Chapter 412: The Battle After Falling Into Devilry

Devilish qi soared, and blood light filled the night.

One of the cultivators who had flown out of the lake couldn't help but let out a triumphant laugh that dripped with arrogance and self-satisfaction.

However, blood light appeared in front of him at lightning speed. Just as it began to take shape, a slender hand reached for his heart.

The lake exploded with a resounding boom.

The laughing cultivator didn't expect to be attacked so soon. In a rush, he raised his palm to defend, barely stopping the hand.

Time seemed to pause. Silence took over the unnaturally tense atmosphere.

Right after, the blood light coalesced into a fiendish, alluring figure. The slender hand trembled slightly, causing an explosion. The ancient cultivator, who was inside the blast, was sent flying through the air as waves of blood light formed and launched multiple palm phantasms at his chest.

Xi Lian hovered motionless in midair, crimson hair floating and curves alluring. The contrast of her fire-red hair and snow-white skin against the swirling blood light made her even more breathtakingly beautiful.

"

Hmph!

"

The blood light flashed, leaving dozens of afterimages of her fiendish form. She appeared behind the ancient cultivator who had been sent flying. As if silently waiting for the perfect moment, she hit him with another palm strike.

A sword radiance swept in from the side, its cold and merciless blade shimmering like autumn waters.

Crimson light flickered in Xi Lian's eyes. She still retained a sliver of rationality, but in combat, she relied solely on instinct.

Turning into a devil did not immediately erase her sense of self. Though consumed by bloodlust, rage, and irrationality, she had only one obsession occupying her heart.

Kill the ancient cultivators!

Instead of dodging, she ignored the lower-level Grand Immortal-Ascension Realm cultivator and faced the incoming sword radiance. Blood light swirled around her palms, creating palm phantasms. In response, the ancient cultivator's sword trembled. It sent hundreds of sword phantasms, one for each of her palm phantasms.

Explosions reverberated in the air. Swords and palms clashed violently, stirring the primal qi in hundreds of

li.

Xi Lian blocked the powerful sword attacks with her bare hands. She sustained a few thin cuts on her face and arms, but they instantly disappeared.

Only dozens of strikes hit the ancient cultivator in the shadows, yet his aura wavered.

"Die!" Xi Lian roared as she lunged at him. Behind her, blood light formed dozens of fox tails.

Her opponent's eyes turned cold and snorted. He flickered through the shadows as his longsword multiplied into thousands of sword phantasms and flew toward Xi Lian even faster than the last barrage. The two clashed fiercely in midair.

The ancient cultivator whom Xi Lian had blasted away earlier had finished suppressing his injuries. Frowning, he watched the fight above. He then leaped into the air and charged back into the fray.

Below, the water of the lake rushed back, gradually covering the Buddhist light at the bottom.

The Daoists maintaining the blocking formations along the shore simply watched the aerial battle, awaiting orders from their "masters." Though they couldn't keep up with the three combatants, they could feel the reverberations from the attacks spreading in all directions.

Water erupted constantly, blood light tore apart the clouds overhead, and nearby mountain peaks occasionally crumbled. Every now and then, a blood-colored palm phantasm instantly kills several Golden Core Realm cultivators.

The sword cultivator's battle intent surged. With each lethal slice, his sword momentum grew ever stronger in an attempt to stop the fiendish devil before him.

Xi Lian's remaining rationality was completely gone now. Still, she obsessed over killing the two. Her attacks became increasingly ferocious, and her palm phantasms had turned into fox claws.

Using voice transmission, the other ancient cultivator in the shadows said, "Stick to the plan, Daoist Master Yue! Retreat for now. She's turned into a devil. Once we regroup with the other Daoist masters, you can slay that fox fiend yourself!"

The sword cultivator snorted. "

Hmph!

"

He switched from full-on assault to unleashing deceptive moves. However, he soon realized that retreat was impossible.

The moment the fox fiend fell to devilry, her fury was fully unleashed. She already had a slight advantage over them in direct combat. Now that she was also fighting madly for her life, she chased him relentlessly, refusing to let him go.

After a few exchanges, the ancient sword cultivator still failed to break free even after a dozen attempts. It didn't seem like much, yet he began to grow anxious. "Do something! We could die here if we stay for too long!"

The other ancient cultivator took out several treasured artifacts and attacked the blood-wrapped fox fiend, hoping to distract her long enough for them to escape. However, Xi Lian's blood-red eyes remained locked onto the sword cultivator.

The tide of battle shifted. Above the lake, the devilish Xi Lian began counterattacking, while those who intended to escape found themselves trapped.

