The Manichaeans and the Tianwu Kingdom’s martial families continued their aggressive expansion. The entire Western Regions were now under the dominion of the Manichaeans. Every Celestial Master sect and family that refused allegiance was uprooted, leaving only those who served the Manichaeans with unwavering obedience.
The Tianwu Kingdom mirrored this ruthlessness. Any who showed the slightest defiance to the Wu family were annihilated, their entire clans wiped out. Under the oppressive rule of King Tianwu, Yi Liang, all factions within the kingdom could only follow his dictates; no power dared to oppose the King.
The Tianwu Kingdom began mobilizing its forces, annexing several smaller neighboring nations. Tianwu had always possessed formidable military strength, yet its previous restraint was due, in part, to the looming threat of the Western Regions and a necessary caution regarding the Great Chu Kingdom and the Water Cloud Kingdom.
However, after securing aid from the experts of the Demonic Cave, King Tianwu no longer paid heed to anyone in the realm. Kunlun was surrounded under heavy siege, and every master of the Guiyuan Sect felt as if they were imprisoned, utterly unable to interfere with King Tianwu’s military maneuvers.
In the span of just one month, the Tianwu Kingdom swept through all the surrounding minor and major states, expanding its territory by a third.
The small nations situated between the Tianwu Kingdom, the Great Chu Kingdom, and the Water Cloud Kingdom all became vassals of Tianwu in this brief period. Remarkably, both the Great Chu and Water Cloud Kingdoms maintained an uncharacteristic silence throughout this process.
The situation on the Five Elements Continent devolved into chaos, with sounds of warfare erupting everywhere.
The plight of the Guiyuan Sect grew increasingly dire. Nearly all the primal energy of Kunlun had been consumed by the sect’s protective formation. Everyone understood that the Guiyuan Sect could not hold out much longer. Once that protective barrier was broken, the sect would face utter annihilation under the combined assault of You Lan, King Tianwu, and the Demonic Cave masters.
With the Guiyuan Sect temporarily out of the equation, various powers across the continent, striving to preserve their own strength, either immediately swore fealty to You Lan and King Tianwu or pinned their hopes on the Asura King and Gu Fang.
Unfortunately, both figures were wounded from their previous engagements. The Asura King remained dormant in the Northern Barbarians, delaying any call to rally the heroes, while Gu Fang, despite acquiring the Nine Luminous Life Tree, required significant time to fully recover.
With everyone anxious for their own survival, the Five Elements Continent descended deeper into disorder under the invasion of the Demonic Cave masters.
At this critical juncture, more bad news arrived from the East Sea: the Ghost Demon King had re-emerged to wreak havoc!
The two Ghost Demon Kings had successfully fused, becoming a single entity so powerful it struck terror into the hearts of all who considered it.
The unified Ghost Demon King manifested in the East Sea and immediately began a massacre of the major powers there, absorbing the souls of Celestial Masters to augment its own strength.
The newly formed Ghost Demon King was powerful beyond imagining!
No sect in the East Sea could withstand the Ghost Demon King’s advance. Wherever it passed, Celestial Master sects and families were wiped out. Many Celestial Masters were corrupted into lesser demon spirits, becoming fierce generals under the Ghost Demon King’s command.
The East Sea cried out for aid. With the Blood Emperor having been slain by Ji Changkong, the Celestial Masters of the East Sea were scattering in panic—some fleeing overseas for refuge, others trekking thousands of miles to the Central Lands to temporarily escape the Ghost Demon King’s slaughter.
The world was in massive upheaval!
Xuanyuan Valley and Mount Tian had become overwhelmingly crowded. Sects and families from the East Sea, the Southern Barbarians, the Great Chu Kingdom, and various other smaller states migrated there in droves.
Faced with the Demonic Cave powerhouses drawn by You Lan and King Tianwu on one side, and the rampaging Ghost Demon King from the East Sea on the other, many Celestial Masters on the continent began to despair, sensing that the Five Elements Continent was nearing its breaking point.
The forces capable of resisting the Demonic Cave masters and the Ghost Demon King were few. Mount Tian, guarded by Gu Ya and Li Hentian, had become a temporary sanctuary. Xuanyuan Valley, due to its unique geography and proximity to Mount Tian, coupled with the protection of the Star Sea Grand Array, also served as a favored refuge for various factions.
Suddenly, powers from all corners of the realm began converging on Mount Tian and Xuanyuan Valley, filling them with Celestial Masters. Yet, even with this gathering, a profound unease persisted among many.
The root of this anxiety was Gu Fang’s continued, undisclosed seclusion. No one knew when Gu Fang could recover using the Nine Luminous Life Tree.
On Mount Tian.
The Three-Headed Dog Demon suddenly roared and flew towards the mountain. Amidst the fierce, biting wind, the various experts gathered in the numerous ice huts on Mount Tian watched with rapidly paling faces, emerging to see what the commotion was about.
The coldly composed Yao Kui, alongside the peerlessly beautiful Yu Ziling, descended from the Three-Headed Dog Demon, landing upon the icy ground.
“Yao Kui of the Asura Royal Clan of the Northern Barbarians has come to pay respects to Senior Gu Yu of Mount Tian. My father has a letter and hopes Senior Gu Fang might review it,” Yao Kui stated proudly, standing within sight of Mount Tian’s peak, his voice ringing out clearly.
