https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-728-The-Desperate-Situation-in-the-South-Continent/13466005/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-730-Venerable-One-I-Come-at-Your-Command/13466007/
Chapter 729: Do Your Best
Chapter 729: Do Your Best
"A message from the mountains has arrived."
A sudden streak of light darted into the courtyard, interrupting Shen Yi's thoughts.
Yue Lan landed steadily, her face etched with anxiety. "They say there’s news from the North Continent. The leaders of several sects need to gather to discuss important matters. The peak masters feel that the situation is serious and they might not be able to handle it alone. They ask you to return as soon as possible."
"……"
Before she finished, Zhi Kong Monk's face turned pale.
Even though he was just a minor ascetic within the Bodhi Sect, he knew that the North Continent was where the San Xian Jiao patriarchs preached. It was the primary place for the sect's leaders to cultivate and reside.
Now that the San Xian Jiao was focusing on the South Continent, they would inevitably notice the death of Shen Xu's Ancestor.
Thinking of this, he instinctively glanced to the side.
Zhi Kong Monk had seen many people who caused trouble, but none who simultaneously antagonized the Bodhi Sect, the San Xian Jiao, and the demon clans, each of which could be a matter of life and death, all happening at once.
Even the most resolute person might think it would be easier to just end their own life.
However, Shen Yi only listened quietly, deep in thought, showing no signs of panic.
The two of them didn't dare interrupt, only inwardly marveling at how the once reserved young man had grown to handle situations with composure, even surpassing those who had held high positions for years, like the Southern Governor.
"I understand." Shen Yi slowly stood up.
"Shall we return now?" Yue Lan quickly approached.
As a titled general, she was more than competent.
Even when the Yan family split, the risks she took far exceeded the rewards of the Imperial Qi she received, and she had Shen Xu Mountain as a fallback. Yet, Yue Lan never considered leaving.
But everything has its limits.
The current situation in the Divine Dynasty clearly couldn't be turned around by one person. In this case, she suddenly didn't want Shen Yi to continue getting entangled in this mess.
He had done enough.
What was more urgent now was to deal with the elders of the San Xian Jiao from the North Continent, to cover up the "betrayal and destruction of the sect", and to ensure his survival before anything else.
"You... don't owe the court anything."
Yue Lan recalled the instinctive reactions of those people when Zhi Kong Monk delivered the secret letter to the Yan elder. She hesitated for a moment before earnestly raising her gaze.
Even the wise Zhi Kong Monk, who cared for the welfare of all, looked at him with a complex expression.
If the situation was hopeless, preserving one's strength was the better choice.
"When did I ever say I owed them anything?"
Under the watchful eyes of the two, Shen Yi chuckled.
"Then..."
Yue Lan took a deep breath but saw the young man take out a jade slip, input his aura, and pass it over. "Send the message first. Time is running out."
The content of the jade slip was simple, the same as what the Thousand-Foot Black Dragon brothers received.
As for its authenticity, that was left for others to judge.
Though Shen Yi possessed both Immortal and Bodhisattva cultivation, he was not a true deity. He was just a cultivator, and he couldn't cover every angle.
He didn’t even mention Shen Xu Mountain.
After a brief moment of shock, Yue Lan and Zhi Kong Monk could only watch as the slender young man pushed open the door and entered the room.
There were no grand, heroic words, just a light, understated smile that carried a resolve stronger than any assembled force of the Demon-Slaying Bureau, leaving no room for retreat!
"Lord Shen... is more worthy of the Lotus Throne than any of the monks in Mount Sumeru."
Zhi Kong Monk clasped his hands together, murmured to himself, and then respectfully bowed toward the closed door.
Inside the room.
Shen Yi sat quietly on the edge of the bed, and a Six-Winged insect buzzed out.
His inner turmoil was not as calm as it appeared on the surface.
The moment he received the message, Shen Yi had communicated with Shen Xu's Ancestor using his divine soul, hoping the Ancestor could use the Zhen Stone body and the means of the Divine Void Dao Fruit to barely get by.
However, the answer was no.
If the North Continent truly sent someone, it would be a Mixed Yuan Great Emptiness Golden Immortal, a supreme being transcending both realms.
Fooling such an existence was entirely different from fooling the Southern Emperor.
With this in mind, Shen Yi calmed himself down.
As he had said, time was running out.
In such a significant matter as the attack on the South Continent, the Southern Emperor had only given the demon lords a mere half-month to react, issuing the order just before the deadline.
If travel time was factored in, it would completely avoid the possibility of these demon lords leaking information.
And the command the Thousand-Foot Black Dragon brothers received... was for Songfeng Prefecture, the place where the three demon clans had suffered a major setback.
