Defeat

Among the countless mountains, the towering Mount Sumeru, rising millions of zhang high, stood unparalleled.

From all directions, members of the Demon Cult gathered in an unending stream.

Soon, they formed a sea of living beings at the foot of Mount Sumeru.

Li Xuan's Magic Cloud Branch was stationed on a small hill at the very edge of this sea.

And Li Xuan himself, among thousands of others, blended in without a trace, hidden within the canopy of a large tree.

He wasn't familiar with anyone.

And naturally, no one was familiar with him either.

So no one came to cluster with him.

As for those four Mystic Immortals from the Black Marsh Altar?

Seeing that Li Xuan didn't approach them to curry favor, they certainly wouldn't take the initiative to chat with him.

Li Xuan was perfectly content with this. He narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing at Mount Sumeru.

Black clouds shrouded the mountain, radiating boundless killing intent.

Luohu's Great Dao was already half-complete.

With the Four Swords of Zhu Xian and the God-Slaying Spear in his possession, his strength could be called the foremost in the Primordial Wilderness at this moment.

He sat cross-legged on the Twelve-Grade Black Lotus Throne, looking down from the mountain peak.

Behind him stood his four subordinates—Wufawutian, Formless, and Emotionless—all Golden Immortals of the Origin.

Along with the Twenty-Eight Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal Branch Leaders, seven hundred and twenty Primordial Unity Golden Immortal Sub-Branch Leaders, and the countless millions of various cult members gathered at the mountain's base!

Luohu's eyes burned with fervor!

His heart was filled with pride and battle intent!

This Primordial Wilderness, transformed from Pangu's body, would, in the end, be mine!

He slowly opened his mouth and began his address.

"All beings of the Demon Cult! I have comprehended the Heavenly Dao on Mount Sumeru, and I know that the Heavenly Dao is emotionless, governing slaughter and destruction! For this reason, I established the Demon Cult..."

Listening to Luohu's bland and uninspired speech, Li Xuan only felt like yawning.

But the cult members listened with great excitement, even inexplicable fervor.

Luohu continued to drone on and on, occasionally triggering waves of roaring cheers that shook the mountains and seas...

A full half-hour passed.

Luohu's impassioned speech, or rather, his pre-battle rally, finally came to an end.

Luohu roared, "Now! The Demon Cult shall first destroy the Mystic Gate! Then unify the Primordial Wilderness!"

"Unify the Primordial Wilderness! Unify the Primordial Wilderness!"

In an instant, millions of Demon Cult members howled and screamed without end.

Li Xuan, hearing the hoarse, frantic shouts of the beings around him, could only raise his hand and pretend to shout along.

"A bunch of idiots... a bunch of idiots..."

"Set out!!"

Luohu roared again, taking the lead as he mounted a black cloud and headed east.

Then came his four subordinates, the twenty-eight branch leaders, the seven hundred and twenty sub-branch leaders, and the sky-blotting masses of altar masters and cult members!

Since the end of the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, when the Heavenly Dao Primordial Violet Qi descended, a full one hundred and twenty-six thousand years—one kalpa—had passed.

Now, the tribulation between the Mystic Gate and the Demon Cult, known as the Mystic-Demon Great Tribulation, had finally begun in earnest.

Li Xuan thought silently to himself.

He drifted casually among the vast sea of Demon Cult followers, heading straight east.

By now, Hongjun must have received the news and was already poised for battle, fully prepared...

A faint smile curled at the corner of Li Xuan's lips.

A fight would be good—the best outcome would be them bashing each other's brains out...

Tens of millions of Demon Cult disciples flew east under Luohu's lead.

But because their strength levels were uneven, the higher-ups had to look after the weakest—the vast majority of low-level Mystic Immortal followers who formed the largest base.

So this flight took a full half-month.

Only then did they gradually approach the eastern lands of the Primordial World!

And as the Demon Cult followers entered the eastern region, bloody slaughter erupted in an instant!

This time, the Demon Cult came east—

to recruit no followers!

to leave no survivors!

Because Luohu believed he had already given these beings tens of thousands of years to think and choose!

But they didn't cherish it! They refused to join!

And many even opposed him!

Then let them all—

die!!

The Demon Cult followers descended like a sky-darkening tide.

The eastern lands of the Primordial World instantly boiled over!

Within mere days, countless beings perished!

The eastern beings finally understood, firsthand, the terror and evil of the Demon Cult!

After all, before this, they had only heard scraps of information and tales of the Demon Cult's cruelty from fleeing western beings.

So while they were afraid, deep down they still harbored doubt.

But now, the great calamity came—and it came without warning!

Li Xuan advanced with the main force, yet never once killed a single being along the way.

First, he was merely here to watch the show, so he had no intention of staining his hands with blood.

