Chapter 244: Desiring to Establish a Demon Kingdom

A bright moon hung in the sky, draping mountains and seas in silver gauze and shining eternally. The dense night covered the world in a dark curtain, concealing all evil in its gloom.

Clouds at the horizon moved like galloping horses.

Zuoqiu Hongting, wearing a carved wooden mask and a green Daoist robe that outlined her figure, exuded an extraordinary aura as she flashed to the top of the watchtower on the inner wall of the South City.

Behind her lay the central thoroughfare of the outer city, dozens of *zhang* wide, leading directly to the Bingzuze coastline. From there, one could gaze out at the brightly lit Mingyue Seven Stars Pavilion, which sat upon the sea.

Facing the inner city, the majestic Taoli Mountain, towering into the sky like a celestial pillar, was eternally fixed at the horizon.

Below the watchtower, along the entire north-south Qiankun Grand Avenue, stretching from the inner city’s Attendant Hall to the outer city’s Bingzuze, battle cries shook the heavens. Spiritual energy clashed in brilliant flashes, and blood stained the ground for more than ten *li*.

Each inheritor formed their own battle zone.

What a Lantern Festival, a night stained red with fresh blood.

The naked corpse hanging on the inner city gate had already been cut down by Cang Li and Li Ling, falling to the ground.

In the plaza outside the city gate, a copper cauldron, approximately one *zhang* tall, still churned with boiling water, stewing flesh and blood. The gruesome scene inside the cauldron was enough to sicken countless human martial cultivators.

"Whoosh!" Luansheng Linyou appeared on the city wall. His countenance was cool and handsome, his eyes unsettlingly bright, and his silver-white hair swayed gently. He spoke softly, "I thought you would lead the remnants of the Zuoqiu Sect, Jiuli Tribe, and Zhu Gate out of the city to preserve your lives. I didn't expect you'd still be unwilling to give up. You've caused even more people to die!"

Zuoqiu Hongting's composure was unaffected by his words. "We are all rootless duckweeds in a chaotic world," she replied. "Where can we flee? If we don't fight today, tomorrow it will be our entire clan, or an entire state, that perishes."

"Your injuries are severe, and your combat strength is greatly diminished. Your so-called struggle is just a death wish," Luansheng Linyou stated, pinpointing her inherent weakness.

Zuoqiu Hongting's gaze was unwavering. "If I seek death," she challenged, "what price will you pay?"

Luansheng Linyou stopped a hundred *zhang* from the watchtower, sitting on an embrasure. He gazed at the distant sea and the bright moon, speaking with a nonchalant air, "A hundred thousand lanterns have been lit, like a sea of stars on the water, dazzling and splendid. In a little while, the immortal tortoise carrying the Dragon Palace will arrive, the venue will open, and the Lantern Festival will truly begin. Unfortunately, this liveliness and festivity belong only to the Far West Ash Region and our allies.

"Just like the Lingxiao Living Realm, a glorious and prosperous demon nation will soon be established. Its territory will be far larger than the current twenty-eight states, encompassing the Ash Region and parts of the prefectures swallowed by the Nether Realm of the Deceased a thousand years ago. At the founding ceremony, all allies will be rewarded for their merits – demons, Ash Spirits, Deceased Spirits, and humans alike... it will surely be a universal celebration!"

Zuoqiu Hongting countered, "It's a pity that humans have such a low status in the demon nation, regarded as livestock and food, cooked at will. I doubt many human martial cultivators will support the establishment of such a demon nation."

"Roar!"

A dragon's roar echoed through the night sky.

Dragon Hall, invoking the Azure Dragon combat technique, ascended the city wall enveloped in mist.

The 120,000-jin bronze battle *suo* in his hand heavily struck the ground of the rampart, causing over seven hundred runes to shimmer on its surface.

The entire city wall trembled violently. "Young Lord," Dragon Hall reported, "Tang Wanqiu was caught off guard by the demon martial cultivators from Yin Mountain, and Snow Sword Tangting has already been defeated by us. Qi Jin has led people to pursue them and will surely bring back all the Longevity Elixir tickets, Dragon Seed tickets, and Dragon Bone tickets."

Dragon Hall, who ranked among the Three Immortals and was known as a Banished Immortal, possessed a supremely masculine and beautiful face. The golden armor he wore accentuated his tall, exceptionally robust physique. He added, "Zuoqiu Hong's remaining combat strength is probably less than seventy percent. How about you leave her to me?"

