Chapter 221 Demon Plague
"Heh heh."
Yan Mingxu suddenly let out an eerie laugh, a wisp of dark energy unexpectedly surfacing between his brows.
No 1 could have ever imagined that the patriarch of Chu Kingdom's foremost immortal clan was actually a demonic cultivator who had remained hidden for years, and clearly a high-ranking member of the Demon Grotto Sect.
Yan Mingxu had secretly pledged allegiance to the Demon Cavern in his early years. Over the decades, leveraging the rapid cultivation methods of demonic arts, he had long reached the False Core realm, ranking as the third most formidable fiend in the Demon Cavern.
It was merely to conceal his true strength—he used orthodox cultivation techniques to mask his aura, revealing only the ninth layer of the Violet Mansion as a facade.
Yan Mingxu let out a sinister chuckle, his face twisting into a vicious grin as he sneered, "This old man had long guessed he would spare no expense to acquire the Cloud-Patterned Fortune-Crafting Elixir (Divine Pill), so I took the liberty of tampering with the pill long in advance."
"At this moment, no matter if you flee to the ends of the earth, you cannot escape the palm of my hand."
Hong Laomo and the female demon quickly dropped to their knees upon hearing this: "Congratulations, Master! We rejoice in your triumph! This time, you shall surely obtain the Transcendence Treasure, break through to the Golden Core Realm in 1 fell swoop, and henceforth command awe across the 6 Kingdoms of Jizhou."
"Ha ha ha."
Yan Mingxu let out 3 hearty laughs, his expression revealing a hint of exhilaration.
Though Yan Mingxu had mediocre talent in cultivating the righteous path, he was a prodigy in the demonic path.
Unlike Ling Changkong, a False Core cultivator whose chances of forming a True Core remained slim even with repeated attempts, he had already been confident of breaking through to the Golden Core realm decades earlier.
However, demonic cultivators were despised by the heavens. The might of the thunder tribulation far surpassed that which ordinary cultivators faced, and their demonic treasures were particularly vulnerable to the divine lightning's suppression.
Although the Devil's Cave possessed a fourth-tier devil treasure, given the selfish nature of devil cultivators, none would risk damaging such a treasure by lending it to him to withstand the heavenly tribulation.
Over the years, he had scoured the lands to gather treasures for transcending the heavenly tribulation, finally gaining some confidence to face the lightning judgment. Now, with the acquisition of 2 additional supreme heirlooms to safeguard his clan, his hopes of surviving the thunder calamity had grown even stronger.
"Wait a little longer. Let this old man find a few more Grade 3, Superior-grade magic treasures first. Only then will we have sufficient confidence to withstand the heavenly tribulation."
"Once this old man breaks through, our Demon Cave will have 3 Golden Core(Power Level) demonic cultivators, and our strength will no longer be inferior to the Azure Sky Sword Sect."
"By then, we shall no longer fear the Firmament Sword Sect. Just like the Skeletal Demon of yore, we can freely venture deep into Chu Kingdom (Location) to conduct mass blood sacrifices of mortals, rapidly enhancing our cultivation and refining demonic treasures."
Yan Mingxu spoke, a faint sneer flashing in his eyes.
"The target is on the move. Don't let him escape."
Chapter 1 Yang Yuanhe soared through the skies on his sword, leaving the Cangqiong Workshop far behind.
He traveled in stealth and detours, flying over 400,000 li with bated breath until he finally reached Lingjun.
But just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he spotted 3 figures blocking his path. He never could have imagined that among the Cloud-Patterned Fortune Pills he purchased, 1 actually concealed a Soul-Chasing Life Tablet.
The 3 demons intercepted him just before Lingjun County, guided by the Soul-Chasing Life Tablet’s resonance. Cornered by a False Core demonic cultivator and 2 Violet Palace demonic cultivators, he was slain without even a chance to flee.
That vicious old fiend Yan was utterly ruthless. After slaying Yang Yuanhe, he showed no mercy, even going so far as to refine his soul into his Lifebound Demon Artifact—the 7 Soul Demon Banner—enslaving it as 1 of the primary souls.
"Heh heh."
"As expected of a Purple Mansion cultivator, you have strengthened my 7 Souls Demon Banner by yet another measure."
After refining the Purple Mansion Soul, Old Fiend Yan let out a sinister chuckle.
