True Monarch Yama nodded slightly, but his expression remained grave, "The defense line is currently secured, but from now on, there will likely be no peace!"The opening of this battle signifies the break of the years-long truce between both sides,
and the ensuing conflicts are bound to be even more intense than before.
He then looked at Zhou Xun and said with a smile:
"Brother Zhou, your current strength truly makes me look at you in a new light!"
Decades ago, during the great battle between Zhou Xun and the Thousand Crabs Demon Emperor, True Monarch Yama witnessed it firsthand,
at that time, Zhou Xun was only on par with him at best.
Yet now, the Thousand Crabs Demon Emperor nearly fell at Zhou Xun’s hands, a testament to his rapid increase in strength.
"Daoist Brother, you overpraise me, what little ability I have is hardly worth mentioning." It must be known, this True Monarch Yama was able to suppress the South Abyss Demon Emperor in battle,
while Zhou Xun himself could barely withstand a single ordinary strike from the South Abyss Demon Emperor.
"Hahaha, when I was at your level of cultivation, I had never achieved such feats!" True Monarch Yama laughed.
After a brief conversation,
everyone made their way to within the defense line.
At this time, True Monarch Profound Thunder was in a miserable state, left with only his Nascent Soul,
of course, as long as he finds a suitable physical body, he can recover to his peak within several years.
As for the other cultivators guarding the defense line, the situation was equally grim, with over a third of the cultivators fallen, and the rest all bearing injuries.
"Fellow Daoists, you have worked hard!" True Monarch Yama glanced over everyone, slowly opening his mouth as he spoke, having already understood all the causes and effects of this battle,
if not for their full efforts in combat, they wouldn’t have held until reinforcements arrived,
otherwise, this line of defense would indeed have been lost.
In the coming period, True Monarch Yama personally manned the southern defense line,
and among the reinforcements, half remained, while the rest, led by another Great Cultivator, True Monarch Qianjue of the Righteous Alliance, returned to the Immortal City.
Zhou Xun was among them.
...
After returning to the Immortal City, Zhou Xun returned to his cave mansion for secluded cultivation.
This battle, although he didn’t manage to take down the Thousand Crabs Demon Emperor, allowed him to witness the intensity of battles at the Great Cultivator level,
and even personally experience it,
at the late-stage Nascent Soul, his attack capabilities had faintly touched upon the Void Power!
"It seems that if I want to establish myself at this level, I must work on the Void Power!"
Previously, Zhou Xun had been in pursuit of absolute might, such as the "Celestial Essence Sword Array" or the "Nine Heavens of Tribulation Thunder,"
all were formidable Great Divine Techniques,
yet he had made little achievement in terms of Void Power.
After all, his Purple Sky True Thunder Array inherently contained such divine techniques,
within the array, Zhou Xun moved ghost-like, appearing anywhere at will, but only to enhance himself,
it hadn’t been reflected in his attacks,
"If only my Nine Heavens of Tribulation Thunder could, like myself, appear anywhere within the array at will,"
"just like the black pillar of light from the South Abyss Demon Emperor, which crossed tens of thousands of zhang in an instant,"
only then could it be considered a true Great Divine Technique!
Unfortunately, the current tense situation leaves him no room for secluded cultivation.
On this day, while Zhou Xun was cultivating in his cave mansion, suddenly a Sound Transmission Talisman flew in from outside, lingering above the restriction.
Seeing this, Zhou Xun flicked his finger, a spirit light hit the Sound Transmission Talisman, immediately followed by a very familiar voice,
"Elder Zhou, Wang Lingfeng is here to visit!"
Wang Lingfeng is the direct disciple of True Monarch Qianchuan, being sent here personally, it seems there’s certainly something important.
So he got up and opened the door of the cultivation room,
as he walked out, he saw the Old Turtle Red Noon standing nearby,
"Lord, Master Huadu is here and waiting in the reception hall!"
Upon seeing Zhou Xun come out, the old turtle bowed and saluted,
Zhou Xun nodded, following him to the reception hall,
where he saw a young man with an handsome appearance, about twenty years old, sitting upright with a pot of Spirit Tea in his hand.
Seeing Zhou Xun, the young man bowed to the ground, performing a grand salute.
"Greetings to the True Monarch!"
"Young Wang, you have come. Is it that True Monarch Qianchuan has some matter that requires you to personally convey?"
Upon hearing Zhou Xun speak, Wang Lingfeng immediately sat properly and answered respectfully:
"Master has some matters, but I am unaware of them. He only told me to invite you to the Sea Suppression Hall!"
"An invitation from Daoist Brother Qianchuan, I cannot refuse!" Zhou Xun nodded, then left the cave mansion with Wang Lingfeng and headed to the Sea Suppression Hall.
