Zhenhai City!
Ten li from the Castellan Manor lay a tranquil palace complex.
A tall black tower stood within it. In days past, it had been heavily guarded—so strictly that not even a fly could slip through, nor a splash of water penetrate. Aside from the Castellan Manor itself, it was the second most vital place in Zhenhai City.
Yet today, the vast majority of the elite guards stationed here had been reassigned.
From time to time, streaks of flying light shot across the sky above the black tower, rushing toward the city gates.
A cultivator drew his gaze down from above and sighed. "Who knows if we can hold off those beasts this time?"
A companion beside him snorted coldly. "With True Person Wen holding the line and the Nine Zhenhai Sluicegates standing strong, who would dare force their way in?"
Even so, the expressions on the nearby Jindan cultivators remained grim.
Clearly, the ferocity of this sea demon offensive had far exceeded anything they had envisioned.
The Tianyuan Dao Sect had enjoyed peace for so long that three millennia had passed without a massive demon beast invasion. Even with the Central Plains Catastrophe decades ago, battles of that magnitude were not something Jindan cultivators like them could ever directly face.
Thus, confronted by sea demons audaciously storming Zhenhai City, many low-tier Dao Sect cultivators had lost their composure.
As time slipped by, reports arriving from the front lines tightened the chest of every cultivator in Zhenhai City.
Flying Eagle Islet had fallen, and every defending cultivator had perished.
The Mount Liubo defense line had collapsed, with swarms of sea demons surging toward the river estuary.
Even Shuozhou Island, where the heaviest defenses had been deployed, was locked in bitter struggle; its fall was likely only a matter of time!
Under the weight of this relentless stream of grim tidings, the Jindan cultivators guarding the black tower grew increasingly solemn.
"What do we do if the city falls?"
"Even if it falls, we must hold! Would you dare defy the Dao Sect's orders and abandon this teleportation array?"
The crowd looked back toward the black tower, falling silent.
After the Central Plains Catastrophe, the earth veins of the shattered continents had suffered catastrophic trauma. The vast network of teleportation arrays that once crisscrossed the Central Plains had been virtually pulverized.
Every overseas teleportation array had ceased functioning entirely!
Those leading inland had also lost most of their function.
The array in Zhenhai City was one of the relatively well-preserved ones. Not only did it connect directly to the Tiannan Dao Palace, but it also retained a faint connection to the Dongyuan Continent across the sea.
Over the years, experts from the Dao Sect on the Dongyuan Continent had been trying to fully restore the Zhenhai City array, hoping to use it as a foundation to extend influence across the Tiannan Continent and reconstruct the colossal framework that had once spanned the Central Plains.
How could such a vital location be abandoned on a whim?
If the Tianyuan Dao Sect sought accountability afterward, a few mere Jindan cultivators could never endure even a fraction of their fury.
"Abandoning it is out of the question. We can only live and die with it. Otherwise, punishment won't fall on just us, but on the families behind each of us," declared the red-faced cultivator leading them, his voice resolute.
Right at that moment.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
Three deafening booms echoed through the vast expanse of Zhenhai City, sounding as though the heavens were splitting and the earth crumbling.
The tower guards exchanged wide-eyed glances, an unthinkable conjecture surfacing in their minds.
"No... surely not?"
The very next instant, a piercing, agonized shriek came from the front.
"The Zhenhai Sluicegates are breached!"
The tower guards swallowed hard and hastily dispatched low-tier cultivators to gather intelligence.
Soon, they learned the general situation.
A dragon-shaped desolate beast leading a million sea demons had smashed through three Zhenhai Sluicegates in a single breath!
Those were the Zhenhai Sluicegates!
Forged entirely from deep-sea divine iron by master weapon refiners of the Tianyuan Dao Sect and tempered through heavenly thunder and earthly fire, they were True Artifacts built for absolute defense. Interlinked with the entire city and bolstered by the great protective array, how could they possibly be breached?
And to have three shattered in a single breath!
No one wanted to believe it, yet the reality stood before them. Worse, further bad news poured in: the fourth Zhenhai Sluicegate was already teetering on the verge of collapse.
Horror seized all the tower guards.
Once all nine Zhenhai Sluicegates fell, Zhenhai City—stationed at the river estuary with no natural barriers left to defend—would be completely exposed to the endless sea demons.
"Should we..."
"Don't even think about it. Even if we die here, retreat is impossible," the red-faced leader barked, stamping out their stray thoughts before adding in an attempt to comfort them, "True Person Wen hasn't made his move yet. Don't panic!"
Everyone's spirits lifted. That was right—Zhenhai City's castellan, True Person Wen, was a veteran Nascent Soul who had once cultivated in the Dao Sect's ancestral court, possessing unfathomable strength.
