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Chapter 298: Chapter 295: Demolishing Decay
Purgatory Sect.
Lu Zhanxian listened to the report of Lu Dengxian, the Sect Master, his expression full of astonishment.
"Has Lingxiao City not yet sent an invitation?"
"Yes."
Lu Dengxian nodded his head, his expression also carrying a hint of peculiarity, "In the recent half-month, we have placed great emphasis on the intelligence from Lingxiao City. In these past few days, I have even sent multiple messages to Lu Zhanfeng asking about the movements of the Demon God Guards in Lingxiao City, but... in Fish Dragon City, although the Demon God Guards from Jiangzhou State have gathered and even prepared some ships, they show no sign of departing for Lizhou State."
"Considering the timing, it’s been almost half a month since Gu Jinlai’s ultimatum, right? He said he wanted Lizhou State to give an account. Yet, Lizhou ignores their ultimatum, and Lingxiao City has no response? Aren’t they... hitting their own face?"
Lu Zhanxian said and then turned his gaze to Liu Jingtiao, "You have a good relationship with that Venerable Daoist Gu. Did he ever notify you to go and watch the battle?"
"He did not."
Liu Jingtiao said, "I guess... could they have been delayed by some matter?"
"But a delay wouldn’t justify breaking their word."
Zhang Liefeng said with a smile, "That Gu Jinlai had invited us to observe the battle at a banquet more than a month ago, and now there’s no follow-up. What, they realized that with a sea separating them, any attempt on Lizhou would cost them dearly, leaving them in a difficult situation?"
Lu Zhanxian did not speak.
But Lu Dengxian said solemnly, "We can’t exclude that possibility. Not to mention the hundreds of miles of sea between them, if Lingxiao City truly makes a move against Lizhou, the Overseas Twelve Islands would not just stand by. Ultimately, what they need to face might not only be the six Primordial Spirit True Monarchs from Lizhou but also includes twelve Island Masters from the Eastern Sea Twelve Islands—that’s a total of eighteen Primordial Spirit True Monarchs. Even if Gu Jinlai is impressive, having newly gained the allegiance of Cheng Lixue and Jing Yunshan, facing this terrifying force, he would be at a loss."
His words left Liu Jingtiao unsure how to respond.
Eighteen Primordial Spirit True Monarchs!
If they could set up a formation, even Devas would be trapped and killed by them.
Although Gu Jinlai possessed the trump card to instantly kill the Demon Demon King, he was still not a true Deva. Facing the overseas forces determined to fight to the death...
"This is interesting now."
Zhang Liefeng smiled, "Looks like Lingxiao City isn’t as strong as we imagined., tell me, could he have been bluffing all along? Or perhaps, that trump card of his could only be used two or three times, and now, he is reluctant to use it?"
Zhang Liefeng’s words caused a slight change in Lu Zhanxian’s expression.
But in the end, he did not say much.
"If Lingxiao City doesn’t want to completely lose face, they will have to take some action against Lizhou; let’s just wait and see."
...
Similar thoughts existed in the Netherworld Sect and even the Cold Moon Sect.
Especially Fang Linghai, the Sect Master of Cold Moon Sect, after learning that Lingxiao City was still indifferent after the ultimatum deadline, they even considered, whether it was too rash to join Lingxiao City?
However, they did not express these thoughts. Instead, they sent Fang Yumian to ask whether Cold Moon Sect’s Primordial Spirit True Monarchs needed to take action to assist in attacking Lizhou, pretending to be full of concern.
...
Purgatory Sect, Cold Moon Sect, Netherworld Sect. Wait and see.
In Lizhou State, the atmosphere noticeably relaxed.
The leaders of the Ouyang family, the Ding family, the Luu family, the Tianhai Gang, the Baofeng Sect, and the State Lord Mansion gathered again, many faces wearing a playful smile.
"We were almost fooled by Lingxiao City. Lucky for us, our families stood united and resisted the pressure strongly, making a defiant stance. That’s the reason why Lingxiao City didn’t dare to make a rash move."
