Chapter 153: Lion Demon King

On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, a heavy snowfall during the night blanketed Behe Pass in a layer of silver.

Meng Chuan stood in his courtyard, continuing to practice the core move of his saber art, the Heart Saber Style! Each time his saber was unsheathed, he executed over a dozen, even dozens, of yin-yang cyclic strikes before sheathing it again.

With his Primordial Spirit domain, Meng Chuan could precisely detect the speed of each of his strikes. This was especially true because he had inherited the Black Iron Heavenly Book's "Heart Will Saber" and had witnessed Senior Guo Ke perform five strikes of the Heart Saber Style.

With a clear goal in mind, he knew the direction his saber art should take.

On the long path of cultivation, without direction, one might spend decades toiling only to remain stagnant.

With direction, however, it was entirely different.

This was also why many Yuanchu Mountain disciples gave up on the "Black Iron Heavenly Book." Without inheriting the true essence, forcibly cultivating it might prevent them from ever becoming a Great Solar Realm Godfiend.

"Even with the essence inheritance and the Primordial Spirit domain, my saber art progress is becoming slower," Meng Chuan murmured. "It's been a year, and I haven't reached the peak of Saber Soul. But I am indeed making progress. If one year isn't enough, then two or three years. As long as I keep improving, I will eventually reach the 'Saber Dao' realm. Once I comprehend the Saber Dao, I can advance to the Marquis Godfiend stage."

Cultivation was also a refinement of the mind.

If one became anxious during prolonged cultivation, feeling frustrated and hopeless, the training effects would only worsen.

Thus, inner will also determined how far one could go on the cultivation path! Every Marquis Godfiend and King Godfiend possessed an extraordinary inner will.

Most of the Godfiends at Behe Pass were cultivating.

Meanwhile, soldiers were training on the outer city wall. The broad battlements, cleared of snow, were now host to soldiers training in small squads.

"Pay attention, everyone! The more you train and cooperate in peacetime, the better your chances of survival on the battlefield," old soldiers admonished. Many of these veterans had served at Behe Pass for six or seven years, some even over ten. They stayed voluntarily, no longer needing basic training; occasional self-cultivation was sufficient.

"This sun feels so warm," an old soldier said, sitting on the city wall, looking down at the sparkling white snow reflecting dazzlingly in the sunlight. "Old Zhang, I'm starting to miss home."

"You've been here for thirteen years, it's time to go back," said another veteran nearby, who had lost an ear and had scars on his face.

"My younger brother is taking care of our parents at home, so I'm not in a hurry to return," the veteran replied. "These youngsters are quite naive; without us leading them, more of them would die. I'll hold on for two more years. Once I complete fifteen years, I'll go back. I really want to see the river by my house, the old willow trees by the river... and I wonder how my old friends are doing."

"You're making me miss home too," said the earless veteran. "But I have no one left. When the demon race invaded Yuxia Prefecture, my family all died. I'll spend my entire life at Behe Pass, killing as many demons as I can."

"Since you're staying at Behe Pass your whole life, why not find a wife here and start a family with a few children?"

"I could die on the battlefield at any time, so I won't bring misfortune upon anyone."

There was a group of old soldiers at Behe Pass who had grown accustomed to staying there. They had long since completed their military service but remained.

A very small number aimed to accumulate merit and become Godfiends. However, most veterans had no hope of becoming Godfiends; some simply preferred it here, while others wanted to continue fighting the demon race.

General Zhang Yunhu and other Godfiends also highly valued these veterans, occasionally offering them guidance.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

On the inner city wall, the urgent drumbeats resounded once more.

The old soldiers immediately stood up, their True Qi flowing, blood boiling, reaching peak condition almost instantly.

"The demon race is attacking the pass; prepare yourselves!" the veterans shouted. All the soldiers immediately prepared swiftly, according to their past training, getting various equipment ready.

Swish! Swish! Swish!!!

Lightning, flowing light, afterimages—figures rapidly dashed towards the inner city wall.

The soldiers knew those were Godfiends!

The most dangerous inner city pass was primarily defended by Godfiends.

"Be careful," Liu Qiyue urged.

"Don't worry."

