Chapter 140

In the sky, the seventy-two-island San Alliance's fleet of magical ships once again surged toward Qianye Lingdao.

Deafening battle cries and the thunderous roars of warship cannons echoed throughout the spiritual energy Archipelago.

Even on Wangyue Island, far away in the far north, the sounds of war—like a collapsing sky and raging sea—could faintly be heard.

The Wu family cultivators tending fields on the spirit island naturally sensed the disturbance, all gazing outward, each trembling with fear.

Wu Jiang frowned deeply, pacing anxiously back and forth inside his wooden hut.

His father, Wu Hanyuan, also wore a face full of worry, fearing the flames of war might reach them at any moment.

"Sigh! Jiang'er, stop pacing—you're making me dizzy," Wu Hanyuan sighed.

He hesitated, then continued: "Why not send a few clan members out to scout what's really happening out there?"

"Not knowing anything makes me feel uneasy!"

Wu Jiang stopped, hesitating: "But Qin Daoist told me to stay inside for now, to avoid trouble."

"Then go ask Qin Daoist for advice and see what he says."

"Alright."

To be honest, Wu Jiang was also deeply uneasy—after all, clashes between major powers were no joke.

Though Wangyue Island had many safeguards, he still couldn't feel secure.

So he went up to the main peak and sent a message talisman to Qin Ming inside.

A few breaths later, the defensive formation opened a gap, and Wu Jiang stepped inside.

But when he saw the scene within, he froze in shock.

There sat Qin Ming, calm and composed, on a stone bench outside the cave dwelling, sipping tea and studying a book.

He looked as steady as an old dog—utterly unfazed.

'At a time like this, how can Qin Daoist still have the nerve to drink tea and read?' Wu Jiang thought inwardly, but dared not show it.

Qin Ming, seeing him arrive, asked calmly: "Wu Daoist, what brings you here?"

"Ahem! Qin Daoist, you must have heard the commotion outside—this battle is clearly massive. Shouldn't I lead a team out to scout from afar?" Wu Jiang asked.

Qin Ming fell silent for a moment; he had no concern for Wangyue Island's safety.

Still, he knew information must not be completely cut off—he needed at least some grasp of the outside situation.

He stood up and said to Wu Jiang: "Since you're uneasy, sending a team to scout is acceptable."

"But the battlefield outside is surely brutal—any misstep could mean death and the dissolution of your cultivation."

"Wu Daoist, proceed with utmost caution."

"As soon as you get any new information, notify me immediately."

"If things turn dire, return to the island—here, at least, you're safe."

After speaking, Qin Ming reached into an unknown cultivator's storage pouch and pulled out two defensive artifacts and several life-saving talismans, handing them all to Wu Jiang.

"Thank you, Qin Daoist!"

"I'll gather the team and set out at once."

Wu Jiang accepted the life-saving items with deep gratitude and hurriedly took his leave.

He immediately assembled several Wu family late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators and departed Wangyue Island to scout.

Qin Ming watched Wu Jiang and the others depart; since they were acting on his behalf and the mission carried great risk, giving them a few artifacts and talismans for protection was only natural.

He had considered advising Wu Jiang further, but held back—Wu's family knew nothing of the outside situation and likely couldn't sleep soundly on the island.

……

Only half a day had passed.

News from Wu Jiang began trickling back.

"Qin Daoist, as expected—the battle outside is horrific."

"This time, the Zhao family of Qianye Lingdao is finished."

"The San Alliance's coalition has shattered the third-rank formation protecting Qianye Lingdao."

"They're now storming inward, and many opportunistic cultivators are joining the looting."

"Zhao Wuyang, the Zhao family's pseudo-Golden Core Laozu, is being held off by two other pseudo-Golden Core Laozus from allied factions—Lingyu Men can no longer save the Zhao family." Qin Ming, hearing this, fell into thought—the two other Laozus engaged in this melee must be aligned with Lei Yuanzong.

