Chapter 1081
Sealing
At this moment, the borderlands were engulfed in flames of war, and the three regions had taken three completely different turns.
As the location of the incident, the Southwest Nine Realms should have been the area with the most brutal fighting, but the reality was quite the opposite.
After Song Qingxing and others confirmed the existence of the demonic calamity, Song Qingxi immediately summoned the leaders of various cultivation worlds and reached a consensus in less than an hour.
On the first day after the meeting, the major Golden Core forces mobilized a large number of elite troops to break away from the encirclement and suppression of the remaining demon beasts and rushed to the cultivation world of Lu Kingdom as quickly as possible. They were all in place in just three days.
At the same time, investigations were also being conducted within various cultivation communities.
Such efficiency is far beyond what the central and even southeastern regions can achieve.
War is the best catalyst, and this manifests in every aspect.
Although it came at a very heavy price, the situation was brought under control and the situation stabilized in the shortest possible time.
Hou Yu of the Nine Mysteries Sect also informed the various forces in the central region about the demonic disaster at the first opportunity, but it did not attract enough attention. They were caught off guard and the situation was completely out of control.
As a result, the various Golden Core factions could only cower within the mountain-protecting formations in an attempt to preserve themselves.
Preserving one's own strength is not wrong in itself, but the consequence of doing so is that the demonic disaster is allowed to spread rapidly, and countless small families and forces are devoured and destroyed.
The demonic calamity grew rapidly, like a snowball rolling downhill, and in turn threatened the southwest and southeast regions.
Fortunately, the southeast is relatively far away, and the teleportation array is difficult to spread quickly after it is closed. In addition, the Wanxiang Palace reacted in time, so so far it has not been greatly affected.
However, no one can guarantee that there might still be some lurking individuals who have slipped through the net.
This sight truly pained Song Changsheng.
With a catastrophe looming and the borderlands isolated, the Song family and the Wanxiang Palace have been racking their brains to eliminate potential threats and preserve their strength.
We managed to crack the two toughest nuts to crack, but they were all destroyed by this demonic disaster.
In a short period of time, the losses caused far exceeded those of the sea creatures and the demon races; it is unknown how many years it will take to recover.
Fortunately, it wasn't all bad news; the two mobile sources of infection, Shen Qing and Wang Jie, were finally found.
But this location...
"How could it be the Abyss? Could this demonic calamity be related to the Abyss?"
Song Changsheng frowned. In the eyes of most people, the abyss is a synonym for danger and mystery. Even a Nascent Soul True Monarch might never return from it.
The legend spread widely, and even the most powerful forces in the border regions had heard of it.
A small number of people think it's an exaggeration, while most people are completely unmoved.
Not everyone has such a strong adventurous spirit, knowing there's danger yet still deliberately venturing into it.
However, Song Changsheng knew very well that the Abyss was a passage connecting to other realms, and the real danger inside was the alien race. According to Song Qingxing's description, it was a kind of ugly demon race with extremely powerful strength, including many strong individuals comparable to Golden Core or even Nascent Soul cultivators.
They cannot escape the abyss simply because of the seal or some other restriction.
He had long harbored the idea of exploring the abyss, but he hadn't put it into practice because he was worried that he wasn't strong enough and might not return.
The fact that the demonic calamity was now linked to the abyss gave him an ominous feeling.
"I should have thought of that!"
As Song Changsheng hurried on his way, he cursed himself for not being vigilant enough.
He soon appeared in the sky above the cultivation world of Lu Kingdom.
The southwest is sparsely populated, and in less than a year, it has experienced the invasion of the demon race, the mass migration of the population, and the outbreak of the demonic disaster. Everywhere it went, there were ruins and smoke of gunpowder. No living people could be seen, let alone demon slaves.
Arriving at that familiar yellow sand desert, even though we are thousands of miles apart, we can still see the vortex of demonic energy soaring into the sky.
The ominous premonition in Song Changsheng's heart grew stronger, and he unconsciously quickened his pace.
"call"
As the distance shortened, gusts of biting wind, carrying with them a sky full of yellow sand, swept in. The sandstorm, towering thousands of feet high, blotted out the sun, like a wild beast ready to devour its prey.
Passing through the sandstorm, what comes into view is a long, narrow crevice that stretches across the sky and seems to have no end.
A continuous stream of demonic energy gushed out from it, emitting a suffocating aura.
Beneath the spatial rift leading to the abyss, demon slaves corrupted by demonic energy lay sprawled, their corpses shriveled and their deaths gruesome; a rough estimate puts them at least close to a million.
