Chapter 980: Small Demon Lord

Above the desolate sea, a powerful demonic aura rose from the seabed, forming a massive whirlpool. Subsequently, a young man with long gray hair and golden pupils emerged from the vortex. He had a peculiar triangular face and stood upon the churning sea, gazing towards the coast of Dongwu.

A silvery moonlight descended from the sky, transforming into a veiled young woman, who was none other than Du Mengyun, the Saintess of the Jade Mirror Demonic Sect.

"Greetings, Little Demon Venerable," Du Mengyun said softly, looking at the gray-haired youth with reverence.

"How are things in Dongwu?" the Little Demon Venerable asked expressionlessly.

As the leader of the myriad demons in the desolate sea, it was not only the true disciple of the Demon Venerable but had also received a drop of the Demon Venerable's vital blood. In the deepest part of the desolate sea, it had cultivated diligently for eight hundred years, utilizing the power of the Sea Eye to completely refine this vital blood. This not only allowed it to reach the peak of the fourth stage but also enabled it to master the True Spirit Secret Art, a technique only the Demon Venerable could wield. After achieving great mastery in its cultivation, the Little Demon Venerable had originally planned to move against the Myriad Star Alliance, turning the desolate sea entirely into a domain for demons, just like the Black Sea. However, before it could act, it received news that the Demon Venerable was trapped within the Sky-Piercing Dao Refinement Pagoda.

Du Mengyun was the one who brought this information to it.

As it concerned the Demon Venerable, it felt compelled to investigate and verify, regardless of whether the information was true or false. For this reason, the Little Demon Venerable had personally infiltrated the Eastern Lands, even risking detection by Yuan Qingque, to approach Skyreach Peak. The closer the Demon Venerable's vital blood got to Skyreach Peak, the more intensely it burned. After confirming that the Demon Venerable was indeed within the Nine Heavens Demon Extermination Sect, the Little Demon Venerable began to trust Du Mengyun. It was precisely because of this that when Wen Buyue had ambushed Du Mengyun, she was instead pursued by the Myriad Immortals Island and nearly perished.

"Our plan has been very successful," Du Mengyun began. "Most of the Five Elements Sect cultivators from Xiaoqing Ridge have now been dispatched by Daoist Master Yiyuan to various locations across Dongwu to suppress and eliminate the demons we sent to infiltrate and hide." Du Mengyun continued, explaining that one of her avatars was Sun Huangling of the Sun family in Dongwu, who was familiar with most of Dongwu's terrain, spiritual veins, and the power distribution of various major clans. With Sun Huangling's guidance, the infiltrating demons were able to cause such extensive damage in Dongwu and even managed to hide a significant portion of themselves from the Five Elements Sect's twenty-thousand-strong army, continuing to draw attention.

There were three main objectives for doing this: first, to allow the demons to grow stronger by consuming vital blood in Dongwu; second, to undermine the unity of the Dongwu Alliance. Du Mengyun knew that the various major clans in Dongwu were never truly united. Especially between the large clans and the small-to-medium ones, a conflict erupting in their backyard would surely cause the fragile alliance on the front lines to crumble. To resolve this, the Five Elements Sect would inevitably have to deploy a large army. This was the ultimate goal.

Currently, the Five Elements Sect's two Nascent Soul cultivators were guarding two separate locations. Mo Douguang's side was the main battlefield, making it difficult to spare manpower, which meant the forces would have to come from Xiaoqing Ridge, where Chen Mobai was stationed. This Daoist Master Yiyuan was terrifyingly powerful, possessing a fifth-tier sword artifact. After absorbing the power of the Five Elements Dao Soldiers, he was equivalent to a perfected Nascent Soul cultivator. Even the Little Demon Venerable, who held itself in high regard, did not wish to face him directly. Therefore, the demonic path proposed this 'lure the tiger out of its mountain lair' strategy. As long as Daoist Master Yiyuan's Five Elements Dao Soldiers could not be deployed, the demons would be able to execute their beheading plan. However, the demonic and monstrous factions spent a considerable amount of time debating who would be the one to eliminate Daoist Master Yiyuan.

Although the Little Demon Venerable trusted Du Mengyun, it did not trust Diao Xianlan and did not want to be used as a pawn by the demonic path, so it insisted Diao Xianlan act. Diao Xianlan, however, was hesitant. It wasn't that she lacked confidence, but rather that she was at a crucial stage of her Spirit Transformation. If Chen Mobai had any hidden trump cards, she might have to use a secret art to unleash Spirit Transformation power, which would delay her own breakthrough. Therefore, Diao Xianlan hoped the Little Demon Venerable would make a move. Du Mengyun, caught in the middle, found herself in a difficult position and could only try her best to find a balance between the two parties.

And today was the day both sides reached an agreement and swore an oath.

