At the edge of the world, the last autumn rain fell, bringing a sharp chill to the air.
Five days had passed since Yezhou and the demon race declared a ceasefire, and everything that needed negotiating had already been settled.
The battlefield had been cleared, yet people still ventured in to search for loved ones and old friends.
Some had died without leaving behind even a scrap of bone.
Raindrops clattered against the ground, gradually washing away the stains of blood across the Plain of Divine Demise. Even so, the devastated forests, the occasional severed hand, and the shattered weapons strewn about continued to bear witness to the savagery of that war.
Across Yezhou, countless people donned mourning garb, blanketing the land in an unspeakable gloom.
A bloody clash between two civilizations had drawn the eyes of the entire world. Even in victory, Yezhou had suffered devastating losses, and even reclusive clans wore hemp and mourning clothes.
In the west, the torrential rain ceased, and the dark clouds gradually parted.
Every road was draped in mourning white, filling people's chests with suffocating sorrow, yet the scenery of the western frontier unfurled in unseemly splendor.
As the autumn rain receded, the vast plain grew bright. Copious amounts of earthlight surged upward, illuminating the dense wilderness.
"Late autumn is drawing to a close, and the subterranean vitality is enjoying a final flash of brilliance. The Fire Springs will soon enter their dormant period," said Zhao Lei, whose temples were streaked with gray. He was the guardian of Panshi Town.
His left sleeve hung empty, fluttering in the wind.
In the bloody struggle five days prior, he had slain two enemies in succession, but an opponent had severed his arm, and a demon-thrown spear had subsequently pinned him to the ground. He had barely survived.
Qin Ming nodded. Standing on a hill outside Qingfeng Town, he gazed across the vast plain. The wind and snow were not far off, and the long winter would soon arrive.
Over the past several days, he had seen off and held memorial rites for many old acquaintances. His heart was truly laden with sorrow. In a massive clash between two races, lives were far too fragile, like paper; a single great collision permanently felled countless figures onto the battlefield.
For someone like Zhao Lei to slay two demons was an impressive feat. Though crippled, he had at least survived.
Zhao Lei sighed softly. "Over the past two days, I tried contacting several old friends here in the west, but none replied. I don't know whether I will never see them again, or if they are lying comatose from grave wounds."
Qin Ming said, "Look ahead."
Over the past few days, he had worked actively to steady his mindset and blow away the heavy gloom. The road ahead remained long. When one looked up, dazzling golden radiance would eventually pierce through the thick layer of clouds.
"At my age, I've learned to see through everything," Zhao Lei said.
A rich aroma drifted across the mountaintop. In a bronze pot, meat broth bubbled vigorously. Qin Ming was cooking slices of heavenly demon seed meat, a dish that held a distinct savor in the biting chill of the wild.
"The meat in this bronze pot..." Zhao Lei's eyes widened after taking just a few bites. It felt exceptionally nourishing, a rush of warmth spreading through his belly to bathe his entire body in heat.
When he learned the ingredients were heavenly demon seeds like the black-and-white sparrow and the locust beast, his composure vanished. Never in his entire life had he indulged in such luxury!
Never mind him—even beings of the fifth realm, regardless of how lofty their standing, could hardly slaughter immortal-seed-level creatures just to treat their palates, could they?
Such a sight could only occur during a fierce clash between two great civilizations when the fate of entire races hung in the balance.
Qin Ming said, "I killed them a while ago. One of them was even the Jade Emperor's younger brother."
Zhao Lei's eyes grew round. He felt the meat was beyond tender and delicious—and laden with immense value!
Anyone along the western border had heard tales of famous demons like the Jade Emperor, Tianfeng, and the Rhinoceros Beetle, all of whom had prepared to challenge the seeds of Yezhou.
His face flushed with color, Zhao Lei clinked cups with Qin Ming and said, "Incredible. I never imagined an old man like me would enjoy such good fortune. When I return, I can brag to others that I've eaten heavenly demon seeds."
Beside them, the Thunder King Bird bobbed its head in agreement. Over this period, the quality of its rations had improved dramatically, undergoing a veritable transformation.
