Chapter 382: Heavenly Demon Possession [Combined Chapter]

Several days later.

In the Central Prefecture of Great Jin, at the Su family estate by Dragon Court Lake.

Following Qin Ming's instructions, Hua Tianxiong personally delivered items to Su Yuqing.

He directly piloted the Golden Luan Precious Carriage, landing near the Su family's mountain gate; for this journey, he came alone, bringing no extra attendants.

Upon his arrival, he saw many cultivators from prestigious families and clans also waiting before the main gate.

Among these people were not a few Jin Dan elders from great sects and major schools, all seemingly here to request pills from the Su family.

"Oh! Isn't this President Hua?"

From within the crowd, a voice of surprise and doubt emerged, and nearby cultivators hastily cleared a path.

In the past, Hua Tianxiong was notorious, and with Elder Qian of the Off-Flame Palace as his backer, ordinary cultivators kept their respectful distance.

Furthermore, not long ago, news spread that the fall of two elders from Divine Dao Mountain and Tian Laomo of the Yin Demon Sect seemed related to him, so no one dared to provoke this star of calamity.

Nowadays, Hua Tianxiong's reputation could be said to be known far and wide.

"Ah, so it is Elder Hai of the Heavenly Craft Sect?"

"President Hua, this Grandmaster Su is truly difficult to meet; this old man has already been waiting here for several days."

"And still have not managed a single audience."

"I'm afraid President Hua is about to make a wasted trip."

Grandmaster Su's temperament was eccentric; he would not even grant face to elders of the Off-Flame Palace, making him extremely difficult for ordinary people to meet.

Let alone Hua Tianxiong; even as the president of the illustrious Thousand Mechanisms Merchant Guild, he might not be granted an audience.

While the surrounding cultivators thought this, they saw Hua Tianxiong take out a message talisman and send it off.

Only a moment later, the Su family's main gate opened, and an old man resembling a steward walked out, glancing into the crowd.

He then strode forward to stand before Hua Tianxiong, bowed, and said, "President Hua, our Young Master requests your presence!"

At these words, the crowd of visitors immediately stared at each other in wide-eyed shock.

No matter how they thought about it, they could never have imagined that this fellow Hua Tianxiong had such a connection with Grandmaster Su.

Subsequently, Hua Tianxiong lifted his head, stuck out his belly, and sauntered inside.

In a study room within the Su estate, he saw Su Yuqing dressed in white robes.

"So Brother Hua has arrived; is there some matter concerning Brother Qin?"

Su Yuqing set down the ancient text in his hand and poured a cup of spiritual tea for Hua Tianxiong.

Hua Tianxiong hastily handed over the jade slip and storage bag to Su Yuqing: "Fellow Daoist Su, Fellow Daoist Qin asked me to deliver these to you; the situation is somewhat urgent, please take a look."

"Oh?" Su Yuqing accepted the items and immediately immersed his divine sense to examine the jade slip.

But the next instant, his complexion changed dramatically; the further he read, the uglier his expression became.

"The Great Heavenly Demon Calamity, the Great Li Demon Path invading the Great Zhou Immortal Realm..."

"Has the situation actually become this severe?"

"Indeed, Elder Qian of the Off-Flame Palace also revealed some intelligence to me, but none was as detailed as what Fellow Daoist Qin possesses."

"He entrusted me to inform Fellow Daoist Su that the Su family must begin preparations early."

Su Yuqing nodded with an extremely grave expression, "Thank you for making the trip personally, Brother Hua."

"Where, where; this is what I ought to do," Hua Tianxiong waved his hand.

Next, Su Yuqing opened the storage bag to take a look, and even with his vast experience, the contents inside made him involuntarily gasp in shock.

Three emerald-green, dew-grass-shaped spiritual plants appeared in his hand, "Fourth-rank Hualing Yao Cao capable of assuming human form!"

Others might not know, but as a Grandmaster of the Dandaoda Sect, he knew very clearly that this was one of the main ingredients used to refine the Infant-Condensing Pill.

Even though Qin Ming had already told him it concerned the opportunity to condense an infant.

His mind still trembled violently, and as he continued to examine the other spiritual materials, every single one was an auxiliary ingredient for refining the Infant-Condensing Pill and the Ice-Heart Jade-Soul Pill.

Adding to the materials Hua Tianxiong had previously gathered, he now had nearly enough sets of ingredients to refine pills on his side.

Once the remaining materials were gathered, there would be enough in the future for him to refine pills himself.

