"What do you think you're doing?!"
A thunderous shout abruptly shattered the air.
Almost the moment the Nascent Soul True Persons aboard the Jianji noticed the great battle underway across the Blue Ice Sea, the demon beast contingent trailing them surged forward from the flank, barring their path ahead.
Powerful demons glared balefully at the thousands of cultivators aboard the vessel, looking ready to strike at the slightest provocation.
Five transformed demon cultivators stood at the vanguard of the horde, watching the Jianji with icy detachment.
Hearing the reprimand of the human Nascent Soul, an emaciated elder among the five demon cultivators—resembling a bald monk—stepped out from the crowd.
Around his wrist hung a rosary fashioned from human skulls. He pressed his palms together with an expression of deep sorrow and pity.
"Fellow Daoists, your observation ends here. Ahead lies a conflict of our race. Please do not intervene, or else... Amitābha. This humble monk has no desire to slaughter needlessly."
As he spoke, a ponderous, vast aura surged from his diminutive frame and rolled over the Jianji.
A late Nascent Soul demon cultivator!
Aboard the Jianji, everyone's expressions changed drastically.
Fu Chaosheng's face darkened. "Sutra-Chanting Monk... You must be Fellow Daoist Kongchan!"
Kongchan cast a surprised glance at Fu Chaosheng. "I had not expected anyone here to recognize this humble monk. So much the better. Since you know my name, you should also know my ways. It would be best not to act rashly."
Fu Chaosheng said coldly, "If we refuse to detour and insist on pressing forward, do you truly dare make a move?"
Kongchan froze, his expression stiffening.
"Forget it! We will not interfere in the battle across the Blue Ice Sea. But after this, I expect you to withdraw at once and cease dogging our footsteps." Fu Chaosheng waved his sleeve, glaring at the withered, bald elder. "Kongchan, what say you?"
Kongchan's stiff countenance relaxed. His wrinkled old face turned from side to side, and then he gave a slight nod.
"We are not far from Sun Moon Island now, so our assignment may as well conclude ahead of schedule. Besides, this monk has no wish to forcibly deliver you."
After trading sharp words, both sides took a step back.
Outside the Blue Ice Sea, the Jianji and the beast contingent led by the late Nascent Soul demon cultivator fell into a temporary standoff.
Both sides kept an eye on the battle surrounding the Ice Polar Sect while conferring among themselves.
"The Demonic Monk Kongchan's true form is a Sutra-Chanting Monk, a rare breed in the Northern Sea. Born bald with long whiskers and six limbs prone upon the ground, its voice before transformation sounded remarkably like chanting Buddhist sutras, which gave rise to the name."
"Kongchan was a standout among the Sutra-Chanting Monks, rising to prominence during the ancient war between humans and demons. Three thousand years have passed since then, yet not only has he not died of old age, he has cultivated to late Nascent Soul. He is extraordinarily troublesome."
"Unless absolutely necessary, it is best we avoid clashing with him."
No one had imagined that the beast leader sent by the Demon Alliance to monitor Shenyuan City would be a formidable demon cultivator famous since ancient times.
With him blocking the way, the Jianji could not intervene in the Ice Polar Sect's battle at all.
Meanwhile, on the demon side, Kongchan fingered his grotesque skull rosary, looking serene.
Behind him, four imposing transformed demon cultivators looked at him in bewilderment.
"With your strength, My Lord, you alone could suppress all the cultivators aboard the Jianji. Why treat them with such courtesy?"
Kongchan replied in a low voice, "Those individuals are nothing to fear, but their vessel flies the banner of the Tianyuan Dao Sect. Would you say this humble monk is stronger, or the Tianyuan Dao Sect?"
The others paused.
One spoke up indignantly, "What of the Dao Sect? We wiped out the Demon Sect two hundred years ago! Now we face them across the sea. Once our demon race reclaims the ancestral lands of the Northern Sea, we can restore our ancient glory. When that time comes, why should we fear the Tianyuan Dao Sect?"
His words instantly drew a chorus of agreement.
Kongchan smiled and shook his head, fingering his beads more rapidly.
"You said it yourselves: 'when that time comes.' Has that time arrived yet? Besides, you never lived through the ancient war between humans and demons. You know nothing of the Sacred Grounds' terrifying renown. How could they be so easily provoked?"
The demons looked at one another, finding it somewhat absurd.