"The great war is finally over," Zhao Lei sighed wistfully.
In all directions, earthlight steamed and fiery haze drifted into the sky. Most of the remaining yellow leaves on the plain's trees had been knocked loose by the storm.
Before long, Zhao Lei bade farewell. "Brother Qin, I know you're preparing to face the heavenly demon seeds, so I won't disturb you any further. I only came by to see you one last time. I must be going."
His body was crippled, and with the war in the west concluded, he was returning to his hometown to live out his remaining years.
Qin Ming did not urge him to stay, presenting him with two hundred jin of heavenly demon seed ribs instead.
"This... Very well, then I won't stand on ceremony! After this war, even if I don't have many years left, I feel it's all worth it. An immortal-seed demon has become Old Zhao's drinking snack, haha!"
Zhao Lei walked away, his retreating figure bleak. If given the choice, who would willingly return to a remote place with a broken body to idle away their remaining years, quietly waiting for their lifespan to run out?
"Quite a few rare birds I knew perished," the Thunder King Bird murmured in a low voice. As a top-tier mount, its acquaintances naturally belonged to rare breeds.
In this war, everyone from ordinary cultivators to top-tier immortal and divine seeds had suffered devastating casualties.
Qin Ming was indeed preparing for battle. He knew a group of demons would inevitably challenge him. Though he could choose to avoid fighting, he wished to give full vent to his feelings.
These past days had been stifling enough. In this final stage, he wanted to unleash his saber light without reservation.
On Yezhou's side, battle merits had not yet been tallied, and the higher-ups were unaware of his specific achievements. Only a handful of individuals had caught wind of them and were left utterly stunned.
The demons perhaps understood far more than humanity did. Deciding whom to challenge was a deliberate matter, and some bloodshot-eyed demons sought only vengeance.
Over the past several days, by piecing together information and the recollections of various demons, they discovered to their shock that the casualty rate among middle- and low-tier heavenly demon seeds was excessively high.
Most crucially, many of those demonic deaths pointed directly to a single person.
When the younger generation of the demon race found out, they nearly exploded with fury.
All signs indicated that a human youth had once bathed in demon blood as he strode across the battlefield, and the heavenly demon seeds he had harmed likely numbered in the double digits.
Although most of the slain heavenly demon seeds were only in the second or third realm—not excessively beyond their expected boundaries—the sheer quantity made it terrifying.
In particular, several demon sword immortals were among them.
Furthermore, the slain even included the Jade Emperor's younger brother.
"He must be slain!"
...
Over recent days, the demon race's leadership had heard impassioned outbursts from their rising talents daily. They ultimately decided to relent and permit them to issue challenges.
From second-realm heavenly demon seeds to fifth-realm grandmasters, elite demons at every tier were disgruntled, believing the leadership had not been unyielding enough. How could they simply surrender the Plain of Divine Demise?
By conceding it, Yezhou would advance twenty thousand li to the west.
"Doesn't our demon race also possess a special broken artifact? Why didn't a peerless sixth-realm expert wield it to fight to the bitter end?"
An elder demon explained, "Under the long night, countless eyes peer from the darkness. It is impossible to say whether other civilizations have set their sights on us. If we exhaust all our hidden reserves now, we might become prey to other races. Moreover, how do you know Yezhou doesn't hold further measures? We fought this campaign to welcome back our ancestral treasure and reclaim our supreme scripture. We can withdraw according to the agreement."
"Your generation is truly pathetic to the extreme! Forced to serve as the vanguard and pawns for another civilization, and worse yet, you were defeated!"
"Impudent! How dare you speak to your ancestors like that?"
For five days, the demon camp had known no peace.
In the end, demon-ancestor-level experts made the final call: challenges were not limited to heavenly demon seeds; even grandmasters wishing to challenge human opponents could do as they pleased.
Since those young demons were furious, their emotions running wild and their battle intent boiling, the elders would let them take to the field. Some tempers could not be contained, and venting them was for the best.
