Chapter 314 - 313: Ten Demon Kings

High above the Sacred Grounds, beyond the ancient spatial layers that separated this preserved realm from the outside world, the Nine Heavens Ward trembled as though something enormous had struck it from the other side. A faint, almost imperceptible sound passed through the surrounding world, resembling the first fracture in a sheet of ice beneath the weight of winter.

Then came a second crack.

And a third.

Within moments, the fractures spread across the ancient ward like a spiderweb, stretching through the void and splitting apart the dim light that had concealed the boundary between the two worlds. The laws governing space began to fluctuate violently, and the spiritual energy circulating throughout the surrounding region fell into disarray.

Cultivators who had been sitting cross-legged in meditation opened their eyes almost simultaneously.

Those who had been comprehending ancient Dao laws stopped what they were doing and looked toward the distant heavens. Even the creatures that had inhabited the Sacred Grounds for countless years grew restless, their instincts warning them that something dreadful was approaching.

The pressure came next.

It descended from beyond the fractured ward, heavy and suffocating, carrying a savage aura that seemed capable of crushing mountains and overturning rivers. The clouds above the Nine Provinces twisted into enormous whirlpools, while the spiritual Qi that had flowed peacefully through the ancient realm suddenly surged away from the source of the disturbance.

Some cultivators were forced to their knees.

Others felt their Dao Hearts tremble, and a few whose foundations were unstable even coughed up blood. Their expressions turned pale as they struggled to understand what kind of existence could produce such terrifying pressure merely by appearing.

Then, through the widening cracks in the Nine Heavens Ward, a figure stepped into the world.

He was a tall man dressed in a dark crimson robe, with long black hair falling loosely behind his shoulders. His face was handsome in a cold and merciless manner, and a pair of narrow golden eyes shone beneath his brows. There were no horns upon his head, no scales covering his skin, and no monstrous features to distinguish him from an ordinary human cultivator.

Yet the moment his feet touched the void, the surrounding laws bent around him.

A faint red shadow appeared beneath his feet, and the space around his body distorted as though the world itself was unwilling to bear his presence.

A Demon King.

Before the cultivators could fully process his appearance, nine more figures emerged from the cracks.

One was a beautiful woman wearing a white dress, her long silver hair fluttering despite the absence of wind. Her skin was pale, and a strange dark pattern extended from the corner of her left eye to the side of her neck. She looked no older than twenty, but the murderous intent hidden within her eyes was so dense that even experienced Soul Transformation cultivators dared not meet her gaze directly.

Another was a broad-shouldered man with bronze skin and short white hair. His arms were covered by faint black markings resembling chains, and every movement he made caused the surrounding space to tremble.

A fourth wore a green robe and carried a bamboo fan. He appeared to be a refined scholar, but the shadows beneath his feet moved in the opposite direction from the sunlight, revealing the unnatural nature of his existence.

The remaining six possessed similarly human appearances. Some were young, while others looked middle-aged. One had a pair of silver pupils that rotated like miniature galaxies, another wore a black mask that concealed the upper half of his face, and one looked like an ordinary old man whose white beard reached his chest.

Their appearances differed, but the aura radiating from each of them was unmistakable.

Demon Kings.

Ten Demon Kings had crossed through the damaged Nine Heavens Ward.

For a brief moment, the entire region fell silent.

The cultivators who had gathered within the Sacred Grounds to pursue their cultivation opportunities stared at the ten figures in disbelief. Many had spent years within this ancient realm, and some had even reached the Peak Stage of Soul Transformation. Nevertheless, none of them could remain calm when confronted with ten beings whose pressure seemed capable of shaking the foundations of the world.

The distinction between Soul Transformation and Void Refinement was already enormous.

The distinction between ordinary Void Refinement cultivators and Demon Kings of the Hollow Beyond was even greater.

These were not newly advanced demons who had relied on luck to cross a great realm. Each one had survived the brutal laws of the Hollow Beyond, where the weak were devoured and even powerful beings could perish if they failed to adapt.

