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Chapter 275: Chapter 272 Seeking Help
"Devils, attacking our Yellow Sky Sect?"
"The lead one is actually a Flight category demon king!? While the combat power of Flight category demon kings is far from comparable to that of ordinary demon kings, and they are not even worth mentioning in the face of Devas, to us Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, they are far more terrifying than Demon King Lu Xing!"
"Why? The Tianhe Demons were defeated by Lingxiao City, why do they seek revenge on our Yellow Sky Sect? We have not yet reclaimed Yellow State to the north in such a short time, they could have easily followed the Jade Belt River straight to Star State, so why specifically target our Yellow Sky Sect?"
In the Yellow Sky Sect, one by one the Supreme Elders and Elders gathered together, panic-stricken.
The pressure brought by the head of a Flight category demon king was even greater than the oppression the Champsosaurus King had brought in the past.
After all, even if they faced the Champsosaurus King, they might lose, but they could at least flee.
It would result in the death and injury of some disciples and common folk.
But facing a Flight category demon king...
This was a matter of life and death.
"The demon king is attacking again, what should we do? What should we do?"
Zhao Danqing’s eyes were filled with anxiety.
Zhang Lingjian, Tao Changle, and Yu Xuanjing were also at a loss.
Only Zhang Taiping’s expression went through several changes.
After a while, he finally said, "At this point, we have no choice but to pit the Power of Fate of Yellow State against this Flight category demon king."
"The Power of Fate!?"
The gazes of Zhang Lingjian, Tao Changle, Zhao Danqing, and Yu Xuanjing instantly fell on Zhang Taiping.
Almost any top sect valued by Daqian and listed within the Ten Great Demon Sects or the Six Great Immortal Sects naturally had some trump card as their foundation.
Like Huo Yuqing of Dragon Sparrow Manor, Fang Daoqian of Cold Moon Sect, the Purple Night Divine Sword of the Purple Night Sword Sect, and so on.
The Yellow Sky Sect was no different.
Among them, they had a Qi Observation Skill, the Taiping Heavenly Book.
They could bring the fate of a state or even several states into their use, boosting their combat power enormously.
However, unlike Daqian’s Qiantian Purple Qi Technique, which used the Power of Fate for cultivation, the Taiping Heavenly Book utilized the Power of Fate to convert into combat power; the stronger the Power of Fate, the stronger the combat power.
But this technique also had its drawbacks.
With the Power of Fate upon them, the cultivator would be eroded by the will of all beings, leading to confused thinking and deviation, and if the Power of Fate was consumed too severely, it would affect the ecology of a region, leading to large-scale natural disasters like droughts, floods, earthquakes, and storms.
Six hundred years ago, the lands west of the Purgatory Sect and Netherworld Sect in the Black and White Sand Sea were once prosperous. It was the first practitioner of the Taiping Heavenly Book who burned the Power of Fate of thousands of miles of the Black and White Sand Sea, exhibiting combat power near the Saint Realm to resist foreign invasions. That led to the Black and White Sand Sea becoming an endless desert over the following centuries.
To this day, thousands of miles of prosperous land had been wiped of human traces, completely becoming a forbidden zone for life.
And that practitioner who wielded the Taiping Heavenly Book was later eroded by the will of countless people, deviated, and died.
Not just the Black and White Sand Sea, similar instances had occurred in Yan State and Gold State, albeit on a smaller scale.
However, without exception, every practitioner either ended up insane and destitute in their later years or lost control of their emotions and was suppressed and executed.
Therefore...
"Venerable Daoist Zhang, if we use the Power of Fate to resist the devil invasion...not only will you, Supreme Elder, be in danger of death...given the current turmoil and weak Power of Fate in Yellow State, even if we can repel the devils, the following long period is likely to be plagued with severe drought, perhaps without a drop of rain for years..."
Yu Xuanjing cautiously spoke.
"If we don’t use this method, how will the Yellow Sky Sect be able to withstand the devils, and how will we preserve the centuries-old foundation of Yellow State?"
Zhang Taiping countered.
