Kill, the enemy arrives

...Ye Qing stared intently at these people for a while, finally letting out a soft sigh in his heart.

"Beyond saving."

He could tell.

The life Origins of these people had been completely eroded and assimilated by that evil aura.

Once that aura was forcibly expelled, their lives would dissipate along with it.

In other words.

They... were already dead.

Those alive now were nothing more than a group of walking corpses in human skin, only appearing to be alive.

"Since that's the case..."

"Then let ashes return to ashes, and dust return to dust."

Ye Qing's eyes instantly turned cold.

Without any nonsense or warning.

"Qiang!"

His right hand joined fingers like a sword and swung violently toward the kneeling crowd below!

"Slay!"

Shua—!

A dazzling, thousand-foot-wide azure sword light, like the Milky Way pouring down, instantly swept out!

This strike was fast to the extreme!

And ruthless to the extreme!

"Pu pu pu pu pu—!"

A series of dull explosive sounds rang out.

Wherever the sword light passed.

Whether it was the Elder behind the worshipful Venerable Liu Yu, the ordinary Cultivators, or the seemingly innocent women and children... under this destructive sword strike.

They didn't even have time to scream.

In an instant!

They all exploded!

Of the thousands of people, only the leader, Venerable Liu Yu, was spared because Ye Qing deliberately held back.

Everyone else... was reduced to a floor of flying ash!

Divine Souls utterly destroyed!

...Silence.

A deathly silence.

On the field, whether it was the elites of the Saint Academy or the Flowing Cloud City Cultivators who followed Lin Xueer to the rescue.

All were currently dazed.

Their eyes widened as they looked at the Asura Hell-like scene before them, their minds blank.

"This..."

"How is this possible?!"

A second ago.

These people were still talking and laughing with them, even calling them brothers and thanking them for saving their lives.

Those children were still smiling at them.

But in the next second.

True Disciple Ye killed them all with one sword strike?!

He didn't even spare the elderly and the children?!

"Wh... Why?"

Many Cultivators were shocked, looking at Ye Qing in the sky with disbelief.

They didn't understand what was happening.

Although True Disciple Ye was decisive in killing, they had never heard of him being a Devil Head who slaughtered the innocent!

"How did it come to this?"

"How could it be like this?!"

An indescribable chill and fear spread through everyone's hearts.

Their gaze toward Ye Qing shifted from awe.

Into horror and estrangement... and at this moment.

The only survivor, Venerable Liu Yu, was kneeling amidst the mountain of corpses and sea of blood.

He looked at his vanished clansmen and was slightly stunned.

Immediately after.

He looked up, and in those eyes that were originally full of worship, there was no sadness.

Instead, a half-smiling expression flashed through them.

He glanced at Ye Qing.

Then.

"Ah—!!!"

Venerable Liu Yu suddenly let out a heart-wrenching scream.

He scrambled to his feet, his face filled with grief, indignation, and terror.

Pointing at Ye Qing in the sky, he cried out loudly to the surrounding Flowing Cloud City Cultivators:

"He's crazy! He's gone mad!"

"Devil! You are a devil!"

"Everyone run! There's something wrong with this person! He must be a spy for the Demon Race!"

"In our Liu Yu City, someone must have known his background, known some secret of his, so he wanted to kill us all to silence us!"

"Help! Help!"

As he spoke.

Like a frightened rabbit, he frantically hid behind those Flowing Cloud City Cultivators, trying to seek protection.

Seeing this.

The sense of justice in those hundreds of Flowing Cloud City Cultivators instantly surged.

Although they were in awe of Ye Qing.

The scene before them was simply too tragic and unreasonable!

"True Disciple Ye! What are you doing?!"

Someone gritted their teeth and subconsciously took a step forward, wanting to block for Venerable Liu Yu.

Some were even prepared to speak up and persuade him:

"True Disciple! Even if there's some misunderstanding, we can investigate it clearly first!"

"How can you slaughter the innocent like this? If word of this gets out..."

However.

Before they could finish speaking.

Ye Qing's expression was indifferent, not bothering to waste time with these people.

"Come."

He made a light grasping motion from a distance toward Venerable Liu Yu, who was hiding behind the crowd.

"Out."

"Boom!"

An invisible giant force instantly descended.

Venerable Liu Yu's body shook violently, and his cries for help came to an abrupt halt.

Next.

Under the horrified gazes of the crowd.

"Kacha!"

Venerable Liu Yu's body cracked with countless fissures like porcelain.

Then.

An extremely dense, evil, cold, and nauseating black aura.

From within his body... boomed forth!

"Hiss—!"

Those Cultivators who originally wanted to protect Venerable Liu Yu bore the brunt of it; upon feeling this terrifying evil aura, they felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar!

