Chapter 319: Falling Moon Canyon

The sky was a clear blue, devoid of clouds.

The morning light generously spilled across the land, illuminating the main city of the Eight Sect Alliance.

A roar echoed across the heavens, sending ripples through the firmament. A black lizard dragon, with enormous wings, burst forth from the Seven Blood Eyes' mountain gate, soaring into the sky and whipping up a furious wind.

Initially, the lizard dragon's body measured only a hundred zhang, but in the very next moment, as it soared through the sky, it visibly expanded with a shake of its massive form.

It continued to grow, quickly surpassing a thousand zhang, until it revealed a colossal body over six thousand zhang in length!

The sight was staggering, and when its wings fully spread, they seemed to blot out the sun, casting a vast shadow.

A terrifying aura emanated from it, altering the very winds and clouds and stirring up a growing storm.

From a distance, countless structures were visible on the black lizard dragon's back.

Pavilions dotted its surface, and numerous figures could be seen within.

Xu Qing was among them.

This lizard dragon was one of the Seven Master's three great wings. The individuals on its back were all Seven Blood Eyes disciples participating in this blood-slaying mission.

Not all of them participated out of loyalty or camaraderie; many were motivated by the mission's substantial rewards.

This was a fundamental rule of the Seven Blood Eyes sect: while it had its downsides, in times of chaos, its benefits far outweighed its drawbacks.

Directly in front of Xu Qing, atop the highest pavilion, stood two figures.

They were none other than the Seven Master and Patriarch Blood Refiner.

The two stood against the wind, their robes flapping loudly. Their eyes held a fierce glint, and their rising killing intent manifested as waves of intense cold.

This time, they would personally lead the attack. Furthermore, after the lizard dragon, the Sixth Peak itself slowly transformed into a war fortress amidst a roaring rumble, rising into the sky.

The enormous mountain peak exuded a heavy pressure, allowing all who witnessed it to feel its divine martial might.

Most of the Sixth Peak disciples, whether driven by their bond with the Six Master or by personal gain, mobilized for the attack.

In this coordinated operation, the Lingyun Sword Sect, the Xuanyou Sect, and the Hunt-Abnormalities Sect also launched their attacks simultaneously.

With all four sects mobilized, their respective patriarchs leading the charge, the Eight Sect Alliance also activated the forbidden artifacts of all eight sects simultaneously, preparing for battle.

As these forbidden fluctuations reverberated, nine massive ancient bronze swords soared out from the Lingyun Sword Sect, carrying the Lingyun Patriarch and their Sect Master, brimming with murderous intent.

From the direction of the Hunt-Abnormalities Sect, a monstrous, bizarre eye, seven to eight thousand zhang across, menacingly materialized in the sky. This eye seemed to contain an entire cosmos, within which countless figures of Hunt-Abnormalities cultivators could be seen.

The Xuanyou Sect’s display was even grander: an astonishing tombstone rose directly into the air.

This tombstone bore blood-red runic script, and upon its appearance, it exuded an immeasurable sense of ancientness and the passage of time. Immortal Zixuan stood atop the monument, with a vast number of Xuanyou Sect disciples arrayed behind him.

After the four sects had successively ascended, the sky churned, and the Alliance Leader's colossal face, obscuring the heavens, appeared. His eyes, deep and profound, gazed into the distance.

"It has been confirmed that among the many secret strongholds of the Candlelight in Yinghuang State, four have been verified as authentic. Therefore, today our alliance will launch an attack, with each of the four sects targeting one location, to eradicate the Candlelight cultivators and avenge our fallen comrades in the alliance!"

"The Alliance's forbidden artifacts are fully activated, poised to descend at any moment. Our alliance will coordinate the entire operation, overseeing all aspects."

"Furthermore, this battle has been reported to the Sword-Wielding Court, which regards it with extreme importance and will monitor the entire field. Should the Lord of Night Dove reappear today, he will certainly not escape calamity!"

"Additionally, the Sword-Wielding Court possesses certain methods to counter the light emanating from that box."

