Chapter 414: Chapter 413: Sudden Change, Arrival
Time flowed by quietly, minute by minute, and soon the night passed and the day arrived.
The army to combat the Beast Tide arrived at midnight yesterday.
After most of the night setting up, a horizontal defense line that essentially blocked the route from the Northern Territory to the heartland of Da Xia had taken shape, with parts of it still being further fortified.
Li Jing followed behind Shi Miaoying, standing at the middle of the entire defense line.
As for other places, he didn’t know about them.
What he could see was merely the nearby defensive arrangements.
Da Xia was, after all, expansive.
This horizontal blockade, the ultra-long line of defense, covered more than millions of kilometres, didn’t it?
After instructing the elite soldiers to disperse for layouts last night, Shi Miaoying didn’t make any more moves and sat cross-legged in a rather conspicuous position.
Li Jing naturally paid a lot of attention to Shi Miaoying.
This woman was not cultivating but was accumulating energy.
While ignoring what she was gathering energy for, Li Jing patiently awaited.
The time of the early morning passed in the blink of an eye, and noon was approaching.
The relatively relaxed atmosphere on the surrounding line of defense became heavy as noon approached. The people of Da Xia, one by one, focused their minds, never daring to neglect the situation, and the representatives of the Present World Forces were no exception.
According to the past practice of facing the Beast Tide, noon was when the Beast Tide would land on the Northern coast.
For the people of Da Xia.
The essence of the Beast Tide was critical for them to obtain vital resources for cultivation, but the dangers involved were considerable.
Ghostly Evil Beasts by nature were savagely aggressive, indiscriminately attacking all living beings.
Wherever the Beast Tide swept, the terrain was left barren.
Even a little bit of negligence or carelessness might cost one’s life.
Lives were their own, no one would risk them lightly.
Unlike others on the line of defense.
Li Jing, disguised by Silent Shadow and Smoke Eye, was very calm, even a bit bored.
On one hand, he knew that the Beast Tide could not appear again; on the other hand, Shi Miaoying had been waiting for so long without taking any action, which made him feel a bit uncomfortable.
Waiting, was always the most torturous.
But he believed, there would soon be changes in the situation.
The place facing the line of defense for the Beast Tide had scouts on alert.
Without the Beast Tide, no Ghostly Evil Beasts would come ashore along the Northern coast.
The time for the normal landing of the Beast Tide had arrived, the scouts must have noticed something wrong. It wouldn’t take long for someone to bring the news.
Speaking of which, Shi Miaoying seemed to have used this point to her advantage.
She appeared at Xia Zhengyang’s birthday banquet and pointed out that something unexpected might happen with this Beast Tide.
When the news arrives at the defense line, whether it’s Da Xia’s soldiers, the local Sects, or the various Forces from the Big World, people would surely come to find her for answers and view her as the leading figure.
Sure enough.
Without waiting long, there are a dozen sword lights from afar coming over, one after another, landing near where Shi Miaoying is sitting cross-legged.
As the lights subsided, more than ten Sect disciples dressed in strong outfits appeared.
Seeing these Sect disciples, Li Jing’s eyebrows raised slightly.
These people, they should belong to the top Sect forces in Da Xia.
They were not only the first to receive the news.
Among these people with health bars on their heads, none of them were below 9000 and their cultivation level was at least a convergence of the Seventh Realm, even including two who had reached the Eighth Realm and ascended to immortality.
Over there.
More than ten people arrived, seeing Shi Miaoying in closed-eye meditation, they looked at each other. One of the Immortal Realm figures made a fist salute and started to speak, his tone carrying a bit of respect.
"Master Shi, a message from the front line came that the Beast Tide, which should have started landing at noon, did not land on the Northern coast as usual. The master mentioned at the birthday banquet beforehand that this Beast Tide might be different and there may be an accident. Did the master anticipate this situation?"
In response to this, Shi Miaoying didn’t open her eyes, just, said blandly.
"The secret of heaven must not be revealed."
Her evasive answer immediately caused the brows of the more than ten people present to furrow.
These Sect forces didn’t even regard Da Xia itself in their eyes, how could they regard Shi Miaoying, the national teacher who was only at the Merging Realm to the outsiders, in their eyes?