Even compared to the famous true disciples of the Dao Sect, he was hardly outmatched.
So long as he intervened, he would surely stop that dragon-shaped desolate beast!
As if answering their thoughts, a figure soared up from the Castellan Manor ten li away.
It was True Person Wen!
The moment he appeared, he unfolded his Nascent Soul domain, spreading it outward toward the Zhenhai Sluicegates.
Yet before he could draw close, the sky turned turbulent, and demonic qi churned frantically above Zhenhai City.
Three figures hung high in the heavens, striking in unison toward True Person Wen.
"How are they so fast!"
True Person Wen's expression changed drastically as he deployed his defensive techniques.
Yet caught off guard, how could he withstand three Demon Emperors striking together?
*Boom!*
With a single strike, True Person Wen was smashed back into the Castellan Manor.
The immense estate was blasted into powder in an instant.
Every cultivator within the city who witnessed the sight was stunned senseless.
Up in the void, the three figures finally revealed their true forms.
One held a trident, exuding the majestic aura of a ruler. One was draped in flowing ribbons of water grass, displaying a voluptuous and enchanting figure. The last was hideously grotesque, its cavernous maw slightly agape, terrifying to behold.
Three Demon Emperors!
A lineup capable of driving anyone to despair.
Yet Zhenhai City had not become the foremost fortress against the sea demons without deep reserves of its own!
Within two breaths, an enraged roar erupted from within the city.
"Vile beasts! How dare you invade the Dao Sect's domain!"
The next instant, dazzling radiance blazed around Zhenhai City as streams of light converged upon the ruined Castellan Manor.
An azure giant rose from the ground, gripping a great sword, imposing and domineering.
Faced with this giant formed from the channeled power of the grand array, the three Demon Emperors cast aside their contempt.
"To endure a combined strike from the three of us and survive—he truly lives up to his reputation as a Dao Sect True Person!"
"This giant is formed entirely of spiritual qi, dense and cohesive, with immense power. It likely matches the might of a Great Cultivator. This is troublesome!"
"No matter. Old Wen has channeled the power of the grand array, so the defenses at the Zhenhai Sluicegates will naturally weaken. Once the Nine Zhenhai Sluicegates fall, this city can be snuffed out with a flick of our fingers!"
The last speaker was the man wielding the trident.
The glamorous female demon beside him asked skeptically, "Sebo, can that brute who can't even assume human form really breach all Nine Zhenhai Sluicegates?"
Sebo sneered. "Ignorant! What do you mean he can't assume human form? He merely walks the path of a desolate beast, and his intelligence far exceeds that of ordinary fourth-rank desolate beasts. Most importantly, he was sent to assist us by that lord from the Northern Sea. If you don't believe in him, surely you believe in that lord!"
The other two turned solemn, clearly aware of what kind of existence that lord was.
"Enough. Prepare to deal with Old Wen! So long as Zhenhai City stands, this giant of his is indestructible. We only need to tie him down and wait for the black dragon to breach all nine sluicegates!"
With Sebo's order, the other two hesitated no longer.
The three struck together, attacking the giant.
Yet their attention remained fixed on the distant Zhenhai Sluicegates.
Rumbling booms echoed continuously. After the black dragon smashed through three sluicegates in a row, the fourth and fifth shattered moments later.
So long as the sixth gate fell, the million sea demons nearby could pour through into the outer city.
As for the remaining three gates, they possessed little defensive power.
Amidst surging bloody waters, the black dragon swam upstream, thick-skinned and rugged, utterly disdainful of the attacks directed at it by the surrounding low-tier cultivators. It focused all its strength on storming the sixth gate.
Opening its cavernous maw, it let out a furious roar as a colossal orb of light condensed within.
With a ferocious exhale, it spat!
"Break!"
The orb of light, brimming with surging power, whistled forward, expanding and swelling as it flew, its destructive force growing increasingly terrifying.
Such a technique bewildered many observers.
Even the black dragon itself did not know how it had mastered such a demon art; in its hazy memories, it only recalled someone using a similar spell to teach it a lesson, thrashing it until its flesh tore open.
Later, it had gradually figured it out on its own, thereby mastering a lethal trump card of immense destructive power.
And the result did not disappoint in the least.
*Boom!*
Another thunderous blast rang out, and a gaping hole was blasted through the sixth Zhenhai Sluicegate.
The black dragon's eyes lit up. With a shake of its head and a whip of its tail, it rammed through the breach.
The path ahead was clear!
"Children, charge!"
It cheered, and countless sea demons surged along the river estuary into Zhenhai City's outer quarters.
"Now, only the last three Zhenhai Sluicegates remain!"
The black dragon panted heavily, its eyes burning with cruel, excited delight.
