“No please, No!”

“S-show mercy, Aaaa…”

Screams of thousands of people echoed through the city. Even if they attempted to run there was nowhere to go. A giant black shroud surrounded the whole city and whoever got close was shredded by unspeakable shadow horrors that resided in it. There was no escape and soon only a handful of nascent soul masters remained.

The crunching of bones and flesh being devoured by strange beasts was everywhere. Even when some of the demonic creatures were defeated they were quickly replaced by a new one. Soon even the stronger experts were starting to fade away, even without the Demonic Emperor’s involvement there was no way for them to survive.

“H-how could this be possible?”

“Was the Azure Dynasty infested by demonic cultivators from the start?”

“This can’t be happening, please Emperor show mercy… I’m willing to submit!”

The group of masters were unwilling to die, even if they were backed into a corner they grasped for any possibilities. Perhaps if they became slaves of these demons here they would be able to survive. It was better to join up with a demonic cultivator and form a slave contract. To these people that wished for immortality, survival was at the precedent of their existence.

“Hm… you wish to surrender and become my slave?”

“Yes, Honored Azure Dragon!”

“What are you…”

“Shut up, we must submit! Do you want to die like the rest?”

“Our brother is right, our allies are all dead, only we remain, if we perish here then how will our families survive?”

All of the survivors had one thing in common, they were all leaders of their own clans or sects. If they were not around to manage their factions they feared that they would crumble instantly. Their families and lines could be usurped by other branches which would make this whole undertaking a huge mistake. Perhaps they would have to perform some vile acts for these demonic beings but it was better than death.

“Please Emperor, we submit!”

The group shouted out while bowing. They were surrounded by a swarm of strange creatures. Some of them had huge mouths lined up with teeth the size of swords. Others were made out of a tar-like substance that consumed all it touched. It was as if every person that was devoured caused a multiplication of these horrors and now there was nowhere to hide.

“Do you wish to submit? Very well, offer up your souls to me for the binding contract!

“Of course…”

The old man that convinced the others to submit floated up into the sky with his guard wide open. Long Qing who had long revealed his demonic appearance, smiled widely. His large clawed hand moved forward while he performed some sort of demonic technique.

“Wait, that’s not a soul-binding art… what is he doing?”

One of the other elders that was somewhat aware of demonic arts noticed that something was off. Before he could shout out to warn his current ally it was already too late. The large demonic appendage shot out at the elder’s chest and pierced right through it. Soon all of them were looking at the man’s vitality being sucked away.

“H-he is devouring him…”

“Honorable Emperor, why?”

“What do you mean, why? I don’t need your loyalty, the only thing you are good for, is to be sustenance for my immortality! How do you think this dynasty has survived for over a hundred thousand years!”

“It… it couldn’t be… You’ve been robbing people of their longevity and adding it to your own?”

“I see that at least one of you has some intelligence but it’s already too late. Your life is forfeit and not even by stupid brother will be able to save you now.”

“Brother? The Golden Dragon?”

“Yes, he has been a thorn in my side for a long time. Luckily people like you exist, willing to do anything just to get some crumbs from me.”

The cogs in their brains started turning as they all realized that they joined the wrong side. It seemed that Long Dong, the current Emperor’s younger brother, had actually rebelled against the demonic beings. Either this or they were both evil cultivators just having a spat. The truth was unclear but if they ever wanted to figure it out, they needed to free themselves.

“No please, we don’t wish to continue, there must be another way…”

“Truly pathetic, even in your last moments you still wish to bargain but you will not talk your way out of this predicament, your death is all that matters… Die!”

Long Qing who had turned into a strange dark blue demon with webbed wings and glowing eyes pointed out. A massive aura that none of these people here could fathom pushed them down into the ground. There was nothing they could do, their Qi was being blocked by the overwhelming demonic energy. Even if they managed to escape from this area they would soon succumb to the thousands of demonic beings everywhere.

