In the guild, there was a stir.
It had been a long time since a proper new map was released. Now, one had finally arrived. The entry requirement wasn't too high, only level 145. However, the conditions within were quite strict: players could only enter once a month, and once they left, they had to wait until the next month. It was clear that the PvP in this Ancient Dragon Marsh map would be exceptionally brutal, the kind that was no-holds-barred.
"The map details are out," Chen Xue said in the studio channel. "Ancient Dragon Marsh, a total of seven layers. The lowest layer is home to a demonic dragon. Defeating it has a high chance of dropping the magic treasure, the Qiankun Xuanhuo Tower."
"Is the Qiankun Xuanhuo Tower powerful?" asked Ding Chi.
"Don't know," replied Chen Xue. "The system only stated that the Qiankun Xuanhuo Tower's grade is high-tier immortal."
"Then it's quite impressive," said Lin Zhao, who understood these things best. "In 'Tianxia,' besides the top-tier forbidden super magic treasures, high-tier immortal is the highest. Didn't I recently obtain a high-tier immortal defensive magic treasure, the Golden Armored Immortal Robe? It's incredibly strong. Guo Ke Wu Ming, Ding Chun Qiu, and Chang Ye Yu Huo combined couldn't even dent my health bar. You can imagine what the Qiankun Xuanhuo Tower is like."
"Brother, is it similar to what Heavenly King Li Jing of Pagoda Holding wields? He chants an incantation, and the Qiankun Xuanhuo Tower descends from the sky, crushing people into meat paste, or directly capturing and refining them," Luo Man chuckled.
"Don't know, possibly," Lin Zhao replied with a smile. "In any case, Ah Xue, tell Ju Zi Jie to have lunch early tomorrow, at eleven o'clock. After eating, we'll be ready to enter the map. We'll try our best to contend for that Qiankun Xuanhuo Tower."
"Alright," Chen Xue responded. "Lin Zhao, how is your recruitment in Yunzhou going? Will it affect your participation in this event?"
"It won't affect it," Lin Zhao said, checking the time. "I'll stay up until two o'clock tonight to finish the recruitment matters before sleeping. Then I'll sleep until ten tomorrow morning, eat at eleven, and join the event at twelve."
"Okay," Shen Xingchen said. "Ancient Dragon Marsh is a public map. Players from the Northern Four Tribes' faction will definitely participate. If Guo Ke Wu Ming, Ding Chun Qiu, Chang Ye Yu Huo, and their group show up, it would indeed be difficult to handle if you're not here."
"Don't worry, I'll deal with those people," Lin Zhao assured them.
"En!"
Late at night, everyone logged off to eat supper and rest, leaving only Lin Zhao online to handle the selection of new soldiers and the recruitment of provisions.
...
Deep within the Demonic Beast World, in a dense mountain range, there was a cave known as the Spirit Fire Cave. It was currently guarded by a great demon of the twelfth realm. The Spirit Fire Cave led directly to the core fire of the earth's脉. Within the cave, intricate formations were densely spread. At the core of these formations lay an iron rod, nourished by the earth's core fire, radiating a treasure's brilliance.
With the death of Man Yuan, this forbidden artifact, the "Sun-Moon Water-Fire Rod," was left without an owner. The great demon Yu Zhi had considered finding a new master for this iron rod, but those who tried were unable to suppress the spiritual energy within the Sun-Moon Water-Fire Rod. One great demon of the eleventh realm, who was close to the fire element, was even backfired by the rod and reduced to ashes.
Ultimately, out of desperation, the Sun-Moon Water-Fire Rod had to be sealed within the Spirit Fire Cave. This served two purposes: to continue nurturing the artifact's power and to slowly await the birth of a new Demon King. Only a true Demon King could be worthy of this rod. However, Demon Kings like Man Yuan appeared only once every thousand years, making it difficult to find one. This was also a great source of distress for the Demon Ancestor, who lamented that such a magnificent Sun-Moon Water-Fire Rod was left unused, wasted, and requiring a great demon to guard it.
The guarding great demon was a fire monkey from the mountains, a twelfth-realm being. Although not young, its demonic aura and cultivation realm were nowhere comparable to Demon King Man Yuan. Furthermore, among the twelfth-realm demons, this fire monkey was considered on the weaker side. Thus, it was assigned the thankless task of guarding the Spirit Fire Cave.
"Shua shua—"
Two sword lights descended from the sky. It was Lin Wan Hua and Jing Chu.
The whereabouts of the Sun-Moon Water-Fire Rod had been discovered by a twelfth-realm wandering knight from the Mohist Ancestral Hall. As for the action itself, it was carried out by the Confucian school in conjunction with the Fu Su Great Wall. To snatch the Sun-Moon Water-Fire Rod from the Demonic Beast World required the strongest of the Human Race. For such a cross-regional battle, Lin Wan Hua and Jing Chu, both thirteenth-realm sword cultivators of the Human Race, were naturally the most suitable.
"You!"
The fire monkey leaped up. Before it could finish speaking, it was enveloped by a sword intent descending from Lin Wan Hua. Immediately after, Jing Chu swept his sword, opening a deep wound on the fire monkey's back. He then merged with his sword light and said, "I'll go retrieve the Sun-Moon Water-Fire Rod. You hold off all enemies. Kill as many as you can."
"You don't need to tell me!"
Lin Wan Hua unleashed a sword strike from above, instantly splitting the twelfth-realm fire monkey into two. Under the combined assault of two thirteenth-realm sword immortals, it didn't even last two moves before being killed. Just as Lin Wan Hua killed the fire monkey, a surge of flames erupted behind her. The great demon Ning Yuan Sheng arrived from a thousand miles away, striking Lin Wan Hua with a fierce palm. Furthermore, another great demon, Fu Sheng, transformed a bamboo into sword qi and launched it towards Lin Wan Hua's throat, a vicious attack.