At the same time.
Near the black tower of Zhenhai City, a sudden tremor rippled through the air.
The tower guards were taken aback and rushed inside.
There, they beheld a graceful figure bathed in gentle green light emerging within the teleportation array.
The sight was astonishing.
The teleportation arrays across the Tiannan Continent were hardly stable right now; anyone who dared use an array for forced transit had to possess absolute confidence in their strength.
Who was this?
The green light dispersed, revealing a breathtakingly beautiful face and an aloof, proud bearing.
She glanced at the cultivators around her, then took a step out of the tower.
Looking up, her delicate brows knitted slightly.
A sweep of her divine sense laid the entire battlefield bare before her.
Three Demon Emperors were pinning down True Person Wen, tying up the protective city array.
Countless low-tier demon beasts had poured into the outer city, slaughtering and clashing with local cultivators.
Yet the crux of the city's survival lay at the Nine Zhenhai Sluicegates.
"A dragon?"
The green-clad woman let out a soft snort, soaring into the air and transforming into a streak of light that shot directly toward the sluicegates.
Her arrival was sudden and completely unhidden.
The three Demon Emperors entangled with the giant noticed her at once, and seeing her trajectory, they understood her intent.
"Stop her!"
Yet the azure giant let out a roaring laugh. "You thought you were pinning me down, but I was pinning you down all along!"
Blue light flashed across the giant's form, transforming into vicious flood dragons that encircled the battlefield from all directions. The massive sword in its hands dispersed into myriad sword shadows, slashing toward the three Demon Emperors.
"Fairy Qinglan, please relieve the siege at the Nine Sluicegates! In just a moment, several other fellow Daoists nearby will arrive to help us slay these three Demon Emperors!"
The green-clad woman gave a soft acknowledgment and pressed forward.
Soon, the black dragon gathering its strength to ram the seventh Zhenhai Sluicegate came into view.
Without hesitation, she exhaled lightly.
A single green leaf drifted forth, instantly blotting out the sky.
The leaf drifted down gently, shielding the Zhenhai Sluicegate behind it.
The black dragon charged ferociously, yet after the collision, it was rebounded by the resilient green light.
Stunned, it looked up at the newcomer.
Why did she feel somewhat familiar?
Fairy Qinglan's brows furrowed slightly. She too felt this black dragon seemed familiar, as though she had seen or heard of it somewhere before.
Yet the dire situation in Zhenhai City left her no time for idle reflection.
One hand formed an incantation seal while the other silently recited a chant. She pressed her hands together and pushed them forward slowly.
A colossal palm print abruptly took shape.
Her fair wrist turned, and she pressed down sharply!
Great Heavenly Creation Palm!
The palm print descended with a thunderous roar, vastly warping the colors of heaven and earth.
Others might not have felt it acutely, but the black dragon, taking the brunt of the strike, widened its eyes in shock.
It possessed an innate talent that allowed it to perceive the presence of heaven-and-earth origin qi.
Right now, in its eyes, this palm clearly harnessed the overarching momentum of the world, drawing together vast amounts of origin qi.
What it had to confront was not some mere spell, but a stretch of heaven and earth itself.
"A Divine Ability!"
The black dragon roared furiously, spitting out a massive orb of light.
Not only that, but dense, earthy-yellow scales erupted across its body at a frantic pace.
*Boom!*
With a single blow, the great palm obliterated the orb of light, its residual might surging onward undiminished.
Crushing countless scales, it blasted the black dragon over a hundred li away, leaving its flesh shredded and mangled in a bloody mess.
Right after, a seven-colored wreath flew forth, scattering in midair to envelop the black dragon's colossal body from all sides.
Yet the dragon's massive frame suddenly vanished, transforming into a little dragon barely a chi long that slipped past the seven-colored wreath.
"If breaking through six Zhenhai Sluicegates hadn't drained so much of my strength, how could I ever be so vulnerable!"
The black dragon cursed viciously, then completely abandoned the three Demon Emperors and dove straight into the sea with a flick of its tail.
It fled!
In the distance, Fairy Qinglan saw this but chose not to pursue.
She turned back to aid True Person Wen instead.
Moreover, from both the left and right flanks of Zhenhai City, several streaks of light were rushing toward them at breakneck speed.
Those were also Nascent Soul True Persons!
Seeing that the tide had turned, the three Demon Emperors had no choice but to abandon their raid on Zhenhai City and make a desperate escape.
The ensuing clash did not last long.
With Fairy Qinglan's intervention alongside True Person Wen, they obliterated the grotesque Demon Emperor's physical body in short order, and even its Nascent Soul was ground to dust by the city's grand array.
The glamorous female demon fared little better; taking a heavy strike, she borrowed the momentum to flee.
