Chapter 797: Ambush

Taiyun Sect was a prominent cultivation school, and Tianyu Continent was known for its flourishing immortal cultivation. Among the sect's senior cultivators, some were privy to certain shocking matters, with the infamous "Human-Animal Kingdom" being one of the most notorious.

Upon hearing the female fellow cultivator's words, the seemingly leading Taiyun Sect cultivator's expression also turned grim.

"Currently, demons are running rampant in Tianyu Continent. If they are not contained and allowed to wreak havoc, no number of mortals would be enough for them to harm. This may not necessarily be the work of a 'Human-Animal Kingdom'."

Hearing the lead cultivator's words, the female cultivator's expression shifted slightly.

"Senior Brother, what do you mean by that? What exactly happened here? We could deduce some information through divination."

As she spoke, the female cultivator continued her divination gestures, speaking as she calculated.

"Most of the city's inhabitants are still alive, though their whereabouts are unknown. They clearly weren't directly devoured by demons. Demons are inherently unruly; common abduction acts are one thing, but for tens of thousands of mortals to vanish like this, especially with Black Desolation demons being the primary attackers this time—could there be another reason?"

"Junior Sister! It's currently only rumored that Black Desolation demons might have invaded Tianyu Continent in large numbers, but there's no solid evidence!"

The female cultivator looked at her senior brother with a hint of disbelief.

"No solid evidence?"

"Alright, Junior Sister, let's calm down. First, let's check if the underworld here is sealed off."

As they were fellow disciples, their argument temporarily subsided. After emerging from the dilapidated temple, they activated their spiritual power to discern yin and yang, directly stepping into the realm of the underworld.

Being able to directly enter the underworld indicated that the Gate of Hell had not vanished; otherwise, ordinary methods would not allow entry into the underworld's domain.

"Let's go. Hopefully, there are still ghost gods in the underworld!"

The surrounding Yin energy was incredibly dense, creating a thick mist that obscured their vision. This wasn't due to an increase in the underworld's power, but simply because too many people had died.

The three moved quickly. Before long, they saw the Gate of Hell, but it was wide open, unguarded by any underworld officials. A deeper inspection revealed that all the halls in the underworld were empty, with no trace of ghost gods. There was no incense lingering on the altars, and all the halls were in disarray, with underworld records scattered across the floor.

After circling around and returning to the area outside the underworld halls, the lead cultivator shook his head, sighed, and spoke.

"Let's go. The underworld here has been destroyed."

"Senior Brother, wait."

Another man seemed to have just discovered something and returned to the Judge's Hall. From a corner near the door, he picked up a book, which was one of the many underworld ledgers.

"What is this?"

"This is a book used by the underworld to monitor the lives of mortals, commonly known as the Judge's Register."

The cultivator holding the book spoke as he opened it, discovering that it subtly emitted light. Clearly, the Judge had left a mark on the book before meeting his demise.

The light from the book originated from the names of mortals listed within it. Observing the list, it was clear that most of the mortals whose names appeared were still alive.

After a moment of thought, the immortal cultivator holding the book channeled his spiritual power into it. The immortal's power, imbued with pure immortal spiritual energy, caused the book to glow brightly. The next moment, a corner of a bookshelf in the Judge's Hall also shimmered with a brilliant light.

"Whoosh..."

A Judge's Brush flew over and landed on the open page. The book began to turn its pages automatically, eventually stopping at a person named "Niu Miaotian." The Judge's Brush then automatically began to write down this person's life events.

"At forty-six, he held his grandson. In the spring of the same year, he encountered the demonic chaos, falling into the greatest tribulation of his life, becoming enslaved by demons and taken north..."

The Judge's Brush continued to record the events of the mortal named "Niu Miaotian." In summary, it indicated that he and many other common people were still alive, and it provided a general direction of their whereabouts.

"Senior Brother!"

The female cultivator looked at the leading senior brother, and the cultivator holding the underworld ledger also looked at the lead cultivator.

"Senior Brother!"

The lead cultivator's brows furrowed deeply. He continuously performed divinations, but could not ascertain any more information, which made him feel uncertain.

"Let's go out first."

The two male and female cultivators beside him exchanged glances, then could only follow their senior brother out.

Shortly after exiting the underworld, the lead cultivator used his divine sense to summon their fellow disciples within the city and showed them the underworld ledger.

"More than half of this city's populace is still alive, currently in the hands of demons. The underworld Judge, in his final moments, used his power to show us the way. As righteous immortal cultivators, it is our duty to rescue the common people from this plight."

"Senior Brother, what should we do?" "Should we pursue them?"

"Of course not just chase them directly. We are only a handful of people, a dozen or so at most. Even if we could contend with the demons who breached the city, it would be difficult to protect the city's inhabitants from their grasp. We must notify the sect to send reinforcements."

