CHAPTER 355: CHAPTER 212: AN EPIC BATTLE! INSIGHT INTO EVERYTHING! (10,000 WORDS)_6

Wang Xiu’s expression was grave. He pursed his lips, saying nothing as he drew her into his sword.

This action had just been completed.

The cataclysmic explosion erupted, devouring the void. Blinding light annihilated the area, erasing all signs of life. The destruction was so absolute it seemed that even a divine being would perish here. The blast was silent. A dead calm settled over the heavens and earth as everything was annihilated.

...

"Don’t bother looking. My Demon Race’s Soul-Dissolving Spell can unleash several times the power a Demon Seed possessed in life. It doesn’t matter that he has a Twelve-color Nascent Soul; even with twenty-four colors, at his Realm, death is certain!

"From this day forward, the Peeping Sky Pavilion’s position in the Cangyuan Realm will be truly unshakeable! I have fulfilled your senior brother’s last wish for you!"

Shi Ming watched from afar, a smirk playing on his lips. He slowly turned and looked away.

DING!

[Nearby boasting detected. Congratulations, Host, for gaining Mana +888!]

After a moment, a strange look crossed his face and he glanced to the side.

The pupil-less woman did not respond. Instead, she "stared" blankly at something behind him, slowly extending a single finger.

A premonition struck Shi Ming. His body stiffened as he slowly turned his head.

A young man in white stood at the cliff’s edge, hands clasped behind his back. His robes were unstained by even a speck of dust, and he radiated a profound light, like an ancient god-king descended upon the world. He commanded respect without any show of anger, his back turned to them.

"You... you didn’t die?" Shi Ming’s pupils contracted, his voice trembling with disbelief.

Wang Xiu turned around slowly. His face was a little pale, but his expression was indifferent.

At his chest lay a Dragon Scale Bead, perfectly round and lustrous, emitting a soft glow.

"It’s a shame. You almost had me... you missed by a hair’s breadth!" Wang Xiu exhaled slowly. That brief moment was, without a doubt, the closest he had ever come to death since he began cultivating.

The physical bodies and Primordial Spirits of several Emergence Stage masters, along with hundreds of Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators, were all detonated at once by a Demon Race secret technique. The power released was immense—a truly world-shattering force.

This was clearly Shi Ming’s ultimate contingency plan, powerful enough to easily wipe out all the top talents of Nanzhou’s current generation.

At the critical moment, Wang Xiu had summoned the Dragon Scale.

It was the Inverse Scale of an Ancient Dragon, on which was recorded a Divine Skill as terrifying as the Fire of Candleholder. The scale itself contained countless mysteries and was the hardest part of the Ancient Dragon’s body.

The Dragon Scale expanded rapidly, glowing with a precious light. It transformed into a towering barrier that enveloped Wang Xiu completely.

Even the cataclysmic explosion could not bypass the scale to severely injure Wang Xiu, leaving him with only minor wounds.

Shi Ming, of course, knew none of this, which was why he found it so hard to believe. It was utterly inconceivable, something that should have been impossible, yet it was happening right before his eyes.

"Will you surrender, or must I act?" Wang Xiu asked, his expression indifferent.

"Hah! How arrogant. Do you really think killing a group of weaklings means you can defeat me?" Shi Ming sneered, Demonic Qi billowing from his mouth and nose in a horrifying display.

He was different from the other demon followers. They merely hosted a Demon Seed, but he... he had a Pureblood Demon Race entity living as a parasite inside him.

His face grew ferocious as his armor began to glow. His aura surged, and a massive Shadow Fiend loomed behind him. He then grabbed the pupil-less woman and turned to flee!

Wang Xiu’s expression remained calm. He formed a sword seal with his fingers.

"Go!"

CLANG!

A sword hummed. The Asura Heaven Punishment Sword shot out, its crimson light illuminating the wilderness before it vanished into the void.

Hundreds of miles away, a scream pierced the air. Shi Ming’s body cracked and shattered as he plummeted from the sky.

Wang Xiu arrived to find Shi Ming lying wretchedly on the ground. His eyes were vacant and his life force was fading fast as he muttered, "Run... Junior Sister..."

A mass of Demonic Qi floated up from Shi Ming’s body, enveloped the pupil-less woman, and whisked her away with some unknown secret technique. They vanished without a trace in an instant. The escape was so fast that even Wang Xiu’s spiritual sense couldn’t track it.

He frowned slightly, looking down at Shi Ming, who was on the brink of death. Without hesitation, he used the Ming Emperor’s Soul-Reading Technique.

The next moment, a flood of scenes and information poured into his mind.

...

「Before an ancient building.」

An old man in a Daoist robe stood there, his eyes deep and profound.

"Ming, do you understand your mission?"

"Disciple understands! I am to protect the Sect, glorify our ancestral legacy, and elevate the name of the Peeping Sky Pavilion!"

"To do this, you may have to sacrifice your own life."

"Disciple is not afraid. I have no fear or regret, even if my body is shattered to pieces."

"Good. Very good! My judgment was not mistaken. Now come, relax... accept it, and merge with it..."

It was a pitch-black bead that fell into his palm. Instantly, Demonic Qi poured out from it, crawling into his body like a swarm of tiny insects.

From that day on, another consciousness existed within his body, one with him.

...

「The scene shifted.」

"We are to move against the Holy Realm? That’s too risky! It’s filled with countless experts, and with Saints presiding over it, we don’t stand a chance!"

"Rest assured. Our clan has been planning this for years; our strategy is as solid as a mountain. While the Holy Realm has many powerful figures, they are not a united front."

"What do you mean?"

"It’s simple. As long as they are still human, as long as they have not become immortals, they have desires..."

"..."

"Besides, don’t you want to kill Wang Xiu and sever the roots of the Sanqing Divination Sect? You know the rules in the Holy Realm. No matter what you do, you’ll leave behind exploitable flaws... The Sanqing may be in decline, but destroying your Peeping Sky Pavilion would still be a simple matter for them! Why not just go all in and listen to us?"

"...I understand."

...

Bursts of information flooded his mind.

The Peeping Sky Pavilion’s betrayal had happened long ago, but it remained well hidden. For years, they had never relied on the Demon Race’s power, and thus never exposed themselves. Not until now.

The Demon Race had been plotting against the Holy Realm for a long time, intending to use it as a springboard for the Demon Realm’s invasion of Nanzhou in the Cangyuan Realm. However, the Holy Realm had its own unique rules that made it difficult for Demon Race experts to infiltrate. Therefore, they needed to leverage the power of the experts within the Holy Realm itself—or more precisely, those who had already been corrupted by the Demon Race.

In short, the Demon Race had spent many years preparing a sacrificial formation called the Fallen Saint Formation. It was said to have been personally bestowed by the Demon God and was designed specifically to kill Saints.

According to the plan, they would lure the Saints of the Holy Realm into the Fallen Saint Formation. This would grant them enough power to summon the avatars of the Demon Realm’s most powerful figures. Then, using the Demon God’s power, they could shatter the inherent rules of the Holy Realm, tear open a passage, and descend upon Nanzhou. The weakened laws of the world within the Abyss Battlefield were perfect for the Demon Race to exploit.

Of course, all of that was secondary.

The most important revelation was that the Holy Ancestors of the Holy Realm had long been aware of the Demon Race’s plan. They sought to turn it against them by deliberately sending one of their own to feign corruption and collude with the demons. They intended to turn the tables at the critical moment, launching a counterattack that would make the Demon Race lose both their bait and their prize.

However, the Demon Race had already seen through this deception.

They had kept silent about it because the one who was truly corrupted was someone else entirely—someone who had already met with Shi Ming