Chapter 154 I Want to See the Demon King

That very day, serving as the epicenter of public opinion on the Spirit Network and the primary target of universal condemnation and abuse, Xu Zhe posted a response on his personal profile page.

"A clarification: I, Xu Zhe, have never betrayed the human race, nor have I ever had any form of cooperation with the demon race. The victory of the Vermilion Bird Army was primarily achieved through intermediate battle formations. As for why the demon race possesses intermediate battle formations, you can investigate that yourselves; in any case, it has nothing to do with me."

Scarcely had this response been posted for a moment when the four prominent characters "Xu Zhe's Clarification" were immediately pushed to the very top of the Spirit Network trending search list.

The comments and reposts underneath were growing at an astonishing and frantic rate.

"Shameless scoundrel, still sophistrying here?"

"Is sophistry meaningful now? Some so-called Pride of the Celestials Xu, what an absolute joke."

"With just a single simple sentence, you expect us to believe you haven't betrayed us? Where is the evidence, please?"

"I thought there was going to be some kind of plot twist, but it turns out to be just this? Not a single shred of substance, what the hell are you even babbling about?"

"You tell us to investigate ourselves why the demon race has intermediate battle formations, so why don't you explain where you got the intermediate battle formations from?"

"Xu Zhe, don't treat everyone like fools. If you haven't betrayed the human race, then produce evidence. Without solid proof, how can we believe you?"

"Since you've already gone this far, stop trying to set up a memorial arch while acting like a whore. If you had just boldly admitted it, I might have at least respected you as a dog; who would have thought you aren't even as good as a dog."

"Get lost back to the demon race, don't stay in the territory of our human race."

"Go be a dog for the demon race, and stop using our jade tallies and the Spirit Network."

Countless people hurled various forms of doubt and abuse.

However, Xu Zhe also discovered an interesting phenomenon: those who cursed with such venomous hostility all used anonymous accounts, and not a single one dared to use their true identity.

On the other hand, those who dared to comment using their genuine identities basically kept their words neutral and impartial.

Some would also casually drop a perfunctory line: "Just sitting back and watching how this plays out."

Yet these comments were quickly pushed down by other abusive remarks. Those curses instead garnered more and more approvals, continually being shoved to the forefront, looking extremely glaring and obnoxious.

"Oh my god, are these people too disgusting?"

Qu Hongxiu was also staring at her jade tally, following the comments on Xu Zhe's end, and was so shocked that her worldview shattered.

"Can they speak so irresponsibly? They only know how to curse, yet they don't dare to use their true identities while cursing. What a bunch of petty villains," she scolded angrily, yet felt utterly helpless.

As long as an account was anonymized on the Spirit Network, the true identity could not be traced, not even by the Four Continents Council that controlled the Spirit Network.

This was because when the Spirit Network was initially established, numerous major figures from the four continents had participated, jointly formulating a set of rules to keep the Spirit Network orderly.

Unless more than half of those major figures joined hands once again, they could not alter the rules or track the spiritual aura of the Spirit Network to inspect the true identities of the anonymous posters.

However, if they were actually to do that, the Spirit Network would lose its credibility, incurring massive losses.

Besides, hardly any of the major figures would be willing to agree to a thorough investigation just for the sake of Xu Zhe's innocence.

This had become the source of confidence and brazenness for those abusers.

Anyway, I cursed because I felt like cursing, and you can't trace me. Hey, I'm just cursing for the fun of it.

"It was completely unnecessary for you to come out and post this while you're the target of the public spotlight." Chu Xiaotong cast a sideways glance at Xu Zhe, shaking the jade tally in her hand to indicate that this was simply asking to be cursed at.

"It's still very necessary," Xu Zhe said with a smile.

"I get so furious just looking at these comments, and you can still smile? I suspect you're a pervert," Gu Jia'er said, looking at Xu Zhe in horror.

