The evening breeze gently brushed against Black Whale Mountain as white waves chased the sandy beach. The barrage of Thunderfire Pills raining down on Misty Waters City finally stopped, and Du Wuhen could remove the protective enchanted formation surrounding him.

The sudden bombardment had almost razed Misty Waters City to the ground.

Earlier in the night, Du Wuhen had scanned the area with his divine sense and noticed Chu Liang killing his way into the city. He had initially intended to ambush and eliminate this lone wolf from the Mount Shu Sect team, crushing their final beacon of hope.

However, Yang Shenlong unexpectedly issued an order for all the Penglai Supreme Sect allies in the city to remain in place and stay on guard, forbidding them from taking any proactive action.

It seemed that the arrogant saber-wielding guy from the Fuyao Kingdom had been insistent on having a one-on-one with Chu Liang. Despite having previously denied his request, Yang Shenlong agreed to it this time.

As a result, they watched Chu Liang defeat the arrogant saber-wielder, Hu Sanlang.

Du Wuhen could see that Chu Liang was clearly superior to Hu Sanlang—be it his cultivation level, divine abilities, or enchanted tools. If Chu Liang hadn't minded taking a little damage, he could have ended the battle very quickly.

Despite being filled with resentment and coughing up several loads of blood, Hu Sanlang died peacefully. Chu Liang then swiftly took care of the remaining small fry from the Fuyao Kingdom team, quickly making his way to the street Du Wuhen was guarding.

Du Wuhen couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. It was fine that Yang Shenlong had not intervened. But if Yang Shenlong had just let him fight Chu Liang alongside the team from the Fuyao Kingdom, the Mount Shu Sect team might have already been eliminated along with the Taotie City team.

Now, what was he supposed to do with the immense responsibility weighing on his shoulders?

However, there was nothing else he could have done. Since he was seeking shelter under Yang Shenlong's wings, he had to follow Yang Shenlong's orders. The teams in Misty Waters City might seem like allies, but the harsh truth was that they were just the Penglai Supreme Sect's accessories. Similarly, the Penglai Supreme Sect was more like Yang Shenlong and his accessories. Thus, Yang Shenlong was the absolute authority in Misty Waters City.

When Du Wuhen chose to enter the city, he had already anticipated he would have a tough time there, but he did not have any other options.

Before this Assembly of Immortal Sects, everything had been improving steadily… The wheels of the Thunderbolt Stronghold were rolling forward, while the Mount Shu Sect's performance declined year after year. They were barely hanging onto their position in the Divine Nine. It was just a matter of time before the Thunderbolt Stronghold would take their place. Furthermore, it just so happened that the team of disciples they selected to participate in this Assembly of Immortal Sects was their strongest ever.

No one could have anticipated the unexpected turn of events that forced Du Wuhen to resort to joining the enemy camp.

Chu Liang was to blame for all of it.

Du Wuhen shifted all his complaints and anger onto Chu Liang.

If it wasn't for that shameless scoundrel eliminating my brothers, how could I have fallen to such a state?

It's just as well that he's come. I can get revenge right here!

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he saw what seemed like a meteor blaze through the air from up ahead and crash onto the ground right in front of him. ʀ

Bang!

In the blink of an eye, the dust settled, and the flames died down, only to reveal Chu Liang standing there. Like a brisk autumn breeze sweeping away fallen leaves, he had collected the soul crystals of the team from the Fuyao Kingdom and then rushed over to Du Wuhen without pausing.

"Young Hero Du, so you joined the ene—the Penglai team's alliance too," Chu Liang said.

He was quite shocked to see Du Wuhen. He hadn't anticipated this at all.

Chu Liang hadn't been surprised that Taotie City had allied with the Penglai Supreme Sect. However, he found it surprising that even Du Wuhen, with his thick eyebrows and large eyes, had allied with them too.

Seeing Chu Liang's astonished expression only fueled Du Wuhen's anger.

Is it so strange that I'm here? Isn't this all because of you??

"There's no need for us to say much more," Du Wuhen replied, waving his hand decisively. "Whether the Mount Shu Sect will be driven out from the Divine Nine or the Thunderbolt Stronghold will climb the ranks into the Divine Nine, that all depends on this battle between us!"

Chu Liang frowned. "Those two aren't really valid options, though?"

"Enough with the nonsense. Let's fight to the death!" Du Wuhen declared.

He summoned his massive scythe, and his murderous intent instantly surged to its peak.

Chu Liang remained calm even in the face of Du Wuhen's intense intent to fight. "You're the eldest disciple of the Thunderbolt Stronghold. Your esteemed teacher is the sworn brother of my sworn brother… It's not inappropriate if I call you ‘nephew,' right?"

Chu Liang maintained a degree of courtesy toward the Thunderbolt Stronghold because of his relationship with Xu Bashan.

"Let me give you a piece of advice, nephew. You're the last remaining member of the Thunderbolt Stronghold team. Do not stand in my way."

