Ting Lanyue was the first to break free. She immediately flipped to her feet and said, "Our Dating Clan ancestors once opened up the Great Wilderness together with Sword Gate's predecessors. They knew how terrifying the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother was and left behind records about her! I've read those records. The Heavenly Phenomenon Mother is a demon god, not an ordinary life-form! These Demonic Spirits want to awaken the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother. No matter what, we must inform Sword Gate's higher-ups, or this will spiral completely out of control!"
Zhong Yue handed her the other sickle to control. The two of them swiftly hacked apart the spider silk binding everyone. Just as they were preparing to leave, He Chengchuan hurriedly said, "Cover the corpses!"
Zhong Yue immediately understood. This road led to the Demonic Spirits' lair. If someone discovered so many Mutated Abyssal Demon corpses on the ground, they would certainly realize that people had escaped. They had to bury the corpses to buy themselves more time to flee!
Senior Brother He has also been tempered by countless battles. His thoughts are meticulous.
Everyone immediately buried the many Mutated Abyssal Demon corpses where they lay. After determining their direction, they quietly fled toward the entrance of the Demonic Ruins.
There was no distinction between day and night within the Demonic Ruins. The sky remained gray and hazy at all times. Zhong Yue and the others hid and dodged along the way, avoiding one Demonic Spirit tribe after another as they drew ever closer to the entrance.
Ahead stood a Sword Gate. It was both the entrance and exit of the Demonic Ruins, and two Sword Gate elders guarded the outside. As long as they reached that place and walked out through the Sword Gate, they would be safe.
Whoosh—
Everyone let out a long sigh of relief. Only a few li remained before they could leave the Demonic Ruins and escape with their lives.
He Chengchuan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his mind relaxing. "Once we escape the Demonic Ruins, we'll be safe. If we report this to Sword Gate's higher-ups, there should still be time to save the brothers who fell here!"
The many Upper House disciples nodded repeatedly. Suddenly, a voice filled with strange demonic power clearly reached their ears amid a coquettish laugh. "You actually managed to escape here. Your luck is truly astonishing. But not one of you will get away, so how can you talk about saving anyone?"
Everyone's expressions changed drastically. They looked up and saw a woman standing at the entrance of the Demonic Ruins. She was called a woman, but she did not have a human head. Instead, she had a huge elephant's head, a long trunk swinging back and forth, and two long tusks!
The Heavenly Elephant Demon Race!
The Heavenly Elephant Demon Race was the highest-ranking Demonic Spirit race in the Sword Gate Demonic Ruins. Their reproductive ability was relatively poor, so their numbers were small, but every one of them was immensely powerful. An ordinary member of the Heavenly Elephant Demon Race was actually no weaker than a Mutated Abyssal Demon!
At the feet of that female Heavenly Elephant Demon lay more than ten corpses. They were probably Upper House disciples who had escaped the Demonic Spirits' encirclement and painstakingly made their way here, only to die at the hands of this female Heavenly Elephant Demon before the Sword Gate!
"A Demonic Spirit Qi Practitioner!" Ting Lanyue said in a low voice.
"A Qi Practitioner?"
Everyone was startled. The Demonic Spirits had actually left a Qi Practitioner to guard this place—and it was the most powerful Heavenly Elephant Demon Race in the Demonic Ruins!
There was also a trace of despair in Ting Lanyue's voice. "A Qi Practitioner is guarding this place. There's no way we can leave alive..."
"The little Human race girl has some insight. You can actually tell that I've become a Qi Practitioner."
The female Heavenly Elephant Demon's tiny eyes revealed surprise. She laughed and said, "Now, you may attack. I'm not very interested in eating people, but I am very interested in killing them."
Ting Lanyue gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, "Junior Brothers, our only choice now is to fight to the death. If one person can escape, then let one person escape!"
Everyone fell silent. Zhong Yue also removed his Mysterious Iron sickle and silently wiped it. Qi Practitioners had comprehended spirit and united body and spirit. The spirit was also called the primordial spirit and was incomparably powerful. The gap between them and a Qi Practitioner was beyond imagination. They probably did not have even the slightest chance of victory this time.
Even if they fought to the death, they would probably all die here, with no one able to escape!