Moreover, several small detachments of reinforcements had only just arrived and were standing about pontificating and hurling accusations.
The demon leadership felt that every last one of those agitators should be forced onto the battlefield.
A circle of elder demons nodded in agreement. Allowing the subordinates to fight, clash, and even... die, was the only way to restore calm. Otherwise, chaos would erupt within the demon race first.
Things were hardly peaceful behind Yezhou's lines either. In recent days, a batch of human traitors had been captured, along with contrarians who, despite winning the great war, remained dissatisfied and made sarcastic, cynical remarks. All of them were sent to the western border.
"Send them into the battlefield!"
Transcendent ancestral masters like Leng Mingkong and Helian Chengyun were currently pale-faced. Some had paid a heavy price to wield special weapons, while others were already critically wounded and had spent days in secluded cultivation immediately after the battle, only to emerge and hear of such absurdities.
Clearly, many ancestral masters would require years of recuperation to recover.
No one had anticipated that a showdown between human traitors and demon colluders would unfold upon the Plain of Divine Demise.
Of course, that was merely a minor interlude that drew little real attention.
What truly stirred people's hearts was that the seeds and grandmasters of the demon race wanted to challenge Yezhou's future.
On Yezhou's side, the ancestral masters agreed, possessing ample confidence in their camp's seeds.
Without a doubt, this was a contest over the future.
"Shatter their confidence! Beat them until they won't dare make trouble even after becoming gods!"
That day, grandmasters and fourth-realm experts were summoned by the ancestral masters, who encouraged and urged them to fight with everything they had.
As for those in the second and third realms, they were merely there to go through the motions; they had not yet caught the eye of the ancestral masters. It was far too early for them to attain ancestral status, and any number of variables could arise along the way.
On the eighth day of the ceasefire between Yezhou and the demon race, the top experts of both sides showed themselves once more.
Earthlight continued to surge, banishing the night. The trees on the Plain of Divine Demise stood bare, and faint flurries of snow drifted through the sky.
Today, grandmasters would step into the field for bloody combat.
On Yezhou's side, a line of experts including Ling Canghai and Lin Yuchen appeared, standing side by side, all ready to take the field.
In the demon camp, the hearts of several elder demons sank slightly. Was this to become a brutal battle over the future?
An elder demon sent a telepathic message: "You harbor fury, resentment, and indignation. We originally intended to let you vent, but now the situation seems amiss..."
"No matter!" A fierce grandmaster boldly cut off the demon ancestor's words.
Stepping directly into the field, he said coldly, "Who dares fight me? Our side only ceased fighting early because the leadership had reservations, but we do not consider ourselves inferior to any beings of Yezhou!"
With a mane of silver hair and an overbearing demeanor, he declared, "I will not stop until I have slain three grandmasters."
On Yezhou's side, someone recognized him as an expert from Thunder Cloud Cave. He was indeed extraordinarily formidable, having previously killed masters on the human side.
Though a storm had washed over it, the trampled battlefield still carried a faint bloody hue, as the blood of powerful experts had soaked into the soil and refused to disperse.
Without question, one could cultivate spirit fields here.
A masked man clad in black stepped forward from Yezhou's ranks, quietly entering the battlefield without a word.
He was wounded, blood still seeping from his flesh to drench parts of his black robe. One could imagine the severity of injuries that reached the level of Daoist charm, making the wounds exceedingly difficult to knit.
"Is Yezhou so devoid of men that you send out an invalid like this? Haha..." the silver-haired demon laughed loudly.
Few in either camp joined in his laughter. Everyone knew that anyone who dared step out first was certainly no ordinary figure.
Qin Ming stared at the retreating back and recognized him. It was Lu Zizai.
*Is Senior Brother Lu's injury that severe?* Yet soon he felt a wave of relief, even guessing that Lu Zizai might be about to break through a major threshold.
Back then, the youthful Lu Zizai had said that once he exhausted his aged frame, he would achieve total renewal and return!
"An invalid like you—I can take three with one hand!" the silver-haired great demon said. Was he a reckless fool? Naturally not.
