Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

Yun Nongyu's beautiful face was turned towards the entrance of Jianmu. She was eager to know the situation inside Jianmu, more anxious than anyone else, but also calmer than anyone else.

She has already begun to use Taoist magic to shield herself from the perception of heavenly secrets.

Chapter 155 Battle of Jianmu

"Why is there only such a small amount of demon core?" asked Chenzha, a red-haired, black-skinned celestial demon from Jianmu.

Before him appeared a phantom image: a monk standing there. This was the holy monk who had contacted the Blood Toad, and he was also the one who was looking after the Heavenly Demons, having his subordinate Buddhist disciples help the Heavenly Demons collect demon cores, thus indirectly supporting the Heavenly Demons' attack on the Daoist sect.

There was a slight mishap; we were able to get you even more, but unfortunately, something unexpected happened.

The crimson flames scorched the狰狞 (zhengning - ferocious/hideous) face of Chenzha, whose protruding fangs resembled barbed knives.

"This is far from enough. Send some more demon cores! Your Buddhist sect has built numerous temples and occupied many excellent cultivation sites. You can collect far more demon cores than this. Even if there are any unexpected events, eliminate those events before sending more!"

Faced with the command of the prophet, the monk remained unmoved. Even though it was an illusion, his unwavering majesty was even greater, subtly warning the heavenly demon.

"You cannot command me. This accident resulted in the deaths of my two junior brothers. Their demon cores are no longer under my jurisdiction. You celestial demons, please do as you please."

The old woman standing next to Chenzha tapped her cane:

“Master Dazhi, don’t think we don’t know that your Buddhist sect has a method for escaping and reviving. Even after a sudden death, one can become a relic and seek resurrection. Don’t try to fool us. Helping us deal with the Taoist sect will also benefit you!”

The illusory image of the monk Dazhi suddenly opened its eyes. Its anger and oppressive aura pierced the vast distance, spreading throughout the demon camp of Jianmu. It said in a deep voice:

【The relics are gone too! My junior brothers, Puxin and Dabian, even had their relics completely erased! If you think that egg can influence the outcome of the battle, then use your cultivation to repair it!】

As soon as he finished speaking, the illusory image of the monk disappeared.

There is an unspoken suspicion among the Heavenly Demons. They can unite as one in the face of the big picture, but they would never be willing to sacrifice their hard-earned cultivation to help the Heavenly Demon Prince be born sooner.

Exerting physical strength, sweating, or bleeding is acceptable, but sacrificing one's cultivation level is going too far.

They preferred to determine who caused the Heavenly Demon Prince's injury and who bore the primary responsibility, and then use their cultivation to repair him.

"It is said that a small group of demons moved into the area where the two monks who died unexpectedly were mentioned earlier. Their demon cores could have been used by us..."

"What was that bald guy talking about earlier? Who exactly intercepted our demon core?!"

"I don't believe it's really such a coincidence that such an accident happened at the last moment. It must be that the bald man saw that the matter of the Heavenly Demon Clan was about to be accomplished and wanted to find a way to weaken our strength. Before, dealing with the Daoist sect was still far from being a done deal, but now that it's almost done, the Buddhist sect has also included us in their plans to deal with us."

Such suspicions are quite natural. The Heavenly Demons have fought against high-ranking monks before and know that in such remote and desolate places, which great cultivator could possibly kill both of them completely?

"We must not let Buddhism succeed."

The celestial demons looked in the direction where the Queen Mother of the West had been guarding for so many years, and it truly was an easy place to defend and difficult to attack!

The Heavenly Gate became an insurmountable barrier, blocking the Heavenly Demons' attacks, while the Heavenly Pool transformed into a giant mirror, the purple light emanating from it causing the Heavenly Demons considerable trouble. The Dao Swords that flew up from time to time also brought many casualties.

The celestial demons confronted the Queen Mother of the West in the Jianmu tree for many years, experiencing almost all the profound and mysterious Taoist arts.

"Can you feel it? It seems that the Queen Mother of the West and her allies are running out of strength. Their attacks have been unusually fierce lately. It looks like they are going to put on a final show of force to keep us on our guard and prevent us from making any rash moves."

"We can try borrowing the Great Wilderness Queen Mother's Diagram. Long ago, some people suspected that the current Queen Mother of the West of the Daoist sect had some connection with the one from the original Witchcraft Department."

As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion arose from behind, and several screams pierced the air.

"What happened?" The red-haired Chenzha turned around and saw the corpse of one of his subordinates flying up.

A tall, black-clad figure burst into the place, stepping on a giant black python as if riding a raging tsunami.

Ordinary celestial demons could hardly withstand his extreme yin power and could only retreat step by step, leaving dark flame traces where the black snake crawled.

"I was planning to sneak in and surprise you, but with the gate in front and the back so well secured, I still managed to slip up."

