Chapter 1063: Chapter 573: Facing the Half-step Demon Venerable Realm, a Swift Battle!
He lightly swept his horsetail whisk, and a Green Jade Talisman drifted toward Jiang Shu.
Starlight flowed over the talisman’s surface, condensing into the two characters "Heavenly Escape," with faint Void Dao Patterns flickering on and off upon it.
"I don’t have the same abilities as Cangming Daoist Venerable, but when it comes to comprehending space, ordinary Demon Venerables are no match for me. This Heavenly Escape Talisman can let you dodge the lethal strikes of Demon Venerables multiple times. Even if they enact a Space Seal, you can still break free—but the power within only suffices for three uses."
Jiang Shu bowed and received it. The instant the talisman touched his hand, it turned into a stream of light and sank into his palm, condensing into a pattern of green scales on the inner side of his right arm.
He could clearly sense the vast Void Power contained within, as if he were holding a miniaturized fragment of the Cosmic expanse.
"However, this matter is too grave. Naturally, it cannot be only our True Martial Sect providing you with support. The other Major Sects as well..."
The Supreme Sect Leader drew a line with two joined fingers, his lips moving as one message after another was sent out.
Not long after, space rippled, and streaks of radiance flew out from within.
The first to emerge was a pitch-black Sword Pill.
"This is the Heaven-Suppressing Sword Seed given to you by the Supreme Sect Leader of the Hidden Sword Sect. It can suppress a region of heaven and earth. Wear it on you; should a Demon Venerable make a move, the Sword Seed will erupt on its own and block one fatal strike for you. But remember well..."
"This item kills without discrimination. When you trigger it, you must be decisive."
At the instant the Sword Pill landed in his palm, Jiang Shu lifted his hand slightly. He could feel the Sword Qi sealed within, fierce enough to sever sun and moon, yet bound layer upon layer by some Mysterious restriction, like a slumbering Fierce Beast.
Next, an Elixir flew out from the Void.
It glowed like glassy jade, surging with exuberant vitality within.
Vaguely, he even seemed to see a life being born inside the Elixir, only that countless patterns outside the pill locked this life firmly in place.
"The Nine Revolutions Rebirth Pill. Dan Fu Sect is being quite generous this time. The methods of Demon Venerables are beyond your imagination. Once they truly strike, they can grind all of your Essence Blood to nothing—that is true annihilation. But with the Nine Revolutions Rebirth Pill, even from a single hair, you can be reborn."
He flicked his finger lightly, and the Elixir transformed into a stream of light that sank into Jiang Shu’s Dantian.
"However, though Nine Revolutions can regenerate you, that body will ultimately no longer be your original one. Your strength may even decline thereafter. Be exceedingly careful."
Beams of light flew out from the Void one after another.
All were life-preserving means bestowed by the Supreme Sect Leaders of the other sects.
The Douxing Sect granted the Star Track Compass, allowing one to observe the All Heaven Stars and evade calamities; the Heavenly Puppet Sect gifted a Substitute Puppet, capable of splitting off an avatar identical to the original body in desperate straits; the Creation Sect offered Mystic Yellow Mother Qi, which could instantly repair the fleshly body...
When the eight rays of treasure light had all sunk into his body, faint Chaos hues appeared in the Dao Rhyme around Jiang Shu, as if he had become a Little World unto himself.
"You have one month."
Purple Extreme Daoist Venerable suddenly spoke, Purple Sky Thunder Patterns in his sleeve condensing into an Hourglass Illusion.
"If the Earth Vein Array Eye has not been broken by then, we will forcibly attack the Demon Domain. At that time, you must return."
Jiang Shu laughed freely, bowed, and withdrew from the Great Hall. As he turned, gray Dao Patterns spread from beneath his feet, and his entire body transformed into a dark-gold stream of light, shooting toward the ruins of Panhai City.
"We can’t keep him."
"Yet if we had always kept him by our side, perhaps Jiang Shu might not have attained what he has today."
The Supreme Sect Leader of the True Martial Sect sighed, then looked at Purple Extreme Daoist Venerable, whose expression was somewhat unsightly, and said,
"Enough, don’t worry so much. With all the things we’ve given him, let alone encountering a Demon Venerable Early Stage, even if it’s someone with one foot stepped into Demon Venerable Late Stage, that brat can still escape."
"Rather than fretting here, it’s better we plan early how we’re going to attack."
"Once a Demon Venerable strikes at Jiang Shu, it means the balance of the war has been broken. When that happens, we Daoist Venerables will all have to enter the field."
...
Three thousand zhang beneath Panhai City, an underground river surged, laden with the stench of blood.
The Black Dragon that Jiang Shu had transformed into wound its way forward in stealth, the aura flowing between its Scale Armor nothing but the supreme might of the Dragon Clan.
On the rock wall ahead, tens of thousands of half-demon corpses had iron Chains driven through their clavicles, hanging there to form a grotesque Ten Thousand Spirits totem.
"Move faster!"
A supervisor’s bellow came from above.
Jiang Shu rolled his Dragon Eyes upward and, through a crack in the rock, saw a suffocating scene.
