Four Great Ancestors

Li Chongshan's voice had not yet faded when, "Hmph!" "Hmph!" "Hmph!" "Hmph!"

Four cold huffs rang out in the heavens and earth, coming almost one after the other, yet each carrying a distinct, utterly different flavor. One was as cold as a venomous snake spitting its tongue, another hid murderous intent beneath coquettish charm, the third was as violent as a raging fire burning the heart, and the final one was as heavy as a mountain crushing down!

These sounds did not travel through the air; instead, they exploded directly in the deepest spiritual cores of all living creatures! Accompanied by the sounds, the space in front of the city wall warped violently and rippled like water with a stone thrown into it.

Four blurred figures, exuding soul-suffocating auras, stepped out from the spatial ripples far in the distance. Their movements seemed slow, yet they were actually faster than visual capture. With every step they took, it was as though distances were compressed into inches, their forms flickering between real and illusory as they crossed the long distance in an instant.

With each of their descending steps, the air throughout the battlefield region seemed to turn into a sticky colloid, freezing completely! The wails of the fleeing demonic beasts, the heavy gasps of the defending soldiers, and even the crackling of the burning torches all vanished utterly. Light began to warp, and every scene within the field of vision was draped in a layer of unnatural ripples. An indescribable, terrifying coercion converged from all directions like four invisible divine mountains, slamming down with ruthless suppression!

When the four figures solidified completely and revealed themselves beneath the city wall—

"Thump!" "Thump!"

Atop the city wall, the defenders with slightly weaker cultivation collapsed to the ground one after another like dumplings in boiling water, their complexions dark purple and blood seeping from their noses and mouths. They were quite literally unable to even maintain a standing posture under this coercion! Even skilled fighters like Shi Zhu felt the bones throughout their bodies creak, their true qi freezing completely, making even the act of rolling an eyeball abnormally difficult—as though countless invisible hands were truly tightly strangling his throat and every single inch of flesh and blood across his entire body.

Across the entire battlefield, whether it was the previously ferocious demonic beasts or the defenders on the city wall, at this very moment, all were completely stripped of their voices and mobility by this combined, terrifying momentum—one grand enough to cause the heavens and earth to lose their color—and plunged into a dead silence and rigidity. Only those four figures, like the center of the world, exuded a terrifying aura that dominated everything. What greeted everyone's eyes was:

Among them was the likeness of an old man.

His figure was hunched, and he draped a wide, dark green cloak covered in scaly patterns. His exposed skin presented a sickly grayish-white, densely packed with fine snake scales. His face was withered and gaunt with sunken eye sockets, and a pair of vertical slit pupils were a pure dark golden hue. When looking at people, his pupils would contract slightly, making one's spine turn cold. In his hand, he leaned upon a twisted dark jade snake staff, its head carved into a ferocious serpent head with its mouth slightly agape, faintly spitting dark green poisonous mist. He stood there, and the vegetation on the ground within a radius of three zhang around him rapidly withered, blackened, and turned into scorched earth. This was Snake Ancestor, titled Dry Bone, Soul Sculpting Realm perfection, wielding the southern "Ten Thousand Snakes Den".

The second was the appearance of an alluring, seductive matron.

Her posture was graceful, and she wore a dark purple gauze dress as thin as a cicada's wing. Her graceful physique was faintly discernible beneath the gauze, yet no one dared harbor even a shred of lascivious thought. This was because clinging to her exposed shoulders, arms, and even half of her cheek were bizarre, spider-like tattoos that seemed like living creatures, their compound eyes seemingly shifting slightly. Her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, but the tips bizarrely split into eight strands, each end flashing with the dark blue luster of metal, fluttering without any wind. What was most bone-chilling was her eyes—not a pair, but a slight bulge right in the middle of her forehead, as if a third vertical eye was on the verge of opening. Wherever her gaze reached, the air rippled faintly. This was Spider Ancestor, titled Hundred Eyes, Soul Sculpting Realm perfection, entrenched in the western Thousand Threads Cave.

The third had a lean, sturdy, and robust physique.

