The Emperor of Zongmen Workers is here

The setting sun, like a pool of thick blood, slowly but steadily spread out, gradually enveloping the post-war battlefield in a thick, blood-red curtain. Zhongli Xiu and Feng Jingchen dragged their heavy feet, arduously moving away from the smoke-filled, devastated front line.

Their clothes were already tattered, the tattered strips of cloth fluttering lifelessly in the howling wind, as if they would break and fall at any moment. The strips were stained with dried, blackened blood and emitted a sickening stench.

Their faces were not spared either, obscured by thick dust and stained blood, their true features barely discernible. Their once clear, bright, and piercing eyes were now filled with deep fatigue and confusion. Even so, the unyielding resolve and determination hidden within them still shone brightly, unwavering.

"Junior Master..." Zhong Lixiu gasped for breath, his voice unusually hoarse from excessive yelling. It sounded as if it had been honed by countless rough stones. "This demonic tide is truly abnormal! Thinking back to the demonic tide we encountered in the Youhuang Secret Realm, it was nothing compared to this one!"

He paused, calmed his breath a little, and then continued: "This time, the number of monsters is as large as a surging tide, pouring in continuously, with no end at all. And what's more terrifying is that their average realm is far beyond that of most of the monks on our side who are fighting desperately. Even with your joining, it will be a drop in the bucket for this huge battlefield." At the end, Zhongli Xiu's tone unconsciously revealed a hint of tragedy.

"Indeed, we've fought with all our might, but this surging demonic tide is like a boundless, bottomless abyss of darkness. No matter how hard we try, we can't see its end. Wave after wave of monks have been gravely wounded and fallen on this bloody battlefield. Some have even sacrificed their precious lives. The sheer scale of the tragedy is simply unbearable to watch, and the number of casualties is so great that it's impossible to accurately count them."

Feng Jingchen's brows furrowed tightly as he spoke, like two deep furrows across his broad forehead. His once handsome face was now distorted by his solemn expression, and his facial muscles trembled uncontrollably. He nodded heavily, and continued in a low, hoarse voice:

"Just as Ash said, even if there are some cultivators with high cultivation, facing this fierce and endless demonic tide, all they can do is slightly delay the situation, and they cannot completely eliminate this terrifying demonic tide in one fell swoop."

Jiang Qingwu stood quietly by the side listening to their stories, and a darker and darker look appeared on her beautiful face.

Her eyes, as black and bright as lacquer, were lost in deep thought, as if they were two extremely deep pools of water, trying their best to swallow up all the doubts and mysteries.

Finally, after a long silence, Jiang Qingwu slowly raised her head. Her gaze first swept slowly over everyone, then stopped at a spot not far ahead. She asked softly, "So, how did this demonic tide form?"

Although her voice was low, the confusion and eagerness to explore were evident in it. However, when her eyes swept over everyone present, she saw only bewildered faces. Everyone looked at each other, no one knowing how to answer this difficult question that had left them racking their brains but still no clue.

It was Pei Yi again. He frowned slightly, staring into the distance with a serious expression, as if searching deep in his mind for some important information. After a brief silence, he finally spoke slowly:

"All we know today are the ancient techniques passed down from generation to generation, the incomparably rare natural treasures, the strict, almost ruthless, family precepts of our masters, and the nightmare-like surge of demonic tides that arrive every thousand years. However, these ancestors knew nothing about the causes of the demonic tides, let alone their true purpose. The only thing they understood clearly was that defeating the demonic tides was a sacred mission and responsibility shouldered by every generation. Thus, every thousand years, the world of cultivation waged a brutal, life-or-death battle against the demonic tides, a practice passed down from generation to generation to this day."

Pei Yi's words were like a heavy hammer, hitting the hearts of everyone present.

For a moment, the surroundings fell into deathly silence. Everyone's faces were solemn, and they nodded heavily in agreement.

At this moment, the entire space seemed to be pressed down by an extremely huge piece of lead stone, making people feel an indescribable oppression, and even normal breathing became extremely difficult.

Jiang Qingwu, who was standing in the crowd, had eyes that were originally bright and moving, but now they looked even deeper, like two bottomless dark wells.

She stared silently ahead, thinking to herself: Could it be that, facing this sudden and fierce demonic tide, it is really impossible to find even a tiny bit of useful clues?

Her intuition told her that this demonic tide that seemed to come without any rules or warning must have a reason behind its existence!

At this moment, a young disciple in the crowd could no longer suppress his inner curiosity and fear, and bravely guessed loudly: "My fellow brothers and sisters, do you think it is possible that our Dongxu Realm has accidentally offended a mysterious and powerful person who is hidden and has unfathomable strength? So this powerful person, in anger, sent down such a terrifying demonic tide to punish us!" As soon as these words came out, it was like a stone that caused a thousand waves, causing an uproar among everyone present.

However, before anyone could delve into this speculation, an elder hurriedly shook his head and waved his hands, his face filled with nervousness as he retorted, "In my opinion, it's not necessarily that some powerful being has been angered. Perhaps there's some extremely evil and sinister ancient formation within our Dongxu Realm, simply undiscovered and unactivated. Now, for some unknown reason, it's been accidentally triggered, triggering this raging, nearly unstoppable demonic tide!"

As soon as the elder finished speaking, a burst of discussions arose around him.

