I've already become a god, and you're telling me about the ancient demon invasion?

Meanwhile, Black Wind Old Ghost and his henchmen had quietly slipped into a large hall hidden deep underground.

The place was dark and deep, filled with an intensely dense, chilling demonic energy, completely out of place with the spiritual energy of the outside world. The walls were covered with strange, twisted runes, faintly glowing with a dark red light, like the blood of living beings. At the far end of the hall, a tall figure sat atop a towering black stone throne. The person was shrouded in a wide black robe, except for two points of scarlet light, like congealed blood, hidden deep within the hood, coldly gazing down.

Black Wind Old Ghost's heart tightened. He quickly stepped forward, bowed deeply at the foot of the steps, and said in a fearful tone, "Commander, this humble servant... this humble servant is incompetent and failed to capture or kill Wang Tianlong."

The four Nascent Soul cultivators behind him also knelt on one knee, heads bowed and silent. Only suppressed breathing and the faint hissing of demonic energy flowed in the hall.

"We had made meticulous arrangements, relying on the 'Bone-Corroding Black Banner' and the 'Five Absolutes Locking Sky Formation' you bestowed upon us, thinking we were foolproof..." Cold sweat beaded on the Black Wind Old Ghost's forehead, his voice growing increasingly hoarse, "But unexpectedly, that 'Wang the Runner' was as cunning as a fox, sensing something amiss at the last moment and failing to fully enter the core of the formation... His wind escape techniques were nearing perfection, and he possessed a speed-enhancing spiritual treasure, making his movements unpredictable and treacherous. Even with the five of us joining forces to surround him, he still managed to escape by using injuries to create an opening... We have failed in our duties; please punish us, Commander!"

The figure shrouded in black robes remained motionless, only the two points of red light seemed to deepen slightly. After a long while, a low, hoarse sound, like the scraping of metal, slowly echoed through the hall:

"waste."

Just two words were enough to make the five people below tremble and lower their heads even further.

"By borrowing your heaven-reaching spiritual treasures and setting up a void-locking formation, five against one... you still couldn't defeat a mere Nascent Soul cultivator from the lower realm." The Grand Commander's voice was devoid of emotion, yet it was more chilling than any angry rebuke. "What I want is not an excuse."

Black Wind Old Ghost lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to speak. He hated the slippery "Wang Paopao" a thousand times over in his heart, and was terrified of the person sitting on the throne. The deathly silence in the hall lasted for a moment.

On the high seat, the two crimson lights flickered slightly, and a deep voice rang out again, carrying an undeniable authority: "This time, let it go."

Black Wind Old Ghost and the others felt a little relieved, but dared not show it in the slightest, and still bowed their heads deeply.

"At a time when manpower is needed, I will give you another chance to redeem yourselves." The Grand Commander's voice was icy. "Go, collect living souls. Each person must submit one hundred souls of Nascent Soul stage cultivators, or the essence of demonic beasts of the same level. There must be no mistakes. This is necessary for the grand plan of 'The Descent of the Holy Realm,' so you must do your utmost."

Black Wind Old Ghost felt a chill in his heart. A hundred Nascent Soul souls... This was no small number. It meant that another bloodbath would be stirred up in the human realm. And it had to be done secretly. Once exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Black Wind," the Grand Commander's voice suddenly addressed him alone, "You don't need to go out these days. Go to the Soul Refining Hall and help them refine the 'Ten Thousand Soul Banner.' Also, retrieve his Heavenly Treasure."

Upon hearing the words "Soul Refining Hall," the Black Wind Old Ghost's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, his brows furrowing tightly. It was no good place—a place where wailing spirits echoed day and night, and where resentment filled the air. Those who sought to refine their souls there would not only have their minds easily corrupted, but their very souls would also be constantly battling against the pervasive, insidious erosion of resentment, causing immense suffering. But he dared not utter a single objection, and could only bow his head and reply, "Yes, I obey the Grand Commander's command."

"Everyone, step back."

As if granted a pardon, the crowd bowed and quietly withdrew from the suffocating hall.

Back at his temporary lodging, Black Wind Old Ghost dared not let his suppressed irritation show on his face. He walked to the window, gazing at the perpetually gloomy and oppressive "sky" outside, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He was originally a carefree rogue cultivator, whose cultivation was difficult but also fulfilling. However, during an exploration of ancient cultivator ruins, he accidentally stumbled upon the secret of a group of people who called themselves "messengers of the Holy Realm," and from then on, he was coerced and had no control over his own life.

Later, he learned that these people were not righteous cultivators from the upper realm at all, but demons who had accidentally drifted here from the ancient demon realm! They were ambitious and wanted to conquer this human realm, but they were short-handed. So, through some forbidden secret method, they re-established contact with the ancient demon realm, intending to work together from within and without to break through the barrier between the two realms and lure the demon army down.

