After finishing her diary entry, Su Luo headed straight for the largest Totem Altar.
It was best to wait there.
Now, all sides had begun to move.
Generals Qingyi and Chilin had already arrived at the North Heavenly Gate.
The Grand Priest was there as well. The first thing he asked was, “What happened? Why was the altar destroyed so quickly?”
His position granted him complete awareness of the altars—any damage would alert him, which was why he had rushed to the North Heavenly Gate in such haste.
This wasn’t how the plan was supposed to go.
“I don’t know, my lord.”
“What *do* you know?”
“Nothing.”
The Grand Priest felt the urge to slaughter a few beasts.
Ah, never mind—he was already used to this. These demon beasts had no brains to speak of.
But he was genuinely puzzled. How had the altar been discovered so quickly?
Back when these altars were first constructed, it had taken immense effort—selecting locations, building them in secret, conducting rituals—all done with the utmost caution.
For so many years, they had gone undetected. So why were they now being uprooted one after another?
These were supposed to be the ultimate weapons to cripple the human race!
After all that effort, they had barely served their purpose. It made him want to die.
No. The remaining altars *had* to be utilized.
Otherwise, the demon beasts who had sacrificed their lives to empower the Totem Altars would have died in vain.
The Grand Priest began selecting demon beasts and soon gathered a suitable group.
“Do you know why I’ve summoned you here?”
“No.”
He laid out his plan.
These beasts were to infiltrate the Totem Altars and use their power to slaughter any humans who drew near.
Venturing this deep into human territory meant certain death.
Even if they repelled one wave of humans, another would come, and with no retreat, death was inevitable.
“Do you have any objections?”
“Of course not. To eradicate the humans, we obey your orders.”
The Grand Priest nodded. This was exactly why he had chosen them.
Then he added, “You—come with them. Observe the situation.”
“Understood,” the Junior Priest replied.
The Grand Priest secretly transmitted a message: *“No matter what happens, you must return. At the first sign of danger, retreat immediately. Understood?”*
“Understood.”
Originally, the Grand Priest hadn’t intended to send the Junior Priest, but the altars had been destroyed far too quickly this time. A terrible premonition gnawed at him.
*Was the Heavens truly favoring the humans?*
This had to be investigated.
Though called the *Junior* Priest, his strength was anything but minor—only slightly below that of the Three Great Generals. He was a Void Refinement expert, after all.
This was the future Grand Priest in the making. His power was not to be underestimated.
Once everything was arranged, the Grand Priest addressed the two generals:
“Let’s go. We’ll cover their advance.”
General Qingyi: “Understood.”
General Chilin: “Time to wreak havoc.”
Before long, the demon beast army surged forth from the North Heavenly Gate, launching a ferocious assault on the human defenses.
A full-scale beast tide erupted.
Meanwhile, the Grand Priest channeled the remaining altars’ power, drastically amplifying the army’s strength.
No one understood the altars’ usage better than him.
Even Nangong Xiyun, who had anticipated this, felt a twinge of dread.
In a one-on-one fight, she feared no one—not even the Grand Priest.
But demon beasts weren’t known for playing fair.
On the human side, the defensive line was bolstered by a Mahayana-stage expert from the Emperor Heaven Sect.
Having even one was remarkable—after all, there were only ten Mahayana experts in the entire realm, at least publicly.
As for the battle’s flow:
The Grand Priest clashed with the Mahayana expert, holding the upper hand.
The two generals engaged Nangong Xiyun, resulting in a stalemate—neither side could overcome the other.
The remaining forces were evenly matched, but with the Totem Altars’ enhancement, the demon beasts held the advantage.
Nangong Xiyun couldn’t instantly eliminate a general like before—doing so would exhaust her, leaving her unable to handle the remaining one.
Fortunately, the beast army attacked only briefly before retreating.
The humans breathed a collective sigh of relief, but they had witnessed the demon army’s terrifying might. Reinforcements from the Emperor Heaven Sect were urgently requested.
Soon, the reinforcements arrived.
Nangong Xiyun wasted no time: “Sect Master Di, you should return.”
“What? I just got here.”
“Your sect is about to be attacked by the Heavenly Demon Sect.”
“Are you certain?”
“Absolutely.”
“But… how is it that *I* don’t know this?”
Di Haoran was baffled. With the North End Demon Lord embedded in the Heavenly Demon Sect, no one should have gotten this intelligence before him.
“Trust me. Otherwise, you’ll regret it.”
“But what about here?”
Di Haoran *did* trust Nangong Xiyun. Her reputation among the powerful was sterling—even he had heard of her.
“Leave it to me.”
“You?”
Nangong Xiyun released a sliver of her aura.
“You’ve reached Mahayana?!”
“Indeed. I’ll handle things here.”
“I’m impressed,” Di Haoran admitted.
To his knowledge, Nangong Xiyun was the youngest Mahayana expert in history—even Jiang Ningshu, the former Heavenly Demon Sect’s Demon Lord, hadn’t achieved it at her age.
Nangong Xiyun added, “Tell the disciples searching for the Totem Altars to be cautious. The demon beasts sent a group during the chaos—they’ll be guarding the altars now. With the altars’ power, they’ll be far stronger. Advise the disciples to stick together.”
“How do you know all this?”
“I have an informant,” Nangong Xiyun said simply.
“Someone that capable? Who?”
“That’s confidential. Perhaps you’ll meet them someday.”
Di Haoran didn’t press further. If today’s events unfolded as Nangong Xiyun predicted, he might even consider handing over command to her.
Though their interaction had been brief, he sensed she was better suited to lead the united sects than he was.
But now wasn’t the time for such thoughts. He needed to return—if the Heavenly Demon Sect *was* launching an assault, every second counted.
---
Su Luo had already been waiting at the largest Totem Altar.
Time passed, and finally, Lin Xuan and the others arrived.
“Lin Xuan, your instincts are spot-on. You actually found this place.”
“Of course. Lin Xuan’s always reliable—unlike *you*.”
“This altar’s way bigger than the others. Destroying it will *really* piss off the demon beasts.”
While the others chatted, Lin Xuan surveyed the area, a faint sense of unease creeping over him.
But no matter what, this altar had to be destroyed.
Suddenly, a voice rang out:
“Humans… how did you find this place?”
The Junior Priest and his group had just arrived.
Their overwhelming aura instantly suffocated Lin Xuan and his companions.
*Why was an existence like this here?!*
“Lin Xuan, leave this to me,” Elder Yan said, though even he felt the pressure. At his peak, victory would’ve been assured—but now, this would be difficult.
Su Luo: ???
*What’s the Junior Priest doing here?*