Chapter 48: Are We Demons Easy to Intimidate?

The tidal mist was approaching, and the leaders of the five factions had temporarily agreed to cooperate, using the magical artifacts they brought to break through the formation of the Pole Cave.
Liang Jue activated his “Destruction Golden Talisman,” Li Zhen activated his “Golden Dragon Star Devouring Talisman,” the Ancient Ice Crocodile activated its “Nine Yin Heaven Swallowing Talisman,” the Howling Moon Wolf activated its “Star-Shaking Earth-Trembling Talisman,” and Shuo Jin activated his “Golden Swan Everywhere Talisman.”
With the essence of these five spiritual talismans activated, they were immediately thrown into the Pole Cave.
The members of the five factions quickly left the cave, waiting for the attacks from the talismans inside to complete.
The Destruction Golden Talisman emitted nine consecutive golden energy blasts, each with the power of a mid-stage tribulation survivor. With these nine blasts in quick succession, a corner of the Pole Cave was instantly destroyed, and the core of the sword-protection formation was shattered.
The Golden Dragon Star Devouring Talisman resembled a golden dragon that had successfully survived two heavenly tribulations, charging around and causing havoc throughout the cave. The sword-protection formation seemed to suffer from some kind of illusory soul attack, but it was completely ineffective against the dragon. After repeated assaults, the soul-based formations of the sword-protection array were destroyed.
The Nine Yin Heaven Swallowing Talisman released nine streams of icy cold energy, each capable of freezing even mid-stage tribulation survivors. When unleashed in the Pole Cave, it seemed capable of freezing the entire cave. Despite the resistance of the sword-protection formation, it didn’t freeze the whole cave, but parts of the formation lost their function.
The Star-Shaking Earth-Trembling Talisman produced a round yellow sphere, which weighed as much as a planet. As soon as it appeared, it sank deep into the Pole Cave, unimpeded, affecting the sword-protection formations in the depths.
The Golden Swan Everywhere Talisman unleashed ten thousand streams of golden light, each with the power of a late-stage fusion realm warrior. Upon appearing in the cave, it attacked everywhere indiscriminately, leaving the sword-protection formation no time to defend against each beam of light.
With the five spiritual talismans attacking simultaneously, as the five leaders had predicted, the sword-protection formation in the Pole Cave was thoroughly damaged.
The Eight Directions Sword, though protected by the sword-protection formation, was also suppressed by it. Now that the formation was destroyed, the top-tier spiritual weapon lost its restraint and immediately flew out of the Pole Cave, appearing above the South Pole.
“Attack! Fight for it!”
Liang Jue, Li Zhen, Shuo Jin, the Howling Moon Wolf, and the Ancient Ice Crocodile—all five leaders—spoke at the same time. They had already flown into the air and sent out strands of their essence, attempting to capture the Eight Directions Sword and bring it under their control.

