One couldn't help but wonder if all the tens of thousands of ghost cultivators in Fengdu were in favor of declaring war on the immortal sects.
"Wushang Mansion..." Yan Tianjiao repeated, her phoenix eyes chillingly sarcastic, and said dismissively, "Wushang Mansion has been an isolated city for a hundred years, neither opening its doors nor accepting anyone. Do they even have anyone useful?"
It was rumored that Wushang Mansion never accepted outsiders, claiming that the people within the city possessed rare divine bloodlines, and therefore, they did not allow city residents to interact with outsiders to avoid contaminating the purity of their bloodlines.
Of course, very few people believed this rumor. Immortals would not descend to the mortal realm to have children, let alone divine bloodlines that would fall to the lower realms and become mere mortals.
Therefore, they preferred to believe that all of this was just Wushang Mansion's self-imposed isolation, which was incredibly baffling.
However, it was undeniable that every time Wushang Mansion sent out a savior, it was always an astonishing peerless genius.
No one could answer this question. Perhaps it was out of a trace of reverence and apprehension for Wushang Mansion. Rulan suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, Dayuan Sect has also sent someone."
"Dayuan Sect?" Lu Ziyin instinctively glanced at Liu Jiang Fusheng behind her.
This person was incredibly steady, showing no discernible reaction.
Rulan nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, do you know who came?"
Lu Ziyin was not foolish; her demeanor suggested it couldn't be someone unrelated to them.
"Could it be that... our acquaintance?"
Rulan smiled without answering, keeping him in suspense.
"Alas, you'll know when you see them. So many years have passed, I wonder where that former champion of the newcomer rankings, junior disciple Fusheng, has gone..."
Recalling the past, she couldn't help but sigh.
However, she didn't receive their agreement for her words. She looked up at Lu Ziyin and the others, only to see their expressions were somewhat strange.
---
However, sometimes man proposes, and heaven disposes. Before Cheng Hong and his fellow immortal allies could regroup, a vast, ominous "dark cloud" suddenly drifted from the horizon.
It was unlike ordinary clouds; it was a mass of oppressive darkness, as if it were about to descend, giving people a terrifying, suffocating pressure.
At this moment, the Lord of Rongcheng, who was in secret deliberation, received an urgent report.
"City Lord, a large number of ghost cultivators and demon tribes have arrived outside the city!"
The demon tribes were a mixed-blood designation of demons, devils, and humans. Such impure bloodlines, not tolerated by the world, were almost universally scorned and trampled upon in the cultivation world. Only the lawless zone of Fengdu could accommodate their existence.
However, this did not mean they could thrive in Fengdu. Although the ghost cultivators here were not as repulsed by them as those in the outside world,
in the grim and cold Fengdu, there was no such thing as peace and prosperity. All demon tribes that arrived here were like poisonous creatures thrown into a jar for a蠱-raising competition; only the fittest would ultimately survive.
"What, they dare to be so brazen—" Abbess Huiming, her face black with rage, slammed her hand on the table and stood up.
The Lord of Huacheng, with his crimson lips curved and his elegantly drawn eyebrows narrowed alluringly, said, "It seems they have made preparations to fall out with us completely."
The Lord of Rongcheng clenched his fist, and with a graceful sweep of his robe, he transformed into a streak of light and landed on the city wall of Rongcheng.
He was dressed in a refined and tall blue robe, and his handsome, steady middle-aged face was devoid of its usual amiability. He stared intently at the increasingly dense black energy gathering on the horizon.
That was not "dark clouds" but ghost qi spreading from Fengdu.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... what a grand display. I wonder which fool will lead the charge to declare war this time."
The Lord of Huacheng wore a wide robe embroidered with butterflies and red silk. He was tall, but his face was delicate, like a woman's. It was said that his true form was a flower, hermaphroditic, a rather rare type of spirit.
Unlike demons, spirits were usually kind and gentle by nature, not bloodthirsty and violent like demons. Therefore, spirits were not as ostracized by the cultivation world as demon races.
"Huacheng, is this the time for sarcastic remarks?" Abbess Huiming also arrived, her complexion still not very good. The injuries and spiritual energy she had consumed made her uncomfortable whenever she cast a spell.
The Lord of Huacheng, showing some respect for elders, did not engage in verbal disputes with Abbess Huiming. After being reprimanded, he merely smiled dismissively.
The Lord of Rongcheng placed his palm on the city wall: "Cibei City, Rongcheng, and Huacheng each possess a celestial artifact. These three are one, solely for suppressing the evils of Fengdu. Now that the Demon Breaking Arrow is lost, it can no longer pose a fatal threat to them. Naturally, they will seize this opportunity to strike while the iron is hot."
"They have long coveted our celestial artifacts. Now that I think about it, doesn't that eldest young lady of the Mu family always try to get her hands on our celestial artifacts, even going as far as to marry into our family?" Hua Rong scoffed.
Abbess Huiming looked at the Lord of Rongcheng and rebuked, "After our discussion just now, the most likely culprit is that woman named Mu Junlin. She used the trust that Cibei City placed in your Rongcheng to bewitch my mind with dark arts, causing me to make a grave mistake, turning Cibei City into a hunting ground for blood slaves, and ultimately destroying Cibei City!"
The Lord of Rongcheng fell silent upon hearing this.
He genuinely wanted to marry Mu Junlin. Although he knew she might be after the celestial artifact, his confidence in himself made him wary of her while simultaneously unable to resist showing his affection like any man would towards a woman he liked. He had unwittingly indulged her.
Now, the bitter consequence had arrived.
Unlike the Lord of Rongcheng's sincere intentions, the Lord of Huacheng's proposal to Mu Junlin was merely to pry into her secrets—how she managed to increase the Mu family's strength so rapidly in such a short time. There was something about her that he couldn't understand yet found incredibly dangerous. He wanted to figure out what it was.
"You all say, so many blood slaves died in Fengdu. What was their purpose? Was it Mu Junshi's doing, or was she helping someone else avert disaster?" the Lord of Huacheng asked doubtfully.
The Lord of Rongcheng, however, said with solemn seriousness, "There is no extra time to ponder these matters. Quickly summon the cultivators in the city, and contact our allies from the immortal sects to come together to defend against the evil!"
---
Finally, under the urgent order from Rongcheng, thousands of cultivators gathered on the city wall. At the same time, that patch of dark and rampant "dark clouds" arrived over Rongcheng with the dark posture of greedy demons.
The spiritual energy and ghost qi floating in the air formed a barrier and a formation, creating pressure, conflict, and making it difficult to breathe. The cold wind mixed with mysterious, fierce cries. The increasingly dark sky and the rapidly dropping cold temperature made one feel as if they had instantly arrived in a chilling hell.
A massive black hole descended from the sky, and streaks of dark figures flashed past. The wind carried a sense of chaotic terror contrary to the stillness, as if darkness was about to devour everything.
At the hour of the demon encounter, those who had been disguising themselves as peaceful demons and fiends could finally break free from their restraints and roam about.