"Therefore, for this battle, attack!"

As the Alliance Leader's words resonated, the heavens and earth thundered, and the four sects each surged forward.

Teleportation arrays materialized across the landscape, whisking each sect to its designated location, striking all four targets simultaneously.

The Seven Blood Eyes chose the location where Saint Yunzi's traces had been discovered. Patriarch Blood Refiner, leveraging his authority as a member of the Elder Council, overruled the Lingyun Sword Sect and personally took charge of this particular target.

While the Candlelight and its master were the primary culprits behind the Sixth Master's death, Saint Yunzi and his father also assisted. Thus, the Seven Blood Eyes were absolutely resolved to eliminate both of them.

Saint Yunzi's whereabouts had been traced to the Shaosi Sect.

After the alliance destroyed the Shaosi Sect's dam, an unrevealed agreement between the alliance and the Tai Si Immortal Sect prevented the Tai Si Immortal Sect from taking drastic action. Instead, both parties tacitly accepted the situation and downplayed the incident.

The Shaosi Sect, having suffered the greatest losses, could only swallow the bitter pill and chose a new location to rebuild its stronghold.

Regardless, the Shaosi Sect was considered an external branch of the Tai Si Immortal Sect. To appease them, the Immortal Sect relaxed the restrictions on promotion quotas.

This led to a significant increase in their overall numbers. It's important to note that unlike other sects, the Tai Si Immortal Sect rarely recruited external disciples; most were admitted based on destiny, much like Li Zimei's entry, which was also a matter of fate.

Therefore, the sect's primary source of disciples was actually promotions from its hundreds of subordinate minor sects, with varying quotas and proportions based on each sect's strength.

Previously, the Shaosi Sect received only four quotas annually, but this number had now been increased to eight.

This was highly beneficial for the Shaosi Sect, as countless mortals and aspiring disciples in Yinghuang State who wished to enter the Tai Si Immortal Sect would now be even more eager to join the Shaosi Sect to compete for this opportunity.

After all, within Yinghuang State, the most powerful force, apart from the Sword-Wielding Court which represented human orthodoxy, was the Tai Si Immortal Sect.

For some unknown reasons, Saint Yunzi, who was previously ranked within the Shaosi Sect, had been secretly arranged to enter the sect, incognito, under a false identity, as an ordinary disciple.

It was highly probable that his mission was to leverage the Shaosi Sect as a stepping stone to gain entry into the Tai Si Immortal Sect.

Concurrently, according to intelligence from both the alliance and the Seven Blood Eyes itself, and through an additional, unknown method of investigation employed by the Seven Master, they discovered that besides Saint Yunzi, the Shaosi Sect likely housed numerous other peripheral members like him, and very possibly even core members.

The Seven Blood Eyes were uncertain whether the Night Dove and its master would make an appearance.

However, this attack was designed specifically to draw them out. While it appeared to be a four-pronged assault by the alliance's sects, it was, in fact, a coordinated operation between the alliance and the Sword-Wielding Court.

The alliance operated openly, while the Sword-Wielding Court worked in the shadows.

Clearly, the Sword-Wielding Court held a strong interest in the Lord of Night Dove.

Xu Qing was aware of all these matters.

With intense killing intent burning in his eyes and murderous aura permeating his body, Xu Qing watched as the massive Sixth Peak fortress of the Seven Blood Eyes rapidly surged into the colossal teleportation array that had materialized before them.

In the next instant, as the teleportation light flashed blindingly, the colossal lizard dragon let out a sky-shattering roar, and its massive form instantly materialized over the Falling Moon Plain in Yinghuang State.

The Falling Moon Plain, situated in the northeast of Yinghuang State, lay between the Tai Si Immortal Sect and the northern ice plains. Though the climate there was cold, the spiritual energy was quite abundant, and thousands of sects, both large and small, dotted the surrounding area.

Now, at the edge of the Falling Moon Plain before them, lay a vast canyon known as the Falling Moon Gorge.

