I use myths to create immortality

Once the agreement was reached, Huan Yue didn't waste any more time and immediately announced the plan to send troops during the banquet. In addition to arranging for Crown Prince Huang Ling to lead 18,000 elite demon soldiers to guard Li Yueze's lair,

He then led the remaining tens of thousands of miscellaneous livestock, beasts, birds, spirits, and demons, along with the disciples of Jin'ao Island and the heretical figures under his command, into battle.

Suddenly, the silent Liyue Marsh was filled with the sound of drums, and colorful banners fluttered, stretching for dozens of miles, densely packed. Within a thousand miles, in every mountain and cave, demons and monsters emerged like ants from their burrows.

Meanwhile, in Yangu, a thousand miles away, the market was bustling with activity, and thousands of people gathered to trade.

At the summit of the mountain, in the Juxian Temple, there were over a hundred people, dressed in both secular and Taoist attire, all radiating spiritual energy.

Besides Ji Yun Gong and Pei Ling Ming, who were arrested, Chen Haiwai, who was injured and recuperating, was also present. The group was led by the Red-Bearded True Man and included Kunwu True Disciples such as Ling Qian, Ling Jue, Ling Che, and Ling Miao.

The atmosphere in the temple was heavy; they were discussing how to rescue Jiyun Gong and Lingming.

One of these two was a true disciple of Kunwu, a core figure in the Xuanwei Dao.

Jiyun Gong was also one of the Five Elders of Fortune and Virtue; the person appointed by the founder of the sect according to the destiny of the stars could not be mistaken.

At the same time that the demon race raised an army.

Qin Lingmiao, the most accomplished Daoist with the red beard, was the first to sense something was wrong. His expression changed slightly as he looked south.

The crowd, who were still arguing about how to rescue Jiyun Gong and Lingming, were taken aback when they saw this, and they also looked south.

"Why has Senior Brother Lingmiao been looking south for so long? Could it be that something has happened among the demon race?" Wen Lingyang and the others were all puzzled.

After all, among those present, even the true disciples of Kunwu were mostly not at the Tongxuan realm, and even if they stood up and looked from afar, they could not detect anything amiss.

Only the five elders, Qin Lingmiao, Pan Lingrui, Lingsong, and Lingfeng, had cultivated to the point of perfect enlightenment and even gained some of the profound abilities of the Dao, enabling them to gaze upon mountains thousands of miles away and discern reality from illusion.

"I seem to hear the sound of clashing weapons echoing from the southern foothills, but I can't see it clearly. It must be that a powerful being has clouded my judgment..." Qin Lingmiao replied with a frown.

Everyone turned their gaze to Ling Qian, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, as if he were meditating.

Ji Lingqian seemed to sense something and opened his eyes: "Please wait a moment, everyone, allow me to see what is going on."

After speaking, he stretched out his right hand, flicked his sword fingers, and ran them across his eyelids. His pupils shimmered with a golden-purple aura, and a divine light shot out from the depths of his eyes.

Like a sharp blade, it caused the surrounding creatures to freeze in their tracks, and none dared to look directly at it.

However, Huan Yue inherited the divine power and bloodline of the ancient Great Sage of the demon race and cultivated the Golden Eyes of the Demon Master; while among the human race, there are also Great Sages with divine powers.

Ji Lingqian also cultivated the Human Emperor's Purple Eyes; this divine power was inherited from the bloodline of the Jade Emperor, one of the Three Sovereigns of antiquity. If one cultivates it to perfection, once the Dharma Eye opens, one can see the chaotic void above and the cold sea below, and see through the ten categories of insects, birds and beasts as if they were the lines on one's palm.

It can emit two wisps of purple energy, soaring like lightning, capable of shattering the mind and spirit, and is especially effective against the mental and spiritual power of all immortals, demons, monsters, and monsters.

Previously, this technique was used to restrain Huan Yue's demonic master, Jin Tong, causing Huan Yue's mind to weaken and his supernatural powers to be greatly diminished.

This mysterious power, distinct from all offensive and protective spells, is extremely rare; and thus, Ling Qian, relying on this supernatural ability, ranks first among the true disciples of Kunwu.

Of course, that was before Ji Yuan mastered the Eight Trigrams Furnace.

