Spirit Elixir City was breached in an instant; the city's demons fled in a rout toward the banks of the Wild River.
The cultivators from the various sects within the city engaged in burning, killing, and looting, scrambling for the resources left behind.
The members of the Wendao Sword Sect, following Xu Xian's orders, cleared the city walls and progressed methodically, securing their positions step by step.
The slaughter continued, and smoke rose from all sides.
On the banks of the Wild River, the demon sovereigns of the East Desolation looked on with ashen faces, their expressions a mix of shame and rage. From the eastern bank, they shouted to halt the stampeding tide of fleeing demons.
"Get back!"
"A bunch of useless trash."
"Anyone who crosses the river will be executed for the crime of betraying their race!"
On the western bank of the Wild River, the gathered demons broke into an uproar. Crowded together, they pleaded incessantly.
"Please, let us through!"
"We beg the Venerables to save us!"
"Ancestor, it's me! Quick, let me across..."
However, they were met only with cold indifference and rebukes.
"Shut up! This old man has no such descendant as you!"
"A pack of cowards who fear death above all else—you have utterly disgraced our race!"
The Envoys of the Eight Tribes returned after a day's absence.
They found Red Moon and requested instructions on how to handle the current situation.
Defeat was certain; could they allow the younger generation to retreat?
Red Moon's face was like frost, her voice as cold as snow.
"No!"
"I will not permit it!"
They could die in battle, but they should not be cowards.
The Envoys of the Eight Tribes had no choice but to give up. They activated a formation to block the fleeing demons at the edge of the Wild River and even issued orders from across the distance.
With no path of retreat, the remnants of the Eight Tribes' demon forces organized a defense on the spot.
They turned back to the west, intending to make a final stand.
They could either cross the river and die at the hands of their own powerful experts, leaving behind a legacy of infamy for ten thousand years, or they could turn back and die at the hands of the humans, preserving some shred of their reputation. They had no choice but to fight to the death.
Amidst the chaos of Spirit Elixir City, Xu Xian used his Pupil of Insight to track the aura of the auspicious beast, which was hiding within the fleeing demon tide.
Without hesitation, he gripped Wait and gave chase. Every demon along the way scrambled to avoid his path.
"Xu Xian is coming!"
"Get back!"
The auspicious beast, hidden among the demons, had transformed into a human shape. It concealed its entire form beneath a gray robe, looking ordinary and disheveled.
It had originally intended to use the demon's defeat as a chance to escape this Demon Suppression Abyss.
But at that moment, it perceived Xu Xian charging toward its position. As an auspicious beast, its primal bloodline was keenly sensitive, and it felt the youth coming straight for it.
It furrowed its brows.
Amidst its shock, alarm bells rang in its mind.
It didn't understand how the other party had managed to detect its aura.
It possessed a unique innate divine ability that allowed it to hide its presence. Even an eighth stage cultivator or an eighth-grade demon sovereign shouldn't be able to discover its true identity without close contact.
This was the primary reason why humans and demons had spent ten days nearly turning the entire Demon Suppression Abyss upside down without finding a single trace of it. As for the white deer they had seen at midnight, it was merely an illusory divine ability it had cast using the power of the stars and moon.
For over ten days, it had been hiding within the beast tide, personally witnessing the grand show of the hunt for itself.
If it hadn't sensed the presence of ninth stage tribulation transcendence stage experts and beast god stage demons on Boundary Mountain and the banks of the Wild River, it would have fled long ago. Now, a mere sixth stage youth seemed to have discovered it, leaving it both bewildered and deeply uneasy.
If it were just an ordinary sixth stage cultivator, it would have a hundred ways to escape. But why did it have to be this youth named Xu Xian?
It had only recently arrived in this world and didn't know Xu Xian, but over the past day and night, it had seen every one of his actions clearly.
Setting aside his extraordinary combat power, what it feared most was that tower and that sword. The aura emanating from that sword was of a higher bloodline than its own.
