Chapter 588: The Interplay of Truth and Falsehood
The sudden collision of the million-strong divine demon army with the endless tide of Netherworld monster horde was a scene of carnage. Flesh and blood flew everywhere; the battlefield was too brutal. Those Netherworld monsters knew only slaughter, had no formation or order, and could only fight by instinct, unable to coordinate with their comrades, resulting in countless deaths and injuries.
For dozens of miles in front of Wuwang City, the ground became a blur of gore. Countless divine demons from the Deaf's painting world were also slain. When these divine demons died, they turned into fragments of rock and fell to the ground, leaving no corpses behind.
Yet, an endless stream of divine demons continued to surge from the painting, wave after wave, pressing forward to continue the slaughter, as if they were inexhaustible!
In the sky, it seemed as if the Wind Uncle, who controlled the gale; the Rain Master, who commanded the rain; the Thunder Duke, who governed the thunder; and the Lightning Mother, who wielded the lightning, were all riding the wind, rain, thunder, and lightning to aid the battle, slaughtering the Netherworld monster horde.
The vanguard of the demon race was blocked. One after another, the Demon Ancestors, whose bodies were as tall as hills, let out furious roars. They trudged forward with great effort, heading toward the front lines. Wherever their steps fell, whether friend or foe, they were sent flying through the air by their thick, powerful legs, their bodies shattered into pieces!
One by one, the Demon Ancestors charged into the battlefield, sweeping aside everything in their path, friend and foe alike, smashing them to pieces in mid-air.
*Hum—*
The gazes of these Demon Ancestors transformed into surging demonic flames, sweeping across the divine demon army. Pillars of black fire spun wildly, tearing and melting everything in their path. Even the divine demons painted by the Deaf could not escape the terror of their demonic eye techniques!
They swung their massive weapons, relying solely on their physical strength to sweep the field. They were born killing machines, with no enemy able to withstand a single blow!
"The divine demons painted by the Deaf can't hold out against these Demon Ancestors!"
The Butcher's battle intent blazed. He gripped his saber, his gaze sharp as lightning, and said in a deep voice, "It's our turn! Bashan, as my disciple, let me see if you've made any progress over the years!"
Bashan laughed heartily, summoned the Azure Ox, and leaped onto its back, shouting, "Teacher, I'll go with you and show you how much I've improved over the years!"
Behind the Blind, the Dragon Shadow Divine Spear transformed into a black dragon, swimming through the air. The Blind reached out, grabbed the divine spear, and shook it with force. The Black Dragon Spear straightened with a sharp snap, letting out an excited, low hum.
Behind Granny Si, the Great Luo Celestial Star appeared. Behind the Mute, the flames from his iron furnace shot into the sky. The Lame hesitated for a moment, then said awkwardly, "I don't have a suitable divine weapon. I'd better not go…"
The Medicine Master leaped onto the Lame's back and laughed, "I'll be your divine weapon. Let's go and turn the world upside down!"
The Lame's old face darkened, and he muttered resentfully, "Medicine seller, aren't you afraid your sweethearts will become widows?"
"Bah! An old man's words are harmless. Good luck and great fortune!"
From the Medicine Master's medicine basket behind him, countless insects crawled out. They grew larger in the wind, transforming into massive creatures that either sprinted across the ground or flew through the air. Their venom was so potent that it formed clouds of poison in the sky.
"We're going to hunt the Demon Ancestors!"
The Butcher was the first to charge into the battlefield, shouting, "Mu'er, keep an eye on the Deaf. If things look bad, take the Deaf and run!"
Qin Mu acknowledged the order and looked toward Sacrificial Wine Bashan. He saw Bashan riding the massive Azure Ox, roaring as he charged into the painting world. Together with Granny Si, the Mute, the Blind, and the others, they headed straight for the Demon Ancestors who had entered the painting world.
