C311 Demonic Power!
Zhao Yafu's smile bloomed as she lifted the green iron plate, etched with the emblem of the White Divine Tiger.
The Cloud Sail from the Silvermoon Empire was previously overlooked.
Yet, with the unveiling of that green iron plate, the Cloud Sail, which soared through the skies without substantial defenses or offensive arrays, seemed to bristle with a newfound lethality.
In the pristine night sky, thunderclouds crackled with energy.
Abruptly, the clouds coalesced into a robust elder standing nearly two meters tall, with cropped hair.
This elder, a Soul Wandering practitioner from the Thunder Sect, had his muscular arms bare, clad only in a sleeveless gray tunic, with delicate strands of lightning entwining his limbs.
The lightning danced in a kaleidoscope of colors, dazzlingly bright.
Dangling from his waist was a jade belt, from which hung radiant iron spheres.
Each sphere was a reservoir of ferocious thunderous energy, as if the celestial thunder had been refined and its essence sealed within.
An orb, mingled with shards of ice, suddenly contracted to the size of a grain before explosively expanding.
From within emerged a white-robed elder of the Cold Yin Sect.
His face was gaunt, his frame emaciated, and his eyes deeply set above a prominent nose, giving him the visage of a weathered eagle. His gaze was icy, exuding an aura of unapproachable pride.
His garments were voluminous, the sleeves billowing in the wind, concealing tempests of frigid ice.
Within each sleeve lay a miniature realm of harsh cold, a spectacle of endless ice and snow, a realm carved from crystalline beauty.
"Cold Yin Sect, Zou Jin."
"Thunder Sect, Jiang Moyan."
The two Soul Wandering Stage cultivators, upon the appearance of the green iron plate, stepped forward, revealing their true forms and willingly offering their names.
Before the iron plate, symbolizing the White Divine Tiger, had made its appearance, the two had sensed something unusual within Zhao Yafu but had not taken such care.
Moreover, they had consented even before Bai Shuang had voiced a request.
They had agreed to Bai Shuang's proposition from Hidden Dragon Lake to apprehend Zhao Yafu, to confirm the suspicions in their hearts.
When Zhao Yafu truly produced the green iron plate and lifted it for all to see, the two of them could no longer feign ignorance or look away.
The formidable aura of the White Divine Tiger demanded respect and could not be taken lightly!
The chilling, desolate, and despairing essence emanating from the iron plate reached the two at the Soul Wandering Stage, and they recognized that the celestial sea it represented was the very expanse guarded by the Demon God beyond the Boundless Land.
The White Divine Tiger, as the sole newly ascended Demon God in a millennium, commanded the reverence of even the so-called orthodox practitioners of the Heavenly Source Continent.
Zou Jin and Jiaang Moyan, in their arrogance while besieging Shen Feiqing and Bai Shuang, had kept themselves concealed.
They believed their status and rank exempted them from revealing their true forms before the assembled crowd.
Yet, upon confirming the presence of the White Divine Tiger on the iron plate, they promptly dispelled their cloaking spells and, in their true forms, paid homage to the plate—
—a gesture of deep respect.
They understood the sheer terror of a Tenth Level Demon God's power.
Separated by an infinite starry sea, the White Divine Tiger could still, through the green iron plate in Zhao Yafu's grasp, perceive their slightest actions.
Within the plate lay a drop of the Demon God's own blood.
This single drop turned the green iron plate into his Demon Eye, allowing his awareness and sight to transcend spatial boundaries and observe from afar.
A drop of Demon God's blood, a divine power to survey the cosmos, was a customary ability among Demon Gods.
Around the lake, the gathered cultivators stood speechless in awe.
All eyes were fixed on the green iron plate Zhao Yafu held aloft within the Cloud Sail.
The emergence of the two Soul Wandering Stage cultivators from the Cold Yin Sect and the Thunder Sect, and their inquiry directed at the green iron plate, slowly brought clarity to those previously in the dark.
Inside the gilded treasure ship, Wei Wujiang of the Divine Might Empire, now a direct disciple of the Thunder Sect's Sect Master, wore a look of extreme discomfort.
Jiaang Moyan gave him a knowing glance as he introduced himself.
Wei Wujiang caught the implication and reluctantly signaled with a sinking hand gesture.
The gilded treasure ship groaned as it submerged significantly.
A portion of the Cloud Sail was severed.
The green iron plate symbolized the Sky Tiger. To see the plate was to gaze upon the Demon God incarnate!
How could the gilded treasure ship presume to rise above the Cloud Sail with the iron plate in view?
With a wry smile in his heart, Wei Wujiang's eyes darted about, covertly assessing Wei Feng.
A sense of unease began to gnaw at him, and he worried whether the White Divine Tiger might discover his sister's lineage, coursing with the blood of the Demon Phoenix.
If it knew...
