Chapter 233: One Year (Part 2)

Episode 1: Secret Technique 'Three Autumn Leaves'

Three days later.

Meng Chuan and his wife soared across the sky. Liu Qiyue drew her divine bow, directly conjuring two flaming arrows. The two flames shot down, killing the two Second Heaven Demon Kings rampaging in the county town below.

"The demon race's attacks are continuous, happening every day," Meng Chuan said solemnly, continuing their journey with his wife.

"Yes, although fewer county towns are being attacked compared to the first day, there are still eight places needing rescue, and they are quite far apart," Liu Qiyue said. "They're scattered far and wide, making us spend more time on the road. Moreover, the attacks on county towns are now mainly led by Second Heaven Demon Kings, with Third Heaven Demon Kings acting only occasionally."

"Although Second Heaven Demon Kings are weaker, they still slaughter. We just hate that we can only rescue one place at a time," Meng Chuan said, feeling anxious and pained.

The world is too cruel now.

When can it return to how it was eight hundred years ago, where people could live in peace and work contentedly? A time of prosperity and peace?

Can Qiyue and I see that in our lifetime?

"The fortress ahead is under attack by a Second Heaven Demon King. More than two thousand villagers in that fortress refused to move and are still living there." A Godfiend from the Earth Net saw smoke rising in the distance, a wolf-headed Demon King frantically destroying the fortress.

"Sir, Yuanchu Mountain has strictly ordered that Earth Net Godfiends are forbidden from attacking Demon Kings without permission," an subordinate quickly said. "Demon Kings are very cunning now. On the surface, there's only this one Second Heaven Demon King, but a Third Heaven Demon King might be hidden in the shadows. If you appear to stop that Demon King, it's likely a team of Third Heaven Demon Kings will soon hunt you down."

"I understand." The Undying Realm Godfiend of the Earth Net clenched his fist, staring at the smoke rising in the distance, yet could only watch helplessly.

"We've already reported for aid. Let the patrolling Godfiends handle it," the subordinate advised.

"Let's go." The Earth Net Godfiend turned away in pain and left.

The most obvious characteristic of this large-scale demon invasion was their increased 'cunning.' Demon Kings who appeared to attack were all 'decoys'; if an Earth Net Godfiend intervened, they would likely encounter powerful Demon Kings pursuing them. Even elite Godfiend teams like Yan Jin's would occasionally encounter overwhelmingly powerful demon king teams chasing them.

However, for those like Meng Chuan, who were highly efficient at slaying Demon Kings, and for some Marquis and King Godfiends who took action, the surrounding Demon Kings would quickly disappear.

"We can't be everywhere at once; there are many places we can't get to in time." Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue also felt anxious watching this, so the couple finally wrote a letter.

"If I act alone, rescues will be faster, and I can save more cities, more people," Meng Chuan said, looking at his wife, Liu Qiyue. "Qiyue, you must be careful from now on."

"I've reached the Dao Realm and am a divine archer. As long as I'm accompanied by a few powerful Godfiends, my arrows from the sky would be enough to kill that Elephant Demon King, doing a better job than Yan Jin's Godfiend squad," Liu Qiyue said confidently. "If I'm really pushed, activating Nirvana... I'd have the power of a top Marquis Godfiend. On the other hand, Achuan, you'd be more dangerous acting alone."

Meng Chuan smiled, "My current strength is comparable to that of a normal Marquis Godfiend. Don't worry."

The couple wrote the letter and sent it.

The next day, they received a reply from Yuanchu Mountain.

The couple opened the letter.

"Rejected?" Meng Chuan and his wife looked at the letter together. Yuanchu Mountain had rejected their proposal and instructed them to continue acting together.

"Your safety is more important."

"In this war, the demon race's true target is the Godfiends. If most Godfiends die, the human world will be completely lost, and humanity will face extinction."

"We must try our best to ensure every Godfiend survives."

"Even so, in the past month, sixteen Godfiends from Yuanchu Mountain have died in battle, all from top elite Godfiend squads. You two must also be wary of demon ambushes, and you must act together every time."

