Da Xuan Martial Saint

"Roar!"

The head of the cunning demon beast was shattered, but with a surge of demon energy, it struggled to reassemble and let out a fierce roar at Chen Mu in an attempt to counterattack, only to be immediately bombarded with continued roars by another Grandmaster's attack.

These demon aspects, formed by formations and demon energy, lacked a physical form and vital spots, but Chen Mu's Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal was capable of truly eroding the demon energy within them, making their recovery more difficult and bringing them closer to disintegration.

Whoosh.

Chen Mu's expression remained calm and collected, unflustered and not seeking to stand out; with a simple extension of his hand, he drew the Cold Soul Spirit Blade and swung it downward, unleashing crisscrossing waves of Cold Soul Blade Qi, suppressing one demon aspect after another.

Occasionally unleashing a Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal, he caused even greater destruction, concentrating formidable power within mere inches, making it all the more breathtaking. In fact, the Heaven and Earth Wheel Seal he now unleashed truly had a hint of returning to the original simplicity.

The breakthrough in his state of mind, coupled with a deeper understanding of the Qiankun Artistic Conception, enabled him to unleash power comparable to that before his Marrow Cleansing breakthrough without mobilizing too much of his own Yuan Gang.

Simply put,

It meant expending less energy to unleash greater power and higher damage.

After entering the Marrow Cleansing Realm, a martial artist continues on this path, refining and then concentrating their power, until Marrow Cleansing is complete and they step into the Blood Exchange, capable of collapsing mountains with a flick of their fingers.

Below.

Inside Secluded Silent Valley.

The fierce battle had already made the entire valley tremble, and the tunnels buried underground and deep within the caves, as well as numerous caverns, were all in chaos, with many individuals from the Sky Demon Sect panicking.

Many Sixth Rank demon men protectors had gathered together, close to the outside of the formation point where Chen Mu and many Grandmasters were concentrating their attacks, but they did not dare to approach, all of them showing fearful and unsightly expressions.

"It's the Grandmasters of the Seven Profound Sect, how come so many have arrived?!"

"This is bad."

The situation frightened everyone present.

Although it seemed that there were no hands from other sects such as the Ice Extreme Palace and the Heavenly Sword Sect, the mere full force of the Seven Profound Sect brought immense pressure, even here at the headquarters of the Sky Demon Sect!

After all, the Seven Profound Sect was a Great Sect that had stood for hundreds of years over a state's territory, with nearly twenty Grandmasters whose combat power was no joke. To think the openly active Demon Venerables of the entire Sky Demon Sect were only about a dozen Seventh Rank, and only two Eighth Rank Venerables existed.

Even if there was some hidden strength, engaging the Seven Profound Sect head-on would at best be an evenly matched scenario; considering that a large portion of the Sky Demon Sect's forces were currently active in Ice State and allied with the foreign race to attack the Ice Extreme Palace, no more than one third of the military strength was available at headquarters.

In this situation, the ability to staunchly resist the fierce attack of nearly twenty Grandmasters from the Seven Profound Sect was almost entirely dependent on the fortress's various formations and the stored power of numerous Earth Fiends and other reserves.

Any astute observer could see that it was only a matter of time before they would no longer be able to hold out!

"The Seven Profound Sect has really come knocking, and now we're in big trouble."

A Sixth Rank demon man protector frowned secretly.

Many demon men, being latecomers to the sect without much sense of belonging, had joined the Sky Demon Sect merely to practice sorcery to extend their lives and enhance their power. Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, many of them were contemplating retreat.

However, the issue was that the Secluded Silent Valley was not easy to escape from; with so many Grandmasters from the Seven Profound Sect outside, even if they wanted to flee, escaping under the eyes of those Grandmasters was almost impossible, and rashly leaving might lead straight to a dead end. It might be better to rely on the formations and Earth's Veins of the Secluded Silent Valley and hold out until reinforcements arrived.

This was, after all, Han Prefecture, Ice State, not Yu State.

The Heavenly Corpse Sect and the foreign races active here would likely not ignore the situation in the Secluded Silent Valley; at the very least, they would come to check it out, forcing the Seven Profound Sect to divert some of their focus.

But just as these demon men protectors were frantically searching for strategies, a voice filled with demonic might echoed, "All protectors hold your positions; they cannot breach our defenses yet, those who cause chaos will die!"

This was the voice of the Demon Venerable Kun Wu of the Mo Jade Demon.

The command of an Eighth Rank Venerable abruptly calmed the chaos within the Secluded Silent Valley momentarily, silencing the noisy protectors, who showed frightened expressions and glanced at each other before daring not to disobey, and hurriedly ran to nearby formation points.

Although these Sixth Rank protectors were insignificant compared to a Grandmaster in strength, their demon energy and demonic power could still sustain the operation of the valley's formations, gathering together to exert a certain degree of power.

Scattered they were sheep, united they were wolves.

Yet even so, with the addition of many Sixth Rank protectors to exert the power of the formations, the outlook for the many Demon Venerables gathered on the outermost part of the Secluded Silent Valley, including the leading Demon Venerable Kun Wu, still appeared grim.

"Damn Seven Profound Sect,"

He glanced through the valley's formations at the many Grandmasters of the Seven Profound Sect converging outside the valley.

Although he had anticipated that the Seven Profound Sect might mobilize troops to attack Han Prefecture, he had not expected the Seven Profound Sect to make such a move, with more than a dozen grandmasters arriving together, directly attacking their Sky Demon Sect's Main Altar!