Ling Qian blinked, piercing through layers of illusion; a thousand miles away, the layers of demonic pupils were obscured by the light of his gaze, revealing scales reflecting the sun and banners fluttering in the sky.

He couldn't help but snort coldly: "It was that old demon Illusion Moon who used magic to cover up the secrets of heaven, but in reality he had already mobilized all his troops and sneaked over to catch us off guard."

"What?!" Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions varied.

Among the laymen, some were shocked and bewildered, while others looked lost and confused; only the true disciples of Kunwu watched coldly from the sidelines, some sneering and remaining silent upon seeing this scene.

Dong Lingshan, who was never afraid, stood up and laughed loudly upon hearing this: "These wicked thieves, do they really think Kunwu has no one to rely on? Let's capture them in one fell swoop. First, it will avenge Fellow Daoist Chen, and second, it will save us from having to go and kill them again."

The assembled laymen looked at each other, none of them responding.

Upon hearing this, many Kunwu disciples outside stood up, swords at the ready, and dozens of them echoed in unison: "Senior Brother Dong is right. Last time, Senior Brother Chen and his two companions ventured into the demon cave alone; they were outnumbered by the demons and lost two fellow Daoists, Ji Yun Gong and Pei Ling Ming. Senior Brother Chen also returned wounded. It's a good opportunity to avenge Senior Brother Chen."

The sound shook the roof tiles, startling birds and beasts into flight.

"The demon race is coming with great force; they must have a conspiracy. We must make plans as soon as possible," a lone cultivator objected.

Upon hearing this, many rogue cultivators agreed: "Indeed, the Drunken Daoist Chen Hai was injured last time, and Senior Jiyun Gong and Daoist Lingming were trapped in the Demon Cave. We have lost three experts in a row. With the decline of one side and the rise of the other, the demon race is rampant. We must be careful."

"Furthermore, the demon race possesses the Divine Fiend Star Formation; in terms of military might, they are ten times stronger than us. I think it would be better to retreat from Yan Valley first, temporarily avoid their sharp edge, and wait for Kunwu's reinforcements to arrive before launching a counterattack!"

"Avoid my ass!" Dong Lingshan shouted angrily. He looked around and glared: "The disputes are all in Yan Gu and Li Yue Ze. If we lose them, we lose the initiative. Even if the demon race has experts, we are not made of clay. What are we afraid of? If things go wrong, we will only die!"

Seeing that Ling Shan's gaze was as sharp as a sword, the wandering man dared not refute further, but instead looked at the red-bearded immortal above him, appearing as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Many of the non-Kunwu people were initially hesitant and fearful upon hearing that the demon army was coming, but seeing Ling Shan's current state, they decided not to say anything more.

Lingqian, Lingmiao, and other Kunwu disciples watched coldly and silently, taking in the expressions of the scattered people.

For a moment, the atmosphere fell silent.

True Man Red Beard knew the character of these rogue cultivators, so he quickly smoothed things over: "Fellow Daoists, rest assured, although we have few Dao soldiers, there are many fellow Daoists down the mountain who are willing to serve us. As long as we work together, it will not be a problem to gather eight or nine thousand Dao soldiers."

Among the hundred or so people present, besides Ling Qian and more than ten other true disciples of Kunwu, the remaining seventy or eighty were all highly respected figures among the independent cultivators.

Actually, these people weren't really afraid and backing down.

These people who came to help were either those who had received favors from the Five Elders of Zhaoyue in their early years, or those who had deep-seated interests with the Five Elders.

Everyone had long since joined forces with Kunwu, determined to defeat the Li Yueze demon clan at all costs.

What everyone is concerned about now is whether the tens of thousands of junior cultivators and spirits at the foot of the mountain can gather together and trust each other in this critical moment.

If the demon army arrives, the young cultivators and spirits who have gathered at the foot of the mountain, drawn by its reputation, might all defect, or the entire area might collapse.

With only a hundred high-level combatants and a few hundred Kunwu disciples remaining in the temple, it was clearly insufficient to confront the demon army head-on.

After all, once the Demon Clan's Divine Fiend Star Formation is activated, the star-fiend divine light shines brightly, mountains collapse and the earth cracks, and the military fiend domain is formed, annihilating all Daoist arts. Regardless of the strength of your personal Daoist arts, it will directly wipe you out and reduce you to ashes.