The mere thought of the repercussions sent chills down Wei Wujiang's spine, leaving him deeply unsettled.
Yu Yuan, who had set out to slay Wang Jinlin, had been forewarned by Python Queen Xu Zixi and was aware that Zhao Yafu would be safe. Yet, the sight of the green iron plate left him utterly astonished.
Returning from the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, he saw Zhao Dongsheng, Zhao Yafu's father, on the verge of shattering the Profound Break Stage's bottleneck, fueled by the abundant Demonic Energy. This sparked a suspicion in him.
He had assumed that the Zhao family's new patron was merely a solitary Great Demon from the northern reaches of the Quietus Continent.
On the Quietus Continent, the Demon Palace stood unrivaled among the myriad demon forces, the epitome of demonic orthodoxy and the pinnacle of power.
Yet beyond the Demon Palace, there were great demons who chose to walk alone, unbound by any rule, roaming the vast wilderness.
Yu Yuan had believed the Zhao family had gained the favor of such a great demon.
Little did he expect that the one taken with Zhao Yafu's potential was none other than the newly ascended Demon God within the Demon Palace—the White Divine Tiger!
In his past life, he had many dealings with the Demon Palace, but never once laid eyes on the legendary Sky Tiger.
Still, he was all too familiar with the Sky Tiger's fearsome combat prowess. Before even ascending to Demon Godhood, the Sky Tiger had made the heavens its battlefield.
Countless Heavenly Devils and formidable beings from various realms had perished under its might.
Moreover, the White Divine Tiger had long been stationed in a perilous expanse of space, vigilantly guarding against the chaos wrought by external foes.
The Thunder Sect and the Cold Yin Sect were likely aware of the White Divine Tiger's actions, its role as the protector of the Boundless Land, warding off the intrusion of foreign enemies.
Yu Yuan's gaze was fixed on Zou Jin and Jiaang Moyan.
The pair examined the green iron plate, announced their names, and after a brief wait, their expressions eased.
These two cultivators, at the Soul Wandering Stage, appeared to have received some assurance, confident that the White Divine Tiger took no interest in their actions within the Absence Relic.
Jiaang Moyan's eyes left the green iron plate and he turned to Bai Shuang, advising, "Stay away from Darkmoon City."
The Seventh Level Silverfrost Dragon's face, concealed behind silver scales, was inscrutable.
She nodded slightly, murmuring an acknowledgment.
In truth, Jiaang Moyan's warning was unnecessary; once the Green Iron Plate was identified as belonging to the White Divine Tiger, Hidden Dragon Lake would certainly not venture to Darkmoon City seeking vengeance against the Zhao family.
Times had changed. The once-glorious Dragon Clan could ill afford to provoke the Demon Palace.
Bai Shuang's primary concern was whether Wei Feng, who carried the Demon Phoenix bloodline, had caught the White Divine Tiger's attention or revealed herself.
Her resolve regarding Wei Feng remained unshaken.
Moreover, the enmity between the Dragon Clan and the Demon Phoenix far surpassed that of the recently risen White Divine Tiger. To eradicate the Demon Phoenix's descendants, the Dragon Clan might indeed be prepared to dare the odds.
After all, the White Divine Tiger had not been directly involved in the betrayal against the Dragon Clan.
It was the Demon Phoenix and a few ancient demons who were the true architects of the Dragon Clan's fall from grace.
Zhao Yafu's smile was sweet as she deftly slipped the iron plate, engraved with the White Divine Tiger, inside her garment.
For some reason, all the formidable cultivators present felt a release in their souls, as if a weighty burden had been lifted from their spiritual consciousness.
Yu Yuan, too, felt a subtle quiver in his spirit.
His practice of the Soul Forging Technique had honed his Heavenly Soul to a keen edge, and his profound link to the enigmatic space at the bottom of the Soul Transformation Pool allowed him to sense something vanishing silently from within his flesh and blood.
"A tenth-level great demon, separated by the vastness of space and the sea of stars, uses that green iron plate to peer into the cosmos!"
Yu Yuan inhaled deeply, a sense of awe naturally arising within him. He recognized the sheer magnitude of power the most fearsome beings at the pinnacle of the Boundless Land possessed, with their ability to transcend and penetrate the heavens and earth in such an exaggerated display of divine prowess.
At the bottom of the lake lay a cobblestone, inconspicuous among the many others.
Yan Qiling, Yu Zhu, and the White-robed Imperial Advisor all instinctively cast a glance at Xu Zixi.
"What are you looking at me for?"
Xu Zixi touched his nose and responded, "Is there something so extraordinary about this temporary pocket of space that the Sky Tiger has noticed? What's there to worry about? If I'm with you, even if he sees us, he'll feign ignorance."
The moment Zhao Yafu produced the iron plate, the White-robed Imperial Advisor realized that their hidden sanctuary had been revealed.
