A battle between six powerhouses at the Immortal King stage was unfolding in what was once the western region of Cangzhou.
The conflict had split into two battlefields, extending from the wasteland up into the firmament.
Li Shuhe and Spirit Sequence Seven fought atop the Hunting Ground. The pursuing troops who had arrived waited far outside the battlefield, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.
They simply held their formation, joining with the Blood Spirit Army in front to completely surround this section of the Hunting Ground.
From the direction of the Immortal City, the divine senses of countless God Immortal powerhouses within the Immortal Land silently crossed the Spirit River and approached the Hunting Ground. They eventually hid within the dark clouds, braving the fierce astral winds to catch a glimpse of the situation.
What they saw was a grey sword immortal and a jade-green giant python-dragon locked in combat, churning clouds and shattering mountains in an extremely violent display of slaughter.
Even from a distance, observing through divine sense alone made their physical bodies back in the Immortal City feel a chill down their spines and their scalps go numb.
Furthermore, the army was arrayed like a map of stars, blotting out the sun—a sight that hadn't been seen in a thousand years.
Among those watching, only those who had been present when the Spirit River had not yet appeared and the darkness first overran the province had seen such a display from the dark creatures.
It was like a nightmare that had haunted them for ten thousand years. Seeing it again today, the palpitations remained.
The divine senses of the three Immortal Kings were the closest and furthest forward, their gazes piercing through the heavy smoke and dust to see the barren land clearly.
In the haze, they naturally saw the seven people protected by Li Shuhe's sword array.
Three beasts, three demons, and one human...
Ordinary, unremarkable, and not worth mentioning.
At least in their eyes, they weren't worth mentioning. They weren't even interested in where they had come from.
Perhaps they were Night Hunters who had ventured out from the Immortal City, or maybe they had crawled out from a hidden dimension in Fanzhou.
They leaned toward the latter.
After all, the Night Hunters in this Immortal City started at the Immortal Realm, while among these few, that human boy was only a Mortal Immortal.
The others were merely at the minor tribulation transcendence stage.
Lu Bai, however, had other thoughts. His gaze fell upon the red-haired, blood-eyed youth, as if he smelled a familiar scent.
The boy seemed to possess the bloodline of the Saint Deer tribe, and his hair color was just like those of his people, but...
Could he be Great-Grandfather?
But he was clearly just a grade-nine small beast. Unable to be sure for the moment, Lu Bai could only watch and wait, keeping his divine sense fixed on them.
At this moment, the seven people within the array felt complicated. Their expressions were worried, and their eyes flickered between shock and fear.
They couldn't help, they couldn't tell who was stronger, and they didn't dare step out of this ten-foot-square array.
There were blockades ahead, pursuers behind, and a powerful enemy close at hand.
It was more than just dangerous.
It wasn't even a matter of whether they would survive; whether they could even leave behind a whole corpse was in question.
"This time, we're probably really finished..." Lu Yuan murmured.
Jin Yu pursed her lips. Usually, she loved to bicker with Lu Yuan.
This was because Lu Yuan, like her, had not yet transcended his heart demon to become a saint.
At least, that was how she saw it.
But now, she sensibly kept her mouth shut and didn't say a word.
Even though she had consumed that Emperor's Blood, she didn't have the slightest confidence that she could survive in this situation.
Never mind the three fighting the Sovereign or the one fighting Li Shuhe...
All they had seen along the way were Grey Spirits and Dark Spirits.
They hadn't seen a single one they could actually defeat.
Their numbers were counted in the tens of thousands. How were they supposed to live?
Tu Sisi said unexpectedly, "I think I just saw Fang Dao?"
"Hmm?"
Bai Ze confirmed, "It was him."
Fang Dao? Wasn't he dead?
Xu Xian shook his head in denial. "He is no longer himself."
A former saint, now seen again as a Heaven Immortal. He had skipped three stages; how could he still be the same person?
The group fell silent, their expressions becoming even more complex.
