Chapter 948: Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun Descends Upon the Battlefield

In the desert wasteland, a line of snow appeared on the horizon.

That abruptly rising range of ice and snow far surpassed Yin-Yang Yuan Ci Jian Jue Ling Mountain of the Liu Dao Sect—it was a true near-heaven realm, radiating an inexplicable pressure that made one dare not speak aloud.

This was the Shenshan, the sacred ground of the western desert's countless demon clans.

Thousands of years ago, the demon clans of the western desert flourished because of it, producing six great Wang Zu in succession, with peak demon lords generation after generation.

The demon lords seized fourth-rank supreme spiritual veins, enslaved tens of millions to billions of humans, and produced spiritual stones, pills, and artifacts in mountainous and oceanic quantities, while countless delicacies that enhance cultivation were freely enjoyed, allowing them to thrive in luxury for millennia.

Now, change had arrived.

The three Taoshan expeditionary armies, a thousand radiant golden halls, nine-colored clouds, and one hundred thousand sun wheels formed a terrifying military formation, slowly advancing toward this place; a cold, murderous aura spread in all directions, even seeming to suppress the bone-deep chill of the Shenshan.

"Advance—!"

Hei Loxi whispered.

Everyone could feel her inner tension and excitement.

They were attacking a force led by a Soul Transformation Canghai Tianjun, seeking to utterly annihilate it!

This left every human cultivator with a dry mouth and parched throat.

Desire and fear arose in their hearts, and under the operation of the formation, both transformed into a furious, chilling killing intent, used to repel Soul Transformation-level spiritual sense attacks.

Any qualified military formation must be competent in offensive and defensive spells, artifacts, and spiritual sword intent.

This was the Way of military formations, forged by the blood and sweat of countless generations of cultivators, with no weak point easily pierced.

The three expeditionary formations spread across the sky, ignoring the ancient western desert prohibition against flight, descending upon the peak of the Shenshan.

They seized and gathered the celestial forces and spiritual qi within a range of thousands of kilometers, forming an overwhelming pressure that bore down.

Within the Shenshan, many demon lords who had gathered here began to fear.

"Fifth-rank formation!"

"Truly a Soul Transformation formation!"

"How is this possible? Only a few centuries ago, they were weak human vermin, lowly slaves!"

The chieftain of the Six-Tailed Fox Clan was a beautiful, mature woman; now she bared her claws and roared.

They could not believe that in merely a few centuries—less than half the lifespan of a single Jin Dan cultivator—their enemy had suddenly grown to a height they could only look up to.

This should not be!

This is unreasonable!

Yet the overwhelming Soul Transformation formation pressure was undeniable, and the destruction of the six Wang Zu ancestral lands was undeniable.

The truth lay before them, crushing and hopeless.

No matter how fiercely the demon clans fought, how desperately they battled, how they burned their blood, they could never assemble a Soul Transformation formation!

Legends say that higher-bloodline demon nobles might possess inherited formations capable of forming a Soul Transformation formation—but never as easily as humans could.

At least tenfold the cost would be required!

Hum!

At this moment, the Shenshan's sacred formation could no longer endure; with its runes glowing, vast crystals and snowflakes appeared in the heavens and earth, falling in a swirling storm, repelling the three expeditionary formations and forming a domain of ice crystals unique to the Shenshan.

The Shenshan's Mountain-Preserving Formation: Bing Po Shen Chong Guang Array!

This was a fifth-rank array inherited from the Ice Phoenix bloodline, built over millennia at the cost of countless heavenly treasures, one of the ultimate foundations of the Shenshan sacred ground.

"Victory!"

"Our Shenshan has a great array too!"

"Lowly human slaves—this Jun shall exact revenge, cleanse our shame, and slaughter every human of the Northern Plain…"

Many demon lords felt reassured.

Following the Emperor's orders, they entered the array's nodes, their eyes blazing with fury as they spoke coldly.

