Chapter 647: Celestial Radiance Pass

The Cultivator who sounded the alarm paled, pulling a Copper Mirror from his robes.

The surface of the Copper Mirror lit up with countless, densely packed points of light. The Spiritual Qi fluctuations from each one sent a chill down his spine. Such intense Spiritual Qi surpassed even the full-powered strike of a Nascent Soul Cultivator. This was clearly the sign of Tier Three Spiritual Eye Objects releasing Spiritual Qi at their maximum output.

“This many… How could the Six Sects still have so many Flying Boats?!”

The Cultivator’s face was a mask of terror.

The existence of the Rescue Army was a secret known only to the upper echelons of the Demon Court. These turncoat Cultivators, who had betrayed the Six Sects and defected, were not trusted and naturally had no way of knowing about them.

As Great Demons directly under the Demon Court, the Nine Nether Great Saint and the Heavenly Evil Great Saint naturally knew of the Rescue Army’s existence. The color drained from both their faces.

The Rescue Army had been audacious enough to bypass a rendezvous with the Six Sects after arriving on the Western Continent, choosing instead to invade Demon Court territory directly.

Given the Demon Court’s deep infiltration of the Six Sects, had the Rescue Army entered their territory, it would have been impossible to hide from the Demon Court’s spies.

The Nine Nether Great Saint leaped to his feet, so agitated he knocked over the platter before him, scattering severed limbs and appendages across the floor.

“This is bad! The Rescue Army completely wiped out the Demon Sect’s Flying Ship Fleet! That bastard Chengfeng’s Power was no less than ours, and his escape techniques were far superior!”

A look of terror appeared on his face as he paced back and forth in the hall.

Though their Power was immense, trying to resist the Rescue Army would be a futile effort, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. They had cultivated painstakingly to reach their current Realm and were not about to throw their lives away for nothing.

The two Demon Saints exchanged a look, their minds made up.

“You all, quickly inform the Imperial Court that the Rescue Army is attacking! Then, defend this place to the death! There must be no mistakes!”

The Heavenly Evil Great Saint commanded with a grim expression. Then, ignoring the reactions of the Demons and Cultivators present, he and the Nine Nether Great Saint shot into the air, preparing to flee.

The faces of the turncoat Cultivators drained of color. They weren’t fools. They were all sharp-minded individuals who had keenly sensed the shift in the balance of power between the Six Sects and the Demon Court.

For two Nascent Soul Demon Saints to be so terrified that they would abandon a vital territory like the Celestial Chime Kingdom and flee—disregarding any future consequences from the Demon Court—spoke volumes about the power of this so-called Rescue Army.

‘Leaving a few Golden Core Cultivators like us to hold this place… aren’t they just abandoning us as cannon fodder?’

A powerful wave of regret washed over them. Perhaps they never should have betrayed the Six Sects and thrown their lot in with the Demon Court.

Before the Cultivators could wallow in their regret for long, seven dazzling beams of Tunneling Light descended from the sky, intercepting both the Nine Nether Great Saint and the Heavenly Evil Great Saint. The Cultivators within the light all emanated terrifying fluctuations of Magical Power; their Power was on par with the two Great Saints of the Demon Race.

The Nine Nether Great Saint and the Heavenly Evil Great Saint had never expected that the Rescue Army’s Nascent Soul Cultivators had already infiltrated the Celestial Chime Kingdom to intercept and kill them.

The two Demons revealed their True Bodies almost instantly, preparing to fight for their lives. But as strong as they were, they stood no chance against seven opponents.

Cultivators possess a wide array of techniques. While they might be at a disadvantage one-on-one against a Demon of the same Cultivation level, their odds of victory increase dramatically with numbers.

With the seven Nascent Soul Cultivators leveraging their numbers, the Nine Nether Great Saint and the Heavenly Evil Great Saint were nearly powerless to resist. After just a few exchanges, their weapons were struck from their hands, and they were bound in Lock Chains.

