Outside the mountain range,
Luo Ze carefully watched Demon Suppression Mountain ahead.
Judging by the time,
Ye Yu, Yun Roumu, and the others had been inside for nearly half an hour.
By now,
they should have reached the heart of Demon Suppression Mountain and confronted Lin Fengyuan.
Why was there still no movement?
Had something gone wrong?
Luo Ze felt deeply anxious.
In contrast,
the other four sacred land leaders remained calm.
In their eyes,
even if they were the Saint Sons and Saint Daughters, so what?
They were merely disciples, not their own children.
From the moment they entered Demon Suppression Mountain,
their fate was left to the heavens.
Whether they survived
depended on their own abilities.
However, if they managed to retrieve Lin Fengyuan’s artifact,
that would be a different story.
In that case, they’d step in to protect them no matter what,
even if it meant clashing with Qingyun Sect.
After all, who wouldn’t desire Lin Fengyuan’s artifact?
Just then,
Demon Suppression Mountain began to tremble violently.
In mere moments,
the entire mountaintop split open,
and a red light shot straight into the sky.
Immediately after,
a resonant sword cry echoed across a thousand miles.
A fierce sword aura reverberated,
carving massive sword marks around the base of Demon Suppression Mountain.
Centered on the peak,
a terrifying pressure spread out in all directions.
Luo Ze, Tang Shaojin, and the others instantly became gravely serious.
This sight
said it all.
The demon-slaying mission had failed, and Lin Fengyuan had broken the seal, returning to the mortal realm.
This overwhelming pressure was proof enough.
At that moment,
the seal over Demon Suppression Mountain had shattered completely,
leaving no restrictions in place.
Luo Ze was extremely worried about Yun Roumu and Ye Yu’s safety,
but he didn’t forget to give orders.
“Activate the Eight Desolation Demon Imprisonment Formation! Fellow sect leaders, join me in slaying the demon!”
With that,
he took the lead, heading toward Demon Suppression Mountain.
The sect leaders of Tianshu Mountain, Tang Shaojin, and Feiyun Pavilion, Cheng Yalu, exchanged a glance
and then followed closely behind.
Their entire focus was on Demon Suppression Mountain, and they didn’t notice
the nearly one hundred pairs of eyes watching them coldly from a distant mountain ridge.
If Luo Ze had been aware,
he would have been utterly shocked.
Among those watching were the sect leaders and elders of several demonic sects.
In fact, over half of the top demonic cultivators of the Central Continent were gathered here.
An imposing assembly indeed.
At the front stood an old man with a hunched back, a gaunt face,
and narrow, triangular eyes.
In the darkness,
he looked like a specter.
This man was Tao Shanren, the leader of Zhuoxin Temple.
Despite his name, which sounded benign,
he was ruthless,
cultivating by absorbing the blood of other practitioners.
He was one of the ten most feared demons in the Central Continent
and Qingyun Sect’s greatest nemesis over the past millennium.
The sect leader of Nether River Tower, He Jiadi, approached him slowly.
He asked quietly, “Sect Leader Tao, Lin Fengyuan has broken the seal. When shall we act?”
Tao Shanren sneered, “What’s the rush?
Let them fight it out first.
Ideally,
all five of these sacred land leaders will die at Lin Fengyuan’s hands.
Then all our efforts would be worthwhile!”
A bloodthirsty smile spread across He Jiadi’s face.
He was right.
Luo Ze, Tang Shaojin, and the others were powerful sect leaders,
with vast cultivation and unparalleled strength.
Facing them head-on would be a losing battle.
It was better to let Lin Fengyuan confront them.
They had spent all these years planning, waiting for this very day.
In fact,
long ago,
Tao Shanren and He Jiadi had considered releasing Lin Fengyuan to restore the demonic path’s glory.
But due to the seals around Demon Suppression Mountain,
they couldn’t get close enough to communicate with Lin Fengyuan.
It had been a frustrating dilemma.
However, a century ago,
Tao Shanren and He Jiadi finally found their opportunity.
At that time, Lin Fengyuan had already partially awakened within the seal,
his powerful sword aura creating a small tear in the mountain’s restriction.
Tao Shanren seized the chance, concealing himself
and contacting Lin Fengyuan through a small breach in the seal without alerting the Qingyun Sect elders guarding the mountain.
Tao Shanren expressed his admiration for Lin Fengyuan, a legendary figure in the demonic path,
and his displeasure at seeing such a great master sealed away.
He offered to use illusion techniques to conceal Lin Fengyuan’s awakening,
allowing him to focus solely on breaking the seal.
If Lin Fengyuan needed any assistance, they would provide it without hesitation.
After thirty thousand years of confinement, Lin Fengyuan loathed this place.
With someone willing to help him,
he naturally agreed at once,
stating that with a hundred years undisturbed,
he could shatter the seal.
With their agreement in place,
Tao Shanren settled near Demon Suppression Mountain, casting illusions daily to deceive the Qingyun Sect guards.
His diligence finally paid off.
Lin Fengyuan informed him that the seal was about to break.
Then Tao Shanren set his plan into motion.
He leaked just enough evidence for the sacred lands to discover,
making their leaders believe Lin Fengyuan would soon return.
This way, they would all gather here.
Tao Shanren’s intention was clear: when Lin Fengyuan emerged, he would fight the leaders of the five sacred lands.
Meanwhile, the demonic sects could reap the rewards from the sidelines.
Even if Lin Fengyuan couldn’t kill Luo Ze and the others as rumored,
if they were severely injured, that would be enough.
Then Tao Shanren could seize the moment to finish them off.
To that end, he had assembled many powerful demons here.
Watching everything unfold as planned,
Tao Shanren’s face twisted into a bloodthirsty grin.
Fight!
He hoped they’d fight to the bitter end.
Inside Demon Suppression Mountain,
the ice coffin shattered into fragments.
The masked Lin Fengyuan stepped out,
looking at Liu Ge, Lu Anqing, and the others standing nearby.
With a wave of his sleeve,
countless sword energies surged forth,
tearing them apart in an instant.
Witnessing this,
Ye Yu’s eyelid twitched.
The man’s mastery of swordsmanship and the intensity of his sword aura were astounding.
And from the spiritual energy he sensed,
Lin Fengyuan was undoubtedly a high-level cultivator in the mid-Ascension Realm or above.
A truly formidable opponent!
Ye Yu gripped the Heavenly Thunder Annihilation Talisman hidden in his sleeve, hesitating for a long time,
but ultimately decided against using it.
Luo Ze had warned him before.
While the Heavenly Thunder Annihilation Talisman was indeed powerful,
its immense energy required chanting an incantation to activate it.
At this close range,
Lin Fengyuan would never allow him the chance.
Unless someone fearless could buy him two seconds.
Just two seconds would be enough.
Ye Yu turned to Zhou Qifan, the Saint Son of Tianshu Mountain, standing beside him.
The latter met his gaze with a smile.
Still smiling at a time like this?
Was he insane?
This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.
Or perhaps he was ready to face death.
Was this his final farewell?
Tsk, the Saint Son of Tianshu Mountain truly had courage.
Just as Ye Yu was contemplating this,
Zhou Qifan suddenly took a step forward,
dropping to one knee before Lin Fengyuan.
“With inside support from Zhuoxin Temple, under orders from Sect Leader Tao Shanren, I am here to welcome Senior Lin back!”
Upon hearing this,
Ye Yu felt his world shatter.