"Thank you, young master, but down below—"
Gu Zhong looked at the chaotic battlefield with some worry.
"Without a leader, the group will naturally fall apart."
"Young Lord," Shaojun said decisively, glancing at the enemy they were facing. She then untied the jade belt from her waist, which transformed into a jade sword.
The demon general's phantom disappeared, returning to its original form of three. They exchanged glances and launched a fierce attack.
Gu Zhong and Shao Jun also mustered all their strength to deal with it.
The clashes between commanders and the battles between armies echoed each other, turning the Abyss of Gods and Demons into a sea of blood red and black, accompanied by thunder and fire in the sky, as if the heavens were about to collapse.
War is inherently brutal; hatred and conflict that arise without cause can only be stopped with bloodshed.
Just as the battle was raging, a few wisps of demonic energy clung to the ground and quietly circled around to the rear of the divine warriors. They did not launch a sneak attack, but instead repeatedly patrolled the camp, seemingly searching for something.
When they reached a certain camp, they suddenly gathered together and lit a thick black signal.
The demon general who was originally fighting Gu Zhong instantly abandoned his stance of resistance, disregarding any possible harm, and charged straight towards the tent.
The same applies to the other two demon generals.
Gu Zhong followed their trail and was immediately shocked.
That was her tent.
No wonder the demons suddenly launched a large-scale attack; it was all because of Lingyan.
"Ayan! Get out of the way!"
Her voice rang out from above, resonating throughout the entire battlefield.
However, there was no movement inside the tent.
With his heart pounding like a drum, Gu Zhong tore through the space around him and rushed toward the tent at a speed faster than teleportation.
—We must get there before the Demon General!
Chapter 150 The Supreme God and the God of War (Part 10)
==========================
The longsword slashed downwards, the sharp sword light piercing through the black-armored demon's body, the mist dissipating, yet their momentum remained undiminished.
It was as if they had abandoned their self-awareness, no longer caring about the life, death, and pain of their own bodies, and were only determined to carry out this predetermined goal.
At times, aside from their powerful physique and ability to overcome obstacles, what terrifies the immortals and gods even more about the demon race is their damned group consciousness.
As the demon general approached the camp, the long mace in his hand flamed with black and red flames as he raised it high.
Gu Zhong once again risked being dragged into the spatial turbulence, tore through space, and leaped to block the way in front of the tent.
The silver-white sword caught the ensuing black flames, spinning in the air like a dazzling flower.
At the same time, three long maces were placed on the sword, and the cracks quickly spread outwards.
Gu Zhong flipped over and spun around, half-suspended in the air, using the momentum to deflect the force and press the demon general down to the ground.
Immediately afterwards, a golden light flashed in her eyes, and the black crack that had appeared twice before reappeared. In an extremely short time, she kicked the two demon generals into the crack with two consecutive kicks.
A tremendous suction force emanated from the repeatedly torn gaps, pulling the surrounding light tents inward.
The curtain covering them was blown away, revealing what lay beneath. A woman was lying on the ground, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, seemingly not sleeping peacefully.
Seemingly disturbed by the noise of the fight beside her, she opened her eyes groggily, propped herself up, and looked at the scene before her with a surprised expression.
Gu Zhong had no time to look over there. Another demon general had already entered the crevice with half of his body inside, but the long mace in his hand was tightly wrapped around Gu Zhong's sword, and for a moment it was stuck there.
The spatial rift, which had failed to close for a long time, revealed turbulent energy and began to expand further.
This cannot continue.
The thought had just popped into Gu Zhong's mind when an inexplicable force propelled her forward, and with the demon general dragging her, she plunged into the black gap.
"Please take heed!"
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Ling Yan's head was still spinning from just waking up when she watched helplessly as Gu Zhong disappeared right in front of her.
She hurriedly stood up and lunged in that direction, reaching out as if to grab something, but was grabbed from behind and hugged around the waist.
"Little Smoke".
The person behind her called her softly, their voice tinged with worry and displeasure.
"Sister Shaojun..."
Lingyan froze there. After a long while, she slowly turned her head and looked at her sister, with whom she had always been close.
"Gu Zhong...you must go save her!"
She grabbed Shaojun's sleeve, a panic and anxiety she had never felt before washing over her, leaving her as helpless as a child, and she couldn't help but turn to her most trusted family member for help.
“She was caught in a spatial rift, and nobody knows where she will be taken—besides, we don’t have the ability to tear space apart.”
Shaojun frowned as she looked at the black crack that had disappeared. Only the Asura clan possessed spatial abilities; she was truly powerless to do anything about it.
Ling Yan's pupils suddenly dilated, as if she had been severely shocked, and she slowly loosened her grip.
She wasn't stupid; once she came to her senses, she naturally understood why the battle that was supposed to happen was so close to her.
—If it weren't for saving her, Gu Zhong would never have been in this situation.
