Qinghe Immortal Clan.

Just as everyone was patiently waiting in the main hall, three figures slowly walked in from the doorway.

As always, the three late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, namely "Qingyu Zhenren," Lü Yue, and Gu Xuanhe, sat at the head of the table, with the other Nascent Soul cultivators standing on either side.

Previously, Song Qingming's intervention to kill "Chiyuan Saint Demon" and rescue "Qingyu Zhenren" and the other two turned the tide of the battle, making a great contribution in the Battle of Liefeng Mountain.

After the war, "Master Qingyu" even hosted a private banquet for Song Qingming to express his gratitude in person.

His prestige among the Nascent Soul cultivators has increased considerably, and his position in the main hall has moved from the center to the head, second only to the three great cultivators directly below him.

Once all the cultivators had arrived, "Master Qingyu" addressed the crowd in the hall, saying, "Everyone, we have successfully wiped out the demons near Liefeng Mountain."

Now is the time to march on the Dark Cloud Mountains and completely eliminate this demonic scourge.

"We will obey your orders!"

After hearing everyone respond, "Master Qingyu" waved his hand and continued, "Based on our last investigation, the source of the demonic disaster is probably in the northern valley of the Wuyun Mountains."

This time, we decided to split into two groups, sending some cultivators deep into the Dark Cloud Mountains to attract the attention of the demons on the periphery.

The rest of the group traveled by airship, bypassing the areas controlled by the demons and heading straight for the source of the demonic calamity.

If they want to advance step by step from the outside, this war will probably last for a long time and result in the deaths of many cultivators.

The strategy of "Master Qingyu" splitting his forces into two groups is simply to concentrate his strength and strike at the heart of the enemy.

First, send a large number of low-level cultivators to launch a high-profile attack from the outside to attract the attention of the many demons in the mountains.

Then, gathering the Golden Core and Nascent Soul experts as the main force, they took advantage of the demons' inability to react and directly boarded flying boats to storm into the valley, striving to destroy the source of the demonic disaster in one fell swoop.

As long as the main force can successfully destroy the source of the demonic calamity, the demons outside will lose the support of the source of demonic energy, and their strength will be greatly reduced.

Next, all we need to do is send low-level cultivators into the mountains to slowly encircle and annihilate them, and we can completely end this demonic chaos.

Faced with the unknown demonic calamity, "Master Qingyu's" arrangement was the safest approach, and it was immediately approved by many Nascent Soul cultivators.

Several days later, the tens of thousands of cultivators who had gathered at the foot of "Fierce Wind Mountain" marched in a mighty force towards the "Dark Cloud Mountain Range" in the north, under the command of several Nascent Soul cultivators.

As soon as the cultivator army entered the "Dark Cloud Mountains", they encountered many demons that blocked their way, and several battles broke out between the two sides in the mountains.

At first, the demons were caught off guard and their attempts to stop the human cultivators were quickly broken through by the human army. It wasn't until several days later that they concentrated their forces in front of a mountain peak and successfully blocked the advance of the human cultivators.

Just as all the demons on the outskirts of the "Dark Cloud Mountains" were drawn to the army of cultivators.

Led by "Master Qingyu," a force of hundreds of Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators, an elite force immediately boarded a flying boat, bypassed the low-level demons below, and headed straight for the valley where the demonic calamity originated.

On the flying boat, in addition to the thirty Nascent Soul cultivators including Song Qingming, there were nearly five hundred Golden Core cultivators. This force had gathered more than seventy percent of the high-level cultivators in the entire "Qiyun Immortal Cultivation World".

Under the command of "Master Qingyu", the flying boat concealed its presence and quickly bypassed the demon army, arriving at the outside of a valley shrouded in demonic energy.

Although they were still dozens of miles apart, the many Nascent Soul cultivators on the flying boat had already sensed the dense True Demon aura emanating from the valley, and they couldn't help but frown.

The place that can unleash such a dense aura of true demons is most likely the source of the demonic calamity in this valley.

