Chapter 236 - 232: Wandering Dragon Makes a Move, Du Youqian Slays Demons

The alarms blared. Just as expected, the Wandering Dragon had made its move.

Demons appeared simultaneously across the Nine Countries, sparing only the Yan Kingdom, where the Holy Blood Sect resided, and the Dai Kingdom, home to the Taihe Sect.

In the Wei Kingdom, the True Preservation Sect used a Communication Array to call for aid. A flying Tier Three Demon King had led several hundred Demons to massacre a human city before escaping, too fast to be pursued.

In the Qin Kingdom, the Destruction Sect reported that an unknown number of Demons had ambushed a small Blessed Land, turning three Foundation Establishment Clans and the million Mortals under their protection completely into Blood Food.

In the Jin Kingdom, the Heavenly Emotions and Oceanic Resentments Sect stated that a group of Demons led by a Demon King had attacked a Blessed Land. Coincidentally, Master Qingqiu was a guest of the Fang Cultivation Clan there and led the clan to slay the Demon King, causing the other Demons to scatter.

In the Han Kingdom, the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion reported that Demons had been running rampant within their borders. The Sect’s Core Formation Masters mobilized for a cleanup, slaying two Demon Kings and 716 ordinary Demons. The territory was now secure.

In the Qi Kingdom, the Ten Thousand Laws Sect requested reinforcements. Two extremely cunning Demon Kings were in their territory. One was massacring a human city while the other laid an ambush, causing the Core Formation Master from the Ten Thousand Laws Sect sent to eliminate them to suffer a great loss.

In the Wu Kingdom, the situation was grim. Three Demon Kings were leading over a thousand Demons on a rampage. The Chongzhen Sect had already woken two Supreme Elders from their seclusion, but two others were in Closed Death Gate and could not be notified.

Despite having the Tier Four Treasure, the Water Yu Sword, they were still unable to suppress the Demons and needed reinforcements.

In the Yue Kingdom, only two Demon Kings had appeared, but the Red Lotus Sect only had two Core Formation Masters available. One had to remain to guard the Sect, leaving only one to fight, who was no match for the enemy. They requested support.

Du Youqian, Master Shi Quan, and Hai Feng Master quickly conferred, also contacting the Taihe Sect. In the end, they decided to divide the responsibilities among themselves for the time being.

From the Holy Blood Sect, Master Shi Quan would provide aid to the Qin Kingdom, Hai Feng Master would head to the Yue Kingdom, and Du Youqian chose the Wu Kingdom.

The three of them each boarded a Thousand-Mile Shuttle and departed for their assigned countries.

The Nine Countries of Momenan Desert were immense.

Even for a Core Formation Cultivator using Sword Flight, traveling from the Holy Blood Sect to the Wu Kingdom would take ten to fifteen days.

If one were to ride a Flying Boat, there would be no need to stop and rest to recover one’s energy. As long as you continuously burned Spiritual Jade, you could arrive in just a few days.

But the Thousand-Mile Shuttle was a leap forward akin to going from a propeller plane to a hypersonic jet. Though it consumed a fair number of Spiritual Diamonds, it was far faster than an ordinary Flying Boat—a strategic transport Treasure only First-class Sects could possess.

With the Little Monkey on his shoulder and a dozen or so Foundation Establishment Cultivators in tow, Du Youqian made it from the Yan Kingdom to the Wu Kingdom in just a few hours.

However, the number of Spiritual Diamonds burned along the way was enough to power the Small Five Elements Exorcism Divine Thunder Array for a short time.

Du Youqian wasn’t bothered by the cost; he could be fully reimbursed anyway.

The Thousand-Mile Shuttle landed at the gates of the Chongzhen Sect, where Master Yu Song, a Core Formation Cultivator from the sect who had long been waiting, immediately came to welcome them.

