Yes.
From the very beginning, this was a gamble.
Ling Xu was gambling.
He was betting that the Sky-Devouring Demonic Seed, in order to win over hearts, would protect the first person to offer allegiance.
Moreover.
There was a high probability that he would also reward this first loyalist.
As it turned out.
He had gambled correctly.
The Sky-Devouring Demonic Seed did protect him, and he successfully left an impression on it!
In the future, he would undoubtedly secure a place in the Sky-Devouring Demonic Seed's ranks.
Otherwise.
With Yan Zhonghe and Hong Zhen already having gained a head start, how much importance could he gain by joining now?
A hint of joy flashed across Ling Xu's face.
Because of Li Shuang, he had been sidelined by the Sword Sect. These past few years, his life had been a living hell.
Fortunately.
He was resilient enough.
Now, he had finally found his chance to turn things around!
This time.
He would be the one to live!
Li Shuang would be the one to die!
All the frustration of these years had finally dissipated!
"Thank you, Your Excellency." True Immortal Ling Xu unhesitatingly bowed down.
He bowed so low, as if his back had never been straight.
"Good, good, good," the Sky-Devouring Demonic Seed's blood-red maw opened and closed, its voice filled with what seemed like immense pleasure: "Are there any others who wish to renounce the darkness and embrace the light? The first ten people to pledge allegiance to this Venerable One will be rewarded with an advancement of one major cultivation stage."
Cultivation... advanced by a major stage?
The crowd stirred slightly.
Hong Zhen sighed.
He had seen this scene countless times.
Even if everyone wasn't giving up now, once they truly witnessed the Venerable One's power, they would naturally surrender.
"Sheng Yuan, Shen Yue, Le An, what are you three waiting for?" True Immortal Ling Xu deliberately prompted, "Why aren't you coming over? Are you going to stay in the Sword Sect and continue to be ostracized?"
It wasn't that True Immortal Ling Xu valued these three disciples greatly, but he had just changed his allegiance, so he needed to establish some influence of his own.
True Immortal Ling Xu was already planning for his future.
Shen Yue and Chang Le An's expressions changed for a moment, then they walked over without hesitation.
The people from the Sword Sect were cursing.
But protected by the blood shield, no one could harm them.
Shen Yue and Chang Le An stood directly beside the True Demon.
Sheng Yuan hesitated.
He glanced at Li Shuang, then gritted his teeth and said, "Senior Sister Li, it's not that I want to betray the human race, but you've really left us with no other choice."
Li Shuang remained indifferent.
Luo Mingyue couldn't help but snort, "Sheng Yuan. You are even more despicable than Shen Yue and Chang Le An. They just betrayed straightforwardly, but you still need to find an excuse for yourself. Aren't you shameless?"
Sheng Yuan's face changed.
Shameless?
He was forced into this from the beginning.
Hadn't he reached this point because Li Shuang was too aggressive?
He knew he was wrong about Ye Zhaozhao's matter, and he sought reconciliation many times, but did Li Shuang pay him any heed?
If she had been able to let bygones be bygones, how would he have been forced to take this step!
Sheng Yuan said with a mournful expression, "If you hadn't pressured me, how would I have..."
Before he finished speaking, Hong Zhen grew impatient, "In a hundred deductions, you betrayed every single time, so don't bother with such pointless talk."
Sheng Yuan's face immediately flushed crimson.
Everyone looked at him with disdain and contempt.
If Sheng Yuan hadn't been protected by the True Demon's aura, he would probably be torn to pieces by now.
Sheng Yuan stopped speaking and quickly moved to the True Demon's side.
The Sky-Devouring Demonic Seed smiled, "Anyone else? You'd better hurry."
As soon as he finished speaking, several more people stepped forward.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, what... what are you doing!"
"Lin Lang! How could you also betray!"
Shocks and cries rang out, yet they did not deter one person after another from walking over.
Initially.
Everyone raged and cursed in anger.
But in the end, only a deep sense of helplessness remained.
In a hundred deductions, the human race always met its demise.
Could they blame these people who chose to surrender?
Who had the right to demand that others must pay with their lives?
"Good, good, very good," the Sky-Devouring Demonic Seed's wild laughter rang out.
After he had laughed enough, a bloodthirsty glint flashed in his eyes: "One last stick of incense. Either die with Li Shuang, or come to my side and live. I hope you will make the right choice."
Hong Zhen sighed, then led the一行 of the Qianji Sect to stand beside the Sky-Devouring Demonic Seed.
The crowd became even more agitated.
Lin Qingling stayed by Li Shuang's side, not daring to leave at all!
It was hard to predict what people would do.
She was truly afraid that someone might suddenly attack Li Shuang.
The incense burned second by second.
A few more people walked over in succession. Among them, there were even powerful cultivators at the Tribulation Transcension stage.
This time, no one spoke to dissuade them, not even a curse was heard. Only silence remained in the arena.
"Have all those who should leave, left?" Ancestor Yun Rong's voice was cold.
No one spoke, and no one else left.
"Why is that demon forcing us to surrender to him instead of just wiping us out?" Ancestor Yun Rong said slowly, "This proves that he is not entirely confident."
Although.
This could also just be because the Sky-Devouring Demonic Seed wanted to keep more people to do his bidding.
But since Ancestor Yun Rong said it, everyone nodded.
Regardless, they needed to give themselves some hope.
Li Shuang hesitated slightly.
In her hand, she still had the last two Thunder Marrows from the City Lord, which represented two Thunder Avatars.
However.
These two Thunder Avatars also couldn't eliminate the Super-Grade Demonic Seed; at most, they could only help them escape the barrier.
However.
As Hong Zhen said, even if they escaped, the disparity in strength was too vast, and they wouldn't be able to wait for reinforcements to arrive.
Hong Zhen didn't mention the cross-continental teleportation array; in the future he had seen, there should be no such array.
Additionally.
Hong Zhen said that in the future he saw, the City Lord's Avatar had appeared once.
However.
Hong Zhen's meaning.
It seemed that the City Lord's Avatar had only appeared that one time.
Therefore.
After destroying Yu Jin's first Thunder Avatar, the Sky-Devouring Demonic Seed completely relaxed.
They seemed very certain that this was the only Thunder Avatar Yu Jin could manifest.
But the truth was, it wasn't.
She now had at least two more trump cards than in the future Hong Zhen had deduced.
One was the transcontinental teleportation array.
The second was that she still had two City Lord Avatars.
Why was there such a difference?
Li Shuang, feeling the Silent Heaven and Earth Furnace flowing within her sea of consciousness, suddenly had a moment of realization.
This difference must have been brought about by the Heaven and Earth Furnace.
The existence of the Heaven and Earth Furnace, even the Heavenly Dao, could not account for it.
Without the Heaven and Earth Furnace, she might still have been able to enter Wanfa City, might have met the City Lord, and obtained a piece of Thunder Marrow.
This was already the highest achievement she could have reached in countless possibilities.
But she had the Heaven and Earth Furnace, this miraculous item that transcended the Heavenly Dao, so what she obtained was even more extreme than the Heavenly Dao's deductions.
To break the current predicament.
The transcontinental teleportation array would certainly be useless.
The only thing that could potentially bring about change was the City Lord's Avatar.