In the far north,
A thousand mountains were piled with snow, a landscape of pure white. The sky was vast and hazy, with snow falling like clumps of cotton, scattering in all directions.
At the peak of one mountain,
An old man sat withered, covered in a mess of snow. A blood-colored Ten Thousand Demon Banner rested against his shoulder as he dozed off.
"Wheeze..."
"Wheeze..."
The sound was long and drawn out.
In front of him, across that land of wind and snow, giant beasts were perched on the small peaks of the thousand mountains, and great demons stood in abundance.
A standoff.
It seemed to have been going on for a long time.
The old man stood alone with his banner, and yet dozens of experts at the demon god stage did not dare to take a single step forward.
It was all because they feared the blood-red banner on the old man's shoulder.
Legend had it,
That when this banner moved, a blood-red hue would blot out the sun, and ten thousand demon spirits would sweep through the world like a wave of destruction.
Eight years ago,
On the shores of the North Sea, many of them had witnessed it with their own eyes, and some had even been fortunate enough to experience it firsthand.
The rumors were not false.
Thus,
For several days, not a single person in the entire North Sea dared to break through.
They were held back by just one person in this land of raging wind and snow.
However,
They were waiting—waiting for his backyard to catch fire and for reinforcements to arrive.
Over the past few days,
The number of great demons gathering continued to increase.
The first to arrive were the demon beasts from the coast of the North Sea. Gradually, some of the beast gods who had made their names long ago in the Eight Sacred Lands of the North Sea also arrived.
The River-Overturning Flood Dragon,
The Earth-Drilling Dragon.
The Black-Winged Golden Peng.
The Three-Eyed Golden Spider,
The Ten-Extermination Slug,
The Single-Leaf Sword Ant...
One by one, legendary existences and vicious beasts comparable to saints appeared.
These were the ones visible on the surface.
In the shadows, there was naturally no shortage of insidious characters waiting for an opportunity to strike.
They came,
With only one purpose: to leap across this hundred-thousand-mile ice field, set foot in the Northern Borders, destroy the mountain gate of the Wendao Sword Sect, and personally unseal the demon race's fortune vein that was rumored to be bound by the sect.
If they could take the Sword Mound in the process, that would naturally be even better...
Lin Fengmian remained seated at the mountain peak, calm and unruffled. He had long since grown accustomed to the scene before him.
In the thousands of years since he had become a saint and taken charge of the Ten Thousand Demon Banner,
He had always been responsible for the North Sea whenever a major event occurred.
Within that millennium,
Similar situations had occurred more than once. The most recent time was only eight years ago.
That had also been the fiercest battle.
A full thirty experts at the beast god stage had come.
In the end,
It was a narrow victory.
He and Ninth Senior Martial Uncle Yao Xiqiao had escaped unscathed.
They had slain several beast gods.
However...
What surprised him a little today was that this time, people from the Eight Immortal Islands of the North Sea had actually come as well.
This was indeed unexpected.
It also undoubtedly told him that this battle would be more difficult than those in the past. Therefore, he had been conserving his energy.
He would not move unless necessary, but once he did, he would surely shatter the snowy peaks and drench the demons in blood...
Waiting,
Time passed second by second.
No one knew what they were waiting for.
Were they waiting for the old man to wake up, or...
Until a certain moment, the sleeping old man slowly raised his head and gradually opened his eyes.
Ice crystals fell from his white eyebrows.
The old man's gaze was deep as he stared into the wind and snow.
Between heaven and earth, eight overbearing auras spread out and continued to approach.
Before the people had arrived or their forms had appeared, they had already stirred the snow of the ten thousand mountains and the vast, tattered clouds.
These eight auras disturbed Lin Fengmian's pleasant dream and naturally startled the great demons among the mountains.
Some of them showed looks of terror, some revealed excitement, and others silently lowered their heads in submission.
"They're here."
"They're finally here..."
"Jie jie jie, let's see what your Wendao Sword Sect will use to stop them this time..."
They whispered among themselves, gloating and triumphant.
The eight auras radiated overbearing dominance, standing above the beast gods.
The strongest group of demon immortals in the current North Sea.
