Subscribe to the MTL WORLD (@mtlworld1) YouTube Channel.
***********************************
Novel: [The Primordial Law]
Volume 3: [Qiu Prefecture Lantern Festival]
Chapter 100 (244): [The Desire to Establish a Demon Kingdom]
(100th of Volume 3)
Translator: Shadow Knight AK
Editor: Shadow Knight AK
***********************************
A bright moon hung high in the sky, draping mountains and seas in silver gauze, its light enduring through the ages. The night was thick, covering heaven and earth in a black curtain, concealing all evil in its shadows.
Clouds raced across the horizon like galloping horses.
Zuoqiu Hongting, wearing a wooden mask and a green Daoist robe that accentuated her slender waist, her bearing extraordinary, flashed to the top of a watchtower on the Inner City wall of South City.
Behind her lay the broad central avenue of the Outer City, stretching dozens of meters wide, leading straight to Bing Juze Lake on the coast. From there, one could see the brightly lit Bright Moon Seven Stars Pavilion, shimmering like a constellation on the sea.
Facing the Inner City, the towering Taoli (Peach and Plum) Mountain, reaching straight to the heavens like a celestial pillar, stood eternally at the edge of her vision.
Below the watchtower, from the Attendant Hall in the Inner City to Bing Juze Lake in the Outer City, the entire north-south Heaven and Earth Avenue was filled with deafening cries of battle. Spiritual Qi clashed in dazzling displays of light, and blood stained the ground for miles.
Each Inheritor fought within their own isolated battlefield.
What a Lantern Festival, a night painted crimson with blood.
The naked corpses hanging from the Inner City gate had long been cut down by Cang Li and Li Ling, crashing to the ground.
In the plaza before the gate, a ten-foot-tall bronze cauldron still bubbled with boiling water, stewing flesh and blood. The gruesome scene within the cauldron was enough to make countless human Martial-Mystic Cultivators retch.
"Swish!"
Luansheng Linyou appeared on the city wall, his face cold and handsome, his eyes bright and eerily captivating, his silver-white hair swaying gently.
He murmured, "I thought you would flee the city with the remnants of the Zuoqiu Clan, the Jiu Li Tribe, and the Zhu Clan, clinging to life. But you couldn't bear to give up. You've killed even more people!"
Zuoqiu Hongting remained unmoved by his words: "In this chaotic world, where can we run? If we don't fight today, our clan, our province, will die tomorrow."
"You're severely wounded, your combat strength has greatly diminished. This so-called fight is nothing but a desperate attempt at suicide," Luansheng Linyou pointed out her weakness.
Zuoqiu Hongting's gaze remained unwavering: "If I seek death, what price will you pay?"
Luansheng Linyou stopped a hundred yards from the city tower, sitting on a crenel.
He gazed at the distant sea and the bright moon, speaking calmly, "One hundred thousand lanterns have been lit, creating a dazzling sea of stars in the water. Soon, the Immortal Turtle will arrive bearing the Dragon Palace, the venue will open, and the Lantern Festival will truly begin. It's a pity that this festive atmosphere belongs only to the Far Western Ashlands and our allies."
"Just like the Lingxiao Realm, which will soon establish a glorious and prosperous Demon Kingdom, its territory will far surpass the current Twenty-Eight Provinces. The Ashen Region and the provinces swallowed by the Nether Realm of the Dead a thousand years ago will all be included. At the founding ceremony, all allies will be rewarded according to their merits. The Demon Clan, Ember Spirits, Dead Spirits, humans... all will celebrate together!"
Zuoqiu Hongting said, "Unfortunately, humans will have a low status in the Demon Kingdom, treated as livestock and food, to be slaughtered and cooked at will. I doubt many human Martial-Mystic Cultivators will support its establishment."
"Roar!"
A dragon's roar echoed through the night sky.
Long Dian, stepping on the battle intent of the Azure Dragon Battle Technique Intent, ascended the city walls through the mist.
His twelve-thousand-jin bronze battle spear struck the ground of the rampart with a heavy blow, causing seven hundred scriptures inscribed on the spear to flash.
The entire city wall shuddered violently.
"Young Venerable, Tang Wanqiu was caught off guard by the Demon Clan Martial-Mystic Cultivators of Yin Mountain, and the Snow Sword Tang Court has been routed. Qi Jin has led troops to pursue them and will surely bring back all the Immortality Pill Tokens, Dragon Seed Tickets, and Dragon Bone Tickets."
Long Dian, one of the Three Immortals, known as the Banished Immortal, possessed a face of unparalleled masculine beauty. His golden armor accentuated his tall and sturdy physique.
He continued, "Zuoqiu Hong's remaining combat strength is likely less than seventy percent. How about I take over?"
"Very well! After tonight, the titles of East Dragon, West Pig, South Tiger, and North Sword will likely need to be revised," Luansheng Linyou said.
