Self-Destruction and Heartache / Impossible to Calculate

Jing Mingxuan glanced at the sky. He had come to this world with many demons and knew that this world's original defenses were breached because a peerless villain had destroyed the sky. Although the world had managed to patch up the hole, many demons had already entered it. Now, most areas of this world were occupied by demons, which would indeed provide some demons with an opportunity to enter this world.

"Then you're very lucky."

It chuckled and looked at the Spirit Manifestation Inner Devil before it.

"This world is on the verge of collapse, already in a state of utter ruin. It's about to perish, and its origins will be divided and enjoyed by us. However, there are countless demons vying for it, and someone of your level will likely receive very little. But—"

It paused, indicating that there was still a slight chance for things to turn around.

"Now that you've come to this land of the East, if you were to come with me to accomplish something great, you might be able to obtain more of the world's essence. But are you willing to do it?"

"I'm willing to do it!"

No sooner had the words been spoken than "Yotsuya Miko" responded. However, it suddenly felt that its eagerness might be a little strange, so it quickly added a sentence.

"I wonder what you want me to do, sir?"

What do I need you for?

Jing Mingxuan shook his head, looking at the Spirit Manifestation Inner Devil before him, and thought of his own situation.

"No, I won't ask you to do anything, just come with me. Right now, I happen to need a helper. Although your strength is a bit low, you're still usable. Don't worry about anything dangerous. You should know that we are of the same kind, and among the Heavenly Demons, we are rare. Naturally, we should help each other."

Mutual help?

Yotsuya Miko took it as a joke, but a look of gratitude appeared on her face.

"The younger ones will surely serve their elders with their lives."

As he spoke, he cut open his own abdomen, squeezed out the simulated organs of liver and gallbladder, and smeared them on the ground.

Is this how you're supposed to use liver and gallbladder smeared on the ground?

Jing Mingxuan frowned as he stopped the movements of the Spirit Manifestation Inner Devil before him, finding its behavior rather strange. However, he didn't dwell on it, simply assuming that the Spirit Manifestation Inner Devil lacked some intelligence, since not all spirit demons were complex beings.

The fact that this Spirit Manifestation Inner Devil had previously attempted to annihilate the sect made it realize that this guy was probably not a person of great wisdom, lacking much experience, and was still letting the demonic desires of the heavenly demons run wild instead of restraining those desires to seek more.

Indeed, achieving this is extremely difficult. These inner demons have reached this point through the process of suppression. Only after undergoing numerous seals will they awaken to this truth.

This guy... well, let's just say it's giving him a taste of what's to come.

Jing Mingxuan glanced briefly at the Spirit Manifestation Inner Devil beside him, regarding it as a perfectly good scapegoat.

Chapter 330: Mantis

After expressing his loyalty, the Nascent Soul Inner Devil before him finally told Yotsuya Miko everything.

Their goal was simple: to disrupt the relationship between the Profound Sky Sect and the Demon Prison Hall as much as possible, preventing these two righteous Demonic Path sects from cooperating, so that the battle on the main battlefield could proceed more smoothly.

Therefore, they devised a plan to launch a feint attack, which was to take away most of the powerful cultivators by taking advantage of the opportunity to start the war between the Heavenly Demons, and then use the abilities of the inner demons to sow discord between the righteous Demonic Path cultivators.

As for how to sow discord? It's actually quite simple: kill a few people and frame the other side, then incite a few people to do things they shouldn't, such as fighting with the other side.

The inner demons are very adept at this kind of thing, after all, this is what they do.

According to current information, both the Supreme Elder of the Profound Sky Sect and the Demon Prison Hall Master of the Demon Prison Hall have set off for the Heavenly Devil Battlefield to oversee affairs. Other major sects have also dispatched their core cultivators, leaving only a few to prevent being ambushed by Heavenly Demons like the Heart Demon. The Profound Sky Sect and the Demon Prison Hall are no exception.

However, most of the claims made by other sects that they "sent out core cultivators" are false, while the Profound Sky Sect and the Demon Prison Hall are genuine.

