Who knew how many times more violent the collision this time was compared to when he ran into the ice wall. Not a single bone in his body remained whole. He was only alive thanks to his true qi. Wind whistled by his ear as he was rapidly pushed back by the huge figure. He tried his best to open his eyes, but he discovered that he had returned to the cave. He saw the skeleton monster standing beside the Steel Plate corpse he had spent so much effort refining.
“Fucking…” After that one word, a pink gas swallowed him, making him lose his final sliver of consciousness.
The segmented body was a magnificent pink. Who knows how many legs protruded from the sides as they rapidly moved in a rhythm. It moved with startling speed; only a pink streak was visible, like an underground rail whooshing by. It was enough to kick up a wild gust and make Li Qingshan’s clothes ruffle. This was the first time Li Qingshan had seen Milliped’s original form, but what he saw was no longer just his original form, but a raging river of daemon qi.
This was the first time Li Qingshan had sensed Milliped’s power to such a great extent. Normally, this guy who fell asleep as soon as he was done eating did not seem dignified at all, but he was actually a Daemon General through and through. Moreover, he was one of the stronger Daemon Generals out there.
The remaining Qi Practitioners all held their breaths and widened their despaired eyes at this sight. If everything earlier was all a nightmare, then it felt like something even more terrifying had intruded on the nightmare right now, immediately disrupting their thoughts. Under the impact of the daemon qi, they directly fainted.
Milliped left in a hurry. Li Qingshan and Xiao An stared right at each other. They both saw a green figure easily escape while being pursued by Milliped. Was he…
“Oh no!” Li Qingshan’s expression changed drastically. Further up was the surface, and there, Milliped would lose the protection of the Treaty of Kings. He would become prey human cultivators could freely hunt down and kill, and right now, there were three Foundation Establishment cultivators waiting up there, as well as a green flash of unknown strength. He caught the scent of a deep scheme.
……
Yu Zijian threw herself into the snow. The dazzling sun forced her eyes shut. The light enveloped her from everywhere, making her dizzy.
She could vaguely hear people rushing over and calling out, “Someone else has come out!”
She gradually opened her eyes and saw over a dozen Qi Practitioners laying in the distance, covered in blood. Some of their faces were numb, while others were sobbing.
They were all independent cultivators. They were unable to choose the most optimal routes and best locations like the disciples of the three mountains, and they even set off later as well, but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. They avoided many traps of certain death, but they still experienced a lot of danger before escaping with their lives. They were lucky survivors.
Before she could even look at these people properly, three figures suddenly appeared before her, blocking the sun.
The elders of the three mountains asked in a hurry, “How’s the situation down there?”
Yu Zijian raised her head in confusion and saw that their expressions were very similar to the lucky survivors. They were filled with gloominess and dejection.
The corner of the Lone Grave Elder’s mouth constantly twisted, the Golden Pheasant’s Elder’s widened eyes were bloodshot, and the Green Vine Elder who had always been composed lost his usual calm too.
If the disciples that died in the beginning made their hearts bleed, then their hearts would basically be springs of blood now, bleeding endlessly.
The specks of light on the mental map were like flying sparks. They were extinguished in great quantities at a time. There were several times when the Golden Pheasant Elder wanted to rush into the caves, but he was stopped by the Green Vine Elder and the Lone Grave Elder. Hua Chengzan was nearby. They could never break the treaty before him.
In the end, very few specks of light remained. They learnt from the mouths of the surviving independent cultivators that they had fallen for the traps of the daemons this time.
Although they barely managed to maintain their composure due to the mental fortitude that they had developed over many years, they were ashen. Only the Lone Grave Elder remained mostly the same, but he thought, It’s over. It’s all over.
Just when Yu Zijian was perplexed by the question, Hua Chenglu rushed over and scooped her up. “Zijian, you’re fine! Fantastic! You really made me worry!”
“Chenglu, oh. I’m fine.” Yu Zijian looked past her shoulder and saw Hua Chengzan standing nearby with his hands behind his back, but his usual smile had vanished.
Hua Chengzan knew that the Herb Gathering ceremony this time had completely devastated the foundations of the three mountains. A sect was not just its Foundation Establishment sect master. It required a large number of disciples as well, necessary for managing the affairs of the sect and continuing its legacy. From the weakest outer disciple to the strongest first senior brother, not a single component could be missing.
Now, the three mountains had lost ninety percent of their disciples at the very least. They were like a tree that had its roots cut off. While it still stood on the surface, it would wither and die before long.
He felt rather bitter as well. He tried to stop them from killing the daemons, but the daemons schemed in the shadows and used this opportunity to deal a fatal blow. He even began to suspect that the Daemon General in this region was not as stupid as the records suggested at all, but was instead a wise figure, no, daemon who played the fool. The Herb Gathering ceremonies in the past were all just bait that the Daemon General had purposefully cast out.
They truly targeted and wanted to harm one another. The age of the Treaty of Kings was already long past. Just how much longer could the law and order upheld by the school of Legalism remain intact?
