The characteristic of the Darkness Dao is its unknown, mysterious, and elusive nature.
Practitioners of such Dao are difficult to lock down or trap, making them the pri choice for stealth and espionage.
But darkness itself can be contained by space.
During the heyday of the Darkness Demon Lord, Alkaid's Heavenly Capital Dragon Slaying Formation and the Heaven-Sealing Stele were unable to do anything to him - at most, they could only detect his position with the illumination of the True Spirit's Light and launch a limited counterattack.
However, as the Demon Lord's Heavenly Demon Origin was gradually eroded away by the Great Annihilation Sword Qi's Great Path of Destruction, the power he could summon from the Darkness Dao also declined to its limit, and now, he was finally subdued by the Heaven-Sealing Stele.
Moreover, unlike those who mastered powerful offensive Dao techniques of the Shattered Void and Refining Void, the Darkness Dao was not adept at breaching defenses.
Further more, with Alkaid's Heaven-Sealing Stele bolstered by the support of the Heavenly Capital Dragon Slaying Formation, its sealing power climbed a notch, subduing the already extrely weakened Darkness Demon Lord to the point where he could not move at all.
Seeing the Darkness Demon Lord subdued, the remaining Shattered Void Demon Cultivators imdiately fell into despair.
"How could this be?"
"It's over! Even the Supre of the Darkness has been subdued! Now it's all over!"
"Sect Leader Alkaid, I'm actually an undercover agent sent by Heavenly Dao Sect to Yin Moon Sect. I've been hiding in Yin Moon Sect for years just to seize the chance to annihilate them in one fell swoop. I'm one of your own."
However, Alkaid paid no attention to them.
Instead, he instructed Wu Changfeng, Qi Sha, and others, "Keep them occupied! Of course, if you have the ability to defeat their Demon Bodies and refine their Heavenly Demon Origin, don't be polite."
"Understood."
Wu Changfeng, Qi Sha and the others responded with vigor.
Two from the Shattered Void, five from the Refining Void!
This was an unprecedentedly glorious victory!
With this victory, their lineage would firmly establish itself in the Southern Region.
Additionally, with the rits from this victory, once Alkaid reached the Shattered Void, he would be fully qualified to compete with Zong Wenxian for the position of Sect Leader.
Zong Wenxian had a record of slaying those in the Shattered Void Realm too, but without exception, it was by relying on the power of the Sect and assistence from other Supre Elders.
Alkaid, on the other hand...
Had nearly single-handedly subdued two of Shattered Void and five of Refining Void.
The gold content in such an achievent was a whole level stronger compared to Zong Wenxian!
They could almost foresee how high Alkaid's status would rise in the future.
In such a situation, no one would be foolish enough to refine these Demon Cultivators' Heavenly Demon Origins to strengthen their own cultivation. It would be more prudent to offer them to Sect Leader Alkaid, allowing him to hasten his breakthrough to the Shattered Void and compete for the Sect Leader position.
Alkaid had no idea what Qi Sha and the others were thinking.
He directly summoned the Cave Heaven World, going all out to refine both the Refining Void and the Eight Desolations Demon Lord within it.
This Refining Void and the Eight Desolations Demon Lord were still struggling, trying to break out of the Cave Heaven.
But Alkaid's Cave Heaven was bolstered by the Void Heart, its robustness and stability far surpassing that of a typical Refining Void's Cave Heaven.
It was less a Cave Heaven and more a miniature world.
Since they were suppressed inside, naturally, it was increasingly difficult for them to escape.
Ultimately, it took Alkaid three days to refine the Refining Void and a full ten days for the Eight Desolations Demon Lord of the Shattered Void.
With such a rapid pace of refinent, the "corrosion" of the Heavenly Demon Origin on the Cave Heaven was naturally significant, even affecting his strength.
Nevertheless, he was sufficiently confident that with the fall of the two Shattered Void and five Refining Void in the Southern Capital, the upcoming days would be calm, with not just the internal affairs of the Heavenly Dao Sect, but also the Southern Region's border becoming tranquil.
Therefore, he would have ample ti to eliminate the "corrosion" of the Heavenly Demon Origin on his Cave Heaven one by one, allowing it to recover quickly in the near future.
...
