The Sword Gate Formation Has Been Breached

"Perfect timing to practice on you ants." Gu Qingfeng sneered as he gazed at the group of immobilized Celestial Beings.

With a wave of his hand, dozens of demonic souls split from him and, under the horrified and resisting stares of the crowd, slithered like eels into their bodies.

These Celestial Beings were already overwhelmed by fear and panic, their mental defenses shattered. Under the assault of the demonic souls, those below the Fifth Heavenly Tribulation—who had yet to overcome their inner demons—soon showed signs of struggle, their faces twisting in desperate resistance.

But it was futile. After roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, all Celestial Beings below the Fifth Heavenly Tribulation had been successfully invaded by the demonic souls, becoming Gu Qingfeng’s slaves.

As for the Fifth Tribulation Celestial Beings, their past experience overcoming inner demons allowed them to hold out longer. However, Gu Qingfeng’s Indestructible Demonic Souls had devoured several inner demons, making them far more potent than ordinary inner demon tribulations.

Coupled with their weakened state as prisoners, their minds were eventually broken. Half an hour later, even the Fifth Tribulation experts knelt as slaves.

Gu Qingfeng then released their restraints. Soon, their severed limbs regenerated, and one by one, they prostrated themselves before him in reverence.

"We pay our respects to the Supreme One."

"Kekeke... Not bad, truly not bad. Given my status, it’s only fitting to have some underlings to bolster my presence. A group of Celestial Beings as followers will do for now."

Gu Qingfeng basked in their worship, surrounded by a swirling mass of demonic souls, his demonic aura growing even more oppressive.

"Still, the Indestructible Demonic Souls need further refinement. It took half an hour to subdue a Fifth Tribulation Celestial Being—far too long, especially when they were already incapacitated. Under normal circumstances, it would take even longer.

If I ever try to enslave a Heavenly Monarch-level expert, it’ll be a struggle.

Seems I’ll need to harvest more inner demons."

Gu Qingfeng pondered silently, now fully aware of the wonders inner demons offered—truly an exquisite experience.

"First, a modest goal: conquer the Greenwood Domain.

Then, help all Fourth Tribulation experts overcome their tribulations while scouring the domain for prodigies with unique physiques to refine into a Chaos Body!"

With his plan set, Gu Qingfeng led his army of Celestial Beings and countless wraiths to attack Thunderclap Island. Without its Celestial Beings, the island was nothing more than a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Truth be told, even with its defenders, it would have been the same.

A day later, the vast Thunderclap Island in the sea was no more.

Literally.

Because Gu Qingfeng had moved the entire island into his palm-world.

Struck by lightning for centuries, the island had transformed into a land of thunder essence—a treasure trove. Faced with such wealth, Gu Qingfeng naturally took everything.

After seizing Thunderclap Island and savoring his gains, Gu Qingfeng wasted no time and immediately set off to plunder the next faction.

Even on the move, he didn’t idle, cultivating the Immortal-Demon Body Tempering Art. From Thunderclap Island alone, he had obtained the essence of over a hundred physiques. Most were thunder-aligned and of lower grades—Spirit and Treasure Physiques dominated, with Divine Physiques being rare and only a single Saint Physique. Still, it was a substantial haul.

......

"Meng Yan, activate all the human-demons within the Sword Sect." The Sword Demon commanded remotely.

Meng Yan was shocked. "Sword Demon, why the sudden urgency? In just half a month, the Sword Sect’s grand formation will surely collapse. Why rush now?"

The Sword Demon shook his head. "There’s no time. The demon seed within Yan Mengdie has died, meaning Gu Qingfeng likely killed her. Moreover, in the past few days, he has already annihilated five major sects. Though I’ve suppressed the news, it won’t hold for long.

Once the allied forces learn of this, even under pressure, they’ll withdraw. We must act swiftly."

Meng Yan grew even more astonished. "Even Yan Mengdie lost to Gu Qingfeng? How old is he to possess such terrifying power? Could he be the reincarnation of a Heavenly Emperor?"

"What he is doesn’t matter. What matters is that he’s grown to a point where he can’t be ignored. To prevent any surprises, the Sword Sect must fall today. Proceed as planned."

"Yes, Sword Demon." Meng Yan suppressed his shock and replied respectfully.

......

That day, the allied forces continued their relentless assault on the Sword Sect. With two additional Heavenly Monarchs aiding the attack, the sect’s defenses were pushed to the brink, the grand formation weakening by the hour.

At the formation’s core, the seven peak masters took turns channeling divine power, each leading their disciples to sustain the formation for a day before rotating out.

This cycle allowed each peak six days to recover, maintaining the formation efficiently.

On this day, it was Meng Yan’s Reverse Scale Peak’s turn to uphold the formation.

As the battle raged, a sudden surge of divine power erupted from the formation’s core, accompanied by a scream.

"Disaster! That’s Junior Brother Meng’s voice!" Dugu Wei’s expression darkened the moment he heard the commotion.

The other peak masters also paled, immediately rushing to the core. What they saw filled them with fury.

Meng Yan lay bloodied on the ground, surrounded by the corpses of his Reverse Scale Peak disciples. At the formation’s core stood Elder Mu, a veteran of the Reverse Scale Peak, now shrouded in demonic energy and drenched in blood, clearly having fought fiercely.

His murderous aura undiminished, Elder Mu was frantically attacking the formation core, which was already riddled with cracks, on the verge of shattering.

Seeing Dugu Wei and the others arrive, the gravely injured Meng Yan cried out as if seeing salvation, "Stop him! He’s a traitor!"

Before Meng Yan finished speaking, Dugu Wei had already struck. He wasn’t a fool—the scene spoke for itself.

A devastating sword beam shot from Dugu Wei’s hand, severing Elder Mu’s head in an instant.

Elder Mu collapsed, lifeless.

Ignoring the fallen elder, Dugu Wei and the others hurriedly inspected the formation core, only to be met with horror.

"The core is completely destroyed!" one peak master exclaimed in panic.

"What do we do? The core powers the mountain-protecting formation. Without it, the formation will collapse!"

Dugu Wei’s face was grim, his killing intent thick. He helped Meng Yan up and asked, "Junior Brother Meng, what happened here?"

Meng Yan wore a look of shame. "I failed in my oversight. Elder Mu served under me for five hundred years—who would have thought he was a traitor? He ambushed me, killed the other elders, and then targeted the core. I fought desperately, but my injuries hindered me, and I couldn’t stop him."