All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 658 - 33 Golden Crow Descends (3/3, asking for double monthly tickets)

Chapter 658: Chapter 33 Golden Crow Descends (3/3, asking for double monthly tickets)

At the moment the mysterious organization "Ganyuan Sea" in the Fortress Area made up its mind.

On the mountain, An Jing met up with a team of mercenaries led by Uncle Gang Hai.

"Please forgive us, our arrival was somewhat slow."

Steel Skeleton first matched the mission sequence code with Mrs. Guang, then activated the mission recorder: "Steel Blade Mercenary Corps, beginning the escort mission."

An Jing also left his sniping spot to meet with Steel Skeleton.

His sniper Sword Box exploded due to an overload, and he had just taken another Sword Box from the Great Void Magical Instrument for temporary modification—Artifact Refiners are never short of Magic Artifacts to use, no matter how crude or harsh the conditions, they always manage to make something usable from available materials.

At the moment their eyes met, they both understood that the other was aware of their ’true identity’.

—Is this the ’Uncle Gang Hai’ Huo Qing mentioned? He seems to recognize me.

—Looking at him, An Xuan must already know my identity.

Having an understanding, they did not say much, directly exploring the analyses of the upcoming situation.

"According to the mission we received, we shall set up a Formation here to protect you until Third Middle School sends a military Space Shuttle to pick you up and bring you back."

Steel Skeleton shared a map of the surrounding area with An Jing, and provided a countdown of two hours: "Kun Demon forces have emerged to the south of Floating Dust Plains. Third Middle School’s mobile force is helping Xuanye City officials evacuate local residents, and absolutely cannot be disengaged. Two hours is the fastest time."

"Indeed very fast."

An Jing stared at the map, instantly noting that the Kun Demon forces were advancing directly towards Beihu Swamp.

Knowing his Heavenly Mandate, he remained unshaken, even finding it somewhat amusing: "This information is quite delicate. If the Wilderness residents and Demon Beasts knew this intelligence, they would abandon their attack on the Fortress Area and flee directly."

Thanks to the information searched last time in the Spiritual Network, An Jing knew that the Canyon Kun Demons were the true enemies of the Tianyuan Realm’s Human Clan. These Demon Spirits were helpers in reshaping the world for the Dao Courtyard before the World Tribulation, many large Spirit Vein nodes and cities were built on their foundations, empowered with great strength and skills by the Dao Courtyard.

However, after the World Tribulation, these simply-minded Demon Spirits were influenced by Demonic Qi, becoming increasingly ferocious, and turned into the most terrifying ’Monsters/Demons.’

Facing such Monsters/Demons, even Xuanye City needed to be well-prepared, employing regular troops to battle and eradicate them—An Jing knew this, and he was thankful that among these Kun Demons there was no Demon King comparable to those from Purple Mansion; otherwise, deploying the Great Void Heavenly Ship wouldn’t be surprising.

However, An Jing felt that it was just a matter of time before several Demon Kings might appear.

"An Xuan, nice to meet you for the first time."

While An Jing and Steel Skeleton discussed establishing a Defensive Array on the surface and waiting for the rescue team from Third Middle School, they had a more straightforward conversation privately: "I could have never imagined you’d be this excellent. If it wasn’t for you, the surrounding Wilderness tribes would definitely suffer heavily from the Demon Men and their increased strength from consuming a lot of Flesh and Blood, which might endanger even Foundation Establishment Cultivators."

"Too kind."

An Jing smiled: "I also didn’t expect that Huo Qing’s uncle would be around here... Is it a task for the Guiyi Army or a mercenary mission?"

"Both." Pointing out his identity, Steel Skeleton did not mind, showing a sign of trust, so he did not conceal it: "On the surface, I took on a mission investigating a company’s scouting team that was attacked in the Fortress Area; in reality, the Guiyi Army was also attacked."

"And now, I roughly know what those people’s objectives are."

"Oh?" Hearing this, An Jing also became curious: "What are their objectives?"

"Heading to the Ancient Immortal Ruins."

Steel Skeleton stated outright, having discovered the real purpose of Ganyuan Sea: "In fact, decades ago, not just one party found that besides the main entrance below Chonggang Town, there are some other minor entrances to the Ancient Immortal Ruins, all situated at unusual points deep within the Spirit Veins."

"All of Luofu’s exploration actions over the years were to control potential entrances to the Ancient Immortal Ruins through Spirit Veins. The failure 42 years ago wasn’t just due to a decision-making mistake; aside from internal strife, there were also external factors including interference from our Guiyi Army."

