“Damn it!”
“It’s actually the White Lotus Nightmare Blossom. Didn’t the Director get rid of all this terrible stuff?”
“How is this thing still appearing in the world?”
The moment Li Chengxing heard it was the White Lotus Nightmare Blossom, that trace of pride he had just a moment ago vanished completely, and his expression turned extremely ugly.
He was clearly shocked by this news about the White Lotus Nightmare Blossom.
If those White Lotus Nightmare Blossoms were allowed to finish feasting on the flesh and blood of the people in the city, then everything would be lost.
Because when the White Lotus Nightmare Blossom fully blooms, it gives birth to a type of eerie creature called a Nightmare.
This terrible thing can drift freely through the vast heavens and earth, and can also lodge itself inside the bodies of human martial artists, controlling their every move.
Back in the day, even martial artists at the Outer Gang Grandmaster level were accidentally possessed by these Nightmares, turning into mindless, walking corpses.
Nightmares have no form or body, existing within some mysterious void. Attacks from martial artists below the Outer Gang Grandmaster level are completely ineffective against them.
Back then, the Director of the Black Bird Office personally led everyone at the Earth-level Black Bird Office and above to exterminate these Nightmares that were wandering the vast world.
Of course, at that time, they had the help of the Heaven and Earth Sun-Moon Mirror from the Sky Surveillance Office to accurately locate those Nightmares.
But things are different now. The changes in the Spirit Ruins have caused a massive shift in the heavens and earth of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Even the Heaven and Earth Sun-Moon Mirror, which is said to monitor the whole world, has been affected and can no longer function as powerfully as before.
If the Nightmares descend again, the Great Xia Dynasty could fall into chaos, and the people would constantly suffer from their afflictions.
This kind of terrible outcome could very well cause the very foundation of the Great Xia Dynasty to crumble.
So, facing this dreadful news, Li Chengxing didn’t dare hesitate. He turned his head to look to the right.
There stood two elderly men in red Black Bird Office uniforms. Both were Earth-level agents and martial artists at the Small Success stage of Outer Gang Grandmaster.
Li Chengxing exchanged a glance with the two of them, then immediately gave the order.
“Old Leng, Old Feng, you two will return to the Qianhe Prefecture capital city immediately and destroy those White Lotus Nightmare Blossoms. No delays!”
“My team and I will finish off these Purifying White Lotus Cult heretics here, and then we’ll meet up with you!”
The two Earth-level agents didn’t need Li Chengxing to explain; they fully understood the danger those Nightmare creatures posed.
“Yes sir!”
“We’ll return to the Qianhe Prefecture capital city at once and destroy those White Lotus Nightmare Blossoms.”
The moment the words left their mouths, the two elders beside Li Chengxing, who had been standing calmly and steadily, suddenly shifted their postures.
Both elders narrowed their eyes, emitting a sharp, formidable aura. The surrounding air seemed to churn because of this pressure.
Then, with a slight shift of their bodies, they turned into blurs that the eye could barely catch, speeding towards the exit of Bifeng Valley!
On the opposite side, the two elders from the Purifying White Lotus Cult watched this scene, a strange smile curling at the corners of their lips.
They acted as if they didn’t really care about these two Black Bird Office agents leaving at all.
Pfft!
“Hmm?”
“Not good!”
Li Chengxing seemed to sense something. His body swayed, and he instantly exploded with astonishing speed, chasing after the direction the two agents had gone.
The next second, a howling, fierce wind swept over without any warning, stirring up everything around it. Sand and stones flew through the air, and grass and trees bent low under the force.
Accompanied by a violent trembling sensation from the ground, a giant cyan serpent, dozens of zhang long, erupted from the earth.
The serpent’s body was enormous, coiling and winding its way just outside the entire Bifeng Valley.
Its scales reflected a cold, cyan light under the sun, sending chills down one’s spine!
The serpent’s vertical pupils, which shimmered with a faint golden light, glared viciously at the two agents trying to leave Bifeng Valley.
Then, the cyan serpent opened its bloody maw wide and spat out a stream of cyan demonic aura, striking towards the two Earth-level agents!
“What!”
“It’s a demon beast!”
The two Earth-level agents were stunned. A flicker of surprise first flashed in their eyes.
Then, the Gang Yuan power within their bodies erupted simultaneously. The sheer force made the surrounding air hum and vibrate.
The next moment, they both manipulated their internal Gang Yuan, sending two terrifying streams of it streaking across the sky to collide with that cyan demonic aura!
In an instant!
With a deafening Bang, the two immense forces collided, creating a terrifying shockwave that surged out in all directions.
