"Die, fiend!"
Mu Ningning's graceful figure flashed back and forth through the seawater, trailing a faint streak of lightning.
Sword light flickered repeatedly, battering several shrimp demons until they could not raise their heads. Their naturally sturdy shells burst apart like shattered eggshells, and demon blood swiftly spread through the seawater.
Li Ping'an flicked out two black paper talismans. They gave off a faint glow and absorbed all the demon blood before burning away by themselves in the seawater.
That way, they would not attract more demons.
Li Ping'an gazed at the remaining shrimp demon corpses with a trace of emotion in his eyes, then let out a quiet sigh.
Yu Yingshu tugged on Gu Qingcheng's arm and asked through voice transmission, "Senior Brother Gu, why is Senior Brother Ping'an sighing? Does he think Junior Sister Mu is fighting too slowly?"
Gu Qingcheng carefully studied Li Ping'an's expression before answering solemnly through voice transmission, "Senior Brother Ping'an must be lamenting the impermanence of life and the conflicts among the myriad races. Though his progress in cultivation is temporarily inferior to ours, his realm of Dao Heart is incredibly profound. Otherwise, how could he, at the Void Refining Realm, devise so many new methods of artifact refinement?"
Yu Yingshu praised, "That makes sense!"
"What's wrong, Senior Brother? Are you unhappy?"
Mu Ningning drifted back with a cheerful smile and asked with concern.
Li Ping'an brushed off his sleeve and led the three of them to search for nearby hiding minor demons, sighing again as he did so.
"Such huge shrimp. If they hadn't been contaminated by the miasma of a fallen great demon, they would have been wonderful. Nurtured by spiritual energy for so many years... they'd definitely taste great steamed."
Black lines immediately formed across Gu Qingcheng and Yu Yingshu's foreheads.
Li Ping'an turned and called out, "Brother Gu, Brother Yu, don't fall behind. There are still some demons hiding around here. We should take this chance to gain some experience in spell combat."
"Coming, coming!"
"Senior Brother, let us have a try too. We've never killed demons before!"
Li Ping'an reminded them, "Never be careless when eliminating demons. Do not think that a demon is weak merely because it is small. You must also calculate your internal reserves of Dharma power carefully. The ancient texts say that the miasma from demon corpses may contain remnants of great demons' souls. Do not approach it under any circumstances, and continuously recite the Cloud-Clearing Art."
The three of them answered seriously and embarked upon this entirely stress-free demon-elimination journey.
Peaceful years, harmony with the world—those words probably described these four Myriad Cloud Sect disciples.
Around sixty or seventy miles away beneath the sea, things looked entirely different.
Groups of disciples in Daoist robes of every color employed various escape arts, weaving back and forth across the seafloor. They trapped large numbers of shrimp demons and fish demons, using every skill at their disposal as they competed for demon kills.
Amid the fierce demon-elimination battle, Bu Linhai, a Sea Gazing Sect disciple, lightly furrowed his brow as his spiritual sense searched everywhere.
That sword cultivator...
That Myriad Cloud Sect disciple who had humiliated him through such despicable means—he would repay today's monstrous humiliation in full!
He found him. He was to the southwest!
Bu Linhai transmitted a few words to his junior brothers, then darted through the seawater like a swimming fish. Right before several immortals, he directly used Water Escape and rushed southwest.
The team of Sea Gazing Sect disciples led by Bu Linhai had been specifically assigned to obstruct and harass the Myriad Cloud Sect disciples.
The other four members of the team raised no objection to Bu Linhai leaving alone. They continued watching the path ahead of a Myriad Cloud Sect team, striking first whenever they spotted demons.
The Sea Gazing Sect disciples had split into two groups. Six teams were carrying out such petty tricks to disrupt the Myriad Cloud Sect disciples, while another two teams—the strongest disciples at the perfected Harmonizing Truth peak, equipped with the most magical treasures and already aware of the demon distribution map—were rapidly farming points farther ahead.
Bu Linhai did not know that the moment he made his move, a strand of spiritual sense floating around him carried the scene back to the side of 'that sword cultivator.'
Li Ping'an clicked his tongue softly.
As expected, he came.
They had already hidden all the way over here, yet the other side still wanted to come looking for trouble. The Sea Gazing Sect might as well rename itself the Petty-Minded Sect!
And they called themselves one of the ten great Immortal Sects?
Li Ping'an quietly made arrangements and gave a few instructions to his three teammates through voice transmission. Then... he took out four artifact net bags and gave one to each of them.
