Chapter 1907: Battle Between Humans and Demons (Part 1)

**Volume Ten: War in the Demon Realm**

Han Li narrowed his eyes, gazing at the white jade palace high in the sky. After a moment of thought, his escape light flickered, and he flew straight towards it.

Before he even truly approached the palace, those within had already spotted his escape light.

Immediately, a dozen or so green-armored guards, led by a golden-armored Celestial Guard, flew out from above and cautiously approached him.

"May I ask if you are Senior Han? We have been ordered by the elders to respectfully welcome you to the Star-Gazing Platform." The golden-armored guard, after scanning Han Li's face, immediately halted his escape light, bowed, and inquired.

"Yes, it is I," Han Li replied calmly, retracting his escape light to reveal his form. "Lead the way."

"Yes, Senior, please!" the golden-armored guard said respectfully, stepping aside.

The other armored guards also respectfully parted to either side, standing at attention behind him.

Han Li didn't stand on ceremony. Surrounded by the guards, he flew directly towards a tall platform of the palace.

On this platform, Zen Master Jinyue and several Tianyuan City elders, whom Han Li had previously met, were looking down, gazing towards the Demon Race outside Tianyuan City.

But as soon as they saw Han Li flying over, smiles appeared on their faces as they greeted him.

"Fellow Daoist Han, you've finally arrived," Zen Master Jinyue said with great concern, after uttering a Buddhist chant. Being the most familiar with Han Li, he continued, "This time, the Demon Race is advancing with fierce momentum; it's quite different from the last demonic tribulation. It seems the rumors are truly not false!"

"What? Have many high-level Demon Race members appeared?" Han Li asked calmly, his heart tightening, though he showed no emotion on his face.

"You'll know the situation once you see it, Fellow Daoist," Zen Master Jinyue replied, pointing into the distance.

Han Li's eyebrow twitched, and without a word, he also looked in that direction.

From such a high vantage point, the situation outside the city walls, previously unclear, now fully came into view.

Just tens of miles outside the city walls, as far as the eye could see, were formations of grotesque demonic beasts. Some exhaled mist, others growled incessantly; their sheer numbers sent shivers down one's spine.

And in the center of these numerous demonic beasts, five colossal creatures, whose bodies resembled mountains, lay semi-prostrate on the ground, surveying Tianyuan City with sinister gazes.

They were a crimson giant ape, two milky-white giant snails, a black giant bird with steel-blade wings, and a three-headed purple python.

Other demonic beasts near these five colossal creatures kept their distance, seemingly greatly afraid of them as well.

However, compared to these five colossal demonic beasts, Han Li was more concerned with the figures floating above them, each dressed in different attire.

From a distance, they looked no different from humans, but their bodies radiated demonic qi. Numbering around ten thousand, each appeared to possess cultivation at the God Transformation or Void Refinement stage, making them an extremely formidable force.

"Hmm, these people are..." Han Li's eyes flashed. He vaguely recalled something but felt somewhat doubtful.

"If we haven't guessed wrong," Elder Gu, who was in white robes, replied with a sigh, "these people should be original human cultivators who ascended from various Human Realms below to the True Demon Realm. However, they cultivated demonic arts as their primary method, and now they've been corrupted by demonic qi in the Demon Realm for so many years; they can no longer be considered members of our race."

"In previous Demon Race invasions, these demonic humans never appeared on the battlefield to directly attack our race," Silverlight Fairy said slowly, her silver mask still in place, her gaze solemn. "It seems this demonic tribulation is truly extraordinary. Could it be that the Demon Race is determined to win this invasion, even deploying them?"

"These people are indeed quite troublesome," Han Li said, after gazing at the demonic humans for a while, a frown suddenly appearing on his face. "But compared to them, I'm more interested in knowing where the high-level Demon Race members responsible for Tianyuan City are this time."

"The high-level Demon Race members are all hidden within the demonic qi," Zen Master Jinyue interjected. "A few moments ago, some revealed their presence, but now they've all retreated. It seems they intend to conserve their strength within the demonic qi before attacking our city."

"Then, Master, have you seen any Demon Saint-level beings?" Han Li pressed immediately, his expression hardening.

"No Demon Saints have been spotted yet," Zen Master Jinyue said, after a moment of hesitation, giving his assessment. "However, among the high-level Demon Race members who showed themselves earlier, there were indeed several Integration-stage cultivators. And judging by their immense power, it's highly likely they exist. But the Demon Realm has only just begun to encroach upon the Spirit Realm, and the power of the realm barrier is still immense. The true bodies of Demon Saints cannot break through the barrier yet; even if one appears, it would only be an avatar."

"If it's just an avatar, Tianyuan City's preparations should be able to handle it easily," Han Li said, his expression relaxing, a hint of relief in his tone.

"I hope so," Elder Gu, in white robes, said with great concern. Having experienced the last demonic tribulation, he knew the Demon Race's terror well. "What we see now is only a small portion of the Demon Race's forces. These numerous low-level demonic beasts are merely cannon fodder for the Demon Race's attack. The true Ancient Devil Clan and the Demon Race's elites have yet to appear."

