Chapter 828: with translation of chapter title

Nan Ting Mountain Region, Wan Dao Mountain Range, Profound Gate Main Hall!

Profound Gate Sect Master Chu Shanhe's finger joints turned white as he clenched tightly the battle report jade slip that had just arrived; the image on the jade slip still flickered—Heaven Punishment Palace's mountain-guarding array shattered like glass under the barrage of the demon tribe's spirit cannons, and even at the final moment of Chi Xiaozi's self-detonating sword pellet, it could not halt the advance of the steel torrent.

"Three hundred li away……one strike breaks the formation……" Chu Shanhe's voice sounded as if squeezed from between his teeth.

The hall was utterly silent.

The Heaven Punishment Palace's immortal array had long been renowned in the cultivation world, yet the battle report clearly stated that the demon tribe's "earth-splitting cannon" fired three volleys in unison, and the Heaven Punishment Palace's array was actually broken!

"Sect Master……" the Elder beside him said with a hoarse voice, "If the demon tribe of the Nan Ting Mountain Region brings this weapon to attack our Wan Dao Mountain Range……"

He didn't finish, but everyone understood the unspoken words.

Chu Shanhe slowly raised his head, gazing at the mist-wreathed mountains outside the hall. There, the Profound Gate's mountain-guarding array turned silently, its light brilliant. Yet at this moment, that light in his eyes…… appeared so fragile.

"Summon the other sect masters, have them come to Profound Gate for discussion! Also invite the Sect Master of the Fa Tian Sect!"

"Sect Master! The Fa Tian Sect sent word that starting today they have closed their mountains!"

"What?!"

Chu Shanhe's face changed drastically, "You Fa Tian Sect's people are all dead in Zhong Tian Zhi Yu, and you don't care?"

Just close the mountain..... hiss.....

Chu Shanhe thought of a terrifying guess.

Bei Chuan Ice Region, inside the Great Snow Palace.

On a table carved from profound ice, a recording stone repeatedly played the same scene: three thousand wolf demon gunners formed ranks and fired in unison, spirit power beams pouring down like a violent rain, Heaven Punishment Palace disciples collapsed in swaths, their flying swords shattered before they could be drawn.

"Boom!"

The Palace Master of the Great Snow Palace, Bing Wuchen, shattered the profound ice table with a single palm, sending forth a chill.

"Is this what you called 'the demon tribe not worth worrying about'?" He coldly swept his gaze over the officers in the hall.

No one dared to speak.

Bei Chuan cultivators were famed for their fearlessness, and the Heaven Punishment Palace was even a major power in the Bei Chuan Ice Region! Yet the recording stone's image told them that past battles had become history; even if Heaven Punishment Palace cultivators fought one against a hundred, they were useless before the barrage of spirit gun fire.

"Issue the order." Bing Wuchen's voice was icy, "Starting today, all cities in the Bei Chuan Ice Region enter a state of war readiness, recalling all disciples training abroad."

He paused, a hint of unprecedented gravity flashing in his eyes:

"Moreover……send people to the West Sand River Basin to investigate exactly how these weapons fell into the demon tribe's hands!"

How could those bald donkeys of the West Sand River Basin dare to sell such caliber spirit guns and spirit cannons to the demon tribe of Zhong Tian Zhi Yu?!

In other words, if the people of the West Sand River Basin dare to sell to the demon tribe of Zhong Tian Zhi Yu, then the demon tribe on our Bei Chuan Ice Region side.....

West Sand River Basin.

Twelve city lords of the imperial cities and the abbots of the major temples sat around the round table, the air so still it seemed almost able to drip water.

On the table lay a spirit-energy rifle engraved with "Great Hero City", its barrel's cooling runes still faintly glowing—this was the "spoil of war" they had just bought back from the black market at a sky-high price.

"Confirmed……" the city lord of Great Hero City said in a hoarse voice, "This is indeed our design from three years ago, but……" his trembling finger pointed to the barrel's interior, "these modifications……how could the demon tribe possibly have done them?!"

Everyone fell silent.

Although the cultivation world of the West Sand River Basin is mainly controlled jointly by the imperial cities and temples, most of it is actually dominated by the various temples; few imperial cities can break free from temple control to become independent. Yet now, the spirit guns and spirit cannons produced by Great Hero City have fallen into the hands of the demon tribe, and have been further enhanced, completing a technological turnover!

