Chapter 978: A Sword Splits the Canyon

Demonic Arts!

Mo Douguang immediately understood why there was no inner core.

It turned out this fourth-tier demonic beast had long been corrupted and consumed by demonic arts, leaving only an empty shell.

This blood-red shadow, carrying a faint scent of the sea, descended upon Mo Douguang's glabella with lightning speed. He tried to control his Longevity Sword with his spiritual sense to block it, but the demonic beast's corpse suddenly contracted, forming a sealed cage of flesh and blood that firmly trapped the Longevity Sword.

In the past, Mo Douguang could easily break through such a blockade with a single surge of true qi.

But at this critical moment, that single breath could cost him his life.

Seeing that his escape speed couldn't evade the blood-red shadow's impact, Mo Douguang's eyes flashed with sword light, and he fully unleashed his perfected Golden Rainbow Sword Aura.

However, this blood-red shadow was a sinister and ruthless secret technique of demonic cultivation. Although his sword aura was condensed to be extremely sharp, it instantly cleaved the blood-red shadow into two upon contact. Yet, amidst a cackle, one half of the divided shadow eroded the sword aura, while the other half continued its undiminished speed, thrusting towards Mo Douguang's Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness.

Just as the blood-red shadow was about to penetrate, a sharp glint flashed in Mo Douguang's eyes. He was about to release his Nascent Soul to fight desperately when a voice suddenly echoed in his ear.

He immediately halted his attempt to exit his Nascent Soul and began to control the Longevity Sword. With a clear ringing sound, the cage formed by the demonic beast's corpse was broken open.

Soon, the demonic forces split into two routes. A Nascent Soul demonic cultivator and a seventh-tier demonic beast led a large army of demons to land on another coast of Dongwu.

Wen Buyue added, "Also, organize a team of elites to delve into the Barren Sea. Information on the demonic forces must be delivered promptly."

"Yes!" The master immediately accepted the order.

After all, the Void Qi Lock was not widely spread like the Vacuum Dharma Body; it was a true transmission within the Grand Void Illusory Palace.

At the critical moment, Hu Qingsong absorbed the power of the Five Elements Dao Soldiers, transforming into a massive golden-armored divine general holding a sword. He stood on the shore, raising his sword to cleave the giant waves, then charged into the sea to battle the awe-inspiring demonic beast.

Wen Buyue spoke. Mo Douguang shook his head heavily as he described what it felt like to face that blood-red shadow.

"I sensed an overwhelming demonic aura advancing towards us. Today's battle is merely the beginning. Soon, the demonic forces from the Barren Sea will launch a full assault. The demon race isn't too bad, but the demonic arts are bizarre. Everyone must be careful..."

After hearing this, Diao Xianlan no longer mentioned the Blood God, to avoid bad luck, and instead changed the topic, asking about Du Mengyun.

"It was merely a Blood God refined from the essence of a demonic beast's inner core and flesh; it's not worthy of being my avatar. It was only meant to test Dongwu's strength. Although it was destroyed, it still fulfilled its mission." As Gongyang Qing spoke, he was secretly wondering what kind of restriction could silently confine the Blood God he had refined.

Once a Divinity Transformation cultivator made a move, Golden Crow Immortal City would sooner or later be razed to the ground.

"Junior Brother, thank you for earlier."

"Among those in the demonic path, anyone with complicated thoughts would have long become dry bones in their hearts," Gongyang Qing said calmly.

The white-haired, blood-robed male cultivator before them was none other than Gongyang Qing, the Grand Elder of the Jade Mirror Demonic Sect, who had already reached the perfected Nascent Soul stage hundreds of years ago.

And at the moment the blood-red shadow was halted, on a spiritual island somewhere in the Barren Sea, a male cultivator with white long hair, rugged features, and draped in a blood-red robe, opened his eyes.

After careful consideration, Mo Douguang still sent that disciple to participate in this war.

Soon, more demon races emerged from the depths of the Barren Sea, and even many demonic cultivators with strange movements were mixed among them, posing a huge threat to the Five Elements Sect and the Dongwu Alliance.

Unfortunately, even so, it still turned to ashes under the Purple Lightning Sword! The freed Longevity Sword swept through, having already cut down the blood-red shadow before Mo Douguang into a sky full of bloody mist.

"If you serve well and conquer Dongwu and Donghuang, I will impart to you the sect's supreme Yin-Yang Cycles Art."

