DLWAV CH61

However, in the end, it was far more than just the Four Great Families who rushed to Black City at the very first opportunity.

One Sect, Three Factions, Four Gates, and the Joyous Union Sect—all of them mobilized.

Because on the very second day after the Four Great Families dispatched their troops to Black City, more news arrived: the reason Yan Chong dared to challenge the Four Great Families was that he had colluded with the Demonic Path.

Most importantly, the spies planted in Black City by the major sects subsequently verified this news.

If the auctioning of the Absolute Vein Pill formula at the Tanhuang Auction House had originally just been a personal grudge between Yan Chong and the Four Great Families, then now, this matter had escalated into a war between the Righteous Path and the Demonic Path.

After all, now that Yan Chong had the help of the Demonic Path, the defeat of the Four Great Families at his hands was practically set in stone. If the lips perish, the teeth will grow cold; the Demonic Path’s next targets would inevitably be the other sects and families. And without the Four Great Families, how could they possibly be a match for the Demonic Path?

In an instant, the storm was looming.

“To think that after so many years, the Demonic Path still couldn’t sit still.”

Aboard the flying ship, looking at the boundless, vast wilderness, Long Jingdan’s brow furrowed tightly.

Every time a war broke out between the Righteous and Demonic paths, the Mingxiao Continent would turn into a living hell.

“Who knows how many of our comrades will die in battle this time.”

Furthermore, regardless of whether they won or lost this war, Ao Ruize was likely going to have a hard time afterward.

After all, Yan Chong had insisted from the very beginning that he had targeted the Four Great Families because of Long Ruize, which had ultimately single-handedly triggered this great war.

So in the future, as long as there were casualties, the relatives of the deceased would, in all likelihood, lay the blame on Ao Ruize…

Hearing this, quite a few people fell silent.

“Let’s not talk about this.”

After an unknown amount of time passed, Long Gang broke the silence: “That should be Great Laugh Ridge up ahead. Once we pass Great Laugh Ridge, we’ll be in Black City’s territory.”

“Do you know why Great Laugh Ridge is called Great Laugh Ridge?”

“I know.”

A young man standing beside Long Jingdan immediately said, “It’s because Great Laugh Ridge is highly mountainous, and the desert is very windy. Whenever strong winds pour into the mountain range, they create countless collisions. When all these collision sounds string together, they sound exactly like someone laughing loudly. Therefore, the people of Black City named it Great Laugh Ridge.”

“So every time we pass through here in the past, we like to set up a table of good wine and good food on the flying ship, chatting cheerfully while listening to the laughter of Great Laugh Ridge to add to the fun.”

“How about we set up a table right now?” Long Gang immediately suggested. “Consider it wishing us victory in our first battle.”

Hearing this, everyone present echoed their agreement: “Alright.”

Ao Ruize: “…”

What he wanted to say was that the vast majority of those laughs were not the sounds of strong winds crashing against the mountain range, but the cries for help from your ancestors.

…So, in a sense, it wouldn’t be wrong to call this mountain range Great Filial Piety Ridge instead. (Note: “Great Laugh” 大笑 Dàxiào sounds identical to “Great Filial Piety” 大孝 Dàxiào in Chinese).

Looking at the four towering mountain ranges not far away, Ao Ruize thought to himself.

However, he didn’t stop Long Gang and the others; he even turned directly and walked away.

Because he saw the fleet of the Joyous Union Sect approaching.

Seeing Ao Ruize—who still reported in punctually even after returning to the Dragon Clan—and recalling the snacks and pork tripe barley soup that Fu Mu had ordered prepared in advance, the disciples of the Joyous Union Sect couldn’t help but look at each other. Isn’t this why they say an old house catching fire burns the brightest? Here was a ready-made example.

While Long Jingdan and the others were standing in full battle readiness, and while Ao Ruize was busy massaging Fu Mu’s feet, on the other side, in Black City.

“I trust you have all used the Spirit Ascension Pills.”

Inside the massive grand hall, Yan Chong, sitting high upon the main seat, said loudly.

Hearing this, the Ten Great Demon Venerables below immediately began to laugh.

According to Yan Chong’s story, the reason he was able to jump from the early Golden Core stage straight to the mid-Soul Formation stage a year ago was all because he found the ruins of a cultivator from the Upper Realm, and within those ruins, he found a pile of Spirit Ascension Pills.

He had already consumed one pill from that pile, leaving thirty behind.

So he used these thirty Spirit Ascension Pills and ten top-tier magical treasures as a welcoming gift to invite the Ten Great Demon Venerables of the Demonic Path to form an alliance.

