Chapter 59: The Arrival of the Demon Realm (Part 2)

  The sky was a deep blue, and another strong gust of wind came from somewhere. The clouds and mist were floating, supporting that small lotus platform. The two people on the platform were far apart, their faces already not very clear, but in the midst of the haze, those two sword lights, one blue and one red, seemed like a fire that did not go out in the dark night, steady, bright, piercing through the layers of thin fog.

  On the rolling hills, it's unknown when the crows and sparrows fell silent. A stern and murderous atmosphere has unknowingly shrouded this land, suppressing the hearts of the thousands of people on the ground. The clouds at the horizon surge and billow, and in the darkness, someone seems to have revealed a ferocious smile - is it the heavens or those who think they can conquer the heavens?

  A cold wind blew, sweeping a few blades of grass across Xuan Zhen's face. He stood at the edge of the cliff, his narrow eyes seeming to hold a deep and serene pool, yet with a hint of worry hidden in their urgency, fixedly gazing at the figure holding the two sword lights in the sky, his expression gradually calming down.

  Under the lotus platform, everyone's eyes were fixed. On the lotus platform, the two figures standing still seemed to be unaware of anything. After a while, the sky above was covered with dark clouds, and the world suddenly darkened.

  Only in the high empty space, a loud shout from the elder: "Sacrifice the sword!"

  The two people on the lotus platform finally moved.

  "Su Yu, icy face!" A shout came from not far away, Xuan Zhen didn't turn his head back, his eyes still fixed on the lotus stone pedestal, a hint of excitement rising in his heart.

  The next moment, the two figures on the stage had already stood apart for several steps, facing each other from a distance at both ends of the stone platform. With their wide sleeves fluttering, they simultaneously jerked their wrists and the two swords in their hands flew out, shooting straight up into the sky like lightning!

  For a moment, the heaven and earth seemed to have quieted down and darkened, even the rolling and turbulent cloud sea seemed to have solidified for an instant. The only brightness was the two red and blue sharp lights in the sky, with the blue light being clear and elegant, and the red light being fierce and intense. They intertwined and rose up together, bringing with them a trail of ominous energy that swept away the clouds and mist along their path like a parted sea.

  The crowd of disciples surrounding the scene were all stunned, they had been practicing in Qionghua Sect for many years, but it was their first time seeing such a magnificent scene, and the ones who caused all this were just two young disciples from the sect. At that moment, they were even more excited, revealing an agitated expression, and their eyes suddenly became as fierce as the sword light of Xihe.

  As people's heads rose higher and higher, the two swords of Wang Shu and Xi also flew higher and higher, as if they had pierced through the sky and entered the nine heavens. Gradually, even the red and blue light was obscured by the re-gathering clouds and mist, leaving only the desolate wind in the air.

  But just then, above the rolling thick clouds, as if from a distant and profound void, there came one, two, and finally a succession of mighty peals. The thunderclap was like lightning, like a storm, and yet it seemed to be the reverberation of a thousand-pound bronze bell, not only shaking the air into waves, but also causing the ground to tremble slightly.

  The disciples on the ground, who were somewhat timid, had already shown a frightened expression, with wide eyes and pale faces, looking up at the cloud sea above their heads. The cloud sea that was pressing down on their heads was also surging faster and faster, gradually forming a whirlpool-like circular hole, and in the depths of that hole, several faint purple glows suddenly appeared!

  A loud noise suddenly erupted, as if a thunderbolt had fallen right next to his ear. Xuán Zhèn's eyes widened in shock, he pursed his lips and stared intently at the jade stone platform in mid-air, while his hand inside his sleeve had already grasped the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it out at any moment if something unexpected happened.

  But with that loud noise, only two sword lights shot out! Xihe and Wangshu, like a pair of inseparable lovers, descended from the whirlpool in the clouds, stabbing straight down, swift as wind and lightning. Behind them was a string of bright sword shadows. The sword tip was sharp, producing a continuous breaking sound, showing its urgent momentum. Everyone's eyes followed the red and blue intertwined light, as if their hearts were about to fly out of their chests. But when the two swords reached the lotus platform, they suddenly turned and stopped in front of their respective masters, trembling. Then, a vast light burst forth from the swords, instantly engulfing Su Yu and Xuan Xiao's figures.

  A strong gust of wind suddenly rose on the Volume Cloud Platform, blowing all the disciples to stumble and fall, with more than half of them sitting on the ground. However, no one complained, and everyone's gaze was fixed on the lotus stone platform where the anomaly had occurred. The boundless light that had been like a screen gradually retracted, forming a huge beam that followed the remaining sword shadow and inserted itself into the whirlpool in the sea of clouds!