A year ago, "Master Qingyu" gathered twenty Nascent Soul cultivators from the Qiyun cultivation world here to investigate the source of the demonic calamity.

However, as soon as they approached the valley, they triggered the nearby restrictions and were immediately besieged by a large number of high-level demons in the valley.

At the time, due to the unclear enemy situation and the fact that their side had underestimated the strength of the demons in the valley, "Master Qingyu" and others had no choice but to evacuate the valley first.

During their retreat, they were ambushed and pursued by demons from "Liefeng Mountain," resulting in heavy losses for the human cultivators, with five Nascent Soul cultivators dying on the spot.

Compared to their previous expedition, the human cultivators, having learned from their mistakes, not only breached the "Galewind Mountain" stronghold occupied by the demons ahead of schedule, but also strengthened their attack on the valley side.

Looking at the hundreds of high-level cultivators standing on the flying boat, many Nascent Soul cultivators, including "Master Qingyu," all had a more confident look on their faces than when they came last time.

As the airship approached the entrance to the valley, the number of monsters in the vicinity gradually increased, and many black figures with incredible speed patrolled the surroundings in the sky.

Seeing that a large number of monsters had gathered ahead, it was no longer possible for the flying boat to remain hidden in this environment.

"Master Qingyu" was the first to leap into the air above the flying boat, and then raised his hand to give instructions to the crowd below!

"Fellow Daoists, today is the day to eliminate demons and protect the righteous path! Please join me in the charge!"

After saying that, "Master Qingyu" took the lead in casting a spell to send out several sword lights that quickly killed the dozen or so dark demons that were patrolling in mid-air.

As "Master Qingyu" took the lead, a huge flying boat quickly appeared in mid-air, followed by hundreds of streaks of light descending from the sky, instantly covering the surroundings with various spiritual light spells.

In just a short while, many demons near the entrance of the valley, who had not yet reacted, all died under various magical attacks.

The numerous demons, now realizing that someone had invaded, immediately surged out from the entrance barrier of the valley, desperately rushing towards the human cultivator army in an attempt to stop them from approaching the valley.

Even though there were many of these low-level demons, they could not withstand so many high-level human cultivators in a short time, and were quickly driven to the entrance of the valley by the crowd.

Just as everyone was about to charge into the valley ahead, a semi-transparent black barrier suddenly appeared at the entrance, blocking Song Qingming and the others' path.

This black barrier seemed to be a "mountain-protecting formation" guarding the valley. The attacks that everyone made on the top of the barrier were quickly repaired by the demonic energy surging from the surrounding area, and for a time they were unable to break through this obstacle.

Seeing that everyone was blocked outside the valley, Lü Yue, who was standing in the crowd, immediately took out a golden disc and used magic to fly into the air.

"Disciples of the Demon-Slaying Palace, heed my command! Form the Vajra Demon-Breaking Formation!"

Upon hearing Lü Yue's command, the thirty-six Golden Core cultivators from the Demon-Slaying Palace immediately waved the golden array flags they had prepared beforehand, and beams of spiritual light quickly entered Lü Yue's front.

The next moment, golden light shone from Lü Yue's body, and he suddenly transformed into a "golden giant" who was over a hundred feet tall and wielding two swords.

This "golden giant" was somewhat similar to Lü Yue in appearance and attire. The only difference was that even though he stood still with his eyes wide open in anger, people around him could feel a murderous aura.

Upon seeing the sudden appearance of the "golden giant," not only were the surrounding demons so frightened that they couldn't help but take a few steps back, but even the many human cultivators present showed expressions of surprise.

"Could this be the legendary Dharma Body Heaven and Earth Divine Power!"

"We never expected that the Demon-Slaying Palace would have such a powerful magic array, capable of even unleashing the legendary divine abilities of Nascent Soul cultivators. We have truly broadened our horizons today."

"Haha, with Senior Lü here, what do we have to fear from these demons?"

".."