"Perhaps...we could ask Governor Gu for help?"
Yu Xuanjing tentatively suggested.
"Gu Jinlai?"
This name caused the faces of several Primordial Spirit True Monarchs present to change.
"Inviting a god is easy, but sending one away is hard. If we allow Gu Jinlai to enter Yellow State, it won’t be so easy to make him leave once he’s here."
Zhang Lingjian said.
"This may also be the only way for us to preserve Yellow State."
Yu Xuanjing looked around at everyone: "Cultivating the Taiping Heavenly Book is arduous, and except for Venerable Daoist Zhang, only Sect Master Zhang has practiced a bit of the basics. If something unexpected happens to Venerable Daoist Zhang after he uses the Taiping Heavenly Book... how will the Yellow Sky Sect deal with the encroachment of Lingxiao City during the upcoming turmoil?"
Yu Xuanjing’s words left everyone silent.
Lingxiao City was thriving like the midday sun.
Once the Yellow Sky Sect lost its biggest trump card, the Taiping Heavenly Book, how would it resist the encroachment of Lingxiao City in the future?
Have everyone practice the Taiping Heavenly Book?
Any technique related to the Power of Fate greatly depended on talent.
The Taiping Heavenly Book, though not a method of cultivating through the Power of Fate, was still related, and at least within a hundred years in the Yellow Sky Sect, those who managed to enter the basics of the Taiping Heavenly Book could be counted on one hand. Currently, the only person to master the Taiping Heavenly Book was Zhang Taiping alone.
There simply wasn’t enough time.
After a while, Zhang Taiping finally said gravely, "We have no other choice."
He also did not want to end up insane after using the Taiping Heavenly Book.
There’s a saying that goes.
As long as these Primordial Spirit True Monarchs are here, the Yellow Sky Sect remains.
With this thought, Zhang Taiping spoke with grave earnestness, "At all costs, we must request Governor Gu’s assistance."
...
"Boom!"
The sham battle outside Gourd Valley gradually reached its climax.
Initially, Primordial Spirit True Monarchs were able to dominate the battle against the upper-level Great Demons simply because these demons couldn’t fight back effectively.
However, given the upper-level Great Demons’ tenacious nature of life, withstanding ten or eight attacks from a Primordial Spirit True Monarch was not an issue at all.
If there were other demons helping to distribute the damage, even a Primordial Spirit cultivator running out of True Yuan might not be able to kill an upper-level Great Demon specializing in defense or recovery.
What they truly needed to be wary of was simply being focused on by human Monarchs.
But as they poured into Gourd Valley, the bombardment from the Sword Heavy Cannons stunned them.
The attack, comparable to a Primordial Spirit True Monarch-level strike, meant they were simultaneously facing the assault of hundreds of Primordial Spirit True Monarchs.
Who could withstand that?
With several upper-level Great Demons being bombarded to death, those that had initially joined the fray to test the waters quickly chose to retreat.
During this period, the Mu State Demons had all been recuperating.
They avoided making too much noise after winning Mu State to prevent attracting the attention of the Central State Imperial City.
Now, they launched a mass attack from Mu State mainly because Gu Jinlai raised the banner high, rallying the nearby Heavenly Masters, and they couldn’t stand idly by. Otherwise, everyone would know they were brewing some grand conspiracy.
Therefore, the demons made their move, hoping to reach Lingxiao City and eradicate that heavenly holy land. If not...
... they would at least cause the Central State Imperial City to lower its guard by "believing" they understood the true strength of Mu State and launch a full-scale invasion of Blue State.
Now, after suffering heavy losses in the battle at Gourd Valley, where two to three thousand demon corpses were left behind, and still seeing no hope, the remaining demons naturally retreated.
After all, all humans agreed that demons were intelligent beings.
Choosing to retreat when things became futile made sense.
Attacking Blue State in the hope of breaking through Cold Moon Sect’s defenses to reach Lingxiao City was, in a way, an explanation to the humans of Central State.
