Chapter 1 The Assembly Hall of Ancestral Mountain
A circle of great demons residing in Ancestral Mountain formed a ring. The great demon Yu Zhi, clad in a fiery red dress, was now at the Thirteenth Realm. The higher her cultivation, the more radiant and captivating she appeared. She sat on the throne of the demon race's commander, undisputed. Nan Qingfeng, Ning Yuansheng, and Fu Sheng, all Thirteenth Realm cultivators, sat to her sides, followed by a group of Twelfth Realm demon cultivators. As for Shi Jun Gang, she did not sit but knelt with one knee outside the assembly hall.
"Elder Sister Shi,"
Yu Zhi could not bear to watch any longer and softly said, "Please rise first."
"Thank you..."
Shi Jun Gang stood up, her pretty face hidden behind a veil, her brows furrowed.
"First, tell us how you were defeated."
Yu Zhi said lightly, "Let us from Ancestral Mountain of the Demon Race know the situation at Snow Domain Celestial Pond."
"Yes."
Shi Jun Gang briefly recounted the events of the battle at the Panyun Mountain encampment. Immediately, Long Zheng of the Twelfth Realm frowned and said, "This Lin Zhao... he truly calculated everything!"
Fu Sheng smiled slightly and said, "It's you too, Shi Jun Gang. You knew Lin Zhao was cunning and full of stratagems, yet you dared to gamble with his schemes. If you had split your forces, taking only two military tents for the ambush, leaving Feng Quan and two military tents to guard Panyun Mountain, would the outcome have been different? That Lin Zhao calculated your apprehension of him, which is why he dared to raid the encampment so brazenly."
Yu Zhi smiled and said, "We at Ancestral Mountain have always been clear about rewards and punishments. Elder Sister Shi lost four military camp sites and a large amount of provisions and supplies, causing our demon race's eight hundred thousand strong army at Panyun Mountain to starve. Everyone, please, how should she be punished?"
A Twelfth Realm great demon whose true form was a white-headed eagle clasped his arms and said with a smile, "The entire demon race has been saving and enduring hardship to supply the front lines. Now, you can take a walk in the northern part of the demon realm and see for yourselves. The mountains are nearly bare, and the demon race's fortune is constantly diminishing. At such a time, you dare to lose provisions and supplies for 800,000 troops, hum... If our Demon Ancestor were here, he would surely punish severely."
"Oh?"
Ning Yuansheng narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Then how severe a punishment? Should he destroy Shi Jun Gang's great Dao roots with a palm strike, making her vanish into thin air? Shi Jun Gang lost while guarding Panyun Mountain, do you guarantee you wouldn't lose?"
"Master..."
Shi Jun Gang's slender shoulders trembled.
Ning Yuansheng pointed at Shi Jun Gang and said unhurriedly, "My disciple, she fought Lin Zhao's forces to the death on Jiuzhangyuan, her physical body was crushed and destroyed. Doesn't this count as sacrificing her life for the demon realm? In the past, our demon race's tens of millions of troops marched south and were defeated by that kid Lin Zhao at Snow Domain Celestial Pond. Can my disciple defeat him? If so, then weren't Bai Lan and Yu Zhi from back then useless in your eyes?"
"Cough cough..."
Yu Zhi pursed her red lips and said, "Nine Spirit True Monarch... let's just discuss Elder Sister Shi's matter, and not the wars of a hundred years ago. Lord Bai Lan has been dead for so many years, don't let him be restless in the underworld."
Ning Yuansheng frowned and said no more.
Yu Zhi then said, "Shi Jun Gang lost again to Lin Zhao, it was truly beyond her abilities, not intentional. Therefore, we cannot blame her. I propose... that Shi Jun Gang go to the Demon Spirit Abyss and offer ten drops of her vital blood as punishment, what do you say?"
Ning Yuansheng nodded.
Shi Jun Gang's eyes brightened, "Lord Yu Zhi..."
"Alright, it's settled."
