Chapter 586: Hmph! Think you can escape?

Located in the death site of a mid-stage Heavenly Realm great demon, Xuan Yuecheng quickly became a scene of endless white snow.

Yin Qizhang stared blankly outward.

Whooshing.

On the slightly chaotic water surface, shattered ice floes gradually melted, blue waves surged again, gently lapping against the land, restoring sound to the entire world.

Amidst the blue sky and green sea, the tall young man lowered his hand, and the malevolent golden-patterned Xuan Blade dissolved into a streak of light, vanishing into his black robe.

The clouds and mist across the heavens returned to the sky, accompanied by the fluttering of his sleeves.

If earlier, the Shen Zongzhu's standing place, with ten thousand li behind him, repelled all demonic evil,

then now, it gave the impression that the entire land and waters of Nanhong shifted with his breath—he was no longer merely the guardian of General Nanyang's vassal forces, but had become the protector of this vast Nanhong itself.

Yin Qizhang, still dazed, landed before the others, leading the equally stunned cultivators in a deep bow forward.

Before this heartfelt reverence from countless living beings, even Deng Xiangjun fell silent for a moment.

"Hah!"

Moments later, he rushed over to Shen Yi's side, eyes wide, scanning the young man up and down, swallowing repeatedly, utterly at a loss for words; after a long while, he finally choked out: "Shen Zongzhu, could you lend me your Dao Token?"

This disturbance in the heavens was not visible only to Xuan Yuecheng—the Nanhongqi Sect would be equally affected.

Several of his senior brothers would certainly sense what had occurred.

But Deng Xiangjun simply wanted to vent, to let others know what he had just witnessed; otherwise, bearing this shock alone would drive him mad.

"..."

Shen Yi looked at the flushed Deng Qianbei and did not refuse, pulling out the Dao Token and handing it over.

Letting the sect know of the change early would help them prepare countermeasures.

Then again, aside from that, Deng Qianbei's courage was truly immense.

Had the Han Shan Laozu not been naturally cautious, the man's actions alone would have earned him seven or eight deaths.

Thinking of this, Shen Yi turned his gaze away.

As the saying goes, when immortals fight, mortals suffer; to show even slight consideration for these mortals, to risk life and death to intervene... though useless and seemingly foolish, at least he was a good "immortal."

"I trouble you two to watch the Xihong direction—do not leave the treasure land; if you see anything, just send me a message."

Shen Yi also pulled out a jade slip for contacting the Banshan Sect Master, speaking succinctly, while simultaneously dispatching all the suppression stones from Wan Yao Dian to guard the path from the Qi Sect to Xihong.

"Huh?" Deng Xiangjun had just raised the Dao Token and turned back in confusion.

Xihong direction? Could another great demon be coming?

How does Shen Zongzhu keep acquiring such information?

"It's nothing."

Shen Yi shook his head—it wasn't anything major, he merely felt this snowfall was too heavy, perhaps making his table delicacies want to flee.

Calming his spirit, he reached out and stored Han Shan Laozu's corpse in his ring, then vanished from the spot, remerging into the heavens.

Nanhongqi Sect.

All cultivators had returned to the treasure land, closing their doors; the seven sects sank into an eerie, deathly silence.

Whether from the sudden shifts in the atmosphere of heaven and earth, or the increasingly cold expressions of the first three Zongzhu, the elders began strictly restraining their disciples—being the highest-cultivation beings among the treasure land's inhabitants, they could clearly sense...

Their "heaven" was angry, even fearful!

Even when the Southern Long Wang himself arrived, Zongzhu Ye dared to draw his sword and chase after him; there truly were few things in this world that could make him fear.

Coupled with the news of the General Nanyang Zongzhu's departure, the source of these Zongzhu's anger and fear was now unmistakable.

"Sigh."

Liu Shiqian stood silently outside the formation.

He had thought that with his Dao-Union realm power, he could do more; yet reality remained unchanged—he could only quietly await the Zongzhu's edicts, and perhaps, if a battle truly broke out, kill a few more water demons; beyond that, there seemed to be no real difference.

"It shouldn't go wrong, right?"

Liu Shiqian slowly raised his head to gaze at the sky; after all, Shen Zongzhu was someone who could make Wan Yao Dian offer favors to befriend him.

He hadn't understood it at first, but after this time, he now knew just how terrifying Wan Yao Dian was—even the Western Long Wang was powerless against it, even thrown into disarray.

If such a force chose to act, protecting Shen Zongzhu would certainly be no problem.

At that moment, Liu Shiqian's vision suddenly showed a single crystal-clear snowflake.

Instantly, though it was the sixth month, heavy snow began falling!

"..."

Ye Jiu sat cross-legged, expressionless, save for the sword of divine power, now a shimmering blade, resting quietly between his palms, still unsheathed.

Ji Jingxi, the calmest of the three, also lowered her eyes, saying nothing.

Qi Yansheng understood perfectly what the two were waiting for.

With just one confirmed message from Deng's junior brother, Ye Jiu would unhesitatingly lead them all into the waters, fighting straight to the Dragon Cavern's edge, breaking this stalemate and gambling on life and death.

