Zhao Kingdom, He City.

This city is only about seventy miles from the Corpse-Driving Sect, the nearest city to it.

The city wall stands at forty to fifty zhang, its surface mottled with rock and etched with the marks of time.

A few robust men in iron armor, carrying longbows, are scattered atop the city wall, but they do not appear very attentive.

They occasionally chat and laugh, pointing at the passersby below; at times, they yawn out of boredom, their eyes somewhat unfocused.

It has been five or six years since the last invasion of Cyan Wolf Ridge, and Zhao Kingdom has returned to a state of peace.

Even during the previous demon invasion, He City was barely affected due to its unique geographic proximity to the Corpse-Driving Sect.

Thus, a certain laxity among the soldiers is inevitable.

"Brother Biao, lend me ten taels of silver, I’ll pay you back in two days."

"Go away, all you know is gambling every day. If I lend you money, I’m harming you, understand?"

"Old Lin Fourth, you still haven’t settled down, yet you don’t think about saving some silver and just gamble all day; do you want to be single forever?"

They chatted and laughed.

The originally bright sky abruptly turned gloomy.

A massive shadow completely enveloped the city tower.

The soldiers looked up in confusion, their faces suddenly turned dumbfounded, their mouths agape.

Above them in the sky, a silver giant ape, seemingly straight out of mythology, was gazing down at them from on high.

Every strand of hair on the giant ape shone coldly like silver spears, its muscles bulging like small hills, its two blood-colored eyes shining like the sun and moon in the sky, exuding a barbaric, brutal, god-and-demon-like terrifying aura.

Not only the soldiers on the city tower.

Half of He City’s people, whether on the streets, in their courtyards at home, or sitting in open-air seats at the tavern door, were all blankly watching this giant ape in the sky.

"Am I dreaming? What is that thing?"

"Seems like a demon..."

"Corpse-Driving Sect, where are the Daoists from the Corpse-Driving Sect?"

Most of the people couldn’t react, they could only watch the sky with wide eyes.

The few who understood the danger were trembling, their legs weak, some even wet themselves on the spot.

"Collecting some interest first."

A brutal voice like thunder echoed.

Then, a silver Five Fingered Mountain descended from the sky.

Below, white air currents roared, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, accompanied by a large amount of compressed and condensed water vapor turning into a torrential rain.

’Boom!’

A huge depressed paw print encompassed half the area of He City’s main city.

A half-transparent protective light shield naturally rose from the main city of He City, but under the crushing pressure of the giant paw, it shattered like foam.

Everything at the original position covered by the giant paw, whether houses, trees, or bluestone road, turned completely to dust, even at the edges were large amounts of spider-web-like cracks spreading madly!

The entire He City instantly faced utter calamity!

No screams or cries were heard.

Because those touched by the paw vanished without a trace, their bodies not even found.

He City of Zhao Kingdom, enjoying long peaceful days, now unknown how many souls it gave birth to under this paw, when just a moment earlier many people were still chatting or sleeping as usual!

Fortunately, the silver giant ape was not willing to waste much time here, after a single paw strike, it rose into the air again, flying toward the sect target several miles away.

The Corpse-Driving Sect had already received the news in advance, and the great array sealing the mountain was activated, like a gigantic heavenly bowl, tightly covering the sect’s Thirteen Peaks as a whole.

Above the sect, the Supreme Elder, Master Cang Yu, along with six Fake Pill Giants, were standing ready, looking seriously into the distance.

There, a mountain-like and imposing silver giant ape was stepping through the air, with a fierce demeanor, demon flames surging around, and eyes filled with an incomparably sharp killing intent.

"Demon, you have lost all conscience, attacking innocent ordinary people of the human race!

You have violated the basic treaty between the Immortal Dao Alliance and the Myriad Monster Mountain, are you trying to provoke a war between the two races?" An elder wrapped in white light angrily rebuked the silver ape demon.

"You are worthy of representing the human race?" The silver ape demon scoffed, "Besides, it was your people who killed my kin first, today I am just avenging it!"

"Who killed it?"

"A human called Red Hero."

"Red Hero is not of my sect, he is a loose cultivator."

"Spare me the nonsense, today either hand over Red Hero or I will destroy the sect!" The silver giant ape was extremely domineering, refusing to listen to any explanation from the Corpse-Driving Sect.

The high-ranking members of the Corpse-Driving Sect didn’t bother speaking further, at this point, only through a battle could the situation be completely settled, not something that a few words could resolve.

Suddenly, a golden light flew out from Master Cang Yu, transforming into a golden corpse not much smaller in size than the great demon before them, without hair, mustache, or eyebrows, covered in complex patterns seeming to flow continuously.

The golden corpse also stood in the void, stepping through the air towards the silver giant ape one step at a time.

The two colossal entities immediately engaged in a fierce battle in midair!

The golden corpse punched, and the ape demon extended its claw.

One covered in flowing gold light patterns, the other with hair like spears gleaming silver. One expressionless like a heavenly general, the other with hair bristled like a demon god.

Both wielded boundless force, each physical collision like moving mountains fiercely clashing, clouds rolled, thunder and lightning flashed, wind howled and rain lashed, tearing and mixing the land and sky into chaos.

’Boom boom boom!’

