Chapter 712: War Breaks Out!

Changfeng, the Demon King of the Great Marshlands, was now facing the hardest challenge of his life. Throughout the past thousand years of his life, he had never felt so close to death.

After taking Daoist Changsheng's fatal blow that had been meant for Chu Liang, Changfeng plummeted heavily into the sea, dispersing most of his palm force. Though severely injured both internally and externally, he believed that, given time, his wounds would eventually heal.

However, upon returning to the Mountain Range of the Seven Kings, he realized something was terribly wrong.

It turned out that during this time, his life source had been rapidly draining away. Demons, naturally gifted with longevity, could be seen as having traded their deeper understanding of the Great Dao for an extended lifespan. Initially, he dismissed it as ordinary injuries. However, upon entering the Demon God Temple, he was shocked to discover that his qi and blood had been severely weakened and that he had aged nearly a thousand years in mere days.

Thus, the Great High Priest hurried to investigate his condition but could only conclude one thing: Changfeng had been struck by Daoist Cangsheng's divine skill. The effects of the Great Dao of Infinity were rapidly eroding Changfeng's corporeal body. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before he was reduced to nothing more than a pile of decaying bones.

The Great High Priest was trying every method he knew to try and stop the erosion of the Great Dao of Infinity. However, that was when the thunderous sounds of collapsing mountains reached his ears. The Great High Priest realized that if he didn’t intervene, Venerable Wen Yuan would flatten the entire Mountain Range of the Seven Kings. And so, the Great High Priest hurried out to help with the defense, leaving Changfeng behind.

This was the first time that Changfeng had felt a span of time was agonizingly long. He desperately hoped the Great High Priest would swiftly defeat the forces of the Mount Shu Sect and return to save him... It would be fine even if the Great High Priest got defeated, as long as he would come back after that to save his life.

At this moment, Changfeng lay in the temple's chamber. His enormous purple python tail flickered in and out of sight, his thoughts muddled and hazy.

If this went on any longer, he felt he might soon be meeting his great-grandmother in the afterlife.

Logically, a cultivator at the eighth realm should not have such a fragile life force. However, the Great Dao of Infinity was extraordinarily strange, and when amplified by the Chrono Wheel of the East Sea, its effects became utterly unfathomable.

In addition, the Great Dao of Severed Breath that Changfeng controlled could not do anything about the effects of the Great Dao of Infinity. No matter how he circulated his qi, he could only slow the aging slightly.

Thankfully, Caiyi approached at this time and asked, "How are you?"

"I'm fine..." Changfeng answered, pretending to be strong in front of her. "Just dying, that's all."

Caiyi gazed at him for a moment before raising her hand and lightly brushing her fingers through the air. A seven-colored radiance enveloped Changfeng, and his vision blurred as he fell into a dreamlike illusion.

Strangely, as she did so, his physical state began to stabilize, and the rapid aging slowed noticeably.

“I’ve created an illusion where time flows ten thousand times slower,” Caiyi said. “Given how much essence of the Great Dao of Infinity remains, its effects cannot overpower the strength of my Great Dao of Myriad Forms, so you should be able to hold on for a while longer. However, to truly save your life, the divine skill cast through the East Sea Chrono Wheel must be deactivated. As for whether you can survive this ordeal, that will depend on your fate.”

Fights between eighth-realm cultivators were ultimately a clash of the Great Daos. Each Dao had its own unique method of defeating an opponent, and the outcome depended on the intensity of the Dao essence that each side had unleashed.

Daoist Cangsheng’s cultivation was undoubtedly stronger than Caiyi’s, but this was only a single divine skill he had cast, and Caiyi had her own way to counter it. Her Great Dao of Myriad Forms could create illusions so lifelike that even the Great Dao of Infinity could be fooled.

After temporarily stabilizing Changfeng’s condition, violent tremors ran through the ground as Venerable Wen Yuan slammed the Mountain Range of the Seven Kings onto Mount Thunder, shaking Caiyi as well

Caiyi took a quick glance outside before transforming into a streak of rainbow light, darting out in an instant.

...

The sky over the Far West was constantly changing at this moment.

The Demon King of Mount Thunder, a giant wild ox as massive as a mountain, charged forward, only to be intercepted by Yan Dahu of the Great Astral Sect. Meanwhile, the Demon King of the Abyss of Wrath, a six-winged flood dragon, ascended into the sky but was intimidated by Shentu Yang, who was carrying dozens of mountain peaks.

The ox and the flood dragon together nearly spanned and blocked half the sky. In contrast, the human cultivators, though much smaller in size, radiated power that was as imposing as the ox and flood dragon.

Soon after, demon qi surged from the Desolate Plains in the Far West as a massive jet-black bird roared into view. On closer inspection, it wasn’t covered in feathers but flames.

The Demon King of the Desolate Plains was the ancient and fearsome Black Golden Crow, a demonic creature that had slaughtered countless beings during the Demon God’s era. Its presence alone made the air feel like a blazing furnace, and the sky appeared to hold a second, black sun.

“Humans daring to step into the Far West to seek their deaths? It’s been so long since I’ve savored the taste of roasted human flesh...” The Demon King of the Desolate Plains said, its voice terrifyingly cold and sinister.

A thunderous shout boomed from afar, “Then come and try!”

A celestial star descended, radiating an overwhelming aura, its dazzling brilliance blinding to the eye. It was as if a star had fallen from the heavens, now suspended high above the land.

Whoosh!

As the starlight faded, it revealed a tall and imposing figure.