Alkaid's battle with the Yin Moon Sect's Demon Cultivators caused an uproar among all the forces surrounding the Southern Capital.
Two of the Shattered Void and five of the Refining Void Demon Cultivators swept forth with their Demonic Flas, and their imposing killing intent was evident for all to see.
Countless people living around the Southern Capital trembled with anxiety.
So even felt as though the sky was falling and the earth collapsing, frantically fleeing from the vicinity of the Southern Capital seeking refuge.
However, there were no shortage of powers that deliberately stayed to probe the specifics of this battle.
Unfortunately, once the Capital Dragon Slaying Formation was activated, all ssages from inside the Southern Capital were cut off from the outside.
Especially since Alkaid had modified the Capital Dragon Slaying Formation, filling in all its flaws, thus preventing any ssages from the formation to escape.
As a result, whether it was the Jing Family or other factions with ulterior motives within the Heavenly Dao Sect, including so undercover agents from the Ten Great Immortal Paths and the Six Sect of the Demonic Dao, all they could do was stare anxiously from outside the Slaying Dragon Formation, waiting for news.
"What in the world is happening? Why has the Capital Dragon Slaying Formation been activated, and so quickly at that? It's as if Alkaid... had been prepared all along..."
At this mont, Jing Zhengyang was staring at the Capital Dragon Slaying Formation, filled with unease.
A well-thought-out plan - why had such a carefully crafted plan resulted in such chaos?
"Hum hum!"
It was while the head of the Jing Family was waiting for news that his communication Jade Talisman vibrated slightly.
Jing Zhengyang quickly stimulated his Divine Sense, enveloping the surroundings to ensure no one was spying on him before he took out the Jade Talisman and probed it with his Divine Sense.
Soon, he perceived the Divine Sense fluctuations from the Jing Family's ancestor.
"Has the battle finished?"
"There was a complication."
Jing Zhengyang had a fine layer of sweat on his forehead, "The Capital Dragon Slaying Formation has been activated regardless, and... it activated faster than we anticipated. Currently, the Demon Cultivators of Yin Moon Sect and Alkaid's followers are all inside the formation, with no ssages getting in or out."
This news made Jing Yuntian montarily silent.
After a good while, the Shattered Void Realm Supre Elder spoke, "I knew it, the Yin Moon Sect's delayed action would surely make Alkaid suspicious... But there was no other way. After losing a Refining Void Demon Cultivator, the Yin Moon Sect naturally had to carefully probe and be certain before they dared plan. They are also afraid that Alkaid is a piece we deliberately set, aiming to entice their Yin Moon Sect's high-level experts into a trap."
Jing Zhengyang nodded his head.
Since both parties lacked a foundation of trust, their actions were naturally not thorough enough, which provided Alkaid with an opportunity to make full preparations.
"However, the Eight Desolates Demon Lord has sought the assistance of the Darkness Demon Lord and dispatched five Refining Void level experts. Even with Alkaid relying on the Capital Dragon Slaying Formation, it might not necessarily be advantageous... It's just that it will take so ti,"
Jing Zhengyang recounted according to what he knew.
"Ti..."
Jing Yuntian sighed, "The Southern Capital has been invaded by Shattered Void Demon Cultivators, and Alkaid has sent out a distress signal. No matter how I delay, I must proceed with the formalities and convene the Supre Elder Council imdiately. Although I can delay for an hour or two during the Supre Elder Council, that's the limit... Any further delay would an shirking my duties as the duty Supre Elder, and I couldn't escape the bla afterward."
"An hour or two..."
Jing Zhengyang glanced towards the Southern Capital, "It seems that due to Alkaid's prior preparations, soone was specially commissioned to reinforce the Capital Dragon Slaying Formation, making it more stable. For the Yin Moon Sect's two Shattered Void and five Refining Void to break through the formation and kill the two Refining Void and several Hollow Void mbers of Alkaid's lineage within such a short ti... that might not be easy."
"Then we can only tamper with the Transmission Formation,"
said Jing Yuntian. "After an hour or two of deliberation and decision-making, the Supre Elders of the Supre Elder Council will definitely hasten to reinforce the Southern Region. The original reinforcent thod would be to activate the Teleportation Array that leads directly to the Southern Capital, which would allow arrival within at most an hour. If there's a problem with the Teleportation Array, they would have to travel by Void Flying Boat, which would take much more ti. If further delays arise on the way, or other unexpected events occur, dragging it out for ten days to half a month wouldn't be a problem."