The Nascent Soul Inner Devil said, "This is something unique to the human race."

"These humans clearly possess intelligence, yet they inexplicably resort to scheming in a place like this. Even though the Demon Prison Hall Master and the Supreme Elder defeated us once, they shouldn't be so complacent. They actually think victory is assured and have sent out many insignificant cultivators, hoping to wear down the Profound Sky Sect and the Demon Prison Hall so that they won't have any trace of these two families in the future. How interesting."

As he spoke, he glanced at "Yotsuya Miko," who was tampering with the mind of a low-level cultivator from the Demon Prison Hall, beside him.

"If it weren't for their actions, the Profound Sky Sect and the Demon Prison Hall wouldn't have hastily sent reinforcements, leaving their sects even more vulnerable. What was originally a feint attack has now proven to be a double-edged sword, sowing discord between the two factions here while wearing them down on the battlefield. By the time they realize what's happening, it will be truly laughable."

"What you say makes sense."

Faced with the words of the Nascent Soul Inner Devil, "Yotsuya Miko," who had just finished tampering with a cultivator from the Demon Prison Hall, showed an expression of admiration. However, looking at the cultivator from the Demon Prison Hall in front of her, she suddenly realized that things seemed to have gone too smoothly.

During the time it followed Jing Mingxuan, it flattered him whenever possible, extracting a lot of information from him. It also used Jing Mingxuan's cover to kill many cultivators to strengthen its own Profound Nether Qi, thus hearing a great deal of news.

Firstly, all the disciples of the Profound Sky Sect practiced the Profound Sky Forgetting World Understanding. This Profound Sky Forgetting World Understanding was mentioned in Zhang Qiudao's knowledge, but he himself looked down on it, believing that such a technique was eroding humanity.

Cultivating such techniques will turn one into a cold-hearted and selfless person, like a stone, only knowing how to follow established morals and rules. Therefore, the cultivators of the Profound Sky Sect are all solitary cultivators, only knowing how to cultivate and eliminate evil and promote good. Although they know that other sects have not contributed, they still honestly send many cultivators to fight on the Heavenly Devil Battlefield to seek a glimmer of hope for the human race.

However, although such a cultivation method is meant to erode humanity, it seems to erode the ugliness within humanity more than its goodness. Perhaps the ugliness of humanity far outweighs its beauty. Moreover, cultivating such a method is quite effective in improving one's cultivation level, so much so that even though the Profound Sky Sect has sent away most of its cultivators, many powerful figures still remain in the sect.

The Demon Prison Hall, which cooperated with the Profound Sky Sect, was completely different. They sent out most of their cultivators entirely at the behest of the Demon Prison Hall Master. This Master was not originally from the Demon Prison Hall, and the Demon Prison Hall was far from being as famous as it is now. The Demon Prison Hall and its Demon Prison Hall Master seemed to have suddenly appeared out of the Xuanhui Realm. They were just a handful of nobodys, and it was only because of the Demon Prison Hall Master's formidable strength that they attracted many Demonic Path cultivators to join them.

Unlike righteous cultivators, Demonic Path cultivators rarely hold the concept of sects. Therefore, after the Demon Prison Hall Master displayed his demonic power during the Heavenly Demon War, many Demonic Path cultivators flocked to the Demon Prison Hall. Furthermore, many Demonic Path cultivators who were originally in sects abandoned their original sects and joined the Demon Prison Hall. The Demon Prison Hall Master of the Demon Prison Palace did not have many rules for these Demonic Path cultivators who came to his door and accepted them all.

Because of this, the Demon Prison Hall actually grew in power, becoming even more formidable than the Demonic Path sects with Enlightenment Cultivator at their helm. However, the Demon Prison Hall Master's subsequent actions became strange. First, he expressed his intention to cooperate with the Profound Sky Sect, thus restraining his disciples and preventing these Demonic Path cultivators from acting recklessly. Then, in the current Heavenly Demon War, the Demon Prison Hall Master sent cultivators who had joined the sect to the battlefield, using his overwhelming strength to force many cultivators to go, which aroused the dissatisfaction of many Demonic Path cultivators within the Demon Prison Hall.

