109: Sea Clan's Scheme

"In the Canglang Sea region, there are only about a dozen Peak Demon Immortals in total. Now that Old Immortal Xuan Xi, Monarch Mo Lin, and Demon Monarch Cang Ming have all been executed, that deterrent should be enough to suppress the remaining Demon Immortals."

Immortal Emperor Lingtian rubbed the edge of his teacup with his fingertips, pondering for a moment before looking up. "Fairy Qinglian, you specifically spared the Divine Souls of the three demons; I presume you already have a plan in mind?"

"I do indeed have a few ideas."

Fairy Qinglian nodded slowly, a faint smile playing on her red lips as she spoke: "I've heard that over the past century, Brother Lingtian has been in close contact with Lady Chaoyin of the Wuji Sea Region..."

"I won't hide it from you all; that is indeed the case."

Immortal Emperor Lingtian's tone remained calm as he placed the teacup gently on the table. "The Merfolk Clan, to which Chaoyin belongs, has already reached a cooperation agreement with me. Within ten years, they will lead a portion of the Sea Race to reinforce the Jinhun Realm battlefield."

This Lady Chaoyin was a Peak Demon Immortal who had just advanced a hundred years ago, and she was also the current Clan Chief of the Deep Sea Merfolk Clan in the Wuji Sea Region.

The Merfolk Clan specialized in sonic techniques and water-attribute Spells. While their strength wasn't at the very top of the Sea Race, they had the advantage of being born half-human and half-fish.

At the fifth rank, they could transform into human form and come ashore, making them one of the Sea Races with the closest ties to human Cultivators.

"In that case, the accidental fall of Monarch Yuqing three hundred years ago must have been your handiwork, Lingtian?"

Immortal Venerable Shuyang raised an eyebrow, his tone half-smiling, though a probing look was hidden in his eyes.

"Monarch Yuqing was stubborn and set in his ways; it was inevitable that he would be weeded out by the times."

Immortal Emperor Lingtian took a small sip of hot tea, his tone casual yet carrying an indisputable dominance.

Everyone knew that Monarch Yuqing was the previous Clan Chief of the Merfolk Clan and a Peak Demon Immortal who had firmly controlled the entire race for thousands of years.

The Shenwu Imperial Dynasty had repeatedly sent envoys to contact him, but relying on the natural barriers of the deep sea, he had always kept them at a distance.

It wasn't until Monarch Yuqing's accidental death and Lady Chaoyin's sudden rise, breaking through to Peak Demon Immortal in one go, that the Shenwu Imperial Dynasty finally brought the Merfolk Clan under its banner.

Immortal Emperor Lingtian was unwilling to mention the twists and turns involved, and the several Immortal Venerables were tactful enough not to press further.

After all, the Merfolk Clan's willingness to join was ultimately a good thing for consolidating the rule over the Jinhun Realm.

"For tens of thousands of years, the Seven Sects have been constantly campaigning externally, but taking down a plane system of this scale, like the Jinhun Realm, is a first."

Fairy Qinglian's smile faded, and her expression became solemn. "Forgive my presumption, but since we have the help of the Merfolk Clan, why not have Lady Chaoyin contact the other Peak Demon Immortals as soon as possible?"

"In the past, this matter would indeed have been tricky."

Immortal Emperor Lingtian nodded, a cold smirk curling his lips. "But with Fairy Qinglian's move to lure the enemies into a trap, the three veteran Demon Immortals of the Yaoxing Sea fell together. Those fellows have long been scared witless. A few years ago, I already task Chaoyin with this, and I expect results soon."

"That would be excellent."

The several Immortal Venerables exchanged glances and nodded one after another.

The sea of stars was vast and boundless, with countless races occupying their own territories.

In the world of cultivation, there were five Immortal Courts governing the heavens above, and three hundred Dao Sects dividing the territories below.

Yet, they were only one branch among the many civilizations in the sea of stars.

The Seven Sects were rooted in the Canglang Plane, all under the jurisdiction of a single Dao Sect.

Though they competed in daily life, they could always work together at critical moments.

The reasons for this were beyond the understanding of ordinary people.

