Chapter 161: Chapter 161: The Mahayana Demon Attacks, The Only Way Out!

Hearing the words of the Ghost Mother of Ephemera, Su Han remained silent; he did not refute her because he also felt that he was weak.

Along the way, he had narrowly escaped death many times, relying not on his own strength.

Su Han was very clear that he was just a pawn. Like the Ghost Mother of Ephemera in front of him who was helping him wholeheartedly, she must have had her own motives. But he had no other choice.

“The time left for you is running out. The demon calamity is approaching. The Defying Fate Divine Skill can only absorb the spiritual power of cultivators, not demonic power. When the demon calamity descends, if you’re unwilling to abandon your principles, it will be tough for you to become stronger as every cultivator will be busy resisting the demons,” said the Ghost Mother of Ephemera.

Upon hearing this, Su Han asked: “Are you in a hurry? What do you ultimately want me to do?”

The Ghost Mother of Ephemera answered, “That depends on how strong you can become. It’s not me who should be in a hurry but you. Since the day you began cultivating the Hateful Heaven Divine Sword, your lifespan has been limited. No matter how high a realm you reach, your lifespan will not increase unless you can reach the legendary immortal realm.”

Su Han frowned.

The Ghost Mother of Ephemera had mentioned the drawbacks of the Hateful Heaven Divine Sword more than once. It seemed like a reminder for his own good, but he felt threatened and oppressed.

“I will do my best,” Su Han said and then sat down to meditate, beginning his cultivation.

The Ghost Mother of Ephemera watched him for a while, then transformed into a wisp of ghostly energy and dissipated.

Su Han looked up, gazing at the full moon outside. For some reason, he suddenly felt an immense sorrow and confusion.

It seemed no one in the world remembered him anymore.

…

Winter snow arrived, covering the Third Medicine Valley in a vast expanse of white, making everything look desolate.

Gu An stood on the balcony, appreciating the snowy scenery while thinking about the next volume of Shattering Void.

Shattering Void had become incredibly popular, and its popularity far exceeded Gu An’s expectations. The first five volumes alone had outsold the entire series of Supreme Immortal Venerable.

The essence of Shattering Void was the same as Supreme Immortal Venerable—a feel-good story. But the theme of Shattering Void resonated deeply with the current mindset of cultivators across the world.

With the demon calamity looming, various sects continued to send disciples out to gather information. As more intelligence came in, the whole immortal cultivation world grew increasingly oppressive.

More and more people felt they were at the end of their path in cultivation. If only they could shatter the void and escape, how wonderful that would be!

In the distance, a White Spirit Rat scampered across the snow, with Xiaochuan chasing behind it. Not only did he fail to catch it, but the White Spirit Rat also kicked snow into his face, amusing Gu An greatly.

It was hard to tell what charm this plump rat had that Xiaochuan liked it so much.

Lu Lingjun walked to Gu An’s building, looked up at him, and said: “Valley Master, have you felt anything?”

Gu An lowered his eyes and asked, “Cold?”

“Indeed, you could say that. There is a powerful demonic energy coming from the north. Could it be a sign that the demon calamity is about to arrive?” Lu Lingjun replied, her gaze also shifting to the north.

Gu An had actually sensed it long ago; a powerful demon at the Mahayana realm was moving south and was almost at the territory of the Eight Dynasties.

He did not intervene; he wanted to see if there were any hidden experts in the territory of the Eight Dynasties.

When the demon calamity erupted, he couldn’t rely on his strength alone to turn the tide. Apart from the danger, doing so would draw too much hatred, making it easy for the Seven Stars Spirit Realm to target him.

Although Gu An’s divine sense could cover the Nine Dynasties territory, the world was vast, and some people always managed to hide, like the Star-Master Cave, which he hadn’t discovered with his divine sense before.

Gu An asked: “If the demon calamity descends, what will you do?”

Lu Lingjun replied: “Naturally, I will fight alongside the Supreme Sect, but if we are overpowered and see no hope, I will head south to seek an immortal fate.”

Having ascended for so many years, she had a deep understanding of this world.

Since ancient times, when great cultivators hit bottlenecks, they would venture south. Even though the seas were more perilous than the demon lands, there were still those who pressed on without hesitation.

As an ascender, Lu Lingjun naturally would not perish with the Supreme Sect.

Gu An nodded slightly, not making any comment.

Lu Lingjun looked at Gu An and asked: “What about you, Valley Master?”

Gu An feigned hesitation and said: “I will diligently plant medicinal herbs and contribute my strength.

If the Supreme Sect were to fall?

“Then I would take my own life to avoid being devoured by demons.”

Hearing this, Lu Lingjun rolled her eyes at Gu An, thinking he was hopeless.

Gu An chuckled and didn’t continue the topic to prevent panic among the other servant disciples.

However, how would the immortal cultivation world deal with the impending Mahayana realm demon?

The snow kept falling incessantly as if it wanted to bury the world.

Night fell.

Gu An arrived at Nianchu Cave in Heavenly Phoenix Mountain.

As soon as he entered, he saw Tian Yao’er crouching by the medicine cauldron, warming herself by the fire, hugging her knees, shivering, even burying her head.

Gu An walked towards Tian Yao’er, deliberately making footstep sounds, causing Tian Yao’er to lift her head. Seeing Gu An, she immediately beamed and rushed towards him, hugging him.

“What’s the matter with you?” Seeing that she was really frightened, Gu An did not push her away but asked concernedly.

Tian Yao’er buried her head in Gu An’s chest and whispered: “I’m scared… It feels like something terrifying is approaching…”

She clung tightly to Gu An’s waist, afraid he would leave.