Suddenly, a figure braved the turbulence of the Immortal King struggle and came from the east, finally hovering above the array.
The newcomer wore eye-catching silver armor and had short, silver-white hair. He stood in the air with his arms crossed.
Looking down, his eyes were filled with playfulness and arrogance.
As soon as he appeared, his gaze swept over everyone before he called out a name: "Which of you... is Xu Xian?"
The group looked at the newcomer warily, silently readying their blades.
He clearly came with ill intent.
Xu Xian took a half-step forward, standing in front of the other six, and scrutinized this handsome and arrogant youth who looked no different from an ordinary being.
"Who are you?"
The newcomer uncrossed his arms. One hand pressed down on the hilt of the blade at his waist while the other brushed through his silver hair. With a smug, arrogant, and chuunibyou flair, he said:
"I am of the Ancestral Spirit bloodline, Ning!"
Xu Xian asked tentatively, "Spirit Sequence Ning?"
The Sovereign and Li Shuhe had both said that Ancestral Spirits had no surnames, only sequences. A Spirit Sequence plus a number was their name, and also their strength ranking within the Ancestral Spirit Hall.
The newcomer was amused by this and sneered, "Heh... you hillbilly. 'Spirit Sequence' is a title that can only be used by those who have been promoted to true Ancestral Spirit Venerables. As one of the Ancestral Spirit bloodline, I am accorded the prefix 'Little Sequence.' My name is Little Sequence Ning. To think that fools like you dared to charge into the Far East Army's formation."
Xu Xian grew thoughtful.
Dark creatures had a strict hierarchy of bloodlines. Although their cultivation stages followed the six stages of immortality of Cangming, their titles and designations were different.
Mortal Immortals were Grey Spirits.
Earth Immortals were Dark Spirits.
Heaven Immortals were Small Spirit Lords and could be granted the surname Ling. God Immortals were Great Lords.
All of the above were the bottom tier of dark creatures; they didn't even have the right to reproduce.
The Immortal King stage consisted of Ancestral Spirits, ranked by Spirit Sequence. Above them were the First Spirits at the Immortal Emperor stage.
Becoming an Ancestral Spirit meant standing at the peak of the dark creature bloodlines.
Their appearance alone was different from other dark creatures.
They no longer had black or grey skin, and they were no longer restricted to blood-red eyes.
At the same time, if one person became an Ancestral Spirit, their entire tribe would receive a blessing from the darkness, and every member of the tribe would be promoted to the Ancestral Spirit bloodline.
They could return to the appearance they had before being infected by the darkness.
The Ancestral Spirit race also possessed the right to produce offspring.
They similarly had no surnames, using 'Little Sequence' as a prefix followed by their name.
Li Shuhe had mentioned that at the beginning of the dark invasion, to rule Cangming more quickly, any Immortal King who was willing to lead their entire tribe to surrender to the darkness and offer their soul to the Spirit-Devouring Tribe could preserve their people and become a branch of the Ancestral Spirits.
Little Sequence Ning was clearly a young member of an Ancestral Spirit bloodline. Since he was not an Immortal King, he could only use Little Sequence as his surname.
Xu Xian knew some of this, but he had pretended not to know just to see how the guy would react. He hadn't expected the fellow to be so smug about it.
From the look of it, this person had strength and bloodline, but his intelligence was average.
Xu Xian also let out a cold laugh and mocked, "Heh... you black-skin bumpkin. I am Xu Xian. What do you want?"
Black-skin bumpkin?
Little Sequence Ning was stunned for a moment. When he realized what it meant, his face actually did turn black with rage.
However, he couldn't be bothered to waste words. His mind was entirely focused on capturing Xu Xian alive so he could be promoted to a Thousand-man Commander of the Blood Spirit Army.
He gripped his hilt with one hand and pointed at Xu Xian with the other, issuing a direct provocation:
"I heard you're very strong."
"Do you dare to fight me?"
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