'So the Zhao family's fate is truly sealed.'

As time passed, Wu Jiang's reports kept arriving.

All were tales of Zhao's collapse—mere desperate last resistance.

The family's destruction was merely a matter of time.

The once-deafening clamor from outside gradually faded.

Just as Qin Ming assumed the seventy-two-island San Alliance would soon seize Qianye Lingdao in one final push—

Wu Jiang returned to Wangyue Island, pale-faced and frantic with terror.

Without pause, he rushed straight to Qin Ming.

He stammered out a far more shocking piece of news.

"Q-Qin Daoist, an emergency has occurred."

"Just moments ago, as the San Alliance coalition was about to wipe out the Zhao family of Qianye Lingdao—"

"The San Alliance's rear was struck by a sudden catastrophe: after the Mu family, two more Lingdao-based Foundation Establishment clans were massacred!"

"Even their late-stage Foundation Establishment Laozus didn't survive—their corpses were horrifically gutted, hearts and lungs torn out."

Qin Ming, hearing this, could no longer remain calm: "What? Three clans wiped out in succession—what's going on?"

"Any leads on the killer?"

Wu Jiang swallowed hard, then nodded: "Many cultivators near the two sites witnessed the attacks."

"The true culprit who slaughtered three families in a row is not a human cultivator."

"But an absolute great demon that came out of the Beast Roar Mountain Range — the Double-Pupil Demon Ape."

"It is said this beast has already reached the peak of the second tier, just one final step away from advancing into a third-tier Demon King."

"Its strength is overwhelmingly powerful, so much so that it can even match a Jin Dan old ancestor in combat."

"Someone witnessed with their own eyes that the two families' late-stage Foundation Establishment old ancestors couldn't withstand even a single punch from the Demon Ape before dying."

"……"

Qin Ming heard this and his heart sank with a jolt. A terrifying guess suddenly flashed through his mind, and he hurriedly asked, "This great demon probably didn't target those three families for no reason, did it?"

"Fellow Daoist Qin, how did you know?" Wu Jiang said, greatly surprised.

"That's right! According to the information I gathered, I heard that the Mu family's old ancestor and the old ancestors of several other families had once joined forces in the Beast Roar Mountain Range to kill a mid-second-tier White-Armed Gray Ape."

"That ape was the only offspring of this very Double-Pupil Demon Ape."

"This time the Demon Ape sought out the three families to avenge its offspring."

"The Mu family and the other two probably never expected, even in death, that back then there was still a Demon Ape hiding deep within the mountain range, quietly breaking through to the peak of the second-tier realm."

Qin Ming: "……"

!!!

After hearing the other's words, Qin Ming was already drenched in cold sweat internally. Wasn't this a coincidence?

Now the essence blood of that White-Armed Gray Ape had already entered his belly, refined by him. That absolute fierce beast couldn't possibly come after him, could it? Although the Misty Illusion Realm could isolate even divine sense, the Double-Pupil Demon Ape was able to accurately pinpoint three Foundation Establishment families from a thousand miles away in the Misty Mountain Range — clearly it possessed some special secret technique or divine ability.

'Sigh! This is a mess.'

'I won't leave the island until I cultivate to the Jin Dan stage!'

Qin Ming hadn't expected that such a terrifying existence would be involved.

"What happened after that?"

Wu Jiang saw that Qin Ming, who was usually calm and composed, was also starting to show an unnatural expression, and immediately answered, "That Demon Ape went on a killing spree behind the San Alliance's lines, no one could stop it, and the allied army suffered heavy losses."

"The allied army could only split off part of its forces to defend the rear, and two False Core old ancestors also gave up the pursuit of Zhao Wuyang and were forced to return to reinforce."

"In the end, a portion of the Zhao family's core disciples took advantage of the gap and narrowly escaped."

Qin Ming sighed, "This Zhao family really has a strong fate — they weren't even wiped out."

(End of this chapter)