Of course, Jin Yang Sect and Cang Yang Valley, which had already agreed to cooperate, along with Xian Yue Ya and Jiu Gong Dao, along with their elders at the Convergence stage, immediately launched a counterattack. Jin Yang Sect had four elders at the early Convergence stage, Cang Yang Valley had one elder at the mid-Convergence stage named Yang Di, plus five more elders at the early Convergence stage—ten in total. Xian Yue Ya had five Pan Tian Snakes at the mid-Convergence stage, and Jiu Gong Dao had five Tun Hai Blood Pythons at the mid-Convergence stage—ten monstrous beasts in total. Undoubtedly, not only were they at a higher cultivation level but also possessed the bodies of monstrous beasts, allowing these ten beasts from the two demonic cultivation sects to completely overwhelm the combined forces of the two magic cultivation sects from the very start. Jin Yang Sect and Cang Yang Valley could only rely on Yang Di, the elder at the mid-Convergence stage, to hold their ground and prevent those ten beasts from helping their demonic leaders. … The five leaders directed their vital energies toward the Eight Directions Sword simultaneously, pulling in equal amounts, with none of them managing to draw the sword toward themselves. The Eight Directions Sword swayed slightly, and five strands of vital energy severed the connection. Suddenly, Liang Jue from Tai Yuan Sect flew over to Li Zhen of Cang Yang Valley, wielding a top-grade spiritual weapon, the Golden Rainbow Sword, and charged at him. It turned out that Liang Jue had anticipated this long ago—among the five leaders, Shuo Jin was the head of Jin Yang Sect, the foremost magic cultivation sect, while Xiao Yue Cang Lang and Huang Gu Bing EEEE were two monstrous beasts with astonishing defense capabilities. Thus, the three of them had strong defenses, making Li Zhen of Cang Yang Valley the obvious first target. As if he had expected this, Li Zhen suddenly took out a treasure—a top-grade spiritual weapon, the Heaven Stabilizing Seal. As soon as the seal was revealed, it emitted wave-like streams of sand that immediately enveloped Li Zhen’s body. Liang Jue swung his sword, but it had no effect; the golden sword energy merely pushed the sand aside, creating ripples but causing no further reaction. “Liang Jue, I expected you to launch a sneak attack like this. It’s a pity that our Cang Yang Valley specializes in earth-based cultivation techniques, whose greatest strength lies in defense,” Liang Jue shouted coldly, with a hint of anger. Since he hadn’t achieved his goal, Liang Jue quickly retreated, smiling faintly and ignoring Li Zhen’s mockery. The Eight Directions Sword continued to float in the air, while the five leaders remained nearby, none of them stepping forward to claim it. Xiao Yue Cang Lang glanced at the battle between the twenty elders at the Convergence stage and suddenly shouted, “Pan Tian Snakes, Tun Hai Blood Pythons, hurry up and finish off these scum.”

Five Sky-Coiling Snakes and five Sea-Devouring Blood Pythons, once combined, would possess the strength of their merged form in the later stage. By shouting this, Howling Moon Wolf wanted these Sky-Coiling Snakes and Sea-Devouring Blood Pythons to come quickly and hold off the two leaders, so that Howling Moon Wolf and Ancient Ice Crocodile could join forces to obtain the Eight Directions Sword.

The ten monstrous beasts immediately understood what was meant and accelerated their attack even further.

The ten members of the Golden Central Sect and Cangyang Valley were already struggling immensely to hold their ground. Now, seeing the ten monstrous beasts attacking even more frantically and causing extreme turbulence in the surrounding space, even leading to the formation of spatial rifts, they became terrified and each took out a treasure from their space rings.

“Explosion Essence Pill!” An elder from the Golden Central Sect swallowed a pill, causing his body to suddenly expand ten times larger, his attack power increasing tenfold, reaching a strength comparable to that of their merged form in the middle stage.

“Watch my Sand-Wind Waterfall Talisman!” An elder from Cangyang Valley suddenly activated a spiritual talisman, trapping three approaching Sky-Coiling Snakes.

“Hmph, daring to bully me? I have no choice but to use my famous sword formation—Shining Gold Soul-Destroying Sword Formation!” An elder from the Golden Central Sect shouted angrily, unleashing five golden swords at a Sea-Devouring Blood Python.

“That’s too much! It’s time to use my Fireheart Devastating Thunder, which I’ve treasured for years,” said an elder from Cangyang Valley, his face turning red with anger as he resolutely took out a fiery thunderbolt.

……

The ten members of the Golden Central Sect and Cangyang Valley, pushed to their limits with no way to retreat, had no choice but to bring out their treasures and launch a counterattack against the ten monstrous beasts.

Sure enough, the ten beasts were caught off guard and fled in panic.

Near the battlefield, there was a barely noticeable ice particle—this was the result of the Dimensional Sphere emerging from the spatial rift area and transforming.

Inside the Dimensional Sphere, Qu Yi kept an eye on the battle outside. Seeing the ten monstrous beasts driven back, he smiled.

“Silver-Faced Howling Sky Dog, Blue Dragon, it’s time for you two to return to the battlefield,” Qu Yi said with a smile.

