The first rays of moonlight spilled over the land.
Jiang Ling was jolted awake by Jincancan's pecking.
The little guy was hungry.
Even though it had only hatched a few days prior, its tiny, tender beak packed a surprisingly painful bite.
Jiang Ling clutched his rear end, grimacing in pain as he pointed a finger at the chick and scolded it. "Have you no respect for your master? Daring to peck your master's butt—this is sheer disrespect!"
"Cheep!"
A faint glimmer flickered in Jincancan's glazed eyes. It blinked, then quickly feigned confusion again, and pecked Jiang Ling's hand for good measure.
Slap!
Jiang Ling smacked his forehead with a sigh. "I must've lost my mind, arguing with a chicken. Lucky no one saw this—otherwise, they'd think I'm a complete idiot."
He laughed at his own foolishness, completely missing the fact that Jincancan's beak had twitched upward into a weird, almost human-like grin.
Thankfully, he didn't notice. Otherwise, he might've been scared to death by his own disciple before the beast tide even had a chance to get him—and that would've been the ultimate humiliation.
Stepping out of the main hall, Jiang Ling tilted his head back to gaze at the night sky.
Everything seemed just like any other night.
The stars blazed brightly, and the darkness stretched like a vast curtain overhead.
But Jiang Ling knew that nothing would ever be the same again.
With the celestial array guarding the sect, his Primordial Beginning Sect was now an indestructible fortress—a turtle's shell that no one could crack.
No one below the True Immortal realm stood a chance against it!
"Eight hundred years of chasing immortality, and finally, I've got my cheat code! The greatest sect to ever exist across the ages—mine shall be the Primordial Beginning Sect!"
Jiang Ling flopped down onto the only half-intact rush cushion, rubbing his sore rear as he stared at the streaks of starlight filtering through the broken roof, daydreaming about his glorious future with a silly grin.
"I've got a celestial array, I've got food and drink—all I need now are disciples. Tomorrow! Tomorrow, this master shall go down the mountain and recruit… ahem, convince a hundred or so geniuses to join the sect. Then, the ten-thousandfold reimbursements will pour in nonstop—cultivation techniques and spirit stones will pile up like mountains! I'll become an Immortal Emperor without even lifting a finger! Hehehe…"
He could already picture himself sitting atop a cloud, overlooking the Celestial Palace, with disciples as mighty as dragons at his feet and immortals from all realms bowing before him. Saliva dripped down the corner of his mouth.
"Cheep?"
Jincancan tilted its tiny head, watching its master giggle like a fool. A flicker of human-like disgust crossed its glazed eyes before it bent its head back down to peck at the last grain of spiritual rice in its bowl.
But Jiang Ling's sweet dream was short-lived.
Rumble! Rumble!
A deafening crash erupted outside the mountain gate—a hundred times more violent than the Ironclaw Wolf pack's attack earlier.
"The beast tide is back?!"
Jiang Ling shot upright, his face turning deathly pale.
"Cheep-cheep-cheep!"
Jincancan flapped its wings frantically, diving into Jiang Ling's arms as it craned its neck to peek outside.
ROAR!
A thunderous, earth-shaking roar followed, carrying the terrifying pressure of a Nascent Soul Realm Demon King. It tore through the night sky and slammed into Jiang Ling's ears like a bolt of divine lightning.
The sound waves rolled outward, jolting the celestial array into action. The imperial yellow light barrier flared to life instantly, shielding the sect from the overwhelming aura.
Jiang Ling's heart skipped a beat. He sprinted to the mountain gate, peering through the array into the darkness beyond.
There, emerging from the dense forest at the foot of the mountain, was a colossal behemoth—its steps shaking the ground with every thunderous stride.
It was a monstrous black bear, towering over three zhang tall, its massive frame like a small hill.
Its entire body was covered in jet-black fur as sharp as steel needles, its muscles bulging like boulders. A pair of blood-red eyes, the size of lanterns, blazed with savage fury in the darkness, locking onto the Primordial Beginning Sect's gate with murderous intent.
It was the Black Bear Demon King—one of the Nascent Soul Realm overlords of the Vast Mist Mountains!
Ancient trees crumbled like dry straw in its path, snapped and crushed beneath its feet without effort.
A violent cyclone of demonic energy swirled around it, visible to the naked eye, sending sand and stones flying in all directions!
Behind the Black Bear Demon King loomed a beast tide far larger and more ferocious than the last—countless monster eyes glowed with bloodthirsty green light in the dark, like a tide of death surging forward.
"N-Nascent Soul Realm?!"
Jiang Ling's legs turned to jelly, trembling uncontrollably.
He knew in theory that the array was invincible to anyone below True Immortal—but facing the full might of a Nascent Soul Demon King was a completely different matter.
How many Nascent Soul cultivators were there in the entire Border Wasteland Domain?!
