536: Not Yet Time
The Celestial Demon Sect Leader took his own life, swiftly and decisively, giving Peak Master Qingyu and the others no opportunity to debate whether to bring him back to the sect.
Of course, far from resenting Jiang Mo for awakening him, the Celestial Demon Sect Leader was actually grateful—cultivators are largely prideful, and the higher their cultivation, the more so they become. Especially for someone of the Celestial Demon Sect Leader's status and power, breaking their pride would be more painful than simply killing them. He had only survived until now because he had been controlled by the demon race.
Seeing this, Zhu Baiyi felt quite distressed and finally understood why she had been able to fight him to a standstill—it was merely because his remaining consciousness had been holding back. Therefore, upon discovering the Celestial Demon Sect Leader's intention to end his life, she had attempted to stop him.
"Since you've regained momentary clarity, perhaps there's still a chance to fully recover your consciousness later? At worst, keeping your life would allow you to personally slay that demon and avenge yourself. Abandoning your life now is truly a waste." Zhu Baiyi counseled the Celestial Demon Sect Leader truthfully, as losing such a formidable fighting force was genuinely regrettable.
However, during his days under demonic control, the Celestial Demon Sect Leader had deeply experienced the helplessness of his situation. He did not heed Sect Leader Zhu's advice and resolutely ended his own life.
Nevertheless, before dying, he did divulge several pieces of useful information.
For instance, the reason the demon wasn't rushing to attack was because its power was constantly growing and recovering—when first possessing a body, it had been at Grand Achievement level, but now it had already broken through to Tribulation Crossing. Additionally, the demon had a method to conceal heaven's will, encountering no lightning tribulation when advancing in cultivation, thus preventing the Heavenly Dao from eliminating it even if it wished to. Furthermore, by avoiding the lightning tribulation, the demon might not face the ascension tribulation either, and when that time came, it would be the foremost being in the cultivation world.
As for why it would remain in the cultivation world rather than ascending—naturally because there was sufficient territory here and, for the demon, abundant resources. The cultivation world's resources might not compare to those of the demon realm or celestial realm, but here it was the only demon. Once its cultivation and power surpassed everyone else's, it could become the ruler of this realm. Wouldn't that be far better than ascending to a higher realm and becoming a mere underling?
The information left by the Celestial Demon Sect Leader caused everyone's hearts to sink. They didn't even have time to mourn the humiliating departure of this powerful cultivator before becoming alarmed by the increasingly dire situation.
In the heavy atmosphere, Jiang Mo licked her dry lips and finally asked: "Do you think Divine Lord Zhiming can defeat that demon?"
Honestly, the reason Xuanqing Sect had persevered until now, and why those seeking refuge still looked to it for leadership, ultimately stemmed from Divine Lord Zhiming's presence. At late-stage Tribulation Crossing, just one step away from ascension, he was universally acknowledged as the foremost cultivator in the realm. Therefore, despite the external turmoil, everyone at Xuanqing Sect maintained an underlying confidence.
This confidence couldn't be matched by others, or even other divine beasts. Whether it was the Water Qilin of Tiandao Sect whose fate remained uncertain, the Golden Peng of Buddha Sect who was busy protecting its offspring, or the rapidly growing Jiang Mo, none compared to his strength.
But now Jiang Mo couldn't help but ask: could Divine Lord Zhiming still win?
She didn't doubt the Celestial Demon Sect Leader's words, but he had been controlled for a long time, reportedly with only rare moments of clarity. How, then, could he know the demon's current state? Perhaps its cultivation had already advanced beyond Tribulation Crossing?
No one could answer Jiang Mo's question. In her line of sight, everyone's expression was grimmer than the next.
Jiang Mo understood that this wasn't just her concern, but everyone's worry. So she asked no more, only saying: "Let's go back. We'll inform the Sect Leader of this news, then quickly request Divine Lord Zhiming's intervention."
After all, Divine Lord Zhiming's cultivation would no longer increase, while according to the Celestial Demon Sect Leader, the demon's power was growing every moment. The fact that it hadn't yet launched a full-scale attack indicated it still lacked complete confidence in victory. What if it broke through again after waiting a while? Compared to this demon—the root cause of all trouble—all those Fusion and Grand Achievement demon-possessed humans no longer mattered.
As for Divine Lord Zhiming not being able to intervene casually, there was no other option but to hope he could fight and then ascend.
None of them were indecisive by nature, so after hearing Jiang Mo's words, they barely hesitated before hurrying back to Xuanqing Sect. Returning before the appointed time, they even triggered the protective formation, prompting Sect Leader Qingxiao to come and open it.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Experience proved that while being a sect leader might not require the highest cultivation, character and decisiveness were absolutely indispensable.
Sect Leader Qingxiao stood by the formation listening to their account, his expression solemn but thankfully not panicked. Just as Jiang Mo thought he would again convene a meeting of the various sects' senior members, he acted contrary to his usual manner, directly saying: "Come, let's go to Zhiming Peak."
This time, Sect Leader Qingxiao was extremely decisive, leading them straight to Zhiming Peak upon receiving the news.
Surprisingly, Divine Lord Zhiming wasn't sleeping today. Not only was he awake, but he seemed to have anticipated their arrival, leisurely brewing tea in the hall. Hearing them enter, he lifted an eyelid and said languidly: "You're here. Please, sit. I haven't touched these things for many years. Since I've bothered to brew tea, everyone should try some."