He looked like a lean man in his thirties, but his entire body's skin presented an eerie dark red, as though he had been skinned and grown back anew. The nails on his ten fingers were long, narrow, and curved, pitch-black like ink, flashing with metallic cold light. His face was handsome yet evil, and a cruel smile always hung at the corners of his mouth. The most peculiar thing was his eyes—the whites were a turbid yellow, while the pupils were bouncing, candle-flame-like orange-reds. As his gaze swept past, a scorching aura seemed to wash over the face. Behind him, a blurred, massive, leopard-like phantom loomed faintly, exuding a bloodthirsty and violent aura. This was Human Candle Leopard Ancestor, titled Burning Blood, Soul Sculpting Realm perfection, dominating the eastern Burning Heart Ridge.

The fourth was an even more massive figure that had newly appeared beside the Earth Splitter Ox Demon—who had just been repelled by Li Chongshan and was currently being supported.

This was a terrifying bull demon that completely maintained a giant bull form, yet its physique was a full circle larger than Earth Splitter. Its entire coat of fur was not pure black, but rather a condensed dark copper hue, resembling ancient bronze that had weathered endless years of frost. A pair of curved horns were not spiral, but pointed straight toward the sky, their surfaces covered in naturally formed, complex patterns resembling ancient runes, with lightning faintly crackling around the tips. It did not stand upright like Earth Splitter, but instead walked on all fours, every step causing the earth to tremble. Its huge bovine eyes were not scarlet, but a deep dark golden color, brimming with the majesty and indifference of accumulated time. This was Ox Ancestor, titled Mountain Suppression, Soul Sculpting Realm perfection, the true master of the northern Black Wind Cave and the grandfather of the Earth Splitter Ox Demon.

The moment the four demon race old ancestors made their appearance, they did not deliberately scatter coercion, but the realm of Soul Sculpting Realm perfection, combined with their long tenure in high positions and the mixed, intertwined killing intent of countless slaughters, had already formed a desperate force field. The ordinary soldiers on the city wall only felt a mountain-weight boulder pressing upon their hearts, their vital energy stagnating, while those with weaker cultivation collapsed straight to the ground, blood seeping from their noses and mouths. Even skilled fighters like Shi Zhu felt their true qi circulation become obstructed and breathing difficult.

"Such grand language, Lord Li." The first to speak was Spider Ancestor Hundred Eyes. Her voice was seductive and soft, yet carried bone-piercing chilliness as her gaze swept over the pale-faced Li Chongshan atop the ramparts. "How long has it been since we last met, and you've become so formidable? You don't even take us four old fellows seriously anymore?"

The air seemed to freeze completely, and even the sound of the wind disappeared.

The cold curve on Li Chongshan's face remained unchanged as he slightly bowed. His tone was unexpectedly "respectful," yet beneath that respect lay a bottomless indifference: "Spider Ancestor jests, how could there be such a thing? This junior was merely infuriated by this ignorant and unmannered stupid ox, losing his composure for a moment."

He raised a finger to point at Commander Chen, who was coughing up blood from heavy injuries and barely being propped up, continuing with that flat, eerie tone: "Furthermore, as the esteemed ancestors have also seen, you are bullying this junior brother of mine in such a manner. If I, acting as his senior brother, were not to step forward, wouldn't that make outsiders laugh? If Master were to find out and lay blame, saying that I, as the senior brother, failed to take good care of my junior brother, then I would truly be in dire straits. If I gave any offense just now, this junior offers his apologies to the esteemed ancestors here."

This speech was delivered in a leisurely and unhurried manner, but its content stunned everyone on and off the wall who heard it.

Senior brother? Junior brother? Master?

Commander Chen was Li Chongshan's junior brother? They shared the same master?

Commander Chen opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he triggered his injuries, coughing up another mouthful of fresh blood.

"Enough." Human Candle Leopard Ancestor Burning Blood waved his hand, the cruel smile at the corner of his mouth growing thicker as those candle-flame-like eyes stared at Li Chongshan. "Chatting about affections and discussing sect ties can wait until later. Li Chongshan, that good-for-nothing little grandson of mine went missing near your territory a few days ago, and later it was discovered... that he was butchered by your people."