The Sacred Grounds were formidable indeed; when they attacked the Yuan Demon Sect, they had suffered catastrophic losses.
Even after resting and recuperating for two hundred years while sealed within the Arctic Yama Heavens, they had not recovered even half their peak strength, which was why reclaiming their lost lands required careful, gradual steps.
Yet at the end of the day, the Yuan Demon Sect had fallen to them!
How much stronger could the Tianyuan Dao Sect, which shared equal billing with it, truly be?
Yet when they considered Kongchan's reverence and Fu Chaosheng—who was merely an early Nascent Soul cultivator, yet dared posture so aggressively before them on the strength of a Sacred Ground's name—both sides' attitudes seemed to speak volumes.
The Dao Sect's formidable reputation was enough to keep Kongchan, a late Nascent Soul cultivator, from acting rashly, leaving him able only to issue verbal warnings.
"Sigh. Let us hope the Tianyuan Dao Sect adheres to humanity's internal pact not to meddle in affairs outside their province, granting our Northern Sea demon race sufficient time!"
Kongchan lowered his gaze and counted his beads, looking sorrowful and compassionate.
The demons suddenly understood. No wonder they had been ordered not to attack Shenyuan City; no wonder the two Ancient Demons above had instructed them not to provoke the Tianyuan Dao Sect's disciples lightly. That had been the true objective all along!
Avoid provoking the Dao Sect lest they raise an army against the Northern Sea.
That way, the Northern Sea demon race would have more time to reclaim their lost territories and forge a true Demon Sacred Ground!
Among the five demon cultivators, a handsome man of distinguished bearing glared with bitter hatred toward a figure atop one of the Jianji's pavilions.
"Consider yourself lucky!"
...
Luo Chen rested a hand on the railing while Black King perched upon his shoulder.
"Master, Shark Emperor Liu Jun is up ahead too. He seems to have sensed my presence."
Luo Chen looked composed. "He didn't just sense your presence; he recognized me as well."
Black King was startled. With his master's capabilities, could he be recognized so easily?
Luo Chen offered no explanation.
Deep within his Wither-Bloom True Fire, the wisp of faint blue flame originating from Shark Emperor Liu Jun had still not been extinguished.
It was not that he couldn't, but that he chose not to.
Luo Chen had kept that flame to study why it could target a desolate beast's physical body.
If he deciphered it, he could patch up a potential weakness of his own.
Now that they were so close, and with Black King—who had revealed his true form during the battle in the Blazing Purgatory—beside him, Shark Emperor Liu Jun would hardly be worthy of the title Demon Emperor if he failed to recognize him.
"Pay him no mind. They won't dare attack the Jianji. Besides, even if it comes to blows, as long as I don't face that demonic monk, it is by no means certain who would prevail between the Shark Emperor and me."
Though he spoke of uncertainty, Luo Chen's face showed no trace of fear.
Back in the Golden Core realm, he had not feared Shark Emperor Liu Jun.
Now that he had achieved the Nascent Soul realm, his abilities far surpassed his past self. Even out on the open sea, he had the confidence to fight and win!
At that moment, his gaze turned profound as his spiritual sense expanded.
Combining spiritual sense and spiritual sight, he closely observed the brutal battle taking place across the Blue Ice Sea.
This was also his first time witnessing a clash between a top-tier Nascent Soul high sect and the Northern Sea Demon Alliance.
Evidently, the battle had raged for a long time—at least ten days to a fortnight.
Across the sea of solid ice, corpses of human cultivators and demon beasts were scattered everywhere.
The Ice Soul Spirit Mountain, built from countless blocks of ten-thousand-year glacial ice, was stained crimson with blood, its mountain-protecting grand array tottering on the brink of collapse.
In Luo Chen's perception, no fewer than ten combatants of the Nascent Soul level were engaged.
The two sides had originally been evenly matched—until the appearance of Guixianlou.
"Him again..."
Luo Chen murmured softly, waves of emotion stirring in his heart.
The pale white ice stretched ten thousand li, centered on the Ice Polar Sect's spirit mountain.
Beneath the ice, clear blue seawater flowed quietly.
The two intertwined, giving rise to what was called the "Blue Ice Sea."
Not even the earlier war between humans and demons had caused the Blue Ice Sea to collapse.
Yet with the arrival of that behemoth resembling a red pavilion, everything changed.
