The Upper Court disciples of Sword Gate only had one chance each month to enter the Demon Ruins. No one wanted to give it up, so this time, there were actually more than a thousand Upper Court disciples trapped here!
They had brought this calamity upon themselves. The Demon Ruins had always been a training ground for Upper Court disciples. Although Upper Court disciples occasionally died during their trials, no major mishaps had ever occurred. As a result, the qi refiners in Sword Gate's higher-ups had paid little attention to the Demon Ruins.
It was perfectly ordinary for Upper Court disciples to enter the Demon Ruins for training. No one had expected the situation to reverse completely at this moment: the Upper Court disciples had become prey, while the demons of the Demon Ruins had become hunters, hunting down Sword Gate's disciples!
Across a hundred-li radius, nearly a thousand Upper Court disciples fled in all directions. Some gathered together to resist, while others hid here and there. Wave after wave of demons swept back and forth, searching for the Upper Court disciples.
Who knew how many Upper Court disciples had been captured? Their hands and feet were bound to poles, leaving them powerless to struggle. Like pigs, they were carried by two demons deeper into the Demon Ruins, with no idea where they were being taken.
Quite a few Upper Court disciples had even been killed during the struggle!
The tens of thousands of demons in the Demon Ruins surged forth, spreading across the hundred-li radius and shrinking the area in which the remaining Upper Court disciples could move.
"In ancient times, the Human race was humble. Before our demon race, you were nothing but two-legged sheep, fit only to be butchered and sacrificed! In the past, the livestock used in our demon race's sacrifices was all from the Human race!"
As the demons swept through the area, they laughed loudly, undermining the resolve of the Upper Court disciples who dared to resist. Their strange laughter echoed through the ruins.
"Rows upon rows of humans were tied to poles and roasted over the fire, smeared with oil until they sizzled with fragrance!"
"One stab, and a basin would be filled with human blood. We'd offer it to the spirits of Heaven and Earth and the spirits of our ancestors, letting our ancestors savor the delicacy of human blood!"
"These lowly beasts actually dared to rebel and suppress us! Now it's time to let these beasts know who the true masters of Heaven and Earth are!"
Zhong Yue, Ting Lanyue, He Chengchuan, and the others had gathered together. After repeatedly encountering the demons' sweeps and encirclements, the hundred-plus people had been reduced to fewer than twenty. The rest had been captured in the chaos, while some had been killed.
The dozen or so survivors were all wounded, their bodies covered in wounds of every size. They were battered and miserable. Even Zhong Yue, Ting Lanyue, and He Chengchuan—the strongest among them—were in no better condition. In several battles, they had narrowly escaped being killed by Mutated Demonic race.
The corpse bones of the Abyssal Demon Zhong Yue had obtained were too heavy and hindered him in battle, so he had abandoned them during a fight. He had kept only the Abyssal Demon's arms, along with the two gleaming great sickles, which he used as weapons.
These two Mysterious Iron sickles were eight chi long, standing taller than a person. Although they were not soul weapons, their sharpness was in no way inferior. After offering a Soul Sacrifice within them, Zhong Yue sent the Mysterious Iron sickles sweeping through the air like the wind. With a single slash, they cut through the demons' bodies with almost no resistance!
The problem was that there were simply too many demons here. In the past, when they had trained here, Mutated Demonic race had been difficult to find. Now, however, their numbers were horrifying—nearly one Mutated Demonic race appeared among every hundred demons!
Even Zhong Yue had escaped death several times while fighting other Mutated Demonic race. Although he had already killed one Mutated Abyssal Demon, Abyssal Demons were merely the lowest-ranking demons in the Demon Ruins, with a status even lower than Spider Demons. The other Mutated Demonic race were all far more powerful than Mutated Abyssal Demons!
Some Mutated Demonic race from other species had feathers made of gold essence, sharp beyond compare. Some had spider silk so tough that the Mysterious Iron sickles needed more than a dozen strikes to cut through it. Others had bones growing outside their bodies, formed from metal and resembling thick, heavy armor. Each possessed their own formidable abilities.
