Chapter 186: Qin Mu Summons the Demon
"Skywave City?" Qin Mu and the others' expressions shifted slightly, feeling as if they had just escaped a pack of wolves only to walk into a tiger's den.
Filial Righteousness General smiled faintly. "The Ghost-Summoning and Demon-Commanding Talisman Art of the Hongshan Sect is indeed formidable. Skywave City is also attacking the opposite bank. If a demon god could assist, the casualties among Skywave City's soldiers would be greatly reduced. Lin Ding, you will accompany them."
The officer quickly acknowledged the order.
Filial Righteousness General waved his hand, signaling the army to continue its advance. Qin Mu and the others stood respectfully, bowing until the column of troops had passed. The officer Lin Ding laughed and said, "A few junior brothers, let us head to Skywave City."
Qin Mu's expression remained calm. "Commander Lin, please lead the way."
Lin Ding smiled. "You disciples of the Hongshan Sect have rendered great merit. Though only a few of you remain, you can summon a demon god to aid in battle. In the future, you will surely reestablish your sect and shine brilliantly. Though you are young, your extraordinary skills command my admiration."
Qin Mu laughed heartily, his face beaming with glory. "We are grateful for the general's kind words. By the way, Commander, you seem young, yet your cultivation is profound. May I ask what realm you have reached?"
"The peak of the Seven Stars realm. However, I have struggled to make any progress toward the Heavenly Man realm."
Lin Ding sighed emotionally. "The Heavenly Man realm is difficult indeed. With the world in chaos now, we must act on behalf of Heaven, rectify the court, and eliminate the traitorous Imperial Preceptor. This might be an opportunity for me to break through. Though you are young, you should seize this chance as well."
Seeing their confusion, he said solemnly, "Since ancient times, chaos breeds heroes. The greater the turmoil in the world, the easier it is to advance. Why? Because the strong clash, ideas collide, and all kinds of divine techniques and Dao arts emerge endlessly. This broadens one's horizons and sharpens one's insight. The pressure from the strong, the pressure of life and death, will drive you to strive forward and keep improving. Take, for example, your Hongshan Sect's Ghost-Summoning and Demon-Commanding Talisman Art. In times of peace, who would use such a spell? Only in times of war do you have the chance to employ it and thus make progress."
Shen Wanyun and the others felt his words held great truth.
This time, the obscure Ghost-Summoning and Demon-Commanding Talisman Art had truly opened their eyes. After the Hongshan Sect was annihilated, its surviving disciples could still summon a demon god to aid them. And the combat power of that demon god was astonishing!
Such an unremarkable spell could unleash such terrifying power—it had truly shaken them.
Soul-Threading Art was also an unremarkable spell with no real power. Ordinarily, even if they saw it in the Heavenly Record Pavilion, they would glance at it and toss it aside, never delving into it.
In terms of spell power, the Heavenly Record Pavilion contained tens of thousands of spells and divine techniques far more powerful than these two insignificant ones.
Yet it was precisely Soul-Threading Art, this seemingly low-level spell, that had directly changed the course of battle, causing Yu Yuan Chuyu, a high-ranking official governing a region, to suffer a great loss and making Lizhou difficult to hold.
Soul-Threading Art and the Ghost-Summoning and Demon-Commanding Talisman Art had no power at all, but used in the right place, the power these obscure spells could unleash surpassed thousands of troops and horses!
Although Commander Lin Ding was from the opposing faction, his insight and experience surpassed theirs.
But this also put them under immense pressure. Commander Lin Ding's insight and experience exceeded theirs, and his strength was greater as well. If he discovered any clues along the way, they would surely die without a burial place!
Moreover, even if Commander Lin Ding found no flaws, when they reached Skywave City and failed to summon a demon god, they would still die.
Even if they did summon a demon god and it slaughtered the Yan-Kang army, returning to the capital would still mean death.
No matter how they looked at it, it was a dead end.
"If we suddenly attack and strike with lethal force, can we take down this Seven Stars realm expert?"
Qin Mu calculated secretly and felt the odds were slim. Unless they could get Dragon Qilin to act, but Dragon Qilin's submissive nature made it unlikely he would fight desperately.
