"Clatter!"
"Clatter!"
Late October.
An autumn rain poured down.
The True Truth Demonic Sect was located within a mountain range.
The atmosphere was oppressive and murderous.
The True Demon Sect and the True Truth Demonic Sect faced each other, their forces arrayed in opposition.
This battle could potentially spill rivers of blood and decide the lives and deaths of tens of thousands.
Even the people of the True Truth Demonic Sect were baffled as to what the Sect Master of the True Saint Sect intended to do.
Not only the True Truth Demonic Sect, but the entire True Demon Sect was also somewhat unable to comprehend.
Only a select few from the Han clan knew of Chen Jiuyang's ambition to unify the Nine Demonic Sects in this great era.
And now, the True Truth Demonic Sect was merely the beginning.
Led by their Holy Son, Han Lixuan, the True Truth Demonic Sect was backed by withered Nascent Soul stage mighty cultivators and several Void Return stage mighty cultivators.
Han Lixuan's clear voice spread for more than ten miles, "Sect Master Qianyang, what is it that you seek?"
High above in the sky opposite, Chen Jiuyang, clad in a nine-dragon embroidered robe, with black mist coiling and surging around him, like a god or demon, spoke with a detached voice:
"After today, only one of the True Truth Holy Sect and my True Saint Sect can remain."
"Could it be..."
Several ancient elders of the True Truth Demonic Sect seemed to have guessed something.
Twenty-seven years old, Venerable Realm, with unparalleled talent and combat power surpassing his peers.
A Void Return stage mighty cultivator, his body exuding a decaying aura, stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Sect Master Qianyang, do you intend to annex our True Truth Demonic Sect and take charge of both sects?"
Upon hearing this, many people's expressions changed drastically, their eyes flickered, and they all looked towards Chen Jiuyang.
With the matter at hand, such thoughts might not be concealable.
Chen Jiuyang clasped his hands behind his back and said, "My actions are known throughout the Holy Path. Since the True Truth Holy Sect has bullied my sect as if we had no one, then I believe the True Truth Holy Sect has no need to exist any longer."
The expressions of everyone in the True Truth Demonic Sect immediately sank.
"As expected, Sect Master Qianyang is ambitious. Our sect already knows your intentions."
"Since you wish to annex our sect and control the Great Dao, then let strength speak."
"The Nine Holy Sects are not without precedent. Our ancestors have long established the rules."
"Summon the Holy Artifact!"
This Supreme Void Return stage elder of the True Truth Demonic Sect bowed to his sect behind him.
"Rumble!!!"
The void tore open, and a tattered ancient book, emitting an ancient and sacred aura, appeared. It was entirely black and possessed a profound, ineffable terror.
Chen Jiuyang raised his eyebrows, then cupped his fists in return and said:
"Summon the Holy Artifact!"
"Boom!"
The ancient scroll, the Holy Artifact of the True Demon Sect, slowly emerged, and two different kinds of profound terror descended upon the void.
Then, the two Holy Artifacts were revived.
"Whoosh!"
Thousands of feet of lightning suddenly struck down from the sky.
A moment later, the Holy Artifact of the True Demon Sect vanished into the void.
The spirit of the Holy Artifact, the ancient book of the True Truth Demonic Sect, spoke:
"The contest of the Holy Path has long had established rules."
"The Nine Holy Veins of the Holy Path exist eternally, adhering to the great principle of division leading to unity, and unity leading to division."
"Today, the Sect Master of the True Saint Sect challenges my True Truth Holy Sect in battle, which is in accordance with the Great Dao. There is no need to awaken the past ancestors for this matter; this battle can be supervised by me."
"My True Truth Holy Sect will send five individuals to battle the Sect Master of the True Saint Sect."
"If the Sect Master of the True Saint Sect wins all five battles, then until his death, the True Truth Holy Sect will submit to the True Saint Sect, fulfilling the eternal truth of the Great Dao."
"If the Sect Master of the True Saint Sect loses even one match, then I will take his life as sustenance for this Holy Path contest."
The voice of the True Truth Demonic Sect's Holy Artifact spirit fell, causing an uproar among many.
They had not expected such a turn of events.