As for who the ascetics were and how many were sent, they would only know upon arrival.
The Southern Emperor's actions rendered Shen Yi's usual tactics completely ineffective.
In just half a month, it would be impossible to deceive a Mixed Yuan Great Emptiness Golden Immortal, let alone make it back to Shen Xu Mountain in time.
Since that was the case, there was no point in worrying. He might as well focus on the task at hand.
As for the matter of survival that Yue Lan and the others had mentioned...
Shen Yi gazed silently out the window. Even before leaving Mount Sumeru to head to the Eight-Peak Valley, he had already made his decision.
He didn't owe the Divine Dynasty anything, but he had brought the suffering masses of Hongze gradually to the land of the Divine Continent, this fabled earthly paradise.
Among them were seniors like Xuan Qing and the patriarchs of Nan Hong, who were willing to risk their lives for his reckless schemes, as well as old friends like Jiang Qiulan, Nie Jun, and Li Qingfeng, who had been by his side since the Treasure Land of Nanyang.
Now, they were scattered across the Divine Dynasty.
In such a situation, how could Shen Yi watch idly as this paradise was destroyed?
He would do his best.
...
In the South Continent, Songfeng Prefecture.
"Half a month?!"
Feng Xi stepped forward and took the jade slip.
"The news I received before leaving was half a month ago... Calculating the time, there should only be four hours left."
Yue Lan's expression was unusually calm as she respectfully stepped back two paces. Since leaving Jianyang, she had been rushing day and night, but her heart was quietly tied to that quiet courtyard.
The young man who had avenged her sect's blood feud with the Thousand Tribulation Golden Pills was now on the verge of sacrificing himself for the Divine Dynasty.
Every time she thought of this, Yue Lan would recall their first meeting at the land temple in Jianyang. If she had been able to use the brutal and ruthless methods he used to deal with the Qingmei Daoist's disciple carrying a magical treasure to intercept the rain as a reason to have him killed in his position as a demon slayer, perhaps none of this would have happened.
"..."
Feng Xi had no strength left to notice Yue Lan's unusual state. Her lips trembled as she turned back.
Inside the hall were Yang Mingli and Yan Lanting. Fortunately, they had not yet left after the last discussion, so there was no need to gather more people.
But could the three of them really stop eight demon lords?
"Is this another message from General Nanyang?"
The last incident seemed to have given Yang Mingli a significant blow. He now appeared much calmer.
After receiving Feng Xi's confirmation, the elderly man, with a sense of impending doom, straightened his robes and stood up. "His messages have never been wrong. If that's the case, let's set out."
The simple words "set out" carried a deeper meaning.
Yan Lanting smiled helplessly and also stood up. The two had been rivals for most of their lives, but in this moment, their thoughts were surprisingly aligned.
No matter how they chose to support the Divine Dynasty and save the South Continent, they had consumed the Imperial Qi of the mortal world for so many years, and it was only right to give back.
The three Southern Generals did not ask about Shen Yi's situation.
Perhaps they all harbored thoughts similar to Yue Lan's.
If there was a sliver of hope, that would be good enough.
If they asked and found out he was also in danger, it would be even more heartbreaking.
"I'll go too."
At that moment, a clear voice sounded behind them.
They turned back in confusion.
Yue Lan extended her hand, a red thread wrapping around her fingers, holding a yellow jade token.
"Even this he left to you."
Yan Lanting raised an eyebrow, a rare smile appearing on his old face.
The next moment, several figures shot through the sky, transforming into long rainbows, their powerful auras startling the entire prefecture!
Everyone knew that there were powerful figures protecting the South Continent, safeguarding the Divine Dynasty.
However, due to the Demon-Slaying Bureau's once-secret nature, these beings, comparable to Bodhisattvas and Immortals, remained anonymous.
Now, by revealing their auras, they were indirectly declaring the urgency of the situation in the South Continent.
In the surrounding prefectures, the officials in the government offices gradually felt the overwhelming aura. Their faces turned grave, and they immediately put down their work, rushing to grasp similar yellow seals.
One city after another, the Imperial Qi of nearly a dozen prefectures in the South Continent surged, converging on Songfeng Prefecture.
A single jade slip from Shen Yi had emptied so many cities, completely abandoning their defenses.
This was a testament to the Demon-Slaying Bureau's trust in General Nanyang.
For cultivators who had reached the Third Grade, a hundred years was but a blink of an eye, but these four hours felt like an eternity to the Southern Generals.
The light gradually dimmed, and night descended like a ravenous mouth, swallowing the lamps in the city.
Even the bravest souls now huddled like children, curling up in the cold blankets, eyes tightly shut, listening only to the footsteps of the guards, unsure if they would see the sun rise again.