Had arrived!
In the next moment, the space rippled with folds and waves. Above the far north and beneath the vast sky, the wind and snow stepped aside. In the blink of an eye, eight figures stood suspended in the air before the eyes of the world.
They stood there, doing nothing, yet their pressure swept across nearly a thousand miles.
Though they were merely spirit bodies,
The sharpness they displayed made all the demon gods present turn pale.
Among the eight, the one in the center wore a green fur coat. His dragon eyes were deep, his dragon horns were ferocious, and a head of dark blue hair was draped casually behind him, untouched by the wind and snow...
He was the leader of the eight and the greatest of the eight islands.
One of the two demon immortals of Canghai Immortal Island, known as the Little Azure Dragon, Ao Ba.
Among the many demon immortals of the North Sea,
His strength might have been average,
But once he left the North Sea, even his brother Ao Tian or the Master of the North Sea, the Phantom Beast, would be no match for him.
Simply because,
He was the only existing demon immortal in the entire North Sea who had not been cursed.
He was also the only one whose true body could leap across the boundary of the North Sea and set foot in the Central Plains.
With him leading the team today,
The North Sea was truly getting serious.
If they attacked Wendao, Wendao would surely fall; if they protected Wendao, the world would surely fall.
But,
They came with aggressive momentum, their intentions already clear.
As for the other seven, Lin Fengmian recognized some and did not recognize others, though he could guess who they were.
They were the demon immortals of the other seven immortal islands.
Not their true selves,
But spirit bodies.
The girl in the phoenix-colored flowing clouds robe was the Phoenix Mother of Fengling Immortal Island.
The woman in the azure feathered robe was the Qingluan of Lingqin Immortal Island.
The golden-haired giant with a bare chest was the Nine-Headed Mad Lion of Wanshou Island.
The short, hunched old man was the Old Soft-shell Turtle of Jin'ao Immortal Island.
There was also the Ink Qilin Venerable of Zu Island and the White Crane Immortal Venerable of Yuan Island...
And finally,
The Tushan Immortal Fox of Qianqiu Immortal Island, Tu Sisi...
They arrived, and no one spoke. The entire world fell silent, save for the chaotic wind and messy snow in their ears...
The eyes of the world fell upon the eight immortals, and the eight immortals' gazes returned to Lin Fengmian.
Lin Fengmian's gaze slowly swept over the eight of them. He gave his wrist a light shake, causing the snow on the blood banner to fall away. The old man squinted his eyes and said with a kind expression:
"Lady Tu, I didn't expect that we would meet again so soon after our last parting."
Tu Sisi's gaze was cold, and she did not say a word.
It was as if,
She hadn't heard him at all.
Lin Fengmian could only give a sheepish smile, stroking his beard.
To say he wasn't embarrassed would be a lie.
After a moment,
The Little Azure Dragon in the center spoke, his tone flat and devoid of emotion.
"I,"
"Am Ao Ba!"
He announced his name.
Lin Fengmian nodded in response, being very polite. "I have heard much of you, much of you..."
Ao Ba continued, "I have heard of you."
"Oh?" Lin Fengmian asked with interest.
Ao Ba recounted on his own, "Lin Fengmian, Ninth Ancestor of the Wendao Sword Sect. I heard you entered the immortal gate at the age of a hundred. Aside from possessing a Longevity Immortal Body, your talent was mediocre and unremarkable."
Lin Fengmian was amused...
Ao Ba's gaze fell upon the blood banner. "If you hadn't absorbed the demon race's fortune accumulated within this banner, you would never have achieved what you have today."
Lin Fengmian laughed heartily.
"Haha!"
He didn't speak, but his eyes told the other party:
Yes, yes, yes,
Everything you said is correct!
"You should thank my clan."
Lin Fengmian smiled and said, "I stand corrected..."
Ao Ba finished and got down to business. "Today, I have come. My true self is here; you cannot stop us alone."
"And so?" Lin Fengmian asked in return.
Ao Ba's voice was low, each word punctuated. "Considering your age and that your cultivation was not easy to achieve, leave the Ten Thousand Demon Banner and depart. We shall spare your life..."
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