Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 477: Chapter 294: Persuasion to Surrender

A group of Tribulation Realm Martial Artists retreated back to the Temple of War God, and the Twelve Divine Generals did not pursue but flew back to the three major Heavenly Palaces.

As soon as they returned to the city, they saw streams of light overflow, and a large amount of overloaded, battle-damaged, and destroyed Magic Artifact components disassembled and sorted out. Then, brand new Magic Artifacts were supplemented, and through the logistical maintenance of the main city, the mecha combat power was rapidly restored.

While the Twelve Divine Generals were maintaining, a large number of Cultivators also flew out of the city, surrounding the Temple of War God embedded in the Broken Void. They planted Array Banners, inscribed Array patterns, arranged Array positions, and also erected Incense Tables, offering tables, Mana Altars, and other such items. Together with the twenty-eight Seasuppressing Heavenpropping Pillars, they were seemingly turning this place into a Taoist field, the main arena for Taoism!

Thus, inside the Temple of War God…

“How could this be, how could this be!”

“What on earth has happened to the outside world in just a thousand years?”

“Who exactly are those people, and why do they possess our War God’s Atlas?”

“Preheaven Qi, Yin Yang Two Extremes, Qiankun Bagua, as well as the Heavenly Demon Array, could it be they have netted the entire Righteous and Evil Paths in one swoop?”

“Without merging with the Broken Void, just relying on the previous forty-eight copies of the War God’s Atlas, they actually have combat power comparable to the Tribulation Realm?”

“Could it be… otherworldly demons?”

A group of Tribulation Realm, in utter disarray, were filled with shock and rage.

Especially the people from the Demon Sect, although the white-haired man made a move at the last moment to block the White Jade Capital, the blast of the Great Five Elements Divine Light before that was solidly received. Several old demons were severely injured, and then the four Divine Generals took advantage of the situation to attack, adding injuries upon injuries, not to mention one person’s blood sprayed across the sky, dying on the spot.

Now, recalculating, not only did they lose an old-generation Tribulation Realm, an age-old Demon Head, but several emerging Tribulation Realm and Divine Intent Ultimates who had failed to break through the realm also suffered casualties, directly reducing the Demon Sect powerhouses who entered the Temple of War God by one-third.

Compared with that, the Righteous Path’s side was much luckier. Although both belonged to the Heavenly Palace Giant City and the Immortal Spirit Mech Armor was of Myriad Device Level, the two palaces of Heavenly Demon Divine Martial were clearly not comparable to the White Jade Capital. The Heavenly Demon Array and the Two Yi Great Array were also inferior to the Five Elements Formation, so the casualties inflicted on the people of the Righteous Path were not that many.

But it was only relatively few, they still couldn’t avoid everyone being wounded. Even Ren Baimei, an old-generation Tribulation Realm, was not spared, and they also lost a few Divine Intent Ultimates and newly risen Tribulation Realm with insufficient combat power.

Heavy losses, regardless of Righteous or Evil!

But compared to the losses, what everyone cared more about was what exactly had happened outside in this millennium.

If it was possible to spawn powerful beings of Earth Calamity and even Earth Calamity Extreme Realm without comprehending the Broken Void?

Those three Heavenly Palaces, those Twelve Divine Generals, and those twenty-eight Celestial Patrol Warships…

This was completely beyond their imagination.

It wasn’t that they had never considered it—being isolated for a thousand years, the world outside would have changed. However, they had not anticipated such an outrageous and exaggerated change.

How could this be?

The major forces, Divine Martial Heritage, holding onto the War God’s Atlas as the sole channel for ascension, there was almost no chance for a third party to rise. No matter how the outside world changed, how it turned into rivers and oceans, it should have been just a struggle among their descendants.

Either the Righteous Path overthrows the Evil Path, or the Evil Path engulfs the Righteous Path. These two possibilities had been considered by everyone, and they could accept them both.

But now, it is a third party that has become overwhelmingly strong, swallowing both Righteous and Evil Paths, and now even setting their sights on the Temple of War God and these Tribulation Realm powerhouses.

This…

Unfathomable, completely unfathomable!

How did those unworthy descendants raise such a group of monsters while holding the War God’s Atlas? Even if they raised a pig, surely they could not have made the situation this bad, could they?

The crowd cursed inwardly, but it was mostly an outburst of emotion.

With their wisdom, they naturally understood that this was not due to the descendants being unfilial and raising a tiger that turned into a menace, but rather the enemy was too strong, possessing extraordinary methods that allowed them to bypass the restrictions of the War God’s Atlas and obtain power of Divine Intent or even beyond.

Such a formidable enemy, where did they come from?

Everyone racked their brains but came up with no clues, they could only shift their focus, seeking guidance from the strongest among them.

“Sect Hierarch, what should we do at this point?”