The thought of self-blame lingered in her mind, like a shackle burdened with thorns, tightening more and more, making Lingyan's heart clench with every beat, and tears involuntarily welling up.
"Hey? Don't cry—don't worry, with Lord Gu Zhong's abilities, you'll definitely be safe and sound!"
Seeing her younger sister suddenly burst into tears, Shaojun was dumbfounded. She was the one who was at a loss. Lingyan had not cried in front of her for many years, and she could only offer a stiff word of comfort.
"Let's go back to the realm of the gods. Perhaps—Father will have a solution?"
Finally recalling the purpose of his journey, and looking at the retreating black tide at the border since the demon general disappeared, Shaojun tentatively suggested, "In any case, for Lingyan now, the God Realm is the safest place."
"···good."
This time, Lingyan did not resist or refute. She responded and then stopped talking, like a puppet that had lost its soul, letting Shaojun lead her back to the Nine Heavens.
Upon learning of Lingyan's escape, the God Emperor was furious. In addition, upon hearing that Gu Zhong had fallen into a spatial rift and was missing, leaving the Zhenyuan Army leaderless, he was even more troubled.
So he waved his hand and sent hundreds of heavenly soldiers to surround Lingyan's Wuji Palace, completely confining her to her quarters.
——
Sitting on the spacious rooftop, gazing at the unchanging bright white sky, the woman in the purple wide-sleeved palace dress was lost in thought.
The sound of her footsteps lightly touching the glazed tiles was exceptionally clear in the complete silence around her, yet it didn't make her turn around.
"Xiaoyan, what are you thinking about?"
Lifting his impeccably clean robe, the usually dignified and meticulous young master sat down beside her, appearing considerably more relaxed.
"Gu Zhong—will he be alright?"
Without glancing at anyone beside her, Ling Yan continued to gaze at the empty sky, and after a long while, she finally uttered a sentence.
"...Her talisman was not broken, so she must be unharmed."
With a sigh, Shaojun rubbed her temples in distress. Ever since returning from the Abyss of Gods and Demons that day, Lingyan had always seemed sullen, which worried her and a less-than-pleasant thought began to surface in her mind.
"Why do you care so much about Lord Guzhong?"
"Young Master asked tentatively."
"She was my only true friend in the divine realm! Besides—if I hadn't gone looking for her on my own, she wouldn't have gotten into trouble—"
Ling Yan finally showed some emotional fluctuations, but she was also filled with endless guilt.
Upon hearing this, Shaojun breathed a sigh of relief and began to comfort him.
"Don't think like that. I heard that you also played a part in stopping the demons' attack."
"What we gained in return was an even larger army of demons."
Lingyan shook her head, continuing to wallow in self-doubt.
"You—if Lord Gu Zhong were to return and see you like this, she would probably laugh at you endlessly."
Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, and that the little one no longer cared about the God Emperor or her, but only about Gu Zhong, the young lord had no choice but to continue bringing up this person's name, hoping that his younger sister could cheer up.
After blinking a few times, Lingyan gave Shaojun a listless glare, then pondered for a moment before speaking again.
"Sister Shaojun, next time you come, could you please bring me some ten-thousand-year-old black iron, the spine of the Western Sea dragon, and cinnabar?"
What do you need these for?
Shaojun looked at her in surprise.
"With nothing to do and nowhere to go, I'll forge a sword for fun."
"···good."
This request wasn't a big deal, and although he was a little speechless at Lingyan's motives, Shaojun readily agreed.
——
The days passed quickly, and before they knew it, Lingyan's two thousandth birthday arrived as scheduled. Even though a great battle was raging on the front lines, it did not affect the God Emperor's grand celebration.
The demons lost three powerful demon generals, and their initial offensive weakened, giving the immortals and gods who had never been on the battlefield time to hone their skills.
Their fighting skills became increasingly proficient, and even without a commander, they managed to fight the demons to a standstill, successfully delaying the demons' progress in crossing the Abyss of Gods and Demons.
However, it is obvious that this peaceful tug-of-war will eventually come to an end, as the demon race has produced a new demon general who is capable of fighting against the three most powerful god-kings in the divine realm.
In an instant, the demons advanced with unstoppable momentum, and the battle lines that had been entangled for so long gradually moved towards the God Realm, causing the atmosphere in the God Realm to become stagnant once again.
For the first time, the divine realm realized just how devastating the loss of a war god was, and for the first time, it recognized the importance of Gu Zhong.
However, the world is vast, and even if Gu Zhong's soul tablet is not broken, where can he go to find her again?
Adopting a wait-and-see attitude, the Demon Emperor, while the God Realm was in a predicament of setbacks in the war, once again paid a leisurely visit when Lingyan's birthday banquet was about to begin.
"God Emperor, I have come to demand the answer I received back then."
As always, the fiery red bird showed no respect or courtesy, barging into the Nine Heavens Palace without a word.