Furthermore, this youth killed demons without blinking. If it fell into his hands, it feared it wouldn't survive.
Without the slightest hesitation, the moment it realized Xu Xian was coming for it, it bolted toward the outskirts of Spirit Elixir City.
It intended to lose itself in the beast tide by the Wild River to evade Xu Xian's pursuit.
Behind it, Xu Xian lost sight of its figure in the blink of an eye. Fortunately, within the Pupil of Insight, its innate qi remained completely visible.
Seeing it change its appearance and constantly shift positions within the beast tide, Xu Xian curled his lips slightly. He knew the other party had realized he was following and was deliberately avoiding him.
Looking at the direction it was heading, Xu Xian felt a sense of concern. If he allowed it to continue forward and it truly entered the East Desolation, he wouldn't be able to do anything even with the Pupil of Insight.
His thoughts spun rapidly.
Xu Xian feigned ignorance, acting as if he had lost its trail, and changed to a completely different direction in pursuit.
As he moved, he used a voice transmission technique to tell Wen Qingxue and the others not to follow him.
Then, when no one was watching, he instructed the Little Book Spirit to use the stealth divine ability of the Pupil of Insight.
After receiving the order, the Little Book Spirit's eyes flashed again. Xu Xian took the opportunity to slip into the fleeing beast tide as well. Like a mountain spirit in the dark of night, he quietly approached his target.
The fleeing and hiding auspicious beast looked back. Seeing that Xu Xian's aura had vanished, it was about to breathe a sigh of relief, thinking it had finally shaken him off. But before it could celebrate, a sense of unease filled its heart.
Instinct told it that danger was approaching.
Yet when it looked around, there was nothing.
'To the abyss with this!'
It remained uneasy. Relying on its intuition and an auspicious beast's perception of heaven and earth, it wanted to turn back. Since the path forward was blocked by the beasts of the East Desolation, the three-thousand-mile Demon Suppression Abyss had naturally become the safest place.
But before it could act, a sinister voice abruptly sounded in its ear.
"Are you looking for me?"
Its spine instantly went cold, as if it had fallen into an icy abyss. Its heart raced as it suddenly spun around.
That face, neither strange nor familiar, was pushed right in front of its own.
Through its veiled hat, it could even see the faint streaks of blood in the shallow scars on the youth's cheeks.
As its body and mind trembled with fear, a breath of warm air hit its nose. Its eyes were filled with disbelief.
"What in the...!"
Quickly gathering its thoughts and driven by instinct, it raised a palm from beneath its long robes. Carrying the might of a king beast, the palm struck directly at the youth's vital points.
A cold light flashed in Xu Xian's eyes as he muttered, "Seeking death."
Without any hesitation, he drew his sword and slashed.
Clang!
The sword rose.
A Green Lotus bloomed.
With three protective forms, the area for half a mile was frozen. A piercingly cold current carried the Green Lotus sword qi.
Before its killing move could land, the beast was instead sent flying by the heavy impact, crashing down violently.
"Roar!"
It let out a low growl. Amidst the rising dust, the place where it landed was already a heap of ruins.
It stood up in pain, shattering the frost on its body. Its veiled hat broke and slid off. The moment it looked up, a mane of fiery red hair fluttered. As if freed from the pull of gravity, the red hair swayed in the air like seaweed in water.
It was as bright as a blazing flame.
Contrasted against the hair, its sharp-featured face appeared excessively pale. Its eyes were blood-red, with a crimson mist of blood lingering at the corners.
It was hard to tell if this was born of rage or if it was simply its natural appearance.
Within the dust, it stared fixedly at Xu Xian, its killing intent reaching its peak and its baleful aura becoming incredibly heavy.
Seeing its true appearance, Xu Xian was momentarily stunned.
So much for a white deer. Why did it have red hair, blood-red eyes, and a body full of baleful aura?
He didn't think much more on it, stepping forward and charging like a bolt of lightning.
"You dare bare your fangs?"
"Then I'll beat you into submission before we talk!"
Rate on N.U.