Meng Chuan, along with his five fellow disciples—Zhang Yunhu, Yu Chiyan, Yang Xingwu, Shi Xiu, and Mu Qing—immediately leaped off the city wall and descended below. Twenty-five Godfiends remained on the city wall.

While the inner city pass was dangerous, the battlefield beneath it was the most perilous, being closest to the world entrance! Meng Chuan and his comrades were all top-tier Great Solar Realm Godfiends. Without such strength, entering the battlefield beneath the inner city pass would be suicidal.

"It's the end of the year, and these demon monarchs are finally attacking again," Zhang Yunhu said, looking at the stable, two-mile-long world entrance. He smiled, "Junior Brother Meng, you made these demon monarchs suffer last time. They've waited half a year to return, so they should have a way to deal with you now."

"If I can't hold them, I'll need your help, Senior Brother Zhang," Meng Chuan said with a smile.

"Therefore, we're not in a hurry to counterattack. Let's focus on defense first and see what methods these demon monarchs possess," Zhang Yunhu stated. "Once we understand their true strength, then we can strike decisively! It's not a big deal if we can't kill demon monarchs; our primary mission is to hold Behe Pass."

"Senior Brother Zhang, you've said that so many times," Shi Xiu chuckled.

Zhang Yunhu glared. "I'm talking about you! Don't always rely on your Blood God Body to take risks!"

"Getting two or three holes in my Blood God Body is a minor issue. Of course, I must use it to kill enemies," Shi Xiu countered. "Don't worry, I'm an old veteran; I know what I'm doing."

"You're the one I worry about the most," Zhang Yunhu said, glaring but powerless. That was just Shi Xiu's nature.

"They're here," Senior Sister Mu Qing said coldly.

All six looked ahead.

Thirty-five Triple Heaven demon monarchs simultaneously emerged from the world entrance. As soon as they appeared, layers of domain techniques began to unfold, demonstrating their cautious preparedness.

On the city wall nearly two miles away, Liu Qiyue continuously shot five arrows, each carrying dazzling flames that assailed and threatened the demon monarchs.

Zhang Yunhu, holding a short spear in each hand, also searched for an opportunity.

But this time, the demon monarchs were well-prepared and gave Zhang Yunhu no opening.

"There are eight new demon monarchs this time," Zhang Yunhu frowned, transmitting his voice. "And I have a bad feeling about them. It's likely more than one of these eight new demon monarchs are Triple Heaven elite demon monarchs."

"I also sense a few more elite demon monarchs," Meng Chuan transmitted.

In reality, it wasn't just a feeling.

His Primordial Spirit domain clearly sensed all auras within two miles. Among the eight unfamiliar demon monarchs, three had extremely powerful auras, indicating they were elite demon monarchs. Furthermore, the aura of the dark red-furred lion demon monarch was exceptionally strong, almost on par with the black-clad female demon.

Among this group of demon monarchs, the strongest were the black-clad female demon and the lion demon monarch.

"Whoosh!"

In terms of domains, the demon monarchs suppressed Meng Chuan and his companions.

Among Meng Chuan's group, only Senior Sister Yang Xingwu could deploy a large-scale domain. In contrast, the opposing side had five demon monarchs, led by the black-clad female demon, simultaneously activating their domains. At this moment, they unleashed an incredibly dense wave of cold energy.

The cold energy quickly spread across the entire battlefield. The battlefield, originally a lake, had already had its snow melted into water by the Godfiends' techniques.

Now, with the cold energy pervasive, the lake covering nearly three miles of the battlefield beneath the inner city pass completely froze into ice.

"They're truly cautious," Meng Chuan, Zhang Yunhu, and the others remained calm.

They knew that after their last lightning strike eliminated over thirty thousand demons, the demon monarchs wouldn't give them another chance.

Freezing the lake solid into ice offered no help for lightning conductivity; it was even less effective than striking lightning directly through the void! Striking lightning from a distance to shatter the void was extremely difficult, its power would be greatly reduced, and far fewer demons could be annihilated.

"Is that Meng Chuan?" the lion demon monarch asked, looking at Meng Chuan. "Sister Si, watch me later; I'll devour him in one gulp."

"Meng Chuan's speed is exceptional, he's very slippery. Big Brother, don't be careless," the black-clad female demon transmitted.

"No matter how slippery he is, it won't matter," the lion demon monarch had long been ready.