Volcanic Age

They all showed subtle reactions.

Since they considered themselves martial artists, they found themselves unable to like the Gold Will Merchants or the Gold Will Sword Sect, who bought martial power with money.

However, the Righteous Faction was often involved in many small and large-scale wars, and the Gold Will Merchants had been supplying them with necessary supplies.

As a result, their original disdain for the merchant company was assuaged, and they eventually built a symbiotic relationship.

In fact, the great sects had been extensively profiting from their brand-new relationship.

"Then, what are the plans for the future?"

"We plan to join up with the Wudang Sect, who are on standby to make up for the loss of troops," Exalted Shang Ming answered instead of Zhuge Xiuluan.

"Because we don't know when the Heavenly Demon will get involved, we were planning to make them watch from a close distance and ask them to help us only when requested, but if the Demon Cult stays, that might not be possible."

"The Wudang Sect? Wait, could it be him?"@@novelbin@@

"That's right."

They seemed relieved when Yun Guang's name was mentioned.

There was almost no way to deal with an Empyrean Overlord—an existence beyond human limitations—than to call another Empyrean Overlord.

This was common sense, and the Taiji Sword, Yun Guang, would soon take that empty spot, anyway.

"Since they're close by, it shouldn't be difficult for them to join us… but if they move, the Demon Cult will follow."

"The Demon Cult doesn't know the terrain around here anyway, so it shouldn't matter, right?"

Zhuge Xiuluan shook her head at someone's question.

"I've been watching them for a few days, but it doesn't seem to be the case. While Exalted Shang Ming said that they're beasts and that human strategies and tactics won't work against them, for some reason…"

"For some reason?"

"I think someone skilled in military strategy is by the Cult Leader's side."

"That's impossible," Exalted Shang Ming retorted with his white eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not trying to be stubborn and ignore your thoughts without any basis, Tactician Phoenix.

"I'm speaking based on my own experience. Given the environment of the Demon Cult, it's too difficult for them to be able to develop military strategies."

Exalted Shang Ming told them more about the Demon Cult's demonic arts and resources. Since they were mortal enemies, the Kunlun Sect knew more about the Demon Cult than anyone else in the murim.

"Then, what if they brought a strategist from outside the cult?"

"From outside the cult?"

"Yes. While I don't know about other forces, for the Demon Cult, strength is everything. If the Heavenly Demon insisted, none of them would object."

"Hmm… it's possible."

From an outsider's perspective, however, there was no reason to help a dangerous organization like the Demon Cult.

To survive there, one needed to have a powerful cultivation. However, if one actually had such strength, there wouldn't have been a reason for them to join the Demon Cult. ᚱÀ𝐍ǒВÈṥ

It wasn't that he didn't agree; it was just that he still had some concerns.

"Well, whether it's true or not, that doesn't really matter, right? It's not a bad idea to keep that possibility in mind." Gu Yeyin agreed with Zhuge Xiuluan's opinion. The root of intelligence gathering was suspicion. In that aspect, it was no different from military strategy.

The only difference was that, unlike intelligence gathering, military strategy led to direct conflict.

"Hmm,

The audience's attention turned to Tactician Phoenix once again.

"Until the Wudang Sect joins us, I think it's important for us to avoid the Demon Cult and shake them off. I have a few ideas in mind…"

***

The next day, the Martial Alliance sent a homing pigeon to the Wudang Sect and began moving to join their troops.

The Demon Cult followed suit as if they had been waiting for it. Both sides had made thorough preparations, and their problems had already been resolved, so all that was left was for them to clash again.

The majority of the Martial Alliance assumed that the Demon Cult was still half a day away. Moreover, they assumed that the Demon Cult was unfamiliar with the terrain, so they couldn't properly chase the Martial Alliance troops.

However, they were mistaken. They couldn't even shake off the cultists, let alone force them to fall behind. On top of it all, their troops were dispersed, unlike the first clash. Now that their troops were dispersed, they were faster than before.

All of this combined made the Righteous Faction confident that they had a strategist on their side.

Meanwhile, the Demon Cult, who had been easily chasing the Martial Alliance, fell into a trap just as they were about to clash again.

"Raaaah!"

