Chapter 491

While the battle at the Azure Cloud Sect had reached its most intense phase.

Water Cloud Prefecture — Water Cloud Immortal Capital.

The four early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators temporarily stationed here were the same ones who had barely survived Wang Yu’s hands last time. The danger of guarding this place needed no further explanation.

The demonic path had launched a three-pronged invasion.

The Black Mountain Pass force was the strongest among them. The number of late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivators alone exceeded the fingers of both hands, and there were also quite a few at Great Perfection.

With so many powerful experts from the Heaven-Refining Demonic Sect present, these four would never have volunteered to guard such a dangerous location if not to atone for their previous failure. They would much rather have stayed safely inside the sect.

At that moment, they still had no idea what had happened back at the main sect.

Just as the four of them were sighing and idly passing the time together, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the newly built City Lord Mansion. A servant recruited for the mansion stumbled in, panting.

“My lords, this is bad! This is really bad!

“The demonic cultivators have reached the walls of Water Cloud Immortal Capital!!!”

The four shot to their feet at once.

Doubt and alarm filled their voices. “How is that possible? Even if the demonic path is advancing quickly, they still have to travel the distance. Are you certain their main army has arrived?”

The servant paused for a moment.

“It seems… it seems there are only a few of them. In any case, the southern city wall has already been breached.”

“Let’s go take a look.”

Hearing that the enemy numbers were small, the four immediately regained their courage. As long as it wasn’t someone on the level of Wang Yu, they had no fear of ordinary late-stage Nascent Souls.

After all, the city still had its grand formation. As long as they stayed alert and kept the formation ready to activate at any moment, a fourth-rank formation’s power could hold out for a very long time.

They could then request reinforcements from the sect. Having a powerful faction behind them had this advantage, they didn’t need to worry about facing enemies too strong for them to handle.

They had overlooked quite a few things, however.

The moment the four Nascent Souls soared into the sky together, the servant revealed a strange smile. The skin on his face melted away like water, exposing the true appearance of the Yellow Springs Monastery Lord.

“The ancient teleportation formation in Zehu Prefecture really is convenient.”

As one of the first prefectures occupied by the demonic path, this area had already been dug up and searched thoroughly. Large numbers of feng shui earth masters had scoured the land, unearthing nearly all the hidden ancient teleportation formation.

Using these formations, the Yellow Springs Monastery Lord, the Blood Demon Hall Master, and several other late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivators had arrived at Water Cloud Immortal Capital in advance to carry out that plan.

As the Yellow Springs Monastery Lord calmly walked into the core of the City Lord Mansion, his heart stirred.

He suddenly sensed the death offering from the north. This meant that his secret cooperation with the Five Colors Holy Lord had been fulfilled, the other party had already completed the task for him.

Now only one final death offering remained.

His plan to summon the Yellow Springs River into the world would finally succeed!

Near the southern city parapet, the four Azure Cloud Sect Nascent Soul cultivators arrived together. From afar they saw a blood river rampaging wildly through the southern district. Everywhere it passed, living beings turned into dried corpses.

Their blood was sucked away and poured into the river, constantly strengthening its power. Three somewhat familiar figures stood above the blood river, waiting for them.

“Wait…

“Those guys… they’re the Three Blood Nether Demons!”

Three long-famous late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivators — Blood Origin, Blood Spring, and Blood Axe!

The sight alone was enough to fill anyone with utter terror.

The three showed no intention of advancing. They activated the jade talismans in their hands, attempting to teleport directly back into the protective formation of the City Lord Mansion.

Unfortunately… they were too slow.

Yellow Springs power had already corroded the area. Muddy yellow formation light rapidly spread outward, turning the entire Water Cloud Immortal Capital into a one-way death trap.

The teleportation jade talismans naturally failed.

Blood Axe let out a loud laugh. His figure turned into a streak of blood light as his life-bound magic treasure, the [Blood Sea Demonic Axe], chopped down ferociously. Brute force and demonic essence erupted in unison.

Like splitting heaven and earth, the axe tore through the thick, dark clouds.

It went straight for one person’s back heart.

