For the cultivators of the Divine启 World, the fifty-year ongoing war between the righteous and demonic factions felt like a nightmare from which no one could awaken.
Just as no one had anticipated that the Divine启 Grand Gathering fifty years ago would become the catalyst for the righteous and demonic war, which concluded without even a hasty end, no one had expected the demonic energy from the far west to finally erupt and spiral out of control, even engulfing the entire world.
Led by Liu Tianyun, a peak Mahayana demonic cultivator, and joined by various sects that had defected from the righteous path, such as Hua Ling Mountain, Wu Shang Sect, Qu Jing Sect, and Fang Lan Sect, the demonic cultivators advanced menacingly. They quickly expanded outwards from the far west, using Qun Yu Mountain as a boundary. The entire western region became a landscape of corpses and widespread devastation.
During this period, the Buddhist Sect, Yue Qing Mountain, Qun Yu Mountain, and Shen Qi Mountain, in conjunction with the major sects of the Divine启 World, continued to resist the demonic cultivators. The two sides engaged in a back-and-forth struggle for a full fifty years. Notable figures like the masters of Hua Ling Mountain and Hu Yu Mountain, Jing Lan, Hua Ni Chang, and Alchemist Xuan Fang, who were once renowned in the Divine启 World, all fell one after another. The battlefield gradually stalemated around Qun Yu Mountain.
Seeing the demonic side continuously dispatching reinforcements to Qun Yu Mountain in an attempt to decisively repel the righteous cultivators, the righteous cultivators were not to be outdone and quickly notified all major sects to send disciples to support Qun Yu Mountain.
However, three months ago, it was rumored that the sect leader of Wu Shang Sect, Li Tingyun, had appeared in Qian Lian Sea. Qin Si, the sect leader of Shen Qi Mountain, suddenly ordered the disciples of Shen Qi Mountain to cease their support for Qun Yu Mountain and reroute to Qian Lian Sea.
The tranquil and composed young man in green was named Jing Yu. He was once a direct disciple of the Jing family of Qu Jing Sect. However, due to a lack of recognition, he was able to retreat safely and re-enter Dong Yang Mountain after Qu Jing Sect defected to the demonic path.
Compared to the other sects, which had been worn down by the righteous and demonic war to the point of losing their spirit, Dong Yang Mountain had truly soared in the past few decades, developing at an extremely rapid pace, even surpassing the Xuan Nü Sect.
All of this was because Dong Yang Mountain had become a gathering place for alchemists. In times of war, alchemists became the most scarce and sought-after profession in the entire world.
Jing Yu himself was a fourth-tier alchemist.
He smiled slightly and said, "Lan Yu, since Senior Brother Bai himself doesn't mind, why are you so agitated?"
"I just feel it's unfair to Senior Brother Bai!" Dong Lan Yu said indignantly. "Senior Brother Bai has been guarding against demonic cultivators here for ten years. Just as everything could end after this final battle, Shen Qi Mountain decides to falter at this critical moment!"
His words did not sit well with some.
"So, according to you, without Shen Qi Mountain, our righteous path would definitely lose this final battle?"
"Yu Ping Xiao!" Dong Lan Yu turned and glared angrily at the speaker, the young sect leader of Feng Yuan Sect, and a friend of Dong Wu Yu, Yu Ping Xiao.
Dong Lan Yu harbored resentment in his heart. In the past, Feng Yuan Sect was merely a third-rate small sect. How dare Yu Ping Xiao speak to him so confrontationally?
In just fifty years, Feng Yuan Sect's status had changed so drastically.
Dong Lan Yu even suspected that if Yu Ping Xiao wished to help Dong Wu Yu seize the position of Dong Yang Mountain's sect leader, Yu Ping Xiao would become his greatest adversary.
Yu Ping Xiao was unaware of how much Dong Lan Yu had thought about in such a short time.
He said, "I'm just stating a fact, why are you angry? Moreover, Dong Lan Yu, do you truly not know, or are you pretending not to know, that one Li Tingyun's influence on the righteous and demonic war is no less significant than the impact of the final battle here at Qun Yu Mountain?"
As he spoke, he glanced at Jing Yu with a smile and added, "You might as well listen more to Jing Yu's advice."
With that, Yu Ping Xiao beckoned to a few Feng Yuan Sect disciples and they took a different path for their patrol.
Dong Lan Yu's face turned as red as a beet with anger. He stood rooted to the spot for a long time.
Jing Yu's gaze shifted slightly. "Lan Yu, let's continue our patrol as well. We mustn't neglect our duties."
