Chapter 704: My Songfeng Prefecture! Hmm?

"This Sovereign requires an explanation."

The misty sea of clouds stretched endlessly; a colossal figure gradually came into focus, its indigo skin layered upon itself like piled-up mountain ridges.

It cast its gaze down in silence, and there was no anger in its eyes.

Yet Monk Huijing felt as though his whole body had plunged into an icy cellar, his limbs stiffening considerably.

The great demon before him, called the Southern Sovereign, was one of the very first generation of demons and devils on the entire Dananzhou. Having survived to this day, it had outlived countless brilliant peers, and in both strength and renown stood at the very pinnacle.

Let alone himself—even if his own Master came in person, he would likely have to speak with utmost courtesy.

Clearly, this fiend had already learned of what had happened at Songfeng Prefecture.

"Southern Sovereign, please hear this humble monk out. What happened today was truly an accident, it was absolutely not our Sect—"

Before Monk Huijing could finish, he saw the great demon in the sky trace a smile devoid of warmth at the corner of its lips: "Are you trying to say that we old recluses are unaware of the affairs of the Divine Dynasty, yet your lofty Putida Sect likewise knows nothing of that General Nanyang?"

"We truly did not know."

The words slipped out of Monk Huijing instinctively, but the instant they fell, his heart clenched and cold sweat poured from his whole body.

A being capable of single-handedly contending against eight demon-immortals of the same realm and slaughtering dozens of fifth-rank great demons along with them—how could the Puti Sect possibly be unaware of such an existence?

Though it was the truth, it left one feeling utterly unable to defend oneself.

Sure enough, the smile at the Southern Sovereign's lips faded once more, and the light in its eyes gradually turned indifferent.

Feeling that suffocating killing intent, Monk Huijing's prayer beads in his hands suddenly snapped apart, the beads scattering across the ground.

He staggered back several steps, his features twisting, and blurted out in panic: "Southern Sovereign, calm yourself! This humble monk… this humble monk…"

The monk instinctively tried to activate the Great Pinaka Fruit Position within his body—two thousand three hundred kalpas of cultivation had once been the foundation of his pride within the Sect—but before this indigo-skinned great demon sovereign, his instinct for survival forced him to stop himself from doing something that would mean nothing but seeking death.

"Southern Sovereign, Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva is this humble monk's Master, and Seven-Treasure Bodhisattva is this humble monk's Martial Uncle!"

Monk Huijing racked his brains and bellowed them out as if reciting a menu of dishes: "And… and that three-thousand-kalpa perfected Fruit Position, the Dragon-Subduing, Tiger-Taming Great Great Ming Wang who will surely ascend to the Buddha Lotus in the future—he also counts as half a Zhu Shixiong of mine!"

One could see just how panicked he was at this point; he had practically thrown out every connection he could think of in one desperate heap.

"…"

Watching his wretched display, a trace of mockery appeared in the Southern Sovereign's eyes.

From start to finish, the great demon made no move; the seas of cloud on either side converged once more, gradually obscuring its enormous form.

"My great general who took refuge in your noble Sect—where is he now?"

"He… he…"

Monk Huijing could not speak for the longest time. That wolf demon who had cultivated the Heart's-Eye Fruit Position had died at the hands of his own half-Zhu Shixiong.

But how could he possibly tell the Southern Sovereign such a thing?

Because they had found a better seedling, even though the demon general under the other's command had died a tragic death, his own Master had shown not the slightest reaction.

"Heh."

The clouds and mist gathered completely, swallowing the Southern Sovereign's eyes.

Only a cold voice was left hanging in the air.

"I spare your worthless life to carry back a message: the agreement between this Sovereign and the Puti Sect is hereby void. If we meet again, we shall still be mortal enemies."

The demon race was weak; it could serve as the vanguard for the Three Sects, tear open a breach, and throw the world into chaos. No matter how great the losses, as long as sufficient payment could be obtained, it was acceptable.

If the heavens and earth truly were to be divided anew—

By then, if he could seize this opportunity to ascend into the second rank, or even higher to the first rank, he might be able to cast off his great-demon identity and be ennobled as a regional Great Emperor in the Immortal Court, thereby reaching the supreme station.

This too was the reason he had returned to Shenzhou.

But that did not mean that, as a hegemon of Dananzhou, the Southern Sovereign could tolerate being made a monkey of by those lofty gods, buddhas, and immortal lords.

Monk Huijing swallowed hard, staring blankly at the horizon.

Until he was certain the other had truly departed.

Only then did he collapse to the ground in utter exhaustion, gasping for breath in great heaving gulps: "Hah! Hah! Hah!"

The Sect had finally managed to persuade those three great demons to come out of seclusion. With the strength of the demon horde, combined with the Puti Three Immortals and the two Sects, stirring up turmoil across Dananzhou would have been as easy as turning over a hand.

Now that these great demons refused to toil for the Three Sects any longer, they were surely preparing to lie low behind the scenes and wait to reap the benefits for free. Those risky, grueling tasks would inevitably fall upon disciples like themselves.

Such a splendid plan, and yet it had been ruined by some court official who had appeared out of nowhere.

