"Mm," Ye Ziyan nodded slightly.
"Let's go. I'll never come back to this godforsaken place again." Li Yang glanced around indifferently, then put his arm around Gao Qingmei's waist and walked out. But just as he was about to leave, his expression suddenly changed. Ye Ziyan, with her keen senses, immediately noticed and asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"
Li Yang looked extremely surprised, staring westward and muttering to himself, "They're actually coming out?"
"Who's coming out?" Gao Qingmei asked in surprise.
"Blood Demon!" Li Yang exclaimed, startling everyone.
"What?" Even Ye Ziyan, who was usually so indifferent and composed, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, her expression changing drastically.
"Huh?" Gao Qingmei also knew about the Blood Demon, and she was stunned when she heard this.
"Then shouldn't we rush over there immediately?" Ye Ziyan, now a disciple of Yaochi Immortal Palace, felt responsible for monitoring the cultivation world and protecting mortals, so she was naturally very nervous.
"No. There's still one person who hasn't arrived yet, so we don't need to rush. The Blood Demon won't be out anytime soon. It still needs to put in some effort. I've been meditating and studying it extensively these past few days!" Li Yang said calmly, completely composed.
"Waiting for someone? Who else?" Ye Ziyan asked in surprise.
"You'll find out soon enough," Li Yang said with a mysterious smile, pulling Gao Qingmei outside. Ye Ziyan's expression shifted, and she suddenly gained some insight. She followed the two out.
Chapter 983: The Great Battle is Imminent
The moment Li Yang finished speaking, the entire earth trembled, as if it had been kicked hard, shaking violently in all directions. Immediately following, a deafening roar erupted, echoing throughout the heavens and earth. Li Yang's earlier roar was merely a gesture of joy and deliberate punishment of the scum in the prison. Its power was only a small fraction of his true strength, yet it was still loud and astonishing. However, the roar that followed was many times louder than Li Yang's earlier roar, like a hurricane sweeping through, causing seas to split and mountains to collapse.
"Roar—" Upon hearing this roar, Li Yang's eyes suddenly turned cold. He also let out a deafening roar towards the western sky, echoing the western roar as if two giant dragons, churning the seas, were confronting each other across the void, roaring and threatening. At the same time, Ye Ziyan, her face tense, protected Gao Qingmei. Li Yang, while letting out his roar, was already trying his best to protect them from the harm of his own roar. But Gao Qingmei still couldn't bear it.
"Ugh... Pfft—" Suddenly, someone groaned and coughed up blood as they collapsed to the ground at the prison gate. Immediately afterward, another person groaned and coughed up blood as well. Li Yang frowned slightly, and his whistling abruptly stopped. He lightly brushed Gao Qingmei aside, and she felt a warm breeze wash over her, making her feel incredibly comfortable. All her previous discomfort vanished, and she felt even more comfortable than before. She looked at Li Yang sweetly, her heart filled with sweetness. Ye Ziyan finally let out a long breath, inwardly smiling bitterly. Although she was also a master, compared to a celestial being like Li Yang, she was still utterly worthless.
"Are you alright?" Without Li Yang moving an inch, he was already dozens of meters away at the prison gate, looking at the two women lying on the ground with a complex expression. One was spirited and capable, the other graceful and elegant; the only thing they had in common was a faint, unresolved resentment in their eyes.
The two women were injured by his roar, their bodies limp and powerless. They were unable to answer him, and moreover, they didn't know how to face him, feeling extremely awkward. These two women were none other than Fei Hua and Wang Gui, whom Li Yang had killed once before. After completing her mission in the capital, Fei Hua went straight to Tianshan Mountain to find Master Dandong, and then, together with the reborn Wang Gui, came to find Li Yang.
Knowing Li Yang was here, they rushed over without hesitation. Meanwhile, the leaders and elders of the major sects had already gathered on West Mountain, standing ready and awaiting the Blood Demon's emergence. Li Yang waved his hands, and a warm aura enveloped the two women in an instant. The two women immediately felt warm and comfortable all over, and regained their strength, allowing them to stand up.
"I'm fine now," Fei Hua whispered.
"I'm fine now," Wang Gui said.
"It's good that you're alright!" Li Yang said.
