qi over a decade ago!!!

’Didn’t they say she was already dead?’

In that instant, turbulent waves crashed through the minds of everyone present, including those from the Demon Sect.

No one had ever expected to see the legendary Demon Sect Leader in this place.

What they found even stranger was that the Dongfang Wuji before them had none of the legendary bearing of a master.

Her gaunt, powerless body was slumped in the wheelchair, her head tilted slightly, her lifeless eyes staring forward, drool even trickling from the corner of her mouth.

How could this be the terrifyingly powerful Demon Sect Leader? She looked more like a helpless, lonely old woman who couldn’t take care of herself.

If not for the fact that her appearance hadn’t changed much from over a decade ago, even the sect leaders wouldn’t have dared to acknowledge it was her.

Layman Yu Duan of Mount Emei sneered, "Are you trying to scare us off by dragging out this half-dead fossil now?"

"Even if Dongfang Wuji isn’t dead, she probably doesn’t have many days left."

"Fighting us in such a sickly state... even if she has a breath left in her, how long can she possibly last?"