These were the two thirteenth-realm great demons, and they had arrived the fastest!
Lin Wan Hua retreated, and sword lights erupted from beneath her feet. With booming sounds, the attacks from the two were continuously crushed into dust. At this very moment, Yu Zhi, Nan Qing Feng, Long Zheng, and others also arrived, unleashing a barrage of spells from the sky.
...
At the border between the two worlds, by a lake on the mountainside, an old scholar fishing suddenly gave his green bamboo rod a gentle twist. A splash of water emerged, and this splash manifested in the Demonic Beast World as a blue tide that exploded before Lin Wan Hua. It was imbued with a rich Confucian artistic conception, with strands of敕封 text appearing, forcing Ning Yuan Sheng, Fu Sheng, and the other great demons to retreat, thus rescuing Lin Wan Hua.
"Shua!"
A figure moved from the Demon Ancestral Mountain to the side of the old scholar, transforming into the figure of the Demon Ancestor in his gray robe. He sat down and smiled, "Old Master Dong, you have such leisure. Why are you here in the human world, enjoying the incense of the Confucian literary world? Are you not afraid that if things get out of hand, you'll abandon the golden statue in the Confucian Temple?"
"I am afraid, but I am even more afraid that your demonic race's actions will be too great, disturbing the peace of the entire human world," said Old Master Dong, casting his fishing line. He looked at the Demon Ancestor and smiled, "If you wish to fight, then fight. After all, it's been many years since I've fought anyone. I don't know if my unity of heaven and man is still as powerful as it once was."
"..."
The Demon Ancestor frowned and looked up at the sky. The depths of the firmament were shrouded in clouds and mist, a scene of chaos. Within this chaos, a faint cold light seemed to exist, like the tip of a sword tip about to pierce the world barrier, not yet entering. There was no need to guess who it was. Old Master Dong's presence there was merely overt; who knew how many other schemes the Human Race from the upper realm had in secret.
However, that individual had cultivated into an extremely perfect fourteenth-realm sword cultivator over a century. His combat power was now even greater than before. Coupled with his defense of the Outer Heavens and years of battling those undefeatable inner demons, his sword dao had been honed to an unimaginable level. If he were to take another sword strike from him, it was uncertain whether he could withstand it.
For a moment, the Demon Ancestor dared not act rashly. He frowned and asked, "What use do you have for Man Yuan's rod?"
"The Sun-Moon Water-Fire Rod was originally an item from the Human Race world," Old Master Dong scoffed. "Your precious disciple happened to refine it. Now that the Human Race world wishes to reclaim this Sun-Moon Water-Fire Rod, what problem is there?"
"I understand," the Demon Ancestor said, standing with his hands behind his back by the lake. He narrowed his eyes and smiled, "You've been fishing for a while. Have you caught any fish?"
"Yes," Old Master Dong replied with a smile. "Hasn't one taken the bait already?"
"???"
The Demon Ancestor's gaze turned cold. He realized he had been played.
...
In the distance, a loud noise echoed from the Spirit Fire Cave. Jing Chu emerged, trailing the Sun-Moon Water-Fire Rod with a gentle sword intent. The Sun-Moon Water-Fire Rod had been refined by the Demon King Man Yuan and still contained a large amount of demonic energy and Man Yuan's soul imprint. Therefore, it was an object that living beings should not approach. Even Jing Chu was reluctant to hold it with his bare hands, fearing it would affect his dao heart.
"Welcome back."
Old Master Dong gently tugged at his fishing rod. A ripple appeared, enveloping Lin Wan Hua and Jing Chu, and they reappeared by the lake thousands of miles away. The moment Lin Wan Hua was teleported back by the old scholar's technique, her sword Jing Hua unleashed a soaring sword light that struck directly at the Demon Ancestor's head. This reaction was almost instinctive.
Concurrently, Old Master Dong waved his sleeve, and he and the heavens and earth seemed to merge into one, solidifying into a strand of the Great Dao's aura that constrained the surrounding mountains and rivers, preventing the Demon Ancestor from evading Lin Wan Hua's sword strike.
"You!"
The Demon Ancestor gritted his teeth. This was too much. He twisted his body, and a golden feather flew from his sleeve, instantly exploding. He then blocked Lin Wan Hua's sword with his wrist. The next moment, the Demon Ancestor's figure had already appeared on the Demon Ancestral Mountain. He frowned, a trickle of blood flowing from his wrist. He had used a high-grade artifact to escape. Otherwise, it would have been truly dangerous.
Lin Wan Hua had always been a persistent thorn in the side of the demonic race. If she were to grow stronger, she might even dare to challenge him, the Demon Ancestor.
He knitted his brows, thinking he needed to find a way to eliminate Lin Wan Hua.
...
The next day, noon.
Around eleven o'clock, Lin Zhao woke up to eat. The matters in Yunzhou were concluded. Huang Ting Yu had also set up a special office in Tian Ji City for the Snowy Domain Heavenly Pond to handle grain and fodder procurement. Thus, Lin Zhao could once again be a hands-off manager. As for today, there was nothing much to say. After a full meal, he would dedicate himself to conquering the Ancient Dragon Marsh map.
His magic treasures and skills were all top-tier, but his level had fallen behind. He needed to catch up in levels.
After eating, he watched Chen Xue water the flowers in the courtyard and listened to her discuss some guild internal affairs. Shen Xing Chen was playing a mobile game nearby. As soon as the time came, everyone logged in together and began their campaign in the Ancient Dragon Marsh.