Chapter 522 - 315: Twelve Thrones Gangzhu, Battle on the Mountaintop, Traces of the Ascension Platform

Within the Ancient Altar on the mountaintop, a mysterious power seeped into the earth, making the mountain’s structure incredibly stable. Not even a being of the Upper Three Grades could hope to shake it.

Many legends surrounded this summit. It was said that an ancient kingdom once worshipped Divine Beings here, making the place even more sacred.

A mysterious power emanated from within the mountain, reinforcing its structure. Even a simple stone was as hard as black iron.

Lu Mingyuan led his people to the mountainside, where the Ancient Altar’s rough outline became visible. It was over a hundred zhang in diameter and emanated a faint, cyan glow.

Coiled in the center of the altar was a colossal Ten-Winged Stone Dragon. Though its head and claws were broken and fallen, leaving it in a state of ruin, it still possessed an ancient charm that inspired awe with a single glance.

As the altar fully revealed itself, a cyan cloud unexpectedly condensed in the sky above it, covering a radius of several hundred li.

Countless gazes were cast down from the summit.

"A Human Race army has reached the summit. Could it be reinforcements?"

"The Emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty has arrived. This is going to be trouble."

This news spread rapidly across the mountaintop, drawing the attention of all factions—the Desolate Demons, Human Race Cultivators, and local natives alike...

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The sound of tearing air echoed continuously.

Many Demon Race beings had already reached the outer perimeter of the mountaintop altar.

They did not approach immediately. Instead, they concealed their auras and observed the summit from a distance.

Although many beings coveted the immense Destiny on Lu Mingyuan, the Emperor of Great Yan’s reputation preceded him. Forcing the old emperor to abdicate, facing the Great Nether Empress alone, crushing the prodigies of the Seven Kingdoms, becoming the undisputed number one under heaven, and fighting a Sword Immortal for three moves without being defeated... This string of glorious achievements was enough to intimidate most creatures. Not just the Human Race, but the Demon Race as well, was extremely wary.

Who, aside from the very top-tier experts, would dare to be the first to charge forward?

Most factions, in truth, just wanted to fish in troubled waters.

Among them, Human Race dynasties with a grudge against Lu Mingyuan, such as the Great Sui Dynasty and the Great Wu Dynasty, were surprised to see the Great Yan Army. At the same time, they were filled with anticipation, eager to see how the Great Yan Dynasty would deal with the Demon Race.

"The man who just reached the summit is indeed the Emperor of Great Yan. I fought him once outside Dragon Peak Mountain." At this moment, Long Xuan, dressed in flowing, colorful robes, stood beside a burly man and spoke in a low voice.

The burly man looked fierce and menacing, with a full beard like black steel wire. His upper body was bare, revealing a hairy chest, and his humanoid form stood over two meters tall.

He held a Nine-toothed Divine Nail, and beneath his feet, a black torrent churned and boiled. The endless, surging water created the illusion of Celestial Water pouring down from the heavens. His sharp gaze swept over the Human Race in this part of the world.

This was one of the Twelve Thrones, Gangzhu.

"No matter who they are, if they dare to come, they’re walking to their deaths."

A heavy, cold snort echoed through the heavens and earth.

"Wait, look! An auspicious cloud, dark cyan in color, is forming above the altar! Could a truly incredible Treasure be emerging?"

At that, many Cultivators pointed toward the sky, utterly astonished.

...

As the Ancient Altar appeared, subtle changes occurred in nature’s spiritual energy, causing a small-scale commotion. Many beings were now certain that a Treasure was about to emerge from the altar.

This began long before Lu Mingyuan arrived.

As more and more beings died in this land, the altar had a massive reaction.

The altar’s changes undoubtedly accelerated this Grotto Heaven’s transformation into a Blessed Land.

Many were now almost certain that the Ascension Platform was located here.

More and more beings gathered near the mountaintop altar, and the fluctuations of Immortal Spirit Qi they emitted grew denser.

Qi Muxue stood on a patch of verdant grass, gazing at the distant peak. Her eyes were fixed on Lu Mingyuan, and a joyful expression appeared on her beautiful face. She was just about to use a Body Technique to rush over.

"Don’t go over there recklessly. If a Throne Great Demon attacks and captures you, it will be a disaster. Now that you’ve seen each other, there’s no need to rush."

A chess piece on the Chess Saint’s fingertip transformed into a streak of white light, shooting out from the void to block Qi Muxue.

In addition, another dignified Buddhist Bodhisattva, riding a Spiritual Tiger, accompanied the Chess Saint.

Like a Celestial God clad in treasured blue robes, she appeared before them.

One of the four giants of the Buddhist Sect, the Divine Distinct Bodhisattva.

"Now that His Majesty has arrived, the other factions are all acting strangely. They will surely stand by and watch as the Demon Race besieges Great Yan. You elders can’t just sit idly by." Qi Muxue was firm in her belief.

From behind her, a man’s magnetic voice sounded out. "The great dynasties share a common enemy. Gathered here together, they wouldn’t be so foolish."

Qi Muxue turned and looked into the distance.

There, an emanation of Wen Sheng was slowly walking over.

Behind him followed a large group of Confucian Cultivators. Many of them were at the Middle Fifth Grade Realm, and most were exceptionally talented individuals practicing Confucian and Daoist Dual Cultivation.

Qi Muxue frowned. "All the great Thrones have arrived, but the masters from the Taoist Sect are still nowhere to be seen. Can the Human Race truly defeat the Wilderness World?"

Qi Muxue knew that the Taoist Sect’s forces couldn’t have possibly reached this Grotto Heaven so quickly.