For a moment, everyone began to express their opinions. Some said it was a disaster caused by a meteorite falling from outer space; others believed it was the sudden awakening of a demon hidden deep underground; and some even asserted that it was the lingering resentment of an ancient demon god...

All kinds of bizarre speculations emerge one after another, but upon closer listening, they all seem so pale, empty and unconvincing, as if they are all nonsense imagined out of thin air, lacking both solid and strong evidence to support them and no reasonable internal logical connection.

Amidst this chaotic chaos, Jiang Qingwu remained silent with a solemn expression, thinking to himself:

"Combining the many strange events I've personally experienced and the complex information I've gathered from various sources, perhaps this demonic tide isn't caused by a single specific reason. Rather, it's the natural laws of heaven and earth that the Dongxu Realm follows in order to maintain a dynamic balance of its internal resources.

It's likely that over time, the resource recycling mechanism has encountered unprecedented and severe obstacles, causing the once abundant cultivation resources to become increasingly scarce and nearly exhausted. When this imbalance accumulates to a certain extent, it manifests itself in the extreme form of a demonic tide, attempting to readjust and restore the ecological balance of the entire Dongxu Realm.

Jiang Qingwu frowned at this thought, pondering the complexity of the current situation. She knew full well that the situation before her was a tangled mess, confusing and fraught with danger. Especially after the last demonic tide, already scarce cultivation resources had become even more scarce, plunging the cultivators into an unprecedented predicament.

In order to survive and develop, the desperate demons turned their greedy eyes to the monks. These demons attempted to seize the monks' resources, and even used the monks as their own training resources to maintain their survival.

However, all of this was merely Jiang Qingwu's initial guess based on the clues he currently possessed. As for the truth hidden behind the layers of mystery, further exploration and research would likely be required to uncover it.

At this moment, Feng Ci, standing nearby, looked pale and anxious, like an ant on a hot pan, at a loss as to what to do. Beads of sweat, the size of beans, kept rolling down his forehead like beads from a broken string, one after another, soon soaking his clothes.

His lips trembled slightly with nervousness, and his voice was trembling noticeably as he stammered, "If...if it's really as you all say, then...then how should we deal with this difficult situation?"

However, facing Feng Ci's panic, Jiang Qingwu was the complete opposite, remaining remarkably calm and composed. Her eyes gleamed with an unwavering determination, as hard and unshakable as steel, as if nothing in the world could hinder her progress.

She opened her red lips and responded without hesitation and decisively, "No matter what the true reason behind this, we must not harbor even the slightest thought of retreat or fear! We must do our utmost, rack our brains to think of all possible effective methods and strategies, and then wholeheartedly and spare no effort to explore ways to properly resolve the problem. Only in this way can we truly protect the long-term tranquility and peace of the Dongxu Realm."

When Jiang Qingwu spoke these powerful words, everyone present was stunned at first, but then they all nodded in agreement.

Their originally dull eyes were instantly rekindled with a raging fire, an indomitable and never-give-up fighting spirit.

This fighting spirit spread rapidly like a prairie fire, burning more and more vigorously, as if it wanted to completely burn away the boundless darkness and let the light shine on the entire Dongxu world again.

At this moment, Mo Yunsheng came running over in a panic, shouting anxiously, "Oh no, Junior Master, another wave of demons is coming!"

Jiang Qingwu's face instantly darkened, and he shouted without hesitation, "Prepare for battle!"

Everyone immediately braced themselves, quickly picked up their weapons, and once again threw themselves into the fierce battle without hesitation.

Jiang Qingwu, wielding the Qiluan Sword, flashed like a ghost, instantly charging into the demonic tide. The sword in her hand gleamed with dazzling light, and her swordsmanship was unparalleled. Each strike carried a powerful spiritual force like a tidal wave, instantly slaying several ferocious monsters.

"Come on, everyone! We must not let the monsters break through our defense line!" Jiang Qingwu shouted loudly, and his firm voice echoed for a long time in the battlefield full of flames.

Pei Yi stood aside, his hands tightly gripping the magic weapon in his hands. The light on the magic weapon flickered unsteadily, and he continuously repelled wave after wave of approaching monsters. His forehead was covered with beads of sweat, rolling down his cheeks, but his eyes were full of determination, as if expressing his determination to never give up.

"Junior sister, you must be careful!" Pei Yi reminded Jiang Qingwu loudly, his voice full of concern and worry.

Jiang Qingwu nodded slightly, and without any pause, he continued to fight bravely, his posture agile, like a god of war descending to earth.

On the battlefield, shouts, screams, and the roars of monsters intertwined to form a horrifying symphony of death. The stench of blood was so thick it made one sick, filling the air like a solid substance.

After an arduous and bloody battle, this fierce wave of demons was finally repelled with great difficulty.

Everyone collapsed to the ground exhausted like piles of mud, gasping for breath as if they wanted to suck all the air in the world into their lungs.

Jiang Qingwu looked at the battlefield in the distance which was still filled with a strange atmosphere, and the worries in his heart became heavier, like a mountain pressing on his heart.

"This is not a long-term solution. We must find the root cause of the demonic tide before we can completely resolve this huge threat." Jiang Qingwu frowned, his voice low and firm.

"You are the variable of this demonic tide." A mysterious voice echoed in Jiang Qingwu's heart...

"Who are you?" Jiang Qingwu asked cautiously after swinging a sharp sword energy to eliminate a group of monsters.