Chapter 702: Pine Winds Reflected in Nanyang

"Bastards!"

A furious roar tore through the clouds.

The Tiger Yao steadied itself, resumed human form, and gripped its right wrist tightly; its entire arm trembled faintly.

The Yao race was blessed by nature — aside from their cultivation realm, their own formidable demon bodies were likewise weapons of slaughter, far surpassing most cultivators' dharma treasures. Those who could gain the upper hand against them in close combat were none other than the Golden Body Arhats of the Puti Sect.

Yet this youngster before its eyes had, with such an offhand manner, made it suffer a great loss.

The Tiger Yao's eyelid twitched. Its gaze was met with a thick haze of blood — it had come as the vanguard to breach the city, yet its own side had already lost several great Yao.

Having lost face before the Yao forces of the three clans, it had to strike back to recover its standing.

But that brief exchange just now had left it unable to gauge the true depth of this young man, and a faint dread welled up in its heart.

"…"

At a certain tea stall in Songfeng Fucheng, the streets had long been emptied, thanks to the prefectural office's advance notice.

A young Monk sat with his back to the long street, rubbing the tea bowl. He cast a casual glance at the horizon and could not help but sigh.

These wretched beasts had grown too idle and carefree — they had long since lost their killer's heart.

In days gone by, when had there ever been such a ridiculous sight — eight fourth-rank Yao Immortals leading a host of great Yao, yet cowed by a cultivator of the same realm, not daring to advance a single step for the longest time?

Fortunately, the remaining Yao Immortals had also noticed the Tiger Yao's dilemma.

An eagle-headed figure draped in feathers stepped forward: "This Divine Dynasty has grown far too arrogant these days. Facing you and me in person, they actually send out only a greenhorn. Since that's the case, brothers, let's stop holding back — strike together!"

"Break this city first, then we'll talk!"

The Tiger Yao accepted the offered steps and smoothly descended. In a flash, it drew two great blades into its grip, but no longer charged at the forefront as before.

"They truly think our Divine Dynasty has no one left."

Hearing these words, the three Title-Bearing Generals' faces darkened. They clicked their tongues inwardly, and in that instant all three shot up into the air.

General Nanyang's blade just now had finally explained why he alone could hold the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda and rescue General Wushan. In the eyes of everyone, this junior — for the very first time striking openly before the public — had now firmly secured his place as the foremost Title-Bearing General of Dananzhou.

With General Nanyang holding Songfeng Fucheng, and with the assistance of themselves and the Imperial Qi army formation, today — even if they could not drive back the Yao horde — at the very least holding the prefecture was no problem.

"Phew."

Lady Tiandong's heart also eased.

After all, the lives of the prefecture's common folk were at stake. She did not let her guard down, and likewise darted to the city gate — first secure Songfeng Fucheng, then consider slaying the Yao.

In an instant, the Yao horde had already descended like a swarm.

The vast, dark-red Yao-cloud rolled across the sky, as if to drown the entire heavens.

The army formations all gripped their weapons tight; the Imperial Qi on their bodies surged skyward, and they were fully prepared to meet the enemy.

Before this terrifying scene, the black cloud trailing from Shen Yi like a great cloak of long sunset clouds swayed, drawing a line across the sky.

The first to pierce through the black cloud was none other than the Eagle Yao.

With a sweep of its great hand, thousands upon thousands of blade-like feathers linked together — like an iron whip, or a coiling dragon whose head and tail could not be seen — quivering unceasingly across the firmament.

Under the Eagle Yao's control, that feather-whip howled as it lashed toward the towering prefecture city. Had this strike landed true, half the prefecture's high walls would have crumbled in an instant.

And the very instant it pierced through the black cloud—

The old Yao's pupils abruptly contracted. There, right before it, a figure in black armor had materialized with an indifferent air. Their gazes met, and without a sound, the other had already arrived within arm's reach.

The two hovered face to face, no more than three feet apart.

That Yao-feather whip — capable of easily tearing through the protective spiritual energy of a fourth-rank Taiyi Zhenxian — was calmly caught in Shen Yi's grip.

The instant his five fingers closed completely and he exerted sudden force, the feathers filling the sky abruptly froze in midair; the buzzing hum from their trembling ceased at once, and the entire world fell into Tianyan Siji.

The next moment.

Crack.

The crisp sound spread swiftly outward.

Every feather in the heavens shattered into fine powder.