At that time, the combined power of the demonic and monster paths could grow strong there, uniting and echoing the forces in Dongli, to attack from both sides, devour Dongyue, and break into the Central Plains.

"By rights, it should be the Five Elements Seal of the One Yuan Dao Palace, but the traces don't match, nor did I sense any fluctuations in the arrangement of the Five Elements spiritual qi between heaven and earth. Looking at the light and shadow, it rather resembles the Grand Void Illusory Palace's 'Void Qi Lock,'" Chen Mobai said, revealing his discovery, yet his face was filled with doubt.

But in the end, Gongyang Qing only said that one sentence, which made Diao Xianlan breathe a sigh of relief.

In the demonic path, there is no such thing as master-disciple affection. Everything Diao Xianlan cultivated since childhood was under Gongyang Qing's control. If he ever wished to take the step to Divinity Transformation, the very first thing he would have to do was kill his own master, Gongyang Qing.

"What did you see on the battlefield?" Gongyang Qing asked the vague figure faintly visible on the sea.

He merely mentioned what Du Mengyun already knew: Mo Douguang's achievement of slaying the venomous dragon with his sword in the Cloud Dream Marsh. The purpose was to use Mo Douguang's righteous divine sword to kill Hu Qingsong.

At this moment, the clouds in the sky churned, and a silver light projection descended from above, accurately enveloping Mo Douguang's entire body. The blood-red shadow, which was supposed to pierce into Mo Douguang's Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness, was held in place by the silver light projection as if space and time had frozen.

"Yes, Zhuo Ming, your disciple will surely not disappoint!"

In Dongwu, many parts for treasure ships were even replaced with the corpses of these demonic beasts.

At night, Wen Buyue stood on a reef by the coast, with a figure formed by Mo Douguang's void illusion beside him. The two were conversing.

However, along that advance route, there was a crucial fifth-tier spiritual vein, Xiaoqing Ridge, where Mo Douguang was stationed.

In comparison, the outcome on the Eastern Yi side depended on whether the Divinity Transformation True Spirits of the Black Flood Dragon Royal Court would make a move.

Moreover, Wen Buyue was forcibly boosting his power with the Five Elements Dao Soldiers, so he couldn't stray too far from the Five Elements Sect's cultivator army.

Behind them, beneath the sea, was Dongwu's fleet of treasure ships. On the coast behind the fleet, the Five Elements Sect's five camps of cultivators were stationed in the form of a war formation.

Hu Qingsong gave his orders, and the master nodded, then returned to arrange these matters.

The two sides fought three consecutive battles, and with the assistance of two other seventh-tier demonic beasts, they were evenly matched.

The Dongwu Alliance, relying on the prestige of the Five Elements Sect, pursued them for a while. They only returned victoriously when night gradually fell.

On the demonic path side, the cultivation techniques practiced generally have flaws. So, although Diao Xianlan and Gongyang Qing were both Nascent Soul cultivators, if they were to fight, all their divine abilities and grand spells would be easily suppressed.

This place was a continuous mountain range, bordering the desolate city, fraught with danger.

"Just bear with it a little longer. Once we both reach Divinity Transformation, even the True Spirit bloodline of the Black Flood Dragon Royal Court will come and serve as our mounts!"

That is the Demonic Path!

Before Wen Buyue arrived with the disciples of the Five Elements Sect, the demonic forces in the Barren Sea began to retreat, evidently being commanded by someone.

"Hu Qing's avatar, even if it encountered a peak Nascent Soul cultivator, could still contend. How could anyone in Dongwu stop it?"

After Diao Xianlan left that spiritual island, he immediately rushed to the Dongwu coastline.

Among them were two massive gaps, traces left by the dying struggles of a seventh-tier demonic beast and a Nascent Soul demonic cultivator slain by the Purple Lightning Sword.

However, beneath the massive army, no matter how remote the places, all were flattened. Even the demonic beasts in the desolate ruins were swept along, rushing into Dongwu territory.

As he left, a vague figure emerged from behind Gongyang Qing and said, "That disciple of yours seems to have a lot on his mind."

"Hu Qing, why hasn't Junior Sister arrived yet?"

This was the "Void Lock" cultivated by Mo Douguang and his void illusion. Although only at the introductory stage, it could still momentarily freeze time for about a breath.

"It should be that Chen Qingdi. Can you tell what technique it was?" Gongyang Qing continued to ask. The reason the two great demonic overlords had been hesitant to act there was their apprehension towards that legendary One Yuan Dao Child.

Chen Mobai smiled, and Mo Douguang felt a chill in his heart.

