Gazing / Counterattack ...

Shortly after the incident Spirit Manifestation Inner Devil, and as the Heavenly Devil Battlefield began to show signs of decline, the high-ranking officials of the Jade Pure Sect were suddenly convened for an emergency meeting.

Before they could find out what was going on, the Jade Pure Sect, who was supposed to be stationed on the Heavenly Jade Pure Sect Heavenly Devil Battlefield, ordered most of the Nascent Soul and Deity Transformation Enlightenment Cultivator of the Jade Purity Sect to go with him to the edge of the Star Wilderness. However, it was not to reinforce the Heavenly Devil Battlefield, but for another matter.

After arranging the many small flags in his hand at the designated location in the Star Wilderness, Zeng Yuan once again used the Heavenly Observation Calculation Book, using the magical properties of this technique to discern the unusual nature of the small flags in his hand.

The array formations in the Xuanhui Realm are quite well-developed. However, these arrays are mostly used in small areas, at most covering an entire sect or valley. Few cultivators would set up larger arrays, firstly because it is very costly, and secondly because the power of such arrays would be reduced by more than half for reasons they cannot understand.

So much so that when they were instructed to set up these small flags, Zeng Yuan never thought that these small flags were unusual; he just found them quite strange.

There are naturally powerful formations available on the Heavenly Devil Battlefield, but these formations rely on human strength as their core. These formations are the work of the Profound Sky Sect, and only disciples of the Profound Sky Sect can execute them. They are supported by the presence of many disciples scattered across the battlefield, and then numerous cultivators act as nodes within them, supplying spiritual energy for support.

As for setting aside such conditions, the small flag in his hand shouldn't be able to achieve the effect of a large formation like the Profound Sky Sect's, which uses people as the core of the formation, let alone surpass it. Unless that demon is alive, there is only a slight hope.

Thinking this way, Zeng Yuan suddenly had a thought, and the Heavenly Observation Calculation Book also sensed the connection. It quickly started spinning, and several possible results appeared in Zeng Yuan's mind, all of which pointed to the connection between the Demon Prison Hall Master and Zhang Qiudao.

"If the Demon Prison Hall Master were to receive the inheritance of this Myriad Transformation Devil Venerable, it wouldn't be impossible for him to achieve that level with these small flags. But just how effective would these small flags actually be?"

He was still somewhat puzzled. Based on his understanding, he didn't think that the formation could have much impact on the increasingly sluggish Heavenly Demon War. In his opinion, their sects should go to the Heavenly Devil Battlefield as soon as possible to reinforce those cultivators.

Now that those minor sects, rogue cultivators, and Demonic Path cultivators have reached such a dire state, it's time to salvage the situation. We should take advantage of the current circumstances to recruit these minor sects and rogue cultivators and suppress the Demonic Path cultivators.

Isn't this exactly what these major sects should be doing? In the end, it all comes down to profit.

Zeng Yuan thought about it, but that was all he thought about it.

Chapter 333 The Gaze

The Demon Prison Hall is located in the eastern part of the Star Wilderness.

After the Xuanhui Realm was invaded by the Heavenly Demons, almost all the demonic cultivators in the Western Lands lost their sects. The surviving sect cultivators rebuilt their sects in the former human kingdoms in the East, but most of the original sects' foundations were destroyed.

However, these demonic cultivators are always shrewd. Many of their high-level cultivators carry them with them. Although the sect was destroyed, many of the sect's members survived in this way, so they didn't fall to the lowest possible level.

Moreover, these Demonic Path cultivators practiced various evil arts. Now that there was a war between the Heavenly Demons, they simply used the dead Heavenly Demons as collateral to recover some of their strength. After all, these dead Heavenly Demons were originally creatures from the outside world, and their flesh and blood were no less valuable than those of the demonic beasts of the Xuanhui Realm, so they could all be used. The righteous path disdained the flesh and blood of these Heavenly Demons, so they were given to these demonic cultivators.

