Chapter 454 - 453: A New Enemy
"Ooh? That’s a lot of Evil Qi!"
Inside Daluo Palace, Gu Zhao received a massive influx of Evil Qi. The number of Thunder Seeds in his Sea of Consciousness was replenished to eight—and that was even after the many old Daoists on the mission had siphoned off a large share for themselves.
"Chi Wang Ancestor is dead?" Gu Zhao asked via voice transmission.
"He’s dead," Taoist Yan Song replied via voice transmission. "Red Moon Valley has also been annihilated. All one hundred thirty-two Wolf Demons and Beiyao Demons were wiped out in one go. We also took the opportunity to patrol the surrounding territory and eliminated some Demons that were full of Evil Qi but had not yet undergone Transformation."
"You didn’t encounter any other resistance, did you?" Gu Zhao asked again. "No other foolish Demons and Ghosts showed up to help, or anything of that sort?"
"No. We set up an Array, so even if he had friends in the Southern Border, they wouldn’t have had time to get here."
"And we had an unexpected prize from this battle," Taoist Yan Song said. "Li Chiwang possessed a Magical Treasure with an aura similar to the Heart Chakra, which we confiscated. It’s one of the Six-Headed Divine Monarch’s six treasures: the Eye Sword."
"The Heart Chakra? The Eye Sword?"
"Correct," Taoist Ming Chong chimed into the conversation. "Li Chiwang also coveted the power and Dao Practice of the Six-Headed Divine Monarch. It’s said that gathering all six treasures allows one to cultivate the Six-Headed Divine Techniques. So, he killed a disciple of the Six-Headed Divine Monarch named Bi Ling Monarch and seized his Magical Treasure, the Eye Sword."
"What a shame," Gu Zhao sighed.
"Indeed. A shame," Taoist Ming Chong sighed as well, recalling how the Centipede Spirit from before had provided a considerable amount of Evil Qi.
Taoist Yi Hong suddenly interjected, "The Demons and Ghosts of the Southern Border really are far more numerous than in the Central Plains. Many Demons and Ghost Gods keep mortals penned up like livestock, using them either as food or to refine Magical Treasures."
"Don’t go too deep," Gu Zhao warned. "There are still Great Demons in the depths of the Southern Border."
"Understood." Taoist Yi Hong nodded. "We’ll head back for now. There’s still a Ghost God over in Shanzhou we haven’t dealt with."
"Illusory Flower Hall, the Lady of Illusion Flower." Gu Zhao of course knew who Taoist Yi Hong was talking about. He had a brief encounter with this Ghost God at the birthday banquet on Rainbow Mountain.
"Brother Gao Yue asked us to save some for them," Taoist Yuan He said with a laugh.
These sixteen old Daoists had moved out together. They had previously participated in the sieges of the Ink Flood Dragon and Yun Fei’ang, and now they had mobilized again to annihilate Red Moon Valley. In the process, they had harvested a great deal of Evil Qi, significantly deepening their reserves.
The Evil Qi they had harvested from these past few battles was more than enough to ensure a long period of rapid Cultivation. As such, they weren’t planning to go to Shanzhou to compete for resources.
"But Martial Uncle Gao Yue’s group only has six people. Will they be alright in Shanzhou?" Gu Zhao was a little worried.
The old Daoists all burst out laughing.
"There aren’t that many masters under heaven. That Lady of Illusion Flower has a little over a thousand years of Dao Practice, not yet two thousand. While it might be difficult for Gao Yue’s group to achieve victory, they certainly won’t be defeated," Taoist Yan Song chuckled.
"Zhi Qing, Zhi Xiu, Han Zheng, and Han Xuan are also cultivating diligently," Taoist Ming Yu said with a smile. "Once they also achieve a Realm Breakthrough, it will be time to annihilate the Illusory Flower Hall."
Taoist Yu Zhang added, "Martial Brother Ling Ya is also close."
Taoist Ling Ya hailed from the Purple Sun Sect on Feiyun Mountain. Although he joined a batch later than Taoist Zhi Qing and the others, he was older, with deeper reserves. His Purple Yang Pill Qi Primordial was profound; when he attacked, he could unleash a ball of Great Sun Purple Yang with might on par with Taoist Shen Hao’s.
