Chapter 1591: Eastern Wilderness War

A half-demon with a human body and bird wings wore a smug expression. His body was covered in red spiritual markings, and a horrific, profusely bleeding hole marred his left arm. His crimson wings, when spread, measured fifty feet across.

His smugness didn't last long, as a blue sonic wave swept towards him, instantly reaching his front.

The half-demon blocked with both arms and simultaneously spewed a stream of crimson flame, as thick as an adult's arm, towards the blue sonic wave.

The crimson flame seemed to meet its nemesis, extinguishing instantly. The blue sonic wave swiftly passed through the half-demon's body, leaving him motionless, his eyes wide as if frozen in place.

An incredibly sharp yellow sword light shot forth, striking the half-demon with a dull clang and sending sparks flying.

The yellow light was, in fact, a yellow flying sword, continuously shimmering with spiritual light and radiating compelling spiritual energy.

A cold male voice uttered, "Break through!" The yellow flying sword immediately erupted with dazzling yellow light, piercing through the half-demon's body. The half-demon disintegrated into a shower of blood and met his end.

The yellow flying sword circled once and flew back to the hand of a resolute-featured young man. A graceful young woman in a blue dress stood beside him. They were Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan.

As ghosts in the Myriad Ghosts Sea dwindled, and spiritual herbs and yin beasts became scarce, Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan were forced by circumstance to try their luck in the Eastern Barrens. Soon after their arrival, they encountered the demon race invading human territory and were conscripted to fight. To encourage rogue cultivators, the Six Great Immortal Sects promised that sufficient meritorious service could be exchanged for corresponding cultivation resources, including Nascent Soul spiritual treasures.

Eager to form their Nascent Souls, they naturally fought vigorously against enemies. Since the war began, the two had eliminated several Core Formation stage half-demons, gaining considerable renown.

Zheng Nan flicked her wrist, and a blue light shot out, wrapping around the half-demon's corpse and pulling it back to her side. She then stored the corpse in a storage pearl.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A rapid ringing of bells sounded, and the human and demon races quickly separated, retreating in an orderly fashion. Both sides began to treat their wounded.

Currently, there was a minor skirmish every three days and a major battle every seven. Minor skirmishes involved cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage, while major battles were life-and-death struggles between Nascent Soul cultivators, where no quarter was given.

A vast cyan grand city stood on the plain. Above its gate hung a lacquered golden plaque inscribed with three large silver characters: "Demon Extinguishing City." Various buildings filled the city, and many cultivators, most of them wounded, walked its streets.

Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan returned to Demon Extinguishing City. Not long after, they appeared at the entrance of a resplendent golden palace, the place for exchanging cultivation resources. The two walked in together.

Not long after, the two emerged, their faces alight with smiles.

They had gained much from this trip, bringing them a step closer to exchanging for Nascent Soul spiritual treasures.

They strolled along the wide streets. Less than fifteen minutes later, they arrived at a hundred-acre bluestone plaza where many cultivators were setting up stalls.

They walked around, browsing for good items, hoping to find a bargain.

"Senior Huang, why are you selling brand new artifacts? This isn't like you."

"What are you talking about? Does Senior Huang only sell junk? He actively participated in the war and specifically bought a batch of cultivation materials from the South Sea to sell to us at a low price. Look at the prices in other shops, then compare them with Senior Huang's goods. The superiority and inferiority are immediately obvious."

"Exactly! With Senior Huang's strength, isn't it easy for him to kill third-tier demon beasts and earn spirit stones? What bad intentions could he possibly have? You're judging a gentleman with the heart of a petty person, how foolish."

Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan exchanged a smile. The Senior Huang these cultivators spoke of was none other than Huang Fugui.

Huang Fugui was responsible for escorting supplies. He brought a large number of brand new artifacts and some magic treasures, and he was purchasing various cultivation resources, especially items like treasure maps.

