Until now, she still remembers losing in swordsmanship to the three-year-old Chen Yi. "If there’s time, I’ll go back up the mountain with you." Just as Chen Yi’s words came through, two blushes rose on Ning Xue’s face. Zhan Hongxiu and Lv Cheng, who were drinking heavily, didn’t notice at all. Only Jiang Yunni, who had been quietly observing Chen Yi, noticed the strange behavior between him and Ning Xue. The relationship between these two is probably just like I guessed earlier—far from simple! In fact, Jiang Yunni had long noticed Ning Xue’s intense focus on Chen Yi. Not only did she keep an eye on the information coming from the Tianyuan Continent, but she also paid attention to gathering opinions about Chen Yi from within the Taizhou Mountain Battlefield. Although Jiang Yunni also paid attention to Chen Yi’s movements, she never actively gathered those reports or cared about other people’s opinions on Chen Yi. In her view, simply remembering Chen Yi’s kindness in her heart was enough. Lv Cheng let out a burp, recalled the dangers of the day, and sighed: "Thanks to Junior Brother Chen arriving on time, otherwise we would have been in dire straits." Upon hearing this, Zhan Hongxiu shook her head to sober up a bit and looked at Chen Yi, asking: "Junior Brother, earlier I heard you talking outside the city with that eagle-headed demon. Is this Yuhua Immortal Sect plot a scheme against you?" Ning Xue and Jiang Yunni heard this and also looked toward Chen Yi. Chen Yi muttered, not intending to reveal the truth to avoid worrying them. But Zhan Hongxiu was not so easily fooled, she glared at him and spat out a word: "Speak!" Chen Yi looked at her helplessly, knowing that without a reasonable explanation, today the eldest sister might lose her temper, so he picked and chose his words and started: "It’s a long story, simply put..." As he narrated the events and discoveries on the Taizhou Mountain Battlefield, he set up Sword Intent to prevent the conversation from spreading. "The general situation is . Before coming to Youdu City, I already informed Ancestor Hong Tian of my findings." "As for what happens next... I trust they will give me an explanation." Under Chen Yi’s Heart God Perception, he had long noticed some soldiers’ movements throughout the city, likely the actions of several ancestors. If they were spies or puppets of the Demon Court, they wouldn’t be so blatant. He just didn’t know what the ancestors planned, nor how much they knew about the puppets. Upon hearing this, Zhan Hongxiu was furious and slammed the table, instantly sober, and exclaimed: "How dare someone betray the Human Race and secretly persecute human soldiers? How could they act ? How dare they?" Lv Cheng furrowed his brow, calmed her with a few words, and looked at Chen Yi, asking: "Junior Brother, this means the puppets controlled by the Demon Race’s powerful beings have been lurking within our cities for years?" "At least three years." Chen Yi wasn’t sure about Bai Yuanguang’s details, but combining what the tiger demon said earlier, Human Extreme City should be five years, with the insertion progress in other cities unlikely to be that fast. Ning Xue also withdrew her smile, "Since the ancestors already know, they should take action soon." Jiang Yunni nodded in agreement: "This should be the case. With the ancestors controlling the grand formations of each city, not noticing is one thing, but once aware, tracing the source will surely lead to catching all of them." "Catch them and tear them into pieces!" Zhan Hongxiu was still indignant. She had been at the Taizhou Mountain Battlefield for over two years and knew the situation here best. The seemingly robust city wall appeared glamorous on the surface but had been scrubbed countless times. Even so, every time she stood on it, she could smell the intense stench of blood that lingers for years. Every day, an unknown number of humans die due to war, and she herself had repeatedly faced peril, hating demons to the core. "With actions like these, who are they worthy of?!" Chen Yi pursed his lips slightly, signaling Ning Xue to comfort her while also speaking to console: "Eldest Sister, please don’t rush. The ancestors haven’t responded yet. Once they investigate thoroughly, they will naturally give everyone an explanation." Ning Xue held Zhan Hongxiu’s hand and followed up: "Yes, Eldest Sister. From the current findings, the betrayers are few; most are puppets controlled by demons." Upon hearing this, Zhan Hongxiu fell silent for a moment, pointed to the table indicating: "More wine." "Alright, plenty of wine available." Chen Yi did not refuse, took out the last bottle of Clear Spring Wine, and poured it for everyone. At the same time, he also took out the Everlasting Youth