Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 720 - 704: Demon Realm, Holy Demon

Zhouyang didn't have much to prepare, he just discussed the upcoming action plan with his Dao Companion Xiao Ying, and with her consent, took her along for this mission.

In this upcoming action, more than half of the Nascent Soul Cultivators and Golden Core Cultivators in Ice City will be mobilized.

If those Demon Cultivators who went to destroy the cross-cultivation realm teleportation array learn that their stronghold has been wiped out, they will definitely come back for aid. In case they consider destroying this Ice City on their way back, the remaining cultivators here would not be able to withstand them.

So Zhouyang believes that having Xiao Ying by his side is safer than leaving her in Ice City.

At least with him around, as long as he is alive, no one can harm her.

Half a day later, the anticipated bad news reached Ice City.

After discovering the plot had been exposed, the Demon Cultivators, including "Celestial Corpse Ascendant," who had already infiltrated, destroyed the cross-cultivation realm teleportation array in advance and shattered most of the mountain peak, destroying the spirit vein within, completely eradicating the possibility of rebuilding the cross-cultivation realm teleportation array.

And except for Murong Qing, who was vigilant after receiving the news, and another traitor cultivator Tao Hanshan, the remaining cultivators of the Profound Nether Immortal Sect there were all killed by the Demon Cultivators.

This cross-cultivation realm teleportation array was built by a great divine power cultivator from ancient times, and it is said that the complete method of construction has been lost.

Now that the cross-cultivation realm teleportation array on the Beiting Continent side has been destroyed, if it cannot be rebuilt, it means that this cultivation realm has lost the fast communication channel with other cultivation realms from now on, which is an enormous loss for the entire Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm.

It can be expected that even if this demonic calamity subsides, the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm, ravaged by the demonic calamity, is destined to decline and may never return to its previous prosperity.

Therefore, even though the local cultivators of the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm, such as Cultivator Wen, were mentally prepared in advance, they were still like mourning their parents upon hearing the news, hating the Demon Cultivators who caused all this to the core, and were deeply worried about the future of the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm.

And the cultivators like Zhouyang from the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm who came from afar were also very heavy-hearted.

This is not only because their future return to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm will be much more difficult after the cross-cultivation realm teleportation array is destroyed, but also because the expected reinforcements will take a much longer time to arrive.

Although a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator's strength and means can travel from the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm to the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm within a few months to a year.

But that is under normal conditions.

Now that the Demon Cultivators can even destroy the cross-cultivation realm teleportation array, who knows if they will create other obstacles on the path of the reinforcements.

If the reinforcements take too long to arrive, the situation, which was stable because of the expected reinforcements from the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, may deteriorate in unimaginable ways.

Two days later, eight Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators and dozens of Golden Core Stage Cultivators from the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, led by Cultivator Guo, arrived in Ice City.

Speed is of the essence in military operations. After everyone arrived, Xu Tianlin immediately convened all cultivators to prepare for departure.

"The destruction of the teleportation array is indeed distressing and puts us in a difficult position. However, evil will not prevail over good. Such tactics may inconvenience us for a short period, but they cannot truly prevent us from achieving victory!"

"Just yesterday, Fellow Daoist Wen has already contacted Fellow Daoist Nie and informed him of our plan. Fellow Daoist Nie has already promised to gather manpower to help us delay the return of those demons."

"So on this expedition to the Demon Realm, we can stay in the Demon Realm for a longer time than previously anticipated. We absolutely must not waste this hard-earned opportunity and must uncover the demons' conspiracy and shatter their illusions!"

Before departure, Xu Tianlin gave a rousing victory speech to the cultivators. Judging by his confident demeanor, victory seemed just within reach.

But only the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators like Zhouyang who knew the inside story understood that this expedition into the Demon Realm was actually a forced counterattack.

If the cross-cultivation realm teleportation array had not been destroyed, and the expected reinforcements could arrive on schedule, they would not have needed to take such a risky venture deep into enemy territory.

They could have just waited for the reinforcements to arrive and rallied the strength of dozens of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators to simply roll over the enemy.

Of course, even the most pessimistic person at this time wouldn't let these thoughts show on their face or say anything to dampen morale.

This time's expedition to the Demon Realm involves not only fifteen Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators but also over sixty Golden Core Stage Cultivators.

If the Golden Core Stage Cultivators were to learn the truth, they might not be as dedicated to the task at hand.

At this exact moment, after Xu Tianlin finished his speech, he cupped his hands towards the Nascent Soul Cultivator named Chen, who was responsible for staying behind, and said, "Fellow Daoist Chen, once we depart, the safety here will be entrusted to you and Fellow Daoist Zheng. If things become truly untenable, do not be stingy about abandoning a city or region to preserve useful lives!"

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Xu, Chen is well aware of the situation and knows what to do."

The Nascent Soul Cultivator named Chen returned the courtesy with a solemn nod.

Because two Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators from the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm who came to aid before perished in the battle at Demon City, and three others were seriously injured.

