The summit of Qifeng Ridge.
Rubble lay everywhere, and the raging flames had yet to be extinguished.
It was as if a great sun had crashed onto Qifeng Ridge.
Just that figure standing there was enough to make everyone feel suffocated.
The Lu family truly showed signs of rising.
Not only had they climbed the high branch of Qingcheng Mountain, but the clan had also produced a once-in-a-millennium qilin child like Lu Changfeng, who had already reached the middle stage of Ascending the Tower at such a young age.
Adding in several Elders of the clan, the Lu family's overt combat strength at the Ascending the Tower level numbered no fewer than five.
Not to mention the Six Stars of the Southern Dipper... but even so.
The eyes of several Elders were still filled with terror.
"What?"
Demon Emperor Crimson Heaven shook his body and tilted his hideous wolf head, his golden eyes full of mockery. "Now that the Lu family has become a dog for Qingcheng Mountain, do you really think you've become immortal figures yourselves?"
"Do you treat even my words as wind passing your ears?"
"I told you to kneel... are you... deaf?!!"
Boom—
Before his voice even faded.
Crimson Demonic Qi surged into the sky.
The mere aura emitted by the Demon Emperor caused a group of Lu family guards to cough up blood and collapse to the ground in a daze.
Only a few of the oldest Lu Clan Elders could still barely stand under this pressure.
One of the Elders forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart, his Face as gloomy as water. "The Demon Emperor's actions are far too overbearing."
"My Lu family and the Great Marsh have always minded our own business. I wonder if the Lord... is aware of the Demon Emperor's actions today?"
Hearing this.
Demon Emperor Crimson Heaven pulled back his hideous wolf lips and let out a series of sinister laughs. "What does it matter whether he knows or not?"
"..."
Such a tone.
Clearly, he did not hold the so-called Lord in any regard.
Seeing everyone fall silent for a moment.
The Demon Emperor slowly withdrew his smile, leaving only indifference in his golden eyes. "Hand over the item, and I may spare your lives."
At these words, the expressions of the Lu Clan Elders turned even uglier.
If they could avoid a fight, that would naturally be best.
After all, the Demon Emperor before them was a great demon at the late stage of Ascending the Tower. His fierce reputation was well-known, and he was never someone to be trifled with.
But for the sake of that item... how could the Lu Clan just hand it over?
Even if they had to give it up... why not offer it to Qingcheng Mountain? Why should it go to this demon?
...Outside the Hanging Pavilion.
Sensing the familiar aura, Running Ox immediately began to tremble. His Face filled with terror as he muttered, "How... how could it be him?"
Jiang Yuechu turned her head. "You know him?"
"We're both demons from the Great Marsh, how could I not? This demon is Demon Emperor Crimson Heaven... he's quite infamous around the Great Marsh..."
"A demon from the Great Marsh? Is the Great Marsh making a move against the Lu family?"
Running Ox gave a bitter laugh and explained, "The Ten Thousand Demon Great Marsh is different from other powers. The Lord is the Lord, and the Demon Emperor is the Demon Emperor... Most demons in the Great Marsh are unruly and stubborn. Especially at his Realm, who would be willing to truly follow anyone's orders?"
"What the Lord can keep in check are just some formal rules..."
Furthermore, the Lord has become increasingly strange lately, and hasn't even shown his Face in public for many years.
Now that Demon Emperor Crimson Heaven dares to swagger out of the Great Marsh and run wild in this Human Race territory.
He likely intends to test the Lord's reaction.
Jiang Yuechu ignored the black ox's internal musings.
She simply narrowed her eyes and said softly, "So... he has nothing to do with you, right?"
Running Ox shuddered, fully understanding what this harbinger of death meant.
He quickly shook his head. "I'm just a nobody. He's a high and mighty Great Demon Emperor who wouldn't even spare me a glance on a normal day. What relation could there be? We're really not acquainted!"
Hearing this.
Jiang Yuechu nodded indifferently.
She was just asking casually... even if there was a connection, why would she pass up such a delivery of Dao Cultivation?