The Golden Core Cultivators’ faces filled with terror. An instant later, they tried to activate their Escape Techniques to scatter and flee.

But the moment they channeled their Magical Power, they froze as if they were insects trapped in amber, completely unable to move.

A Nascent Soul Cultivator materialized silently. With a single thought, Lock Chains shot out, binding their bodies and sealing their Magical Power.

Despair washed over the faces of the Golden Core Cultivators. They knew, of course, that these Nascent Soul masters had to be from the Rescue Army. ‘But just what is the origin of this Rescue Army?’ they wondered. ‘How can they command so many Nascent Soul Cultivators?’

“A pack of foolish juniors, siding with Demons.”

The Nascent Soul Cultivator who captured them said with a complicated expression.

“Take them to the rear for interrogation. We will press on and scout the Earth Dragon Kingdom.”

The Rescue Army’s Flying Ship Fleet advanced with unstoppable momentum, spending little time to completely obliterate the border defenses the Celestial Chime Kingdom had painstakingly built.

Resistance from the Celestial Chime Kingdom was even feebler, and the Flying Boats soared brazenly through its skies.

Spiritual Fire ignited the Biluo Blood Rice below. The blaze spread rapidly, becoming a raging inferno in moments.

Some of the high-tier stalks of Biluo Blood Rice, having already developed considerable Spiritual Essence, released massive amounts of Demon Qi. They struggled desperately within the Spiritual Fire, letting out piercing shrieks.

But their struggle was futile. A moment later, they, along with all the other Biluo Blood Rice, were reduced to a sky full of ash.

Aboard the Rescue Army’s flagship, the Wave-Tamer, Yang Jing’s deep eyes reflected the inferno below. Only when the sea of fire had completely incinerated the Spirit Fields did he turn around.

The captured Cultivators had been brought up behind him, their faces pale with terror as they looked uneasily at Yang Jing.

Yang Jing wasted no words, directly summoning the Wanhua Child to interrogate the men.

As Golden Core Cultivators, they were completely powerless against the Wanhua Child. Within the space of a few breaths, all useful intelligence had been extracted from their Divine Souls.

Yang Jing took the ball of Nine Illusion Mirage Demon Qi condensed by the Wanhua Child and swept it with his Divine Sense, reading its contents.

Now that the Rescue Army had penetrated deep into Demon Court territory, intelligence was of the utmost importance.

Most of their memories were unremarkable. Because they had been transferred to the Celestial Chime Kingdom so early on, they knew very little about the Demon Court’s internal affairs—far less than the Demons previously captured at sea and in the Yingyue Kingdom.

However, as Yang Jing scanned through one man’s memories, he was pleasantly surprised.

This man was highly skilled with Arrays, which was why he had been transferred here to set up the Arrays protecting the Spirit Fields. Because of this expertise, he had previously been assigned by the Demon Court to help repair Celestial Radiance Pass.

Celestial Radiance Pass was a great fortress built by the Six Sects of the Western Continent after an immeasurable investment of manpower and resources.

In essence, it was similar to a Flying Boat—a heavy instrument of war created by Refining and combining the arts of Artifact Refining, Arrays, and many other disciplines of Immortal Cultivation.

Although Celestial Radiance Pass could move, its speed was incredibly slow, and its Spiritual Qi consumption was astronomical. A Tier Four Spiritual Eye Object—enough to power a Flying Boat—was but a drop in the bucket for the pass; it could only be powered by a Spirit Vein.

The trade-off for these inconveniences was a nearly impenetrable Defense Power and unstoppable destructive might.

When the Demon Court conspired with traitors from the Six Sects, they naturally schemed to seize the seven great fortresses, including Celestial Radiance Pass. However, while there were traitors within the pass, there were loyalists as well. When the situation became hopeless, the loyalists triggered the Grand Array, severely damaging Celestial Radiance Pass.

Of the original seven great fortresses, five retreated back into territory controlled by the Six Sects, while two were heavily damaged and fell into the Demon Court’s hands.