In the Ghost Sect...
Nie Tian was originally worried that the arrival of Sarah and Groete would tip the scales against him.
However, while he was pondering the matter, Zelia’s shout caught his ears. When he looked over, he saw an anxious expression on her face as she called out in the outsiders’ language.
Then, a handful black pearls appeared in her splayed hand.
One after another, they rose into the sky before coming to a stop above the eye of the demon Qi vortex.
They generated a great attractive force to the raging demon Qi below it and gradually merged into one giant pearl.
All of a sudden, that one giant pearl unleashed a strong energy wave into its surroundings and shot up into the heavens.
As it did, the vast demon Qi vortex that had enveloped the entire Ghost Sect rose along with it.
It was at that moment that all the high-tier outsiders seemed to receive messages; they all stopped fighting their opponents and rose up into the sky.
Upon seeing the situation, some powerful Qi warriors, under the leaders.h.i.+p of Chang Sen, Ghost Eye, and Li Jing, also leapt into the air in an attempt to chase after their enemies. However, they were all pushed back to the earth by an irresistible, mysterious force.
They could only watch as the vortex of demon Qi rose higher and higher, and when it reached a certain height, it began to move horizontally.
At that moment, the Ghost Sect, which had been covered in raging demon Qi for a very long time, finally saw sunlight again. The ancient city made of green stones was once again visible under the setting sun.
Staring at the departing demon Qi vortex, powerful experts from the Ghost Sect and h.e.l.l Sect discussed the matter amongst themselves. Confusion could be seen on their faces.
“What happened? The outsider army has retreated?”
“This is strange. I saw two high-tier outsiders coming. Why did they leave when they had more added to their force?”
“Is their invasion of the Realm of Flame Heaven over?
“What in the world is going on?
...
At the same time, the numerous outsiders that had been besieging and attacking the Cloudsoaring Sect and Mystic Mist Sect also seemed to have received orders, and rapidly retreated like an ebbing tide.
Even the outsiders who had been slaughtering commoners in mortal cities seemed to receive orders, and rapidly withdrew from where they were.
All outsider forces, wherever they were, began to move towards the h.e.l.l sect.
Standing on the Bone Blood Demon’s shoulder, Nie Tian couldn’t spot another outsider in his vicinity. Without a target, the Bone Blood Demon stood stood still in its original position, staring at nothing.
A short while later, the circle of death it had created with its death power also vanished completely.
Only then did the mountain-like Bone Blood Demon run out of life power and collapse to the ground.
Nie Tian had noticed the signs of its imminent collapse, and jumped off of it before it did.
Hong Can from the h.e.l.l Sect, Zou Yi from the Ghost Sect, and a handful of survivors from the Blood Sect gathered to Nie Tian’s side, confusion written across their faces.
They s.h.i.+fted their curious gazes between the collapsed Bone Blood Demon and the empty sky.
Chang Sen, Ghost Eye, and Li Jing also retracted their power. Ghost Eye’s two Heaven Ghosts flew back into his pupils, and his nine Earth Ghosts went back into the banners. Similarly, the enormous blood shadow flew back into Li Jing’s Blood Lotus and became dormant again.
Sitting on the Blood Lotus, Li Jing turned to Chang Sen and said, “You know their language. Did you hear what they said? Why did they leave so abruptly?”
Ghost Eye also looked at Chang Sen with a confused expression on his face and waited for his answer.
“Those two high-tier outsiders who came last were ambushed by a Qi warrior that was as strong as Caro on their way here. However, that person intentionally spared their lives and killed the others they were with.” With a frown, Chang Sen continued, “The appearance of that person made the outsiders a.s.sume powerful experts from the other eight realms had come to help defend the Realm of Flame Heaven.
“They were afraid that more powerful experts from the other realms would show up, so they decided to take the initiative and retreat.” Chang Sen also seemed quite confused as he shook his head and said, “However, as far as I know, it’s impossible for those from the other realms to come to our aid. They are all eagerly waiting for the outsiders to uproot us from the Realm of Flame Heaven. Even if we somehow prevailed, we would have lost most of our strength after the bloodbath.”
“At that time, they would have been able to swoop in and reap the Realm of Flame Heaven without breaking a sweat.”
