Chapter 419: Chapter 176: Founding the Demon Hunting Department, Demon Slayer, Great Demon Hunter Master Li Treading Immortal!!
The three of them halted.
Because within the clash at that level, they detected the ’magic’ belonging to a higher rank.
A fear of ’death’ pulled at them in waves.
After a silent moment, none of the three took the risk to force their way through.
Instead, they stood quietly, watching as the Mountain and River Hall, along with half of Nirvana Mountain, got invaded into the ’Grotto Heaven.’
"Zuo Shanhe... can actually hold his own against the ’being’ in that Grotto Heaven?"
"Marquis Hu Wei of Great Yin, that sister of yours, he personally killed her. Can you seek revenge on him?"
In the West Sea, the Jing River Dragon Court Dragon King narrowed his eyes.
"The beings within the Grotto Heaven are those who avoided that great catastrophe, not the peak powerhouses of the ’Magic Era.’ The peak powerhouses of yesteryears were all purged."
"Moreover, since cultivation has just begun to recover, their true strength scarcely remains, barely achieving ’Zhenren Level’ strength is already their limit."
"Inside the Grotto Heaven, countless relics of past ’Magic Gate’ legacies are treasured. To conquer any of them, or collaborate with them, would be immensely beneficial."
"Earlier, half of Nirvana Mountain was dragged into the Grotto Heaven, and Zuo Shanhe’s body almost fused with that strand of Divine Thought, intending to forcibly refine that ’Dharma Seeker.’ Such audacity!"
"No matter who between him and the Dharma Seeker ultimately triumphs, they are beyond my comparison."
One of the Six Pillars of Divine Blood of Great Yin, now dominant in the lands of Tongye State’s two prefectures, Marquis Hu Wei shook his head, clear-headed and refraining from indulging in any verbal spar.
After speaking, he instead glanced at the Old Dragon King of Jing River Dragon Court, his voice calm:
"But you, Jing River Dragon King."
"Is Baoping State and still the ancestral land in the Northwest Wilderness not enough to satiate the hunger of you three clans?"
The Jing River Dragon King stroked his dragon whiskers and laughed heartily:
"Now, everywhere in the world, ’Grotto Heavens’ are awakening, and Nirvana Mountain has revealed a Magic Gate. Wouldn’t other places also have one?"
"Our Dragon Court has been a formidable force for over a thousand years, our bloodline’s source is the True Dragon!"
"Though I call myself ’Jing River Dragon King,’ compared to an actual Dragon King or Dragon Monarch, I’m but a small loach."
"But within my Weishui Dragon Palace, there’s also a Grotto Heaven, hiding those old ancestor-level figures of ’Jing River Dragon Court!’"
"The Grotto Heaven has been barren for hundreds of years. The ancient masters of magic inside haven’t returned for centuries, almost like falling."
"Thus, we must be nourished by the reviving Spirit Tide of cultivation to gradually recover, the ancestor mandated our strain to dominate the Northwest. How can mere Baoping State suffice?"
"Now, I have set up the Cloud Formation and Rainfall magic at ’Longxiang Prefecture,’ demanding their submission. Otherwise, flooding the prefecture’s six cities, linking Tongye’s extreme west and my Weishui as a continuous water nation!"
"Marquis Hu Wei, I know your plans, but Tongye State...is no longer yours."
"You can go back and wrestle that old thing of your lineage for Great Yin’s ’Ming Huang State Divine Capital!’"
"When King Yin rose, promised to divide the world in two, all of it was nonsense. Thankfully, that old immortal finally rolled into his grave, or I would definitely...settle accounts with him."
Marquis Hu Wei chuckled and murmured:
"Old Dragon King..."
"You reached True Master and don’t know the battle in the ’Primordial Pill Era’ against the Great Profound Martial Saint. Who in the Great Yin Alliance Army united the demon, Divine Blood, and human forces, and when defeat loomed, led three thousand fiercemen to salvage the situation, charge straight into the ’Divine Capital,’ earning the marquis title?"
"The world’s Grotto Heavens aren’t limited to just Jing River Dragon Court. Do you think becoming a True Master and having a backer lets you overlook the entire world?"
"Once I completely pacify the ’Tongye Duke’s Mansion,’ then..."
"You and I shall see true strength, beneath our hands!"
"However, at that level, perhaps what I want...is not just Tongye State anymore."
"Your Weishui, even the entire Baoping..."
"I also want!"
Marquis Hu Wei clenched his fist, his tone stayed calm, causing the Old Dragon King’s dragon eyes to flash with concern, but he refrained from mocking. He instead shifted his gaze to the last person.
Meanwhile, the Marquis Hu Wei, clad in Divine Armor, also looked towards his fellow colleague, known as ’Nine Thousand Years,’ who devoted his life to the Chess Dao, Xu Ruotong, and said:
"Elder Xu, I have always respected you, but... haven’t you remained behind the scenes ever since King Yin invited you out of retirement to trap three thousand demons at ’Luoma Slope,’ helping ensure his dominance over the Northwest, making demons and Half-Demons bow, except for that one time?"
"You claim to have spent your life studying chess, observing heaven and earth through Chess Dao, to discover true ’magic’..."
"Why, with cultivation only recovering for three months, did you suddenly break the True Master Barrier, travel thousands of miles from the Divine Capital to Tongye State, and become an Honored Guest Elder at Tongye Duke’s Mansion?"
"Could it be, you, the least power-hungry among the top subjects of Great Yin, after breaking through the Zhenren Pass, cannot suppress the urge to support a faction and carve out your own territory?"
Xu Ruotong faced these two eastern and western tyrants—one invading Tongye State from the Baoping State-Weishui junction, the other bringing the army from Celestial Prison Pass pressure to bear, causing the Tongye Duke’s Mansion to retreat step by step—with indifference.
He merely unfurled his Divine Soul, thoughtfully inspecting every corner of Nirvana Mountain.
After confirming he hadn’t found the person he was looking for, he began to expand his search to the mountain’s base, tracing the course along the methods Zuo Shanhe had just unleashed.