“The Temple of War God is only open for one month, after thirty days it will vanish into the void again, and we will be trapped for another thousand years!”

“Being trapped is one thing, but without the previous forty-eight copies of the War God’s Atlas, even another thousand years of participation will hardly improve our realm.”

“Zhang Elder, Ning Elder…”

The members of the Demon Sect looked towards the white-haired man who had acted previously to save the situation, and the Righteous Path powerhouses at the Tribulation Realm also turned their attention to the two elders.

In the Temple of War God at present, although there were dozens at the Earth Calamity Realm, only three had reached the Extreme Realm, one from the Demon Sect and two from the Righteous Path.

It goes without saying who the two from the Righteous Path were, the Supreme Elders from Sword Sea Pavilion and Freewheeling Peak, individuals nearly four thousand years of age, even seniors to figures like Ren Baimei and Deng Yunpeng, their entry into the Earth Calamity Extreme Realm was a combination of both talent and time.

The Evil Path, on the other hand, only had one in the Earth Calamity Extreme Realm, and he was newly advanced to this realm during the thousand-year closure.

The Heavenly Demon God Monarch—Leng Aotian!

The most brilliant figure in the history of the Demon Sect, the undisputed pride of the heavens. He had only entered the Temple of War God twice, at not even over two thousand years of age, he had reached the Earth Calamity Extreme Realm. He was considered the most hopeful to achieve the Heavenly Tribulation Realm and was also the greatest concern of the Righteous Path.

Deng Yunpeng and several other old demons faced Leng Aotian with respect in their eyes, had it not been for their recent scheming against Ren Baimei, stirring Righteous Path against Leng Aotian for the cradle disaster, they would indeed regard him as a loyal member of the Demon Sect.

Leng Aotian paid no attention to them and only looked towards Ning and Zhang of the Righteous Path, “To ascend to the Heavenly Tribulation, we need the complete atlas. Why don’t we join forces and fight our way out together?”

“Ha!”

To this proposal, the Supreme Elder from Freewheeling Peak, Ning Beiming, laughed and looked at Leng Aotian with a playful expression, “Young Leng, are you confident in breaking through those three major Heavenly Palaces?”

Leng Aotian’s expression remained unchanged, “Among the three major Heavenly Palaces, the strongest is the White Jade Immortal City. I can hold them off for a while. You two seize this opportunity to go all out, and there is a chance to break the other two palaces.”

While that’s true, we don’t know the whole situation. How many more moves does the opponent have?”

Ning Beiming shook his head, directly dismissing the suggestion.

What a joke, the Righteous and Evil Paths have their own schemes, especially the three of us at Earth Calamity Extreme Realm, who view each other as thorns in the side, how could we possibly cooperate confidently, entrusting our lives and fortunes to one another.

If we launch a full-on attack on the other two Heavenly Demon Divine Martial Palaces and Leng Aotian suddenly withdraws, allowing White Jade Immortal City to come to the rescue, wouldn’t we be throwing ourselves into the lion’s den?

“Fine!”

Leng Aotian did not take the refusal to heart and instead adopted an attitude of sitting back and fishing, “Then just stay here in the Temple of War God. Anyway, I have nearly two thousand years of life left, which I can afford to drag out. But I don’t know how long you two elders can afford to wait?”

At these words, the expressions on Ning and Zhang’s faces darkened, clearly hitting a sore spot.

As peers in the Earth Calamity Extreme Realm, they might not be weaker than Leng Aotian in strength, but their lifespan was a fatal flaw. If they did not gather the complete atlas and break through to the Heavenly Tribulation Realm, they might not even survive until the next opening of the Temple of War God.

Therefore, Leng Aotian could afford to wait patiently, but they could not remain indifferent forever.

How could they remain indifferent and still break the deadlock?

The atmosphere was tense and oppressive.

Just then…

“Who goes there!?”

Several streaks of light flew in, startling everyone who was about to strike ferociously.

Fortunately, at this moment, a cry came from within the light.

“Elder Patriarchs, hold your hands!”

Hearing this, everyone frowned and adjusted their offensive, shattering the light but not harming the people inside. Instead, they captured them and brought them forward.

As the light shattered and the figures were caught, several Divine Intents emerged, with a woman in white being the most conspicuous.

“Yun Mengyao of the Mercy Sailing Temple, greets the Ancestors and Elder Patriarchs!”

“The unworthy descendant Zhang Shaobai, greets the Old Ancestor!”

“Old Ancestor, it’s me…”

As these individuals revealed themselves, they ignored the Demon Heads and addressed only the Righteous Path, declaring their identities.

Seeing this, the members of the Demon Sect furrowed their brows, wanting to act but were stopped by a gesture from Leng Aotian.