Hundreds of Rabbit Demon maidens were being herded to the edge of a blood pool. Their pointed ears trembled as they clutched swaddled infants tightly in their arms.
Rhino Demons in Heavy Armor cracked their whips with savage grins. Amid the wails of babes, three bundles of swaddling were hurled into the boiling blood pool.
"To be sacrificed for the Ten Thousand Spirits Array is your honor!"
A demon general kicked over a Rabbit Demon mother who tried to snatch back her child, drool dripping from between his fangs.
"Next!"
Jiang Shu’s brows furrowed. He recognized the patterns of that blood pool.
It was precisely the feeding pool of the Earth Vein Array Eye.
The liquid surging in the pool wasn’t ordinary blood, but soul blood fused with the Demon Race’s lifebound essence.
These weak demons are really just kindling to keep the Formation running!
The rock crevice suddenly trembled, two auras of Transformed Demons rapidly closing in.
Jiang Shu decisively spat out dragon breath, gray mist shrouded with Dao Rhyme completely concealing his figure.
Two Flood Dragon Guards appeared, dragging an iron cage, inside which a Fox Clan youth was curled up, shivering.
"Got a few more disobedient wastes. They’ve got some skill, to actually slip past my first round of probing."
The Flood Dragon Guard on the left kicked the cage; the youth’s forehead smashed open and bled, yet he didn’t dare make a sound,
"What a pity. The pelt on this little thing should’ve been worth thirty Blood Crystals."
"Cut the crap, we’re still short seven hundred living beings for the noon blood sacrifice."
The Flood Dragon Guard on the right suddenly grinned viciously, his claws piercing through the cage to grab at the youth’s Heavenly Spirit.
"Why don’t we draw this half-demon’s soul first—"
Before he could finish, Jiang Shu’s dragon tail snapped out like a whip.
Overwhelming Power erupted the instant it touched their demon bodies; the two Transformed Demons turned to ash before they could even scream.
The Fox Demon youth in the cage stared blankly up, only seeing a streak of dark-gold flowing light slip into the rock; the cage that had imprisoned his freedom had already opened at some unknown point.
Following the Earth Vein lines, Jiang Shu stealthily traveled a thousand miles; his Dragon Eyes suddenly shrank.
Suspended upside down from the top of the cavern ahead hung a Metal Coffin, its entwined Chains plunging deep into the rock, drawing the surging Earth Vein and endless blood energy toward some unknown distant point.
Three Demon Race Priests knelt in meditation beneath the coffin, the leader of whom had practically reached the Demon Lord Late Stage Realm.
Life Essence Blood was leaking from all seven of their orifices, tracing out complex sacrificial array patterns on the ground.
"This is an Array Hub of the Ascending Realm Array."
Jiang Shu felt the tremors of the Star Track Compass; between his Dragon Claws, the Evil Slaying Sword Seed was primed to strike.
These priests came from various races, the weakest still a Late Stage Demon Monarch, and that coffin was emitting a fluctuation that made his heart palpitate.
That was the aura of the Half-step Demon Venerable Realm!
Just as he was about to burst forth and strike, sudden change erupted.
The priest in the northeast corner suddenly screamed, his flesh melting like candle wax.
The other priests didn’t so much as glance over, instead speeding up their activation of the Formation.
Only then did Jiang Shu notice the blood-red vines connecting to the feet of every priest.
They’d long since been backlashed by the Formation, reduced to mindless living sacrifices!
"Now!"
The Chaos Thunder Pool leapt from his dragon head, the Three Holy Embryos sealing hand signs in unison.
Desolate and Taichu Dao Pattern spread like a plague, in an instant corroding the three Chains coiled around the coffin.
The imprisoned Earth Vein Spiritual Energy erupted with a roar, and the entire cavern began to collapse.
"Who dares trespass against the Holy Array?!"
The coffin exploded with a bang, and a withered Demon Race elder burst out.
Rotten Dao Rhyme coiled around him, making this pocket of space almost freeze; with a lift of his claw, countless Ghost Cry Vines pierced the Void.
An ordinary Daoist Monarch of Vientiane Realm would have absolutely no power to fight back under such an assault.
Jiang Shu neither dodged nor retreated, letting the vines pierce straight through his dragon body.
Only, under the elder’s stunned gaze, the "Jiang Shu" that was impaled suddenly exploded into fragments—just a Substitute Puppet.
His true body had long since used the Heavenly Escape Talisman to tear space, appearing above the coffin.
"Break!"
The Heaven-Suppressing Sword Seed exploded in response, pitch-black Sword Qi surging like an inverted Milky Way.
The moment Jiang Shu struck, he had no intention of holding back any trump cards.
Once he stepped into the Demon Domain, what he wanted was always a swift, decisive battle!
The Half-step Mixed Cave Dragon Clan elder took the hit head-on; his Protective Dao Rhyme was shredded like paper under the Sword Qi.
The Slaughter Sword Qi sealed by the Hidden Sword Sect Master was this terrifying!
When the last coffin was crushed to powder by the Taichu Dao Pattern, the entire Earth Vein let out a dying wail!
