Chapter 719: Change in the Spirit Race

Chapter 719: The Turmoil of the Spirit Clan

Yue Hongling could certainly escape.

The Third Secret Depths and the Heavenly Ranking were the pinnacle of martial arts in the former world, belonging to that rarest echelon of legendary beings, utterly beyond the comprehension of ordinary warriors.

A single sword strike from beneath the earth pierced the heavens; a thousand mountains and ten thousand boulders could not stop its might.

Where the sword light passed, great rocks shattered, and she stood above the graveyard. Hovering in the air, gazing down at the scene of earthquake-like collapse, Yue Hongling’s eyes were cold, and her grip on the sword tightened.

The tremors below were not caused by the collapse. It was the Black Miao King, step by step, ascending. With each step, the earth shook; massive boulders above crashed onto his head and turned to dust, unable to harm him in the slightest.

Yue Hongling needed her sword; he needed only his body. The half-shattered skull from before now added an even more terrifying aura to him, sending chills down the spine.

From past experience with Maitreya and his monk soldiers turning into corpse demons—skin hard as iron, impervious to blades, and possessing immense strength—Tang Wanzhuang and Zhuque, though able to defeat them, could not contain them. They were far stronger than the living Maitreya.

And back then, Xue Wu was not even a specialist in corpse puppetry; his true craft was beast taming. He had scraped together some corpse puppet techniques from somewhere, combined with the Buddhist Lotus Platform foundation he had, and concocted a crude method, likely using them as beast servants. Even so, he made Maitreya far stronger. What effect would a true corpse puppet technique, manipulated by a master behind the scenes, have?

“Crack!” A rock was pushed aside, and the Black Miao King emerged halfway.

A sword light mercilessly stabbed into his remaining eye socket, the sword energy piercing straight through and striking the back of his skull with a “clang,” leaving no damage. It didn’t even slow him down. The Black Miao King leaped fully out of the ground.

His single hollow eye socket fixed on Yue Hongling’s face. Though empty and void, it conveyed a clear, brutal malevolence. The yin and death energy surged forth; birds flying overhead died silently, falling to the ground already decayed.

Fortunately, the graveyard was on the outskirts of the city, and the earthquake-like commotion had already scared away nearby people. Now, for miles around, no one remained.

Only Yue Hongling’s intense life force stirred the Black Miao King into greater ferocity. A harsh, grating roar erupted from his throat, and he lunged at her.

Yue Hongling remained calm, deliberately suppressing her aura and retreating, observing the Black Miao King’s movements.

He seemed to pause for a moment, then turned and charged toward Peach Blossom Town.

Yue Hongling unleashed her full aura again, driving another sword strike into the back of his head.

“...” The Black Miao King halted, then erupted in fury, spinning around with a wild sweep.

Yue Hongling dodged in a flash. The terrifying force brushed past her face, scattering the medicinal paste she had applied, leaving her skin pitted and uneven.

She retreated several steps, one hand on the ground, the other wiping her face. She cast off her disguise, feeling refreshed.

The force he wielded was truly terrifying; even the power to split mountains was no greater. She could not match him head-on.

But she could see his speed was average, his mind clouded. It was not unwinnable.

He was being controlled. His target must be Peach Blossom Town. If such a war machine broke in, even an army of a hundred thousand in Peach Blossom Town would be ground to dust, and the Spirit Clan’s defenses would collapse in an instant. The enemy was determined to attack from within and without, shattering the Spirit Clan in one blow!

But from the current situation, it seemed the controller was not fully engaged, only giving basic commands. These basic commands could not completely override a newborn corpse demon’s hatred for life and craving for slaughter—after all, a Heavenly Ranking corpse demon was no joke. Without full concentration, the controller could not make it fully obedient. So as long as she kept harassing it, the corpse demon would be drawn to her.

Thus, she must do everything to hold it back, preventing it from reaching Peach Blossom Town. That would be a catastrophe.

Moreover... the controller’s lack of full control—did this mean he was occupied with something more important, unable to devote full attention to the Black Miao King? If even a being like the Black Miao King did not warrant full control, what was Zhao Changhe facing?

She could not just stall. She had to end this quickly and go help Changhe! Yue Hongling’s eyes turned fiercely sharp. She halted her retreat, merged with her sword, and shot back like lightning, aiming straight for the Black Miao King’s brow!

Against something that took no damage, even a clouded mind made it impossible to fight. She had to find where his “soul fire” was to settle the matter. A quick resolution meant taking countless risks, but Yue Hongling did not care.

Big sister is coming to help!

...

When Yue Hongling followed Dao Qingfeng into the graveyard, things began to change on Sisi’s side as well.

After the various tribal chieftains paid their respects, most of the unrelated people had left. Those remaining were mostly elders of the Holy Mountain, along with some who had ulterior motives—pretending to leave but actually lingering around the Holy Mountain.

Even the guards of the Holy Mountain, under the arrangement of certain traitors, had quietly undergone a shift in deployment.

The atmosphere grew subtly strange, while Sisi, weeping and dazed inside the Holy Temple, seemed oblivious to it all.