"Li Yang, you probably already know about the Blood Demon, right? With your abilities, you probably already know. We've come to you this time not for anything else, but to ask for your help in dealing with the Blood Demon!" Fei Hua looked anxiously to the west; she had also sensed that the Blood Demon was about to be born.
"Oh? Just for this?" Li Yang said with a faint smile.
"What? You don't want to make a move?" Wang Gui asked nervously.
"What do you mean by that?" Li Yang asked the two women with a half-smile.
"Li Yang, just name your conditions. Even if it's you, I'll agree if you want me to sleep with you and become your woman!" Fei Hua's pretty face suddenly flushed crimson, and her voice lowered, but it revealed a resolute spirit.
"Oh? Such a good thing? And what about you?" Li Yang looked at Wang Gui.
Wang Gui's face flushed slightly, a flash of anger crossing his eyes, and he said, "Me too!"
"Hahaha..." Li Yang couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"What are you laughing at?" Fei Hua asked, her expression changing.
"Just say you don't like us. This time, we're willing to throw away all pride to deal with the Blood Demon!" Wang Gui said angrily.
"You two underestimate me. My roar just now fully expressed my meaning. Even if you hadn't come, I wouldn't have allowed a demon like the Blood Demon to roam the world. The reason I killed you back then was to protect myself. After all, I didn't have the strength to protect myself at the time, and I couldn't expose my true strength. Since you're still alive, I'm somewhat better off," Li Yang said calmly.
"Really? You're really going to take action against the Blood Demon? That's wonderful!" Fei Hua said excitedly.
Wang Gui stared intently at Li Yang and said, "I misjudged you, and I apologize!"
"No need. You should hurry to West Mountain; it's bustling there now. The great battle has already begun," Li Yang said calmly, looking at West Mountain. At the same time, with a wave of his hands, Ye Ziyan, Gao Qingmei, Wang Guifei, and others felt their bodies lighten, and then they were lifted into the air, riding the clouds. In a flash, they stopped abruptly. Looking down, they found themselves already above West Mountain. The speed was unbelievable. Even a master like Ye Ziyan, at the early stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation, couldn't escape the power of Li Yang's casual wave of his hand and was carried here.
Below, a lively scene unfolded. Master Xuan Yang was locked in a fierce battle with an old man in black robes. Li Yang recognized the old man; who else could he be but the former leader of the Demon Alliance? Their fight was so intense that dust and stones flew everywhere. The old man wielded a long, black sword that emitted a pungent, foul stench, shrouded in a dense, malevolent aura. A single sway of the sword forced Master Xuan Yang into a flustered defensive posture, his thousand-year-old peach wood sword hesitant to touch the malevolent blade, clearly fearing it would be corrupted. Master Xuan Yang was even beginning to lose ground.
Master Xukong was locked in a fierce battle with a woman dressed entirely in fiery red. Master Xukong wielded a gleaming immortal sword that danced wildly with astonishing power, while the woman wielded a long ribbon with impenetrable movement. A faint, flowing light emanated from the ribbon, its power formidable. Master Xukong's sword struck it several times but failed to penetrate, while the crimson ribbon remained exceptionally agile, fighting back against Master Xukong without being at a disadvantage.
On the other side, Master Dandong and Zhang Tianyi were fighting a burly, imposing man. The man's eyes, like copper bells, gleamed with a lantern-like light, radiating a chilling aura. He wielded a pair of crescent-shaped short swords, crafted from an unknown material, which were remarkably powerful and hard. They were going at it head-on against Master Dandong's Measuring Ruler and Zhang Tianyi's Star Sword, holding their own and even launching attacks from time to time, forcing their opponents to defend passively and barely manage to parry.
"Where are Tian Yuanzi and his fellow disciple from Kunlun?" Li Yang frowned. Normally, Tian Yuanzi and his junior brother should be present at such a scene. Li Yang had already seen through their eyes and knew their inner thoughts; he knew that Kunlun had another great master besides Tian Yuanzi. Seeing the righteous path being overwhelmingly suppressed and falling into a disadvantageous position, the absence of these two was rather suspicious.
"Yes, where is the sect leader?" Fei Hua also found it unbelievable.
Chapter 984: I'm tired of living
"Perhaps they have something more important to do?" Wang Gui guessed.
