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Chapter 323: Ninth Rank
Chapter 323: Ninth Rank
"Qi Xuan Sect!"
Yu Wenhao's expression darkened, and he immediately realized the situation.
Solitude Valley was the headquarters of the Demon Gate, and even though the sect's forces were currently scattered, only the Qi Xuan Sect, located near the Cold Prefecture, could pose such a threat to the headquarters in such a short time.
It was unclear how the Qi Xuan Sect had pinpointed the location of Solitude Valley, but they had launched a swift and sudden attack. Regardless, the trouble had arrived.
Whoosh!
Without a moment's hesitation, Yu Wenhao's figure flickered, and he tore through the dark clouds like a streak of gray, rapidly returning towards Solitude Valley.
As the Demon Dao Ancestor and a Ninth Rank Heavenly Demon, his speed far surpassed that of ordinary grandmasters. Even though Solitude Valley was located in the central region of Ice Province, returning there would only take an instant.
However...
Just as he was flying through the sky, in less than two hours, crossing thousands of miles to reach the Cold Prefecture, his speed suddenly slowed, and his face twitched slightly. A billowing gray mist of demonic energy rose from his body.
At that moment, the dark clouds ahead of him, resembling an umbrella, suddenly split in two from the center, and a hundred-foot-long sword beam pierced through the air, aiming to sever him in the clouds.
The sword beam carried the speed of wind and thunder, and within its depths, there were ripples of water. Several realms and powers seamlessly merged, nearly indistinguishable from each other. Despite its grand scale of a hundred feet, it was refined to the utmost, infused with a majestic aura. A single strike seemed capable of cleaving rivers and stopping their flow!
"Hmph!"
Facing the incoming sword attack, Yu Wenhao coldly snorted. He raised his scaled arms and, with a mighty tear, directly clashed his bare hands against the hundred-foot-long sword beam.
The sword beam descended into his fingers and palms, gripped tightly by his scaled hands, and a crackling sound erupted. The surging primal energy and demonic power clashed violently, and after a brief stalemate, cracks began to appear in the portion of the sword beam grasped by Yu Wenhao's hands, spreading downward.
Until the entire hundred-foot-long sword beam was completely shattered, ultimately collapsing into pieces!
After tearing through the sword beam, Yu Wenhao remained motionless, standing tall in the sky, his gaze coldly fixed forward.
In the torn dark clouds ahead, a robed figure emerged, his long beard flowing, exuding a transcendent aura. Although he was not a celestial being, his name resonated throughout the eleven states of the Cold North.
Qi Xuan Sect Grandmaster,
Yin Heng!
He was a true master of the Blood Replacement Realm, having cultivated his body to the pinnacle of the Blood Transformation Realm. In the entire Cold North, there were only a handful of such figures, reaching the pinnacle of martial arts and embodying the foundation of a grand sect's standing.
Even during the height of the Great Xuan Dynasty, Blood Replacement Realm practitioners who pledged allegiance to the court could be bestowed with the titles of Dukes and Marquises, as long as they did not cross the court's bottom line of laws.
"Yin Heng..."
Yu Wenhao glared at Yin Heng and said, "Don't you think the Qi Xuan Sect is being overly ambitious, attempting to swallow our Demon Gate whole?"
Yin Heng stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression calm. "During these chaotic times, you collude with foreign tribes beyond the pass, causing turmoil in the province. What principles are you talking about? Moreover, you have faced me three times and fled each time. Even if we don't discuss righteousness, the path your Demon Gate follows is deviated. Demonic beasts have ten ranks, but in the centuries since the Demon Gate's establishment, has anyone from your sect reached that level?"
Hearing this, Yu Wenhao replied indifferently, "What is right, and what is wrong? I only know that when your master roamed the world, I was already alive. When your lifespan ends, I will still endure. Yin Heng, in my eyes, you are merely a junior. How could you possibly understand that in the future, I might not be able to trace back to the origin and glimpse the end of the path?"
After listening, Yin Heng couldn't help but smile, holding a three-foot-long sword. "I don't remember when I last called someone a 'junior.' Since you, Yu Wenhao, have said so, then let me, this junior, make you flee for the fourth time."
Although he spoke these words, his gaze upon Yu Wenhao carried a hint of contemplation. He couldn't quite grasp the true intentions of the Demon Gate, the Summoning Corpse Sect, and the foreign tribes beyond the pass in attacking Ice Province. Especially given the current situation, even if the three forces joined forces, it was unlikely they could breach the Ice Extinction Palace. Continuing the stalemate held little meaning.
However, it was clear that Yu Wenhao wouldn't provide an answer if asked, so it was better to set it aside for now. After all, breaking through and capturing the Demon Gate's headquarters would undoubtedly impact the situation in Ice Province.
Whoosh!
In the next moment, Yin Heng's figure tore through the sky, slashing his sword towards Yu Wenhao.
Yu Wenhao roared, and the gray mist of demonic energy surged and churned, causing the entire cloud sea to tremble. The dark clouds in the sky billowed like ocean waves, and faintly, there seemed to be a convergence of thunder.
...
Solitude Valley.
Half an hour had swiftly passed since Qi Xuan Sect, led by Qi Zhiyuan, launched their attack with numerous grandmasters.