Monk Huijing rose unsteadily to his feet and could only return with a bitter face to report to his Master.

……

Songfeng Prefecture.

Hongjing followed the woman ahead with a helpless look: "Jiang Shijie, it's been so many days now—shouldn't we be heading back?"

Such a momentous matter naturally had to be reported to their Master first, yet for some unknown reason his Jiang Shijie kept scheming and insisting on finding a way to meet that General Nanyang.

"The imperial court will never allow us to meet him."

"Why not?"

Lady Tiandong suddenly stopped walking and slowly turned her head to look back.

Perhaps it was a trick of the eye, but Hongjing always felt that the smile on his Jiang Shijie's face was not as simple as it appeared, as though it brimmed with hidden meaning.

He stammered: "Because, because of the tribulation…"

The other's question was practically nonsense. The imperial court was hiding such a powerful being precisely to counter geniuses like his Jiang Shijie from the immortal sects—under such circumstances, how could they possibly allow people from Elder Yu Chi's Immortal Gate to get close to him?

It was only because the disciples of the Sanxian Sect did not have such glaringly obvious features as those monks; otherwise, given the current situation, the imperial court expelling them outright would not have been unjustified.

"Since it is a tribulation, the tide of the times, why bother with such futile efforts?" Lady Tiandong said, looking at him earnestly.

Her single sentence made Hongjing's face change slightly: "Jiang Shijie, you mean…"

"I only mean that no matter what, the demon calamity will come regardless. We could already hold the great cause and perform acts of salvation—why soil ourselves like this?"

Lady Tiandong simply did not concern herself with worldly affairs. Having risen to the position of Eldest Jiang Shijie of Elder Yu Chi's Immortal Gate, within just a few days she had roughly figured out why the imperial court was treating them with such an attitude.

"…"

Upon hearing this, Hong Jing froze on the spot, feeling as though waking from a dream.

Jiang Shijie's words were right—though one didn't know what the Divine Dynasty's Human Sovereign was scheming, it had certainly severely impacted the interests of the Immortal Court and the Three Teachings, which was why the current situation had come about.

Even if the Jade Pool Immortal Sect did nothing, the tribulations that were meant to come would still descend upon the Divine Dynasty; why should they bother with such unnecessary moves?

"If I had the ability to save the world, then that position should rightfully be mine."

Lady Tiandong withdrew her gaze and said slowly, "If one's skill is inferior, what can a petty trick or two possibly change?"

This was precisely why she had always insisted on meeting that General Nanyang.

Under the present circumstances, no opportunity to increase one's strength could be let slip.

"Still, Jiang Shijie sees through it all."

Hong Jing fell silent for a moment, then sighed and shook his head.

The other party, knowing nothing at all, had relied solely on the treatment received that day at Songfeng Prefecture to deduce so much.

The reason Master had hidden it from Jiang Shijie Tiandong was the worry that, upon learning this chaos was being stirred up by the Three Teachings from behind, she would grow resentful.

Who would have thought Jiang Shijie would directly see that the great tide could not be defied, and ride the tribulation accordingly, without the slightest burden on her heart.

Even her move to befriend General Nanyang could demonstrate that she truly "didn't know," sparing her more of the Divine Dynasty's wariness than other Immortal Sect disciples, making things far more convenient in the future.

"Since Jiang Shijie has already thought it through, this junior brother will follow your every command."

The two senior and junior siblings melted back into the crowd, but just as they were about to approach the prefectural office again, a sudden change occurred.

One saw vast clusters of great clouds, at a speed barely visible to the naked eye, instantly covering the entire sky above Songfeng Prefecture.

A streak of flowing light darted out from the clouds and landed directly atop the city gate.

The only titled general remaining within the prefectural city, at the instant these all-pervading immortal clouds appeared, had already left the prefectural office and likewise darted toward the city gate.

The black-bearded man bowed respectfully: "This subordinate pays respects to Lord Yang!"

After finishing his salute, he raised his head and only then noticed the odd expression on Lord Yang's face—that was unmistakably the look of someone who had rushed back at full speed, deeply worried.

"Songfeng Prefecture… Songfeng Prefecture…"

Yang Mingli stared blankly at the level ground before him; though he was a great figure standing alongside those Divine Buddhas and Immortal Reverents, he now made the comical gesture of rubbing his eyes.

He did not see the scene of collapsed walls and corpses strewn across the land that he had imagined.

For a moment, joy and anger mingled, and even his beard trembled slightly.

"As expected, a false report! Ever since this lot followed the one surnamed Yan, when have they ever taken this old man seriously!"

Yang Mingli flung his sleeve violently, intending at once to go back and make trouble for those juniors.

Talking about a demon calamity striking, painting it so vividly—he'd nearly worried himself to death. Now everything looked peaceful and tranquil, so where was this demon calamity?!

Let alone the hair-raising talk from the likes of Ye Lan and Wushan.

"Sigh! Don't be hasty, my lord!"

The black-bearded man, as if he had gleaned something, hurriedly stepped forward and tugged at Yang Mingli's sleeve.

My lord went to aid the nine prefectures to the west; he must have heard of the demon calamity and rushed back in a panic.