"The poor monk thinks the city lord of Great Hero City wouldn't be so foolish as to sell the latest technology spirit guns and spirit cannons to the demon tribe; there is only one possibility." An elderly monk beside them closed his eyes and said.

The demon tribe has already mastered independent production capability, even overcoming the technical bottleneck!

"Immediately halt all external spirit-weapon trade!" the imperial city cultivator beside them sprang up, "Moreover……" a flicker of fear crossed his eyes, "send people to Zhong Tian Zhi Yu……we must know just how much more the demon tribe still hides!"

Dongxing Sea Region, Sun and Moon Palace.

The sea wind howled, the current palace master of the Sun and Moon Palace, Zhao Dahai, stood alone on the balcony, a message jade slip in his hand slowly turning to powder.

The message on the jade slip was simple: at the border of the Otherworldly Race Continent, the human cultivators' garrisons collapsed entirely; wherever the demon tribe's spirit cannons reached, the mountain gates were utterly destroyed, not a blade of grass grew.

Zhao Dahai slowly raised his gaze toward the northern Frigid Ocean.

"So that's how it is……" he murmured to himself.

Three months earlier, patrolling cultivators of the Dongxing Sea Region had reported frequent spiritual anomalies in the skies over the Frigid Ocean; at the time they thought it was the demon tribe practicing secret arts, or that something had happened on the Otherworldly Race side.

But now, everything makes sense.

They were testing the spirit cannon!

"Pass the order down." Zhao Dahai suddenly spoke, his voice clear amid the sea wind, "All cultivators at Nascent Soul realm and above……prepare for battle immediately!"

The elders behind him all shuddered: "Palace Master, we have finally stabilized the situation in the Turbulent Sea, and now we must......"

Zhao Dahai offered no explanation, merely gazing silently at the place where sea meets sky.

There, the first ray of dawn was piercing the darkness……like the blazing white trace left when a spirit cannon fires.

Zhong Tian Zhi Yu.

Countless cultivators who learned that the demon tribe had broken through the human defenses of the Otherworldly Race Continent felt profound shock.

Is the demon tribe really this strong?

"That spirit gun can't even break my protective spirit aura—how could it......"

"I heard the demon tribe trained all those little demons into soldiers, each issued a spirit gun, either firing in midair to form a barrage, or using spirit cannons to bombard formations, causing countless loose cultivators to perish, and even the forces sent from the other four regions were wiped out!"

"Is it really that outrageous?"

"Is this spirit gun really that effective? Never mind that the bullet trajectory is easy to detect; the bullet's power weakens with distance upon leaving the barrel—it couldn't possibly cause such a huge defeat."

Many cultivators never went to the battlefield themselves, and thus did not know that the demon tribe's spirit guns and spirit cannons had already undergone technological innovation, and that under mass deployment, even those little demons originally lacking combat power had become formidable forces capable of swaying the battle!

For the human cultivators of high rank, they also had to face the demon tribe's strong supporters who dared to come; a single exchange, and the human side, unprepared, suffered a great loss, allowing the demon tribe to smoothly invade the Otherworldly Race Continent, driving the human forces out completely.

However, the demon tribe did not press the attack; instead, during this period they planned to swiftly seize the Otherworldly Race Continent, forcing many Otherworldly Race beings to submit to them, while sending some Otherworldly Race spies into human territory to conduct reconnaissance and espionage.

The smoke of war had already drifted over long before its start; many cultivators knew of it, yet for a moment they could not regain their senses.

And the powers that sensed danger had long stationed their own cultivators at the borders, preparing to defend against the demon tribe's invasion.

"What's there to fear? The demon tribe has no sages—do they really dare to invade our lands?"

"Also."

"But what if the demon tribe really attacks?"

"Sage's Dao Field, isn't anyone from the three sects going to come out and say a few words?"

"Just when many people were feeling somewhat panicked, the three sects jointly issued a statement in the Heavenly Spirit Realm."

"The Dao Ancestor Observatory will not take part in the human-demon war; effective today, it is closing its mountains!"

"The Heaven Sealing Tower will not take part in the human-demon war; effective today, it is closing its doors!"

"The Lin Tian Academy will not take part in the human-demon war."