"Hu Ling Mountain Master, it was this humble monk who recorded the image of the Dragon Palace’s Primordial Chaos Paper and gave it to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion."
Tian Yu's voice was clear enough for everyone to hear.
"The ancient Azure Dragon was inherently lifeless. With its solitary power, it was impossible to create such a place of great calamity, nor could it locate the Primordial Chaos Paper that flowed out of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion..."
Tian Yu knew some divination techniques. When the Azure Dragon appeared, he felt something was amiss. Then, he noticed that the purple moon on the lake surface bore the mark of the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, which made him feel even more suspicious.
At first, he suspected the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion was behind everything. That was until he later encountered Yuan Bingxin and Hua Nishang.
"Hu Ling Mountain Master, do not be obstinate any longer. Do you know your daughter's current fate, having aided the demonic cultivators?"
Hu Ling Mountain Master's head shot up abruptly.
He suddenly realized that Hua Nishang had not emerged from the vast secret realm until this very moment!
Tian Yu waved his hand, and an image appeared before everyone.
In a dimly lit, unknown space, water dripped rhythmically. A figure in white robes floated in mid-air. Occasionally, the hems of their clothing would flutter, and beneath the hollow pant leg, only ghastly white bones were visible.
The figure in white suddenly looked up, revealing a face Hu Ling Mountain Master knew intimately.
"Nishang!" Hu Ling Mountain Master exclaimed.
Hua Nishang, however, could not hear his voice. Her beautiful face was contorted with pain, and her entire being was twisted in despair.
Countless gray threads pierced through her body.
Moments later, a piece of flesh disappeared from her neck again!
Hu Ling Mountain Master's eyes widened with rage, his pupils dilating. This was Lingchi! They were deliberately torturing his daughter!
"What have you done?" he roared, his eyes bloodshot, and he glared fiercely at Tian Yu.
Tian Yu recited a Buddhist phrase, "Hu Ling Mountain Master, you should ask, what have you done?"
Hu Ling Mountain Master suddenly recalled that the things entwined around Hua Nishang were clearly Prison Imps!
And where did those Prison Imps come from?
"Yuan Bingxin! Sage Huiling!" Hu Ling Mountain Master roared, his eyes turning crimson, his aura shifting from ethereal to obscure and dark...
"This is bad, he's demonized!" Tian Yu's expression changed slightly, and he instinctively called for help, "Senior Brother! Hurry, a cultivator in the Mahayana stage has demonized!"
The other sect leaders, who had been monitoring the situation outside, rushed out upon hearing this.
Senior Brother Tian Shu, whom Tian Yu had mentioned, along with Chan Master Ku Liao and Yue Bufan, simultaneously attacked, attempting to suppress Hu Ling Mountain Master directly. However, Hu Ling Mountain Master blocked their assault!
"His cultivation level..." Yue Bufan said with profound solemnity, "Has he reached the stage of ascension?"
Otherwise, why were they, with their combined strength, unable to suppress him?
"Impossible," Qin Si said gravely, turning to instruct Zhan Jiuzhou, "Lead your people to evacuate the disciples of Shenqi Mountain first."
The other sect leaders also snapped back to attention and immediately followed suit.
"No one is leaving!"
Hu Ling Mountain Master suddenly flickered and charged forward. In the next moment, he returned, clutching someone's throat.
"Ah!"
Screams erupted from the crowd. Qin Si and Yue Bufan prepared to intervene, but they realized the person in Hu Ling Mountain Master's hand was Li Tingyun. They all stopped in unison.
"Hu Ling Mountain Master... you..." Li Tingyun choked, his face turning red, unable to speak. He could only transmit his thoughts mentally, "Let's talk properly. If you attack me, I can't save your daughter."
"You useless trash!" Hu Ling Mountain Master increased his grip, tilting his head back and roaring, "Since I cannot have a good life, then no one shall!"
He scanned his surroundings and let out a wild, arrogant laugh, "Hahahaha, none of you will have a good life! Everyone, let's go to hell together!"
"Rumble..."
A thunderous roar echoed from the horizon, and the ground shook violently. Before many could even react, the vast ice plain before them suddenly exploded!
"Bang!"
Ice shards, accompanied by a hurricane, swept forward, tearing at the skin. But no one paid attention to these minor issues.
"Look at the sky! Quick, look at the western sky! What is that?"
In the sky, wind whipped dark clouds, but amidst the gloom, a large patch of blackness was exceptionally conspicuous.
That patch of blackness spread like ink, and in an instant, it had covered half the entire sky.
"It's demonic energy! It's demonic energy!"
But this was not all. Just then, screams erupted from all around.
"The ice! There's something beneath the ice!"
A disciple's eyes were suddenly blinded by ice shards. Before he could remove them, he stumbled, the ice cracked, and he fell to the ground. A sharp pain shot up his leg.
"Ah!"
"Senior Brother! Run! It's Prison Imps! Beneath the ice, there are Prison Imps everywhere!" His junior brother dragged him, pulling him forcefully towards the area where the powerful figures were gathered.
The entire Southern Extreme Wasteland was in chaos!
"Chan Master Ku Liao, Daoist Tian Shu, what should we do? Hurry and give us a plan!"
The disciples of Fanglan Sect were the unluckiest, directly in the path of the erupting ice, facing the Prison Imps as they emerged. Soon, many were injured.
Lü Fuping was completely panicked, helplessly ordering disciples to organize a retreat. However, the most influential disciple, Daoist Yi'an, was missing, and Lü Zi had been severely injured in the vast secret realm. The remaining disciples were simply incapable of taking on such a responsibility.
Within moments, the disciples of Fanglan Sect were either dead or injured, suffering immense losses.
The other sects were not faring any better.
All of this had happened too suddenly.
Chan Master Ku Liao frowned deeply, looking at the bald male cultivator standing quietly beside him. "Tian Shu, what are you looking at?"
"Demonic energy, originating from the far west. There is a significant problem in the far west," Tian Shu's voice carried a cold tone. "Martial Uncle, we must split into two groups. I will lead people to the far west, and you will stay here to maintain order."
"Agreed!" Yue Bufan immediately said, "My disciples from Yueqing Mountain will also be divided. One part will be led by Yuan Gui and assigned to you, Tian Shu."
"My Thousand Demon Pavilion will naturally not stand idly by. We will do the same as Yueqing Mountain," Lin Qingyu fanned away a swarm of approaching Prison Imps with his peacock feather fan, sneering wickedly, "I will accompany you, young Tian Shu, to the far west. I suspect that scoundrel Liu Tianyun is there."
Qin Si had already instructed the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion to assist in rescuing disciples from other sects.
Hearing their conversation, he said, "In that case, the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion will remain here to defend. Hu Ling Mountain Master, leave him to me."
"And... me." The Hu Yu Mountain Master, who had been out of sorts since arriving at the Southern Extreme Wasteland, seemed to suddenly awaken. He shivered and said with great complexity, "Mountain Master Qin, I will help you."
Qin Si nodded, remaining silent, and drew his sword, charging towards Hu Ling Mountain Master!
Dark clouds hung low, as if pressing down like mountains. Not far away, fierce winds howled and roared, mountains collapsed intermittently, and blood flowed through the wasteland.
And within this darkness, a figure clad in fiery red robes stood against the wind, appearing like a supreme deity.
With a single sword strike, he cleaved open the darkened sky!
As the light flared, Daoist Hu Yu looked at the scene before him, both unfamiliar and intimately familiar, perfectly overlapping with the projected images calculated from the Heavenly Star Chessboard of the past!