Before the Eagle Yao could even react, a knee strike had already slammed into its jaw.

No matter how high one's realm, no matter how arcane one's methods of combat — change without departing from the origin; in the end, it all comes down to attack and defense.

When its prized Yao-chain could not even scratch Shen Yi's palm, the outcome of this exchange had already been decided. What remained was simply to see how many blades it could endure.

Beneath that knee strike, the Eagle Yao was sent flying backward, its vision filled with nothing but endless blade-light.

Psssh! Psssh! Psssh!

The gold-veined black saber lashed out like a raging storm, and in the blink of an eye had left a hundred-odd bloody holes across the Eagle Yao's body. Within a few breaths, the number of holes multiplied dozens of times over.

That splendid cloak of feathers was instantly soaked red through with Yao blood.

Shen Yi stomped heavily onto its chest, and the old Yao shot out like an arrow loosed from its string, crashing straight into two other great Yao.

The gold-veined black saber slipped from his hand, transforming in midair into a streak of dark-gold light that followed in hot pursuit and struck its brow with precision.

Even bolstered by numerous suppression stones, this blade was still only an eighth-rank Dao-realm weapon — to a fourth-rank Yao Immortal, it was no different from scrap iron.

That it could pierce the Eagle Yao's body had nothing to do with the blade itself; it was because of the mighty tribulation-force contained within.

Compared to other paths, the Taixu Jin Dan seemed to hold no mysterious use, but for most fourth-rank great Yao whose cultivation hovered around a thousand tribulations, the three thousand five hundred tribulations of force within the Jin Dan was already enough to form an overwhelming advantage.

Under the gaze of all.

The blade struck the Eagle Yao's skull; the gold-veined long saber instantly exploded apart — but what exploded along with it was the Eagle Yao's head, blasted to pieces by the rampaging tribulation-force!

"…"

With a casual beckon, the Jin Xuan light swept back and recondensed in his palm into the shape of a long saber.

The black cloud behind him still swayed, drawing a line across the world.

And the Eagle Yao that had crossed that line was now utterly lifeless.

"Hah!"

This scene shocked not only the Yao horde, but even the several Title-Bearing Generals who had just landed on the city tower, as well as Lady Tiandong — all of them wore looks of stunned disbelief.

The vitality of a fourth-rank demon immortal was extraordinarily vigorous; short of severed limbs and a shattered skull, even more severe wounds could not have killed it so easily.

Among those present, perhaps only the now-dead hawk demon knew.

The countless blades that had just pierced into its body — every single one delivered Jin Guang, a substance as lethal as poison to demons and monsters, and the dragon-tiger power within them was like a death-warrant charm.

And that final blade was nothing more than the fuse that detonated all that Jin Guang.

Qian Jie was the threshold of fourth-rank.

But bearing the Dao fruit of a three-thousand-five-hundred-jie Taixu Jin Dan, combined with a three-thousand-jie Subduing Dragon and Tiger fruit position, in a certain sense, Shen Yi and these great demons could no longer be considered to be in the same realm.

It didn't seem as difficult as he had imagined.

Shen Yi gave a slight flourish of his blade.

In the eyes of the gathered demons, however, it made them all stop in their tracks without prior agreement.

That black cloud spanning the heavens, after the hawk demon's death, had suddenly become an impassable abyss.

"I told you long ago — you can't trust those thieving monks."

The tiger demon gripped its blade hilt tight; this pair of sharp weapons that had accompanied it for years and slain countless cultivators could no longer give it the slightest confidence now.

It swallowed hard, still shaken.

It even absurdly felt a trace of relief.

One must remember that it had been the first to strike — to still be alive standing here, it truly should be grateful that the young man had held back earlier.

The demon horde had come in full fury; apart from the intelligence gathered earlier, the Puti Sect had also been egging them on from behind. In those monks' telling, the current Divine Dynasty had been isolated by all sides, teetering on the brink, as if it could be overthrown at the slightest push.

But this black-armored cultivator had used the blade in his hand to thoroughly sober the demon horde up.

The fact that the Divine Dynasty had once forced them to flee into the wilds might not have been solely due to the Immortal Court — the dynasty itself was equally an unfathomable behemoth.

One must remember that, up to now, Pine Wind Prefecture had only produced a single person!

"Something's off. Retreat first — we'll settle accounts with those monks later!"

