246: Blood Bat Night Raid

A few days later, at midnight.

The outskirts of Qianjiao Cliff, Cold Pond Cave.

This was a small Yao Race force that had only recently pledged allegiance to Qianjiao Cliff. The Cave Master was an Early Tier 3 Cold Toad Demon, with over two hundred aquatic Demon Soldiers under his command, occupying a small mineral vein rich in "Cold Crystal Stones."

If Gao De still remembered, he would recall that after subduing the two demons Iron Pincer and Green Edge, he had driven away a nest of Cold Toads in a canyon woodland of the Great Marsh; they were of the same clan as this demon king.

At this moment, deep within Cold Pond Cave, the Cold Toad Demon was discussing with several confidants how to present tributes to Qianjiao Cliff to show their loyalty.

Suddenly—

A shrill scream came from outside the cave!

"Enemy attack—ah!!!"

The Cold Toad Demon's expression changed drastically, and his figure blurred as he rushed out of the Immortal Cave.

On the water's surface outside the cave, dozens of Demon Soldiers' corpses floated, their bodies withered like dried wood, their Essence Blood completely drained! And in mid-air hung three black-robed figures.

The leader was as thin as a bamboo stick, with a pair of blood-colored bat wings unfolded behind his back, and his aura had surprisingly reached the Early Fourth Stage!

To his left and right were two others: one was skin and bones, holding a white bone staff; the other was shrouded in grayish-white corpse qi, his features blurred. Both of these individuals were at the Tier 3 Peak!

"Who are you?!" the Cold Toad Demon shouted, though his heart had already sunk to the bottom.

Fourth Stage! The opponent actually had a Fourth Stage powerhouse!

"Elder Blood Bat has come to collect some 'interest' on the orders of the Cult Leader," the leading bat-winged Black-Robed Person sneered, revealing two sharp fangs. "If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for choosing the wrong master."

Before his voice had even faded, he flapped his wings and turned into a blood shadow, pouncing straight at the Cold Toad Demon!

Terrified, the Cold Toad Demon spat out a blast of Ice Breath while simultaneously summoning an Ice Crystal Shield to protect himself.

"Paltry tricks."

Elder Blood Bat did not dodge or evade; his blood wings were like blades, tearing through the Ice Breath directly! Then, he struck the Ice Crystal Shield with a claw—

"Crack!"

The shield shattered instantly!

The Cold Toad Demon was sent flying, five blood-red gashes deep enough to see bone torn across his chest. Black qi swirled around the wounds, rapidly corroding his flesh!

"Poison?!" The Cold Toad Demon's face turned deathly pale.

"blood poison." Elder Blood Bat licked the blood from his claws, a look of intoxication on his face. "The taste is not bad. Next, it's the turn of every living thing in this Immortal Cave."

He waved his hand: "Yin Bone, Corpse Charm, clear the area. Leave no one alive."

"Yes!" The two black-robed figures grinned and pounced toward the Demon Soldiers below.

For a time, the sound of miserable wailing echoed through the Cold Pond!

The Cold Toad Demon's eyes were nearly bursting with rage, but knowing he was no match for his opponent, he gritted his teeth and crushed a jade talisman in his robes—it was a distress signal given by Turtle Three Thousand when they pledged allegiance!

The moment the jade talisman shattered, a streak of Purple Lightning soared into the sky, cutting through the night and shooting rapidly toward Qianjiao Cliff!

"Calling for help?" Elder Blood Bat's eyes turned cold. "Then I'll make sure you die faster."

The blood light on his wings intensified, transforming into thousands of blood bat phantoms that blanketed the sky as they swarmed toward the Cold Toad Demon!

The Cold Toad Demon closed his eyes in despair.

Just then—

"Boom—!!!"

A purple-gold lightning pillar thundered down from the sky, completely dispersing the thousands of blood bat phantoms!

As the lightning faded, Gao De stood holding his halberd, the lightning patterns on his purple lightning reverse dragon scale armor flowing as lightning flames rose around him, looking like a god of thunder descended to the world!

Behind him, Ao Xue's Blood Dragon True Form coiled, her dragon prestige like a prison; Mysterious Turtle held the water patrol token as a water curtain fell from the sky, enveloping the entire Cold Pond; Dragon Peach stood on a distant mountain peak, the Myriad Wood Senluo Great Array having already quietly unfolded!

"Scum of the Heavenly Demon Cult, you've finally decided to show yourselves?" Gao De looked coldly at Elder Blood Bat.

Elder Blood Bat's pupils shrank: "Coming so fast, how is that possible?! The intelligence was wrong!"

He made a split-second decision: "Retreat!"

