117: Chapter 117 The Demons Appear!

"Old Toad, I've been talking to you for so long, just give me a straight answer."

The toad puffed its throat again, its voice muffled. It stared unblinkingly at the Green-Scaled Python, its voice sounding like bubbles rising from the bottom of the water.

"Going is not a problem."

"I just want to know, how will the items be divided? The four of you share a common enemy. If you turn against me once it's done, I'll have absolutely no recourse."

A flash of displeasure crossed the Green-Scaled Python's vertical pupils. Flicking her tongue twice, she spoke in a shrill, cold voice.

"You don't need to worry about that."

"Besides you, I also went to that smelly centipede, and she will make a move as well."

"Once we enter the Secret Realm, everyone acts on their own. The items go to whoever has the ability to take them. Whoever grabs it keeps it, and no one should blame anyone else."

The toad fell silent for a moment, its throat puffing again as it spoke in a muffled voice, "That smelly centipede is going too?"

"Yes."

The Green-Scaled Python nodded her snake head.

"Alright, when?"

"Soon. We can go meet up now."

...

Three days later.

The Mass Grave.

The sky was overcast, and the clouds hung very low.

In the clearing at the center of the Mass Grave, over a hundred Cultivators gathered. Their colorful robes looked exceptionally conspicuous under the gloomy sky.

Most of the Xuanyi Sect's camp had been dismantled, leaving only a high platform in the center. Five flags of different colors were planted on the platform, corresponding to the Five Elements.

Inner Sect Elder Han Song stood in the center of the high platform, his hawk-like eyes sweeping over the crowd below. Behind him, three Peak Foundation Establishment Elders stood in a line, their auras as heavy and still as mountains.

Ding Yuan stood at the very front of the Heavenly Sword Sect's group, followed by two Foundation Establishment Elders and thirty Qi Refining Disciples, his face still looking rather grim.

"It's about time."

Inner Sect Elder Han Song raised his hand.

Five Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Xuanyi Sect walked onto the high platform, each standing beneath a flag.

They pinched hand seals with both hands, and spiritual energy gushed from their palms, pouring into the flagpoles.

The five flags lit up simultaneously, their five-colored lights intertwining to form a massive five-colored light shield that slowly pressed down toward the ground.

The ground began to tremble, pebbles bounced, and cracks spread outward from the high platform, spreading like a spiderweb.

But the moment the light shield touched the ground, a massive counter-shock force surged from deep underground.

With a loud boom, the five-colored light shield violently bounced up several feet, the light on its surface flickering wildly, nearly collapsing.

The faces of the five Foundation Establishment Cultivators turned pale simultaneously, and traces of blood trickled from the corners of their mouths.

Inner Sect Elder Han Song's brow furrowed sharply, and he barked, "Hold steady!"

"Why aren't the rest of you acting yet?!"

Inner Sect Elder Han Song shouted.

"Hmph!"

Ding Yuan snorted coldly, but still waved his hand.

Behind him, two Foundation Establishment Elders led thirty Qi Refining Disciples forward. Spiritual energy poured from their palms into the edges of the five-colored light shield, stabilizing their position.

The others did the same. Their respective Foundation Establishment Elders and thirty Qi Refining Disciples made their moves simultaneously, their spiritual energy surging out like a tide.

The trembling of the light shield gradually subsided, but the counter-shock force from underground grew stronger wave after wave, as if something below was struggling desperately. The cracks in the ground grew wider and wider.

"Do not stop channeling spiritual energy!"

Inner Sect Elder Han Song's voice was as cold and hard as iron. He then took out the xuantian mirror from his robes, holding it in his palm as spiritual energy poured into it frantically.

"Mystic light has spirit, divine light shine forth!"

"Go!!"

*Hum!*

A blinding golden light lit up on the mirror's surface, and seven dark-red gems glowed simultaneously. A powerful Spiritual Pressure surged from the mirror.

He bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the mirror's surface. The mirror's light surged violently, and a golden beam of light as thick as a water bucket shot out from the mirror, fiercely striking the center of the five-colored light shield.

