Chapter 288: The Demon Tide Swells, Smoke and Fire Rise Everywhere (Final Double Moon Ticket)

"How is the situation in the Alliance now?"

Cheng Xinzhan retracted his murderous aura and asked about the situation in the east.

Feng Jihu shook his head.

"Not good. South of Mount Heng in the Three Xiang region is all a war zone; west of Mount Luofu in the Yu Yang region is also all a war zone."

Cheng Xinzhan was startled—if so, then half of the Three Xiang region had fallen, and more than half of Yu Yang had been lost.

"So the Demon Cult has been pushing steadily southeast. I remember when I left Yu Yang, things weren't this bad. Has the Green Robe Ancestor's ascent to the fifth realm really had this great an impact?"

Feng Jihu nodded.

"Indeed. The Green Robe Ancestor is now truly extraordinary—but his greatness doesn't stem from his ascent to the fifth realm, but from his transformation into a true dragon. As for Yu Yang's situation, it has undergone a radical transformation over the past two years."

"Please, Elder, instruct me."

Cheng Xinzhan asked.

Feng Jihu continued:

"The Green Robe Ancestor now holds two identities: one as the Grand Master of the Southern Demon Cult, the other as the Demon Saint of the Southern Sea. He holds the former position solely because of the latter."

"Dragons are the sovereigns of all insects, scales, and armored creatures. By nature, they dominate such demonic beings. Combined with his own formidable demonic arts, every scaled and insectile creature along the southern coast and inland now obeys his command."

Feng Jihu sighed, then turned to Cheng Xinzhan:

"Xinzhan, have you heard of the Blood Coral Demon Palace in the Southern Sea?"

Cheng Xinzhan shook his head.

"No. I've been to the Eastern Sea, but I'm not familiar with the Southern Sea."

Feng Jihu said:

"Inside the Blood Coral Demon Palace of the Southern Sea dwell two demons—serpentine creatures who attained enlightenment, claiming dragon lineage. They're called the Southern Sea's Twin Evils: Hu Haitao and Hu Hailong. Both are fourth-rank demon kings, and in the coastal waters of the Southern Sea, they rule as local tyrants."

"After the Green Robe Ancestor transformed into a dragon and ventured into the sea, he subdued the Twin Evils, then relocated them to land, seizing Honglu Mountain at the Pearl River's estuary. It has since been renamed Nine Dragon Island. Day and night, they lead the Southern Sea's shrimp soldiers and crab generals in assaulting Yu Yang."

Cheng Xinzhan's expression turned grim—if demonic beasts from the sea attacked Yu Yang, defense would indeed be difficult.

Feng Jihu continued:

"In Zhaoqing Prefecture of Yu Yang, upstream along the Xijiang River, lies Dinghu Mountain. At its peak is a great lake called Dinghu Lake. Beside it stands an ancient Zen monastery called Qingyun Temple. Do you know this place, Xinzhan?"

Cheng Xinzhan nodded—he knew this place.

Dinghu Mountain, facing the river and lake, was a famous scenic site. But because it lay beside the Xijiang River and near the Southern Wastelands, it was also a primary target of the Southern Cult. When he was in Yu Yang, he had defended Qingyun Temple and repelled the invading demonic serpent.

"Has Qingyun Temple fallen?"

He asked.

Feng Jihu nodded.

"Yes. Worse still, the monks of Qingyun Temple were too tight-lipped—they kept one secret hidden until they fled the temple."

"What secret?"

"Beneath Dinghu Lake lies a coiled dragon."

"What?!"

Cheng Xinzhan was startled, but instantly understood—no wonder the demonic serpents had attacked Qingyun Temple so fiercely, while nearby Zushi Temple, Baolian Temple, and Qixing Observatory faced far fewer assaults. This explained it.

"What kind of dragon is it? What realm?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked rapidly.

Feng Jihu spoke with bitterness:

"A Li dragon—same kind as the Green Robe Ancestor. Its exact origins are unknown. The Qingyun monks only knew it was sealed by their founding abbot. But after the Southern Cult seized Dinghu Mountain, the Green Robe Ancestor personally went to Dinghu Lake and broke the seal, then immediately adopted it as his adopted son. Fourth realm!"

"This dragon now bears the Green Robe Ancestor's surname, Li, and is named Dongmiao. He has taken up residence on Dinghu Mountain as the lord of all Southern serpents—including Cao Jin now serves under him."

Cheng Xinzhan fell silent. A fourth-rank dragon in water was equivalent to a fifth-rank being. Clearly, with Li Dongmiao holding the upper Xijiang, and Hu Haitao and Hu Hailong controlling the Pearl River's estuary, the entire stretch of the Pearl River through Yu Yang—including half of Yu Yang west of the river—now belonged to the Southern Cult. The middle Xijiang had always been in the Southern Wastelands, and the small upper section in Dianwen had surely fallen as well.

Thus, the Green Robe Ancestor now held complete control over the entire waterway—from the Xijiang to the Pearl River's mouth.

