Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Protagonist Falls, the Demonic Lord's Secret Realm Opens
The tall, robust elder’s expression suddenly changed, his face turning grim. “You’ve planted spies in my Qi Qi Sect’s branch?”
“Heheheheh, it’s your Qi Qi Sect that has produced traitors. A sect once known for unity now harbors betrayal—what a bitter irony. Yet, it’s not so surprising; every sect has its turncoats. While your Qi Qi Sect’s history has the fewest, it still exceeds a count on one hand.
If it hadn’t been for Tu Gou’s shameless assault at the start, which killed many of our Demon Sect’s Core Formation experts, within one hour, your branch—without its protective mountain formation—would have been wiped out entirely by us.
Even so, after a night of battle, your Qi Qi Sect must have little strength left. Soon, I believe, we will occupy it fully. Then, the nine formation nodes will resonate, the Demon Sovereign’s secret realm will open, and when our Demon Sect returns, the Southern Region will become our domain. From then on—Eastern Tang, Southern Immortal-Demon, Western Buddhist-Yao, Northern Confucian Three Kingdoms, and Central Celestial Mountain. The Southern Immortal-Demon will be reborn as the True Demon Realm. Hahaha!”
The elder’s face grew darker still. Qi Qi Sect was known for its strict selection of disciples—the harshest in the Southern Region. Its ethos was unity and mutual aid; even unfamiliar sect members would lend a hand when needed. Yet, the cultivation world is vast and treacherous; traitors always emerge.
He had never imagined the traitor would be so close, among those Core Formation disciples entrusted with the mountain’s protective formation—faces he knew well.
“Elder Qi, don’t fall for their tricks. Whether or not there’s a traitor isn’t for them to decide. What matters now is to destroy the enemy and return quickly—the outcome is still uncertain.” Shui Wuyue Bai spoke coldly, a clear reminder.
...
Qi now found himself caught between a rock and a hard place. The balance had tipped completely—almost every Qi Qi Sect cultivator was surrounded by two or more Demon Sect foes. He was no exception; three surrounded him. Without his bloodline ability to accelerate time, he would have been torn apart already.
As time passed, the last elite members of Qi Qi Sect fell one by one. None chose surrender; when resistance became impossible, they resolutely chose self-destruction. Many Demon Sect disciples were dragged down with them, and even more were injured.
Thanks to this, the selfish Demon Sect disciples held back during the siege, hoping to escape before the enemy’s self-detonation. Thus, the battle did not devolve into utter slaughter.
Qi was deeply shaken by the decisiveness of Qi Qi Sect’s disciples. He didn’t know how the sect cultivated such resolve, but it reminded him of soldiers from another world—those true men of iron and blood. Though he himself could not emulate them, his admiration remained undiminished.
---
Amid such an atmosphere, Qi’s own blood began to boil. With a furious roar, he charged recklessly between two enemies. The pair, startled, turned and fled in opposite directions, but Qi’s speed far surpassed theirs.
Thunderous explosions echoed, dazzling light and flames devoured the figures of the two demon cultivators. When the fire faded, all three had vanished completely.
Their disappearance did not affect the ongoing battle. The self-destruction of Qi Qi Sect cultivators continued to ring out. As time passed, those sounds grew fewer, until finally, silence settled over Qi Qi Mountain.
“Hahaha! The branch of Qi Qi Sect is ours now. Once we open the Demon Sovereign’s secret realm, when our master returns, the entire Southern Region will belong to our Demon Sect!” The speaker was the same middle-aged man who had shouted, “Break this formation for me!” after the zombie elder departed. With cultivation at the brink of Nascent Soul, he was the Demon Sect’s commander here.
“Haha, the master is mighty!”
“Those cultivators reek of hypocrisy.”
“Soon we’ll be free to seize any female cultivator we please!”
...
Under the middle-aged cultivator’s direction, Demon Sect disciples collected the flesh and blood of the fallen cultivators, assembling them into a bizarre rune. This would stimulate the spirit vein, gathering its power to merge with the cloud of resentment and activate the formation node.
Though it sounded complex, it was simple in practice: the Demon Sect needed only to collect flesh and blood and form the rune. The middle-aged cultivator led a group to activate the spirit vein, causing spiritual energy to surge skyward and merge with the cloud of resentment.
Soon, the cloud began to churn violently—screams, wails, howls, and roars of negative emotion gradually rose, coalescing into a massive wave of sound that shook the earth and sent rocks tumbling. Demon Sect cultivators below Core Formation turned pale with fear.
Finally, the sonic tide seemed to find an answer, echoing rhythmically, resonating with its counterpart. With each pulse, the cloud of resentment gathered atop the pillar of spiritual energy, rising ever higher into the sky.
---
As more and more of the resentful cloud was drawn upward by the pillar, the oppressive darkness overhead began to thin, and light gradually returned to the earth. In only a few moments, sunlight once more shone brilliantly across the land.
“Heheheheh, your Qi Qi Sect branch has been uprooted; I suspect all its disciples have perished. Hahaha!” The old zombie, beset by two opponents and forced to defend bitterly, cackled as he glimpsed the pillar of spiritual energy on the horizon.
“What? That’s the direction of our Qi Qi Sect branch! Damn it! Old scoundrel, I’ll make you pay with your life for my sect’s disciples!” The tall elder’s eyes burned red, his attacks growing ever more wild.
Shui Wuyue Bai’s lips were pressed tight, her eyes blazing with fury. With a fierce cry, she joined the assault anew.
Once the earth was cleared and sunlight restored, only the pillar of spiritual energy continued to soar skyward, its summit lost from view, as if it sought to pierce the gates of heaven and ascend to the immortal realm.
A few breaths later, high above in the nine heavens, a massive, pitch-black vortex slowly appeared. At its center, a vast silhouette could just be made out; compared to it, the entire nation of Qi was as insignificant as ants beneath a human’s feet.
“Heheheheh, is that the Demon Sovereign’s secret realm? I can already sense the dense demonic energy. My heart urges me to plunge inside—my fortune awaits within.” The zombie elder cackled as he shot skyward, racing toward the immense vortex above. “When I return, I’ll surely be at late Nascent Soul, a great cultivator—perhaps even touch the threshold of the Unity stage, and finally hope for transcendence in this life. Hahaha! Tu Gou, next time I’ll make you a dead dog for sure! Hahaha!”
The tall elder’s face was ashen as he exchanged a grim look with Shui Wuyue Bai. Together, they soared after him. “Old zombie, you won’t get that chance. Before you find your fortune, you’ll die by my hand. Besides, the Demon Sovereign’s secret realm is no sanctuary; perhaps you’ll perish the moment you enter.”
(The protagonist has fallen, and the novel has ended... How could that be? Yesterday, I read several posts from new authors and learned that on the platform, novels with over a hundred thousand words but no contract have little hope. They don’t even gain any popularity. I’ve felt this too lately; no matter how I seek support, I haven’t received a single recommendation, while those with internal contracts have at least a thousand. The gap is huge. But I treat this as practice—to hone my writing and gain experience. As for explosive updates, unless I get some inspiration, from now on there will only be two chapters a day. Enough rambling. Let’s continue updating.)