The 7-Soul Demon Banner was an exceptionally potent and malevolent demonic treasure. Once unleashed, 7 soul-devouring specters from the Purple Mansion would surge forth. Even a cultivator at the Purple Palace, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm) could be torn to shreds by these demonic souls with but a moment of carelessness.
三人杀了杨远禾，得了诸多宝物之后干脆不做不休，就立刻对杨氏仙族动手。
那杨家发现杨远禾魂灯熄灭之后，第一时间就给边州几大仙族和Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location)传递了消息。
可是已经来不及，没有紫府修士坐镇的三阶阵法，根本不可能挡得住三阶魔修。
仅仅一夜之间，杨氏数百万凡人尽数被血祭，数千修士几乎损伤殆尽，占据的两座三阶灵脉也被洗劫一空。
这场惨剧震惊了整个Chu Kingdom (Location)，仅仅一天之后Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location)就反应过来。
Lyra (Person Name)亲自杀到灵郡之中，发现严老魔早已人去楼空，不知道跑到哪里去了。
Just 1 day later, the Azure Sky Sword Sect and the Violet Abyss Sect also made their moves. The Azure Sky Sword Sect dispatched 2 Golden Core cultivators, while the Violet Abyss Sect saw both Yan Ziji and the newly-advanced Golden Core cultivator, Spirit Maiden Immortal, emerge from seclusion.
Even dozens of Purple Manor immortal clans from the Chu Kingdom could no longer tolerate this and began casting a wide net to search for traces of the demonic cultivators.
Among so many high-level cultivators, there were naturally countless individuals with extraordinary abilities. In just 2 days, the whereabouts of Elder Yan the Demonic were uncovered.
The nearest, Spirit Princess, was the first to give chase, pursuing the old devil for 1 100 30 1000 miles until he was severely wounded and barely managed to escape.
Only 4 days had passed when the Sky Vault Sword Sect located the demonic cultivator's trail through arcane arts, yet to their dismay, it turned out to be that female demonic cultivator.
The Golden Core cultivator of the Firmament Sword Sect naturally showed no mercy, slaying him at the border of Yangzhou.
5 more days passed, and Lyra (Person Name) located the aura of Elder Yan the Demonic through an arcane method. She pursued him relentlessly for over 20 1000 miles, finally cornering the fiend, and came within a hair's breadth of ending his life.
But at this moment, Elder Yan had already fled to the edge of Skyreach Sword Sect. The 2 Golden Core elders from Devil's Abyss Cave joined forces, intercepting Sect Master Zhang Zhenren and Lyra (Person Name), successfully extracting Elder Yan back to their ranks.
At this point, the grand pursuit finally drew to a close.
Although this battle failed to eliminate Elder Yan the Demonic, it severely wounded him. Seizing the opportunity, we eradicated dozens of Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators hiding throughout Chu Kingdom and even eliminated a Violet Mansion female demon. These could be considered substantial gains.
Moreover, the Eldrin Sword Sect’s supreme devil-slaying treasure, the Eldrin Sword (Magic Treasure), had already imprinted the demonic energy cultivated by the Venomous Devil. Should he dare venture within 100,000 li of the sword, he would inevitably be detected by this revered artifact of demonic purification.
The demonic cultivators had all fled beyond the borders of the Chu Kingdom, and with the Demon's Abyss Cave providing them refuge, the assembly had no choice but to temporarily abandon their pursuit.
Spirit Origin Mountain.
Lingyuan Mountain was the cultivation sanctuary of the Yang Immortal Clan, its spiritual veins reaching the mid-tier of the third grade.
Atop the spiritual vein of Lingyuan Mountain, several Eldrin Realm cultivators sat facing each other with grave expressions. Among them were Eldrin, Xavier, Percival, and the old clan leader—all practitioners who had established their Eldrin Palaces.
"See for yourselves."
The Yang Clan's cultivators were nearly wiped out, with several million mortals all sacrificed in the blood ritual. Moreover, every last spiritual herb in the mountain's spirit fields had been plundered clean.
Percival was the first to speak, his expression grim as he passed an account ledger to those present.
After reading it, Eldrin's expression turned cold. The methods employed by the demonic cultivators were utterly deplorable—the Yang Family had been almost completely eradicated.
Even the spirit herb fields on the mountain had been nearly stripped bare in an act of retaliation. Regardless of whether the herbs had reached medicinal maturity, they were plundered without leaving so much as a root or stem behind.