That was pure Devil Intent!

It was even more pure than that of an average member of the Demon Race!

But wasn't this Venerable Liu Yu?

What was the situation?

"What... what kind of ghost thing is this?!"

Everyone was scared into a cold sweat, scrambling backward.

Only at this moment.

Did they finally realize!

"So..."

"So these people... really did have a problem?!"

"Are they not human at all? But demons that look like humans?!"

"We... almost invited the wolf into the house?!"

Thinking of this.

Everyone felt a wave of lingering fear, their backs turning cold.

At the same time, they felt ashamed for having misunderstood Ye Qing just now... In mid-air.

Ye Qing raised his hand and beckoned.

He captured Venerable Liu Yu, who was wrapped in black aura, through the air and brought him before him.

Ye Qing scanned him a few times and asked coldly:

"People like you..."

"How many more are there?"

Venerable Liu Yu's appearance had completely changed now.

His pupils had turned pure black, and a strange smile hung on his face.

He no longer pretended, tilting his head and looking at Ye Qing with a half-smile.

A hair-raising, weird laugh came from his mouth:

"Ge ge ge..."

"Why don't you guess?"

"Guess if I'll tell you... ge ge ge..."

Before his voice could fade.

"Boom!"

A dull sound.

Venerable Liu Yu's body instantly disintegrated, turning into a handful of pitch-black dust that scattered down toward the earth.

Along with it, that evil Origin aura also dissipated... "Self-destructed?"

Ye Qing frowned slightly.

He had specifically left this person alive, originally wanting to ask something.

He hadn't expected the wisp of core Origin aura inside this person to self-destruct directly.

"Hmph! Wanting to run?"

Ye Qing immediately closed his eyes, his Divine Sense fully open!

Following that wisp of core aura that had just dissipated, he quickly chased deep into the Void Realm!

Tracing it all the way!

Crossing a vast distance!

However.

After some time.

Ye Qing had to stop, opening his eyes with a tight frown.

"Broken."

The distance was simply too far.

And the opponent was clearly an old hand, their methods for erasing traces being extremely sophisticated.

They had directly severed all Karmic connections.

Furthermore, because Ye Qing was chasing closely, this aura had dissipated directly in the distance.

"Although I didn't trace the specific location..."

"But..."

A cold light flashed in Ye Qing's eyes.

"This kind of aura, this kind of method..."

"Besides that so-called 'Saint Venerable', who else could it be?"

At this point.

Ye Qing was eighty or ninety percent certain in his heart.

This was definitely the Saint Venerable's handiwork!

"In that case..."

"The sudden appearance of the Demon Domain Battlefield, and those numerous teleportation Formations connecting to the Demon Realm..."

"Can also be explained!"

This was clearly the Saint Venerable secretly controlling a portion of the Human Race Cultivators here before the arrival of the Demon Domain Battlefield.

Refining them into Puppets.

Then using the identities of these Human Race Cultivators as cover inside the various large cities and fortresses.

He had quietly completed the setup of these teleportation Formations!

Then, detonated them all at once!

"Good methods!"

Ye Qing snorted coldly in his heart, his killing intent boiling.

"Leading the Demon Race to invade, causing mass suffering, making countless humans homeless and turning them into walking corpses..."

"Saint Venerable..."

"You truly have a way of seeking death!"

"If I ever encounter you..."

"I, Ye Qing, will surely kill you!"

...After Ye Qing dealt with Venerable Liu Yu.

Lin Xueer then stepped forward, frowning in thought for a moment, and couldn't help but ask:

"Revered Master..."

"What exactly was going on with those people just now?"

Although she had some suspicions, seeing the situation with her own eyes still gave her a heart-palpitating feeling.

Ye Qing restrained his killing intent.

He began to explain:

"They were refined into 'Demon Seed Puppets' by someone using a secret technique."

"On the surface, they appear no different from ordinary people, even their spiritual energy fluctuations are the same."

"But in reality, their life Origins were long ago eroded by Devilish Qi, turning them into tools controlled by others."

"Moreover, this erosion is irreversible. Once planted, there is no cure."

"They can only be slain!"

Hearing this.

The other Cultivators on the field looked at each other, their eyes full of fear and worry.

Someone asked boldly:

"True Disciple Ye..."

"Then how are we supposed to distinguish them?"

"Yeah! This method is too hidden. If we can't tell them apart, what if we encounter them again later..."

Everyone was deeply worried.

After all, they had just been fooled completely, nearly bringing monsters home.

If these people really were allowed to sneak into Flowing Cloud City and stab them in the back at a critical moment, or destroy the Formation... the consequences would be unimaginable!

Furthermore.