"Why get angry? They are merely foolishly being led by the nose. If the direction of public opinion reverses later, they will also turn their guns around and curse the ones who led the narrative. They are constantly being repeatedly exploited, yet they revel in it, foolishly believing that they are the ones who changed everything. This is a very interesting phenomenon," Xu Zhe replied earnestly, the smile on his face remaining unchanged.

"You really have a big heart."

Gu Jia'er clicked her tongue in amazement; to encounter cyberbullying and yet call it interesting—this guy was truly not a normal person.

"What's the plan next?" Chu Xiaotong asked.

Although Xu Zhe said he was going to seek cooperation with the demon race, he hadn't specifically stated how he intended to do it.

Based on her understanding of Xu Zhe, what this guy said definitely didn't mean what it literally sounded like.

Seeking cooperation with the demon race? The demon race was probably about to be scammed miserably.

"I haven't thought about the specifics yet. Let's recuperate and build our strength first; you'll find out in a few days. I'm going back to continue making intermediate battle formations." Having said that, Xu Zhe walked away with a relaxed and leisurely expression.

That demeanor made it look as though this entire matter had absolutely nothing to do with him.

"Such a mindset, I admire it!" Gu Jia'er sighed with emotion.

"As expected of Uncle Xu, if it were me, I would have died of anger long ago." Qu Hongxiu nodded, looking at Xu Zhe's retreating figure with a face full of reverence.

"This guy is always like this, but I always feel like something isn't quite right..." Chu Xiaotong frowned.

...

Soon, the clarification message posted by Xu Zhe on the Spirit Network began to ferment crazily.

Despite the fact that during this period, whether it was Chu Xiaotong, Gu Jia'er, or Qu Hongxiu and others, all spoke up for Xu Zhe on the Spirit Network,

expressing that Xu Zhe had never betrayed the human race,

this was still ignored by many people, who preferred to believe the "truth" of their own imagination.

Within a mere two days, under Xu Zhe's clarification post, hundreds of millions of comments had accumulated, eighty percent of which were cursing him, with various remarks that made one's scalp tingle just looking at them.

...

Meanwhile, Xu Zhe maintained an exceptionally good mindset, focusing entirely on crafting intermediate battle formations while incidentally preparing some parts for the high-grade battle formations.

During this period, Chu Xiaotong and the others also came over a few times, and seeing that he truly acted as if nothing had happened, they gradually stopped worrying.

On the Spirit Network, while everyone was busy cursing Xu Zhe, they were also closely monitoring the battle situation in the Northern Continent.

The demon army's overnight invasion into the territory of the Northern Continent drew the utmost attention of the Four Continents Council.

Yet thorough investigations confirmed that the demon army was simply too formidable; after deploying intermediate battle formations, they advanced like a knife through bamboo, easily breaking into the Northern Continent.

The Bai family, through several parliamentary representatives serving on the council, continuously pressured the authorities, demanding troops to reinforce the Northern Continent while also arresting Xu Zhe on the charge of treason against the human race and forcing him to surrender the intermediate battle formations.

However, the people in the Four Continents Council were not fools and refused to be exploited by the Bai family.

Arrest Xu Zhe without a single shred of evidence?

The council wasn't going to act that rashly.

Nevertheless, dispatching reinforcements to the Northern Continent was quite necessary. Following an emergency council meeting, numerous Tribulation Crossing stage powerhouses were immediately sent rushing to the Northern Continent.

With a gathering of powerful figures, the offensive momentum of the demon army was instantly halted, though they still occupied the border territories of the Northern Continent, remaining locked in a stalemate with the Cold Crow Army.

At the same time, the Four Continents Council continuously contacted Xu Zhe, attempting to acquire the intermediate battle formations to help the Cold Crow Army enhance its strength and drive back the demon army.

Xu Zhe's response was extremely simple: he gave no response at all.

For dozens of consecutive days, he shut himself up in his room, continuously crafting intermediate and high-grade battle formations.

