Chapter 901: Extermination

Chu Liang sat atop a mountain peak, holding a feather fan in hand. As he gazed toward the distant Devil Illusion Mountain with his divine sense, he murmured to himself, "I sit atop the city tower, admiring the mountain view while chaos brews beyond the walls..."

Beside him, Lin Bei called out, "The message has arrived!"

Chu Liang snapped his feather fan downward. "Inform everyone. Attack!"

Lin Bei burst into loud laughter. "Heheheh! The leader of the Dark King Sect would never have expected that we’re the ones behind Immortal Yuan Lu. Chu Liang, your sinister cunning—uh, I mean, your strategic foresight, is truly admirable. As expected of my brother!"

Chu Liang shared his insight with a smile. "It's always more effective to deal with local threats using local people."

Just like the previous operation against the Penglai Supreme Sect, if this strike against the diabolical sects had been carried out by the Mount Shu Sect or other righteous cultivators, they would not have been able to pinpoint the root of the problem and would have ended up putting in twice the effort for half the results.

However, by using a divide-and-conquer approach, where having the locals turn on each other, the results would be much more effective. No group was ever completely united. If you spotted the right conflict and stirred it up, they would start to split on their own. You could finish them off with one final strike, or they might even collapse without needing one.

The Penglai Supreme Sect had once been the best at using this strategy. Now, Chu Liang was simply using their methods against the Dark King Sect.

Worried that the leader of the Dark King Sect, Lin Poyun, might show up as a clone or a fake, Chu Liang had specifically instructed Immortal Yuan Lu to wait until the True Form of Ksitigarbha appeared before sending word. That way, he could be sure the real leader would be present.

Over the years, the Dark King Sect had committed countless atrocities, but no one had been able to stop them because of the True Form of Ksitigarbha.

However, today, Chu Liang, together with the sects in the Divine Nine and the Terrestrial Ten, had come up with a plan to wipe the Dark King Sect out once and for all.

Boom!

The moment the True Form of Ksitigarbha appeared, barely a breath had passed when a golden light shot in from the distant skies. It wrapped around both Lin Poyun and the True Form, forming what looked like a golden ring.

It was the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams!

Lin Poyun’s face darkened sharply as he realized that today’s trap went far beyond a mere clash with a diabolical sect.

"Yuan Lu!" he shouted. "You actually colluded with the righteous sects and willingly became their lackey! No wonder you managed to escape from the Celestial Northern Prison!"

Immortal Yuan Lu sneered coldly. "Heh! If following CEO Chu makes me a lackey, then today, let me show you... there’s nothing bad about being a lackey!"

Crack!

The sharp bronze prow of a ship tore through the clouds and crashed down onto the True Form of Ksitigarbha. Both sides trembled from the impact.

Inside the cabin, Daoist Yan gripped the hilt of the Sacred White Emperor Sword. She unleashed the full force of the Great Dao of the Cloud of Determination, releasing power far beyond anything the Whale-Riding Immortal had ever displayed.

Lin Poyun’s face twisted in alarm. He immediately activated the True Form of Ksitigarbha and sent a massive punch forward to strike back.

But instead of hitting Mount Shu Sect’s Vessel of God, the colossal corpse’s punch slammed into the golden ring surrounding it and tried to break free.

Boom!

However, the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams had once sealed even the life essence of a Demon God. How could he expect the True Form of Ksitigarbha to break through it so easily? The punch carried the weight of mountains and rivers, yet all it did was send cracks spidering across the surface. It failed to shatter the seal completely.

At that moment, a massive giant forged from vajra metal plummeted from the sky, letting out a deafening howl as it descended. It caught the True Form of Ksitigarbha with a hook, locked it in place, and dragged it down toward the ground.

Rumble!

The powerful grapple slammed the True Form of Ksitigarbha to the ground, pinning it in place. When the two giants landed, several mountains crumbled beneath the impact, and even the sea surged in turmoil!

Fortunately, no civilians had been in the area for some time, so the innocent were spared from harm.

The Xuanhuang Battle Armor had appeared!

These days, whenever the Mount Shu Sect went to war, the brothers of the Astral Sect would always answer the call. The bond between the two sects had only grown stronger over time.

The Xuanhuang Battle Armor was one of the few legendary artifacts capable of facing the True Form of Ksitigarbha head-on, and it might have even been stronger. As Lin Poyun watched his own legendary artifact being suppressed before his eyes, a flicker of despair appeared in his gaze.

"Aaaargh!" he roared, turning around as he tried to open another spatial rift.

But under the seal of the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams, he couldn’t escape. In desperation, Lin Poyun began weaving inscription seals with both hands, and a dark, ghostly glow spread across his body.

The Great Dao of the Profound Darkness, which he had stolen from his teacher Xuan Yinzi, allowed him to communicate with the netherworld and move freely between the two realms. That was how he could control the True Form of Ksitigarbha with such precision, and why he had always been able to come and go without a trace. Every black rift he opened was a borrowed path through the netherworld. It was not fast, but it was completely safe, and no one could follow him.

Now that his escape into the netherworld had been cut off, he began summoning reinforcements from within.

"Kings of the Netherworld, save my life! I will repay you with blood sacrifices!" Lin Poyun cried out.

He rarely resorted to such techniques. Summoning a ghost king from the netherworld required an enormous offering of blood, and if he failed to uphold his end of the deal, his own life would be the price. But if he succeeded, the mass slaughter it demanded would surely provoke the wrath of the righteous path.

That was why, no matter how dire the crisis, he had never activated the blood sacrifice of the netherworld. But this time, with his life hanging by a thread, he could no longer hold back.