"Boy Yue, no matter what, I have to borrow your body this time!"
In Zhong Yue's mind, Kindling Child's voice suddenly rang out. "If you die, I can only fall silent and sleep again, waiting for the next member of the Fuxi Divine Clan to discover me. But I've endured through endless years and am already close to going out. I can't wait any longer! Even if I expose myself, I must act!"
Zhong Yue was startled and was just about to speak when he suddenly heard a creaking and grinding sound. The Sword Gate was actually opening slowly!
Everyone was stunned. No one had expected this. Even the female Heavenly Elephant Demon was startled and failed to react for a moment.
A voice came from outside the Sword Gate. It belonged to one of the Sword Gate elders. "The Demonic Ruins are open. You may enter."
"Thank you, Elder."
As the Sword Gate opened, Upper House disciples filed inside, chatting and laughing. They were likely disciples under one of the Upper House's Qi Practitioners, entering the Sword Gate Demonic Ruins for training.
As soon as these Upper House disciples entered the Demonic Ruins, they looked up and saw Zhong Yue, Ting Lanyue, and the others. Then they saw the female Heavenly Elephant Demon standing before the Sword Gate, and they froze.
"Senior Brothers, retreat!"
Ting Lanyue shouted sharply, "Inform the elders at once! The Demonic Spirits have captured all our Upper House disciples and are preparing to use them in a blood sacrifice to revive the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother..."
Before she could finish, the female Heavenly Elephant Demon's trunk suddenly swelled violently. In an instant, it grew countless times larger, like a fleshy white sack ten zhang thick. With a fierce inhalation, the hundred-odd Upper House disciples who had entered the Demonic Ruins were helplessly lifted into the air. More than ten of them immediately fell into the trunk with a series of swishes!
"I hate eating things raw!"
The female Heavenly Elephant Demon chewed forcefully, blood flowing from the corners of her mouth as she swallowed those dozen-odd people!
The remaining ninety-some Upper House disciples were sucked into midair. The female Heavenly Elephant Demon swept her trunk, and it crushed through them like a hundred-zhang-long python. More than ninety people were pulverized in midair, and not one escaped!
"Beast!"
The Sword Gate had not yet closed when a streak of white light flashed. The next moment, an old man in white stood before the Sword Gate. He looked at the female Heavenly Elephant Demon in shock and fury, but his expression suddenly changed as he cried out, "A Qi Practitioner of the Heavenly Elephant Demon Race? There is no spirit of heaven and earth in the Demonic Ruins. How could a Qi Practitioner be born here? Not good!"
The white-haired old man was one of the two Sword Gate elders responsible for guarding the Demonic Ruins. He immediately understood and shouted, "Quickly, sound the alarm! The Demonic Spirits in the Demonic Ruins have offered sacrifices to heaven and earth, causing a Demonic Spirit to be born in this world!"
Outside the Demonic Ruins, the other elder acted at once upon hearing this. Faintly, the sound of a bell rang out, deep and sonorous.
"The old Human race ghost is quite clever!"
The female Heavenly Elephant Demon giggled. Her trunk lashed out and coiled toward the elder as she laughed, "Unfortunately, it's already too late. The Heavenly Phenomenon Mother's spirit is about to awaken. Even if your Sword Gate knows about it, nothing can be done!"
"The Heavenly Phenomenon Mother?"
The white-robed elder's expression changed drastically. Another streak of white light flashed, and the other elder also charged into the Demonic Ruins, joining forces with him to attack the female Heavenly Elephant Demon.
Three Qi Practitioners battled before the Sword Gate, their various divine abilities shaking heaven and earth. The female Heavenly Elephant Demon directly united body and spirit, displaying a manifestation of an elephant-headed human body with eight arms and four heads. A hundred zhang tall, she fought until heaven collapsed and earth cracked.
The two Sword Gate elders likewise united body and spirit. One became a winged divine human, while the other became a divine human standing atop a Black Tortoise with a great serpent upon his back. Divine abilities erupted one after another. The might of three Qi Practitioners' divine abilities exploded, forcing Zhong Yue and the others, who were several li away, to retreat continuously. They could not approach the Sword Gate at all and naturally could not leave the Demonic Ruins.
"Sword Gate elders?"