After enduring these battles, He Chengchuan and the others had also witnessed Zhong Yue's fierce strength. In his hands, the Thunderclap Sword Art became incomparably sharp—when a human blocked him, he killed the human; when a demon blocked him, he killed the demon!
Moreover, Zhong Yue could perform the Thunderclap Sword Art while offering a Soul Sacrifice within the Mysterious Iron sickles. Wherever the sickles passed, demons fell in swaths. He was even several notches stronger than Ting Lanyue, who offered a Soul Sacrifice within a soul weapon, making everyone stare in astonishment.
However, their situation was now far too perilous. With the Mutated Demonic race growing more numerous, Zhong Yue's strength, though high, had little room to shine. He was no match for those Mutated Abyssal Demons. Thus, everyone was merely astonished for a moment before becoming even more worried about their circumstances.
"If we remain in the Demon Ruins without leaving, the higher-ups of Sword Gate will certainly notice something is wrong and enter the Demon Ruins to investigate."
Ting Lanyue encouraged everyone, saying, "We only need to hold out for two or three days. Then a qi refiner will come down and quell this disturbance."
"Two or three days? I'm afraid we won't last that long."
He Chengchuan gave a bitter smile and looked up at the sky. Flock after flock of Eagle Demons flew overhead, weaving back and forth, their sharp eyes searching for Upper Court disciples. "Senior Sister Ting, the demons here are growing more numerous, and so are the Mutated Demonic race. We'll be lucky if we can hold out for even an hour!"
A female disciple sighed. "If only someone could escape the Demon Ruins and report this to the two elders."
Zhong Yue closed his eyes and focused his mind. His soul entered the sea of consciousness as he said, "Kindling, do you have any way for us to escape?"
"There are too many low-level demons here. With your strength, you have no chance of escaping."
The Kindling Child was very straightforward. "Moreover, I've sensed the aura of demon qi refiners. They're all minor characters, but they're still far too powerful for you. I've also sensed several secrets within these Demon Ruins, faintly revealing an ancient aura. It's extremely dark and evil..."
"Demon qi refiners?"
Zhong Yue could not help shivering. How powerful were qi refiners? To Upper Court disciples like them, the difference was like Heaven and earth. Yet demon qi refiners had actually appeared in the Demon Ruins. Clearly, things were extremely grim!
"Besides the demon qi refiners, there's also that dark and evil ancient aura? Could it be even more powerful than the demon qi refiners?"
"Far more powerful than the demon qi refiners. However, these ancient auras seem to have been suppressed, or perhaps they've fallen into slumber, or even died. Only wisps of aura leak out faintly."
The Kindling Child carefully sensed the surroundings. "I sense that these demon qi refiners are preparing a grand sacrificial ceremony to awaken those ancient auras. If they truly awaken them, things will become very interesting. It'll definitely throw the country bumpkin qi refiners of Sword Gate into chaos! Fuxi Divine Clan's youth, if you hand your body over to me, I can take you and escape alone. But if I do that, I'll be exposed. We'll have no choice but to fight our way out of Sword Gate and wander the world."
The little flame spoke with great enthusiasm. "My strength is weaker than before, and I still haven't found a qualified Kindling inheritor. There are still many formidable figures in Sword Gate who can stop me. So, when I break out of Sword Gate, I plan to detonate the souls of the gods and demons suppressed beneath Sword Gate! Those souls of gods and demons are countless times more powerful than the ancient auras in the Demon Ruins. They can certainly wash Sword Gate in blood, and then we can escape..."
"Handing my body over to Kindling is absolutely unreliable!"
Zhong Yue dismissed this dangerous notion. The danger posed by Kindling was definitely a hundred times more terrifying than these demons!
"Young Yue, if you're killed later, I'll take action no matter what!" Kindling shouted in his sea of consciousness.
Zhong Yue thought carefully for a moment. Suddenly, his expression shifted, and he lowered his voice. "Senior Sister Ting, Senior Brother He, when we encounter the demons later, resist only a little, then let them capture us. I have a plan that might give us a chance to escape!"
