The author of this article

Chapter 343 The Return of the Savage Demon
boom! ! ! !

Amidst a loud explosion, the western section of the northern city wall collapsed.

A massive stone, weighing tens of thousands of tons, broke off from the top of the wall, smashing a deep crater into the frozen ground of the North, sending up billowing dust and sand.

Through the massive breach, burly barbarian soldiers charged into the wall in a raging torrent.

Meanwhile, in the sky, where there was no protective array, Feather Clan soldiers flew through the air, densely packed, crossing the city walls and instantly entering the northern territory, which had always been a place of war preparedness.

The overwhelming figures, exuding an oppressive aura, swept over the city walls, instantly igniting fierce flames of war across the northern plains.

hum! ! !
Countless arrows whistled through the towering towers of the first line of defense within the northern city walls.

Made of black iron and powered by spiritual energy, the specially crafted arrows struck the barbarian soldiers in an instant. With a series of loud thuds, the night sky turned crimson, and the roars of the savage beasts resounded throughout the heavens and earth.

Although it was unclear why the great formation on the western side of the northern border suddenly failed, the human soldiers still chose to intercept them immediately.

Over the centuries, the two races have clashed many times, and the human army has long been confident in how to inflict heavy damage on the other side.

The massive crossbow bolts, hurtling through the air with a ferocious whistling sound, rained down like a storm, driven by spiritual energy, instantly delivering a devastating blow to the barbarian vanguard and eliciting countless roars and howls.

"rush!"

"Smash that tower!"

A barbarian warrior king leading the advance roared to the sky, and a savage beast as tall as a low mountain charged wildly from the rear of the column.

With a deafening roar, hundreds of towers guarding the garrison camp collapsed in an instant.

At this moment, five figures emerged from the darkness, each wielding a sharp, heavy blade. With terrifying force, they slashed into the guard camp, their young bodies incredibly agile.

These are the prodigies from the demon race, who are now leading the way with their overwhelming power, constantly reaping rewards on the battlefield.

Whether it's the barbarians who have been attacking the northern border or the demons who have remained inactive for generations.

Regardless of their race, they have been preparing for the return to the Nine Provinces for a thousand years. Prodigies like them have long been eager to make their mark at this moment.

The guard camp in the northwest was engulfed in an instant, and raging fires began to spread along the withered grassland.

Thick, dark gray smoke billowed into the sky and began to spread in all directions.

At this moment, above the collapsed western city wall, a chariot descended from the sky. Ye Han, the son of the Demon Emperor, sat quietly on the chariot, squinting as he looked down at the scene of the army pressing in.

He had actually dreamed of this scene countless times.

In particular, when the barbarian tribe sent an envoy to the snowy region, it made him eager to try his luck countless times.

However, his father always felt that the time was not right and wanted to wait until that old fellow from the Heavenly Academy left this world to glimpse a bit of heavenly secrets.

So the demon race waited patiently until a few days ago when his father suddenly sent an envoy to the Ten Thousand Mountains.

He knew then that the time had come.

The Nine Provinces, my demon race has finally returned.

Ye Han's eyes shone brightly, and he couldn't help but clench his fists.

He was entrusted with an important task by the Demon Emperor, leading the first wave of demon soldiers to conquer the northern border. After crossing the vast northern border, he pushed the front line directly to the border of Youyun, joining forces with the barbarians to seize two large states as their new homeland.

At that time, the Ten Thousand Mountains and the vast snowfields will be connected to the northern border, and the entire northwest of the continent will be under their control.

Amidst the fierce flames of war, the soldiers of both races, filled with fervor, continued their advance and reached the Jade Rainbow Mountains in the northern border.

At that very moment, a major human army guarding the west charged in, their warhorses neighing as they rushed toward them.

The commander of this force was a famous general from the Zhenbei Army named Yu Lei.

With his command, a large number of heavily armored soldiers raised their shields and spears, charging towards the barbarian army, their heavy footsteps shaking the hillside.

Blades clashed, and the battle commenced instantly.

The lower-ranking soldiers clashed like a torrent, instantly turning into a bloody battle.

Meanwhile, countless powerful figures leaped up from the army, carrying a magnificent aura as they charged out of the oncoming human army, colliding fiercely with the rising experts.