Although Spirit Ascension Pills had miraculous effects on cultivators in the Mingxiao Continent, they were indeed not considered particularly precious pills in the Upper Realm. Therefore, when Yan Chong said he found the ruins of an Upper Realm cultivator and found a pile of Spirit Ascension Pills inside, they did not grow suspicious.

Moreover, after receiving the Spirit Ascension Pills, they directly had their subordinates take one, and the result was that it genuinely promoted them from the Golden Core stage straight to the mid-Soul Formation stage.

Most importantly, Yan Chong held the formula for the Absolute Vein Pill in his hands, and according to him, he had already improved the formula. All they had to do was wait for the Four Great Families to deliver themselves to their door, and they would send the Four Great Families underground to meet their ancestors.

So in this battle, they were practically guaranteed to win.

Even if the Four Great Families produced three Ascension-stage experts in one breath, it would be useless.

Given that, why wouldn’t they ally with Yan Chong!

Yan Chong finally just said, “I offer a toast to all you Demon Lords, wishing us victory in our first battle—”

The Ten Great Demon Venerables immediately raised their wine cups in turn: “In this battle, our army will surely win!”

This banquet lasted all the way until well into the night.

Only when all the people of the Demonic Path had left did Yan Chong wipe the smile off his face.

“It’s just a pity…”

He toyed with the maidservant in his arms and shook his head.

He had originally thought that after he released those rumors, the Four Great Families would impatiently offer up Long Ruize to pacify his anger, and he might even get to see the Four Great Families biting each other like dogs. He hadn’t expected that not only would the Four Great Families not do this, but they would unhesitatingly march their troops on Black City instead.

But it didn’t matter; in the end, none of them would escape death anyway.

Thinking of this, Yan Chong burst into loud laughter again.

Until the ‘living map’ in his arms couldn’t help but say, “Alright, the dust hasn’t settled on this matter yet. It’s not time for you to celebrate, Young Master.”

Yan Chong said dismissively, “Things have already reached this point; could they possibly flip out of the palm of our hands now?”

However, despite saying this, he still immediately turned his head to look at the corner behind him: “Alright, deliver the other great gift I prepared for the Demonic Path to those Demon Venerables.”

A black figure immediately stepped out from the shadows in the corner, his voice freezing cold: “Yes.”

Then his figure vanished directly into the thin air.

A flash of sharp light suddenly crossed Yan Chong’s eyes: “The good show is finally about to begin—”

Three days later, the troops of the major sects and families had all arrived outside the walls of Black City.

Looking out, tens of thousands of Righteous Path cultivators—some standing on flying swords, some riding spiritual beasts, some standing on thin air—stretched out for dozens of miles.

And standing at the very front of the great army were none other than the Grand Elders and Ancestors of the major sects and families.

Soon, the voice of the White Tiger Clan Ancestor rang out over the entirety of Black City: “Yan Chong, it’s still not too late for you to surrender now.”

“Otherwise, when we slaughter our way into Black City, we will ensure you die without a burial place—”

But before he even finished speaking, the Ten Great Demon Venerables charged directly out. Tens of thousands of wind blades, ice arrows, and lightning storms… instantly blasted toward the Righteous Path allied forces.

“Why waste so much breath? If you want to fight, just fight.”

“Hah, did you really think that just because we laid dormant for a few thousand years, your Righteous Path could cover the sky with one hand? It’s still uncertain who will win or lose this battle.”

Behind them, Yan Chong immediately ordered his men: “Kill—”

The White Tiger Clan Ancestor and the others were the first to react. They hastily summoned their ultimate magical treasures and blocked the attacks.

Lord Dragon Soul inside Ao Ruize’s sleeve immediately roared out: “When there are no tigers in the mountains, you monkeys want to call yourselves kings? Aren’t you afraid of shattering your front teeth?”

The great war broke out just like that, catching everyone off guard—

The Dragon Clan Patriarch, however, was directly stunned. Because normally, Lord Dragon Soul wouldn’t even let clan members touch him—not even him, the Patriarch, was an exception—yet now he was directly living inside Ao Ruize’s sleeve.

Wasn’t Lord Dragon Soul a bit too close to Ao Ruize?

But very quickly, a group of demons charged toward him, so he didn’t have time to worry about that right now.

Of course, quite a few people also charged toward Ao Ruize, but before they could even get close to him, they were casually instantly killed by Fu Mu, who was fighting a Demon Venerable not far away.

One could imagine how ugly the expression of the opposing Demon Venerable became.

Looking at the entire battlefield, because the Righteous Path suddenly had three extra Ascension-stage Ancestors, the moment the war began, they directly took control of the situation with an overwhelming advantage.