Yet many spiritually sensitive demon lords, like the Six-Tailed Fox Clan chieftain, felt a sudden jolt.

The Shenshan's Mountain-Preserving Array seemed—perhaps, possibly—slightly weaker than any one of the three Taoshan armies.

No, this must be an illusion!

The Six-Tailed Fox Clan chieftain immediately cut off the thought that had suddenly surfaced.

"Fifth-rank low-grade…"

Instantly, Hei Loxi, head of the Taoshan Maidens; Fang Master Dinghai Zhenjun, commander of the Great Sun Long Sword; and Master Tianyang Master Dinghai Zhenjun, commander of the Hun Yuan Fa—all three fixed their gazes sharply, instantly understanding much through their control of the formation.

Yet they did nothing; instead, they stepped back several paces, bowed deeply, their faces filled with reverent fervor.

"We welcome, Canghai Tianjun!"

"We welcome, Sword Son!"

"We welcome, Master!"

A million human cultivators shouted in unison; their voices, amplified by the three Soul Transformation formations, spread over tens of thousands of kilometers, shaking the surrounding space and making clouds sway.

Canghai Tianjun?

Every demon cultivator's heart trembled; boundless hatred and killing intent flared as they turned toward the place where the million humans bowed.

At the center of the three Soul Transformation formations, countless space runes spread, forming a hazy spatial gateway that gradually solidified into a visible, tangible form.

A young man in blue robes, a long sword at his waist, stepped slowly out of the gateway.

"Taoshan…"

The eyes of many demon lords instantly turned blood-red.

It was this man who had

shattered their homelands, slaughtered countless clan members.

Had it not been for him, the Imperial Court would now hold the entire Northern Plain, freely slaughtering and enslaving humans, with demon lords rising generation after generation, wealth and glory overflowing, the clan's legacy enduring for ten thousand generations.

Had it not been for him, none of this would have fallen to such ruin.

The resentful gazes of hundreds of millions of demon cultivators were nearly solidified, capable of giving birth to a vengeful ghost in an instant, capable of making even a Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun suffer nightmares and heart demons from which they could not escape.

However, for a Canghai Tianjun, these were merely a spring breeze brushing the face, having no meaning whatsoever.

Jiang Ding extended his divine sense and sword intent, sweeping across the four directions, finally resting on the formation of the Great Snow Mountain Holy Land, and shook his head slightly: "A fifth-grade, lower-rank formation."

"It seems the demon race is indeed unsuited for this path."

"A crude and direct body refinement is more suitable for you."

"As for formations, talismans, and the like, the hundred arts of cultivation developed by post-heaven beings, your use of them is merely laughable."

Jiang Ding sneered.

The demon race rose to prosperity due to their bloodlines, yet also fell into shackles due to their bloodlines, forever unable to break free.

He had appeared here, before the Soul Transformation-level war had erupted.

For he did not need the weak as shields to seize the initiative for his own strike; he despised such things.

Furthermore, it was because there were opponents here that he needed, opponents belonging to him.

No one, regardless of enemy or ally, regardless of any reason, could snatch away his opponent.

This belongs to him!

Clang~

"Zhenjun Zhenjun Bingyuan Canghai Tianjun..."

Jiang Ding slowly drew the Taqing Flying Sword.

He no longer looked at this fifth-grade, lower-rank Ice Soul Divine Light Formation; a web-like pattern of blood-gold appeared in his eyes as he gazed into the deepest part of the formation: "Zhenjun Zhenjun Bingyuan Canghai Tianjun, you have lived far too long, long enough to make me weary."

"Come out, let me grant you death."

Screech!

In the heavens and earth, a sharp cry suddenly arose.

"Master Tushan, you seek death!"

A magnificent ice-crystal phoenix emerged from the snow mountain, transforming into a beam of Ice Soul Divine Light that froze all things, and struck in an instant.