Divine Lord Zhiming's tea was naturally the finest, using the highest quality Celestial Jade Essence to brew premium Purple Aura Mind-Clearing Tea. As the purple spiritual tea entered her stomach, Jiang Mo felt her entire body relaxing, the damage to her meridians from the residual blade energy instantly repaired.
Faintly, Jiang Mo even felt her cultivation increase slightly... If she had opened her data panel now, she would have discovered her experience points had indeed risen. And if she had opened battle mode, she would have seen more clearly that her senior sister's level had directly increased by one. Though not yet at the breakthrough point, the growth in strength was absolute.
After drinking the tea, everyone benefited, and more importantly, their minds became clearer. The overflowing worry and anxiety in their hearts seemed to be suppressed by this cup of tea.
Even the most composed Sect Leader Qingxiao visibly relaxed his expression at this moment.
Seeing this, Divine Lord Zhiming put down his teacup, slightly straightening his lazy posture, and said: "Well, the tea is finished, now let's discuss business. Why have you suddenly come to Zhiming Peak?"
Though he asked, Jiang Mo, looking at Divine Lord Zhiming's calm face, felt as if he had already guessed their purpose.
Sure enough, after Sect Leader Qingxiao recounted everything and finally requested Divine Lord Zhiming's assistance, Divine Lord Zhiming's expression showed no change. He lowered his eyes in thought, then asked: "You want me to take action, now?"
Sect Leader Qingxiao stood and bowed deeply: "Divine Lord has presided over our Xuanqing Sect for thousands of years, and we are endlessly grateful. This is not merely a crisis for Xuanqing Sect alone, but a calamity concerning the entire cultivation world. I, Qingxiao, am incapable of eliminating this demonic creature and restoring peace to the cultivation world. I beseech the Divine Lord to lend his assistance." After a pause, he added: "The Celestial Demon Sect Leader's words are likely not false, so I hope the Divine Lord will act quickly."
In seeking Divine Lord Zhiming's intervention, Sect Leader Qingxiao felt somewhat conflicted. On one hand, he believed the other wouldn't refuse, as saving an entire realm would certainly be a great merit, and the Heavenly Dao would surely reward Divine Lord Zhiming sufficiently during his ascension reckoning. On the other hand, he worried that Divine Lord Zhiming might truly be unable to defeat the opponent, which would not only harm Divine Lord Zhiming but also lead to their complete defeat.
But regardless, Divine Lord Zhiming was their last hope.
However, after hearing Sect Leader Qingxiao's words, Divine Lord Zhiming still lowered his eyes in contemplation for a long while, not immediately agreeing as Sect Leader Qingxiao had imagined. It wasn't until everyone was anxious with waiting that they heard him say: "The timing isn't right. Let's wait a while longer."
Divine Lord Zhiming hadn't refuted Sect Leader Qingxiao's words, indicating he might have guessed something too, but even so, he was still telling them to wait!
Qingxiao, Qingyu, and Zhu Baiyi were all senior sect members, managing sect affairs, potentially calm and steady enough. But Jiang Mo was still young, and hearing Divine Lord Zhiming tell them to wait, she was burning with anxiety, about to demand what he was waiting for at this critical juncture. And what did he mean by "timing"?
Yun Qingyue swiftly pressed down the tiger with her hand, but Sect Leader Qingxiao didn't disappoint the little tiger, asking what she wanted to know: "Time waits for no one. May I ask how long until the timing the Divine Lord awaits?"
Divine Lord Zhiming wasn't annoyed by this inquiry. He lowered his eyes to calculate again, then answered: "Three days from now."
With this clear date given, Sect Leader Qingxiao didn't ask why, immediately sighing with relief and responding: "Very well, then we'll trouble the Divine Lord in three days. During these three days, I'll order everyone to rest and recuperate, ensuring we won't burden the Divine Lord when the time comes."
The demon boss would be handled by Divine Lord Zhiming, but there were still many minions, elites, and major demons under its command that would need to be eliminated.
Jiang Mo immediately calmed down, then opened her task panel to check, discovering that the timed task given by the system was set to expire exactly three days later—the task had been issued right on schedule, which explained why the system's request to pause tasks had been rejected earlier. If the task had been extended, it would have been delayed until after the great battle, and who would care about challenge tasks then?
However, thinking about the great battle in three days, Jiang Mo couldn't help feeling nervous. Reflecting on her busy month of completing tasks, she opened her data panel to check:
[Host: Jiang Mo
Race: White Tiger
Profession: Divine Beast
Level: 83
Combat Power: 393,500
Experience: 409,630/460,000
Points: 33,180
Potential: ∞
Skills: Advanced Spiritual Energy Utilization, Blood Inheritance Suppression, Sharp Metal Force, Way of Transformation…]
In less than a month, the data on Jiang Mo's panel, while not earth-shattering, showed substantial gains—apart from not reaching the expected 10-level increase, her combat power had more than quadrupled, and she had gained thirty thousand points. With three days remaining, she could likely gain another level, breaking through to mid-stage Grand Achievement.
With this strength, as long as she didn't directly face the boss, she should still be able to fight.