Beast tides had happened before, yes—but never once had a Nascent Soul Demon King led the charge!
What the hell?!
Had some idiot gone and kicked over a monster's nest or something?!
[Ding! Detected Nascent Soul-level threat attacking the sect! Emergency Quest Triggered: Vanquish Demons to Uphold the Dao!]
[Quest Objective: Slay the invading Nascent Soul Demon King, the Black Bear!]
[Quest Reward: 1 x Basic Qi Circulation Art (Middle-Tier Yellow Rank), 10,000 x Low-Grade Spirit Stones, 1 x Low-Grade Spirit Vein!]
Just as Jiang Ling was racking his brains for an explanation, the system's notification chimed in—timing couldn't have been more perfect.
"Middle-Tier Yellow Rank?!"
Jiang Ling stared at the reward, his face turning purple with rage.
"You cheapskate of a system! That thing out there is a Nascent Soul Demon King! Is this all you've got—crumbs to throw to a beggar?!"
He cursed up a storm, but at the end of the day, he wasn't about to pass up free rewards. Even mosquito legs were still meat, after all—especially with ten thousand low-grade spirit stones on the line.
"Celestial array! It's all up to you now! Hold the line!"
Jiang Ling roared the order, pouring all his mental energy into the array disk, cranking the formation's defenses up to their maximum.
Hum!
The Nine Heavens Earth Dragon Guarding Array blazed with a light brighter than ever before.
The imperial yellow light barrier shrouding the mountain peak thickened instantly, growing solid and impenetrable. The dragon phantoms coiled around it seemed to come alive, letting out deep, rumbling roars that shook the air.
A more vast, ancient pressure—one that seemed to emanate from the very core of the earth—exploded outward!
ROAR?!
The rampaging Black Bear Demon King skidded to an abrupt halt, a flicker of shock and uncertainty flashing across its blood-red eyes for the first time.
It could sense that the dilapidated little mountain ahead had transformed into a block of unbreakable primordial divine gold.
That thin layer of light radiated a dangerous aura that sent tremors straight to its soul.
But the Black Bear Demon King didn't retreat.
It glared at Jiang Ling, then suddenly flared its nostrils and took a deep sniff of the air.
"This is the place!"
The demon king's eyes lit up. It fixed its gaze not on Jiang Ling—but on the bundle in his arms.
There, nestled safely against its master's chest, was a tiny, bright yellow chick, staring back at it with blazing anger in its glazed eyes.
Its appearance was completely different—but that aura of supreme authority was unmistakable!
"Hahaha! I've searched high and low for you, never expecting to find you here by sheer luck! The entire Vast Mist Mountains monster horde mobilized, and yet it's this king who gets to claim the prize!"
The Black Bear Demon King threw its head back and laughed triumphantly.
In the next instant, it reared up onto its hind legs, standing tall like a mountain. Its two massive paws—each as big as a millstone—glowed with a dazzling black light, gathering enough power to level mountains and split rivers. Then, with a roar that shook the heavens, it slammed them toward the Primordial Beginning Sect's gate!
"ROAR! BREAK FOR ME!"
BOOM!
A cataclysmic explosion erupted.
The violent demonic energy swept outward like a tsunami, flattening the surrounding forest in the blink of an eye.
A cloud of dust shot into the sky, blotting out the moonlight entirely!
Moments later, the dust finally began to settle.
At the mountain gate, the imperial yellow light barrier stood firm as a rock—not even a single ripple had disturbed its surface.
Outside the gate, however, the Black Bear Demon King's colossal, hill-like body had been sent staggering backward by the formation's terrifying counterforce, skidding a full thirty steps across the ground.
Each step left a deep, crater-sized footprint in the rock!
Its massive paws, which had been brimming with destructive demonic power, were now torn to shreds—blood dripped from the mangled flesh, and the glint of white bone peeked through the wounds.
The searing pain sent the demon king howling in agony!
AWOOOOO!
The backlash from the celestial array was beyond horrific!
"Yes! Way to go!"
Inside the gate, Jiang Ling hugged Jincancan tightly, letting out a long, relieved breath. His courage surged instantly. He jumped to his feet, pointing at the battered Black Bear Demon King and hurling insults at the top of his lungs.
"You vile beast! Is that all you've got, daring to trespass on my Primordial Beginning Immortal Sect? Did you really think my sect's guardian array was made of mud? Today, you're going to learn the hard way just how powerful we are!"
As he shouted, he channeled all his will into the array disk, screaming his next command. "Nine Dragons Annihilation Formation—RISE!"
With Jiang Ling's mental command, the celestial array blazed with even brighter light!
Nine colossal imperial yellow dragons, forged from the purest earth energy, roared to life from the surface of the light barrier.
Each dragon stretched a hundred zhang long, its scales and claws sharp and distinct, exuding a formidable dragon's might. In an instant, they locked onto the utterly terrified Black Bear Demon King!