Chapter 618: This Trip to the Demon City Was Worth It, I'll Come Again Next Time a Nation is Founded

Upon realizing the master-servant imprint had vanished, the Tribulation Stage grand demons hastily retreated from the battlefield; getting entangled in a clash between Half-Immortals was a sure way to die without even knowing how. Furthermore, even if they somehow defeated Jiang Lianyi, what would happen if the Qilin Immortal appeared to settle the score?

No matter how powerful Sovereign Zhutian was, he could not surpass an Immortal.

Yet, there were those genuinely loyal to Zhutian, for whom victory meant the supreme merit of backing the rising dragon, promising a boundless future. The Elder of the Dijiang Clan was naturally loyal to Zhutian; as Zhutian was their ancient ancestor, he was bound by both emotion and reason to offer his aid.

Moreover, it was he who had invited the wolf into the house by summoning the true Heavenly Court Sect; when the time came to settle accounts, he would be the first unable to escape.

It was not too late to atone for his crimes through merit. The Ancestor of the Jiuying Clan and the Patriarch of the Taowu Clan both sensed an opportunity; having been the first and second to pledge allegiance to the Dijiang Clan, they were now grasshoppers tied to the same string.

The three grand demons exchanged brief thoughts via divine sense, confirming each other's intent, and turned to reinforce Zhu. Suddenly, the sky above darkened as three colossal figures cast a shroud over them. "And where do you three think you are going?"

The Dijiang Elder looked up, staring fixedly at the three massive silhouettes, spitting out their identities from between his teeth: "Jiang Mingzi!"

The ancestors of the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan, the Demon Realm Dragon Clan, and the Phoenix Clan stepped forward to meet them in battle. The Dijiang Elder turned to seek aid from the other seven Tribulation Stage grand demons, but those seven acted as though they had heard nothing, turning a completely deaf ear, clearly intent on maintaining their neutrality. After all, regardless of which side won or lost, the law would not punish the masses, and no purge would reach them; there was no need to wade into these muddy waters. Furthermore, they had been forcibly controlled by Zhutian, harboring no small amount of resentment in their hearts, and secretly hoped Jiang Lianyi would triumph. "Bastards!"

How could the Dijiang Elder fail to see through their thoughts? He cursed them bitterly in his heart.

"Roar—"

The Ancestor of the Demon Realm Dragon Clan struck first, transforming into a ten-thousand-zhang azure dragon, turning clouds to rain and rain to torrents, charging toward the Dijiang Elder. The Ancestor of the Eastern Sea Dragon Clan locked onto the Jiuying Ancestor, releasing an endless flow of seawater from his storage ring, merging with the waves to become a divine dragon of the deep sea—a terrifying sight capable of shattering mountains with a single claw. The Jiuying Clan represented the absolute pinnacle of the serpent race; when dragons and serpents rose from the earth, the two clans had clashed since ancient times.

Jiang Mingzi drew forth a great banner, unfurling its surface to reveal a painting of a phoenix crying upon Mount Qi; this was the Great Banner of Five Virtues left behind by their ancient ancestor, one of their supreme treasures.

In the past, he had worried that others might covet this supreme treasure, hiding it away and not daring to use it, but now that the ancient ancestor had returned, if he did not use it now, when would he!

"Damn it!"

Seeing Jiang Mingzi playing for keeps, the Patriarch of the Taowu Clan felt his scalp go numb.

He was a newly ascended Tribulation Stage cultivator, whereas Jiang Mingzi was an old-established late-stage Tribulation expert, to say nothing of the supreme treasure in his hands; the gap between them was absurdly vast.

Since things had reached this point, he could only harden his heart and fight.

Upon the Heaven Altar, seeing that the clash between the two Half-Immortals was about to ignite, Lu Yang and Zhu Yunwu leapt straight down from the altar without a second thought.

"The Immortal Fall World-Destroying Dance!" Zhutian began to dance, his footsteps bearing the intent of ruin and destruction; the entire Demon City shook violently, truly resembling the end of days!

The power of this performance was worlds apart from when he had manipulated Zhu Yunwu to execute it. Torrential floods formed water tornadoes; eight water tornadoes positioned themselves along the Bagua directions, blocking all paths of retreat.

Jiang Lianyi extended a slender, jade-like hand and drew forth a jade flute; this was the Royal Flute that had hung upon the wall of the fourth floor of the Ancient Realm of Creation, a testament to her fondness for it.

She gently pressed her crimson lips to the blowhole, her fingertips resting on the tone holes; closing her eyes to concentrate, her long hair fluttered in the gentle breeze as she blew, entirely entranced. The crisp sound of the flute pierced through the blockade of the eight water tornadoes, as though the entire world had fallen into a profound serenity, devoid of the slightest noise.

