Fantasy: I, the Great Celestial Venerable of the Dao

He looked up at the monstrous horde stretching to the sky in the distance, his sword intent growing ever more intense.

More and more people were rescued, and the fleeing group began to regroup.

The survivors from the new world also joined the rescuers and explained the situation to each of them.

Hundreds of celestial beings gathered in the makeshift tents.

Wan Jianyi, representing the Qingyun Sect, stood beside the main seat—which was empty, reserved for Dao Xuan.

"Fellow Daoist Fang," Wan Jianyi said, looking at a Celestial Immortal with a haggard face and bloodshot eyes.

"You're saying that ten years ago, these monsters were less than one percent as strong as they are now?"

The powerful man named Fang Yuan nodded with a wry smile, his voice hoarse:

To be precise, it's probably less than one in a thousand.

Ten years ago, these "Taotie" were just scattered monsters, with the strongest being only equivalent to what you call the "Shangqing Realm".

But ever since heaven and earth began to merge, they've gone mad.

It devoured all living beings with frenzied abandon, its strength increasing at an incredible rate.

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuan, Hun Tiandi, Chonglou, Donghua Dijun, and the others' expressions changed drastically.

Ten years, and your strength has increased a hundredfold or a thousandfold?

This is beyond reason and goes against the natural order!

"You all don't know this," Fang Yuan continued, his tone full of helplessness.

"These gluttonous monsters... they can devour anything that contains energy."

Humans, demons, monsters, ghosts, immortals... even their own kind, even plants, minerals, even the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

"The more you eat, the stronger you become; there are virtually no bottlenecks."

He paused, a flash of pain crossing his eyes:

"Over the past decade, our world has merged with twenty-three other worlds."

Some were strong, some were weak, but without exception... they were all eaten up.

Today, less than one percent of the original world's population remains.

The tent was deathly silent.

Everyone can imagine how horrific the scene must have been.

World after world was swallowed up, city after city was ravaged by blood, and billions of lives died in despair.

Ultimately, they became nutrients for the monster's growth.

"How many of those celestial-level Taotie are there?" the Soul Emperor asked in a deep voice.

His voice trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Fang Yuan remained silent for a long time before slowly extending a finger: "At least... more than one hundred."

And this number is still increasing.

After each great battle, they devour the corpses, and new powerful beings are born.

"What about Golden Immortals?" Gu Yuan's voice was somewhat hoarse. "Have any Golden Immortal-level Taotie appeared?"

Fang Yuan shook his head: "Not for now."

Our world once merged with a very special world.

The people there do not practice cultivation, yet they have developed a civilization called "technology".

The communication equipment they manufacture can transmit messages instantly from thousands of miles away, and can even transmit images and sounds.

Later, the weapon refiners of our world incorporated and improved upon the methods of weapon refinement, creating this "communication jade talisman."

He took out several palm-sized, crystal-clear jade talismans and distributed them to everyone:

"Through this, all the strong can contact each other at any time."

I can say with certainty that, to this day, no one has ever witnessed a Taotie at the Golden Immortal level. But…”

He hesitated for a moment: "But we have detected a terrifying aura deep in the east, far surpassing the peak of the Celestial Immortal realm."

We suspect... that might be a nascent Golden Immortal-level Taotie.

The group took the jade talisman and probed it with their divine senses, and indeed discovered its profound mystery.

It can not only contact a person individually, but also send group messages, and even transmit real-time images and sounds.

It's much more convenient and advanced than traditional communication tools.

"It's good that there are no Golden Immortals..." A rogue immortal from the Immortal Continent breathed a sigh of relief.

But then he realized the schadenfreude in his words and blushed.

"good?"

Chonglou sneered, his scarlet pupils flashing.

"More than a hundred celestial-level monsters, plus hundreds of millions of low-level Taotie."

Enough to drown us ten times over! Not to mention those that are still gestating…”

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.

Gu Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart:

"Fellow Daoist Fang, can these jade talismans be mass-produced?"

We need to equip every participant with one for command and control purposes.

"If we have enough materials, we can make three thousand pieces a day," Fang Yuan said immediately.

"Most of the weapon refiners in our world survived, and they can help."

"Great!" Wan Jianyi's eyes lit up. "These are crucial for us!"

Gu Yuan nodded, and then used the jade talisman he had just acquired to record information about the characteristics, number, and weaknesses of the Taotie.

Send a mass message to the leaders of all participating factions.

Soon, the jade talisman vibrated, and replies came one after another.

Gu Yuan put away the jade talisman, looked around at everyone, and spoke in a firm voice:

"Everyone, the Taotie grows stronger with each bite; we must not give them the chance to continue devouring us."

We must stop them here, then counterattack! Head straight for their lair!

"A counterattack?"

A powerful figure from the new world gave a bitter smile, his face contorted with grotesque scars.

"We've tried countless times."

Each time a batch is killed, they retreat and then devour the corpses to become stronger.

Moreover, their nests are located deep in the east.

There…none of the reconnaissance teams we sent out returned alive.”

"This time is different," Wan Jian said, his voice soft but carrying an undeniable firmness.

"We have the entire Divine Land, the entire Dou Qi Continent, and the entire Four Seas and Eight Desolations as our backing."

As long as Senior Brother Sect Leader…

Before he could finish speaking, a deafening roar suddenly came from outside the tent!

The roar contained boundless hunger and madness.

The air was so strong that even the tents were shaking!

The Taotie have attacked!

The group rushed out of their tents and saw the black tide surging in again on the distant horizon.

This time, it was even more turbulent and violent than before!

Moreover, within that tide, dozens of terrifying auras soared into the sky, stirring up the wind and clouds.

A celestial-level gluttonous beast has been dispatched!

"Fight!" Gu Yuan roared.

Nearly four hundred Celestial Immortals simultaneously soared into the sky!

Following closely behind were hundreds of thousands of cultivators of various realms who had already arrived at the front lines!

"Run! Run!" the fleeing civilians cried out, scrambling and crawling.

"Don't be afraid! Follow behind me!"

An elder of the Qingyun Sect wielded his sword and killed three Taotie beasts, the sword energy transforming into a curtain of light.

The battlefield instantly intensified.

Chonglou wielded his twin swords wildly, the blades flashing like a blood-red storm, leaving a trail of blood and flesh in their wake.

His pupils locked onto an eight-armed giant demon at the mid-stage of the Celestial Immortal realm, and he charged forward with a maniacal laugh:

"Come! Fight me!"

The troll swung its eight arms in unison, each punch containing the power to shatter mountains and split the earth.

But Chonglou's knife is even faster!

Three streaks of blood flashed, and three arms were severed at the root!

"Roar—!" the troll roared in pain, and its remaining five arms slammed down wildly.

Chonglou neither dodged nor evaded, his twin swords crossed in front of his chest, demonic energy surging skyward: "Slash!"