Fruits of Battle

Old Demon Ye had personally refined the precious banners and was deeply attuned to them. He understood the formation far better than Jiang Chenzi and the others who held the banners. Returning with the jade skeleton, he personally took charge, and the Banner Gate Array's power surged drastically as expected, breaking free from the entanglement of the Reversible Nine Palaces Array. It had not been easy for Xiang Qing's side to hold out for so long. Everyone had contributed generously, taking out all sorts of rare treasures just to tightly pin down the Banner Gate Array. By this point, they were already nearing their limits. Especially among the four controlling the spirit talismans, only Xiang Qing, with his profound demonic cultivation, was in slightly better condition; Daoist Chongyi and his two disciples had taken pills several times in succession. With the enemy's strength rising as their own waned, the group could no longer maintain their hold and had no choice but to let Old Demon Ye lead the Banner Gate Array charging toward the blood pool to relieve Old Man Tianzheng. They hurriedly gathered the power of their grand array and followed closely behind the Banner Gate Array, likewise rushing to support Qin Sang and the others lest Old Demon Ye strike them with a sudden vicious blow. *Bang!* *Bang!* ... A series of muffled thuds rang out as the Banner Gate Array blasted forth ten thousand beams of bloody light. No matter how powerful magic treasures like the ebony sword and the Five Directions Pagoda were, they could not fight against so many, and were knocked flying one after another. The starlight giant dissipated as well, revealing a pale, weakly breathing Old Man Tianzheng. Several patches of blood stained his robes, matching the spots where the starlight giant had suffered wounds. Without looking back, Old Man Tianzheng plunged into the Banner Gate Array. *Whoosh!* The ebony sword made a swift resurgence, on the verge of piercing Old Man Tianzheng right through the heart. Several beams of treasure light shot out from the Banner Gate Array, joining forces to force back the ebony sword. Qin Sang inwardly sighed in regret. Old Demon Ye was simply too fast; though none of them had held back, they had still failed to kill Old Man Tianzheng. Having transformed into the starlight giant, Old Man Tianzheng's body had become illusory starlight, seemingly indestructible, leaving many methods completely ineffective against it. Any injuries suffered would only reflect back onto his physical body once the secret art wore off. Earlier, the demonic banners had been scattered by the aftershocks of the Blood Demon avatar's self-detonation, leaving Qin Sang no time to reorganize the banner array; otherwise, they might have had a chance! Having rescued Old Man Tianzheng, the Banner Gate Array wheeled around and surged toward the exit. With the jade skeleton in hand, Old Demon Ye and his group had achieved their objective and felt not the slightest desire to linger. "Ye will remember everything that transpired today thanks to you all. In the days to come, this debt shall be repaid!" Old Demon Ye's chilling voice carried over, steeped in murderous intent. At the same time, shouts of curses from Jiang Chenzi and the others could be heard. What had clearly been an advantageous situation had somehow gone awry—where things had gone wrong they didn't even know—resulting in Old Demon Ye having to detonate his avatar, and Old Man Tianzheng suffering grave injuries that would likely take more than a decade of secluded recuperation to restore his peak strength. How could they not be furious? Though they had seized the jade skeleton, it was completely devoid of vitality, which only infuriated them more, as all their calculated plans were very likely to come to nothing. This time, they had truly suffered double losses, a defeat that might even influence the course of the three-domain war! Not wanting to fall behind, Qingjun and the others flew into the Reversible Nine Palaces Array. Qin Sang's gaze met Jingyu's, and seeing her nod slightly, he felt a surge of joy. Although he had missed out on the ancient cultivator's jade skeleton, obtaining the Corpse Flower Blood Amber was still no small harvest. "Thank you all for your hard work, Fellow Daoists." Xiang Qing opened the Nine Palaces to welcome them inside and spoke a word of thanks. The exhaustion on his face could not be concealed. Daoist Chongyi and his two disciples had struggled merely to wield the jade talismans; commanding the array, directing its transformations, and countering the enemy's counterattacks had fallen entirely upon Xiang Qing, taking a tremendous toll on his mental and spiritual energy. "It is a pity that the jade skeleton still fell into Old Demon Ye's hands. Who knows if they will be able to comprehend anything from it." Daoist Chongyi sighed deeply, his face etched with regret. With his heavenly tribulation approaching and knowing he lacked the power to survive it, he had already resigned himself to his fate. Having trained two Nascent Soul