He paused, his tone flat yet carrying a hair-raising, bloody stench: "The fights of juniors mean that if they die, they die; I can only blame him for being inferior in skill, and old man has that much measure. However—"

His tone shifted abruptly, his gaze suddenly turning as sharp as a knife as the temperature in the air soared instantly: "The squads of lads we sent last time to inquire about this matter were waylaid and slaughtered on their half-journey back! Not a single living soul was left! Li Chongshan, regarding this matter, you must give us an explanation of some sort."

Snake Ancestor Dry Bone chimed in with a voice as raspy as rubbing snakes, his golden vertical pupils sweeping slowly across the city wall: "Indeed. Once is an accident, but twice... is quite inexcusable. This territory of Anping County was permitted by our tacit consent for you to manage, not for you to use to wantonly slaughter the descendants of our race."

The pressure surged toward the city wall and toward Li Chongshan like substantial ocean waves, crashing down in successive ripples.

Li Chongshan maintained that same expression of eerie calmness, nodding his head: "Burning Blood Ancestor speaks rightly, Dry Bone Ancestor instructs correctly. Regarding this matter, we truly had no knowledge of it. However, since it occurred within the borders of Anping County and resulted in the losses of the esteemed ancestors' subordinates, it is indeed our failure in patrol and we bear responsibility."

He raised his head, meeting the gaze of the four old ancestors: "Then, what sort of account do the ancestors desire? Please feel free to speak plainly."

Ox Ancestor Mountain Suppression, who had remained silent all along, let out a low, muffled hump at this moment. The sound rolled through the valley like boulders, causing people's eardrums to ache with pain: "An account? You can dispense with those empty pleasantries. Li Chongshan, old man will ask you only this: that experiment of yours which you've been running for so many years—what stage has it reached now? What are the results?"

Those dark golden bovine eyes stared fixedly at Li Chongshan, as if trying to see right through him from inside out: "Hand over the results of the experiment and let us take a look. If it truly holds value, the previous matters can be temporarily set aside. As for the rest—"

Ox Ancestor Mountain Suppression paused, his huge head rotating slowly as his gaze swept across the outlines of the residential dwellings faintly visible behind the Anping County city wall. His voice was as cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice: "You will take half of the people in your city to keep my fallen lads company in death. A life for a life—that is fair. Otherwise, we cannot give an account to our fallen brethren, nor can we appease the public. Li Chongshan, do you... agree?"

As these words fell, the defending soldiers still standing on the city wall, including Shi Zhu, all changed countenance, their faces revealing despair and fury. Half of the commoners! That was countless living human lives! In the mouths of these demon race ancestors, they were treated like grass and livestock, to be slaughtered at will to make up numbers!

Upon hearing this, Commander Chen's eyes split wide with rage. Forcing a surge of true qi and using his saber to prop himself up, he struggled to straighten his hunched back, letting out a hoarse roar. Though his voice was weak, it carried unquestionable resolution: "Im-pos-si-ble!"

He stared fixedly at the four old ancestors beneath the wall, then turned his gaze to the expressionless Li Chongshan, speaking word by word: "What guilt do the commoners in the city bear? They have nothing to do with this matter! If you want an account, very well! The death row inmates and grave criminals locked in the county yamen's prison can be handed over to you to deal with! But wantonly murdering innocent commoners is absolutely out of the question! This is Chen Qingzhi's bottom line, and it is also the bottom line of the Anping County Garrison!"

"Oh?"

Commander Chen's voice had not yet finished when Spider Ancestor Hundred Eyes let out a soft, playful, and displeased hum from her nose. She did not even look at Commander Chen, merely raising her slender, jade-like right hand and gently flicking it toward where Commander Chen was.

No, it was not a finger-flick; it was a strand of hair from her temple, flashing with a dark blue luster, that silently and at a speed surpassing visual capture instantly straightened out. Like the sharpest thin sword, it stabbed through the air toward Commander Chen from a distance!