Gu An patted her shoulder and comforted her, saying: “Don’t be afraid. That creature isn’t heading towards Heavenly Phoenix Mountain. It’s far away from us.”

Upon hearing this, Tian Yao’er looked up and cautiously asked: “Really?”

“Really. Besides, haven’t I come to stay with you?”

“But you can’t even defeat the Demon Mother. I feel that terrifying presence is even stronger than the Demon Mother.”

“Indeed, I can’t defeat it, but I will take you along and flee if we have to.”

“Then don’t lie to me. If you are going to leave here, you must take me with you.”

“I won’t lie to you.”

Gu An assured her. If not for his help, Tian Yao’er might have been devoured by demons. She could only rely on him. How could he abandon her?

Nonetheless, Tian Yao’er’s reaction surprised him somewhat.

Being a demon herself, why would she be so scared?

He led Tian Yao’er to sit down and asked her to explain why she was so frightened.

Unfortunately, Tian Yao’er fumbled for a long time and couldn’t articulate it clearly.

Based on the Black Crow Demon Envoy’s memories, Gu An knew the origin of the powerful demon.

Six-Headed Sea Dragon, one of the seventy-two Great Demon Kings, ruling ten thousand miles, with countless demon soldiers and demon generals under his command, known for his violent nature and infamous reputation. Even the Black Crow Demon Envoy, when meeting him, tread carefully, fearing being swallowed in one gulp.

At this moment, the Six-Headed Sea Dragon was leading millions of demons southward, and along the way, more demons joined, including demon kings willing to follow him.

His overwhelming demonic energy had alarmed the human race’s immortal cultivation world. Gu An could sense many cultivators heading towards the Eight Dynasties territory, with more than twenty Mystic Heart realm cultivators among them.

Gu An comforted Tian Yao’er for a while, and she finally calmed down. Surprisingly, she fell asleep on his lap.

It seemed he would have to stay here a while longer tonight.

…

Morning.

At dawn, a dragon’s roar echoed from afar, startling the servant disciples in the Mystic Valley.

Chu Jingfeng, meditating on a cliff, opened his eyes and looked towards the sky, his brows furrowed, as the snow on his body gradually melted.

In the valley, the servant disciples gathered, discussing where the sound came from and what demon had made it.

Gu An walked into the valley from the endless snow, collected his flying sword, and was immediately surrounded by servant disciples asking about the dragon’s roar.

“I also don’t know what demon made it, but you can rest assured, staying in the Supreme Sect, you won’t have to worry.” Gu An reassured.

The current batch of disciples in Mystic Valley was new. Besides Lu Jiujia and Chu Jingfeng, none had experienced various calamities Mystic Valley had faced, so the disciples easily believed Gu An’s words.

In the following days, news continuously arrived at the Supreme Sect.

The name of the Six-Headed Sea Dragon forcefully entered the eyes of Supreme Sect disciples; a great cultivator of the Mystic Heart realm had already been devoured by him alive, causing unrest throughout the Supreme Sect.

A large number of disciples were dispatched to the north to provide support. Even Gu Zong personally came to the Third Medicine Valley to request Lu Lingjun’s assistance.

After hesitating, Lu Lingjun decided to step in.

Along with her was Ancestor Xuan Quan!

The news of their departure spread across the cities of the Supreme Sect. However, when Gu An roamed the Outer Gate City, he found that many people had little hope for the two Mystical Heart realm cultivators, praying more for their safety.

Ancestor Kusong’s fall had cast a significant shadow over the Supreme Sect.

Gu An was also paying attention to the distant battle. Cangtian Sect once again took the lead role, leading by example, using the spiritual power of a million cultivators to set up a grand formation, creating a barrier against the demon clan’s invasion.

Fourteen Mystic Heart realm cultivators surrounded the Six-Headed Sea Dragon, none daring to get close, and the battle turned completely one-sided.

However, the Six-Headed Sea Dragon showed no interest in entering human territory, merely taunting and issuing various threats and insults, enraging and terrifying the immortal cultivation world.

It seemed like the Six-Headed Sea Dragon was testing the Eight Dynasties territory.

Perhaps fearing the Daoist Lord of Cangtian Sect, or possibly wary of the Mountain God.

Early the next morning, Lu Lingjun and Ancestor Xuan Quan joined the war; Gu An watched throughout, to prevent their deaths.

Facing the powerful Six-Headed Sea Dragon, Lu Lingjun and Xuan Quan were soon defeated and fled back to the human territory to recover their injuries.

Gu An felt that Lu Lingjun was purposely underperforming, intentionally getting injured, and then retreating.

Perhaps she too believed that fighting to the death was a real possibility of dying.

The less the Six-Headed Sea Dragon invaded human territory, the more Gu An suspected there was a stronger demon behind him.

Di Xie’s father, the Demon Emperor!

That Demon Emperor ruled over the demons and monsters of the Demon Land. Perhaps this was a test he arranged.

Several days later.

Gu An arrived at the Outer Gate City, witnessing a complex scene.

He saw the vast Heavenly Repair Stone with tens of thousands of disciples meditating on it. Gu Zong even sat under the words “Righteous Path,” forcing those meditating on sword enlightenment to leave the platform.

Di Xie had come down.

Seeing Gu An, he approached and sighed: “The Northern Territory is in crisis. The sect is pleading for Sword Venerable Fudao’s assistance.”

Gu An worriedly asked: “A great cultivator of the Mystic Heart realm has already fallen. Would relying solely on Sword Venerable Fudao be enough?”

Di Xie sighed: “Maybe not, but what else can we do?”

Being a demon himself, he understood the strength of the Demon Land deeply.

With a compassionate tone, he said: “This calamity is inevitable. Perhaps the sea is the only way.”