"At this point, we can only take one step at a time," Silverlight Fairy said with a cold snort. "Tianyuan City's defenses are second to none among human factions. If even we cannot withstand the Demon Race's attack, other cities would surely have no chance. Moreover, according to previous intelligence, Spirit Emperor City is the Demon Race's main target, and the number of demonic armies appearing there is said to be several times greater than ours."

"Fairy, what you said is true," Zen Master Jinyue said, a broad smile appearing on his face. "Even if the Demon Race is fierce this time, as long as we work together, we are confident we can overcome this tribulation. Aside from anything else, the restrictive formations and fortresses we've set up in the outer perimeter alone are enough to eliminate most of the demonic beasts."

"That's true!" the black-robed man, who had been silent until now, spoke in a cold voice, seemingly very confident in Tianyuan City's defenses. "Tianyuan City was originally capable of defending against allied attacks from foreign races, and now, after nearly a thousand years of our special arrangements, I truly don't believe it can't withstand the Demon Race's attack."

Listening to the discussion of the Integration-stage cultivators beside him, Han Li smiled, but blue light flickered in his eyes as he continuously scanned the distant demonic qi.

This demonic qi was clearly no ordinary substance. With his Spirit Eyes divine ability, after penetrating merely a li or so, everything became blurry, and he couldn't discern anything clearly.

He could only vaguely discern various flying magical artifacts, resembling battle chariots and flying vehicles, spread throughout, along with some armored guards mixed within them.

A cold glint flashed in Han Li's eyes. Just as he was about to mobilize his internal magic power to push his Spirit Eyes divine ability to its limit and see what else he could discern, a chilling gaze from deep within the demonic qi suddenly met his own. With incredible speed, it traced his line of sight directly to his true location.

Han Li's heart tightened. Without hesitation, he immediately cut off his Spirit Eyes divine ability, and his face grew somewhat grim.

Simultaneously, from a huge beast-drawn carriage deep within the demonic qi, a soft exclamation of surprise was heard.

A withered old man, clad in a green robe with a full head of yellow hair, also retracted some divine ability as the red light in his eyes receded.

"What's wrong, Old Green? Did you see anything interesting with your divine eyes?"

Another purple-armored man, his face covered in black spots, who stood beside him, asked with a chuckle.

"No," the old man replied indifferently, "it's just that there seems to be a high-level human cultivator on their side who also possesses a divine eye ability. I startled them away just now."

"Oh, they also possess divine eyes?" the purple-armored man asked hurriedly, startled. "Then wouldn't all our arrangements be seen clearly by them?"

"Rest assured, Venerable Shi," the green-robed old man said, shaking his head. "I have already laid down profound restrictions within the demonic qi using the Chaos Demonic Banner bestowed by His Lordship, the Demon Saint. Even if that person's divine eye ability is formidable, they won't be able to see anything. However, the other side seems to have also laid down equally powerful concealing restrictions, so I couldn't discern the city's defensive measures."

"It doesn't matter, as long as we haven't revealed our true situation," the purple-armored demon said, his eyes faintly glowing. "After all, we are only responsible for probing the city's defenses. Tsk, tsk, our luck is truly good; the place we landed has such a large prey. If we can plunder this place, the gains would be immense, as you can imagine."

"Heh heh, Venerable Shi, don't underestimate this city," the green-robed old man said with a frown. "According to the captured human mortals, this is a giant city where the elites of both the human and demon races gather. Even if we can capture it, the losses will definitely not be small."

"Since it's a Holy Sacrifice, some casualties among our kin are normal," the purple-armored demon said, seemingly unconcerned, finally speaking with a wave of his hand. "Alright, as for how to capture this city, His Lordship, the Demon Saint, has his own plans. All we need to do is follow orders. It's getting late; let's begin the attack on the city. Although we don't expect to take the city in one go, we must at least ascertain most of its defenses."

"This operation is led by Venerable Shi," the green-robed old man said, with no intention of arguing further, giving a slight nod. "Since Venerable thinks we can start, then let's begin."

Seeing that his companion had no objection, the purple-armored demon's eyes immediately flashed with excitement. After a sinister grin towards Tianyuan City, he suddenly flipped his hand, and rows of dark small banners appeared in his grasp.

These small banners were only seven or eight inches long, but each was inscribed with different eerie patterns and emitted extremely pure demonic qi fluctuations.

The purple-armored demon immediately formed a hand seal with one hand and lightly pointed at two of the small banners.

Two whooshing sounds were heard as the two small banners surprisingly vanished into thin air with a flicker.

The next moment, among the demonic beast army on the ground, there was a commotion among the two leading groups of beasts. Then, two distinctly different massive roars suddenly erupted.

These two types of demonic beasts immediately had fierce light flashing in their eyes and began advancing towards Tianyuan City.

Simultaneously, in Tianyuan City's aerial palace, Elder Gu, in white robes, witnessed this scene. His heart tightened, and he hastily ordered the nearby guards:

"It's the Two-Headed Demon Lizards and the Venomous Demon Worms! Tell the people defending the front lines to be extra careful."