Therefore, the Nascent Soul Inner Devil focused all its attention on how to provoke the Demonic Path cultivators in the Demon Prison Hall. Although they had not acted out because of the Demon Prison Hall Master's formidable strength, and had only considered escaping the sect, the Demon Prison Hall only allowed entry but not exit, thus blocking their thoughts and causing them to accumulate a bellyful of anger.

These inner demons could easily ignite this discontent with little effort, causing the Demonic Path cultivators of the Demon Prison Hall to riot, and then use this riot to drag the Profound Sky Sect and even other Dao Demon sects down with them—it couldn't be easier.

Although Yotsuya Miko had never met the Demon Prison Hall Master, she knew that someone with such formidable strength was no fool. She must have her own schemes to achieve such a feat, but Yotsuya Miko couldn't fathom them.

However, it doesn't need to think about what the Demon Prison Hall Master wants to do, nor does it need to think about his deal with the Supreme Elder of the Profound Sky Sect.

"Yotsuya Miko" kept its head down and continued dealing with the next cultivator from the Demon Prison Hall. It obediently did what it was doing, only occasionally letting out a few words of flattery towards the Nascent Soul Inner Devil in front of it.

In these past few days, it has basically figured out the difference between the Nascent Soul Inner Devil and the Spirit Manifestation Inner Devil. After confirming that the Nascent Soul Inner Devil and the Heart Demon recorded by Zhang Qiudao are exactly the same, it should be time for it to make its move.

Whether it helps the demons on the battlefield or the cultivators of the Xuanhui Realm, these are not things it should consider.

It only needs to do one thing—increase its cultivation level.

Chapter 331 Self-Destruction and Heartache

In the Xuanhui Realm, there is a plain that defines the eastern and western borders, called the Star Wilderness.

East of the Star Wilderness lies lush vegetation, while to the west lies desolate and quiet, thus naturally becoming the dividing line between the East and the lands of the East.

This Star Wilderness extremely vast, making it easy for people from the East and West to travel between it, so there is no need to defend it.

The Xuanhui Realm couldn't come up with the idea of building a Great Wall, nor did any of the assembled forces have the intention to obstruct it, because it would be too costly and wasteful of manpower and resources.

In the first Heavenly Demon War, the Heavenly Demons gathered in the Star Wilderness and swept all the way to the heart of the Eastern Lands. It was only in the second Heavenly Demon War that these Heavenly Demons were driven back to the Star Wilderness.

These defeated demons had no intention of resting, so after a period of relative calm, they began to roam the Star Wilderness again. This was noticed by the cultivators who were patrolling the border of the Star Wilderness, and they then began to prepare for the Third Demon War.

Right now, cultivators and demons are locked in a chaotic battle on this Star Wilderness, crowding together in what was originally a vast expanse of Star Wilderness. This makes the Star Wilderness seem small, almost unable to accommodate the two sides locked in fierce combat.

Cultivators shouted urgently, while demons howled wildly, creating a chaotic scene amidst the countless deaths and injuries.

What was once a half-yellow, half-green Star Wilderness is now half-black and half-red. The red is the blood of cultivators, while the black is the remnant of the dead heavenly demons. Those weaker heavenly demons are not so troublesome.

The land of the Star Wilderness is this color, but between the cultivators and the Heavenly Demons, it is a kaleidoscope of colors, some white, some blue, all different, some swords, some instruments, some sharp claws and fangs, each one different.

The surviving monks later composed a poem to describe their relief at surviving and the perils of the battlefield:

On one side, millions of demons surged like dark clouds, while on the other, countless cultivators faced death in desolate battles, like a pack of wolves trapped in a tangle of enemies. In single combat, it was as if a man was fighting a tiger. All that could be seen was bloodshed, and few were truly unharmed.