There was no grand momentum, only an imperceptible dark blue thin line sweeping across the air.

Though heavily injured, Commander Chen's combat instinct remained. The sense of crisis made his hair stand on end, and without even thinking, he wielded his dark profound saber with all his might, blocking it horizontally in front of his chest!

"Clang!"

An extremely faint yet piercingly sharp collision sound rang out.

That dark blue thin line struck the body of the blade. Commander Chen only felt a bone-chilling coldness accompanied by an unusual vibrating, massive force wash over him. His already near-collapse arm instantly went numb, the web of his hand split open, and the dark profound saber nearly slipped from his grip! He himself was struck as if by a heavy blow, letting out a muffled grunt as his feet left the ground and he flew backward, slamming heavily into the city tower's stone wall behind him!

"Boom!"

Spiderweb-like cracks fractured across the stone wall as Commander Chen slid to the ground, coughing up another mouthful of fresh blood mixed with internal organ fragments. His saber clattered to the floor, and his aura withered to the extreme, thoroughly losing all combat capability. He could only lean against the wall and, using his final bit of strength, stare fixedly down the wall.

"A person on the verge of death has the nerve to talk about bottom lines?" Spider Ancestor Hundred Eyes retracted her hair strand as if merely dusting off some dirt, her seductive voice full of disdain. "We were not discussing this with you. Say another half-word, and you will be the first one we carve up. It just so happens that your barely passable 'material' can nourish the little ones in my cave."

On the city wall, dead silence reigned. Shi Zhu and the others clenched their weapons so hard their knuckles turned white, yet none dared to move, nor could they move. In front of the four Soul Sculpting Realm perfection demon race old ancestors, any resistance on their part appeared so pale and powerless.

All gazes cast themselves upon Li Chongshan. Under the scrutiny of countless eyes, Li Chongshan slowly turned around, no longer looking at the four old ancestors below the wall, nor at the heavily injured and dying Commander Chen, but instead speaking faintly toward the shadows behind him: "Mr. Yin, go bring Test Subject Number One over and show the esteemed ancestors the results."

His tone was calm and waveless, as though he were merely instructing a trivial matter.

"As you command, Milord." In the shadows, Mr. Yin's hunched figure emerged, bowing in salute before sliding down the ramparts like a ghost and disappearing into the city.

Above and below the city wall, they fell into an eerie waiting. The four demon race old ancestors took their time, demon qi churning. The defenders on the wall, meanwhile, had hearts turned to ash as despair spread.

Commander Chen leaned against the cold stone wall, watching Li Chongshan's indifferent back, then looking at the ferocious greater demons below the wall. The last ray of light in his eyes gradually dimmed, leaving only endless exhaustion and desolation. His lips moved, as though he wanted to say something to Shi Zhu, but no sound came out; he could only use his gaze to signal him to... run away quickly.

Shi Zhu understood. He gripped his saber hilt tightly, his knuckles turning white, yet stubbornly shook his head, guarding firmly in front of Commander Chen without moving an inch.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away, in the scorched red earth and the depths of Burning Heart Ridge where heat waves distorted the line of sight—

Wang Quan slowly straightened his body from a battlefield wreckage that was still smoking and mixed with leopard-shaped charred corpses. A deep claw mark across his chest and abdomen had torn flesh rolling outward with scorched edges, but the bleeding had been forcibly stemmed by the Chaos True Qi, and the muscles deep within the wound writhed as they slowly healed. The killing intent and bloody stench pervading his body were more than ten times thicker than when he had left Black Stone Town.

Beneath his feet lay the severed corpse of the Burning Heart Ridge's garrison greater demon, Panther Commander Fenxin, whose ferocious leopard head still bore a frozen look of incredulous shock. This was already the fourth demon and devil race territory, and also the very last one.