That cyan demonic aura, with unstoppable momentum, tore right through the two Gang Yuan streams and swept over the two agents at tremendous speed.
Struck by this blast of cyan demonic aura, the two agents were forced backward, their bodies retreating.
Just as they were pushed back, Li Chengxing caught them with both hands, then immediately and without hesitation channeled his own Gang Yuan into them.
The two agents hit by the serpent’s demonic aura involuntarily coughed up a trace of blood from the corners of their mouths.
After Li Chengxing brought the two agents back to their original spot, his expression turned grim.
Staring at the colossal serpent that seemed to blot out the sky, Li Chengxing muttered softly, his eyes filled with disbelief.
“A demon beast at the Demon King realm!”
“And one equivalent to the Grand Perfection stage of Outer Gang Grandmaster at that!”
Li Chengxing couldn’t understand why such a terrifying demon beast had appeared in Feihe Prefecture.
There’s no way this demon beast originated from Feihe Prefecture!
“Li Chengxing, still thinking about saving those blood sacrifices?”
“You can’t even save yourself right now. Maybe you should worry about your own skin instead.”
“Elder Hong, no more waiting. I think we should just finish off these damned Black Bird Office agents quickly.”
“Let’s not delay, lest more trouble arises at night!”
The white-robed elder stood up from the ground, his single eye fixed intently on Li Chengxing, his pupils filled with sharp, murderous intent.
He was one of those who hated the Black Bird Office the most. His other eye had been lost thanks to them.
Just before making a move, the white-robed elder looked up at the massive serpent head in the sky and spoke a warning.
“King Qing, remember your agreement with our Holy Cult. I hope that what just happened doesn’t happen a second time.”
This damn beast. It had just had a clear chance to kill those two agents.
But it only gave them a weak, glancing blow.
Considering King Qing’s strength, and the fact it was ambushing two martial artists at the Small Success stage of Outer Gang Grandmaster, if it had struck with full force, those two agents would surely have died!
In response to the white-robed elder’s warning, the cyan serpent’s huge eyes flickered with disdain.
These damn humans, every single last one of them, truly doesn’t deserve to exist in this world.
The serpent couldn’t even understand their tactics of slaughtering each other.
Still, the cyan serpent didn’t want to figure it out. It had come from the far Western Frontier to the Great Xia Dynasty to rescue their clan’s Dragon Lord.
While the white-robed elder was warning the serpent, the red-robed man beside him, Hong Ying, was holding a pure white, lotus-shaped bronze artifact and pouring his power into it.
The flawless white lotus bronze artifact blazed with dazzling, brilliant white light the next moment, illuminating the entire Bifeng Valley.
“Utmost Purity Lotus!”
Following that was an astonishingly powerful presence that churned the surrounding air, forming a massive vortex of airflow.
“Li Chengxing, today, this Bifeng Valley will be the burial ground for you Black Bird Office agents!”
Hong Ying’s voice, filled with venom and ferocity, echoed through Bifeng Valley.
His eyes gleamed with an eerie white light, like ghostly flames in the dark of night, sinister and terrifying!
Hong Ying immediately raised the white lotus bronze artifact in his hand. Veins bulged on his withered arms, as if he had poured all his strength into it.
The next moment, a terrifying cylindrical stream of white air burst forth, tearing through all restraints, howling as it shot forward.
That white air column was like a raging, violent dragon, carrying the power to destroy the world.
Wherever it passed, the air was ripped in two, surrounding rocks were ground into dust, and a piercing shriek filled the air.
Seeing this, Li Chengxing’s internal alarm bells rang loudly. He didn’t dare be the slightest bit careless.
Because the object Hong Ying was holding was one of the Purifying White Lotus Cult’s sacred relics.
A Moon-grade Seven-pattern Sacrificial Vessel: the Utmost Purity Lotus!
Then, Li Chengxing reached out his right hand, moving swiftly and agilely, and took out a jet-black seal-shaped bronze artifact from his robe.
The black seal bronze artifact was an exquisite little bird, its surface carved with dense, complex patterns, emitting a mysterious and profound aura.
Li Chengxing held the black seal artifact in his palm, unleashing his Gang Yuan power without reservation.
The black seal artifact burst forth with a mysterious radiance in an instant.
Immediately, a faint barrier of black airflow quietly appeared. The black airflow barrier looked thin as mist, but it radiated a heart-stopping power.
The attack from the white airflow surged forward like towering, raging waves and slammed fiercely into the black airflow barrier.
The collision between the two produced a deafening crash. Even the ethereal space itself seemed to twist and deform slightly.
The impact force generated when these two powers collided actually surpassed the power that an Outer Gang Grandmaster realm martial artist could exert.