After a hasty greeting, Master Yu Song said, "My sect’s Master Wan Shi and Yu Ming Master are already out eliminating Demons, while I remain to guard the Sect. Those Demons seem to have a special technique, allowing them to rapidly increase their strength through Blood Food. According to Master Wan Shi, she personally witnessed a little Demon at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage advance to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage after slaughtering a small county town and obtaining several thousand portions of Blood Food."

This Master Yu Song had been a True Inheritor of the Chongzhen Sect, a junior brother of the same generation as Elder Tao.

If nothing had happened to Elder Tao back in the day, the position of True Inheritor likely would not have fallen to him.

The thought merely flashed through Du Youqian’s mind before vanishing.

"What’s the situation on the front lines?" he asked.

Master Yu Song said, "Those Demons have already scattered. Master Wan Shi and Yu Ming Master have split up, each pursuing a Demon King. The other Third-class Sects have sent some Foundation Establishment Cultivators to assist, but have kept their Core Formation combatants at their own Sects to guard against surprise attacks. The Foundation Establishment Realm Demons fled in all directions, inflicting tremendous casualties on the Mortals. One small squad of Demons even reached the Wu Kingdom Capital City, nearly wiping out the Wu Imperial Family and all the capital’s nobles and officials."

Du Youqian immediately commanded two of his Foundation Establishment Cultivators, "You two, head to the Wu Kingdom Capital City at once. Protect the Wu Imperial Family and its high-ranking officials. If you encounter a surprise attack from a Demon King, you must at least ensure the imperial bloodline survives. Understand?"

"Yes! We understand." The two Foundation Establishment Cultivators accepted the order and departed.

As Demon Cultivators, they dared not treat the words of a Core Formation Master lightly.

Failing a task wouldn’t get them a light reprimand, as might be the case in the Profound Sects Orthodox Sect.

In the Demon Sect, failing a Core Formation Master’s task had only two consequences: be tortured and killed, after which your soul might be allowed to reincarnate; or be tortured and killed, and then have your soul burned as lamp oil for decades, or even a century, until it was utterly annihilated.

Having accepted Du Youqian’s order, they knew that even if it meant dying in battle, they had to ensure at least some of the Wu Imperial Family’s bloodline escaped. Otherwise, they would find no peace even in death.

After getting a better understanding of the situation, Du Youqian immediately divided his remaining Foundation Establishment Cultivators into pairs. He assigned each pair a region to patrol and exterminate the Foundation Establishment Little Demons, hoping to prevent further mass slaughter of the Wu Kingdom’s Mortals.

As for Du Youqian himself, he piloted a Flying Boat to rendezvous with Yu Ming Master. He chose not to go to Master Wan Shi because she wielded a Tier Four Treasure, and her combat power was far greater than that of an ordinary Core Formation Early Stage Cultivator.

The situation with Yu Ming Master, by comparison, was far more precarious.

As he sped along, Du Youqian looked down from the sky. Many towns had not yet received news of the Demon rampage and still appeared peaceful and serene.

But in the places that had already been struck by the Demons, the ground was stained with blood, and the air was filled with cries of suffering.

Occasionally, he would spot Demons hunting Mortals below and would casually send down a sword strike from his Flying Boat.

The surviving Mortals couldn’t see him. They only saw that the vicious Demon relentlessly pursuing them had suddenly been slain, and they all fell to their knees, shouting, "Thank you, Immortal Master, for saving our lives!"

At other times, Du Youqian would see injured Mortals in dire need of aid.

Though he felt a pang of compassion, he didn’t stop to help them.

If he delayed here for even a moment, thousands, or even tens of thousands, of Mortals awaiting his rescue elsewhere might die.

For an ordinary person, the trolley problem is a difficult choice, a moral quandary that forces one to confront their own humanity and values.

But for those in power, if there are no personal attachments among the people in peril, the choice is always to save the greater number.

By the time Du Youqian found Yu Ming Master, he saw the man was locked in a bitter struggle with his opponent, a leopard-like Demon King.