The sealing array on the mountain below, shaped like a bowl, was trembling violently from the intense aftershocks.

Fortunately, the sect’s array was miraculous, able to dissipate the aftershocks without spreading them inside the array.

Even so, the disciples and elders within the sect could still feel the turbulence in the clouds overhead and the violent trembling of the earth beneath them, all looking terrified.

In a battle at the Golden Core level, even those in Foundation Establishment and Qi Cultivation could only watch helplessly, unable to influence the battle at all.

The Golden Corpse and the Silver Ape exchanged twenty to thirty blows at close range, gradually falling into a disadvantage and being suppressed.

’Boom!’

The Silver Ape smacked the Golden Corpse over, crashing it into a nearby mountain, breaking it.

Then, it was stomped upon, causing the land within hundreds of miles to quake continuously.

The complex lines on the Golden Corpse’s body flowed rapidly, a hundred times faster than before, glowing brightly as if to offset the massive power of the Silver Ape.

Yet it still couldn’t turn over, as the disparity in strength was too vast.

As a royal of the Demon Clan, the Silver Ape Great Demon’s cultivation could compare to the Alliance Hierarch Master Zong. How could the Golden Core of the remote Corpse-Driving Sect compare?

"Monster, take my sword!"

A Fake Pill Giant, radiating milky white light all over, sent out a speck of yellow meteor from his body.

It turned into a bizarre stone sword, hundreds of feet long, fiercely slashing towards the Silver Ape!

"Tricks of little worth."

The Silver Ape Great Demon disdainfully swiped with its claw, an arm like a pillar holding up the sky, easily knocking the stone sword away, even slicing off the top of a mountain hundreds of miles away.

’Puff!’

The Fake Pill elder couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of essence blood.

The Silver Ape Great Demon continued with a flurry of punches, shattering the incoming giant firebirds, the blue water giant, the crazily entwined gray vines, and more.

No magic could withstand even a simple punch from it!

Its whole body was silvery red, exuding an indestructible feel, as even ordinary Masters or Fake Pill Giants could do nothing against it.

The Silver Giant Ape took one step after another toward the sealing array enveloping the Thirteen Peaks of the Corpse-Driving Sect, eyes filled with murderous intent, raising a dragon-like arm to strike the white giant bowl below.

All the disciples within the Corpse-Driving Sect were plunged into a deep sense of death threat at that moment, looking up in horror.

Through the semi-transparent spherical light shield, they could see the grim face of the Silver Giant Ape and its body, as huge as ancient gods and demons, about to bring disaster upon them all.

Seeing the Silver Giant Ape about to strike the Corpse-Driving Sect’s sealing array.

"Monster, today you must die!"

The Fake Pill who had first moved but vomited blood erupted with thousands of milky white light beams, his aura skyrocketed at a frightening speed, reaching a level akin to Daoist Cang Yu, and even surpassing it.

"Daoist Qian Yuan, bless my son to pass the provincial examination..."

"Daoist Qian Yuan has always been silently protecting Qing Kingdom..."

"When I die, I want to be by the side of the immortal, as a servant or a maid..."

Within those milky white beams, voices from countless people could be heard.

There were men and women, old and young, from market peddlers to nobility, some seemed to be speaking right now, others echoes from hundreds of years ago...

This was the accumulation of a small world, just ignited recklessly by Daoist Qian Yuan.

In an instant, he underwent the ultimate sublimation, temporarily stepping into the realm of Golden Core.

"Strike!"

With his strength dramatically increased, the ancient stone sword controlled by Daoist Qian Yuan further extended in length, reaching a thousand feet, exuding a strong aura of destruction, crossing the sky as if releasing its full potential.

’Boom!’

The stone sword slashed down on the Silver Ape Great Demon, unstoppable, capable of cutting through the stars!

"Roar!"

The Silver Ape Great Demon roared toward the heavens, its claws lifting like two silver suns, wildly smashing down on the stone sword.

Unfortunately, this strike of the stone sword contained all the beliefs and cultivation of Daoist Qian Yuan throughout his life, its power exceeding even the level of Master Cang Yu.

For the first time, the Silver Ape Great Demon’s defense was broken, a gorge-like wound appearing on its chest, spilling a large amount of purplish-red blood.

The Golden Corpse, originally stepped on by it, took the opportunity to rise and attacked the Silver Ape fiercely, driving it back step by step.

"Good, put in more effort, might just kill this monster!"

Inside the sect, the elders and disciples watching the battle were thrilled, seeing a glimmer of hope.

But the next moment, everyone’s expressions changed, as a deep sense of despair took over their hearts.

In the surrounding skies, huge dark shadows appeared, flying in mid-air without any external support.

There was a prehistoric giant scorpion with a tail thousands of feet long, its black-and-red back as wide as an island; there was a powerful black Tiger Demon, with a unicorn on its forehead as sharp as a sword; and a blood-colored giant python with crystalline skin, having a pair of wings that covered the sky...

Each of their cultivations was at the Great Demon level, and clearly stronger than the aged and dying Master Cang Yu.

The Great Demon Scorpion swung its tail, like a sky bridge, helping block the ancient stone sword, allowing the Silver Ape to catch a break.

And the just-bursting Daoist Qian Yuan’s aura declined rapidly in just an instant, dropping to a point even lower than before!

...