The old woman recognized the aura. Holding the Heavenly Demon Prince's egg, she said with hatred:

"It was Chu Mingkong! He caused the Heavenly Demon Prince's eggshell to shatter, and he also caused the Blood Toad Prince to perish in that lowly lower realm!"

"A parasitic egg, and it has a rather imposing name. Do you know what the Smiling Buddha left behind before he died?" Chu Mingkong laughed.

"Tell me, and I'll leave you with a whole corpse!" The old woman's face was filled with anger. She held an egg in one hand and a bone flute in the other.

The flute music started out of nowhere, like a mournful cry from a desolate grave. The demonic sound of the flute transformed into several skeletons, which worked together to slash at Chu Mingkong.

Chu Mingkong activated the sword intent avatar of the Xuan Nu Sword Scripture to intercept the skeletons.

The moment they clashed, Chu Mingkong sensed the difference in their abilities. This sword intent avatar might not last long, and what kind of treasure was that bone flute that emitted the demonic sound? Its power was extraordinary.

Chu Mingkong acted so arrogantly because he dared not be careless. This reckless appearance was an accident. He did not expect that he would be exposed immediately just by touching the Heavenly Demon's array barrier in the Nirvana Domain.

He glanced at the black python and thought to himself, "What a pity."

Because they are separated in different worlds, this black python has no consciousness of Bai Niang, only the powerful force trained by Bai Niang.

This place is still the heartland of the Heavenly Demons, and fighting on foreign soil, there are many things we need to be wary of.

Just as he was thinking about this, Chu Mingkong felt a tremor run down his body.

It turned out that the ground was spewing out terrifying demonic energy. Even though the black python had a strong body, under the attack of the demonic energy, its scales were as if they had been scraped by a steel knife, leaving obvious wounds.

This demonic aura poured out from the formation on the ground, making it difficult to contain. Moreover, it targeted the black python's extreme yin power and used its extreme yang power to attack.

Chu Mingkong was unable to separate his own consciousness to control the black python, so he could only let it stall for time.

"Nongyu, go and act with Master and the others. Keep an eye out for ambushes for them, and while you're at it, try to communicate with the Queen Mother of the West to see if she can look out for us!"

Since Zuo Qiuchi and the others didn't have the Extreme Abyss Body to protect them, it was safer for Yun Nongyu to anticipate attacks and keep them alert.

"I'll try my best." Yun Nongyu nodded in response and flew to Zuo Donglu's side.

With a black body and red hair, Chenzha had a face like a demon from hell, and each of his four hands held a weapon. His flawless eighth-level cultivation released a Saint Venerable-level pressure.

He fixed his gaze on Chu Mingkong and asked suspiciously:

"This shouldn't be happening. How could you possibly be here? How could a few people from the lower realms possibly overcome all obstacles, sneak into the Heavenly Realm, and even manage to get in behind us?"

Chu Mingkong realized that this red-haired celestial demon was stronger, so he took him as his opponent, thus relieving some of the pressure on Zuo Qiuchi and the others.

"You can come here and become parasites, but I'm not allowed to come here and blow up shit? I was originally planning to crack the yolk out of that egg, but I'll kill you first."

Chapter 156 Dao Sword Divine Thunder

Chenzha held a shield with a ghost face on it, which had the head of a demon on it. It seemed that a powerful demon had been skinned alive and then put on the shield.

The face on the ghost shield twisted and tried to emerge, but Chenzha glared angrily and exerted his strength again, and an incongruous, huge ghost head emerged from the shield.

A monstrous creature with a thick neck and a mouthful of fangs rammed into Chu Mingkong's black python.

"Your opponent is me. You think you can be distracted just because you have two more hands than me?" Chu Mingkong leaped into the air, twirling the Asura Divine Sword in his hand. Huge rings of fire fell like meteors, instantly smashing into the neck of the ghost-faced shield.

The blow struck flesh squarely, yet it reverberated with the sound of steel clashing. Extreme Yin energy silently poured forth within the flames, and the hard neck began to show signs of melting and erosion.

Chenzha quickly withdrew the power of his shield, looking sadly at the wounds on the divine weapon, wondering if it could ever be restored.

"The power of extreme Yin is indeed unheard of, but extreme Yang is your greatest nemesis. I will tear off your skin and head afterward and reforge this divine shield!"

The red-haired celestial demon held a crimson banner high in one hand, and the sky above Jianmu suddenly darkened, only to be illuminated again by something.

A red light appeared in the sky, followed by two, then three—

Meteorites rained down, trailing long tails of fire and radiating blinding, intense sunlight. The heavens and earth within the Jianmu tree trembled, and Chenzha, holding a crimson banner, seemed to be the ruler of this place.

Chenzha was in the magic array of the Heavenly Demon's camp, and as if a god were present, his aura continued to rise.

"Nongyu, can you communicate with the Queen Mother of the West? We can't just rely on our efforts here!" Zuo Qiuchi confronted the old woman, barely managing to speak with Yun Nongyu while her eyes were wary of the cluster of extremely hot meteorites in the sky.

