Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 1807: Chapter 1094: The Terrifying Demon Emperor (2)

The ones in the worst shape aren’t even him, but Yu Yuan and Yellow Springs. The two of them still haven’t returned yet, and no one knows whether they’ve gotten lost in the depths of the Void.

The elder standing before An Wusheng was Li Shanghun, Hall Master of the Soul Refining Hall.

Li Shanghun’s expression was ugly as well. He fixed An Wusheng with a sinister gaze. "This old man had no idea the Demon Emperor still had this move!"

"You damn fossil, I almost lost my life!" An Wusheng glared at him in fury.

"Enough. This was something none of us anticipated!" Li Shanghun said coldly.

An Wusheng took a deep breath. None of them had imagined that the Wanhua Demon Emperor actually possessed such an ability. Not even their Sect Master knew the Wanhua Demon Emperor could create freakish things like tree-men. The Wanhua Demon Emperor was simply too mysterious.

Originally, they thought they could seize the Wanhua Mountain Range with ease, but now the situation was obvious: taking the Wanhua Mountain Range would not be easy.

Unless their Sect Master personally took action.

"So what do we do now?"

Li Shanghun’s eyes lowered slightly. "He didn’t completely drive us out of the Wanhua Mountain Range. That shows his power is still insufficient to crush us outright!"

"For now, the Northern Region we occupy is still secure. He lacks the strength to continue his offensive!"

An Wusheng said, "What our Sect Master wants is the entire Wanhua Mountain Range!"

Li Shanghun glared fiercely at him. "This old man is well aware of that. But at present, we don’t understand the Demon Emperor’s capabilities. Launching a rash offensive will only add pointless casualties."

"Then what should we do?" An Wusheng asked.

"Wait!"

"Wait for what?"

"Wait for more people to step onto the field!"

"How long are we supposed to wait?"

"A hundred years will be enough!"

"..." An Wusheng was completely speechless.

A hundred years!

They were to wait a hundred years?

Was this some kind of joke?

"You old bastard, can we even afford to wait a hundred years?"

"Why not? Our goal isn’t to vent a momentary urge; our goal is to transform the entire Wanhua Mountain Range! Right now we change the Northern Region of the Wanhua Mountain Range first. After the Northern Region is fully reshaped, we’ll scheme for the Southern Region next. That way we’ll occupy most of the Wanhua Mountain Range!" Li Shanghun said.

Previously, they only thought about swiftly seizing the Wanhua Mountain Range. Now they had to change their plan; they needed to slowly nibble away at the Wanhua Mountain Range.

An Wusheng had no other options and stopped arguing with Li Shanghun.

Given how things stood, they could only proceed slowly.

...

Qingyuan Cave Heaven, beneath the Holy Tree.

Listening to Su Qingwu’s report, Su Mei was first stunned, then could only shake her head helplessly.

Just from Su Qingwu’s description, she thought of those exquisite flower-trees in the Demon Ruins and realized those tree-men were transformed from the exquisite flower-trees.

It was just that she had never considered that those exquisite flower-trees could actually turn into tree-men.

"Demon Venerable, should we go request an audience with the Demon Emperor?" Su Qingwu asked softly.

Su Mei shook her head. "No need. Going would be meaningless!"

She didn’t hold much reverence for the Demon Emperor, because he wasn’t a qualified sovereign. He had never cared about the lives and deaths of the many Demon Clans under the Wanhua Demon Court, nor had he ever paid heed to the Demon Court’s rule over the Wanhua Mountain Range.

The myriad Demon Venerables let him be emperor only because he was mysterious and powerful. In the end, the various Demon Clans didn’t feel much sense of belonging to the Wanhua Demon Court. That was precisely why, when they saw the Unpredictable Ghost Sect’s Ghost Soldiers army pressing in with unstoppable momentum, they all chose to flee.

The Qingyuan Fox Clan was no different from other Demon Clans; they did not receive the Wanhua Demon Emperor’s favor. Thus Su Mei had no desire to return now. She knew that going back would bring no benefit at all and would only subject them to the Demon Emperor’s orders.

Since the Qingyuan Fox Clan had already chosen to hide away, there was no need to continue participating in the war between the Wanhua Demon Emperor and the Unpredictable Ghost Sect.

"Recall all our clansmen. We’ll hide for a few years first and then talk!"

Su Mei thought of Yang Zhenshan’s maneuver and simply decided to copy it once—hide for a few years first, wait for the turmoil to subside, and then decide based on the situation.

...

Hidden Sword Mountain.

Jian Changhe rode the Mystic Gold Lin Nue, tore through the clouds, and landed atop a sheer cliff.

This Mystic Gold Lin Nue was the very one Chi Yuan had used back then to hunt down Jian Changhe. At the time, Jian Changhe had been chased by this Mystic Gold Lin Nue for a long while; if Que Lingyu hadn’t arrived in the end to help, Jian Changhe would likely have been dragged to death by this Mystic Gold Lin Nue.

