Chapter 148: Chapter 131: Challenge Before the Battle

Red Moon River, with its rippling waters and boundless expanse, is a renowned Spirit River Treasure Land within the South Mountain Domain.

Countless islands are densely scattered, stretching endlessly, and they compliment the varied and lavish Water Mansions deep within the river, jointly forming a massive, formidable Demon Race power.

Within this Great River, countless demon tribes—both large and small—reside, where humans can barely enter. Occasionally, some do appear, but they are merely mortals abducted to be turned into prey, swallowed into the demons’ bellies.

In the ordinary days, these demons either feast and drink or fight amongst themselves. There is never a day of peace in the entire Great River.

But on this day, the entire Great River seemed to have fallen silent, as innumerable demons gathered together, seemingly waiting for something.

At that moment, an enormous Dharma Boat broke through countless Cloud Qi like streaming light and illusionary shadows, swiftly arriving and descending upon the Great River.

"Minions, beat the drums and form the array!"

A gigantic roar echoed across the Great River, followed by the thunderous sound of drumming.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The colossal sound shook the skies, as a deluge of Demon Qi surged forth, spiraling endlessly, blotting out the sun, transforming into a grey, colossal claw, reaching towards the incoming Dharma Boat.

"Zing!"

A cold snort resounded from the Dharma Boat, and then a dazzling sword light, accompanied by a massive Spiritual Mechanism, radiated from the Dharma Boat, directly severing the claw, revealing a bright world.

However, the Great River was still engulfed in rolling Demon Qi, connecting with the Water Vein’s power, and in an instant, it transformed into another terrifying giant claw, hovering between heaven and earth, menacingly staring at the Dharma Boat before them.

The two seemed to be in a stalemate for a moment.

Meanwhile, within the Dharma Boat, Yinn Xingchao sat high in his seat, his eyes glowing gold, pointing to a massive chart with azure light, describing the plan of this conquest to everyone.

"Red Great River stretches boundlessly from north to south, particularly rich in Spiritual Mechanism in the north. The Water Vein spreads like a sea, with many Tier Three Spirit Islands. This is where the Jade Water Fire-Eyed Ape clan’s Water Mansion is located, an extremely perilous place, crucial to this conquest."

"Your cultivations are still shallow and not yet able to participate in such a campaign; ascendants, accompanied by two other Dharma Boats, have gone ahead. Our task is merely to take down this Nanpo Water Realm before us!"

Yinn Xingchao waved his hand, splitting the chart with a golden light into two battlefields.

"The Nanpo Water Realm is under the rule of the Jade Water Fire-Eyed Ape, inhabited by many demon tribes, their islands so densely packed, they are uncountable, with more than fifty Earth Demons."

"However, these demon tribes have shallow inheritances, unfamiliar with True Scriptures, not practicing Mysterious Techniques, their cultivation self-taught and disorganized, unable to compete with our Major Sect Disciples, so do not worry."

"The current strategy is first to destroy the ’Earth Evil Water Heaven Array’ set by the Jade Water Fire-Eyed Ape in the Nanpo Territory. This array connects the Water Vein’s power and Earth Demon Evil Qi among countless islands in Nanpo Territory, forming a sea, defensive and offensive, not to be underestimated."

"But once this array is broken, the demon hordes will be leaderless, like scattered sand, easily defeated by us."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement, especially the newly minted Foundation Establishment Disciple, who let out a long sigh of relief.

"May I ask, brother, how should we break this array?"

At this time, a disciple asked from below.

"Though this array is strong, it doesn’t match the profound mystery of our Daoist School’s Flying Smoke Dharma Boat. You need only sit firm on the Spirit Disc, act as the array hub; I will activate the Spiritual Mechanism, sever the Nanpo Water Vein; in less than half a month, this array will surely be broken!"

Yinn Xingchao stroked his beard with a confident smile.

This is a major campaign, not individual magical combat; breaking a River Protection Array in half a month is highly rapid, showing the Daoist School’s preparedness.

"Human Race over there, dare you step out of the boat and face your Grandpa Bull in battle!"

But at this moment, outside the Dharma Boat, a mocking voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone frowned, and their Divine Sense reached out, only to see within the swirling Demon Qi emerged a robust man with a black bull horn on his head, a nose as big as a ring, skin greenish-blue, and eyes glowing dimly.

He held a large jade axe, spewing saliva, constantly provoking the Dharma Boat.

This was a direct challenge before battle!

Such occurrences aren’t frequent in conquests, but neither are they rare.

After all, if victorious, it not only boosts morale but also weakens the opponent’s forces, a win-win situation.

But if one loses, there’s the threat of death, so usually, only those extremely confident in their strength dare to issue such challenges.

At this moment, the Demon Bull issuing a challenge clearly showed confidence in his strength.

Inside the Dharma Boat, everyone exchanged glances, not responding immediately.

They were all Foundation Establishment Cultivators, with a good lifespan; how could they mindlessly accept a challenge?

"Why is no one responding, do you only dare to hide in your turtle shell? Haha, in my opinion, you might as well change your name and join Old Turtle’s sect, and why bother cultivating, just become a grandson of a turtle!"

Seeing no response from within the Dharma Boat, the Demon Bull laughed wildly, even turning around and mocking them with his rear.

"This demon challenges us to cut away our wings, making the Spirit Disc of the Dharma Boat incomplete, increasing the risk of breaking the array."

"But if we can slay this demon, we can also weaken the demon tribes’ power, allowing us to break the array sooner."

"Slaying demons before the array earns great merits—does anyone want to seize this opportunity?"

Seeing the Demon Bull outside the array growing increasingly bold, Yinn Xingchao’s face hardened as he called out to the others.

He had to hold the Dharma Boat, so he couldn’t move and could only look to the others.

Inspired by his words and the Demon Bull’s increasing arrogance outside, some on the Dharma Boat were stirred.

The conquest of the Red Moon River differs from Flying Smoke Mountain; what one gains on the battlefield still belongs to oneself, but allocation of Spirit Islands, Spirit Meridians, and mines after the battle is based on the merits earned.

Everyone held a "Battle Merit Jade Token" issued by the Daoist School to record their merits, to be rewarded later.

Slaying demons and conquering islands naturally count as high merits, while others are minor, unless there are exceptional feats.

"I’ll handle this creature!"

At this moment, a cultivator with a shallow scar at the corner of his eye from a noble family stood up, saluting Yinn Xingchao, then transformed into a light, flying out of the Dharma Boat.

"This man’s name is Ji Fenghua, not from one of the Five Great Surnames of the Seven Vein, merely from an ordinary noble family, yet exceptionally talented. Twenty years ago, while traveling the world, he unexpectedly absorbed a Spiritual Qi, breaking through to Foundation Establishment. It’s said his Sword Technique is exceptional, his strength considerable, and he carries a Spiritual Artifact."

Beside Gu Yuan, Ma Wu softly introduced.

Since breaking through to Foundation Establishment, he continuously practiced his Cultivation Seal and gathered intelligence on the Red Moon River and Daoist School’s foundation establishments, striving to contribute to "Gu’s Small Group."

Gu Yuan nodded with a smile, his eyes showing some emotion.

Having a team is indeed comforting.

Meanwhile, outside, a human and a demon were already engaged in battle.