The Demon Legion Strikes

The sparring bout that Ji Ning had engaged in upon arriving at Ten Thousand Mountains Island filled the nine Empyrean Gods—Wuqi, Zhenbu, and the others—with excitement and delight. Although each of them appeared carefree and at ease, the looming calamity… the knowledge that it would likely claim one or two of their lives, still weighed upon their hearts like an invisible pressure.

But at times like these, the stronger Ji Ning became, the more they rejoiced.

The days passed, one after another…

The ten Empyrean Gods silently made their preparations.

…

Within a great palace hall, Ji Ning and the nine Empyrean Gods were discussing their strategy for battle.

“What? We can’t use formations?” Ji Ning asked in surprise.

“Of course we can’t use formations,” Wuqi God said calmly, his voice flat and matter-of-fact. “If we use formations, the demon legion will use them in return. And they have far greater numbers—we would be the ones to suffer. These are lessons left by our predecessors. If we refrain from using formations, the demon legion will also refrain.”

“Strange.” Ji Ning was puzzled.

If his side wouldn’t use formations, the demon legion wouldn’t either?

“How can this be?” Ji Ning said, still not understanding.

“Just put yourself in the shoes of the Moon Underwater Abyss’s creator, and you’ll understand,” Zhenbu God said with a loud laugh. “The creator of the Moon Underwater Abyss wants to temper us, to make us stronger. If we rely on formations—like the ‘Seven Luminaries God’ formation—then even if seven Empyrean Gods are fighting the enemy together, in truth only one of them is actually battling while the other six are merely supplying divine power. That goes against the creator’s original intention. So naturally, they don’t want us to use formations. They want us to rely on ourselves, to face the enemy in close-quarters combat, to endure this tribulation as a means to temper our own selves.”

Ji Ning grasped it immediately and laughed. “Speaking of which… I wonder what the creator of the Moon Underwater Abyss actually hopes to achieve, going through all this trouble to temper us.”

“We’re curious about that too.”

“Yeah, what is the point, after all?”

“I’m afraid only Jue Ming would know the answer, once he got out. Brother Bei Ming, you came in from the outside world—did Honored Jue Ming ever say what the creator’s purpose was in building this?”

The nine Empyrean Gods were also puzzled.

Ji Ning shook his head. “Buddha Jue Ming refused to speak of anything regarding the Moon Underwater Abyss once he was outside.”

“He’s already become a Buddha?” Jibu God exclaimed.

“The Seven Dragon Gods mentioned it earlier—didn’t you hear them?”

“I spaced out for a moment.”

“You’re an Empyrean God, and you spaced out?”

“The tribulation is getting close, isn’t it… I just can’t help imagining what the scene will be like when the demon legion comes… what, an Empyrean God isn’t allowed to space out?”

…

Since formations were impossible, the only option was to fight individually with everything they had. The single most important rule was: ‘Keep the distance between each other short. If another Empyrean God is in danger, the others must be able to rescue them as quickly as possible.’ Mutually supporting one another was the only way to survive the demon legion’s assault for as long as possible.

In the blink of an eye, twenty-one days had passed since Ji Ning had arrived at Ten Thousand Mountains Island.

Starting from the tenth day, the ten Empyrean Gods had begun living together, ready to welcome the battle at any moment. Finally, today… a cold wind blew across the sky, which remained hazy and indistinct, and the bright moon still hung high above.

“Oooooooh!!!” A long, desolate roar that shook heaven and earth came from the western side of Ten Thousand Mountains Island.

“Oh?”

Ten streaks of light shot out from the palace, landing atop the peak of the nearest mountain. Standing there like primordial gods, the ten of them gazed into the distance.

“They’re here.” Feiyou God said in a low voice.

“Finally.” Zhenbu God licked his lips.

“Bei Ming, remember this,” Wuqi God cautioned Ji Ning. “Don’t charge too far forward. You have the Arcane Art protecting you, so you can take hits and you can charge, but if you get isolated in the middle of the legion without anyone to help, and you also draw the Demon King’s attacks… death won’t be far behind.”

“Understood.” Ji Ning nodded.

The demon legion consisted of a vast number of demons whose power was comparable to Empyrean Gods, along with ‘Demon Commanders’ whose might rivaled their own ten Empyrean Gods, and a Demon King whose power far surpassed all of them!

The more Empyrean Gods that fought, the more Demon Commanders and demons would appear.

Because this time, there were ten Empyrean Gods, so there were ten Demon Commanders!

“We must be extremely careful with the Demon Commanders. Every one of those ten is a match for any of us. And as for those countless ordinary demons—though each is individually weak, if they manage to entangle you, they can drastically reduce your combat effectiveness. We have to stay close to each other, we have to support each other; we absolutely cannot allow the demons to split us apart.” Tongqu God couldn’t help but add.

