Chapter 2293: An Opening

“Your blood mist has formed, Bloodreed,” said Forefather Celestial. “You don’t need us to protect you anymore, do you?”

Bloodreed cackled. “We won’t say no if you’d kindly offer us protection for longer.”

Forefather Celestial huffed. “How will I be able to activate the celestial soundwave domain then? How do we attack Winterdraw through the formation?”

Celestial demon soundwaves were extremely powerful. It could penetrate the formation and attack the cultivators within.

Once the domain took shape, its might would threaten heaven and earth. There was no telling how many cultivators within Winterdraw would survive it.

Moreover, the domain’s attacks were highly piercing. Even hiding underground wouldn’t do anything. All beings up to the heavens and down in hell would feel the blows.

Bloodreed didn’t push his luck. He grunted. “Then you should do that. We blood demons can protect ourselves.” He called out to his companions, “Brothers, let’s form a Bloodfiend Defensive Dome. Don’t let the young man sneak up on us.”

As its name suggested, the Bloodfiend Defensive Dome was a formation formed with blood energy. Attackers had to go through the dome first, which would allow the demons to detect even the most stealthy of foes.

It wouldn’t stop any attacks, but it served as an alert system, giving them the time to react.

It was a useful technique, at least in response to ambushes.

Blood energy in all directions pulsated and spun itself into threads around the four forefathers. The resulting web spanned a thousand mile in radius to form a defensive dome, protecting the four demons.

Jiang Chen had been keeping an eye on the blood demons. It greatly depressed him to see them employ such a trick. With the detecting formation in place, it’d be unlikely for him to sneak up on them.

The Scrutiny of Existence was powerful, but its might would be greatly diminished after going through the defensive dome. The attack wouldn’t be enough to kill a demon forefather then.

Jiang Chen never made a move unless he could take someone down. He never fought if he wasn’t assured of victory.

The six celestial forefathers moved away from the four blood demon forefathers, advancing toward the island rather than retreating. It was clear that they were going to launch an attack.

Jiang Chen’s heart sank.

Xia Tianze and An Kasyapa had been given treasures to deal with the blood demons. They should be fine against the demons’ attacks. The celestial demon forefathers, however, would pose a serious threat to Winterdraw.

In his moment of hesitation, a chilling wind picked up below and howled furiously. Dark energy surged in from all directions. Eerie, stark-white flags shook themselves into existence within the darkness. 

As the flags shuddered, countless ghouls and spirits emerged from thin air, as if summoned.

The miraculous method of summoning soldiers caught Jiang Chen’s eyes.

“It’s the yin demons manipulating dead spirits!” This was definitely yin demon handiwork. They were masters in commanding spirits.

The fascinating thing about yin demon manipulation was that it was very difficult to spot where the puppet masters were hiding. In that way, they were similar to wood demons commanding their demonic plants.

The best way to deal with the spirits was to kill the puppet masters. But where were they?

Jiang Chen’s head brimmed with questions. It’d caught him by surprise that the blood, celestial, and yin demons had all made their moves at the same time. The demons looked poised to take Winterdraw in one fell swoop.

This battle would be more challenging than expected.

Nevertheless, his heart grew calmer in response. The more relentless the demons were, the more it showed their growing worry and dread. This was to be an unavoidable clash. Who would come out on top?

His heart like a boulder, Jiang Chen’s mind was free of any distractions. He scanned the battlefield and transmitted his thoughts to the four sacred beasts, ordering them to be ready for a fight.

The six celestial demon forefathers were the most powerful among their enemies. It wouldn’t be wise to target them. The yin demons commanded millions of spirits; it’d be extremely difficult to locate the commanders. Meanwhile, the blood demons had the Bloodfiend Defensive Dome. It wouldn’t be easy to sneak up on them.

The demons had come prepared, considering their every move and allowing Jiang Chen no openings.

The young lord took some time to deliberate a plan of action and eventually came to a decision.

“Attack the ghouls and spirits!” he ordered.

The dead spirits’ strength lay not in their individual power, but their numbers. That, however, was exactly what Jiang Chen wasn’t afraid of.

He flung his magnetic mountain into the air, instantly transforming it to an enormous mountain. Out spewed millions of aureate light beams and his own golden monsters, charging at the spirits down below.

The mountain’s cutting energy swept through the area as baleful astral winds. All of the ghouls and spirits collapsed one after another beneath this absolute, destructive might.

“Hehe, finally!” Forefather Celestial cackled and called out to his companions, “Activate our domain of soundwaves!”

A handbell appeared in his hand as he spoke. With a shake of his arm, the clapper violently rang with dissonance. An ear-piercing, harsh sound cut across that air, one that raised goosebumps on everyone’s arms. 

The other five demons proffered their various treasures: the gong, reed, suona horn, and chime stones appeared on the battlefield.

The six demons changed their own forms in a bewildering variety of shapes; their instruments followed their masters. Each shift gave rise to discordant, demonic music.

It sounded like the netherworld had boiled over, and its denizens wailing and screaming in concert. The anguished sounds could tear one’s heart and lungs to pieces.

At first, the cacophonous strands rose and fell in all directions. Moment later, they converged to envelope all of Winterdraw and its surrounding areas.

The island became a living hell in the blink of an eye. Evil spirits howled and shrieked, sending wave upon waves of fatal notes through the island’s formations.

The lesser cultivators threw up blood as soon as they heard the melodies. They covered their ears with their hands and ran around like headless chickens.