Even though the Demon Gate's headquarters were heavily fortified, infused with demonic energy and various array formations, this assault by the Qi Xuan Sect was no small matter. Nearly their entire sect had been mobilized, including Qi Zhiyuan, who carried the Dark Moon Mirror and other treasures, along with various spirit armaments. After half an hour of engagement, the defenses within Solitude Valley were on the verge of collapse, and a crucial array node had been exposed.
The surging demonic aura gradually weakened, as the demon forms condensed by the formation array showed signs of decline. It was evident to everyone that if no other unforeseen events occurred, it was only a matter of time before Solitude Valley was breached!
Swish! Swish!
Chen Mu stood atop a cliff, continuously brandishing his Frost Soul Spirit Blade to suppress a demon form condensed by a formation. His gaze fixed on Solitude Valley, carefully probing its internal situation.
However, due to the obstruction of the formation, he still couldn't clearly perceive the inner workings beyond the surface.
"This formation of the Demon Gate has some peculiarities. While it's easy to understand the extraction of Earth Pulse Energy, the continuous supply of demonic energy is puzzling. If they're refining Earth Pulse Energy into demonic energy, the process is too complicated. The more intricate the formation, the more prone it is to issues. If that's the case, it should have collapsed by now."
Chen Mu pondered.
In his opinion, the Demon Gate's ability to hold out for so long indicated something unusual within the headquarters. Initially, he suspected that the source of the demonic energy was the Demon Dao Ancestor of the Demon Gate, but if the Ancestor were inside, they could easily break free and overwhelm Qi Zhiyuan and the others, even with the Dark Moon Mirror.
Although he hadn't encountered the Supreme Elder, Yin Heng, from the Heptagram Sect on his journey to Solitude Valley, such actions would not go unnoticed by the Supreme Elder. The fact that they hadn't intervened suggested they were occupied elsewhere.
Now it seemed likely that the Demon Dao Ancestor of the Demon Gate was not in Solitude Valley, and Yin Heng didn't want the Blood Replacement Realm battle to unfold here. Although it would be more disadvantageous for the Demon Gate, it would also affect Qi Zhiyuan and the other grandmasters. Therefore, Yin Heng might have gone to intercept the Demon Dao Ancestor at a slightly more distant location.
Otherwise, with the movement speed of a being at that level, they should have returned to Solitude Valley by now, given the prolonged attack.
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"If the Demon Dao Ancestor isn't in Solitude Valley, then with the current situation, is there a Ninth-Rank Heavenly Demon inside? Are they using an Earth Pulse Formation to capture and confine a Ninth-Rank Heavenly Demon, drawing its blood and demonic energy to temper their demonic bodies?"
Chen Mu narrowed his eyes slightly.
He recalled his encounter with the Demon Sovereign Hou Hao from the Demon Gate at Emerald Rock Manor. After slaying Hou Hao, he had obtained a portion of Ninth-Rank demonic blood. To 'dispose' of this blood, he had traveled to a lawless border region between Jade, Green, and Mysterious Provinces, where he traded it in secret.
Eventually, he learned that the blood came from a Sacred Turtle, a Ninth-Rank Heavenly Demon.
Unfortunately, it was ordinary demonic blood, not the Sacred Turtle's essence blood. Otherwise, its value would have been much higher, and he wouldn't have needed to spend as much effort later to gather the materials needed for the Six Viscera Tempering.
"If there's a Sacred Turtle imprisoned inside Solitude Valley..."
Chen Mu paused for a moment.
Up until now, he hadn't fought with his full strength, not solely to conceal his power but mainly to assess the resistance, situation, and clues from Solitude Valley.
Currently, he wasn't entirely certain, but the evidence pointed in that direction. If there was indeed a Sacred Turtle imprisoned, destroying Solitude Valley's Earth Pulse Formation would free the Ninth-Rank Heavenly Demon.
Handling such a creature would be challenging.
A Ninth-Rank Heavenly Demon!
Only a Blood Replacement Realm cultivator could truly suppress such a terrifying demonic beast. Even at Chen Mu's current level, he wasn't confident in his ability to control it, especially if it were in its prime. In that case, he would have no choice but to retreat.
If his guess was correct, it wasn't something any major sect's headquarters could easily withstand. The Demon Gate's formation, though not as powerful as the Heptagram Sect's Cosmic Dragon Lock Array, had other hidden strengths. While the release of a Ninth-Rank Heavenly Demon would be a disaster for the Demon Gate, it would also be a significant problem for the Heptagram Sect.
Given the uncertainty about other unforeseen events, Chen Mu had some opportunities to secretly strike and cause more damage to Solitude Valley's formation points. However, he exercised restraint, only unleashing a certain level of power while engaging in combat and simultaneously devising a more suitable strategy.
In reality, Chen Mu's thoughts were not far from what Qi Zhiyuan and the other grandmasters were already suspecting. After such a prolonged assault, it was unlikely that they hadn't gathered at least some information, even if they hadn't completely breached Solitude Valley.
For this reason, Qi Zhiyuan's offensive with the Dark Moon Mirror had also slowed down. He was contemplating how to respond if a Ninth-Rank Heavenly Demon were to emerge from Solitude Valley.
(End of Chapter)
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