The Dongli Demonic Path, following the instructions of the Luminous Venerable, divided their labor. Two great Divinity Transformation cultivators led the Dongli demonic cultivators in a grand war against the Holy Land at the border, while the Qitian and Yujing factions were respectively responsible for uniting with the demon races from Xuanhai and Huanghai to conquer the three territories of Eastern Yi, Eastern Wasteland, and Dongwu, which had been developed by the Central Plains Holy Land over thousands of years.

Diao Xianlan, who was nearby, immediately spoke up and asked.

Once the war began, it would be relentless.

Among the demonic path, those who could converse with Gongyang Qing in such a manner were few and far between.

Mo Douguang turned around and said to his cherished disciple that although he wished Hu Qing'an would safely remain in Donghuang, if he didn't train now, opportunities for combat would be even rarer before forming a Nascent Soul.

After Gongyang Qing finished speaking, he narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Diao Xianlan before him, causing the latter's face to involuntarily turn slightly pale.

Otherwise, when his realm surpassed Gongyang Qing's, he would be completely devoured by the latter.

"The Myriad Immortals Island doesn't really trust us. The Little Demon Venerable kept me here as a hostage."

But that Chen Qingdi was clearly a One Yuan Dao Child, how did he also learn the techniques of the Grand Void Illusory Palace?

As long as they could conquer this place and open up the three territories, the demonic path would gain its second major base outside Dongli.

Gongyang Qing's expression changed at his words.

Earlier, by Gongyang Qing's side, he dared not use the Jade Mirror secret art to observe, but in his opinion, only Mo Douguang from the entire Five Elements Sect could contend with Gongyang Qing.

The canyon was filled with demonic beast corpses.

"So it wasn't the One Yuan Dao Child who made a move from the Five Elements Sect's Wen Buyue?"

"Indeed, it seems I was overly sensitive," the vague figure laughed.

With a single sword strike, majestic purple lightning roared past, splitting the ground below into a deep, massive canyon.

"Oh!"

However, among the demonic forces, besides the demon race, there were also demonic cultivators.

Moreover, the master's body cultivation was profound, and he possessed many magical artifacts he had refined. Even if he encountered the most formidable eighth-tier peak demonic beasts, he could still contend with them.

The strongest among them, with a vast and profound aura, unleashed terrifying waves with a single breath, nearly breaking through the battle formation of the entire Dongwu Alliance's treasure ship fleet and even threatening to engulf the Five Elements Sect's encampment on the shore.

"Zhuo Ming, what's wrong?"

"Someone quite similar to you was observing the battlefield. You were in the sea, and he was in the sky. It was likely he who made a move, halting your Blood God." As the vague figure spoke, it suddenly solidified, transforming into a woman with an eerie countenance.

"Strange and sinister. If it had been his move, even if you had survived, your Purple Mansion Sea of Consciousness would have been damaged."

On the other side, Hu Qingsong, who had just left, had already rendezvoused with his disciple Sun Baili, who informed him of everything that had happened beneath the sea.

"The cultivators on Dongwu's side are experienced in sea warfare. Make sure Song Huang finds cultivators with special aquatic techniques to deploy puppets in deeper waters."

"They're currently fighting, but over there, I can only play the role of a subservient one. Many elders within the sect were used as cannon fodder by the demon race and died under Golden Crow Immortal City."

Seeing the demonic army fall into the trap, Mo Douguang's eyes remained calm. His hundreds-of-meters-tall Myriad Swords Dharma Body emerged from behind him, standing atop the mountain. After absorbing the Five Elements Dao Soldiers, he raised the Purple Lightning Sword!

And the demon races of Xuanhai and Huanghai could use this as a base to land in the Central Plains at any time.

In the twilight, many cultivators on the sea were salvaging the corpses of their own kin, and allied forces were also retrieving the corpses of slain demonic beasts from the sea. After processing, these could be used to refine simple magical artifacts.

Chen Mobai spoke without a ripple in his tone, as if for him, his own dignity, or even the casualties of his sect, could not cause his emotions to fluctuate.

Three seventh-tier demonic beasts also appeared consecutively.

This person was precisely Chen Mobai, the Sect Master of the Qitian Demonic Sect, who had practiced demonic arts alongside Gongyang Qing when the Luminous Venerable disappeared!

Harboring certain hidden thoughts, Diao Xianlan did not inform Gongyang Qing of Mo Douguang's true combat strength.

"A Blood God was destroyed."