Qiantang Province City, the whole city was silent.
Whether they were mortals or the extraordinary beings above them, at this moment, everyone was staring dumbfounded at the scene outside the city.
The territory had undergone countless transformations due to the slaughter of millions of terrifying demons, gradually turning into something vastly different from the present, with words like ancient, barbaric, and exotic realms.
A group of cultivators and monks displayed a mix of bewilderment, astonishment, and disbelief on their faces.
And the million city dwellers had only one expression: fear.
It was as if the "ant colony" they had always been part of suddenly had a veil torn away, revealing the cruel, real world finally, a world extremely terrifying and powerless to them.
No!
Not just the million residents of Qiantang Province.
But also the audience in front of the spirit mirror crystal balls in the seventy-two provinces.
Suddenly, the Human Dao Destiny within Tao Qian began to stir more frantically, with strong resentments and prayers washing over him.
What alarmed Tao Qian was that, deep within this overwhelming public sentiment, something cryptic was brewing, filled with the unknown and destruction.
...
Millions of Demon Army savagely and indescribably massacred each other from dawn until noon.
Centered around Han Mountain, that vast area of land had almost turned into nothingness.
On the ground, a giant gash had appeared, large enough to swallow the provincial city and still have room to spare.
Above this horrific wound hovered the ruins of Han Mountain Temple, where, perched atop the Biwu Divine Tree like an ancient goddess, the Devil Concubine Yuan Mingzhen, maintaining her human-bird appearance, rested lazily and proudly, utterly indifferent to the disgusting world below.
A completely new terrain had gradually formed there: millions of demon corpses, various thick pus and blood, and various unsightly mutated beings... Mixed with bizarre clouds and rainbow lights, adhered together by the common obsession to "must have the Devil Concubine."
Eventually, it seemed like a massive bloody pustule had been jammed into that gash.
It was both a swamp lake and ancient mountain forest.
Within it, about a dozen demons from the Cavernous Mystery Realm and several others who had borrowed strength from their masters to forcibly rise to just short of Ultimate Happiness, roamed and trampled each other in the meaty swamp mountain, all aiming to reach the peak of Han Mountain, yet any warlord who came close would be collectively attacked by others.
Several hours ago, people like Gao Tianci, Yelü Baoshan, Zhu Xun, Li Zhixian, and Lady You Rui were all renowned warlords from the Northern Land.
But now, they had completely mutated.
And the cause of all this was none other than the infamous Devil Concubine.
The audience across the seventy-two provinces was now astonished, having previously heard that Yuan Mingzhen had been ousted and fled the Imperial City in a sorry state, they had underestimated her.
But the sight before them sent chills down their spines.
"What a Devil Concubine! She possesses such enchanting Divine Skills, nearly rivaling a God Demon. In a few hours, she's buried millions of Evil Demons, it's hard to imagine the cost of such methods, truly fascinating."
"This debacle cost the Northern warlords dearly, regardless of whether she can flee to the south, her future likely holds a grim fate."
"Is this the so-called 'Devil Concubine's Dance'?"
"Hisss, thought it was a seductive dance, didn't expect a deadly Demon Dance."
"This technique must have a cost unimaginable to others, otherwise she would have used this method during the Imperial City incident."
"Look closely, the key to this technique can't escape the word 'desire.' If you have no thoughts about the Devil Concubine, like You Changqing, who everyone knows pined for Hong Fu and could not have her, or Shi Zhongsheng, rumored to have been involved with men... It seems that as long as one has no lustful thoughts, they can be immune to this Divine Skill."
"Heh, easy for you to say, would your heart not stir if the Devil Concubine stood naked before you? I bet your whole body would react."
...
Although beings such as cultivators, Evil Demons, alien species, and Divine Spirits mostly originated from the Human Clan.
Once transcended, most didn't care about the fate of human mortals.
Seeing the terrifying scene of the "Han Mountain Blood Battle," they were initially shocked, but then quickly dismissed it, starting to discuss something else.
Except for Tao Qian Yunrong.
But the Great Demon, Shipi Arhat, also suddenly focused on the million trembling city dwellers, then turned to look at Long Meng Arhat.
With ill-intent, he chuckled and asked,
"Long Meng, you agreed to honor the bet earlier, and my Demon Buddha Temple gave this Buddha Country to your temple."
"With the situation as it is now, with storms of blood and Corpse Mountain Blood Swamp, the karma is not easy to carry."
"Let me teach you, honorably admit defeat before me and return this Buddha Country city to us. Though you lose some face, you wouldn't need to pay any price, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
Shipi finished speaking.
Long Meng Arhat only shook his head, neither admitting nor denying.
Fortunately, he had a reason; he was protecting the million city dwellers.
Shipi laughed even more joyously, then said:
"Long Meng, the bald monk, is as dull as ever. Not like your abbot, Auspicious, who knows how to manage."
"If he were here, he would know
"Senior's Buddhist law is profound, this humble monk trusts completely,"
"Speaking of accepting a loss after agreeing to gamble, if there is anything this humble monk can help with, Daoist need only instruct, even if it means sacrificing this filthy body and this life of cultivation, this humble monk is willing to contribute his meager strength."
With these words, Tao Qian did not feel surprised.
