Li Yan let out a series of inhuman screams. Fortunately, he had long since set up a formation outside; otherwise, the screams alone would have attracted countless demonic beasts.
Inside the "Earth-Spot" space, the Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant looked at the dying Snow Mosquito King, and not far away, the remaining thirty or so larger Snow Mosquitos. Their eyes were all cold, filled with killing intent, staring deadly at the heavily injured Snow Mosquito King.
But these Snow Mosquitos seemed to be wary of the Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant, which stood to the side looking lazy. For a time, their sharp mouthparts let out a series of shrill whistles, one after another, as if warning the Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant not to interfere. Yet, for a time, they hesitated to advance.
"Punk, you're really not bad. After being refined by Master like that, you can still fight for so long and kill over sixty of your little brothers. Tsk tsk, your stamina is truly impressive.
"But now you're done for. If not for Grandpa Elephant here, you'd be sucked into a dry ice crystal by them right now."
The Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant swung its long trunk back and forth in front of the listless Snow Mosquito King, speaking in a self-assured tone, while simultaneously emitting an aura that made the surrounding Snow Mosquitos fearful.
"You... just say... what you want. Trying to threaten your Mosquito Grandpa? Not a chance! The worst that can happen is death!"
The Snow Mosquito King was scared, but it was by no means stupid. Since this big elephant was preventing the other Snow Mosquitos from attacking it, it was clearly acting on Li Yan's orders and wouldn't let it die so easily.
It was just that this elephant was annoying, always acting like it was number one in the world. It was clearly trying to make it beg. If it really did that, even if it survived, how could it reign as king among these Snow Mosquitos in the future? It would have lost all face.
What was most infuriating was being called "punk" over and over again. If it weren't for the fact that it couldn't beat it, it would have 'punked' its grandpa's face with blood and sucked it dry.
As if seeing through its thoughts, the Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant's eyes suddenly widened. "You little punk, don't think I'm here to protect you on orders. Grandpa Elephant was just bored and wanted to come in and watch a good show.
"If you don't have the ability to be the Snow Mosquito King anymore, Master wouldn't mind finding a stronger one. Refining is not much trouble anyway." As soon as it said this, the eyes of the thirty or so Snow Mosquitos that had been eyeing the king covetously all lit up. They then began to eye each other with hostility, backing away a few steps to put distance between themselves before turning their vicious gazes back to the Snow Mosquito King.
Although these Snow Mosquitos didn't know who this "Master" the divine elephant spoke of was, they had lived here for some time and had their own speculations.
Moreover, seeing the Snow Mosquito King enter looking so sickly, they knew that this once-dominant figure had been taken out by that person and had suffered greatly. Thinking about their own strength, they each began to scheme.
After hearing this, the Snow Mosquito King's heart skipped a beat. Looking at the Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant's expression, which didn't seem to be lying, and seeing it voluntarily take two steps back and slowly withdraw its oppressive aura, the Snow Mosquito King began to panic. 'Could that fiend really be thinking this way...'
It then recalled the brutal methods Li Yan had used to refine it, acting as if he didn't care whether it lived or died.
And without even letting it recover, he had thrown it back in. From this perspective, what this stupid elephant said might actually be true.
But it was also extremely shrewd. Its face showed no sign of panic, but it secretly sent a voice transmission, "Elephant... Brother Elephant, oh no... Grandpa Elephant, for the sake of us both serving Master, you have to give me a hand.
"But... but don't be so disrespectful in front of my subordinates, okay? I'll have to give orders in the future, after all.
"Although I can deal with them slowly after I recover, the disrespect they feel will not be easy to eliminate. Don't you agree?
"At that time, if they don't obey and have ulterior motives when commanded, I imagine Master will be furious. My death would be a small matter, but wouldn't it delay Master's important affairs?
"Moreover, if I die now, the rest of these fools, although their intelligence has been awakened, their minds are not sharp enough in many matters. It would take a lot of Master's effort to get them to my current level.
"I don't need you to act, just hold down those thirty Snow Mosquitos as you are now. Give me two hours to recover, and then I will kill them one by one. I will never forget your great kindness. In the future, apart from Master's words, whatever you say, goes."
While secretly saying these words, the Snow Mosquito King's face still maintained a righteous and awe-inspiring expression, but at the same time, it was sneering coldly in its heart.
'Just a little elephant formed from a remnant soul. You haven't even formed a physical body. Just you wait, Mosquito Grandpa. How dare you act mighty in front of Mosquito Grandpa? When Mosquito Grandpa's cultivation breaks through, apart from that person who temporarily controls my life, what are you? At that time, I will definitely make you kowtow before me.'
Hearing the Snow Mosquito King's words of submission, the Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant felt a sense of satisfaction. Besides, it knew that Li Yan didn't really want the Snow Mosquito King to die like this; he had just overlooked the matter at the time. It wasn't like when he had been refined; he didn't have any rivals of his own kind.
Just then, the entire "Earth-Spot" space began to shake slightly, showing signs of instability. This stunned the Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant. "Could something major have happened to Master?"...
