This Sword Cultivator is Somewhat Dependable-Chapter 1660 - 25: The Battle That Must Come

The blood moon hangs high.

Due to the rapid population growth, the Abyss has long been plunged into a state of resource scarcity.

Just like the development patterns of most races, the scarcer the resources, the more pronounced the gap between wealth and poverty within the race.

Most of the Abyss's resources are controlled by those powerful Demon Race members, while some weaker, waning-bloodline minor demon clans have no choice but to venture into the wilderness to seek possibilities for the continuation of their race.

The Abyss hosts an innumerable number of demon races, as numerous as stars in the sky.

Besides the Holy Demon Clans like the War Demon Clan and the Asura Clan that rule entire domains, there are also countless minor demon clans.

In the Abyss, every day many minor demon clans are extinguished due to various reasons, but no one cares.

Because these minor demon clans are so small that, in the eyes of the Holy Demon Clans, they aren't even qualified to be called cannon fodder; whether they're extinguished or not, let them be.

In the Abyss, there isn't the concept of preserving "species diversity."

In the vast northwest wilderness, wild grass stretches far and wide, often spanning thousands of miles without a water source to be seen.

This region was desolate and uninhabited a thousand years ago.

Later, some minor demon clans, unable to find suitable habitats, chose to migrate into the barren northwest lands.

The Si Ti Demon Clan, with a total population of just over two thousand, is one of the small demon clans forced into the northwest over the past thousand years.

Due to the barrenness of the northwest, the Si Ti Demon Clan has lived a nomadic life similar to grassland herders for years, continuously migrating to barely sustain their race.

This is an abandoned land, under the blood-red sky, vast wilderness, sparse plants and animals, tattered campsites, everything reveals a deep sense of desolation.

A small, black-skinned girl, dressed in rags and looking very similar to the Human Race with only some fine scales on her face, walks out with shuffling steps from a dirty tent.

Her name is Abao, a child of the Si Ti Demon Clan.

The Si Ti Demon Clan's bloodline is extremely weak, with few extraordinary traits, so much so that the strongest one in the entire clan is just at Third Grade strength.

The weakness of their bloodline can be seen in their appearance, which is extremely similar to the Human Race—acknowledged as a race with extremely weak "initial values."

The war raging at Guangling Pass, initiated by the Black Armor Domain, has nothing to do with the Si Ti Demon Clan.

A tribe that can't even ensure its survival indeed has no connection to war.

Due to the lack of food, in the Si Ti Demon Clan, regardless of gender or age, everyone's duties are clear and laziness is not permitted—fetching water, collecting dung, milking, feeding, mowing grass, shearing, hunting... as long as there's strength left, there's endless work to do.

Abao brings out a small bundle of dried grass-like fodder from another tent.

The barren land cannot support crops, so the main diet of the Si Ti Demon Clan is meat and dairy products.

The source of the meat is hunting, whereas the dairy products come from a kind of beast similar to a cow but known as camel that they raise.

Abao's task is to feed these beasts.

The fodder is heavy, but Abao seems at ease—even though the demonic blood flowing through their veins is very weak, it's only weak compared to other Demon Races.

In fact, purely in terms of physical qualities, even with long-term food scarcity, they can still compare or even surpass martial artists of the Human Race who have trained for long periods.

This is the advantage of their bloodline.

Their tribe has to live a nomadic life due to food limitations—prey is always limited, fodder is limited too, once they run dry, they must choose another place to survive.

However, this time they've been stationed at this new camp for many years.

Because they've been lucky enough to find a large lake in the wilderness, where fodder grows abundantly and hunting resources are exceedingly rich.

...

After long hours of work, the men in the tribe carry a giant beast back, drawing cheers throughout the camp.

This is a rare successful hunt, enough to satisfy this small demon tribe as if it's a festival.

For small tribes still living a nomadic lifestyle, cooking methods are still very crude, simply cutting meat into chunks and cooking them in a pot.

The food is still simmering, and the children take this rare leisure time to play.

Abao is among them, but her eyes are the sharpest, the first to notice an outsider who appeared out of nowhere.

It's a young man with ordinary features and a gentle smile, unknown which Demon Race he belongs to, but likely not a strong race, as the outsider's appearance is much like theirs.

For the Si Ti Demon Clan, outsiders are a rare sight.

In this wilderness, many Si Ti tribe members have never seen any other demons outside their own from birth to death.

Though small, the Si Ti tribe is very hospitable, warmly welcoming this unfamiliar guest.

Of course, their food is far from being described as delicious, and calling it barely palatable is a stretch, as there are basically no seasonings.

However, the outsider isn't picky.

After the meal, the clan leader, the only Third Grade demonic cultivator of the Si Ti Demon Clan, finally asks about the outsider's origins.

"From the distant east," the outsider speaks softly, "where fierce wars have occurred, leaving many without homes, having to leave their native lands."

The outsider is actually Lu Qingshan, who retreated into the wilderness after causing chaos in Han Xuan City by killing Han Xuan Demon Venerable, planning to lay low for a while.