The Great Emptiness Golden Immortal could see through the darkness but couldn’t detect the aura of another of his kind in the night.
Thus, even men like Yan Lanting and Yang Mingli, who were usually unflappable, now shared the same unease as the common folk.
They stared at the sky, not missing a single detail.
The city walls were deathly silent.
Until, from an unknown distance, a rumbling thunder echoed.
It was the breath of a massive creature.
The two elders’ eyes instantly turned cold, while Feng Xi narrowed her eyes and drew out the piece of wutong wood.
Behind them, Yue Lan slowly unsheathed her sword, her white teeth biting through her lip, the corner of her mouth stained with a vivid red.
Shen Yi had given her the strength to stand before the Bodhisattva of the Immortals.
In return, she must summon the courage to match that strength.
To challenge a demon lord with the realm of a Fifth-Grade Taiyi Immortal!
The heavy breathing stirred the Imperial Qi, and in the next moment, a red demon aura, even more vivid than the blood on Yue Lan’s lip, shot into the sky, tearing through the Imperial Qi like a pillar of heaven.
"One."
Yan Lanting murmured, and as his voice spread, a second crimson pillar appeared, followed by a third... and then it stopped!
"Only three?"
Yang Mingli furrowed his brow, looking at his colleagues with confusion.
Even without the Demon-Slaying Order, the auras of these three great demons alone were enough to devastate half of the South Continent.
But this was clearly far fewer than the number mentioned in the secret letter from the Southern General.
However, Yang Mingli received no response, only seeing his colleagues’ pupils suddenly constrict. He instinctively turned his head and was struck by astonishment.
The two thick streams of demonic power that had pierced the sky were now twisting, like two colossal dragons, while the last one transformed into the shape of a fierce bird.
What truly stunned the Southern Generals was that the three streams of demonic power inexplicably entangled with each other.
Two dragons devouring a bird!
The night was torn apart, turning into a scene of twilight, stretching for thousands of miles.
Simultaneously, the thunderous breathing turned into deafening roars and wails, the turbulent aura sweeping across the land like a fierce storm. Even from a great distance, the mighty Songfeng Prefecture trembled violently, and the Imperial Qi fortifying the city walls began to dissipate rapidly.
Yan Lanting suddenly stepped forward, stabilizing the city, but he had no intention of leaving: "Don’t fall for it!"
Though he didn’t know what the demon lords were up to, they couldn’t fall for a ploy to lure them away.
The fierce battle lasted the entire night.
The Southern Generals’ minds were reeling. With the final wail of the bird, the two dragon-like streams of demonic power bit down on the bird’s wings and tore it apart!
"Roar!"
Crimson demonic power rained down, announcing the fall of a demon lord.
Then... the world strangely returned to peace.
The two dragon-like streams of demonic power never reappeared, as if they had turned and left.
Dawn broke.
The figures on the city walls became gradually clearer.
Yan Lanting maintained his forward stance, Yang Mingli clenched his fingers, and Feng Xi slowly lowered the wutong wood.
Yue Lan still gripped the hilt of her sword, her hand numb from the strain.
They stared at the distance, still unable to believe that the demon disaster had ended so abruptly.
"Why... would it be like this?"
Yan Lanting’s eyes turned bloodshot as he turned around.
No one responded.
But everyone knew that in the South Continent, any strange occurrence could be traced back to the Southern General, and they would be right nine times out of ten.
Moreover, the news of the demon attack on Songfeng Prefecture had come from the Southern General himself.
But Yan Lanting’s face showed no joy, only a roar of frustration, his saliva flying: "Why only three?!"
"..." Yang Mingli and Feng Xi’s faces turned stiff, their bodies rigid.
If the Southern General’s information was correct, it meant at least five more demon lords had arrived in the Great Southern Continent that night, but they weren’t in Songfeng Prefecture.
Where were they?
Yan Lanting’s outburst was fueled not only by the missing demon lords but also by the desire to know Shen Yi’s whereabouts.
Clang.
The sword fell to the ground.
Under the gaze of the three Southern Generals, Yue Lan stumbled backward, feeling a wave of dizziness. Only now did she realize why Shen Yi had sent her with the message.
In the entire Great Southern Continent, whether in the Demon-Slaying Bureau or among the officials, only one person could track the movements of the demons.
"Jianyang Prefecture..." As tears welled in her eyes, the girl finally slumped against the city wall, her body weak.
Upon hearing these words, Yan Lanting immediately shot into the sky, vanishing into the horizon without a word.
Only Feng Xi and Yang Mingli were left, exchanging a glance.
While they had been standing there in confusion, Jianyang Prefecture might not have been as peaceful as Songfeng Prefecture.
(End of Chapter)
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