Within the mountain hollow.
The silver radiance upon the stone stele grew increasingly dim as the power of the seal diminished sharply.
The Demon Sovereign's agonized shrieks turned into mad laughter.
Imprisoned beneath the stele for countless years, he was finally breaking free in a single day.
His voice reverberated across the wilderness, filled with boundless exultation.
*Boom!*
The stone stele shook violently.
The seal was breached, exposing a flaw as the exact center of the stele split open. Yet it did not shatter completely, instead beginning to mend itself at a sluggish pace.
At that moment, a bizarre spectacle emerged from beneath the stele.
A mass of black qi morphed into a monstrous face, shifting between maniacal laughter and hideous contortions with an appalling expression. The grotesque visage was bound by chains that clanked and rattled incessantly, their luster dull and faint, as though on the verge of snapping.
"The secret technique you promised us...!"
The three alliance leaders shouted anxiously, poised at any second to intervene and bar his way.
Wasting no words, the Demon Sovereign shot out three streaks of flowing light toward the three of them. At the same time, a sweep of black qi dragged over Su Nü, who was entirely incapable of resistance.
The three reached out to beckon the flowing lights into their grasps. Sensing an ingenious secret technique within, they realized it truly could amend their cultivation methods.
"It's real!"
The Western Nether Alliance Leader swiftly verified its authenticity. The true essence that had been endlessly churning and restless within her immediately showed signs of improvement the instant she stimulated the technique, and even her cultivation bottleneck showed faint signs of loosening. Joy surged through her.
*Clatter!*
Dragging his chains, the Demon Sovereign burst forth from the stone stele and plunged through Su Nü's glabella into her body.
Su Nü's face filled with terror. Her eyes rolled back and her expression froze, followed immediately by an agonizing grimace. Chain-like imprints emerged across her body one after another, identical to the chains binding the Demon Sovereign.
"Strike!"
The three alliance leaders exchanged glances, looks of ruthless resolve flashing across their faces as they suddenly barked out together!
A ring-shaped restriction appeared around Su Nü's waist, while an ethereal ray of sword qi erupted from her wrist.
Then, an astonishing scene unfolded.
The ring-shaped restriction laid down by the Beichen Alliance Leader snapped tight, but the sword qi left behind by the Eastern Pole Alliance Leader did not stab toward Su Nü at all. The blade veered sharply, slashing viciously into the Beichen Alliance Leader's restriction!
"You...!"
The Beichen Alliance Leader glared at the Eastern Pole Alliance Leader, instantly sensing something amiss. Without sparing a glance for the Demon Sovereign, he wheeled around and flashed backward in retreat.
Right at that instant, the clatter of chains suddenly rang beside his ear.
*Not good!*
Alarm bells rang wildly in the Beichen Alliance Leader's mind. He opened his mouth and spat out a streak of flowing light.
A fiery-red saber swelled with the wind, slashing out toward his flank. Unexpectedly, it struck nothing but empty air. At the exact same moment, an icy chill gripped his abdomen, followed by agonizing pain.
The weapon that had wounded him was a flying sword.
The Beichen Alliance Leader was intimately familiar with it—it was the Eastern Pole Alliance Leader's life spirit sword!
The Eastern Pole Alliance Leader looked coldly upon his former comrade, his expression aloof and devoid of the slightest emotion, as if the man he had ambushed were merely a stranger.
*Pfft!*
A slender, delicate jade hand pierced through the Beichen Alliance Leader's chest from behind. The heart in its grasp was still beating, dripping with blood and shockingly crimson.
The one clutching his heart was none other than Su Nü, whose physical body had been seized by the Demon Sovereign.
At this moment, she showed not the slightest trace of frailty. Her hands were drenched in blood, and her eyes were brimming with greed and madness, entirely transformed into another person.
The chain marks on her skin grew increasingly distinct, yet she was able to pull away from the stone stele to ambush and slay the Beichen Alliance Leader.
The light in the Beichen Alliance Leader's eyes faded.
The next instant, his Nascent Soul leaped out from his celestial crown. Glancing around in disorientation, it scrambled desperately toward the hollow's exit. Yet his adversary had anticipated this long ago, and the Eastern Pole Alliance Leader's life spirit sword was already lying in wait.
Countless dazzling gleams of sword light formed a top-tier sword array in the void, radiating an overbearing momentum that engulfed the Nascent Soul.
The Nascent Soul was horrified. With a flicker of its form, it vanished and reappeared in the distance, tearing free from the array's perimeter.
This was not because the Beichen Alliance Leader was remarkably fast, but because of an innate divine ability possessed by cultivators upon stepping into the Nascent Soul realm, accessible whenever their Nascent Soul emerged.