On the Righteous Path, Ning Beiming, Ren Baimei, and others also frowned in surprise and uncertainty at the newcomers. Eventually, the Boundless Sword Lord from the Earth Calamity Extreme Realm took action, grabbed Zhang Shaobai, and verified his bloodline.

“Indeed, he has the Zhang Family bloodline!”

Having tossed Zhang Shaobai to the ground, the Boundless Sword Lord then turned to Yun Mengyao and the others: “The Palace has been sealed off by those three Heavenly Palaces. How did you manage to enter, and what has happened in the outside world over the past thousand years? Where did those three Heavenly Palaces come from…”

He directly posed the previous questions, at the same time observing their facial expressions with a cold gaze.

“Replying to the Elder Patriarchs!”

Facing the powerful individuals of the Tribulation Realm, Yun Mengyao showed no fear and answered gracefully, “The Temple of War God has indeed been sealed by the Wandao School. The reason I was able to enter is because I carry the orders of the Taoist Master to persuade the Elders. If the Ancestors and Elder Patriarchs lay down arms, the School will certainly treat you with respect…”

“The Wandao School?”

“The Taoist Master’s orders?”

“Lay down arms?”

The individuals of the Righteous Path’s eyes sharpened, and anger quickly arose. Jue Shenni of the Mercy Sailing Silent Temple stepped forward with a stern face, “Who on earth are you to dare invoke the name of our Mercy Sailing Silent Temple to stir up such trouble?”

Yun Mengyao smiled slightly and lowered her head, “Ancestor, please don’t be hasty. Mengyao is indeed from the Mercy Sailing Silent Temple, and my visit is indeed for the concerns of the Silent Temple and for all the Elder Patriarchs…”

“Shut up!”

Before she could finish speaking, Zhang Shaobai, furious, interrupted her, “Elder Ancestors, do not be deceived by this wench’s words. She has already surrendered to the Wandao School and serves that tyrant. Now she is here as an emissary, seeking to persuade you to surrender.”

“Huh!?”

At these words, everyone’s frowns deepened as they looked between Yun Mengyao and Zhang Shaobai, confused about the situation.

These people are not on the same side?

What is the Wandao School playing at, sending one emissary to persuade us to surrender and another to cause trouble?

Clueless, they could only ask Zhang Shaobai, “Explain yourself. What exactly is going on?”

“Yes!”

Zhang Shaobai nodded and said urgently, “Now, the world is in chaos. The Forty-eight Domains and the Forty-eight replicate War God’s Atlas have all fallen into the hands of the Wandao School. Many have betrayed their ancestral teachings and joined the Wandao School, fawning over the tyrant for favor. Only a few of us have remained steadfast…”

“A tyrant?”

The crowd frowned and interrupted Zhang Shaobai’s irrelevant words, “What tyrant?!”

“Heaven Martial Xu Qingyang!”

Zhang Shaobai, realizing he had rambled too much, quickly corrected himself, “The current master of the Wandao School, hailed as the foremost immortal, the foremost Taoist, the foremost martial artist… is none other than the former Great Zhou Heavenly Martial Emperor!”

“What?”

At these words, everyone, be they of the righteous or evil path, stood stunned in place.

“The Grand Ancestor of Great Zhou?”

“Heaven Martial — Xu Qingyang?”

With furrowed brows, they searched their memories, and after a long while, they exclaimed in shock, “The Great Zhou Heavenly Martial Emperor from ten thousand years ago!?”

“Exactly, him!”

Zhang Shaobai kneeled on the ground, repeating urgently, “Three hundred years ago, this tyrant, somehow resurrected from the dead, then united the remnants of Heaven Martial and started chaos everywhere. He also created the Immortal Path, overpowering our Martial Path. The Dragon and Tiger Platform, Pavilion of Heavenly Mechanism, and Evergreen Palace suffered calamities one after another. In the end, including the Heavenly Demon Main Altar and our Righteous Path’s sacred places, every sect and faction was destroyed by his hands. As of today, the world has been seized by him…”

As Zhang Shaobai tearfully recounted the events of the outside world, the listeners exchanged glances, all in disbelief.

“The Great Zhou Heavenly Martial, resurrected from the dead?”

“How could that be possible? It’s absurd!”

“An Immortal Path, other than the Temple of War God, exists?”

“This…”

The crowd furrowed their brows, finding it hard to believe.

In the end, it was still Leng Aotian who stepped forward and cut to the heart of the matter, “So, those three Heavenly Palaces outside the Palace are also his handiwork?”

“Exactly!”

Although unaware that this individual was the legendary Heavenly Demon God Monarch, Zhang Shaobai still nodded and said, “Those three Heavenly Palaces are indeed the Wandao School’s strongest measures, the prime culprits in destroying the Demon Realm in the past, the Heavenly Crafts Natural Creation, the Immortal Spirit Mech Armor — White Jade Capital of the Heavens!”