“b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Just die! You’re trying to direct the danger to me? You… even if I break our race’s rules today, I will give you a good thras.h.i.+ng!” Roguemist was truly furious.
Despite the other demon having pointed out his intent, Jadeface tried his best to play innocent. “You wound me, fellow daoist. We shadow demons have always been masters of tracking others. Why wouldn’t I know if I was being tracked?”
“What the h.e.l.l do you know? If you knew anything, would you have led Serratewind and those idiots to their death? Would you be running around now like a homeless stray?” Roguemist was no fool. After seeing through Jadeface’s sinister ruse, he wasn’t going to trust anything else the demon said.
“How can you blemish my innocence so…”
Roguemist cut Jadeface off instantly. “Enough of that prattle,” he cursed. “Either you get out of here yourself, or I’ll risk punishment by cutting you down right here, right now.”
The two had broken with each other entirely. The yin demon was no longer concerned with keeping up appearances.
Plus, who would know if he killed Jadeface here, far away from the rest of civilization? Most of the other demons were still in hiding, so the act couldn’t possibly be exposed.
Among the shadow demons, Serratewind and his comrades had already died. This Jadeface was alone. There would be no one to persecute him for killing a lone demon.
Forefather Evilshadow was still sealed away. What could he do so far from here?
The two demons really did start fighting.
Neither shadow nor yin demons were particularly adept at brawling in person. The latter were puppeteers, while the former, a.s.sa.s.sins.
Trading blows face to face wasn’t their forte.
However, Roguemist held the mental advantage. Furthermore, his ability to summon ghouls to his aid s.h.i.+fted the situation from a one-versus-one very quickly.
Jadeface protested when Roguemist’s tactics began to tend to the more shameless side. “Roguemist, how can you ignore our race’s taboo and strike at your comrade? Are you not scared of heavenly punishment?”
“That isn’t a defense a criminal should make!” Roguemist cursed. “You’re the one with ulterior motives. You wanted to draw disaster upon us yin demons. To put it nicely, you’re trying to dump your misfortune on us. To put it bluntly, you are leading our enemy right to us. Your case has no strength even before the celestial demons!”
……
The node’s repairs were going quite swimmingly. It took about a month for the Myriad Domain’s work to complete. Only the final node remained. Once repairs on that were done, the reactivation could formally begin.
Jiang Chen was rather excited.
He checked up on Jadeface from time to time. As expected, the wily demon never went to where Forefather Evilshadow was.
One day, he was astonished to notice that Jadeface had found another demon. From the looks of things, it was a yin demon. This confirmed for the young lord that there was more than one kind of demon rampaging in the human domain.
He didn’t quite have time for them right now, though. As long as the demons didn’t bother him, he would rather spend his time on the formation.
Upon arriving at the third node, Jiang Chen poured himself into his work once more. Time was of the essence, and every second counted.
Another piece of good news came to him during this period. The Astral White Tiger had attained a crucial breakthrough in the Veluriyam Palace, miraculously reaching divinity after consuming the Amaranthine Clouddew Fruit.
The young man was delighted to hear that his feline companion had ascended so quickly.
Now, all four of the sacred beasts were divine realm. The four gathered bloodlines no longer had a specific weakness in combat.
Though they were far from being able to embody the heavenly dao yet, they were at least upon the right path.
After yet another month, repairs on the third node were completed.
Venerated Skysoarer felt a wave of accomplishment. “The Great Formation of Heavenly Soul Confinement has finally been restored. What a wonderful occasion… and I had much more of a part to play in it than I did back then!”
“Now that the formation has been fixed up, we’re only missing the last step.” Jiang Chen’s heart brimmed with pleasure and antic.i.p.ation.
He knew that this was also the most vital step. Everything was ready, and no further error was permitted.
As such, he had to apply the utmost of caution.
Jiang Chen sent out all the Goldbiter Rats under his command into the underground around the three nodes, having them stay on the alert for any unpredicted accidents.
The rats would report back on even the smallest of movements.
The good news spread out throughout the entire human domain nearly instantly. Every sect and faction was notified, and being so, was astonished.
They all sent out their representatives to attend the inevitably grand ceremony that was to ensue. No one wanted to miss out on such a momentous event.
The time was set – it would occur the very next month, not more than a fortnight from now. The two weeks remaining to him were the final hours left to prepare.
Jiang Chen needed to sort out his thoughts as well.
Though not much more had to be done aside from a tremendous expenditure of spirit stones, there was a certain process that had to be observed.
……
Jadeface and Roguemist fought for several days, a bout that ended with the fl.u.s.tered flight of the former.
However, Jadeface was firm on his resolution not to go to Forefather Evilshadow. Instead, he stalked after Roguemist in secret.
Roguemist knew that the other demon was following him around, but what could he do? He was a hair stronger in fighting, but Jadeface was too much of an expert at movement and concealment.
It was hard for either demon to kill the other.
When Jiang Chen’s announcement that he had finished repairing the three nodes came out, the two demons heard that very day. Roguemist swore at the air.
“Old Jadeface, are you happy now? Are you proud of yourself? The humans’ reactivation of the formation is what you wanted, isn’t it?”
Jadeface was furious. “How is it my fault? It’s clearly yours! I’ve been wanting to work with you, but you’re the mad dog nipping at my heels!”
“Bulls.h.i.+t! Your ill-will is obvious, and yet you’re trying to defend yourself! If you really wanted to stop the humans, you would go find Forefather Evilshadow right now. Only a forefather can stop the reactivation!”
“Hmph, my forefather hasn’t freed himself from his seal yet. Why don’t you go find Forefather Stonefiend, eh?” Jadeface snorted.
For a moment, neither demon was much interested in arguing any more. The prospect of the formation’s return meant that they would be cut off from the demons’ main force. They would be in much more trouble then.