Chapter 1355 - 983: Demon Race Siege

The chaos in Kyoto was within Zhang Chen’s expectations. From the blood battle between the Six Great Families and the royal clan, to the Zhang Family making a move to plunder Kyoto, and then to countless Demon Beasts and evil spirits falling from the sky out of the Spiritual World—although the Great Thousand Worlds ’washed and changed the blood’ of the evil spirits, there were always some tenacious ones that survived, rapidly adapted to their environment, then drew on the blood of Kyoto’s common folk and calmly, swiftly grew strong.

On top of that, after the bloody war in Kyoto, at least hundreds of thousands from the Six Great Families were dead; who knew how many evil spirits that would nourish, providing conditions for their growth and expansion.

Hearing Zhang Gaqi’s report, a divine light flashed in Zhang Chen’s eyes. His gaze swept across the distant clouds, and he saw that the clouds in the sky seemed to be tainted with a blood-red Evil Qi.

"Evil spirits have been born within Kyoto, hiding in dark corners, or attached to human bodies. In the days to come, Kyoto will find it hard to know Taiping." Zhang Chen said.

Just as Zhang Chen was surveying the surroundings, his eyes turned toward the outside of Kyoto, and he couldn’t help but be stunned. He saw that outside Kyoto there was a sky-covering tide of demonic aura, like an Overturning the Sea ocean, rolling mightily toward Kyoto.

"The Demon Race army is here! They came so fast!" Looking at that vast, surging demonic aura, a hint of solemnity appeared in Zhang Chen’s eyes.

Outside Kyoto

Chai Zhu’s eyes were fixed on that sky-covering demonic aura in the distance, like a black cloud pressing down upon the city. The expression on his face was extremely ugly at this moment: "Peacock Ancestor, is your Demon Race truly determined to fight my Great Victory royal clan to the death?"

At Chai Zhu’s words, the Peacock Ancestor said slowly and leisurely, "With such upheaval occurring in Kyoto, the strength of the Great Victory royal clan has been weakened to the extreme; this is precisely the best time for my Demon Race to act. Besides, earlier a secret realm shattered in the void, and countless strands of Creation scattered within Kyoto—how could my Demon Race not take a share of the spoils? Moreover, the Heaven and Earth Essence Qi within Kyoto has now grown richer by at least ten thousand times. If my Demon Race breaks in, who knows how many beasts will evolve into Demon Beasts, how many Demon Beasts will evolve into Demon Kings—this is Supreme Creation. Even if my Demon Race fails to loot any treasures, that dense Heaven and Earth Essence Qi, for my Demon Race, is itself a Great Creation."

Of course the Demon Race had their reasons for making a move. Leaving aside the Creation that fell from the Spiritual World, merely absorbing the Essence Qi within the city was also a Great Creation for the Demon Race.

"By rights, wasn’t your Demon Race already blocked outside the Heroic Pass by Marquis Wen? How did you get the chance to march to the walls and kill your way into the heartland?" A hint of disbelief appeared in Chai Zhu’s eyes.

"That Heroic Pass is, in the end, only one pass. All we had to do was go around it. Those mountain ranges, rivers, and natural barriers that can block Human Race armies are, for my Demon Race, like a road home." The Peacock Ancestor said with a squint-eyed smile, "Besides, many of your Human Race aristocratic clans are all ’heroes who know the times’. My Demon Race’s passage is hardly without their assistance."

"Damn Human Race traitors!" At these words, Chai Zhu gnashed his teeth in hatred.

As the two spoke, the earth suddenly trembled. The soil on the ground rippled lightly upward, and they saw a Demon Beast army charging from afar. With one glance the Demon Beast host stretched beyond sight; the horizon was filled with running Demon Beasts, like rivers of mud sweeping forward, their dreadful roars echoing through the void.

