Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1388: 746: Demon Nest Showdown (Part 2)

Baili Shouguang's gaze wavered briefly before he firmly averted his eyes, refusing to glance at the Mirror Pyramid anymore.

Glancing about, he noticed bursts of yellowish glows erupting from the soil throughout the valley, each one snatching the skulls of demon beasts precisely and dragging them beneath the earth.

Such sights had appeared endlessly during the years Baili Shouguang had witnessed them, leaving him fully aware that lurking inside those demon beast craniums was a representative of the Alien Demon Clan for each.

The Alien Demon Clan possesses physical forms yet lacks true shape, their vital essence known as the “shell” being the Spiritual Soul Crystal Core that holds their primary awareness.

This Spiritual Soul Crystal Core has the ability to conceal itself directly within any “parasite,” rendering the search for its actual location incredibly challenging.

Were it not for this valley serving as a crucial Earth Veins node, where the Alien Demon Clan poured all their resources into erecting the Mirror Pyramid and stationed formidable forces to protect it.

Baili Shouguang and his companions would have never uncovered such a vast number of Alien Demon Clan individuals.

One could claim that the rewards from this clash rival the triumphs gathered across numerous decades!

Should they manage to shatter the Alien Demon Pyramid in this single confrontation, the “merit” accumulated this round would prove nearly boundless.

With the moments ticking by, the swarm of demon beasts aligned with the Alien Demon’s forces was steadily massacred and wiped out, drawing the skirmish around the valley's edges to a close.

Baili Shouguang stood watch over the valley's central stretch, remaining ever alert should foes try to flee from its inner reaches.

Soon after, the surviving demon beast throng rallied swiftly under the sway of the Human Clan Cultivators and rapidly assembled into a Ten Thousand Beast Formation.

Zhao Xuanjing had personally devised the Ten Thousand Beast Formation, and one must recall his origins in the Spirit-controlling Immortal Sect, where mastery of Beast Taming came naturally to him.

The Alien Demon Clan excelled in the “Ant Sea” strategy, prompting Zhao Xuanjing to seize command of the demon beast horde as a direct counter to that very “Ant Sea” approach.

Right then, more than a dozen Human Clan Cultivators soared ahead, offering salutes to Baili Shouguang while detailing their individual accomplishments in the fight.

Their levels of cultivation differed, the weakest still exceeding the Nascent Soul Realm and the strongest attaining Late-stage Divinity Transformation, surpassing Baili Shouguang's own stage.

Nevertheless, every one of them regarded Baili Shouguang with deference, even a hint of fear.

This stemmed from their status as locals of the Immortal Heaven Continent, far beneath that of “extraterritorial” Immortal Cultivators in rank.

Furthermore, Baili Shouguang enjoyed profound confidence from Zhao Xuanjing and bore the duty of guiding the cultivators, which fueled their admiration.

“Master, we've wiped out the outer demon beast forces entirely. What's our next move? Kindly give us your orders!” The Late-stage Divinity Transformation Human Clan Cultivator advanced with politeness and posed the question to Baili Shouguang.

“Take charge of the beast army and secure the valley's perimeter. Stay behind the forward line. The Venerable One faces a mighty foe; that's beyond our reach to meddle in.” Baili Shouguang directed calmly, his eyes drifting once more to the valley's core.

Right at that instant, a thunderous rumble exploded from the western side!

A gigantic ashen demon monkey, riddled with injuries across its frame, burst forth abruptly from the heavy mist, vaulting over the heads of the cultivators. It swung its limbs wildly, unleashing a ferocious icy gale that roared toward Baili Shouguang and his group.

Devil Qi poured from the ashen demon monkey's form like a vast sea, its might utterly dominating, far outstripping the cultivators' strength.

The frigid gale howled onward with astonishing velocity, engulfing the cultivators before they could respond, their forms promptly sheathed in thick coatings of pale frost, plummeting earthward.

“Damn it…” Baili Shouguang muttered to himself, drawing on his protective armor to scarcely endure the icy gale's fury.

Yet the rest, along with the demon beast horde underneath, were frozen solid into icy figures in a flash.

Facing this dire shift, Baili Shouguang's heart filled with regret as he hurriedly transmitted a Divine Thought to Dragon King Little Gold, begging for its aid.

“Ah, you're dragging the king into fixing your blunders yet again. You humans are utterly useless!”

Within the valley, a sharp youthful voice rang out abruptly, mimicking an aged and wise tone on purpose, which couldn't help but bring a smile to listeners.