Ouyang Yue of the Ouyang family said with a faint smile.
"In my opinion, the ultimatum Lingxiao City gave to our Lizhou was probably an impulsive decision by Gu Jinlai.
Head of the Tianhai Gang, Yuan Zhenhai, had a sneer, "Or maybe they felt so successful after crushing Lizhou’s invasion of the Cold Moon Sect, annihilating the Yellow Sky Sect and annexing Yellow State, occupying three states, that they lost their rationality, leading to this farce. Next, I want to see how Lingxiao City ends this."
"Jiangzhou has gathered a good number of ships. It seems that Gu Jinlai was originally planning to confront us in Lizhou, but the few warships assembled over several months are insignificant compared to Lizhou’s navy, making him realize the issue. Now, he’s probably in a predicament whether to deploy troops or not." n𝚘vp𝚞𝚋.com
Shen Aofeng smiled faintly, "Caught in a dilemma, this is."
"Gentlemen, what do you think about us simply landing in Jiangzhou one more time to flex our muscles, making Gu Jinlai realize our might, at least making him cede Fish Dragon City as our port connecting to the mainland?"
Ouyang Yue said.
"Lingxiao City is not weak; better we remain cautious."
Ding Junshan of the Ding family still maintained caution.
"Ding Family Head need not sell ourselves short. Lingxiao City is not weak, are the Eastern Sea powers weak then? Don’t forget, this matter involves the Twelve Islands; they cannot just stand by. In other words, we have a total of eighteen Primordial Spirit True Monarchs on our side! With eighteen great Monarchs acting together, apart from a few Divine Weapon Forces, we fear no one in the Qiantian World."
Ouyang Yue confidently said, "Moreover, we are not trying to conquer Lingxiao City, just showing our might to make them cede Fish Dragon City."
"I think Patriarch Ouyang makes sense. Although Lingxiao City is not weak, having control of Star State, Jiangzhou State, and Yellow State, I can’t believe they can mobilize full potential with Purgatory Sect, Cold Moon Sect, and Netherworld Sect coveting them. Lizhou only needs to show enough strength. A mere Fish Dragon City, I think Gu Jinlai can distinguish the priorities."
Yuan Zhenhai said.
Lei Jie glanced at this head of the Tianhai Gang.
With Yuan’s greed, once Lingxiao City agrees to cede Fish Dragon City to Lizhou, it would undoubtedly expose their inherent weakness. At that time, he, along with Ouyang Yue and others, would definitely not miss the opportunity, pressing forward step by step.
Until they completely swallowed Jiangzhou.
However...
If Yuan Zhenhai and Ouyang Yue’s plan went smoothly, he, the Lizhou State Governor, would not miss out on his share after swallowing Jiangzhou State. Therefore, he naturally turned a blind eye to such matters.
After another discussion among several people, other families also joined in.
Before long, they had made a decision.
"We will first conduct a thorough investigation to see if there are any traps. If we confirm that Lingxiao City truly lacks the strength to engage us in naval warfare, we will immediately gather our forces and take a trip around Fish Dragon City," said one.
Ouyang Yue said, "For safety’s sake, when the time comes, we should not leave the ship lightly, just blockade the coast will do."
"Right, Gu Jinlai’s Demon God Guards are indeed strong. Once we land, we may struggle to match them. But the ocean is our home field, as long as we don’t disembark, we inherently stand on invincible ground. Then we can invade step by step, always pressuring Gu Jinlai to concede," continued another.
Yuan Zhenhai nodded.
The group discussed and ordered their subordinates to infiltrate Jiangzhou, Yellow State, and Star State to fully investigate the specific naval distribution of Lingxiao City to prevent Lingxiao City from feigning weakness.
...
Purgatory Sect, Cold Moon Sect, Netherworld Sect, as well as Lizhou and the Twelve Islands of the Eastern Sea showed signs of restlessness, which Gu Jinlai guessed.