Long Dian remained calm: "The top experts in the Five Seas Realm change every few years. I've never paid much attention to such titles. The true game of the strongest in the mortal realm is the decades-long struggle in the Dao Seed Realm, where the top experts from the past ten generations of the Five Seas Realm gather. That's when they truly enter the hall of power. As for those Immortals who have withdrawn from mortal conflicts, that's another world entirely."
"With the Dragon Bone, Dragon Seed, and Immortal Pill, you and I will surely conquer every peak of mortal Martial-Mystic Cultivation within a few years."
Luansheng Linyou's gaze swept over the chaotic battlefield below the city walls. His figure flickered, transforming into a graceful silver arc as he headed toward the Bright Moon Seven Stars Pavilion, intending to eliminate Ge Xiantong and Zuoqiu Hong's remaining forces first.
A flicker of surprise finally crossed Zuoqiu Hongting's calm eyes. She stepped onto the "Peach and Plum Blossoms Fill the World" rain, her figure floating through the air like a fleeting shadow as she pursued him.
"Zuoqiu Hong, your opponent is me!"
Long Dian's golden armor blazed like a scorching sun. His Spiritual Qi surged with overwhelming power, his speed increasing dramatically as he collided head-on with the rain-filled sky, intercepting Zuoqiu Hongting.
.....
On the sea.
The Bright Moon Seven Stars Pavilion was festooned with bright lanterns. On either side of the grand staircase stood rows of figures clad in white robes, each bearing a longsword on their back.
These were the Five Seas Realm Martial-Mystic Cultivators trained by Thousand Mile Mountain.
Both the Immortal Grove and the Heavenly Pavilion were subsidiaries of Thousand Mile Mountain.
Thousand Mile Mountain earned its name by recruiting only one in a thousand talents.
As merchants, they had no desire to get involved in the power struggles of the world, and they sought to offend no one.
They had helped the Zuoqiu Clan conceal Hidden Sect Martial-Mystic Cultivators because they believed Zuoqiu Hong might be a Hidden Dragon, and they wanted to invest early.
Now, it seemed Luansheng Linyou might be a better investment.
Just three miles from the Bright Moon Seven Stars Pavilion, Ge Xiantong was trapped within a Formation constructed from an Ashen Region, facing off alone against five Dead Spirit powerhouses from the Nether Realm of the Dead.
Each of these creatures had a beast's head and wore blood-soaked robes. They had developed sentience and were the Nether Realm's Heavenly Prides from a certain domain.
At the edge of the Ashen Region stood thousands of Spirit Tablets, shrouded in Ghost Shadows controlled by Ming Niansheng.
The twenty-eight Great Spiritual Masters presiding over the Formation were handpicked by Luansheng Linyou from various forces under his command, specifically to serve as a formidable challenge for Ge Xiantong.
The main conductor of the formation was Tantai Jing, ranked third in the Eastern Territory's First-Tier, hailing from Huaiyi Island.
Huaiyi Island, one of the Three Island Barbarians of the Eastern Territory, had already submitted to the Dragon Sect and been incorporated into Luansheng Linyou's forces.
Luansheng Linyou's original Direct Lineage troops, including the Quanrong and Que Clan elites from the Western Territory whom he had placed great hopes in, had been nearly annihilated by the Imperial Court and the Zuoqiu Clan. This forced him to resort to employing the Eastern Barbarians.
With the final moment approaching, everyone revealed their trump cards and hidden reserves.
Many forces that had previously remained neutral or had no intention of participating in the struggle for dominance now joined the fray as allies.
Luansheng Linyou's victory seemed all but assured. His backing was too vast, his plans too long in the making.
With the support of the Calamity Crossing Temple, the establishment of a Demon Kingdom might truly become an unstoppable trend. Who wouldn't want to pledge their allegiance in advance?
....
On Taoli (Peach and Plum) Mountain, as the old-generation powerhouses of the Major Powers witnessed Luansheng Linyou's trump cards and hidden schemes gradually revealed, they realized the situation had taken a turn for the worse.
Some rushed back to the Northern Territory, while others hurried to the Eastern and Western Territories...
They all suspected that the demon calamity sweeping across the world might have erupted simultaneously.
Their only hope now was that the Calamity Crossing Temple wouldn't side with the power behind Luansheng Linyou. If that happened, the human Cultivators of the Lingxiao Realm would still have a chance to resist.
In the Third Heaven.
The elders of the Zuoqiu Clan stared blankly at the Changqing (Evergreen) Temple, then at the swarming insects on the Inner City walls, utterly bewildered.
"How does the Changqing (Evergreen) Temple connect to the underground? What's the deal with that Eight Trigrams Well? You Daoist sects have been hiding some deep secrets!"
"Hong Ting must have told him the Changqing (Evergreen) Temple's secrets."