Retreating in defeat under the joint siege of the armies from Lingxiao City, Cold Moon Sect, Netherworld Sect, and Purgatory Sect...
...would serve to further diminish the vigilance of those in the Central State Imperial City.
It would give rise to the notion that the Mu State Demons were just mediocre.
Furthermore, Lingxiao City’s recent achievement in defeating the Tianhe Demons added credibility to their defeat, making it more believable.
After all, in the eyes of the great figures of the Central State court, the Tianhe Demons and Mu State Demons were considered to be on the same level.
For Lingxiao City to defeat the Tianhe Demons and then defeat the Mu State Demons aligned with logic.
...
The demons retreated.
The Supreme Elders of the Cold Moon Sect, Netherworld Sect, and Purgatory Sect led a comprehensive counterattack from behind.
The Demon God Guards also joined the pursuit and harvest of spoils, operating the Mystic Bird Fighting Machines under Gu Jinlai’s control.
Amon them, the Demon God Guards were primarily responsible for the pursuit, while the task of collecting the spoils was given to the one thousand reserve Demon God Guards.
Although the number of slain demons in the Gourd Valley battle was slightly less than that in the battle of Yuntian City, the quality of the demons was not inferior.
It was foreseeable that after the war, at least half of these reserve Demon God Guards would cultivate a Demon God Body and officially join the ranks.
"It’s over, those Sword Heavy Cannons... their power is too great," said Ancestor Wu You from Netherworld Sect, exhaling deeply. "I can hardly imagine what would happen if a human army faced the bombardment of hundreds of heavy cannons."
Beside him stood Sect Master Fang Linghai of Cold Moon Sect.
They had just pursued and completed the encirclement and kill of an upper-level Great Demon, together with Cheng Lixue who had just retreated from Mu State.
"The result... human soldiers have much worse morale than demons, no elite troop could withstand the bombardment of hundreds of Sword Heavy Cannons, especially when... there are also Demon God Guards protecting the vicinity," Fang Linghai said before adding, "Just like how few sects can withstand the mad charge of thirty to forty thousand demons on their own, whereas Lingxiao City managed to directly defeat an army of seventy to eighty thousand demons."
After saying this, he glanced at the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine gliding over the horizon, continuously firing amid the demons.
"Now, with its comprehensive fighting strength, Lingxiao City can be considered powerful among the top forces, and it’s certainly not a match for us. If we were ever to become hostile in the future... I fear that even if our Netherworld Sect, and your Cold Moon Sect joined forces and put forth all our resources, at best, we could only fight them on equal terms," said Ancestor Wu You, adding, "And that’s assuming Lingxiao City doesn’t have any other trump cards hidden away."
Fang Linghai nodded in agreement.
At that moment, Cheng Lixue suddenly said, "Ladies and gentlemen, it’s understandable that the demons incurred a great cost and retreated as expected, but I’m unsettled by the fact that the Demon King has not yet appeared. Judging from my years of experience fighting against demons... there may be some conspiracy behind this."
"Conspiracy?"
Fang Linghai shook his head, "Probably it’s just that we’re uneasy because the Demon King hasn’t shown up. However, the demons also have intelligence and know fear. They must have received the news of Lingxiao City’s great defeat of the Tianhe Demons by now. Is the Mu State Demon King less formidable than the Champsosaurus King? Even the Champsosaurus King died at the hands of Governor Gu, so would the Mu State Demon King dare to show up now? Moreover, retreating when sensing that they’re losing the upper hand is only natural."
Cheng Lixue was silent.
He lacked the Qi Observation Skill and couldn’t see the reason, but instinctively felt something was off.
Yet he didn’t know how to refute Fang Linghai.
Looking at the clearly conservative Sect Master of Cold Moon Sect, who was exceedingly cautious even in this pursuit, then seeing Gu Jinlai, the Heavenly Monarch of Lingxiao City, commanding the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine across the sky, fighting on the frontlines...
If they wished to seek vengeance against the demons and reclaim Mu State...
Their hope might not lie with Cold Moon Sect.
Instead, it could be Lingxiao City.
