Chapter 784: The Final Battle!
When the fighting stopped on the sixth front, the war of the Southern Domain finally became peaceful and quiet. However, everyone knew that this was only the calm before the true storm.
The storm was nigh!
The final, decisive battle was coming!
As to where the location of the final battle would be, many opinions were voiced by various Southern Domain cultivators. Some people had their minds set on the Blood Demon Sect. With the spell formations that were already in place, much time could be saved. Furthermore, the majority of the battle-ready cultivators in the Southern Domain were already congregated in the area.
Many others felt that the best location was the point where the Northern Reaches cultivators actually entered the Southern Domain. Doing so would prevent the Northern Reaches cultivators from razing and pillaging the rest of the Southern Domain.
In the end, Pill Demon, Patriarch Song, and Patriarch Golden Frost all agreed that time was the most valuable commodity!
Thus, the Blood Demon Sect was selected. It was far from the Milky Way Sea, but relatively close to the Black Lands, and could be considered to be on the border of the Southern Domain. Although this would cede a large amount of territory, every day that they continued to survive was another day that the Northern Reaches would not be able to completely conquer the Southern Domain.
Furthermore, the Northern Reaches cultivators would have to travel all the way to the Blood Demon Sect, which meant that the Southern Domain cultivators would have more time to prepare.
After the decision was made by Pill Demon, Patriarch Song, and Patriarch Golden Frost, all the battle-ready cultivators of the Southern Domain were marshaled. There were approximately 200,000 of them, and they were divided into multiple defensive fronts, with the Blood Demon Sect at the center.
Meanwhile, Pill Demon and the others personally went around the Southern Domain to the remaining sects and clans to collect vast quantities of supplies and treasures. They also set up enormous spell formations, ten in total, which caused shocking pressure to weigh down around them.
The atmosphere was tense. All of the Southern Domain cultivators were focused on healing and recovering their energy. Every area on the final battleground was filled with silence.
The final battle would determine victory or defeat. If the Southern Domain was victorious, they would be able to welcome in a new era of peace. After a period of rest and reorganization, they would be able to once again bloom like a beautiful flower, even more resplendent than before.
However, if they were defeated….
The Southern Domain would essentially become part of the Northern Reaches. Their core Daoist teachings and doctrines would be wrenched away. Their cultivators would be exterminated and the foundation of the Southern Domain would be lost. They would be ruled by the Northern Reaches, and years later… perhaps no one would even remember the formerly glorious Southern Domain.
This was the battle for everything!
They would live or die. There was no option for surrender.
A few days earlier, Meng Hao had returned to the Blood Demon Sect, where the final battle would soon take place. He went back to the same location where he had held Xu Qing and watched the sunrises and sunsets. Except now, there weren’t two shadows falling on the ground. There was only his own.
His white hair fluttered in the wind, and his blood-red robe swayed.
His face was pale white, morbid and seemingly devoid of blood. It was a sharp contrast to the redness of his robe. However, his eyes radiated darkness.
Anyone who looked at him could sense a pulsing feeling, as if his body contained a terrifying qi and blood power. Also barely visible were over 100,000 shrieking souls that swirled around him. They seemed to spread out endlessly, and their howls were astonishing.
Apparently, these were the people Meng Hao had consumed and destroyed. They were shackled to him for all eternity, unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation.
“Qing’er,” he murmured, “are you doing well…?” His eyes were cold, and contained a trace of loneliness that made his aura seem even more desolate.
Anyone who looked at Blood Prince Gorge would feel that it was filled with blood and mysteries. The news had long since spread that Meng Hao had consumed the qi, blood, cultivation bases and souls of the enemy cultivators. Virtually all of the cultivators in the entire Southern Domain knew about it, and in fact, most had witnessed it.
Deep in their hearts, the veneration they felt toward Meng Hao was now coupled with dread.
The Southern Domain was finally rested, and their spell formations were prepared. Five days passed….
Near the border of the Southern Domain, where it touched the Milky Way Sea, the sea water roared. Massive waves surged across the surface of the water. It almost seemed as if the Southern Domain would be drowned. Up above, shockingly bright lights could be seen on the Resurrection Lily bridge; apparently, teleportation portals were in continuous use.
Slowly, people began to appear. Soon they packed the bridge, seemingly without end.
The Resurrection Lily bridge trembled as two mountain-like giants appeared. These giants were different than the ones from the second wave. They were more powerful, and wore suits of golden armor. The pressure they exuded was astonishing.
Shockingly, these giants were not comparable to the Spirit Severing stage, but rather, Dao Seeking!
It was only early Dao Seeking, but considering their enormous frames, they could clearly crush any cultivator within the same stage. Furthermore, they wore armor, and had enormous greatswords strapped to their backs, making them even more fearsome.
Behind the two giants was a monstrous, sinister death aura that took the form of an emerald-colored mist. In the region near the mist, numerous dead sea creatures could be seen floating on the surface of the water.
Inside of the mist were three 10,000-year-old wraiths!
The wraiths all emanated an air similar to Dao Seeking as they swirled about within the mist, shrieking and howling.