That person had no time to react. An early-stage Nascent Soul facing a late-stage great cultivator was no harder to kill than a chicken.

Blood light flashed past. The cultivator was instantly cleaved in two.

Even his Nascent Soul was heavily wounded and fell unconscious straight into Blood Axe’s palm. The other three were attacked at the same time.

Blood Origin’s life-bound magic treasure was the [Blood Sea Demonic Sword]!

The three brothers all cultivated the [Blood Sea Demonic Scripture], but each had refined a different type of magic treasure. The eldest brother, Blood Spring, possessed a special kind of life-bound magic treasure.

It was called the [Blood River] and had the most unique power among them.

The four early-stage Nascent Souls of the Azure Cloud Sect were instantly “transcended” by one axe and one sword. The remaining two were swallowed by the blood sea. As they floated and sank within it, they quickly fell silent.

Four storage rings fell into the hands of the three demons.

Blood Axe clicked his tongue in boredom. “These rotten eggs were too weak.”

His tone was full of disappointment at not having enough fun.

Blood Origin said calmly, “The Azure Cloud Sect has suffered multiple heavy blows in succession. How many Nascent Soul experts could they possibly have left to guard Water Cloud Prefecture? I thought we might run into Yellow Cloud Ancestor this time, but it looks like they value their main sect more.”

Blood Spring: “No matter. Since Crimson Heaven Demon Venerable has gone to the Azure Cloud Sect’s mountain gate, the Monastery Lord’s plan this time faces no obstacles. After the Sect Master devoured Zhuo Shouyun, he has already completed the final step of the Innate Blood Demon Body.”

It would not be long before, aside from the Heaven-Refining Demonic Sect…two new Spirit Transformation Venerables would be born in the demonic path, the Yellow Springs Monastery Lord and the Blood Demon Hall Master!

This was also the reason the Northern Demon Holy Lord was willing to help.

Once they joined forces with the Joyous Union Demon Sect, the Nether Mountain Sect, and the Northern Demon Race, they would finally be able to stand against the Heaven-Refining Demonic Sect on equal footing. The only downside was that the demon race would need territory.

That matter could be discussed after this was over.

But there was an eighty percent chance that Taihu’s Northern Plains Prefecture and the Crimson Kite’s Maple Prefecture would be ceded to the Northern Demon Race. A few internal territorial exchanges within the demonic path would suffice. It was not too troublesome.

“Let’s begin… Once the city is slaughtered, we can finally breathe easy.”

The Yellow Springs Monastery Lord needed death offerings. Using the power of an ancient ritual, he would summon the Yellow Springs River. Three such locations had already been prepared:

Tianling Prefecture under the Thunderfire Temple’s control, Zehu Prefecture under the Azure Cloud Sect’s control, Lingxi Prefecture under the Sword Sect’s control.

Adding the Azure Cloud Sect’s mountain gate in Northern Plains Prefecture, the city in Feng Prefecture that the Blood Demon Hall Master was responsible for, and this final location — Water Cloud Immortal Capital.

Seven death offerings in total. The number of casualties would exceed tens of millions.

If one counted the higher life forms of cultivators, the total number of sacrificed beings would easily reach several hundred million.

At that moment.

The entire Water Cloud Immortal Capital was slaughtered clean by the Three Blood Nether Demons in less than half the time it took an incense stick to burn. Every living being in the city had fallen silent. The Yellow Springs Monastery Lord stood on the observation platform of the City Lord Mansion.

In his hand, he lit an incense stick thicker than a human head — Yellow Springs Incense.

Wisps of green smoke rose and drifted straight into the clouds. This was to help the Yellow Springs River lock onto its descent point and fix the arrival location at Water Cloud Immortal Capital.

Before long.

The sound of rushing water echoed from the horizon. A long, deep spatial fissure tore open. Muddy yellow water poured down like a waterfall. The fissure connected directly to the Yellow Springs Realm.

The legendary netherworld, the land of reincarnation, and the birthplace of yin beasts. Normally, only the Path of Yin and Yang or the Boat of the Dead could reach these special worlds that represented death.

