Chapter 789: After Departure
That monster stared at these demons, baring its sharp fangs, emitting a low growl from its throat, as if in warning and intimidation.
But in the end, it only snapped its jaws at the air twice.
It confirmed that all these demons were far stronger than itself, and it had no chance at all.
With two screams filled with pain and hatred, the monster plunged into the deep snow and headed southward.
Clearly, this monster from the Longevity Sect was much weaker than the demonic powerhouses present, but for some reason, whether it was the Demon Lord or the Demon Generals, they remained wary despite their disgust, only truly relaxing after confirming that the monster had gone far away.
"How is Haidi?" the Demon Lord asked, looking up toward the top of the Inverted Mountain Tusks.
If his father were still in power, he would never have spoken like this, because what required the Demon Lord to look up could only be the spirit of the dead. Whether the young Demon Lord was unaware of this, or the Demon General intended to make him realize it, the Demon General remained atop the Inverted Mountain Tusks and did not come down.
"Dead."
"Good."
A grim smile appeared on the Demon Lord's face. "On the first night when my elder brother entered Snow Old City, he met with him. Did he think I didn't know?"
The Black Robe said calmly, "Lord Haidi still hoped to deceive Your Majesty's eyes."
"Back then, outside Snow Old City, he took Su Li's sword strike head-on and only lost an arm. Now he's stronger, yet my father was severely wounded. Even if the Heavenly Book Stele recognized its master, how could it have sent him crashing into the snow peak with a single move? Was he trying to flee in the chaos, or put on a good show? I have no interest in playing along anymore."
After uttering these sarcastic words, the Demon Lord took the Black Robe's hand and helped him walk northward, showing exceptional respect.
The Demon General sat in the coiled horn of the Inverted Mountain Tusks, watching the backs of this ruler and his minister on the snowy plain, letting out an extremely faint, ambiguous laugh.
His laughter was harsh, like a broken gong.
The laughter stopped abruptly. He looked at the distant Black Robe and asked, "What about Lord Nanke?"
"Should be dead."
The Black Robe's voice still carried no emotional fluctuation, different from when he spoke of Wang Zhice—no hidden sarcasm or venom behind it.
His only heir had died like this, yet he showed no emotional stir, perhaps precisely because he had no emotions.
"And Chen Changsheng?"
"Should still be alive."
This time, it was the young Demon Lord who answered.
Hearing this answer, the Demon General was somewhat surprised.
The trap the demons had set tonight was flawless, and they had even used several battles as groundwork and backdrop—escaping the Abyss, making all the nobles of Snow Old City feel as if a thorn were in their backs, His Majesty was naturally their primary target for assassination, but they certainly wouldn't let the Human race's Pope off either.
Now His Majesty was dead, Lord Nanke should be dead too, yet Chen Changsheng was still alive. Why?
The young Demon Lord recalled the powerful aura Nanke had emitted during his second soul awakening, squinting slightly. "There was an accident."
He believed that little monster, upon returning south, would bring other accidents to this world. He thought silently.
The Black Robe knew what he was thinking and said, "That little monster may not be able to kill Chen Changsheng."
The Demon General barked harshly, "Is it that it can't kill him, or that you don't want it to kill Chen Changsheng?"
"Chen Changsheng has extremely high talent in cultivation, profound sword Dao, and endless tricks up his sleeve. Although that little monster is extremely sinister, killing him is indeed very difficult."
The Demon Lord's intention in saying this was to avoid a quarrel between the Demon General and the Black Robe, but Chen Changsheng's performance in battle had also left too deep an impression on him, and it puzzled him greatly—Chen Changsheng didn't seem like a Pope at all, more like an assassin moving through the night.
The Black Robe ignored the Demon General's accusation and said to him, "Although Chen Changsheng is the orthodox heir of the National Religion, what he inherited is not Yin and Shang, but Su Li."
Given the Demon Lord's status, he naturally knew that Su Li had once been an assassin.
Hearing this, he gained some understanding and said no more.
...
...
Su Li had already left this world, but his spirit remained.
This didn't mean he was dead—the sword hall of Li Mountain was piled high with chrysanthemums, and there were the four characters "His Voice and Face Live On."
What it meant was that he had taken the Southern Saintess to a distant foreign continent, but his sword still played a role in this world.
The sword he left behind was in those letters, the last of which Chen Changsheng had opened in front of the Demon Lord.
At the same time, his sword was also held in Chen Changsheng's hand.
Of course, his sword had always been held in the hands of Li Mountain disciples, never let go.
Two years ago, the demon army had suddenly launched an attack southward, conquering ten thousand miles of fertile land in a very short time, reaching the foot of Cold Mountain. Only then did people remember the humiliating history of a thousand years ago, and the extinction-level disaster the Human race had once faced.
Apart from the Zhou Dynasty army, all the sects, mountain gates, and academies in the world participated in this magnificent war. Teachers and students from the Six Ivies of Green Vine streamed toward the front lines, from Southern Creek Nunnery to Wu Academy, from the Qiu Family to Blazing Sun Sect, countless southern cultivators came to the cold north and began to fight.
After the north-south unification, the southern sects, mountain gates, and aristocratic families no longer merely listened to orders without obeying as before. More cultivators joined the battle, more formation masters assisted in strategic implementation, and there was better coordination. The combat effectiveness of the Human race's army had improved significantly. Now, the Human race could achieve parity with the demons on the open plains and even occasionally launch strong counterattacks. Apart from the mysterious Cinnabar Pill boosting morale, it was mostly due to these changes.
Li Mountain Sword Sect, however, remained as it had always been. Three sword hall elders led second-generation disciples like Gou Hanshi, Guan Feibai, and Liang Banhu, along with even more third-generation disciples, to strategic locations like Embrace Snow Pass and Embrace Blue Pass, assisting the Human army in battle, but they rarely followed the military command's orders, mostly acting on their own.
Such behavior naturally attracted much criticism, but the Longevity Sect now had no way to influence Li Mountain's decisions. Saintess Peak had been very low-key these past two years, and given the close relationship between Southern Creek Nunnery and Li Mountain, they naturally wouldn't interfere with Li Mountain. As for the imperial court...
Since Su Li's time, the eyes of Li Mountain disciples had only ever held swords—how could they have room for such things?
Even if there was much discussion, no one dared to point fingers at Li Mountain Sword Sect. Besides the reasons above, it was mainly because people had nothing to say.
The passes Li Mountain Sword Sect defended, whether Embrace Snow Pass or Embrace Blue Pass, were where the demons applied the most pressure. Li Mountain Sword Sect's disciples fought bitterly on the battlefield, unwilling to fall behind. In just over a year, more than ten third-generation disciples had died in battle. Gou Hanshi and Liang Banhu had both been severely wounded. A sword hall elder at the Star Gathering upper realm, to cover the retreat of the Black Mountain Army's Mysterious Armor Heavy Cavalry, forcibly held off an entire squadron of demon wolf cavalry for a full hour, ultimately dying a heroic death.
Faced with such a Li Mountain Sword Sect, who could say anything?
Apart from the Star Picking Academy, which was always drenched in hot blood, no other sect or academy had sacrificed more than Li Mountain Sword Sect.
And in stark contrast stood the National Teaching Academy.