To carry out this insane "Holy Realm Descent Plan," they needed more local cultivators as henchmen. Black Wind Old Ghost became one of the unfortunate chosen ones. Under coercion and enticement, the other party promised that if the plan succeeded, they would take him "ascend" to the so-called "Holy Realm"—the Ancient Demon Realm.

Black Wind Old Ghost knew his own aptitude was limited, and his hopes of ascending to the Spirit Realm through methodical cultivation were slim. This promise was like a poisonous straw, something he knew led to an abyss, yet he could only cling to it tightly. Over the years, he had done many shady things for them, his hands stained with the blood and souls of his comrades, sinking deeper and deeper into the mire, with no turning back.

The eerie winds of the Soul Refining Hall seemed to have already reached his spine. He sighed, composed himself, and walked towards the black hall where ghosts and demons wailed year-round.

In the vast, gloomy hall, only the ancient demon commander, seated high on his throne, remained. His crimson eyes gleamed as he muttered to himself, his voice carrying a metallic, echoing quality in the silence: "The grand plan of 'The Descent of the Holy Realm' is finally nearing completion..."

Once the passage between the two realms is securely opened and the demon army descends upon this realm, he, as the vanguard and executor of the plan, will have made the greatest contribution. At that time, with this merit, upon returning to the Holy Realm, he will receive rewards, break through the bottleneck that has troubled him for so long, and advance to the Void Refinement stage in one fell swoop—it will all be a natural outcome.

Thinking of this, the cold demonic fire in his heart couldn't help but heat up a bit. His thoughts drifted back to the distant past.

He was originally an inner disciple of the "Holy Talisman Palace," a powerful force in the ancient demon realm, with the Daoist name "Demon Dove." During a mission to explore an ancient ruin, he and several fellow disciples accidentally triggered an extremely unstable spatial turbulence and were swallowed by a violent spatial rift. It was a catastrophe; fifteen of his fellow disciples were directly annihilated in the spatial storm, their souls scattered. In the end, only five people, including him, survived by sheer luck and were thrown into this unfamiliar "human realm."

Upon arriving in this realm, they quickly realized the severity of their situation. This realm was brimming with spiritual energy, its cultivation civilization flourished, and it teemed with cultivators, almost all of whom were spiritual cultivators, completely incompatible with their demonic path. Initial reconnaissance revealed over two hundred Nascent Soul stage cultivators, scattered across various sects, dynasties, and powers. With only five demons stranded in a foreign land, their cultivation weakened, they could not even protect themselves, let alone conquer it. If exposed, they would be surrounded and annihilated, with no chance of survival.

In dire straits, he was naturally chosen as the leader because of his superior cultivation level (he was already at the peak of the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm). He used a forbidden communication technique secretly passed down by the Holy Symbol Palace, expending his vital essence, and after several years, he finally managed to send a faint message through the boundary wall back to an elder of the Holy Symbol Palace with whom he had a past relationship.

He reported the situation of this realm in detail, emphasizing in particular its abundant spiritual veins and relatively "loose" (in his view) ruling structure. When the news reached him, the elder was greatly shocked and quickly realized the immense value it contained—a resource-rich lower realm that had not been extensively invaded by the demonic realm!

The elder immediately issued a clear order: they were to lie in wait and, at all costs, search the human realm for any possible natural spatial rift similar to the previous ruin, connecting to the ancient demon realm. Once found, the elder would use a secret method to transmit a set of evil formations that would utilize the soul energy of specific beings (especially cultivators) to tear, stabilize, and expand such a rift, thereby opening a relatively stable passage between the two realms and paving the way for the arrival of the demon army.

Thus, he—the Demon Dove—led his four surviving fellow disciples, secretly searching the human realm. Finally, on a remote continent called "Tiannan," they indeed sensed a hidden, yet undeniably real, weak point in the space leading to the ancient demon realm. Immediately afterward, the elder's interdimensional transmission of power was successful, and the "Boundary-Breaking Demon-Summoning Array," requiring a massive sacrifice of living souls, fell into his hands.

Over the years, they have remained hidden in the shadows, either acting personally or by inducing and coercing local cultivators like Black Wind Old Ghost, who have been caught red-handed, to create numerous tragedies and chaos, continuously collecting the souls of cultivators and powerful demonic beasts. Although the process has not been smooth sailing and has attracted the attention and investigation of some forces in the human realm, overall, the progress has been acceptable. Now, the vengeful spirits and essences accumulated in the blood pool are not far from what is needed to activate the great formation.

"Soon..." The Demon Dove stretched slightly beneath its black robes, its crimson eyes gleaming with even greater coldness. "When this realm becomes my Holy Race's hunting ground, that will be the time for me to ascend to the Void Refinement Realm and return to the core of the Holy Symbol Palace!"

A cold and greedy thought silently spread throughout this underground demonic temple.