"Hey, you crazy bastard! Who the hell do you think you're hitting?!"

"Argh!"

Among the dispersed troops, bizarre changes happened to the unit led by the Northern Death Guardian. Although they had yet to engage in battle, their eyes were already bloodshot, and they grew vicious, deserting and even attacking their own.

"Damn it! You idiots! We don't have time for this!"

Although Yan Qiuyou seemed irritated, he was helpless. Only a few of his subordinates listened to him. He was trying his best to calm them all down, but having to stop and gather his subordinates only tied his feet up.

"..."

Blessed Existence frowned at the sight.

A variety of thoughts and possibilities came to mind.

"An illusion… no, that's not it."

"There's a smell," the Heavenly Demon quipped.

"A smell?"

"Yes. It's bitter and spicy, so it must be poison. But, wasn't the Tang Family of Sichuan one of our allies?"

"If you're talking about Avaricious Wolf, then no. The Sichuan Tang Family isn't actually in the hands of Avaricious Wolf. It's in the hands of his father, the Poison King."

Blessed Existence remembered the list of poisons he had received from the Head Archivist in the past. The number alone exceeded thousands.

"Then could it be that the Poison King is here? But I heard that the heads of the Five Great Ancient Families don't often show up on the front lines. How strange."

"...No, it's not the Poison King."

Blessed Existence had collected information from spies he planted in the Martial Alliance. Among them were members participating in the Great War of Good and Demonic.

"They have to be capable of wielding this level of poison as well as afflicting a large number of people… this must be the Poison Phoenix's handiwork."

The Poison Phoenix, Tang Hui. She was a younger generation member of the Righteous Faction; she was a friend and companion of that troublesome Zhou Xuchuan. She was even presumed to be his lover.

In addition, she was Avaricious Wolf's blood sister.

Unlike Zhou Xuchuan, she hadn't directly harmed the Dark Heavens Association, which was why he had been left alone. However, things were different now. If she were truly interfering directly, it would be a different story.

I don't know how Avaricious Wolf feels about this, but if she's daring enough to interfere like this at such a crucial moment…

Blessed Existence's eyes turned cold. The demon cultists were running wild. Looking down at the scene from up above, it looked like there was pandemonium.

The Miss' poison is improving by the day!

Tang Lian, an elder of the Sichuan Tang Family, couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"The Madness Inducing Poisonous Fragrance!"[1]

As its name suggested, it was poisonous fragrance that induced madness within the brain, and it was dispersed into the air like smoke. It would then be blown away by the wind, poisoning people.

It was a type of Poison Manipulation Art, and, like her brother Tang Mingren's Poison Manipulation Art, it manipulated poison in a slightly different way than just exuding poison qi through one's body.

Since that brat's death, the Miss has become more vicious.

The Hero of the Righteous Faction, Sword Dragon Zhou Xuchuan had shown an otherworldly cultivation in the Southern Jungles, and he seemed like he would never die, but he ended up dying, anyway.

It was a pointless end for someone who survived the final battle with the Blood Demon.

Tang Lian thought it started from that point. Tang Hui stopped throwing the occasional barb, and as if trying to forget the news, she threw herself into a training room to undergo secluded cultivation.

When the Great War of Good and Demonic began, she moved to Qinghai as if she had been waiting for it.

During her secluded cultivation, she even broke through a realm and created several poisons; the most powerful yet somewhat questionable one among them was this so-called "Madness-Inducing Poisonous Fragrance."

It seemed as though she had made this with the Demon Cult in mind…

It induced madness in the mind.

It certainly seemed powerful, but it had a few weaknesses.

If one's perception is high and one's mental strength is on the stronger side by virtue of a stable cultivation method, it won't be that useful against one. Something like this mainly works on those weak-willed or emotional, and even those with issues in the brain who couldn't maintain reason as a result of it.

In other words, it was mostly effective against those on the Demonic Path, as they were certainly mentally ill.

The Miss might actually have feel—

***

Out of the eight thousand cultists, two thousand five hundred had fallen. The five thousand five hundred men of the Martial Alliance cheered at the sight. Some even thought that the battle was now worth a try.

"No. It's better to make the result more certain."