The Shaosi Sect, having relocated, was now situated within this gorge.

The Shaosi Sect, originally a medium-sized power, had suffered significant losses after previous attacks, reducing its disciple count to less than ten thousand. It was mid-morning, with the sun high, and most disciples were engaged in their cultivation. Suddenly, the roar of the lizard dragon and the appearance of ominous black clouds in the sky plunged the Shaosi Sect into disarray.

Before the Shaosi Sect disciples could even react, the lizard dragon rapidly closed in, a fierce storm sweeping across the land. Simultaneously, the Sixth Peak mountain body hovered in the sky, emanating waves of terrifying power.

Simultaneously, within the Sea Corpse Tribe's territory, the massive ancient bronze mirror, suspended above fourteen statues of Corpse Ancestors, suddenly spun, its surface instantly aligning with the Falling Moon Gorge in Yinghuang State.

In the next instant, as one Corpse Ancestor statue after another rumbled and immense power surged into the already active mirror, its seven blood-red eyes simultaneously sprang open.

Their gaze fell upon the distant Falling Moon Gorge, locking onto it.

In an instant, a monstrous blood-red light surged forth from within the Falling Moon Gorge.

Amidst the horror and cries of alarm from the entire Shaosi Sect, and as the expressions of its high-ranking members drastically changed, the pervasive blood-red light caused at least a thousand disciples within the sect to emit a black aura from their bodies.

This aura was strikingly conspicuous within the blood-red light. The moment it emanated, their appearances were affected, their disguises stripped away, and their true forms revealed as their expressions shifted.

Many of these were ordinary Shaosi Sect disciples, but astonishingly, seven or eight Golden Core cultivators were also affected. Even more shockingly, the sect's Nascent Soul Grand Elder's appearance abruptly shifted, transforming into an unfamiliar visage.

This scene instantly caused a drastic change in the expressions of everyone in the Shaosi Sect.

Their Sect Master's face was particularly grim.

While others were surprised by today's events, he was not.

Due to his close ties with the Tai Si Immortal Sect, he was deemed the least likely to betray. Therefore, he had been forewarned by the Tai Si Immortal Sect about the extensive infiltration of the Shaosi Sect by Candlelight cultivators.

Witnessing these events unfold, the Shaosi Sect Master's expression turned grim, and he immediately issued a decree.

"All disciples, eliminate any cultivators emitting black aura! These are all Candlelight evil cultivators!"

"There's no need for you to act!" Almost at the instant the Shaosi Sect Master spoke, Patriarch Blood Refiner's ferocious voice reverberated. With a flick of his sleeve, the forbidden power of the Seven Blood Eyes erupted once more, sealing off the surroundings.

In the next moment, at the Seven Master's command, the lizard dragon roared as the Seven Blood Eyes disciples aboard it transformed into streaks of light, surging directly towards the Shaosi Sect.

They did not target the normal Shaosi Sect disciples, focusing solely on eliminating cultivators emanating black aura.

Xu Qing's gaze had already locked onto an ordinary disciple within the Shaosi Sect below.

Under the influence of the Seven Blood Eyes' forbidden power, the individual's facial features shifted, revealing their true appearance.

A handsome face, radiating Golden Core fluctuations. It was Saint Yunzi.

Saint Yunzi's expression drastically changed; being located so swiftly by the Seven Blood Eyes clearly shocked and surprised him.

However, his cultivation level was now different from what Xu Qing had previously witnessed.

Golden Core fluctuations were evident on Saint Yunzi's body, and his original Golden Crow seemed to be sealed. While diminished, its effect had also reversed; instead of draining his vitality, it was now dominated by his will, transforming into his own Golden Crow Eye.

The moment Xu Qing saw Saint Yunzi, everyone else faded from his perception.

At the Seven Master's command, Xu Qing's eyes blazed with intense killing intent as he surged forward, heading directly for the Shaosi Sect, straight for Saint Yunzi.

This time, he was determined to kill him.