The venomous deceit of the Ten Thousand Snakes Den, the illusionary web entanglement of the Thousand Threads Cave, and now the explosive ferocity of this Burning Heart Ridge... Slaughtering his way all along, stepping over piles of demon corpses and draining the blood and souls of demons and devils, Wang Quan could clearly feel the Chaos Demon Emperor Scripture within his body running more violently and smoothly, his dantian true qi rushing like mercury and paste, surging mightily. The newly comprehended saber intent had been tempered through consecutive life-and-death battles into something whose sharpness was restrained, yet capable of slicing through anything. The acquired skill points and various demon materials were even more abundant.

Yet at this moment, there was not much joy on his face; instead, his brows were locked tightly together.

It was too smooth, abnormally smooth.

The lairs where the Four Great Demon Ancestors had entrenched themselves for many years indeed had non-trivial garrison forces, but compared to what he had anticipated, they could be called downright empty. It was as if... the elite main force had long since been completely transferred away.

"Search!"

He forcibly suppressed the increasingly heavy unease in his heart, enduring his injuries as he thoroughly searched the deepest recesses of the leopard commander's lair, which had now become a sea of fire and ruins. Beneath the charred wood and broken beams, a hidden compartment that had been deliberately concealed and sealed with demon qi was shattered by him with brute force.

Inside were no anticipated treasures, only a few rolls of animal skins and a strange scale that was dark red in color, chilling to the touch, and constantly emitting weak fluctuations.

Wang Quan snatched up the animal skins and quickly scanned through them. What was recorded in demon script on them mostly concerned material exchanges and territorial trivialities. Until the last scroll, the handwriting was distinctly different—much more hurried and frantic, and far more... crucial.

...The "Moon Covenant" draws near, secretly depart to assemble at Anping County a month prior...

...We garrison forces must firmly guard the gates, awaiting the Sovereign's successful achievement and return with a blood-food feast...

Just a few short phrases, yet they struck like a bloody flash of lightning, parting all the fog in Wang Quan's heart!

Anping County! The Moon Covenant! Blood-food?!

"Pfft!"

Overwhelmed by a rush of internal fire, Wang Quan violently spat out a small mouthful of stagnant blood. A tearing pain came from his old chest wound, yet it fell far short of a ten-thousandth of the terror and remorse in his heart.

"Go back! Immediately! Right now!"

"Wait for me... you must wait for me!"

The low roar shattered in the scorching wind of Burning Heart Ridge. The next moment, true qi erupted violently around him. Disregarding the stinging pain transmitting through his meridians, he urged Shadow Step to an unprecedented limit, even faintly overdrawing his vital energy and blood origin. His entire body transformed into a blur difficult for the naked eye to capture, tearing through the air toward the direction of Anping County.

Inside Anping County, Mr. Yin had returned from his trip.

Behind him followed two expressionless, dark-robed figures with chilling auras. The two of them jointly carried a heavy cage forged from unknown metal. The cage was completely covered by a black cloth, obscuring what was inside; one could only hear heavy and painful gasps coming from within, along with... the clatter of chains being violently struggled against.

Mr. Yin carried the cage to the edge of the parapet on the city wall, bowing toward the four demon race old ancestors and Li Chongshan: "Milord, esteemed ancestors, Test Subject Number One has been brought."

Li Chongshan gave a slight nod.

Mr. Yin stepped forward, reached out, and pulled off the black cloth covering the cage.

In an instant, a chaotic, violent, and ferocious aura filled with pain and struggle rushed outward from the cage! This aura was mixed with human vital energy, demonic brutality, and a cold, evil soul power that was both nauseating and heart-palpitating.

Inside the cage, a person was curled up.

No, perhaps they could no longer be entirely called a human.

It was Wei Dayong.

He was completely naked, his skin presenting an unnatural grayish-blue, covered in dark red vascular patterns that spread like spiderwebs. His originally robust physique now had muscles that bulged abnormally, yet in some places they had withered bizarrely, appearing distorted and uncoordinated. On the left side of his chest over his heart, a sizeable, slowly pulsing protrusion was distinctly visible beneath the skin. With every single pulsation, it radiated a dense tiger demon aura.