Meanwhile.
The wooden door of the Hanging Pavilion was pushed open.
Wang Ziyu and Lu Changfeng stepped out one after the other.
Both were Ascending the Tower Cultivators, so their senses were incredibly sharp.
Wang Ziyu narrowed his eyes, looking at the figure in the distance who resembled a Devil King of the world, and said in a heavy voice, "Is this... what you were afraid of?"
Lu Changfeng took a deep breath, suppressing the tremor in his heart.
"It's just this one..."
"But I didn't expect that the first to arrive would be this Demon Emperor."
He gave a bitter laugh, his eyes full of helplessness.
If it were a Human Race Cultivator, they might show some restraint for the sake of the Taia Lineage's Face, but that wouldn't work with these demons from the Great Marsh... With the Lu family's meager foundation, if they fought head-on, even with the geographical advantage of their array, they would only achieve a pyrrhic victory.
Furthermore.
In the shadows, it wasn't just a single Demon Emperor who coveted that item.
Just as he was feeling troubled.
Boom—!!!
A sudden clap of thunder exploded by his ear.
Golden light billowed as it charged straight toward the insufferably arrogant Demon Emperor Crimson Heaven.
Lu Changfeng stood frozen in place, watching that departing figure with a look of utter bewilderment.
What... what is the meaning of this?!
None of the Lu family members had moved yet, so why did this woman charge in first?
Could she have some grudge against this demon?
Beside him, Wang Ziyu was unfazed.
The boy sighed with an air of profound wisdom and shrugged.
"Get used to it... just get used to it..."
...The commotion was far too great.
The various Cultivators originally on the White Jade Square all felt that overwhelming Demonic Qi.
Someone shouted out.
"Someone's crashing the party!"
With that shout, the Treasure Gathering Assembly, which had been fairly orderly, instantly erupted into chaos.
Countless streaks of light rose from all parts of the square.
All of them, with a mindset of enjoying the spectacle, swarmed toward the direction of the commotion.
Yes.
But not everyone could join in on this spectacle.
They had only just come within three miles of where the Demonic Qi was located.
A suffocating wave of heat forcibly halted everyone's flight.
Those in the Mountain Gazing Realm with weaker cultivation felt their mouths go dry and their blood surge within them.
If they took one more step forward, they would likely suffer the same fate as those Lu family guards.
But the Lu family had a grand array for recovery, so the impact wasn't actually that great for them.
They had nothing... so the crowd had no choice but to descend from the clouds, hanging back in the air from a distance or finding a high spot to land, craning their necks to peer toward that location.
At the very center of the Demonic Qi.
Billowing black smoke soared into the heavens, and crimson firelight stained half the sky.
The red maples that originally covered the mountains like fire were now all turned to charred ash before this true demonic fire.
And in the center of that sea of fire.
That figure, like a Devil King of the world, was unscrupulously releasing the terrifying pressure of a great demon at the late stage of Ascending the Tower.
Someone narrowed their eyes and, using a visual Divine Ability, finally saw the demon's true form through the billowing smoke.
Hiss—
The sound of people gasping in cold air rose and fell.
In the crowd, an old Cultivator with white hair and beard turned pale. "It's Crimson Heaven! Demon Emperor Crimson Heaven of the Ten Thousand Demon Great Marsh!"
At these words, everyone was shocked.
Someone who didn't understand the situation hurriedly asked, "What's the background of this Demon Emperor Crimson Heaven? How does he dare to run wild like this on the Lu family's territory?"
The old Cultivator swallowed hard, his eyes full of wariness. "This demon's true form is an ancient variant, the Prairie Fire Ferocious Wolf... His nature is extremely cruel and bloodthirsty. In the Ten Thousand Demon Great Marsh, aside from the unfathomable Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, Demon Emperor Crimson Heaven's strength is enough to rank among the top three!"
"Even the Lu family, without the intervention of Qingcheng Mountain, would likely find it difficult to resist him for even a moment..."