Imminent Disaster

"You're spouting nonsense! Your cultivation has long since reached the Spirit Transmutation stage. What young human cultivator could possibly be your opponent!" the young man roared in anger upon hearing this, about to lash out again.

"Old Ancestor, that young man's cultivation isn't high, but he's achieved a Second Primordial Spirit, only slightly inferior to me. Especially since he can use the Twelve Divine Demon Annihilation Formation; he trapped me and my subordinates!" the Tianxuan Blood Demon said rapidly, afraid the young man would get angry again.

"What did you say, Second Primordial Spirit? Twelve Divine Demon Annihilation Formation?" The young man's expression changed drastically. He narrowed his eyes and thought for a long while. Suddenly, two streams of blood-red light shot from his eyes, fixing directly on the Tianxuan Blood Demon. "If it truly is the Twelve Divine Demon Annihilation Formation, a hundred of you would be annihilated into dust. How could you possibly escape!" Although his tone was calm, the Tianxuan Blood Demon knew that one careless answer would result in his ancestor beating him into scattered dust, reducing him back to a pool of filthy blood!

At this, the Tianxuan Blood Demon conjured twelve command flags made of fine steel, each about a foot long. "Old Ancestor, that young cultivator seemed unable to unleash the full power of the formation; it only managed to trap your subordinate. This is the magical artifact he used to set up the formation, which I discovered when I broke free."

The blood-red light in the young man's eyes retracted. He grabbed the twelve command flags and carefully caressed the silk surface embroidered with strange talismans in gold thread. He muttered to himself, sighing, "Indeed, it is the...

Great All-Encompassing Godly Fiend Formation! If I, your ancestor, had known this formation back then, how could I have been trapped by that old fart Chang Mei's Two Elements Dust Formation! What a pity! Having the magical artifacts is useless without the method to set up the formation. Indeed, a Second Primordial Spirit is one thing, but even a small fraction of this formation's power would be beyond your ability to handle! What a pity! These are merely temporary magical artifacts, less than one ten-thousandth of their true power. If they were made into twelve Heavenly Demon Underworld King Banners using a hundred thousand vengeful souls, even I, in my prime, would have met my end within the formation!"

Seeing that his ancestor was no longer angry, the Tianxuan Blood Demon breathed a huge sigh of relief. He didn't dare to speak again and quietly watched his ancestor lost in thought.

"Number One, this time it's understandable. I won't punish you for failing to retrieve the Gouchen Heavenly Book. Hmph! The Great All-Encompassing Godly Fiend Formation has been lost since Yu Hua's death. I never expected it to reappear in the mortal world. I must find that young cultivator; the Gouchen Heavenly Book must be in his hands," the young man snorted.

"Old Ancestor, has your cultivation truly recovered? Can you leave this island?" the Tianxuan Blood Demon quickly asked.

"I, your ancestor, was injured by that old fart Chang Mei's Purple and Azure Twin Swords back then. He thought he had killed me, but little did he know, your ancestor is an incorporeal being. My divine sense escaped and I used the dense deathly aura of this place to recover my body. What a pity! That blow shattered my Blood Condensation Pearl. It's only recovered about half over a thousand years, and only recently could I break free from the restraint of this underground deathly aura. You were created by me. Back then, I used my blood as a guide, gathering thousands of souls and deathly energy to create the three of you. Unfortunately, only you possess your own consciousness. You've been active in the Central Plains; tell me, are there any powerful figures there now? Although I've lived at sea for a long time, I'm still aware of the changes outside," the young man sighed, as if his temperament had suddenly changed.

"Your ancestor's grace in creation, your subordinate has never dared to forget. The Central Plains are no longer called the Central Plains; they're called China now. The changes in recent years have been simply inconceivable. Your subordinate can't explain it clearly for a moment. Fortunately, you can move around now; you can see for yourself when you go. The Daoist magic in the Central Plains is in decline, and there are no figures who have reached the Void Return stage. The most powerful are the old Daoists from Kunlun, Shu Mountain, Mao Shan, and Dragon Tiger Mountain, but they are all at the late Transformation Stage, far inferior to you, Old Ancestor. However, that group of monks from XZ seems unfathomable. I almost got killed by a lama from the Potala Palace once when I went to investigate!" the Tianxuan Blood Demon replied respectfully, still feeling the lingering fear.

"Don't bother with those monks; there are tricky individuals among them. Have any powerful figures emerged from our demon race?" the young man asked.

"Your subordinate hasn't discovered any powerful figures. The highest cultivation is only at the middle Transformation Stage, roughly on par with your subordinate. The demon race now is possibly at its weakest point in history. However, your subordinate finds it strange: with the current strength of the Chinese Daoist sects, they could completely annihilate our demon race with swift action. Yet, they haven't moved. Instead, things have become much better than before. Your subordinate is incompetent and truly cannot figure out the reason!" the Tianxuan Blood Demon replied truthfully.

"Oh! Hearing you say that, there are indeed strange things. However, I am going to the Central Plains... no, China, to take a look. And, I'll retrieve the Gouchen Heavenly Book from that young cultivator. Heh heh! A successor to the Heavenly Gods and Demons Array! You, guard this island for me!" The young man tossed out a jade slip, and his figure flashed, disappearing. The Tianxuan Blood Demon heard his ancestor's parting message, "This is my Blood Condensation Divine Skill. Cultivate it well. Once I leave, activate the Blood River Grand Formation. Don't associate with that group of rogue cultivators; there are powerful individuals among them! Take good care of Numbers Two and Three, and wait for your ancestor's return!"

The Tianxuan Blood Demon was overjoyed. He quickly picked up the jade slip and bowed again. "Farewell, Old Ancestor!"

Zhou Qing flew through the sky on his sword, touching the token Xu Jiankong had given him. Should he go to Shu Mountain first, or to Ling Fei's place? Zhou Qing muttered to himself.

Since returning home that day, Zhou Qing had instructed Liao Xiaojin and Zhou Chen to cultivate diligently. He had even set up a formidable formation around the villa. In Zhou Qing's words, as long as three or four late Transformation Stage experts didn't come at once, they would definitely walk in and never walk out. That formation was something Zhou Qing had comprehended by referencing the Heavenly Gods and Demons Array, and it possessed immense power.

Achoo! Zhou Qing sneezed again, shivering uncontrollably, almost falling from the sky. Zhou Qing was startled and quickly landed on the ground, casting several formations on himself. Strange, why would I sneeze for no reason? And shivering like this? Could something be happening that's unfavorable to me? Why this strong premonition, as if disaster is imminent? As the ancient saying goes: 'Unforeseen calamities pass within three hours.' I should hide, hide. It will be fine in three hours. Zhou Qing mumbled to himself.

While thinking, his hands and feet were not slow. Zhou Qing flashed and hid behind a large tree, activating the Yi Wood Spirit Talisman and the Wu Earth Spirit Talisman, combining them with the tree's wood element spiritual energy and the earth element primal energy from the ground. They became indistinguishable, completely concealing his form!

Just as he concealed himself, a young man in a golden Daoist robe appeared in the air where Zhou Qing had been. This was truly the Old Ancestor mentioned by the Tianxuan Blood Demon.

The young man held a command flag and muttered, "Strange, I clearly felt this aura within a ten-mile radius, yet it just disappeared. Could it be that my cultivation has greatly diminished, and this spell of 'Escaping Heaven and Entering Earth, Roaming the Eight Directions' has malfunctioned?"