Martial Cultivator

Chapter 959: Early Summer of This Year

Demon Domain.

Outside Parasol Palace, that parasol tree had grown lush and full after the start of summer. When the wind occasionally rose, some leaves would be blown down, most of them falling to the ground.

At this moment, a gust of wind happened to stir. A parasol leaf drifted slowly down from the tree and finally landed on the head of the woman sitting cross-legged beneath it.

At that moment, the woman opened her eyes, her pupils a sheet of pure white.

She then reached up, took the parasol leaf from her head, and looked at it in her palm. Sword intent filled her eyes, and in an instant, the leaf was crushed into powder.

Watching the fragments scatter, Autumn stood up and reached out, recalling the flying sword Autumn Beyond the Tower that had been embedded in the ground.

With a single thought, Autumn Beyond the Tower shrank to the size of a hairpin and lay quietly in the palm of this demon princess. Autumn raised her hand, pinned it into her hair, then stood and left the Parasol Palace.

When she appeared again, she had already arrived outside the royal palace. After walking a few steps, the demon princess entered a small tavern.

The place was filled with the fragrance of wine.

But there were no customers.Autumn walked to the counter. A plump woman was dozing there. Autumn tapped on the table, and only then did the woman slowly open her eyes.

Upon seeing that it was Autumn, the woman’s eyes lit up. “Your Highness-”

Autumn did not let her finish and simply asked, “Where is my royal brother?”

The woman was startled, but quickly replied, “His Highness has been missing for many days. I fear he has already met with misfortune.”

As she spoke, her expression dimmed. Although she had long been given instructions, she still felt sorrow.

Autumn said, “A prince disappearing without a trace in the Demon Domain, is that normal?”

The woman gave a bitter smile. “If it were anyone else, of course not. But if that one does not wish for others to investigate, then let alone one prince, several more disappearing would still be normal.”

Autumn thought for a moment and found it reasonable. She said nothing further, appearing to be lost in thought, though she was actually considering something.

“How many of you are there?”

Coming back to her senses, Autumn looked at the woman, her tone calm.

The woman said softly, “Only 67. That is all who remain of us. His Highness said that if he were to die, we are to obey Your Highness.”

Autumn said, “Hide.”

The woman was taken aback and wanted to say something, but Autumn had already turned and walked out.

“Your Highness!”“Your Highness?”

The woman could not help but call out, wanting to ask: hiding was simple enough, but how long?

Autumn knew what she meant and said plainly, “Hide until I come for you again. Before that, do not show yourselves.”

After saying this, Autumn left the tavern.

When she appeared again, she had already arrived at the residence of the High Priest.

The sudden visit of this demon princess caught the High Priest somewhat off guard, but he quickly came out to receive her. Upon seeing Autumn, his eyes lit up as he praised, “Your Highness has progressed remarkably fast. I did not expect you to have already reached this stage.”

He was one of the strongest figures in the demon race. His eyes had seen countless powerhouses, so he could naturally discern things at a glance.

Some time ago, Autumn had already reached the end of Nepenthe. But after being defeated again by Chen Chao in the battle at the desolate north, the demon princess went into seclusion due to severe injuries. Now that she had emerged again, it was far more than simply recovering from her wounds.

Autumn looked at the High Priest and slowly performed a greeting. “High Priest, I have questions to ask.”

The High Priest did not speak immediately. The princess being so direct surprised him somewhat.

After thinking for a moment, the High Priest walked toward the corridor and said, “Your Highness, please follow this subject.”

As they moved forward, the High Priest set up a barrier, isolating them from all forms of probing.

Afterward, he stopped at a pavilion, gestured for Autumn to sit, and began brewing tea.

A large iron kettle was set on the stove, slowly releasing white steam. Only then did the High Priest speak slowly, “Your Highness, do you know what matters most when brewing tea?”

Autumn did not respond. Her temperament had always been straightforward, she never cared for such things.

The High Priest said, “It is the control of heat and time. Brewing tea requires patience. In truth, being a person is the same. Many things must be carefully planned before action. Once one loses patience, not only will prior efforts be wasted, but harm may come to oneself and others.”

Autumn said, “It seems High Priest still does not know what I intend to ask.”

The High Priest smiled faintly, poured her a cup of tea, and only then said, “Does Your Highness know that the demon race will soon march south?”

Autumn raised her head slightly.

Having been in seclusion for so long, she had already raised her sword dao cultivation to the realm of a great sword immortal. Now, possessing both sword dao and demon cultivation, when facing an enemy, she could in a sense be regarded as two end of Nepenthe.

However, her great sword immortal realm was formed from the sword qi within that sword, and compared to ordinary great sword immortals, there were still some differences.

Even so, it was very terrifying.

While in seclusion, she naturally knew nothing of what had happened outside.

The High Priest smiled. “On the human side, a dynasty has grown too quickly. If we do not eliminate it soon, it will become a grave threat to us. That is why this subject has strongly pushed for this matter, at the very least, Great Liang must be destroyed. This subject only hopes it is not too late.”

