Chapter 233 - It's Best If That Time Never Comes…

Heavenly Realm, Northern Underworld Heavenly Domain.

A thousand-foot waterfall cascaded down from the sky, its sparkling water like a river of stars. Below the waterfall were a hundred thousand celestial mountains, range upon range of rolling peaks, with green mountains and lucid waters shrouded in white mist. The scenery was one of tranquility and peace.

Two disciples of the Heavenly clan, a man and a woman, responsible for guarding the Northern Underworld Heavenly Gate, were riding their swords on their routine patrol of the Northern Underworld Heavenly Domain.

After finishing their patrol of another area, the male disciple rode his sword closer to the woman's side and asked in a whisper:

"Senior Sister, have you heard about the Dao Immortal Clan?"

"The Dao Immortal Clan…?"

"Are you referring to the number one reclusive clan in our Northern Underworld Heavenly Domain?"

The woman asked back, curious and doubtful.

The man nodded with a solemn expression.

"That's right!"

"I heard that a few days ago, the Dao Immortal Clan suddenly announced that they were sealing their sect and strictly forbidding any clan disciples from going out!"

"What's so strange about that? Isn't the Dao Immortal Clan always in a reclusive state?"

"Even if there's turmoil in the Heavenly Realm, as long as it doesn't affect their Dao Immortal Clan, they won't even intervene." The woman said dismissively.

But the man shook his head, his expression extremely serious.

"Senior Sister, there's something you don't know. This time is different!"

"What's different…?"

"This time, the Dao Immortal Clan activated their Sect-Guarding Celestial Array!"

"The Sect-Guarding Celestial Array?!" Hearing this, the woman was instantly shocked.

Even in the entire Heavenly Realm, the Dao Immortal Clan's strength was one of the best.

And their Sect-Guarding Celestial Array had never been activated before!

Yet now, they had suddenly activated it!

This is a huge deal…!

Could it be that something major is about to happen…?

"There's one more thing. I only heard this through the grapevine, so I don't know if it's true or false. Senior Sister, just listen."

"I heard that the Dao Immortal Clan's Immortal Ancestor came out of seclusion!"

"As soon as he came out, that Immortal Ancestor led six elders and over a thousand disciples to some unknown location!"

"And it seems that to this day, not a single one has returned!" The man said quietly with a frown and a solemn voice.

An Immortal Ancestor who had been in seclusion for a thousand years leading over a thousand elite clan disciples was a force sufficient to contend with any faction in the Heavenly Realm.

However, such a terrifying force had vanished without a trace!

The Dao Immortal Clan didn't say anything, and then suddenly activated their Sect-Guarding Celestial Array. The meaning was simply self-evident...!

Hearing this, the woman hurriedly covered the man’s mouth and looked around worriedly.

"Shh~”

"Don't make wild guesses!"

"Be careful, or you'll be heard by others!"

"In the Northern Underworld Heavenly Domain, don't just casually discuss the Dao Immortal Clan behind their backs!"

"If you're overheard by someone from the Dao Immortal Clan, or if someone informs them, be careful that your immortal path doesn't end here!"

The man, his mouth still covered, obediently nodded.

Only then did the woman resentfully release his mouth.

The Dao Immortal Clan was the number one reclusive immortal clan in the Northern Underworld Heavenly Domain. Putting aside whether the rumors were true or not, if the Dao Immortal Clan believed they were spreading rumors and slandering them, the consequences would be severe!

It was best to just pretend they hadn't heard anything and knew nothing.

As they spoke, the two arrived at another cliff on their patrol route.

Gazing at the ethereal cloud-wreathed peaks and the magnificent scenery of mountains and rivers below, the man stretched lazily and said with a look of contentment:

"Senior Sister, the entire Heavenly Realm seems to have been a lot more peaceful and quiet these past few days."

"It has. This is also thanks to that legendary supreme ruler of the Demon Realm not appearing again…"

The woman said with a sigh as she waved her hand, casting a spell to mark that they had patrolled the area.

A while ago, the Demon Lord had descended to the Heavenly Realm several times, causing a great panic and turmoil, leaving everyone's hearts filled with anxiety…

The ancestors of many immortal sects and clans either announced they were entering death seclusion or disappeared directly, having fled to who knows where…

It was said that the ancestors of some sects had only just cautiously returned to their clans recently…

Hearing the title "Demon Lord," the man's face was full of curiosity. He moved closer to the woman, who was busy casting her spell, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered another curious question:

"Senior Sister, is that Demon Lord really that formidable…?"

