"He seems absolutely loyal to you." Lang Xie frowned and considered for a moment. "As long as he doesn"t try anything funny…"

"There you have it," I told Tian Yu Di. "Have fun."

Tian Yu Di grinned. "Many thanks, Sect Leader. But before that…"

He turned toward Liang Yang Zu"s corpse, which, to be honest, was not much after the explosion. To everyone"s horror, Liang Yang Zu"s blood and the remains of his body were flowing toward Tian Yu Di and he absorbed the qi from it.

Blood Shadow"s features seemed to shift and transform, and I could sense that little by little, his original qi was being integrated into Tian Yu Di"s own. Tian Yu Di also drew the blood from several corpses around him until he turned into that bald old man I saw chained in the Spirit World. Still a little emaciated, and completely identical.

Evidently he had rearranged and modified Blood Shadow"s body at the cellular and genetic level until it completely transformed into his original self. There was no trace of the original Yan Chi left, it had all been absorbed to const.i.tute Tian Yu Di"s newly reborn body.

Tian Yu Di continued to absorb more qi from the blood of the corpses around him, and integrated it into himself. He was wise enough not to absorb too much – for it would take far too long for him to a.s.similate all the qi and made it a part of himself, thus leaving him vulnerable – but enough to restore a huge portion of himself.

His white beard shrank, and hair began growing on his scalp. At first, it was longish gray hair, but they turned somewhat brown and regained a bit of l.u.s.ter. His wrinkles also vanished, and his body filled out, the once skeletal and emaciated figure become slightly muscular and a lot healthier looking. His eyes also seemed to glow fiercer than before, the amount of qi in his body reinforced substantially by what he had just absorbed.

Everyone witnessed this, and other than me, they felt an indescribable horror. The Great Elders and inner sect elders backed away subsconsciously from Tian Yu Di, and even the Blood Blades looked uncomfortable.

The three commanders of the invading forces who were still chained to the Spirit Engraved Pillars lost all color in their faces. Shi Jing Yun, Wu Tuo and Su Bai Xue, despite having witnessed many momentuous events, felt a tremendous amount of shock and horror when they saw Tian Yu Di work to restore himself.

Tian Yu Di turned to grin at them, as if drinking in their fear and savoring it. He licked his lips almost ravenously, his smile widening.

"Your qi seems pretty refined and purer than the others. I wonder how much more strength I can restore if I absorb your qi."

"Old demon!" Su Bai Xue lost her usual composure and screamed at the top of her lungs, fear and disgust dominating her usually beautiful face. "Just kill us if you want to! If you suck our qi, then we"ll definitely return as ghosts and haunt you!"

"Hmph!" I snorted. "What hypocrites. And did you not think that all the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect members, civilians and Blood Blades martial artists you"ve killed will not return as ghosts to haunt you? After all the atrocities you committed in Tushan City and our sect?"

The hypocritical Su Bai Xue fell silent, unable to refute my point, but Shi Jing Yun glared at me.

"Kid, it"s much worse to have your qi sucked out than to be simply killed."

"Really?" I asked skeptically. "Dead is dead. How is dying from being slaughtered by you any different from dying by having one"s qi sucked dry? Does it somehow affect your ghost in the afterlife or something?"

No one could give a satisfactory reply. Wu Tuo merely hung his head, not daring to meet my accusing gaze.

"Elder Tian," I addressed my Ancestral Master. "I"ll leave the city to you. Leave not even a single invader alive. They must pay for their crimes."

"Consider it done." Tian Yu Di glanced at the surviving Blood Blades, who were mobilizing in force to clean out the city, and nodded in approval. Lang Xie had already gone ahead of us, leading a ma.s.sive contingent of Blood Blades. "Heh, I didn"t expect that teaching an incomplete version of Heaven and Earth Absorption would end up creating a mini-Heaven and Earth Sect in this place! Sect Leader, you made the right choice in persuading me not to destroy your beloved Nine-Tailed Fox Sect!"

He then vanished with a gleeful whoop, streaking toward the direction of the city.

The moment he departed, everyone let out a huge sigh of relief. The pale, ghastly faces were slowly regaining their color.

"Fei Wu." Luo Zhi Chang addressed me. He gestured for the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect members to follow him to a more secluded area, out of the hearing range of the three outsiders shackled to the Spirit Engraved Pillars. It was clear that he wanted to have a private, serious discussion regarding all that had just occurred. "Where did this man come from? Is he also from the Heaven and Earth Sect? Is that why he is calling you Sect Leader?"

"That"s right. He is my Ancestral Master from many generations ago."

"Where did he come from?" the second Great Elder persisted, his brow furrowing. "And I"ve never seen a person like him in the Heaven and Earth Sect before."

