643: The Heavenly Demon Sect, on the eve of a great battle!

But that place happened to be the territory of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

"Grand Elder, we cannot delay any longer."

An Elder sitting on the left spoke, his face full of ferocity, his thin, withered face etched with Killing Intent.

"Those bastards from the Heavenly Demon Sect are too insidious! Ever since they discovered a mineral vein in Chaotic Soul Mountain a hundred years ago, they've stationed a large group of experts there, surrounding it like an iron bucket!"

"Not only that!"

Another red-faced Elder took up the conversation, adding with indignant resentment.

"They also secretly modified some of the teleportation Formations they built! Any Loose Cultivators who originally wanted to go to the Core Region were all forcibly teleported inside to serve as coolies! Those beasts are trying to empty the entire mountain!"

"If that Aura Nether Beast falls into the hands of the Xuantian Sect, our Heavens Mandate Sect's thousands of years of planning will be completely ruined!! Grand Elder, we must be decisive!"

You Zhengyang stood up abruptly, his Aura exploding outward.

He also knew how serious the consequences were.

That Nether Beast was far too important to the Heavens Mandate Sect.

"Since the specific location has already been determined, then we fight!!"

You Zhengyang squeezed the words out through his teeth, carrying a thick sense of Killing Intent.

"But..."

Someone hesitated for a moment and pointed toward the sky.

"If we make such a big commotion, what if the Heavenly Demon Sect alerts the Nine Gods Palace above..."

Although the Heavens Mandate Sect was strong, they were still somewhat lacking in front of the Nine Gods Palace.

The Nine Gods Palace was as famous as the Myriad Tribulations Heaven!

One of the three major powers that possessed a Nether Beast!

The Nine Gods Palace had always stood transcendently above the Cycle Reincarnation Holy Domain. If they found out an Aura Nether Beast was hidden in Chaotic Soul Mountain, what share would be left for the Heavens Mandate Sect?

When that time came, forget about eating the meat, they wouldn't even get any soup; it might even bring about the disaster of Sect extermination.

You Zhengyang let out a cold laugh, a flash of madness appearing in his eyes.

"The Heavenly Demon Sect will certainly not leak the news of the Nether Beast, and this time, only the nine of us need to go."

Everyone was stunned.

"Speed is essential in war. Too many people will only ruin things and make it easy to expose our movements. If we strike, we must catch them off guard!"

You Zhengyang looked around, his Killing Intent chilling.

"The nine of us old fellows will launch a joint surprise attack, breaking through their turtle shell with the force of a thunderbolt, and leave as soon as we've snatched the Nether Beast!!"

"As for the Heavenly Demon Sect..."

He paused, his palm clenching fiercely in the void as if crushing something.

"Kill them all!"

"Good!"

The other eight people responded in unison, their Killing Intent soaring to the heavens.

Wealth is found within danger.

For that Nether Beast, these old bones would give it their all!

...Chaotic Soul Mountain.

This place was a living hell.

Under the grey sky, the pungent smell of rot and blood floated in the air.

Countless ragged Cultivators were like the walking dead, crawling with difficulty within the massive mineral vein.

Most of them were Loose Cultivators who had been forcibly teleported and captured, though some were once local powerhouses who had been exiled here to mine for offending the Heavenly Demon Sect.

"Hurry up! Have none of you eaten!"

An overseer from the Heavenly Demon Sect brandished a long whip covered in barbs, viciously lashing the back of a middle-aged Cultivator who was slightly slow.

Snap!

Flesh was torn open.

The Cultivator screamed and fell into a pile of rubble. He then tried to push himself up with his hands, but his strength was exhausted, and he could never get up again.

His vitality had long since been almost entirely overdrawn.

The overseer looked on indifferently and spat.

"Useless trash, died from just one lash!"

He beckoned, and two expressionless servants immediately ran over, skillfully dragging the corpse away like a bag of garbage toward the bottomless foot of the mountain.

There, bones had already piled up like a mountain.

The stench of rot mixed with resentment permeated the air, attracting countless carrion Nether Crows that circled and emitted irritating, noisy caws.

There was no mercy here, only endless exploitation and death.

And at the very peak of Chaotic Soul Mountain.

A massive golden Formation enveloped the entire mountaintop, shimmering with light, holy and solemn, forming a sharp and ironic contrast with the misery below.

On the outskirts of the Formation, a ten-thousand-man army was stationed.

Dressed uniformly in black armor and holding long halberds, an Aura of slaughter permeated the air.

The composition of this army could be called luxurious; most of the soldiers were Yang Solid experts, and the several hundred captains leading them were all in the Supreme Realm!

Even more so, some emitted the terrifying Aura of having undergone tribulation, clearly ruthless characters who had survived one or two stages of the Immortal Ascension Tribulation.

This was the Xuantian Sect's confidence in guarding this place.

At the center of the Formation.

Seven prayer mats were arranged in a circle.

Seven Cultivators clad in golden armor sat cross-legged, breathing in and out the dense foul air around them.

They were the commanders of this army and the core fighting force of the Heavenly Demon Sect; each was an existence that could shake a region with a stomp of their foot.

"Whew..."

One of the golden-armored Cultivators slowly finished his cultivation, opened his eyes, and stretched lazily out of boredom.

"Guarding this broken place day after day is truly boring..."

He complained, casually fishing a jar of aged fine wine from his storage ring and taking a swig.

The person next to him also opened his eyes and gave a bitter smile.

"Be content, Old Third. The Sect Master sending us here to guard is a sign of trust. This Chaotic Soul Mountain is the Sect's treasure bowl. It's only because we brothers are powerful; if it were anyone else, the Sect Master wouldn't feel at ease."

"Trust my foot."

The Cultivator called Old Third curled his lip, his face full of disdain.

"I see it as being exiled to the frontier. This ghostly place is gloomy and full of the resentment of dead people. Cultivating here makes the whole body ache, and the Spiritual Qi is pitifully scarce. How can it be as pleasant as being in the Sect?"

"Exactly. Here, besides cultivating, we have to do our best to purify the surrounding foul air, for fear that those mining trash will all die off. It's really too exhausting..."

"It's been a hundred years. I've spent almost all of it purifying foul air. I'm truly a bit tired..."

"Sigh, I still have a few Disciples out on experience. I hope they haven't fallen out there by the time I return."

...Once the topic was opened, the several men began to vent their grievances one after another.

"Watch your words!"

The leading golden-armored Cultivator frowned and scolded them, though as he spoke, a faint trace of fatigue also showed between his brows.

"The Sect Master has his own arrangements. Besides, we've been guarding here for a hundred years and haven't seen any mishaps. Once this batch of chaotic soul stones is sent back to the Sect, we should be able to return in glory."

"A hundred years..."

Old Third sighed, toying with the wine jar in his hand and watching the liquid slosh inside.

"I wonder how much longer we have to guard. When will these days ever end?"

After speaking, the group continued to absorb foul air from Chaotic Soul Mountain and then used their powerful immortal bodies to purify it.

With just those simple pure filth pills, how could it be possible to clear the foul air inside those low-level Cultivators?