Second...

these Demon Cult followers were like rabid dogs.

The moment they spotted a living being, they howled and pounced, killing and devouring.

How could there be any chance for him to act?

He couldn't even snatch a kill if he tried.

Besides—

sure, Li Xuan liked meat too, but who the hell eats it raw?

Don't you bastards know any spells?

Can't you light a fire and roast it?

At least then I could mooch a bite!

He shook his head and sighed...

Still, this great calamity was truly too bloody and brutal.

The Demon Cult charged eastward, slaughtering billions of beings.

In no time, all the beings of the Primordial World began to fear, rage, and hate the Demon Cult.

And as the Demon Cult pressed further toward Kunlun Mountain in the east, half a month later, Hongjun, the leader of the Mystic Gate, finally spoke.

"The Demon Cult is lawless, butchering the Primordial World. Every being must resist! Today, the Mystic Gate takes the lead against the Demon Cult! All beings... blah blah blah blah blah..."

After that righteous declaration, sure enough, all beings flocked to his banner.

"First, hide and let the Demon Cult rampage for half a month, then appear as the embodiment of justice, vowing to stop the Demon Cult—and instantly reap endless praise and admiration. As expected of you, Hongjun..."

When Li Xuan heard this news, he naturally let out a cold sneer and muttered under his breath.

And as for the Demon Cult, with the Mystic Gate's challenge now issued...

Plus, from all directions, countless living beings converged, ready to slay the demons.

In an instant, their offensive stalled.

Until finally, living beings numbering in the billions or more began to counterattack the Demon Cult.

Li Xuan stood amidst the Demon Cult's vast army.

He could naturally sense the shifts within the main force of the Demon Cult.

The cult members around him had started by ceaselessly slaughtering, devouring flesh and blood, collecting rare treasures, grinning all day long.

Gradually, they turned silent and taciturn, each bearing wounds.

Until at last, they cursed and spat, faces filled with terror...

This slaughter lasted over six hundred and thirty years.

Battles at the level of Luohu and Hongjun unfolded above the Nine Heavens.

Li Xuan couldn't see them, nor did he dare go up to watch.

But it didn't matter.

After all, the final battlefield would be at Mount Sumeru.

When the time came, he'd surely witness that epic clash.

Over those six hundred and thirty-plus years, Li Xuan watched the battle between the Demon Cult and the Mystic Gate.

From absolute suppression at the start, it turned into a stalemate, then gradually took on the shape of a rout.

The Demon Cult had put on airs, refusing to recruit new living beings into their ranks.

But on the Mystic Gate's side, wherever one fell, a new living being immediately joined!

Meanwhile, amid the great war, cultivators' realms advanced at a breakneck pace!

High-level combatants from the Mystic Gate gradually emerged...

The Black Marsh Altar, where Li Xuan was stationed, had nearly been wiped out to the last.

Even the altar master had been ganged up on and killed two years ago.

On this day, the Demon Cult's collapse could no longer be contained; they began to flee madly for their lives!

Because! Luohu had lost!

Luohu was defeated by the combined forces of Hongjun, Willow, Yin Yang, and Qiankun!

Even with the Four Swords of Zhu Xian and the God-Slaying Spear in hand, He couldn't overcome the four of them working together!

But from this battle, Luohu had gained insight!

He directly abandoned all his Demon Cult followers.

Taking only Wufawutian, Formless and Emotionless, seven or eight surviving Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal chief overseers, And about two hundred Primordial Unity Golden Immortal overseers, He sped back to Mount Sumeru at full tilt!

In an instant, the remaining abandoned Demon Cult followers naturally collapsed outright.

They began wailing and fleeing westward, crying for their fathers and mothers...

The Black Marsh Altar, including Li Xuan, had only nine people left.

Among them, just one Mystic Immortal.

That was the cultivator who had once taken four of Li Xuan's pills.

After several hundred years of getting along, Even if Li Xuan was unsociable, they had still come to know each other well.

That Mystic Immortal, named Shui Chi, was desperately fleeing forward, his face full of terror and regret.

The other surviving Mystic Immortals also flew with all their might, Sticking close to the two big-shot Mystic Immortals ahead.

They dared not fall behind—falling behind meant death!

"Brother Huang, Brother Huang, we've got to fly faster! Otherwise, we won't make it back! Those Mystic Gate bastards, they don't take prisoners, damn them!"

Shui Chi, his voice choked with tears, saw Li Xuan beside him with a calm expression and finally couldn't help shouting: "The cult leader and the overseers have abandoned us! From now on, we can only rely on you, brother!"

After over six hundred years of observation, This cultivator named Huang Feihong's strength

Felt utterly unfathomable to him!

After all, others were struggling bitterly through the great calamity, Fighting tooth and nail just to survive!

Even those who barely survived by sheer luck were all wounded.