Chu Xiaotong even declared to the council that Xu Zhe was in closed-door seclusion and could not be contacted.

Left with no other choice, the council had no alternative but to have the numerous Tribulation Crossing stage powerhouses continue garrisoning the Northern Continent to stabilize the war situation, while also releasing word to the outside world that they had to wait for Xu Zhe to emerge from seclusion before they could obtain the intermediate battle formations.

This caused many cultivators in the Northern Continent to lose their tempers instantly.

The demon army has already slaughtered its way to the very doorstep of our Northern Continent, and you're still in seclusion, damn it?

If you hadn't given the intermediate battle formations to the demon race, would our Northern Continent be in such a miserable state?

And now you act as if it's none of your business, leaving us to wait passively?

For a time, tens of millions of abusive comments directly flooded Xu Zhe's Spirit Network profile page.

"Xu Zhe, do you still have any shame? Are you trying to drive us in the Northern Continent to our deaths?"

"When did our Northern Continent ever offend you, that you actually helped the demon race target us? Now that they've slaughtered their way to our doorstep, you're still pretending to be in seclusion?"

"Hand over the intermediate battle formations! Do you know how many innocent cultivators there are in the Northern Continent? How can you bear to watch us be slaughtered and enslaved by the demon race?"

"What kind of battle formation is this that even has grades? There's probably an even higher grade one, right? You'd better give us the high-grade battle formations too, otherwise what qualifications do you even have to be human?"

...

Such various remarks caused Chu Xiaotong and the others to explode with anger every single time they read them.

Yet they remained utterly helpless, as those people were all anonymous, making it impossible to trace their identities.

Upon hearing about this, Xu Zhe took out his jade tally once more to take a look, and then he chuckled.

It wasn't until he learned that the Four Continents Council had dispatched quite a few Tribulation Crossing stage experts to the Northern Continent, preventing the demon army from advancing any further, that his smile gradually faded.

"The Northern Continent actually managed to hold out. It seems they still don't dare to brazenly hand the Northern Continent over to the demon race after all," Xu Zhe muttered softly to himself, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Immediately afterwards, he put down the jade tally and resumed refining the jade stones before him.

With this round of refinement, more than two months passed by.

The Northern Continent still had not been completely conquered by the demon race, and the two armies remained deadlocked.

However, the Tribulation Crossing stage experts dispatched by the Four Continents Council were beginning to lose their patience.

After all, just guarding the Northern Continent indefinitely was not a viable solution.

The council also held meetings repeatedly, attempting to get the powerhouses of the other three continents to take action and help the Northern Continent weather this crisis.

Yet the border battlefields of the Eastern Qian and Western Kun Continents were likewise experiencing invasions by demon armies, leaving them entirely unable to cope with their own problems.

The only powerful figures capable of sparing any strength were those of the Southern Sky Continent, which was currently untouched by the flames of war.

Unfortunately, too many anonymous individuals claiming to be Northern Continent cultivators on the Spirit Network were cursing Xu Zhe with extreme viciousness, leading Chu Xiaotong to bluntly state that she had no time to help and could not provide reinforcements.

This left many Northern Continent cultivators feeling helpless, and ultimately, Chu Xiaotong's Spirit Network profile page was also flooded with numerous abusers.

After reading them, Chu Xiaotong exploded with rage once more, directly crushed her jade tally, and stormed angrily toward Xu Zhe's room.

"Bang!"

Kicking open the door—which had been repaired who-knows-how-many times—as usual,

Chu Xiaotong took her first step, not yet fully entering the room, when her figure suddenly paused, realizing something was amiss.

Previously, while standing in the adjoining room, she could still sense the presence of Xu Zhe's aura.

Yet now, pushing the door open and entering, Xu Zhe's aura vanished instantly, and within the spacious room, not a trace of his figure could be seen.

Only a few storage rings were left resting on the table in the room.

Beside the storage rings, a letter had been left behind.

"Brother Tong, when you see this letter, I suppose I'm already gone..."

