Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1388: 746: Demon Nest Showdown (Part 2)

Baili Shouguang’s gaze wavered momentarily before he resolutely turned away, no longer daring to fix his eyes upon the Mirror Pyramid.

Surveying the battlefield, he observed pillars of yellow light erupting incessantly from the valley floor. These beams targeted the heads of the demon beasts with pinpoint accuracy, seizing them before dragging them into the depths of the earth.

Having witnessed such displays many times over the preceding years, Baili Shouguang was well aware that members of the Alien Demon Clan were concealed within the skulls of those beasts.

The Alien Demon Clan possesses physical form yet lacks a permanent shape; their essence is centered within the "shell," known as the Spiritual Soul Crystal Core, which serves as the vessel for their primary consciousness.

This Spiritual Soul Crystal Core can be embedded within any "parasite," making the task of locating their true essence incredibly difficult.

Had this valley not been a critical node for the Earth Veins, and had the Alien Demon Clan not concentrated their forces to defend the Mirror Pyramid they labored to build here, finding so many of them would have been impossible.

Baili Shouguang and his companions had achieved more in this single engagement than they typically would in several decades of warfare.

If they managed to demolish the Alien Demon Pyramid in this strike, the "merit" gained would be beyond calculation.

As the hours slipped by, the demon beast army serving the Alien Demons was systematically butchered, bringing the conflict on the valley's outskirts to a near conclusion.

Stationed in the central sector of the valley, Baili Shouguang remained on high alert, ensuring no enemies broke through from the valley's inner reaches.

Shortly after, the remaining demon beasts were herded by the Human Clan Cultivators, where they were swiftly organized into a Ten Thousand Beast Formation.

This Ten Thousand Beast Formation was the creation of Zhao Xuanjing. Given his origins in the Spirit-controlling Immortal Sect, the art of Beast Taming was second nature to him.

Recognizing that the Alien Demon Clan favored "Ant Sea" swarm tactics, Zhao Xuanjing had seized control of the beast horde specifically to neutralize that strategy.

At that moment, a group of over a dozen Human Clan Cultivators approached, bowing to Baili Shouguang as they reported their progress.

Their levels of Cultivation were varied; while the weakest had surpassed the Nascent Soul Realm, the strongest had reached Late-stage Divinity Transformation, technically outranking Baili Shouguang.

Nevertheless, they all showed him great respect, bordering on intimidation.

This dynamic existed because they were natives of the Immortal Heaven Continent, holding a lower social standing than "extraterritorial" Immortal Cultivators.

Furthermore, Baili Shouguang acted as the trusted deputy of Zhao Xuanjing, granting him authority over the gathered cultivators.

“Master, the external demon beast forces have been wiped out. What are your orders for the next phase?” the Late-stage Divinity Transformation cultivator asked respectfully, awaiting Baili Shouguang's command.

“Maintain control over the beast army and hold the perimeter. Do not cross the forward boundary. The Venerable One is currently engaged with a formidable foe; that is a level of combat we cannot interfere with,” Baili Shouguang replied calmly, his eyes drifting back toward the valley’s depths.

Suddenly, a thunderous explosion erupted from the west!

A gargantuan, pale demon monkey, its skin riddled with gashes, tore through the thick mist and leaped high above the cultivators. With a violent swing of its arms, a massive wave of frigid energy surged forth, hurtling toward Baili Shouguang and his subordinates.

The creature radiated an ocean of Devil Qi, its sheer power dwarfing that of the surrounding cultivators.

The freezing storm struck with terrifying speed. Before the cultivators could even process the threat, they were enveloped in thick white ice and sent crashing to the earth.

“Curse it...” Baili Shouguang hissed under his breath, his enchanted armor barely shielding him from the biting cold.

The rest of the men and the beast horde below, however, were instantly transformed into frozen statues.

Realizing the situation had turned dire, a bitter Baili Shouguang quickly dispatched a Divine Thought to Dragon King Little Gold, begging for intervention.

