noveldepot Chapter 374 - 231: Elder Jin Xuan
Chapter 374 - 231: Elder Jin Xuan
In the Demon Realm, a Grand Array stood at the original confluence of three veins.
Unlike the Grand Arrays set up by the Six Sects using Array Discs and Array Banners, the main body of this Array was a majestic, entirely gilded tower. The tower was forged from some kind of Demon Gold, standing over a hundred feet tall upon its base.
Intricate Demon Patterns were engraved upon the tower’s body, along with images of various Celestial Demons kneeling in worship of a demon star.
Other, smaller towers, each thirty-seven feet tall, stood upon the nodes of the various Demon Veins, drawing Demonic Qi to form the Grand Array.
A dazzling beam of starlight shot out from the main tower, piercing the heavens.
With this Array’s guidance, one could easily find their way even in the chaotic Outer Realm, as long as they held the corresponding Celestial Star Demon-Attracting Order.
The Demon Cultivators who had fled from the front lines were all kneeling on the ground, not daring to make a single move.
Before them was a massive copper jar.
Inside the copper jar were the disciples from the Corpse Refining Hall who had previously ambushed Yang Jing. Their faces were coated in a gray frost, drained of all color and twisted in agony and despair. Judging by their trembling eyes and squirming bodies, they were not yet completely dead.
At that moment, however, they were likely worse off than dead.
Countless colorful, venomous snakes slithered inside the copper jar, gnawing at their flesh and tearing at their Divine Souls.
Only when nothing but dry white bones remained in the copper jar did the colorful snakes writhe together, transforming into a gaunt, black-robed old man.
Upon seeing the gaunt old man, the kneeling Demon Cultivators pressed their foreheads to the ground, their rears high in the air, not daring to move in the slightest.
"Greetings, Elder Jin Xuan!"
Even though they were not facing Elder Jin Xuan’s true body, but merely a Sub-Soul, they dared not show the slightest disrespect. The disciples who had been gnawed into skeletons by the colorful snakes served as a clear warning.
"You had Grand Arrays like the Heaven-shattering Earth-collapse Array and the Nine Nether Evil Transformation Array, yet you were thoroughly routed by the local Sects of the Western Continent and even lost both Arrays. You all deserve to die!"
A hoarse voice issued from Jin Xuan’s mouth.
The kneeling Demon Cultivators’ breath caught in their throats.
"I have received a secret report from the Western Demon Sect. This Demon-Catching Tripod was forged by that Yang Jing. Moreover, all of the Northern Army Governor’s Mansion’s Demon-Catching Tripods are here. In a moment, I will activate the Nine Nether Profound Separation World Creation Array to trap them."
Jin Xuan looked at the kneeling Demon Cultivators and said grimly.
"The grand army has already set out from the Celestial Nether Demon Realm. Seven days from now, I want to see Yang Jing kneeling before me."
* * *
The sudden appearance of a curtain of Demonic Qi and the abrupt drop in Spiritual Qi concentration caused the morale of every soldier in the Demon Suppression Army on the front line to waver, filling their hearts with dread.
Though they had never set foot in the Demon Realm, they knew they were trapped in an Array Formation of the Demon Sect.
Such a terrifying Array, capable of covering an entire region and altering the heavens, was clearly no ordinary formation.
Yang Jing took flight high into the sky, commanding the Golden Crow Pure Yang Mirror.
The Treasure Mirror unleashed ten thousand rays of golden light, replacing the pale Great Sun in the sky and dispelling the encroaching Demonic Qi. A panicked Yu Hou tried to lead a squad of soldiers to charge the enemy array, but Yang Jing immediately stopped him, rebuking him and ordering him back into formation.
He looked out with his Grotto Dark Dharma Eye and used Earth Escape to sense the ground below. He confirmed that the Spirit Veins were still intact, though their Spiritual Qi was greatly diminished, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
’Thankfully, this Nine Nether Profound Separation World Creation Array can’t completely sever the Spirit Veins.’
’If we lost the Spiritual Qi from the Spirit Veins, our Grand Arrays would instantly become paper tigers, toppled with a single push. When we set out, the army never considered the possibility of the Spirit Veins being cut off, so we didn’t bring any emergency Spirit Stones.’
Yang Jing took a deep breath and returned to his command tent. He ordered a messenger to summon all officers to the tent for a council of war.
Worried sick by the change in the heavens, the officers rushed to the command tent as fast as they could.
By then, Yang Jing was already seated at the head of the tent. Iron Head and Yinjiao stood beside him, their expressions solemn, while Zuoqiu Feng occupied the second seat.
Seeing that Yang Jing remained composed, their own confidence was bolstered, and they were no longer consumed by the same panic as before.
"Minister, what in the world is going on with the sky?"
Wang Xu asked.
"This is the Eastern Demon Sect’s Nine Nether Profound Separation World Creation Array. We are all trapped inside. Within this Array, it is as if we are in the Demon Realm."
Yang Jing didn’t hide the situation from the officers out of fear of causing panic. Given the celestial phenomena outside, concealing the truth would only lead the officers and soldiers to speculate wildly. That, in turn, would give rise to all sorts of absurd rumors and further destabilize morale.
His words instantly caused an uproar in the tent.
The great defeat a thousand years ago was more than enough proof of the horrors of the Demon Realm. They were merely a detachment, with only a single Golden Core Cultivator—a force that couldn’t even be compared to the grand army of that time.
Even that grand army had suffered devastating losses. Their small detachment, then, would be annihilated in an instant.
"Silence!"
Iron Head slammed the butt of his Seven-Star Flying Thunder Spear on the ground and barked a low command.
The officers in the tent fell silent. Iron Head had distinguished himself with outstanding merit in the previous war against the Demon Sect. Combined with his prior reputation, his prestige in the eyes of the men surpassed even that of Zuoqiu Feng, a Golden Core Stage Cultivator.
Yang Jing cleared his throat.
"I plan to dismantle the other Seven Luminaries Demon-Slaying Arrays, leaving only one. We will supplement it with numerous Tier Two Arrays to defend against the Demon Sect’s impending attack."
Their previous troop deployment was too dispersed, making them vulnerable to being picked off one by one by the Demon Sect. They had to consolidate their forces—turning an open palm into a clenched fist.