Against such a military formation, unless one possesses extraordinary supernatural powers to overwhelm it or has exceptionally strong physical abilities, once trapped within the formation, escape is nearly impossible.

The only option is to flee quickly, preserve the high-level forces first, and then return to occupy the Yan Valley spiritual vein after the demon army has retreated, and recruit new soldiers.

As long as the core leadership remains intact and the banner of the Five Elders of Yan Valley is still in place, they can continuously attract more people from the inland regions like Nanshan and Taiyue to expand their territory. The Five Elders of Yan Valley are so formidable because these five old fellows have painstakingly cultivated their reputation among the scattered cultivators south of Nanshan, Taiyue, and Zhaoyue for thousands of years.

For example, titles and various beautiful legends such as "not coveting the treasures of the younger generation", "approachable", "compassionate and kind-hearted", "always responsive to requests", "warm-hearted"...

Yan Valley is a sacred place in the hearts of independent cultivators. The five reclusive masters, namely, the Red-Bearded Immortal, Jiyun Gong, Jingjie Gong, Songyin Shangren, and Zhufeng, are predecessors with impeccable moral character.

With layers of filters applied, it has accumulated unparalleled popularity.

Although, those who truly know these five old guys know that no one is perfect.

Indeed, these five guys have a decent reputation and often have good intentions, but they are not perfect saints or the noble predecessors one might imagine.

These core leaders also knew that Kunwu's so-called willingness to do whatever it takes to defeat the Li Yueze demon clan meant that countless low-level cannon fodder would inevitably become the 'cost'.

Now everyone is divided into two factions, and the issue they are debating is: if the demon race really attacks, and the power gap is huge, should we first save those low-level 'cannon fodder' who have gathered here with great enthusiasm because of the reputation and filter of the Five Elders?

Choosing to evacuate them and then flee together, only to return after the demons have retreated and rebuild their forces, may seem cowardly, but it is actually the most conscientious and appropriate method.

Or should we sacrifice those passionate cannon fodder from the lower classes, forcibly mold them into an army, and have them fight the demon army head-on?
But those free spirits are used to their own way; their military formations are clearly not as well-versed as those of the demon race. Once they go into battle, the casualties are truly numerous.

Honestly, the Crimson-Bearded Immortal was naturally unwilling to sacrifice those low-level rogue cultivators who had gathered together because they admired his reputation.

Unfortunately, they were now bound to the Kunwu Sect and deeply embroiled in the Zhaoyue conflict. Their fate was sealed: advance or die. The five of them were no longer in control of their own destiny, and all their actions had to be arranged by the Kunwu Sect.

The woman with the gold hairpin sitting to the side chimed in: "The demon race has many soldiers, but they can't all come out. There are no more than ten or twenty thousand. As long as we don't go out to fight recklessly and guard Yan Valley, we should be fine."

This is the Golden Hairpin Saintess of Taiyue Ridge, who has an extremely high reputation among the independent cultivators and can be considered the leader of the hundreds of independent cultivators in Taiyue Ridge.

After the Golden Hairpin Saintess and the Red-Bearded Immortal uttered these words, the many experts who came from the ranks of wandering cultivators could no longer say anything more, and it could be considered that they had made a decision.

As for the Kunwu disciples, from the very beginning, they had no intention or choice to back down.

Ling Qian looked at the Crimson-Bearded Immortal: "In that case, let's quickly gather our fellow cultivators down the mountain, form them into an array, and prepare to fight."

The Red-Bearded Immortal nodded: "There's no time to lose, this is the only way."

"Good!" the crowd roared in agreement.

In a short while, the agreement was reached.

At the command of the Red-Bearded Immortal, more than ten disciples in front of the Gathering Immortals Temple struck two golden-skinned Dharma drums, the booming sound resounding like thunder for dozens of miles around.

Boom!Boom!Boom!
In an instant, birds and beasts took flight in fright.

At the foot of the mountain, in the market town of Yan Gu, countless cultivators, whether trading goods or discussing techniques and practicing martial arts, all looked towards the mountaintop.

Strands of multicolored light soared out from the temple, transforming into the figure of the Crimson-Bearded Immortal. Behind him, the true disciples of Kunwu, with their immortal bearing, gathered and landed in the clouds.

