The expressions on everyone’s faces immediately darkened. The Divine Exorcist Great Sage held a notorious reputation amongst the Demon Clan, and since his true identity had been revealed, everyone blamed the decline of the Demon Clan on him. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Now, considering that he had been in hiding within the Demon Clan for so many years, obtaining the Leyline Atlas of Luzhou in the North had also been an easy task for him.

Realizing the severity of the situation, many Demon Kings showed anxious expressions on their faces. If that were really the case, it wouldn’t take much time before the Mountain God and Earth God of the Heavenly Court would seize the divine duties of this land, and by then, they would have nowhere to hide.

"To think I boasted that I would make it difficult for the Heavenly Army to advance even an inch on this land, yet they had prepared well in advance," a Demon King said with a bitter smile.

He was a well-known Demon King of this mountain, who had confidently boasted about making it difficult for the Heavenly Court to advance due to his familiarity with the mountains.

The Shituo King, however, laughed and said, "That’s what war is. The opponent is the Heavenly Court, which oppresses the Three Realms and rules over the Ten Thousand Clans, with tactics ever-changing. Don’t lose heart; we aren’t without means of retaliation."

The Demon Clan’s Great Saint gently waved the Demon Clan’s big flag in his hand, and a thin mist began to spread across the ground.

At this moment, Luzhou in the North seemed to possess its own will, starting to protect the demons on this land.

The Mountain God and Earth God under the protection of the Heavenly Army immediately felt the arrival of a strong will.

This will was vast and heavy, as if it was mingled with countless roars.

It was the outcry of the Demon Clan over thousands of years, traversing space and time from ancient times to reach their souls.

Faced with the cries of beings from ages past, these spirits of the Mountain God and Earth God, not sufficiently strong-willed, couldn’t withstand it and immediately screamed in agony and died with blood flowing from their orifices.

This sudden change immediately caught the attention of the people from the Heavenly Court, and Li Jing shouted. "Stop at once!"

Although he didn’t feel it directly, he could sense a terrifying power spreading over the land, which reminded him of the Demon Clan’s big flag risen not long ago, an artifact capable of rendering the Great Formation of the Celestial Stars Encircling the Heavens useless.

Nevertheless, many Mountain Gods and Earth Gods had already perished, all bleeding from their orifices and wearing faces of sheer terror as if they had witnessed the most horrifying thing in the world.

Upon reaching the deceased, Nezha inspected them briefly and said in a sighed tone, "Their souls have dissipated, there is no chance of resurrection."

At these words, everyone’s expressions turned to shock; they were still unclear about what exactly the Demon Clan had done. It was generally known that the Mountain God and Earth God controlling divine duties was beneficial for Heaven and Earth and often led to ultimate good, rarely encountering misfortunes.

However, at this moment, these Mountain Gods and Earth Gods didn’t even have a chance to resist and died miserably in front of them, and most crucially, they couldn’t discern how the Demon Clan had managed to do this.

It inevitably led them to wild speculations, making it feel as though the present Demon Clan was like a prehistoric ferocious beast, showing only the tip of the iceberg yet so terrifyingly fierce, inducing dread at the very sight.

"How did they manage it without any mana fluctuations around?"

"It’s very likely related to that big flag of the Demon Clan. I’ve heard it’s a treasure refined by the Demon Clan over tens of thousands of years, and its miraculous effects are unknown to us."

"Have you seen anything?" Li Jing asked the surviving Mountain Gods and Earth Gods in a low voice.

"Reporting to the Marshal, we felt a terrifying will and heard the cry from ancient times of the Demon Clan, which trembled our hearts," replied one of the Mountain Gods, shivering slightly.

He felt like his soul was about to be crushed that instant; fortunately, he was smart enough to stop immediately, otherwise, he would be lying on the ground like these people.

"Let’s stop for now, don’t try blindly," Li Jing sighed.

He knew that pushing these Mountain Gods and Land Gods further would likely only result in their deaths without any benefit. It was essential to find another way around this barrier.

Fortunately, before this, they had already mastered quite a few Divine Duties; at least they were no longer completely in the dark about the situation in the mountains.

"How many mountain ranges do we now control?"

"Reporting to Marshal, less than half."

"Less than half, but that should be enough. Let’s begin the next phase of the plan. We will advance step by step. I want to see what else the Demon Clan has up its sleeve," Li Jing said sternly.

The subordinate received the order and immediately organized the Mountain Gods and Land Gods to prepare to gather information and to prepare the army for advancing into the mountains.

However, at this moment, the expressions of those Mountain Gods and Land Gods who had mastered their Divine Duties turned sour, as if there was something they found hard to discuss.

"What’s wrong, is there a problem?"

An old Earth God stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Not to conceal from you, Superior, although we have occupied the Divine Duties and by all accounts should control the vegetation, rocks, and creatures of the mountains, a powerful will has descended here just now, and our control over the land has been greatly weakened."

"Greatly weakened? To what extent?"

"We can no longer change the topography, advance by manipulating leylines to cause earthquakes, nor can we command the creatures of the mountains," the Earth God said gravely.

Upon hearing this, everyone’s faces darkened. It seemed that the Mountain Gods and Land Gods’ abilities had been greatly diminished and they could only be used as eyes.

Hearing this, Li Jing sighed and said, "I expected as much. Since they deployed that treasure, naturally it can affect the entire Luzhou in the North. Still, your providing intelligence is helpful; at least we are not blind, and it allows us to contend properly with these monsters."

Relieved, the Mountain Gods and Land Gods quickly thanked Li Jing.

They knew that if Li Jing had ordered them to forcibly use their Divine Duties, they could accomplish some of it, but directly facing such a powerful will, they would surely perish.

Fortunately, Li Jing was not inclined to drain the pond to catch all the fish; he merely wanted them to provide the necessary intelligence instead of sending them to their deaths.

"What a pity!" an Immortal sighed, originally thinking this was an opportunity to turn the tide but hadn’t expected the opponent to react so quickly.

"I’ve said before, we can’t look at the Demon Clan of Luzhou in the North with the same eyes as before. They have undergone a complete transformation; if we still hold on to past thoughts, we will suffer more losses," Li Jing continued, glancing sharply at Nezha.

"They are a formidable adversary. You should consider them on the same level as the Buddhist Sect. Think thoroughly before you act, and don’t put yourselves in danger. If they decide to take you down, there’s a high chance you could perish."

"This war will be long and drawn out. We need to be fully alert."