Volume 2, Chapter 104 – Descent (2)

Of course he understood that too. He also had information about the Blood Sea and knew that if Yao Qingyuan succeeded in drawing it down, it wouldn’t just be Qiyun Dao. The entire lands of Ze and Qi, all two provinces and eight circuits, would be drowned in blood-mist, and not a single living being would survive.

But humans were creatures who lived by hope. For himself, he could be merciless, leave no path of retreat. But when it came to his daughter, he couldn’t help clinging to a fantasy of survival.

What if?

What if Yao Qingyuan chose to leave some common folk alive?

Even the tiniest shred of that possibility was enough that he couldn’t bear to have Fang Wenya stay. If she escaped, there was at least some slim chance.

If she stayed in the State Chancery, she was doomed.

As for the reason? Naturally, it was that the Prince of Nanling’s Manor’s assault was simply too fierce. The Zhengwo Dao and Demon-Immortal Dao had actually united to strike together. There were nearly a hundred Three-Tribulation demons and an absurd two hundred Condensing the Aspect cultivators, as if they’d been mass-produced!

On top of that, the banner masters of both demonic sects all possessed Core realm cultivation, with large numbers of biochemical warriors beneath them—those lizard-like, super-strong, fearless, tireless soldiers. The disparity between the forces on each side was enormous. They were being suppressed at every level!

How were they supposed to fight that?

Though Fang Xiaochun was a civil official, he was not the kind who knew nothing of military affairs and only mouthed off on paper. Before being appointed State Governor of Qizhou, he had commanded a few campaigns against Demon Kingdoms in the Eastern Frontier. Naturally, he could see that the key to this battle still lay in the sky—still rested on those Dao Masters.

The Divine Fetus realm—the peak, in most cultivators’ eyes.

Once someone broke through to the Divine Fetus realm, at the very least they would be famed throughout the land; at most they would stand equal to the rivers and mountains.

That was the treatment a Divine Fetus realm cultivator deserved. Their power could trigger phenomena in heaven and earth; in battles against peers, they could even move mountains and fill seas, altering terrain and landscape.

So they stood equal to the rivers and mountains—not only in the sense that they could reshape them, but also in the sense that a single Divine Fetus cultivator was, in and of themselves, equivalent to a mountain-and-river–grade dojo.

The three of them had indeed drawn Yao Qingyuan into the sky and were keeping him from approaching… but from the earlier exchanges, the three of them together did not hold the advantage…

Fang Xiaochun clenched his fist inside his sleeve.

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He was nowhere near as calm as he appeared. In truth, he was deeply unwilling.

He didn’t understand what the one in Yujing was thinking.

If this had all been a fishing operation from the very beginning, then now that the fish was on the hook, why were the armies of the three provinces still sitting on their hands at the borders? Why was there no sign of reinforcements?

Was it fear of the Blood Sea?

But the Blood Sea information hadn’t yet spread. They shouldn’t have such concerns. On what grounds, then, did they hold back their troops?

He was not afraid of death, not afraid of sacrifice.

He was only humiliated… by being abandoned and deceived.

Bzz bzz—

His phone vibrated. Fang Xiaochun raised a hand to stop his daughter from speaking and picked it up.

Fang Wenya stared at his expression the whole time. She saw clearly how her father’s face first flashed with a moment of astonishment, and then, all at once, turned haggard and worn.

It was different.

She muttered silently to herself.

Her rigid, meticulous father had always been stingy with his true feelings in front of her.

But this time was different.

As far as she could remember, this was the first time he’d completely lost his control over his expressions.

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“I see. Understood.” Fang Xiaochun finally put down the phone.

Facing all those inquiring gazes, he gave them a simple summary. “The provincial army has been defeated. Lord Tao has been killed. You should all leave the manor soon.”

At those words, everyone’s hopes shattered. Many womenfolk and elderly began to sob softly, and Fang Wenya, eyes brimming, flung herself into her father’s arm.

There would be no miracle.

Fang Xiaochun shook his head.

For things to have dragged on this long—if the three Dao Masters had been able to subdue Yao Qingyuan, they would never have allowed the provincial army to be routed.

Sigh.

Peach Shuohua… he didn’t know if she was still alive.

On the other side, near the city outskirts.

Dark clouds blanketed the sky. In the thunder and torrential rain, violet thunder-dragons occasionally coiled and soared. The curtain of rain drenched the clothes of the three Divine Fetus realm cultivators, making their forms faintly visible as they surrounded and attacked a black-robed man.

“It’s all pointless.”

Yao Qingyuan raised his sword to block Abbess Li Sheng. “You lots who haven’t even grasped the secrets of the Innate are fit only to be complimented on your courage.”

This was clearly his main body, yet he looked nothing like an eighty-four-year-old elder. On the contrary, his brow was full, his face handsome, his body at its peak. At most, he looked twenty-something.

How had he broken through this realm?

The same question had appeared in each of the three Dao Masters’ minds.

Yao Qingyuan was too strong. He’d once not even been a cultivator. Such a leap was unheard of.

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“Useless!”

Sweeping his sword again to knock aside their joint attack, Yao Qingyuan looked down at the land and saw red light finally blooming on the outskirts. In the distance it looked as if the ground had caved in… blood slurry welling up, like the mouth of a pit opening into the Blood Sea abyss. He finally threw back his head and laughed.

“Blood Sea!”

“The Blood Sea is finally descending!”

“Pure blood will scour the mortal world equally! We will all be reborn in blood! We will all be remade!”

“You’re insane!”

Xiang Xian glared at him, teeth clenched.

It was for these things that he’d hunted those geniuses again and again?

A demon, a madman of the demonic path!

I’ll kill you and avenge Chan’er!

With a shout of rage, she pulled out of the combined assault and dove, her powerful strike of “Splitting-Light Multiple-Images” being neatly broken by Yao Qingyuan and countered with one upward thrust into her left shoulder.

Pfft!

Xiang Xian let out a muffled groan and retreated at speed, narrowly avoiding being split open and disemboweled by his follow-up.

“He’s still holding back?”

Watching this, Li Sheng’s face grew grim.

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“It’s time to finish this.” Yao Qingyuan stared at them coldly and enunciated each word. “From this moment on, there will be no more Ze and Qi provinces in Great Yu.”

Boom!!!

As if in answer to his proclamation, a sheet of scarlet blood light erupted behind him.

The blood light spewed up from the “spring”, piercing the dark clouds like a blood pillar linking heaven and earth, staining the black sky into a blood sky in one breath. The entire world changed color in an instant. Sheets of crimson blood clouds spread out, like some apocalyptic Blood Sea.

“Hahahaha!!!”

Yao Qingyuan laughed wildly.

He couldn’t help looking at the three across from him, eager to savor the despair on their faces.

But what he didn’t expect was that Xiang Xian, Li Sheng, and Wang Ran… were staring blankly behind him, as if there were something unbelievable there.

The Blood Sea was indeed unbelievable… but that wasn’t the expression they should have been wearing.

Some instinct told Yao Qingyuan something was wrong. He turned his head to follow their gaze and glanced at the scene behind him.

Just one glance.

His heart stopped.

Because he too saw… that from the “spring” pit, a figure had slowly risen into view.

Slender and graceful.

And… somewhat familiar.