Demon Sword Sect's Undercover

In two rounds of battle, the two envoys from the Upper Realm seemed somewhat showy, turning killing into an art form; one played with boneless fish, and the other with braised sea slug, vividly demonstrating the gap in their understanding of Daoist Methods.

This kind of cross-realm slaughter is the standard for Strong Pills; they all come from the Upper Realm and are top figures among cultivators of the same Realm. Meeting the Sea Clan, who are inherently weaker than humans, such a complete victory is actually nothing to brag about, just like before on Yingtai Immortal Island, where the Sword Cultivation Army's collective assault had already surpassed the understanding of these native Sea Clan.

After two failures, the Sea Clan's momentum was somewhat diminished, and even the most foolish little demon could see the gap between them and human cultivators. In such cases, the Sea Clan either mob together in chaos or retreat in panic, but this time the Sea Demons showed great resilience.

A Leaf Sea Dragon emerged, a fish species with its main Divine Skills in hiding. It seemed there were no particular abilities known, but the ocean is vast, with countless bizarre forms, and humans are unfamiliar with numerous species, especially those in the deep sea.

Both envoys from the Upper Realm had already shown their abilities, while Hou Niao and his Sword Cultivation Army were still lurking above the clouds waiting for any fish that slipped through the net. The next to appear were the Yingtai cultivators. A cultivator with the surname Qiu leaped forward to meet the challenge, seeking to resolve the blood feud between Yingtai and the Sea Demons through slaughter. It wasn't enough for others to do the killing; only by doing it himself would it be most satisfying.

Tianfeng and Hong Xiu exchanged glances, feeling that something was wrong. This was against the Sea Clan's nature, but in their urgency, they couldn't judge or persuade the Master not to go, as he was, after all, of Nascent Soul cultivation and had pride to maintain.

In this moment of hesitation, Master Qiu was already engaged in battle with the Leaf Sea Dragon. His Water Element power was immense. Without discussing methods, just his deep cultivation ensured he stood in an undefeatable position. If he proceeded steadily, achieving victory should not be difficult?

Rolling and tumbling, Master Qiu took the lead, and under various spell combinations, the Leaf Sea Dragon gradually fell into decline. Its attacks were indeed sparse, but its transformations were unique. With both the Sea Clan's aquatic nature and the Wood Element's growth and recovery, it could frequently escape from continuous technique strikes through such Five Elements transformation.

Perhaps feeling the time was right and not wanting to fall behind the juniors, Master Qiu decided to draw in the net,

secretly throwing an item, his long-cultivated life treasure, the Duoluo Net; made from Flood Dragon sinew with metal threads intertwined, bound by arrays, once cast, it captures countless foes.

The battle between both sides was fierce and evenly matched when the Duoluo Net descended. With a flash of Bright Light, it automatically tightened, tying up the Leaf Sea Dragon neatly.

Master Qiu laughed, under the suppression of the array, even a Flood Dragon would grow weak, at his mercy; with a beckon, the Duoluo Net returned to his hand, and he was about to destroy the net's contents, but unexpectedly, the constantly struggling Leaf Sea Dragon suddenly opened its eyes. Its gaze, like a sharp spear, pierced into the depths of Master Qiu's consciousness, causing him to lose his wits in that brief moment.

The Leaf Sea Dragon's entrapped body grew through the net's gaps, lightning-fast, seizing Master Qiu's throat…

The change occurred too quickly, so rapidly that Tianfeng and Hong Xiu could not react. Even if they could, what could they do? Could they rush to aid?

All they saw was Master Qiu capturing the Leaf Sea Dragon, holding it in his hand, with everyone thinking victory was imminent when a sudden change occurred. It was not the Leaf Sea Dragon that fell from the sky but Master Qiu.

A Yingtai Master went to retrieve the body. While Yingtai cultivators were stunned, the Sea Clan demons cheered collectively. Then the demon wind stirred, water vapor spread, and swords, spears, and halberds were raised…

This was a sign of an attack, but as Yingtai cultivators were ready for battle, they saw only thunder and no rain. As the water vapor dispersed, the group of demons was already far gone, heading into the Divine Mountain, disappearing without a trace.

Had they been fooled by the Sea Clan?

Master Jia, holding Master Qiu's body, appeared sorrowful, realizing it was unavoidable for a general to perish on the battlefield,

"Our senior brother… is gone."

A bit hard to articulate, as two Golden Core juniors slaughtered the Sea Clan as easily as chopping vegetables, yet they, the Nascent Soul Masters, had their ship overturned in the gutter, disgraced with nothing to say.

Seeing the plan fail, losing a renowned Master, and the Sea Clan having fled, Hou Niao rushed down, "What's going on? From a distance, I saw everything suddenly go wrong?"

Daoist Tianfeng said coldly, "We all misjudged. It was not a Leaf Sea Dragon, or even a Sea Beast, but something skilled in transformation. Fairy, what do you think it could be?"

Fairy Hong Xiu frowned, "If I am not wrong, it should be a Bamboo Mantis, somewhat similar in appearance to a Leaf Sea Dragon. This is not a creature of Jinxiu Continent…"

Tianfeng nodded, "I thought so too, a Wood Attribute, not Water Element; the key point is, it appeared to have become a Nascent Soul? Could it be that these Demon Beasts can avoid the Purple Mansion's pull upon entering Jinxiu Continent?"

Fairy Hong Xiu smiled bitterly, "Demon Beasts ascend based on their bloodline, not the Purple Mansion, so they have a greater advantage in entering Jinxiu than we do."

Hou Niao, listening as if hearing a bible, thought of the countless races in the Cultivation World, with his rustic Jinxiu knowledge, barely having seen one in ten thousand, let alone understanding.

"What I want to know is, why did they retreat?"

Tianfeng felt slightly embarrassed, "Maybe they never intended to fight us fairly, and the reason for the battle was merely to delay us, allowing them to complete some arrangement."

Hong Xiu felt somewhat ashamed, "We did not consider it, but it proves two points: one, their numbers are indeed not many; two, there is indeed something they cannot abandon in the Divine Mountain."

Hou Niao said coldly, "Then what are we waiting for? I want to know what it is that they cannot abandon so I can decide if this is the battlefield of the future."

There was no longer a need to conceal anything. The Sword Cultivators and Yingtai cultivators combined forces, heading towards the two Divine Mountains, scanning with their Divine Senses along the way, sensing that the Indigenous Divine Temple of Blue Mountain still existed but unable to feel a trace of human presence, making Hou Niao's heart sink.

"On the West Holy Mountain, that Heavenly Pit."

This was the consensus, as there were actually no other places to look, because within the range of the two Holy Mountains, the Primordial Magnetic Power was strongest here.

After a slight deliberation among several people, they began preparing for an attack on the Heavenly Pit, where a massive power orbited. The array was crude but the power derived from both Holy Mountains, thick and unmatched, needing careful consideration.

These matters fell within the realm of the Daoists' abilities and had no relation to the Sword Cultivators. Watching them discuss, Hou Niao gathered the Sword Cultivators,

"You all, search Blue Mountain Island thoroughly, with two objectives: one, whether there are any remaining Sea Clan activities or gatherings; two, whether the Blue Mountain natives are alive or dead. Report back with findings and do not act on your own."