Da Xuan Martial Saint

"Seven Profound Sect!"

Yuwen Hao's expression darkened, reacting almost instantly.

Secluded Silent Valley was the main altar of the Sky Demon Sect, and although the sect's forces were currently dispersed, only the Seven Profound Sect, located sufficiently close to Han Prefecture, could pose a threat to the main altar in such a short duration of time.
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He was just unsure about how the Seven Profound Sect had pinpointed the location of Secluded Silent Valley so accurately to attack it with such rapid, overwhelming force. Nonetheless, trouble had now arrived.

Whoosh!

Without a second thought, Yuwen Hao's figure blurred, streaking through the dark clouds like a grey shadow, and rapidly headed back toward Secluded Silent Valley.

As the founder of Sky Demon Sect and a Ninth Rank Heavenly Demon, his speed was naturally much faster than ordinary grandmasters. Even though he was in the central region of Ice State, returning to Secluded Silent Valley was just a matter of moments.

However.

Just as he was soaring through the air and had covered thousands of miles in less than two hours to arrive at Han Prefecture, his speed suddenly decreased. At the same time, his expression subtly changed, and a surging gray demon qi rapidly enveloped him.

It was at that moment, the thick cloud cover in front of him split in two, and, accompanied by a hundred-yard-long sword light that tore through the sky, it aimed to cleave him right at the cloud level.

This sword light moved with the speed of wind and thunder, and deep within it, ripples of water artistic conception mingled. Several realms and powers beautifully fused together, almost indistinguishable from each other despite their grand hundred-yard stature, condensed to the extreme. A majestic aura blended within it, and with a single slash, it seemed capable of severing rivers, interrupting their flow!

"Hmph!"

Facing the sword light that pierced the sky, Yuwen Hao merely snorted coldly, raised his scale-armored arms, and with a fierce tear through the air, directly grabbed at the incoming sword light with his bare hands.

The sword light hit his palms in the next instant, caught by his scale-armored hands. It emitted a series of crackling sounds as vigorous energy and demonic power violently clashed. After a brief stalemate, the part of the sword light held by Yuwen Hao began to show cracks, which then spread along its length.

Until the entire hundred-yard-long sword light was entirely cracked and eventually utterly shattered!

"..."

After tearing apart the sword light, Yuwen Hao made no further move, standing tall in the sky, his gaze coldly fixed ahead.

In the torn cloud ahead, a figure in a long robe emerged, his beard fluttering, bearing a somewhat transcendent and immortal-like demeanor; though not an Immortal God, his name was renowned throughout the Eleven States of the Northern Path.

Seven Profound Sect's Supreme,

Yin Heng!

This was a true Blood Exchange Realm master, one of the rare few across the entire Northern Path who had perfected the Martial Art Body Tempering to its final realm. A figure at the pinnacle of the Martial Arts world, the foundation that allowed the Great Sect to stand steadfastly in this world.

Even during the flourishing era of the Da Xuan Dynasty Court, individuals of the Blood Exchange Realm, if willing to join the Imperial Court, could be granted titles of nobility. As long as they did not breach the fundamental laws of the Court, even the Court would show them a degree of respect.

"Yin Heng..."

Yuwen Hao coldly looked at Yin Heng and said, "Do you, Seven Profound Sect, think it wise to try and swallow my Sky Demon Sect whole? Isn't that a bit too greedy?"

With his hands behind his back and a calm demeanor, Yin Heng said, "In times of chaos, colluding with the Foreign Race beyond the borders, bringing disaster upon a whole state—what reason is there to speak of? Besides, in our three encounters, you fled all three times. Even without discussing right and wrong, the path your Sky Demon Sect cultivates is misguided. There are ten ranks for demons, yet in the hundreds of years your sect has existed, has anyone reached that level?"

Hearing this, Yuwen Hao responded indifferently, "What is right, and what is wrong? I only know that when your master rampaged across the world, I was already long-established, and I will still exist when your lifespan ends. In fact, before me, even you, Yin Heng, are but a junior. How can you know if I won't return to the origins and glimpse the end of the Dao one day?"

Yin Heng, upon hearing this, couldn't help but chuckle, his hand grasping a three-foot sword, and said, "It's been a long while since I've been called 'junior.' Since Yuwen Hao put it that way, let me have you flee from the hands of this junior for the fourth time."

Though he spoke these words, as he fixed his gaze on Yuwen Hao, his eyes also carried a hint of contemplation. He had always been unclear about the true intent behind the Sky Demon, Heavenly Corpse, and the Foreign Race's joint attack on Ice State, especially considering the current situation. Even if the three powers combined, it seemed unlikely they could breach Ice Extreme Palace, and persisting in the standoff held little meaning.

It was apparent that asking Yuwen Hao directly wouldn't yield an answer, so he decided to set aside those concerns for now. No matter what, breaking through and seizing the Sky Demon Sect's main altar this time would inevitably impact the situation in Ice State.

Whoosh!

In the next moment, Yin Heng's figure cut through the sky, his sword targeting Yuwen Hao.

Yuwen Hao let out a roar, his body engulfed in surging gray demonic qi, which stirred the entire cloud sea around him. The clouds above roiled like ocean waves, with thunder seemingly mingling within them.

...

Secluded Silent Valley.

From the Seven Profound Sect, led by Qi Zhiyuan, numerous grandmasters gathered for an attack, and half an hour quickly passed.