"Everyone, while eliminating demons, keep an eye out for anything delicious that hasn't been contaminated by miasma. I'll bring some back to show filial respect to my master."
"Alright!"
Mu Ningning agreed sweetly, while Yu Yingshu and Gu Qingcheng both voiced their approval.
The two of them had their own thoughts as well.
In their eyes, Senior Brother Ping'an, the strongest among them, was acting so leisurely and did not care in the slightest about their training rank. They would simply follow along with him. Neither of them cared for the meager rewards offered by the Sea Gazing Sect.
At the same time;
Above the sea, within a thin white cloud.
Elder Yan Sheng's Immortal Sense covered the entire field, and he was feeling somewhat troubled.
The current situation was extremely unfavorable for the Myriad Cloud Sect.
Every Myriad Cloud Sect team was being 'shadowed' by Sea Gazing Sect disciples.
With so many immortals watching, the Sea Gazing Sect disciples naturally could not directly attack or harass the Myriad Cloud Sect disciples. But they could steal the demons targeted by Myriad Cloud Sect disciples, lingering around them and making them endlessly vexed.
Quite a few Myriad Cloud Sect disciples had their demons stolen repeatedly, leaving them furious.
Fortunately, everyone's cultivation of mental state was fairly solid. They had also received instructions from the elders beforehand, so they did not directly start fighting the Sea Gazing Sect disciples.
On the Immortal Treasure bronze mirror that publicly displayed the disciples' demon-kill rankings to the many Loose Cultivators in real time, all of the Myriad Cloud Sect disciples had fallen into the lower ranks.
Elder Yan Sheng and the other Myriad Cloud Sect immortals truly had no face at the moment.
Elder Yan Sheng took a puff from his expensive dry tobacco and pondered how he might persuade Li Ping'an to strive harder and fight for the lead. Elder Yan Sheng vaguely knew how many Spirit Blast Art artifact tools Li Ping'an carried.
But then Elder Yan Sheng reconsidered.
If he gave the order, Li Ping'an would certainly obey. Yet what would be the point of forcing Li Ping'an to act?
A sect would not rise or fall because of the disciple rankings from a single six-sect training exercise. A sect's prosperity depended on the number of Golden Immortals and Heavenly Immortals it had, as well as... treasure basins like Casting Cloud Hall.
Forget it, Elder Yan Sheng sighed inwardly. The wishes of disciples should also be respected by their elders.
Several bursts of laughter came from the seawater.
Let's see what Little Ping'an and the others are doing. They're having so much fun even while killing demons.
Elder Yan Sheng smiled as he looked down. Suddenly, his primordial spirit trembled, his vision went dark, and he nearly blurted out an immortal curse disrespectful to Ancestor Dazhi.
Heh. Hehehe. Hahahaha.
The strongest disciple in actual combat strength on this Myriad Cloud Sect expedition...
Was catching jellyfish.
At the same time;
On a desolate stretch of land an unknown distance from the coast of the Eastern Sea.
The sweeping wind and sand had carried away the last trace of green from this barren land. White bones exposed amid the gravel formed a road leading toward the volcano ahead.
Thick smoke billowed from the volcano.
Dozens of enormous demons lay prostrate around the volcanic crater, greedily absorbing the turbid spiritual energy of heaven and earth in this place.
This was a medium-sized Demon Clan territory in the southeastern region of the Western Continent. The throne of the local Demon King stood atop the volcanic lava.
From the lava, which surged like dark blood, a sturdy and towering humanoid body slowly emerged.
His thirty-foot-tall body was clad in black armor, the horns atop his head curved beautifully, and the jade nose ring through his bovine nostrils was both a magical treasure and a fashionable accessory among the ox race.
This demon was known as King Kuangshan. Possessing boundless strength and numerous transformations, he was one of the thirty-six Demon Kings of the southeastern Western Continent and a pillar of the current Demon Ox Clan.
King Kuangshan had cultivated for more than thirty-six thousand two hundred years.
Though he had repeatedly suffered defeat in battles against human experts, he had relied on a secret art inherited by the ox race not only to survive until today, but also to kill more than a dozen human Heavenly Immortals with the twin battle-axes in his hands.
When King Kuangshan took human form and traveled through the human world of the Eastern Continent, he had even given himself an extremely imposing name.
Niu Benben.
The point was to have plenty of oxen and overwhelming force!