With indignation in their eyes, they could only look up at the massive surge of energy coming their way. The Emperor that they wished to gain favor with started turning into an even uglier being with tentacles on his face. It didn’t seem that he was even human at this point and soon they would become part of this mass of evil.

“Don’t fall to the demonic corruption, stay strong and never surrender!”

However, before they gave out their last breath something magical occurred. An opening in the shroud from the top was blasted through. It was followed by a torrent of golden light that descended down into this place. The light pushed the darkness away and allowed them to see the well-lit blue sky before.

“T-there is someone in that pillar of light…”

“Could it be?”

The nascent soul masters that didn’t pass out yet could see the descent of a might master. He was clad in golden armor and surrounded by strange angelic beings. The warmth that his spiritual energy emitted tickled their beards as they felt power returning back to their bodies. The evil energy was being driven back and even the demonic creatures were running to not get engulfed by the radiant light.

“So… You have come, my brother! Do you pity these idiots so much just to come here? They betrayed you, why would you aid such trash?”

“They had made the choice only due to faulty information, if they knew the truth, they would have never joined you, my brother!”

“Hah, are you sure? If I offered them their lives now, they would instantly stick their swords into your back! You are too gullible and that’s why you will never win, my younger brother!”

“We shall see! Not everyone is as power-hungry as you! There is still a goddess in people's hearts and I will help it blossom!”

“Pathetic words, only the strong will survive, compassion is just a way for the powerful to feel better about themselves! It’s a luxury of the strong!”

The group of masters started to get off the ground while listening to the two masters have a strange conversation. The whole battle was stalled but not like they could interrupt the only person that was willing to help them. As it continued, they started to feel immense shame at trying to form a contract with the demonic cultivator.

It was true that to conserve their lives and prestige they would have no trouble stabbing their current savior in their back. While some of them were about to turn over a new leaf, others just looked for the best moment to escape. With the holy energies filling the air and the decline of demonic Qi, they could feel their power resurfacing.

“We are done talking, do you really wish to help these fools that would not thing twice of betraying you? Then, protect them with your life!”

“Stop!”

Yet before they could initiate their escape all hell broke loose. In just a fraction of a second, the Azure Emperor pointed his many tentacles at the group on the ground. A massive surge of demonic energies appeared along with a strange phantom of a monster behind the Emperor. It was probably his soul beast that looked like a humanoid with webbed wings and the face of a squid.

A ball of hateful energy was sent flying in their direction and they were far too weak to defend themselves against it. But right as they were about to die, their savior appeared. The man known as the Golden Dragon put himself in the middle of the attack and took the brunt of it. Everything went black as a giant explosion rocked the entire city turning it to ash. Soon all of them started passing out with the only thing remaining in their minds being the gallant image of Long Dong, their protector.

……

“Hey, watch it, if you drop them they might wake up!”

“Forgive me senior sister, this one elder is surprisingly plump…”

A strange scene was taking place as a group of passed-out people was getting dragged onto a teleportation gate. Some were being flown out with the help of flying swords, others were getting carried manually by members from the United Element Sect. It was quite the undertaking and only possible due to one man that was hovering up in the sky.

Zhang Dong was rubbing his eyebrows as he was finally able to dispel the illusion that he created. Thanks to techniques from this and the other world he was able to pull the residents of this city into a grand play. The whole massacre wasn’t real and everything that transpired had happened inside of these people’s minds.

No one had died and most of the commoners had been moved into his medallion for the time being. They would need to be transported into the real dimensional regalia to let others think that this city had actually been destroyed. Some of the cultivators would be left alone and freed to go spread the word.

‘I hope this works, as long as these people believe that their lives are at stake, they will not work with the Long Clan.’

The perception of these people had been that he was in cahoots with Wang Long. Now on the other hand they would be convinced otherwise. Without any help from these masters, his borders were secured and the Long Clan would need to move in, otherwise, the war would quickly snowball into something they can no longer control.