  Unbelievable! The sword pillar formed by the yin and yang twin swords is so awe-inspiring! Xuan Zhen stared blankly, his mind shaken. Just for the sake of binding the demon realm, it's already this magnificent. If one day he brings the Qionghua Sect to ascend to the Ninth Heaven, who knows what kind of grand scene it will be?

  His thought had barely flashed through his mind when the light pillar in front of him grew even brighter, and the lotus platform seemed to be unable to withstand this powerful crack. From a distance, fine cracks appeared on the jade-white clean lotus petals, while Xuan Xiao and Su Yu had long been submerged in the turbulent sword light.

  Suddenly there was another loud noise, and the ground began to rumble violently. Many of the disciples who had just managed to crawl out from the ground fell into a heap again. Xuan Zhen retreated a few steps back from the cliff edge, turned his head to look at the light pillar once more, only to see its radiance swirling even more vigorously, as if it had intensified several fold.

  He raised his head again to gaze at the sky, the sea of clouds was surging, and that whirlpool was slowly rotating. Suddenly, another loud noise filled the air, this time a few clusters of purple-red fireballs fell from the clouds, the fireballs flew to where the light pillar ended, its speed was not much slower than the immortal sword, but in the blink of an eye it arrived above everyone's heads.

  "Make way!" Amidst the loud shouts of Elder Qing Guang and several other elders, the disciples hastily scattered to clear a path.

  The ground shook and the sky trembled, with a deafening rumble that didn't stop. The fierce wind swept in from all directions, bringing with it flying sand and rolling rocks. Anyone who wasn't careful would be blinded and left with bruises on their forehead. Xuan's eyebrows furrowed, and suddenly a bright green light burst forth from his body. A gentle breeze wrapped around him like a soft wave, naturally forming a barrier that deflected the falling rocks and flying sand to either side.

  But before the wind and sand on the ground had subsided, a sudden cry of surprise was heard in the wind. The cry was at first only from one or two people, but later it spread to a large area.

  Xuan Zhen's heart skipped a beat, and he hastily drew a Taiji symbol with his hand in front of his chest, emitting a bright green light. Behind him, the Spring Water Clear Cry sounded out, and his sword flashed out of its scabbard, swirling around to hover above his head. Xuan Zhen silently recited an incantation several times in his heart, then raised two fingers on his right hand, pointing straight ahead, and shouted: "Wind—Rise!"

  The gust of wind between heaven and earth came and went as it pleased, but suddenly seemed to understand human nature, gradually gathering into a stream. Xuan Zhen concentrated his spirit, held his breath, and the sharp light in his eyes was faintly visible. His fingertips were also exerting their strength to stabilize and point forward. The strong wind finally submitted and came down, spreading out and pushing forward according to his will. In an instant, the vast smoke and sand were gradually covered up.

  However, when he saw the scene in front of him clearly, his whole body shook, and his already pale face lost its blood color, and his fingers couldn't help but tremble slightly.

  But on the platform, what was originally a flat lawn now had huge and bottomless pits, with several giant purple-red boulders trapped inside, some of which were already broken into fragments. Looking around again, blood stained the ground, painful cries echoed non-stop, and the young disciples had long since scattered in all directions, while chasing after them were... those were...

  "Master, Master, save me!" One of the ash-covered young disciples saw Xuan Zhen from afar and immediately relaxed his expression, hastily running over to the cliff.

  Then, a loud roar suddenly sounded behind him, and a huge monster several meters high pounced on him. The monster was like a wolf and a fox, with its whole body covered in red fur, and there were several pairs of strange purple feathers on its back that fluttered up and down as it ran, looking extremely eerie. The male disciple turned his head to see the monster chasing after him, let out a shrill cry, and hastily went to draw the sword at his waist, but before he could even lift his hand, the beast had already opened its bloody mouth wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth that snapped shut on him!

  "Ah——" The young disciple suddenly covered his shoulder and rolled to the ground, his face twisted in agony. Looking at the wound again, blood was flowing profusely, and an arm had been torn off by the monster.

  Xuan Zhen's rescue was too late, and his heart suddenly ached. He looked up at the demon beast with even more anger in his eyes. The purple-red pupils of the demon beast seemed to flash with mockery, and it tossed the severed arm aside, raised its head, and let out a long, mournful howl.