“Someone as strong as Caro?” Ghost Eye’s expression flickered. He knew very well that Caro was the most formidable outsider of all those that had descended upon the Realm of Flame Heaven this time, and if he were his opponent, instead of Chang Sen, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.
“Yes, that’s what that outsider said,” said Chang Sen.
Li Jing let out a sigh of relief and said, “Whoever that person is, he put an end to the war, and the situation in the Realm of Flame Heaven is finally stable again. The entire Realm of Flame Heaven has sustained heavy losses from this war. We might need years to recover our strength.
“We’ve taken safety and survival for granted for too long. This calamity actually may not be the worst thing for us.” Chang Sen pondered for a moment and said, “Only desperate situations like this will stimulate those who are truly capable to display their remarkable talent! b.l.o.o.d.y wars will help them grow and the future of the Realm of Flame Heaven will depend on them.”
With these words, he swept his gaze over the crowd of survivors, who were now gathered at his side.
Finally, his gaze landed on Nie Tian, who was standing in front of the collapsed Bone Blood Demon. He turned to Li Jing and said, “What’s the story with that kid? Why did the Bone Blood Demon your sect spent years refining take orders from him? It seems that he’s only at the Lesser Heaven stage and doesn’t practice your sect’s secret magics.”
Ghost Eye’s gruesome eyes were also fixed on Nie Tian as he said, “I saw him kill quite a few low-tier outsiders with the Bone Blood Demon, and he even dealt a great blow to the n.o.ble outsider, who they referred to as Zelia. It’s hard to believe that a Lesser Heaven stage junior played such an important role in this critical battle.
“If it wasn’t for the fact he had awakened the Bone Blood Demon, the Blood Sect might have shared the same fate as the Grayvale Sect.” Li Jing sighed softly.
“Who is he?” Chang Sen asked.
“He’s the disciple Wu Ji recently took in,” Li Jing answered. Then, she suddenly tilted her chin and said with a determined tone, “But he’s already a member of the Blood Sect. The Bone Blood Demon is too important to us. I’ll never allow the person who controls it to leave the Blood Sect!”
Surprise stretched across Chang Sen’s face as he said, “Wu Ji’s disciple?! Eccentric Wu surely know how to pick his disciples! No one can beat him at that. You’ve got to give him that.”
“I told you that he’s a disciple of the Blood Sect now!” Li Jing said in an imposing manner.
“Well, you can talk to Wu Ji about that.” Chang Sen didn’t take a stance in the matter. He went on to say with a grim expression, “The Realm of Flame Heaven is not safe yet. Those from the other eight realms will soon learn about the retreat of the outsiders. I believe it won’t be long before powerful experts from the Realm of Earth Sieve and the Realm of Dark Underworld descend upon our realm.”
Upon hearing these words, neither Ghost Eye or Li Jing were in the mood to talk. They both flew towards the Ghost Sect’s green stone city.
The Qi warriors from the h.e.l.l Sect, Ghost Sect, and Blood Sect also followed them back into the city.
Only Nie Tian remained in his original position, staring blanking at the Bone Blood Demon that had collapsed to the ground.
With his strength, he couldn’t possibly carry it from the wasteland where he was standing to the stone city.
Fortunately, Li Jing realized his concern, and rapidly flew back to his side from the city.
Sitting on her Blood Lotus, she said to Nie Tian, “Follow me.”
As soon as she uttered these words, numerous blood-colored ribbons flew out of the Blood Lotus. They wrapped around the gigantic Bone Blood Demon like pack ropes and pulled it up into the air.
“You come with me.” With a flip of Li Jing’s finger, a blood thread that was as soft as cotton stretched out, wreathed Nie Tian, and dragged him to the top of the Blood Lotus.
While flying the Bone Blood Demon back to the Ghost sect, Li Jing shot a glance at Nie Tian and asked, “Didn’t you tell me that it would remain active for ten days?”
“It sped up its consumption of life power when it unleashed its bloodline power.” Nie Tian told the truth.
“I see." Li Jing nodded and said in a domineering tone, “From now on, whoever asks about you, you’ll tell them that you’ve become a member of the Blood Sect.”