This was clearly not the work of Yi Tianzheng and his group; rather, it resembled some kind of sacrificial ritual.
Seeing this, he already had a general idea in his mind.
There were many familiar presences here. In addition to Yi Tianzheng and Ji Shinian, there were also high-level cultivators from the Southwest Alliance such as Shi Potian, Wang Changqing, Mu Guibai, and Tianjue Zhenren. Dozens of Golden Core cultivators had gathered here.
There were more than ten cultivators with cultivation levels above the late Golden Core stage, making it comparable in scale to the first Lu Kingdom cultivation world war.
They stood in a peculiar formation around the bottom of the spatial rift, channeling their magical power into a multicolored ring above them that was over a thousand feet in diameter.
The ring was like a golden hoop, encircling the spatial rift, expanding and contracting erratically.
Judging from their positions, this is some kind of combined attack formation, which is probably intended to seal the spatial rift.
Sensing Song Changsheng's presence, Ji Shinian broke free from the formation and came forward to greet him: "You've finally arrived."
"What's going on?" Song Changsheng looked at the vortex of demonic energy shooting straight into the sky, and his unease reached its peak at this moment.
"I fought the Red Owl Demon Lord for several days without a clear victor. After the Palace Master arrived, he was frightened and fled without a trace."
The Palace Master and I split up to search for Shen Qing and Wang Jie, and eventually found this place.
They performed a blood sacrifice ritual here, breaking the original seal of the abyss and allowing demonic energy to leak out.
When they arrived, the ceremony had already ended. Wang Jie had been captured by the palace master, and Shen Qing had entered the abyss.
After a brief discussion, we decided to join forces to seal it away.
But as you can see, we arrived here yesterday. At first, it was me and the Palace Master working together, but with little success.
Later, the Song family took the initiative to contact the authorities and gathered so many Golden Core cultivators that they were able to barely contain the spread of demonic energy.
The main problem is that none of us are highly skilled array masters. Things will be much easier once you arrive.” Ji Shinian briefly described the current situation.
"The original seal?"
Ji Shinian nodded and said, "You should also know that the Abyss is actually a passage connecting with alien races, a product left over from a cataclysmic event several eras ago."
A powerful being personally sealed it away, and the lineage to which it belonged would send a strong person to reinforce the seal every ten thousand years.
However, based on our observations, this seal has probably not been reinforced for tens of thousands of years.
The seal loosened, causing demonic energy to leak out. Shen Qing and Wang Jie happened to be there at the time and were contaminated by the demonic energy, so they brought it back to the Rakshasa Hall.
Fortunately, they were imprisoned in the dungeon as soon as they returned, otherwise the demonic calamity would have already erupted. "I see."
Song Changsheng never expected that this would happen. Two mere Foundation Establishment cultivators had unintentionally stirred up such a massive demonic calamity.
At that moment, all he wanted to do was tear those two reckless guys to pieces!
Seemingly sensing his inner thoughts, Ji Shinian shook his head and said, "You should feel fortunate that they brought demonic energy to the cultivation world of Lu, but they also triggered the demonic calamity ahead of time."
Without this demonic calamity, we would not have discovered that the seal on the abyss rift was loosening. Once the demonic energy completely breaks through the seal, it will not only sweep across the entire cultivation world of Lu Kingdom, but alien races will also descend upon the Purple Imperial Realm through the spatial rift. At that time, it will be beyond our power to deal with.
Although the losses are heavy, the seal is still in place, and the alien races cannot pass through.
We only need to reinforce the existing seal, which is something we can easily accomplish.
Upon further reflection, Song Changsheng realized that this was indeed the case. The abyss was infamous, and the surrounding area was mostly barren desert and yellow sand. Unless there were special circumstances, it was unlikely that anyone would come here for decades.
It's unlikely that the leaked demonic energy could possibly cross this desert.
Once the seal is broken, destruction awaits the borderlands.
"You should have already interrogated Wang Jie, right? As disciples of the Rakshasa Hall, why are they here?"
This was what puzzled Song Changsheng the most. Both of them were Foundation Establishment cultivators, so why did they come here for no reason?
"The Palace Master personally searched their souls. It is said that the two were placed here by the Rakshasa Hall to monitor the Abyss, and they should be related to the Blood Demon Sect from before."
They stumbled upon intense battle fluctuations here and, wanting to take advantage of the situation, approached the spatial rift. It was likely during that time that they were corrupted by demonic energy, which remained dormant within them.