Three or five men, routed and utterly defeated, fought to the death, their blood flowing freely.

A demonic man, regardless of the sins and grudges of his past and present lives, his burning blood and ferocious smile are also the makings of a hero, destroying life and then resting.

Needless to say, Tai Xuan, a peerless talent in the world, was as calm as an ordinary person, yet possessed all his strength; even in a tragic death, he had no regrets.

People make many judgments and criticisms throughout their lives, but the Dao Demon are also paths.

Learn from the predecessors to guide those who come after.

Fortunately, they were resurrected and survived, intact as a whole.

One must never be oblivious; one should draw one's sword at the sight of a lamp.

Time has passed and circumstances have changed; I secretly ponder composing poems and essays.

The cultivators of the Xuanhui Realm and the demons of the outside world were ultimately outnumbered and could only fight back with great effort, suffering numerous losses.

Even if a cultivator could deal with many Heavenly Demons, it would be difficult to say that they could handle it all, not to mention that the number of Heavenly Demons is still endless.

"Dead."

On this vast battlefield, the power of an individual seems insignificant, as was the case for Meng Tianyu.

At this moment, her hair was disheveled and her clothes were mostly torn. She had been fighting the Heavenly Demons day and night on the battlefield with the cultivation of Spirit Manifestation Cultivator, and she was inevitably injured by the Heavenly Demons, which resulted in her appearance.

She murmured to herself, her gaze falling on a cultivator who had already perished tragically among the Heavenly Demons. She recognized this cultivator.

She recognized all the cultivators from the Heavenly Dragon Sect who had followed her to this battlefield, and knew their deeds and lives. Now, she knew that only a handful of these cultivators were still alive.

"Is the Heavenly Dragon Sect truly so short-lived?"

She numbly killed the demon before her, but a few thoughts drifted to her sect, and she was suddenly overwhelmed with sorrow.

She had thought that this war would be much better after the two powerful figures had intervened so fiercely in the last war between the Heavenly Demons, but to her surprise, the situation had worsened.

At a glance, apart from the numerous cultivators from the Profound Sky Sect and the Demon Prison Hall, the rest were all unknown sects and forces, who, like her, had been conscripted to the battlefield to fight alongside the two major sects.

When she first saw this scene, she thought that the major sects had more important missions, and that the Demon Prison Hall and the Profound Sky Sect had actually sent manpower to the battlefield and were fighting ahead of them, which prevented her from wavering. But now... she didn't think so.

"How... how dare they scheme like this?"

Frustrated and agitated, his actions became increasingly unsteady, which finally gave the Heavenly Demon an opportunity.

In a daze, a Spirit Manifestation Heavenly Devil hidden among the demons swiftly appeared before her, plunging its sharp claws into her heart and then crushing it, leaving no possibility of recovery. As for the defensive magical Magic Tool on her body, they were too weak to resist, rising hastily only to be shattered and rendered ineffective.

She had encountered such assassination attempts several times. She had managed to dodge them the first few times, but now, a death wish had risen in her heart, and she had lost the will to evade. Suddenly, she became much calmer.

"I finally understand."

As soon as she finished speaking, her figure quickened, engulfing the demon that had tried to assassinate her, and she rushed towards the surging tide of demons. The closer she got to the tide, the stronger her aura became. The demon had no time to revel in its assassination attempt; it frantically stabbed at Meng Tianyu several more times, trying to break free from the situation where this Spirit Manifestation Cultivator was recklessly using her spiritual energy to surround it.

However, these successive pains did not shake this Spirit Manifestation Cultivator. Her gaze became clearer and clearer, and her aura became stronger and stronger until she fell into the Heavenly Demon Tide and finally reached her peak.

Those demons of low cultivation levels, unaware of what had happened, surrounded the human, intending to kill and devour him with their sharp fangs and claws. However, a flash of white light appeared, followed by a deafening roar.

A deafening roar followed by another; many such roars had occurred on this Heavenly Devil Battlefield.