"The unusual Spirit Vein point in Beihu Swamp Area is right under the Fortress Area; if the exploration had succeeded back then, Luofu Group’s control over the Ancient Immortal Ruins would have greatly increased."

"And this time, a certain faction has taken control of a group of Wilderness Tribulation Cultivators and Demon Men, supported by a group outside of Luofu, aiming to find a special Spirit Vein point to enter the Ancient Immortal Ruins without being controlled by Luofu Group."

"They indeed found it. Now, they are likely deciphering the Spirit Vein. Once they succeed, they can use it to open a new Cave Heaven gate and enter the Ancient Immortal Ruins."

So that’s the case...

At this moment, An Jing couldn’t help but think of the incident in Chonggang Town years ago when the Purple Mansion True Spirit, the Golden Crow Demon King appeared.

It was clear that other corporate powers provided intelligence, and Xuanye City had insiders, which exposed the Ancient Immortal Ruins forcing the Luofu Group to make them public and open to everyone.

And the reason why Kun Demon this time is marching in this direction is obviously because they sensed the special Spirit Vein leading to the Ancient Immortal Ruins—they are not foolish enough to truly attack the heavily defended Chonggang Town, but if it’s a free entry in the Wilderness, the Demon Spirits too prefer the pure Spirit Qi from the ruins.

Moreover, according to this theory, the reason why Third Middle School and other corporate powers dispatched exploration teams here seems superficially to be because of an impending ’Expansion War,’ but in reality, it’s also to stake a claim in this ’new ruins entrance.’

Chonggang Town becoming the center of ruins exploration made many companies that initially had a foothold here extremely profitable—everyone is envious of this lucrative industry and wants a piece of the pie.

Only such significant matters and interests could cause the open and covert conflicts among various powers, transforming what initially seemed to be a minor ’inspection team hijacked’ incident into the current all-out chaos among all parties.

"It’s a good thing to be able to extricate ourselves from this early."

Steel Skeleton concluded: "The struggle here will likely escalate to the point where Purple Mansion True People make appearances. By then, even if we wanted to hide in a corner, we would still be swept up by the aftermath."

"So now, what we need to do is set up a Formation, and when the time comes, we can just leave. With this task, I can also use the relationship with Third Middle School to retract the warrant for my arrest in Xuanye City."

"That’s true, but I think we might not need to set up a Formation anymore."

An Jing nodded slightly, he agreed with the veteran mercenary Steel Skeleton’s judgment. The latter’s thought process was clear, careful in action, and had plans for the long term future, no wonder he could survive so long in the Wilderness.

The only issue is, he doesn’t quite understand what kind of person An Jing is.

He doesn’t understand Heavenly Mandate, nor the entangled karma that if given a chance of release, could unleash tremendous power.

"Here it comes."

Suddenly the wind grew hot.

An Jing raised his head and looked towards the west of the Wilderness.

The increasingly hot breeze, like surging waves, travelled through the battlefield and the jungle, bringing sand, ash, and black smoke that darkened the already dim mountains and forests.

The fighting Tiger Demon suddenly shivered, raised its head, and let out a long howl—it led its army of Ignorant Ghosts without hesitation to turn and leave, followed closely by its subject, the Wolf Demon.

Only the Ash Crows issued ecstatic cries, violently rising up and forming a vast cloud, unleashing their own power.

"Wait a minute."

Sensing something was wrong, Steel Skeleton also turned his head to look at the western side of the Wilderness. This Foundation Establishment Cultivator was already surprised many times today, but this time, he couldn’t help but give a bitter smile: "My heavens..."

The light in the sky became even dimmer, but amidst the increasingly murkier black clouds, a dazzling point of light appeared, releasing scorching radiance.

The edge of the black clouds lit up like flaming rims.

A sharp screech resounded through heaven and earth.

On the battlefield, whether it was Demon Men, Wilderness Cultivators, forces from all sides, Foundation Establishment cultivators about to break into deep areas of the Fortress Area, or those ready to strike again from the Ganyuan Sea trio, everyone stopped all their actions in that instant, looking towards the source of the screech.

"Ha ha."

An Jing also began to laugh, seeing that light. His heart that had been suspended finally settled down: "Almost thought it could really be easily handled."

He spoke in a relaxed tone that others completely couldn’t understand, content as if he finally understood the answer to some question: "As expected, it has finally arrived."

"The Golden Crow."