Even as he spoke, he drew a heavenly saber that gleamed with chilling frost and bore dense Daoist charm, launching a preemptive strike.
Earthlight had dyed the night mist in vibrant hues, but all of it was cleaved in two by this single slash, resembling a celestial river suddenly descending upon the plain.
This demon grandmaster was extraordinarily powerful, an elite among his peers.
Yet facing such a magnificent saber strike slicing across the sky, Lu Zizai remained utterly calm. He merely thrust forward a plain, unadorned palm.
To the onlookers, it seemed as though a blazing sun had risen slowly from the plain.
The demon grandmaster's pupils contracted in terror. The long saber in his hand exploded outright, followed by fine fissures spreading across his arm and half his torso.
Before his scream could fully leave his throat, he blew apart.
He attempted to reassemble his flesh and reconstitute his mental field, but it proved entirely impossible. The blazing sun loomed over the field, igniting his consciousness and scorching it through.
"Ah..."
With one final, piercing shriek, he collapsed into nothingness, both form and spirit utterly obliterated.
"He is no grandmaster! He fought along the fringes of the ancestral master battlefield!" an elder demon bellowed, filled with indignation.
"I am still in the fifth realm," Lu Zizai replied calmly.
"Old demon, open your eyes and look closer!" Leng Mingkong called out in person from Yezhou's side.
A commotion rippled through the demon ranks. Such a fearsome figure was terrifying—a grandmaster who had participated in ancestral-master-level combat?
Those who knew the truth understood that Lu Zizai was simply digesting the cultivation within his aged frame to methodically achieve nirvana.
"To dare enter the ancestral master battlefield, he must be a peerless grandmaster. Does our demon race have... such a presence?"
The demon elites all turned their gazes toward their top great demons.
"Naturally!" an elder demon nodded.
"You, step out!" Lu Zizai pointed at a demon grandmaster who still looked like a young man.
He did not use the word "challenge," possessing complete self-awareness and unshakeable confidence; he was here simply to cull a future titan of the demons.
"This duel... forget it!" a demon ancestor spoke up.
"Do you dare?" Lu Zizai ignored the old demon, keeping his gaze fixed upon the youth-like great demon.
"Why wouldn't I?" the young man responded. As a peerless grandmaster and an illustrious existence among the demon race, how could he shrink back before both camps?
He possessed his own pride—or more accurately, supreme confidence!
The battle erupted. Even someone as unfathomably deep as Lu Zizai engaged in a fierce struggle, striking with ruthless force nearly twenty times before finally battering him to pieces.
"What?" Throughout the demon camp, everyone was shaken to their core, struck by dread and unable to accept this bloody reality.
On Yezhou's side, many sighed in admiration. The demon race was indeed filled with talent, requiring Lu Zizai to display supreme arts and unleash a barrage of lethal strikes to slay him.
The demon ancestors' expressions changed, their hearts bleeding. This was one of the frontrunners they had placed their hopes upon.
The youthful grandmaster attempted to reform several times, but Lu Zizai's fist radiance pierced him through each time, grinding him away completely.
During the clash, an elder demon had attempted to intervene, only to be blocked by Yezhou's ancestral masters.
"Even a peerless grandmaster was no match. How can he be this strong?" several demons muttered to themselves.
The death of this great demon caused agonizing heartbreak among many old demons. They had believed that even if he could not prevail, a peerless grandmaster could at least withdraw safely from the field.
"He is a supreme grandmaster—the pinnacle state of this realm!" an elder demon sighed.
He restrained all the grandmasters, forbidding anyone else from taking the field.
Yet Lu Zizai kept pointing, looking for another great demon to fight to the death.
"Enough. We concede this realm. No more matches!" a demon ancestor declared.
His voice carried a bitter taste.
Earlier, the elders had been annoyed by the harsh rhetoric of their subordinates, so they had allowed the loudest grandmasters and heavenly demon seeds to issue challenges to purge their temper.
At the same time, they had hoped to test the waters, letting their rising stars strive to crush Yezhou's future.