Autumn thought for a moment and said, “That makes sense. He has also grown very quickly. Given more time, who knows how terrifying he will become.”

The High Priest naturally knew who she meant. “That dynasty has produced several wise rulers in succession. Just when it seemed a less capable emperor had finally taken the throne, within only a few years he was overthrown by a formidable ruler. After that ruler departed, one would think the successor would be ordinary, but instead, another extraordinary young talent appeared. It almost seems as though even the heavens favor them.”

“If we allow this to continue, in time we will face a human dynasty unlike anything in their history. If we do not march south, they will march north. At that point, we will be at a great disadvantage.”

The High Priest sighed. “Everyone fears death, but if we do not fight this war now, when they come for us, it may not merely be a matter of deaths. A calamity of race extinction is no empty phrase.”

Autumn asked, “This time, will the entire race be mobilized?”

The High Priest nodded, took out a map from his robes, and laid it on the table, pointing to it. “The Snow Wolf clan, the White Bear clan, and the Giant Elephant clan are acting as the vanguard. They have already reached the edge of the desolate north.”

Autumn glanced at it as well, her brows slightly furrowed.

The High Priest said, “Behind those three clans, more demon armies will gather, and then advance south together.”

“Your Highness, the current situation, while it is not yet dire, we cannot afford to be careless. Great Liang’s frontier army is formidable. After all these years, it has already become difficult for us to gain any advantage. If we are not careful, we may even suffer several defeats.”

The High Priest said worriedly, “At a time like this, our demon race must be united as one. We must not stir up any further trouble. Even if there are matters to deal with, I believe they can all be postponed, at least until after the great war.”

Although the High Priest did not know what Autumn intended to ask, he had a vague sense that her sudden appearance would bring changes affecting the entire demon race. That was why he spoke as he did.

Autumn remained silent.

The High Priest glanced at her and continued, “The demon race now belongs to His Majesty. But after a thousand, ten thousand years later, it will belong to Your Highness. Would Your Highness truly be willing to see your people displaced, reduced to slaves, or even face the possibility of extermination?”

Autumn said, “High Priest, are you trying to bind me with such righteousness?”

The High Priest gave a bitter smile. “Though this subject has not had much contact with Your Highness, this subject imagines Your Highness isn't someone who can be constrained by others. Whatever Your Highness intends to do, this subject cannot stop it, but Your Highness should still think carefully.”

Autumn said nothing, only looking at the High Priest, her eyes filled with complicated emotions.

“I will ask one question. You only need to tell me what you know. I will not do anything.”

After a long while, Autumn finally spoke, her tone calm but firm.

The High Priest sighed. He knew his words had had some effect, but not much. He also understood that this was as far as he could go. Composing himself, he said, “Your Highness, please ask.”

Autumn said, word by word, “I want to know about my mother consort.”

Speaking up to here, Autumn paused, then said seriously, “Everything.”

Hearing this, the High Priest fell silent. He did not know what to say, nor how to say it.

“High Priest, if you lie to me, I will kill you.”

When Autumn spoke, her voice was cold, colder than the coldest winter in the demon race.

......

......

Lower reaches of the Onan River.

This place bordered the desolate north, and since some time ago, demon armies had been gathering here one after another.

By now, a full two hundred thousand demon troops had already assembled.

At the very front of the army, several crude camps had been set up. They were crude because they would soon be abandoned, the army would move forward to establish new camps further ahead.

Inside the central main tent, several powerful figures stood within.

The leading figure stood at the very front, looking at a territorial map hanging on the wall.

He was a towering great demon, his entire body emitting a bloody, baleful aura. He did not wear armor, because no matter how good demon armor was, it could not compare to the toughness of his own body.

This vanguard commander of the demon race was named Liu Xiang. For many years in the wars between the demon race and Great Liang, he had always served as a commander.

This time was no exception.

Liu Xiang pointed at the map and said with a smile, “Many years ago, when we marched south, we beat the human race until they cried for their fathers and mothers. In the end, they had no choice but to cede thirty thousand miles of the desolate north to us, and every year they offered us blood sacrifices. Back then, we looked at them as worse than dogs.”

As he spoke, one of the great demons showed a hint of helplessness.

Liu Xiang noticed but merely smiled and continued, “Later, they built the Great Wall, and we stopped marching south. But that was not because we couldn’t, it was simply because we didn’t want to.”

“After that, they won a few battles and gradually began to think themselves remarkable, believing they could stop us. How ridiculous.”

“Now, His Majesty has ordered us to march south once more, to bring them despair, to savor the fattest hearts and livers. All of you, the time has come. Let them know that before us, they are nothing but ants. No matter how they struggle, they are destined to be crushed beneath our feet!”

Liu Xiang laughed loudly. “Come with me, let us go see that land of eternal spring, turn it into our new homeland, and let our descendants grow freely upon that land!”

“Come with me, and crush those ants!”

......

......

In the early summer of the nineteenth year of Tianjian, the largest war in history between the demon race and the human race officially began on an otherwise ordinary summer day.