"Please convey my thanks to Brother Qin."

Su Yuqing then took out a Divine Wood Pill and gifted it to Hua Tianxiong, "This is a small token from Su."

"Th-this... how can I accept such kindness..."

Hua Tianxiong was completely overwhelmed by the honor, half-pushing and half-yielding as he accepted the spiritual pill from the other's hand; the two then exchanged a few brief words.

After seeing Hua Tianxiong off, Su Yuqing, holding that intelligence jade slip, went without delay toward his father Su Tiannan's room.

Hua Tianxiong, meanwhile, exited the Su family gate with a face glowing red; amidst the envious and jealous gazes of the crowd, he mounted his Golden Luan Precious Carriage, turned into a golden rainbow, and vanished into the sky...

In the Great Zhou Immortal Realm, at Fan Sage Mountain.

This place was the location of the mountain gate for "Heavenly Sound Zen Temple," one of the four great powers of Great Zhou.

However, at this moment, cries of battle shook Fan Sage Mountain to its core; the sect's protective great array had been broken, rivers of blood flowed, and it had been completely surrounded by demon cultivators of the Yin Demon Sect.

The once pure land of Buddhism now resembled a human hell and a battlefield of Asuras.

Suddenly! Above the nearby battlefield.

Buzz, buzz, buzz! Ripples inexplicably echoed through the void, which then began to churn and twist inexplicably, as if something were about to drill out... Immediately after, three bursts of blood-colored light exploded, shooting dozens of blood-colored runes into the air from above, which then circled and interwove in mid-air, forming three blood-colored gateways.

The shape of the blood-colored gateways resembled three abyssal demon heads opening their giant mouths, causing spatial fluctuations, followed by violent trembling.

After a familiar pause.

From the blood basin-like gateways shaped like demon heads, three figures with powerful auras walked out.

All three wore blood-colored masks and dark demon-patterned blood robes, appearing extremely eerie.

The strength of their spiritual pressure caused all the cultivators present below to change color in shock! The Yin Demon Sect cultivators below, upon seeing the appearance of these three, immediately bowed one after another, saying: "Greetings to the three Holy Envoys!"

Yet these demon cultivators seemed to pay them no heed whatsoever.

"Senior Brother Qiu, I heard there is a Xue Futu Pagoda atop this mountain, suppressing a blood demon nearing the peak of the third tier beneath it; my innate demonic weapon still lacks a demonic soul to feed it, so may I have it shortly?"

The young demonic cultivator on the far left, whose cultivation was unmistakably at the late-stage Jin Dan realm, asked the person in the center with an attitude of utmost deference.

Although they were both true disciples of the Blood Refinement Mo Sect, a gap existed between them, hence his words carried a slight tone of seeking permission.

The demonic cultivator addressed as Senior Brother Qiu was immensely tall, with rough, bulging muscles covered in dark demonic tattoos, and even his cheeks and neck were overlaid with a layer of dark scales.

Under the sunlight, they reflected a chilling, grim glow.

Even more astonishing was that beneath this person's mask grew a pair of extremely bizarre blood-red vertical pupils! "Since Junior Brother Meng has a need, then it shall be yours," the young cultivator in the center replied with an evil smile.

"Many thanks to Senior Brother Qiu for granting this!" the demonic cultivator surnamed Meng on the far left hurriedly said.

"Hehe! Two Senior Brothers, shall we begin then?"

"I still lack some cultivator flesh, blood, and living souls to cultivate my demonic arts," the demonic cultivator on the far right licked his lips and sneered sinisterly, his gaze revealing a bloodthirsty, ferocious light.

"We cannot compete with Senior Brother Jiang Yuan and Senior Sister Lan Bing, those Holy Son and Holy Daughter; they went to the Xuanqing Temple to plunder treasures, so it is fine for us to come here and pick up some scraps, hehehe!"

"After settling matters here, we will go meet up with them."

Among the three demonic cultivators, the one surnamed Qiu in the center subtly acted as the leader.

This 'Senior Brother Qiu' of theirs cultivated a demonic body-refining art called the 'Great Art of Heavenly Demon Infusion,' having once single-handedly slain a third-tier peak Demonic Blood Flood Dragon and devoured and refined it with his demonic arts.

It was said that this Demonic Blood Flood Dragon possessed terrifying strength, comparable to the False Infant realm of the demonic path.

It was only a hair's breadth away from true dragon transformation.

Yet even so, it still died at Senior Brother Qiu's hands.