An elder of high seniority slowly spoke: “Holy Maiden, since Master Ye has passed away, should we consider the matter of subduing the Divine Axe?”

Sisi glanced at him. She and her master had staged this act because she sensed foreign enemies lurking, spying on the Divine Axe. With Ye Wuzong “dead,” the axe had no master. If the temple’s “defenses were lax,” the foreign enemies would easily “steal the axe.” This act was meant to lure out the snakes—foreign enemies—and if it also drew out the traitors within, all the better.

It was not surprising that her own people coveted the Divine Axe, but she could not tell if this elder was a traitor. She replied casually: “My master’s body is not yet cold, and you speak of this. It is disrespectful. If you seek the Divine Axe, at least wait until the first seven days have passed. What makes the Great Elder so anxious?”

The Great Elder said: “Because subduing the Divine Axe is not a matter of a single day. Even if we all work together to suppress it, it will take a long time to fully tame it. If we wait until after the first seven days to begin preparations, the axe might be without a master for half a month. In the short term, it might be fine, but over half a month, the Divine Axe might recover its own spirit and flee. Then regret would be too late.”

His reasoning was sound, but Sisi could not let anyone try to control the axe now. They would immediately discover that the axe’s master was still alive, and the ruse would be exposed. She could only say: “If that is the case, then let me try to control the axe first. That should leave no room for objection, should it?”

The Great Elder bowed: “Forgive my impertinence, Holy Maiden. Since you are willing to control the axe, we naturally have no objections.”

Sisi nodded, slowly rose, and walked to the Divine Axe, reaching out to gently touch it.

Regardless of whether the axe spirit had a master or not, if an outsider touched it, it would immediately erupt in resistance. One would have to expend great effort to suppress it, unable to extricate oneself for a time.

To the onlookers, Sisi’s entire body was wreathed in electric currents, her pretty face stern and slightly pained, clearly exerting tremendous force to contend with the axe spirit.

Some exchanged covert glances, thinking in their hearts that heaven was aiding them.

After all, even the Heavenly Ranking Thief Saint had been severely injured trying to suppress the axe spirit. With Sisi’s strength, even if she was not trying to subdue it immediately but only testing it, the effort she expended was immense.

Under normal circumstances, when the Spirit Clan sought to control the axe, a group of elders and the Holy Maiden would work together, each with plenty of reserve strength, making it hard for anything to go wrong. But now, out of “respect for her master’s recent death,” Sisi refused to let others meddle and chose to face it alone. At this moment, she was at her weakest, vulnerable to any sneak attack.

The Great Elder who had urged Sisi to control the axe secretly signaled to someone.

Suddenly, the sound of blades being drawn rang out in the Holy Temple. Several elders, protectors, and chieftains struck simultaneously, swiftly subduing the other elders. The Great Elder lunged, pointing a finger at Sisi’s back.

Outside the temple, shouts of battle erupted as well. Those who had deliberately lingered, and the traitors who had been swapped into guard positions, attacked en masse, assaulting the bewildered Holy Mountain guards.

Chaos erupted in the temple. Many elders and guards were caught off guard and subdued, while others, stronger, drew their weapons to fight the traitors, retreating step by step: “Have you lost your minds?”

Before the words faded, a earth-shattering scream rang out. Everyone turned, startled, to see the Great Elder who had attacked Sisi—his hand had somehow struck some kind of gu insect, which was now devouring him madly. In an instant, his hand was gnawed down to bone. Meanwhile, the electric currents from Sisi’s body transferred without reservation onto him, forming a cage of lightning that paralyzed him in place, unable to move, leaving him to the gu’s gnawing. His screams were pitiful.

Sisi slowly turned her head. Her usually seductive peach-blossom eyes were now cold and fierce: “Kill.”

As she spoke, the ground rumbled. A juvenile Blood Qilin stepped onto the Holy Mountain.

From the sky came an eagle’s cry. A massive gray eagle circled above, its talons snatching hundreds of rebels, lifting them high, then dropping them. Amid screams, they were crushed into pulp.

Countless strange beasts appeared, vast and shadowy, within and without the Holy Mountain.

Sisi’s eyes swept over the stunned temple. She said coldly: “The war in the Central Plains has already shown that numbers are useless... Whoever wields the power of gods and demons rules the land. But you still do not understand.”

“Is that so?” A laugh rang out. A black shadow flashed with incredible speed past Sisi, grabbing the Divine Axe: “Since the Holy Maiden does not want the Divine Axe, we will take it—Ah!!!”

A blood-curdling scream erupted. The newcomer was charred to a crisp by lightning, not even finishing his last words.

To his dying breath, he could not understand why, despite having the technique to control the axe and avoid backlash, Sisi could hold it without issue, while he was violently electrocuted by the Divine Axe.

The only possibility was that the axe still had a master—but he had no chance to voice it.

“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!” Countless assassins from the Listening Wind Pavilion, who had infiltrated in separate waves, appeared around the temple. They could not intervene in the chaotic battle, but Sisi’s personal strength was insufficient—she could still be decapitated!