Ultimately, Diao Xianlan decided to act because the Little Demon Venerable promised that it did not need Dongwu or the Eastern Barrens; as long as the Demon Venerable could be rescued, all vital blood on the Eastern Continent would be ceded to the demonic path. This temptation was significant, as Diao Xianlan would require a vast amount of vital blood for blood sacrifice if she wished to achieve Spirit Transformation.

"Then force him here, and let your master act halfway," the Little Demon Venerable commanded, its golden pupils glowing with a cold light after hearing this.

Du Mengyun immediately nodded, then descended to inform the desolate sea demons to launch a full-scale attack.

On the coast, Mo Douguang frowned slightly. He sensed the terrifying aura emanating from the Little Demon Venerable in the depths of the desolate sea—a power far beyond what ordinary demons could possess. "Junior Brother Chen, this demon must be the legendary Little Demon Venerable of Myriad Immortals Island. I'm afraid even if I absorb the Five Elements Dao Soldiers, I'll only be able to hold on for a short while!" Mo Douguang spoke gravely to the air. A silver light flickered, and Chen Mobai, having used his Void Mirage, appeared beside him. Chen Mobai had nothing much to do at Xiaoqing Ridge, so he maintained his Void Mirage for extended periods, subtly controlling both Mo Douguang and Jiang Zongheng. The moment Mo Douguang spoke, he immediately appeared.

"I'll go see!"

Over the past three years of war, Chen Mobai's prolonged use of the Void Mirage had surprisingly led to further improvements. Besides becoming more proficient, he could now also employ more void secret arts. This was precisely what made Chen Mobai realize his truly extraordinary talent in spatial abilities. According to the records in the Four Books of Grand Void, ordinary people wishing to master the Void Mirage needed to undergo mental demon tempering, experience the mortal world, and see through desires, among other trials, to even begin. Yet, he felt none of these difficulties; he simply practiced and succeeded. This was true not only for the Void Mirage but also for the Void Lock. As for the Vacuous Dharma Body, he understood it with ease. If not for insufficient time and his prior loss of vital blood making it difficult to cultivate new body-refining techniques, he would probably have started experimenting long ago. Only the Void Dunjia Art remained profound; Chen Mobai had only grasped its rudiments so far.

However, for Chen Mobai currently, the Void Mirage and Void Lock were sufficient.

The Void Mirage has seven layers, with its highest realm being "Turning Falsehood into Reality." At that stage, Chen Mobai could, with a mere thought, condense an illusory space using void power in any location he had previously marked. Everything within this illusory space could turn real according to his will, even conjuring true life and Dao. To Chen Mobai, such a realm was inconceivable and beyond imagination. Unfortunately, the Void Mirage he obtained at the Big Dipper Assembly was not complete; he could only cultivate it up to the fourth layer at most.

The four layers are: Entering the Void Illusion, Transforming Void into Image, Shifting Reality and Illusion, and Returning to Eternal Truth. Entering the Void Illusion means the cultivator initially touches and perceives the void, using their mind to comprehend the emptiness of all things. After trials through various desires, inner demons, and the mortal world, they master the condensation and release of void power, forming illusory projections. Transforming Void into Image, on the other hand, allows one to condense various almost realistic scenes within an illusion. At this stage, one can influence the five senses of others, and if their spiritual sense far surpasses their opponent's, they can even cause the opponent to fall into it, as if living in a real world. This method is virtually indistinguishable from an inner demon. Chen Mobai had recently mastered this "Transforming Void into Image" technique and experimented with several infiltrating demonic cultivators. The results were excellent; they were all completely immersed in his illusions, and even when awakened, they believed they were still dreaming.

Furthermore, the Void Mirage had another effect: the illusory avatar Chen Mobai condensed using it could wield all void-related powers he had mastered. It was precisely because of this that he was previously able to use the Void Lock to freeze the blood-light attacking Mo Douguang.

In addition, Chen Mobai also knew void-walking and other techniques from the Immortal Sect. So, as soon as he cast it, the figure from the Void Mirage immediately vanished from Mo Douguang's side, teleporting to the distant sky above the desolate sea, repeatedly flashing towards the source of the Little Demon Venerable's demonic aura.

Before long, Chen Mobai's illusory avatar arrived above the whirlpool on the sea surface. However, just as he saw the Little Demon Venerable and Du Mengyun above the whirlpool, the latter two simultaneously sensed his presence and looked up at him. Immediately afterward, a vast, abyssal spiritual sense shockwave and a bizarre, icy spiritual sense shockwave simultaneously struck Chen Mobai's illusory avatar. In a flash of silver light, the illusory avatar unexpectedly failed to hold up and dissipated into a wisp of smoke.

Chen Mobai's true body, standing atop Xiaoqing Ridge, opened his eyes at that very moment.

