Yue Hongling could definitely escape.

Secret Treasure Third Layer, Heavenly List Level abilities had once been the pinnacle of Martial Arts in the world—an existence belonging to that small handful of legendary figures that ordinary Martial Artists wouldn't even comprehend.

A single sword strike from underground shattered the Heavenly Vault, and thousands of mountains and countless stones couldn't hold back the might of this sword.

As the sword light passed, giant rocks shattered and she had already reached above the cemetery. Floating in mid-air, looking down at the earthquake-appearing scene below, Yue Hongling's eyes were cold and her grip on the sword tightened.

The sensation below wasn't caused by collapsing, but by the Black Miao King stepping upwards steadily. With each step he took, the ground shook, and the giant rocks above smashed onto his head turning directly into dust, not harming him in the slightest.

Yue Hongling still needed her sword, but he only needed his body. The half-split head he once had now made him look even more terrifying, causing numbness in the hearts of those who looked on.

Based on past experience with Maitreya and his monk soldiers' demonization, their skin was as hard as iron, impervious to swords and spears, coupled with immeasurable strength. Although Tang Wanzhuang and Vermilion Bird had won, they failed to control him, significantly more powerful than the living Maitreya.

However, Xue Wu initially wasn't a specialist in the Corpse Puppet Technique. His main expertise was taming beasts, and who knows where he got some Corpse Puppet Magic Skill combined with the foundation of the Buddhist lotus platform he stayed at—he mishmashed a bit of Corpse Puppet Technique, probably treated it like commanding beasts, yet he still enabled Maitreya to be much stronger. What could the real Corpse Puppet Technique controlled by a master in the background have for an effect?

"Crack!" A rock was pushed aside, and the Black Miao King protruded half of his body.

A sword light ruthlessly stabbed into his remaining eye socket, the Sword Qi piercing straight through, exiting the back of his skull with a "clang" sound, undamaged. It didn't even hinder him momentarily; the Black Miao King had fully jumped out of the ground.

That single empty eye socket fixed on Yue Hongling's face. Though devoid of anything, a clear murderous and brutal intent was readable, emitting a ghastly deathly aura that swept out, and the birds flying over the cemetery silently died, rotting as they fell to the ground.

Fortunately, the cemetery was situated on the outskirts of the city, and the earthquake-like noises had long scared away the nearby people, now there was no one around for miles.

Only Yue Hongling's strong vitality stimulated the Black Miao King further into ferocity, and he emitted an unpleasant frictional roar from his throat, abruptly lunging towards Yue Hongling.

Yue Hongling remained calm, intentionally retracting her Qi to swiftly retreat backward, watching the Black Miao King's movements.

But she saw the Black Miao King pause momentarily, then quickly turned towards the direction of Taoyuan Town.

Yue Hongling fully unleashed her Qi again, another sword penetrates into the back of the Black Miao King's head.

"…" The Black Miao King paused for a moment, and then became furiously enraged, crazily swinging back.

Yue Hongling swiftly dodged; a terrifying Qi force swept past, scattering the medicinal ointment on her face, leaving it pocked.

Yue Hongling stepped back several steps, and supported herself with one hand on the ground and wiped her face with the other, deciding to remove her disguise, looking fresh and cool.

The strength from the opposing side was indeed terrifying, a true mountain-splitting force that couldn't be opposed directly.

But it was evident that its speed was mediocre and its consciousness chaotic; it was not impossible to fight.

It was being controlled by someone, and the goal was definitely Taoyuan Town. If such a war machine barged in, even with an army of a hundred thousand at Taoyuan Town would be as fragile as powder. The defense of the Spirit Clan would crumble in an instant. The opposer unequivocally intended a pincer attack to completely shatter the Spirit Clan!

But from the current situation, it seemed that the controller was not fully leveraging their control, providing only basic commands. These basic instructions couldn't completely suppress a new Corpse Demon's loathing for vitality and desire for slaughter, since a Heavenly List Level Corpse Demon was not to be taken lightly. If the opponent wasn't focused on control, then truly it couldn't be fully obedient. As long as she continued to engage, this Corpse Demon would grow more hateful.

Thus, she must strive to tie down the Corpse Demon, preventing it from reaching Taoyuan Town, for that would be a catastrophe.

Additionally… the lack of full control by the opponent, did this phenomenon mean that the controller was currently engaged in other more important matters, unable to fully handle the Black Miao King? If even the level of Black Miao King wasn't worthy of full manipulation, what then was Zhao Changhe facing!

If she couldn't draw it out, a quick decisive battle was necessary, to help Changhe! Yue Hongling's eyes were fiercely resolute, her retreating form suddenly halted, Man and Sword Unity, she turned back and shot towards the Black Miao King's forehead!

This kind, impervious to damage, even if chaotic in consciousness, was unassailable; she must identify where the opponent's "soul fire" lies to determine the battle. Quick decisive battles meant countless risks, but Yue Hongling didn't care.

Sister will help you!

…

When Yue Hongling and Dao Qingfeng entered the cemetery, changes also began with Sisi.

After each chief had paid their respects, most of the unrelated personnel had already left. Those remaining were primarily the Holy Mountain elders and others who seemed to leave but actually lingered, not departing from the Holy Mountain.

