The Grand Priest’s expression at the Northern Heavenly Gate darkened, his face even turning somewhat ugly.
“What’s wrong, Grand Priest?” General Qingyi asked.
After a long pause, the Grand Priest finally spoke. “All the totem altars on the human side have been destroyed. The lesser priest is dead.”
The role of a priest commanded many secret techniques of the demon beasts, and priests were intrinsically linked to one another—just as they were to the totem altars.
General Chilin exclaimed in shock, “Dead? How is that possible! Destroying all the totem altars is one thing, but how could the lesser priest die?”
“No, no—even the totem altars don’t make sense. How were they all destroyed so quickly?”
The Grand Priest couldn’t understand it either. “All we can say is… we truly underestimated the humans.”
General Qingyi asked, “What do we do now?”
The Grand Priest pondered briefly before replying, “We attack. This place can’t be held any longer.”
Without the totem altars, defending the Northern Heavenly Gate was impossible.
Originally, the Grand Priest had planned to wait until the demon beast army fully assembled, then rely on the power of the totem altars to sweep forward and purge the humans.
But now, that plan had failed. Not a single totem altar remained.
A century’s worth of effort had been rendered useless before it could even serve its purpose. The thought alone was suffocating.
Rather than retreating in disgrace, it was better to fight to the death and reclaim some dignity by slaughtering a few humans.
Of course, only the common demon beast army would be the ones dying.
The high-ranking warriors like the generals and the Grand Priest would withdraw once the battle reached its peak.
This wasn’t yet the time for an all-out, life-and-death war.
And the Grand Priest made no attempt to hide this. He addressed the demon beast army plainly:
“This time, you go to your deaths. But this sacrifice is necessary for the day our demon beast army finally exterminates humanity!”
Yet, far from being afraid, the demon beasts roared in exhilaration. Battle meant everything to them—killing the enemy was always preferable to fleeing.
“Awooo!”
“Roar!”
“Hooowl!”
The demon beasts let out deafening cries in unison.
“Go forth! The day will come when our demon beast army tramples humanity beneath our feet!”
As the Grand Priest’s words fell, the demon beast army surged out from the Northern Heavenly Gate, launching their assault on the humans.
The beast tide had come.
This time, the demon beasts had no intention of surviving. Their attack was ferocious—even in death, they would drag one or two enemies down with them.
Nangong Xiyun watched the dark, swarming mass of the demon beast army with a grave expression.
There was little she could do. She knew someone would come to restrain her.
And Di Haoran had already withdrawn the forces he brought earlier, leaving them with no reinforcements.
Given the current state of their defenses, it was unlikely they would hold. Many would die.
And indeed, the demon beasts’ relentless tactics struck fear into the hearts of many. The demon beasts feared no death—but the humans were another matter.
The allied sects had no choice but to retreat their defensive lines, minimizing losses until Di Haoran arrived.
Nangong Xiyun hadn’t expected such a sudden attack.
Now, they could only wait for reinforcements from the Emperor Heaven Sect, hoping they would swiftly deal with the Heavenly Demon Sect and arrive soon.
......
After parting ways with Lin Xuan, Su Luo found a quiet place to rest and recover from his injuries.
“Almost got wrecked. That damn lesser priest really screwed me over.”
His main issue was exhaustion—his injuries weren’t serious.
With no further role in the immediate events, Su Luo decided to seek out Little Yu.
Then, he sank into a deep sleep, allowing himself some proper rest.
When he awoke, barely half a day had passed.
Time to find Little Yu.
But as he traveled, he noticed cultivators flying urgently toward the Northern Heavenly Gate.
Something felt off.
Su Luo stopped one and asked.
Turns out, the demon beast army had poured out of the Northern Heavenly Gate, attacking everywhere. The allied sects were calling for reinforcements.
Su Luo frowned. The timing was wrong.
In the original flow of events, the demon beasts should have waited two days after the destruction of the totem altars before the Grand Priest ordered a full assault.
After all, Lin Xuan needed time to recover—he was supposed to be crucial in retaking the Northern Heavenly Gate.
Why the sudden rush now?
Su Luo considered the possibilities. The only explanation was the lesser priest’s death—the Grand Priest must have acted because of it.
Deciding to investigate, Su Luo made his way to the Northern Heavenly Gate.
The allied sects should have had the strength to deal with the demon beast army now that the totem altars were gone.
Lin Xuan was supposed to shine during the recapture of the Northern Heavenly Gate, stunning those below the Hollow Void realm while merely impressing those above.
This battle was also meant to expose Lin Xuan to top-tier opponents—like the Grand Priest and the two generals—future enemies he would one day face.
The pressure was supposed to push Lin Xuan to grow stronger.
Even if the timeline had shifted, the end goal remained the same: reclaiming the Northern Heavenly Gate.
But when Su Luo arrived, he realized—he was wrong. The impact was massive.
Where was Di Haoran? That massive presence was missing!
No wonder they needed reinforcements.
The demon beasts’ suicidal tactics now made them even deadlier than when they had the totem altars.
If they couldn’t win, they self-destructed. If they couldn’t self-destruct, they traded wounds for wounds, lives for lives.
They were using sheer numbers to wear down the allied sects.
The allied sects’ defensive lines kept falling back. Meanwhile, some demon beasts broke away, seeking out weaker human settlements to ravage.
This forced the allied sects to divert forces to stop them—exactly what the demon beasts wanted. They feared nothing more than the humans hiding and avoiding battle.
In short, the allied sects were being pushed back at every turn.
Su Luo watched the unfolding chaos. If this continued, the death toll would be catastrophic. How would they fight the demon beast army later?
**BOOM!**
[*What is seen is explosion.*]
Su Luo began carpet-bombing the battlefield.
The upgraded version of this skill was incredibly efficient—granting one free explosion, allowing Su Luo to maximize his impact even with limited spiritual energy.
As he rained destruction, he scanned the battlefield.
Soon, he spotted her—Little Yu. Of course she’d be here.
Originally, Yun was supposed to bring Little Yu to destroy the totem altars before coming here to earn merits.
But now, Little Yu was hidden beneath a black robe—though Su Luo saw through it instantly. He knew her too well—her height, her build, her movements—everything gave her away.
And who else would be wearing a black robe at a time like this?
Su Luo donned his own black robe and moved to Little Yu’s side.
Little Yu was fiercely cutting down demon beasts.
“I’m here.”
“Su Luo!” Little Yu had known he was nearby the moment the explosions started.
“Let’s clean this up first.”
“Mm.”
The situation was worse than expected.
The Grand Priest was locked in battle with a Mahayana-stage expert, while the two generals faced Nangong Xiyun.
The rest of the battlefield was a stalemate. Had Di Haoran and his forces been present, they wouldn’t have been struggling so badly.
Su Luo’s gaze lingered—then froze.
What?
When had Nangong Xiyun broken through?
That… wasn’t supposed to happen.