Translator: CinderTL
The rising sun cast a golden glow across the desert.
Standing in a dilapidated house, Song Wen peered through a hole in the roof at the figures in the sky, a flicker of alarm in his eyes.
A woman stood suspended in mid-air, her white robes billowing in the crisp morning breeze. Her expression was icy, her gaze sharp as she stared intently at a fissure on the distant horizon.
Below, the mortals in the city gazed up in awe, as if witnessing an Immortal Maiden descending to earth or a savior descending to save the world. Many knelt and kowtowed, chanting prayers:
"Immortal Maiden, have mercy! Grant us sweet rain to nourish the land!"
"Divine Goddess, reveal your glory! Bestow upon us clean water and food, that we may live!"
...and other supplications to gods and Buddhas.
But in Song Wen's heart, a growing unease stirred.
He recognized the woman in the sky: Bai Wei of the Spirit Jade Palace.
Besides Bai Wei, five other figures hovered in the distance, forming a circle around the fissure three hundred miles away. None of them concealed their auras, and even from afar, Song Wen could sense that all six were orthodox cultivators at the Body Integration Stage.
Six Body Integration Stage orthodox cultivators had gathered in this Spiritual Qi-depleted desert, their purpose self-evident.
Song Wen inwardly lamented his misfortune at stumbling upon a "great battle between good and evil" out of nowhere. He bolted away from the Six Fiends Hall, fleeing as fast as his legs could carry him.
Fearing exposure, he dared not use any spiritual power or reveal his Void Refinement Stage cultivator's formidable physique, forcing him to run at a Mortal's pace.
As Song Wen fled, the six cultivators above began their preparations.
Each cultivator summoned a three-foot-wide array disk before them, rapidly forming magic seals with their hands.
The array disks erupted with brilliant cyan light, shooting skyward and converging high above to form a massive luminous sphere.
The sphere radiated cyan light in all directions, slowly materializing into a colossal, transparent barrier adorned with countless arcane cyan talismans.
Whether by design or due to the formation's nature, the barrier did not encompass Luyang City.
This was irrelevant to Song Wen, whose dwelling lay on the city's outskirts. He had already escaped beyond the city walls.
Just then, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed across the desert.
"Fellow Daoists, what brings you to the Six Fiends Hall?"
The voice boomed like thunder, reverberating across the heavens.
Song Wen, who had already climbed the nearest mountain peak outside the city, couldn't help but turn back to look.
He saw two cultivators hovering in mid-air at the center of the formation barrier.
One was an elderly man with a withered frame, resembling a mummified corpse.
The other appeared to be middle-aged, showing no obvious signs of being a corpse cultivator aside from the corpse qi swirling around him.
Based on intelligence gathered from Blood Scar and Fu Liang, Song Wen immediately recognized the former as Gong Tianzong, a mid-Body Integration Stage cultivator, and the latter as Wei Gu, a late-Body Integration Stage cultivator.
The one who had spoken was Wei Gu, the higher-ranked cultivator.
Despite facing six orthodox cultivators alone within their own formation, both remained calm, showing no trace of panic.
"Wei Gu, your Six Fiends Hall has committed unspeakable atrocities, slaughtering countless mortals for your cultivation. We have come today to uphold the Dao and deliver divine justice," one of the six orthodox cultivators, a tall, imposing male cultivator, declared.
His figure radiated a sharp, piercing aura, like a sheathed sword ready to be drawn.
"Ah, it's Fellow Daoist Jian Xiao of the Myriad Swords Pavilion," Wei Gu said with a smile, his eyes gleaming. "Our Divine Blood Gate has always maintained a non-aggression pact with the three great sects of the Southern Nether Continent. You enjoy the abundant Spiritual Qi at the heart of the continent, blessed by the natural order, while we thrive in this Spiritually barren border region, free and unfettered. Why must you draw swords against us over mere mortals?"
The man addressed as "Jian Xiao" wore a cold expression, his gaze sharp as a blade.
"Wei Gu, spare me your sophistry. Your Six Fiends Hall has been lurking outside the Primordial Qi Death Zone for ages, acting on the Divine Blood Gate's orders. You must have ulterior motives. Only by eliminating you can we prevent future calamities and restore peace to the Southern Nether Continent."
"Hahahaha..."
Wei Gu threw his head back and roared with laughter, as if he had heard something utterly absurd. His laughter dripped with mockery and disdain.
"If the Divine Blood Gate truly sought to dominate the Southern Nether Continent, why would we bother sending you here to probe their defenses? Even if your three great sects joined forces, you would be no more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot before the Divine Blood Gate. Your presence here today stems from the Six Fiends Hall's ten-thousand-year occupation of this region. The three great sects suspect there's a secret hidden within the Primordial Qi Death Zone and hope to pry it from us. The irony is that your Great Ascension Stage old monsters, fearing danger, sent only you few here."
Jian Xiao's sword intent surged around him as he roared, "Wei Gu, cease your arrogant boasts! The Six Fiends Hall has only you and Gong Tianzong, both at the Body Integration Stage. The six of us are more than enough to crush you. Moreover, you're already trapped within our formation—escape is impossible. Whatever secrets lie within the Primordial Qi Death Zone, we'll extract them by capturing your divine soul and interrogating it."
Wei Gu's eyes flickered with amusement, a sinister smile curving his lips. "So, it truly is just you six fools here to die. I thought there might be Great Ascension cultivators lurking in the shadows! In that case, prepare to offer your lives. I've been needing Body Integration Stage corpses to refine my Nine-Body Fiend Corpse."
Only then did Jian Xiao realize Wei Gu had deliberately mentioned the "Great Ascension Stage old monsters" to trick him into revealing their true strength. In a moment of carelessness, he had exposed their hand.
"Wei Gu, your sharp tongue won't save you," Jian Xiao snarled, raising his voice to a thunderous roar.
"Attack!"
At his command, the six orthodox cultivators, including Jian Xiao himself, simultaneously altered their magic seals.
Just as Wei Gu had been probing their defenses with words, Jian Xiao had been stalling for time, allowing his allies ample time to complete the formation's deployment.
Instantly, a thousand-zhang-long sword of light materialized above the formation barrier, plunging downward with the force of a meteor streaking across the sky, aimed directly at Wei Gu and Gong Tianzong below.
Even before the blade struck, the overwhelming sword intent radiating from it felt like the descent of heavenly might, making it difficult for the two corpse cultivators to even maintain their flight.
The ground below began to crack and shatter, sending clouds of dust and debris billowing into the air.
Yet Wei Gu and Gong Tianzong remained unfazed.
Gong Tianzong summoned a Blood-Colored Corpse Coffin, which expanded rapidly in the wind to become a hundred zhang in size. Engulfed in boundless corpse qi, it soared upward to meet the descending sword.
Boom!
The sword struck the Corpse Coffin with a deafening roar.
The corpse qi surrounding the coffin instantly dissipated, and the coffin itself was cleaved apart, sent hurtling backward with even greater force to crash into the ground.
The earth shook violently.
From the point of impact, the ground rippled like waves, and countless fragments of rock and dust erupted skyward.
(End of the Chapter)
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