Ting Lanyue and the others' hearts stirred. They vaguely guessed his plan, exchanged glances, and silently nodded.
Zhong Yue immediately removed the two eight-chi-long Mysterious Iron sickles from his back and buried them in the earth.
Ting Lanyue felt somewhat uneasy and asked in a low voice, "Junior Brother Zhong, how far can your mental power extend? Can you really..."
Zhong Yue shook his head and lowered his voice. "Silence! The demons are here!"
"There are humans here!"
A wolfish howl rang out. A group of Spider Demons discovered them, and several female Spider Demons cried out joyfully, "There are little human bulls! If you dare resist, kill the little human cows and leave the little human bulls for our pleasure!"
At those words, He Chengchuan and the other male disciples' faces instantly turned deathly pale. After putting up only a little resistance, they were all captured. A Mutated Spider Demon spat out spider silk and bound them tightly.
"Little human bulls..."
A female demon lovingly stroked He Chengchuan's face and laughed. "Eating a little bull in the middle of mating is what I love doing most!"
The leading Mutated Spider Demon warned, "Don't cause trouble. The elders still need these fellows' blood to sacrifice to our ancestors!"
Dozens of the lowest-ranking Abyssal Demons came over, hung everyone from poles, and began walking toward the depths of the Demon Ruins.
"Take them to the altar! Once the elders arrive, blood-sacrifice these two-legged sheep to the ancestors of all our demon races and awaken the spirits of our ancestors!"
An Abyssal Demon who seemed to be the little leader of these Abyssal Demons supervised from the side, speaking excitedly. "We must also awaken the common ancestor of all our races, the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother!"
"The Heavenly Phenomenon Mother?"
On the poles, Ting Lanyue and the others were startled. Ting Lanyue lowered her voice. "This is bad. These creatures actually want to awaken the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother..."
Zhong Yue asked curiously, "Senior Sister, what is the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother?"
Before Ting Lanyue could answer, the little Abyssal Demon leader chuckled. "The Heavenly Phenomenon Mother is the common ancestor of the demon races in the Great Wilderness, the god of our demon race! The Heavenly Phenomenon Mother gave birth to her first son, the ancestor of the Heavenly Elephant Demon Race; her second son was the ancestor of the Eagle Demon; her third son was the ancestor of the Fire Demon Race... Our Abyssal Demon race is the youngest son, so our status is rather low. But we're still far above you humans in status. You humans are livestock. Back then, in the Great Wilderness, the ancestors of all our races hunted humans. Especially the little human cows—hehe, once we caught them, we'd strip them naked..."
The little Abyssal Demon leader pinched Ting Lanyue's cheek and chuckled twice, utterly unaware that behind them, barely a li away, the earth suddenly began cracking with popping sounds on the battlefield where Zhong Yue and the others had been captured. The two great sickles leaped out from underground, flew close to the ground, and followed tightly behind them!
Before they knew it, the dozens of Abyssal Demons carrying Zhong Yue and the others had passed through the demons' encirclement. Zhong Yue and the others secretly glanced around and saw that the demons along the road were growing fewer and fewer. In the center of the Demon Ruins, however, demonic qi rolled and surged into the sky. That should be where the altar mentioned by the Abyssal Demon was located.
"Die!"
Zhong Yue suddenly shouted explosively. The two eight-chi-long sickles abruptly leaped up, spinning and whistling through the air. In an instant, they sliced from the rear of the procession all the way to its front!
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
The Abyssal Demons carrying the poles suddenly saw their heads shoot skyward one after another. The demonic blood in their necks blasted their heads into the air, and all of them became headless corpses. At the same time, the two sickles flew back under Zhong Yue's mental control. Blades flashed again and again, slicing the little Abyssal Demon leader into pieces!
Mental power surged from Zhong Yue's brow. His blades flashed in a flurry, severing the spider silk binding his hands and feet. He leaped up, controlled the blade light, and hacked through the spider silk around Ting Lanyue and the others' hands and feet, shouting, "Move! We may still have a chance to escape the Demon Ruins!"
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