“Mm.” Ji Ning nodded.

He understood. Everyone was telling him this because the other nine had all experienced a tribulation before. It was precisely because of their experience that they were even more worried about Ji Ning making a mistake. In a life-or-death moment like this, one mistake almost certainly meant death.

Boom! Boom! Boom!~

The earth began to tremble.

The ten Empyrean Gods gazed into the distance. They saw a boundless tide of demons appear on the horizon. These demons were covered in dark green skin, and each carried a weapon—blades, spears, forks, and so on. Among them were even more imposing figures, about three meters tall—these were the Demon Commanders, their skin a dark red.

“The big ones are the Demon Commanders.”

“See that one with the longest curved horns on its head? That’s the Demon King.” Feiyou God and the others pointed and explained to Ji Ning. In truth, Ji Ning could already guess—the demon whose two curved horns were each a full three meters long had an aura that was clearly the most powerful.

“Oooooooh~~~” The Demon King had a golden gourd at his waist and carried a black staff in his hand. He raised his head and roared.

“Oooooh—aooooooh—aooooooh~~~” The vast sea of demons joined in his roar.

The ten Empyrean Gods watched, their expressions solemn.

…

In the distance, the Seven Dragon Gods, Xiuke God, and a host of other Empyrean Gods were watching the scene with nervous tension.

“Another tribulation has arrived.”

“I hope they all survive this time.”

“Sigh…”

There was nothing they could do. If they joined the battle, they would only summon even more demons. All they could do was watch from the sidelines. They had managed to come to Ten Thousand Mountains Island precisely by following these powerful Empyrean Gods who were about to undergo their tribulations. Yet in almost every tribulation, at least one Empyrean God would die! They felt keenly the sorrow of the fox grieving for the hare’s death, and to make matters worse, the Empyrean Gods who died were their benefactors!

Just as the Seven Dragon Gods and Xiuke God didn’t want Ji Ning to die, none of them wanted these ten Empyrean Gods to perish, either.

“I hope Brother Bei Ming and the other nine all survive.” Kulong God said.

…

“Let’s go.”

Standing atop the mountain peak, the ten Empyrean Gods heard their leader, Feiyou God, issue the order. Instantly, they all transformed into streaks of light, flying to a particularly strange mountain shaped a few tens of thousands of kilometers away. This island was called ‘Ten Thousand Mountains Island’ precisely because it held over ten thousand peaks of bizarre and varied shapes, all thrusting toward the heavens!

The mountain that Ji Ning and the other Empyrean Gods had chosen was the one most suited to their needs.

Though they couldn’t set up formations, at least they could choose their terrain! The right terrain would prevent the demon legion from encircling them on a massive scale, lessening the pressure on the ten Empyrean Gods.

“Brothers!” Feiyou God roared. “Let’s all survive, and share a drink together!”

“Let’s share a drink!”

The other nine Empyrean Gods, Ji Ning included, all roared back in fury, staring at the demon legion charging toward them. In each of their hearts burned an endless killing intent! They had no choice. It was kill or be killed.

Closer. Closer!

The demon legion had already charged into the million-kilometer range. Then even closer: six hundred thousand kilometers, three hundred thousand kilometers… Even the weakest of these demons was a match for an ordinary Empyrean God, and their speed was naturally astonishing. In the blink of an eye, they were right before them.

“Oooooooh! My children, kill them all!” the Demon King howled.

The demons grew even more excited.

“Kill!” Feiyou God roared.

“Kill!” The nine other Empyrean Gods had all drawn their weapons long ago.

“BOOM~~~”

Like a surging tide crashing against a rocky reef, the ten Empyrean Gods, sheltered by the mountain, were instantly swarmed by a vast army of demons in a mad assault.

Ji Ning held a sword in each hand. Facing demon after demon, all wielding spears, long forks, cleavers, and other weapons, he unleashed his Brightmoon Sword-Art.

The sword-light danced.

Eerily agile.

Pfft!

One demon’s head was sent flying.

Clang! The sword-light scraped past a cleaver, cleaving a fat demon in two.

“Mm.” Ji Ning would occasionally execute his Soleheart Stance and Yin-Yang Stance, two defensive techniques. Amidst the encirclement, defense was obviously critical. If he allowed the horde of demons to press him completely, leaving him no room to swing his sword—then it would all be over.

“Like Brother Feiyou said, I have to kill these ordinary demons as fast as possible, and as many of them as I can. Though they’re individually weak, when it comes to sending us to our deaths, it’s precisely these ordinary demons that will be the ones to do it.” Ji Ning didn’t dare be careless. Although the Eight-Nine Arcane Art protected his body, if he were completely bound and restrained, the Demon King could easily suppress him and take him into that golden gourd.