The Yellow Springs Monastery Lord could barely contain his excitement.

If not for the fact that the branch of the Yellow Springs River inside the monastery was a foundational reserve of the sect and could not be consumed or used recklessly, he would never have needed to scheme so painstakingly.

Now that he had finally found an opportunity during the righteous-demonic war, how could his emotions not surge?

“The population of the Crimson Kite is ultimately too small. The true opportunities for us demonic cultivators have always lain in prosperous places like Taihu. I’ll have to trouble the three of you to guard me while I break through.”

The Three Blood Nether Demons nodded at the same time.

“Of course. The Monastery Lord’s breakthrough is also a great boon for us. We will spare no effort and protect you with everything we have.”

It was rather strange.

The Blood Reversal Sect and Yellow Springs Monastery had always held deep grudges against each other. Their current cooperation had almost been forced upon them by the Heaven-Refining Demonic Sect.

With success in sight, the Yellow Springs Monastery Lord no longer delayed.

He leaped straight into the Yellow Springs River flowing from the spatial fissure. This breakthrough method was not the monastery’s own foundation, but something he had accidentally obtained from the feedback of the Yellow Springs when he had privately communicated with it.

If one had to describe it, it was reasonable to say that the Yellow Springs itself had gifted him this breakthrough method.

This proved that he had been chosen by the “Yellow Springs Will,” or that it was a legacy left behind by some powerful expert within the Yellow Springs. Either explanation worked.

The truth of the matter was not important for now.

He devoted himself completely to the Yellow Springs River, absorbing the true Yellow Springs water. The White-bone Demonic God Dharma Aspect belonging to the Monastery Lord rapidly perfected itself. His Nascent Soul also continued to grow stronger under the nourishment of the true Yellow Springs water.

His Dao intent grew and transformed along with it.

His life level rose steadily. Under the effect of the secret art, breaking through to the Spirit Transformation realm seemed exceptionally simple.

At the same time.

In Feng Prefecture City, the giant city dyed red with blood was deathly silent. The Blood Demon Hall Master sat cross-legged in the plaza of the City Lord Mansion, surrounded by mountains of dried corpses. Waves of bloody demonic essence surged wildly around him.

Three lightning-like blood marks appeared between his brows.

They changed from two bright and one dim to all three shining brightly. This meant that his final flaw had been filled. Three Blood Demon Bodies combined with one Innate Blood Spiritual Root.

Paired with the Blood Demon Scripture’s secret art, it had successfully forged him a Spirit Transformation-level spiritual body aptitude — the [Innate Blood Demon Body]!

If the Innate Demonic Embryo Physique’s ability was Heavenly Demon Myriad Transformations, then the Innate Blood Demon Body’s ability was to trace origins back to the source.

It sought the origin of the Blood Demon Dao… the Ancient Demon — [Blood]!

This connection made the Blood Demon Hall Master seem like the offspring of the ancient Blood Demon. The invisible link allowed him to draw power directly from the Blood Demon.

He could absorb the Ancient Demon’s source blood to break through the Spirit Transformation bottleneck.

The ancient Demons sealed in the Ice Prison Realm only possessed physical instincts and lacked true consciousness. This meant that the Innate Blood Demon Body should originally have required “prayer” or “offering” rituals to obtain power.

Now… he could simply steal it without permission.

As the invisible connection deepened, streams of pure, rich blood demonic essence rained down from the void. The Blood Demon Hall Master refined them without hindrance, turning them into the foundation of his own power.

He then swallowed a fourth-rank supreme-grade spirit pill from Eastern Extreme Capital. Relying on his endless reserve of energy and his spiritual body aptitude, he forcefully charged toward the Spirit Transformation bottleneck.

Inside his small frame, the sound of crashing waves against the shore rang out continuously.

Wave after wave of demonic essence hammered forward.

Both sides had entered the critical stage at the same time. At this rate, it would not take them long to break through — as short as two or three months, or at most a few years.

…

…

Meanwhile, at the Azure Cloud Sect’s mountain gate.

