As the suns of the Fusang tree were growing stronger but colder, their hue turned from yellow to reddish. In fact, with the Death Energy within, they were looking more and more like the Blood Sun high in the sky. However, despite this ominous sign, they were actually getting incredibly powerful. With Cao Yun to control the Death Energy, their influence wasn't a problem either, except for Sun Liao. Indeed, the poor array formation master was the one using the 'Houyi's Nine Suns' martial art. As such, it was affecting him directly.
Around the Blood Sun, nine dots began to emerge. It was as if the dark sky was the surface of a vast ocean. From the Piaolu planet, the nine suns in the branches of the Fusang tree were being reflected on that surface. As Cao Yun was directing more and more of the Death Energy toward them, they were becoming as large as the Blood Sun, while the Blood Sun itself was being drained.
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In Saint Citadel Sidi, Empyrean Asura finally understood. Someone was stealing the Death Energy he was pouring into Staircase to Hell. Immediately, he ceased everything. If he sent more energy from his Supplicant Tyrants, he would just lose them. Worse than that, he was feeding his own enemies. The air around Empyrean Asura turned cold. Emperor Nuwa shouldn't have been able to do such a thing, as she had never dabbled in Death Energy. Besides, he had felt the presence of a Dao, the Dao of Death. Unfortunately, Empyrean Asura only had an injured fragment of Demon God Da Mo's soul. Otherwise, he would have rivaled this Dao of Death. Clearly, whoever was using it was not as proficient as he was. But Da Mo had to admit that this cultivator was indeed a threat.
Thankfully, Empyrean Asura's main objective had been attained. The defenses of the Hongchen Kingdom had fallen, most of them anyway. In fact, they had taken down the most powerful array formations, the ones left behind by Emperor Nuwa and her Four Saints. Without those defenses, not only could his demons get into the Hongchen Kingdom, but even he could. As soon as he recovered enough, he would visit the Hongchen Kingdom himself. No matter who that threat was, Empyrean Asura would slay him with his own hands, just to be safe. He wouldn't let another Emperor Nuwa happen.
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At the border between the Hongchen Kingdom and the demon territories, Silver Wolf General Long Cheng and Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan were flying above their forces. Although they were very distant, the two men could see each other clearly. After all, they were respectively an 8th-grade Spirit Warrior and an 8th-grade Accomplished Demon. Both were extraordinary warriors and strategists. Since the beginning, Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan had known that his enemy wouldn't be surprised. Honestly, amassing that many soldiers near the border couldn't be done with much subtlety. Silver Wolf General Long Cheng was no fool. Moreover, Shanyin Guan actually wanted a fight. Deep down, he was even wondering whether he wanted someone to stop him or not...
Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan knew what had been happening in the demon territories. Although his own Langyin Region had been protected, he had a hard time accepting it. Not only had he sacrificed his honor, but he had also completely fallen into depravity. However, he couldn't bear to see his Langyin Region fall. Now, there was absolutely nothing that could defeat Empyrean Asura. Once he exterminated all mankind, Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan wasn't certain that Empyrean Asura would keep his word. To be honest, he was almost sure that Empyrean Asura would turn against the Langyin Region at some point.
After dealing with mankind, Empyrean Asura would probably attack the Desolate Sepulcher. He would also campaign against all the heretics and non-believers. For decades, maybe centuries, Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan would prove useful to Empyrean Asura. At some point, though, he would outlive his usefulness. Then, his Langyin Region would be slaughtered too. Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan was painfully aware that he was just buying some time. Hopefully, some demons would have been born and died by the time that final moment came. Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan had no other hope. Demon God Da Mo's power had left him utterly hopeless. Only the image of the young man he had fought rekindled some hope in him. But he refused to believe in it. Losing it would destroy him.
His Six Fangs Generals were organizing the armies. Everyone was ready to go to war. Despite Empyrean Asura's words, they all knew that this battle would be much harder than expected. After all, they knew Silver Wolf General Long Cheng.