*Boom!!*

The light shield shook violently, and its light flared brilliantly. The five colors of golden, green, blue, red, and yellow light intertwined, blinding everyone.

The ground shook violently, and cracks spread frantically from the high platform in all directions, like a volcanic eruption.

After a few breaths.

*Crack!!!*

With a loud crash, the ground split open, revealing a crack several Zhang wide and a dark, pitch-black cavern below.

Surging Spiritual Qi gushed out of the cavern.

Several Qi Refining Disciples who were standing too close were knocked down by the aftershock.

Inner Sect Elder Han Song stood on the high platform, his robes fluttering wildly in the Death Qi, but he remained motionless, his hawk-like eyes staring intently at the cavern's opening.

"The Restriction... is broken."

Just as Inner Sect Elder Han Song finished speaking, a muffled rumble echoed from deep underground.

The Spiritual Qi gushing from the crack suddenly surged. A speck of light lit up, then transformed into a pillar of flowing seven-colored light, soaring into the sky directly from the crack. As the pillar of light dissipated, a massive light gate slowly emerged above the crack.

Inside the gate was a mass of Chaos, making it impossible to see what lay within. Only seven-colored light flowed inside, like an entrance to another world.

Everyone was stunned.

Inner Sect Elder Han Song stood on the high platform, his hawk-like eyes staring fixedly at the light gate. The cold sneer at the corner of his mouth deepened, and his voice was hoarse and deep: "The gate to the Secret Realm... has opened."

"Disciples of the Xuanyi Sect, hear my command! This gate will remain open for ten days. Keep track of your own time after entering the Secret Realm. Now, prepare to enter!"

Before Inner Sect Elder Han Song's voice could fade, Ding Yuan, Li Tai, and Granny Bixia waved their hands simultaneously. The Disciples of each sect took to the air one after another, their various spiritual lights flickering under the gloomy sky like a swarm of moths rushing toward a flame.

The first few Qi Refining Disciples had already flown to the front of the light gate, their faces filled with excitement and greed, reaching out to touch the flowing seven-colored portal.

Only...

At that moment.

*Boom~*

A sky-soaring Demonic Qi instantly erupted.

Soon after.

A sky-shaking tiger roar echoed from the distance.

The sound, carrying violent Demon Power, rippled outward like a physical force. The nearest Disciples were struck by the soundwave, cried out in pain, and fell from mid-air, crashing heavily onto the ground and spitting blood.

Then.

The dark clouds in the sky suddenly parted, revealing dense masses of dark figures.

"Caw caw caw caw~~"

Crows appeared in flocks, circling overhead.

"Awoo!"

Packs of wolves... herds of deer...

"The Yao Race is attacking!"

Ding Yuan's face paled. Drawing his sword from its scabbard, he barked sharply.

Before his voice could fade.

A wild wind swept in from the direction of Taiyue Mountain, carrying dense Demonic Qi and a foul, fishy stench. Wherever the wind passed, the Disciples flying in mid-air were blown off balance. A few with lower cultivation were directly blown away, crashing into the light gate before bouncing back and falling to the ground, their fates unknown.

*Whoosh whoosh~*

The horde of demons revealed themselves.

The Rift-Wind Wolf King leaped onto a giant boulder, surrounded by his pack, their eerie green eyes glinting coldly in the twilight.

The Azure-Horned Deer King stood on a withered tree on the right wing, followed by over twenty deer demons.

The Iron-Backed Bear King stepped out of the dense forest, followed by about ten bear demons, their massive bodies resembling moving hills.

The Green-Scaled Python slithered over from the direction of the Poison Miasma Ravine, her green scales glinting with a cold luster in the twilight.

The Toad Demon crouched on a giant boulder at the entrance of the Poison Miasma Ravine. The dark-red poisonous pustules on its back swelled high, its round eyes bulging, and its pupils were vertical slits.

The Centipede Demon crawled out from a crevice in the rocks. Several Zhang long, its dark-red carapace gleamed with a bloody light in the twilight, its countless legs carving deep grooves into the ground.

Hei Yu flew out from the Stone Forest leading over a hundred first-tier crows, a dense black mass that blotted out the sky.