The rescue work had to continue.

If they couldn't distinguish who was human and who was a ghost, how would anyone dare to save people in the future?

Who knew if the person they saved would be a time bomb?

...Hearing this, Ye Qing pondered for a moment.

"The method of distinguishing..."

He thought about it and took out a jade pendant from his robe.

"Zheng!"

He tapped it lightly with his finger.

A wisp of extremely subtle, yet peerlessly pure 'Sword Intent' was injected by him into the jade pendant.

The jade pendant instantly lit up, and a faint sword mark appeared on its surface.

"Take it."

Ye Qing tossed the jade pendant to Lin Xueer.

"This jade pendant has a wisp of my Sword Intent sealed within it."

"This Sword Intent is extremely sensitive to that evil Origin aura."

"In the future, when rescuing, hold the jade pendant."

"If you encounter such a person again, as long as you get close, if the jade pendant senses something wrong, it will vibrate to warn you!"

Hearing this, everyone was immediately overjoyed!

"Great!"

"Thank you, True Disciple Ye!"

With this 'demon-revealing mirror', everyone finally had some peace of mind... Subsequently.

Ye Qing led the crowd back to Flowing Cloud City.

He didn't rest, but instead rushed out many such 'Sword Intent Jade Pendants'.

Each rescue team going out was given one.

In addition.

At the four city gates of Flowing Cloud City, an extra-large jade pendant was also hung as a security check procedure for entering the city.

Ensuring that not a single person with a problem would be allowed to sneak into the interior of Flowing Cloud City.

After doing all this.

To be safe.

Ye Qing personally set out to conduct a carpet-style Divine Sense scan around the perimeter of Flowing Cloud City.

Sure enough.

He rooted out several more 'Demon Seed Puppet' forces that were hidden deeply, disguised as Loose Cultivators or refugees.

Ye Qing was not soft-handed, killing them all on the spot!

In this way.

The hidden danger was eliminated.

The rescue work of the people in Flowing Cloud City could also be considered to have continued smoothly... And as time passed.

Just as things were in full swing in Flowing Cloud City, with expansion and rescue underway.

Thousands of miles high in the sky outside Flowing Cloud City.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three terrifying demonic shadows, carrying billowing Devilish Qi, were approaching Flowing Cloud City at an astonishing speed!

They were the three Demon Race Prodigies who had received Demon Heaven's death order to come and slay Ye Qing and seize the 'seventh-rank demonic artifact' reward—

Demon Ancient! Demon Wind! Sea of Demons!

"We're here!"

The three demons stopped in the clouds, gazing from afar at that city emitting an emerald-green light of vitality.

"That's Flowing Cloud City?"

Demon Wind flapped his wings, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes:

"To actually manage to create such a large Human Race base in a place like the Demon Domain?"

"It seems... this person really has established himself!"

"Hmph!"

The rock giant Demon Ancient snorted coldly, his voice like thunder:

"So what if he's established himself?"

"After today..."

"Flowing Cloud City will be completely destroyed!"

"Ye Qing's head is mine!"

And that Sea of Demons, covered in blue scales with water vapor swirling around him.

He looked at the dense crowd of Human Race Cultivators below in the distance, his eyes showing extreme disgust.

He smiled cruelly:

"The humans here... are too many!"

"That vibrant smell is truly nauseating to sniff!"

"It's an eyesore!"

Sea of Demons licked his lips and grinned hideously:

"Brothers, there's no rush to kill Ye Qing."

"Since we're here, let's send a meeting gift first."

"Before slaying Ye Qing..."

"I'll first wipe out the humans of this Flowing Cloud City to liven things up for him! And take a pleasant bath while I'm at it!"

Before his voice could fade.

Sea of Demons suddenly spread his arms, the vast demonic power within his body surging wildly!

"Boundless Demon Sea! Holy River Inundation!"

Rumble!

The originally pitch-black sky instantly turned deep blue!

A boundless, terrifying Sea of Demons emitting a corrosive aura appeared out of thin air in the sky!

Then.

Carrying the momentum to destroy everything, like a heavenly river bursting its banks, it descended from the sky!

Crashing down toward Flowing Cloud City below!

Attempting to annihilate all the Cultivators in the city in one hit!

...At the same time.

In the Void Realm at a distance from the three demons.

A figure was hiding in the shadows, watching coldly.

This person was dressed in a golden robe with a deep aura; it was none other than the one who had quietly rushed to Flowing Cloud City, preparing to seize an opportunity to assassinate Ye Qing to avenge his son—

The Western Heaven Prefecture Lord, Boundless Supreme Venerable!

He had also just arrived.

Seeing the situation, he was in no hurry to act, choosing instead to remain hidden in the shadows to observe.