***

In the Shu Sword Sect, a sword cry echoed. Nameless appeared at the peak of a mountain, frowning toward the southwest.

"This devilish qi..."

Two sword radiances flashed from a nearby peak. Upon arriving on his sword and landing beside Nameless, Qing Long whispered, "You noticed it too? That little fox seems to have turned into a devil. She's not too far from where we are."

Nameless replied, "Summon the elders and contact the unit you mentioned earlier."

Qing Long frowned. "We don't have to contact the Special Investigation Unit. They have a well-established monitoring system that can easily detect such a large primal qi fluctuation. Fei Yu has been staying with Senior Xi Lian, too. Buddhist Master Santong has left him with a restriction that can completely destroy her divine soul with a mere thought.

"Considering devilish qi has appeared in the southwest, Senior Xi Lian probably lost control, and Fei Yu must be trying to help her regain her senses. Rushing over recklessly could just end up further deepening her devilish nature, putting Fei Yu in a difficult position and forcing him to strike her down. Since he's in the area, we don't have to worry too much."

Nameless nodded. "Good point."

Qing Long paused for a moment. "Still, just to be safe, I should go take a look."

"Feel free to go. I'll guard the mountain."

Qing Long gave him a Daoist salute. "Thank you, Senior."

Two celestial-grade swords hovered under his feet and merged into one. Controlling it, he flew swiftly toward the southwest.

***

In the Special Investigation Unit's command hall, hundreds of technicians worked tirelessly. Several times that number was striving to restore the satellite monitoring system behind the scenes.

Reports came in one after another from all sides. The foreheads of several coordination officers were already covered in sweat.

On the large screen, hundreds of light dots were displayed. About a third had been reactivated, but they were all on the opposite side of Earth—far from the Hua Republic.

"We've succeeded! We've blocked the external attack channels!"

"Captain Mou! According to the data sent from the Saros Empire, a large-scale energy fluctuation has appeared in the southwest, in area F532!"

"F532?" Mou Yue tried to recall the location. A map of the Hua Republic appeared on the large screen, a part of it marked with a red dot.

That place is...

"It's Big Sis—Xi Lian's location!"

Mou Yue's arms trembled slightly. She was about to give an order when she remembered what Chi Ling had told her just a few minutes ago.

"Don't let personal feelings interfere with matters related to Xi Lian and the ancient cultivators. Stay professional and handle the case impartially."

Calm down. I have to prepare for the worst and act according to my duty.

"Instruct the Special Warfare Unit to launch a probe at that area and contact the military bases in that region. If something happened there, why haven't they sent an emergency signal?"

One of the officers quickly responded, "The military base in that area seems to have lost power and communication. We received a notice from the army two minutes ago. Their satellites captured footage of cultivators fighting fiercely in that region. They're requesting our satellite detection data, but our monitoring satellites—"

"Lost power and communication? Cultivators fighting?"

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Mou Yue stared at her colleague, eyes wide with disbelief. Cold sweat began to form on her forehead as she simultaneously realized what had happened there and understood what Chi Ling's earlier instructions truly meant.

"This is bad..." Mou Yue pressed her pale lips together and stepped back weakly, collapsing into her chair.

"The Warfare Unit's probe has been launched. It's expected to reach the area in five minutes!"

"No." Mou Yue was about to say something but immediately stopped herself. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.

Do what your position requires... Do what your position requires...

"Initiate alert protocol. There may be a major threat in that area. Request support from the Special Warfare Unit. Begin contacting all Daoist sects, especially the Nascent Soul Realm experts. Prepare for the worst."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Mou Yue's fingers trembled as she looked down at the phone in her hand. She opened her contacts and saw that Wang Sheng's profile picture, which she had pinned to the top, was still gray.

Where are you, Daoist Master Wang?

"Captain Mou, should we call the chief to personally take command?"

Mou Yue glanced at the staff. "Just wait for orders. Let's focus on our duties instead of concerning ourselves with things outside our jurisdiction."

The person nodded and swiftly returned to compiling intelligence reports.

***

At the boiling lake.

While the Special Warfare Unit's probe ascended and sped toward the area, a signal flare shot up from a nearby mountain peak.

"We have to leave now, Daoist Master Yue!"

The ancient sword cultivator's gaze turned cold. "We'll have to abandon a few pawns, then."

The two rushed toward the lakeshore as the other ancient cultivator let out a long howl. Among the hundreds of Daoists hovering around the lake, about a third immediately shot toward the sky. With bright silver rings glowing in their eyes, they threw themselves into the fight like moths to a flame, completely ignoring the terrifying power of the fiendish devil before them.

No sane person would make such a choice.