Yu Zhi seemed a bit tired and said, "Elder Sister Shi, do you have anything else to say?"
Shi Jun Gang gritted her teeth and said, "Snow Domain Celestial Pond actually only has over twenty thousand cavalry, nothing to fear. Rather than slowly transporting provisions and supplies south now, and facing certain defeat, before the seventy thousand strong demon army is about to run out of food, Ancestral Mountain should send cultivators from the Upper Five Realms to assist in the battle. Especially those in the Thirteenth Realm to stall Lin Xingchu and Lin Wanhua, we can quickly resolve the battle and take Snow Domain Celestial Pond in one fell swoop, permanently solving Lin Zhao and his subordinates!"
"Ah?"
Yu Zhi's delicate mouth parted slightly. Shi Jun Gang's words made even her, Yu Zhi, feel tempted.
Ning Yuansheng stood up and said, "I am willing to go to Xiujian River to face that Lin Xingchu!"
Long Zheng stood up and smiled, "I haven't settled my battle with Lin Wanhua yet. Now that my Inverse Scale has been refined anew, I request Lord Yu Zhi to give me another chance to duel Lin Wanhua."
The rest, many other Upper Five Realm great demons, also stood up. Everyone was holding back their pent-up energy, wanting to march south and kill the enemy. Rather than staying in Ancestral Mountain to be fed by that one, it was better to go south and kill to their heart's content!
"Understood."
Yu Zhi stood up, a beautiful smile blooming on her lips, and said, "Order from Ancestral Mountain: Nine Spirit True Monarch Ning Yuansheng, go to Xiujian River to stall Lin Xingchu. I will secretly order True Monarch Bei Xuan of the Sprite Clan, who is in the Twelfth Realm, to accompany you to Xiujian River. It's alright if you can't kill Lin Xingchu, but you absolutely cannot let Lin Xingchu have an easy time. As for Long Zheng, recently Lord Lu Hai has successfully entered seclusion in Ancestral Mountain and has re-entered the Twelfth Realm. He will accompany you to Snow Domain Celestial Pond to intercept Lin Wanhua. Lord Nan Qingfeng and I will remain at Ancestral Mountain. Furthermore, Fu Sheng, Feng Quan, Bai Ye, Shi Jun Gang, and others will go to Panyun Mountain and immediately command the army to pursue and kill towards Snow Domain Celestial Pond, aiming to break through Snow Domain Celestial Pond in one battle. We cannot let that kid Lin Zhao run rampant anymore!"
"Yes!"
Everyone stood up in unison. This time, the demon race had gone all out, deploying many Thirteenth and Twelfth Realm cultivators, all for the purpose of leveling Snow Domain Celestial Pond!
...
The rear mountain of Ancestral Mountain of the Demon Race.
Shi Jun Gang descended gracefully and landed at the edge of a fiery red abyss. Fire clouds continuously spewed out from the abyss, soaring into the sky. She looked into the abyss with a sense of dread. As her gaze fell upon a spot, a ferocious roar suddenly echoed, with incredibly potent demonic energy that almost made Shi Jun Gang suffocate. In this world, besides the Demon Ancestor, she had never encountered such dense demonic energy.
She raised her hand and gently wiped it with the dagger she carried. Instantly, drops of essence blood fell into the abyss. This was the essence of her cultivation at the Eleventh Realm.
As the essence blood fell into the abyss, the roar instantly became more violent, as if a bloodthirsty creature had smelled blood. The demonic energy became even more intense. Even after Shi Jun Gang had dripped ten drops of blood, the blood from her wound uncontrollably surged out, as if being drawn by the demonic energy at the bottom of the abyss, an extra five drops of blood were involuntarily consumed!
Each drop of blood represented a portion of her cultivation. These five drops of blood showed how much Shi Jun Gang had lost.
"Ah..."