From their first meeting, he had known that Master Shenxiu was different from those with many schemes in their hearts, a sincere and honest monk.
Where would Master Tao know anything about being polite?
He immediately transmitted his response, saying,
"Master's noble spirit is admirable, this poor monk respects you."
"That's good, it won't be long before there is indeed an opportunity for the master to lend his strength, I only hope the master will not refuse at that time."
"The humble monk shall comply."
"Good!"
Master Shenxiu taking the initiative brought a slight ease to Tao Qian's expression.
But in the next moment, after scoffing at the corpse of Long Meng Arhat, he suddenly transmitted with a laugh to Tao Qian,
"Daoist nephew, the good show is about to start."
"If this major event can be accomplished, both you and your disciple shall have great merits."
"Three pieces of trash from the Tiannan Gao Family are here... Three great dishes, the feast begins."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Tao Qian abruptly turned his head.
It was at that instant that the territory of Qiantang Province City once again started to tremble wildly.
Following this, a huge amount of light mist, similar to a 'Mirage', spread out; mountains shifted, Buddha Light surged, and a peculiar city was forcibly thrown over from deep within a distant mountain range by the force of an array.
That city was enormous, landing perfectly into a formed pus-blood and flesh swamp.
Arriving midair, it crashed down.
Inside, almost a million Extraordinary Army divided into three groups descended simultaneously.
And these three armies were far more ruthless and fierce than any mutated warlord-led armies present.
Upon their appearance, the three distinct yet related types of Demon Qi they released together caused the frozen swamp to show signs of collapsing and reshaping.
Once the Devil flesh swamp was formed, the consensus among cultivators was clear: death was certain for anyone under Cavernous Mystery who entered, and even for Cavernous Mystery, survival was a slim chance; for ordinary lifeforms, assimilation was almost guaranteed.
But at this moment, that consensus was forcibly changed.
The three Evil Demon Armies, all "refined," suddenly developed an appetite for the flesh frozen throughout the land and mountains.
The sound of swallowing filled the air.
Everyone focused their sights, and upon seeing the true appearance of the three armies, they quickly understood why:
The various warlord-led armies slaughtering each other were all evil cultivators or Soldier Demons, but at least they were human.
However, these three armies were not.
They were Demons.
Three types that had completely diverged from the Human Clan, transformed into a different kind of creature.
They were the Giant Divine Demon, Yang Flame Red Demon, and the Immaculate Jade Demon.
What other people avoided as the polluting mutated source Qi, was nourishment and a delicacy to these demons.
Among the spectators, there were many knowledgeable ones.
After the armies appeared, they all locked onto the figures standing at the forefront, three mighty cultivators in Emperor robes, looking down upon the world.
After clearly distinguishing their faces and recalling why the land was Qiantang's neighboring province.
Instantly, whether inside the province city or among spectators from the seventy-two provinces, all began to stir and exclaim in shock:
"The Tiannan Gao Family?"
"It's True Lord of a Hundred Demons Gao Yang, Jade Demon True Monarch Gao Zhan, and Yang Demon True Monarch Gao Wei… the current three heads of Tiannan Province's Gao Family, all former Emperors, all cultivators from the Ultimate Happiness Realm, with terrifying Demon armies under their command, now all emerging here, aren't they planning to devour Qiantang?"
"Like the proverb 'when the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman profits,' must be so, the Tiannan Gao Family always had wild ambitions, taking the chance while Demon Buddha Temple and Free Temple are fighting each other, now they come to pick the fruits."
"It's said that the Gao Family's ancestor Gao Huan was a Daoist Transformation Realm strong cultivator, and also one of the thirteen old monsters among the Alchemists, Qiantang is in danger now, likely to fall into the hands of the Tiannan Gao Family."
"Truly, when one wave subsides another rises, who would have thought the Tiannan Gao Family would also come to join the chaos."
"Nevermind Qiantang for now, look quickly, the Devil Concubine is about to fall into Gao Yang's hands."
Upon this reminder, everyone simultaneously looked towards Han Mountain.
Surely enough, as soon as the Tiannan Gao Family invaded, Devil Concubine Yuan Mingzhen, who was still idly resting, was also awakened.
That divine, indifferent yet supremely beautiful face slowly opened her eyes.
Locking eyes with Gao Yang, the True Lord of a Hundred Demons immediately showed excitement, his eyes blatantly filled with greedy possession.
He flipped his hand, and from somewhere, took out an item.
Then, he threw it towards the top of Han Mountain.
The object expanded as it met the wind, appearing both like and unlike a cage, adorned with a canopy and precious ornaments, embroidered with vast landscapes, bursting with bright Halos, auspicious clouds surrounding it—a sight that forcibly dispersed the filthy clouds, and then enveloped the Devil Concubine, who seemed as if she had just woken up.
The spectacle was like a giant fetching an ornate cage to encase a bird.
Following that, people heard him laugh heartily:
"I've long heard of the Devil Concubine's fame, recognized as the foremost beauty in the world, and seeing her now, she is indeed the perfect match for me, Gao Yang."
"This object is called the 'Jiangshan Xiangyun Cage,' alas, took me quite some efforts and used a bit of my family's fortune to craft."
"It has no other use but to encage you, this bird."