Cake and other items that can preserve youth and prolong life, distributing them among the group. Until dawn broke, Zhan Hongxiu was still feeling low, muttering: "Junior Brother, it wasn’t until I came to Taizhou Mountain that I realized some people’s lives are very short." "When Senior Brother Lv and I first arrived, it was a young swordsman who led us in the Reconnaissance Camp." "His talent wasn’t as high as yours, but by the age of eighteen, he had reached the Second Grade Realm, and his Sword Dao was profound. Among the human peers on the Taizhou Mountain Battlefield, he was considered quite good." She said, her voice slightly hoarse, "During one mission outside, we were discovered by demon scouts." "In a life-threatening moment, he chose to stay behind so that we could escape first. Lv Cheng and I, we..." Although Lv Cheng did not speak, his eyes were already red as he looked up at the beam on the ceiling of the elegant room. Ning Xue and Jiang Yunni remained silent, their expressions also filled with grief and sighs. Ning Xue wasn’t there at the time, but Jiang Yunni knew about it. She patted Zhan Hongxiu’s shoulder and said: Before she finished speaking, tears welled up in her eyes. Seeing this, Chen Yi sighed inwardly, raised a bowl and signaled, "This bowl is for them." As soon as his words fell, he poured the wine onto the ground. The clear wine splashed, scattering and merging again, the fragrance permeating the air, as if truly offered to all the human race who sacrificed within these strong cities and garrisons. "No more words are needed, Junior Brother, I will surely destroy the Demon Court!" She said, her voice slightly hoarse, "During one mission outside, we were discovered by demon scouts." "In a life-threatening moment, he chose to stay behind so that we could escape first. Lv Cheng and I, we..." Although Lv Cheng did not speak, his eyes were already red as he looked up at the beam on the ceiling of the elegant room. Ning Xue and Jiang Yunni remained silent, their expressions also filled with grief and sighs. Ning Xue wasn’t there at the time, but Jiang Yunni knew about it. She patted Zhan Hongxiu’s shoulder and said: Before she finished speaking, tears welled up in her eyes. Seeing this, Chen Yi sighed inwardly, raised a bowl and signaled, "This bowl is for them." As soon as his words fell, he poured the wine onto the ground. The clear wine splashed, scattering and merging again, the fragrance permeating the air, as if truly offered to all the human race who sacrificed within these strong cities and garrisons. "No more words are needed, Junior Brother, I will surely destroy the Demon Court!" Outside Sky Dome City, fifty thousand miles away. This place is adjacent to the foothills of Taizhou Mountain, with strange stones standing tall, lush vegetation, and thick vines crawling all over, with a layer of mist faintly shrouding it. In the depths of these strange stones, the wide Netherworld River flows down from Taizhou Mountain, yet without a ripple, dark as dead water, quiet and eerie. The Demon Court then built palaces a thousand miles from the Netherworld River, layered along the undulating strange stones, guarding a grand hall at the peak of the stones. Especially amidst the surrounding mist, the dimly lit eternal lamps shine like a starry sea at night, or like a pagoda towering straight into the sky. The Demon Court settled here, not only to prevent the human race from the Tianyuan Continent from breaking through to different realms of Taizhou Mountain, but also to guard against people coming from the opposite side of the Netherworld River. At this moment, the dawn broke in the east, with faint sunlight slowly creeping out from the peak of Taizhou Mountain, Serpent Lu Chen transformed into human form, still towering a full zhang high, sat on a chair made of white bones, and snorted: "This time we couldn’t kill the few pests of Sword Edge Mountain from the Grand Void Sect, nor did we lure Chen Yi out of the city to fight. What was the reason?" Not far away, the eagle-headed, human-bodied demon grinned, his eagle eyes scanning around before landing on the Shadow Demon sitting on the other side: "Shadow, you initiated this, aren’t you going to offer an explanation or two?" "What needs to be explained?" The Shadow Demon’s body flickered, his tone cold and raspy, said: Chapters first released on n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net "It was a hastily arranged plan, taking only a few hours. If it could succeed , Chen Yi wouldn’t have slaughtered millions of Little Demons on the Tianyuan Continent." Lu Chen said angrily, "I asked for the reason, not the result!" "The reason is the lack of time, and because Bai Yuanguang and others didn’t cooperate well with us."