“Yao Kui! The son of the Asura King—how dare he show his face on Mount Tian!” Several masters from the Qiankun Sect on Mount Tian erupted in fury, instantly surrounding Yao Kui with hostile expressions.
Gu Fang’s injury stemmed directly from his battle with the Asura King in the Northern Barbarians. In the eyes of Mount Tian’s experts, the Northern Barbarians were enemies. Seeing Yao Kui arrive so brazenly infuriated them…
Li Hentian emerged from the depths of Mount Tian, approaching Yao Kui with an indifferent expression. “Hand over the letter.”
Yao Kui did not recognize Li Hentian, but knowing that aside from Gu Fang, Li Hentian was the only Nine Palace Celestial Master on Mount Tian, he cast a single glance at Li Hentian, instantly confirming his identity.
Nodding, Yao Kui passed the letter to Li Hentian. “My father is preparing to emerge from seclusion early. He intends to join forces with Senior Gu Ya, hoping to lift the siege on Kunlun. He asks that Senior Gu Fang give this consideration.”
“Mm,” Li Hentian responded coolly, taking the letter without another word and heading directly toward the mountain's interior.
“Excuse me, do you have any news of Ji Changkong?”
Just as Li Hentian was about to enter the depths, a sweet voice called out from behind him. He turned back, glanced briefly at Yu Ziling, and frowned. “Who are you?”
“I—I am his friend,” Yu Ziling murmured softly, her purple eyes filled with an overwhelming sorrow.
“No news of him,” Li Hentian replied flatly, turning and entering the mountain core.
“Let’s go. He was pulled into an unknown tunnel. Even if he survived, he likely can never return,” Yao Kui urged Yu Ziling to mount the Three-Headed Dog Demon.
“Thank you, Miss, for the news last time. Without your timely information, our Orogen Sect would already be finished,” Mu Luo suddenly stepped out from the crowd, bowing respectfully to Yu Ziling.
“You are welcome,” Yu Ziling smiled faintly, flying up onto the Three-Headed Dog Demon, departing with Yao Kui on the massive demonic beast.
Within the mountain core.
Gu Fang’s body was encased in dense, frozen ice, his hands tightly gripping the Nine Luminous Life Tree. Traces of intensely cold energy emanated from the ice, causing the temperature in the cavern to plummet to bone-chilling levels.
Yet, just for a moment, intensely scorching flames would surge from the ice, causing it to rapidly melt, and the cavern temperature would spike to scorching heat.
This state could not be maintained for long before the icy energy would re-emerge from Gu Fang’s body, causing the ice to reform, releasing a cold that turned the cavern into a frigid tomb once more.
Alternating between bone-numbing cold and unbearable heat, the cavern experienced these extremes without pause.
Gu Fang within the ice shifted constantly—one moment searing hot, the next cold as a frozen sculpture. His body would sometimes appear half flushed red and half covered in white frost, presenting a bizarre sight.
Li Hentian suddenly stepped forward, holding the letter Yao Kui had just delivered.
Gu Fang, sealed in the ice, suddenly opened his eyes. One pupil blazed with fire, the other was as cold as a frozen blade. With just a single look at Li Hentian, the letter in Li Hentian’s hand shot out, the script within leaping alive, floating in the void.
Once all the text had materialized in the air, Gu Fang’s fiery eye blinked once, and the letter instantly combusted, all its words turning to ash in a single moment.
“The Asura King is indeed a peerless hero. Being able to send a message proves he is a man of insight. His decision to emerge early for the sake of all living beings indicates genuine purpose,”
Gu Fang stated calmly from within the ice. After a moment of thought, he added, “It seems I must also emerge early. Once the protective formation of the Guiyuan Sect is destroyed, it will be too late.”
“Sect Master, you have not fully recovered. Emerging now means your power will not reach its peak, placing you at a severe disadvantage in battle. You absolutely must not,” Li Hentian urged anxiously.
“There is no choice; I must emerge even before full recovery. If the Guiyuan Sect falls, we will surely follow them. The Asura King emerging early surely means he, like me, is not completely healed. Time waits for no one. If we do not intervene, there will be no one in the heavens capable of stopping them,” Gu Fang sighed softly, his eyes filled with resignation.
Li Hentian fell silent.
It wasn't that he failed to grasp the severity of the situation; he simply found it hard to accept. Hearing Gu Fang speak this way, he knew further persuasion was useless. In the Strange Star Domain.
Ji Changkong’s soul phantom drifted past numerous dead stars. After a long journey, he finally arrived at the celestial haven he sought—a star field containing hundreds of living stars.
Dik, whose scaled armor shimmered with starlight, followed closely behind him. As the hundreds of living stars came into view, a hint of excitement flickered in Dik’s eyes. “Our Dark Star Clan has truly never visited this region before. Hundreds of living stars—this is a massive haul.”
“You can examine them and see if these living stars are viable for cultivation,” Ji Changkong smiled. His own spirit had acquired a new essence of the stars from Dik’s cultivation ground, making his trip worthwhile.
“Agreed,” Dik readily accepted, immediately diving into one of the massive living stars.