Boom.

Du Wuhen's response to Chu Liang was immediate and lethal. He swung his massive scythe in the air, producing a crescent-shaped streak of light that instantly transformed into countless birds that seemed to cover the sky. They shot straight toward Chu Liang!

…

A flock of birds rose from a mountain forest, scattering across the sky.

There was dark purple lava flowing all over Soul Flame Island in the West Sea. Some of the lava had pooled into a volcanic crater, forming a deep lava pond that swirled with the hues of destruction.

The dark purple lava did not give off any heat and appeared unremarkable. However, if any birds or beasts touched it even slightly upon landing, they would instantly perish in the lava, swallowed up in the blink of an eye. The lava ravenously devoured all lifeforms. Yet, there was a huge shadowy figure submerged in that lava pond.

On the edge of the lava pond, there was a middle-aged cultivator in black robes sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. He looked just like the person who had almost stirred up a storm in the illusory realm earlier—Immortal Yuan Lu.

Suddenly, Immortal Yuan Lu opened his eyes.

The lava before him boiled, and a ball of fire with a pitch-black core emerged from the lava pond. The ball of fire turned over slightly, revealing a divine glow.

It seemed to be an eyeball!

"It failed…" Immortal Yuan Lu said quietly.

As the lava bubbled, a voice slowly rang out from the depths of the lava pond. "I did my best. To begin with, I'm not in my peak condition. The most I could do was delay the master of the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams for a moment."

"It has nothing to do with you, Nightmare Demon King. When I was in that illusory realm, someone managed to destroy the Black Devil Whale and my avatar."

Immortal Yuan Lu's tone was calm, but it was just concealing the rage he felt.

From what Immortal Yuan Lu said, it was clear that the entity at the bottom of the lava pool was the Nightmare Demon King, who had been sleeping for thousands of years in the Deep Pool of Dreams!

"Those immortal sect disciples?" asked the Nightmare Demon King in a booming thunder-like voice from the depths of the lava pond.

"No…" Immortal Yuan Lu replied, sounding exasperated. "It was someone from the Dark King Sect."

Several thousand years ago, the Nightmare Demon King was inflicted with a near-fatal injury. However, thanks to its unusual divine abilities, it managed to survive and escape to the Deep Pool of Dreams, where it recuperated for several thousand years.

At present, the Nightmare Demon King had regained some of its cultivation power, but it still had not fully recovered from the severe injury. Thus, even though the Nightmare Demon King had awakened, it still needed to find a place where it could restore its soul.

Soul Flame Island was one such place.

The lava on Soul Flame Island devoured living creatures, but it also contained powerful spiritual energy that had been accumulated since ancient times. So, the lava pond was akin to a medicinal bath for the Nightmare Demon King.

However, Soul Flame Island had always been under the control of the West Sea Diabolical Forces, and the demons did not have enough power to seize it. It was only with the Demon King of Qingqiu's mediation that the Nightmare Demon King and the West Sea Diabolical Forces collaborated this time.

The West Sea Diabolical Forces lent Soul Flame Island to the Nightmare Demon King for recuperation, while the Nightmare Demon King agreed to help Immortal Yuan Lu seize the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams.

The demons occupied the Far West, and a significant portion of the West Sea served as a buffer zone between the Far West and the nine provinces. Unlike the elderly chancellor of the previous dynasty, diabolical sects did not abide by laws or morals, so they had always worked with demons.

When the righteous sects purged the West Sea Diabolical Forces from the nine provinces, the demons had sheltered many fleeing diabolical cultivators, allowing the diabolical sects to survive time and time again despite almost getting wiped out.

This collaboration between the Nightmare Demon King and the West Sea Diabolical Forces could kill three birds with one stone. It could significantly weaken the strength of the righteous sects in the nine provinces and allow the Nightmare Demon King to recover. Then once the Nightmare Demon King had fully recovered, the West Sea Diabolical Forces would gain a powerful ally.

Unfortunately, their plan failed due to an unexpected factor.

"The Violet Gold Marquess of the Dark King Sect pretended to cooperate with me, but in reality, it was his people who sabotaged my plan. Otherwise, how could those immortal sect disciples have stopped me?" Immortal Yuan Lu gazed up at the sky. "He deliberately painted the airship with weird colors, but I still recognized it. The airship that destroyed the Black Devil Whale was the Violet Gold Marquess's airship. Since he even gave his airship to that person, that can only mean he had already planned to ruin my plan long in advance!"

"Dark King Sect…" Immortal Yuan Lu became increasingly furious. "Though we have our conflicts, I have always maintained a facade of friendship. After all, life is hard for diabolical sects. Even when your members act brazenly, I never treated them as enemies.

"However, from today onward, the West Sea Diabolical Forces and the Dark King Sect cannot co-exist!"

GLTD Alternate Universe's Thoughts

Translator: LD