Dong Lan Yu flicked his sleeve and said resentfully, "Patrol what? If the demonic cultivators break through, we can't do anything anyway. Let's go back!"
Jing Yu tried to persuade him a few times. Seeing that he couldn't convince him, he exchanged a wry smile with the disciples of Dong Yang Mountain and reluctantly followed Dong Lan Yu away.
After they left, a white figure flashed across the summit of Qun Yu Mountain.
"Who's there?"
Yu Ping Xiao's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately led his men in pursuit of the white figure.
After everyone in the vicinity had left, a person dressed in white suddenly appeared there. It was none other than the "Senior Brother Bai" who had just left on business.
Senior Brother Bai was still holding a short old man by the collar.
If anyone who had visited Xuan Tian Sect fifty years ago were present, they would recognize this short old man as the current sect leader of Xuan Tian Sect, Xuan Fengzi.
"Old man, wake up." Senior Brother Bai did not hesitate to slap Xuan Fengzi twice.
Xuan Fengzi jolted awake from his unconsciousness. He first trembled in shock. When he saw Senior Brother Bai's smiling eyes, a chill ran down his spine, and he stammered, "Xu Ye, why are you here again?"
Then, he noticed that his surroundings were not within Xuan Tian Sect, and his voice rose in alarm, "Where, where have you brought me?"
Senior Brother Bai let out a cold snort.
Xuan Fengzi's shoulders trembled.
Senior Brother Bai cast a cold glance at him. "Old man, I'll say it again. My name is Bai Jiang now. Don't call me Xu Ye."
"Yes, yes, I understand," Xuan Fengzi replied hastily.
Bai Jiang sneered, "Forty years ago, you said that Daojun Qing Lan was not careful enough, and you couldn't accurately predict the news of Bai Sheng Yi's death, making you unable to divine for me anymore. Twenty years ago, you said that Xuan Tian Sect had limited spiritual energy, was poorly located, and the time was not right, so you couldn't deduce the whereabouts of the Tian Ji Sword."
With every sentence Bai Jiang spoke, the old skin on Xuan Fengzi's face twitched. By the end, he wished he could bury himself in the ground.
He knew it! This Void Beast was unreasonable!
His grand-disciple Xuan Ji Zi owed a favor to the Void Beast clan. His grand-disciple had fallen during the upheaval three thousand years ago, and now the Void Beast clan was using that favor to repeatedly demand calculations of heavenly secrets from him!
However, his strength was low, and Xuan Tian Sect was becoming increasingly weak. He was utterly helpless against the Void Beast clan.
As was the case now, Xuan Fengzi knew full well that Bai Jiang was displeased with his evasiveness and obstruction, and was mocking him. Yet, he still put on a fawning smile and said, "Bai Jiang, divination involves many causalities and requires careful consideration."
Bai Jiang let out a scoff. "Alright, I know. And that's why I've come to help you."
"Old man, do you see? This is Qun Yu Mountain," Bai Jiang said, pointing to the collapsed summit of Qun Yu Mountain.
Xuan Fengzi suddenly had a bad premonition.
As expected, Bai Jiang continued, "Here, the stellar energy of the Tian Xing Chessboard still exists to assist you, and it is complemented by the spiritual energy of Qun Yu Mountain. You should finally be able to calculate it, right?"
He looked at Xuan Fengzi chillingly, implying that if he couldn't calculate it, he should leave his life behind.
Xuan Fengzi was inherently timid. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed confined in Tian Xuan Sect for hundreds of years without venturing out. Seeing this, he dared not procrastinate about the timing not being right and could only flatteringly say, "I will try my best, I will try my best."
"Hmph! I will only give you half an hour. I want the result."
He could only delay Yu Ping Xiao and his patrolling group for about half an hour.
Xuan Fengzi could only offer a wry smile and say, "Alright."
He lifted the hem of his robe, sat down on the ground, and with a wave of his hand, ten tortoise shells floated into the air.
The tortoise shells looked incredibly ancient, emitting a profound and obscure aura of vicissitude.
Due to the death of the Master of Hu Yu Mountain, the Tian Xing Chessboard on the summit of Qun Yu Mountain had also shattered. The summit was half-collapsed onto the mountainside. Now, as the tortoise shells slowly rotated around Xuan Fengzi, a beam of starlight shot out from the fragments of the Tian Xing Chessboard on the mountainside and merged into the tortoise shells.
After a long while, the tortoise shells stopped rotating.
Xuan Fengzi's eyes snapped open in fear, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood with a "噗" sound!