The entire Bifeng Valley began to tremble under this astonishing, massive impact.
Yet, the white airflow, which seemed capable of destroying everything, only caused slight ripples on the black airflow barrier.
It didn’t affect Li Chengxing and the others standing inside the barrier in the slightest.
“Hmph!”
“The Black Bird Heavenly Seal!”
“Li Chengxing, how do you have this object?”
“And you old bastard, you’ve been fooling everyone.”
“When did you break through to the Outer Gang Grandmaster Perfection stage!”
Across from him, Hong Ying saw that his full-powered attack had been blocked easily. His aged face twisted with extreme anger and disbelief.
His features contorted with fury, his brow furrowed tightly into a knot.
His eyes were wide open, as if about to spew blazing fire at any moment.
“Hong Ying, don’t think you people of the Purifying White Lotus Cult can scheme and control everything.”
“We, the Black Bird Office, were able to hunt you heretics down and exterminate you back then, and we can certainly do it now.”
The cautious, wary expression Li Chengxing had worn moments ago vanished instantly.
His previously furrowed brow relaxed. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and his eyes narrowed into slits, like an old fox who had just pulled off a successful scheme.
After mocking Hong Ying, Li Chengxing turned his gaze to the sky and spoke softly.
“Muyun, you old fellow, hurry up and deal with these heretics.”
“We didn’t anticipate this complication with the White Lotus Nightmare Blossoms over in Feihe Prefecture!”
“And this Demon King, it must have snuck in from the Western Frontier.”
It seems someone over in the Western Frontier is getting restless. They must have deliberately let it in.
“They clearly want to use this Demon King to stir up trouble and muddy the waters in the Great Xia Dynasty!”
Ever since the Great Xia Dynasty was founded by the Holy Progenitor, he used his supreme power to condense the dynasty’s heavenly and earthly forces, setting up barriers at the Four Extreme Regions to fend off external threats.
Outside the Western Frontier region, there are countless billions of mountains, housing an endless number of demon beasts. Even an Outer Gang Grandmaster martial artist would face certain death entering there.
And that barrier set up by the Holy Progenitor can block demon beasts at the Spirit Mansion realm from entering the territory of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Similarly, martial artists of the Great Xia Dynasty are restricted just like the demon beasts. They simply cannot step out of the dynasty’s borders unless they use force against force to break the barrier set by the Holy Progenitor.
However, that’s an impossible task.
To break the barrier left by the Holy Progenitor, one would have to reach that ancient, ever-elusive realm.
The Void Integration realm!
Because the Great Xia Holy Progenitor, back in his day, leveraged the intangible power of fate and fortune of the Great Xia Dynasty, unleashing strength comparable to a Void Integration True Lord.
The Western Frontier is guarded by the Great General Who Guards the West. Yet, a demon beast comparable to an Outer Gang Grandmaster Perfection level managed to sneak in.
Damn it!
Things that should have been a sure catch today went awry precisely because of this Demon King, the cyan serpent, appearing.
From the sky, a somewhat thin, elderly man with an air of otherworldly elegance descended gracefully. He wore a set of flowing red Black Bird Office robes, seeming to merge with the vast heavens and earth.
“Old Ghost Mu, it’s you!”
“I clearly received information that you should be in the Eastern Domain right now. Why is this happening!”
Hong Ying looked up, catching a glimpse of the elder in the air. He felt like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat, utterly disgusted.
Mu Yun!
The Second Deputy Director of the Black Bird Office, a terrifying existence at the half-step Spirit Mansion realm. His strength was extraordinary, infinitely close to that of a true Spirit Mansion master.
Although he couldn’t quite compare to a Spirit Mansion master, his power far exceeded that of an ordinary Outer Gang Grandmaster Perfection martial artist.
“King Qing, the situation has changed. You hold off that old man for me.”
“Two days… once two days have passed, our Holy Cult will definitely deliver what you want, in full!”
As if sensing something, Hong Ying turned his head towards the cyan serpent and roared.
This useless beast! The moment it saw that old man Mu Yun, it actually wanted to back off. Completely dishonorable!
Only after King Qing heard the conditions Hong Ying promised did it give up the idea of fleeing the scene.
The human who had appeared above was indeed very strong, but delaying him for two days was something the serpent could manage.
“Old Li, you deal with these White Lotus Cult heretics. I’ll handle this wretched beast.”
With those words, Mu Yun’s aura suddenly exploded outward. His red robes billowed in the wind as he shot towards the cyan serpent!
Li Chengxing cast aside his remaining doubts, his expression turning cold and resolute. He lightly raised his hand and swept it forward.
“Kill!”
“Leave no one alive!”