Most terrifying of all was his face, along with certain details of his body. His facial features could still faintly be made out in their original outline, but his eyes were a chaotic scarlet, devoid of whites and pupils, holding only endless pain and madness. The canine teeth in his mouth had become sharp and slightly protruded past his lips. The nails on his ten fingers had turned pitch-black and sharp. Meanwhile, right between his brows on his forehead, a twisted black mark that writhed slightly like a living creature was exuding a cold aura that unsettled the soul—that was the brand of the Nightmare.

His limbs and neck were locked by rune-engraved steel shackles that sank deeply into his flesh, obviously meant to prevent him from going berserk.

Seeing Wei Dayong within the cage, Commander Chen shook all over. His already ashen complexion turned even more ghostly pale as he stared fixedly at that former, simple-minded, and loyal subordinate who was now neither human nor demon. His chest heaved violently, yet he lacked even the strength to feel angry, left only with heart-piercing anguish.

The gazes of the four demon race old ancestors also fell squarely upon Wei Dayong, complex emotions of scrutiny, astonishment, and greed flowing within their eyes.

"Melting demon blood, planting nightmare souls, replacing demon hearts... forcibly amalgamating them, yet able to maintain a form without collapsing and keep intelligence from being completely obliterated?" Snake Ancestor Dry Bone rasped, his golden vertical pupils flashing with unusual light. "Rather interesting. However, it looks extremely unstable and agonizing—pure torture."

"Agony precisely demonstrates that the fusion is not yet complete, leaving potential to be squeezed out." Human Candle Leopard Ancestor Burning Blood licked his lips, his candle-flame-like pupils staring at the pulsing protrusion on Wei Dayong's chest. "The heart of a Soul Sculpting Realm tiger demon? Tsk tsk, Li Chongshan, you have a grand hand. But the foundation of this body itself is a bit lacking, limiting his upper limit."

Ox Ancestor Mountain Suppression blew a breath of white air from his huge bovine nostrils, his voice rumbling: "Mixed auras, violent conflicts. It is still far from a truly perfect vessel. Li Chongshan, is this the result you spent years producing? It seems... unimpressive."

Facing the old ancestors' skepticism, Li Chongshan's expression remained unchanged as he simply said flatly: "This is a preliminary fusion body aimed at verifying the feasibility of cross-species symbiosis and extraordinary metamorphosis. Its stability and potential indeed require further refinement. However—"

His tone shifted, and he looked toward Mr. Yin.

Mr. Yin understood, taking out a metal syringe from his bosom. Inside the syringe was a boiling, eerie liquid intertwining scarlet and dark green. He opened the cage and, without the slightest hesitation, drove the needle into the blood vessel of Wei Dayong's neck, pushing all the liquid inside.

"Ugh... Ah—!!!"

The moment the injection entered his body, Wei Dayong let out a shrill, piercing scream in the cage that sounded subhuman! His body stiffened abruptly, struggling frantically as the shackles were pulled to a clattering roar, sending sparks flying! The vascular patterns beneath his skin instantly turned blackish-red, bulging like a grid of red-hot iron wire! The Nightmare Seal between his brows blazed with black light!

A wave that was even more powerful, more chaotic, and filled with destructive aura erupted from him with a boom!

He jerked his head up, and those scarlet, chaotic eyes seemed to recover a trace of extremely faint clarity belonging to Wei Dayong; but this clarity was instantly drowned out by boundless pain, brutality, and a profound sorrow. Beast-like gurgling sounds issued from his throat as his gaze swept unconsciously across the city wall, across the heavily injured Commander Chen, and across Shi Zhu...

Then, he saw the four demon race old ancestors beneath the wall, who were overflowing with killing intent.

"Roar—!!!"

A terrifying roar combining a tiger's roar, a human yell, and a nightmare's weep erupted from Wei Dayong's mouth! The steel bars of the cage were actually bent straight by him through sheer force! The aura upon his body, catalyzed by the injection, briefly broke through a certain restraint to reach a terrifying degree comparable to the later stage of the Soul Sculpting Realm! Though utterly chaotic, that destructive power could not be faked!

The gazes of the four demon race old ancestors finally changed.