Currently, the demonic cultivators are in a weak position while the righteous path is slightly stronger. However, the appearance of a peerless villain like the Demon Prison Hall Master Palace on the Second Heavenly Devil Battlefield greatly boosted the morale of the demonic cultivators. As a result, countless demonic cultivators flocked to the Demon Prison Hall under its command, making it a major sect comparable to the Profound Sky Sect.

The Demon Prison Hall currently has a large number of demonic cultivators, which has led to a rather lax management. It is only supported by the demonic power of the Demon Prison Hall Master and the one Enlightenment Realm demonic cultivator recruited by the Demon Prison Hall, so that it does not become too lax.

Because of the presence of many demonic cultivators, many disputes have arisen in this Demon Prison Hall. Some have argued over the territory of righteous sects, some over establishing an order of hierarchy, and others over unifying all the demonic cultivators in the world, becoming powerful and dominating the righteous.

The Demon Prison Hall Master's initial prohibition against their actions against righteous cultivators had already provoked considerable discontent among demonic cultivators. It was unclear why the Demon Prison Hall Master would adopt such a stance. Now, during the Third Heavenly Demon War, the Demon Prison Hall's practice of sending its own cultivators to the Heavenly Devil Battlefield as expendable resources had caused further uproar. After all, these demonic cultivators weren't fools; they knew that the so-called righteous sects and the few still-developing major Demonic Path sects hadn't taken any action. Sending them to the battlefield like this was simply a way to wear them down.

Because the Demon Prison Hall Master and the Enlightenment Cultivator within were still there, they couldn't vent their anger and resentment. They could only think about how to leave, but even leaving was impossible. The Demon Prison Hall was essentially a cage, allowing outsiders to enter but preventing them from leaving, with many restrictions in place, including controlling the life and death of cultivators.

To enter the Demon Prison Hall, one must first cultivate a powerful technique. This technique is exceptionally domineering, capable of transforming a cultivator's original cultivation level into the technique's own. Because this technique is far superior to those practiced by the demonic cultivators, and is necessary for entry into the Demon Prison Hall, these cultivators are willing to cultivate it. It's only when they try to escape that they discover the technique's strangeness; they die from their bodies exploding shortly after leaving the Demon Prison Hall. It's unclear how the escapee is identified, forcing them to remain within the Demon Prison Hall.

This oppressive atmosphere gave the Heavenly Demons a huge opening. They abandoned the idea of letting the Profound Sky Sect (1) and the Demon Prison Hall clash, and instead tried to incite a mutiny within the Demon Prison Hall by taking advantage of the current situation.

"Yotsuya Miko," following the Nascent Soul Inner Devil named Jing Mingxuan beside her, had witnessed many of the cultivators of the Demon Prison Hall being manipulated passively, and had also done a lot of things herself. Presumably, when the Enlightenment Cultivator in charge of affairs in the Demon Prison Hall was slightly negligent, these cultivators of the Demon Prison Hall would suddenly riot, to the point that even the Demon Prison Hall, which controlled their lives, would disobey. At that time, if such a riot involved other sects, things would be much better.

Therefore, the Nascent Soul Inner Devil paid special attention to the various sects, large and small, near the Demon Prison Hall, laying the groundwork for a riot by the Demon Prison Hall disciples. When these sects lost a few disciples and learned that it was the work of the Demon Prison Hall cultivators, they would naturally turn their attention to the Demon Prison Hall. Then, by adding fuel to the fire, the situation would be even more favorable for the main battlefield.

As for the so-called techniques of the Demon Prison Hall? The inner demons didn't care, since it wasn't their people who died. Moreover, they didn't believe that the Demon Prison Hall Master would have the willpower to kill most of his disciples to stabilize the situation using techniques. Even if he did do that, no matter the outcome, the Demon Prison Hall Master's situation wouldn't be good, and the alliance between Demonic Path and righteous cultivators would become nothing but empty talk.

With the Heavenly Demon's calamity in front and the debate between the righteous and the demonic forces behind, the human race in the Xuanhui Realm is doomed.

As for how to make those Demonic Path cultivators disregard the threat to their lives and cause chaos in the Demon Prison Hall, the inner demons have plenty of ways, after all, they are beings that understand and bewitch people's hearts.