Upon seeing the chaotic and complex battle, Yu Lei's eyes instantly froze.

For thousands of years, the northwest has never been a key target for barbarian attacks.

But who would have thought that today, the northern border was attacked at night, and the protective array suddenly failed at this location, leaving the main force stationed here completely unable to react.

This was certainly not a coincidence; it must have been a premeditated attack.

"Report!!!"

"speak."

"There was no one guarding the northwest city wall, but there were large bloodstains in the camp. Judging from how dry they were, they had been there for several days. It is likely that they were ambushed on the day the formation failed and were all killed."

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, Yu Lei couldn't help but grit his teeth: "What a brilliant scheme!"

The messenger knelt down and said, "General, the enemy numbers are too many; we can't hold them off on our own."

"Immediately send a message to the central camp, requesting reinforcements!"

"Yes!"

The first battle to blockade the northern border lasted all night. Yu Lei's army was overwhelmed by the powerful barbarian demons and was forced to retreat. They couldn't even slow down their march.

This is not surprising, because the defending army is inherently at a disadvantage when facing the vanguard of the attack.

In particular, the fighting strength between the Zhenbei Army and the barbarians was basically even, but now that the demon race has joined, the balance will naturally be broken.

While the main camp was sending reinforcements, the barbarian and demon races had already pushed their armies across the south side of Jade Rainbow Mountain.

Behind the front lines, at the former site of the Northwest Garrison Command.

The command camps of the demon race and the barbarian race were stationed here, hoping to take advantage of the natural height of the Jade Rainbow Mountains to overlook the entire battlefield.

In the dead of night, as the second attack gradually unfolded, the demon and barbarian tribes met briefly and agreed to revise their attack tactics at the tactical camp.

They are now allies, fighting against the human race, and both share the same goal: to return to Kyushu.

The first phase of their plan was to breach the northern city walls. Now that the walls have been breached and the army has advanced into the north, they naturally need to devise new offensive strategies and tactics that can be fully coordinated.

Under the deep darkness of night, the Demon Emperor Ziye Han arrived, draped in a heavy fur coat.

This fur coat is essential for life in the snowy region, but in the warm climate of Kyushu, it has already made him sweat.

But he did not remove it, instead letting the sweat flow freely, because he wanted to remind himself of the injustice that Heaven had done to the demon race.

Accompanying him were Lin Dou and Ya Shan, the young princes of the Lin and Ya clans. They were both young clan leaders and exceptionally talented demon generals, and had now reached the peak of the Xuan Demon realm.

Both the demon race and the barbarian race are races that divide their realms based on combat strength, and what they cultivate is their own talent.

The barbarian realm is divided into lower-ranking soldiers, upper-ranking soldiers, soldier kings, general kings, and clan kings.

The demon race distinguishes their realms as Dust Demon, Spirit Demon, Mysterious Demon, Heavenly Demon, and Demon King.

The peak of the Xuan Yao realm is comparable to the initial stage of the Ying Tian realm of the human race, and it is rare even among their race.

The three arrived at the camp and immediately looked at the map and sand table. After thinking for a long time, they saw a group of six barbarians lift the curtain and enter.

Like the demon race led by the princes, the barbarian race also sent two princes and one princess to this battle.

The one who holds real power is the eldest prince of the barbarian tribe, Tuoba Yi, who is accompanied by his younger brother Tuoba Chen and the princess Tuoba Jiazi.

The three of them were also very powerful, giving Ye Han a faint sense of pressure. It seemed that one of them had already entered the King Realm.

Judging from their attire, the two groups of people looked very different.

The clothing of the barbarians is very rough, especially the men's clothing, which is very revealing. This is their custom, as they like to show off their strong bodies.

"Prince Ye, how have you been?"

"Now that the two armies are allies, Brother Tuoba, there is no need for such formalities." After Ye Han finished speaking, he asked the barbarian group to look at the map they had prepared: "Our two armies have made very smooth progress in the distance from entering the northern border to Yuhong Mountain. If we continue at this speed, we will be able to reach the border of Youyun and Youyun provinces within a month."

Tuoba Yi looked up at the map: "For so many years, we have been longing to return to our homeland. Now we can finally have our wish fulfilled. I don't even want to wait another day."