At this moment, a faint smile appeared on King Kuangshan's wild face. He lifted a hand to stroke the horns of which he was proudest, propped his cheek with his left hand, and closed his eyes upon his throne.
One ox louse scattered outside had sensed human Qi cultivators nearby.
Among those Qi cultivators, one person's Dao Heart had developed a clear fissure, giving that ox louse an opening to exploit.
The edge of the Eastern Sea?
King Kuangshan stroked his right horn with his fingers and gradually recalled something.
About two years earlier, one of his generals had gone to the Eastern Sea to seize a treasure. Unexpectedly, his identity had been exposed midway, and he had fallen beneath the chaotic bombardment of human immortals' magical treasures.
That general had carried a Thousand-Year Ox Louse bestowed by King Kuangshan, which could originally have preserved his primordial spirit.
But there had been too many human immortals at the time. The general had been hacked to death in a flurry of blades, leaving behind not even the tiniest remnant soul.
Now, it was precisely that ox louse, which had sunk into the Ancient Ruins of the Eastern Sea with the general's corpse, that had sensed a small and exploitable Qi cultivator nearby.
A smile crept across King Kuangshan's lips.
Since he had nothing better to do, he might as well go have some fun in the Eastern Continent.
King Kuangshan's interest was piqued. With a slight use of his divine ability, a strand of demon soul descended into that ox louse, taking in the entire situation around the Ancient Ruins.
Oh? A human Immortal Sect is using miasma to train its disciples?
King Kuangshan snorted coldly.
If that was the case, then he had no choice but to take revenge on these human Immortal Sects!
King Kuangshan was already extremely practiced at this sort of thing. As long as his demon soul could reach a place, he could find a Qi cultivator with an obvious fissure in their Dao Heart, seize the opening, and trigger that Qi cultivator's inner demon.
At best, it would cause the Qi cultivator to suffer cultivation deviation and damage their Dao foundation, making future advancement difficult.
At worst, he could directly control the Qi cultivator's mind and make them serve King Kuangshan, then casually slaughter a few more human Qi cultivators!
Wonderful.
"Let me see whose Dao Heart has a fissure... Hoh, why does this young human's Dao Heart look like a hornet's nest? He can still cultivate with a Dao Heart like that? Humans truly are favored by heaven."
King Kuangshan's true body muttered to himself. The ox louse carrying a strand of his demon soul turned into invisible black light and approached the increasingly near...
Sea Gazing Sect disciple Bu Linhai.
As Bu Linhai manipulated water, the black light formed by the Thousand-Year Ox Louse shot directly into his ear.
Yet no immortal in this place noticed what had happened.
Generally speaking, triggering a Qi cultivator's inner demon involved three steps: temptation, invasion, and transformation.
All living beings possessed the Seven Emotions and Six Desires.
To trigger a human Qi cultivator's inner demon, one had to make full use of the cultivator's desires.
King Kuangshan was a Demon King of 'moderate significance' in the southeastern Western Continent. If he risked everything and erupted with full power, he could briefly fight even a human Golden Immortal Qi cultivator. How could a True Unity Realm disciple like Bu Linhai possibly resist him?
At this moment, Bu Linhai's eyes held only Gu Qingcheng, the Myriad Cloud Sect sword cultivator, and anger had gone to his head.
He did not know that King Kuangshan had already used the fissure in his Dao Heart to see the general outline of the thoughts within his sea of consciousness.
"No wonder he is so furious. He was humiliated in a spell battle—before hurting his enemy, he bared his backside first, and the wind made his buttocks feel chilly."
King Kuangshan found it amusing as well.
But his true body could not laugh.
Because suddenly breaking into a "hehehe" laugh would damage his image as a cruel and bloodthirsty king.
King Kuangshan immediately acted, slowly beginning to erode Bu Linhai's primordial soul and using Bu Linhai's eyes to observe this stretch of sea.
A group of ants who had not become immortals beneath the sea, and a group of insignificant immortals above the sea.
Not worth mentioning.
At this moment, Bu Linhai quietly stopped, using his spiritual sense to observe the figures of Li Ping'an and his three companions.
Bu Linhai thought, One Light Condensation Realm, two Void Refining Realms, and one True Unity Realm. No wonder these four don't dare enter the depths of the Ancient Ruins. One female disciple is holding them back.
King Kuangshan, hidden in the shadows, was also somewhat curious. How does this fellow plan to take revenge on his enemy?
Bu Linhai narrowed his eyes slightly. Hiding beside a piece of coral on the seafloor, he casually wiped out two strange-looking fish demons as thoughts began rapidly turning through his Dao Heart.
