Cultivating with Bragging System-Chapter 470 - 243: The Fall of the Saint! Prepare for Battle at Zhenmo City!_1

「Council Hall.」

Here, the powerful had converged. The heads of each vein and all the elders were gathered, and the atmosphere was exceptionally solemn.

"The Saint Heir has arrived!"

"Saint Heir!"

Wang Xiu strode in. The heads of the various veins nodded to him in succession, while numerous elders rose to salute him as a sign of respect.

He gave a slight nod and looked around, noticing many unfamiliar faces.

All of them possessed powerful auras and weathered appearances, representing the hidden foundation of each vein. Many were survivors of the chaotic wars of the past, contemporaries of Ji Yan and others, who would not easily show themselves. Even at the Saint Heir’s ascension ceremony, these people had not been seen.

A sudden dread struck Wang Xiu’s heart. Has something major truly happened?

"Now that everyone has arrived, let us begin!" Sect Leader Zhuo Canglang appeared, his expression stern, and got straight to the point without any preamble.

"Grand Master Uncle Zhang has fallen!"

His voice was heavy, his words devoid of any excess as he spoke, sending shockwaves through the hearts of everyone present. Instantly, the hall erupted into an uproar, with gasps of shock rippling through the crowd.

Wang Xiu’s pupils contracted slightly.

The Grand Master Uncle Zhang whom Zhuo Canglang mentioned was none other than one of the three Sanqing Holy Ancestors in the Holy Realm—Zhang Yunting! He was a hot-tempered but exceedingly protective old man who had been very kind to Wang Xiu, leaving a deep impression on him.

Back when Wang Xiu had slain countless Demon Cultivators in Heishui City, a lord of the Demon Race had appeared, intending to kill him. It was Zhang Yunting and Ji Yan who had arrived together, heavily wounding the lord and driving it away.

He never expected that the next time he heard of the man, it would be the news of his death!

This was so sudden that not only was Wang Xiu unable to accept it, but many of the senior members present felt the same.

The fall of a Saint Manifestation-level expert was an absolute catastrophe for the Sanqing Immortal Sect.

"What exactly happened?" Wang Xiu asked aloud.

Zhuo Canglang sighed and began to recount the events.

It had all started a year ago, after the Saints returned, repelled the Demon Race, and resealed the breach. The Great Immortal Gates had sent people to be stationed outside Demon Sea Island, rotating them on a regular basis. Any unusual activity would be immediately reported to all the Great Immortal Gates. Everything had remained peaceful until ten days ago.

It was Zhang Yunting and eight other Saints’ turn, along with dozens of Emergence Stage Great Ability experts, to stand guard. Suddenly, they detected something amiss.

The seal had broken again.

The re-established seal was naturally not as robust as the original one. The Immortal Alliance had speculated that this seal could last three to five years at most, or in a worst-case scenario, just over a year. But it now seemed they had overestimated its durability.

However, the breach in the seal was not the most terrifying part, as all the cultivators in Nanzhou had long been prepared for war. The problem was that even though the seal was broken, not a single member of the Demon Race had emerged from the rift.

This was truly bizarre.

"Not only have no demons escaped, but Grand Master Uncle also discovered that someone, without us noticing, had repaired the breach in the seal from the inside!" Zhuo Canglang’s grave tone startled everyone with his words.

From the inside? What was inside Demon Sea Island? A swarm of demons!

"Why would they do that?" Ji Yan frowned, voicing the question on everyone’s mind.

This was too strange. The Demon Race repairing the seal for them was clearly a deception; they were hiding something and undoubtedly planning a major move they didn’t want the human side to discover!

"Such an undertaking cannot be accomplished overnight. Could it be that none of the powerful experts responsible for guarding the seal had ever noticed a single sign?" Wang Xiu spoke, feeling puzzled. It defied logic.

"An unknown powerhouse from the Demon Race acted to conceal all traces!" Zhuo Canglang explained. "Even Zhang Yunting and the others found it difficult to discover anything. They had been stationed there for several months without sensing anything amiss until that day, when a trace of demonic qi suddenly leaked from the seal, finally alerting them to the anomaly."

Wang Xiu fell silent, his brow furrowed. The Demon Race is definitely plotting something huge. They could have broken the seal, but they chose to remain dormant, even pretending they couldn’t get through. They’re clearly stalling for time, waiting for a larger plot to come to fruition. Ten days ago was a critical moment. Something must have happened inside Demon Sea Island that caused a flaw in the methods left behind by the Demon Race’s powerhouses. That’s why a trace of demonic qi escaped for Zhang Yunting and the others to detect.

"Grand Master Uncle was cautious and not one to act rashly! Upon sensing the anomaly, he tried to send a message back immediately, but it was too late..." Zhuo Canglang lamented. A Demon Emperor, comparable to a Human Race Earth Immortal, had appeared on Demon Sea Island. It sealed off the void, preventing their escape. The message was only half-sent before its sender was slain.

The Saint had fallen, his Soul Lamp shattered.

The Great Immortal Gates reacted promptly, and their Earth Immortal ancestors immediately went to investigate. But it was already too late. Nothing remained but residual demonic qi.

The atmosphere in the great hall grew oppressive. This sudden calamity weighed heavily on everyone’s hearts. It was, without a doubt, an extremely severe blow.

Though the Saint had fallen, his death served as a stark warning to the entire Human Race. The Demon Race was absolutely planning a major move; otherwise, they would not have acted with such abnormal caution.

Their next counterattack was sure to be fierce, possibly even more challenging than the war from years ago.

"The most urgent task at hand is to determine exactly what they are plotting," someone spoke up, their expression serious.

"That’s not all!" Zhuo Canglang said. "The Immortal Alliance has already reached a consensus. They have decided to join forces and build a defense line thirty thousand li outside Demon Sea Island in preparation for the impending war!"

He revealed the second key point of the day’s meeting.

No one knew how long the Demon Race had been preparing or what schemes they possessed. If the humans were to respond as hastily as they had in the past, the outcome would surely be disastrous. Thus, the Immortal Alliance had decided to advance the battle line.