“Good.”

Seeing this, the leaders of the major sects and families all revealed expressions of wild joy.

But right at this moment, atop the city walls not far away, dozens of cannon muzzles suddenly protruded. Immediately following that, continuous cannon fire echoed across the entire battlefield.

“What?”

The Dragon Clan Patriarch and the others subconsciously looked toward the source of the sound, only to see dozens of massive projectiles, several meters wide, rocketing toward them.

They subconsciously dodged the projectiles, and those who couldn’t dodge in time could only shoot out a burst of spiritual energy, attempting to destroy them.

As a result, the moment the spiritual energy they shot out collided with those projectiles, the impacted projectiles violently exploded open, revealing massive amounts of white powder inside.

And right at this moment, the surrounding demons and people of Black City suddenly swept out bursts of strong wind in unison.

Wrapped in these strong winds, the white powder blew straight toward the Righteous Path cultivators in all directions.

“Careful—”

In an instant, countless voices blurted out.

Because they didn’t even need to think to know that this white powder was nothing good.

But it was too late—

By the time they reacted, the powder had already blown onto them. Most importantly, the people of the Four Great Families discovered to their horror that the moment the powder touched their bodies, it actually sank directly into them.

So they didn’t even need to guess to know what this powder was.

“Absolute Vein Pill! It’s the Absolute Vein Pill—”

Yan Chong must have improved the Absolute Vein Pill, so that the current Absolute Vein Pill no longer needed to be stuffed into their stomachs; just touching their skin was enough to destroy their bloodlines.

Most importantly, in less than a year’s time, Yan Chong had actually manufactured so many Absolute Vein Pills—

“Hahahahaha!”

Seeing the Dragon Clan Patriarch and the others instantly lose all color in their faces, the Ten Great Demon Venerables laughed heartily: “If we didn’t have absolute certainty, how would we dare to rashly go to war with you.”

“So the words you just said, I’ll now return them to you exactly as they were—it’s still not too late for you to surrender now. Otherwise, when we kill you, we will ensure that not even a blade of grass remains of your sects and families—”

But in the very next second, someone from the Four Great Families said in shock and doubt: “Wait, there doesn’t seem to be any problem with the flow of spiritual energy in my body?”

Following closely, more and more voices rang out: “Mine too.”

“Mine too.”

Immediately, someone said: “So it seems there’s nothing wrong with our bloodlines?”

What?

The arrogant expressions on the faces of the Ten Great Demon Venerables directly froze.

They looked in disbelief at the opponents across from them, trying to see some abnormality in them.

But in the next second, the words of the White Tiger Clan Ancestor and the others directly shattered the lucky hopes in their hearts.

“Kill!”

The Righteous Path cultivators present instantly reacted, and they charged toward their opponents once again to slaughter them.

“How is this possible—”

“Could it be that the activation time of the improved Absolute Vein Pill is later than the original one?”

“That must be it.”

The Ten Great Demon Venerables immediately shouted: “Anyone who dares take a step back, dies—”

“Hold on a little longer, wait until the medicinal effect of the Absolute Vein Pill kicks in—”

But before they finished speaking, their voices changed. Because they suddenly discovered that the flow of demonic energy in their own bodies was actually experiencing congestion, and their cultivation levels suddenly began to plummet.

“What’s going on—”

“Why did my cultivation drop directly from the Soul Formation stage to the Nascent Soul stage…”

Seeing this, brilliant lights immediately erupted in the eyes of the White Tiger Clan Ancestor and the others. They completely didn’t care to think about why such a situation would occur, and directly took advantage of this opportunity to charge forward and slaughter them.

“Ah!”

“Ah!”

“Ah!”

Immediately following, bursts of miserable screams rang out.

The battlefield instantly turned into a one-sided massacre.

First the Ten Great Demon Venerables, then the major Elders, and then the protectors and hall masters of each palace…

Just like that, in a short span of less than two quarters of an hour (30 minutes), the forces of the Demonic Path and Black City were almost completely slaughtered by the Righteous Path allied forces.

Seeing this, the remaining portion of Demonic Path soldiers immediately put down the weapons in their hands and chose to surrender.

The smoke on the battlefield then slowly dispersed, leaving only the heavy breathing of the crowd.

Looking at the corpses of the Demon Venerables trampled under their feet, and then looking around at their companions who were almost entirely unharmed in all directions, their gazes instantly showed a trace of sluggish disbelief—including the White Tiger Clan Ancestor and the Grand Elder of the Sword Sect.

They just won like this?

They just completely annihilated the Demonic Path, the opponent they had fought for tens of thousands of years, just like this?

Were they dreaming?

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