Chapter 580: Return to Baohua Sect Once More

"Monsters! So many monsters!"

As the "vanguard" of the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong, Baohua Sect had seen every storm big and small over the years.

But at this moment, facing the questions of their own Sect Master and three other Dao Merging seniors, this Grand Elder of Baohua Sect was still trembling, his eyes unfocused, looking as though his courage had been thoroughly shattered.

One must understand that the current Baohua Sect was completely unscathed, its formations intact—in other words, it had not directly faced that horde of great monsters.

He had merely observed from the side, peeking from within the blessed land—what kind of terrifying scene could reduce a Bai Yujing cultivator to such a wretched state?

The several Sect Masters exchanged glances, their expressions involuntarily turning grim; it seemed the situation was far worse than they had imagined.

"Elders, please forgive me—I truly cannot tell how many there are… Monster clouds that blotted out the sky; the mere demonic force they stirred up while passing made our great formation shudder violently. This is absolutely not a force any single faction could mobilize—not even the West Long Gong!"

The Baohua Sect elder finally managed to steady his heart and said, face full of horror: "So many monsters pouring out at once—Yu Nanhong is going to be in great chaos."

He had never in his life seen so many great monsters of such terrifying strength.

And this horde of demons had gathered together for no apparent reason.

"…"

Deng Xiangjun withdrew his gaze and said nothing, though a few traces of complexity entered his eyes.

When they had been escorting the Baohua Sect Master back, the journey had been calm and peaceful—they had not seen any of the demons the Baohua Sect elder described.

Of course, he was not accusing the man of talking nonsense.

Deng Xiangjun simply thought a few layers deeper.

The demons of the West suddenly migrating south—such a huge commotion was certainly the doing of the West Long Gong. But he did not believe these demons, long accustomed to doing as they pleased, would willingly obey the Long Gong's commands, throw their lives away for these dragons, and serve as the vanguard in the campaign against the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong.

Most likely, they had been forced.

But at this moment, someone was clearly feeding them information; otherwise Yu Nanhong would have long since descended into chaos—how could it still look the way they had seen along the way?

None of the several Sect Masters were fools.

In the span of a thought, they arrived at a terrifying answer.

That wretched South Long Gong had actually treated Yu Nanhong as a rare delicacy, a piece of fat meat on the table, and handed it over for free to these southward-migrating demons. Only in this way could the demons possibly temporarily rein themselves in.

If these great monsters truly grew excited from killing, they would not stop at slaughtering cultivators—the aquatic peoples would not escape either.

"That old madman is going all-out against us!"

Deng Xiangjun sighed deeply. He could almost picture it: even after the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong and the South Long Gong had determined a victor, this vast stretch of land and water would still be in turmoil for a long time to come, the cries of grief everywhere.

As for how to respond—

They didn't even know the number of demons yet, let alone come up with any response. This was a disaster no single faction could solve on its own.

Under normal circumstances, if the demons of the West invaded Yu Nanhong, to hold them off would probably require the Seven Sons and the Long Gong to join forces.

And the South Long Gong was the one that had sold out Yu Nanhong, sitting on the opposite side at that.

In other words, the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong would have to resist, by their own strength, the South Long Gong plus the entire demon race of the West, while also remaining on guard against sneak attacks from the West Long Gong at any moment.

Forget the current Seven Sons—even when Senior Brother Qin was around, it might not have been possible!

Protect those vassal forces and the Meng Sect? If these demons truly obeyed the Long Gong's commands, the Seven Sons should worry about themselves first.

"I'm afraid… we'll have to bring up Li Xuanqing again and go ask the East Long Gong's intentions." Sect Master Wushuang gave a bitter smile. When facing such a great crisis, the most useful person was actually the former Sect Master of General Nanyang Sect's personal disciple, the half-son-in-law of the East Long Gong.

"Elders."

Hearing the name Li Xuanqing, Baohua Sect Master took a deep breath and hid the bitterness at the corner of her lips: "Please hurry back."

Apart from their own sect, the Seven Sons of Yu Nanhong still had over a thousand vassals and several million cultivators beneath them, completely without the protection of a blessed land. And beneath those millions of cultivators, the ordinary mortals who depended on them for survival were beyond counting.

"From today onward, the great formation of Baohua Sect shall be temporarily closed. For the living beings in the surrounding area, those that can be taken into the blessed land—I must trouble the Sect Master to see to it." Deng Xiangjun gave a slight nod of his chin.

"I understand. Please rest assured, Senior."

Baohua Sect Master said no more, personally escorting the three out of the blessed land and watching them depart.

"Master…" Baohua Xianzi Zhilan supported the old woman, struggling to maintain composure, but her slender, pale fingers still trembled uncontrollably.

"Go make the arrangements."

Baohua Sect Master cast a look of pity at her disciple. Though the girl was the heir to the blessed land, compared to those Dao Children she was no different in age from an infant. Whether in experience or cultivation, she had not yet had enough time to grow—and now she had encountered a crisis that made even her own heart palpitate.

"This disciple understands."

