As soon as the Sages aboard the ship sensed the battle raging across the Blue Ice Sea, the demonic beast army that had been shadowing them swept in from the flank and blocked their path. 

"WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING HERE?!"

The waters around were filled with thousands of beasts, all of them glaring viciously at the cultivators on the ship. At the very front, five demon cultivators in human form watched the ship with hostile expressions.

In response to the furious shout, a gaunt man stepped forward. His head was shaved like a monk's, and his deeply wrinkled face bore an expression of compassion, yet the prayer beads hanging from one hand had been carved from human skulls. He pressed his palms together. "You may watch from there, but no closer. The battle ahead concerns my race, so I ask that you stay out of it. Otherwise… Amitabha[1], I'd rather not kill you guys unless I have to."

As he spoke, an imposing aura rose from his thin frame and pressed down upon the ship.

A late-stage Demon Emperor! 

The...