I recalled that the Great Elders had lived a long time, and had probably witnessed the recent generations of Heaven and Earth Sect. They must have been familiar with the personnel in Heaven and Earth Sect, and someone of Tian Yu Di"s formidable strength would hardly have gone unnoticed when they were at their peak, shortly before their destruction.

Furthermore, if Heaven and Earth Sect had such a powerful member fighting for them, then even the Martial Arts Alliance wouldn"t have been able to defeat them a few years ago! No, they might even get annihilated, especially if Tian Mo had combined forces with such a terrifying demonic martial artist!

Fortunately, Zi Shou De stepped in, having guessed the gist of everything.

"He must be the demonic shadowy existence that you mentioned to me before," he said. "The one you claimed was hiding underneath the Spirit Engraved Pillars."

"You knew about this?" Zi Da Ji asked him. Zi Shou De shook his head. "Just a few weeks ago, when Fei Wu was communing with the Spirit Engraved Pillars and absorbing the knowledge of ancient martial arts from them. He had requested me to upgrade the spiritual defense of his Spirit Shield, citing the demonic existence as the reason." He shrugged. "We both agreed that it wouldn"t be a good idea to raise an alarm, so I promised him to keep quiet about it."

Zi Da Ji nodded. She might not be happy about her husband keeping secrets, but if it was done as a promise, then she could hardly complain.

"He"s from over nine hundred years ago." I briefly filled them in with what I knew about Tian Yu Di"s past. "But I succeeded in convincing him to let go of his vendetta against Jiu Wei Hu, and he recognized me as his leader." I took out my Golden Dragon Medallion and stared at it. "Even though I didn"t want anything to do with this, I had no choice but to play along. Otherwise I would never be able to persuade him to listen to me and help."

"You did the right thing," Zi Da Ji a.s.sured me.

"The old demon is almost as old as our Nine-Tailed Fox Sect." Luo Zhi Chang sighed gravely. "Jiu Wei Hu is the founder of our sect, who created our sect upon discovering these nine Spirit Engraved Pillars. To think he went and sealed such a horrifying monster under them…I can scarcely believe it!"

"I think the reason he did that was precisely because he knew only the Spirit Engraved Pillars had the power to seal him." Zi Shou De had a calmer and more objective outlook regarding the situation, and was nodding thoughtfully.

"You"re probably right," I agreed.

"Even so…" the third Great Elder looked as if he had a huge headache. His expression scrunched in worry. "With an ancient, qi-sucking demon now going to stay in our Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, and even given a position in Blood Blades just like that…aren"t we just giving the Martial Arts Alliance more weaknesses to exploit?

"Even without Elder Tian, the Martial Arts Alliance never had any intention to show us mercy," I countered. "They came up with an outrageous accusation like us harboring weapons of ma.s.s destruction and the like. Do you think they care if we have a powerful demonic martial artist in our ranks or not?" sighing, I shook my head. "And let"s be honest. If Elder Tian wasn"t here, it"s possible that Nine-Tailed Fox Sect would have fallen by now. And all the Great Elders would have been a.s.sa.s.sinated by Blood Shadow."

The leaders of the sect fell silent.

I was aware that the Great Elders would find it very difficult to accept an ancient demon like Tian Yu Di. They couldn"t even accept Xue Jian. On the other hand, Tian Yu Di didn"t do anything as blatant as indulging in cannibalism and feasting on human flesh while drinking human blood. Even so, they found his sucking of qi equally disturbing.

I wondered how they would react if I told them that I had learned and used the exact same technique, Heaven and Earth Absoprtion. It was what I used to annihilate Ba Yun and about one hundred members of the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect. furthermore, it wasn"t just Tian Yu Di and me. All of Blood Blades had learned Heaven and Earth Absorption in its incomplete form. If they were against Tian Yu Di based on principle, then surely they would have to disband Blood Blades.

But that was something I would tell them later. I had a feeling that both Zi Shou De and Zi Da Ji already knew that – Zi Da Ji, after all, was the commander of Blood Blades and she surely recognized the total similarity between our techniques and Tian Yu Di"s complete Heaven and Earth Absorption. They would be more amenable to Tian Yu Di becoming a major force in our sect. But the Great Elders had suffered more than enough shock for today, so I didn"t want to give them a heart attack by revealing the secrets of Blood Blades.

Fortunately, the Great Elders weren"t stupid…well, actually, they were. They had made so many stupid decisions regarding Liang Shao Yang, and a lot of other judgemental errors that seemed more contrived to create drama and tension in the plot rather than judgement befitting people of their advanced age and wisdom. Currently, they moved according to the latter (probably because the plot required them to), and acknowledged that we couldn"t survive without Tian Yu Di"s help. Not if Nine-Tailed Fox Sect was to survive the next onslaught.