The Taiyun Sect cultivators nodded in agreement. Then, they conjured flying swords and ascended into the sky. These dozen or so cultivators did not simply wait. First, they collaboratively set up a formation at the city's location, drawing a wide range of spiritual energy. Many divination masters of the righteous path used the changes in spiritual energy flow to determine if demons had passed through, effectively compressing the demons' area of activity.

After completing these tasks, the Taiyun Sect cultivators then followed the changes indicated by the underworld ledger and the Judge's Brush in their hands, slowly pursuing in the directed path.

Approximately one day later, hundreds of immortal lights swiftly passed over the ruined city and quickly caught up with the dozen or so Taiyun Sect cultivators who were ahead. Over a hundred immortal cultivators from Taiyun Sect then pursued forward together.

The chaos in Tianyu Continent had been ongoing for some time. Taiyun Sect, one of Tianyu Continent's renowned sects, had not yet made significant contributions during this period. The true impact had been primarily from the immortal cultivation lineage led by Qianyuan Sect.

The cultivation world also valued reputation. This time, Taiyun Sect anticipated a significant number of demons involved and aimed to exterminate them in one swift battle, allowing the righteous path of Tianyu Continent to witness Taiyun Sect's actions and letting the demonic creatures experience the sect's immortal might.

As beams of immortal light streaked across the sky, in a dilapidated mountain god temple on a small hill below, a mottled divine statue flickered. A strange-looking spirit creature materialized, discreetly gazing at the immortal lights in the sky. Then, it silently burrowed underground, reaching an underground chamber. On a stone table inside, a wooden box held three round beads of different colors. The spirit creature immediately grabbed the leftmost red bead and crushed it with a crunch.

At the same moment, thousands of miles away, in a dark underground cave, a red bead in an identical wooden box on a black rock automatically shattered. The several men and women who had been waiting around the black rock all broke into smiles.

"Heh heh heh heh..." "They're here."

"Hopefully, it's someone from Qianyuan Sect."

"That's hard to say, heh heh heh."

A female voice chuckled twice, then changed her tone and said,

"You haven't left the Black Desolation in a long time, so be careful. These immortals are not easy to deal with."

Although the people around her had varied appearances, they all looked well-dressed. At that moment, upon hearing her words, they all smiled eerily.

Meanwhile, the woman who had issued the warning was idly spinning another Judge's Brush in her hand.

Based on the traces left in the previously attacked city, Taiyun Sect estimated the number and cultivation level of the demons involved. They then dispatched nearly a hundred immortal cultivators to act together, including dozens of highly cultivated individuals, such as Perfected Immortals, and a significant number of inexperienced but highly promising disciples to gain practical experience.

This force was not only sufficient to eliminate the demons estimated to have attacked the city, but even several times their number would not be a match. Moreover, it could significantly ensure the safety of the common people.

Although Tianyu Continent was currently in great turmoil and humanity had suffered immense catastrophe, humanity's resilience once again impressed the righteous cultivators of Tianyu Continent. Some sects had begun to engage more deeply with the mortal realm, considering more "worldly engagement" issues. Taiyun Sect naturally also had such considerations, wanting to prevent Qianyuan Sect from completely overshadowing them.

The leading Taiyun Sect cultivator was a highly respected elder within the sect. Riding on his spiritual cloud, he led the group, not even needing to consult the underworld ledger. At this moment, he could already perceive the moving clusters of human aura with his spiritual eye.

"What a group of fiends! They actually didn't bother concealing the mortals' aura. Truly audacious! Taiyun disciples, follow me to subdue these demons!"

"Yes!"

Hundreds of immortal lights suddenly accelerated, rushing forward. As far as the eye could see, dark clouds shrouded the distance, and these clouds were constantly moving. The lead cultivator sneered, performed a hand seal, and was the first to fly above the dark clouds. He brought his arms together, palms facing down, then abruptly spread them apart.

"Part the clouds and clear the way!"

Swaths of dark clouds were torn apart by the immortal cultivator's power, scattering continuously to both sides, gradually revealing the situation below. At that moment, the old immortal's pupils constricted.

The moment the dark clouds dispersed, a strong, chaotic, and exaggerated demonic aura surged skyward.

'No, they've fallen for a demonic trap!'

Tianyu Continent had been in chaos before, with conflicts between good and evil mostly involving direct magical duels. However, how could demons not resort to schemes? Just as the ill premonition arose in the minds of the Taiyun Sect cultivators, a sudden change occurred.

"Rumble..."

A section of the mountain below exploded.

"Roar—"

First, a massive earth dragon emerged from underground, lunging skyward with open jaws. Following that, swaths of demonic light rose from the ground; the mere fact that they could all fly was highly indicative.