Chapter 193: Unsolvable

Dongbo Xueying, Chi Qiu Bai, Chao Qing, and Sikong Yang were all gazing at the massive crater on the ground.

Cheng Lingshu’s body was no longer to be found. They could only stand silently before the crater where her remains had been obliterated, offering their quiet tributes.

“Dust to dust, earth to earth, Lingshu, may you journey well!” Chi Qiu Bai murmured softly.

“Sister Lingshu, we will surely wipe out every last demon!” Dongbo Xueying also spoke quietly, his voice low but carrying the weight of a solemn vow. While others might sound arrogant making such a claim, and though in the long history of the Xia Clan, wars against demons of this magnitude often lasted for millennia, Dongbo Xueying himself was confident. He possessed at least two second-tier true meanings, and once he stepped into the realm of half-gods, he would surpass all half-gods in Xia Clan history, becoming the most powerful half-god their race had ever seen. With his strength alone, he could potentially sweep away the demon hordes!

But time was needed.

Dongbo Xueying could only endure in silence, like a lone wolf sharpening his claws, waiting patiently for his moment of strength.

“You’ve lived a remarkable life, little girl!” Old man Chao Qing remarked.

“Throughout the Xia Clan’s long history, countless transcendents have sacrificed themselves for our people. In the river of time, you may seem ordinary, but each of you is a source of pride and a hero of our clan,” said Sikong Yang, his eyes aflame with passion. “In my eyes, you are far more worthy of respect than those selfish half-gods of the Demon God Cult.”

Sikong Yang was a proud and domineering man, yet in this moment, he showed profound reverence to those who had died fighting for the Xia Clan.

…

Dongbo Xueying and Chi Qiu Bai soon parted ways.

He purchased a snow-treading horse within the city and, mounted on it, resumed his journey to track the demons’ traces!

The death of Sister Lingshu pained Dongbo Xueying deeply. Having lived so many years, he had few true friends, and each was cherished. Yet, as painful as it was, he had to suppress his grief. This was a war against demons—death was inevitable. If they, the transcendents, hid away and refused to fight, then it would be billions of ordinary people who would perish.

“Yah!” Riding swiftly along the imperial road, Dongbo Xueying’s appearance had changed dramatically—he now looked like a grizzled middle-aged man, his temples already flecked with white, carrying a warblade and a satchel on his back.

…

Though the transcendents of the Xia Clan were filled with rage and had become even more cautious, as they searched for and discovered some demons, the demons also found them in return.

Each time, it was the magic-forged avatars of fifth-tier demons that came to kill!

For the vast majority of Xia Clan transcendents, fifth-tier demons were overwhelming in strength. Only transcendents who wielded strange techniques and possessed numerous life-saving artifacts might have a chance to escape. As for transcendent knights, if discovered, their fate was usually death.

“In just the past year, five transcendents of the Xia Clan have already perished!”

Within the Yuan Lao Hall of the Xinfu Palace in the Xinfu World, the Xia Clan elders were in discussion. Though they were stationed across the mortal world, hunting down any suspected demons, they had summoned their Mana Rage avatars to the Xia capital.

“Through repeated investigations of their trails, we almost always lose them once they enter the spatial interlayers,” Palace Master Chen said calmly, his eyes still composed. “Moreover, the five transcendents who recently died were all suddenly ambushed. They had just reported to the Xinfu Palace when they were immediately slain—killed under complete annihilation of their strength.”

“When they discovered the demons, they all described them as extremely powerful! Clearly, the demons made no attempt to conceal their aura!”

“Based on comprehensive deductions—”

“It can be determined that these damned demons have already dispatched some of their most formidable fifth-tier and fourth-tier demons into certain small transcendent worlds!” Palace Master Chen continued.

“Hmph.”

Tai Shu Chen, the Palace Master of the Sea God Palace, gritted his teeth. “Since the demon invasion, we have set up some warning enchantments at the entrances of these small transcendent worlds. Yet not a single one of those enchantments has been triggered! Obviously, the demons have found these small transcendent worlds within the chaotic spatial interlayers. It must be the damned traitors of the Demon God Cult!”

How vast was the spatial interlayer?

