Sealing the Demonic Lair (First Update)

Hua Su’s mind trembled violently. Even with his immense strength of will, he could not maintain his composure for a moment.

His hand suddenly lifted away from Jiang Feng’s shoulder. The connection between Jiang Feng and the golden seal abruptly snapped, causing Jiang Feng to open his eyes and cast a dissatisfied look at him.

Hua Su instantly collected himself and hastily placed his hand back onto Jiang Feng's shoulder.

The connection was re-established. Fortunately, Hua Su's brief hesitation was merely a fleeting flash, coming and going so quickly that it caused no lasting impact.

A total of one hundred and ninety-two veterans had gathered in Taicang City this time, numbering one hundred and ninety-three when including Wen Liangji. At this moment, all of them were linked by the brilliant rays of light. They could clearly sense the changes taking place within their bodies, and every single one of them was filled with an indescribable surge of joy and astonishment!

At this time, they were still in the midst of the battlefield. Ninety-nine of them were maintaining the grand anti-magic array, while the remaining ninety-plus were still locked in fierce combat with the demon race.

As the demons charged forward, most of them instinctively launched a counterattack. They rapidly discovered that repairing the circulation of spiritual essence required no stillness from them whatsoever. On the contrary, the more intense their combat, the faster the spiritual essence flowed, and the more rapidly the cycle repaired itself!

They let out a synchronized, thunderous roar and charged forward together. The sudden, explosive power of the veterans quickly beat the demon race into retreat, and in the blink of an eye, they counterattacked all the way back to the vicinity of the demon nest.

At this very moment, massive amounts of demonic miasma exuded by the demon nest formed slender black ribbons that intertwined with the trails of light, fusing into a single entity. Operating at a previously fixed frequency, they now trembled violently all at once, faster and more intensely with every passing second.

Sensing something, the demon race poured out from the demon nest in greater numbers and with even greater speed.

The veterans and all the city defense soldiers fought desperately, repelling their attacks wave after wave.

The demon race relentlessly assaulted the location of the divine artifact. The soldiers threw themselves forward without hesitation, trading their very lives to shield it.

The spiritual essence filling the skies provided them with the greatest support and momentum, making them feel as though their bodies held an inexhaustible reservoir of strength.

Meanwhile, in a realm both distant and yet intimately close, several figures were staring fixedly at a sand table before them, their expressions gravely solemn.

The sand table shifted continuously, displaying a panoramic view of Taicang City. Within the city and across its outskirts lay a total of eleven demon nests, corresponding and connecting with one another as if forming a single, unified entity. Only a certain location right in the center remained abruptly and conspicuously blank.

Standing closest to the sand table was a man. He was tall, with breathtakingly exquisite features that seemed almost celestial. His long, thick eyebrows slanted upward into his temples, possessing a deep, dark hue that naturally exuded a chilling aura of violence. He lowered his head slightly, a cascade of long hair flowing over his shoulders, yet not a shred of demonic miasma emanated from his entire body.

Two people stood beside him, watching the sand table nervously, their complexions ashen. One of them spoke angrily, "Dammit, if it weren't for that fellow Ku Zhan..."

The other said with a mixture of shock and suspicion, "Didn't Nan Xuan send word back that he had already eliminated the artifact master presiding over the grand anti-magic array? Why is this array still operating normally? It's even far stronger than the intelligence we gathered beforehand!"

The two of them turned together to look at the man, speaking in unison, "Supreme Commander Ping Tian, what should we do now?"

The man shook his head, turned away from the sand table, and seated himself in a nearby chair. He picked up the wine goblet from the table, took a gentle sip, and said indifferently, "This attempt has failed. Let it be."

"Failed?!" The two exchanged glances and spoke simultaneously.

Ping Tian’s face remained tranquil without a ripple. He merely raised his gaze to sweep a faint glance over them. "How many attempts have our Sacred Demons made to march into the Nine Heavens Continent, and how many times have we failed? This is just one more time. What is there to be surprised about?"