"Then we’ll leave Shanzhou to them." Gu Zhao nodded before asking for everyone’s opinion. "The New Year is almost here again. Where should we hold our third New Spring Grand Rite?"
Yunyang was the first to make a suggestion. "How about we hold it at the Daluo Palace branch temple on Cloud Heaven Cliff in Shanzhou? The last New Spring Grand Rite was held at the Black Rock Mountain branch."
"No," Taoist Yi Hong rejected the idea. "You’ll scare away all the Demons and Ghosts in Shanzhou. If they run off or go into hiding, won’t it be a huge pain to find them again?"
"Then let’s stick to Cuiluo Mountain," Taoist Yan Song said. "Holding the New Spring Grand Rite at Black Rock Mountain was a special circumstance, as we needed to inform Chaoyang Island and Silent God Mountain."
And so, the group decided to hold the New Spring Grand Rite at the Daluo Palace headquarters on Cuiluo Mountain.
...
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—The old Daoists flew away.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—The Demons and Ghosts from near Red Moon Valley who had little to no Evil Qi drew closer.
"Chi Wang Ancestor was killed?"
"All the Demons in Red Moon Valley were killed!"
"And those Wolf Demons and Beiyao Demons outside that hadn’t undergone Transformation, they were killed too."
"Why didn’t they kill us?"
"Maybe because we’re more timid? All the Demons who got killed were the arrogant, overbearing types."
"I think it’s because the ones who were killed enjoyed murdering people, devouring souls, and refining treasures."
"Huh? So they annihilated Red Moon Valley because its inhabitants were penning up mortals to use as food?"
"Who were they?"
The crowd of Demons and Ghosts stared at one another in confusion. Just then, they saw a streak of red light flash across the horizon. It crossed dozens of miles in an instant before stopping high above Red Moon Valley, revealing the figure of a bewitchingly beautiful woman.
"Li Chiwang, you will—"
The beautiful woman was halfway through her sentence when she abruptly realized Red Moon Valley’s gates were wide open, its Demon Qi dispersing. The air around it still held the lingering remnants of various types of Magical Power—fire, water, and others.
The beautiful woman transformed into a streak of red light and made a circuit of Red Moon Valley. Upon exiting, she landed beside two men standing nearby.
The expressions of the two men changed dramatically. They tried to flee, but their bodies were instantly paralyzed, and they couldn’t move a muscle.
The beautiful woman gave a bewitching smile and asked in a soft voice, "What happened at Red Moon Valley?"
"A short while ago, some people arrived at Red Moon Valley, set up an Array, and annihilated everyone in it," one of the men said hurriedly.
"Li Chiwang is dead too?"
"He is."
"Who did it?"
"We don’t know."
"Then did you see Li Chiwang take out a blood-red sword?" the beautiful woman asked, a flicker in her eyes.
"We didn’t see it," the other man shook his head frantically. "Those people enveloped the valley with an Array. We couldn’t see a thing."
’Aside from some Demon corpses,’ the beautiful woman thought, recalling what she had just seen, ’all the materials rich in Spiritual Qi have been completely looted from the valley.’
"Which direction did they go?"
"North!"
"North? Toward the Central Plains?"
"Yes, yes, yes, definitely toward the Central Plains!"
’Snow God Mountain?’ The beautiful woman subconsciously thought of Snow God Mountain. After all, it was the closest major power in the Central Plains to the Southern Border, and they were certainly strong enough to destroy Red Moon Valley with ease.
"No, it wasn’t Snow God Mountain." The beautiful woman shook her head. Sensing the lingering Taoist True Qi that had yet to dissipate, she felt the Demon Power within her stir restlessly, as if it had met its nemesis.
’No matter who they are, they must have taken the Eye Sword.’
At this thought, the beautiful woman glanced back toward the south again, a flash of fear in her eyes. ’Without the Eye Sword, how can I possibly be a match for Eldest Brother?’
The beautiful woman’s eyes narrowed. She carefully memorized the lingering aura in the air, then shot forward, once again transforming into a streak of red light and flying rapidly northward.