Meng Province.

The vast grassland has now completely turned into a snowy plain. Thick snow covers the grass, transforming the once blue sky and green earth into a world of ice and snow.

In the heart of Meng Province, where the former Golden Wolf Han Court was located, now stands the stone hall of the Demon Dao Headquarters, majestic and grand, exuding solemnity and magnificence.

Yin Tianxia stands atop the stone hall, his phoenix eyes coldly staring at the blood river flowing in the sky, mocking, "At first, you and I led three others to ascend to the Heavenly Demon Realm, forcing the Heavenly Demon Palace to surface prematurely. Now, you ally with the Demon Lord, Xue Ya, I wonder what you thought when you agreed to cooperate with the Demon Lord."

Yin Tianxia already learned yesterday that the Blood Demon Sect might have a connection with the Heavenly Demon Palace. Therefore, he wasn't surprised by Xue Ya's appearance.

"Gently flowing..."

The blood river flows, and a blood-colored figure slowly emerges from it, looking at Yin Tianxia, "We are all failures, mutual benefit and support are only natural."

Xue Ya doesn't shy away from admitting to being a failure at all.

Initially, Xue Ya and Yin Tianxia, among others, forced the Heavenly Demon Palace to surface earlier, intending to jointly promote the great success of the Demon Dao, but the result was that several sects led by the Yin Demon Sect thrived, whereas the Blood Demon Sect, being too arrogant, fell.

Ji Province became a barren land because of the Blood Demon Sect, with corpses strewn all over, prompting the Daqian Sect to send troops for suppression. Mu Cangsheng and Yama even secretly sought out Xue Ya, nearly killing him.

Because of that battle, the Blood Demon Sect, which became notorious, almost fell into irretrievable ruin.

As for the Heavenly Demon Palace, due to the incident at Sword God Lake, the Formless Demon Energy was taken, and the Demon Lord himself almost perished, nearly following in the footsteps of the Blood Demon Sect.

So essentially, both are failures.

Contrary to them, the Three Demonic Sects that merged into Northern Zhou through cooperation with Qing Yu are thriving, especially after eliminating the problem child, Purgatory Peak, their collaboration became closer.

Currently, the Yin Demon Sect has won the service of the other four sects, contributing to the Northern Expedition, and settled in Meng Province, taking a big pie, truly making others envious.

"So you envy my achievements, intending to seize the fruits of my labor, thus targeting me? Xue Ya, don't make me belittle you." Yin Tianxia said coldly.

"My vision isn't that shallow, nor would I provoke Northern Zhou and Lord Qingyu for such a reason. That would not be wise," Xue Ya shook his head.

How powerful is Northern Zhou? Based on surface data alone, this nation is undoubtedly the first among the Central Plains Three Kingdoms. Though it has only three provinces, the vast area of Meng Province alone equals the usual three provinces.

Moreover, there are numerous skilled warriors within the country, with several supreme experts holding the fort.

If Xue Ya were to become enemies with Northern Zhou over some inexplicable reason, he'd be better off dead.

"My actions aren't driven by superficial interests but for a more distant Dao path."

Xue Ya spread his arms as if embracing the sky. The blood river flowing through the Heavenly Vault surged into his body, and a powerful surge of Qi and blood exploded from his crown.

"Dao Ancestor is the ancestor of True Qi Martial Way, combining the achievements of ancient and modern times. With his assistance, my advancement will exceed your imagination."

The grand atmosphere does not exhibit any evil spirits; at this moment, Xue Ya does not resemble a Demon Dao patriarch but appears like a powerful figure of the Righteous Path.

His Qi mechanism bears no trace of past oddities; on the contrary, it resembles the operation of the Blood Vault Cang's Qing Yu.

This credits the Dao Ancestor, who, though confined by the body of Xuan Du, has wisdom that cannot be doubted for thousands of years.

Moreover, Dao Ancestor has experienced the period of transformation from Blood Refining Martial Arts to True Qi Martial Way, thoroughly understanding the origins of the current Blood Dao Martial Arts, possibly having even personally studied them.

Providing guidance to Xue Ya, allowing his realm to improve, this is the bait Dao Ancestor used to tempt Xue Ya to join this battle.

And faced with the temptation of martial advancement, Xue Ya couldn't refuse.

"Yin Tianxia, take my challenge."

Xue Ya's body surged with Qi and blood, like a blood sun falling from the sky, directly striking the person below.

Yin Tianxia was not one to easily retreat; he transformed into a cold moon, ascending skyward, directly confronting the blood sun.

··························

"Blood Demon Sect Leader Xue Ya has appeared, currently battling Yin Sect Master; Vice Sect Master Ye and others are also held up by Blood Demon Sect warriors and unable to break away."

The news from Meng Province quickly reached the Northern Zhou Imperial Palace, becoming known to everyone gathered in the Yangxin Hall for this matter.

"The Taoist rebels invite two Divinity Realm hermits, leading Yunming Temple to avoid the Divine Capital, attacking local governors, and Daoist Master Lin personally leads pursuit."

"More than ten officials from Mountain River Academy have incited scholar sentiment in the Divine Capital, arrested, investigated by the Ministry of Justice, found to be reincarnations created by Heart-devouring Demon Sect disciples skinned and transformed, have been placed in custody."

News after news reached the Yangxin Hall, each one not exactly good.

The Blood Demon Sect has stalled the Demon Dao, nearly crippling their major aid, leaving only the Seven Extremes Elder and Mo Guming in the imperial palace to lend help.