Zhilan nodded seriously, then took out her Dao token. Keeping her voice level, she began with practiced, methodical efficiency to mobilize the sect's elders and various stewards, beginning to take in the innocent living beings of the surrounding area in the most efficient manner.

Whether in the method of receiving them or the arrangements after they entered the blessed land, she left Baohua Sect Master unable to find any fault.

It was laughable, really.

Originally she had only taken over Baohua Sect's affairs in an attempt to find a certain person. Yet that person had never spoken another word to her, and she was becoming more and more like a qualified Dao Child.

As time passed, the sun and moon took turns.

Under the guidance of numerous Baohua Sect cultivators, batch after batch of vassal forces began streaming into the blessed land.

The old woman stood quietly in the sky, leaning on her cane, watching.

Suddenly, her expression tightened slightly, and the cane in her hand was hurled violently toward the horizon.

That originally plain and simple cane, once it left her hand, swelled violently in the wind, quickly transforming into a sky-piercing giant tree over a thousand zhang tall. The giant tree was bursting with life, a hundred blossoms blooming upon it. Carrying a vast momentum, it churned the sea of clouds and smashed brutally toward a certain spot!

At the same moment, an enormous furry forelimb suddenly thrust out from the sea of clouds, reaching down to scoop up the many cultivators below.

Its five fingers spread wide like a net from which no living thing below could escape.

Fortunately, the Hundred Blossom giant tree crashed thunderously into that arm, tearing its flesh open, and a violent, savage howl rang out from within the sea of clouds!

"Ao—"

The instant that savage ape-face emerged from the horizon, the many cultivators below all stopped breathing, as if struck by lightning!

"Get inside! Close the formation!"

Zhilan swept past the crowd, calling out loudly.

The instant her voice rang out, the sea of clouds churned once more. A powerful white wing slammed fiercely into the giant tree, and a violent storm of energy swept downward—even the mere aftershock was enough to leave many cultivators without even bone fragments remaining.

The Hundred Blossom giant tree was sent flying backward, petals scattering, transforming back into the shape of a cane that slammed violently back into the old woman's palm, causing her to stumble several steps back.

Lady Baohua Sect Lord forcibly stabilized his posture, his gaze quickly darting downward, trying to intercept the wild wind formed by the convergence of heavenly and earthly qi—but it was already too late.

At that very moment, as if a mountain had fallen, a wall as unbreakable as bedrock firmly blocked the way ahead.

A gentle breeze brushed the hilltop, yet it stood unmoved.

When the qi finally settled, the terrified crowd stared closely—and saw no hilltop at all, only an old man clad in hemp robes standing there.

The old man stared upward with a smile that didn't reach his eyes: "You two enemies, how did you end up together? Old monkey, have you forgotten how it once crushed your mother's skull?"

Before his words had finished, another tall, burly old man appeared beside him; the two stood front and back, their aura shifting from a single hill into an endless mountain range, growing even more solid, unshakable.

"Thank you, fellow cultivator."

Lady Baohua Sect Lord exhaled in relief—she knew her disciple had been among that crowd just moments ago.

"No need for thanks."

The old man gave a slight bow, his manner carefree: "Banshan Sect, by order of Lord Shen of General General Nanyang, has come to aid Nan Hong!"

Upon hearing the name Lord Shen, the Precious Flower Sect Lord paused slightly; Zhi Lan in the crowd also instinctively turned her gaze toward the old man.

So the young Sect Lord still remembered the Precious Flower Sect.

And even such a powerful elder now obeyed his commands… Lord Shen was becoming more and more like the General General Nanyang Sect Lord of one hundred thousand years ago.

"Hmph."

The Banshan Sect Lord retracted his hand, his expression turning cold again as he gazed toward the horizon: "What are you hiding for? Do you think I don't know your tricks? Get out now!"

Compared to fighting these two demons, helping these sect cultivators retreat to safety was far more urgent.

"What a ridiculous joke—cultivators from Xi Hong come to guard the treasures of these southern barbarians? Old Huang, you've clearly eaten too much and have nothing better to do."

The old monkey slowly retracted his arm, sneering: "You claim to act on the orders of the General General Nanyang Sect Lord? Have you not left your home in one hundred thousand years? Your news is pathetically outdated."

Do you really think the Seven Sons of Nan Hong are still what they once were? Are they still a leg for Banshan Sect to lean on?

"Doesn't matter. Southern barbarians are full of delicacies; this one may be plump, but I can come back and eat it again later. You'd better stay here and keep guarding it—add two more dishes to our table."

The old monkey gave a sinister chuckle, knowing the situation was beyond recovery, and did not linger; his entire face slowly vanished into the sea of clouds.

"..."

The Banshan Sect Lord stood silent in place. Though he wanted to refute, as a force from Xi Hong who had witnessed the events of these past days, he knew deep down the old monkey spoke the truth.

Otherwise, he would not have rushed here with the branch Sect Lord.

Under the Long Gong's full expulsion, Xi Hong had become an unusually peaceful land without great demons—a good thing for them, but for Nan Hong… it was enough to make one's heart freeze at the thought.

Under this trend, whether Banshan Sect came or not made no difference to the outcome.

They could only do what they could.

