"Sweethearts, Daddy will tell you a fun story."
Lin Xuan gazed at his four daughters with tender affection.
Tonight's sudden beast attack felt strange to him.
He had a premonition that there might be more to this than met the eye.
So he would stay here a little longer, wait for the Nine-Headed Heavenly Python to quell the chaos below, then ask what was going on.
Most importantly, he didn't want the children to witness all that slaughter.
"Okay!"
The four little girls clapped happily, their attention fixed entirely on Lin Xuan's story.
Meanwhile,
in the Kingdom of Qingqiu,
the monarch, Gongsun Ming, and fifty thousand elite soldiers were locked in a fierce battle with the demonic beasts.
"Damn it! Where did all these beasts come from? Why have they suddenly attacked my kingdom?"
Gongsun Ming clutched his long sword, his face full of indignation.
His Kingdom of Qingqiu lay beyond the border between the Northern Profound Heaven and the Red Firmament Heaven.
It could be called a remote kingdom beyond anyone's jurisdiction.
Yet in the thousands of years since its founding, the Kingdom of Qingqiu had never suffered interference from the outside world.
Who could have imagined that tonight, a huge horde of ninth-rank demonic beasts would suddenly appear?
They rampaged through Qingqiu's cities like madmen, killing anyone they came across. Their brutality was beyond belief!
The Grand Preceptor, Xu Wenzhou, said, "Your Majesty, we can worry about that later. We need to kill these beasts first!"
"Alas!" Gongsun Ming sighed mournfully. "Can't you see? We won't be able to hold out much longer!"
A ninth-rank demonic beast was equivalent to a human cultivator in the Spirit Wheel Realm.
And there were over a thousand beasts before them.
The entire Kingdom of Qingqiu had only managed to muster fifty thousand elite soldiers, none of whom had reached the Profound Connection Realm.
One Spirit Wheel Realm cultivator could easily take on a hundred Profound Connection Realm cultivators, let alone those below that realm.
How could they possibly win?
Xu Wenzhou could only look on helplessly.
It seemed they were doomed tonight!
BOOM!!!
Just as they were at their wits' end, a massive shadow dropped from the sky, making the ground shudder violently.
Gongsun Ming and the others looked up and saw a nine-headed serpent demon, hundreds of feet tall, standing in the middle of the city.
"Gasp! The Nine-Headed Heavenly Python!"
"Heavens! A great demon like that has appeared too. The Kingdom of Qingqiu is finished!"
When they saw the Nine-Headed Heavenly Python's true form, wails of despair rang out among Qingqiu's three armies.
A thousand ninth-rank demonic beasts had already plunged the whole kingdom into grave peril.
Now, a Nine-Headed Heavenly Python had appeared out of nowhere. Damn it... their kingdom was on the brink of destruction!
Just as everyone was overwhelmed by despair and helplessness, they watched in astonishment as the Nine-Headed Heavenly Python attacked the beasts around it.
All nine heads opened their enormous mouths and frantically devoured every beast in reach.
At the same time, terrifying flames burst from its mouths, scattering and burning the beasts to pieces.
The tide turned completely in no time.
After devouring hundreds of beasts, the Nine-Headed Heavenly Python grew even larger, and its killing power surged.
The beasts that tried to flee were quickly caught by it.
It either swallowed them whole or crushed them into bloody pulp beneath its nine massive tails.
"We won just like that?" Gongsun Ming felt as if his brain couldn't keep up.
Xu Wenzhou gazed on with reverent awe. "A divine beast descended from the heavens to save our Kingdom of Qingqiu from the flames!"
Beneath the moonlight, the Nine-Headed Heavenly Python's towering form looked like a colossal divine beast that had descended from the heavens.
At that moment, everyone in the Kingdom of Qingqiu wanted to drop to their knees and bow to it three times.
High in the sky,
an exquisitely luxurious Jade Carriage, drawn by four Green-Winged Flying Birds, slowly descended.
The carriage's glittering splendor lit up the dark sky.
"Who is this now?"
Gongsun Ming, Xu Wenzhou, and the others watched the Jade Carriage nervously.