"We managed to ambush and eliminate thirteen Divine Ability practitioners. Can't we handle a single Seven Stars realm expert?"
Qin Mu's eyes flickered. They had walked over ten li when suddenly shouts of battle rang out. A band of mountain bandits charged at them. These bandits were not weak—the bandit leader was a Divine Ability practitioner, and the rest were martial artists and martial masters.
Just as everyone prepared to fight, Commander Lin Ding laughed and said, "No need. Just petty thieves. Let them come."
The bandits closed in. Commander Lin Ding raised his hand and struck out with a seal. Thunder exploded from his palm with a deafening boom. A flash of white light passed, and the dozen or so bandits' bodies burst apart. Even the Divine Ability practitioner exploded in midair, dying on the spot.
"War Technique School's Palm Thunder!"
Qin Mu's heart leaped, and he immediately sensed trouble. Against a War Technique School expert, sneak attacks were almost useless. The few of them were only at the Five Radiance realm, martial masters at best. Even if they suddenly struck, it would only tickle Commander Lin Ding; they could hardly injure him.
Their hearts filled with unease, they could only follow Commander Lin Ding toward Skywave City.
Qin Mu asked, "Commander Lin, may I ask about Filial Righteousness General's background?"
Commander Lin Ding showed a look of reverence. "Filial Righteousness General is the crown prince of the State of Cunyi. After Yan-Kang annexed the State of Cunyi, the emperor was made a king of a different surname, and Filial Righteousness General was enfeoffed as Filial Righteousness Heir. Now that the Imperial Preceptor is disrupting the world's laws with his demonic path, this is Filial Righteousness General's opportunity—perhaps he can restore his kingdom. Skywave City is just ahead."
Ahead, the mountains along the banks of the Yong River were steep, forcing the river to detour around them. Skywave City was built among the mountains jutting into the river. Below were cliffs, and the Yong River became turbulent here. Huge waves crashed against the cliffs, producing earth-shaking roars.
Shattered spray shot high into the air, like flying jade and flowing emeralds, resembling countless white jade beads falling from the clouds.
The waves struck the clouds, reaching the heavens—this was also the origin of Skywave City's name.
At this moment, Skywave City was filled with rebel troops and horses. They faced the Yan-Kang army across the river, ready to strike at any moment.
Commander Lin Ding led them into Skywave City and said, "The one guarding this place is a Sect Leader-level existence, the Dragon King of the Dragon Gate Sect! You've heard of him, right? The Dragon King's skills aren't too high, but he keeps a flood dragon. That flood dragon is formidable—it can fight against experts of the Life and Death realm without issue. Oh, look, ahead is the Dragon King's son, Dragon Jiao Nan."
The gatekeeper of Skywave City was a flamboyant man dressed in gaudy robes, heavily powdered and rouged, with thick makeup on his face. He was very eye-catching—none other than the young sect master of the Dragon Gate Sect, Dragon Jiao Nan.
Commander Lin Ding led Qin Mu and the others forward to pay their respects. Dragon Jiao Nan returned the greeting, then suddenly caught sight of Qin Mu and froze slightly. "This person seems familiar somehow…"
Qin Mu's heart tightened, and he lowered his head in greeting.
When he first entered the capital, he and Wei Yong had taken a tower ship from Jiangling to the capital. Dragon Jiao Nan had ridden a giant python in midair, slaughtering everyone on the ship except for him and Wei Yong, who barely escaped with their lives.
In that chaos, Dragon Jiao Nan might have seen his face.
"These are disciples of the Hongshan Sect."
Commander Lin Ding introduced them. "They summoned a demon god in Lu County, so Filial Righteousness General has ordered them to perform the ritual here in Skywave City as well, to call forth a demon god for battle."
Dragon Jiao Nan couldn't remember where he had seen Qin Mu. His eyes lit up, and he giggled. "Summoning a demon god? That sounds fun. What artifacts do you need? I'll prepare them for you."
Qin Mu quickly said, "We only need a bone altar, three zhang six in length and three zhang six in width, built from skeletons. The altar surface should be paved with skulls. The eye sockets of the skulls must face upward—no carelessness allowed."