In addition to these, there were hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators that composed the main military force. They were packed in tight formation atop the Resurrection Lily bridge, and anyone who saw them would surely gasp in shock.
However, what was most eye-catching was what could be seen in the very rear position of the army.
It was a gigantic iron cage, fully three hundred meters tall. It was being pulled forward by countless iron chains, and sitting inside was a monkey that had bright red eyes. It was covered with numerous magical symbols, and sat motionless in the cage, breathing heavily.
In the vanguard position of the army were three people that emanated shocking auras. They hovered in midair, looking coldly out at the Southern Domain.
In the center position among the three was an old man with red hair and a ruddy face. He wore a white robe, and a mysterious pressure emanated off of him. He was surrounded by countless bolts of lightning that formed together to make what appeared to be… true dragons!
If you continued to watch, you would see the true dragons swirl together to form something entirely different… a miniature cauldron!
Were Meng Hao here… he would instantly be able to tell that this cauldron closely resembled his own Lightning Cauldron. However, on this cauldron was engraved… a dragon with lightning bolts curling around it!
The old man hovered there, clearly emanating the power of peak Dao Seeking. And yet, the feeling of his aura was somewhat similar to that of Meng Hao’s false Immortal puppet.
Yet again, further examination would reveal that his aura was even more ancient and archaic.
He seemed to possess an aura that was somewhere between a true Immortal and a false Immortal.
This old man was the most powerful person in the entire Northern Reaches, the Clan Chief of the Imperial Bloodline Clan.
On either side of him stood a man and a woman. The man was gentle and effeminate, with phoenix-like eyes and a frame as lithe as the wind. However, within his eyes could be seen what appeared to be the cross-legged image of two Immortal Divinities, reciting scriptures. A mere glance at the man would show that he was completely beyond the ordinary.
He was also at the peak of Dao Seeking, with a strange air similar and yet different to that of a false Immortal.
The woman, on the other hand, was by no means beautiful. She had a black birthmark on a face that was twisted and uncouth. Furthermore, her body was neither elegant nor appealing and she was extremely obese.
Wrapped around her neck was a crimson snake that occasionally flicked its forked tongue out. Its eyes were grim, and if you looked closely, you would see that the snake did not actually have a physical body; shockingly, it was actually composed of countless discarnate souls.
This was the third wave army of cultivators from the Northern Reaches, the final wave, and also the most powerful!
As soon as they arrived at the border of the Southern Domain, three beams of light emanating the power of peak Dao Seeking shot toward them. They were the three Northern Reaches Patriarchs that had been frightened off by Meng Hao.
When they joined the force, it increased the number of peak Dao Seeking experts in the third wave to six!
In addition, there were the two giants and three wraiths. This army of Northern Reaches cultivators was incredibly powerful.
The three newcomers did not say anything. They produced jade slips which they tossed out to the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief and the others, who examined them closely for a few moments. Although their expressions did not change, serious looks could be seen in their eyes.
The six cultivators exchanged glances and then began to transmit a conversation.
“Meng Hao….”
“I’ve already received your earlier reports about him. It seems this Meng Hao… is the greatest hindrance to our Northern Reaches’ invasion of the Southern Domain!”
“He has a peak Dao Seeking clone, and his true self can absorb life force, qi, blood, cultivation bases and souls….”
“We must eliminate him. Without him, the Southern Domain is ripe for the picking!”
After a moment, their flickering gazes came to rest on the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief.
Lightning danced around him, and his closed eyes suddenly snapped open. He spoke for the first time, and his hoarse voice was filled with strange power.
“To deal with him, I approve the use of the ancestral statuary!”
The other five nodded in response. There was no further discussion. Moments later, the third wave army marched off of the Resurrection Lily bridge and into the Southern Domain!
In that instant, the killing intent of the Northern Reaches cultivators exploded out. The sky darkened as they shot through the air like a black cloud.
The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief looked off into the distance. Lightning danced around him as he snorted coldly and then stretched his hand out and pointed upward. Immediately, a bolt of lightning shot up into the sky.
The air distorted, and then a fist-sized, translucent eyeball appeared up above. The lightning smashed into it, blasting it to pieces.
“The Southern Domain knows we’ve arrived,” said the old man. “Push forward at top speed. We will finish this war in one swift blow!” In response, the Northern Reaches cultivators roared and surged forward at incredible speed.
Colors flashed in the sky, and the wind screamed. Down below, the earth quaked under their killing intent!
Outside the Blood Demon Sect, Patriarch Song’s face flickered as he opened his eyes.
“They’ve arrived!” he said. “There is an old man with lightning surrounding him, most likely the most powerful person in the Northern Reaches, the Clan Chief of the Imperial Bloodline Clan. His cultivation base is astonishing. He noticed my Arcane Scrying Eye.
“They will be here in three days at the latest!”
Pill Demon and Patriarch Golden Frost exchanged glances. Seeing the profound gleam in each other’s eyes, they suppressed their anxiety and rose to their feet.
“Spread the word. The final battle is about to begin!”
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This chapter was sponsored by Chia-Wen Chang, Tanawut Pitchayaboonwong, Richard Nilsen Karlsen, and Grant Petry