The two fell silent. After a long while, one of them finally spoke, "For this Extermination of the Heavens Operation, with Lord Ping Tian presiding, we mobilized the strength of one Demon Monarch, one Demon Commander, and seven great Demon Generals, not to mention countless other demon generals and commanders... Could it be that we are simply going to fail like this?"

Ping Tian let out an "oh" and retorted, "What, are you intending to hold me accountable?"

A cyan ripple emanated from his body, causing the two men to grunt in unison and take a step backward.

They hastily dropped to their knees, repeatedly crying out, "We dare not! It's just..." They glanced back at the sand table and asked, "Can we not try once more?"

Ping Tian’s gaze followed theirs. After a long silence, he said, "The power connecting the heavens has been stirred, and the irresistible momentum is already formed. Unless a Demon God makes a move, no one... can save the situation."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his long eyelashes concealing the sharp radiance in his gaze.

Such a grand array was actually capable of stirring the power connecting the heavens. Was the artifact master simply too formidable, or was there some other reason?

He pondered for a long time. Suddenly, he jerked his head up to stare at the sand table, his expression changing drastically!

...
...

At this very moment, the radiance expanded to its thickest and most powerful extreme. The trembling of the light, intertwined with the demonic miasma, reached its absolute peak!

Everyone simultaneously raised their heads to look at the sky, as a nameless sense of awe welled up in their hearts. Their legs trembled, making them desperately want to drop to their knees before this unfathomable power. Yet, although this power was majestic and sacred, it carried a peaceful and tender warmth, like a gentle elder softly stroking the top of their heads.

They steadied themselves and looked toward the sky. It was already completely flooded by a dazzling brilliance, rendering everything else invisible.

Perhaps due to the lingering shadows of the intense light within their eyes, they suddenly all caught sight of the shadow of a colossal tree. It towered between heaven and earth while simultaneously supporting the entire universe.

The very instant the tree’s shadow appeared, everyone simultaneously heard a loud "crack." It sounded as if something had been stretched taut, pushing tension to its absolute limit in a single split second!

The immense tension instantly snapped, and a massive shockwave accompanied by a howling gale swept out in all directions!

At that moment, the demon nests produced a terrifying suction force, making it impossible for any of the demons to maintain their footing as they were dragged backward by the pull.

This suction force exerted its effect on the others as well, though slightly weaker. The martial cultivators channeled their respective spiritual essences, clutching onto whatever was nearby to steady their bodies and prevent themselves from being sucked in along with the demons.

This shockwave came quickly and vanished even faster.

Before long, the howling wind subsided. When everyone finally steadied themselves and opened their eyes, they discovered to their astonishment that the abyss-like demon nests had vanished!

All twelve demon nests had completely disappeared, leaving not a single one behind!

Everyone stared fixedly in the direction where the demon nests had been, scarcely believing their own eyes. This was the goal they had striven toward with all their might for this entire period, and now that it was actually accomplished, they felt as though they were living in a dream.

A brief silence blanketed the entire city. Aside from the sound of light breathing, not a single human voice could be heard throughout the city.

A short moment later, cheers erupted into the air like an explosion!

They cast aside their weapons, embraced one another, and gave free rein to the wild ecstasy surging in their hearts!

They had succeeded! They had survived! They had protected Taicang City!

A moment prior, on the dilapidated Thousand Lions Bridge, Jiang Feng leaned against the soft couch. His eyes were half-open and half-closed, his entire body controlled by an unfathomable power as he lost himself completely in a trance.

Suddenly, he too opened his eyes and looked up at the sky.

Unlike the others, his gaze pierced through the blinding radiance, clearly beholding the shadow of the giant tree in the distant horizon.

He quickly recognized what it was.

The Heaven-Connecting Wood!