At this moment, the underground tremors had already grown more and more intense. Hua Chengzan looked into the pitch-black caves and frowned. This doesn’t seem like an earthquake.
Looking at the three elders, they had already left Yu Zijian alone. They all looked into the caves together and no longer bothered to disguise their emotions. Fury and delight intermingled on their faces; it was like they were crazy.
A terrifying daemon qi directly burst out from underground like a tidal wave.
Oh no!
Hua Chengzan’s expression changed. He arrived beside Hua Chenglu and Yu Zijian in a flash and grabbed their shoulders, unleashing all of his true qi and leaping out of the pit.
The pit was over thirty meters deep, but he pulled higher and higher in the air, arriving above the pit in the blink of an eye. A ball of green light that moved ten times faster than him shot by, vanishing into the sky. When he was being chased by Milliped, he had actually been holding back with his speed.
It was like a lightbulb had lit up in Hua Chengzan’s head, and he immediately understood the whole story. His mission had still ended in failure. Not only had Fu Qingjin defeated the three elders silently, but he had even lured the Daemon General out from underground.
Powerful daemon qi rushed into the air as a millipede over a hundred meters long emerged from underground, exposed under the light of day. It raised its head and produced a sharp hiss at the sky.
The huge figure was enough to blot out the sun, and the surviving Qi Practitioners all turned sheet-white. The three elders increased their vigilance as much as possible.
“W- what is that?” Hua Chenglu asked with a trembling voice. No matter how high in the air she was, the pretty colour and vicious shape still made her shiver inside.
“The original form of a Daemon General.” Hua Chengzan rubbed Hua Chenglu’s head to comfort her. In this age, very few humans had seen the original form of Daemon Generals, and hopefully, it would stay like that in the future.
Suddenly, he saw Yu Zijian looking straight down. He asked in surprise, “Aren’t you afraid?”
As if she was possessed, Yu Zijian completely ignored his question as she clutched the hilt of her sword firmly.
“Die, wretched daemon!” A roar filled with hatred and anger erupted from the Green Vine Elder’s chest. He brought his hands together in a seal, which unfurled like a lotus. The spiritual qi of the world began to move.
Suddenly, he pointed down, and several green vines erupted from the ground. Each vine was even thicker than a pillar as they wrapped and tightened around Milliped. Even more vines sprouted from the green vines, all as thick as pillars, entangling his numerous legs.
Milliped was immediately immobilised. He was unable to unleash any of his terrifying strength. He produced another hiss, and his body released a pink gas.
The verdant green vines around him immediately began to wither and decay. The pink gas filled the entire pit. The lucky survivors saw this already, so they began to leap out of the pit, but they were nowhere near as fast as Hua Chengzan. Just when they were about to reach the lip of the pit, the pink gas surged over.
They roared out and unleashed all of their protective talismans and techniques, but all they felt was their sights darken and their bodies seize up. They were unable to use any strength anymore, unable to mobilise even a strand of true qi. They fell straight back into the pit, and the only things that struck the ground were the corrosion-resistant hundred treasures pouches, which sank slowly into the earth.
Even the rock and soil was being eaten away by the gas, hissing and producing white smoke. The gas was startlingly potent.
Hua Chengzan had originally been hovering above the pit. Seeing this, he flew away to one side before looking down once again. The pit was like a volcanic crater that was about to erupt. The greyish-white smoke and the pink gas merged into a smoke dragon, extending towards the sky. It was visible even from over fifty kilometers away.
He was shocked inside. This is the power of a Daemon General!
However, before Milliped could break free, even more green vines wrapped around him. Only the three elders continued to stand strong. They used various protective techniques, but the pink gas still ate away at it constantly.
However, even if they combined their true qi, they were nowhere near close to rivalling Milliped’s daemon qi. Drawing out the battle was as foolish as idiotic nonsense.
The Green Vine Elder bellowed out, “Why don’t you assist me, fellows?”
There was no need for him to say that at all. A golden pheasant rose into the air and erupted with light, merging and shining with the dazzling sun in the sky, which only made it seem even more glorious. With a cry, a pheasant’s foot landed on Milliped’s head. Then, the pheasant pecked down viciously.
At the same time, a figure surrounded in surging, black smoke passed through the pink gas and stabbed Milliped’s soft belly with its claws.
There was a clang, like the screeching of metal, which resounded through the pit numerous times and rushed into the sky.
Milliped let out a pained hiss. His huge body writhed violently and released even more gas. Although he seemed unscathed with the toughness of his belly, it still felt like someone had driven an awl into him.
Afterwards, there was a great thump, and a figure landed a punch on Milliped’s belly, leaving behind a dent. Something that seemed like a human general appeared through the surging black smoke. A damaged set of rusted bronze armour covered its body. Even its face was hidden within the helmet, only revealing a set of bloodthirsty eyes. It was actually a zombie, but its eyes were not as hollow as regular zombies’. Instead, they seemed intelligent and self-conscious.