Even though the Sky Demon Sect's Main Altar was heavily fortified, infused with the demonic and vicious momentum, and various formations intersected, the Seven Profound Sect's force this time was nearly exhaustive, which was extraordinary. Additionally, Qi Zhiyuan brought the Taiyin Mirror and other sect depositories, various spirit weapons, and within a short half hour of engagement, the defenses within the Secluded Silent Valley were dangerously close to collapse, with one of the formation nodes nearly exposed.

The surging demonic vicious energy and the demon aspects condensed by the formations were obviously weakened, not as strong as at the beginning. Anyone could see that if no other changes occurred, the fall of the Secluded Silent Valley was only a matter of time!

Whoosh! Whoosh!!

Chen Mu stood firm on a cliff, continually wielding the Cold Soul Spirit Blade, suppressing a demon aspect formed by a formation, his gaze fixated on the Secluded Silent Valley, carefully probing the situation inside.

However, due to the blocking of the formation, he still couldn't quite clearly perceive the internal situation through the surface.

"The formation of the Sky Demon Sect does have some peculiarities. If one mentions extracting the Power of the Veins, it's quite understandable, but this continuous flow of demonic Qi, its origin is unknown. If it is refining the Power of the Veins into demonic Qi, then the process is too cumbersome. The more complicated the embedding of formations, the easier it breaks down, it should have collapsed by now," Chen Mu thought to himself.

In his view, the fact that the Sky Demon Sect could hold on for so long, there indeed was something peculiar in this Main Altar. Initially, he suspected that the source of this demonic Qi was the Heavenly Demon Grand Ancestor of the Sky Demon Sect, but if the Heavenly Demon Grand Ancestor was in the Main Altar, he would need only to emerge alone, and Qi Zhiyuan and others would not be his match, even with the Taiyin Mirror.

Although he hadn't seen the Supreme Elder, Yin Heng, of the Seven Profound Sect along the way to Secluded Silent Valley, such a move would certainly not be overlooked by that Supreme. The opponent hadn't made a move yet, which suggested that there must be other matters being attended to.

Now, it seemed likely that the Heavenly Demon Grand Ancestor was not in the Secluded Silent Valley, and Yin Heng did not want to escalate the conflict to a Blood Exchange Realm battle here, which would be more disadvantageous to the Sky Demon Sect but would also affect Qi Zhiyuan and many other grandmasters, so perhaps he went to a somewhat distant place to stop the Heavenly Demon Grand Ancestor.

Otherwise,

with a being of that level's movement technique and speed, he would have returned to the afflicted Secluded Silent Valley long ago.

"If the Secluded Silent Valley really doesn't have the Heavenly Demon Grand Ancestor, then given the current situation, could it be that there is a Ninth Rank Heavenly Demon inside the valley? They use the Earth Vein Formation as a constraint, have captured and imprisoned a Ninth Rank Heavenly Demon, drawing its blood and demonic Qi to temper a Demon Body?" Chen Mu narrowed his eyes slightly.

He remembered when he was at Cuiyan Mountain Villa, where he killed the Demon Venerable Hou Liao of the Sky Demon Sect and looted a portion of Ninth Rank demon blood from his body. To dispose of this demon blood, he specially went to a lawless area at the junction of Jade, Qing, and Xuan states, disguised himself, and traded with someone there.

And he finally learned that this demon blood originated from the Ninth Rank Heavenly Demon Black Tortoise's Mystic Tortoise blood.

Unfortunately, it was just ordinary demon blood from the Mystic Tortoise, not its essence blood. Otherwise, its value would have been at least ten times higher, and he wouldn't have needed to expend the effort he later did to gather the materials required for Body Refinement of the Six Viscera).

"If there really is a Mystic Tortoise imprisoned within Secluded Silent Valley…" Chen Mu paused to ponder for a moment.

He hadn't given his full effort in the fight, not just to conceal his strength; mainly, he was continuously judging the situation within Secluded Silent Valley based on its resistance, the overall situation, and the clues he had obtained.

He wasn't sure yet, but various signs seemed very similar; if there really was a Mystic Tortoise imprisoned there, completely destroying Secluded Silent Valley's Earth Vein Formation would also release the Ninth Rank Heavenly Demon.

This creature was not easy to deal with.

A Ninth Rank Heavenly Demon!

This was a terrifying demon that only those in the Blood Exchange Realm could suppress. Even at his current level, he wasn't sure he could handle it. If it was restricted or extremely weak, it would be manageable, but if it was in its prime, then he would have only one option: retreat.

If his guess was correct, then indeed, no great sect's Main Altar was easily breached. Like the Seven Profound Sect's unrivaled Qiankun Lock Dragon Formation, the Sky Demon Sect's formations, although not very powerful, still had other foundations. Even if the Ninth Rank Heavenly Demon escaped, it would be a huge disaster for the Sky Demon Sect, but it would also be a big trouble for their Seven Profound Sect.

It was precisely because it was unclear if other changes might occur within Secluded Silent Valley, that despite Chen Mu having some opportunities to stealthily inflict more damage to the formation nodes of Secluded Silent Valley, he remained somewhat restrained, only exerting a certain amount of power, thinking of more appropriate strategies while engaging in combat.

Actually,

as the battle continued, Qi Zhiyuan and other grandmasters had also begun to subtly guess as well, after all, they had been attacking for so long, they should have obtained at least some information even without breaking through Secluded Silent Valley completely.

And precisely for this reason, Qi Zhiyuan had slowed down the offensive using the Taiyin Mirror slightly, furrowing his brows, contemplating how to respond if there really was a Ninth Rank Heavenly Demon inside Secluded Silent Valley, should it emerge.