Meng Chuan and his wife fell silent as they read the letter.

They understood that from Yuanchu Mountain's perspective, they would rather have lower rescue efficiency than risk the lives of Godfiends.

From a rational standpoint, this was correct! Mortals reproduce quickly; in a few decades, many more can be born. In contrast, cultivating Godfiends is very difficult. Yuanchu Mountain expends vast resources on every powerful Godfiend, for instance, on Meng Chuan's Fiend-Slaying Domain and his body-cultivation methods.

Opportunities from Cangyuan Grotto-Heaven, reserves of Extinction Cold Fiend Qi, Scarlet Blood Divine Pills, and so on... combined with Meng Chuan's own talent, resulted in the Meng Chuan of today.

A powerful Godfiend! One's own talent and external resources are both indispensable.

Every Godfiend must be cherished because human Godfiends are too few compared to the demon race. That's why the slightly weaker inner disciples of Yuanchu Mountain have returned to the mountain, and only elite Godfiend teams are carrying out rescues.

Time passed.

The demon race and humanity were locked in conflict.

The demon race attacked county towns and fortresses, also to force Godfiends to appear so they could ambush and kill them.

But Yuanchu Mountain also established a strict rule.

Earth Net Godfiends were forbidden from taking action without permission!

Most inner disciples were cultivating themselves. Occasionally, under the leadership of powerful Godfiends, they would eliminate 'Demon King lairs' to gain experience.

Only the most elite group of disciples were qualified to form teams and constantly hunt and battle outside. Even so, over time, some occasionally died in battle.

Amidst such brutal fighting.

In one year, Yuanchu Mountain also saw the emergence of two newly advanced Marquis Godfiends.

One was the renowned Xue Feng. At forty-three years old, he finally reached the Marquis Godfiend level, which was considered quite young.

The other was the slightly older Yang Huayu, who finally became a Marquis Godfiend at seventy-one years old.

Indeed, the number of top Great Solar Godfiends who died in battle this year far exceeded the past, yet two new Marquis Godfiends were also born within the year.

And 'fortresses' completely became history within this year. Mortals preferred to live scattered across the vast land, which was much safer. After all, on average, a county would experience roughly one demon king attack per day. Living scattered... although encountering a Demon King meant certain death, the probability of encountering one was still relatively low.

Even 'county towns' became gradually sparsely populated because the demon race attacked them too frequently.

Only county towns near where King and Marquis Godfiends were stationed remained relatively safe. Because Meng Chuan was fast enough, several prefectures he protected, including 'Dongning Prefecture,' which he specifically looked after, were considered relatively safe. But over half of the county towns across the world had populations less than half of their original size, with people preferring to live scattered in the wilderness.

Deep within the South Sea, beneath the seabed, in a mysterious location, lay a small Grotto-Heaven.

Inside the Grotto-Heaven were opulent palaces.

Outside the palace, three Great Demon Kings were waiting.

"For the past year, Demon Saint Lord has never inquired about the war situation. Today, he finally summoned us."

"We've done reasonably well this year and gathered sufficiently detailed intelligence. I believe Demon Saint Lord should be satisfied."

"Let's hope he is satisfied."

The three Great Demon Kings outside the palace were all somewhat apprehensive.

Finally, the palace doors rumbled open.

"Come in," an ancient voice echoed.

The three Great Demon Kings then nervously entered the main hall and immediately saw a disheveled old man seated on the dais, looking down at them.

"Greetings, Demon Saint Lord," the three Great Demon Kings all respectfully knelt.

Demon Saint...

In the Demon Realm, that was a position of extreme reverence, second only to the Emperor, and far, far stronger than the three Great Demon Kings.

"The three of you each command all Demon Kings within the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Black Sand Dynasty, and the Great Yue Dynasty," the elderly Demon Saint said, looking down. "I haven't inquired for a year. Now, tell me, what have been the results of your attacks on the three great dynasties?"