The Han clan and others frowned. Ancestor 'Ba An' had once said that Chen Jiuyang would one day be his equal, and that his future would far surpass the Venerable Realm, bringing glory to the Han clan for thousands of years.
If Chen Jiuyang were to perish here, the loss would be immense.
They did not doubt Chen Jiuyang's combat power, but they worried that the Void Return stage ancestors of the opposing side might force Chen Jiuyang into defeat.
Above the Nascent Soul stage, whether in the path of Immortality or Martial Arts, one had to grasp the rules. These awakened old monsters of the True Truth Demonic Sect were individuals about whom even they had little recorded information. Who knew if the rules they mastered might counter Chen Jiuyang?
As they were calculating with active minds.
"Tap!"
Chen Jiuyang stood with his hands behind his back, took a step forward in the void, and his detached voice echoed, "I am Qianyang, and today I seek a contest of the Holy Path."
"True Truth Holy Sect, please send out five Holy Friends to battle me."
"Regardless of life or death, it is all in pursuit of the Great Dao. In this life, this battle, I have no regrets."
The Han clan and the True Demon Sect members frowned deeply. Should their Sect Master act so rashly without consulting them first?
However, the words had been spoken, and there was no turning back.
They could only await the battle.
"Granted."
The voice of the True Truth Demonic Sect's artifact spirit rang out.
The True Truth Demonic Sect side became lively.
"Since the Holy Artifact has spoken, this battle is unavoidable."
"If this Sect Master of the True Saint Sect dies, our True Truth Holy Sect will launch a full counter-attack, turning their flesh and blood into sustenance for our cultivation."
"This Sect Master of the True Saint Sect, only twenty-seven years old, has entered the Venerable Realm. His talent is peerless, and his combat power surpasses his peers. If we send juniors in the Nascent Soul or Venerable Realm to fight him, the chances of victory are not high."
"Although the Sect Master of the True Saint Sect is exceptionally talented, he has only recently entered the Venerable Realm. In the application of法则 (fǎzé - principles/laws) and divine abilities, he is definitely not as proficient as our older generation of Void Return stage cultivators."
"In this battle, our True Truth Holy Sect will send five people to fight him alone. We can only win, not lose, otherwise, the nine lineage families of our True Truth Holy Sect will be reduced to cannon fodder, disgracing the foundation of our ancestors."
"In that case, then let us five Void Return stage cultivators battle this Sect Master of the True Saint Sect."
"Should we test him one by one in a war of attrition, or should all five of us attack together?"
"Uh... this Sect Master of the True Saint Sect is a junior, only twenty-seven years old, not even a fraction of our age. If five of us attack together, even if we win, it will be utterly inglorious and we will be ridiculed by our Daoist friends of the Holy Path and the Pseudo-Dao."
"Then in that case, let us go one by one. Who will fight first?"
An old man dressed in gray robes, with a withered appearance and holding a great saber for beheading, stepped forward and said, "In that case, let this old man fight the first match, to test the depth of this Sect Master of the True Saint Sect's strength."
"Elder of the Punishment Hall, Demon Lord Xiang Ming!"
The others nodded slightly, "Brother Xiang Ming's combat power is high, and his methods are numerous. Using him to test the strength of this Sect Master of the True Saint Sect is indeed the best choice."
Demon Lord Xiang Ming, with his Void Return stage cultivation, was the Supreme Elder of the Punishment Hall of the True Truth Demonic Sect. He had lived for an ancient age, and even within the True Truth Demonic Sect, no one could remember this ancestor.
Demon Lord Xiang Ming stepped forward, flew into the void, and positioned himself opposite Chen Jiuyang's eye level. He cupped his fists and spoke, "I am Demon Lord Xiang Ming, Elder of the Punishment Hall of the True Truth Holy Sect."
"True Saint Sect, Qianyang." Chen Jiuyang announced his title.
·As the voices fell.
"Boom!!!"
A majestic torrent of spiritual power erupted from Demon Lord Xiang Ming's body. A thunderous dragon's roar exploded, and a dark dragon Dharma image soared up from behind Demon Lord Xiang Ming:
"Sun-Slaying Dragon Claw Dragon Thunder!"