Seeing the delighted expressions on the faces of the many cultivators around him, Song Qingming and the other Nascent Soul cultivators standing in front did not show much change in their expressions. They simply watched quietly as Lü Yue transformed into a "golden giant".

During the great battle on Jade Profound Island, Song Qingming personally witnessed the Dharma Body Heaven and Earth Divine Power displayed by "Lingxu Daoist". The overwhelming aura that suppressed heaven and earth is still fresh in his memory.

The "Dharma Body of Heaven and Earth" divine power unleashed by a true Nascent Soul cultivator is far superior to the "Golden Giant" currently controlled by Lü Yue, both in terms of size and aura.

Although the latter can use the Vajra Dharma Image condensed by the great formation, its actual power is at most only one or two tenths of the true "Dharma Image Heaven and Earth".

Even so, the strength of the "golden giant" in front of them far exceeded that of ordinary late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, and was even stronger than the aura of the Crimson Primordial Saint Demon after its transformation.

After Lü Yue, in his "golden giant" form, appeared, many more demons rushed out from behind the black barrier.

Upon seeing the monsters that were trying to stop them, the "Golden Giant" immediately swung his greatsword and unleashed a powerful sword beam towards the entrance of the valley.

Faced with this enormous sword light, which was dozens of feet wide, the demons at the forefront immediately felt themselves enveloped by a powerful aura.

The moment they came into contact with the sword light, they felt their bodies being rapidly dissolved by the spiritual light, and their bodies quickly dissipated into the world.

"boom!"

A loud bang came from ahead. The "Golden Giant's" sword instantly killed hundreds of low-level demons, and even the restrictive magic array at the entrance began to shake.

"Fellow Daoists, quickly lend Fellow Daoist Lü a hand!"

Seeing that the entrance barrier had been weakened, "Master Qingyu" immediately shouted and led a large number of cultivators to launch a fierce attack on the entrance.

Under the combined attack of the "Golden Giant" and numerous human cultivators, the entrance barrier did not last long before collapsing.

The next moment, a group of human cultivators, led by the "Golden Giant," charged directly into the valley ahead.

In the valley, black mist swirled, and all sorts of black figures were everywhere.

Faced with these human cultivators who suddenly appeared before them, the surrounding demons immediately surrounded their location, including many high-level demons at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul levels.

Meanwhile, the human cultivators also headed straight for the demons, and the two sides instantly clashed in battle.

Just as Song Qingming and his group charged into the valley, several human figures were also watching everything from beneath a large tree deep within the valley.

Although they had discovered numerous human cultivators nearby, the demonic cultivators, led by the woman in white, remained remarkably calm, seemingly unconcerned about the current situation.

"Thirty Nascent Soul cultivators and so many Golden Core cultivators. I didn't expect the human cultivators to send so many people. It seems they want to destroy this place in one fell swoop."

"Hehe! I say, Second Brother, we should be happy that so many offerings have come all at once. This time, we finally have enough to activate the great formation."

"You always think so highly of yourself. Last time, you lost so many demons, and Chi Yuan's strength hasn't recovered yet. It won't be easy for us to swallow so many of them in one go."

"Alright, now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to give it a try, regardless of the risks."

I don't care what you guys think, from now on you must follow my orders.

"The original body already instructed us that we should all cooperate with you fully. Just tell us what you need to do!"

Hearing that the woman in white standing at the front had made up her mind, the other three people around her quickly nodded and did not say anything more.

"Then let's get started!"

As soon as the woman in white gave the order, the other three figures immediately turned to look at the large black tree in the middle.

The next moment, the four of them cast a spell together, releasing several beams of black spiritual light in front of them. Soon, a square rune appeared in front of the tree.

As the runes spun rapidly, the ground near the black tree began to tremble violently.

At the same time, a somewhat piercing and eerie sound suddenly came from deep underground, followed by a huge crack appearing in the ground below.