However, that very noise striking the ashen demon monkey's senses made it quiver violently, seized by dread, abandoning any aim to slay the cultivators. It desperately urged the icy gale to encase its body and raced to flee the valley.

Yet in the following moment, the valley floor erupted skyward, and a torrent of thick grayish-white glow burst from below.

This glow swiftly blanketed over half the valley, and where it met the ashen demon monkey, it hardened into a slim stony layer, rapidly turning the nearby icy gale to stone as well.

Crack, crack!

The ashen demon monkey thrashed fiercely, its demonic energy surging like blazing fire, repeatedly breaking the stony layer on its skin. Regrettably, the harder it fought, the quicker the stony layer grew denser beyond measure.

In mere seconds, this ashen demon monkey, boasting combat prowess close to Returning to Void, found itself firmly encased by the stony layer, slamming down onto the ground with a heavy impact.

The instant it hit the soil, the demon monkey vanished into the earth, accompanied by a low grinding noise from underneath.

After a handful of breaths, a yellowish beam lanced from the ground, dashing across the cultivators in a blur.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Successively, the frozen figures burst apart, reviving the cultivators one after another.

The yellowish beam at last came to rest near Baili Shouguang, gradually unveiling the shape of Mountain Dragon Little Gold.

Poof, poof, poof!

Little Gold parted its jaws, ejecting scores of polygonal crystals.

These polygonal crystals came in assorted sizes, the biggest akin to an egg, its faces polished mirror-smooth, amounting to five hundred and nine sides.

The tiniest measured just like a grape, bearing only eight faces.

The remaining polygonal crystals featured faces ranging from eight to five hundred, each radiating brilliant and glorious hues, laced with a strange hint of malevolence in their shine.

Such polygonal crystals serve as the essential “organ” of the Alien Demon Clan, formally called Demon Spirit Crystals, or simply Alien Crystals for short.

They stand as the sole evidence for defeating Alien Demons, redeemable for “merit” at the Taiyi Merit Stele.

Even after felling countless demon beasts in this valley clash, every trophy wound up claimed by Mountain Dragon Little Gold.

Indeed, merely these scant Alien Crystals!

Baili Shouguang eyed them with longing but held back from requesting any from Mountain Dragon.

Little Gold appraised them briefly before offhandedly flinging three or four of the tiniest Alien Crystals toward Baili Shouguang.

“Haha, Dragon King Zhao remains as bountiful as always! I offer my deepest thanks.” Baili Shouguang gleefully gathered the Alien Crystals, not forgetting to bow to Mountain Dragon Little Gold in thanks.

Little Gold gave a casual dip of its head, gulping down the leftover Alien Crystals before commanding, “Keep watch at the perimeter; the king must go support the master!”

No sooner had the words left than Little Gold morphed into a golden streak, hurtling into the valley's heart and vanishing into the emptiness instantly.

In truth… the true arena of conflict lay not within the valley's depths but across a separate layer of space-time!

Baili Shouguang and his fellows lingered in wait outside, enduring over half a month's time.

In that span, the potent auras veiling the emptiness faded away progressively, eventually dissolving entirely without remainder.

Witnessing this, the cultivators first assumed the Venerable One and the Mountain Dragon King would emerge shortly, yet days slipped by with no trace of the Venerable One.

The dense mist blanketing the valley gradually lifted, allowing sunlight to flood the whole expanse.

Bathed in the rays, the Mirror Pyramid at the valley's innermost point loomed even grander and more imposing, as the shadowy “Light Ball” overhead grew ever more ominous and threatening.

Noting the absence of the Venerable One or the Mountain Dragon King, the cultivators' minds swirled with diverse notions; some grew more uneasy, while others quietly mulled withdrawal.

A handful of hot-tempered ones urged Baili Shouguang time and again, eager to step up and scout the valley, only to be halted by him.

Another three days elapsed, when abruptly, a barrage of snapping noises arose from the Mirror Pyramid deep in the valley.

Not long after, the enormous crystal mirror facade splintered, soon riddling its exterior with countless fissures.

At that juncture, a profound and resonant inhalation resounded from inside the pyramid.

The first listen evoked a colossal being rousing from slumber, steadily releasing its initial puff of stale breath.

Detecting this noise, Baili Shouguang let out a relieved breath, crying out in delight, “It's the Venerable One, that's the Venerable One's voice!”

The cultivators, catching wind of it, surged with excitement, all turning their sights to the pyramid.