"You think you can leave?" Ao Xue's blood-red eyes sharpened as her dragon claws tore through the Void Realm, grabbing straight for the "Yin Bone" Elder holding the white bone staff!

"Corpse Charm, help me!" Yin Bone shouted, waving his white bone staff. Dozens of skeleton soldiers suddenly rose from the ground, forming a bone Formation to block the dragon claws!

Elder Corpse Charm spat out a mouthful of grayish-white corpse qi, which transformed into a giant corpse claw, striking at Ao Xue from the flank!

"Break!"

Lightning flames erupted from the tip of Gao De's halberd as a purple-gold lightning spear struck first, piercing right through the corpse claw!

The lightning flames exploded, the corpse qi dissipated, and Elder Corpse Charm was sent flying with a scream!

At the same time, Mysterious Turtle's water patrol token had already drawn the water of the Cold Pond, transforming it into thousands of water chains that entangled and crushed all the skeleton soldiers!

Elder Yin Bone's expression changed drastically as he turned to flee.

"Stay here."

Gao De took a step forward, his Lightning Evasion moving like a bolt of electricity. He arrived before him, and the thunder calamity law-breaking halberd swept across!

"No—!!!"

Elder Yin Bone hurriedly summoned three bone shields, but they shattered like paper under the edge of the lightning flame halberd!

The tip of the halberd pierced through his chest, and lightning flames erupted from within, blowing him into a cloud of bone powder!

A Tier 3 Peak, killed in a single blow!

Elder Blood Bat was pale with horror. The blood light on his wings flashed as he turned into a blood rainbow, fleeing rapidly toward the horizon!

"Thinking of leaving?"

Gao De sneered as the phantom of a lightning flame flood dragon appeared behind him, spitting out a blast of purple-gold lightning flames that acted like a celestial net, covering the blood rainbow!

Elder Blood Bat gritted his teeth and suddenly spat out a mouthful of Essence Blood. The speed of the blood rainbow surged, narrowly escaping the edge of the lightning net!

Just as he thought he had escaped with his life—

"Buzz—!!!"

Within a radius of dozens of miles, ten thousand woods cried out in unison!

Dragon Peach stood on the mountain peak, his hands forming seals. The power of the earth veins of Lesser Qingqiu was suddenly triggered, and countless vines burst from the ground like dragons and pythons, weaving into a giant net that blotted out the sky, descending upon Elder Blood Bat!

"What?!" Elder Blood Bat was shocked and furious. His blood wings slashed at the vines like knives, but he only managed to cut a few before more vines coiled around him!

"Ahhh—!!!"

The vines tightened, and Elder Blood Bat wailed as the blood light around him was rapidly worn away by the yimu spiritual qi!

Gao De arrived through the air, the tip of his halberd pressed against his throat: "Speak. How many Fourth Stage Elders does the Heavenly Demon Cult have in the Bewitching Ghost Swamp? What exactly is the Cult Leader's cultivation level?"

Elder Blood Bat sneered: "You think I'll talk? The Cult Leader's Divine Ability is not something you can fathom. Though I fall today, the Sacred Cult's grand plan is already complete. You... all of you will die!"

He gritted his teeth fiercely, as if about to spit something out.

Gao De's eyes sharpened as he thrust his halberd into the other's Dantian, the lightning flames erupting to completely cripple his cultivation!

"Trying to struggle? Too late," Gao De said coldly. "Mysterious Turtle, seal his Meridians and soul. Take him back for a slow interrogation."

"Yes!" Mysterious Turtle stepped forward, the blue light of the water patrol token sinking into Elder Blood Bat's body, completely restraining him.

On the other side, Ao Xue had already torn Elder Corpse Charm to pieces, her Blood Dragon's might showing its full ferocity.

Over half of the Cold Pond Cave's Demon Soldiers were dead or injured, and the Cold Toad Demon was heavily wounded, but he had at least kept his life and the cave's Foundation.

Gao De scanned the battlefield, his eyes ice-cold.

The Heavenly Demon Cult's revenge had indeed come.

And they had sent a Fourth Stage Elder to lead the team right away, acting with ruthless cruelty and leaving no survivors.

If he hadn't been prepared and laid down sensing Formations near several of the pledged factions, and been lying in wait nearby, Cold Pond Cave would likely be a place of death by now.

"Turtle Three Thousand," Gao De sent a transmission.

"Your subordinate is here," Turtle Three Thousand's voice sounded from the communication jade talisman.

"Order all pledged factions to enter a wartime state immediately and strengthen their guard. Also, mobilize the elite Demon Soldiers of Qianjiao Cliff, divide them into ten teams led by Green Edge, Iron Pincer, and others, to patrol the surrounding thousand miles of water. If you encounter anyone from the Heavenly Demon Cult, kill them without mercy."

