"Hiss!"
Pei Zi Yun's heart skipped a beat. He could sense that this was an ominous sign. Looking closely, he could see that the blood mist was filled with an intense amount of resentment. He could even hear the wails of the spirits within. He sucked in a deep breath.
"True Sovereign, True Sovereign!"
Before he could think further, Pei Zi Yun turned around and saw a Daoist official calling out to him, "What's the matter?"
"Something's not right, look!" The Daoist official pointed to the forest in the distance. The blood mist started to spread and was carried along by the wind, enveloping the entire forest. When it neared, many birds were startled and wanted to fly away, chirping loudly. However, the speed of the blood mist was too fast. Within seconds, many of the birds had bloodshot eyes and fell to the ground.
There were also some wild beasts that were engulfed by the blood mist. They roared loudly as their bodies grew larger. Some of them could not withstand the pressure and exploded into a mist of blood. Some of the beasts transformed back into human forms and stood up. It was as if they had heard a summons as they stumbled towards a direction.
A gust of wind blew past, bringing with it a cold aura. Seeing this, Pei Zi Yun sucked in a breath of cold air.
"Not good, not good. A demon has appeared."
"It's going to eat people."
The Daoist official was still able to hold on. However, the soldiers of the army were not well-educated. Seeing this, they turned around and fled. Pei Zi Yun's face sank as he shouted, "Where's the commander? Maintain order. Whoever dares to flee shall be killed without mercy."
As soon as the order was given, a squad leader stood up and shouted, "Asshole, why aren't you returning to your position? Whoever dares to panic will be dealt with according to military law."
"With a True Sovereign here, what's there to be afraid of?"
These were all elite soldiers. Initially, the strange phenomenon had caused a commotion. With this shout, most of them had calmed down. Occasionally, some of them would try to escape. However, as soon as they saw the flash of a blade, they screamed in pain and fell to the ground.
Before long, the entire army had calmed down.
"Is it that easy to transform into a demon?"
"I don't believe it." Pei Zi Yun's understanding of Dao Arts had led him to believe that it was impossible to transform into a demon in such a short amount of time. Just as he was thinking about this, he noticed that the sky had darkened. A thick layer of blood mist floated in the air, emitting a faint red glow.
"Spell? Demon Arts? Or is this place no longer the living world? "
At this point, Pei Zi Yun's expression turned serious as a sense of uneasiness welled up within him. His expression changed as he stood up and said coldly, "Prepare to enter the barracks and prepare for battle. Daoist Officers and Platoon Leaders, follow me into the tent to discuss countermeasures."
"Yes!"
As he entered the tent, he saw a map hanging on the wall. Pei Zi Yun looked at it and said, "Department of Records, hurry and determine our position. See if there's any deviation."
"The simplest way is through communication. Can you contact the imperial court?"
Pei Zi Yun pursed his lips as he watched. The Dao Officer's face was as white as a sheet. The Fruit Amulet crackled as it lit up, but he was unable to connect with it.
"The strange phenomenon is the work of the traitors. If I'm not wrong, it's caused by a blood sacrifice. I'm not sure about the specifics, but I'm confident that I can break it."
"Everything will be decided by the True Monarch."
"Good." Pei Zi Yun stretched out his hand and drew a circle on the map, "Send out scouts to check out the surroundings. If there are any changes, report to me immediately."
"Where are the Daoist officials? If you can't contact the imperial court, quickly contact other camps. Can you contact them? See what's happening at the front line? "
"Whoever dares to disturb our morale, kill them without mercy."
In that instant, everything was sorted out. The Daoist officials and the team leaders listened to his orders and felt much more at ease. They obeyed his orders and sent their troops out.
Pei Zi Yun's brows were still furrowed as he sat there with his eyes closed, thinking of all possibilities. The Demon Emperor's memories flashed through his mind as he started to make guesses.
'Is this a large scale blood sacrifice? I still need to test it out. 'Pei Zi Yun squinted his eyes and pointed, "Blinding Light Technique!"
"Boom!" A beam of light flashed past and lit up the entire tent. However, Pei Zi Yun did not look happy, "That's not right. Although the Dao technique was successful, my powers have been weakened."
