Chapter 2030: Great Victory

Chapter Ten: The Demon Realm War

"Hmm, that late-stage Demon Venerable was indeed very tricky, but I have already slain him..." Han Li saw no need to conceal this and nodded with a calm smile.

"Fellow Daoist Han has truly achieved an unparalleled feat. We are sure to win this battle!" The silver-haired elder's last trace of worry vanished upon hearing this, and he exclaimed with wild joy. Then, without a second thought, he took a deep breath and suddenly roared, "The Demon Race's Saint Ancestor has been slain by us! What more can you demon spawn do? Utter annihilation is your only fate!" The elder's voice echoed like thunder across the entire battlefield, clearly heard by almost both humans and demons.

Upon hearing this, the human side naturally cheered, their morale instantly soaring several times over. The demon side, however, fell into a commotion. When the high-level Demon Venerables' gazes swept towards the elder, they indeed found no trace of the blood-robed youth or the large demon. A wave of horror immediately swept through their hearts, and they couldn't help but feel a sense of confusion.

Seeing this, the silver-haired elder and Zen Master Jinyue immediately formed hand seals, rushing with several treasures towards the nearest battle group. There, two elders from Tianyuan City and two Demon Venerables were locked in an inextricable struggle. Upon seeing the two formidable newcomers, they exchanged a startled glance, their expressions changing.

"Go!" one of the elders in green demonic armor suddenly uttered a low shout.

The other Demon Venerable, engulfed in black mist, coldly snorted without a word, then rubbed his hands together and thrust them forward. A loud roar erupted! Innumerable black lightning and firebolts lashed out, forcing the two human elders opposite them to temporarily retreat. He then tossed out a hand, and a dark wooden boat appeared in mid-air. With a flash, he instantly appeared on it. The wooden boat roared, transforming into a black rainbow, and shot away into the distance.

As for the green-armored elder, he had already revealed a green banner. With a fierce shake, a hazy green light burst forth, engulfing his figure. A flash of green light, and he vanished from the spot without a trace. The next moment, hundreds of yards away, space rippled, and a faint figure flickered into existence, but as the green light flared again, he once more disappeared. These two Demon Venerables fled without hesitation.

Their opponents, the two Tianyuan City elders, were naturally unwilling to let them go. After jointly dispelling the black lightning and fire, they were about to pursue them using their escape lights. But just then, the silver-haired elder and Zen Master Jinyue flashed nearby and immediately stopped them.

"Fellow Daoists, there's no need to concern yourselves with these retreating Demon Venerables for now. It's more important to assist other fellow Daoists!" The silver-haired elder transmitted a few words with subtly moving lips. Then, his escape light shifted, and he lunged towards another battle group. The two elders immediately understood. They extinguished their thoughts of relentless pursuit and went to support other battle groups.

In the blink of an eye, the entire demon army fell into complete disarray! Many Demon Venerables, seeing the unfavorable situation, immediately fled backward. Some, desperate and fierce, still attempted to lead their teams in continued fighting, but they were quickly surrounded by the joint human and monster cultivators who had now freed themselves. They were either slain on the spot or severely wounded and forced to escape.

As for the lower-tier demons, without the command and leadership of Demon Venerables, their hearts were filled with panic. They lost the will to attack the city and retreated in disarray, leading to an unstoppable rout. Despite their heavy losses, the human and monster races, with their morale greatly boosted, surged out of the city and pursued the retreating forces.

For a time, cries of battle echoed for tens of thousands of miles around, as countless demons fled in panic. Behind them, various brilliant lights relentlessly pursued, covering the sky. From time to time, low and mid-tier demons were swept by the lights, falling like dumplings, their fates unknown.

Han Li did not join Zen Master Jinyue and others in confronting the Demon Venerables. Instead, he quietly remained in place, observing the entire process of the demon army's collapse. When he saw all the demons fleeing the vicinity of Tianyuan City, pursued by the human and monster races like ducks, vanishing without a trace from the nearby void in the blink of an eye, he finally let out a long breath.

Under these circumstances, the demon army's defeat was truly sealed. Even if another Demon Race Saint Ancestor avatar were to descend at this moment, there would be no room for recovery. Han Li lingered for a moment longer. Seeing that most of the guards had chased further and further away, he then flashed with green light and, taking the Leopard-Lined Beast with him, shot towards the city.

Meanwhile, ordinary inhabitants and rogue cultivators of both human and monster races within the entire city had learned of the demon's crushing defeat. The giant city erupted in cheers, with numerous low-tier cultivators rushing out of their dwellings to express their boundless joy. For a time, the streets and low-altitude areas were teeming with people, bustling with activity.

Seeing this, Han Li, though usually as calm as still water, couldn't help but feel great satisfaction. However, he had no intention of lingering and continued to rush towards his dwelling. Not long after, he spotted his stone pagoda in the distance. With a flash of his escape light, he unhesitatingly entered it directly. He did not return to his top-floor residence but instead directly used a spell to escape into a secret chamber over a hundred yards deep at the base of the stone pagoda.