During this expedition to the Demon Realm, besides the three injured cultivators and two other cultivators whose injuries haven't recovered staying behind in Ice City, the remaining eleven cultivators, along with Zhouyang joined the expedition.

As the remaining cultivators watched over them, Xu Tianlin once again raised his Tier Six Magical Artifact Flying Ship, ready to depart.

Although the frontline of Ice City is quite distant from the Demon Realm, it would still take over two months to reach there even at the escape speed of a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator.

Before, only a few places were guarded by cultivators from the Profound Nether Immortal Sect monitoring the region, and lower-tier cultivators rarely ventured to such remote locations.

Since the Ice Sea Demon Abyss, the cultivators of the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm had completely lost access to information about the Demon Realm.

In the past few years, Nie Yushuang and others have sent cultivators to infiltrate that area, but those who returned did not venture far into the Demon Realm, only collecting some basic intelligence from the periphery.

Even some Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators attempted to venture into the Demon Realm, but those who returned did not make it back with any substantial information.

Since then, the cultivators of the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm dare not send people into the Demon Realm easily.

Over the years, according to reports from those who escaped, the Demon Realm had been overrun by demon beasts transformed from demon birds and various demon corpses and bone demons deployed by the Demon Cultivators like "Celestial Corpse Ascendant."

Guided by the directions of Fellow Daoist Xu, Zhouyang and other Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm cultivators bypassed demon cultivator outposts that had been established as bases, and after flying north for about two months, they finally arrived outside the Demon Realm.

Previously, in the Ice Sea Demon Abyss, Zhouyang had seen what could be referred to as a Demon Realm due to its demonic havoc.

But compared to the Demon Realm he saw now, the earlier one was insignificant.

Facing him now in the Extreme North Icefield was a vast stretch of once snow-covered tundra, now a barren, white wasteland, with sparse patches of coniferous forests scattered amidst an otherwise white expanse.

However, the sky to the north was grayish-black, filled with thick demonic clouds, blocking out the light from the sun, turning the white snow into gray snow, and even black snow in some places.

Even the originally verdant pine trees had turned dark green due to the contamination of demonic qi.

Zhouyang applied his Pupil Technique Divine Techniques to look around, and under the gray-black sky, he saw strands of pitch-black demonic qi drifting everywhere. In such a place, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was extremely thin, even less than in places like the Boundless Desert Sea.

"Ever since the demonic qi erupted and formed the Demon Realm, its area has been expanding. A few years ago, the area three thousand miles from here was still normal, but now it has completely become a part of the Demon Realm."

"According to the conclusions drawn by Fellow Daoist Nie after field investigations, if we can't quickly eliminate those demon cultivators and set up a grand array to purify the demonic qi here, in another hundred years, the Heaven and Earth Laws in this Demon Realm will completely change. By then, unless a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal personally takes action to display Immortal Divine Techniques to change the world, this Demon Realm will be irreversible!"

Guan Chengfeng, a Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm guiding Zhouyang and others along the way, pointed to the region filled with dense demonic qi ahead, speaking in a low tone about the history of this Demon Realm's transformation.

His tone was heavy, filled with worry about all of this.

Thinking about the scene he described, all the cultivators in the team remained silent, their expressions grave and somber.

Since the Ancient Immortal-Demon War, there had never been a Demon Realm of such size in the Cultivation Realm. If this Demon Realm could truly exist permanently, the entire Cultivation Realm would suffer because of it.

In the end, it was Xu Tianlin, the leader, who first broke the heavy atmosphere.

"Fellow Daoist Guan, rest assured, that day will not come. We will not allow it to happen, and neither will the cultivators of the Spirit Realm!"

After speaking, Xu Tianlin immediately drove the flying ship, carrying everyone straight into the Demon Realm.

...

Gah~gah~gah!

The harsh and annoying cries of birds echoed across the sky, belonging to gray-feathered giant birds with wingspans of twenty to thirty zhang.

These gray-feathered giant birds were originally Tier Four Demon Birds known as the Snow Feathered Falcons, active on the Extreme North Icefield.

However, after being contaminated by demonic qi, the Snow Feathered Falcons, originally only Tier Four, had become Gray-Feathered Demon Falcons with strength close to that of Tier Five Demon Beasts.

Once demon beasts are contaminated and transformed by demonic qi into demon beasts, their strength generally increases significantly, but at the cost of greatly reduced spiritual wisdom, becoming bloodthirsty, irritable, and cruel.

After Xu Tianlin piloted the flying ship over ten thousand miles into the Demon Realm, they were targeted by this group of Gray-Feathered Demon Falcons.

In this Demon Realm, where Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was thin, the spiritual power fluctuations generated by the Tier Six Magical Artifact flying ship were as bright and dazzling as the moon in the night sky to the demon beasts living within.

These Gray-Feathered Demon Falcons pursued the flying ship, using calls to guide more of their kin to join in interception, finally blocking the flying ship above a demonic pine leaf forest.

