Chapter 133: Run Out

Chapter 133: Run Out

Shang Yunduo was stunned.

Who on earth was on whose side?

He was bewildered, Hua Guan and Cui Peng were also bewildered, and the demon cultivators watching from inside the formation were bewildered too, but those involved were not bewildered.

Tiger King's strike seemed like a signal—Flying Owl made a move, King Lingxi made a move, and King Xuanying and Elder Heiyuan, who had begun to move, abruptly halted halfway.

Flying Owl and Tiger King attacked King Hundun from both sides, clearly showing they had long been in agreement.

King Xuanying was confused: "Who are we hitting?!"

But in this moment of hesitation, King Lingxi's great hammer had already smashed heavily onto the formation, which was now covered in cracks.

"Stop that old ghost Lingxi first!"

The twin snakes shot out from Elder Heiyuan's sleeve. Seeing this, King Xuanying decided to help Elder Heiyuan stop King Lingxi first, regardless of what Tiger King and Demon King Flying Owl were plotting, or when they had developed a private grudge against King Hundun.

Those inside the formation were also stunned by the sudden turn of events. Shang Yunduo instinctively looked toward their three elders. Elder Juhu had already charged at the five from the Chaos Clan, and Hua Guan shouted, "You two stay here!" before rushing over himself.

Shang Yunduo: "???"

He turned to the equally stunned Cui Peng—thank goodness, at least this guy didn't know either. That feeling of being left out instantly disappeared.

But... wasn't it said that the Tiger Clan wasn't good at spells, and they relied on him to set fires for a war of attrition against the Chaos Clan?

Under the Tiger Clan's assault, the five members of the Chaos Clan scattered like butterflies, using clones to flee. However, Elder Juhu suddenly threw out a large sack and caught all the clones that hadn't escaped far.

Shang Yunduo: "?!"

Just then, the giant rhinoceros stomped down again from above, creating a real gap in the protective spiritual barrier of the great formation.

Spiritual energy was leaking!

King Xuanying swept King Lingxi away with a claw and shouted into the formation, "Hurry up and patch it!"

The demon cultivators snapped out of it and rushed forward.

The members of the Blood Qilin Clan were the first to charge up, but instead of repairing the formation, they smashed the crack from the inside.

*Crack—*

*Crash...*

Shang Yunduo was stunned again. Huh?!

"You!!"

The protective barrier of the formation shattered like glass, dissipating instantly. The spiritual energy inside exploded outward, blowing away the thick fog.

King Xuanying roared angrily, "What are you doing?!"

Having succeeded in their plan, the Blood Qilin Clan members scattered and ran toward the inner valley. "We're just sympathizing with our own kind!"

"After them!!"

Shang Yunduo stood frozen in shock, utterly confused. He couldn't figure out who was on whose side, and who was an undercover agent for whom.

Watching the demon cultivators all rush toward the inner valley, he quickly said, "Sir! Sir! They're all heading your way!"

Cui Peng snapped out of it and patted him: "Let's go! We're going too!"

In front of the inner valley, Sha Feng, who was flying at the front, suddenly turned around and threw out a huge gourd. His gourd mount expanded enormously, forming a wall that blocked the crowd.

The furious elder demon cultivator following closely shouted, "Sha Feng, you're colluding with King Lingxi! Does your king know about this?!"

Sha Feng: "Hah, what does that old fool know! Blow it up!"

The other five members of the Blood Qilin Clan all threw out talismans and artifacts, trying to bomb the inner valley's formation.

To enter the inner valley, ten array flags needed to be opened simultaneously. The method was to activate the outer formation with more than twenty tokens, and then have ten people stand on specific stone pillars and channel spiritual power at the same time. This prevented any clan from opening it on their own for poaching.

Now there was no time to wait for the inner valley to open normally, so only one option remained: forcefully blast it open.

Theoretically, any formation could be broken with brute force, but only if the spiritual power was sufficient.

The spiritual power of Core Formation cultivators was completely insufficient, unless the external formation connected to the inner valley was destroyed first.

Shang Yunduo finally caught on—they had planned this all along!

But why did the Blood Qilin Clan do this?