"The situation is really strange."

Faced with such a "major positive" situation, the Nascent Soul Inner Devil named Jing Mingxuan no longer cared about delving into the strangeness of the situation. After all, time waits for no one, and by the time those cultivators realized they needed to go and help on the battlefield, they would miss the opportunity at hand.

Beside it, "Yotsuya Miko," who was not concerned with the war, felt increasingly uneasy. Some consciousness told her that she seemed to be being watched by something. This thing felt intimate and familiar to her, but she could not find anything in her memories. After all, those memories had long been destroyed by her, or even if they were not destroyed, they had been sealed off by her former "self," a heavy seal.

"Never mind, it's best to leave as soon as possible."

Its cold eyes fixed on the Nascent Soul Inner Devil before it, waiting for an opportunity, a chance to hunt down and kill this Nascent Soul Inner Devil.

It is indeed a mutated Heavenly Demon and a Heart Demon, but it cannot be considered a pure Heart Demon. After all, it was transformed from the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record, and its essence is still based on the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record. Following this Heart Demon is only to see if the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record can devour it. According to Zhang Qiudao, such a Heart Demon should also have something like a divine soul, and the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record can devour and seize its essence.

According to the realm classification, the benefit of devouring this Nascent Soul Inner Devil is greater than that of more than a hundred Spirit Manifestation Cultivator, and there are far fewer risks. After all, hunting too many Spirit Manifestation Cultivators will eventually attract the attention of the human race, but this Heart Demon is different. Even if it is killed, it can be pretended to be caused by other powerful human beings.

With its strength, killing this Nascent Soul Inner Devil shouldn't be too difficult; it just lacks the right opportunity.

According to Yotsuya Miko, the riot at the Demon Prison Hall was the perfect opportunity.

Chapter 334 Counterattack

"By now, those Nascent Soul Inner Devil should have already made their move."

The situation on the battlefield remains far from optimistic. As the battlefield, which was originally advancing westward, gradually moves eastward and is approaching the edge of the Star Wilderness, the cultivators on the battlefield feel an unprecedented pressure.

Even in this dire situation, no major cultivators came to their aid or join the battle. It was as if they were about to watch the war be lost, and the resisting cultivators gradually grew to despair.

As despair spread, many battle lines that were barely holding on collapsed further, allowing more and more demons to surge in.

This dire situation even made the Supreme Elder of the Profound Sky Sect Supreme Elder, who had been silently observing the battle, feel anxious. His mind was in turmoil, and he wished he could take action right now.

However, given the current situation, as long as the Demon Prison Hall in the rear does not experience major chaos, they will not carry out their agreed-upon plan. Therefore, they can only suppress their resentment and dare not relax their vigilance on the battlefield for a moment, searching for the best entry point.

The Demon Prison Hall Master standing beside the old man was much calmer, even taking the time to lift his mask and sip his tea.

"I should go pick them up now; this is actually starting to get interesting."

As he spoke, his figure suddenly disappeared from the upper levels of the tower, leaving only a faint echo.

"Elder, this time we are destined for a great victory."

Why?

The Supreme Elder was about to ask a question when, in that instant, the token at his waist suddenly began to flash wildly. Without thinking, he hurriedly tore the token off his waist, even tearing it off along with the hem of his clothes.

The token contains only one short sentence:

"Chaos has broken out in the Demon Prison Hall!"

This was the only sentence, yet it made him feel more urgent than any other sentence.

"Arrive..."

He put down the token, lowered his head, and suddenly laughed.

"Finally here, finally here! Hahahaha!"

Finally abandoning all concealment, the unique aura of an Enlightenment Cultivator suddenly spread outwards from him in all directions.

The powerful pressure extended to the Heavenly Devil Battlefield in a short instant. The Heavenly Demon formation, which should have suppressed the strength of the cultivators, was not weakened much. In just a short moment, countless weak Heavenly Demons were suppressed by this aura, or even crushed into dust, their filth splattering onto the clothes of the cultivators in front of them.