“Brother Tuoba is right, but I think we should slow down the pace.”

"?"

Ye Han held up two fingers: "We conquered Youyun and Youyun prefectures in two months."

Before her brother could speak, Tuoba Jiazi raised her eyes and said, "The reinforcements of the human army have been arriving one after another. The longer the war drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for our subsequent march."

Ye Han shook his head and pointed to the northern border of Youyun: "This place is called Gray Stone Gorge. It is full of ravines and rugged terrain, and can be considered a natural barrier. After the human army suffers repeated defeats, it will definitely choose to defend here. If they use the terrain to drag us into it, I think it will be very troublesome."

"Prince Ye hopes to prolong the battle lines and thoroughly wear them down on the northern plains, which are advantageous for our two races to fight on."

“That’s right. If we slow down, we can wait for our main force to catch up.”

The barbarians and demons had long coveted the Nine Provinces, and their desire became fervent the moment they breached the northern city walls.

But for Ye Han, this fervor must not go too far.

Amidst the ongoing flames of war, the vanguard of the barbarian and demon races began to slow down, gradually merging with the main forces that continued to cross the city walls.

The main human army continued to arrive to provide reinforcements, causing the scale of the entire war to expand further and further.

However, in terms of both the quality of its soldiers and its size, the Zhenbei Army was slightly inferior, so the entire front continued to move south, gradually pressing towards Youyun and Youzhou.

Fortunately, the northern plains served as a buffer, and the people of the two states, seeing the impending war, began to flee with their families.

Meanwhile, news of the allied forces of the barbarian and demon races invading the northern border quickly spread from the human cities to the heartland.

Upon hearing this news, many people were stunned, not understanding why the protective array in the Northern Territory could be breached, and even less understanding why the demon race suddenly formed an alliance with the barbarian race.

However, it must be said that the barbarian and demon races have a very accurate grasp of the timing, location, and human factors.

Qingyun was already in chaos due to the disaster, and its vitality was greatly damaged. Afterwards, the families continued to fight, and the internal strife within the immortal sects rose and fell. Faced with the pressure from this powerful clan, it was powerless to deal with it.

As news of the war gradually spread throughout the world, the fighting in the northern border intensified.

Especially as the allied forces of the barbarian demons approached Graystone Gorge, they launched a fierce attack, unusually speeding up their march and pressing down on the two states.

The Zhenbei Army decided to launch a counterattack using the natural barrier, but they still couldn't stop their advance.

At this time, they arrived at the border of Youyun and other states and took the lead in capturing sixteen major human cities.

The harsh environment of the Ten Thousand Mountains and the vast snow-covered plateau meant that the grain and fodder produced could not sustain a long-term forced march.

After occupying one-third of the northern part of Youyun and Youyun provinces, the two tribes immediately set up camp, began to plunder the entire city, and then rested and reorganized.

The conflict between ethnic groups is not something that can be resolved overnight; they have been waiting for thousands of years and are not in a hurry to do so.

However, their looting did not go smoothly.

There are no cultivators in the northern wilderness, but there are quite a few cultivation families among the sixteen occupied cities.

These people are fundamentally different from the civilians who fled earlier.

For ordinary people, whether it was Yunzhou or Youzhou, it was a hellish place that exploited them. If they had the chance to escape, they would not hesitate at all.

But for those aristocratic families, their ancestral lands were everything.

According to the rules of the Azure Cloud Immortals, only the clan's territory can represent the continuation of a family, and their family's generations of business have all been rooted in this place.

If they were to truly flee to other prefectures and counties, how could other families possibly cede a portion of their territory back to them? Having lost their ancestral lands, they would inevitably perish in this ever-contested world.

So they kept hoping for the best, but by the time the army entered the city, they had already lost their last chance.

Buzz! ! ! ! !
Amidst the billowing smoke and flames of war, the gate of the Xiang family, a century-old clan in Yunzhou, was shattered by a sharp blade that fell from the sky.

Countless members of the Xiang family soared into the sky, their booming spells colliding fiercely with the attack.

The Xiang family was quite powerful, with six patriarchs at the Yingtian Realm. At this moment, they suddenly flipped their palms, killing a group of demon soldiers. Then, ten figures came down from the sky.