Because, on the second day after leaving Han Xuan City, he suddenly felt an unease, sensing an ill portent.

Premonition.

High Realm cultivators with powerful primordial spirits possess outstanding perception abilities, hence having the capacity for premonition, vaguely sensing some impending calamities and disasters.

Lu Qingshan's Tribulation Realm primordial spirit is comparable to a Honorable Realm cultivator, naturally possessing such an ability.

He wasn't stubborn, and immediately left the heartland of the Northern Yao King Realm, opting to wander into the desolate wilderness for now to avoid disaster.

"War indeed... it really is frightening." The clan leader actually doesn't understand these things, having lived in these wilderness lands for his limited lifespan, but he has rich life experience.

"I've seen 'wars' between two groups of wild beasts in the wilderness; once war starts, it can't be stopped, even the Beast King can't prevent it, only leading to endless conflict."

"That's true," Lu Qingshan remains silent for a moment, slowly responding, "You're absolutely right."

This is the nature of war.

He never thought about whether there are paths other than war between the Abyss and the Sky Dome Heaven.

"I believe there must be paths other than war to take"—this is merely empty talk from protagonists in heated mangas, meant to fool children.

Since the battle has begun, it can only be stopped by battle.

.....

In the next two days, Lu Qingshan did not leave, choosing to stay in this small tribe of the Demon Race.

He watched coldly as the entire tribe struggled through life and laborious tasks.

To ensure a food supply for the tribe, the Si Ti Demon's inhabitants had to constantly change their settlements.

However, such matters were too risky, as encountering a powerful beast during the migration could bring catastrophic disaster to the tribe.

And even in the barren wilderness, encountering powerful beasts was not an uncommon event.

So in the wilderness, small tribes like the Si Ti tribe faced extinction daily.

But if they didn't migrate, staying in their resource-depleted settlement meant waiting for doom.

They had no choice.

The experience of the Si Ti tribe was indeed a reflection of the entire abyssal Demon Race.

The 'Wilderness' had already appeared, leaving the Demon Race no other path but to find a new place to inhabit before the Abyss fell completely.

....

The sun set in the west.

Lu Qingshan lay on a small mound beside the Si Ti tribe, resting with his eyes closed, his spirit traveling beyond the skies.

Occasionally, a raptor would sweep by in the sky with a sharp cry, and there was the sound of a gentle breeze brushing against the wild grass.

Not far away, children of the Si Ti tribe laughed happily, alongside the lowing sounds of camel beasts.

But at a certain moment, all sounds disappeared.

Everything became silent.

Lu Qingshan abruptly opened his eyes.

The blood moon in the sky was reflected in his pupils.

He slowly stood up, his face rippling like water.

Then, his once ordinary appearance transformed into a face that even the Demon Race would consider handsome.

Elegant as a Banished Immortal.

Lu Qingshan looked downward.

The once bustling Si Ti tribe had turned into a land of death.

All the demon inhabitants lay sprawled in all directions, lifeless, without any warning or sound.

All were dead.

Not only the demon inhabitants, but all living beings within hundreds of miles also inexplicably died, turning it into a lifeless land.

He was the sole survivor in this land of death.

Lu Qingshan raised his right hand.

Moments later.

In his hand appeared the Demon Suppressing Sword with its black mysterious blade.

Along with its appearance, there was also an Asura.

Or rather, an Asura King.

With black mystic armor, a face the color of blue-black, a robust figure, he looked at Lu Qingshan with a smile.

"Finally found you," he said.

"So it was you, Sect Master of the Sword Sect... Lu Qingshan," he scrutinized Lu Qingshan's appearance carefully, then said, "Why not disguise your appearance this time?

Do you know it's a dead end and want to die with your true face, clearly?"

"Though you're not human, you should also speak like one," Lu Qingshan said calmly.

"The giant hand of Luohu covers the sky, Vimozhiduoluo has nine heads, Poya is brave, but you're none of them—Luo Qiantuo roars like thunder, you're noisy enough to fit the name."

"So, you should be called Luo Qiantuo."

Luo Qiantuo was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter, almost tearing up, "As expected of someone who can destroy Buddha King City, interesting, interesting!"

To be honest, being sent back by Luohu to clean up after Luojia was not something he was happy about; he always carried the mood of resentment.

But now, his mood was much better.

He wasn't annoyed by Lu Qingshan's words.

On the contrary, he quite enjoyed hearing these unfunny jokes.

It was like adding seasoning to a bland dish, suddenly making it appetizing.

After all, killing a lamb with no ability to resist was quite dull.

......

Lu Qingshan had thought he would eventually be targeted by the Asura King of the Black Armor Domain and fall into true peril, but he didn't expect it to come so soon.

But he had no regrets.

This was his choice.

In life, some battles are destined to be unavoidable, only to be faced.

Even if the Asura King was a mountain blocking his path, Lu Qingshan would grit his teeth and crash into it, even if it shattered him, he would use his own bones to smash it apart.

Overcoming this mountain, his invincibility would truly emerge.

Thus, the purple-gold light of the Sword Domain instantly spread out.