If the eight water tornadoes represented the absolute pinnacle of motion, then the crisp sound of the flute was the absolute pinnacle of stillness. When motion met stillness—crack!

The temperature plummeted abruptly; the eight water tornadoes began to freeze from their bases, instantly turning the cyclones into pillars of ice. The temperature of the Demon Realm dropped to zero, causing the spectating cultivators to breathe out white mist. "Go!"

Jiang Lianyi lowered her jade flute and flicked her index finger, lifting it upward; the eight frozen water tornadoes actually shattered into blocks of ice, forming a long dragon that smashed toward Zhutian. "Space, condense!"

Zhutian bellowed, and the space above his head compressed continuously, forming a spatial barrier that blocked the onslaught of ice blocks.

Seeing that the range of the two combatants' attacks had exceeded the Heaven Altar and that the aftershocks were brushing against them, the spectating crowd hastily retreated to the gates of the Demon City to watch the magical duel, their hands firmly grasping recording spheres, determined to record this event no matter what.

From the very start of the nation-founding ceremony, the recording spheres had been activated, meaning they had documented the entire process of the grand ceremony.

Watching the thrilling battle in the skies above the Demon City, Qiu Jin'an's eyelids twitched: "Originally, I heard the ancient Dijiang was founding a nation and came just to watch the excitement. How did it turn into the Ancient Heavenly Court wreaking havoc in the Demon City in the blink of an eye, and then into a duel between two Half-Immortals, and a decisive battle among six Tribulation Stage grand demons?

The shift was so rapid he could hardly process it. Suddenly, he recalled Bai Ming's account of the incidents during the Qingzhou Grand Ceremony and the Battle of Hanshui River; those two events shared a single common characteristic.

Qiu Jin'an leaned over, secretly asking the Great Elder: "Where is Lu Yang from your sect?"

The common characteristic of those two events was that both Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were present.

How could the Great Elder possibly reveal Lu Yang's whereabouts? With an unchanged expression, he replied: "He had matters to attend to and did not come."

Qiu Jin'an nodded; it seemed Meng Jingzhou possessed a calamity-attracting constitution. Others were also lamenting; they had never imagined in their entire lives that they would witness a battle of Half-Immortals. This trip to the Demon City was well worth it; if the Demon Nation founded a country again next time, they would definitely come back.

"This is one of the methods to utilize the embryonic form of the Law of the Jungle Dao Fruit," the Immortal Fairy explained to Lu Yang. While laymen watched for entertainment, experts looked for the underlying mechanics; in the entire venue, she was the only one who truly understood the process of their duel. "The embryonic form of the Law of the Jungle Dao Fruit is not limited merely to controlling people; spiritual energy, spells, and physical objects all fall within the scope of its control.

"Lianyi controlling Zhutian's tornadoes, and Zhutian controlling space, are both examples of this."

Lu Yang's expression turned peculiar as he recalled a certain fallen ancient mighty figure: "Why does that sound almost identical to the Absolute Command?"

"There is still a difference. The embryonic form of the Law of the Jungle Dao Fruit can only control those weaker than oneself, whereas the Absolute Command can control even those who are stronger. It really was a pity; originally, that person had a very good chance of becoming an Immortal, perhaps with an Absolute Command Dao Fruit or something similar, which wouldn't have conflicted with the Qilin Immortal's Dao Fruit either.

"A pity indeed, he just couldn't control his own mouth."

The Immortal Fairy shook her head in regret, reminiscing about her former rival. Patriarch Jin felt a deep sense of lamentation; such a spectacular fight, yet the Young Ancestor had not come to witness it, meaning he would have to rely entirely on his own verbal description. Wait, verbal description?

Patriarch Jin's face turned white in an instant; it seemed what the Young Ancestor had strictly instructed him to do was to use a recording sphere to document everything.

He had arrived in such a rush, and upon arriving had heard the Great Elder exposing his embarrassing past, causing him to forget this matter entirely. He hastily tried to mend the fold after the sheep were lost, asking the Patriarch of the Baxia Clan: "Good stuff, can you make a copy of that recording sphere for me?"

The Patriarch of the Baxia Clan sized Patriarch Jin up from head to toe: "Do you have any money?"

Patriarch Jin gritted his teeth, feeling a bit of heartache; a copied recording sphere would certainly not be cheap.

"Never mind then, I'll just describe it verbally and the Young Ancestor can make do with that—"

While the two were speaking, a tremendous boom resounded as Zhutian plummeted from the Heaven Altar, smashing a massive crater into the ground. Patriarch Jin glanced at the fallen Zhutian: "I'll buy it!"

"The price just went up."