The Azure Ox leaped and bounded as if flying. Despite its enormous size, it was incredibly agile. Its hooves crushed the heads of massive monsters, dodging their attacks with ease. Clearly, with its speed and cleverness, it still had room to adapt to the situation.
Qin Mu glanced at the Dragon Qilin beside him. He wanted to ride the Dragon Qilin into battle and fight the monsters, but after thinking it over, he held back.
"Fatty Dragon's speed is enough, but his endurance isn't good, and his reaction speed isn't as fast as the Azure Ox's. If I charge in, I'll die quickly. Fatty Dragon still needs more training…"
He took out a set of teleportation flags and planted them around the Deaf with a wave of his hand. He had the Dragon Qilin and Fox Ling'er both stay within the circle of teleportation flags, ready to leave at any moment.
Behind the Netherworld monster horde, one demon god after another led the demon army in neat formations. Clearly, their military discipline was strict, unlike the rabble of the Netherworld monsters.
Their plan was to use the Netherworld monsters as the vanguard to first break through the defenses of Li City. Then, while chaos reigned, the main army would strike, seizing Li City in one fell swoop and crushing the resistance forces of the Supreme Heavenly Emperor.
But they hadn't anticipated that Wuwang City, a place long since destroyed and now part of the demon territory's ruins, would suddenly produce a million-strong divine demon army that managed to hold back the Netherworld monsters!
Compared to the speed of the Netherworld monsters, the demon army's march was much slower. Their route was drawn out, making it difficult to support the front lines in a short time.
The central army was even farther from the front. Fu Riluo gazed at the battlefield from afar, frowning slightly. His three faces looked left and right, and he asked in surprise, "Does anyone know where this divine demon army at the front came from?"
The demon gods around him all shook their heads.
The Netherworld monsters and the Demon Ancestors fought purely on instinct, devouring everything in their path. But the demon race, like the human race, possessed high intelligence. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to develop such advanced civilizations and cultivation systems.
Yet, despite their intelligence, they couldn't figure out where this million-strong divine demon army had come from or why it had joined the battle.
Although the Yancheng Kingdom was powerful, it was still somewhat weaker than the Supreme Heavenly Realm. The Supreme Heavenly Realm's army was still primarily composed of Supreme Heavenly cultivators, with Yancheng practitioners as support.
The Yancheng Kingdom's Grand Teacher had no knowledge of this surprise attack and couldn't have produced such a large army to hold back the Netherworld monster horde.
So, where had this divine demon army come from?
Fu Riluo looked at Lu Li. That stunningly beautiful woman was also puzzled. She shook her head and said, "Honored King, I don't know where they came from either. The Yancheng Kingdom doesn't have many experts, but the Great Ruins are full of them. Could they be from there…"
Fu Riluo's heart tightened. He shouted, "Pass the order! The army is to set up camp, build fortifications, and prepare defenses against enemy attacks! Send scouts to the front lines to investigate the origins of this divine demon army!"
His orders were relayed. The first demon army unit, led by its commanding demon god, had already arrived at the ruins of Wuwang City, still about four hundred miles from the battlefield. Upon receiving the order, they immediately set up camp without joining the battle.
Many demon soldiers and laborers moved mountains and erected stones, rapidly constructing city walls. They slaughtered giant beasts and used their blood to inscribe demonic runes and patterns on the stone walls, reinforcing the defenses.
Inside the city, the demons built watchtowers and arrow towers, working nonstop.
The commanding demon god shouted an order and led several generals out of the city, heading to the front lines to observe the origins of the Supreme Heavenly army that was currently engaged in battle.
When they reached a hilltop near the battlefield, the demon god erected a mirror over ten zhang tall on the hill, reflecting the scene of the battle.
After a moment, Fu Riluo took out a mirror and examined it. He saw the battle reflected in the mirror and a look of confusion appeared on his face.
His sharp eyes could detect the anomalies. These suddenly appearing divine demons were not real living beings. Although they were powerful, they seemed to be manifestations created by the art of creation.