Unfortunately, these beasts, with their significantly degraded spiritual wisdom, had no idea what terrifying enemies they were now facing.

When the flying ship was stopped and intercepted, they thought they could enjoy a feast of flesh and blood, but what awaited them were Tier Six Spiritual Artifacts with power enough to split mountains and seas.

Fifteen Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, including Zhouyang, acted together, slaughtering all the gathered hundreds of Gray-Feathered Demon Falcons in an instant. The dark red demonic blood with a strong stench quickly dyed the vast expanse of dark green pine forest below red.

"All right, now that nearly all the high-tier demonic birds within tens of thousands of miles have fallen here, you juniors can now disperse to complete your assigned tasks."

Inside the flying ship, Xu Tianlin glanced at the piles of demon bird corpses on the ground and, without further concern, issued orders to the Golden Core Stage cultivators inside the ship.

The main reason for bringing these Golden Core Stage cultivators here was to have them spread out and record a map of the Demon Realm's intelligence for future massive counterattacks against the Demon Realm.

In fact, the flying ship had been intercepted by the demonic birds earlier because Xu Tianlin intentionally allowed it, intending to first help these Golden Core Stage cultivators clear a major threat.

Upon hearing his instructions, dozens of Golden Core Stage cultivators in the ship immediately followed the predetermined plan, splitting into twelve groups of five and leaving in all directions.

Once all these Golden Core Stage cultivators had departed, Xu Tianlin continued to pilot the flying ship deeper into the Demon Realm.

Meanwhile, not long after all the Gray-Feathered Demon Falcons had fallen, in an ice cave deep within the Demon Realm, an elderly man in a gray robe, who had been meditating, suddenly opened his eyes as if sensing something.

As his eyes opened, a cold light flashed, and with a wave of his large sleeve, he summoned a cyan-black copper mirror to float in front of him. He then formed a spell with his hands, casting a black demonic light onto the copper mirror. The mirror then revealed the image of a middle-aged man in black atop a snowy mountain peak.

"What happened? Didn't I tell you not to disturb my cultivation unless something significant occurs? If you don't give me a satisfactory explanation today, even if Old Hei Li comes, he won't be able to protect you!"

The gray-robed elder's hawk-like eyes narrowed, coldly staring at the middle-aged man in the mirror, his words filled with impatience.

The middle-aged man seemed accustomed to such threats and showed no panic, only lowering his head slightly and speaking respectfully, "Senior, please discern, if it were a small matter, I wouldn't dare disturb your cultivation. It's truly a matter of great importance that must be immediately brought to your attention."

"Oh, why don't you tell me what this significant matter is?"

The gray-robed elder's eyes narrowed, finally showing a hint of seriousness.

"Reporting to senior, approximately a little over an hour ago, twenty-three miles directly to the south, Nascent Soul Stage cultivators intruded and slaughtered over a hundred Gray-Feathered Demon Falcons pursuing them."

"Reported by stationed spies, the number of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators at the scene may have exceeded ten. Moreover, after massacring the Gray-Feathered Demon Falcons, fifty to sixty Golden Core Stage cultivators departed from that flying ship, scattering throughout the Demon Realm."

"Currently, the flying ship is rapidly approaching the direction of the Demon Abyss. If not intercepted, it is expected to reach the Demon Abyss in at most two days!" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The middle-aged man reported the intelligence with a heavy tone, unable to conceal a hint of panic in his voice.

The gray-robed elder's expression was also gloomy; this news was truly the worst possible for him.

He glared at the man in the mirror with a solemn expression, speaking in a deep voice, "Are you sure there are a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators? Could those demon eyes have made a mistake?"

In the face of his doubts, the middle-aged man answered decisively, "Absolutely no mistake, senior. I've already questioned the five demon eyes monitoring nearby at the time, and they all say there were a dozen Nascent Soul Stage cultivators' auras erupting together, instantly annihilating over a hundred Gray-Feathered Demon Falcons."

Seeing this, the gray-robed elder did not dwell on the matter further and immediately ordered, "If that's the case, quickly message the other guys to gather with me here, and those dispersed Golden Core cultivators are up to you juniors. Make sure to keep them all in this Demon Realm for me!"

"Yes, I will do as senior commands."

The middle-aged man responded respectfully and then proactively cut off the communication.

He didn't see the gray-robed elder's original gloomy face in the mirror turn into one full of delighted pride.

"Heh heh heh, didn't expect it to go just as the ascendant predicted. After the teleportation array was destroyed, someone really couldn't resist jumping out to be killed!"

The gray-robed elder smiled proudly, raising his hand to reveal a foot-tall black demon god statue in his hand.

Gazing at the lifelike demon god statue in his hand, his eyes were filled with fiery zeal as he muttered, "Soon, soon, once these dozen Nascent Soul cultivators are offered as sacrifices, it should satisfy the requirements for Lord Saint Demon's avatar to descend. By then, even if those Tribulation Crossing True Immortals come, they will be unable to shake my demon realm's foundation!"