Under the watchful eyes of the four women in white, a figure entirely in black, with numerous strange horns resembling tree branches on its head, flew out from the crack.

The shadowy figure on the ground looked at the people standing beside him and, in that somewhat unpleasant voice, asked again:

"How did you break the seal so quickly? Have you already gathered all the offerings for the great formation?"

"Those human cultivators are not far ahead, but if we want to turn them into sacrifices, we'll need your help."

"Heh! I didn't expect you guys to make mistakes too. Now you're asking me for help, but the price won't be what we agreed on before."

Upon hearing the white-clad woman's reply, the shadowy figure seemed to have also noticed the unusual situation in the valley, and a complex expression appeared on his face.

"If it weren't for us all these years, how could you have hidden yourself safely until now? You would probably have fallen into the hands of those human cultivators with ulterior motives and been refined into elixirs and magical artifacts."

Don't worry, as long as we successfully return to the Holy Realm, whatever you want will be granted by the main body.

Otherwise, if you stay in a place like the lower realm, even if you eventually cultivate to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, ascension will be extremely difficult.

"Hmph! I've lived for so long, I know these things without you having to tell me."

Now that things have come to this, having already chosen to cooperate with you, I have little room for regret. I hope you won't let me down.

After the shadowy figure finished speaking, it instantly flew into the air and then transformed into a streak of light, heading towards the entrance of the valley.

At the same time, the woman in white nodded to the other three, and soon these three figures vanished from their spots with a flash of light.

Only after the three people disappeared did the woman in white return to her original spot and sit down cross-legged.

The next moment, she seemed to remember something after she had just sat down, and hurriedly took out a "transmission talisman" from her body.

As soon as the woman in white finished casting her spell, the talisman transformed into a beam of light and flew towards the cave behind, landing in front of a man in black robes.

Looking at the "transmission talisman" so close to his hand, the man in black hesitated for a moment before finally taking it into his own hands.

".."

At the entrance to the valley, countless spiritual lights and magical artifacts danced in the sky, while the ground was littered with the corpses of various demons and cultivators.

Although there are quite a few monsters in the valley, there are tens of thousands of low-level monsters in total.

However, apart from that, the number of demonic creatures at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul levels is not large, less than half that of the human cultivators.

Faced with hundreds of human Golden Core cultivators led by Song Qingming and others, the demon army tried its best to stop them, but being weaker than their opponents, they were still defeated and slowly retreated into the valley.

Just as the human cultivator army was rushing towards the depths of the valley, several streaks of light had already quietly arrived near the battlefield.

Located on the right side of the battlefield, an elderly Nascent Soul cultivator dressed in a gray robe had just used a magical artifact to kill a Golden Core demon.

Before he could retrieve his magic weapon, an extremely powerful aura quickly appeared beside him, and the next moment, another black shadow suddenly appeared in the void in front of him.

The dark figure simply raised its hand, and several beams of black spiritual light, like ropes, swiftly attacked the old man's location.

Seeing that the other party seemed to have ill intentions, the gray-robed old man quickly cast a spell and threw out a jade tablet, which transformed into a shield in front of him.

But to his surprise, his proud level-four defensive magic weapon was instantly pierced through by the black spiritual light, along with his physical body.

"This, how is this possible?"

Faced with this somewhat astonishing scene, the gray-robed old man was stunned and could hardly believe what was happening before his eyes.

Seeing that his body was entangled in black light and he could not escape, the gray-robed old man gritted his teeth and slapped his head. The next moment, his "natal nascent soul" broke out of his body.

The "natal nascent soul" that had abandoned its physical body was trying to escape, but it didn't expect that the surroundings had already been covered by black light, and it was soon trapped by branches formed from black spiritual light.

"Ancestor!"

Several Golden Core disciples following the gray-robed elder saw their ancestor suddenly trapped by the dark figure and wanted to cast a spell to help.

Faced with these black spiritual lights, the group had no power to resist and were instantly hung on the branches formed by the black light.