Pei Zi Yun's face turned gloomy as he thought about it, "The power of the Immortal Dao Dragon Veins has been cut off. The spiritual energy from Paradise has been cut off as well. It seems like I have to conserve my powers and end this quickly."
"System!"
Following the call, a Plum Blossom appeared in front of him. It grew bigger and bigger until it became a translucent information interface. It floated in front of his eyes as data appeared.
'My name is still growing, but the changes are minute.'
'Looks like the Blind Daoist used some spells and caused some changes. Even my Earth Immortal powers are being suppressed. I should only be left with half of them.'
'Something's not right.' Pei Zi Yun was suspicious. Although his powers were being suppressed, his strength had increased. He frowned and walked out of the tent. He found a huge rock and punched it.
"Boom!"
The huge rock exploded, and the flying rocks hit his body, but he felt nothing.
'This feeling, there's more Yin Qi. Could it be that this place is between the world of the living and the netherworld?
Thunder, come! 'Pei Zi Yun pointed his finger, and a flash of lightning appeared. He tossed the match into the oil, and a sizzling sound could be heard, "Indeed, it's the power of the netherworld."
'The Demon Realm? No, it's connected to the Demon Realm. This realm has long been conquered. I understand now. Someone must have used some sort of technique to form a rift between Yin and Yang. This could very well be the Mirage Realm. 'Pei Zi Yun's eyes lit up as he pondered.
At this point, a Daoist official rushed over and reported, "True Sovereign, the various camps have been contacted. Head Officer Li has reported that he has caught the traitor. However, he didn't expect the traitor to use demonic techniques, and caused a huge blood mist to appear. The beasts that were gathered by the traitor all turned into demons, and a bunch of demons appeared."
"Head Officer Li has requested for us to retreat to the camp, and prepare to regroup before making any further plans." The Daoist official was panting as he reported. Not obeying orders and wanting to retreat was akin to disobeying orders.
Pei Zi Yun wasn't angry, but was instead elated. He then ordered, "That's good. Immediately give the order for all the troops to gather at the camp. Bring oil and other supplies. We shall defend the camp."
"Yes." The Daoist official turned around and gave the order.
Frontline Stronghold
Corpses littered the ground. Most of them were demonic beasts, but there were also corpses of humans. Li Zhengyuan stood within the tent that had a hole in it, and didn't say a word as he listened to the Daoist official's report.
"The blood mist was strange, and appeared out of nowhere. I suspect it was caused by the traitor."
"When we were fighting the enemy, it felt like our Dao techniques were weakened. Also, how could wild beasts turn into humans? Although they had fur, I wasn't mistaken. They were indeed in human form. It's similar to the demons of the legends."
Captain Lian's face was gloomy, "I've been in the army for ten years, and I've never seen anything like this. This is similar to the demons that I've read about in the books. Perhaps King Lu is truly a demon, or else how could he suddenly have such an invincible army."
"Head Officer, did the True Sovereign say anything?" Everyone turned to look at him. Some of the Daoist officials had suspicions in their eyes. Were they trying to get someone else to do the dirty work?
Li Zhengyuan was feeling uneasy, but he knew that he couldn't let go of his suspicions. He then slapped the table, "There's no need to say anything. If the True Sovereign knew about this, he wouldn't just lead us here to fight."
"Now that the True Sovereign is at the frontlines, and is less than ten miles away from us, if something were to happen, none of us would be able to escape."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere within the tent became extremely tense, and everyone fell silent.
"Your excellency, the True Sovereign has contacted us, and ordered us to retreat to the main camp. We are allowed to bring kerosene and rations with us." At this point, a Daoist official entered the tent and shouted out.
"Good." Li Zhengyuan smiled as he spoke, as though a stone had been lifted from his heart. However, his expression was still solemn, "We shall move towards the main camp immediately. All problems shall be solved when we meet the True Sovereign."
As he spoke, he looked at the Captain, "Captain Chen, bring some men forward, and clear out the demonic beasts along the way. I shall bring kerosene and follow you."