She suddenly stumbled back, a demon ruin within her body trembling and fluctuating. At that very moment, she almost fell back to the Star River Realm again. The being at the bottom of this Demon Spirit Abyss gave her an extremely terrifying feeling. Shi Jun Gang, as a demon herself, was already quite arrogant and brutal, but compared to the one in the abyss, Shi Jun Gang's temperament was comparable to the gentleness, kindness, frugality, and modesty praised by the human Confucian scholars.
She felt a shudder of fear and floated away.
The moment she flew out of the abyss, a sharp and ferocious voice echoed in her ears: "A defeated general, truly a waste. If you lose again, the first thing I'll do after coming out of the abyss is to devour you!"
"..."
Shi Jun Gang stumbled, almost crying from sheer injustice. In the eyes of humans, she was a monster, but now, in her eyes, the one at the bottom of the abyss was the true monster!
...
Late at night, in the human realm, the East Sea.
A streak of sword light trailed across the sea under the bright moon, then landed on a lone island in the sea. Inside the island, an extremely simple wooden house stood. In front of the wooden house, a young sword cultivator in white was meditating, his body enveloped in sword intent. He was also extremely handsome, resembling a legendary Sword Immortal.
As the sword light landed, Xu Shuo frowned. This person truly looked like a Sword Immortal, while he himself... looked at best like a swordsman. It was truly disheartening to compare.
"Mo Family's Xu Shuo has arrived."
Xu Shuo landed from afar and clasped his fists.
The young sword cultivator in front of the wooden house immediately stood up. With one step, he was several meters in front of Xu Shuo, bowing respectfully with his waist pressed very low, saying, "Lord Xu Shuo has arrived, please forgive my poor reception!"
"Mm."
Xu Shuo smiled. Over a hundred years, and still so polite!
The other person then said, "Yesterday I hunted a bird in the sea, and was just about to cook it. Would you like to try it, Lord Xu Shuo? It must have been very hard for you to travel thousands of miles to the East Sea."
"It's not hard."
Xu Shuo smiled and asked, "Has Lu Xun been here?"
"He has."
The young sword cultivator smiled and said, "What a 'Heavenly Sword Immortal, Hard to Find on Earth.' I almost couldn't defeat him."
"So you mean you could still defeat him?"
Xu Shuo couldn't help but chuckle.
"It can only be said that we are evenly matched."
"And then? The top sword cultivator of the Confucian Academy, Jing Chu, also came, right?"
"He did."
The young sword cultivator scratched his head and smiled, "Although Jing Chu is a scholar, his sword path is extraordinary. I admire him greatly!"
"What was the outcome?" Xu Shuo asked with a smile.
"We fought for three days, after he ate a lot of my stored fish and rice, he left."
"So, you also defeated him?"
"It was an equal draw. Lord Jing Chu was letting me win, otherwise, how could I be his opponent?"
"Hmph!"
Xu Shuo sat down and took out things from his storage bag, fresh fruits and vegetables, and various fresh produce. He said, "I won't eat your food, but I've brought you some. Your elder told you to diligently refine your sword, you don't need to concern yourself with the outside world."
"Yes, thank you, Lord Xu Shuo!"
The young sword cultivator bowed again, "You've really gone to so much trouble..."
Xu Shuo rolled his eyes. When people are too polite, it becomes unbearable, as if no one else is polite.
"By the way, there's one more thing."
The young sword cultivator frowned and said, "I heard that Lin Zhao dissolved his Dao and reincarnated, and has now returned to Snow Domain Celestial Pond?"
"Mm."
Xu Shuo said, "Don't worry about Lin Zhao's matters. First, reach the Fourteenth Realm. Once you reach the Fourteenth Realm, Lin Zhao will naturally escape danger. If you are slow to reach the Fourteenth Realm, Lin Zhao will sooner or later face death."
"Understood."
The young sword cultivator looked worried.
...
Starry night, Snow Domain Celestial Pond.
Lin Zhao stood on North Mountain, looking north towards the direction of Ancestral Mountain of the Demon Race, his sword brows tightly knitted, equally worried.