At this moment, Sea Suppression Immortal City was filled with an atmosphere of preparation and determination for war!
In the sky, streams of spirit light flashed like meteors rapidly back and forth, transporting all kinds of powerful talismans and magical artifacts via the Spiritual Boat.
Each flash of spirit light seemed to ring the warning bell of the approaching great battle.
Sea Suppression Immortal City seemed tightly wrapped in a heavy shroud of war, the oppressive atmosphere caused one’s heart to involuntarily beat faster.
Everyone was tense and on high alert, as they knew, the great decisive battle between the two races was imminent. Before long, the two arrived at the Sea Suppression Hall, and after checking the token, Zhou Xun walked straight inside.
"Younger Brother Zhou, you’ve arrived!"
Upon seeing Zhou Xun enter, True Monarch Qianchuan showed a smile, though he couldn’t hide the exhaustion within.
As the City Lord of Sea Suppression Immortal City, all logistical scheduling duties fell upon him,
even for a Nascent Soul Cultivator, such a tremendous workload was overwhelming.
"These days, Daoist Brother, you’ve been quite busy!" Zhou Xun asked with concern.
"As the City Lord of Sea Suppression Immortal City, at this crucial moment in the war between two races, it’s nothing to work harder; it’s better than those Daoists who fell on the front lines!"
True Monarch Qianchuan shook his head,
Zhou Xun knew he was referring to that Elder Hong,
during the last great battle at the southern defense line, he was there guarding, as a Tier Four Low-Grade Array Master, he was the key figure in the repairs during that battle.
Therefore, he received special attention from the Demon Race,
after the defense line was breached, he was immediately targeted by that Tier Four High-Grade Banshee, ultimately forced to fall, not even his Nascent Soul managed to escape,
all becoming food in the belly of those Demon Beasts.
True Monarch Qianchuan had a close relationship like that of half a teacher with him,
the man’s fall was a significant blow to him.
Zhou Xun sighed softly, saying, "War is cruel, life and death are unpredictable. Daoist Brother, don’t be too grieved, what we can do now is to protect the Immortal City and avenge those fallen Daoists."
True Monarch Qianchuan nodded slightly, a flash of determination in his eyes: "Younger Brother Zhou, you’re absolutely right. I sought you out for a matter of discussion."
"What is it, Daoist Brother, just instruct me!" Zhou Xun opened his mouth to say,
"Once two other Daoists arrive, we will state it together," just as the words were spoken, two figures walked in through the hall door,
the person on the left wore a white robe with a beautiful jade hanging from his waist, graceful and extraordinary, it was Wei Chang’an,
his master is True Monarch Profound Resonance, one of the three Great Cultivators of the Righteous Alliance,
when exploring the Celestial Essence Secret Realm, Zhou Xun had already met this person, and upon reaching Sea Suppression Immortal City, met him again, he had already reached the Nascent Soul Stage!
The other person, dressed as a scholar, with graying hair, appeared to be about sixty, was True Monarch Yun Shang, whom Zhou Xun saved from the Thousand Crabs Demon Emperor’s hands.
"Greetings to True Monarch Qianchuan... oh, Daoist Zhou, you are here too!" Wei Chang’an slightly bowed and saluted.
As for True Monarch Cloud Mountain, he came directly before Zhou Xun, bowed to the ground, and performed a grand salute.
Seeing this, both Wei Chang’an and True Monarch Qianchuan revealed looks of astonishment, for cultivators at the Nascent Soul level, a bow was already sufficient,
there was no need for such a grand ceremony, usually only in face of an elder of a higher realm would one do so.
"Last time, if not for the rescue of True Monarch Wangchuan, Yun Shang would have been overwhelmed with gratitude, if there’s anything, just instruct me!"
True Monarch Cloud Mountain spoke sincerely.
"As fellow members of the Human Race, we should naturally support each other, Daoist Yun Shang, no need to be so courteous?"
Zhou Xun waved his hand; he happened to save this person just by chance and naturally didn’t mind much.
"To Yun Mou, Daoist Zhou’s intervention is a life-saving grace, how can it be ignored?" Yun Shang insisted.
This naturally piqued the curiosity of Wei Chang’an and True Monarch Qianchuan nearby,
so they opened their mouths to inquire:
"May we know what Daoist Zhou did to make Daoist Yun Shang so appreciative?"
"Previously at the great battle of the southern defense line, I happened to be stationed there, and after the line was breached, I was unexpectedly targeted by the Thousand Crabs Demon Emperor, chased relentlessly,"
"Just when I had no place to turn to, it was Daoist Zhou who saved me, and later even defeated it, leaving only the Demon Soul to escape!"
Chapter 715: 60: So What If He’s the South Abyss Demon Emperor! (Part 2)
8 min read