"Perhaps. I'll go help~" Ye Ziyan said, transforming into a white streak of light and shooting downwards, heading straight for Xuan Yang Daoist's camp below. The current situation was one of the righteous forces being overwhelmingly defeated by the demons. Xu Kong Daoist was locked in combat with the woman, neither able to gain the upper hand. Ye Ziyan didn't want to join forces with him against a woman, so she went to help Xuan Yang Daoist. Xuan Yang Daoist was immediately visibly pleased to see Ye Ziyan coming to help. Although the unfamiliar woman's magic was rather peculiar, her strength was surprisingly considerable, and her magic didn't seem to be as vulnerable to malevolent energy as his own. In fact, she seemed to be fighting much more freely than he was. The alliance leader, wielding the Malevolent Sword, was furious and cursed, "Where did this little bitch come from! I'll destroy you!"
"You idiot, how dare you spew such foul language! Watch my immortal sword cleave you in two!" Daoist Xuan Yang roared in fury, his magical power surging, and the sword's light blazed brightly, transforming into a terrifying beam of light that slashed down. Seeing an opportunity, Ye Ziyan circled behind the alliance leader, a crystal-clear jade ruyi appearing in her hand, radiating a chilling aura and oppressive power.
The alliance leader, initially unafraid of Daoist Xuan Yang, was thoroughly enjoying the fight. Suddenly, Daoist Xuan Yang unleashed his magical power, bringing his sword down with a slash. Far from being afraid, the leader sneered disdainfully. His murderous sword was coated with millennia-old, foul blood, specifically designed to corrupt all magical artifacts. As Daoist Xuan Yang's immortal sword approached, the leader, instead of being afraid, urged his own malevolent sword to meet it with a humming sound. A clash with Daoist Xuan Yang's immortal sword would inevitably corrupt it. However, just as his malevolent sword flew out towards Daoist Xuan Yang's immortal sword, a terrifying pressure suddenly arose from behind, carrying an astonishing chill that almost instantly penetrated his body, chilling him to the bone.
"What's going on? Why is it so cold?" The alliance leader was shocked. Without time to think, he immediately summoned the Demon Sword back for protection, but it was too late. The chilling aura instantly penetrated not only his bones but also his marrow, not to mention his bloodline. He was instantly transformed into an ice statue, frozen to the ground, resembling a master-level ice sculpture. The Demon Sword, now without its master's control, clattered to the ground.
"The Jade Ruyi of Ice! You are from the Jade Pool Immortal Palace?" Daoist Xuan Yang exclaimed in disbelief upon seeing the crystal-clear jade ruyi and the terrifying destructive power it caused.
“That’s right. Daoist Xuanyang! Now is not the time to pursue this matter; dealing with the enemy is the priority!” Ye Ziyan nodded slightly and said.
Master Xuan Yang nodded hastily. The people of Yaochi Immortal Palace were mysterious beings who monitored all cultivators in the world. Their successor's wielding of the Frost Jade Ruyi was a symbol of their power. The Frost Jade Ruyi was renowned throughout the cultivation world, no less powerful than the Kunlun God-Slaying Whip, the Longhu Mountain Celestial Master Sword, or the Maoshan Peach God Sword. Although her own cultivation level was only at the early stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation, wielding the Frost Jade Ruyi rapidly increased her strength, making her even more powerful than someone at the late stage of Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation. Another advantage of the Frost Jade Ruyi was that it didn't consume much of the cultivator's mana. Because it had been placed inside the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Profound Ice Cave for hundreds of years, it had absorbed astonishing amounts of cold energy. With just a slight activation, it would unleash terrifyingly cold profound energy; even a late-stage Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation expert would be severely injured or even killed upon encountering it. Therefore, experts like Master Xuan Yang were very wary of the successor of Yaochi Immortal Palace.
Master Xuan Yang and Ye Ziyan split up, each attacking one of the two. Master Xuan Yang went to help Master Dan Dong and Zhang Tianyi deal with the burly, rough man. Ye Ziyan naturally guessed Master Xuan Yang's intentions; after all, Master Xu Kong was fighting a woman, and they were evenly matched. If he joined in, it would be like having a man sandwiching a woman, a three-way attack that would look rather shady. So Ye Ziyan took the initiative to deal with the woman.