Suddenly, rolling demonic qi surged over. Streak after streak of demonic qi shot out like pitch-black tentacles. One elder was caught off guard and was struck by one of them. He immediately felt his vital essence draining away without end, and he was shocked. His flesh and blood seemed about to melt into that black demonic qi!
In the distance, the rolling demonic qi transformed into a demonic cloud. A man stood atop it, clad in a black robe with his features impossible to make out. He laughed and said, "Sword Gate elders, your qi and blood are rich and pure. No wonder you're livestock that has cultivated for decades. You're first-rate offerings for a sacrifice!"
The tentacles whipped through the air, flying in circles around the other Sword Gate elder and stabbing repeatedly. In moments, that Sword Gate elder grunted as a demonic-qi tentacle pierced his chest, causing his vital essence to drain away madly as well.
"Who are you?" the two Sword Gate elders shouted furiously, shocked and enraged.
"That isn't something you're qualified to know."
The black-robed Qi Practitioner laughed loudly. In an instant, the two Sword Gate elders withered away, even their spirits sucked dry until they became two withered skeletons!
"Obtaining the vital essence of these two Sword Gate elders is already enough to awaken the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother's spirit!"
The black-robed Qi Practitioner laughed heartily and flashed away. His voice drifted from afar: "Children, heed my order. Slaughter all the human sacrifices on the altar and offer them in a blood sacrifice!"
Seven li before the Sword Gate, Zhong Yue, He Chengchuan, Ting Lanyue, and the others stood dazed and dispirited. He Chengchuan muttered, "The two elders are dead..."
"Heehee, the little Human race brats are actually hiding here."
Suddenly, a huge shadow covered them. Zhong Yue looked up and saw the female Heavenly Elephant Demon transformed into a four-headed, eight-armed elephant-headed demon god standing before them!
The female Heavenly Elephant Demon spoke with all four faces at once, her voice rolling like thunder. "The Demonic Spirits of the Demonic Ruins capturing you brats is only secondary. Our main goal was these two Sword Gate elders. Only with their vital essence can the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother's spirit recover to its peak state!"
"How could the Demonic Spirits of the Demonic Ruins know that these two elders were guarding the outside? Could it be..."
Zhong Yue's expression shifted slightly. He looked up and said, "Someone told you about the two elders? There's a spy from your Demonic Spirits in our Sword Gate?"
"The Human race's little brain is quite sharp!"
The female Heavenly Elephant Demon showed admiration. She raised her trunk and laughed, "Unfortunately, you're all going to die..."
Zhong Yue's expression darkened. Kindling probably has to borrow my body to act...
Before the female Heavenly Elephant Demon's trunk could fall, a blood line suddenly split open between her brows. Then a streak of sword light shot out from her head like a startled swan!
Swish!
The brilliant sword light stretched for several li before withdrawing. The female Heavenly Elephant Demon's elephant eyes bulged wide, and her corpse crashed down with a thunderous boom, shaking the earth without end!
A white-robed Qi Practitioner walked through the air, slowly approaching. From afar, he looked toward the depths of the Demonic Ruins. Above the Demonic Spirits' altar, blood mist surged. Within it, a god or demon seemed to be present, its enormous body appearing and disappearing.
The Demonic Spirits of the Demonic Ruins had shockingly used nearly a thousand Upper House disciples of Sword Gate as livestock to sacrifice to the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother!
"Fu Shan, carry my sword here!"
The white-robed Qi Practitioner spoke indifferently. Then thunderous booms resounded. Zhong Yue, Ting Lanyue, and the other Upper House disciples followed the sound with their eyes and saw an enormous Old Turtle, as vast as a mountain range, slowly walking past them. Wherever it went, the earth split apart and mountain ridges rose and fell!
A sword light, dazzling beyond compare, was strapped to the back of that Old Turtle.
"The Heavenly Phenomenon Mother from ten thousand years ago?"
The white-robed Qi Practitioner spread open his palm. The dazzling sword light soared into the sky and fell into his hand. The incomparably enormous Old Turtle seemed relieved of a heavy burden, and its movements immediately quickened.
"Fang Jiange of Sword Gate requests the Heavenly Phenomenon Mother's instruction!"
Before you continue