  In the midst of the long, drawn-out howl, the sound of cracking and shattering continued unabated. Xuan Zhen took a glance and was shocked once again. It turned out that on those deep chasms' purple-red gigantic rocks, many more cracks had appeared. Those cracks twisted and turned on the oval-shaped rock surface, gradually spreading outwards. With a deafening crash, the gigantic rocks shattered into numerous boulders. And behind those boulders, one by one, emerged ferocious demonic beasts, just as cruel as the previous one, howling loudly as they charged up to the Rolling Clouds Platform, starting another round of slaughter!

  "You dare to be so arrogant!" A loud rebuke, like thunder, shook the Cloud Volume Terrace. Xuan Zhen looked up and saw that Chong Guang Shifu had already arrived, his face filled with anger. The Five Spirits Elder, with a youthful appearance but hair as white as snow, strode forward on a deep blue sword light, arriving instantly in front of the group of demonic beasts. With a flick of his sleeve, he formed a hand seal, and his lips moved as the sword light under his feet split into multiple paths. In an instant, the multiple sword lights transformed from one to hundreds, and soon the sky was filled with shallow-colored sword lights, like twinkling stars but carrying boundless killing intent. With Chong Guang's order, they stabbed towards the demonic beasts in unison.

  In the midst of the wailing beasts, a large batch of monsters that had just emerged from the giant stone eggs were killed. However, Chong Guang did not show any joy, and instead turned to attack another group of beasts, the situation was so urgent that he didn't even have time to greet Xuan Zhen.

  Xuan Zhen stood stupidly in place, his eyes fixed on the ground in front of him. His fellow disciple lay unconscious at his feet, but his gaze was directed straight ahead at the spot where dozens of demonic beasts' corpses were piled up. The grass had been trampled flat, and fresh blood was slowly seeping out from under their red fur, soaking the earth into a deep crimson hue.

  "Originally these monsters, their blood is also... the same deep red as ours..." Xuan Zhen's eyes were filled with a mixture of emotions, and he muttered to himself.

  "Big brother, I didn't know you were here!"

  Another burst of shouting, this time filled with joy. Xuanshen turned his head in a daze and saw that Suoshan was leading several female disciples rushing over from the east side of Juan Yun Tai. These girls, who were usually spotless, were now covered in bloodstains, with dust on their faces as well. But as soon as they saw him, the fear in their eyes instantly gave way to a hint of delight and reassurance, as if having the senior brother meant having someone to rely on.

  "Ah!" Under that gaze, Xuan Zhen suddenly came back to his senses, remembering his identity and feeling a wave of regret wash over him. With the great enemy before them, the Qionghua disciples were the ones he should be protecting - how could he feel even a shred of sympathy for the demon beast that had killed them?

  Thinking so, he busily directed several of his fellow sisters to help the young monk up from the ground, while he himself held Chunshui's hand and escorted them back to the area directly below the Lotus Platform. This place had become the safest spot on Cloud Volume Peak as it was guarded by a few elderly masters and some older and more capable disciples.

  Xuan Zhen, accompanied by several female disciples, had just stepped into the shade beneath the Lotus Platform when a massive tremor shook the ground. This time, the vibration was even more intense than before. The demonic beasts seemed to be intimidated by the earthquake as well, and they let out a long howl in unison, but the howling sound that reached their ears had a hint of sorrowful tone.

  "What's that?"

  Suddenly, someone among the disciples pointed to the sky and shouted. Instantly, others also looked up at the sky, only to see the wind rising and clouds surging in the huge vortex, with the light pillar becoming increasingly dazzling, surpassing the sun and moon. At the end of the light pillar, a faint purple glow appeared, which seemed to be connected to the light pillar. As the light pillar shortened, it was constantly being pulled towards the ground.

  The ground shook more violently, and the howls of those monsters became even more mournful. However, amidst this cacophony, Xuan Zhen heard a long laugh, a voice that was all too familiar, coming from an old man standing in mid-air in front of the Lotus Platform. As they gazed at the old man's majestic figure proudly standing in the air, the disciples' dirty faces simultaneously flashed with surprise and delight, shouting in unison: "The True Person of the Sect!"

  The Supreme True Person did not lower his head to look at the disciples, but instead looked up at the sky, gazing at the purple soft light that was struggling and being pulled towards the Rolling Clouds Platform. His eyes were filled with pride and joy, stroking his beard and laughing loudly: "The Demon Realm has been bound, the thousand-year-old wish of the Qinghua Sect will ultimately be fulfilled in my hands, haha, haha!"