Only by reaching the True Immortal Realm and seeing the grand trends of the sea of stars could one understand the deep meaning behind this 'harmony'... "Steady your positions in the Formation! Don't let your mana frequency falter!"

"Watch out for the Bone-Burning Poison on the scorpion tails! If it touches you, you're finished!"

"The Body Cultivators' shields must not break! Everyone else, release your killing moves quickly!"

"Those who know purification Spells, hurry and help your teammates clear the Soul-Burning Curse!"

In the valley of the Yangquan Faction's war zone, the sounds of battle and the roar of Spells intertwined.

An advance party of nearly a hundred people was fighting to the death against several packs of Bone-Burning Scorpion-Tailed Lion. Several Yangquan Faction Disciples dressed in silver-patterned black robes were barking orders while condensing Spells to strike.

These Bone-Burning Scorpion-Tailed Lions were third-rank Demon Species, possessing strange exoskeletons and venomous scorpion tails. They always moved in prides, with the males as the leaders and the females as the wings.

To maximize the power of their Formation, the advance party had specifically lured over a dozen prides from within a hundred-mile radius into the valley.

After four or five rounds of Formation strikes, the prides had lost more than half their numbers, and the threat was greatly reduced.

However, there were still one or two hundred Manticores fighting desperately.

The Yangquan Faction Disciple leading the group made a prompt decision, leaving a dozen people to maintain the defense and healing Formations, while the rest formed teams using the Sancai and Five Elements Formations to launch small-scale combined attacks.

More than ten Peak Core Formation Cultivators even lunged straight at the remaining third-rank Peak Manticores, dividing the battlefield.

Even so, casualties in the team were unavoidable.

This was because the strength of this advance party was uneven, with Loose Cultivators at the Early Stage and Middle Stage of Core Formation making up the majority.

Once hit by the venom of a Bone-Burning Scorpion-Tailed Lion's tail, their skeletons would be burned away by the strange toxin within just a dozen breaths.

Not only that, but the roars of the male lions were laced with a Soul-Burning Curse.

With one roar, the Divine Souls of Cultivators within a hundred-zhang radius would suffer an unbearable, stinging pain, as if being scorched.

Under such an influence, it was difficult to exert the full power of one's Spells.

When this advance party of over a hundred people first encountered the prides, they suffered a setback and lost over a dozen people.

Fortunately, certain purification-type Spells could quickly remove this Soul-Burning Curse.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to act so boldly.

"Brother Qingzhu, when do we strike?"

In the dark mountain forest over ten miles away, Qi Fei leaned close to Wen Qingzhu and lowered his voice, his eyes full of eagerness.

Wen Qingzhu stared at the battle in the valley, his face calm. "There are less than two hundred third-rank Manticores left. We'll strike when they've mostly finished the cleanup and their minds are at their most relaxed."

"What a waste... so many points."

Qi Fei looked at the Manticore corpses falling in the valley, his tone full of regret.

One should know that each third-rank Manticore could be exchanged for over a hundred points.

But compared to the points represented by those hundred-plus Core Formation Cultivators, this bit of 'regret' was nothing.

"Everyone, don't show any mercy in a moment."

A cold smirk curled the corner of Fu Yongnian's mouth, his voice devoid of any warmth. "Though they say the Seven Sects are joined at the roots, we are Loose Cultivators after all, and we have no friendship with the people of the Yangquan Faction."

"All below Soul Transformation are but ants."

The fire-attribute Cultivator Gu Nan had a hot temper, and his tone was even colder. "When ants fight, why should there be so many scruples? We can talk about 'friendship' after we've advanced to Soul Transformation."

Luo Xuanxiao didn't speak, only nodding silently, though the sharpness in his eyes didn't diminish in the slightest.

In terms of friendship, they hailed from the Yaoxing Sea and at most had some connection with the Disciples of the Bitao Sect.

The Yangquan Faction was far away in another sea region; an ordinary Core Formation Cultivator might not even cross the boundless sea to visit the other's territory in their entire life.

The so-called 'joined at the roots' was simply not worth mentioning in the face of points and opportunities.