Chapter 807

The attack came so abruptly.

In the heartland of Sui Chao, the secret residence of the Sui Chao crown prince was actually attacked by the Western Demon State!

The defenders of Ink Bamboo Fort were caught off guard, masses of guards and maidservants were slain by the blood-colored divine light, and the few elderly eunuchs in charge of Ink Bamboo Fort hastily activated the great defensive formation.

Countless ink‑bamboo stalks as thick as thumbs moved without wind, rings of strange black runes rippled out from within the stalks, the whole world seemed to turn into a pool of clear water, Ink Bamboo Fort was like a drop of ink falling into that clear water, and rings of black continuously spread outward.

Then, countless flying knives forged from ink‑bamboo leaves shot into the sky, trailing strands of black light that enveloped tens of thousands of great demons in the air.

The defensive formation of Ink Bamboo Fort was incredibly fierce, yet the utterly beautiful woman wrapped head‑to‑toe in Blood Light gave a mocking cold laugh, and the Blood Light emitted from the blood‑colored peacock tail feathers behind her suddenly intensified a hundredfold.

Countless extremely fine strands of Blood Light scattered across the sky, each strand striking exactly one ink‑bamboo leaf flying knife.

The flying knives were annihilated one after another, countless strands of Blood Light swept horizontally through the air, then struck a certain point above Ink Bamboo Fort.

With a tremendous boom, the defensive formation of Ink Bamboo Fort was breached by a tiny hole; countless strands of Blood Light rushed in through it, and vast swaths of ink‑bamboo were utterly annihilated in the Blood Light.

Rings of black patterns shattered, Ink Bamboo Fort trembled violently, and hundreds of thousands of guards, maidservants, and eunuchs cried out in alarm.

Tens of thousands of great demons surged into Ink Bamboo Fort, rolling demon clouds with a foul stench spreading in all directions; the blood‑colored beauty hovered in the high air, and wherever anyone resisted fiercely, a torrent of Blood Light poured down from the sky without reason.

In just twenty breaths, all of Feng Rong's subordinates inside Ink Bamboo Fort were slain.

Hordes of great demons employed their magical abilities, breaking open various protective seals in the lodgings one after another, and greedily looted everything they saw.

Especially books, scrolls, letters, jade tablets and other items that could store information were carefully collected by them and continually delivered into the hands of the blood‑colored beauty.

The beauty wrapped head‑to‑toe in blood flame trod on a blood cloud, circling Ink Bamboo Fort rapidly.

Suddenly, a group of great demons shouted and blasted a bamboo building to pieces, revealing Pei Feng inside, clad in black armor.

"Sir, there's still... a fiercely vicious little woman here." A leopard‑headed, round‑eyed great demon wearing linked mail and wielding a sweeping broadsword casually swung a blade at Pei Feng, but Pei Feng easily dodged and punched him in the face, sending him stumbling.

A mass of Blood Light came rushing; the blood‑colored woman gave a cold snort: "Feng Rong's woman?"

A spear spewing Blood Light pressed against Pei Feng's chest, and she said coldly: "Who is Feng Rong?"

The blood‑colored woman raised her brows, looked at Pei Feng's heroic, stunning face, and laughed: "Ha, you're not Feng Rong's person? Well, that sort of flashy, filthy trash isn't worthy of someone like you… Hmm? You are…"

On Pei Feng's body, wisps of black qi spread out, condensing into a hazy light curtain about a zhang in size that flickered for a moment; within it, a phantom of a magic phoenix entirely wreathed in black demonic flames, its aura soaring to the heavens, flashed by.

"An apocalyptic magic phoenix?" the blood‑colored woman raised her brows; behind her, Blood Light boomed, and that strange yet immensely dignified blood‑colored peacock raised a long cry to the heavens, its gorgeous tail feathers unfurling as blood‑colored divine light shrouded the void, its aura mighty and arrogant to the extreme.

"Killing Blood Peacock, Apocalyptic Magic Phoenix." the blood‑colored woman laughed "ge ge ge", and she reached out to give Pei Feng's shoulder a hard pat: "The two famed demonic birds of antiquity—who would have thought we could still gather them both today."

Pei Feng moved slightly, and a thin strand of seven‑colored mist on her neck flashed for a moment.

"What junk? Were you captured by Feng Rong?" A flash of killing light appeared in the blood‑colored woman's eyes; she seized that thin strand of mist, and blood‑colored blazing flames spewed from her hand, instantly incinerating and breaking the thousand‑li of mist.

"Feng Rong isn't a good thing… Miss, come with me. Otherwise, you'll eventually be snatched back by the people of Sui Chao." The blood‑colored beauty laughed lightly: "My name is Xueyu; you're surely not as old as I am, so just call me Elder Sister Xue."

From over there came a low, deep beastly roar; a pitch‑black cloud cat resumed its true form, clutching a palm‑sized jade tablet whose spiritual light flowed, and it came running madly. It ran up to Xueyu, opened its mouth and spat out the jade tablet, its long tail wagging rapidly.