But precisely because Que Lingyu went to his aid, the Mystic Gold Lin Nue fell and became a prisoner beneath the steps. Now, the Mystic Gold Lin Nue was Jian Changhe’s mount.

With a Demon King as his mount, Jian Changhe’s face value was still quite high.

"Changhe pays his respects to Ancestor!"

Jian Changhe walked up to Heavenly Sword True Monarch and bowed.

Beneath a green pine, the young and handsome Heavenly Sword True Monarch sat cross-legged, eyes slightly closed, and said impatiently, "Did I not tell you not to disturb me?"

"Ancestor, the Wanhua Demon Court and the Unpredictable Ghost Sect have gone to war. The Demon Court somehow acquired some tree-men, and these tree-men actually repelled the Ghost Soldiers army of the Unpredictable Ghost Sect!" Jian Changhe said.

Heavenly Sword True Monarch, hearing this, opened his eyes to look at him. "Tree-men?"

"Yes. Branches and leaves like Glaze, trunks in human form, roots harder even than magical artifacts, numbering in the tens of thousands, each one boasting strength not inferior to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator!" Jian Changhe said.

Heavenly Sword True Monarch revealed a pensive expression. "Could it be the legendary Path of Spirit Giving? But why would the Wanhua Demon Emperor have mastered the Path of Spirit Giving?"

"No, why couldn’t he have mastered the Path of Spirit Giving? The Path of Spirit Giving isn’t some dao intent that can’t be comprehended."

"It’s just—who is that fellow, really?"

Heavenly Sword True Monarch naturally knew of the Wanhua Demon Emperor; he’d even had quite a few dealings with him out at sea.

In his memories, the Wanhua Demon Emperor had always been a transcendent, lofty existence.

Back when he hadn’t even formed his core, the Wanhua Demon Emperor already dominated the Wanhua Mountain Range. By the time he lay down to await death, the Demon Emperor was still the Demon Emperor. And now, the Demon Emperor was still the Demon Emperor.

Heavenly Sword True Monarch did a quick calculation and suddenly realized the Wanhua Demon Emperor had lived for at least five thousand years already.

Even if the Demon Clan’s lifespan far surpassed that of Human Race Cultivators, Demon Kings capable of living five thousand years should still be rare.

He had seen the Wanhua Demon Emperor before, but unfortunately, he didn’t know much about him.

Nor did he know about the Returning Ruins Demon Flower; he had only heard of the Path of Spirit Giving.

"Forget it. Whoever he is, we won’t go provoking him." Unable to figure it out, Heavenly Sword True Monarch simply stopped thinking about it.

Right now he had no intention of joining any conflicts. What he wanted most was to raise his cultivation—to push it up to the Golden Core Realm. Only then would he have the qualifications to vie for a seat of power.

"Yes!" Jian Changhe answered.

...

The war between the Wanhua Demon Court and the Unpredictable Ghost Sect had a huge impact on the surrounding powers.

Many forces were forced to relocate their stations because of it, but in doing so, they were also shocked beyond measure.

Especially when the Tree-man Army beat back the Ghost Soldiers army—this made many powers start to regret their choices.

Take the Cloud Traveling White Crane Clan and the Spirit Deer Clan for example. They had just fled from the Wanhua Demon Court, and then the Wanhua Demon Emperor put on a grand display of might, summoning tens of thousands of tree-men to repel the Ghost Soldiers army.

If they’d known earlier, why would they have fled?

And now the question before them was whether or not they should go back.

Xuan Ling and Yue Yao huddled together to discuss this for a long time, but in the end, they still couldn’t reach a unified decision.

Xuan Ling wanted to return; Yue Yao didn’t want to.

Xuan Ling’s reason for wanting to go back was simple: the Cloud Traveling White Crane Clan were demon birds. After returning, they could still attach themselves to the Chi Huang Clan, and given the Demon Emperor’s temperament, he probably wouldn’t blame them.

Yue Yao’s reason for not wanting to return was also simple: the Qingyuan Fox Clan hadn’t shown their faces, so she naturally didn’t want to go back.

Put simply, within the Wanhua Demon Court, the Cloud Traveling White Crane Clan belonged to the wavering faction. They could side with the Qingyuan Fox Clan, or with the Chi Huang Clan, or even with the Demon Emperor himself—as long as someone was willing to shelter them, they were willing to attach themselves.

Meanwhile, the Spirit Deer Clan preferred following the Qingyuan Fox Clan, which was one of the reasons Yue Yao got along so well with Su Qingfu.

In the end, the Cloud Traveling White Crane Clan returned to the Wanhua Mountain Range, while the Spirit Deer Clan remained in the Southern Yun Xiao Mountain Range.