Pei Jie sent a voice transmission to answer his doubts: "If I remember correctly, both the Spirit Rhinoceros Clan and the Blood Qilin Clan are remnants of an ancient lineage."

Shang Yunduo: "They are both descendants of the Qilin?"

Pei Jie: "They only have a bit of Qilin bloodline, similar to how humans have a trace of demon blood."

Shang Yunduo: "Oh!"

Pei Jie: "But the Spirit Rhinoceros Clan doesn't have Qilin blood. The Blood Qilin Clan is helping them out of sympathy for their kind."

Shang Yunduo: "Why?"

Pei Jie smiled. "Because consuming a Blood Qilin beast has a similar effect to eating a Spirit Rhinoceros. I once saw an ancient elixir recipe called the Qilin Pill."

Shang Yunduo: "..."

Pei Jie: "Before Spirit Rhinoceroses became scarce, other demon clans also went extinct gradually, just like them."

Shang Yunduo was stunned speechless. "Because... they are remnants of an ancient lineage?"

Pei Jie: "Yes."

Shang Yunduo swallowed silently. Thinking carefully, King Lingxi was indeed formidable. Nearing the end of his lifespan, he could still fight two Transformation stage cultivators without losing ground.

His artifact was also powerful. The inner valley only allowed Spirit Accumulation stage cultivators in and blocked Core Formation, while the outer valley's great formation could block Transformation stage. Yet his Mountain-Leveling Hammer cracked the protective barrier in just a few strikes!

"Since the clans with ancient demon bloodlines are stronger, why did they become materials for others to cultivate and advance?"

"The rarer the bloodline, the harder it is to reproduce."

"..."

"It was because of this?!"

"In the past, whether it was demons or humans who ascended, they consumed too much of the world's spiritual energy. The remaining spiritual energy in the cultivation world was no longer enough to support so many bloodline descendants to ascend again. In fact, even the environment for them to survive has been shrinking. Just as the human cultivation world started calling single-spirit roots 'Heavenly Spirit Roots' and despised multi-spirit roots, the demon clans also long ago began to hunt these rare ancient bloodlines that require too much spiritual energy to advance."

"These races with ancient demonic bloodlines—because their blood is too strong—find it not only difficult to cultivate and advance, but even to reproduce. Even if they weren't hunted down, as long as the spiritual energy in heaven and earth continues to diminish, they will eventually go extinct."

Shang Yunduo watched Sha Feng, who was outnumbered yet still fending off demon cultivators of the same rank, and couldn't help but wonder: Is any of this even meaningful?

If they help the Spirit Rhinoceros Clan, how will the Blood Qilin Clan manage the aftermath?

But when you see other demon clans in a situation similar to your own slowly perishing, and you fear when it will be your turn—whether you're next—how can you live in peace?

Whether human or demon, is ascension absolutely necessary?

What is ascension?

What is cultivation?

At least in this world, in this book's world, cultivation is called seizing the creation of heaven and earth.

Then who are heaven and earth?

Whose creation is the creation of heaven and earth?

And who is it taken from?

After seizing the creation of this world and ascending, what then?

They leave behind these descendants: humans, like the Lin family, clinging to past glory and gradually declining, dreaming of reviving a glorious immortal sect they've never even seen; demons, like the Spirit Rhinoceros Clan, becoming nourishment for other demon cultivators to advance and ascend.

It almost seems fair—after all, their ancestors used the creation of ordinary demon cultivators, and now it's their turn to repay by becoming someone else's 'creation'.

Shang Yunduo looked at the chaotic fighting before him and suddenly felt such a sense of futility.

He blended in with the Spirit Accumulation cultivators and started slacking off, casually tossing Fireballs at the big gourd.

Two fists can't fight four hands; isolated and without help, Sha Feng ultimately found himself at a disadvantage.

Sha Feng shouted angrily: "Are you going to help or not?!"

The Blood Qilin cultivators who had been blasting the inner valley responded a beat too slow, turning back, but they were too late. Sha Feng's big gourd shattered like the earlier formation had. Just at this critical moment, King Lingxi's massive hammer swung over, passing over their heads to smash directly into the inner valley gate that the Blood Qilin Clan had barely cracked open.

