Before and After the Crisis

Su Luo and Jiang Ningshu returned to the Shattered Bone Abyss, where the Left Envoy came to probe, curious about what gains the Demon Lord had made during this excursion.

Yet he was destined to leave empty-handed.

No matter—the real battle was about to begin.

Su Luo soon ventured out again. Though he would have preferred to laze around, slacking off now would earn him nothing but scorn.

He went to gather intelligence, checking on the progress of events.

The totem altars had already been mostly destroyed, with only a handful remaining, though not many.

The Heavenly Demon Sect’s initial disruptions hadn’t achieved any glorious feats worth mentioning—just minor skirmishes—but they had managed to thoroughly irritate everyone.

Now, with the sects uniting, the Heavenly Demon Sect chose to stir chaos instead.

They were no different from traitors—worse, traitors to humanity itself.

Hatred had reached its peak.

If not for the looming beast army, the sects would have immediately mobilized their full strength to annihilate the Heavenly Demon Sect.

At the Northern Heavenly Gate, the beasts grew restless. With the destruction of the totem altars, their urgency intensified.

They were determined to strike before the altars were completely ruined.

Clashes escalated rapidly.

Su Luo opened his diary and began writing:

[The initial skirmishes have concluded. What follows is all-out war.]

[But during this time, the united sects suffered the worst blows.]

[Learning of their totem altars’ destruction, the beast army dispatched forces to guard them in secret while stirring unrest at the Northern Heavenly Gate to divert attention.]

[If the altars couldn’t be defended, they would detonate them—making full use of their remnants.]

[The united sects, unaware of this strategy, were caught off guard by the sudden beast assaults. Even after barely repelling them, they were blasted apart by the explosions.]

[The losses were catastrophic.]

[This happened simultaneously across multiple altars, leaving the sects no time to relay warnings.]

[At the same time, the Northern Heavenly Gate welcomed an influx of formidable beasts.]

[The remaining two of the Three Great Beast Generals arrived, instantly boosting their army’s morale.]

[And with them came a terrifying presence—the High Priest of Beasts.]

[The High Priest held a uniquely exalted status among the beasts, second only to the Beast Lord.]

[His strength? At the Mahayana stage—nothing to scoff at.]

[This proved the beast army was now dead serious.]

[With these heavyweights joining the fray, the beasts began charging beyond the Northern Heavenly Gate.]

[Fighting there intensified, while the totem altars still weren’t fully destroyed. The united sects were already buckling under pressure.]

[Di Haoran, leader of the Emperor Heaven Sect, had no choice but to personally take command at the Northern Heavenly Gate, taking most of his sect’s dwindling elite forces with him.]

[Meanwhile, the Heavenly Demon Sect finally made its move.]

[They struck directly at the Emperor Heaven Sect—an opportune moment, with its main forces tied up at the Northern Heavenly Gate.]

[Though the Emperor Heaven Sect still had a few elders in reserve, they were no match for the Heavenly Demon Sect’s full force: the Left and Right Envoys, three of the Four Great Heavenly Demons (save the absent East Extreme Demon Lord), and countless other titled demons.]

[The North End Demon Lord considered warning them but hesitated. Instead, he saw a chance to profit openly during the assault.]

[If he was careful, no one would notice. And even if caught, he could justify it—claim the Left Envoy already suspected him, forcing him to play along. The excuses were endless.]

[He reasoned that after the ambush, the Emperor Heaven Sect would be crippled, making his intelligence far more valuable. A lifeline in crisis was worth far more than a favor in prosperity.]

[His plan worked—but while the Emperor Heaven Sect wasn’t wiped out, its losses were devastating.]

[This was another crushing blow to the united sects.]

[For Lin Xuan, however, the path was rocky but ultimately triumphant.]

[He continued destroying totem altars, succeeding even when ambushed by beast forces.]

[Finally, he reached the largest and last altar, guarded by exceptionally powerful beast statues.]

[Leading the beast defenders was a Nascent Soul expert—the Wind Shadow Leopard King.]

[Lin Xuan fought him evenly for three hundred rounds, unfazed despite being only at Golden Core perfection, on the cusp of Nascent Soul.]

[But the beast statues tipped the scales.]

[Surrounded, his allies fell one by one until only Lin Xuan remained standing.]

[In this life-or-death crisis, he broke through—ascending to Nascent Soul.]

[Victory seemed assured—until I, acting on the Demon Lord’s orders, passed by.]

[Of course, I ambushed him. Just as Lin Xuan neared triumph, I drove a blade through him.]

[Then came the gloating, mocking his carelessness.]

[But in my arrogance, I was stabbed in turn—the Wind Shadow Leopard King’s claw piercing my back.]

[To him, all humans were enemies, regardless of affiliation.]

[A three-way melee erupted, but Lin Xuan activated his “invincible will” trope—rising again no matter how grievously wounded.]

[Recognizing the danger, I fled without hesitation. After all, retreat was the Heavenly Demon Sect’s core survival skill—no shame in tactful withdrawal.]

[Left alone, Lin Xuan predictably turned the tide. Before dying, the Wind Shadow Leopard King triggered the altar’s self-destruction.]

[But its massive size delayed the blast. Panic set in—everyone terrified except Lin Xuan, who calmly deciphered the seal and halted the explosion at the last second.]

[Had it detonated, not only would the altar’s defenders have perished, but a nearby town would have been obliterated.]

[With this, all totem altars were destroyed—the united sects’ sole piece of good news.]

[Between the beast army’s relentless assault and the Heavenly Demon Sect’s treachery, the united sects were pushed to the brink.]

[Yet this was the despair before victory. In the end, they would prevail.]

Su Luo closed his diary.

[Diary entry complete. Rewards: +2 Speed, +4 Strength.]

[Special ability upgraded: Sight-Triggered Explosion.]

[Detonate any visible target, plus one additional blast of equal power. Damage scales with the user’s strength.]

He tested it briefly. Simple enough—one explosion, plus a free follow-up.

Decent, though Su Luo rarely fought groups, usually just a few foes.

Still, unleashing two full-power blasts by expending all stamina? Now that seemed cost-effective.