"Yes!"
Main Camp
Pei Zi Yun stood at a high vantage point and watched from afar. He could see that the various camps were gathering rapidly. Originally, they were searching through the forest, and weren't too far away. The distance between them was about ten miles, and it took them less than an hour to arrive.
One by one, the troops gathered, and clashed with the demonic beasts along the way. However, the clashes weren't too serious. These demonic beasts seemed to have gotten over their initial confusion, and were beginning to gain some intelligence. They knew that the main army hadn't arrived yet, and thus didn't engage in battle. Instead, they just stood there and watched.
"Xiu" A godly archer drew his bow, and shot an arrow. A demonic beast fell to the ground.
A Daoist official pointed out, "True Sovereign, look. Even the furthest Overseer Li has returned."
"I saw it too. The one in the middle is him." Pei Zi Yun revealed a faint smile before it disappeared, "Tell him to report to me the moment he enters the camp."
"Also, tell everyone to start building fortifications." Just as he gave the order, Li Zhengyuan had already entered the camp. He then took a deep breath and walked towards Pei Zi Yun, "This lowly official pays his respects to the True Sovereign."
"Get up. What's the point of being so formal now? You're the frontlines, and must have fought with these demonic beasts before. If you have any thoughts, speak them out."
"Yes, True Sovereign. The demonic beasts we've encountered so far aren't that strong. The armored soldiers can still kill them."
"However, I can feel that this place is isolated from the outside world. Besides, I've never seen such a strong force before. Our spells, other than using talismans to communicate, are all suppressed. I suspect that this is the rebel's Dao Arts. Or perhaps, it has something to do with King Lu's defeat."
Pei Zi Yun nodded his head, "Indeed, it has something to do with it. These people are demonic beasts. Only demonic beasts would have such power."
"Are there really demonic beasts?" Li Zhengyuan's heart skipped a beat. After sometime, he sighed, "Even if they're demonic beasts, we have no choice but to fight on."
"It's just that we're running low on rations and water. I'm afraid we won't be able to hold out for long."
Pei Zi Yun laughed coldly, "You don't have to worry about that. How long do you think we'll be able to hold out for? Don't scare us. "
"The larger the area of effect of a spell, the more energy it consumes. This is the basic principle of Dao Arts. Demonic arts can't be separated from this."
"Don't worry, we don't have to worry about rations and water. As for the demonic beasts, we can use our spells to suppress them. But haven't you realized that our physical bodies and strength have increased?"
As Pei Zi Yun spoke, Li Zhengyuan was still deep in thought. At this point, a scout shouted out, "True Sovereign, the demonic beasts have arrived."
"Awoo!"
The demonic beasts gathered together. Most of them were werewolves. There were also wolves, tigers, leopards and sheep. All of them had long fur on their bodies as they approached.
"There are some here too."
"Looks like the demonic beasts are going to attack us." Pei Zi Yun laughed coldly. Before he could finish his sentence, the demonic beasts had already charged forward. They were filled with the most primitive of beasts. They bared their teeth and roared as they charged forward. Just looking at them caused one's scalp to go numb.
Pei Zi Yun frowned as he turned around and asked, "Look, don't they seem to be less intelligent than before?"
Li Zhengyuan observed the movements of the demonic beasts and paused for sometime before replying, "Yes, they're not as coordinated as before. I thought that the demonic beasts would be more cooperative when they formed an army. I didn't expect them to rely on their instincts to charge forward."
"This is the normal demonic transformation. Some of them are retracting their divine senses. This is a waste of energy." Pei Zi Yun laughed out coldly, "Oil isn't very effective against humans. But against these demonic beasts, it's perfect. Command everyone to set fire to these demonic beasts."
Just as he was about to give the command, Li Zhengyuan spoke out, "True Sovereign, something's not right. Earlier on, we used oil as well. But before the fire could reach them, a mist of blood appeared and extinguished the fire."
"There's such a thing?" Pei Zi Yun's heart sank as well. He thought for a moment before giving the command, "Continue to fire. If we can't set fire to them, we'll fight them with our lives."
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