After activating the restrictions and giving a few instructions to the Leopard-Lined Beast, Han Li immediately entered meditation to regulate his breath. His vitality was severely depleted, and various medicinal energies were clashing within his body. The situation was naturally not optimistic, so the sooner he recovered, the better. Therefore, he didn't even wait for the silver-haired elder and others to return victorious, but instead went straight back to his residence to seclude himself.

While Han Li was in seclusion, the cultivators of both human and monster races, led by numerous Body Integration cultivators, relentlessly pursued the defeated demon army for three days and three nights. Although few Demon Venerables were slain during this pursuit, at least fifty to sixty percent of the mid- and low-tier demons were annihilated. The Tianyuan City army had achieved a truly significant victory, and everyone excitedly began their journey back. Of course, to prevent the demon army from resurfacing, the silver-haired elder and others still arranged a considerable number of personnel to continue monitoring the movements of the remaining demons.

Upon returning to the city, all those who had fought were warmly welcomed by those who remained. A grand victory banquet was held throughout the city to celebrate. Almost everyone in the city participated in this magnificent celebration.

What many people didn't know, however, was that a group of Tianyuan City elders did not join the festivities. Instead, they, along with several other Body Integration cultivators who had participated in the battle, began a secret meeting in a hidden hall. Among them were Body Integration envoys who had secretly come from Sacred Island to provide support, as well as a few ascetic cultivators from Tianyuan City who had always maintained a low profile.

At this moment, the group of Body Integration experts had just finished listening to the silver-haired elder recount how the blood-light avatar had been devoured by tens of thousands of insects. Each of them couldn't help but reveal expressions of shock.

"Gold Devouring Beetles, and mature ones at that! It's truly incredible that someone cultivated tens of thousands of these fierce insects," a yellow-faced man with a full black beard murmured. "So, the blood-light Saint Ancestor avatar and that even more formidable late-stage Demon Venerable both met their end at the hands of Fellow Daoist Han."

"To my shame, I couldn't play a significant role in this battle. In the early stages, I merely entangled the old demon's avatar with Master Jinyue for a while," the silver-haired elder said with a wry smile. "Later, it was only by relying on Fellow Daoist Han's Gold Devouring Beetles that we managed to kill the opponent. And even before that, Fellow Daoist Han had already dealt with another late-stage Demon Venerable."

"Brother Gu, why be so modest?" another old man with long, narrow eyes and green hair said thoughtfully. "If it weren't for the sacred treasures you and Master used, even if Fellow Daoist Han could activate his Gold Devouring Beetles, it would have been extremely difficult to truly catch up to that Saint Ancestor's avatar."

"Elder Cui, that Tai Chi Sacred Treasure was a gift from Lord Mo Jianli before he departed. I would never dare to claim credit for it!" the silver-haired elder said, shaking his head repeatedly upon hearing this.

"How easy is it to activate a Profound Sky Sacred Treasure? Brother Gu and Master also had to risk depleting their vital essence to achieve this," the old man chuckled. "How can you say you have no credit? If even that doesn't count, then we should truly feel ashamed."

The silver-haired elder and Zen Master Jinyue naturally continued to decline the praise.

At this moment, a woman in a light blue long dress smiled charmingly and spoke, "There's no need to elaborate on Brother Gu and Master's contributions. Their painstaking planning before the battle alone already makes their contributions paramount. However, hearing what you've said, Fellow Daoist Han's divine abilities are truly extraordinary. He could probably rank among the top five cultivators of our two races. I absolutely must meet such a figure. But where is Fellow Daoist Han now?"

"Indeed, Madam Shui is quite right. I also wish to meet him," someone else immediately chimed in.

"Fellow Daoists, it might be somewhat inconvenient to meet Brother Han right now," the silver-haired elder slowly explained. "Because Fellow Daoist Han also expended a considerable amount of vitality in this battle, he immediately entered seclusion upon returning to the city. That's why I didn't ask him to come to this gathering."

"I see," the woman in the blue dress said, a look of regret on her face. "Then my words were a bit rash. I shall wait for Fellow Daoist Han to emerge from seclusion before personally visiting him." Several others present also showed a hint of regret, but naturally, they said nothing more.

"Although Fellow Daoist Han's contribution to this battle was significant, our city was primarily saved from disaster by all of your great assistance," the silver-haired elder said with a solemn expression, cupping his hands to the others. "I won't offer too many words of thanks. In the future, should Tianyuan City ever be of use to any of you, just say the word, and our city will repay you with all its might." The other Tianyuan City elders also rose and made similar pledges. Hearing these words, the other Body Integration cultivators couldn't help but show joy on their faces. A promise of this kind, coming from figures like the silver-haired elder, was no small matter and would certainly be very useful in the future. They immediately responded with increased courtesy.

"Although we won this great battle, we must not let down our guard," the silver-haired elder said, his expression darkening slightly. "After all, those Demon Venerables and nearly half of the demon army are still intact. If that blood-light Saint Ancestor were to harden his heart and send another avatar to the Spirit Realm, we might have to face another bitter struggle. To prevent this, our city must no longer remain on the defensive. We must seize this opportunity of our great victory to launch a proactive attack and continue pursuing the remaining demon army. We must not give these remnants any chance to regroup."