"Fine." Luo Zhi Chang sighed. "Let"s take it one step at a time."

*

Outside Tushan City, at the Heavenly Fire Mountain Range, many camps had been set up. Armored Fighting Vehicles, trucks, rovers and scout vehicles had been parked neatly in large formations, their engines idling as they were spread out across the gra.s.s.

This group was Dark Asura Sect"s reserve force. They were waiting reinforcements from Heavenly Way Sect and Green Dragon Sect, who had also been mobilized by the Martial Arts Alliance to join the invasion.

Atop one of the scout vehicles, a single lady stood atop the cupola and peered at Tushan City through her binoculars. Given the distance, despite the magnification, she couldn"t see anything or make anything out clearly.

"I wonder what"s going on in the city?" Xie Jing Lian murmured to herself. Her subordinate, Yang Zhong, glanced up.

"We"ve lost all contact with the Dark Asura Sect forces in the sect," he informed her solemnly as he struggled with the long-distance vox-set. The receivers had gone silent now, the signal apparently blocked, or too far to be received. Given how powerful the vehicle-mounted vox-set was, it was most likely the former.

He flicked a few switches and twisted a few dials, but only static continued to blare out. Even Yuan Tian Ya"s personal comn bead remained stubbornly silent, as if the wearer had carelessly discarded it to ignore orders from above.

Giving up finally, Yang Zhong turned back to look at his lady.

"I"ve dispatched several unmanned drones to scout ahead. The moment they come into view, we"ll be able to construct a picture." He gestured toward several monitors, which still displayed the gra.s.slands and forests surrounding Tushan City. "If everything goes smoothly, then Nine-Tailed Fox Sect should have fallen by now. Sect Leader Zi Shou De, the Great Elders, and the inner sect elders should all be captured and imprisoned right now."

Xie Jing Lian nodded lightly, not trusting herself to speak.

A muscular man approached their scout vehicle, causing Xie Jing Lian to look down on him from her cupola. Unlike her white and pristine military uniform, this man was dressed in the black and red uniform of Dark Asura Sect, with many medals decorating his chest. The chevrons on his shoulders, which were three stars, indicated his high rank.

He was the second sect leader of Dark Asura Sect, Cao Xuan Rui. A person who had always been at odds with Yuan Tian Ya, the both of them always competed fiercely for the ultimate rank of Grand Sect Leader.

Well, thanks to Tian Yu Di, his compet.i.tion had been all but eliminated.

To give some background because I needed to fill out the word count to keep up the daily updates, I might as well tell everyone that Yuan Tian Ya had been hogging the spotlight recently because of recent achievements and battles, which including gathering an extremely formidable force under him and exterminating a demonic sect at the fringes of the Great Zhou Empire. Not just Dark Asura Sect, but the Martial Arts Alliance had recognized his accomplishments.

That was why he was allowed to take charge of this operation against Nine-Tailed Fox Sect.

The ones who broke into Nine-Tailed Fox Sect first would have the opportunity to plunder whatever Spirit Materials, high quality Spirit Artifacts and other resources they liked from Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. That was why so many coveted the opportunity to lead the a.s.sault against Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. As much as Cao Xuan Rui hated to admit it, Yuan Tian Ya had proven that he deserved the opportunity, thanks to his decisive blow against the Dark Carnage Sect. That didn"t mean he had to like the higher-ups" decision, though.

"Miss Xie, I heard that the higher-ups have arranged for the Heavenly Way Sect and Green Dragon Sect to send their forces over." Cao Xuan Rui stopped next to the armored fighting vehicle and bowed politely. "Have you heard from them yet?"

"Not yet," Xie Jing Lian replied indifferently.

"What about the lord from the Xie family?" he asked.

The Martial Arts Alliance was currently governed by three great clans, who possessed great prestige and tremendous power, even in comparison to the eight major sects. They were just under the royal family in terms of rank and influence, which was why the royal family was so reluctant to clash with the Martial Arts Alliance. It was also because of them that the Martial Arts Alliance was able to maintain its incredible standing in the Great Zhou Empire today.

The three great clans often took turns, competing to be the Alliance Chief. And the Xie family was one of those three ma.s.sive clans in the Martial Arts Alliance.

That was why Cao Xuan Rui treated Xie Jing Lian with such deference. He could not afford to antagonize her. Even if Yuan Tian Ya was still alive and present, even he would also have to treat her with respect.