This attack was sudden, bold, and swift, catching them somewhat off guard.

Mainly because.

The Venerable Ancestor of their Sky Demon Sect was also coincidentally not in the Secluded Silent Valley at this moment. Although there were quite a few troops stationed in the Secluded Silent Valley, they were clearly inferior when faced with the all-out assault from the Seven Profound Sect, unable to withstand it.

The best course of action now was to abandon the Secluded Silent Valley and flee in all directions, which was clearly the most foolish move. Once they lost the protection of the Main Altar's formation, those grandmasters of the Seven Profound Sect would be like tigers among sheep, freely slaughtering them. Even a Seventh Rank Demon Venerable, without the formation and the supportive momentum of demon fiends, would not last more than a few moves against someone like Feng Hongsheng and would be killed on the spot.

As for him,

Although Feng Hongsheng and others were far from his match, and he had no fear even facing three or four of them together, Qi Zhiyuan, holding the Taiyin Mirror, was a great threat to him. He had no confidence in defeating Qi Zhiyuan, with only assurance in escaping.

In other words, even if the situation was unfavorable, they could only stand firm for now, hoping for support from the Foreign Races and the Heavenly Corpse Sect, and that the Venerable Ancestor of their Sky Demon Sect could return as soon as possible.

...

Almost at the same time as the grandmasters of the Seven Profound Sect gathered to attack the Secluded Silent Valley and the fierce battle escalated,

Ice State.

About two to three hundred miles away from the Ice Extreme Palace.

Above the densely clouded sky, a shadow stood upon the clouds, with a restrained and oppressive aura, making it difficult to discern his realm. However, being able to stand on the clouds indicated that he was at least in the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

He just stared in the direction of the Ice Extreme Palace, pondering something. After a long while, suddenly, a pale blue Order Token flew from a certain direction, shooting into the clouds and landing in his hand.

This Order Token was imbued with a strong Corpse Fiend aura, intense yet not dispersed, and peculiarly, though it was purely Corpse Fiend, it also had a hint of lightness, giving it a profoundly contradictory feeling.

If a grandmaster of the Marrow Cleansing Realm saw this Order Token, they would be taken aback, even a master of the Blood Exchange Realm would have their eyes fixed on it.

From the extreme negative emerges the positive; from the utmost turbidity comes clarity.

This is the Corpse Refinement technique of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, refining an Earth Fiend to its limit, solidifying sheer bulk and heaviness to its pinnacle, stepping into the final transformation—a union of man and corpse, reaching the ultimate inversion, the peak of the Corpse Refinement lineage—the Heavenly Corpse!

Without a doubt, this Order Token came from a Heavenly Corpse, from an old ancestor of the Heavenly Corpse Sect.

The shadow, standing deep within the dark clouds, naturally belonged to a figure of the same level, the Venerable Ancestor of the Sky Demon Sect—Yuwen Hao!

"As I suspected, the anomaly will arise, the Ice State Abyss is about to open..."

Yuwen Hao, holding the Order Token, didn't look at it but, with a flick of his claw-like fingers, crushed it instantly as if knowing the message it conveyed. Then, he looked towards the direction of the Ice Extreme Palace again, a faint glow appearing in his eyes.

The Earthly Abyss.

In this world of mountains and rivers, thousands of feet deep underground lies a mysterious abyssal soil. Normally, even beings in the Blood Exchange Realm would struggle to forcefully penetrate so deep, and those who entered often found it difficult to advance even an inch.

Only when some kind of anomaly occurs in a certain part of the heavens and earth can one enter the corresponding region of the Earthly Abyss to explore.

The Sky Demon Sect, the Foreign Race outside the borders, and the Heavenly Corpse Sect attacking the Ice Extreme Palace wasn't a sudden occurrence nor was it unplanned—the crucial point lies in the imminent anomaly!

The opening of the Earthly Abyss will stir the Earth's Veins across the entire Ice State region. By then, the Earth's Veins beneath Ice Extreme Palace will erupt, and even if they could suppress it with their formation, that is contingent on without any external interference!

With his presence, that of the Heavenly Corpse, and the Foreign Race, having no interference is clearly impossible!

If they could just slightly disrupt at that moment, the Ice Extreme Palace's sect formation, this "turtle shell", could be broken without attacking, making it easy for their three forces to take down the Ice Extreme Palace.

Even if the opening of the Earthly Abyss attracts the attention of the entire Cold North Path, and all the Great Sects will focus their attention here, by the time their reinforcements arrive, Ice Extreme Palace would have already fallen. Whether these outsiders will help the Ice Extreme Palace or join in looting its resources, nobody can be sure.

In short.

In at most two more months, it should begin.

He, because of his bloodline, had a premonition, and the old ancestor of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, who frequently traveled deep underground and dealt with Earth Fiends, naturally could sense the changes in the Earth's Veins much earlier than others.

If it were just his own premonition, he might not have been certain, but this Order Token from the Heavenly Corpse Sect confirmed his judgment was correct, and the time would be in two months, which could be said to be very soon.

However, just as Yuwen Hao was engrossed in his thoughts, contemplating how to plunder the most resources during this upheaval of the Earthly Abyss, suddenly, he slightly started, raising his hand. On his scale-armored palm, a crack had unknowingly appeared, with faint traces of blood flowing, causing his expression to suddenly sink.

Something had happened in Secluded Silent Valley!