Zong Shou knew Xuan Yuan Yiren was teasing him, and she really couldn't be bothered with that lazy fellow. She let out a soft hum before her gaze swept across the mountaintop.

Moments later, her brows sharpened, fixing firmly on two figures: Xun Dan and E Dan. They were currently hiding in a corner, their faces pale and bloodless.

Zong Shou stopped playing around with the Golden Sword and followed her gaze. At first, he paid them little mind—just two Ninth-Order Spirit Masters.

The only thing unusual about them was that they were wearing the robes of the Danquan Sect. Since they were the ringleaders in capturing Xuan Yuan Yiren, letting them go was out of the question.

In any case, every living soul on this entire mountain, regardless of status, was slated for annihilation; there was no need to be particularly selective. But just as his gaze was about to shift away from the pair, a sudden flicker of warning jolted his consciousness.

Yi? Something isn't right— He gave a startled cry and flashed over without hesitation.

The pressure of his sword made it nearly impossible for them to move. Then, a sweep of the blade, like a destructive torrent, shattered the spirit-law barrier woven by Xun Dan and E Dan, along with all their protective measures.

Although these two were Ninth-Order, their combat power was unexpectedly weak. They were late-stage True Form Spirit Masters, yet they barely matched the early stage.

Zong Shou easily captured Xun Dan and E Dan. Looking at the two, Zong Shou fell into deep contemplation.

But before he could piece anything together, He suddenly saw two wisps of dark wind erupting from the acupoints behind their heads. A sharp glint flashed in Zong Shou's eyes.

Without giving them a chance to flee, he snatched out a hand, tearing through space and plunging into the void. He forcefully captured the two streams of spiritual light that were already almost escaping through the interdimensional layer!

"So that's it! It must be the Shadow God Alien Race from the Outer Regions—" Xuan Yuan Yiren arrived beside Zong Shou by now.

She started upon hearing this, her face filled with confusion. "The Shadow God Alien Race?

What does that mean?" "As the name suggests. Naturally, an alien race that exists only as shadows.

They consider themselves gods, believing they should reign above all races, hence they call themselves Shadow Gods. However, others view this race as demonic, calling them the Remnant Shadow Demons." Zong Shou explained with a grave expression.

It wasn't surprising that Xuan Yuan Yiren didn't recognize them. This type of alien race had never appeared in the Cloud Realm during the Yunhuang Era.

Yiren was still young and had never ventured outside the domains, so naturally, she wouldn't know. In fact, he had only encountered them in a virtual reality simulation, fighting them a few times, but never seeing them in person.

Their actual combat strength wasn't high; what made them difficult was their innate divine ability. "They have a notorious reputation across all realms.

Formless and without shape. They only manifest shadows under daylight or moonlight.

They possess no physical body and must seize the bodies of others as hosts to survive. They are most terrifying at night." "Hosts?

Seizing others' bodies?" Xuan Yuan Yiren clearly grasped something, and her expression shifted: "So you mean, Martial Uncle Xun Dan and E Dan—" "They have actually been dead for a long time!" Zong Shou finished the sentence, coldly pronouncing the state of the two figures. Xuan Yuan Yiren's face was a mixture of sorrow and joy; she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Knowing that the internal strife within her sect did not stem from internal causes was certainly a matter for joy. But the thought that Xun Dan and E Dan had perished long ago, and that countless others within the sect might have been possessed by these Remnant Shadow Demons, killed her happiness.

Zong Shou’s expression was even more solemn. He hadn't expected the Remnant Shadow Demons to infiltrate the Cloud Realm so early, even before the Spirit Tide began.

Coming from ten thousand years in the future, he knew the danger of this race all too well. He recalled that in later records, the most frequently documented alien race was precisely this Remnant Shadow Demon tribe!

※ ※ ※ ※ "Remnant Shadow God-Demon?" In the void, Ao Kun also let out a startled cry. Although he was suppressing several God-Realm experts and over a dozen Immortal-Realm cultivators single-handedly, he remained composed and at ease, able to spare his attention for the lower realm.

If it truly was this race, then the Cloud Realm was in real trouble this time. However, the survival of this realm was actually of little concern to him now.

His only connection was Zong Shou, and that other person— While contemplating, Ao Kun casually flicked his sleeve, striking a saber. An irresistible, immense force instantly pulverized it.

Then, with a boom, he shattered the cultivator’s physical body as well, completely sealing off the God-Realm martial cultivator's ability to regenerate with the Law of Destruction he possessed. At this moment, Ao Kun had completely lost the interest to continue tangling with these individuals.

He brought two fingers together and pointed around, immediately causing several Immortal-Realm cultivators to perish. Then he threw a fierce punch toward the Divine Firmament Daoist.

The latter's face was drained of all color. While fiercely resisting, he detonated every magic treasure and immortal artifact he possessed, setting them off in front of him to block Ao Kun's heavy blow.

In the void, successive explosions rang out. The Divine Firmament Daoist's figure rapidly retreated, but he ultimately could not stop the punch shadows.

A seemingly ordinary strike nearly caused this layer of spacetime to collapse, blasting through all the spirit talismans and self-detonating artifacts! Finally, the punch wind violently struck the Divine Firmament Daoist's body!