Outside the "Earth-Spot" space, Li Yan was desperately trying to maintain the last shred of clarity in his mind, frantically circulating the True Scripture of Gui Water. Due to the extreme instability of his mind, with that rampant power wreaking havoc in his body, both his Divine Sense and soul were on the verge of collapse.
Therefore, Li Yan was unaware that the "Earth-Spot" space, which was intimately connected to him, was also experiencing spatial turbulence... but even if he knew, what could he do? He was already unable to fend for himself.
...
At the same time Li Yan was devouring the "Undead Nether Phoenix" Essence Blood, a catastrophe suddenly descended upon the Desolate Moon Continent. First, in a certain area of the South Sea under the jurisdiction of the "Supreme Mystery Teachings," a pillar of smoke overflowing with Demonic Qi suddenly shot into the sky one day.
This sight—a pitch-black pillar of smoke on the horizon—was visible for tens of thousands of li across the South Sea. It reached the heavens and plunged into the sea, a fearsome sight to behold.
The moment that pitch-black pillar of smoke appeared, nearly five hundred black shadows shot out from it. They were all in tattered clothes, yet they radiated a murderous aura and an overwhelming baleful flame.
These black shadows moved with incredible speed. Before the "Supreme Mystery Teachings" could even react, they had already, with a thunderous roar and the momentum of heaven and earth, launched a direct assault on the "Supreme Mystery Teachings" headquarters.
What shocked and dismayed the entire Desolate Moon Continent afterward was that these black shadows broke through the Seventy-Two Heavenly Gates Grand Formation in just one hour.
This behemoth of the Desolate Moon Continent, a great sect with a legacy of tens of thousands of years, collapsed and crumbled in an unbelievably short amount of time, as if in an instant.
This news quickly spread throughout the entire cultivation world, but many people scoffed at it. However, soon after, large numbers of cultivators from the "Supreme Mystery Teachings" jurisdiction began to flood northward.
And the other three major sects, in a very short period, issued urgent summons one after another. "The Demon Clan has found a weak point between the two realms in the South Sea and has already opened a passage. They then launched a surprise attack on the 'Supreme Mystery Teachings' with utmost speed. The Desolate Moon Continent has been invaded in an almost fantastical manner."
The summons demanded that all cultivators, whether rogue or from reclusive sects, must report to designated locations upon receiving the order. Those who disobeyed would be killed without mercy and treated as collaborators with the Demon Clan. This hardline stance threw the major and minor cultivation sects into a state of confusion and panic.
At the same time, apart from the three major sects, the ever-mysterious Secret Realm also dispatched two fourth-rank Demon Kings to lead a large contingent of demonic beasts to the Devil's Cliff Crevice.
For a time, all kinds of news spread like wildfire, some true, some false, some real, some empty. In the end, many cultivators didn't even know if what they heard was true.
An important piece of news secretly circulated among cultivators. It was said that the Demon Clan that attacked the "Supreme Mystery Teachings" headquarters in the South Sea numbered only six hundred. The four leading Demon Clan experts were all Demon Marshal level, which was equivalent to the top-tier Spirit Transformation cultivators of the human race. And as for how many Spirit Transformation cultivators there were in the entire Desolate Moon Continent, although it was a highly secretive matter, everyone knew that they could be counted on one's fingers.
Therefore, with the Demon Clan deploying such powerful forces, the "Supreme Mystery Teachings'" Seventy-Two Heavenly Gates Grand Formation didn't hold out for long before being forcibly broken.
Furthermore, the only Spirit Transformation great cultivator of the "Supreme Mystery Teachings," Yuan Du, had his physical body perish under their combined attack. Only a sliver of his Primordial Spirit managed to escape after using a Self-Harming Secret Art.
The "Supreme Mystery Teachings" was said to have suffered disastrous losses, with countless disciples killed or injured. Only a very small number of high-ranking members and important disciples managed to escape the pursuit of the Demon Clan, thanks to Yuan Du's early warning and their desperate activation of the Seventy-Two Heavenly Gates Grand Formation to buy a little time. They fled with the sect's important treasures using ultra-long-distance teleportation.
However, most of the remaining disciples were either captured, killed, or fled to unknown destinations. Among the various sects and families in the "Supreme Mystery Teachings'" jurisdiction, only about fifty percent managed to escape. Half of the cultivators fell into the hands of the Demon Clan, their fate unknown, and it was thought that many had likely turned traitor.
But what was strange was that the Demon Clan came from the South Sea, yet the other three major sects did not form a defensive line to the south. Instead, they ordered all cultivators to gather in the region near the Devil's Cliff Crevice in the east. This deployment stunned all the cultivators who received the order.
The South Sea was now occupied territory of the Demon Clan, and no news was coming out. Or perhaps, the news that did come out was only known to high-level cultivators. This decision was indeed strange, and with various opinions circulating, true and false news was rampant.
In just a few short days, the cultivation world had undergone a sudden change, filled with an atmosphere of fear and tension. Following this, many reclusive cultivation sects and families reappeared in the world, all sending people to the three major sects.
No matter how the situation changed, time would not stand still. It was like a cold and indifferent passerby in this world, watching the myriad states of the world and all living beings with a pair of emotionless eyes.
Even the most top-tier cultivators in this world could only hold time in reverence, unable to snatch back even a single moment from its grasp.