The Kong Que great demon, also a bird-kind, cradled the hawk demon's corpse and gazed into the distance at the few figures on the city wall. All four of them emanated the aura of Taiyi Zhenxian, and among them the woman in blue robes and white skirt looked especially familiar.

They had come holding their breath precisely to catch Pine Wind Prefecture off guard.

Now that taking the city was hopeless, if they delayed until the Divine Dynasty's third-rank powerhouses arrived, then today not a single one of them would leave alive.

Hearing this, the demons fell silent.

Only the red clouds in the sky quietly retreated into the distance.

Pine Wind Prefecture, at a tea stall.

The Monk's face had grown unsightly to the extreme; the tea bowl in his hand was raised to his lips, yet he could not bring himself to open his mouth.

The Puti Sect had been running around for so long precisely to let the Sanxian Sect draw the great demons' resentment, making things easier for their own Arhats to act later. Yet now Lady Tiandong had not even struck, and these wretched beasts were already thinking of retreat…

Wouldn't the three great demons settle this account on the Puti Sect's head!

Thinking of this, the exclamations from the military formation beside his ears grew even more grating. He quickly set down the tea bowl and rose to leave.

"The demon calamity has retreated!"

The neat military ranks stared fixedly beyond the city walls. They did know that the imperial court had an office specifically responsible for demon calamities, and it was no stranger to powerful cultivators.

But they had never imagined those lofty predecessors could be this powerful.

With just one person, he had scattered the demon horde — what divine might was this!

"This…"

On the city wall, the black-bearded man's expression was complex — beyond shock, there was also a touch of something strange.

With General Nanyang's ability, was there really any need to inform Lord Yang?

The fact that the nine prefectures to the west had not encountered trouble so far might not be because they were hiding it and failing to report… but because those demons and monsters had discovered the terrifying, horrifying nature of this General Nanyang even earlier than these Zhan Yao Si runners had.

That was why they had chosen to attack Pine Wind Prefecture — to make Lord Yang misjudge.

What Elder Yu Chi, Lady Tiandong, Mount Tianwu Xuanwu, or the Subduing Dragon and Tiger Great Ming King — their own titled general here was probably in no way inferior to those beings.

"It seems I'm not needed."

Tian Dong Xianzi recalled her own words when she had leapt out of the tower earlier, and for some reason felt her cheeks flush.

She had thought she came to save the world, never expecting the Divine Dynasty's garrison strength to be so overwhelming that it needed no help from outsiders at all.

"My lords, I am Yu Chi Tiandong. I received word and came to aid Pine Wind Prefecture. Might you introduce me to this General Nanyang shortly?"

She cupped her hands in greeting toward those beside her, only to see the three titled generals all looking at her in silence, not a trace of gratitude on their faces.

Received word?

Even the Zhan Yao Si had only just learned of this from General Nanyang himself — yet the Yu Chi Immortal Sect, a mere cultivation faction, had actually learned of the demon calamity earlier than the imperial court, and had deliberately come here to wait. Its intentions could not be more obvious.

Just as he was about to find an excuse to politely refuse, the black-bearded man's expression shifted slightly and he suddenly looked beyond the city walls again.

"Little brother, you've won. Today we truly have no confidence in crossing that line."

The tiger demon sheathed its twin blades, licked its lips with a savage expression, and lowered its voice: "We have plenty of time ahead."

Having said this, it glanced at that black cloud, no longer hesitated, and led the demons in turning around and fleeing into the distance.

"…"

Shen Yi frowned slightly.

What line or no line — what on earth are they muttering about?

He had summoned that black cloud merely to provide some cover for the fight.

It was just that these demons and monsters not heading toward Pine Wind Prefecture suited his wishes perfectly.

After all, with both sides' cultivation far too powerful, once they fought within the city, collateral damage to the innocent would be unavoidable.

Thinking of this, Shen Yi sheathed his long blade, casually raised his palm, and his figure vanished on the spot.

And disappearing along with him were those dozens of fleeing streaks of light.

Pulling others into the Taixu realm to imprison their bodies was a magic-power-consuming technique, and to imprison so many great demons at once was unimaginably difficult.

When they discovered that the world had suddenly become empty.

The powerful figures on the city walls all fell into silence.

This... what does this mean?!

Those who held the same doubt were the great demons who had suddenly appeared in the Realm of Profound Void.

Surrounded by mist, the Tier Five great demons had never seen such a scene and all wore looks of panic.