However, he did not care much about it.
He believed that as long as the eight modified Mystic Bird Fighting Machines could all take off, all evil spirits would vanish under the bombardment of the Electromagnetic Railgun.
Therefore, all he needed to do was wait for the Demon Realm Rift to open and complete the Co-spiriting of the eight Mystic Bird Fighting Machines.
...
Soon, the ninth day, when the space ripple revealed itself, arrived.
Watching the visible space ripple continuously repel the soil and water waves, Zhang Lihuo called out gravely, "Be careful, the Demon Realm Rift is about to open, the devils are coming."
"Don’t be nervous," calmly responded Gu Jinlai.
"Speaking of which, Lihuo, you haven’t tried piloting a Mystic Bird Fighting Machine yet, have you?"
"True Spirit Possession is a trait of the Grand Sun Nine Refinements Visualization Method after achieving Perfection. Although I have been thickly accumulating and sparingly using because of the Great Sun Remolding, I cultivated to the Seventh Refinement Perfection in one go recently. But to reach Nine Refinements Perfection... it might still take another ten or eight years of accumulation," said Zhang Lihuo.
"If you can’t perform True Spirit Possession, just integrate directly into the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine using the True Spirit Manifestation method. Even though you can only control one fighting machine, you can still fully enjoy the thrill of soaring through the skies at five to six times the speed of sound," said Gu Jinlai with a smile, reducing the tension of Zhang Lihuo, Si Tianyan, Zhang Yukan, and the others while adding, "When you reach Heavenly Monarch, you can also give it a try."
His description made Zhang Lihuo and others itch to try.
However, Zhang Lihuo’s path to becoming a Heavenly Monarch was due to thick accumulation and thin use; the others needed more time and opportunity to take this step...
"Buzz!"
Just then, a fierce collision occurred amidst the maximally intense space ripples, followed by an inward collapse.
Under this collision and collapse, the space ripple gradually dissipated, but a large rift over twenty meters in diameter appeared in everyone’s sight.
This width... Zhang Lihuo’s expression was filled with solemnity.
And in the instant the space rift formed, a colossal figure, so large it seemed the space rift could hardly contain it, squeezed and wriggled, struggling out of the rift.
The sheer size of the figure immediately changed the expressions of Zhang Lihuo and the others.
Xiang Fengyun couldn’t help exclaim, "Disaster Level! It’s a Catastrophic-level Demon Spirit!"
"Roar!"
The Catastrophic-level Demon Spirit, struggling out of the space rift, let out a silent roar, unleashing a powerful surge of spirituality, shaking everyone’s soul.
If there were only ordinary Heavenly Masters surrounding it at that moment, just this burst of spirituality would have shaken their souls, preventing them from completing their Visualization.
And if they couldn’t even complete their Visualization, let alone release a Soul Secret Technique.
"Everyone, get ready..."
Zhang Lihuo shouted.
But before he could finish, a dazzling, brilliant light burst forth. Amidst that blazing white brilliance, a light column over ten meters in diameter struck out, instantly piercing through the Catastrophic-level Demon Spirit.
Eternal Heavenly Curse.
Mixed with pain and a surge of spirituality, a scream suddenly emanated from the mouth of this Catastrophic-level Demon Spirit.
But this scream lasted less than a second before another dazzling light, like the golden radiance spilled by the Great Sun, shone on the screaming Demon Spirit.
Great Sun Eternal Radiance.
Instantly, the Catastrophic-level Demon Spirit, with a ten-meter wide hole blasted through it, melted away like snow under the fierce sun, visibly dissipating rapidly.
In less than three seconds, this Demon Spirit, which had eagerly from the Demon Realm Rift, its demonic nature raging, was completely incinerated under the irradiation of the Great Sun Eternal Radiance Technique, disappearing without a trace.
And from the source of this dazzling light, Gu Jinlai’s composed and collected voice came.
"Just a Catastrophic-level Demon Spirit, as I said, no need to be nervous."