In his armies, Silver Wolf General had his two children, Long Jian and Long Huafang. Although he hated that, he didn't want to impose his will on his children. Deep down, he was asking his wife for forgiveness. In the midst of battle, he couldn't afford to care or even worry for his children. Besides, they were now strong enough to fend for themselves. They were even better martial artists than he was, their comprehension of 'The Dragon Howling at the Moons' was higher than his. That being said, he had more experience and was much stronger. Indeed, Long Jian was a young 1st-grade Spirit Warrior while Long Huafang was still a 6th-grade Mortal Warrior. She was very close to the Lesser Tribulation, but not quite there yet.
Ren Chao had armed them both, as he had armed Yun Ping and Chan Weifeng. Although Yun Ping wasn't a Spirit Warrior yet, Chan Weifeng had actually become a 2nd-grade Spirit Warrior. Chan Weifeng was thus leading a battalion, directly under General Yun Po. Many of the most powerful martial artists of the Hongchen Kingdom were present. And they were all ready for a terrible battle. Unfortunately, they were painfully aware that they were outmatched. Even if they won this battle, the demons outnumbered them. Mankind's strength was unity. However, demons were united now, under Empyrean Asura's tyranny.
The sky was still dark. The only light came from the dimming Blood Sun. No one could tell what was currently happening in the Imperial City. But no soldier seemed to care, they were all ready to fight the hordes of demons. Silver Wolf General Long Cheng was staring straight into Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan's eyes. In his eyes, Long Cheng had twelve moons. Even now, he was using his 'The Dragon Howling at the Moons' martial art. At a moment's notice, he could unleash his most powerful techniques as his sword was unsheathed. All around him was his Sword Heart. Cao Yun could have told that it was very close to a Sword Spirit. Most likely, Long Cheng could have forced it into becoming a Sword Spirit, but he was still refining his Sword Heart to make it perfect.
On the other side of the sky, Shanyin Guan had his double-ended spear in hand, as well as a few others floating all around him. His Six Fangs Generals had organized the armies into several battalions ready to strike. Beyond the array formations, a few generals were working under Silver Wolf General Long Cheng. General Yun Po was in charge of the organization of the armies, as Long Cheng trusted him. In the end, Long Cheng had the highest authority, but Yun Po was also very well respected.
There weren't as many humans as the demons. However, they still had more Spirit Warriors than they had Accomplished Demons. In a battle, a powerful cultivator could easily slaughter dozens, hundreds, thousands of lesser cultivators, if not more. Battle formations could make a huge difference. But dozens of ants couldn't kill a tiger. Besides, Spirit Warriors and Accomplished Demons could fly. Thus, they were almost invincible against ground forces as they could retreat to safety at any moment and attack from afar.
The array formations started to flicker. Golden and silver lights appeared here and there. But the defenses weren't down yet. Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan hesitated. It was his first mistake.
Silver Wolf General Long Cheng didn't hesitate at all. As soon as he felt a weakness in the array formations, he charged forward!
'Wolf Walks on the Moon'!
High in the sky, twelve large silver moons appeared. Although the sky was still dark, a silvery hue spread, like a thin veil between the Blood Sun and the Piaolu planet. At first, Silver Wolf General Long Cheng seemed to charge straight toward Shanyin Guan, but it was a feint. All of a sudden, his trajectory became perfectly vertical, and he fell toward the ground where many demons were waiting for orders.
'Wolf and Dragon's Howl'!
The howling of a terrifying wolf echoed throughout the land. Many weak cultivators trembled, and some even fainted. Before anyone could react, Silver Wolf General Long Cheng struck.
'Silver River Overflows'!
Covered with the silver light of the twelve moons, Long Cheng's sword sliced through the necks of hundreds of demons in a mere instant. Most of them were Blood Children, with a few early Golden Blood Children. He was trying to sow fear and confusion within the armies. Since the defenses weren't completely down yet, the demons couldn't charge in. If they disorganized their armies to chase Long Cheng, they could be attacked by the humans. Unlike humans, the demons couldn't retreat behind a barrier. Instead of waiting for the barrier to fall, Long Cheng had decided to use it for as long as he could.