Wen Sheng’s gaze shifted to the mountaintop. His tone was calm. "The Human Race has never lacked for masters. Stalling for a while won’t be a problem."

The Chess Saint glanced at Wen Sheng before his eyes returned to Qi Muxue. "Actually, I believe there’s something here that might be even more terrifying than the Throne Great Demons. It’s as if some unknown entity is reawakening in this Grotto Heaven. It would be best not to go all-out in the coming battle."

"What do you mean by that?"

Qi Muxue asked, puzzled.

But the Chess Saint simply shook his head.

Among the Cultivators from the various dynasties who had rushed to the altar, some wanted to help Lu Mingyuan.

But a large number of demons blocked the mountainside, separating the Great Yan Army from the other Human Race Cultivators. Even if they wanted to help, it was useless.

RUMBLE!

A vast, dark cloud of dust rushed in from the east, pulverizing boulders and leveling hills. It quickly reached the base of Dragon Peak Mountain.

The black dust gradually settled, revealing a massive horde of demons.

They were all enormous Demon Kings, each possessing combat strength comparable to the Golden Core and Nascent Soul Level.

The weaker Demon Kings had already left the Grotto Heaven through a Space Barrier and returned to the Wilderness World.

Those who remained were all elites of the Middle Fifth Grade. Only those who had reached this level of power were qualified to compete for the Ascension Platform.

’They managed to gather this many Demon Kings? How many Throne Great Demons are here?’ Lu Mingyuan’s brow furrowed as he scanned the crowded mountaintop.

He had obviously sensed the auras of the Chess Saint, Qi Muxue, and the others.

Lu Mingyuan’s arrival had excited many of the beings in this land.

As long as someone made the first move, it would certainly trigger a chain reaction, and more and more beings would attack Lu Mingyuan.

Lu Mingyuan stood on the summit altar, facing the biting cold wind. His long black hair whipped about as he drew Yang Su and swung it down toward the base of the mountain.

SHIIING—

A Saber Qi dozens of li long, like a river of ice-blue lightning, flew down from the summit and slashed the ground in front of the group of Demon Kings.

A fissure, three zhang deep and dozens of li long, appeared in the earth.

Ripples of sound waves emanated from Lu Mingyuan’s lips as he spoke, his voice ice-cold. "All who cross this line are challengers, and they will die!"

The Dark Wolf Demon Monarch roared, "The Demon Emperor is here! You’re facing your own death, yet you dare to be so arrogant! I will cross this line! Let’s see what you can do to me!"

The Dark Wolf Demon Monarch’s Cultivation was profound; in the Wilderness World, he was an absolute hegemon who dominated his own territory. Even though he had heard many rumors about Lu Mingyuan, he still didn’t take him seriously.

With so many Racial Demon Monarchs and Demon Venerables gathered here, not to mention three of the Thrones, Lu Mingyuan was doomed even if he had three heads and six arms. What was there to fear?

HOWL!

A brilliant golden light erupted from the Dark Wolf Demon Monarch’s body as he lunged forward, crossing the Saber Qi boundary.

PFFT.

Yang Su transformed into a black shuttle of light, flying down from the summit altar. It pierced through the Dark Wolf Demon Monarch’s head, raising a spray of blood mist before returning to the air to hover above the Desolate Demons.

THUD. The Dark Wolf Demon Monarch’s massive body collapsed heavily to the ground.

Killed in a single blow.

The demons who had been about to follow the Dark Wolf Demon Monarch across the line instantly froze, trembling all over, thoroughly terrified.

’A powerful Twelfth Realm Demon Monarch was slain in an instant! The Emperor of Great Yan’s strength is too terrifying, isn’t it?’

A collective gasp of cold air was heard across the entire mountaintop. The Cultivators from the major Human Race factions were aghast.

They realized that Lu Mingyuan’s strength was even greater than before.

Previously, a Twelfth Realm Cultivator could at least trade blows with Lu Mingyuan.

Now, one was insta-killed in less than half a round.

Many of the demons who had been planning to attack Lu Mingyuan were forced to reassess their own strength. They began to have thoughts of retreating.

A figure on the level of the Emperor of Great Yan was simply not someone they could afford to provoke.

ROAR!

A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering dragon’s roar resounded.

A vast and mighty demonic cloud flew rapidly from the direction of the Imperial Capital.

Faintly visible within the demonic cloud was a colossal Dragon Shadow, like a dark mountain range, emitting a frightening Evil Qi.

An enormous dragon’s head, as large as a hill, poked out from the cloud.

Sensing this aura, many Human Race Cultivators quickly retreated.

The top masters from nations like the Nanli Dynasty, the Great Sui Dynasty, the Great Wu Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty all showed wary expressions upon seeing such a Great Demon.

But Lu Mingyuan, sensing this familiar aura, spoke with clear eyes:

"One of the Eight Thrones, Dragon Halberd."

"For that palm strike during my trip to the Wilderness Cave Heaven, I must have my revenge today."

Two slits slowly opened in the center of the dark cloud, like two enormous eyes. The golden, amber-like Dragon Eyes were extremely conspicuous.

Soon, the Dragon Shadow flickered and vanished, replaced by a man with dragon horns wearing a large golden robe. His amber Dragon Eyes were striking. With his hands clasped behind his back, he exuded an air of dominance. He glanced at Lu Mingyuan and said with great interest:

"The Middle Fifth Grade crawler from back then has become the Emperor of a Dynasty. You’ve become a slightly larger insect, but your tone is just as arrogant."

"How much have you improved in just two short years?"

Lu Mingyuan smiled faintly. "As for how much I’ve improved... why don’t you test it and find out?"

...