He lowered his head, staring at the Dao Token in his palm, which remained silent, lost in thought.

Until hundreds of paper cranes, carried by the blizzard, arrived—the three raised their heads nearly simultaneously, their eyes filled with shock, and the overwhelming qi of three Heavenly Realm experts surged forth!

"Someone died."

Ji Jingxi murmured.

Ye Jiu stood up, gazing far into the distance; under his gaze, the great demons guarding the dragon carriage suddenly shivered.

"Not Shen Zongzhu."

Fortunately, Qi Yansheng snatched a paper crane, hastily pouring his soul into it; upon reading its message, he froze in place.

A mid-stage Heavenly Realm great demon entered Nanhong, headed for Xuan Yuecheng, and laid an ambush to kill Shen Zongzhu.

Every single character was horrifying.

If this paper crane had arrived a moment earlier, let alone pulling back Ye Jiu and Junior Sister Ji, he was afraid even he himself would have been unable to restrain the killing intent in his heart.

But these glaring words, paired with the heavy snow in the sky at this moment, instead left Qi Yansheng somewhat speechless.

A Heavenly realm powerhouse had fallen…

"It's Hanshan Laozu."

Qi Yansheng turned his head to look at the two fellow disciples, his face full of disbelief.

The earlier surge of aura was truly Heavenly realm powerhouses clashing.

And before the clash, Yan Shidi Deng had desperately transmitted back a message, but what was most incomprehensible was that before this message could reach Yu Nanhong, the magical duel was already over.

Ye Jiu turned back in astonishment, Ji Jingxi's red lips parted slightly, a few traces of blankness surfacing on her pretty face.

Fortunately, this deathly silent scene did not last too long before it was broken by the violent tremor of the Dao tablet.

"Damn it! Guess what I just saw!"

Deng Xiangjun's frantic roar came through the Dao tablet; this peerless Shen Zongzhu could not wait to share the shock in his heart, yet received no response from anyone.

"Well killed! Well killed!"

All that remained around was Ye Jiu's hearty, unrestrained laughter — their Shen Zongzhu's strength had actually become so overwhelmingly powerful!

Ji Jingxi lightly covered her lips, her clear, dewy eyes filled with unconcealable joy and shock.

There truly was someone who could single-handedly save Nanhong from fire and water. Even though they had already held the highest expectations for Shen Yi, he would still, with an even more terrifying bearing, once again astonish the entire Yu Nanhong.

"You old mudfish, are you dead yet or not!"

Ye Jiu stepped into the air, the flowing-light longsword in his hand transforming into a rainbow stretching across a thousand miles, whistling as it swept toward the dragon carriage!

In Nanhong, it had been a full hundred thousand years since anyone had raised a hand against the South Long Wang.

This was a provocation against the Lord of Nanhong!

The dragon carriage exploded in an instant; a thick, sturdy dragon arm rose into the air, its coarse five fingers viciously clenching toward that rainbow, accompanied by the sound of flesh tearing as a wisp of dragon blood drifted away.

The massive right claw gripped the rainbow tightly.

The heavy, ragged panting of this Long Wang echoed around, the fury contained within beyond words.

Clearly possessing strength greater than Ye Jiu's, it nevertheless made no follow-up move.

After forcibly receiving this flowing-light rainbow, the numerous aquatic beings instantly sank down, fleeing headlong back to the bluestone great hall without looking back.

"Run?"

Ye Jiu this time did not pursue, merely smiling coldly: "Just wait until Shen Yi returns. If Ye doesn't come kill your whole family, from now on I won't be your god-grandfather!"

Shen Yi being able to slay a mid-Heavenly realm great demon already meant he possessed the ability to determine the direction of the situation.

Like blocking doors, don't you.

Now that the situation had reversed, Ye Jiu did not mind at all blocking the entrance of the dragon's lair, slaughtering every single offspring in this old dragon's dragon palace right in front of it.

……

Bluestone great hall, entrance to the dragon's lair.

The towering figure ignored the wound on his palm, grabbed Qi Zhaoyi's collar in one grip, and forcibly hauled him up. Suppressing his voice, yet still radiating killing intent: "This king now wants to know exactly what that bunch of trash under you is doing, and what you've been hiding from this king."

"I… I…"

Qi Zhaoyi restrained his instinct to struggle, his breathing rapid, his face full of terror, no longer daring to conceal anything: "I haven't received any news for several days now."

"Then why didn't you say so!"

The South Long Wang slammed him onto the ground, roaring, exhaling slightly, fangs ghastly white, looking very much like he wanted to swallow this eldest son of the Qi family dragon-line whole.

"I thought… I thought nothing would go wrong…"

Qi Zhaoyi's voice was like a mosquito's, finally facing the terrifying oppressive force of this old dragon head-on.

Though separated by only one realm, the other party's accumulation over many years meant his strength had long surpassed an ordinary late-Heavenly realm powerhouse, let alone with the augmentation of dragon qi here.