Blood instantly sprayed everywhere; the majority instantly perished, but over a dozen drops scattered outwards. "Trying to run?" With a cold laugh, Ao Kun’s great hand expanded massively, transforming into a thousand-zhang-sized dragon claw, which swooped down to grasp.

A suction force generated in the palm pulled all a dozen drops of essence blood into his grasp. Only one drop continued to flee rapidly, traversing several layers of space in an instant.

He knew that this was likely the Divine Firmament Daoist’s life essence blood. As long as this drop remained intact, there would be a chance for resurrection.

Within a few hundred or decades, he could recover completely; with sufficient energy and the aid of a top-tier Immortal Pill, he could even recover in a single day. Ao Kun shook his head—to attempt escape from the presence of a Saint of Destruction was a joke.

If this fellow truly got away, Ao Kun would not deserve the title of Saint. Just as he was about to strike again to capture it, Ao Kun’s ears twitched.

He heard a woman’s voice resonate near him. Listening intently for a moment, he reluctantly retracted his hand, watching helplessly as that drop of Divine Firmament essence blood escaped, continuing to pierce toward the Cloud Realm.

Zong Shou, oh Zong Shou, it’s not that I won't help you. It’s that the other one—she won't let Ao Kun intervene.

I wonder what her intention is. "Severely wounded and near death, even if he lands in the Cloud Realm, his power will be no more than that of a late-stage Spirit Realm expert.

With Zong Shou's ability, he should surely be able to handle it?" He wasn't entirely sure, but this was all he could do—watch apologetically from outside the realm, observing closely to intervene at any critical moment. But as for the essence blood of the Divine Firmament in his hands— With a cold laugh, Ao Kun suddenly clenched his fist, shattering all the blood completely!

Suddenly, his mind stirred. Ao Kun vaguely sensed that the moment that drop of Divine Firmament essence blood broke through the outer barrier of the Cloud Realm, Several auras in the void of the Cloud Realm, no weaker than his own, perhaps even slightly superior, arrived in a flash.

Ao Kun’s eyebrows immediately shot up. He knew this was likely the four Guardians of the Realm.

In an instant, he understood what that woman intended to achieve. First, his expression shifted slightly, followed by a dry, cold chuckle.

Ao Kun liked this kind of situation; he found it truly gratifying. ※ ※ ※ ※ Zong Shou was completely unaware that danger was rapidly approaching.

Xuan Yuan Yiren pondered for a moment, temporarily setting aside the upheaval within her sect, and knitted her brows as she looked forward. Since the Blood Cloud Cavalry ascended the mountain, it had been a one-sided slaughter.

The cavalry ignored the low-level disciples; the spreading blood mist alone was enough to claim lives. The true targets were the cultivators above the Sixth Order.

In the brief moment they were speaking, more than half of the Sixth-Order cultivators on the peak had already perished. Below the Fifth Order, nearly all were utterly annihilated under the blood mist.

Only a scant hundred or so people managed to escape the summit. But before they could flee far, they died at the hands of the cultivators from the Seven Spirit Crag and Kong Clan sects waiting outside.

Only Yuan Kong, along with the remaining seven Ninth-Order masters and hundreds of surviving cultivators, were still holding their ground, maintaining their formation. But their annihilation was likely only a matter of one or two incense sticks' time.

She wouldn't care how many people from the Shangxiao Sect died. Since Shangxiao Xuan Ling and the Lingyun Sects had schemed so meticulously to kill Zong Shou, and used such despicable means, everyone on the mountaintop deserved to pay the price; there were no innocents.

What truly made her frown were the two Blood Killing Banners fluttering in the wind. Countless streams of blood energy converged upon them, making the characters 'Blood' and 'Kill' appear even more piercing.

She knew these were not merely two flags but two immensely powerful artifacts. They were currently in a nurturing phase, but once fully formed, they could greatly amplify the power of the Blood Cloud Cavalry.

The more blood energy they absorbed, the stronger they would become! "Those scattered soldiers from the various cities could have been spared.

These people are already terrified and would never dare oppose the Qian Tian Sect again. If you wished, they could be converted to your use at any time." Zong Shou chuckled, recognizing that Xuan Yuan Yiren was subtly advising him, yet showing no sign of yielding: "I stated earlier, once the Blood Killing Banners are raised, I will not sheath my blade for one full day!" His tone was resolute, allowing no room for argument.

Internally, he had already decided to spare those people. He wasn't some madman who enjoyed killing.

These remaining two million-plus individuals posed no threat to Qian Tian Mountain; slaughtering them served no purpose. The destruction of the Shangxiao Sect and the various other sects was sufficient to intimidate Qian Tian.

Now, only the leaders needed to be executed; there was no need to vent anger on these common soldiers. However, such matters could not be spoken aloud.

He would simply pretend not to see them later, allowing them to leave after one day. As for whether they could be turned to his use, that remained to be seen.

But despite thinking this, he absolutely could not agree verbally just because this righteous girl offered advice. His actions followed his own principles, and he would not be easily swayed by others.

(To be continued)

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