Xueyu snatched the jade tablet, a strand of Blood Light shot from her brow, lightly encircling the tablet; a hiss‑hiss sounded, dozens of seals exploded, breaking into streams of mist of various colors that scattered.

Blood Light seeped into the jade tablet, and vast amounts of text appeared densely; following that, numerous strange‑looking faces emerged.

"That's right, Feng Rong holds the Office of Military Affairs of Sui Chao; this is the list of traitors planted by the Office in the four great dynasties." Xueyu laughed brightly: "The information is correct—this scoundrel neglects his duties, and most of the Office's dealings are handled by a few senior eunuchs under him. This Ink Bamboo Fort is not only his secret residence, but also the place where the Office handles military affairs."

"Walk too many night roads and you'll eventually meet a ghost, Feng Rong!" Xueyu raised her head and howled: "Retreat, retreat! Quick!"

Xueyu grabbed Pei Feng's hand and pulled her upward, turning into a strand of Blood Light that shot into the sky. Several silver‑shiny elephants had already opened their huge mouths, and Xueyu swiftly dove into an elephant's mouth. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of great demons turned into rolling demon clouds, kicked up vast demonic winds, and hurriedly fled into the elephants' mouths.

All around White Goose Lake, various strange lights flickered simultaneously.

Dozens of huge hands formed from worldly elemental energy, or wrapped in thunder, or blazing with fierce flames, howled as they tore through the sky; each hand was dozens of times the size of Ink Bamboo Fort, and the spectacle was truly terrifying.

"Where to flee!" Far off, a thunderous roar of angry thunder rang out.

White Goose Lake lies in the heartland of Sui Chao, yet a band of great demons has broken in, killing and setting fires—how could the local Sui Chao prefectural magnates tolerate that?

The sound of drums and horns shook heaven and earth; the several prefectures nearest White Goose Lake had already mobilized large numbers of troops, driving warships rushing toward this place.

Several four‑tusked elephants raised their heads and howled; their tusks simultaneously shattered and fell away, and powerful spatial ripples spread rapidly outward, the shattered tusks beside them forming a gleaming silver giant teleportation array that forcibly tore a huge gap in the void.

The elephants' bodies rapidly shrank.

They frenziedly burned their essence‑blood and flesh to provide energy for the nearby giant teleportation array.

Finally, before the first giant hand could reach them, several elephants together with the entire teleportation array vanished in an instant.

The first giant hand, glowing with golden light, smashed through space and came down heavily where the elephants had been. The lake surface was thrown up into towering waves; White Goose Lake was forcibly torn open a great hole, and clumps of turbid air swept up countless lake‑bottom mud into the sky, forming vast thick clouds that covered tens of thousands of li.

The next instant, dozens of figures exuding terrifying auras appeared out of thin air above Ink Bamboo Fort.

Wave after wave of overpowering soul power slammed into Ink Bamboo Fort; in a moment countless ink‑bamboo stalks were reduced to powder, revealing countless bones beneath.

"Xueyu's exterminating divine light—it's the Lord of Blood Prison Mountain from the Western Demon State invading!"

"These people are from the palace… Investigate thoroughly; this is some secret estate set up by whom."

"No, these eunuchs—how could they have the seals and tokens of the Office of Military Affairs?"

"The Office of Military Affairs? It's the crown prince…"

"Secure the scene, don't move a single plant or tree here… Quickly send word to Sui Du, have the Office of Military Affairs send people to handle this."

Because of Xueyu's surprise attack, the Sui Chao prefectures surrounding White Goose Lake, together with several vassal states, were thrown into chaos; who knows how many will have their homes ransacked and clans exterminated because of this—it truly is outrageous that a band of great demons would appear so abruptly in the heartland of Sui Chao.

If no one responds, who would believe that Xueyu could reach White Goose Lake without alerting the border troops of Sui Chao?

Moreover, she could so precisely locate Feng Rong's secret residence on White Goose Lake.

There is a traitor, and moreover a traitor whose identity is of utmost importance.

Just a quarter‑hour later, an imperial edict flew out from Sui Du; at the command of the Sui Chao Divine Emperor, hundreds of major camps of Sui Chao's western border troops moved as ordered, launching a frantic assault on the various passes of the Western Demon State.

But the Western Demon State seemed to have prepared long ago; its passes were well defended, and it had furthermore laid numerous formation traps beforehand—Sui Chao's border troops suffered losses and gained no advantage.

Blood Prison Mountain.

This place is also notorious in the Western Demon State.

Blood Prison Mountain itself is a lofty peak tens of thousands of li high, graceful and towering—here the mountains are clear, the waters beautiful, the scenery pleasant, and the worldly elemental energy is extremely rich, making it a blessed cavern ideal for home health and secluded cultivation.

But looking all around Blood Prison Mountain, one knows why its fearsome reputation exists.