Both spiritual veins had suffered a significant drop in grade. The spiritual vein of the cultivation site had degraded from mid-third-grade to low-grade, while the spiritual vein beneath the mortal city was completely contaminated by blood filth, transforming into a blood spring that righteous cultivators could no longer utilize.
Such an act that would incur the wrath of both heaven and mankind was something righteous cultivators would scarcely commit. Even after conquering Celestial Python Lake (Location), Lyra (Person Name) refrained from destroying it when she could no longer hold the territory.
For these resources are gifts from heaven and earth. To destroy them would violate the natural order, and a single misstep could scorch the land for thousands of miles, creating a desolate wasteland enduring through countless ages.
"All demonic cultivators in this world deserve to die."
Eldrin's gaze turned icy. For days on end, he had traversed hundreds of thousands of miles, cutting down numerous demonic cultivators along the way. Yet, to his frustration, he had still not crossed paths with the Violet Palace Old Demon.
Xavier heaved a sigh, his face etched with sorrow as he spoke, "Let us discuss how to deal with these spirit veins."
"The Yang Family still has 3 Foundation Establishment cultivators alive. If we intend to occupy this spirit vein, we must also discuss the matter of compensation."
Chapter 1: The Reborn Youth The biting cold wind howled, carrying with it the scent of rusted iron and decay. In the dilapidated temple, a youth covered in wounds slowly opened his eyes. "Have I... truly been reborn?" Murmured Lin Xuan, his gaze shifting from confusion to clarity. He was once the revered Thunderclap Sword Sovereign, dominating an era. Yet, he had been betrayed by his most trusted disciple and ambushed by 3 Great Perfection stage experts, ultimately perishing under the 9 Heavens Profound Lightning Tribulation. Unexpectedly, he had returned to his 15-year-old self, to this very temple where his fate had once changed. "Since the heavens have granted me a second chance, I, Lin Xuan, shall rewrite everything in this lifetime!" His eyes gleamed with unprecedented determination. Suddenly, the heavy temple door was kicked open. Several figures draped in black cloaks strode in, their leader sneering coldly, "Young master of the Lin family, hand over the ancestral jade pendant, and we might spare your life." Lin Xuan's heart stirred. In his previous life, it was this very jade pendant that had led to the Lin family's destruction. But now... "Hah!" Lin Xuan laughed lightly, slowly rising to his feet. Though his cultivation was only at the 3rd level of Body Refinement, the aura he exuded caused the assassins to involuntarily step back. "Do you know who I am?" Lin Xuan's voice was calm, yet carried an irresistible pressure. The leading assassin was momentarily stunned, then laughed maniacally, "A dying brat, still putting on airs? Kill him!" Several assassins simultaneously drew their blades. In that instant, Lin Xuan moved. "Swish—" A streak of sword light flashed, so fast it was barely visible to the naked eye. The several assassins froze in place, then collapsed 1 after another. "Th-this is impossible..." The leading assassin stared in horror at the sword in Lin Xuan's hand—a sword formed from condensed true essence! "Profound Sword Art... you... you are the Thunderclap Sword Sovereign!" The assassin's voice trembled with fear. Lin Xuan's expression remained indifferent. "Since you recognize this technique, you should die without regret." A sword light swept out, and the leading assassin fell to the ground, his eyes wide with disbelief. Lin Xuan stood in the temple, the moonlight casting his shadow long upon the ground. He knew this was merely the beginning. In this life, he would not only reclaim everything he had lost but also uncover the secrets behind that tribulation. He took a deep breath, beginning to operate the Heaven Swallowing Art. The surrounding spiritual energy surged toward him like a tidal wave. In just 1 breath's time, his cultivation broke through to the 4th level of Body Refinement! "This speed... is truly worthy of a supreme-grade technique." Lin Xuan murmured to himself. Suddenly, a streak of golden light shot from the jade pendant at his chest, directly into his brow. Vast amounts of information flooded his mind—it was the legacy of the Immortal Vanquishing Sword Emperor, lost for millennia! "So that's how it is..." Lin Xuan's eyes shone with a brilliant light. "It seems the mysteries of this world are far greater than I imagined." He strode out of the temple, gazing at the starry sky. In the distant horizon, the first light of dawn was beginning to break. "The path of cultivation is long and arduous. In this life, I will surely reach the pinnacle!"