"It's difficult. That barrier blocks all spiritual exploration, and even my divination is unable to glean any information. However, the Queen Mother of the West should have noticed the commotion here."

Zuo Qiuchi unleashed the Fallen Immortal Sword Technique once more, stirring up towering waves of fire. Each strike was more powerful than the last, deflecting every attack of the Bone Flute Demonic Sound. Surrounded by flames, she resembled a fire phoenix.

"Donglu, try to see if you can help Mingkong shoot down those meteors!"

"Lower realm sword cultivator, with such a severe deficiency in your soul realm, you still dare to be distracted in front of this old woman?" The withered old woman sneered, her demonic melody changing as her skeleton transformed into a giant, pale white spider. The spiderweb woven from her demonic melody was unfathomable and not to be underestimated.

"So what if you're distracted? So what if your cultivation level is higher? I haven't seen you suppress me much. You're still a bit weaker than that Heavenly Demon with a tuft of red hair on his head."

The old woman's face was gloomy, not because she underestimated her opponent or did not exert her full strength, but because the female sword cultivator's attack carried a trace of extremely yin power. When her demonic sound fell, its power was first partially neutralized by this extremely yin power.

Moreover, this woman's swordsmanship and sword intent were somewhat strange. In her unrestrained and bold style, the power of each sword strike was constantly increasing. It seemed that as long as she kept swinging her sword, the power of this swordsmanship could increase endlessly.

"Ignorant fool! I'll stop your sword!"

The old woman appeared behind Zuo Qiuchi in an instant, her cane brimming with immense Yang power and her own powerful demonic energy, and slammed down on Zuo Qiuchi. Zuo Qiuchi met the attack with his sword, and under the immense pressure, his sword dance was temporarily halted.

Yun Nongyu foresaw Zuo Qiuchi's situation beforehand, and transformed into the will of the Mysterious Maiden to unleash the killing power of the Mysterious Maiden on Zuo Qiuchi. She then summoned several sword intent phantoms to assist her.

As the saying goes, "One should strike while the iron is hot, but the momentum will wane after a second attempt and be exhausted after a third." Once the offensive momentum is interrupted, it will be difficult to regain it.

Fortunately, after receiving help from Yun Nongyu, Zuo Qiuchi felt much less pressured and swept the old woman away with a single sword strike.

"I almost forgot that I also know the Mysterious Maiden Sword Scripture. I managed to stop this sword strike, but can you stop the next one?"

The shadow beneath Zuo Qiuchi's feet rose up and transformed into another version of her, ethereal and aloof, fighting alongside Xuan Nu's sword intent illusion, while her true self once again took the initiative to meet the attack head-on.

Previously, they were slightly at a disadvantage, but now they were gradually becoming evenly matched. This situation enraged the old woman. Could she withstand a few more sword strikes?

Zuo Donglu infused her extreme Yin power into her flying sword, unleashing a barrage of swords aimed at the falling meteors in the sky. However, she could only strike down a few sparks, while the several terrifyingly powerful giant meteors remained unharmed.

Even though her flying sword had been infused with extreme Yin power, it instantly melted away when it approached those giant meteorites.

"I was worried about hurting my disciples and grand-disciples before, but now they've all been killed by that sword intent, and there aren't many left. I'll join in too. Chenzha, you guys watch your heads, don't let me poison those few tufts of hair off your heads!"

A celestial demon with a head full of poisonous thorns and rotting, hollowed-out skin leaped out, spitting out a sky full of venom with a large mouthful.

Even the black python couldn't withstand the corrosive venom; its scales were riddled with holes from the dripping poison. Some of the little demons, who were barely managing to fight the sword intent, couldn't dodge in time and died directly in the poisonous rain.

Meteor showers from the sky, demonic energy on the ground, and attacks from demonic sounds and poisons—danger lurks everywhere.

Seeing this, Chu Mingkong dared not continue fighting with Chenzha. He turned around and leaped back to Zuo Qiuchi and the others.

The massive body fell, and the Moon Eclipse Greatsword was driven into the ground. A black swamp rippled across the earth, and the ripples grew more and more intense, eventually transforming into a wave of extremely yin energy that barely protected them.

"It's been a long time since I've fought for this long and still haven't been able to take down a single person." Chu Mingkong's expression was solemn. He didn't know if it would work. He took out the black relic, chanted the Buddhist mantra, and drove the black relic to shoot out a beam of Buddhist light, which shot towards the meteorite in the sky like shooting the sun.

Just then, a Dao sword flew over and pierced the old woman's heart, suppressing her cultivation and extinguishing her life force.

The demons were horrified and enraged. Chenzha threw out several pills, which flew into the old woman's mouth, but to no avail.

Those few life-saving pills, capable of reviving the dead and restoring flesh and bones, had their medicinal power reversed under the influence of the Dao Sword, turning into poison and severing the old woman's physical and spiritual meridians.