A fifth-rank true dragon with no weaknesses.

"Anything else?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked.

"Yes."

Feng Jihu nodded and continued:

"In the Miao frontier's Xiang Commandery, within the Ten Thousand Mountains, lies a place called Shenxiang Well. There, giant elephant beasts, as large as hills, roam. Beneath the earth dwells a thousand-year-old elephant demon with dragon blood—called the Elephant Dragon."

"The Elephant Dragon was a reclusive demon king who had never left its underground caverns in Shenxiang Well for centuries. Yet the Green Robe Ancestor found it and summoned it forth. Since his transformation into a dragon, no enlightened scaled or dragon-blooded creature near his domain has escaped his notice."

"After emerging, the Elephant Dragon was assigned by the Green Robe Ancestor to guard the former stronghold of the Red-Haired Ancestor—Hongmu Ridge—and tasked with conquering the entire Miao frontier."

"More."

Feng Jihu, never one to speak mildly, continued:

"Have you heard of the Silkworm Immortal?"

Cheng Xinzhan nodded grimly—the name alone told him this was another insect demon who had attained enlightenment, like Wu Qingbo's Corpse Immortal.

He had heard during his travels in the Southern Frontier: this demon was a rogue master of the Miao frontier, well-regarded by the Miao people, honored as the Heavenly Silkworm Immortal Mother, also a fourth-rank being. Unlike the Red-Haired Ancestor, she never founded a sect, remaining semi-reclusive.

"She has also been recruited by the Green Robe Ancestor, switching from rogue sect to the Southern Demon Cult. Now she has established her own school on Jiuyi Mountain in southern Hunan, called the Heavenly Silkworm Sect. Many renowned Gu masters from the Miao frontier, Xiangxi, and even Dianwen now serve under her, spearheading the assault on the Three Xiang."

"Moreover, the Green Robe Ancestor has declared to his subordinates: whoever conquers the lands of Yu Yang, the Three Xiang, the Miao frontier, or Dianwen shall claim them as their own. Rewards will be given according to merit—territory and kingship for the victors!"

Cheng Xinzhan listened, nodding silently. Add Wu Qingbo, and the Green Robe Ancestor now commanded six fourth-rank loyalists—four of them dragon-blooded—backed by such promises. No wonder the Southern Cult had expanded so fiercely.

Then he suddenly remembered something else, his face darkening again:

"The Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Mantis?!"

Feng Jihu knew what he meant and shook his head:

"There's been no word of the Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Mantis yet. We suspect it is a primordial aberration, immensely powerful—even the Longmei True Person was gravely wounded in battle with it."

"Perhaps the sealing array is a celestial one, which the Green Robe Ancestor cannot find or break—or perhaps he has found it but dares not release it, deeming himself unable to subdue it."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, exhaling slightly in relief, yet said:

"This will still become a major problem eventually."

"Indeed."

Feng Jihu sighed as well.

They fell silent, gazing at each other. Cheng Xinzhan then turned to Wu Qingbo, who had been listening quietly, and asked:

"Qingbo, have you resolved all matters of your former life?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked.

Wu Qingbo nodded.

"Master, all is settled. From now on, there is no Long Boyan—only Wu Qingbo."

Cheng Xinzhan smiled and nodded, then reminded him:

"No more 'Master.' Call me Guanzhu."

Wu Qingbo hesitated.

But Cheng Xinzhan would not allow refusal:

"That's final."

Wu Qingbo could only bow his head in acceptance:

"Yes, Guanzhu."

Cheng Xinzhan studied him from head to toe, then asked:

"Have you purged your giant body and multi-limbed, multi-eyed form—or merely concealed them with transformation arts?"

Wu Qingbo now stood as a towering giant, but compared to his former towering stature and six arms with twelve eyes, he appeared almost normal. Yet at such close range, even with his magical eyes active, Cheng Xinzhan could not perceive Wu Qingbo's original form.

"They're still there."

Wu Qingbo explained: "The Corpse Pavilion legacy includes a transformation technique that allows complete control over the corpse's outward appearance—true divine transformation, not mere illusion."

"That's good."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded repeatedly—he had been right to give Wu Qingbo all the Corpse Pavilion cultivation methods from the cave.

"You're from the Hunan-Miao region, and you came from there. Do you know anything about the Elephant Dragon or the Silkworm Immortal?"

Wu Qingbo nodded:

"I know Shenxiang Well in southern Miao's Xiang Commandery—it's the elephant clan's territory, a mysterious place. But until recently, I only knew of three-rank great demons there. I'd never heard of a fourth-rank Elephant Dragon until last year, when it suddenly seized Hongmu Ridge."

"As for the Silkworm Immortal, I know her well. She was already renowned long ago, dwelling in secrecy in the Bailing Valley at the Miao-Dian border. Many Miao tribes once sought her for the Gu mother's blessings and owed her favors."