Sebo had been the quickest to run. The moment the black dragon fled, he had realized the venture was lost. Using the death of one companion and the wounding of the other as cover, he escaped Zhenhai City unscathed.
The battle was decided!
Although countless low-tier demon beasts still lingered in the outer city, once the power of the grand array returned and the Zhenhai Sluicegates were reactivated, those creatures would be nothing more than turtles trapped in a jar.
Fairy Qinglan looked at True Person Wen, whose face was pale and whose lips were stained with blood. "Senior Brother Wen, are you all right?"
True Person Wen gave a wry smile. "I'm fine. I channeled the grand array's power in advance; I simply hadn't expected three Demon Emperors to strike together. How was it on your end?"
Fairy Qinglan brushed a strand of hair aside. "That black dragon was likely born of a desolate beast, possessing immense physical strength; my palm failed to kill it. Furthermore, it is exceedingly slippery and has mastered size alteration. Even my seven-colored wreath couldn't trap it..."
As she spoke, Fairy Qinglan's brows knitted tighter and tighter.
A black dragon, a desolate beast, capable of size alteration, and quite cunning.
Why did this description match that fellow who had stayed with the Fu family for a year so closely?
And that fellow was the bonded beast of another person.
At that realization, Fairy Qinglan's expression changed slightly.
"Senior Brother Wen, I leave this place to you!"
True Person Wen blinked. "The other fellow Daoists have arrived as well. Won't you meet them?"
Fairy Qinglan waved a hand. "No. Several of my disciples are out there; I must go check on their condition."
With that, her figure flashed, vanishing on the spot. When she reappeared, she was already several li away.
Green light flickered across the sky, and within barely a dozen breaths, Fairy Qinglan's figure had completely vanished.
True Person Wen opened his mouth, unable to do anything but sigh in admiration. "This junior sister truly dotes on her disciples, even resorting to such mana-draining Wood Evasion to rush over."
***
Mount Liubo.
After a fierce battle, the place lay in utter ruin.
Of the ten thousand cultivators originally stationed here, barely a thousand remained.
Not even one in ten had survived!
A figure stepped out from the seawater, his aura thoroughly depleted.
Lin Qingtong, who had been searching nearby, was overjoyed upon spotting him.
"Cousin, you really are alive!"
*Cough, cough.*
Zhou Fuyou coughed twice, feeling a splitting headache while the meridians within his body seemed torn apart.
Even though much of his mana remained, his condition was the worst it had ever been.
"Where are the others?" he asked.
The smile on Lin Qingtong's face faded substantially, her tone dropping low. "Of the twenty senior brothers and sisters who came, only eight survived. Yuhao is dead too. Zhou Yuqi had his lower body crushed. Only Yuwei and I had better luck, suffering only minor injuries."
Hearing this answer, Zhou Fuyou's mouth opened instinctively, but in the end, he could only let out a despondent sigh.
Though he cared little for clan ties and placed no great weight on fellow-disciple camaraderie, this squad had ultimately been under his lead.
Moreover, Zhou Yuhao had called him 'Boss' at every turn, yet had fallen here on Mount Liubo.
No matter how aloof Zhou Fuyou's temperament was, his chest felt terribly stifled right now.
"That black dragon..."
Just as Zhou Fuyou was resenting the black dragon's slaughter, bewildered by its holding back, mourning his fallen companions, and plunged into an emotional turmoil of the highest order, a flash of green light swept across the horizon.
He looked up, his spirits lifting.
"It's Master!"
The green light paused for an instant above Mount Liubo. After her divine sense swept over Zhou Fuyou, leaving behind only an order to return to the city, she vanished into the distance once more.
Zhou Fuyou was perplexed. "Where is Master heading?"
***
Fairy Qinglan paid no heed to the expenditure of mana, executing Wood Evasion in rapid succession.
Unfortunately, this art was among the relatively slower techniques within the Five Elements Evasions, and out over the boundless ocean, its effectiveness was poorer still.
Pursuing the black dragon was proving quite strenuous.
In particular, Fairy Qinglan could sense that the trace of wood origin qi she had left on its body was steadily dissipating.
Once it faded completely, finding it again would be impossible.
*It has to be the Black King!*
*Since the Black King has appeared, he must be nearby as well!*
*Why launch an attack on the Tiannan Continent like this? What is he trying to do?*
Amidst the ceaseless murmurings in her heart, Fairy Qinglan's footsteps suddenly halted.
She looked up toward the sky by instinct.
From amidst the vast sea of clouds, a fiery spark plummeted from above like a falling meteor, crashing with a thunderous roar onto a small island a thousand li away.
The woman's heart tightened in an instant.
Chapter 1049