On the martial arts battlefield, a group of martial artists from the Universe Daoist Academy had just finished cleaning up. They were currently sitting on the ground atop demon corpses, gulping down spirit medicine.
One martial artist, having just finished a swig of his medicine, picked up his long saber and some demon bones to continue the cleanup work.
“Junior Brother Geng, don't you feel like the quality of the demons lately is far inferior to before? Their bones are all soft and flabby. If we take these back to the Martial Casting Hall, do you think they'll even accept them?”
“Haha, Senior Brother, you must be joking. It's not that the demon bones have gone soft; it's clearly just an illusion caused by the improvement in the power of your Mountain-Piercing Finger.”
“Hahaha, Junior Brother Geng has a point! Senior Brother, your finger strength has definitely grown. These repeated battles might be pushing our bodies and spirits to the brink of exhaustion, but the improvement for us martial artists is visible to the naked eye. My Wandering Cloud Steps have already attained the Unfettered Realm; in close quarters, I can treat these demons as if they aren't even there. And Senior Brother, your Cloud-Piercing Finger and Eight-Treasure Brocade Body are both nearing mastery; you can simply ignore the demons' clawing and biting. Even Junior Brother Geng's Sea-Burning True Qi, which is naturally countered by demons, can now burn them.”
“Hahaha, exactly, exactly!”
Amidst the lighthearted compliments, the martial artists, who had just come out of battle, let their tense nerves relax completely, filling the air with laughter.
However, the martial artist who had asked the initial question—the captain of this squad—still harbored doubts.
When he pressed down on the demon leg bone in his hand, he hadn't used any inner force, relying purely on raw physical strength. Logically, after such a long battle, his body should be fatigued and his pressing force should have weakened. Yet, with just a light press of his finger, five distinct fingerprints had appeared on the bone.
This phenomenon reminded him of the Seven-Colored Pseudo-Phoenixes reared back at the academy.
To provide for so many martial artists, the Progeny Senior Brother in charge of breeding had come up with a method: confining the Seven-Colored Pseudo-Phoenixes in cramped spaces to limit their activity. With less movement, the meat yield of the pseudo-phoenixes increased. Furthermore, to prevent them from pining for freedom, thousands of illusion arrays were set up within those tiny breeding spaces. Every day, a different illusion array was activated, making the pseudo-phoenixes believe they were roaming free across mountains and rivers. Once the cycle of illusion arrays was complete, it was time for them to be sent to market.
Because these pseudo-phoenixes lacked exercise, the quality of their meat was far inferior to that of wild or free-range ones, and they were mostly supplied to the less affluent outer sect disciples.
The squad captain felt that the owner of the demon leg bone in his hand was somewhat like those force-grown pseudo-phoenixes—identical appearance, similar essence, but a world of difference in quality.
Though he had his suspicions, his level of attainment wasn't high enough to articulate the exact problem. He didn't want to ruin this rare post-battle rest, so he decided not to dwell on it further.
After cleaning the leg bone in his hand, he caught a bottle of spirit wine thrown by a junior brother and tilted his head back, intending to drain it in one go.
But before he could finish, a series of massive booms echoed across the surrounding battlefield.
Snap! Crack!
It was the sound of space being distorted and compressed. To this group of martial artists, that sound meant only one thing: battle.
“A Hellgate!”
“Dammit, didn't one just close? Why is another Hellgate opening already?”
“Everyone, listen up! Take the Spirit-Sustaining Pills issued by the academy, then ready your Demon Plague Pellets. Prepare for combat!”
“Captain, Spirit-Sustaining Pills are Earth-rank pills. Isn't it a waste to take them now?”
“Shut up! I'm the captain, listen to me!”
“Al-alright.”
This martial artist was usually amiable, so his sudden outburst startled everyone. They quickly pulled out their pill bottles, blew away the seals on the caps, and chugged the entire contents.
The captain's movements were even swifter. His tongue actually freely changed and extended, snaking out to retrieve a pill from his robes to swallow. Then, holding pellets infused with the Source of the Plague in both hands, he was the first to charge toward the nearest Hellgate.
A few kilometers away from the Hellgate, the squad captain leaped into the air. He spun his body several times mid-air to build up momentum before suddenly exploding with force, hurlng the pellets forward.
His Eight-Treasure Brocade Body was a soft-style art, and he had trained it to the level of mastery.
When he landed, the other squad members arrived and took up positions, waiting for the plague to take effect.
But just then, that familiar sound rang out again.
Snap! Crack!
Snap! Crack!
Hellgates opened one after another, and countless demons surged out like a tide.
“Seventy-three... no, seventy-five... wait, why is the number of Hellgates still increasing?!”
While the crowd was stunned by the number of gates, an even more terrifying sight unfolded.
Demons flew out from the Hellgates and slammed heavily onto the ground. The violent impact instantly cratered the earth, and the demons lost their lives the moment they hit the floor.
This inexplicable suicidal behavior once again unnerved the martial artists.
The squad captain immediately made a decision and barked out orders.
“Everyone, throw your Demon Plague Pellets and retreat toward the Heaven side! The demons' behavior is bizarre; we don't know what kind of scheme they're brewing. We shouldn't be reckless. Junior Brother Geng, notify the other squads and have them retreat as quickly as possible!”
“Understood!”
After hurling their Demon Plague Pellets, the martial artists retreated toward the rear in unison.
With such a massive commotion, the Heavenly Expeditionary Force naturally noticed as well. They opened their barriers in advance to let the martial artists in.
Years of experience fighting demons told them that whenever these monsters, who had no regard for life or death, acted strangely, they had to be on high alert.
Once the martial artists were inside, Heaven raised its Holy Light curtain once more. The majestic Holy Light shielded everyone within the city, and the various long-range strike systems within the fortress began to fire beams of Holy Light into the demon swarm.
Similar scenes were occurring across multiple martial arts battlefields simultaneously.
Seeing this, Phili, the Demon King of Lies, bared his teeth in a grin. His serpent tail lashed against the ground, sending shards of rock flying in all directions.
“Still too hurried. If we had maintained the rhythm, Heaven wouldn't have interfered. That annoying Holy Light will contaminate the demons' blood.”
Phili was somewhat angry, but he didn't dare question the Mother of Hell's orders.
However, since it had already happened, he could only do his best to salvage the situation. The Blood Demon didn't require high purity of blood, but that didn't mean it could accept hostile energy like Holy Light.
Thus, with a single thought, Phili activated the marks he had pre-planted in the souls of those demons.
On the martial arts battlefield, those demons had already rushed to within a short distance of the Heavenly fortress. Just as it seemed they were about to engage in close combat, the demons' hearts suddenly exploded. Blood sprayed everywhere as they collapsed one after another.
Before the martial artists or the Heavenly Expeditionary Force could react to what was happening, the flowing blood was pulled by the Blood Demon Embryo and rapidly seeped into the ground.
Thump! Thump!
Thump! Thump!
A powerful heartbeat echoed throughout the world, interfering with the sanity of all living beings.
“That sound... why can I still hear it even after blocking my ears with true qi?!”
“Thump! Thump!”
“Thump! Thump!”
“Senior Brother, your fingers... why are they turning red? Just like those demons!”
“Ah! My hands are changing too!”
“What's happening? What is going on?!”
Rate on N.U.