The Color Cloud Mountain Range, already scarred by the fires of war, was now even more shattered. Violent spiritual energy raged through the air. The clashes between Dharma Aspects giants had already ceased.

This was because nearly all of the Color Cloud Six Elders had been killed or wounded.

Only two heavily injured, near-death Great Perfection cultivators remained — Red Cloud Ancestor and Yellow Cloud Ancestor. This battle had truly marked the extermination of the Azure Cloud Sect.

Sword River Venerable retracted his Law Manifestation of Heaven and Earth with a grave expression.

With a sweep of his sword river, he forced back the Five Colors Holy Lord and the others who were surrounding Red Cloud and Yellow Cloud, shielding the two behind him and forming a standoff.

During his fight with Crimson Heaven, he had noticed a strange problem.

No matter what technique he used, Crimson Heaven always had a perfect counter, and could even immediately retaliate. This level of combat experience went far beyond simply being well-versed in fighting.

It carried a strong element of prediction. The moment Sword River made a move, Crimson Heaven already knew exactly which technique was coming. This was why he had never found the chance to aid the Color Cloud Six Elders.

He could only watch helplessly as they were devoured by the Demon Race and Demonic Cultivators.

This was completely unreasonable!

Looking back on the past, he had never fought Crimson Heaven before. After breaking through to Spirit Transformation, he had focused entirely on cultivating divine abilities and secret arts, slowly improving his overall configuration.

Even if Crimson Heaven somehow knew all the techniques and divine abilities he had used when he was weaker, it still should not have reached this level.

Therefore.

Only two possibilities remained.

First, Crimson Heaven’s combat talent was simply monstrous, he could accurately predict every single move his opponent would make in battle.

Second… there was a traitor inside the Sword Sect.

Moreover, the traitor held a very high position and had frequent contact with him. After ruling out the Sword Sect’s Spirit Transformation Venerables, the most suspicious were those few Sword Hiers and the personal disciple he had accepted many years ago.

Considering that Crimson Heaven had been repeatedly toyed with by Wang Yu and had even lost face badly in Eastern Extreme Capital, he did not seem like someone with this level of combat wisdom. His arrogant personality also showed no signs of being disturbed.

No matter how one looked at it, something was off.

Therefore, deep in his heart, Sword River Venerable leaned more toward the second possibility.

If this were true.

It meant a major problem had arisen. The Sword Sect’s overall strategy and tactics were very likely already known to the enemy. No wonder the righteous-demonic war had dragged on for so many years.

Taihu had always been at a disadvantage for a reason.

After quickly sorting through his thoughts.

Sword River Venerable remained outwardly calm, but secretly began transmitting to Red Cloud and Yellow Cloud Ancestors.

“The fall of Azure Cloud is already set in stone. Crimson Heaven Demon Venerable’s condition is extremely strange and very different from before. Are the two of you willing to withdraw with me back to the Sword Sect and plan our next steps?”

Even as he said this, the two had no room to refuse.

They were fish on the chopping block. With only the two of them, how could they possibly re-establish the Azure Cloud Sect before their lifespans ran out? Not to mention reclaiming the four prefectures.

If Sword River Venerable abandoned them, it would be certain death.

Yellow Cloud Ancestor gave a bitter smile.

“We will follow Venerable’s orders.”

Red Cloud Ancestor, however, rolled his eyes and secretly transmitted to Yellow Cloud: “In the battle at Ice River Pass, quite a few of our sect’s Nascent Souls should have successfully escaped. There’s no way the demonic path scum could have killed more than twenty Nascent Souls so quickly when they reached the mountain gate.

“As long as five or six remain, there is still hope. This time we must pin the blame on Sword River Venerable and force the Sword Sect to compensate us. Ideally, we can borrow their people to reclaim the four prefectures!”

Yellow Cloud Ancestor was stunned.

He had not expected that even at a time like this, Red Cloud Ancestor was still thinking about preserving everything. The words “compromise” and “defeat” simply did not exist in his dictionary.

The result was exactly as expected.

This secret transmission was directly intercepted by Sword River Venerable’s far stronger divine sense. His expression instantly darkened.