They had assumed that the sound of the drums signaling the gathering of troops would cause panic among the cultivators below the mountain.

However, to the surprise of the Kunwu people, accompanied by the sound of drums, many independent cultivators who came to participate in the gathering lined up like long snakes and trickling streams, slowly converging into the valley from under the mountain rocks, in the bamboo forest, in the pavilions, and along the streets and alleys of the market.

Before long, a long line of people stretched along the valley floor, which was hundreds of feet wide. The crowd was densely packed with people, dressed in colorful clothes and holding various weapons. The line stretched as far as the eye could see, numbering at least tens of thousands.

The clamor and deafening roar even drowned out the sound of the ten Dharma drums.

But when the figures of the Crimson-Bearded Immortal and the true disciples of Kunwu appeared, the chaotic noise below gradually subsided.

"Senior, the temple drums suddenly sounded today. Could it be that the demon race has come to attack?" A cultivator below flew up on the wind and asked from afar.

“Indeed! The south is filled with murderous intent, and the demon race has gathered its troops to attack. I urge all fellow Daoists to set aside past grievances and unite against this common enemy. If we can defeat the demon army, all the treasures of Zhaoyue will be at your disposal!” The Crimson-Bearded True Man spoke softly, his voice echoing through the valley and reaching everyone’s ears.

The cultivators in the valley are all independent cultivators from Nanshanzhou. Over the years, some have received the favor of the Five Elders, some are old friends of the Xuanmen sect, and some admire the reputation of the Five Elders. In the past few months, they have gradually gathered from the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, the Nine Marshes and Eight Wildernesses.

Among them, those with strong magical power have only cultivated for a little over a hundred years.

Those with weak magical power can barely cultivate their skills, their abilities resembling those of ordinary heroes.

However, there were quite a few people, a bustling crowd that seemed to stretch endlessly, numbering no less than tens of thousands.

They were mostly young men and women in their late teens or early twenties.

They came to Zhaoyue, where they usually traded goods in the valley or used this grand event to seek guidance from their predecessors, hoping to help the Five Elders unify Zhaoyue and bolster their prestige.

At this moment, news suddenly arrived that the demon race was coming and a great war was about to break out.

They were naturally in an uproar; however, it was only a momentary commotion. When they looked up and saw the many Kunwu Immortals and the five elders, including the Red-Bearded True Man, who were like guiding lights in their eyes, all calm and composed, they all calmed down.

The valley returned to silence.

Seeing this, the Red-Bearded Immortal waved his Taoist robe sleeves and said, "Everyone, form a thousand-person formation, each following a fellow Daoist from Kunwu as the formation master. Activate the magic net and the heavenly net, and arrange them according to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams to form ten formations. Listen to the commands from the golden flag and the Dharma drum in the temple, and cast your spells together!"

"I and you Kunwu disciples will serve as the core of the formation, providing support for you all."

The sound carried on the wind to everyone's ears. Upon hearing it, the young people in the valley shouted in response, and their morale soared for a moment.

There were several hundred Kunwu disciples present, all dressed in uniform yellow robes, including more than ten true disciples in blue-purple robes, making them easily identifiable.

Beforehand, eight Kunwu disciples with magical powers exceeding a thousand years were chosen as the formation masters, leading hundreds of Kunwu disciples divided into ten teams, each in charge of banners, formation diagrams, magic drums, golden gongs, and magic swords.

At this moment, the rising mist descended, quickly dividing the youths in the valley into ten groups, each with a thousand people. They were all lifted up by the mist and flown to a distance of a hundred miles around the valley.

Before long, a thick blue mist filled the air near the Three Hundred Mile Inkstone Valley, and amidst the murderous aura, streaks of divine light from swords and spears shone in the sun.

It was a formation of a thousand men, with the formation master in charge of the formation diagram; banners indicated commands, drums signaled advance, and gongs signaled retreat.

The eight formations are divided into eight directions. According to the secret transmission of Kunwu, the Nine Palaces Corresponding Stars Formation is formed into a great formation called the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, which illuminates the entire 300-mile Yangu Valley.

Within this formation, all heretical spells are forbidden; and divine light, in accordance with the celestial influences, must form a Dharma image to resist the demonic soldiers.

As for the five elders, including the Crimson-Bearded Immortal, they were stationed in the center.

(End of this chapter)