As for the seven Tier Four Demon Immortals led by the Tiger Demon, they narrowed their eyes, gazing into the depths of the mist, then a cruel smile filled with rage appeared on their faces: "Brother, you have gone too far."

They were demons who had killed for years; how could they not recognize the famous Fruit of the Dao of Profound Void?

Even if this youth possessed the cultivation of Three Thousand Tribulations and was stronger than those heavenly geniuses, with just this move, he could exhaust eighty percent of the opponent's tribulation power; let alone the fact that this person had previously slain the Eagle Demon, surely there must have been some consumption?

Even a fool could calculate that this cultivator was now in a state of a dying lamp.

"Do you truly think we fear you!"

The Tiger Demon summoned its twin blades again; even a clay doll has a bit of fire, let alone someone with such a violent temper.

Without further hesitation, its entire body surged violently toward the depths of the mist!

The other great demons also followed one after another.

Perhaps their previous retreat had caused this young cultivator to lose his reason, truly believing he could suppress those of the same realm.

Very well, one life for one life.

The fall of the Eagle Demon must have an explanation.

"Playing with ghosts and gods, die for this Venerable One!"

Amidst the fierce roars, the mist suddenly churned and scattered to both sides.

When a wisp of Jin Guang descended, the Tiger Demon suddenly froze in place, its twin blades trembling violently.

It raised its neck high, its pupils dilated.

Before the eyes of the demons, the mist parted to reveal a Gaoshan striding forward with composure.

A thousand-zhang perfect body, like a giant who opened the heavens.

His face was calm; a dragon head loomed on his left shoulder, a tiger head ferocious on his right; with the slight extension of his six arms, a power capable of tearing apart heaven and earth churned forth.

The Golden Body Dharma Image leaned slightly forward; the hand that blocked the sun and obscured the sky seemed to descend slowly, but the golden river that followed caused the Tiger Demon to lose its courage, even forgetting to raise its blade in resistance.

It instinctively revealed its true form to flee, but its massive tiger body had nowhere to escape as the giant palm seized its neck.

"The Luo Han Dharma Image of Three Thousand Tribulations!"

The demons cried out in horror, daring not to be careless for a single moment; dozens of figures gathered all their demonic power, transforming into a crimson Wang Yang of giant waves, attempting to overturn this Luo Han.

But at the same time, a dignified and majestic aura suddenly pressed down.

Another new Three Thousand Tribulations, and it was Immortal Power!

"A Tier Four Immortal Official..."

Despair and confusion finally surged in the eyes of the demons.

They could not imagine at all how a cultivator practicing the Fruit of the Dao of Profound Void could summon such a perfect and flawless Luo Han Dharma Body while also serving as a high official of the Immortal Court.

The Golden Body took a step; the four arms behind him suddenly moved like thunder, and every time they descended, they easily took a life.

The divine arts bestowed by the Bodhisattva were likewise not something ordinary Demon Immortals could resist.

Outside the walls of Songfeng Fucheng.

The sky suddenly twisted, as if many existences were crashing wildly in an invisible place!

Finally, a tearing sound was heard.

A Kong Que covered in fallen feathers and blood tore open a rift and fled in panic; before it could show joy on its face, just as it opened its mouth to let out a roar.

Dense black clouds surged through the rift, instantly darkening the world, plunging the entire Songfeng Fucheng into oppressive darkness.

The black clouds enveloped the Kong Que.

Finally, blinding Jin Guang erupted from the depths of the clouds, like the great sun in eternal night, illuminating the world!

"So this is... the meaning of Nanyang?"

Whether the many figures on the city walls or the dense military formations below, similar thoughts surged in their hearts at this moment.

They stared fixedly at the horizon.

It was an indescribably majestic giant hand that, in an instant, swallowed the body of the Kong Que; the five fingers closed tight, crushing it into blood.

The Kong Que's wails echoed through the clouds and wilds.

After it gradually vanished, the golden giant palm had long since withdrawn into the Profound Void, the black clouds dissipated completely, and the world returned to clarity.

Yet the entire world was silent, without a single sound.

At some point, the figure in black armor had returned to stand at the city gate; the Bai Xi and handsome face showed no great emotional turmoil, yet the dozens of flowing lights that had vanished with him had not a single one reappeared.

The inexplicably added scent of blood in the air gradually grew thick, the fishy stench somewhat terrifying.

(End of this chapter)