Chapter 726

Chapter 726: Blood and Fire Reflect the Dark Night

Outside the secluded valley, the vast wilderness was teeming with demonic beasts and wandering spirits. Their numbers were immeasurable, and if counted, there might be over one hundred thousand.

As these demons gathered, they became increasingly restless and agitated. The ‘Evil-Dispelling Horn of Darkness’ that drove them, although a secret treasure passed down from the Yama Palace, had remarkable effects on the demons that thrived in the Yama Grotto. However, after a thousand years, even the best treasures would deteriorate, and now it could only gather them in one direction; any finer control was nearly impossible.

Looking at this land under the night sky, the howls of the demonic beasts echoed endlessly, spreading in all directions, causing fear and awe among those who heard them.

The defense line outside the secluded valley stood firm like a dam against the black tide, but fatigue and time took their toll. Some gaps began to appear, making the situation precarious.

Seeing the impending collapse and the rampaging demons, a group of meteor-like purple fireflies rushed from the horizon.

Though they appeared slow in the distance, they moved swiftly, piercing through dark clouds, heading toward their target.

As they approached the secluded valley, these lights split apart, floating and spinning in the air, drawing long, fleeting arcs until their light stabilized and hovered in mid-air.

Each figure wore purple robes, their eyes glowing like electric sparks, carrying long swords and purple jade pendants. They were mainline disciples from the Condensed Purple Night Illumination Palace, all at least Sequence 5, with several reaching Sequence 6.

“Follow me and form the Night Burning and Darkness Purging Formation!” one of them shouted, his voice thunderous.

“Yes!”

As soon as he spoke, over five hundred Sequence 5 inner disciples transformed into purple flames, resembling lanterns carried by night travelers, crisscrossing in the air.

Once these purple lanterns formed, the magic of the Necromancer Sequence flowed, creating an eerie wind swirling around them.

These magnificent purple lanterns surged down from the sky, weaving through the demonic beasts, burning with purple flames that danced like dragons, creating suffocating heat.

Many demons, terrified, tried to attack these night-traveling purple lanterns, but the lanterns flickered like fireflies, making it hard for the demons to catch them. Many demons died in the pursuit, suffocated and wailing.

Seeing this, some demons, driven by fear and panic, decided to resist the horn’s call and retreat, trampling countless lower-level demons along the way.

Under the pitch-black night sky, these purple lanterns roamed, with fire dragons dancing, continuously burning and driving away the gathered demons.

As they moved, many demons died instantly. Even those with high heat resistance didn’t last long, as the bone-chilling necrotic wind followed.

This invisible, intangible wind made demons’ bodies stiffen, then gradually peel away, turning into gray ashes and dust. The withering power of the Necromancer Sequence was formidable.

With the expansion of this purple flame wave, the demons on the ground started retreating out of fear, creating ripples across the night sky.

“What do we do, Uncle Crane Feather? The main sect’s people have arrived. Have our actions been discovered?” Several originally stationed disciples anxiously asked Crane Feather Immortal.

“I didn’t expect them to come so quickly,” Crane Feather Immortal said, dressed in purple-gray robes, standing against the wind, looking at the intense flames in the distance.

Suddenly, his voice turned stern. “What do we do? We must kill them! Are you still dreaming of fleeing or surrendering?”

“Don’t forget, we’ve all spilled blood before!” Crane Feather Immortal turned his head, half illuminated by the distant flames, the other half twisted in a sinister smile, like a ghost.

“These main sect disciples arrived hastily, only numbering around 500, but they’ve spread across thousands of miles, exhausting themselves.”

“We still have over 300 people here. With the Yama Palace’s secret treasure, we might still turn the tide.”

“After this matter is settled, with the Yama Palace’s secret realm, we can advance to the Seventh Rank. Then, we can go anywhere. Who knows, perhaps we could even explore the Yellow Sea mountains, the former gathering place of the Five Phoenixes.”

Crane Feather’s words left the disciples stunned, then hopeful. They soon adopted a fierce and grim expression.

If they could do it once, they could certainly do it again. Human nature slides easily.

With Crane Feather’s words, the remaining disciples were gradually convinced. They brought out another treasure from the Yama Palace.

In the twilight of the mountain range, on a hidden peak, a huge metallic cauldron, half black and half white, was slowly brought up and positioned.

On top of this massive black-and-white cauldron were eight lifelike metal serpents, their forms twisted and struggling. Some heads resembled humans, others dragons, beasts, demons, and more.

Under the urging of dozens of disciples, the lid of the cauldron began to rotate, and the entire cauldron lit up, revealing its intricate patterns in the darkness.

‘The Demon-Bewitching Furnace’ was a secret treasure of the Yama Palace from long ago. Though corroded by a thousand years, it still maintained a coral-grade quality.

Following the secret method, the cauldron, as tall as a building, gradually brightened, its three giant legs sinking deep into the ground.

As the cauldron activated, roots of light extended from beneath the legs, spreading until they touched a dragon vein below.

Then, the cauldron emitted a deep, cow-like sound, white steam rising from the top. The dragon vein’s energy poured in, filling the cauldron like a raging fire.