Then, the ice particle formed from the Dimensional Sphere flew toward the spatial rift area, and the two monstrous beasts, Silver-Faced Howling Sky Dog and Blue Dragon, left the Dimensional Sphere and entered the spatial rift area.

“Do you two from the demon cultivation sects think we demon cultivators are easy to bully?” Suddenly, Silver-Faced Howling Sky Dog and Blue Dragon flew out of the spatial rift area and roared angrily.

Everyone thought these two monstrous beasts had finally returned after killing the elders of the Taiyuan Sect inside the spatial rift area.

As expected, as soon as the Silver-Faced Howling Dog and the Blue Dragon appeared, they each held a spirit talisman—precisely the “Divine Fiery Talisman” and the “Earthly Fiendly Talisman” that Qu Yi had obtained from the Spirit Talisman Cave. Both talismans possessed the power of mid-Stage Fusion. After speaking, the Silver-Faced Howling Dog and the Blue Dragon threw the two talismans, which immediately covered the members of the Jin Yang Sect and Cang Yang Valley. The Divine Fiery Talisman unleashed a sky-full of blazing flames; these flames rained down like rain, burning the ten members of both sects. Among the cultivators, those at the Golden Core stage had the Samadhi True Fire in their bodies, while those at the Nascent Soul, Soul Departure, and Divided Spirit stages had the Azure Blue True Fire. Those at the Fusion, Calamity Crossing, and Mahayana stages had the Blazing Flames. Once the Earthly Fiendly Talisman was activated, dark evil energy surged from the ground, disturbing the minds of those inside, while violent gales blew from the sky—each gust possessing the power of early Stage Fusion. Those trapped were both mentally disturbed and forced to constantly exert their vital energy, making it extremely difficult for even mid-Stage Fusion cultivators to resist. The Silver-Faced Howling Dog and the Blue Dragon threw the two talismans right away upon appearing, completely catching the Jin Yang Sect and Cang Yang Valley by surprise. They failed to react in time and were attacked by the two talismans. “Ah!” The elders of the Jin Yang Sect and Cang Yang Valley screamed in succession; several of them had already died. The rest struggled to hold on amidst the flames, dark evil energy, and gales. This was a sudden attack, and Shuo Jin of the Jin Yang Sect and Li Zhen of Cang Yang Valley couldn’t intervene in time and could only watch helplessly as the talismans did their damage. Eventually, the two talismans lost their effect and dispersed into the air, disappearing. Only one person from the Jin Yang Sect and three from Cang Yang Valley remained alive, including Yang Di, but they were all on the verge of death, their vital energy exhausted. At that moment, the five Sky-Coiling Snakes and five Sea-Devouring Blood Pythons, who had been waiting nearby, immediately flew over. They reverted to their beast forms, with their gaping mouths showing extreme ferocity and their mouths wide enough to swallow oceans. They quickly approached the four survivors. One by one, all four survivors from the Jin Yang Sect and Cang Yang Valley were killed. “You…” Shuo Jin of the Jin Yang Sect and Li Zhen of Cang Yang Valley shouted in anger. But it was already too late. Qu Yi, who was inside the Dimensional Sphere, watched what had just happened and smiled, saying, “Now that Yang Di is dead, I no longer need to worry about him going to Tianhua Star, nor do I have to worry that Wu Qing and Mu Han will be pursued by him.”

Once Yang Di died, who would help him avenge Yang Tianqi and Leng Yu? The cultivation world values interests above all; without any benefit, Yang Di’s friends in Cangyang Valley wouldn’t waste time chasing after someone. Moreover, with Yang Di’s death, all clues about this person vanished, leaving no one willing to undertake such a pointless task.
The God of Tools, listening from the side, smiled with his hands behind his back and said, “It’s better to watch the show. The Silver-Faced Howling Dog and the Blue Dragon showed off once already. Maybe Li Heng, Shuo Bai, and Liang Qu will also perform.”
Qu Yi let out a sinister laugh.