"As you command!"

Gao De then looked at Ao Xue: "Take Elder Blood Bat back to the Water Mansion and interrogate him together with Dragon Peach. You must dig out the Heavenly Demon Cult's secrets."

Ao Xue nodded, her dragon claws grabbing the dying Elder Blood Bat as she vanished in a streak of light.

Gao De remained at Cold Pond Cave to keep watch for a bit longer, personally laying down several lightning flame Restrictions to prevent another attack from the Heavenly Demon Cult.

By the time everything was arranged, it was already dawn.

Gao De stood by the side of the Cold Pond, looking toward the brightening eastern horizon, his brow slightly furrowed.

Although the Heavenly Demon Cult's attack had been repelled, it had exposed many problems.

That they could so precisely find the newly pledged Cold Pond Cave meant there were still their informants within or around Qianjiao Cliff.

Moreover, the words "the Sacred Cult's grand plan is already complete" from Elder Blood Bat made Gao De feel a faint sense of unease.

"guixu token... Nine Nether Dragon Tomb... holy fetus..." Gao De murmured. "What exactly is the Heavenly Demon Cult plotting?"

He flipped his hand and took out that blood-colored crystal, his Divine Thought once again probing the fragmented map within.

The fragmented map pointed to the deepest parts of the Yunmeng Great Marsh, a forbidden area marked as the "Gui Xu Eye."

And inside the Gui Xu Eye, there was another secret location marked as the "Nine Nether Dragon Tomb."

According to ancient dragon script records, the Nine Nether Dragon Tomb was where the ancient Dragon Clan suppressed sinful and wicked dragons. It contained endless dangers but also dragon treasures.

The Heavenly Demon Cult's collection of dragon souls was likely meant to use them as a guide to open the dragon tomb and release something suppressed within—or to seize something.

"The Cult Leader is at least a Late Fourth Stage, or perhaps even a Fifth Stage..." Gao De's gaze was solemn. "If they really succeed, the entire Yunmeng Great Marsh will likely suffer a catastrophe."

He put away the crystal, having already made a decision in his heart.

He couldn't just sit and wait for death.

He had to take the initiative to disrupt the Heavenly Demon Cult's arrangements. If things became impossible, he would leak word to the Righteous Path sects on the Heavenly Secret Realm.

And his side should also prepare early; the Breakthrough... might lie with that "guixu token."

"The guixu token is one of the keys to opening the Gui Xu Eye. The Heavenly Demon Cult is also looking for this token, which means they haven't completely controlled the Gui Xu Eye yet," Gao De pondered. "If I can find the guixu token first, I can seize the initiative."

He recalled that in the blood-colored crystal's fragmented map, besides the marking for the Nine Nether Dragon Tomb, there were several blurred coordinates that seemed related to the hiding place of the guixu token.

"It seems I'll have to make another trip to the Bewitching Ghost Swamp," a flash of lightning appeared in Gao De's eyes. "But this time, I'll have to change my approach."

---

Three days later, Qianjiao Cliff Water Mansion, interrogation secret room.

Elder Blood Bat was locked to a stone wall by heavy Restrictions, his aura withered, but his gaze remained venomous.

He was a Fourth Stage powerhouse after all; his will was too firm, making it temporarily impossible to perform Soul Searching.

Ao Xue stood before him, her blood-red eyes cold: "Speak. How many Fourth Stage Elders does the Heavenly Demon Cult have in the Bewitching Ghost Swamp? What exactly is the Cult Leader's Origin?"

Elder Blood Bat spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm: "Don't even think... about getting... a single word from me..."

Ao Xue sneered, a flash of blood light appearing on her fingertip as a wisp of Blood Dragon True Qi entered his body.

"Ah—!!!"

Elder Blood Bat wailed, feeling the blood throughout his body boiling and his Meridians snapping inch by inch. The pain was beyond description!

Blood Dragon True Qi was most adept at controlling blood; when used for torture, it was more terrifying than any physical tool.

Half a month later, Elder Blood Bat's consciousness finally collapsed, and Ao Xue began to perform Soul Searching on him.

"Bewitching Ghost Swamp... has four Fourth Stage Elders... besides Blood Bat, there are also 'Shadowy Evil', 'Poison Dove', and 'Bone Demon'... the Cult Leader... the Cult Leader is..."

Before she could look closely, Elder Blood Bat's Divine Soul suddenly froze, an expression of extreme terror flashing in his eyes. Then, he bled from his seven orifices, and his Divine Soul actually dissipated on its own!