These cultivators didn't feel disgusted; they were only stunned for a few seconds before their faces lit up with wild joy. This aura wasn't directed at them, but its meaning was very clear—it was the aura of the Supreme Elder Profound Sky Sect!

"Kill!"

One cultivator shouted, and then countless cultivators shouted in response.

"Kill!"

At that moment, the cultivators who had been struggling on the battlefield suddenly felt a surge of inexplicable emotions. They felt as if the dark clouds had dispersed and the bright moon had appeared, the darkness had vanished and a red light had shone. Some cultivators even burst into laughter, tears streaming down their faces, extremely excited. They didn't know whether they were crying for their own misery or laughing at this belated chance of survival.

At this moment, all they could do was shout in unison.

"Kill!"

The Profound Sky Sect cultivators, struggling in the midst of the battle, sensed the aura of their sect's Supreme Elder and took action. They each took out a small flag from their storage bags, spat out their blood essence into the flag, and then channeled their spiritual energy into it. The other cultivators, unaware of what they were doing, simply rushed to their sides to cover their spellcasting.

Suddenly, the balance of power shifted, and the previously retreating situation suddenly advanced further forward.

This change happened in an instant; the high-level demon who was in charge of the battlefield had no time to react to the situation before he was attacked.

"You wretched creature! You've come here to die!"

With a loud shout, numerous sword shadows appeared, and an old man stood high in the sky, his fighting spirit undiminished.

"I've always disliked you; I'll send you to the Netherworld as soon as possible!"

As they spoke, countless sword shadows in the sky lashed out at the demon in an instant. Hundreds of sword shadows pierced the demon in that instant. The demon had no time to dodge and took the full force of the attack. Its body was destroyed, leaving only its soul to flee.

As for the area around it, a large gap was left, and countless demons died with resentment from this single attack.

"Trying to run away?!"

The Supreme Elder raised his voice again, and once more unleashed his power, conjuring a giant hand that hurtled towards the fleeing soul. Countless demons, like moths to a flame, rushed to withstand the attack of this giant hand, but they could not stop it from advancing even half a step. Instead, this giant hand tore open a path across the Star Wilderness, causing even more demons to die or be wounded.

As for the fleeing soul, it could not escape being captured. It looked in terror at the large hand that it could not hide from, and was eventually caught and annihilated by the hand.

Once this Heavenly Demon is dead, the Supreme Elder will cease his actions. This is because the Heavenly Devil Battlefield will not cease with the death of this Heavenly Demon, and the countless Heavenly Demons he has killed will be replenished. Continuing to act recklessly will only make him appear decadent, causing those hidden Heavenly Demons to attack him.

But was he really so rash?

"Disciples of the Profound Sky Sect, heed my command!"

The old man paused in the sky and took out a large flag from his sleeve. He was one of the twelve eyes that were supposed to be in charge of the formation.

"Form the Myriad Sha Demon Slaying Array!"

"Disciple obeys!"

The disciples of the Profound Sky Sect had already poured their essence and blood into the small flags in their hands. Upon hearing this, they continued to pour their spiritual energy into the flags and called out to those around them.

"Please, fellow Daoists, lend me your assistance!"

"We know!"

The cultivators naturally responded, leaving only the front-line cultivators to block the Heavenly Demons, while the rest of the cultivators unhesitatingly poured their spiritual energy into the area where these Profound Sky Sect disciples were located, regardless of whether they were righteous or Demonic Path.

However, this is not the only Heavenly Devil Battlefield.

"All cultivators within the Jade Pure Sect, heed my command!"

The cultivators within the Jade Pure Sect's territory raised their heads, their gazes fixed on the Jade Pure Sect's location. The Jade Pure Sect Master's voice echoed clearly from the heavens into the Jade Pure Sect's domain.

"Infuse your spiritual energy into the small flags in your hands, and do not fail!"

Upon hearing this, the cultivators did not hesitate to take out their small flags and infuse them with their spiritual energy. In just a moment, these small flags inexplicably rose towards the sky above them. Along with the changes in the flags, a terrifying suction force for spiritual energy suddenly appeared on them. The suction force emanating from these thousands of small flags thinned the spiritual energy of the Jade Pure Sect to a level that could not be perceived.