Since then, his demonic arts had advanced greatly, and within the Blood Refinement Mo Sect, he swept across all directions relying solely on his demonic physical body.

Even during the competition for quotas to descend into the lower world, his strength ranked among the top five.

The competition within the Blood Refinement Mo Sect was exceptionally fierce and cruel, survival of the fittest; all three of them had crawled out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

To secure a place among the top five true disciples was sufficient to demonstrate their terrifying strength and divine abilities.

Just at this moment.

Two powerful auras of Jin Guang flew out from Fan Sheng Mountain, blocking the three persons' path; as the golden escape light dissipated, it revealed two monks with long eyebrows and white beards, clad in kasayas.

These two people were unmistakably at the peak Jin Dan realm.

"Amitabha! I have long heard that the sins of the Blood Refinement Mo Sect's demonic path are profound; this poor monk wishes to deliver you three from the sea of suffering."

A monk with kind brows and benevolent eyes held a golden staff, his white patched robe moving without wind.

"Jie jie jie! Old bald donkey, struggling even when death is imminent; shortly I will let you taste the agony of soul-devouring!"

The blood-red vertical pupils of the demonic cultivator surnamed Qiu erupted with a cold light, causing the temperature of the entire space to drop suddenly.

"Hmph!"

The abbot monk waved his staff, then formed a hand seal with his fingers; golden light blazed forth from his body, condensing behind him into a golden Dharma image.

It was unmistakably a wrathful Arhat holding a demon-subduing pestle, a golden illusory figure towering dozens of zhang high!

The demon-subduing pestle in the golden Arhat's hand radiated treasure light, instantly unleashing a world-destroying momentum as it smashed toward the three demonic cultivators!

Boom! Crack! In an instant, under this single strike, heaven and earth changed color!

Yet the demonic cultivator surnamed Qiu in the center, seeing such a powerful divine ability attack, merely curled the corners of his mouth in mockery.

His figure blurred for a moment, vanishing from the spot.

Suddenly.

Demonic qi surged sky-high from the void, and a hundred-zhang-long pitch-black demonic dragon emerged, its body covered in black scales, two horns growing from its head, and within its gloomy eyes, a pair of blood-red vertical pupils suddenly snapped open!

Boom! Bang! The golden demon-subduing pestle slammed fiercely into the black demonic flood dragon.

The entire space trembled, erupting with violent sounds of collision, followed by a fierce shockwave in mid-air spreading outward in all directions.

With an overwhelming force, it instantly annihilated the low-tier cultivators fighting below.

Some Yin Mo Sect disciples who failed to dodge in time, under this backlash and unable to flee, were blasted into fine powder.

But as the blinding golden light in the sky dissipated, the scales on the black demonic flood dragon shimmered, yet it remained completely unharmed.

"Ah? This..."

"How is this possible?!"

Even the Chan Master Tianyin not far away displayed an expression of disbelief on his face.

But before he could react.

The next instant.

The black demonic dragon opened its razor-sharp pitch-black dragon claws, piercing through the Vajra Dharma image in the air ahead with a single strike, then directly crushed the monk's body before it into a mist of blood with one claw.

Then the demonic flood dragon opened its huge mouth, swallowing Chan Master Tianyin together with his Jin Dan whole... "Heavens! Even the Abbot Elder has perished!"

"Run quickly~"

In an instant, those cultivators lost their composure, fleeing for their lives in panic without choosing a path.

However.

Before they could escape the mountain, the other two demonic cultivators of the Blood Refinement Mo Sect took out their respective demonic weapons and began harvesting the lives of Great Zhou cultivators on a large scale.

Such scenes continued to unfold repeatedly within the Great Zhou Immortal Realm.

Time passed, and several more months went by.

Inside the spiritual fields of Five Elements Mountain.

Qin Ming, holding the Shennong Hoe, was tending to ten mu of Tianluo Grass within the spiritual fields.

But just then.

Old Jia from the Mirror Jing Xue Ge came running in a panic from outside the spiritual fields, gasping for breath as he reported to Qin Ming:

"Shopkeeper Lu, just as you expected!"

"Major news has arrived today: the Great Zhou Immortal Realm has been invaded by the Great Li Demonic Path; though the war began only a few months ago, the situation is already on the verge of total collapse."

"Fortunately, you warned us early; we severed commercial ties with that region in time, otherwise the losses would have been incalculable."

The news of the Great Li Demonic Path's invasion had clearly finally reached the Great Jin Immortal Realm, even arriving within the Spirit Ruin Market.

