Chapter 732: Invasion of the Demon Realm [2.5k]

Translator: AnubisTL

The battle between Qian Gu and the demonic expert raged for days, leaving behind a trail of devastation. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was thrown into complete chaos, and the land lay in ruins.

The clash between these two Divine Transformation stage powerhouses shattered space itself, collapsing the void and dissipating vast quantities of Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth into nothingness.

Compounding this, a void rift connecting to the demon realm had officially opened. This guaranteed an endless stream of ancient demons would descend, their descent cloaked in waves of primordial demonic qi that would ravage this world.

As a result, the Azure Ridge Domain’s already deteriorating cultivation environment would worsen.

After all, the primordial demonic qi from the demon realm was inherently incompatible with this world.

While the Human Realm’s heaven and earth could self-regulate and purify this foreign energy, the cost would be further depletion of spiritual energy. Divine Transformation cultivators would grow even more hesitant to unleash their full power.

This vicious cycle would only exacerbate the crisis.

Amidst this backdrop, the battle between Qian Gu and the demonic expert gradually drew to a close. Yet no one knew the outcome.

After that, the unknown demonic powerhouse and Qian Gu vanished without a trace.

Meanwhile, Li Qing returned to the Lingyun Sect and immediately ordered the entire sect to be placed on high alert.

The sect’s mountain gate instantly entered a state of absolute military readiness.

The Fourth-Tier Grand Formation, the Heavenly Origin Spirit-Slaying Formation, rose into the sky, and all Core Formation Supreme Elders within the sect remained constantly vigilant.

Li Qing stationed himself at the summit of Azure Cloud Peak, his gaze fixed on the central southern region of the Azure Ridge Domain.

This was the location where the void rift had previously appeared. The rift had now stabilized, and it was expected that a large number of ancient demons would soon descend to the lower realm through the demon subduing platform.

Amidst this tense atmosphere, Li Qing’s heart grew heavy.

He kept thinking about Shen Ningbing’s recent ascension. With her departure, two realms now separated them.

"The spirit realm... I wonder if Junior Sister Shen will succeed in her ascension. Is that Yin-Yang Spirit Seal truly reliable?" Li Qing murmured to himself.

In a way, he had witnessed a historic moment in this world.

Throughout history, instances of shattering the void to ascend to the upper realm had been exceedingly rare, with only a handful of such events recorded in ancient texts.

Before Shen Ningbing left, her tear-streaked face sent a tremor through Li Qing’s heart.

He hadn’t realized how much he cared about his usually aloof junior sister until they were separated by two realms.

People always regret things only after they’ve lost them.

After a long while, Li Qing shook his head, clearing his mind of the tangled thoughts.

"Phew, there’s no point worrying about it now. Ascension to the upper realm is the dream of countless cultivators. Fretting over it is truly unnecessary."

In truth, Li Qing didn’t have much time to worry about Shen Ningbing at the moment.

Because the previously opened demon realm rift had unleashed another wave of ancient demons descending into the lower realm!

Boom!

Thick primordial demonic qi surged from the rift, instantly dyeing half the sky a pitch-black hue.

Then, flashes of dark light erupted!

In the heart of the Azure Ridge Domain, grotesque figures of varying forms descended one after another, their visages utterly monstrous!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ancient demons had arrived. The great calamity for heaven and earth had finally begun.

"Hmm, so many of our kin perished during the descent into the lower realm?"

One of the ancient demons, whose colossal body could have supported the heavens, surveyed the surroundings and found that about eighty percent of the ancient demons had died.

Yet his tone suggested he wasn’t particularly concerned.

Descending into the lower realm wasn’t as simple as eating or drinking. In truth, it was far more perilous than even ascension through the void.

Such losses were entirely normal. The descent into the lower realm exposed the ancient demons to both the ravages of chaotic spatial storms and the stripping away of the Heavenly Dao’s laws.

With their strength suddenly diminished and then battered by void turbulence, the demonic race that survived were few and far between. Often, fewer than one in ten made it.

Only because the demon realm’s great powers had refined a miraculous treasure called the demon subduing platform, which aided the descent process, did the surviving ancient demons manage to reach twenty percent of their original number.

Soon, the leading ancient demon made his decision. He spoke indifferently:

"Take them and refine them into primordial demon seeds. Afterward, they will provide us with a supply of primordial demonic qi."

The ancient demons showed no compassion for their fallen brethren who had perished during their descent to the lower realm. They immediately performed a secret technique, refining the corpses into demonic qi cocoons, which they then planted across the Azure Ridge Domain.

In a short time, the bodies of the dead ancient demons transformed into primordial demon seeds, which were piled together, radiating waves of demonic qi. The surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy was completely repelled in an instant.