This was different from the Demon King Zombie that Du Youqian had fought before. The Demon King Zombie’s movements had been stiff, and only its Divine Abilities posed any threat.

It was also different from the Demon Kings he had encountered in the Cyan Yang Sect’s Secret Realm. Those were in a state of transitioning from illusory to real, existing somewhere between truth and mirage, their power not yet fully formed.

This Demon King, however, was a true, flesh-and-blood Demon King, possessing not only Innate Divine Abilities but also razor-sharp claws and fangs and a formidable physical body.

Its Innate Divine Abilities seemed to be of the Wind Element. It moved as if it had wings on its feet, leaping with agility and flashing by like lightning—in front of you one moment, and gone the next.

Although Yu Ming Master was quite old, he had not broken through to the Golden Core Middle Stage, and he didn’t seem to be skilled in Magical Combat.

His equipment looked rather shabby as well; a Core Formation Master several hundred years old, yet he possessed only a single Treasure.

He had a grim expression as he struggled to defend himself. Though not yet injured, he was in a sorry state with almost no ability to retaliate.

The leopard-like Demon King’s claws and fangs were as sharp as an Upper Grade Spiritual Artifact-level Flying Sword, and Yu Ming Master didn’t dare clash with it head-on.

Nearby, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was leading several Qi Cultivation Cultivators, protecting a group of Mortals behind them as they faced off against two Foundation Establishment Demons.

That Foundation Establishment Cultivator was an acquaintance of Du Youqian’s: Zeng Baoming from the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion, whom he had met once at the Cyan Yang Sect Relics.

His Swordsmanship was fierce, and he fought with a desperate, imposing aura, completely disregarding his own safety.

Thus, despite being burdened with a group of dependents, he was still managing to hold on and protect the Mortals from fatal harm, which was truly commendable.

Du Youqian didn’t hesitate; he had grasped all this information with a mere sweep of his Divine Sense.

He lowered the Flying Boat but didn’t let it touch the ground. Leaving Little Wukong aboard, he leaped out in mid-air and casually swung his sword.

With that single swing, the two Foundation Establishment Demons fell down dead, their bodies somehow bearing not a single mark.

The leopard-like Demon King’s animal intuition had naturally sensed Du Youqian’s approach. It turned to face him, leaping back to create distance.

It then lowered its head, letting out a low growl at Du Youqian as it bared its fangs in a threat.

Yu Ming Master’s expression visibly relaxed as he called out, "Many thanks, Master You De!"

Du Youqian smiled faintly. "You’ve worked hard, Yu Ming Master. Rest for a while. I’ll take care of this beast."

Yu Ming Master was happy for the reprieve. He merely locked onto the Demon King with his Divine Sense from afar, maintaining an enclosing posture without making another move.

He knew very well that the combat power of a Core Formation Master who was a True Inheritor from a First-class Sect couldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as ordinary Core Formation Masters like himself.

He may have struggled against this beast and even fallen into a disadvantageous position.

But when someone like that said they could handle it alone, they could *really* handle it alone. There was no need for doubt.

With his opponents gone, Zeng Baoming stared blankly for a moment before hurrying over to help surround the Demon King. "Greetings, Master You De!" he said.

"No need for formalities. I’m focusing on killing this Demon. Just cover my flanks," Du Youqian said coolly.

His Divine Sense remained locked on the Demon King. If the beast revealed an opening or tried to flee, it would immediately face a devastating blow from him.

But this Demon King was clever, possessing the innate battle sense of the Demon Race.

It never took its eyes off Du Youqian, the one who posed the greatest threat, not letting its guard down for an instant.

Du Youqian observed for another moment, then wasted no more time. His sword, Jinhuan, left its sheath in a tentative slash toward the Leopard King.

Instead of dodging, the Leopard King abruptly accelerated forward, narrowly evading several streams of Sword Qi before using its Wind Element Divine Abilities to charge Du Youqian.

At that incredible speed, its claws would reach Du Youqian in just a hundredth of a second.