The Heaven-Connecting Wood stood tall there, bringing Jiang Feng a sense of warmth and benevolence, just like the previous two times, akin to a mother's embrace.

A message passed through the light woven from spiritual essence and settled deep into Jiang Feng's heart. A faint smile touched the corner of Jiang Feng's lips, and he nodded slightly.

At the very moment he launched the final grand anti-magic array, his finger had gently tapped into the empty air!

At this point, only he could see that near the Thousand Lions Bridge, the demon nest—which had been sealed twice in succession—had just cracked open a tiny fissure!

Jiang Feng flicked his finger across empty space. A streak of golden light materialized above the fissure and darted swiftly inside!

In the blink of an eye, on the other side of the demon nest, a ray of golden light burst forth from the sand table, hurtling toward Ping Tian with lightning speed.

With all the capabilities of a Demon Commander, he had no ability to dodge or counter this bolt of golden light. The golden light instantly plunged into his chest. Ping Tian let out a muffled grunt, parted his lips, and spat out an arrow of blood!

The blood arrow contained a dense concentration of demonic miasma, which instantly shattered the sand table, reducing it completely to a pile of powder.

The two subordinate demon generals below stared in simultaneous shock and shouted, "What is happening?"

Ping Tian clutched his chest, wiping away the trace of blood from the corner of his lips, the shock on his face no less than theirs. His lips twitched a few times before he finally pressed them tightly shut.

It was as if Jiang Feng could see the scene on the other side. Through all the consciousness linked within the golden seal, he clearly saw that all the demon nests in Taicang City were completely sealed shut. The final wisp of spiritual essence descended from the sky, vibrating back and forth across the city three times to scour away every last vestige of demonic miasma until it was thoroughly cleansed.

Cheers shook the entire city. Hua Su wore a joyful expression and was about to speak when he saw Jiang Feng’s body sway and tumble right off the couch!

"Jiang Feng!"

...
...

Today’s Taicang City could be described as scarred and battered.

Despite this, the faces of most people were still etched with joy and wild elation.

The city had been destroyed, but it could be rebuilt. The crucial point was that they were still alive and remained within this city!

Hua Su scooped up Jiang Feng in his arms, soared up from the Thousand Lions Bridge, and leaped into the clouds.

Countless people raised their heads in reverence, casting admiring gazes toward the figure in the sky. Though they might not know all the intricate details, they knew very well that had it not been for the person issuing commands through the golden seal, it would have been utterly impossible for them to seal those twelve demon nests without a sufficient number of Mind-Enlightening Martial Ancestors!

"Not only that..."

Wang Xuanzhi squinted at the sky for a moment, gently shook his head, and sighed.

He was at the peak of the Mind-Enlightening Martial Ancestor realm, making him the most powerful person in all of Taicang City second only to Hua Su. As a Mind-Enlightening Scholar, his breadth of knowledge far surpassed even that of Hua Su.

He had sensed the final sealing of the demon nests extremely clearly. This set of demon nests had been far more powerful than they had imagined. Had it not been for the supplementary power connecting the heavens at the very end... Yes, just like Ping Tian, this scholar had also perceived the power connecting the heavens.

Could it be that the Heaven-Connecting Wood had taken pity on humanity, unable to bear watching the demon race ravage the mortal realm, and thus bestowed the divine power connecting the heavens to lend Taicang City a helping hand?

Indeed, if not for the power connecting the heavens, and had they simply followed the original plan, the grand anti-magic array might not have been able to unleash sufficient power and very likely would have failed! (To be continued...)

[Author's Notes: Thanks to Xiao Yiwen, Qingwu Feiyang 236, rrygbd, aj, Xiri, Tongxue, dekid, ~Diao'er Langdang, and Shizhixiao for their recommendation tickets. Thanks to Mo Mo Jia (5) and ianian for their tips, and special thanks to fatf911 and Zheshe for their daily support!!
Thank you all for your support; I'm going to keep fighting with all my might!!]