However, employing this ability always exacted a heavy toll and severely damaged one's vitality. Consequently, cultivators almost never resorted to it unless facing life-or-death peril.
For this reason, it was hailed as the ultimate life-saving escape technique.
In this dire moment, the Beichen Alliance Leader had no alternative.
Having teleported away, the Nascent Soul rushed out of the mountain hollow without hesitation. Yet before it could take a single step, Su Nü's exquisitely alluring face appeared right in front of him.
It seemed the Demon Sovereign had long foreseen where the Nascent Soul would teleport, waiting there in advance. A jade hand reached out, carrying immense binding force.
Ashen with despair, the Nascent Soul lacked any strength to resist and was seized firmly in the Demon Sovereign's grip.
Immediately after, the Demon Sovereign flickered and vanished, reappearing to block the hollow's exit and cutting off the Western Nether Alliance Leader's escape path. Then, he tossed the Beichen Alliance Leader's Nascent Soul into his mouth.
The Demon Sovereign was actually chewing the Nascent Soul, intoxication gleaming in his eyes as if he were savoring the most exquisite delicacy in the world.
"Interesting..."
The Demon Sovereign regarded the Western Nether Alliance Leader with a sinister smirk.
Just moments ago, the three leaders had agreed to strike together. Yet the Western Nether Alliance Leader had harbored no intention of attacking at all, nor had she triggered the restrictions placed upon Su Nü; instead, she had turned and fled straight for the outside without looking back.
Had the two of them not been powerful enough to dispatch the Beichen Alliance Leader with thunderous swiftness, combined with the Demon Sovereign's astonishing speed, they truly might not have been able to stop her.
The Western Nether Alliance Leader gritted her teeth, retreating slowly in extreme vigilance.
Witnessing the terrifying sight of the Demon Sovereign devouring the Nascent Soul alive, her face turned pale as deep panic flashed in the depths of her eyes.
*Whoosh!*
The sound of rushing wind rose behind her. The Eastern Pole Alliance Leader moved to cut off her retreat, gazing at her expressionlessly.
"Scoundrel! You actually defected to this demon!"
Her back pressed tightly against the rock face, the Western Nether Alliance Leader yelled furiously.
Dismissive of her anger, the Eastern Pole Alliance Leader replied coldly, "Baili Xing has served Lord Demon Sovereign faithfully for generations!"
"Hehehe..."
The Demon Sovereign gave a wicked chuckle. "It is not that he betrayed you. In truth, this seat planted a demonic restriction upon him all those years ago, transforming him into my demonic attendant, utterly loyal to me. Had this seat not been suppressed by the seal back then and lacking in strength, barely able to act against him alone, not a single one of you would have escaped my grasp. What a pity that once he broke through to the late Nascent Soul stage, he might have broken free of the demonic restriction and slipped from my control. Thus, this seat had no choice but to treat you all equally regarding the cultivation method, leaving him to lie low among you."
Hearing this, the Western Nether Alliance Leader sneered instead. "I knew long ago that neither of them was reliable!"
"Oh?"
The Demon Sovereign looked surprised.
The Western Nether Alliance Leader turned toward the hollow's exit and shouted, "If you aren't going to make a move now, just how long do you intend to wait?!"
"Heh, this one has been waiting outside all along. I never expected the situation to change so quickly that before I could even react, Daoist Qingyun would already be at a disadvantage. No wonder you dare call yourself a Demon Sovereign!"
Within the stone forest.
Wreathing mist rolled back as a figure strolled out slowly. It was none other than the Demon Lord.
The Demon Lord walked forward at a pace that appeared leisurely yet was astonishingly swift, arriving at the hollow's entrance.
Facing an ancient demon, his demeanor remained thoroughly calm and relaxed. A sweeping glance fell upon the Beichen Alliance Leader's corpse, yet his expression did not shift in the least.
"Late Nascent Soul stage?"
The Demon Sovereign paused, his eyes narrowing slightly.
The Eastern Pole Alliance Leader moved his lips, transmitting his voice in secret.
Seeing that the Demon Lord had appeared all by himself, the Western Nether Alliance Leader's expression tautened as she demanded angrily, "Why didn't you save Daoist Ji?!"
The Demon Sovereign's might was far too terrifying. With only the two of them, suppressing him was an absolute impossibility!
The Demon Lord certainly possessed the strength to rescue the Beichen Alliance Leader, yet he had stood by without lifting a finger.
"There wasn't time," the Demon Lord said impassively. "Our reinforcements are almost here."
Chapter 1067