Here, Wu Qingbo glanced at Cheng Xinzhan and added cautiously:

"I don't know if you're aware, but in Wuling, the Miao frontier, and even Dianwen, though Gu masters are classified as rogue sects, many have joined the Demon Cult. More often than not, rogue and demon sects are indistinguishable."

"When the orthodox sects flourish, Gu masters dare not kill indiscriminately, so they claim to be rogue. But when the demon path runs rampant, they naturally become demon sects—after all, feeding Gu with human blood yields results far faster than any spiritual substance…"

Cheng Xinzhan understood, and said:

"So now that the Southern Cult is dominant and the Silkworm Immortal has openly joined the Demon Cult, all rogue sects in the Miao frontier must be switching allegiances? Even the Three Kings Temple?"

Wu Qingbo slowly nodded, then glanced at Feng Jihu and said:

"I have a new piece of information—something even Feng Daozhang may not know."

"What information?"

Both asked at once.

"It's already the Awakening of Insects season, but the spring thunder has yet to sound in the Miao frontier. Without spring thunder, the hibernating insects won't awaken—and the Miao people will have no new Gu to use."

"The Green Robe Ancestor's doing?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked immediately—only a fifth-rank true dragon could interfere with the spring thunder of an entire region.

Wu Qingbo nodded.

"It can only be him. Also, this year, as usual, the various Miao villages went to Bailing Valley to seek the Gumu for breeding, but Bailing Valley only granted them to the Demon Cult Miao, turning away all other Miao sects."

Both men felt their hearts sink further.

"So, just today, at the Awakening of Insects, as dawn broke, the Three Kings Temple has already declared: if Green Robe will lay down his ancient feud with Red-Haired Ancestor, restrain the Zhuang people of the Southern Wastes from massacring the Miao, and allow the Miao to live as they always have, then the Miao are willing to pledge allegiance to Green Robe, cease supporting the Green Dragon Cave, Immortal Cave, and Fuxia Lake, and even permit the Southern Sect to pass through and invade Shunan."

Wu Qingbo said.

"Did Green Robe respond?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked, though he already suspected the answer.

Wu Qingbo nodded.

"Green Robe immediately appeared, swore by the Xijiang River: if the Miao submit, he will treat them well. The moment he spoke, heaven and earth responded—spring thunder cracked, light blazed across the southern frontier, the Xijiang surged, and both banks witnessed it."

Hearing this, Cheng Xinzhan and Feng Jihu's hearts sank to the very bottom.

Cheng Xinzhan further thought: Hong Changbao should still be in seclusion, using secret methods to break through his realm—but now, could he even live to see his emergence?

After Wu Qingbo finished speaking, the group sat in silence for a long while, until dawn broke.

The faint morning light suddenly jolted Cheng Xinzhan from his thoughts; he seemed to have forgotten all the demonic news he'd heard, his face no longer shadowed with worry—he slapped his own head and said to the acolyte,

"Boy, go arrange rooms for the Daoist brother and Qingbo. They've traveled far; they deserve rest. It's my fault for talking so much and keeping them up all night."

The two acolytes had been sitting on pins and needles in the silent temple; upon hearing this, they immediately rose—one to escort Feng Jihu, the other Wu Qingbo.

Feng Jihu and Wu Qingbo stood, following the acolytes to rest; as they passed Cheng Xinzhan, Feng Jihu lightly patted his shoulder twice.

Cheng Xinzhan smiled in reply.

After the two left, Cheng Xinzhan rose as well, picked up the "Golden Fire Divine Thunder Blade" from its rack, and went to the back courtyard.

He sat by the fire pit, tossed the flying sword into it, and the leaping earth fire naturally lifted and cradled the blade.

He felt a pang of nostalgia: decades ago, when he first descended the mountain to travel, he had been in the Qilihe marketplace, at the border of the Miao lands and Southern Wastes, removing filth from the weapons of orthodox and heterodox Miao.

That filth was concocted by the Southern Sect demons from a mess of foul substances; its proper name he'd forgotten, but he remembered the Miao called it "Black Mud."

Who would have thought, decades later, he'd be doing the same task again—only now, the filth was no longer "Black Mud," but "Yin Xu Ghost Lantern Curse."

Yet the method of purification remained the same: Yang Fire. Of course, decades had passed—the boy in Qilihe who could barely absorb spiritual energy had become the famed Master of Ten Thousand Methods, and the Yang Fire in his hands was no longer comparable to what it once was.

He wondered what had become of the Miao who once came to him for purification.

He flicked his finger, sending a speck of Yang Fire straight onto the green stain. The curse-fire was venomous, clinging like maggots to bone—but Yang Fire was ruthless, burning all it touched; before Yang Fire, the curse-fire was merely fuel.

The difficulty lay in the curse-fire's thin layer: while burning it, he had to carefully control the ferocious Yang Fire so as not to overstimulate or damage the flying sword.

Cheng Xinzhan stared intently at the blade, carefully guiding the Yang Fire; golden flames reflected in his pupils, flickering and dancing—as if revealing his inner turmoil, far from the calm he outwardly showed.

(End of Chapter)