At the moment, the little respect they showed was entirely because they didn’t know what to do since the Beast Tide didn’t appear.
No one dared to lose their temper in the face of Shi Miaoying with so many people there.
Whether it is for Da Xia or the local Sect forces, the Beast Tide was of utmost importance.
After all, the breakthrough of their Sky Demon Great Method depended highly on Netherstone.
If this Beast Tide harvest was missing, their cultivation in the next hundred years would completely stagnate.
The impact here was too significant, neither Da Xia nor the local Sect forces could bear it.
Helplessly.
The crowd could only stand by and wait.
As people often say, when a disease is severe enough, one would rush to any doctor for help.
Previously, when Shi Miaoying said that there might be changes in the Beast Tide, including Xia Zhengyang himself, hardly anyone in Da Xia believed it.
Xia Zhengyang agreed to dispatch troops to her, just purely to go along with her.
Now that there really was an anomaly in the Beast Tide, they found it hard not to believe it.
Shi Miaoying might know something and seemed to have a solution, of course, they could not object to her authority and had to wait for her to speak.
After the first group of more than ten people arrived, several more groups of powerful people came to inquire.
Among them were those belonging to Da Xia and Sect forces, and some representatives sent by the Present World Forces who considered the matter important also came over.
Shi Miaoying didn’t know if she was addicted to it or not, but she dismissed everyone with the same phrase that heaven’s secrets should not be revealed.
This naturally caused dissatisfaction among the people present.
But no one dared to say anything on the spot, except for the representatives of the Present World Forces, who showed some objections.
In the blink of an eye.
More than an hour passed, more and more people came to inquire, and gradually more people gathered waiting for Shi Miaoying to reveal the inside story.
Unknowingly.
Where Shi Miaoying was, thousands of Da Xia strongmen whose cultivation levels were above the Sixth Realm gathered, and even dozens of those who were at the Eighth Realm.
Seeing more and more people coming, and thinking that soon the number of Da Xia strongmen above the Sixth Realm might break ten thousands, Li Jing slightly frowned.
He didn’t know if it was an illusion.
He felt that Shi Miaoying was acting mysterious, not for anything else, but purely for fishing.
To lure as many strongmen of the Da Xia Dynasty and the local Sect forces as possible who could speak to each other, gathering them together.
This woman, what on earth was she up to?
Li Jing had anticipated before that Shi Miaoying’s sudden appearance was to "remedy" the Beast Tide that would not come again.
At present, she had made no move for a long time, and even started to fish. What was she up to?
Li Jing pondered with a frown, then suddenly shook all over.
No matter how Shi Miaoying planned to "remedy", what she was going to do ultimately could only be to provoke a large-scale Beast Tide that could satisfy Da Xia’s needs.
Ghostly Evil Beasts needed to undergo transformation and metamorphosis. Even if Shi Miaoying set up a formation and opened up a Spatial Passage linking to the Outer Realm Sky, it might bring about a large-scale Beast Tide.
Ignoring whether she had the power to open a Spatial Passage directly linking to the Outer Realm Sky, the Outer Realm Sky was where the Sky Demons dwell. Would there be any Ghostly Evil Beasts there?
Ghostly Evil Beasts are just low-quality nutrients generated by the Sky Demons.
So the question arises.
How is Shi Miaoying going to create a large-scale Beast Tide when the upcoming tide has been completely eradicated?
Even a skilled housewife is helpless without rice to cook.
She can’t possibly create a plethora of Ghostly Evil Beasts out of thin air, can she?
However, looking at the nearly ten thousand strongmen of the Da Xia in front of him, Li Jing realized a key point.
Aren’t the people of Da Xia who have cultivated the Sky Demon Great Method the predecessors of the Ghostly Evil Beasts?
They are the rice!
Perhaps Shi Miaoying alone can’t change the Da Xia people directly into Ghostly Evil Beasts, but how hard could it be if she utilises the power of the Sky Demon?
Remember this.
The fate of the Da Xia people who have cultivated the Sky Demon Great Method has been predestined from the start. They shall become the nutrition for the Sky Demon.
Damn it!
This woman is rather ruthless...
Li Jing looked at Shi Miaoying out of the corner of his eye.