"Fellow cultivator, once you've taken in this group, close your sect for now—wait and see what happens."

The Banshan Sect Lord, merely by observing the scene before him, knew the Precious Flower Sect Lord was a kind soul—but time was truly too short.

"I understand."

The old woman sighed, casting a glance toward her disciple.

Zhi Lan pressed her lips together, her gaze sweeping over the faces of the cultivators before her, all grim and fearful; she closed her eyes and pulled out a jade slip: "Once they enter the sect, prepare to seal the formation."

She had the heart to save the dying and heal the wounded—but lacked the power to do so.

Lady Baohua Sect now could barely save itself.

The crowd surged again, but unlike before, orderly and calm, now every cultivator scrambled forward, desperate not to be left behind, terrified of missing entry into the sacred land ahead.

And many more vassal sect cultivators still remained scattered across the land, eagerly awaiting the Precious Flower Sect's summons.

At that moment, the surging crowd suddenly halted.

A piercing, shrill monkey shriek exploded through the air like a thunderclap, plunging the surroundings into Tianyan Siji.

In an instant, the entire azure sky twisted, the sun and moon dimmed, the sea of clouds churned violently.

In the heavens, a spectral hand appeared, coldly gripping the old monkey's neck, dragging back the great demon who had already fled, imprisoning him beneath this azure sky.

Then it forcibly yanked the hidden figure out, and despite his frantic struggles, hurled him crashing downward!

Boom—

A massive, fur-covered, powerfully built monkey, capable of leaping across Jiang He in a single step, now fell like a mountain, slamming violently onto the land!

All cultivators—whether riding magical artifacts or standing on the ground—were violently thrown aside by the turbulent qi.

They stared in horror toward that spot.

There, the mountain-sized form twitched faintly, its spine brutally snapped, its grotesque head dangling limply from its back; beneath its intact fur, flesh and muscle had been crushed into pulp—clearly lifeless.

Yet the azure sky continued to change.

Another colossal figure burst forth from the sea of clouds, desperately trying to flee this prison.

No matter how fast it fled, the sky stretched wider to match.

The next instant, the entire heavens suddenly plunged downward before their terrified eyes!

The sky collapsed!

The crane demon, its feathers as white as Bai Yu, was swept down like a leaf in a gale, powerless to resist, its liver and gallbladder trembling as it stared at the endless heavens crushing toward it.

Boom!

The sea of clouds crashed heavily onto the land, turning the area around the Precious Flower Sect into a fairyland.

Yet amid the drifting mist, a thick stench of blood rose; when the white fog cleared, the crane demon lay beside the monkey, its entire body collapsed into a deflated sack filled with meat paste.

Not even ordinary cultivators, but even the three Great Dao-Union Elders now stared upward in dread, frozen in place.

The azure sky remained unchanged—clear, tranquil.

As if the previous chaos had been nothing but an illusion.

If one must say there was any difference…

It was that within the clear heavens, a new figure now stood, hands at his sides, clad in ink-black robes, his sleeves fluttering as if the entire world responded in harmony.

On the youth Bai Xi's fair face, those clear eyes calmly swept the surroundings, as if surveying his own territory.

He was clearly suspended in the true Venerable Bihai azure sky, yet it gave one the illusion that he stood within a Dao-Integration treasure land.

"……"

Zhilan swallowed, staring at that familiar face, utterly unable to reconcile it with the Return-to-Void little cultivator in her memory — the one whose face held a trace of impatience yet somehow made people feel at ease.

But that sense of reassurance was exactly as it had always been.

As long as that person stood before her, nothing in the world was worth worrying about.

"Shen Zongzhu?"

Sect Master Baohua hesitated a long while before calling out this address uncertainly.

She remembered that the last time she saw Shen Zongzhu at the General Nanyang treasure land, the other party didn't seem to look like this……

After confirming there were no other yao, Shen Yi finally withdrew his gaze and looked toward Sect Master Baohua: "Are you all right?"

"……"

Sect Master Baohua shook her head without the slightest hesitation.

Whether something was a problem depended on who you compared it to.

Compared with those two Dao-Integration great yao who had already breathed their last, the fright this group of cultivators had suffered was truly nothing worth mentioning.

"Shen Yue Fa! It must be Shen Yue Fa!"

Sect Master Banshan smacked his lips, sneaking a glance at the Weifen Sect Master beside him, his face full of excitement.

He too had thoroughly studied the Shen Yue, Zhen Yue, and Qingtian three arts.

Judging by the commotion of Shen Zongzhu's strike just now, it was exactly the image he had imagined of those three arts unleashed together — this peerless heaven's favored had truly fused these three arts into such a perfectly harmonious form.

Although the Unnamed Mountain contained no immortal arts, the other party had relied on himself to forcibly elevate this technique to the terrifying effect only immortal arts possessed!

"Hah."

That Weifen Sect Master gently exhaled a breath; he now finally understood why the Sect Master had been so eager to drag him along.

The Yu Nanhong Seven might not be much of a thigh to cling to, but the youth before them would surely, in the future, be the thickest tree in all of Hongze apart from the Immortals!

(End of chapter)