"Forget about the Changqing (Evergreen) Temple for now. The situation is already catastrophic. Let's just hope that young Li can arrive in time to turn the tide. The emergence of seven Lord-Marquis Grade larvae, summoning the insect swarm, is truly a stroke of heaven's favor."
Zuoqiu Ling glared at the Hidden Lord, his Spiritual Qi conveying his thoughts: "I'm certain Hong Ting knows nothing about the Changqing (Evergreen) Temple's secrets. Just who is that kid?"
The Hidden Lord's emotions were mixed.
He was pleased that at this critical moment, Li Weiyi's cultivation had advanced further, allowing him to slay two Inheritor-level experts and summon the insect swarm.
This would undoubtedly rekindle hope on a battlefield teetering on the brink of despair.
If Li Weiyi truly managed to turn the tide tonight, the Imperial Court and the Thundercloud Sect wouldn't be able to move against him so easily.
At least on the surface, they'd have to consider the repercussions.
Given the current crisis in the Lingxiao Realm, they likely wouldn't have the energy to do so anyway.
But his worries were far more numerous!
Could Li Weiyi really turn the tide?
As for the Changqing (Evergreen) Temple's secrets...
The Hidden Lord suspected they were connected to the Jiu Li Tribe's matriarch, the Leader's wife.
"A thousand years ago," the Hidden Lord said, "a Transcendent Founding Ancestor from the Daoist branch of the Zuoqiu Clan married into the Jiu Li Tribe. It's perfectly normal for the Jiu Li Tribe to know something you don't."
.....
The Ninth Heaven of Taoli (Peach and Plum) Mountain existed in the void above the Dispel Rune.
Transcendent beings gathered there, unlike any Martial-Mystic Cultivators of the mortal realm.
They resembled immortals and gods discussing the Dao.
The Second Palace Master of Lingxiao Palace's imperial carriage was as vast as a palace hall, resplendent with gold and jade, like a heavenly palace suspended above the sea of clouds. Scriptures swirled around it like stars in the night sky.
Her voice drifted out: "Truly marvelous. For ten years, you've fought each other to the point of chaos, completely forgetting the dangers from beyond. Only the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival finally awakened the world's rebels. Are you still going to fight? Will you continue your campaign?"
"Until the Grand Palace Master issues a decree of self-reproach and rescinds the Xiaotian Edict, we must fight on for the sake of the people of the world. We will break through Lingxiao City and reach the gates of Lingxiao Palace to demand she admit her mistakes," declared a Transcendent from the Northern Territory, seated in meditation amidst the clouds, a miniature world swirling around him.
The voice from the imperial carriage replied: "By what right do you presume to judge the Grand Palace Master? The Twenty-Eight Provinces of Lingxiao rest on her shoulders, not yours. You have no authority to speak of the people of the world."
"The Grand Palace Master's calamity, her danger, her terror, surpasses even that of the Demon Clan. As long as she lives, we will live in constant fear. As long as she lives, more human factions will defect to the Demon Clan, and the righteous army will never abandon its goal of razing Lingxiao City. There can be no compromise," another Transcendent voice echoed through the void.
Inside the Imperial Carriage, a voice sneered, "Stir it up, stir it up! Keep stirring until the Lingxiao Realm becomes a Demon Kingdom! Then we'll all die together!"
A refined-looking Elder in Confucian robes sat beneath an Ancient Peach Tree as thick as a millstone, alongside the Calamity Crossing Temple Immortal Master.
His eyes narrowed slightly: "It seems the Calamity Crossing Temple actually favors the Demon Clan. Hosting the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival to lure the old fogeys to Qiu Prefecture City - isn't that just making it easier for the Far Western Ashlands to succeed?"
The Calamity Crossing Temple Immortal Master forced a bitter smile: "As a human, of course I want the Calamity Crossing Temple to support the Zuoqiu Clan. But the temple's rules are greater than any individual's will. Let me ask you: even without the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival, wouldn't the Far Western Ashlands still intervene in the Zuoqiu Clan's struggle for dominance? Wouldn't the Nether Realm of the Dead still try to exploit the chaos?"
"All the variables and hidden forces at play during the Hidden Dragon Lantern Festival - everything that would have unfolded in the struggle for dominance anyway - will still unfold."
"By staging this rehearsal in advance, haven't you gained a head start in preparing for it? So, it's perfectly fair."
"In my opinion," the Elder scoffed, his gaze fixed on the battle unfolding in Qiu Prefecture City as if studying a battlefield sand table, "the Calamity Crossing Temple simply believes that choosing the Far Western Ashlands will bring the chaos in the Lingxiao Realm to a quicker end. Humph!"
_______________________
END OF CHAPTER
Subscribe to the MTL WORLD (@mtlworld1) YouTube Channel.
***********************************