“Hmph, once again you require this king to sweep up your mess. You lot are truly pathetic!”

The voice of a young child suddenly rang out through the valley, though it spoke with a forced, elderly gravity that might have been humorous in any other context.

But for the pale demon monkey, the sound was a death knell. Trembling with sudden fright, it abandoned its assault on the cultivators and tried to use its cold storm to flee the valley in a panic.

In that instant, the valley floor heaved upward as brilliant gray-white light erupted from the soil.

The radiance flooded more than half the valley. The moment it touched the monkey, a thin stone crust formed over its body, petrifying even the swirling cold air around it.

Crack, crack!

The demon monkey fought back with everything it had, its demonic energy burning like a pyre as it tried to shatter the stone. Yet, the more it struggled, the thicker and more unbreakable the stone shell became.

Within seconds, the beast—which possessed combat strength nearly at the Returning to Void level—was completely encased in stone and fell heavily to the ground.

Upon impact, the earth gaped open and swallowed the monkey whole, followed by the gruesome sound of crunching coming from beneath the surface.

Moments later, a pulse of yellow light emerged from the ground and swept across the frozen cultivators.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The ice encasing them shattered, and the cultivators were restored to life.

The light eventually coalesced beside Baili Shouguang, revealing the form of Mountain Dragon Little Gold.

Poof, poof, poof!

Little Gold spat out several dozen faceted crystals from its mouth.

These crystals varied in size; the largest was the size of an egg with five hundred and nine mirror-like facets, while the smallest was no bigger than a grape with only eight facets.

The others fell somewhere in between, all glowing with a magnificent yet sinister light.

These crystals were the Demon Spirit Crystals—or Alien Crystals—the core organs of the Alien Demon Clan.

They served as the sole evidence of an Alien Demon's death and could be traded for rewards at the Taiyi Merit Stele.

Despite the thousands of beasts slain in the valley, the only true loot of value remained in the possession of Mountain Dragon Little Gold.

Baili Shouguang looked on with envy but knew better than to demand anything from the Mountain Dragon.

Little Gold toyed with the crystals for a moment before tossing three of the smallest ones to Baili Shouguang.

“Haha, Dragon King Zhao is truly generous! My deepest thanks!” Baili Shouguang said excitedly, stowing the Alien Crystals and bowing in gratitude.

Little Gold gave a dismissive nod, swallowed the remaining crystals, and commanded, “Stay here and guard the entrance; this king must go assist my master!”

With those words, Little Gold turned into a golden streak, flying into the valley and vanishing into the void.

It was clear now—the true struggle was taking place in a different layer of space-time, not in the physical depths of the valley.

Baili Shouguang and his team waited at the perimeter for over two weeks.

During that time, the powerful auras that had been pressing down on the void began to fade, eventually disappearing entirely.

The cultivators expected the Venerable One and the Mountain Dragon King to reappear at any moment, but several days passed with no sign of them.

The heavy mist finally started to clear, allowing sunlight to illuminate the valley once more.

In the bright light, the Mirror Pyramid looked even more imposing, while the black sphere of light hovering above it seemed increasingly malevolent.

As the wait stretched on, the cultivators grew restless; some were plagued by anxiety, while others contemplated desertion.

A few of the more impulsive members urged Baili Shouguang to let them scout the interior, but he firmly denied their requests.

Three more days passed until, suddenly, the sound of cracking stone echoed from the Mirror Pyramid.

The vast, glassy surface of the structure began to splinter, covered in a web of fractures in an instant.

Then, a heavy, resonant sound of breathing drifted from the heart of the pyramid.

It sounded like a titan waking from a long slumber, purging its lungs with a deep exhale.

Recognizing the sound, Baili Shouguang felt a wave of relief. He shouted with joy, “That is the Venerable One! That is his voice!”

The surrounding cultivators were instantly re-energized, their eyes fixed expectantly on the crumbling pyramid.