disciples, he would have been able to pass into the Yellow Springs with a smile and face his sect's ancestors. Upon learning news of an ancient cultivator, however, a glimmer of hope had sparked in Daoist Chongyi's heart, reigniting his fighting spirit. He had brought along his disciples, sparing no expense to overdraft their strength and consume pills just to maintain the Reversible Nine Palaces Array—yet in the end, it had all vanished like a bubble in a dream. Demon Monarch Tongyou was also quite disappointed, but found it awkward to chime in. He was originally the leader among the four who had sneaked into the blood pool. Yet during the battle to claim the jade skeleton, he had been firmly held off on the outside by Old Man Tianzheng. Old Man Tianzheng was an expert of the same caliber as him, so no one could fault him. However, compared to Qin Sang, who had forced the Blood Demon avatar to self-detonate, and Qingjun, who had faced Old Demon Ye head-on, his performance paled in comparison, leaving Demon Monarch Tongyou feeling quite embarrassed. "Each generation brings forth new talents..." Demon Monarch Tongyou sighed inwardly, unable to help glancing at Qingjun and Qin Sang. He had known Qingjun for over two hundred years. Back then, this woman had pulled off an audacious deception by disguising herself as Leng Yuntian. Later, after being exposed, she had somehow managed to force Patriarch Chifa to tacitly accept her, and her path to achieving what she had today was at least traceable. It was the Qin kid who had truly risen out of nowhere like a solitary mountain peak. A mere few decades ago, he was still in the Core Formation stage, yet now, even Tongyou himself had to give his demonic fire a wide berth—it was truly astonishing. Since ancient times, perhaps only a handful of people in the entire Beichen Realm could boast such an achievement. "Dongyang Bo, heh!" Demon Monarch Tongyou could not help recalling the scene during the deliberations on Cangheng Island. Though he did not know all the insider details, he could deduce quite a bit. Dongyang Bo was calculating and shrewd, yet he had driven such a figure out of his sect—he truly was blind. "Keep pursuing them!" Taking the jade talisman from Si Di's hand to resume control over the grand array, Qingjun said in a deep voice. The others nodded. Old Demon Ye had lost his avatar, which would undoubtedly rebound upon himself and deplete his vital qi; not to mention Old Man Tianzheng, who had nearly lost all combat ability. They still had a chance! As for the treasures here, Sin Abyss could no longer compete with them; there would be plenty of time to explore later. "Ming... er... should I address you as Fellow Daoist Mingyue or Fellow Daoist Qin?" Recovering from his melancholic mood, Daoist Chongyi handed the jade talisman in his hand to Qin Sang, his tone fraught with complexity. "I am Qin Sang. Circumstances forced my hand previously to take on a demon form using a secret art. If I have caused any offense, I hope you will all be generous enough to forgive me." Qin Sang felt indistinct gazes constantly scrutinizing and observing him. As he activated the jade talisman to assist his senior sister in driving the grand array forward in pursuit, he cupped his hands, swept his gaze around the group, and spoke frankly. "Not at all! Not at all!" "Fellow Daoist's methods are remarkable, disguised so seamlessly that I truly believed Fellow Daoist was a demon king!" "Although Fellow Daoist Qin embedded himself among the demons, you never flinched in the slightest. You personally guarded the front line and rendered meritorious service multiple times! If anyone dares speak ill of Fellow Daoist, I certainly won't let him off!" "With the three of you—Fellow Daoist Tongyou, Fellow Daoist Leng, and Fellow Daoist Qin—holding the line, why worry that we cannot destroy Sin Abyss?" "It is destined that our Xiaohan Realm shall flourish!" ... Everyone wore pleasant expressions, returning his courtesy one after another with immense politeness. Thinking of how the Xiaohan Realm had gained another formidable commander, they all showed looks of excitement and pleasant surprise. With the situation in the Beichen Realm precarious, the Xiaohan Realm would prosper together or suffer together. Other matters could wait for later. Xiang Qing shook his head with a wry smile. "Fellow Daoist Qin, you fooled me terribly." Qin Sang promptly offered his apologies, and he and Xiang Qing exchanged smiles. As for Dongyang Bo and Shaohua Mountain, not a single person present uttered a word about them. Qingjun, Demon Monarch Tongyou, Xiang Qing, and Qin Sang each took charge of a jade talisman. With Qingjun leading the grand array, they stayed hot on Sin Abyss's heels, chasing them out of the blood pool, clashing intermittently along the way. Old Demon Ye was bent on fleeing and refused to entangle with them at all. Before long, they chased them to the Blood Gate and broke through right behind Old Demon Ye, only to discover in astonishment that a drastic change had taken place outside the Blood Gate!