If things are as he thinks, what will be transformed won’t be just these tens of thousands of Da Xia Strongmen.
Regardless of the rest.
These tens of thousands aren’t sufficient to account for the large scale Beast Tide that Da Xia needs.
The whole Eastern Continent is occupied by the Xia Dynasty, and while the total population may be scattered, it actually exceeds a full hundred billion.
For sixty percent of a hundred billion people, what can tens of thousands of Netherstones do?
From this, it’s not hard to guess.
The strongmen gathered here are most likely the sacrificial offerings for large-scale transformation, or the basis for it...
So, what will Shi Miaoying do?
Li Jing’s thoughts raced, and then he gave up thinking.
What Shi Miaoying would do, he was unable to imagine in the short term.
What can be confirmed is that after this turmoil, the Da Xia Dynasty and the local Sect forces are bound to be seriously wounded. The entire Eastern Continent will face a reshuffling.
Seeing Shi Miaoying had no intention of taking any further action for the time being, Li Jing moved and quietly left like a thunderbolt in form.
The defensive position of the Longyu exploration team is somewhat distant from the center of the defense line.
The communicator can’t reach it.
He needs to bring the news he foresees over.
Perhaps he can take preemptive action against Shi Miaoying to prevent further problems, but nobody can assure that what’s supposed to happen won’t happen.
In Li Jing’s view.
The Da Xia people who have cultivated the Sky Demon Great Method are no longer simply humans. Their lives are completely in the hands of the Sky Demon.
If one day the Sky Demon doesn’t want to play the "pig raising" game, not a single Da Xia person who has cultivated the Sky Demon Great Method can escape catastrophe. What Shi Miaoying intends to do now is just an opportunity.
Sooner or later, let what needs to happen happen.
Maybe the resurgence of the Beast Tide will bring a lot of Netherstones into Da Xia.
But correspondingly, Shi Miaoying’s actions will drastically reduce the number of Da Xia people who have cultivated the Sky Demon Great Method.
This, for Da Xia, is a good thing.
If Netherstones flow in, it has both advantages and disadvantages for Shi Miaoxue’s plot to change Da Xia.
The disadvantage is that there will be more and more Da Xia people choosing the Sky Demon Great Method, and those who have cultivated the Sky Demon Great Method still have room to grow.
The advantage is that a large number of people who have cultivated the Sky Demon Great Method have been transformed, allowing the orthodox cultivation method to have a bigger survival space.
...
The Defense Formationary speed of Li Jing need not be mentioned.
In a short while, he arrived at a location where the communicator could connect to the location of Longyu’s camp.
Raising his hand to press the headset, Li Jing chose to enter the emergency communication channel.
His communicator belongs to the Jianghai Management Bureau, and each channel is connected to his own management bureau.
Right now, Jiang Yini is busy breaking through in his Little Universe, and he has no one to contact.
There’s no choice.
Except for Jiang Yini, no one in the Jianghai Management Bureau has a say in this trip.
His own Heavenly King Group did not participate in this operation.
At this moment, he can only pin his hopes on the special emergency communication channel.
The emergency communication channel can connect to any personnel belonging to the management bureau when necessary, and will prioritize the connection when there are higher-ups nearby.
Entering the channel, he heard a "beep" and the communication was connected. Li Jing began speaking.
"This is the Action Counselor of the Heavenly King Group of Jianghai Management Bureau, Li Jing. Please reply if you receive."
Before the echoes of his words had faded, an unusual male voice spoke up.
"Eastern District Governor Qi Chen, received. Please speak."
Then, three female voices responded in succession.
"Alien Civilization Commissioner Ji Youyu, received. Please speak."
"Secretary of the Eastern District Governor, Tongyan, received. Please speak."
"Secret Investigator of the General Bureau, Black Butterfly, received. Please speak."
After receiving responses from four known persons one after another, Li Jing was stunned.
Their joint appearance on the front line was unexpected.
With Longyu’s work habits, though they’re all high-ranking and highly cultivated, they were not allowed to personally risk going to the front line and needed to sit in the back.
What surprised Li Jing even more was that aside from the three "Relatives" from the Canglan Holy Land headed by Qi Chen, Black Butterfly had also come to the Heavenly Saint Land in the capacity of a secret investigator of the General Bureau.