He was a newcomer who had ascended from the lower realm to the Heavenly Realm only in recent years. When he first arrived, he had heard the Demon Lord's title mentioned more than once, but since he had never witnessed him, his heart was filled with curiosity.

The Heavenly and Demon realms had always been evenly matched, neither able to do much to the other, but ever since that Demon Lord appeared, things had changed completely…

In the Heavenly Realm today, the mere mention of the Demon Lord's title makes people's faces change color!

No one avoids the topic!

This couldn't help but make him extremely curious. Did the Demon Lord truly possess such a reputation that all the immortals of the Heavenly Realm would avoid him at all costs…?

The moment the Demon Lord was mentioned, the woman's expression changed. Her face showed her terror, her body instinctively trembled slightly, and she said with lingering fear:

"Believe me, you would absolutely never want to meet that Demon Lord…"

"You didn't see the Heavenly-Demon War from over a hundred years ago, but have you not heard the story from a while ago, when the Demon Lord descended to the Heavenly Realm and smashed half of the Heavenly Dao Imperial Palace* with one palm strike?"

[TL/N: Previously translated as “Tiandao Palace”. I'll use “Heavenly Dao Imperial Palace” from now on.]

"The Heavenly Dao Ancestor had to respectfully serve him tea when he saw him!"

"And also, it's said that not long ago, the Demon Lord suddenly appeared in the Southern Astral Domain!"

"When the tens of thousands of immortals in the Southern Astral Domain learned they were facing the Demon Lord, they were all so scared they fled…!"

"Now, the number of immortals in the Southern Astral Domain has been reduced by nearly half!"

Hearing this, the man was stunned speechless. After confirming no one else was around, he asked again in a small voice:

"Then how does the Dao Immortal Clan compare to the Demon Lord…?"

"I heard that Immortal Ancestor of the Dao Immortal Clan had been in seclusion for a thousand years and stepped into the Transcendent Immortal domain…?”

The woman gave the man a speechless glance. Why was this fellow so curious and gossipy?

She had already told him not to secretly discuss the Dao Immortal Clan, yet he still dared to ask…

However, since he had asked, as the senior sister who had guided him, the woman still secretly informed him:

"I have never seen the strength of that Immortal Ancestor from the Dao Immortal Clan, but I have seen the strength of that Demon Lord!"

"I believe that Immortal Ancestor of the Dao Immortal Clan is absolutely no match for that Demon Lord!"

"Is that Demon Lord truly so terrifying…?!" The man said in shock.

He hadn't expected to hear such a high evaluation of the Demon Lord from the woman.

"Once you witness it with your own eyes, you'll understand…"

"Of course, it's best if that time never comes…" The woman sighed, looking up at the sky.

In her heart, she subconsciously connected what the man had just mentioned—the Dao Immortal Ancestor leading his clansmen away and not returning, and the activation of the Sect-Guarding Celestial Array—with the Demon Lord…

The Dao Immortal Ancestor and his people disappearing, followed by the sudden activation of the Sect-Guarding Celestial Array… could it be related to the Demon Lord…?

After this thought suddenly appeared in her mind, the woman shook her head with a self-deprecating laugh.

How could that be possible?

Why would the Dao Immortal Clan dare to provoke the Demon Lord for no reason?

"Alright, let's go to the next spot."

After the woman cast a spell to make her mark, she prepared to leave on her sword.

The moment she turned her head, several hundred-zhang-long rifts suddenly cracked open in the void above the Heavenly Realm!

From within the void rifts, a terrifying demonic spiritual energy poured out!

Countless demon clan cultivators and ferocious demonic beasts swarmed into the Heavenly Realm like a tide, their excited roars echoing throughout the entire heavenly domain!

The surrounding void distorted, and one after another, Void-Wandering Dragons carrying countless demons emerged!

The woman and the man were instantly and completely dumbfounded, even suspecting that their eyes were playing tricks on them…

The demon army was invading the Heavenly Realm again…!

"Quick, quickly ring the Heavenly Gate Bell!!"

"The demon clan has descended!!" The woman hurriedly shouted to the man.

"Oh, oh… okay…!"

The man had never seen such a terrifying scene. It took him a long time to come back to his senses before he hurriedly flew on his sword towards the Heavenly Gate Bell hanging high on the cliff.

Before he could even ring it, he already heard the resonant sound of celestial bells echoing throughout the entire Heavenly Realm…

One after another, the clear and loud chimes of the bells echoed in his ears…

It wasn't him who rang it; rather, all the other major heavenly domains of the Heavenly Realm had rung their Heavenly Gate Bells at the same time!

The demon clan had descended upon all nine great heavenly domains of the Heavenly Realm simultaneously!

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