Wherever Guixianlou trod, the ice shattered, and the sea churned into surging waves.
Thick tentacles of a giant squid draped across his back like strands of hair.
As he ran forward, the squid tentacles swept up corpse after corpse from the battlefield and fed them into his maw, while streams of invisible baleful gloom gathered toward him, manifesting layer upon layer of ghostly phantom illusions.
"He seems stronger than he was back in the Sunken Sea?"
A realization dawned upon Luo Chen.
He could not tell whether his own higher realm allowed him to perceive Guixianlou's true might more clearly, or if the beast had genuinely grown stronger.
In his perception, Guixianlou now possessed a faint sense of resonance with heaven and earth.
The solid ice melted before him, the boundless sea surged in celebration of his presence, and even the sky grew dim with his arrival.
A Nascent Soul True Person from the Ice Polar Sect attacked, attempting to halt his assault on the spirit mountain.
Yet against the thrusting flying sword, Guixianlou neither dodged nor deflected, charging straight ahead.
*Whoosh!*
The flying sword struck empty air.
This sight stunned everyone.
Luo Chen pondered, *Do the ghostly illusions hovering around Guixianlou affect even a Nascent Soul True Person's divine sense, causing attacks to miss?*
The Ice Polar Sect's Nascent Soul True Person was no fool. Quickly realizing this, he abandoned single-target sword strikes and unleashed wide-area attacks instead.
Yet Guixianlou ignored attacks of that scale, allowing them to bombard his body freely.
Every strike was like a clay ox plunging into the sea, inflicting no damage whatsoever.
*A desolate beast physique capable of absorbing damage?*
Another layer of insight struck Luo Chen.
Then he realized it was no illusion; Guixianlou truly had grown stronger.
He appeared to be infinitely close to Tier 5, which was why he could evoke such resonance from heaven and earth.
*If no one stops him, Guixianlou will breach the Ice Polar Sect's gates.*
Just as this thought crossed his mind, an enraged shout echoed from the ten-thousand-year glacial mountain:
"Vile beast, begone!"
A formidable spiritual sense abruptly erupted.
Within Luo Chen's field of vision, a tiny black speck rose into the air above the ice mountain and flicked a finger.
What seemed an unremarkable tap unleashed an unimaginable polar light, striking Guixianlou in an instant.
*Chii!*
A hole the size of a millstone pierced clean through Guixianlou's colossal head.
With a single strike, the desolate beast Guixianlou was felled!
*Is that the Ice Polar Sect's Supreme Elder, Jihanzi?* Luo Chen shivered inwardly. That seemingly plain finger strike chilled him to the bone.
Evidently, even with his current physical body comparable to a mid-rank desolate beast, he could never withstand that blow.
A great cultivator of the late Nascent Soul realm—terrifying to such an extent!
However, Luo Chen could also see that after executing this move, Jihanzi's aura visibly plummeted.
*That technique placed a heavy burden on him as well!*
Just as the thought surfaced, Luo Chen realized something.
"Wait, something's wrong!"
Beneath the ice mountain, Guixianlou, his skull pierced through, still stood in the sea. His towering frame of nearly a thousand zhang did not fall.
Suddenly!
His body moved once more. With unstoppable momentum, he soared skyward and roared toward Jihanzi's position.
The thunderous sound waves rattled the very souls of cultivators.
And that was merely what Luo Chen perceived from a great distance.
Across the battlefield near the Ice Polar Sect, within a thousand-li radius, all who heard the roar bled from their seven orifices and died instantly, demon beasts included.
Only a few prepared Nascent Soul demon cultivators remained unaffected.
Everyone else—including the Ice Polar Sect's Nascent Soul True Persons—went blank upon hearing that roar, their bodies plummeting uncontrollably toward the earth.
Jihanzi, situated at the epicenter of Guixianlou's roar, took the brunt of the impact.
Although he remained in midair without falling, he was completely dazed and unresponsive, having suffered an unimaginable blow to his divine soul.
He didn't even react to the massive hand Guixianlou reached toward him.
*Crack!*
*Crack!*
One barrier of light after another engaged to block Guixianlou's onslaught, but wherever the giant hand passed, the defensive formations shattered like glass.
"Uh..."
By the time Jihanzi came to his senses, what greeted his eyes was the giant hand pulling back and a gaping, bloody maw slightly agape.