This one seems to be doing well in the General Bureau?
Without thinking too much, Li Jing started speaking.
"There will be a major change in the Beast Tide defense line soon, and a lot of people will die. You guys should quickly lead people to evacuate, and notify the Northern Alliance and other allies in contact with Longyu by the way. Don’t worry about the people of Da Xia."
Speaking was naturally easier with his own people.
The trust Qi Chen and the others have in Li Jing goes without saying.
Although that certain person didn’t provide specifics, Ji Youyu responded immediately.
"Received. We will immediately organize evacuation and notification."
However, before Ji Youyu’s voice fell, an untimely male voice spoke up.
"Commissioner Ji, isn’t your decision a bit hasty? Evacuation is a major matter and contradicts our agreement with the Da Xia Dynasty to fight together. It can even be seen as deserting the field."
The male voice spoke again.
"Counselor Li, ever since you entered the Heavenly Saint Land, your whereabouts have been erratic. Although much information has been gained, you have stayed far from the team. You suddenly say there will be a major change and that Longyu’s exploration team should evacuate as a whole, but I’m sorry I can’t agree. First, you didn’t explain the details, secondly, Counselor Li, you don’t have any command authority..."
Before the man completed his statement, Li Jing, rolling his eyes, cut off the communication.
This sudden pain in the neck is expected to be another faction in the delegation that is not on good terms with Ji Youyu and the others.
In this respect, Jiang Yini had mentioned to him previously.
The incompatibility within the delegation that has arrived this time is showing signs of internal strife.
The factions that don’t get along with each other, huh!
Those who understand, understand.
I would insist on heading west even if you’re going east, even if it makes me rush headlong into a disaster.
This isn’t about what’s right or wrong, but about factional opposition.
Attempting to explain would be pointless at this juncture, not to mention he wasn’t inclined to waste his breath.
He had already given the notice, his task was complete, whatever happened next wouldn’t be too difficult for Jiang Yini.
In the grand scheme of the Management Bureau System, Li Jing was merely a small fry...
Apart from his acquaintances who might heed his words, who else would pay attention to a mere action advisor of a small, local Management Bureau team?
He cut off communication, transformed into a startling thunderbolt and headed back.
A short while later.
He reappeared in the vicinity of the defense line’s center.
As he was looking for Shi Miaoying, the sky suddenly darkened, and a terrifyingly formidable will descended onto everything.
The disaster occurred abruptly.
Li Jing’s body stiffened as he came to an abrupt halt.
The next second.
"Boom boom boom!"
Twenty-two consecutive roars echoed, and twenty-two black tornadoes shot up into the sky, linking the heaven and earth.
Damn!
Is it starting now!?
Li Jing furrowed his brows, looking back.
He had only been gone for about three to five minutes, he didn’t know if the thorn had disrupted the retreat after popping out.
Even if the thorn hadn’t caused any disruptions, the retreat presumably couldn’t have been too quick.
The only thing to be grateful for was.
Only the center of the defense line was affected, they still had some time.
Turning away, Li Jing looked up into the sky.
The twenty-two black tornadoes. Twenty-one were at the locations where Shi Miaoying ordered the elite troops to hold, and the rest was where she herself was located.
It was hardly noteworthy.
After all, Li Jing had anticipated what Shi Miaoying would do.
The matter warranting attention now was.
Despite only twenty-two black tornadoes being present in the dim sky, Li Jing had a gut feeling that something extremely evil and ominous had descended.
This gave him a strong sense of impending danger.
A Sky Demon, perhaps?
Li Jing’s face turned serious.
This feeling of peril, he had only ever experienced once before, when facing the demonic chicken at the Agricultural Market after his transmigration.
The situation was changing rapidly.
An obscure-looking thunder appeared in the dark sky, bringing a bit of light to the high heavens and revealing a tall figure covered in darkness in the sky.
Li Jing’s eyes sparkled upon seeing the figure.
From the figure’s appearance, he was able to discern a lot.
The figure wasn’t simply hidden among the clouds, but in some temporary, created layered space.
His understanding brought about by his max-level Reverse Space ability wouldn’t be wrong.
