Chapter 413: The Sect Master and the Cave Master

On the verdant Mount Wutong, thirteen wooden cabins stood empty and desolate.

Inside the Water Curtain Immortal Cave.

Ye Wenxuan sat cross-legged, her gaze lifeless as she stared at the stone wall and the withered age-trees surrounding her.

She did not know what she was thinking.

To be an immortal, one must not know the passage of years within the mountain.

Yet she had to count every single day carefully, then convert that time into the corresponding age-fruits.

The youthful body formed from the breath of heaven and earth could not conceal the decay of her Dao Infant's five organs.

That old dog knew of her existence.

But the other party was never in a hurry.

As long as she outlasted herself, this place would remain the General Nanyang Sect.

Ye Wenxuan never denied that she acted for herself, but the world's common people must never forget that what she did was the true act of saving the world.

From an ordinary mortal, she rose step by step to become the strongest cultivator under heaven.

Without her intimidation, how many living souls would remain in the mouths of demons and monsters?

If Ye lives, the world lives.

If she perishes, the world perishes with her; such a simple truth, yet why could this group of fools, whom she raised with her own hands, not see through it?

They followed Nie Jun away without uttering a word.

Where was there any trace of her, their master, in their eyes?

"You are the ones who will kill everyone."

Ye Wenxuan shook her head; clearly, if they just waited a while longer, if they simply broke through to Return to Emptiness with steady patience.

No matter what happened below the mountain, all troubles would resolve themselves.

By that time, she would no longer be the Shen Shan Laozu of Mount Wutong, but the Shen Zongzhu of the General Nanyang Sect.

Everyone under her would be future elders.

It could be said they would ascend to heaven in a single step.

She had given this group such a great opportunity, yet they, hindered by their inferior vision, could not even swallow the food placed before their mouths.

She took out an ancient stone tablet, looking at the two characters "General Nanyang" upon it.

Ye Wenxuan slowly clenched it tightly in her hand.

Alas, the world is full of fools.

She turned over her left palm; resting in her palm was a stone emitting a faint, eerie light.

As long as this object was in her hand, they would eventually have to return and beg her, whether it was Nie Jun or that Shen Yi she had never met.

"As the Shen Zongzhu, I forgive you this once."

The woman slowly rose, stretching her arms; a snow-white robe covered her, the General Nanyang patterns upon it having been sewn onto it bit by bit with her own hands over these years.

Now, so that those two fools would not lose their lives in vain.

She was willing to make one final concession.

To go personally and meet them.

Demon-Suppressing City.

This majestic city was the mandatory route for nearly all cultivators heading to the Thousand Demon Cave over thousands of years.

At this moment, this group of cultivators, who had sensed something amiss and temporarily halted their steps to remain in the city and observe, witnessed the most terrifying scene of their lives.

In the clear sky above, there were neither demon clouds covering the heavens nor any terrifying, massive forms.

There was only a youth clad in silver armor and a snow-white cape, treading upon a blind, ferocious beast, holding a beauty in his arms, and smiling kindly down at them.

"Human cultivators have built their city all the way here?"

"Your Divine Emperor does not know; this all happened after you entered the hall. The Kūzhǔ does not care much about the outside world, as you know."

The Divine Wind Demon Emperor responded with a forced smile.

Before the words had fully left its mouth, its head was suddenly stomped down, nearly causing it to fall.

"The Thousand Demon Cave has only one Kūzhǔ."

The silver-armored youth slowly withdrew his smile and said calmly, "That is this Divine Emperor."

At least he would never fear that other demons or monsters would surpass him.

Nor would he ever consider "demon" or "monster" to be a term of contempt.

He was a demon, the Emperor of a Thousand Demons.

As for the one within the hall, he was nothing more than a lucky watchdog left behind by the General Nanyang Sect.

"This Divine Emperor has been hungry for a long time," he said indifferently.

Upon hearing this, the Divine Wind Demon Emperor hurriedly opened its huge mouth; from its maw filled with sharp teeth, a foul, rancid gale swept out, completely engulfing the city below.

The mere gestures exchanged in a few words between the two demons.

To the cultivators below, it was as if a natural disaster had descended.

Even the mighty Slain Hunyuan Realm experts, possessing extremely rich experience, had already fled outward the instant the demons appeared.

Before this gale, they were also swept back with twisted, desperate faces.

The roars issuing from their throats turned into sobbing whimpers in the wind.

Flesh and blood were torn into flying wisps, the Dao Infant scattered into the breath of heaven and earth, and the spiritual roots and five organs within were rolled into pure medicinal power, carried by the gale into the youth's mouth.

If even the Slain Hunyuan Realm was treated thus, what of the other cultivators?

Like sand and dust entering a rushing Dahe River, they were swallowed by the wind without even raising a single wave.

The Ling Huang's pale face stretched his mouth to an exaggerated arc; as flesh and blood entered his belly, his pair of crimson phoenix eyes grew ever more vivid red.

Until the entire Demon-Suppressing City fell into a Tianyan Siji, with only fallen leaves swept up by the lingering wind.

He slowly closed his mouth, his pupils suddenly transforming into flames.

Behind the silver armor, a pair of fire wings formed from blazing flames suddenly unfurled, stirring up layers of fire waves with each flap.

"Just an appetizer."

The Ling Huang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, feeling no satisfaction whatsoever.

Instead, having tasted the flavor of human bodies as great medicines once more, greed and hunger surged in his eyes.

He tapped his temple with his index finger and said softly, "Continue."

"Are we not going to Great Qian?"

The Divine Wind Demon Emperor asked cautiously.

Hearing this, the Ling Huang pulled his lips into a smile again: "It seems that compared to this Emperor, you would rather kneel beneath that old dog. This Emperor is arrogant, not stupid."

"You want this Emperor dead."

The youth bent down, grabbing the back of the Divine Wind's neck: "Are you tired of living?"

He had been trapped for many years and was already extremely weak.

That cultivator could force the old dog to release him; how could he be a simple figure?

Naturally, he must eat and drink his fill first.

"Release them first to attract Great Qian's attention and deplete their strength."

Seeing the Divine Wind trembling, the Ling Huang rose proudly and spread his wings, flying toward another location.

Only after sensing the other party vanish from this place.

did the Divine Wind Demon Emperor lift his head, looking at the Great-Horned Demon Emperor, who was equally fearful and unsettled.

Truly, things have changed.

Back then, this youth was too arrogant; before he had fully grown, he had let that old dog notice his ambitions early on, which is why he was pinned in the main hall.

Now, he would actually show restraint for the sake of a mere Great Qian.

If he eats and drinks his fill, replenishes his qi and blood, and successfully break through a realm, perhaps he could truly pose a threat to the old dog.

"What do you say? Shall we go together?"

The Divine Wind Demon Emperor hesitated; if it were before, Great Qian in his eyes was merely a gathering place for mortals clinging to life by relying on two great immortal sects.

But now, although Great Qian had not changed, there was an additional youth of unpredictable cultivation.

If the Ling Huang were not present, the Divine Wind would not be willing to engage him in a direct confrontation.

"..."

The Great-Horned Demon Emperor glanced at him, sighed, and said with patience: "My Thousand Demon Cave still has over twenty Demon Emperors and over a hundred Demon Kings, each invading the Nine Provinces; even if the one surnamed Shen has three heads and six arms, he cannot guard against them all."

"We have gained no benefits, so why take that risk?"

(End of this chapter)