Seeing Old Jia's shaken appearance, Qin Ming knew the situation in Great Zhou must have deteriorated beyond redemption.

He set down the Shennong Hoe in his hand. "What rumors are circulating now?"

"Uh, your subordinate has only learned that the situation in Great Zhou is grim, with reports showing a one-sided rout; those demonic sect disciples are slaughtering indiscriminately, and countless refugees are flooding into the border regions."

"That is how the news reached Great Jin."

"Hmm, do not panic; these demonic paths cannot reach here for now. Great Jin will remain safe for at least several decades; even if the Great Li Demonic Path conquers Great Zhou, it will take some time." Qin Ming pondered briefly, then comforted Old Jia.

"Just focus on managing the shop; I will inform you if any situation arises."

"Yes, Shopkeeper!"

Nowadays, 'Shopkeeper Lu' was the anchor stabilizing the Mirror Jing Xue Ge within Great Jin!...

Qin Ming's eyes flickered; in fact, during these past days, he had frequently instructed Hua Tianxiong to send people out to investigate without interruption.

He was essentially controlling the latest intelligence from Great Zhou in real time.

After hearing Old Jia's report, he contacted Hua Tianxiong again via the black talisman.

"Hua Tianxiong, what is the current situation over in Great Zhou?"

Hua Tianxiong was currently piloting his Golden Bell Palanquin, having just departed from Elder Qian of the Li Li Huogong and heading back to the Ten Thousand Dao Merchant Alliance.

Suddenly, Qin Ming's voice rang out in his mind, causing his entire body to jerk in surprise.

"Reporting to Master, I was just about to inform you."

"Great Zhou... is not far from destruction..."

"It is merely a matter of time now."

"Hmm? How could it be so fast? It has not even been a year yet," Qin Ming said in surprise.

"This time, the Great Li Demonic Path came with overwhelming force; coupled with the Heavenly Demon Great Tribulation, Shangren Han Ya of the Profound Clear Observatory, who controls the Great Zhou Immortal Realm, fled without fighting along with his core disciples..."

"... abandoning the outer low-level disciples to attract the demonic cultivators' attention, using them all as cannon fodder."

"Ah? This..." Upon hearing this news, Qin Ming was rendered speechless.

To think that Shangren Han Ya, a Nascent Soul True Lord, could be so decisively shameless! "Sigh~ It is said that Great Zhou is truly suffering in deep water and scorching fire; normally, when there were no incidents, the Profound Clear Observatory enjoyed all the various tributes and taxes submitted by the forces below."

"Now that a great disaster has struck, Shangren Han Ya was the first to flee with his disciples..."

Qin Ming: "..."

Hua Tianxiong also sighed: "The Li Li Huogong and the Ten Thousand Dao Merchant Alliance, together with major forces within Great Zhou and forces from Great Jin, have established the 'Guardian Dao Alliance' and are preparing to support Great Zhou to jointly resist the demonic path."

"But before troops could even be dispatched, the Profound Clear Observatory had already vanished without a trace..."

"Without a Nascent Soul sect leading the resistance, the forces beneath the Great Zhou Immortal Realm had no heart to struggle against the demonic path; the morale that had just begun to coalesce scattered in an instant... Sigh!"

After hearing Hua Tianxiong's report, Qin Ming curled his lips and couldn't help but think silently: This old fellow Han Ya is truly ruthless! "Hmm, you have done well; continue investigating and report back!" he instructed Hua Tianxiong.

Qin Ming then went through the underground tunnel dug by the Devouring Heaven Rat to take a glance at the secret realm entrance controlled by the Divine Path Mountain.

He discovered that the growth progress of that Seven Wonders Treasure Tree remained slow, and it was still far too early for it to bloom.

This allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

At the very least, the Great Jin Immortal Realm would not be dragged into this war so soon.

By the time this Seven Wonders Treasure Tree blooms, it will likely be when an unprecedented great war erupts among the three kingdoms.

At that time, even those Blood Refining Demonic Sect disciples who descended from the Blood Universe Realm will gather together.

'Hmm, by then, the materials needed to refine the Nascent Soul Formation Pill will be almost collected; I will slip away and return to the Southern Wilderness to prepare for the major event of forming my Nascent Soul.'

'No matter how chaotic it gets here, it has nothing to do with me...'

Qin Ming had always kept his distance from the struggles of these immortal realms.

Even if there were immense temptations within the ancient secret realms, they could not shake his Dao heart.

(End of Chapter)