It was Zhao Liuting, the Heavenly Strategist of the Celestial King Sect!

The Heavenly Strategist held the highest authority beneath the King in the Celestial King Sect. As the sect’s most powerful combatant in battle, Zhao Liuting's countless victories over the years had struck fear into the hearts of demons and evildoers alike.

The Celestial King Sect had been long-standing allies of the Mount Shu Sect, working together to withstand the pressure from the Penglai Supreme Sect. Upon receiving Venerable Wen Yuan’s call for assistance, Zhao Liuting wasted no time and rushed to their aid.

Boom!

As the Black Golden Crow’s flames collided with the Heavenly Strategist’s starlight, the tension in the air reached its breaking point, as though it could erupt into chaos at any moment.

At that moment, there was an explosion in the Frostveil Domain, located far north. It sent a blast of bone-chilling cold across the Far West, instantly lowering the scorching temperatures.

Hiss!

There were even hissing sounds of steam rising from nowhere.

A nearly transparent figure rose from the Frostveil Domain. Amid the ferocious and towering figures of the demon kings, this figure seemed out of place. Emerging from the shattered ice was clearly a translucent-skinned young girl, appearing around twelve or thirteen years old and exceptionally petite.

Accompanying her arrival was an icy chill that emanated from within.

"We demons have already retreated here, yet you still seek to exterminate us?" The girl‘s voice sounded ethereal. However, her mouth did not move as she spoke; her voice seemed to just ring out from nowhere. "Isn't this a bit excessive?"

A soft Buddhist chant wafted over from a distance. "Amitabha. Demon King of the Frostveil Domain, you might not know, but demons have been exceedingly active across the nine provinces in recent years. I shan’t mention other regions, but my Buddhist Cloud Monastery was recently struck with a calamity."

Indeed, the next to arrive was the Sweeper Monk of the Buddhist Cloud Monastery, Dhyana Master Dawu.

Ever since he revealed his cultivation level during the two demon kings' raid on the monastery, he no longer concealed it. Upon receiving Venerable Wen Yuan's request for help, he was one of the first to arrive in the Far West. Meanwhile, Abbot Dayu, who presided over the Dharma Lotus Platform, refrained from acting rashly.

The Buddhist Cloud Monastery had lost many disciples because of that raid. However, there wasn’t much they could do in response to that, since the demons were hiding in desolate lands. Any counterattacks only killed a few minor demons, leaving the demon kings unharmed. In the end, the matter was left unresolved.

This time, with Venerable Wen Yuan gathering forces to rescue Chu Liang, the Buddhist Cloud Monastery eagerly joined in. If they could use this chance to kill or injure a demon king, it would be a great merit.

In no time, Venerable Wen Yuan had gathered a powerful force that posed a real threat to the demons of the Far West.

On the other side, the Great High Priest stood his ground, unwavering.

“Chu Liang holds a sacred creature of our race,” he said in a deep voice. “Until he hands it over, we cannot allow him to leave. However, I can promise that his life will not be harmed.”

“All negotiations start with you handing over Chu Liang,” Venerable Wen Yuan replied firmly. “Until then, there is only one option—war.”

“

Rawrarararaya!

” Di Nufeng shouted, flailing her arms, poised to charge into battle at any moment.

Of course, she wasn’t reckless enough to take on the eighth-realm demon kings directly. Once the battle started in the sky, she would storm into the Demon God Temple, search for Chu Liang, and slaughter any divine envoys or lesser demons in her path.

Basically, her strategy was to attack the weaker demons.

Although most of the demons didn’t fully understand the situation, the humans bringing the fight to their doorstep ignited their centuries-old hatred, making them equally prepared for battle.

At the height of tension, just as the battle was about to begin, a clear voice suddenly rang out from behind them, “Stop!”

A streak of rainbow light shot through the air. Upon landing, the person inside was revealed to be Caiyi.

She turned to Venerable Wen Yuan and said, “Chu Liang has already escaped.”

As soon as Di Nufeng heard this, her hair stood on end. She shouted, “What? Do you take me for a three-year-old? With my disciple’s cultivation level, you expect me to believe he escaped from you? Did you kill him already?!”

"We have no intention of starting a war between the humans and demons! Nor do we wish to fight all of you!"

Caiyi stared at the powerful human cultivators before her. They represented only a fraction of the strength of the Divine Nine and the Terrestrial Ten, yet they were nearly enough to fight all of the demon kings and the Great High Priest—the Far West's most powerful demons. The vast disparity between the humans and demons was clear.

Caiyi quickly explained, “Chu Liang broke my restraints with the sword intent of the Great Dao of Severing the Void. He then escaped using the power of a hidden realm. I really have no idea where he went!”

The powerful human cultivators all turned their gaze to Venerable Wen Yuan. After all, he had orchestrated this entire situation, and the decision to fight or not rested in his hands.

Venerable Wen Yuan gazed out at the distant Far West. Though more than three millennia had passed and much of it remained desolate, there were signs of efforts to build a civilization. Under Caiyi’s rule, the Verdant Foxhills region had grown to resemble human villages in many ways.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Venerable Wen Yuan’s gaze turned icy as he declared, “I’ve already made myself clear—all negotiations must start with you handing over Chu Liang.”

Before the demon kings on the other side could respond, he flipped his hand.

He activated the Killing Move on the Chessboard of the World.

This signified the start of the War!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

This time, the destruction spanned thousands of miles, causing the entire land to erupt and overturn in an instant.

This was the power of Primordial Chaos!