"Very well!" Luansheng Linyou replied. "After tonight, the titles of Eastern Dragon, Western Pig, Southern Tiger, and Northern Sword will surely need to change."

Dragon Hall seemed very nonchalant. "The top experts of the Five Seas Realm change every few years; I've never paid attention to such titles," he said. "The decades-long struggle in the Dao Seed Realm, which brings together the top experts of the past ten generations of Five Seas Realm cultivators, that is the true game for the strongest in the human world – a real entry into the inner sanctum. As for those immortal beings who are no longer involved in human world struggles, that is another realm altogether.

"Once we obtain the dragon bones, dragon seeds, and Longevity Elixirs, you and I will certainly be able to conquer the peaks of human martial cultivation within a few years."

Luansheng Linyou cast his gaze towards the chaotic battlefield below the city wall. His figure flickered, transforming into an elegant arc of silver light as he headed towards the Mingyue Seven Stars Pavilion, preparing to first eliminate Ge Xiantong's and Zuoqiu Hong's contingency plans.

A look of surprise finally appeared in Zuoqiu Hongting's calm eyes. Employing the "Peaches and Plums Fill the World" flower rain technique, she pursued him like a fleeting shadow in the air.

"Zuoqiu Hong, your opponent is me!"

Dragon Hall's golden armor shone like a scorching sun. His powerful and domineering spiritual energy surged, and he collided violently with the flower rain in the sky, intercepting Zuoqiu Hongting.

On the sea, the Mingyue Seven Stars Pavilion was adorned with bright lanterns. On both sides of its steps stood figures dressed in white, each carrying a long sword.

They were Five Seas Realm martial cultivators trained by Qianli Mountain. Both "Xianlin" and "Tiange" were enterprises under Qianli Mountain, which was named for recruiting only one in a thousand talents.

As business people, they wished to remain uninvolved in the world's power struggles, careful not to offend anyone.

They had helped the Zuoqiu Sect hide their Hidden Gate martial cultivators, believing Zuoqiu Hong might be a latent dragon worthy of early investment. Now, however, Luansheng Linyou seemed a more suitable choice for investment.

On the coast, just three *li* from the Mingyue Seven Stars Pavilion, Ge Xiantong was trapped in a formation constructed by the Ash Region, battling alone against five Deceased Spirit powerhouses from the Nether Realm of the Deceased.

They all had beast heads, wore blood-colored robes, and possessed spiritual intelligence, making them prodigies of the deceased spirits from a certain domain in the Nether Realm.

At the edge of this Ash Region, thousands of spirit tablets stood amidst dense ghost shadows, all controlled by Ming Niansheng.

The twenty-eight Disaster Fire Realm Grand Mind Masters overseeing the formation were a tough challenge specially prepared for Ge Xiantong by Luansheng Linyou, drawn from his various subordinate forces. The one in charge of the main formation was Tantai Jing, third among the first rank of the Eastern Realm, from Huaiyi Island.

"Huaiyi Island," one of the three barbarian islands in the Eastern Realm, had already submitted to Dragon Gate and been brought under Luansheng Linyou's command.

Luansheng Linyou's direct lineage forces, consisting of the highly-regarded experts from the Western Realm's Quanrong and Querong tribes, had been almost entirely annihilated by the imperial court and the Zuoqiu Sect. This forced him to activate the people of Eastern Yi.

It was the final moment, and everyone had revealed their trump cards and contingencies. Many forces that had previously remained neutral or had no intention of participating in the world's power struggles also joined in, offering their aid.

Because Luansheng Linyou's victory seemed to be a foregone conclusion. The forces behind him were too vast, having surely plotted for a long time; if they also had the support of Du'e Temple, the establishment of the demon nation might truly be an irresistible trend. Who wouldn't want to pledge allegiance in advance?

On Taoli Mountain, the elder powerhouses of various major forces realized that things were going badly as Luansheng Linyou's trump cards and contingencies gradually revealed themselves.

Some rushed back to the Northern Realm, others to the Eastern and Western Realms, all sensing that the demonic disaster sweeping across the land had likely erupted simultaneously.

Now, they only hoped that Du'e Temple would not side with the forces behind Luansheng Linyou. If so, the human cultivators of the Lingxiao Living Realm would still have the power to resist.

In the Third Heaven, the elders of the Zuoqiu Sect stared dumbfounded at the Changqing Temple, then at the swarms of insects rushing across the inner city wall. All were utterly bewildered.

"How is Changqing Temple connected to the underground?" someone exclaimed. "What's with that Bagua Well? Your Daoist lineage hides things very deeply!"