Blood Prison Mountain is encircled by nine great rivers; these rivers are perilous beyond count, their waters turned entirely blood‑red, exuding a rancid stench that reaches the heavens; countless bones tumble and struggle in the water, and in those nine great rivers there is absolutely no living thing—not a blade of water grass, not a single shrimp.

The nine great rivers also gave birth to a natural prohibition; on their thousand‑li‑wide surface birds cannot cross, and even a Divine Realm expert attempting to ford the river will, if they happen to glimpse their own reflection on the water, inexplicably sink in; once the blood‑water sweeps over them, flesh and blood vanish instantly, leaving only a skeleton tumbling in the current.

Along the banks of the nine great rivers lay countless corpses; white bones and skulls piled up into towering monuments of slaughter, their towering killing intent so fierce that even gods and demons dare not approach, leaving spirits and ghosts worried.

The summit of Blood Prison Mountain is a flat expanse a hundred li across, where splendid palaces and towers have been built, and all manner of strange flowers and exotic herbs planted, crafted to rival a heavenly realm on earth.

The rich heavenly‑earth primordial energy condensed into visible azure spirit mist, swirling and drifting over the summit; occasionally a gust blows the mist apart, turning it into vast clouds that drift outward, nourishing the trees, flowers and grasses on the mountain so they grow exceptionally lush and vigorous.

With a tremendous roar, a spatial rift tore open atop Blood Prison Mountain; several emaciated elephants, their bodies severely shrunken to skin and bone, stumbled out of the crack, trembling as they landed, and with a "Boom—" they all collapsed flat on the ground, unable to move.

Blood Prison, carrying Pei Feng, flew out of the elephant's mouth and slapped its trunk hard: "Hey, someone come quickly, get something good to eat and drink, hurry and let them catch their breath."

The several elephants let out low grunts, reluctantly opened their mouths, and allowed a great horde of demons to fly out.

Blood Prison said in a deep voice: "Everyone return to your posts and stand ready; Su Chao has lost face this time, they're likely to go mad. Little sister, what's your name? Rest here awhile, elder sister; I'll go chop off a few thousand of their heads first."

A strange killing intent flickered in Blood Prison's eyes, and she laughed softly: "Just now I saw plenty of familiar faces—hehe, let's see how they die this time…"

Throwing her head back and laughing wildly three times, Blood Prison transformed into a crimson torrent that shot up into the sky and flew westward.

A huge scarlet peacock phantom enveloped her body; the blood peacock lightly flicked its wings, a single unfold spanning a million li, and a few flashes later it vanished without trace.

Pei Feng could not help but be startled.

Blood Prison's cultivation is truly terrifyingly strong, and her escape‑light speed is astonishing beyond compare.

A flick of the finger spans a million li… This inexplicably reminded Pei Feng of what Wu Tie had told her about the legends of the primordial mythic era. Yet in those legends, the golden‑winged great peng unfurls its wings only ninety thousand li, which cannot compare to Blood Prison's million‑li wingspan.

Moreover, Blood Prison's manner of acting… is better left unsaid.

She had still been asking Pei Feng's name when, after talking to herself, she simply flew off on her own. Such conduct is quite bold, even overly so.

The great horde of demons glanced curiously at Pei Feng, then hastily kicked up demonic winds and clouds and flew outward from Blood Prison Mountain.

Looking closely, one could see that outside Blood Prison Mountain, between the nine great rivers, medium‑sized castles flickered in and out of view; all those demons flew into those castles, and as the winds and clouds settled, they vanished without trace.

A few bewitchingly lovely maidens, whose eyes occasionally flashed with a fierce wildness, approached, bowed respectfully to Pei Feng, and escorted her to a hall on the summit to rest.

Pei Feng waited in that hall for three days.

After three days, Blood Prison finally emerged reeking of blood, giggling "hee‑hee‑hee" with smug satisfaction as she left the hall.

"How delightful—those fools who dared collude with Su Chao deserve to have their brains scooped out and fed to the dogs…"

Laughing, she strode up to Pei Feng, sized her up from head to toe, then asked: "I am Blood Prison; have you heard of me, little sister? Oh, I think I mentioned it before? Well, little sister, what's your name? The demon‑phoenix aura about you is rather endearing… tsk, the slaughter‑blood peacock, the world‑ending demon phoenix—we are a natural pair!"

"Hahaha, from now on we sisters will join forces—let's see which bastard in the Western Demon Kingdom's court still dares to grin at me."

"Tsk, if things go badly we could still topple the demon king's throne and take turns sitting on it."

Pei Feng was utterly bewildered; looking at this self‑talking Blood Prison, she helplessly said, "Elder sister Blood Prison, I am your younger sister Pei Feng—my respects."

Pei Feng, feeling muddle-headed, looked at this self-talking Blood Prison, and she helplessly said: "Blood Prison older sister, little sister Pei Feng, greetings."