# Chapter 743: A Pandemonium of Demons
After all, this was the territory of the Liangyi Sect. Naturally, a vast number of inner and outer disciples of the Liangyi Sect had gathered on the broad land around the Book Mountain.
All the disciples were enraged by the actions of the Demon Sect.
"This is utterly detestable. In the Falling God Mountain Range, the Demon Sect dares to be so arrogant, as if they completely disregard our Liangyi Sect."
"If tonight, the talented elites of the Liangyi Sect are truly suppressed by the Demon Sect and cannot ascend the Book Mountain, how can we ever hold our heads high in the future?"
"I only regret that my cultivation is not strong enough. Otherwise, I would definitely fight the Demon Sect to the bitter end, with no quarter given."
...
Almost all the disciples of the Liangyi Sect were in an uproar. Thousands upon thousands of them surged toward the Book Mountain like a tidal wave.
However, these disciples were relatively low in cultivation, mostly at the Earth Extreme Realm and Heavenly Extreme Realm. They were quickly intercepted by the imperial army maintaining order at the Realm Son Banquet and separated at a distance of thirty miles from the Book Mountain.
It wasn't just the Liangyi Sect disciples who were furious; the Half-Saint ancestors of the Liangyi Sect were also indignant. If not for the fact that Shengshu Cainü held the Empress's imperial decree, representing the Empress's will, they would have long since expelled all the Demon Sect cultivators from Liangyi Sect territory.
"Boom!"
A Half-Saint ancestor of the Liangyi Sect sat on a sacred seat made of red sandalwood. His palm directly crushed the armrest as he said coldly, "It's truly incomprehensible. Why does the Empress allow the Demon Sect and the heretical path cultivators of the Black Market to participate in the Realm Son Banquet?"
The other Half-Saint ancestors present all clenched their fists, each one extremely furious.
The Sect Leader of the Liangyi Sect, Ning Xuan Dao, however, appeared quite calm. He smiled faintly and said, "The Empress's cultivation is unmatched in the world. She can be considered the number one figure since the Middle Ages. With her state of mind, there is probably nothing she cannot tolerate."
Except for a few Saint-level figures who could still maintain composure, all the other Half-Saint ancestors were sighing.
After all, Qin Yufan was already one of the top ten young talents of the Liangyi Sect's younger generation, yet he had been defeated and severely injured by Jiao Si and Peng Liu working together.
How could the Realm Son Banquet continue?
Were they supposed to just watch helplessly as the Demon Sect crippled the entire younger generation of the Liangyi Sect?
Within the Divine Platform City, in another manor.
The Clan Leader of the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan, Ao Yi, stood with his hands behind his back, gazing toward the Book Mountain. He furrowed his brow and said, "The Liangyi Sect is likely to be quite embarrassed tonight."
A Half-Saint of the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan stood behind Ao Yi and said, "After all, only half of the Demon Sect's young experts have come. They may not necessarily be able to suppress the Liangyi Sect's younger generation."
Ao Yi shook his head. "Although the Liangyi Sect's power is vast, enough to be called the leader of ten thousand sects in the Eastern Domain, compared to the Moon-Worshipping Demon Sect, there is still a huge gap. Especially in this generation, the Demon Sect truly has an abundance of talents, even suppressing the Black Market and the Bright Hall."
"Moreover, the Liangyi Sect's enemies are not just the Demon Sect."
"At tonight's Realm Son Banquet, the young talents of the Taiji Dao, Four Symbols Sect, and Eight Trigrams Sect will likely also strike to suppress the Liangyi Sect, seeking an advantage for next month's Sword Discussion Conference."
Within the Divine Platform City, Half-Saints and Saints from various major powers had gathered, all staring in the direction of the Book Mountain, clearly paying close attention to tonight's Realm Son Banquet.
Anyone with discerning eyes could see the Liangyi Sect's predicament. As the host, they were being ruthlessly slapped by external forces, in an unbearably awkward position.
This was the fate of a neutral faction. The Liangyi Sect didn't want to be enemies with any power, nor did it want to get too close to any power. While this allowed them to remain aloof from worldly affairs and bide their time, when faced with a crisis like tonight's, it was hard to find allies to come to their aid.
Many speculated that the Empress had issued the imperial decree to hold the Realm Son Banquet at the Liangyi Sect precisely because she had foreseen this situation and wanted to force the Liangyi Sect to completely submit to the imperial court.
The Liangyi Sect's younger generation certainly couldn't match the Demon Sect. So tonight, would the Liangyi Sect choose to swallow their pride, or would they choose to seek help from the imperial court?
At the foot of the Book Mountain, Zhang Ruochen had two Liangyi Sect disciples carry Qin Yufan away.
His gaze turned toward the summit of the Book Mountain. He took a deep breath and clenched his hands.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, Zhang Ruochen took steady steps and set foot on the staircase leading to the summit.
The staircase was piled up from scrolls.
"Whoosh!"
His left foot stepped onto the first layer of stairs. Immediately, the scrolls beneath his feet emitted a faint radiance, and countless characters flew out, swirling around Zhang Ruochen.
Each character was a formation inscription, sealing the space of the entire Book Mountain.