Accompanying this, the guards of the Holy Mountain also quietly changed under the arrangement of some with ulterior motives.

The atmosphere subtly turned eerie, and inside the Holy Temple, Sisi, who was crying and spacing out, seemed unaware.

An elder of high stature slowly spoke out, "Holy Daughter, since Mr. Ye has passed away, should we consider taking control of the Divine Axe?"

Sisi glanced at him. She and her master had staged this act because she had sensed enemies lurking to spy on the Divine Axe. With Ye Wuzong "dead" and the Divine Axe without a master, once the "defense of the Holy Temple was lax," it would be easy for the enemies to "steal the axe." This act was meant to lure the enemies out, and of course, it would be best if it could draw out any traitors.

It was not surprising that her own kin desired the Divine Axe, but she couldn't determine if this elder was a traitor. Sisi casually responded, "My master's bones are still warm, and you speak of this; it's somewhat disrespectful. If you desire the Divine Axe, at least wait until the seventh day after his death. Is there anything that makes the chief elder so anxious?"

That chief elder said, "Because controlling the Divine Axe is not an overnight matter, even if we work together to suppress it, it will take a long time to fully subdue it. If we start preparations after the seventh day, there may be a good half month when the Divine Axe is uncontrollable. Short-term might be fine, but over half a month, the Divine Axe might regain its consciousness and escape... By then, it will be too late for regrets."

His words did make sense, but Sisi couldn't let people try to control the axe now, as they would immediately discover that the master of the Divine Axe was still alive, which would give them away. She could only say, "If that's the case, then let me attempt to control the axe first; no one should have anything to say about that, right?"

The chief elder bowed and said, "Holy Daughter, please forgive us. Since you are willing to control the axe, of course, we have no objections."

Sisi nodded her head and slowly stood up, walked over to the Divine Axe, and gently stroked it.

Regardless of whether the axe spirit had a master or not, anyone touching it would immediately trigger a resistance, and you'd have to spend substantial energy suppressing it, unable to free yourself anytime soon.

To those watching, Sisi's whole body seemed to emit electric currents, her pretty face stern and slightly pained, clearly struggling against the tremendous force of the axe spirit.

Some exchanged silent glances, inwardly saying that heaven was also on their side.

You should know that even the Thief Saint, capable of matching the Heavenly List Level, would be severely injured by the resistance from the axe spirit. With Sisi's power, even if not to immediately subdue the axe spirit but just to test, the energy spent was no small matter.

If the Spirit Clan were to control the axe under normal circumstances, clearly a group of elders and the Holy Daughter would exert their force together, each having plenty of reserve energy, making it difficult for any problems to arise. But now, out of "respect for her recently deceased master," Sisi refused to let others meddle at this time and chose to face it alone, making her very vulnerable to stealth attacks at this precarious moment.

The chief elder who had urged Sisi to control the axe surreptitiously signaled someone with his eyes.

Suddenly, the sound of swords being drawn echoed in the Holy Temple. Several elders, protectors, and chiefs suddenly attacked, simultaneously ambushing the remaining elders, while that chief elder swiftly struck, pointing a finger towards Sisi's back.

Outside the temple, cries of battle also arose. The traitors, some deliberately lingering and others newly positioned under the guard swap, collectively acted, attacking the bewildered Holy Mountain guards.

The temple descended into chaos in an instant. Many elders and guards were caught off-guard and restrained, while some stronger ones drew their blades and clashed with the traitors, retreating step by step, "Have you gone mad?"

Before the echoes died down, a chilling, earth-shattering scream burst forth. Everyone jumped and turned their heads, only to see the chief elder who had attacked Sisi's hand being wildly bitten by some unknown Gu Insect, his hand chewed down to the bone in an instant. Meanwhile, the electric currents around Sisi mercilessly transferred to him, forming an electric cage that paralyzed and confined him on the spot, helpless against the ravaging Gu Insect, an unbearably gruesome sight.

Sisi slowly turned her head, her eyes, usually enchantingly flirtatious, now cold and unmatched, "Kill."

As her words faded, the ground trembled thunderously, a young Blood Turtle stepped onto the Holy Mountain.

From the sky came the calls of an eagle, a giant hawk circled above, its talons grabbing, lifting hundreds of rebel soldiers high into the air before dropping them back down, their screams echoing as they smashed into pulp.

Countless exotic beasts appeared inside and outside the Holy Mountain.

Sisi's gaze swept across the stunned temple and she coldly said, "The wars of Central Earth have already shown that mere numbers soon become useless... Whoever possesses the power of the God Demon truly rules the land. Yet you still haven't understood."

"Is that so?" Suddenly, laughter sounded, a dark shadow swiftly breezed past Sisi, grabbing the Divine Axe, "Since the Holy Daughter does not want the Divine Axe, we might as well take it... Ah!!!"

A horrifying scream pierced the air. The person had been electrified into charcoal, not even able to finish his last words.

He died without understanding why, despite possessing the Magic Skill to control the axe without suffering backlash, he was viciously electrified by the Divine Axe, while Sisi holding it faced no issues.

The only possibility was that the axe still had a master, but he had no chance to reveal it.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!" Assassins from the Listening Snow Tower appeared around the temple in various batches. They couldn't manage the chaotic battle, but Sisi's real power was insufficient; they still had a chance for a decisive strike!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.