This situation applies not only to the Profound Sky Sect, but also to the remaining four righteous sects, and even to the Demonic Path sects.

Beyond the Star Wilderness, the Nascent Soul and Deity Transformation cultivators who had set up small flags looked up at the strange changes happening before them. They held flags as tall as a person, though they were slightly different from those of the Supreme Elder.

It was only then that Zeng Yuan learned that all the Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation cultivators from the major sects had already gathered outside this Star Wilderness. Many cultivators had even gone to the northern and southern parts of the Star Wilderness, leaving only the western part untouched due to the strength of the Heavenly Demons.

"Raise the flag, then unleash the Myriad Sha Demon Slaying Array."

All cultivators received the same orders, which were the words of the sect leaders or Supreme Elder of the major sects.

As he grasped the flagpole, Zeng Yuan finally understood, needing no further explanation.

"This is... the Heaven and Earth Grand Array."

His expression was complicated. He simply used his spiritual energy to manipulate the banner, letting it absorb the spiritual energy from his body.

This formation has an extremely high demand for spiritual energy, to the point that the spiritual energy in the world will drop by a level after its use. It should not be used frequently unless absolutely necessary. This is why the Heavenly Devil Battlefield appears so desolate. It is necessary to make the Heavenly Demons lower their guard, so that as many Heavenly Demons as possible can be on the battlefield and then wiped out in one fell swoop.

And inner demons are one of the considerations.

Chapter 335 The Myriad Sha Giant Devil

As the small flag rose into the sky, the spiritual energy concentration in the Eastern lands, which had previously been quite abundant, suddenly dropped by a level.

As they absorbed a large amount of spiritual energy, these small flags began to ripple rhythmically, with countless lines connecting them from the Eastern Lands to the Star Wilderness.

If one looks up at the earth from the highest heavens, one will find that these lines eventually converge at the Star Wilderness. Among these lines are countless nodes, twelve large nodes and twelve hundred small nodes. These nodes are the Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation cultivators who carry the flags, as well as the twelve Enlightenment Cultivator, who had long since gathered at the Star Wilderness.

The Supreme Elder of the Profound Sky Sect was in the center of the formation, while the other Enlightenment Cultivator were scattered in different directions, surrounding the formation from three sides.

The spiritual energy absorbed by the small flags first gathered at these 1,200 small nodes, and then converged at the twelve large nodes. Only these twelve Enlightenment Cultivator could control this massive amount of spiritual energy and work together to unleash the interconnected Myriad Sha Demon Slaying Array, a formation that would be prominently featured in the annals of the Xuanhui Realm.

"Charge!"

Following the shout of the Supreme Elder of the Profound Sky Sect Supreme Elder, the remaining eleven Enlightenment Cultivator no longer hesitated and poured most of their spiritual energy, along with the spiritual energy of the banners in their hands, into the battlefield.

"We cultivators beg for a chance of survival from Heaven and Earth, forming an array that reveres Heaven and Earth, and we pray that Heaven and Earth will lend us their power!"

These twelve Enlightenment Cultivator were beings favored by the Heavenly Dao, and only their requests would be known to the Heavenly Dao. At this moment, these twelve Enlightenment Cultivator spoke out boldly, and their voices resounded throughout the world, seemingly becoming the only sound in the entire universe.

And so, Heaven and Earth finally responded to this situation.

Suddenly, thick, dark clouds rose in the sky, and thunder rumbled across the heavens.

"Boom!"

Countless pure white lightning bolts struck the battlefield of the Star Wilderness. These pillar-sized bolts shattered deep craters upon impact, instantly obliterating countless demons that landed there before they could react. The lightning seemed to possess form, even its impact on the ground creating ripples. Tiny particles of plasma fell onto the battlefield, and any demon that came into contact with even a trace of it died with a wail.

With the response of heaven and earth, the Supreme Elder finally breathed a sigh of relief and released the banner in his hand toward the sky without hesitation.