Though Bu Linhai was angry, he had not lost his reason.
Several immortals were watching overhead. Should he directly go fight that Myriad Cloud Sect sword cultivator?
Not only would that accomplish nothing, but his sect would directly punish him.
Should he secretly attack with a water-manipulation art?
Such petty tricks would not escape the eyes of the Myriad Cloud Sect immortals either.
If he secretly injured those disciples, the Myriad Cloud Sect immortals would likely refuse to let the matter rest, and his own sect would punish him as well.
Bu Linhai's thoughts spun rapidly. After considering matters from every angle and discarding one idea after another, his eyes suddenly lit up and his Spirit Platform flashed.
He had it!
Bu Linhai looked around and discovered that this place was not far from a hidden cage on the inner side of the Ancient Ruins where demons had been placed.
These hidden cages had originally been left behind by Sea Gazing Sect immortals to make it easier for their own disciples to 'kill demons' in advance. If the Sea Gazing Sect's two Harmonizing Truth peak teams fell behind, they could activate the hidden cages.
Now that the Myriad Cloud Sect disciples were being disrupted while the Sea Gazing Sect's two elite teams held a massive lead, there was no use keeping these hidden cages.
A cold smile crossed Bu Linhai's lips as he turned and fled toward that hidden cage.
Each hidden cage held three or four hundred minor demons, along with three to six mature, partially transformed demons.
All I need to do is pretend that I am eager to earn merit, go kill demons at that hidden cage, then act as if I cannot withstand them after a hard fight and flee. I can lure the demon horde toward these Myriad Cloud Sect disciples. When they cannot hold out, the immortals above will naturally rescue them. Then they'll have to leave early in utter disgrace. As long as I make the Myriad Cloud Sect disciples look foolish, my sect won't punish me.
That was the plan!
Bu Linhai activated the Sea Gazing Sect's water-controlling immortal art. His Dao Body nearly merged with the seawater, granting him excellent concealment.
King Kuangshan's demon soul, hiding in the shadow behind Bu Linhai's primordial soul, wore an expression of utter disappointment.
What, were all human Qi cultivators such cowards?
If you had an enemy, fight him!
Go up and duel with spells!
Borrowing a knife to kill someone was completely unnecessary!
And this coward was not even thorough in using a borrowed knife. He merely wanted to teach a lesson to several little Qi cultivators from another sect.
King Kuangshan shook his head repeatedly at the sight.
With this sort of mindset and this kind of cowardice, he definitely would not survive three days in the Western Continent. No, at most half a day—there would not even be any bones left!
"Let me handle this."
A shallow cold smile appeared on the ox demon's lips atop his lava throne, and Black Qi rose up.
He began accelerating the erosion of Bu Linhai's mind.
Elsewhere, Li Ping'an carried two bags of little jellyfish that glowed blue. As he watched his three teammates battle a fish-headed, human-bodied demon ahead, his spiritual sense remained fixed upon Bu Linhai's figure.
Li Ping'an felt a little moved as well.
This water-controlling art is pretty good.
Just as the Myriad Cloud Sect excelled at the Cloud Taming Technique, the Sea Gazing Sect's signature art was the Water Control Art.
There's a trace of demonic aura hidden in the direction that guy went. Could he be planning to lure demons over and force us to retreat?
No, he thought for so long, and this was the best idea he came up with?
Li Ping'an's expression was rather hard to describe.
He turned to look at his three teammates, who were diligently slaughtering demons, then stepped forward to help while sending them a voice transmission to prepare themselves.
The moment Gu Qingcheng heard that Bu Linhai was coming to cause trouble again, he immediately wanted to turn around and fight Bu Linhai for three hundred rounds, but Li Ping'an stopped him with a voice transmission.
"Brother Gu, what's the rush?"
Li Ping'an smiled.
"If he wants to bring demons over, we can use the opportunity to improve our ranking. Being dead last would look rather bad too."
"Senior Brother," Mu Ningning asked, "should we make some preparations?"
"Yes," Li Ping'an said directly. "Follow my arrangements."
This and that.
And so on and so forth.
After making a few arrangements, Li Ping'an and the others continued leisurely slaying demons. They also gathered some seafood untouched by the miasma and stowed it away in Li Ping'an's possession.
A moment later.
A shout suddenly traveled through the seawater and reached the ears of the four of them:
"Quick, get out of the way! There are too many demons!"
Before you continue