Song Changsheng astutely grasped the key point of his words: "Since it was a battle of magic, it means there were other people present at the time. Do you know who they were?"
"Wang Jie was also unsure. The two groups were fighting, and it was said that there was more than one Purple Mansion cultivator. The two of them did not dare to get close. They only appeared after one side cleaned up the battlefield after the fight ended."
This was found on him; it was obtained from the battlefield, and he was arrested before he could sell it.
This must belong to one side in a battle of magic. Perhaps we can find clues through this. You are proficient in weapon crafting and formations, so see if you can discover anything.
Both sides are definitely tainted by demonic energy. If they are cultivators from Lu or the surrounding cultivation world, that's one thing, but if they come from other forces, it would be troublesome if the demonic calamity spread to other places.
As he spoke, Ji Shinian handed over a broken array plate.
The moment Song Changsheng saw the array plate, his pupils shrank sharply. He snatched it and examined it carefully, finally confirming that it was made by him.
His weapon-forging techniques are unique and easily recognizable.
Suddenly, long-forgotten memories flooded my mind like a tidal wave.
He recalled a night many years ago when Xu Yunhe and Xia Wanyun came to his door...
Before leaving, he prepared a lot of resources for the couple, and this array plate was one of them.
Clearly, one of the two groups that clashed at the time was Xu Yunhe and his wife.
They never make enemies without reason, and they have been wandering around for many years. There shouldn't be any irreconcilable enemies in the cultivation world of Lu Kingdom. Why would they fight here?
wrong.
Song Changsheng was shocked. Their first escape began in the cultivation world of Lu State.
The Shadow Pavilion, and the one they will be fighting is definitely the Shadow Pavilion.
What is the Shadow Pavilion? It is the behind-the-scenes owner of a black market that spans a significant portion of the human cultivation world.
If it really was someone from the Shadow Pavilion who was tainted by demonic energy, then...
He dared not think any further.
The cultivation worlds north of the Tianshan Mountains are not as sparsely populated as the southwest; each cultivation world has an extremely dense population.
In the remote borderlands, only the cultivation world in the southeast region can barely compare.
Not only is it densely populated, but it also has very convenient transportation.
Because of the black market's unique nature, cultivators from all over the country gather there.
Once demonic energy is brought into the black market, given the speed of personnel movement there, its spread will be unimaginable.
"Could the catastrophe foretold be a demonic calamity?" Song Changsheng's chest heaved violently, his thoughts in complete disarray.
"Fellow Daoist Song?"
Noticing that something was wrong with him, Ji Shinian quickly asked him what was wrong.
Song Changsheng was jolted awake from his reverie. The matter was of great importance, so after concealing some details about Xu Yunhe and his wife, he recounted what he knew.
Upon hearing this, Ji Shinian's expression suddenly turned serious.
"The Palace Master has a close personal relationship with that True Monarch in the East Sea Heaven-level Black Market. Perhaps we can get in touch with him. We should hurry over there without delay."
“I have heard you.”
Yi Tianzheng's voice suddenly rang in their ears.
"So many years have passed, there's no need to rush. Let's hurry up and reinforce the seal. Only after we've dealt with the immediate problem can we be qualified to manage others."
"So what should I do now?"
"You should study this array diagram first. Among us, the highest level of array formation is only fourth-tier top-grade. There are many flaws in the array. You need to optimize it for us and bring out the full power of this great array."
With our strength, we can only achieve a temporary seal, but that's enough.
"If we hold out for a few more days, and wait for our grandmaster and Ancestor Xuanlei to return, we can seal it away completely."
After saying that, a streak of light shot over and landed in front of Song Changsheng.
He had just opened the array diagram and hadn't even had a chance to look at it when the spatial rift suddenly began to tremble violently, as if the entire world was shaking.
The demonic energy that had been contained poured out like a flood, and the colorful rings that were wrapped around the spatial rift were already overwhelmed.
"Oh no, something's about to burst out of there!" Yi Tianzheng's voice was no longer as calm as before.
Song Changsheng and Ji Shinian quickly stepped forward to help stabilize the seal.
Amidst the surging demonic energy, a scarlet horn slowly emerged from the spatial rift. Even with only a portion visible, it was already several meters long. Without a doubt, the owner of this horn must have been a colossal being.
"click click"
The spatial rift emitted a piercing sound, and the narrow rift seemed to be stretched open by an invisible force.
A massive shadow emerged from the demonic energy...
...(End of this chapter)