Ao Xue's expression changed as she stepped forward to investigate, only to find that a "Soul-Restricting Curse" had long been planted deep within his soul. Once any core secrets were touched, it would trigger self-destruction.

"What ruthless methods," Ao Xue said coldly.

However, they at least knew that there were three other Fourth Stage Elders in the Bewitching Ghost Swamp. But the information on the Cult Leader... remained a mystery.

She reported the situation to Gao De.

Gao De mused: "Four Fourth Stage Elders, plus the branch Cult Leader here, that's at least five Fourth Stage powerhouses. Such strength is already no less than the former Qianjiang Dragon Palace. The Heavenly Demon Cult's ambitions are indeed not small."

He looked at Ao Xue: "How is your progress in refining that wisp of Blood Dragon Origin?"

A blood light flashed in Ao Xue's eyes: "I've refined thirty percent, and my Bloodline concentration has risen to 55%. I estimate that in a few more months, I can break through to the Middle Fourth Stage."

Gao De nodded: "Very good. Once you break through, we will explore the Bewitching Ghost Swamp again."

"Will we launch a direct assault this time?" Ao Xue's killing intent surged.

"No," Gao De shook his head. "We'll infiltrate secretly with a clear goal—to steal the Heavenly Demon Cult's intelligence regarding the 'guixu token'."

He flipped his hand and took out a Jade Slip, which had been recovered from Elder Blood Bat's storage ring: "These are fragments of Blood Bat's memory. Although incomplete, they mention a 'Scripture Hall' deep within the Bewitching Ghost Swamp where the cult's secrets are kept. The clues to the guixu token might be inside."

"But the Scripture Hall must be heavily guarded, and the local branch Cult Leader might even be personally stationed there," Mysterious Turtle said worriedly.

"That's why we need the right timing," Gao De said. "Three days from now is the night of the full moon, the time when Yin Qi is at its peak. The Heavenly Demon Cult practices evil arts and will surely hold a 'Moon Sacrifice' that night to absorb Lunar Essence. At that time, most of the high-level cultists will participate in the ritual, leaving the defenses relatively empty."

He looked at everyone: "I will infiltrate using an evasion technique, Ao Xue will provide support from outside, and Mysterious Turtle and Dragon Peach will set up a Formation to obscure our tracks. If we are discovered, we'll break out with thunderous force; do not linger in battle."

"This trip is dangerous, but we must try," Gao De's gaze was firm. "The guixu token is the key; it must not fall into the hands of the Heavenly Demon Cult."

Everyone solemnly accepted the order.

---

That night, Gao De sat alone in a quiet room, regulating his breath to prepare for battle.

Suddenly, his heart stirred, and he flipped his hand to take out an object—it was the black crystal he had obtained from the Ghost Cry Gorge Secret Realm.

This crystal was heavy in his hand and contained the power of space; it was suspected to be a "ding xu stone," which could stabilize space passages.

Gao De had previously been unable to fully understand all its uses, but at this moment, he faintly felt that this stone might be related to the guixu token.

He tried to probe his Divine Sense deep into the crystal.

This time, it wasn't a cursory investigation but a careful sensing using the "Dragon Soul Source Tracing" secret technique recorded in the Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art.

Gradually, he sensed a very faint but incredibly ancient "Dragon Pattern Mark" inside the crystal!

The lines of that mark... were actually seventy percent similar to the patterns carved on the guixu token!

"This is..." Gao De's pupils shrank. "A 'secondary key' to the guixu token?!"

According to ancient legends, the Gui Xu Eye had three keys: the primary key "guixu token," the secondary key "ding xu stone," and the final mysterious "reincarnation mirror."

Only when the three keys were gathered could the secret treasury in the deepest part of the Gui Xu Eye truly be opened.

Gao De had only known about the guixu token before, but he hadn't known about the ding xu stone and the reincarnation mirror.

And at this moment, the black crystal in his hand was very likely the ding xu stone!

"No wonder the Heavenly Demon Cult is so desperate to find the guixu token..." Gao De realized. "They might have already obtained the reincarnation mirror or know its whereabouts. If they get the guixu token and the ding xu stone as well, and all three keys are gathered, the Gui Xu Eye will completely fall under their control!"

The sense of crisis was stronger than ever before.

Gao De gripped the ding xu stone, lightning flames burning in his eyes.

"Three days from now, on the night of the full moon... I must get the clues to the guixu token."

"Otherwise, the Yunmeng Great Marsh... will be in peril."

Outside the window, dark clouds obscured the moon, and a storm was brewing.

A shadow war concerning the fate of the entire marsh was about to begin.