His expression warped with terror; he clearly had not anticipated such an outcome.
Bursts of spiritual light erupted from him as several powerful True Artifacts flew forth, slashing at the massive hand.
Guixianlou ignored them entirely, opening his jaws wide and swallowing Jihanzi whole.
With a few crunches, agonized screams issued from within the beast's mouth.
The sight was utterly gruesome.
To think an illustrious late Nascent Soul great cultivator would meet such a horrific end!
*Boom!*
A plume of blood mist erupted from Guixianlou's mangled head, and a Nascent Soul fled outward in a panic.
Seeing this, Luo Chen instinctively exhaled in relief.
At least Jihanzi still possessed the power to resist.
However, was Guixianlou's soul core not in his head?
Even with his brain repeatedly damaged, his movements were not impeded in the slightest.
Seeing the Nascent Soul escape, Guixianlou reached out again without hesitation.
With a face full of venomous hatred, Jihanzi crushed a golden talisman with his bare hands.
"Li Canghai, save me!"
The moment the words fell, heaven and earth ground to a halt.
A massive vortex manifested in the heavens, and a figure stepped slowly out of it.
His face was obscured, concealed behind countless patterns of wind and cloud.
He cast a downward glance and beckoned with his hand; Jihanzi's Nascent Soul flew directly into his grasp.
At that moment, Guixianlou shuddered, forcefully tearing free of the celestial binding.
He threw his head back and roared wildly at the newcomer.
The same explosive roar as before tore through the air once more.
This time, however, it was like a gentle breeze brushing against a face, having no effect on that person whatsoever.
One of the demon cultivators present realized something and frantically shouted, "Senior Li, you have a pact with our race's lords not to interfere in battles below Soul Formation!"
The obscured figure showed no reaction. Making no apparent movement, he merely released a small seal engraved with faint patterns of mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas.
The moment the small seal appeared, heaven and earth fell utterly silent.
In the next breath, a tremendous rumble echoed from the center of the battlefield.
To everyone's dumbfounded shock, the Ice Soul Spirit Mountain of the Ice Polar Sect, which had stood for countless years, broke from the sea and soared into the sky, vanishing into the small seal.
With the mountain's integration, the indistinct patterns on the small seal seemed to grow a fraction clearer.
"The Blue Ice Sea is yours."
A simple sentence—and the only words he spoke.
Having said this, the figure turned and vanished back into the vortex.
From beginning to end, aside from Guixianlou drawing his attention, nothing and no one had entered his sight.
He had come here merely to save one person and take one mountain. Nothing more.
Only now did the terrifying pressure blanketing ten thousand li completely disperse.
Across the Blue Ice Sea, only Guixianlou's exasperated roars continued to ring out.
Beyond the sea, the Demonic Monk Kongchan kept his head lowered, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Only after a long while did he look up, forcing a strained smile.
"Congratulations to our race on reclaiming another territory."
The demons parted their lips, at a loss for words.
With Guixianlou leading the vanguard, conquering the Blue Ice Sea was hardly surprising.
Yet with the Ice Polar Sect's Ice Soul Spirit Mountain taken away, the main artery of the large Tier 4 spiritual vein here had been removed as well.
What was the point of taking territory like this?
Aboard the Jianji, the cultivators exchanged glances, having never anticipated such an outcome.
The fate of the Ice Polar Sect had been sealed the moment Guixianlou appeared.
After all, in the Northern Sea of today, the desolate beast Guixianlou was hailed as the being closest to the Soul Formation realm. Though Jihanzi's all-out strike had heavily injured him, it could not alter the outcome.
Yet the appearance of Almighty Li Canghai had cast an air of mystery over the conclusion.
To everyone's disappointment, he had not lifted a finger against the demon beasts present. He had merely rescued Jihanzi's Nascent Soul and taken away the Ice Polar Sect's spirit mountain.
Was it because of that so-called Soul Formation pact?
None could say for sure.
Fu Chaosheng alone gazed in that direction with a complicated look, then withdrew his eyes.
"Let us be on our way!"
The Jianji set sail once more.
This time, not a single demon beast followed.
In a secluded chamber on the fifth floor of Kunxiao Palace, Luo Chen recalled the scene of the Ice Soul Spirit Mountain being whisked away, his expression flickering between doubt and astonishment.
"Was that the Island-Linking Array technique?"
Chapter 735