Chapter 3074

As for the more than twenty demons who had descended through divine success, they also failed to turn the tide of battle. Taking advantage of the moment they had just awakened, with no defenses whatsoever, the Dragon God Army, the Profound Wing Army, and numerous powerful beings concentrated their fire and eliminated seven of them within fifteen minutes—two of them hadn't even managed to stand up before they were slain.

Seeing that the situation was beyond salvage and daring not to fight further, the remaining demons activated their divine abilities and fled with all haste, leaving the Heavenly Palace troops to cover the rear.

Only then did the Heavenly Palace army finally collapse.

According to the Emperor's prior arrangements, the Dragon God Army was not only to destroy the demon skins hidden within Mount Yong, but also to use them as bait to annihilate the descending demons. At this point, every additional demon slain meant one less obstacle in future wars.

At the very start of the battle, the enemy commander and two lantern bearers were struck down instantly, and the remaining tens of thousands were unable to organize any meaningful resistance.

Within just half an hour, the battle was drawing to a close.

The surviving Heavenly Palace commanders attempted to lead their troops in separate retreats, but the Dragon God Army and the Profound Wing Army pursued relentlessly.

Along the way, troops from the State of Chi came to intercept, but they were scattered with a single charge—utterly no match for the Dragon God Army.

After the battle, the entire Mount Yong lay shrouded in light, drifting smoke.

Pu Hua himself had been struck by a divine technique on the shoulder, unable to lift his arm, yet he threw his head back and let out a long, resonant cry:

"We won—we won this ambush battle!"

The soldiers of both armies burst into cheers.

In the battle of the gods' descent, this is how they should have begun—with such a victory!

Once the signal smoke from the main battlefield had mostly dissipated, Pu Hua also unearthed several divine corpses and examined them closely.

These were one human-shaped skin after another, each with a different visage, and all clothed. If one checked the neck or shoulder, one would most likely discover a small, tattoo-like mark.

That was the divine seal.

Each skin had been pre-assigned; when the time came, the descending demon's primordial spirit would rely on its own divine seal to locate and inhabit the corresponding vessel.

One melon, one hole.

In the past, He Lingchuan had been assigned a skin by the Naraka Heaven, with the mark placed in his sea of consciousness. The skins mass-produced by the Heavenly Palace were more direct—etched directly onto the vessel—and this was done for practical reasons:

If a certain deity could not descend due to special circumstances, or could not take possession of this skin, simply replacing the divine seal would allow the skin to be directly used by the next demon.

This is far simpler and more convenient than erasing the mark in the sea of consciousness.

At present, these divine vessels are in high demand—none can be wasted.

At this moment, a messenger arrived swiftly with a report:

"General Wanqi has also captured the Heavenly Palace garrison at Longhu!"

Pu Hua scratched his head in annoyance. The Heavenly Palace troops stationed at Longhu outnumbered those here, yet Wanqi Song had taken it just as quickly—truly vexing!

￥￥￥￥￥

After the alliance's long-distance communication conference ended, King Chiyan Fu Shanlie had just put away his spirit-communing stone when he couldn't help but cover his mouth and cough.

This cough was nearly impossible to stop.

He had no handkerchief, and his palm was soon filled with black blood.

His condition was worsening by the day.

Palace attendants hurriedly handed him a cloth.

Standing beside him, the Minister Liu Banshan asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, shouldn't you take your medicine?"

Fu Shanlie finally managed to stop coughing, caught his breath, and said: "I'll go shortly. Where has that brat gone off to fighting?"

Minister Liu chuckled: "The Crown Prince led the troops, just captured the southern bank of Ansha Fortress at Xufu Town, seized the waterway hub, and is the fastest of the alliance's seven armies. Tonight, the alliance will launch a general assault on Ansha Fortress."

Fu Shanlie took a sip of water.

"He hasn't returned to the country in over twenty years—I thought he'd come back to Chiyan first, but instead he went straight to the front lines. This little turtle bastard."

Minister Liu thought to himself: That is also your seed, you scold him so harshly—aren't you cursing yourself as well? But he kept a smile on his face and said: "The Crown Prince is eager; he must accumulate more merits before he can return victorious to see you."

"After victory." Fu Shanlie snorted, "At that time, whether I am still alive in this world remains uncertain. This little bastard—doesn't he fear his father might suddenly die?"

Rumors of the Chiyan King's serious illness have spread for decades, and to this day, no one knows how many still believe them. In any case, Minister Liu feels the Crown Prince does not believe them. But he can only say: "Isn't this the Crown Prince's confidence in you?"

"Hmm." Fu Shanlie sighed, "With the demon descent imminent, is there any new news?"

"Yes. There are some abnormalities in the former lands of Yuan State—recently, some unknown persons have been lingering in the towns without leaving. I have already sent people to investigate."

"Tonight is the demon descent into the world. Earlier, Jiuyou's subordinate Qiu Hutong reported the battle results from the Chixiao Golden Hall—there are still at least two major demons lurking in the human realm." Fu Shanlie exhaled deeply, "The patrols of Chiyan Capital must be strengthened."

Minister Liu replied respectfully: "All arrangements have already been made."

"Arrangements?" Fu Shanlie let out a hoarse laugh, "In the face of demons, what arrangements does Chiyan even have?

After Chiyan broke with the demons, the people in his palace have been replaced five or six times over.

Can we blame him for his paranoia? As a vassal of Bekka, Chiyan has worshipped the gods for nearly two hundred years—among the royalty, officials, guards, and palace servants, how many households are truly irreverent toward the divine?"

Fu Shanlie knew in his heart that no matter how meticulous he was, he could never completely erase the demon's eyes from the palace or the capital. Whenever this moment came, he felt especially envious of the Great Emperor Jiuyou.

The state of Shuoyan worships neither gods nor immortals—whether it is the Chixiao Golden Hall or the capital, shielding itself from demonic influence is far easier than for Chiyan.

Fu Shanlie was about to speak again when another bout of coughing followed immediately.

It's time to take medicine. His body truly resembles a bellows riddled with a thousand holes.

Alas, no matter what, he at least must hold on until the demon war ends. If he were to hand over such a great nation to Fu Shanyue now, he would have no confidence.

"Go to the Heavenly Fate Tower."

The Heavenly Fate Tower lies in the northwest corner of the Chiyan Royal Palace—appearing deserted, yet in fact heavily guarded, with countless formations and barriers.

Whoever dares to intrude without permission will be turned into minced meat in the blink of an eye.

As Fu Shanlie entered the Heavenly Fate Tower, a white ape stepped forward to greet him, bowing respectfully: "Your Majesty arrives just in time—the human-faced fruit has ripened."

Fu Shanlie nodded. Unlike others who would climb to the second floor, he walked straight into the central courtyard.

When death-row prisoners were thrown in, the tree's roots burst from the earth and bound them all. But as Fu Shanlie stepped step by step toward the tree's base, the tree showed no reaction at all—silent as an ordinary tree.

Yet, on the branch nearest the ground, a fruit had formed.

It was the size of a peach, pink in color, yet bore a human face—though the features were blurred, it looked terrifying.

This tree is called the Human-Faced Tree, and also has another name, the Man-Eating Tree.

It is native to the Netherworld Forest and feeds on living creatures. Any creature that intrudes into its territory—whether human, demon, or beast—will be seized and devoured by it.

The one that Fu Shanlie specially transplanted into the Yunyun Tower is a seven-hundred-year-old human-faced tree demon, which recognized him as its master long ago.