"A peak Nascent Soul demon and a late Nascent Soul demonic cultivator!" Although the Void Mirage was detected and shattered in mere moments, Chen Mobai had, at the instant of spiritual sense contact, perceived the strength of the Little Demon Venerable and Du Mengyun. If they were to act, Mo Douguang would absolutely be no match for them! At this thought, Chen Mobai immediately cast the Void Mirage again, projecting it beside Mo Douguang.

"Senior Brother Mo, the opponents are powerful. Remember not to leave the grand formation's range. Wait for me to arrive!" As soon as Chen Mobai finished speaking, Mo Douguang, who had just been about to command the Geng Metal Dao Soldiers out of the formation, immediately stopped.

At this moment, the Little Demon Venerable and Du Mengyun had already arrived at the coast, controlling the massive whirlpool. In just an instant of contact, the Dongwu Alliance treasure ships, which had formed a battle formation on the sea, were swept away and shattered by the whirlpool. First-tier treasure ships had no chance to resist, all breaking apart and becoming debris adrift in the sea. Second-tier treasure ships held out for a short while before also meeting the same fate. The Dongwu cultivators on them immediately abandoned ship, but most became lost souls in the hands of the demons hidden within the whirlpool. Third and fourth-tier treasure ships, after fully activating their core furnaces, managed to barely remain intact within the whirlpool. However, as tens of thousands of demons emerged from the vortex, their situation also became precarious.

At this moment, a brilliant golden sword light, a thousand meters long, slashed out from the Golden Armored Divine Sword on the shore, striking directly at the center of the giant whirlpool. With a massive roar, the remaining treasure ships of the Dongwu Alliance immediately felt the whirlpool's binding power weaken, even disappear. Sun Huanglong and others, without hesitation, immediately activated their treasure ships' restrictions, engaged maximum speed, broke free from the whirlpool's range, and surged straight onto the shore. The other treasure ships followed suit, even risking damage or self-detonating their furnaces to escape the massive whirlpool.

On the shore, Mo Douguang, using the power of the Five Elements Dao Soldiers, successively unleashed over a dozen brilliant golden sword lights, each a thousand meters long, providing aid to the remaining Dongwu Alliance.

Just then, a blood-red light suddenly burst forth from the whirlpool, forming a scarlet net that enveloped all the sword lights. As the scarlet net closed, it immediately collided with the sword lights, unleashing a series of violent roars! The sea surface was filled with continuous loud noises and dazzling light, but it also allowed the remaining Dongwu Alliance treasure ships to escape the whirlpool and return to shore.

"A Demonic Path Nascent Soul cultivator!" Upon seeing this, Chen Mobai immediately warned Mo Douguang, who flashed a cold glint in his eyes, seemingly recalling the moment he was nearly ambushed.

At this moment, Zhuo Ming had already led the Earth Lineage disciples of the Five Elements Sect to activate a teleportation array. With a flash of spiritual light, Chen Mobai, who should have been in Xiaoqing Ridge, was instantly teleported to this location. At the start of the righteous-demonic war, the Five Elements Sect had purchased ten new medium-sized teleportation arrays from the Grand Void Ethereal Palace. Originally, Zhang Pankong stated they didn't have that many, as these were strategic resources during wartime. However, after Ye Qing learned of this, she proactively intervened and mediated, and the very next day, Zhang Pankong sent people to deliver the items. It was precisely because of this that Chen Mobai allowed Mo Douguang to guard the most crucial battlefield, knowing he could arrive at any moment.

The moment Chen Mobai arrived, he held nothing back, immediately activating his Myriad Sword Dharma Body. Mo Douguang's Geng Metal Dao Soldiers, already quite impressive, only reached the waist of the several-hundred-meter-tall Myriad Sword Dharma Body. It was like an adult standing next to a child. The appearance of the Myriad Sword Dharma Body on the coast caused the Little Demon Venerable to frown. According to the plan, Chen Mobai should have rushed from Xiaoqing Ridge and then been ambushed by Diao Xianlan halfway.

"I didn't expect the Five Elements Sect to have a hidden medium-sized teleportation array. It's my mistake for not gathering this intelligence thoroughly—" Du Mengyun immediately admitted her mistake to the Little Demon Venerable upon seeing this scene, but the latter shook its head.

"Medium-sized teleportation arrays are incredibly precious; even I didn't anticipate they would have one. However, since he isn't willing to die by your master's hand, then I'll have to take action myself." The Little Demon Venerable had originally only intended to conserve its strength, which was why it let Diao Xianlan make the move.

Now that Chen Mobai had appeared before it via a teleportation array, it seemed to be the will of Heaven. Although the Little Demon Venerable was a demon, it cultivated the Heavenly Dao, which was also the Demon Venerable's method. After saying this, it controlled the grand whirlpool, which had begun rotating again, and stepped towards the shore, step by step. The moment it moved, the entire desolate sea followed its steps, unleashing towering tsunamis, instantly rising thousands of meters high, engulfing the Myriad Sword Dharma Body and the Geng Metal Dao Soldiers on the shore!