Now, the faces of many old demons were grim beyond measure.
A supreme grandmaster had overwhelmed an entire realm all on his own!
Lu Zizai alone had shattered the confidence of the demon grandmasters.
"Heh, haha..." On Yezhou's side, the present ancestral masters burst into hearty laughter, darkening the expressions of their opponents across the field.
"Let us go." Yezhou's ancestral masters departed, leading the group of grandmasters away.
The leadership of the demon camp said not a single word, sweeping their sleeves as they walked off.
"Are those in the fourth realm still dueling?"
"Do as you please!" someone asked, and an ancestral master replied.
Once the higher-ups left, they did not reappear. Lu Zizai single-handedly suppressing every opposing grandmaster was victory enough.
The Present Rulai personally escorted Lu Zizai away. The Six Imperials Patriarch, Lu Yu, did not appear; rumors that a grave mishap had befallen him were confirmed to be true.
"Jiang Ran!" Tianfeng stepped forward. She was a woman of striking poise clad in shimmering crimson armor, and she called out the foremost figure among her peers in the immortal land.
Throughout the ages, Fire Phoenix Mountain had produced a continuous stream of experts, never lacking the most exceptional heavenly demon seeds.
Clad in azure robes, Jiang Ran stepped forward with graceful poise, moving calmly like a radiant immortal lotus swaying in the wind. She was truly a woman ethereal as an immortal.
"Who else?" Jiang Ran asked.
She was usually unassuming, but in this moment she showed immense assertiveness, a single remark stirring fury in Tianfeng across from her.
In the demon camp, the Jade Emperor furrowed his brows. He had originally intended to challenge Jiang Ran as well, but now he was forced to shift targets, fixing his gaze upon Pei Shuyan.
The Jade Emperor possessed an appearance as handsome as fine jade. His true form was a locust beast, yet in human shape, he had sharp brows, bright starry eyes, and a commanding air. A dense Daoist charm lent him an extraordinary presence.
Called out by name, Pei Shuyan naturally stepped forward to accept the duel. Elegant in white robes, his demeanor was equally remarkable. When the two stood face-to-face, they drew the gazes of countless female cultivators.
Pei Shuyan was around twenty-five years old, visibly older than the Jade Emperor, which underscored just how extraordinary this renowned heavenly demon seed truly was.
Demon after demon stepped forward, challenging seed-level experts from Yezhou.
Several top divine seeds of the esoteric sect were targeted by opposing demons.
A formidable figure from the Six Imperials ancestral court—one who had received the grace of three imperials in his youth—possessed an appearance that looked far too aged for his years, yet he too was challenged by the demons.
A three-eyed youth surnamed Zhuo from the immortal path, along with the young Cui Chonghe, were also challenged immediately.
Li Qingyue did not appear. A senior figure had approached her beforehand, instructing her not to take the field.
Inside the Eight Trigrams Furnace, a faint light flickered as the artifact spirit communicated with her in secret.
"My initial revival has likely drawn suspicion. Some may have also guessed that you have mastered the imperial arts."
...
No one expected that Jiang Ran, who appeared ethereal as an immortal, would unleash such overwhelming, devastating power once she struck. With her pale hands, she shattered Tianfeng into pieces.
Tianfeng wailed as her physical form was destroyed. Her demon soul surged toward the sky, only to be sheared down by Jiang Ran's immortal sword, slain on the spot.
This struck fear into many demons.
Across the field, a group of great demons stood dazed.
Shortly after, the Jade Emperor and Pei Shuyan fought to mutual injury, ending in a draw.
This outcome drew nods of approval from the demon onlookers; after all, the Jade Emperor was younger, proving worthy of his illustrious fame.
Soon, Chu Pianran scored a resounding victory.
However, the seed of the ghost path was defeated.
The Jade Emperor wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a white silk handkerchief and looked toward Yezhou. "Has Qin Ming arrived?"
Instantly, countless eyes turned toward Qin Ming.
"So it is you!" A cold, sharp glint flashed in the Jade Emperor's eyes.