The Taoist rebels avoided the Divine Capital to avoid the capable Meng Shanhe, attacking local governors and prefecture magistrates, intending to disrupt Northern Zhou's foundation; their intentions are sinister.

As for the Heart-devouring Demon Sect's skin transformation technique, it has a rather poetic name called "Skin Painting." It involves peeling the victim's skin, converting it with liquid and True Qi into a wearable skin.

Donning this skin, one could be almost indistinguishable from a real person. The Heart-devouring Demon Sect practices heart-eating cultivation, making them as detested as street rats. Their ability to remain at large is due to this disguise art.

"Search among the officials at Fate Altar, identify the fake persona made by the Heart-devouring Demon Sect."

"Mo Zhangdao, Mr. Qi Jue, please both venture forth and assist Daoist Master Lin in slaying the rebels."

"A curfew is implemented in the Divine Capital. Any chaos instigators are to be arrested first, and if they resist, they may be killed."

Emperor Zhou sat on the dragon throne, handling each piece of information with poise and order.

The facial features of the dead differ from those of the living, and the art of face reading is extraordinarily effective at distinguishing truth from falsehood. Qing Yu was once exposed due to mismatching facial features, thereby uncovering a false identity.

Mo Guming and Seven Extremes Elder joined the pursuit, heralding the inevitable demise of the two evasive Taoist hermits.

"In Mountain River Academy, with Mountain Master Meng present, chaos cannot arise. So-called turmoil, under the suppression of power, cannot create any major waves."

Emperor Zhou's fingers interlocked as he coolly said, "Strength can only be defeated by strength."

Now, the only concern lies with the Heavenly Demon Palace and the person behind the scenes. Over at the Heavenly Demon Palace, with Lan Cang as an informant, their movements are already ascertained.

As for the person behind the scenes...

"Dao Ancestor!" Emperor Zhou softly spoke the two words.

It wasn't that he deduced the identity of the person behind the scenes, but rather, this figure appeared right before him.

Right in the Yangxin Hall, Dao Ancestor's form materialized, slowly emerging.

"Protect the Emperor!"

Cold Eunuch called out loudly, thrusting a palm strike at the mysterious figure that appeared.

"Bam—"

A faint noise was heard, but it was not the impact of the palm strike hitting. As soon as the palm force approached Dao Ancestor, it spontaneously dispersed, chilling air forming a cold mist that was gently repelled by Dao Ancestor's Protective True Qi.

"Supreme Unbeaten." Emperor Zhou uttered the technique's magic door.

Any technique analyzed by this method cannot harm him. Supreme Unbeaten does not mean perpetually undefeated, but rather the ability to eliminate causes of defeat.

Dao Ancestor has survived for ten thousand years; his insight into Martial Arts is unparalleled in this world. Perhaps some supreme techniques could affect him, but individuals like Cold Eunuch at the Divine Communication Realm absolutely have no chance of wounding Dao Ancestor.

"It's been a while, Emperor Zhou," Dao Ancestor smiled, "or should I call you—Qing Yu."

His gaze penetrated the external facade, glimpsing into the essence within. Dao Ancestor could perceive the true identity of the person posing as Emperor Zhou before him.

"You reached the Supreme Power?"

Emperor Zhou's expression remained unchanged despite Dao Ancestor's words; he simply reached out slightly, effortlessly securing Cold Eunuch's shoulder despite his vigorous resistance, injecting True Qi and sealing his ability to act.

More than Dao Ancestor's words, Emperor Zhou's focus remained on the opponent's current realm.

Undoubtedly, this is Supreme Power; Dao Ancestor's avatar also achieved the realm of the strongest.

"More accurately, it's returning," Dao Ancestor responded drily, "what's called Supreme is difficult for others, but simple for me."

"If it were so simple, you wouldn't have appeared to me last time as merely a Divine Realm, and I still seized a third of your Xuan Yuan Qi," retorted Emperor Zhou.

In fact, it was nearly half of the Xuan Yuan Qi, such a large portion; logically, Dao Ancestor managing to maintain his strength without declining was an incredible feat, not expecting him to ascend to Supreme Power.

"Qing Yu, I am intrigued by the Tribulation Device you possess. Hand it over, and I shall spare this avatar of yours."

With blatant candor, enveloped by the pervasive Xuan Yuan Qi throughout the hall, Dao Ancestor abandoned pretense, manifesting the audacity of an ancient monster.

Exceedingly strong, Dao Ancestor's current power threatens to rival Qing Yu's main form, this is Emperor Zhou's most direct perception.

Dao Ancestor's founded reserves fully displayed upon entering the realm of the strongest, with ten thousand years of Martial Arts wisdom, his step into supreme was evidently reaching the peak.

However...

"To boast such words in Northern Zhou is somewhat arrogant." Emperor Zhou sneered.

His surroundings filled with Dragon Energy, an unparalleled aura countered Dao Ancestor. Now, Northern Zhou equates practically to the span of the Central Plains Five Provinces; graced with this expansive land's Dragon Vein, Emperor Zhou's abilities match Supreme Power.

Concurrently, a sword melody resonated, as the white-haired Swordman entered through the hall door.

"Wind Filling Tower, sweeping yellow sands, wielding the sword through springs and autumns, renowned in the world. Rain Piaomiao, weary of worldly dust, returning the bright pearl to you, Autumn Water Duckweed."

The previously unseen Ren Piaomiao stood at the door, joining Emperor Zhou in a pincer move. Dragon Energy, sword momentum, different forces worked in harmony, crushing towards Dao Ancestor in the center of the hall.

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