Moreover, it was extremely dangerous. To locate the precise positions of these small transcendent worlds amidst the endless chaos of the spatial interlayers was extremely difficult. Unless one first entered a small transcendent world and then tore through its membrane into the spatial interlayer, thereby determining its exact spatial coordinates.

But those entrances had warning enchantments! The demons had clearly not passed through these enchantments, yet they still managed to enter the small transcendent worlds… obviously, they must have obtained accurate maps to enter so easily.

“Every time demons invade, the Demon God Cult almost always colludes with them. To them, even if countless humans are slaughtered, they don’t care in the slightest,” Sikong Yang said, filled with fury.

“They could cause trouble before, but now they’ve even allied with demons!” Bu Chengzhu, a graceful and beautiful female ruler, flashed cold glints in her eyes. She had been the first to discover the demon invasion and had slaughtered countless demons at that time.

“Now, let’s all think about how to counter this,” Mountain Master He said.

“Sigh…”

“How can we counter this?”

One by one, the elders wore expressions of worry and helplessness.

They had many ideas, but none voiced them. Because throughout Xia Clan history, similar situations had already arisen during their battles with demons. Yet this was almost “unsolvable”!

“This is the most feared and worrying situation,” Palace Master Chen said. “Previously, we had set up warning enchantments at so many world entrances, but they were useless! With the Demon God Cult’s help, the demons’ elite still infiltrated these small transcendent worlds. We have an overwhelming advantage in half-gods, but below that level… the demons hold the overwhelming advantage!”

Demons excelled in numbers.

It was said that in the Abyssal Depths, demons were endless. For instance, on a large beach in the depths, a single birth might produce hundreds of millions of demons.

Even just a single spatial passage briefly connecting to a world in the Abyssal Depths could unleash a massive invasion of demons.

“There’s no way. If the Divine War Beasts could enter, it would be better,” Chengzhu Bu frowned. “Unfortunately, the natural laws of heaven and earth classify Divine War Beasts as half-god-level beings.”

The Divine War Beasts were passed down from the ancestors of the Xia Clan.

Each was unfathomably powerful, possessing the combat strength of peak half-gods! They all mastered formidable true meanings.

Most of them either had no souls or had fragmented ones. They were powerful war constructs created by deities. From the perspective of transcendents and gods, they shouldn’t even be considered living beings. However, they had intelligence, could think, and even grasp techniques, the mysteries of heaven and earth, and even true meanings! According to the natural laws of heaven and earth, they were classified as living beings.

Like the Divine War Beasts in the Divine Realm, there were those with power rivaling gods. Some of the Xia Clan ancestors were willing to bring such Divine War Beasts back, but unfortunately, the mortal world would reject them! It simply would not allow such powerful beings to descend.

The same principle applied.

Small transcendent worlds also forbade the entry of all alchemical beings and transcendent beings of half-god level or above. Otherwise, the Xia Clan could have easily swept away the native transcendents of those small worlds.

“To strike inside, only powerful transcendent mages equipped with artifacts like half-god-level spell scrolls could manage,” Mountain Master He shook his head. “However, based on past experience, once demons enter a small transcendent world, they will certainly establish strongholds and set up formations. Even half-gods would need some time to break through these formations. Sending Saint-level transcendents inside would be unlikely—they lack the insight and mastery required to break them.”

The formations at places like Xueshi Castle could even briefly trap half-god-level demons!

And the demons that invaded were full-fledged “demon legions”—as an organized army, they were prepared in every aspect. This time, they had stationed five elite demon squads in five small transcendent worlds, naturally setting up formations. These formations were even more formidable than the ones at Dongbo Xueying’s Xueshi Castle.

Illusory, entrapment, and killing formations—among others.

In short—

If a half-god-level expert, with high insight and mastery and limitless power, spent enough time, they could eventually break through. After all, the energy of formations had its limits.

But for a Saint-level transcendent mage, carrying only some scrolls and such, it was impossible to break through.

“This generation of transcendents is destined to be one of sacrifice and hardship,” Palace Master Chen’s eyes held sorrow. Though very few of their half-god elders had perished, many transcendents below the half-god level would inevitably die. Yet if they did not fight, relying only on the few half-gods of the Xia Clan, they could not protect the entire Xia Clan territory.

“There is no solution at all,” Mountain Master He shook his head.