"The Transmission Formation... a problem at this ti?" Jing Zhengyang was startled.
If the Transmission Formation really malfunctioned at such a crucial ti, anyone would know it was a sche to have soone else do the dirty work.
Not to ntion anything else, the Hollow Void Elder responsible for the formation's maintenance would definitely be severely punished.
And the Vein Master responsible for maintaining the Sect's Immortal Vein operations would also be held accountable.
"Since the demon cultivators of the Yin Moon Sect are so unreliable, and the Sect Leader is intent on removing Alkaid, we have no other choice but to resort to such a thod. Sacrifices are unavoidable,"
sighed Jing Yuntian before he continued, "Report to imdiately if there are any developnts."
"Yes."
Jing Zhengyang promptly accepted the order.
...
The communication with the Jing Family hastily concluded.
But in the eyes of outsiders, the duration of this great battle exceeded everyone's expectations.
An hour, two hours, three hours, half a day, a full day...
The Capital Dragon Slaying Formation hovered over the Southern Capital, never dissipating.
The energy fluctuations occasionally rising from within the formation also told everyone that the battle was not yet over.
Although the Northern Sea Star was quite chaotic and incidents of sect extermination were frequent, confrontations at the Shattered Void level were still sowhat rare.
Especially since this battle involved Alkaid, a rapidly rising figure in the Ten Great Immortal Paths recently, the number of onlookers was countless.
The Taiyi Immortal Sect, the Immortal Martial Sect, the Dashang Immortal Dynasty, the True Dragon Immortal Dynasty, the Penglai Immortal Sect, the Golden Crow Sect...
At first, these individuals, upon hearing that two Shattered Void experts from the Yin Moon Sect, leading five Refining Void Demon Cultivators, had invaded the Southern Capital, believed that the personnel of Alkaid's lineage were dood.
However, as ti went on and the Capital Dragon Slaying Formation continued without dispersing, and the battle seed to be ongoing, everyone's mood began to shift to surprise.
Half a month later, everyone was baffled.
The Eight Desolates Demon Lord and the Darkness Demon Lord from the Yin Moon Sect should have left long ago, whether they killed Alkaid or not.
After all, even if the Sect Leader Zong Wenxian and Alkaid engaged in an internal strife within the Heavenly Dao Sect, with all the dawdling, half a month had passed, and the Supre Elders should have shown up in the Southern Region by now.
Staying any longer would be too late.
Yet under these circumstances, the Eight Desolates Demon Lord, the Darkness Demon Lord, and the five Refining Void Demon Cultivators from the Yin Moon Sect were still nowhere to be seen...
Could it be that they were trapped within the Capital Dragon Slaying Formation?
Was Alkaid's lineage about to counter-kill the Yin Moon Sect?
It wasn't just the onlookers who thought this way; Jing Zhengyang, and even those in the Heavenly Dao Sect affiliated with Zong Wenxian's faction, thought the sa.
...
"Impossible!"
Outside the Southern Capital.
Jing Zhengyang's eyes were bloodshot after an agonizing half-month.
He stared fixedly at the still undissipated Capital Dragon Slaying Formation enveloping the Southern Capital, gritting his teeth in frustration.
"No matter how exceptional the Capital Dragon Slaying Formation is, it's still just a Thirteen Level formation. It can't possibly trap two Shattered Void and five Refining Void experts."
Though he said this, deep down, he harbored another speculation.
Could there be other forces behind Alkaid?
For instance, the mysterious Artifact Sage!
If the Artifact Sage were present, might there also be a Shattered Void?
With the power of a Shattered Void, combined with the Capital Dragon Slaying Formation...
The possibility of Alkaid turning the tables and launching a counter-kill wasn't nonexistent.
As Jing Zhengyang considered this, cold sweat stread down his forehead.
"Damn it, we underestimated Alkaid."
This Family Head of the Jing family was filled with unease.
If Alkaid had the backing of a Shattered Void expert and had ensnared the Eight Desolates Demon Lord and the Darkness Demon Lord, and once these two high-ranking demons implicated the Jing family during their negotiations...
The consequences were too ghastly to contemplate.
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