However, he quickly noticed that among these created divine demons, there were several extremely powerful individuals who were assassinating the Demon Ancestors amidst the chaos!
These were experts at the divine demon level. One was a burly butcher, another was an old blacksmith, and a third was a short man wielding a black dragon bone spear. These three were the most terrifying. Working together, they could even assassinate the Demon Ancestors in the midst of battle!
Besides them, there was a stunningly beautiful woman, a burly man riding an Azure Ox, and an old man in a blue robe carrying a bronze-masked man on his back as they weaved through the battlefield. Countless giant venomous creatures were spreading poison everywhere, poisoning and paralyzing entire swaths of the Netherworld monsters.
The most terrifying was the bronze-masked man. Wherever he passed, he poisoned large groups of monsters, causing more casualties than the other experts. Many monsters were directly poisoned to death, their bodies rotting into pools of blood. His methods were even more fearsome than those of the divine demons!
The Netherworld monster horde summoned by the demon race from the Netherworld simply couldn't withstand this man's deadly poison!
"Who are these people? And where did those created divine demons come from?"
Fu Riluo couldn't see through the situation. He said in a deep voice, "Lu Li, the enemy's divine demon army is a mix of truth and falsehood, hiding real divine demons among them. We don't know how many real divine demons are hidden inside. Please recall the monster horde and reconsider our strategy!"
Lu Li's figure was graceful, and her delicate brows were furrowed, making her look very beautiful. But her voice was deep and rough. She said, "Fu Riluo, you should be able to see that the enemy's strength is actually not that great. There are only five or six real divine demons among them. If we kill those five or six, and let the demon army press forward, we can crush them quickly! If we retreat now, we'll give the Supreme Heavenly Realm a chance to catch their breath. It will be much harder to crush them directly then!"
Fu Riluo shook his head. "The enemy is already on guard. It's too late to push straight to Li City. It's better to prepare for battle and take the opportunity to figure out the enemy's true situation. Besides, how do you know there are only five or six divine demons? What if there are more hidden among them? We would only suffer heavy losses. I can't gamble with the future of the demon race!"
Lu Li had no choice but to let out a sharp cry, producing a piercing Netherworld demonic language.
On the front lines, many Demon Ancestors heard this sound and let out shouts in response, leading the monster horde in retreat.
When Qin Mu heard Lu Li's voice, his expression shifted slightly. "This is… the Netherworld demonic language? I know it too!"
Without hesitation, he also let out a rhythmic Netherworld demonic language that exploded across the battlefield, carrying for twenty or thirty miles.
The Demon Ancestors who heard his voice stopped in their tracks and turned to look back. They responded with low demonic language.
Qin Mu shouted a few more sentences, and those Demon Ancestors turned around, kneeling on one knee and lowering their heads.
The Butcher, the Mute, and the others were covered in blood and were about to pursue the retreating enemies. When they saw this, they all stopped, shocked and uncertain.
In the distance, Fu Riluo saw through his mirror that the monsters and Demon Ancestors had all stopped. He knew something was wrong and looked at Lu Li.
Lu Li's forehead beaded with cold sweat. She let out a cackling laugh and said, "Fu Riluo, you're too incompetent to have let this little thing survive! That little thing is right in the enemy camp! Little thing, you want to take control from me? Dream on!"
Her voice turned shrill. Demonic sound waves rolled like thunder, exploding across the battlefield, drowning out Qin Mu's voice and preventing him from speaking!
Qin Mu grunted, opening his mouth to speak the Netherworld demonic language, but his voice couldn't travel.
The Demon Ancestors looked confused, then stood up one by one and began to restrain the Netherworld monsters as they retreated.
——Dear readers, the fan team event has started again. I sincerely ask everyone to join the fan team first. This event is very important for the "Pastoral Divine Record." The entrance is in the Discover → Event Center page. Let's strive for first place!