These primordial demon seeds served as the ancient demons’ strongholds, continuously replenishing their demonic qi supply.

Once the demonic nests were established, they could freely ravage the Human Realm. Whenever their forces depleted, they would return to these sites to replenish their primordial demonic qi.

"Leave some of our kin behind to guard these nests and prevent the humans of this realm from purifying them."

"The rest will join me in the campaign to carry out the Formless Saint Ancestor’s sacred decree!"

With that, the ancient demonic race split into two groups: one group remained to guard the newly formed demonic nests, while the other followed the powerful ancient demon as they soared away.

Their movements were practiced and experienced, as if they had performed such actions countless times before.

Clearly, they were no strangers to such acts!

In a market town within the Azure Ridge Domain, where rogue cultivators gathered, the sky suddenly darkened.

"Is that... an ancient demon?!"

"Run! The ancient demons have invaded!"

The market town was quite large, even housing core formation realm cultivators. But facing the onslaught of ancient demonic race warriors, radiating such ferocious aura, they stood no chance of resistance!

"Leader of the Doma Clan, allow me to handle this."

An ancient demon stepped forward voluntarily. His physique wasn’t particularly monstrous, but his appearance was utterly bizarre.

He had two faces, each with a full set of features, one on his front and one on his back. One face’s eyes were open, while the other’s were tightly shut, as if in slumber.

"Remember to leave some alive. Though this human Minor World isn’t as vast as our holy realm, searching every corner for Nascent Soul cultivators and above will still prove troublesome."

"Find a few human cultivators to soul-search. Gather as much information as possible." The Doma Clan leader responded coldly. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The two-faced demon, who had volunteered for the task, let out a sinister laugh. "Rest assured, Doma Clan leader. My people are masters of soul-searching and soul-refining."

With that, the two-faced demon plummeted toward the sizable market below.

A terrifying aura erupted, and the entire market collapsed in a thunderous roar.

Boom!

This was actually an ancient demon at the late-stage Nascent Soul realm. Throughout the entire Human Realm, few could have rivaled its power.

Yet, such a formidable ancient demon was actually taking orders from the Doma Clan leader—it was utterly inconceivable!

The two-faced demon’s attack left no corner of the market untouched. No one had a chance to retaliate, not even the core formation realm rogue cultivator, who couldn’t even manage to self-detonate his Golden Core.

"Heh heh heh... self-detonate your Golden Core?"

"You humans just love that kind of theatrics. In that regard, other tribes in the spirit realm can’t match the sheer thrill of your kind."

"But what difference does the self-destruction of a mere Golden Core cultivator’s Dao Fruit make?"

As he spoke, the two-faced demon reached out and effortlessly restrained the core formation realm cultivator. The Golden Core, which had been on the verge of exploding, was suppressed.

The two-faced demon opened its mouth wide, extending a crimson tongue that split into four jagged ends. These ends plunged into the face of the golden core stage cultivator.

In an instant, the cultivator’s body withered, collapsing into a paper-thin husk.

"Human cultivators are still the most delicious," the demon croaked, licking its lips. "A pity the human forces on the two realms battlefield are not to be underestimated. Such unrestrained feasting on their flesh is only possible in the lower realm."

The other ancient demons watched impassively, seemingly accustomed to such scenes.

"Heh heh, Doma Clan leader, I’ve finished gathering intelligence on this domain," one of them announced. "Just now, I extracted this golden core cultivator’s memories. This domain is called the Azure Ridge Domain, ruled by an immortal dao faction known as the Lingyun Sect."

"However, the Lingyun Sect is utterly unremarkable. They have only a single nascent soul stage cultivator guarding them. We could crush them with a flick of our fingers."

The Doma Clan leader frowned. "So weak? A single great domain in the Human Realm has only one nascent soul stage cultivator?"

The other ancient demons of the Doma Clan couldn’t help but start conversing.

"Hiss, what do we do? Capturing just one Nascent Soul cultivator is hardly a significant war contribution. The Formless Saint Ancestor promised greater rewards for capturing more Nascent Soul cultivators or higher!"

"Exactly! And capturing any great demon at the Transformation Stage or higher in this world also counts as a war contribution."

"Hmph, it seems we’ve drawn the short straw. We won’t be able to earn much in the way of war contributions here."

The two-faced ancient demon chuckled lightly. "There’s no need to be so pessimistic. This human Minor World has more than one great domain. From what I recall, other great domains have plenty of Nascent Soul cultivators."

"For instance, the Great Wilderness Domain south of the Azure Ridge Domain, or the Flame Domain. These domains even have Divine Transformation cultivators roaming!"

"We can head to other great domains to earn war contributions."