Being in temporary, created layered space indicates the figure in black was apprehensive, and wasn’t truly present in the Heavenly Saint Land, even its descent couldn’t be considered complete.
But that wasn’t the key point.
The key point was, Li Jing utilized the transient appearance of the figure to see his Health Bar.
Thanks to his robust physical strength from defeating the Eighth Realm Great Demon and his habit of noticing health bars, his long-distance vision was outstanding.
(165824).
Health bar 12956, mid-ninth realm.
He could fight.
Having a health bar, there wasn’t much room for discussion.
However, what Li Jing was really focusing on, was the number behind the Health Bar.
Killing could yield one hundred and sixty thousand Essence Source...
Although the figure looked rough, he was way more enticing than Shi Miaoying!
Without any hesitation, Li Jing called forth the rules of space, tearing it apart.
At the same time.
The entire center of the defense line was filled with the agonizing howls of Da Xia people, regardless of their cultivation level.
They were crazily scratching at their scalps and rolling on the ground, startling everyone present and causing them to distance themselves, abandoning defense-related tasks.
The same was happening where Shi Miaoying was.
Li Jing had only left her for a moment, and the number of Da Xia Strongmen around her had increased from nearly ten thousand to almost twenty thousand.
At this moment, every single one of them was rolling on the ground, wailing.
These Da Xia elites who usually carried themselves with a high demeanor were self-mutilating, tearing their scalps to shreds, ruining their own faces, and some even ripped open their own skulls.
Everyone who had cracked their own skull open immediately dropped dead.
One by one, powerful Ghostly Evil Beasts erupted out with a silent roar, attacking the remaining living humans.
With the "help" of the Ghostly Evil Beasts, more and more beasts ascended to the sky indiscriminately, including the startled Present World Forces who didn’t know what to do because of all the abrupt changes.
In an instant, the center of the defense line was thrown into chaos.
Shi Miaoying, the instigator of all the chaos stood in the air with crimson eyes, surrounded by a black aura.
She paid no mind to the commotion around her, instead looking up at the sky with obsession.
These "remedial measures" were indeed instructed by her lord, but she hadn’t expected her lord himself to descend upon this world.
The Sky Demon...
Just as Shi Miaoying was longing to see her lord’s heroic figure, an untimely figure broke into her lord’s layered space.
And then...
He kicked her lord over, straight in the face...
???
Shi Miaoying.
What...
What’s happening?
Who is that damned person?
On another note, how did her lord, who is so powerful get simply kicked over?
Before she could think it through, a tingling sensation rushed toward her from above.
!!!
A moment ago, Shi Miaoying was questioning who had kicked over her lord, and now her face was quickly changing color.
Her lord’s power also affected her...
Has she been abandoned!?
No, no, no!
It shouldn’t be like this!
Shi Miaoying, with her hands clutching her head, tried to control herself, but her hands unconsciously tore her scalp apart.
Next instant.
A hitherto unseen powerful Ghostly Evil Beast burst into the sky.
Shi Miaoying, at this moment, was no longer herself.
Her phantom form was no longer complete and had become extremely distorted.
"Ah!"
Shi Miaoying’s barely retained consciousness prompted her to open her mouth, which had transformed into a Ghostly Evil Beast. She let out a high-pitched scream that echoed through the world, akin to a female demon’s wailing roar.
Accompanied by her scream.
The entire middle of the defensive line collapsed instantly.
All the Da Xia people, who hadn’t finished their transformation, collectively died on the spot, becoming Ghostly Evil Beasts that soared into the sky.
In the further distance, some Da Xia people, who were originally unaffected but had been alarmed, were also affected and died on the spot. They transformed into Ghostly Evil Beasts and attacked their colleagues.
During this period, there was an effect of an evil power.
Every Da Xia person who was attacked and transformed into a Ghostly Evil Beast, left their body to become a Ghostly Evil Beast in the blink of an eye.
The Present World People who were attacked also underwent some kind of twisted transformation under the influence of this evil power, indiscriminately attacking the surrounding crowd.
...
High in the sky.
In the layered space, Li Jing didn’t notice the apocalyptic scene below.
Faced with a powerful enemy, he didn’t have the time to care about these things.
On the other hand.
A man with prominent horns on his head, taut and tall, was also staring at someone with a gloomy expression.