Inside Kyoto

Old Zhang Family residence

Looking at the bottle jumping on the table and the soil lightly leaping in the courtyard, a grave look appeared in Zhang Chen’s eyes. "The Demon Race army came too fast. There was no sign beforehand at all. By rights, Marquis Wen’s territory is at least a year’s journey from Kyoto. Even if the Heroic Pass where Marquis Wen resides had been broken, they shouldn’t have arrived here so quickly. And how is it that there was not a hint of news beforehand?"

Too strange!

"Why is there an earthquake? Kyoto has a Dragon Vein suppressing it—how could there be an earthquake?" Zhang Gaqi looked at the ornaments jumping in the room, his eyes full of disbelief. "Could it be that the Great Victory royal clan has exhausted its fate and can no longer suppress this Heaven and Earth?"

At his words, Zhang Chen sighed faintly. "It’s not an earthquake. The Demon Race army is here!"

"The Demon Race army is here? How many Demon Race troops does it take to shake the ground like this?" A grave, incredulous look appeared in Zhang Gaqi’s eyes.

"Many, many! And very, very strong!" Zhang Chen saw those Demon Beasts towering like mountains in the distance, each step they took shook an area of dozens of miles, their footsteps kicking up layer upon layer of shockwaves.

Those Demon Beasts were like Mount Tai. With every step they took, ripples of dust spread across the earth. Imagine tens of thousands of Mount Tais crashing down at once—even the power of a nuclear explosion would not compare.

"With the Demon Race army suddenly assaulting the city, what do we do?" A trace of horror appeared in Zhang Gaqi’s eyes.

"When the sky falls, there are taller men to hold it up. There are still experts of the Great Victory royal clan; what are you afraid of? Even if the Demon Beasts assault the city, they won’t completely exterminate the Human Race. At worst, we withdraw back to the Northern Land. We also have territories in the Northern Land, enough for our Zhang Family to live on." Zhang Chen said.

At Zhang Chen’s words, Zhang Gaqi’s voice was full of sorrow. "But Kyoto is our Human Race’s final hope. Once Kyoto is destroyed, it means the extermination of our Human Race, the fall of the bonfire of Human Dao civilization. All the Dukes will throw in with the Demon Race to divide the land and rule it separately. In the future, our Human Race will return to the tribal era, carved by the Demon Race into one small tribe after another."

At Zhang Gaqi’s words, Zhang Chen shook his head. "Right now the Human Race is already shrouded in despair. The common folk have no day to rise. Whether they are ruled by the Demon Race or by Human Race nobles seems to make no difference. The only difference lies in the manner of eating people. One eats the human body, one eats the human spirit. The eater of humans merely changes from one into another."

Demon Beasts eat people only for cultivation, for hunger; Human Race nobles eat people simply because they want to eat people.

Zhang Chen felt that as long as the Demon Race didn’t go too far, he could accept the Human Race being ruled by them. With the wit and methods of humans, climbing onto the heads of Demon Beasts was only a matter of time.

No matter how bad Demon Beasts were, could they really be worse than humans?

"But the Zhang Family still needs to prepare early. Have all members of the Zhang Family find a way to withdraw first." Zhang Chen gave an order to Zhang Gaqi: "As for the industries in Kyoto, after going through this storm, the last spiritual symbol of the Human Race may not necessarily be preserved."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Gaqi turned and left, beginning to gather the Zhang Family clansmen to prepare for retreat.

The sound of horns blew within Kyoto, the clash of armor rang out endlessly in the city. The atmosphere over all of Kyoto suddenly tightened. Listening to the hubbub outside the door, Zhang Chen turned around and walked back into the house.

His younger brothers, sisters, and other close kin had long been sent away by him. No matter how dire the situation in Kyoto became, it could not truly threaten him; at worst, he would simply escape directly.

As for having Zhang Chen make a move? Now that Heaven and Earth were undergoing great changes, he still had to suppress the Essence, Qi, and Spirit within his body. He had no desire to act rashly, lest he get himself dragged into it.