"So troublesome."
Dragon Jiao Nan smiled coquettishly. "Chaotic times mean plenty of bones. Wait a moment, I'll have someone prepare the altar. If there aren't enough bones, we'll kill some people to make up the numbers. The lives of Skywave City's commoners aren't worth much."
Qin Mu said, "When we perform the secret art, we cannot be disturbed. So, General Dragon…"
Dragon Jiao Nan shot him a flirtatious glance. Qin Mu's entire body broke out in goosebumps. Dragon Jiao Nan laughed. "I understand. Rest assured. I'll have soldiers guard the outside of the altar. But if you can't summon a demon god and are just playing tricks, I'll have to have some fun with you."
Shen Wanyun, Yun Que, and Wolf Slave felt a chill run down their spines, though Yue Qinghong and Si Yunxiang found it tolerable.
Before long, Dragon Jiao Nan had his men build a bone altar in Skywave City. The altar was set up in the city lord's mansion. Dragon Jiao Nan dismissed the surrounding officers and had soldiers guard the perimeter, forbidding anyone from watching Qin Mu and the others perform the ritual.
Qin Mu looked around and saw about a hundred soldiers stationed outside. Escaping seemed impossible.
"What do we do?"
On the altar, everyone turned to Qin Mu. Shen Wanyun whispered, "We're deep in the dragon's den now. Qin… Uncle-Master Qin, you make the call!"
He had finally changed his address, calling Qin Mu "Uncle-Master." Yun Que and Yue Qinghong were surprised but didn't ask further.
Qin Mu said solemnly, "Of course, we perform the ritual to summon the demon and invite the demon god here."
Yun Que was startled and blurted out, "We haven't learned the Hongshan Sect's spells! How can we summon a demon god?"
"I have learned them."
Qin Mu moved the demon god statue onto the altar and planted four white banners at the four corners. "I will summon the demon and dispatch this demon god here. The Hongshan Sect used thirteen people to perform this spell, but I think one person can do it too—just a bit more troublesome."
Yun Que hesitated. "If we summon a demon god to slaughter the Yan-Kang army, we'll all be executed and our families exterminated…"
"Don't worry. There must be some technique to summoning a demon god. It can't just let the demon god attack wildly, or even the summoner would die."
Qin Mu's eyes flickered as he exhaled a breath of turbid air. "If we summon the demon god and have it attack Skywave City, I think we can escape in the chaos… You all guard the perimeter and keep watch. I'll perform the ritual."
Everyone quickly took positions around the altar. Qin Mu took out the talisman treasures, carefully examined the runes on the 1,024 interfaces, and memorized them. Then he looked at the runes on the demon god statue, comparing them one by one. After a moment of contemplation, he began the ritual.
His primordial energy burst forth, and threads of primordial energy lifted the thirteen talisman treasures into the air, surrounding the demon god statue. From his nasal cavity and mouth came obscure, profound ancient language. His primordial energy began to activate the changes in the talisman treasures, causing the runes on them to light up one by one, shining on the demon god statue and illuminating the runes imprinted all over its body.
Shen Wanyun and the others were astonished. The language coming from Qin Mu's mouth was not the one they spoke daily. It was somewhat similar to the language the Hongshan Sect had used when summoning the demon, but it seemed more profound.
"It's demon language," Si Yunxiang whispered.
The runes on the demon god statue lit up one by one. Simultaneously manipulating thirteen talisman treasures required memorizing over a thousand runes and their positions. Although Qin Mu had not fully mastered the Supreme Mystery Calculation Classic, his memory had improved significantly, allowing him to control the process with ease.
After about half an hour, most of the runes on the demon god statue had been lit. At the same time, as he chanted the demon language, he felt himself gradually establishing a connection through the statue with some entity deep in the darkness of another world.
At that moment, a dozen Daoists carrying another demon god statue arrived at Skywave City. Commander Lin Ding saw them and hurried forward to greet them, laughing, "You Hongshan Sect disciples have arrived just in time. Your junior brothers and sisters are already in the city summoning the demon. They've been at it for a while."
—Second update! There will be a third update at 8 PM!