He could slaughter ten thousand of his own subordinates without hesitation. But the moment his own life was at risk, panic was inevitable.

"

Rooooar!

"

A terrifying ghostly roar rang out as a large, dark green hand burst from Lin Poyun’s chest. With the surrounding space sealed by the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams, he had no choice but to use his own body as the conduit to summon the kings of the netherworld.

A green-faced ghost king emerged after the massive hand showed up, clad in a black robe covered with a hundred ghost sigils. With leopard eyes and a lion’s nose, his towering dharmic form instantly wrapped around the body of the Dark King Sect’s leader.

Then a second ghostly hand appeared, covered in frost. The Mysterious Ice Ghost King, dressed in white robes, quickly crawled out after it.

"Qin Guang of the First Hall and Chu Jiang of the Second Hall..." Lin Poyun muttered. After summoning them, he looked severely weakened. "Are you two the only ones willing to aid me?"

The green-faced ghost king thundered, "You’ve taken too many lives. The resentment-filled qi around you reaches the heavens. The other halls refuse to accept your offerings."

The Mysterious Ice Ghost King spoke next. His voice echoed with a chill that seemed to freeze both body and soul. "And if more of us came, how would you fulfill the blood sacrifice? Would you slaughter everyone in the world?"

Lin Poyun cried out, "I beg you two. Please help me escape alive!"

"Then go!"

The green-faced ghost king seized the weakened Lin Poyun. With a swing of his right arm, a steel whip appeared and struck the barrier of the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams with a deafening crash.

Boooooooom!

The golden barrier, already covered in cracks, trembled violently once more. It now looked as though it could collapse at any moment.

"Someone in this world is capable of such terrifying power?" the Mysterious Ice Ghost King exclaimed in surprise.

He raised two fingers and tapped the golden ring. A layer of solid ice spread across its surface with a crack, and a sharp snap followed as the barrier shattered.

The golden ring of the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams had finally been broken open!

"The people in this realm have always been powerful. Otherwise, how could this man have communicated with the netherworld?" the green-faced ghost king said without surprise.

As the seal vanished, he rose into the sky, preparing to depart.

But suddenly, a colossal wheel appeared in midair, its surface entwined with the shadow of a dragon.

A deep whooshing sound followed as the wheel began to turn. That same golden light reappeared out of thin air and trapped the two ghost kings once again, as if time had rewound to a moment before.

It was the Chrono Wheel of the East Sea.

Atop the legendary artifact sat none other than the Azure Dragon. Although he was not the Dao Master of the Great Dao of Infinity, he had fully comprehended its complete form. His spiritual energy was more than enough to activate the artifact. While its power under his control might not match that of Daoist Cangsheng, it was still immensely formidable.

The Azure Dragon spoke in a commanding voice. "Both of you ghost kings left your posts without permission and descended to the mortal realm. Does the netherworld have no laws at all?"

The two ghost kings now sensed real danger. They had not expected this realm to be filled with so many beings that had attained the Heavenly Origin. The green-faced ghost king raised his steel whip again, preparing to break the seal with all his strength.

But just then, a sword flew in from the distant western sky.

The sword streaked across the sky like a blazing meteor, trailing divine might as brilliant and imposing as the sun.

Boooooooom!

The incoming strike burst forth with intense pure yang sword qi, instantly dispersing the Mysterious Ice Ghost King’s form into nothingness between heaven and earth.

It was the Chunyang Ancient Sword.

Old Li Ba followed closely behind the flying sword, his wide robes billowing as swordlight surged like the blazing sun. His divine might overwhelmed everything beneath the heavens.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Raaagh! Another legendary artifact?!" the green-faced ghost king roared in fury.

Just how many legendary artifacts are there in this realm?

Now that the conflict between the human and demon races had settled down, the immortal sects were no longer worried that taking their legendary artifacts away from their home quarters would result in an attack at base. That was why they were now more willing to take the legendary artifacts out into battle. With Chu Liang’s foresight and careful coordination, each artifact’s power could be fully unleashed.

After his roar, the green-faced ghost king continued to grip Lin Poyun while his own body began to expand without limit, as if he were trying to break through the seal by sheer force.

Just then, Mount Shu Sect’s Vessel of God let out a piercing roar and launched another devastating strike.

Boom!

The impact shattered his transcendent form completely, and he burst apart with a deafening boom. But this time, unlike before, his body had been infused with the spiritual energy of the netherworld, which erupted all at once.

At the center of the explosion, Lin Poyun was reduced to dust in an instant. The shockwave sent Mount Shu Sect’s Vessel of God flying a hundred li away. The nearby mountains and seas were about to be destroyed, but the Divine Mirror of the Eight Trigrams changed its light just in time. It created another plane of existence over the battlefield and took in the full force of the blast, preventing a disaster along the East Sea coast.

Compared to the power cultivators now held, this world was still far too fragile. That was one reason why masters of the Heavenly Origin rarely acted themselves.

Even so, the only victim in the explosion was Lin Poyun, the leader of the Dark King Sect.

With its master gone, the True Form of Ksitigarbha lying on the ground stopped moving.

Lu Jiuwai, clad in the towering Xuanhuang Battle Armor, had earlier used ground-fighting techniques to subdue the massive corpse. He locked its throat, restrained its limbs, and endured wave after wave of brutal counterattacks, holding it completely pinned to the ground.

Now that the corpse had finally stopped moving, Lu Jiuwai quietly began to count. "One, two, three, four..."

When he finished counting, Lu Jiuwai pressed a hand against the ground and pushed himself upright. Wearing the towering Xuanhuang Battle Armor, he raised both fists and let out a victorious shout. "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAHHHHH!"