A Contingency

After the ancient demon swallowed the Nascent Soul, the chain imprints upon his body began to fade, and the sealing power steadily weakened. "A contingency? You mean this?" The faint illusion of a talisman restriction surfaced around his wrist, but the ancient demon did not even spare it a glance. A mass of demonic qi lunged rabidly at the restriction from the void, morphing into a demonic qi vortex that shredded the talisman restriction to pieces with ease! The Western Nether Alliance Leader forced a bitter, miserable smile. "Petty parlor tricks!" The ancient demon sneered, looking toward the Demon Lord with derisive mockery. "Calling yourself the Demon Lord? What grandiose arrogance!" His gaze swept over the Western Nether Alliance Leader and the Demon Lord. "Will the two of you obediently offer up your Nascent Souls, or will you willingly open your minds for this seat to plant a demonic restriction and become this seat's demonic attendants?" The Western Nether Alliance Leader did not utter a word. A flute floated before her—her natal magic treasure. The flute showered specks of starlight like stardust, morphing into a barrier resembling a river of stars that wound around her. The Demon Lord remained as placid as before, completely unperturbed. "Since you are an ancient demon lord imprisoned within an ancient restriction, and still possess such strength after surviving until this day, you must have lived through the ancient cataclysm and know why the cultivation world has fallen into such ruin. Is there any way for us junior cultivators of this era to break through this impasse?" His tone sounded less like confronting a formidable foe and more like asking for guidance from a senior. The ancient demon licked his lips, his eyes glinting with bloodlust as he coaxed, "You want to know? Become my demonic attendant, and this seat will naturally enlighten you. Only by submitting to this seat will you ever have a chance to break the impasse. Otherwise, the late Nascent Soul stage is your absolute limit. Unable to advance your cultivation, you will ultimately be reduced to ash when the heavenly tribulation arrives one day!" The Demon Lord let out a sigh. "Perhaps there is no need for such trouble. Searching your soul would tell me everything just the same..." Hearing this, the ancient demon's gaze darkened, and he said coldly, "Since you are both so obstinately foolish, this seat will gladly accept your Nascent Souls! Kill!" At his command— The spirit sword hovering above the Eastern Pole Alliance Leader's head let out a light hum. Countless streaks of sword qi erupted, morphing into a grand formation that descended through the air to engulf the Western Nether Alliance Leader. The Eastern Pole Alliance Leader was a sword cultivator who had grasped the essence of sword momentum; the sword formation carried terrifying pressure meant to suppress her completely. Sword light formed a boundless ocean, and sword qi seemed omnipresent. In comparison, the river of stars conjured by the Western Nether Alliance Leader's treasure flute was faint, appearing dim and minuscule, as if it could be snuffed out at any moment. The Western Nether Alliance Leader did not choose to clash head-on with the Eastern Pole Alliance Leader. As former companions who had spent years together day and night, though they had parted ways to establish separate merchant alliances, they had continually supported each other from the shadows and cooperated many times to withstand the pressure of other factions. They knew each other's strengths and methods intimately. Without the slightest panic, the Western Nether Alliance Leader instantly identified the weak point of the sword formation. The treasure flute sounded a melodious tune. Waves of invisible ripples rippled outward, and those specks of stardust blossomed like snowflakes. The once-dim river of stars transformed into cold beams of black ice, shielding the Western Nether Alliance Leader. The invisible ripples clashed with the sword qi and annihilated each other simultaneously. With her natal magic treasure parrying the sword formation's might, she swiftly drew closer to the Demon Lord. The ancient demon moved even faster than the Eastern Pole Alliance Leader, his momentum far more terrifying. Wearing Su Nü's face at this moment, he showed not the slightest trace of feminine charm. His expression was ferocious; opening his wide mouth, he let out a piercing shriek. Demonic light blazed across his body, and demonic qi swelled wildly in an instant. The already dim mountain hollow instantly turned pitch-black, transforming into a demonic realm. The ancient demon vanished, concealed within the demonic qi through an extraordinarily profound and uncanny concealment art that defied detection. Seeing this, the Demon Lord's eyes narrowed slightly. Without him making any visible movement, ghostly shrieks erupted loudly around him—plaintive, ear-piercing, and jarring to the soul. Immediately