The battle had been so intense that they hadn't even had a chance to wonder where this carriage had come from.
Once the carriage had landed, Lin Xuan led Xuanzhu and the others out.
Only then did Xu Wenzhou, who had been standing there in a daze, suddenly realize who it was.
"The Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven!"
Gongsun Ming was astonished. "Grand Preceptor, how do you recognize the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven?"
Xu Wenzhou explained, "This Jade Carriage is exclusive to the Northern Profound Heaven's imperial family. It's also said that Empress Profound Ice has four daughters."
"And this young lord looks like an immortal banished from heaven, with an extraordinary bearing. Who else could he be but the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven?"
"I see!" Gongsun Ming exclaimed, delighted.
It seemed this terrifying Nine-Headed Heavenly Python had been sent by the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven to rescue the Kingdom of Qingqiu.
Gongsun Ming hurried forward with Xu Wenzhou to pay his respects to Lin Xuan.
"I am Gongsun Ming, monarch of the Kingdom of Qingqiu, and this is Grand Preceptor Xu Wenzhou. We pay our respects to the Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven!"
The Nine-Headed Heavenly Python, which had just been exerting its might over an entire kingdom, shrank into a palm-sized little snake and obediently returned to Lin Xuan's side.
Gongsun Ming and the others were even more awestruck. The Emperor Consort of the Northern Profound Heaven was truly a divine man!
Lin Xuan nodded in acknowledgment, then asked, "Why did these demonic beasts suddenly attack the Kingdom of Qingqiu?"
Gongsun Ming and Xu Wenzhou looked at each other. "Your Highness, we don't know either."
ROAR!!!
Just as they finished speaking, a terrifying Killing Intent burst out in the sky behind Lin Xuan.
A shadow that blotted out the heavens and earth hurtled toward them beneath the moonlight.
Everyone looked closely and saw a red whale demonic beast with enormous wings.
Even more terrifying, three red rings gleamed in the red whale's golden pupils.
A third-rank great demon!
Gongsun Ming and the others couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.
Sensing the red whale's killing intent, the Nine-Headed Heavenly Python quickly returned to its true form and charged to meet it head-on.
BANG!!!
The tremendous collision shook the entire Kingdom of Qingqiu.
The red whale was not only a higher rank than the Nine-Headed Heavenly Python, but twice its size as well.
In a head-on clash like this, the Nine-Headed Heavenly Python was no match for it.
The Nine-Headed Heavenly Python plummeted under the red whale's charge, smashing everything within three miles into ruins.
The impact only made the red whale more savage and violent.
A terrifying blood-red Baleful Intent coiled around its body as it turned and charged straight at Lin Xuan.
It clearly knew who the heart of the group was.
"A third-rank great demon has intelligence on par with an ordinary person. If I want answers, I'll have to start with it."
With that thought, Lin Xuan casually lifted a long sword from afar.
He soared through the air, stepping upward as if climbing a ladder to the heavens, one step at a time.
Before him was the red whale, its whole body blazing with murderous intent.
Pfft.
A faint sound rang out.
With a sword move that was simple yet masterful, Lin Xuan thrust his blade into the red whale's chest.
The whole thing was graceful and effortless, as calm as drifting clouds and flowing water. It hardly seemed like a battle to the death.
Gongsun Ming and the others couldn't help marveling inwardly.
The Emperor Consort's move had returned to simplicity itself. He really looked like a god descending from the heavens!
The red whale let out a terrible cry, and its massive shadow fell from the sky, shaking the entire valley.
Lin Xuan landed on the ground and ordered the Nine-Headed Heavenly Python to bind the red whale.
Now that it was wrapped in the Nine-Headed Heavenly Python's coils, the red whale couldn't even breathe, let alone move.
Lin Xuan sheathed his sword and sent his voice to the red whale through their minds. "Why did you suddenly attack the Kingdom of Qingqiu?"
The red whale's voice trembled as it answered, "We weren't attacking the Kingdom of Qingqiu. We were just passing through, on our way to ambush the border of the Ten Thousand Devil Kingdom."
Before you continue