In the center of the plaza was a hundred-foot-tall circular platform. Huang Fugui sat cross-legged on it, with many items laid out before him: elixirs, artifacts, fragments of magic treasures, magic treasures, and demon cores. He had no use for these items, so he was selling them to low-level cultivators.

"Senior Huang, we heard you are skilled in escape techniques. Could you teach us?"

"Yes, yes! Please teach us escape techniques."

A group of low-level cultivators clamored around him. Huang Fugui was approachable and very popular among them.

"The items haven't sold out yet," Huang Fugui sighed. "This indicates that many young friends lack medicine and supplies. Thinking of this, I am deeply distressed and have no mood to give a lecture." He was not at all short on spirit stones, having built his fortune from ancient cultivators' cave dwellings. However, further progress in his cultivation was proving difficult. With the demon race's rebellion in the Eastern Barrens, many factions had been destroyed, causing numerous valuable items to surface. Huang Fugui hoped to seize this opportunity to collect such treasures, particularly maps to ancient cultivators' cave dwellings or secret realms.

"I'll buy this artifact."

"Senior Huang, I'll buy this magic treasure fragment."

The cultivators eagerly took out spirit stones to purchase Huang Fugui's goods. Some even presented so-called fragmented treasure maps in exchange for cultivation resources.

Huang Fugui refused no one. He had already collected over a dozen of these so-called fragmented treasure maps, though he couldn't discern their authenticity. He figured as long as one was real, it would be enough.

Opportunity favors the prepared; it's best to cast a wide net.

In less than fifteen minutes, Huang Fugui's goods were sold out, and he began to share his escape techniques.

"When facing a formidable enemy, knowing you can't defeat them, we should flee... Choose to avoid their sharp edge; as long as there's life, there's hope. When escaping, keep your eyes open and ears alert, and run towards places with many people. If you encounter other fellow cultivators, that's even better. When escaping, pay attention to a few points. First, if a demon bird is chasing you, it's best to use earth or water escape techniques. If..."

Huang Fugui spoke logically and clearly, and the cultivators listened intently.

Cheng Zhenyu and Zheng Nan smiled, didn't linger, and left the bluestone plaza to return to their residence for cultivation.

In a secluded small red-tiled courtyard, two women and one man sat chatting in a stone pavilion. They were Situ Mei and her two companions.

They had killed Bai Ling'er, stirring up a hornet's nest. One Nascent Soul cultivator among them had died in battle, and both Song Yuzhen and Situ Mei were injured.

"How much longer are you going to stay here?" Situ Mei said with a frown. "The demon race is fighting desperately this time. If we stay here, we'll lose our lives sooner or later."

According to their plan, they should have immediately withdrawn from the Eastern Barrens. However, the others wanted to stay, and Situ Mei had no choice but to remain with them.

"Let's observe for a while," Song Yuzhen said indifferently. "What if they're putting on an act? Bai Ling'er died too easily. I always feel there's something strange." Bai Ling'er, as a descendant of a Soul Transformation cultivator, to be killed by them so easily was truly unreasonable.

"You saw it with your own eyes, and you still don't believe it?" Situ Mei said, sounding somewhat displeased. "You used that so-called Immortal Transformation Talisman to impersonate her cousin and trick her out. She was trapped by the formation and had to detonate her physical body to break free. How could that be fake? You're just too suspicious."

"Hmph, what are you afraid of?" a young man in black robes snorted arrogantly. "As long as a Soul Transformation cultivator doesn't intervene, with the Qian Guang Escape Shuttle in hand, no one can stop us."

"Don't be too overconfident," Situ Mei said, her face cold. "I'm not afraid of the demon race; I'm afraid of the Six Great Immortal Sects. If they discover our identities, we'll die without a burial place." With her life in others' hands, she had no other choice.

"After leaving the Eastern Barrens, we plan to go to the South Sea," Song Yuzhen said with a faint smile. "We can help you deal with the Sun Moon Palace. However, we need you to help us kill two more Nascent Soul cultivators."