Their strength had been tempered through countless battles, and their understanding of spatial laws far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators.

More importantly, the ten Demon Kings had not crossed the ward by accident.

They had come with a purpose.

The crimson-robed man was the first to move.

His golden eyes swept across the surrounding region, and a terrifying spiritual sense spread outward. It passed over the distant mountains, penetrated the ancient forests, and swept through the gathering places where cultivators had established temporary residences.

He did not conceal his spiritual sense.

There was no need.

Anyone who felt it understood that resisting would be pointless unless they possessed strength comparable to his own.

The crimson-robed man searched through the region once, then narrowed his eyes and expanded his spiritual sense again. This time, his search became more precise, and faint red ripples appeared wherever his perception passed.

Yet after several breaths, his expression grew increasingly unpleasant.

He had found countless cultivators.

He had discovered several ancient caves, numerous hidden formations, and even a few spatial distortions that might have concealed powerful treasures.

But he had not found the two people he was looking for.

A man.

And a woman.

The crimson-robed Demon King slowly turned his head toward the other nine figures.

"Not here."

His voice was quiet, but it carried a strange vibration that caused the surrounding space to quiver.

The silver-haired woman looked at him.

"Are you certain?"

"I would not speak if I were uncertain."

The crimson-robed man swept his spiritual sense through the region one final time. His gaze then turned toward the distant horizon, where several ancient spatial layers overlapped.

"They are not within the area we can currently perceive. Either they have already left, or they are hiding inside a spatial domain."

The broad-shouldered man with bronze skin let out a low laugh.

"Then destroy the domains until we find them."

"That would be a foolish use of our time," the scholar in green said calmly. "If they have hidden themselves within a preserved realm, blindly destroying every spatial layer could damage the coordinates we need. We did not cross the Nine Heavens Ward merely to waste time tearing apart empty spaces."

The masked man tilted his head.

"Then what do you suggest?"

The scholar closed his bamboo fan.

"We search."

The crimson-robed man had already reached the same conclusion.

Without another word, he turned toward the eastern horizon. A crimson light flashed beneath his feet, and his body vanished into the distance. The surrounding space rippled several times before returning to normal.

The silver-haired woman followed.

The broad-shouldered man departed in another direction, while the old man with the white beard disappeared without leaving behind even a trace of spiritual fluctuation.

One after another, the Demon Kings scattered.

Within the time it took an ordinary cultivator to take a few breaths, the ten terrifying figures had disappeared from the region, leaving behind a gathering of cultivators who were still struggling to understand what had happened.

For several moments, nobody spoke.

Then a young cultivator in blue robes swallowed nervously.

"What... what were they looking for?"

Nobody answered him immediately.

An older cultivator standing nearby stared toward the place where the crimson-robed Demon King had disappeared. His face was pale, and his hand unconsciously tightened around the jade pendant hanging from his waist.

"They were searching for someone."

"That much is obvious," another cultivator replied. "But who could possibly be worth sending ten Demon Kings to find?"

The older cultivator shook his head.

"I do not know."

He hesitated before continuing.

"But I know one thing. Those ten did not look as though they had come here to collect treasures."

A middle-aged woman in a purple robe frowned.

"Could they be searching for the cultivators who killed the three Demon Kings?"

The moment she spoke, the surrounding cultivators exchanged glances.

Everyone in the Sacred Grounds had heard rumors about the battle after the Nine Heavens Ward first cracked. Three Demon Kings had fallen, and the disturbance had been so great that even powerful beings within the Hollow Beyond may have noticed it.

The names Lin Yuan and Bai Qingyue had circulated through numerous discussions.

Some believed the rumors were exaggerated.

Others suspected that the two cultivators had received assistance from an expert, likely one of the five emperors.

A few had even speculated that the entire incident was a deliberate deception.

But nobody who had witnessed the aftermath could deny that three Demon Kings had indeed perished.

The young cultivator in blue robes suddenly remembered something.

"Could it be Lin Yuan?"

The name caused several people to turn toward him.

"Lin Yuan?"

"The cultivator who killed three Demon Kings?"