"Hongting must have told him the secret of Changqing Temple," another surmised.

"Never mind Changqing Temple," a third interrupted, "the situation is collapsing right now. We only hope that young Li can arrive in time and turn the tide. The emergence of seven Monarch-level larvae, summoning the insect swarm, is a blessing from heaven."

Zuoqiu Ling glared at Yin Jun, transmitting his voice with spiritual energy: "I'm sure Hongting doesn't even know the secret of Changqing Temple. Who exactly is that kid?"

Yin Jun was ambivalent. The good news was that at this extremely dangerous moment, Li Weiyi's cultivation had advanced further, and he had consecutively slain two inheritor-level experts, attracting the insect swarm. This would undoubtedly reignite hope on the desperate and declining battlefield. If Li Weiyi truly turned the tide tonight, then the court and Leixiao Sect wouldn't be able to act against him as they pleased. At least overtly, they would have to consider the repercussions. Given the current crisis in the Lingxiao Living Realm, it was unlikely they would even have the energy for it. As for his worries, there were many! Could he really turn the tide? As for the secret of Changqing Temple, Yin Jun guessed it must be related to the Grand Leader's wife, the former grandmother of the Jiuli Tribe.

Yin Jun said, "A thousand years ago, the transcendent Grandmaster of the Zuoqiu Sect's Daoist lineage married into the Jiuli Tribe. It's perfectly normal for the Jiuli Tribe to know things you don't."

The Nine Heavens of Taoli Mountain were located in the void above the "Jie" character.

The transcendents gathered there, not resembling human martial cultivators at all, but rather like immortals and gods debating the Dao.

The imperial carriage of the Lingxiao Palace's Second Palace Master, as vast and resplendent as a celestial palace, floated above the sea of clouds, surrounded by scriptures shimmering like countless stars.

Her voice drifted out: "How wonderful! For ten years, everyone has been fighting so intensely, completely forgetting the dangers from the outside. It took just one Latent Dragon Lantern Festival to awaken the rebels of the world. Esteemed sirs, will your rebel army still fight? Will you continue your crusade?"

"Unless the Grand Palace Master issues a decree of self-reproach and abolishes the Minor Field Order, we will continue to fight for the common people of the world," stated a Northern Realm transcendent, sitting cross-legged in the sea of clouds, myriad phenomena swirling around him, forming a small world of his own. "We will fight through Lingxiao City to outside Lingxiao Palace and demand to know if she acknowledges her mistakes."

The voice from inside the imperial carriage retorted, "What right do you have to crusade against the Grand Palace Master? The twenty-eight states of Lingxiao rest on the Grand Palace Master's shoulders, not yours. The phrase 'common people of the world' is not for you to utter."

"The Grand Palace Master's calamity, her danger, her terror, truly surpasses that of the demon race," another transcendent voice echoed in the void. "As long as she lives, everyone will live in fear. As long as she lives, more and more human forces will align with the demon race, and the righteous army will never give up on flattening Lingxiao City. There will be no possibility of reconciliation."

From inside the imperial carriage, the voice sneered, "Stir it up, go on, stir it up! Stir it until the Lingxiao Living Realm turns into a demon nation. Then we'll all die together!"

A refined-looking old scholar in a Confucian robe sat with a Du'e Temple Immortal Master under an ancient peach tree as thick as a millstone.

His gaze was slightly sharp. "It seems Du'e Temple actually favors the demon race more?" he mused. "Holding the Latent Dragon Lantern Festival to lure the old folks to Qiuzhou State City—wouldn't that just make things easier for the Far West Ash Region?"

The Du'e Temple Immortal Master gave a wry smile. "I am human; of course, I hope Du'e Temple supports the Zuoqiu Sect. But Du'e Temple's rules are greater than anyone's will," he said. "Let me ask you, even without this Latent Dragon Lantern Festival as a rehearsal, if the Zuoqiu Sect contended for the world, would the Far West Ash Region not act? Would the Nether Realm of the Deceased not seize the opportunity?

"All the variables and hidden forces at the Latent Dragon Lantern Festival will still play out in the struggle for the world, as they are destined to," the Immortal Master continued. "Now, with this early rehearsal, haven't you also gained early preparations? So, it's very fair."

"I see, Du'e Temple simply believes that siding with the Far West Ash Region can faster quell the turmoil in the Lingxiao Living Realm. Hmph!" The Confucian-robed old man looked at the battle situation in Qiuzhou State City below, as if observing a battlefield sand table, and sneered, "What if we happen to win?"