In just a short while, the gray-robed elder's natal nascent soul and several disciples all died at the hands of the black shadow, their corpses hanging high on the branches above the shadow's head.

Seeing this somewhat astonishing scene, many human Golden Core cultivators in the vicinity sensed the danger and immediately retreated.

Upon seeing this suddenly appearing, shadowy figure capable of instantly killing a Nascent Soul cultivator, four or five powerful auras immediately surrounded the human cultivators.

Despite being surrounded by numerous Nascent Soul cultivators, the shadowy figure showed no fear and immediately unleashed a black spiritual light to attack them.

The four Nascent Soul cultivators who came to besiege the opponent, even when they joined forces, could not harm the black figure in the slightest. Instead, they were caught off guard by the opponent's fierce attacks and were somewhat flustered.

Not long after, another scream rang out on the battlefield, and another one of the four had died at the hands of the shadowy figure.

The fact that two Nascent Soul cultivators had died tragically at the hands of the enemy immediately alerted several late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators on the battlefield, who all rushed over to him.

A golden light flashed, and Lü Yue, transformed into the "Vajra Dharma Form," quickly arrived in front of the shadowy figure.

As a Nascent Soul cultivator, he quickly sensed something amiss with the other party's aura and hurriedly shouted to the other Nascent Soul cultivators present:

"Everyone be careful! This guy doesn't seem to be a demonic cultivator; he's a monster formed from a level-five spirit tree!"

"What?! He's a demon formed from a level-five spirit wood!"

In the world of cultivation, besides humans and demons, some wild plants and trees have also developed sentience after a long period of growth.

Back when Song Qingming was collecting divine thunder in Taiyue Lake, he and Song Qingyu joined forces to kill a level-three demon tree that had developed sentience.

However, the demonic tree from back then had only just entered the Golden Core stage, while the black shadow in front of them was already the legendary "Level 5 Spirit Wood," their strengths were simply not on the same level.

Upon hearing what Lü Yue said, the other Nascent Soul cultivators who had followed him immediately changed their expressions, finding it hard to believe that this strange, shadowy figure was actually related to the legendary Level 5 Spirit Wood.

For a moment, everyone surrounded the other party, but no one dared to make a direct move against him.

"Don't be afraid, everyone. This guy is just a plant spirit. His fighting ability is quite different from that of a true Nascent Soul cultivator."

Moreover, judging from his unstable aura, he must have only recently advanced to level five. Given his strength, fighting away from his main body, he's probably not much stronger than us.

Fellow Daoist Lü and I will be responsible for restraining it. All you need to do is storm the valley, find its true form, and then you can directly annihilate this demon.”

Seeing that the crowd was somewhat flustered and hesitant to step forward, "Master Qingyu," who arrived a step later, quickly spoke up to reassure them.

He then joined forces with Lü Yue to cast a spell and begin attacking the demonic tree before them.

After Lü Yue transformed into the "Golden Giant," his combat prowess was nearly on par with that of the most powerful cultivator, "Qingyu Zhenren."

Under the combined attack of two half-step Nascent Soul cultivators, the shadowy figure indeed lost its previous arrogance and was also unable to do anything about these two great cultivators for a time.

"Fellow Daoists, with Fellow Daoist Qingyu and the others here, we are already able to hold this demon back. We should first charge into the valley to find the demon tree's true form before we can completely slay this demon."

Seeing that the two sides were deadlocked on the battlefield, the last remaining great cultivator, Gu Xuanhe, immediately suggested that they lead the rest of the group into the valley to find the demon tree's true form.

Faced with his proposal, the other cultivators present, including Song Qingming, all nodded in agreement.

Just as everyone turned to continue their charge into the valley, three more figures appeared on the battlefield not far ahead, blocking their path.

What's even more shocking is that the auras emanating from these three individuals have all reached the late Nascent Soul stage.

(PS: Many people don't like updating too late, so I'll update earlier today. I'll see if I can add more tomorrow!) (End of Chapter)