"Your opponent is me!" Pei Shuyan stated.
Qin Ming, however, strode straight forward, drawing his mutton-fat jade iron saber.
Xiao Wu piped up, "Locust, you should be thanking your lucky stars you're in the fourth realm, or Brother Ming would have taken your head already!"
The Jade Emperor cast a chilly glance in their direction and commanded, "Yao Jian, go sever all of them for me!"
A man clad in snow-white robes stepped out. Strikingly handsome, sword qi poured from every pore of his body; he was indisputably a top-tier demon sword immortal.
Moreover, his name was Yao Jian.
"What is your relation to him?" Qin Ming asked from the center of the field, regarding the demon man.
The white-robed man replied, "My name is Yao Jian—naturally the sword in the Jade Emperor's hand. I accompanied my lord in sword practice for twelve years, and now I am his sword slave."
Qin Ming's expression turned frigid. The Jade Emperor was showing contempt, seeking to humiliate him by sending a mere sword slave to cross blades with him.
"Locust, you go too far!" Wu Yaozu stepped forward.
Xiang Yiwu followed suit, his entire body radiating faint golden light, exuding an immense pressure.
"Has your locust beast clan run out of people?" Qin Ming asked coldly.
"Watch your mouth!" Across from them, a plump, radiant woman spoke up, a murderous glint in her eyes as she flashed a cruel sneer at him.
"Who are you?" Qin Ming inquired.
The voluptuous woman said coldly, "Huang Fei, whom you killed, was my cousin!"
Qin Ming nodded. "The locust beasts truly live up to their status as the rulers of Hanging Ridge—you certainly have plenty of seeds. Today, I'll start by slaying you!"
The Jade Emperor sending a sword slave to fight was an insult he refused to entertain. If he were to kill, he would slaughter the main lineage of that clan!
"Upright ape-demon, you're quite arrogant, aren't you? Thinking you can challenge me?" The plump woman sneered.
"Pay him no mind. The sword slave will slay him!" the Jade Emperor said.
Qin Ming said, "Who do you think I was talking about? Naturally, I'm challenging you, you fat-headed, big-eared locust beast!"
Since she had called him an upright ape-demon, he had no reason to show courtesy, and it also served to bait her into the field.
The woman shrieked in fury, thoroughly provoked, and charged forward with sword in hand.
Qin Ming was surprised. *Did my words really carry that much destructive power?*
The Jade Emperor frowned and tried to stop her, unwilling to let his cousin take the field herself. Winning would be fine, but if she lost, the locust beast clan would lose face.
"Fat-headed and big-eared one, do you dare fight?" Qin Ming called out once more.
He had truly underestimated the weight of those words. The voluptuous woman flew into a complete rage, brandishing her sword as she charged straight into the battlefield.
In truth, quite a few women from both camps cast glances at Qin Ming, feeling that this fellow's mouth was thoroughly obnoxious.
The Jade Emperor said in a deep voice, "Sword slave, slay him immediately!"
The woman of the locust beast clan drew near, but the white-robed sword slave drew his blade ahead of her. He unleashed a blinding sword ray that overshadowed the earthlight rising nearby, descending across the field like a streaking comet!
"You are unworthy of the Jade Emperor's personal presence. Get past me first!" the sword slave bellowed.
Qin Ming frowned. In this situation, he had no choice but to act. Still, the Jade Emperor's cousin had already entered the field; as long as he killed her, he would not be the one slighted.
In a flash, the mutton-fat jade iron saber in his hand erupted with peerless radiance, delivering a strike of absolute might.
He had no desire to tangle with a sword slave; he wanted to cut down both man and woman in short order.
*Clang!*
A line severing the heavens! With resplendent saber light, he sheared through the terrifying, phantom-like sword ray that loomed before him, cleaved the sword in two, and then blew the white-robed man apart.
Following Qin Ming's razor-sharp slash, blood rained down, and dead silence gripped the entire field.
Immediately after, a majestic saber light swept toward the woman who had just stormed into the battlefield.
Chapter 336