Although they had a respite thanks to the Poison Phoenix Tang Hui, it was too early to feel relieved, so they continued their retreat.

Even though the Demon Cult had lost about two thousand five hundred men, they kept on chasing after the Martial Alliance instead of stopping.

"Is it close to our meeting time?"

Even in the midst of their retreat, the Martial Alliance wasn't just fleeing. They prepared several traps like the Madness-Inducing Poisonous Fragrance.

There was a path that both parties absolutely had to pass through during the retreat and chase.

On the left was a cliff that looked like it was severed, and on the right was a large tree that had grown densely. It was the perfect place for an ambush, and even a fool would know that the enemy had to be hiding there.

The troops under the Heavenly Demon and Blessed Existence's control advanced cautiously, making sure not to miss anything that was clearly visible.

Just as they were about to run out about half an hour later, the very space before them bent, and the scenery before their eyes changed.

"What the hell?!"

"Ahh!

The right side had clearly been a forest, but now, it was a cliff, just like the left side. Moreover, the path had gotten so narrow that there was nowhere for them to run.

The strange thing was that even though five thousand five hundred people were supposed to be capable of moving across the path, only one or two could walk through it now.

"It worked!"

"The Portable Natural Formation worked!"

The Martial Alliance warriors hiding in the bushes cheered quietly.

Following the Tactician Phoenix's orders, they had placed flags and other objects in designated places in advance to activate a natural formation.

They were worried that they would get caught along the way, but fortunately, their worries hadn't happened.

"Hahaha! Just how many of them got trapped?"

"The Zhuge Family's Illusionary Mirage Formation![2] It truly is terrifying!"

The preparation involved in making use of a Natural Formation was complicated and time-consuming. Thus, Zhuge Xiuluan had sent people to the retreat route in advance to set up the Illusionary Mirage Formation before the forces could get there.

Their efforts had paid off in spades.

"Now, then let's go report… arghk!"

"Argh!"

"W-who is—ah!"

Before they could rejoice, the Martial Alliance warriors in charge of setting up, repairing, and maintaining the Illusionary Mirage Formation were attacked.

"Complete."

Men clad in black—soldiers from the Seven Stars Division—had destroyed the Natural Formation.

There was a reason they destroyed the formation. The most terrifying thing about Natural Formations was that if one touched the wrong part of it, the Life Gate and the Death Gate would become tangled.

Even if one were attacking the formation from the outside, one had to be knowledgeable about Natural Formations, or their actions would most likely worsen the situation.

"Cultists are all idiots who rely on instinct rather than reason. Even without a brain, they instinctively judge that a location where they can be ambushed is dangerous, and they become very alert."

Blessed Existence snorted.

"No matter how effective their ambush may be, setting up traps in obvious places is the most idiotic of all moves. Setting up a small number of traps after the prospective ambush zone is praiseworthy, but… that's all there is to it."

Zhuge Xiuluan's strategy wasn't bad at all.

This wasn't an all-out war, anyway. It was just to buy time, and thus, just stalling was acceptable.

However, she was unlucky. If the Demon Cult hadn't accepted an external strategist, or even if that strategist just hadn't been Blessed Existence, she would have succeeded.

Blessed Existence hadn't only seen through her plans, but he also knew the location of the Illusionary Mirage Formation as well as the way to disable it.

The silver lining was that even though he knew the specific Formation Breaking Art for the Illusionary Mirage Formation, it would take some time to dismantle it accurately.

Still, Blessed Existence didn't care.

"Go ahead and struggle, Martial Alliance. Because you probably don't have much time left anyway…"

***

Hell spread out through the present world.

The location where the Madness-Inducing Poisonous Fragrance was unleashed had become empty, and only a few demon cultists were still running wild.

As they tangled with one another like crazed beasts, the shadows of a man and a woman appeared on the hill.

"The Martial Alliance is nowhere to be seen, so something must have happened here… still, they seem to be safe." Zhou Xuchuan let out a sigh of relief.

They had finally caught up.

1. Technically, the Brain Madness Poison Fragrance. ☜

2. There is no Hanja for this, and without it, it's not possible to get the true skill name, so I just skipped a word. ☜