Faced with such pressure, he truly did not dare to lie.

Even now Qi Zhaoyi could not figure out what his subordinates and that group of West Hong great demons were doing, why they had all gone silent, as if they had completely vanished from the world.

Even if that surnamed Shen were stronger, he was still just one person — how could he turn the tide?

Why did the world have such an utterly incomprehensible existence!

And besides…

"This junior also does not know; that Hanshan Laozu was all empty reputation, actually so weak as to be this pathetic."

"Heh—"

The South Long Wang closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly loosened his grip.

Qi Zhaoyi finally had a chance to catch his breath, hurriedly flipped himself up, retreating while cupping his fists: "Ke… Uncle Ke… South Long Wang, this junior will head back to West Hong right now, and definitely have my father king come to reinforce you. Rest assured, your great kindness and virtue, Zhaoyi will never forget for the rest of his life!"

Now Yu Nanhong possessed four Heavenly realm powerhouses, whereas the South Long Gong had only father and son. Moreover, this father was naturally cautious by nature, and most likely would not leave the dragon's lair to fight Yu Nanhong to the death.

The South Long Gong might still be able to barely resist Yu Nanhong now, but given that monstrous Shen Yi's growth speed, the ending was already destined.

He, Qi Zhaoyi, would have to be out of his mind to dare stay here and throw his life away for nothing.

"……"

The South Long Wang finally adjusted his emotions, glanced at this wretch, and said lightly: "Go, no need for more words."

Its dragon palace had not lacked experience of the taste of weakness.

Although this Shen Sect Lord was somewhat unexpected now, compared to that half-step Dao realm Qin Jiaoyang back then, so what? As long as one endured enough, in the end the one who survived was still oneself.

Moreover, that immortal would not allow Yu Nanhong to produce another cultivator with the aptitude to ascend to the heavens now.

"This junior thanks the South Long Wang for his mercy!"

Hearing this, Qi Zhaoyi breathed a sigh of relief, and obediently tried to retreat.

Just then, the Crown Prince of the Ke family grabbed him in one grip. Under Qi Zhaoyi's startled and uncertain gaze, this Crown Prince stared at the South Long Wang, hesitated for a moment, and said softly: "Father King, let your son escort him back to West Hong, it will also be convenient for your son to go request reinforcements from the West Long Wang…"

At these words, the South Long Wang's figure stiffened slightly.

It turned its head, carefully scrutinizing this eldest legitimate son it valued most above all others. After a long while, it let out a mocking laugh: "Escorting? Requesting reinforcements?"

Those words sounded truly beautiful.

Facing his father king's mockery, the Ke family Crown Prince swallowed hard, shifted his gaze away, and his voice was somewhat hoarse: "Father king loves me the most, is it not because I resemble Father king the most?"

"..."

The Southern Long Wang's hands clenched and loosened, loosened and clenched again.

After a long while, it coldly withdrew its gaze: "Reasonable. Go well, no need to see you off."

"Father king..."

The Ke family Crown Prince slowly knelt on the ground and kowtowed several loud times toward that towering figure: "You take care."

For some reason, even with the existence of the Dragon Lair, he felt his father king probably did not have many days left; with the General Nanyang Sect Master's sword hanging over his head, something would inevitably go wrong within three or five hundred years.

In fact, after reviewing the Juan Sect files concerning Shen Yi, the Ke family Crown Prince already had an ominous premonition, and today's fall of the Hanshan Shenxu Laozu, along with the mysterious disappearance of that group of great demons, further confirmed his thoughts.

This youth cannot be opposed by force; only by taking advantage of the fact that the opponent is still relatively weak now, must one either cut the weeds and dig up the roots, or retreat three miles.

Father king lacks the courage to risk his life; cutting the weeds and digging up the roots is likely of little hope, so do not blame oneself for retreating.

"Get out!"

The Southern Long Wang spoke no more, waved his hand, and flung both figures out of the green stone hall together.

It suddenly felt somewhat ridiculous.

It was the General Nanyang Sect again, and having merely slain one wild demon of the mid-Heaven Realm, it had frightened these two future heirs of the Long Gong into such a state.

"Flee... flee..."

The Southern Long Wang reached into the Dragon Lair, retrieved an ancient and simple crown adorned with jade pendants, and placed it upon his head with meticulous care.

Its gaze was cold as it stared at this abyss; the next moment, its expression suddenly turned ferocious. Under the support of that vast dragon qi, a mighty dragon roar resonated through the waters.

"As long as this King does not die, the Southern Long Gong shall remain firm for ten thousand generations!"

"Is this water a place you dare to enter? Do you dare?!"

"Even Qin Jiaoyang could not move this King; relying on you few stinking fish and rotten shrimp is truly a joke."

Amidst this roar.

Outside the green stone palace, the two eldest dragon sons' figures paused slightly.

The Ke family Crown Prince looked back with a complex expression; Father king seemed finally no longer so steady, but unfortunately it was too late, and he could no longer quite trust the other.

It would be better to withdraw from this place sooner rather than later.

(End of this chapter)