Those were ten prodigies from the demon race. As soon as they landed, they unleashed a powerful aura and engaged in a fierce battle with them.

These old people have lived for countless years, boasting that they have seen more of the world than their descendants have ever tasted salt, but they truly do not understand the barbarians and demons.

It wasn't until they engaged in combat and felt the powerful energy that seemed to split mountains that they realized they were different from humans.

Humans need years of experience to cultivate their spiritual path, but for demons, physical strength is truly unrelated to age.

The Xiang family was quickly razed to the ground, and other aristocratic families in the surrounding area were also slaughtered one after another, leaving only limbs scattered all over the vast city courtyard.

After these cultivation families were dealt with, the demon soldiers continued to plunder, gathering all the grain, spirit wine, cloth, livestock, and other items in the city together before taking a break to rest and reorganize.

At this time, the Zhenbei Army had advanced to the central part of Youyun Prefecture, and the battle report was sent to Shengjing.

"The Xuan Yuan Immortal Abode lies between Youzhou and Yunzhou, yet they haven't made a move..."

“Xuan Yuan has always acted very strangely. Not only did he quickly seal off the mountain after the calamity, but the mountain gate formation also rippled. In my opinion, the Xuan Yuan Sect Master is probably no longer alive.”

At this moment, Prince Chong held his teacup and spoke softly to the officials beside him.

People aren't stupid; similar discussions have actually occurred many times before.

Even the Chen family patriarch who was in seclusion recuperating from his injuries was considered highly suspicious by everyone.

Because at this critical juncture, if they were truly alright, they should, like the young appraiser of Lingjian Mountain, occasionally appear in the mountains to warn the world.

Wei Li then refilled the King's tea: "Now that the armies of the barbarian and demon races have entered Youyun Province, His Majesty's condition has been deteriorating these past few days."

"They're probably thinking of a solution."

"That's right. It's said that after yesterday's morning court session, the Directorate of Immortals has already sent people to the major immortal sects. Even that old fellow Wang Mingchang was summoned to the palace again yesterday."

Upon hearing this, King Chong frowned: "It seems that they are trying to secure the Immortal Sect's assistance and also want to send envoys to negotiate, thus delaying the process."

As it turned out, their guess was correct.

As the Director of the Immortal Bureau went to visit the Immortal Sects, apart from the Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion, whose mountain gate was tightly sealed, all the sects and aristocratic families sent people to gather in Shengjing.

After discussion, You Yingqiu and Zuo Qiuyang also sent several elders, along with some inner court disciples, to join them.

This is different from internal strife. The human race, which experienced the ancient war, knows that there are limits to internal strife. After all, the Immortal Sect has not been destroyed yet, but the invasion of alien races is not something to be taken for granted.

Meanwhile, Wang Mingchang, who had once been an envoy to the snowy region, led another delegation north, but instead of entering the barbarian camp in Youzhou, he went only to the demon camp in Yunzhou.

This is actually a move to create division.

Since the two tribes arrived at the border of Youzhou, their closely united armies began to disperse, and even their main camps were no longer stationed together, indicating that they were wary of each other.

This is actually related to the vigilance that is ingrained in the demon race.

Back then, the demon race fought against the remnant race. In the end, the human race rose to power, while the demons were forced to migrate to the frigid lands of the far north, barely surviving. Now that they have returned, they naturally do not want to be the ones to benefit others again.

At this time, the Great Xia sent an envoy to meet the demon race alone. Whether or not they could meet the demon prince, it was still an attempt to break the alliance between the two sides.

To their disappointment, the delegation was not even able to enter the city where the demons resided.

After a brief rest, the armies of the barbarians and demons simultaneously began to penetrate deeper into the Youyun and Youyun states.

With some cultivators joining the battle, the siege speed of both armies was significantly slowed down.

However, driving them out of Youyun and Youyun provinces is an extremely difficult task.

At this moment, the human race suddenly realized that from the moment the barbarians and demons crossed the northern border wall together, Qingyun Nine Provinces was no longer the human race's Qingyun Nine Provinces.

The demon and barbarian races that left this continent years ago have truly returned; this has become a fact.

(Ji You will probably wake up in the next chapter. This part of the outline is a bit complicated, so I need to reorganize it. Please vote with your monthly tickets.)
(End of this chapter)