If this battlefield were to suddenly be cleared, one would see numerous craters on what was once a half-black, half-red Star Wilderness. Each crater represents a cultivator at the Golden Core stage or higher who self-destructed in that location. Although the Heavenly Devil Battlefield severely suppresses cultivators, preventing the craters from becoming particularly large, the self-destruction could still clear an area in an instant, killing tens of thousands of Heavenly Demons.

However, having reached this point, they are truly dead, with no possibility of resurrection.

The once empty pit will soon be filled with demons again, as if it had never been damaged.

Chapter 332 Cannot be calculated

"As the saying goes, a dying man's words are good. I think these so-called Demonic Path cultivators probably don't realize that they would do such a thing at their final moment."

On one side, there was the danger of the battlefield, while on the other side, the situation was quite different.

The Lord of the Demon Prison Hall, the strange man who was always shrouded in black robes and wore a Wrathful Ghost Mask, looked at the countless deaths and injuries on the battlefield and was suddenly filled with emotion.

"Through the trials of life and death, they gained insights, making life seem increasingly worthless and death increasingly valuable. These cultivators, used as scapegoats, have now grasped this truth, which only serves to highlight the ugliness of those sect cultivators who should have been on the battlefield. In this light, it seems there is no inherent good or evil in the world, only a difference in strength. The powerful proclaim themselves as good, while the weak are forced to become evil."

"..."

The old man standing beside it did not speak, but his eyes were filled with sadness, which quickly turned into determination.

"Strong and good, weak and evil, how can they be discussed? I know that the connection of interests in the world is evil, but how can the good deeds in the world be different because of strength and weakness? Anyone who fights for the cultivators of the Xuanhui Realm has a share of good for the common people, regardless of their actions. However... such actions are truly as the Palace Master said, and should be considered as something I don't know how to do."

He sighed again as he spoke.

"The disciples of my Profound Sky Sect are of paramount importance in this operation, and thus have no choice but to go to the battlefield. This has caused them great suffering, as well as the suffering of these smaller sects, and even more so the suffering of the cultivators in the Demon Prison Hall and the volunteer rogue cultivators."

"This is the kind of evil that we cannot share, Elder, you cannot defend them."

The Demon Prison Hall Master chuckled softly.

"Otherwise, why would they agree to our request? This scheme was planned from the beginning. Now, being indecisive is worse than being as despicable as these big sects. At least they know that agreeing to a request means doing it. Only when their interests are involved will they be willing to act diligently. Otherwise, we would be in this situation today."

"Humans under heaven, in the end, are just too good at scheming. The war between heaven and demons was originally a difficult one, and they only joined forces because of it. But when things suddenly became a little easier, they became unwilling to suffer any more losses, so they became lazy and indolent. And when there are too many people like this, they end up in a difficult situation again. This is the psychology of game theory."

Having said that, he turned his gaze back to the somewhat lost Heavenly Devil Battlefield and ordered another group of men to hold it off.

"What started as a feint attack suddenly turned into a full-blown offensive by these demons, who realized the inaction of the sects. This was to be expected. Right now, there are probably quite a few intelligent demons mocking the oversights of our human race. On one side are the sects with empty territories. The Profound Sky Sect, where the elders reside, might be in a slightly better position, but my Demon Prison Hall has long been plagued by inner demons, just waiting for their chance to erupt. On the other side is this battlefield. If it really collapses, the Eastern Land will be beyond saving."

"And this situation... is why these minor sects, rogue cultivators, and weak cultivators did not flee but were willing to die in battle."

Upon hearing this, the temple master said no more, but continued to observe the battlefield, as if trying to glean something from it.

The Supreme Elder said no more, closing his eyes to rest and observe the changing situation.

He, the Demon Prison Hall Master before him, and the major sects had already agreed on the timing of their attack. Whenever the Demon Prison Hall into chaos, that would be the time to strike.

...(divider)

"Is this the scheme of the Demon Prison Hall Master?"

Zeng Yuan gazed silently at the rapidly advancing procession before him.