Although Huang Yanchen knew that continuing to follow Lin Yue would surely make her a target for the Demon Sect cultivators, she still followed without hesitation.
She very much wanted to know what connection Lin Yue had with her.
The eighteen thousand seats for outstanding talents were already more than half filled. Their gazes were fixed on Zhang Ruochen, and many among them were rubbing their fists, looking eager to try.
However, Lin Yue's reputation was too great, and no one dared to make a move against him.
Instead, they turned their gazes toward Huang Yanchen behind Lin Yue, noticing that her cultivation was only at the seventh transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
The vast majority of cultivators who could secure a seat among the outstanding talents were at the ninth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm. Naturally, they would not allow Huang Yanchen to continue ascending.
A woman at the seventh transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm also wanted to sit above them?
"If you want to go up, you have to pass me first."
A woman in black robes at the ninth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm stood up from one of the outstanding talent seats. Holding a blood-red sword, she slashed toward Huang Yanchen.
A thick smell of blood surged from the sword, turning into a cloud of blood mist that enveloped Huang Yanchen.
This was a twelfth-grade True Martial Treasure-level bloodthirsty sword, refined by the Blood Sea Sect.
As long as it absorbed enough blood, a blood spirit could be born inside the bloodthirsty sword, elevating it to the level of a sacred artifact.
The black-robed woman's bloodthirsty sword was already very close to a sacred artifact, indicating that she had killed many people and stained her hands with blood.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes turned cold. He suddenly turned around, raised his arm, and swung the Golden Snake Sacred Sword in a fluid motion.
"Boom!"
A crescent-shaped sword energy flew out from the Golden Snake Sacred Sword, striking the black-robed woman.
The black-robed woman threw out over a dozen protective treasures in succession, but none could block the sword energy. She let out a miserable scream, flew backward, and fell off the Book Mountain.
Seeing this, many people drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
"I've long heard that Lin Yue's strength is formidable, but I never expected that a casual swing of his sword could send Cai Yunji of the Blood Sea Sect tumbling off the Book Mountain."
The Liangyi Sect disciples had been feeling extremely stifled, but when they saw Lin Yue climbing the Book Mountain, they became excited again.
"Senior Brother Lin Yue has finally made his move. Now the Demon Sect cultivators are in for trouble."
From the side came a sneering voice: "Although Lin Yue's strength is great, he is only one person. The Demon Sect has many experts. One punch from each of them would be enough to knock him down."
"Liangyi Sect disciples, you'd better wake up. The more hope you have, the greater the disappointment."
Although the Liangyi Sect disciples had great confidence in Lin Yue, most of the other cultivators remained rational, not believing that Lin Yue alone could shake the many experts of the Demon Sect.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen had already climbed several hundred meters, reaching the spot where Qin Yufan had been earlier. Standing there, they could see the three thousand Heavenly Proud seats not far away.
"Lin Yue, I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Long San let out a loud roar and charged down from above, stopping only when he was ten zhang away from Zhang Ruochen. He mobilized the dragon energy within his body, manifesting a half-human, half-dragon form. His body soared to over ten zhang in height, like a small mountain.
It was unclear what pill he had taken, but his severed arm had already grown back.
"Swish, swish."
Immediately afterward, figures shot out one after another, standing behind Long San.
All were experts of the Demon Sect, more than twenty in number.
Each person exuded a vast aura, all at the ninth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
Moreover, the thick aura they possessed was not something ordinary cultivators at the ninth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm could have. Each person's strength was comparable to a Sacred Body at the ninth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
The Demon Sect experts all stared at Lin Yue below with hostile, cruel, and cold eyes, as if they wanted to tear him apart.
The demonic energy they released formed a black cloud.
With so many experts gathered together, even a first-step Half-Saint would likely have to flee.
Zhang Ruochen stood beneath the thick demonic cloud, yet he remained very calm, showing no fear. He sneered mockingly, "The rules of the Realm Son Banquet state that each guest may only bring two guards. Long San, why have you brought so many people? Are you trying to compete by numbers?"
Then, Zhang Ruochen's gaze shifted toward the Liangyi Sect disciples at the foot of the mountain, his meaning clear.
If the Demon Sect didn't follow the rules and wanted to compete by numbers, then the hundreds of thousands of Liangyi Sect disciples could storm the Book Mountain at any moment.
From the summit of the Book Mountain came Shengshu Cainü's voice: "If the cultivators of the Moon-Worshipping Demon Sect do not abide by the rules, I will immediately expel you from the Book Mountain."
Her voice was ethereal yet carried an unassailable authority, spreading across the entire Book Mountain.
Long San clearly didn't want to offend Shengshu Cainü either. He gave a cold, sardonic smile. "Who said we would attack together? Jiao Si, Peng Liu."
Jiao Si and Peng Liu immediately stepped forward, standing like two guards on Long San's left and right.
"Is this within the rules now?" Long San let out a sinister laugh.
The rest of the Demon Sect experts all withdrew.
"Roar!"
Long San, Jiao Si, and Peng Liu simultaneously rose into the air, hovering in midair.
They mobilized the sacred energy within their bodies, and their bones and muscles emitted cracking sounds as they grew larger and expanded outward, finally transforming into their true forms as descendants of divine beasts.