Though the prefectural city now looked more peaceful than ever, that had nothing to do with a false report of a demon calamity!

"Speak!" Yang Mingli forcibly restrained his fury and glanced back at the man.

How could the black-bearded man dare hesitate? He immediately said, "No false report! Several days ago, Songfeng Prefecture truly suffered a demon calamity. The reason it looks as you see it now is because… because General Nanyang took action and resolved the demon calamity single-handedly."

Hearing this, Yang Mingli nearly laughed from sheer anger: "Something General Nanyang alone could resolve, and you use it to frighten this old man?"

As if, apart from the three of them, every other titled general was just eating idle meals—such a trivial matter, and it needed General Nanyang to come all this way just to remind him?

"Keep your voice down, my lord, don't let the common folk in the city overhear…"

The black-bearded man hurriedly soothed him again, and glanced down toward the base of the city wall as he did so. Sure enough, several dozen gate-guarding city guards had already quietly looked up toward them; though they did nothing out of line, their eyes all held dissatisfaction.

They now recognized only General Nanyang, and had no idea who this old man was.

Though the display of all-pervading auspicious clouds was rather intimidating, compared to the demon clouds from that day it didn't seem much different. If you've got real skill, then stop muttering behind people's backs—got the guts to cross blades with General Nanyang and see?

"That was no trivial matter…"

The black-bearded man smiled bitterly again and again, holding out his palm: "Fourth-grade demon immortals alone numbered eight, and fifth-grade great demons numbered as many as thirty-six."

What kind of concept was that?

One had to know that back then, a single ape demon from the Jade Pool Immortal Sect had ravaged a full three prefectures; setting aside its identity as an Immortal Sect demon, say what you will, it was merely a fifth-grade Taiyi Immortal.

A creature of its caliber would have had not the slightest presence in this demon calamity—it was nothing more than a soul swept away by a single casual slash from General Nanyang as he intimidated the gathered demons.

As the black-bearded man's words fell.

Yang Mingli's arm, which had flung aside the man's hand, suddenly froze midair; he stared at this subordinate in astonishment, nearly thinking he had misheard.

Otherwise, given the lineup the man had just reported…put it this way: if one left out General Zhennan and didn't count the imperial aura, and fought a real battle with real weapons, all the titled generals of the entire Dananzhou Zhan Yao Si combined might not even be able to overcome this group of great demons.

Yet the Songfeng Prefecture before them looked nothing like a place that had endured a demon calamity.

If those demons and monsters had so much as approached the prefectural city, they wouldn't have failed to leave so much as a single tile's worth of damage.

"You're saying…this demon calamity was resolved by Nanyang alone?"

Yang Mingli lowered his arm, feeling only a parched mouth and dry throat.

If this matter were true.

He, as the person in charge of the Dananzhou Immortal Rankings, seemed to have overlooked the most terrifying existence right under his nose.

On the rankings recording the prodigies of Da Nanzhou, there was actually missing a young cultivator fully capable of topping the list!

"Absolutely true—and not only was the demon calamity resolved, to be precise, not a single one of those demon immortals escaped; they all died outside the city."

Watching the changes in Lord Yang's expression, the black-bearded man suddenly felt much better in his heart. So it wasn't just him who had been scared silly at the time—even General Zhennan couldn't digest such a thing.

"…"

Yang Mingli slowly closed his eyes.

Those slightly odd matters from before suddenly became reasonable.

How could Nanyang hold the Demon-Suppressing Tower, how could he dare to kill the ape demon of Elder Yu Chi's Immortal Gate, and even the later rescue of General Wushan.

With this battle record alone, with the third-rank powers not making a move, this young man before the rest of the cultivators and demons could absolutely be regarded as a third-rank powerhouse!

He could be called invincible beneath gods, buddhas, and immortal lords.

"The matter Lord Lady Feng Xi mentioned last time… this subordinate has handled it."

Taking this chance, the black-whiskered man also went with the flow and recounted the events of that day.

Hearing this, Yang Mingli merely opened his eyes again. Surprisingly, he did not fly into a rage. A flicker of complicated emotion passed through his pupils, finally resolving into a long sigh.

"Sigh."

Had he known of this earlier, even at the cost of a full-blown clash with Yan Lanting, he would never have handed such a figure over to that old fool, letting him waste away the only chance the divine court's Dananzhou had.

Yang Mingli had always believed he held no chips in his hand, and that was why he had been forced to retreat again and again.

Who could have known that when he had retreated into a corner with nowhere left to go, and lowered his head to look, the heaviest chip of all had been lying quietly by his side all along.

"Take this old man to meet this General Nanyang." He headed down toward the city.

Hearing this, the black-whiskered man's eyelid twitched.

The General Who Pacifies the South, going to meet a titled general — not by summons, but by going in person… in the entire Zhan Yao Si, this was the first such case.

But thinking of General Nanyang, he somehow felt it was oddly fitting.

Only… the black-whiskered man raised his head helplessly: "My lord, General Nanyang left long ago."

Look at this bearing of his — not even a thought of claiming credit. He left as soon as it was done, as though he had merely handled some trivial little matter.

(End of chapter)