But this Huang Feihong—

Compared to when he first arrived in the East over six hundred years ago, he hadn't changed at all!

His clothes weren't even dirty!

Shui Chi was a clever fellow too.

How could he not understand that this Huang Feihong was either concealing his cultivation level, or possessed some high-tier means of preserving his life?

Now that the Demon Cult leader and all the high-ranking members had fled back to Mount Sumeru, this Huang Feihong was the only leg to cling to.

Li Xuan shot the guy a sidelong glance.

Don't think for a second that this bastard survived just because he was lucky.

Li Xuan knew full well that this guy had only kept his dog life alive by selling out his teammates.

The other three Mystic Immortals had basically died because he sold them out.

Even Li Xuan himself, he'd tried to sell.

It was just that Li Xuan was too strong—he left when he wanted.

So the guy could only sell out to empty air.

Thus, Li Xuan glanced at him and said nothing.

Shui Chi, however, caught the meaning in that look and felt he understood Li Xuan's intent!

He immediately shouted, "Quick! What are you still thinking about? Hurry up and take out all the good stuff you've hoarded over the years! Offer it to Brother Huang!"

As he spoke, he was the first to pull out some precious materials and pills he'd gathered over the years.

There was even quite a bit of essence flesh he'd been reluctant to eat.

He shoved it all in front of Li Xuan.

Seeing this, the others also hurriedly took out their long-hoarded treasures and respectfully presented them.

They all stared at Li Xuan with eager eyes, hoping he would protect them as they fled back to the Primordial Wilderness of the West.

Li Xuan had originally been watching as a bystander.

Now that they did this, he was a bit taken aback.

He hadn't planned to accept gifts.

Likewise, he hadn't planned to help them either...

Li Xuan swept his gaze over these fellows.

He said calmly, "You came to kill others, and they killed you back—isn't that only natural?"

Hearing this, everyone nodded repeatedly in agreement.

But Shui Chi's smile had frozen stiff; he sensed something ominous in those words.

Sure enough, Li Xuan continued, "So then, fend for yourselves. The Demon Cult? Not a single good one among you."

With that, Li Xuan suddenly transformed into a streak of escaping light, vanishing at the horizon in the blink of an eye.

All that remained were the Demon Cult disciples, still clutching their offerings, utterly dumbfounded.

And behind them, the Mystic Gate pursuers came roaring in...

Li Xuan naturally had neither the time nor the mood to rescue these lunatics.

When they were killing others, they were ecstatic with excitement.

When it was their turn to be killed, it became, "I don't want to die!"

Wasn't that just asking for it?

Right now, he still had to get to Mount Sumeru.

Barring any surprises, that bastard Luohu had probably figured out the Immortal-Slaying Diagram Array.

With the Immortal-Slaying Diagram Array, he could set up the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.

Only then could all the killing power and might of the Four Swords of Zhu Xian be fully unleashed!

With that sword formation, even if Hongjun, Willow, Yin Yang, and Qiankun all came together, once they entered the formation, all four would surely die!

What a pity, though...

Li Xuan let out a cold laugh.

All of this had already been calculated by Hongjun from the very start...

Flying at full speed, he no longer held back his peak Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal cultivation.

Anyway, along this stretch between East and West, it was currently a vacuum zone.

There were neither Demon Cult experts nor Mystic Gate experts.

Flying back was much faster.

It took only a day to return to the Western Primordial Wilderness.

Gazing ahead at the faint black silhouette of Mount Sumeru, Li Xuan suppressed his cultivation again and simply headed toward Mount Sumeru.

The number of Demon Cult beings on Mount Sumeru now was far, far fewer than six hundred years ago.

All told, there were barely over a hundred thousand.

And most had fled back from the East, each looking as mournful as if they had lost a parent.

As soon as Cult Leader Luohu returned, he immediately went into seclusion.

He said he was comprehending a heaven-defying formation to turn the tables and defeat the Mystic Gate.

Wufawutian, Wuqing, and Wuxiang, those four bastards, guarded the seclusion site with deadly force—anyone who trespassed was killed on the spot.

At this moment, the Demon Cult was already leaderless.

Thus, a great many Demon Cult disciples had quietly begun to distance themselves from Mount Sumeru.

Mount Sumeru grew increasingly desolate, with only a few hundred branch leaders and the chief leader remaining inside.

They fanatically believed that Demon Ancestor Luohu would surely turn things around!

That was why they hadn't left.

At the same time, they kept a constant watch on the other disciples.

Anyone daring to run would be executed immediately!

Li Xuan, naturally, was in no hurry to reach Mount Sumeru.

He turned into a streak of light and casually landed on a small hilltop a thousand li away from Mount Sumeru.

He quietly concealed himself.

Waiting for the final—

the great decisive battle!