Hearing this, the leader of the Doma Clan was also tempted. He decisively declared, "You two will go with your fellow daoists from the two-faced demon race to capture that Lingyun Sect’s Nascent Soul cultivator. The rest of us will follow me to other great domains!"

"If we can capture a Divine Transformation cultivator, we’ll be set for life!"

The Formless Saint Ancestor had issued a sacred decree: capture all cultivators at the nascent soul realm and above, including members of the demon race.

If capture proved impossible, they were to be slain on the spot. Under no circumstances were cultivators at the divine transformation stage or above to be allowed to ascend to the spirit realm.

Furthermore, every nascent soul cultivator captured and brought back to the demon realm would earn battle merits from the Formless Saint Ancestor. These merits could be exchanged for extremely generous rewards.

For capturing beings at the divine transformation stage or above, the battle merits earned were even more substantial.

No one knew why the Formless Saint Ancestor had suddenly issued this decree, but the prospect of earning battle merits drove the ancient demons into a frenzy.

The demon realm was home to many ancient demonic races, none particularly harmonious with the others, and many were locked in fierce competition.

The leader of the Doma Clan had drawn the Azure Ridge Domain’s lower realm for this mission. In his eyes, this was a terrible draw, as the domain contained only a single Nascent Soul cultivator.

Therefore, he decided to head to other great domains in the Human Realm to compete with other ancient demonic races for battle merits.

Their actions were swift. In a short time, they had split into two groups again.

The Doma Clan leader, leading the other ancient demons, charged toward other great domains, eager to amass a fortune in battle merits.

The two-faced ancient demon led two other mid-Nascent Soul stage ancient demons toward the Lingyun Sect.

In their eyes, this display of force was more than enough to show their respect for the Lingyun Sect’s Nascent Soul cultivators. With three against one, there could be no doubt about the outcome.

Meanwhile, at the Lingyun Sect’s mountain gate, the Fourth-Tier Grand Formation, the Heavenly Origin Spirit-Slaying Formation, remained constantly active.

Should any anomaly be detected, the formation could be immediately activated to its full power, annihilating any invading enemies.

After days of waiting, a vast, black tide of demonic qi surged across the southern horizon.

It was three ancient demons, each at the Nascent Soul stage!

"They’ve arrived!"

On Azure Cloud Peak, Li Qing, whose divine soul was exceptionally powerful, immediately sensed the anomaly in the heaven and earth spiritual energy.

"All sect members, activate the formation and prepare to defend!"

At Li Qing’s thunderous command, the Heavenly Origin Spirit-Slaying Formation surged to its peak, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth boiling around it.

Li Qing soared into the air, his gaze fixed on the three imposing ancient demons in the distance.

"Three Nascent Soul stage ancient demons... no Divine Transformation stage presence," Li Qing muttered, feeling a slight sense of relief.

In that case, there was still a fight to be had. Had several Divine Transformation stage ancient demons arrived at once, Li Qing would have turned and fled without a second thought.

He had learned from the Divine Transformation stage ancient demon who fought Qian Gu that the purpose of this ancient demonic invasion was to capture all Nascent Soul stage cultivators in the Human Realm alive. Those below the Nascent Soul stage were not their targets.

The three Nascent Soul stage ancient demons moved swiftly, and soon reached the vicinity of the Lingyun Sect’s mountain gate.

As Li Qing watched the three menacing ancient demons approach, a surge of heroic emotion welled up in his heart.

"A single Nascent Soul stage ancient demon resurrected from the snow mountain once plunged our Lingyun Sect into eternal damnation—our sect was destroyed, and our ancestors slaughtered."

"But times have changed. Even if three Nascent Soul stage ancient demons attack together, so what?"

"Those who dare to trespass against the Lingyun Sect shall be executed!"

Li Qing’s voice echoed throughout the Lingyun Sect, instantly dispelling the anxiety and unease that had gripped everyone.

A fiery passion surged through the sect members as they turned their fervent gazes toward the peak of Azure Cloud Peak, where a figure stood tall and upright in loose azure robes.

"Those who dare to trespass against the Lingyun Sect shall be executed!"

In that instant, the formation art’s thunderous roar reached its peak!

(End of the Chapter)

------------------------------------------------------

🔸 Read ahead up to Ch1041 (REFINER) on: CinderTL

🔸 Free Chapters up to Ch804🔥

🔸 No sign-up required!

🔸 Just search us on Google to find our official site.

🎁 GIVEAWAY ALERT! 🎁

💲 Want a Free 10-Day Baron Membership?

📆 You have until 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟭𝟭𝘁𝗵 to grab it before it’s gone forever!

🌐 For details, go to the CinderTL site 🏃💨

------------------------------------------------------