Moreover, all the cultivators in Kyoto were bathing in such dense Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi; their cultivation should be making rapid progress. Experts of all kinds should be emerging in an endless stream. Dealing with the Demon Race, they would be enough; one more of him would not make a difference, and one less of him would not matter either.

"Who could have thought the End of Dharma Tribulation would come so swiftly? Had I known, I shouldn’t have broken through to the Twelfth Tier back then." Zhang Chen was also secretly grumbling in his heart; the timing of his breakthrough seemed less than ideal.

Now that the concentration of Essence Qi between Heaven and Earth had risen, Zhang Chen had yet to notice anything abnormal, but the ocean of Laws of Heaven and Earth had already begun to shift. The chain reaction of the great change in the Law of Heaven and Earth was already drawing near. In at most a month, the Essence Qi leaked by the Corpse Ancestor in Kyoto would dissipate, and when that happened, there would inevitably be a major problem.

Just as Zhang Chen’s thoughts were turning, a guard came hurrying over: "Patriarch, Elder Zhong has sent an invitation."

Zhang Chen took the post and glanced at it, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. He nodded slightly to the guard: "You may withdraw."

Once the guard had withdrawn, Zhang Chen’s figure flickered, and he used an Escape Technique to appear within the Zhong Family residence.

At this moment, Elder Zhong was standing under a great tree, brows knitted as he gazed at the flowers. Under the rolling wheel of the Demon Race’s grand momentum, his Tenth Tier cultivation was no longer worth much. Because the Zhong Family had made no preparations, Elder Zhong now wore a deeply troubled look, pondering how to preserve the Zhong Family under this great calamity.

"Elder, your face is full of worry. Have you encountered some vexing matter?" Zhang Chen spoke from behind Elder Zhong.

Hearing Zhang Chen’s words, Elder Zhong turned around, his face lighting up with delight as he looked at Zhang Chen: "You came quickly!"

As for how Zhang Chen had appeared in the rear courtyard, he did not find it suspicious. After all, the Zhong Family kept no guard up against Zhang Chen; entering their estate required no announcement at the gate.

"With you sending an urgent invitation, how would I dare delay?" Zhang Chen said.

"A great disaster has struck! The Demon Race army has broken through the Human Race’s defenses everywhere and has already encircled Kyoto. They may strike at any time to annihilate the city. We must make preparations as soon as possible." Elder Zhong fixed his eyes on Zhang Chen: "Once I received the news, I came at once to invite you so we could discuss a countermeasure."

Because the previous tribulation had merely been the Great Victory royal clan targeting the Six Great Families, and the Zhong Family had not been entangled in it, the Zhong clansmen had not withdrawn in advance.

After hearing Elder Zhong’s words, Zhang Chen asked, "What plans does Elder have?"

"Why don’t we withdraw from Kyoto together? Could your Zhang Family be willing to abandon its industries in Kyoto? If we join forces, there might be hope of carving out a path of survival." Elder Zhong suggested.

Hearing this, Zhang Chen shook his head: "To speak frankly, the Zhang Family’s Direct Lineage has long since left Kyoto. Most of those who remain are collateral branches. In terms of strength, they are no match for the Zhong Family’s experts and would only become a burden to you."

Elder Zhong froze at that: "The Zhang Family has already withdrawn its people?" He then came back to his senses and said, "Was it because of the previous turmoil in Kyoto?"

Zhang Chen nodded at his words.

Elder Zhong gave a wry smile: "The Zhang Family is fortunate indeed."

"My Zhang Family has a passage leading outside Kyoto that can be lent to the Zhong Family. It’s just that with the Demon Race army now besieging the city, I don’t know whether that passage can still be used to break through. If we rashly plunge headlong into the beast tide of the Demon Race, it might instead bring disaster upon you." Zhang Chen fixed his eyes on Elder Zhong, a hint of hesitation in his tone.