The inner valley formation, which had not yet fully revealed itself, trembled violently. Its full arc flashed faintly once before quickly dissipating.

"What the hell are you people doing?!" King Xuanying roared in fury.

He hadn't expected King Lingxi, who was usually so meek and took whatever insults and scoldings were thrown at him, to possess this level of strength.

How the hell had they been monitoring him?

Was it only the Mystic Eagle Clan that had properly guarded the two young ones?!

Elder Heiyuan, who had failed to block the Mountain-Leveling Hammer, felt somewhat innocent. He had just transformed, just now! There was no way he could have caught that hammer!

King Xuanying looked at the valley below, already in chaos, then at King Lingxi in a frenzy, the useless blind Elder Heiyuan, and then Tiger King and Flying Owl!

What were they doing?!

He roared: "Did you come here to capture King Lingxi or to kill him?!"

King Hundun reattached his torn-off arm, smiling: "It seems the Spirit Rhinoceros Clan is about to flee. Shall we continue, you two?"

Tiger King: "Tch, two worthless ones."

King Xuanying: "Who are you calling useless?!"

Tiger King: "Demon King, which side do we go for?"

Flying Owl: "This side."

King Xuanying was stunned: "What?! Fine, fine, whatever!"

He flew off on his own after King Lingxi. Elder Heiyuan hesitated a moment, then also chased after them into the valley.

King Hundun narrowed his eyes, puzzled: "When did I offend you two? Or have our juniors started a dispute with the Tiger Clan or the Night Owl Clan?"

Tiger King: "I'm just here to help. Ask the Demon King."

King Hundun: "My clan has never had any quarrel with the Night Owl Clan. Demon King, how have I offended you? At least let me understand why before I die?"

Flying Owl laughed: "Knowing? What's there to know? The Sacred Clan is the Sacred Clan—since when did you learn that hypocritical human cultivator act? To kill you, isn't it just to…"

"Eat you?!" Flying Owl transformed, opening his massive maw. King Hundun immediately turned to mist. Tiger King's black lightning spread like a fine web. The three forces of spiritual energy clashed, and a wave of energy exploded like a wave, sending all the demon cultivators who were rushing into the valley flying from behind. Shang Yunduo, caught off guard, stumbled and rolled forward several times before crashing into a rock to steady himself. He turned to look up at the enormous wings blotting out the sky, and a pair of beast eyes like an abyss staring down into the valley. All the Spirit Accumulation cultivators, and even the Core Formation ones, were frozen in place, not daring to move.

He felt as though that gaze was about to pierce him.

Shang Yunduo trembled uncontrollably, cold sweat pouring down his back.

"Ha—ah!"

King Lingxi ahead let out a great shout, and the Mountain-Leveling Hammer slammed heavily into the ground. The demon cultivators, paralyzed by the Eye Art, were bounced like balls, thrown into the air, and crashed back down, all dizzy and disoriented. As they came to their senses, they quickly circulated their spiritual energy to regain control of their minds, no longer daring to look up.

Shang Yunduo crawled out of the ditch he had rolled into, and stared at the mountain flattened by a single hammer blow—a huge gap blasted through the mountain range. He was dumbstruck.

Mountain-Leveling Hammer indeed lived up to its name!

One hammer blow flattened it even smoother than when he pressed a bun with his hand!

"Spirit Rhino!"

Someone shouted. Shang Yunduo turned back to see that the beasts and wild animals in the valley were in total chaos, fleeing toward the gap that had been smashed open.

Several Core Formation Spirit Rhinoceros cultivators, who had been fighting alongside the demon cultivators, whistled. Those with lower cultivation also transformed into their beast forms and charged into the stampede.

The Mountain-Leveling Hammer fell a second time, smashing another huge gap in a different direction. The creatures that had been trapped in the valley for who knows how many years—from the mountains, from the forests—frantically pounded with their hooves and flapped their wings, rushing toward the distant white mist—the free world beyond.

Shang Yunduo quickly got up and watched the strange animal migration unfold.

At that moment, the food chain had ceased to exist. Every living being in this realm had only one thought in common: Run!

Author's note:

Yunduo: Right now, I feel like such a damn villain!