In the air, eight bamboo slips appeared with bloody ink on them.
"If your mouth insults Heavens' Laws, break!
If your body defies Heavens' Laws, destroy!
If you violate Heavens' Laws, die!
If your parent transgresses Heavens' Laws, kill!
If your nation abandons Heavens' Laws, eradicate!
If the world corrupts Heavens' Laws, burn!
If the gods forsake Heavens' Laws, repudiate!
If the Heavens forget Heavens' Laws, sunder!"
Long Cheng felt an intense pressure as Heavens' Laws were condemning him and his actions. With no hesitation at all, he shot forward in a flash. All around him, the silver light of the moons made him look like he had a fur of blades. He reappeared a few dozen chi farther. A large amount of blood spurted upward as hundreds of heads fell to the ground.
'Wolf's Pounce'!
'Four Obedient Sprouts'!
"Know love! Know shame! Know right! Know All!"
Thousands of double-ended spears rained down from the sky and assaulted Long Cheng. Shanyin Guan was fighting back. But he was at a serious disadvantage. If he unleashed his full strength on the ground, he would kill his own men as well, but none of Long Cheng's forces would even be injured.
'Baring its Fangs to the Moon'!
Long Cheng's sword turned into the fangs of a Ya Zi, a Wolf Dragon. With only one sword, his Sword Heart made it look like it was the entire maw of the beast. Several spears exploded into tiny fragments.
'Five Gates of Virtue'!
The five large gates appeared around Shanyin Guan. They all opened as one, and a literal river of spears rained down toward the ground. Long Cheng's sword was incredibly fast, but he was soon overrun by that many weapons. Shanyin Guan didn't want to kill as much as he wanted to force him out. Obviously, Long Cheng knew his intentions, but fighting on the ground was a problem when he was so overwhelmed by weapons. Finally, he took to the sky.
'Tail Follows the Sky'!
His sword swept many spears away as his body shot upward. In an instant, he was back in the sky, facing Shanyin Guan. As soon as Shanyin Guan saw him, he struck forward with his spear.
'One Root to Hold the World'!
It was as if the entire world focused on Long Cheng's heart. All the spears on the ground and in the air, everything was targeting his heart. There was no useless movement in Shanyin Guan's technique, it was simple and direct. However, Long Cheng felt as though all possible escapes were cut off. This wasn't a simple move, it was just devoid of any useless flourish. It was the essence of the spear.
'Shining Dragon's Fur'!
At the very last moment, Long Cheng was able to see through the movement. His sword drew an arc and fell toward the tip of Shanyin Guan's spear. As soon as the main threat was away from his heart, Long Cheng didn't stay static. He pushed his martial arts to the limit in order to fly as far away as possible. From the five gates, many more spears were still flowing like large rivers. Long Cheng kept on flying as he altered his course almost every instant. No one could tell where he was trying to go.
Suddenly, he dropped down once again and slaughtered many soldiers before taking to the sky. There was no apparent logic behind his action. In fact, he seemed to simply be trying to cause chaos. However, Shanyin Guan refused to believe that. Long Cheng was a great general, not just a powerful warrior. Unfortunately, Shanyin Guan couldn't see the logic behind those attacks. Not yet, anyway. He was sensing something, but he couldn't tell for sure. Moreover, he wasn't ready to wait for Long Cheng to kill even more soldiers before he could discern a pattern.
For an instant, Shanyin Guan hesitated, but he asked his Six Fangs Generals to keep their positions. He went after Long Cheng himself.
'Two Forms, One Principle'!!
He flashed out of existence for an instant. The next moment, he was near Long Cheng. His spear became much faster and Long Cheng felt as though he was fighting two opponents at the same time. It wasn't even more formidable than a single warrior wielding two weapons. Sometimes, his spear, 'Marshal's Vanguard', appeared as two weapons in Long Cheng's eyes. Their blades clashed several times. However, their main battle was in trying to control the trajectory of their clash. Long Cheng was trying to bring the fight toward the demons down below while Shanyin Guan attempted to draw him away from his forces.