The man was named Kui An, a part of the supreme Sky Demon in the Outer Realm Sky.
A low-level Sky Demon.
To the Da Xia Land, which had been poisoned by the Sky Demon Great Method for countless years, he was like a god.
He descended this time to resolve an unexpected "small issue".
Everything went smoothly.
The small problem was easily resolved, and his useless spokesperson was also dealt with.
However, before he could admire his masterpiece and listen to the wailing of the Da Xia ants, a mysterious human managed to tear through space and breathe heavily at him.
Kui An was indignant.
In the tens of thousands of years that he had been a Sky Demon, he had never been so angry.
Humans were nothing more than ants to Sky Demons.
Yet today, he was kicked by an ant.
And the kick... Hit him square in the face...
Angry as he was, Kui An did not underestimate the ant in front of him.
On the one hand, his descent was not complete, and on the other hand, this ant not only master the rules of space but also had unmatched brute strength. It kicked him so hard that it made his face ache.
However, the thing that concerned Kui An the most was ...
Facing this human as insignificant as an ant, he felt a strong sense of unease.
Unease, this wasn’t an emotion he should have.
Even if his descent was incomplete, there should be no match for him in this world.
Yet, despite this, he felt an unprecedented intensity of unease.
Deep down.
Looking at this ant, the problem did seem significant.
There wasn’t a single leak of aura from his body.
One could guess that he was a Great Demon based on the fact that he was able to control the Power of Rules.
However, there was no way that a Heavenly Saint Land would have a Great Demon...
He wasn’t practicing the Sky Demon Great Method, so he should be from the Big World.
But the Big World also has no stability...
Then, there are his burning eyes that were full of passion as though gazing upon a lover. It made Kui An very uncomfortable...
While Kui An was observing Li Jing, Li Jing was also observing him.
Two sets of eyes made contact, as Li Jing swung out the Flying Sword Blue Edge with a wave of his hand and began to speak curiously.
"This is my first time seeing a Sky Demon; I kicked it pretty hard just now, so Sky Demons do have physical bodies?"
Seeing the Flying Sword Blue Edge, Kui An’s heart skipped a beat.
An Immortal Item of the eighth level.
Where did this human jump out from?
Looking at his resources, even the average Great Demon wouldn’t have this!
Cautiously, he stepped back half a step, and pulled out a black long knife with his hand.
"A Sky Demon is indeed a Sky Demon; it can be tangible or intangible."
Saying this, he narrowed his eyes.
"Your cultivation level is high, and you possess a treasured artifact. It seems you don’t belong to the Heavenly Saint Land or Big World. May I know which world’s strongman you are?"
In response to this question, Li Jing, whose true face was concealed behind the mask, slightly furrowed his brows.
This Sky Demon assumed that he didn’t belong to the Heavenly Saint Land or the Big World and judged him as a strongman from another world.
This revelation held a lot of information.
It wasn’t surprising that there were strongmen in other worlds.
The Secret Realm Space, which has a unique civilization, never lacks strongmen.
However, going by what this Sky Demon was saying, it seemed that in some Secret Realm Spaces, strongmen could freely traverse spaces, intervening into other Secret Realm Spaces’ affairs.
Among them, there were some who were human strongmen...
Seeing that Li Jing did not speak, Kui An raised an eyebrow slightly.
"It looks like you have covered up your destiny to avoid the Heavenly Path and secretly arrived here. It’s inconvenient for you to disclose where you’re from. In that case, there’s no need for us to be enemies."
"..."
Li Jing remained silent.
He wasn’t saying anything, yet the Sky Demon across him went on a relentless verbal barrage, prompting him to think deeply.
Hiding destiny to evade the Heavenly Path, is such a thing possible?
From what he was saying, could the Heavenly Path of the Big World also be deceived?
After thinking, Li Jing felt it was better to act directly.
There were some things that were not within his reach.
Knowing them might not be a good thing.
Also, Sky Demons were tricky. Who knew if Kui An was just buying time?
Thinking of this, Li Jing called out softly.
"Linglong."
With his call, Linglong Tower appeared.
At the same time, he threw out the Flying Sword Blue Edge with his hand, and the Spirit Weapon Qingfeng wielding the sword stood tall.