Xie Jing Lian had apparently been a.s.signed to the Dark Asura Sect because her clan wanted her to acc.u.mulate experience through managing subordinates in combat, and also so that she could increase her own strength, while rising through the ranks to become one of the potential heiress to the clan and an eventual Alliance Chief in the far future.

"I haven"t heard anything either," Xie Jing Lian repeated in the same uncaring tone.

The Dark Asura Sect members exchanged glances with each other, trying to conceal their impatience, but they were smart enough to hold their tongues.

"Do you think Lord Tu Xi is enough to eliminate Lang Xie?" one of the Dark Asura Sect members whispered.

"Why not? Lord Tu Xi is a high-ranking martial artist in the Heavenly Way Sect. You know how powerful the Heavenly Way Sect is."

Unlike the Heavenly Way Sect, the Dark Asura Sect was not one of the eight major sects. That was why they held the eight major sects in reverence. They were still powerful in their own right, but not strong enough to challenge a major sect like Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, which was why they were woring together with nine other sects to invade it in the first place.

"Still…I can"t believe the Heavenly Way Sect only dispatched one expert," the first member complained.

"I heard they are sending reinforcements," the second member chided him. "An entire army of Heavenly Way Sect members are on their way. And I heard their second young master, Jiang Jun Hao, is leading them. Apparently his masters want him to gain experience in combat, but didn"t want to put him in too much danger."

"Just like Lady Xie up there, eh?" a third member chuckled. If Xie Jing Lian had heard him, she gave no sign, instead continuing to view Tushan City through her binoculars.

"Quiet, all of you," Cao Xuan Rui snapped. Then he dropped his voice to a whisper. "Let us hope our comrades are enough to subjugate Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. We don"t want Heavenly Way Sect or any of the major sects to come in and steal our thunder. They will take a sizeable portion of the spoils of war for themselves."

"If we conquer Nine-Tailed Fox Sect before they arrive…" the third member was practically drooling. "We can have all their stuff to ourselves."

"Not all of their stuff," Cao Xuan Rui reminded him. Then he smiled. "But we do get their best stuff, yes."

Their optimism faded immediately when Yang Zhong"s voice suddenly spoke up across the vox system, echoing from their invidual comn beads.

"The drones have reached the destination. Receiving pictures now…"

Yang Zhong watched as the images of Tushan City finally came into view, and his expression turned into stupefied horror as he magnified the images and clarified what he was seeing in real time. His fingers turned white as he gripped the controls tightly, his mind grappling with disbelief.

When they noticed there was a delay, a long lull of silence as Yang Zhong ceased his report, the Dark Asura Sect members began to stir restlessly, looking at each other.

"What"s happening?"

"What"s going on?"

"Yang Zhong?" Xie Jing Lian pressed impatiently, lowering herself through the cupola to look at her subordinate.

"Tushan City…Tushan City has been retaken by Nine-Tailed Fox Sect." Even as he resumed his report, Yang Zhong"s voice was filled with incredulity. "Right now, Blood Blades martial artists are hunting down all the martial artists of the invading ten sects in the city and wiping them out! There are few, if any survivors!"

The entire reserve force of Dark Asura Sect were stunned speechless.

"H…how is that possible!?" one of the members cried out angrily.

"Just this morning, didn"t the allied forces launch a combined attack and overwhelm Nine-Tailed Fox Sect"s defenses? Didn"t they already succeed in conquering Tushan City and occupying it? We were supposed to execute the last phase of our invasion and take the main sect grounds. The sun hasn"t even set yet, and already the situation is reversed and our allied forces are being driven out of Tushan City or eliminated? What happened?!"

Cao Xuan Rui"s face had lost all its color as he tried to make sense of what was happening. He glared at the armored fighting vehicle, as if his gaze could bore through the thick walls and drill straight at Yang Zhong.

The vox-operator, however, was unaware of the questioning glare, continuing to monitor the situation. He studied a single monitor as several of his drones swooped across the s.p.a.ce above the foot of Flame Volcano.

His eyes bulged, and he desperately adjusted the magnification to ensure that he wasn"t seeing things wrong. Sucking in a deep breath, he spoke with a trembling voice.

"Shi Jing Yun, Wu Tuo and Su Bai Xue have been shackled to the Spirit Engraved Pillars at Nine-Tailed Fox Sect"s plaza. I can"t find Liang Yang Zu or Yuan Tian Ya anyway. And all the dead bodies in the plaza…they are wearing the uniforms of the ten allied sects!"

No one said a word. They were staring in the direction of Tushan City with wide, disbelieving eyes.

Then Yang Zhong broke the silence again.

"Our forces…our allied forces who were sent in to invade Nine-Tailed Fox Sect…have been almost completely wiped out."