After a stick of incense, the lid of the cauldron rotated again, revealing the scorching inner furnace. Beams of light shot out, their long, piercing sounds spreading far and wide.

The purple lanterns in the distance were drawn by these beams of light, rising from the ground to converge in the sky, revealing their forms.

“What is that?” One of the main sect’s disciples asked, but he soon realized the answer.

When the sharp, malevolent sound rang out, stars of light rose from the corpses of the dead demons, their soul fragments drifting toward the sky, forming streams and rivers of blue light.

Seeing this, a disciple from the Night Illumination Palace shouted, “Stop them!”

As soon as he spoke, a long sword arc swept through, clearing the area of ghostly fragments.

However, the dead demons numbered in the hundreds or thousands. After prolonged battles, their corpses were countless. Even if the main sect’s Night Illumination Palace disciples noticed something amiss, it was too late.

A great number of ghostly fragments were sucked into the towering cauldron like a tidal wave.

“Give your life!” A Sequence 6 true disciple of the Necromancer Sequence swooped down from the sky, his sword light shattering the starry river, directly attacking the rebellious fellow members.

Just as swiftly, below, Crane Feather Immortal opened his fan, sweeping a gust of ghostly wind towards the attacker.

“It’s you, Crane Feather?”

As the true disciple swung his sword, he felt a strange, ghostly wind brush past his face, wrinkles appearing near his eyes, and his hair starting to turn gray.

Unlike other Sequence 5 inner disciples, Crane Feather was also a Sequence 6 true disciple. Having absorbed ancient Yama Palace secrets, he was stronger than most of his peers in the Night Illumination Palace.

Facing this age-corroding, life-draining ghostly wind, the purple-robed true disciple was shocked. When did that unremarkable Crane Feather become so powerful, understanding the decay and desiccation so deeply?

Though this ghostly wind seemed unable to directly kill, its incurable and unpredictable nature, leading to the underworld, made it terrifying. If not killed quickly, one would weaken over time, eventually dying from exhaustion.

Faced with this, the sword-wielding disciple suddenly launched a furious assault, no longer holding back, striking Crane Feather with lightning speed.

Mountainside Nether River Formation!

Disciples following Crane Feather spiraled upward, their forms indistinct, forming a surreal, isolating domain. Anyone entering this domain felt like being lost in a hazy mist, standing by a cold nether river.

This wasn’t a technique of the Night Illumination Palace but a secret of the Yama Palace, used to isolate and confuse enemies, trapping them helplessly.

But today, more than one true disciple came. Other Sequence 6 true disciples joined in, purple flames like dragons, burning the sky and night, rushing to attack. They burned to death over a dozen rebel disciples, scattering their souls.

Groans echoed across the mountaintop. Behind them, main sect disciples arrived, surging down to engage the rebels.

Both sides, wearing purple robes, fought fiercely. The flickering purple flames and sword lights burned hot and cold. Disciples were either burned to ashes by purple flames or pierced by cold, ghostly sword lights, falling in agony.

Familiar faces emerged in the flickering firelight, many collapsing in disbelief amidst the bloodstains.

Perhaps earlier, both sides harbored some hope, expecting things wouldn’t turn out as badly as imagined. But reality offered no reprieve. Amidst the splashing blood, old bonds dissolved, and both sides fought with bloodshot eyes.

If any senior from the Night Illumination Palace saw this, they might shed tears, lamenting, “How could it come to this?”

They had once studied together, exploring new methods and cultivation techniques. Now, they faced each other as enemies, irreversibly divided.

Seeing the main sect’s disciples gain the upper hand due to their numerical advantage, three Sequence 6 true disciples surrounded Crane Feather, putting him in dire straits. At this moment, the black-and-white ‘Demon-Bewitching Furnace’ changed again. Its lid clicked, twisting shut, emitting a dull roar and hot steam from its small openings.

Amidst the boiling fog, eight grotesque snake heads emerged from the furnace bottom, some resembling human faces, others dragons, venomous insects, and demons.

These eight snake heads solidified rapidly, their scales shimmering, eyes filled with bloodthirsty cunning.

They attacked suddenly, biting into the approaching main sect disciples, swallowing them whole or tearing them apart, leaving only half their bodies behind.

If they tried to escape as ghosts, the snake heads preferred it, sucking them in to devour.

Each snake head possessed roughly Sequence 7 strength, powerful and vicious.

While Sequence 6 true disciples from major sects could handle Sequence 7 demonic beasts in the wild, these snake heads were special, remnants of the Yama Palace’s ancient techniques, far more formidable and difficult to resist. Under their sudden assault, a Sequence 6 true disciple was pinned down by three snake heads and torn apart.

Bloody light and explosions tore across the mountaintop.

A main sect true disciple died, and other inner disciples suffered heavy casualties.

For a moment, both sides separated, gazing across the distance. The ground was littered with purple-robed corpses and bloodstains, scattered and chaotic fires everywhere.

The Night Illumination Palace inner disciples stood motionless, their faces flickering in the dim firelight, blood dripping from their long swords.

(End of Chapter)