afterward, brilliant light flared around him. Within the strange glow, countless evil ghosts huddled together, clinging like shadows. Their wide, scarlet-blooded eyes gleamed with extreme cruelty and savagery as they searched for the ancient demon's traces. This was none other than the Demon Lord's famed divine ability, the Lunar Heavenly Ghost Divine Light! Demonic qi bore down ruthlessly. The ancient demon harbored immense ambition, seeking to wipe out both the Western Nether Alliance Leader and the Demon Lord in one fell swoop! In an instant, the Demon Lord was engulfed by demonic qi, but the Lunar Heavenly Ghost Divine Light was not suppressed. Defying the onslaught, it surged forth like ocean billows, attempting to disperse the true demonic qi and force out the ancient demon's true body. Hailed as the foremost divine light in the Canglang Sea, the Lunar Heavenly Ghost Divine Light was also an extremely yin and thoroughly evil divine ability that struck terror into all who heard of it. Yet strong as the Demon Lord was, surrounded by demonic qi, he too felt precarious, like a lone boat in a tempest. Failing to disperse the demonic qi, the divine light was forced onto the defensive. A portion of the divine light was worn away, and the evil ghosts within vanished into nothingness before they could even utter a shriek. Finding his divine ability outmatched, the Demon Lord did not panic. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and his hand closed into an empty grasp. The divine light abruptly contracted, drawing inward to its absolute limit and condensing into a Lunar Ghost Blade, which cleaved viciously toward a certain spot in the demonic qi. The Lunar Ghost Blade instantly tore through layers of demonic qi. A soft gasp of surprise came from deep within the demonic qi. A dark figure surfaced, then blurred into an illusion, its true body brushing past the Lunar Ghost Blade in a perilously close shave. The ancient demon's true body had been exposed. Yet the Demon Lord's deliberate strike had still failed to harm him in the slightest. This caused the ease on the Demon Lord's face to fade, replaced by a grave expression. At that moment, the Eastern Pole Alliance Leader and Western Nether Alliance Leader came clashing over. The ancient demon simply swept up the true demonic qi, transforming it into a vast shroud to suppress both the Demon Lord and the Western Nether Alliance Leader simultaneously. The shroud bore down with earth-shattering power alongside the Eastern Pole Alliance Leader's sword formation. Her face pale, the Western Nether Alliance Leader maneuvered through the gaps of the sword formation with her treasure flute, rendezvousing with the Demon Lord. Right then, a figure arrived in haste and silently appeared near the mountain hollow. It was precisely the elder who had taken the jade stele and hurried over. Seeing the scene in the mountain hollow, the elder drew a sharp breath of cold air. "An ancient demon!" He was a step too late; the ancient demon had already broken out of the stone stele. Fortunately, the seal had not been completely undone. "Demon Lord! Western Nether Alliance Leader! Were you the ones who released the ancient demon?" Spotting the Lunar Ghost Blade and seeing the two clashing with the ancient demon, the elder sent an enraged voice transmission to interrogate them. Seeing his strike fail to hit home, the Demon Lord recalled the Lunar Ghost Blade to defend himself. Sensing the elder's voice transmission, a strange look flickered in his eyes. "Who are you? Since you know an ancient demon was sealed here, could you be an inheritor of the Four Sages Palace? To think the long-declined Four Sages Palace still has a reclusive master. Fellow Daoist, you've arrived at just the right time..." "Do you have any idea what an atrocious sin you have committed?! With an ancient demon unleashed upon the world, the Canglang Sea will be plunged into utter catastrophe!" The elder flew into a towering rage, cursing the Demon Lord. The Demon Lord sneered. "I, for one, don't see what great capability this ancient demon has right now! Formidable as he may be, his power has its limits. Let him flaunt his ferocity for a moment; if a few more cultivators join us, slaying this demon will be effortless. There is no need for your alarmist talk! Instead of wasting your breath, help us break free and summon other fellow Daoists to surround and eliminate this demon. If we wait any longer and allow him to escape, picking us off one by one and devouring several more Nascent Souls, that will be the true catastrophe!" "You..." The elder was so infuriated by the Demon Lord's attitude that his vision swam. Then he caught sight of the Eastern Pole Alliance Leader, and the bizarre situation left him even more bewildered. These three were all illustrious figures in the cultivation world. Yet not only had they unraveled the ancient demon's seal, one of them had even been bewitched by it.