...

Just as Chu Xiaotong read this, her hand trembled, the corner of her eye twitched, and she continued reading downward:

"Because I went to seek cooperation with the demon race. The high-grade battle formations and their deployment methods are all inside the storage ring; it's best if you go and deploy them personally. Additionally, regarding the matter of Lan Zhen's betrayal and death, continue to seal off the news. If it can't be sealed anymore, spread the word that Lan Zhen is not dead, but merely lost an avatar while his true body escaped..."

"This brat!" Chu Xiaotong felt a surge of irritation after finishing the letter.

Xu Zhe had actually run off on his own, and judging by the contents of this letter, there was an eighty to ninety percent chance this fellow intended to impersonate Lan Zhen and seek out the demon race.

Has he lost his mind?

Was this guy not afraid of his identity being exposed and being skinned alive by the demon race?

"Master, this is bad!" At that moment, Qu Hongxiu shouted as she sped over from outside like a flying meteor.

Seeing Chu Xiaotong standing inside Xu Zhe's room, she was momentarily startled, then hurried over and looked around in all directions.

"Eh, where is Uncle Xu? Could he have really run off to cooperate with the demon race?" Qu Hongxiu asked with a face full of astonishment.

"How did you know?" Chu Xiaotong asked, dumbfounded.

"He posted another message on the Spirit Network." As she spoke, Qu Hongxiu handed the Myriad Phenomenon Jade Tally in her hand to Chu Xiaotong.

The jade tally displayed a message Xu Zhe had posted half an hour ago.

"Hello everyone, I am Xu Zhe. Given that far too many people are claiming I betrayed the human race, after tossing and turning in an ideological struggle for a full month and pondering deeply, I have made a decision that violates my ancestors: to selflessly and freely donate the intermediate battle formation diagrams, on the premise that you hand over the list of rumor-mongers to me. Otherwise, I can only do as you all wish and go seek cooperation with the demon race and the Bai family."

...

Beneath the message, countless people had already left comments.

Many posted long strings of question marks.

Seeking cooperation with the demon race, why drag the Bai family into this?

The demon race and the Bai family... this contained a rather massive amount of information.

What was the Pride of the Celestials Xu hinting at?

The Spirit Network instantly exploded into chaos.

"Unbelievable, is Xu Zhe implying that the Bai family is colluding with the demon race?"

"No way, no way, nobody actually believes his words, right?"

"Ridiculous, the Bai family governs the Northern Continent and is the premier clan of the Northern Continent; how could they possibly hand the Northern Continent over on a silver platter to the demon race?"

"Assessment complete: Xu Zhe has lost his mind."

"You couldn't handle everyone's abuse, but you didn't have to stoop to this, did you? Hand over the intermediate battle formations, and perhaps quite a few people would be willing to let bygones be bygones, but I am not willing."

"You had already cooperated with the demon race to begin with, what is the point of jumping out to say these things now?"

...

Meanwhile, outside the border battlefield of the Southern Sky Continent.

Xu Zhe walked alone through the desolate land, looking cheerfully at the jade tally in his hand.

Until, as he gradually penetrated deeper into the borderlands, the jade tally began to lose its Spirit Network coverage, rendering him unable to see any messages related to the Spirit Network.

"Consider this an advance preview for you all. Next is the time for me to wash away the dirty water and prove my innocence."

Putting away the jade tally, a smile bloomed on Xu Zhe's face as he took another step forward.

Swish!

The moment that step fell, brilliant radiances flickered across his body, and his facial features and physique began to transform.

When his foot landed once again, Xu Zhe had completely transformed into the likeness of Lan Zhen, leaping forward to turn into a streak of light that sped away into the distance.

Three days later.

The demonic domain region in the direction of the Southern Sky Continent.

A patrol squad of demonic beasts was circling the base of a mountain.

Suddenly, a dark shadow swept over from ahead, carrying an aura of incomparable might that instantly caused a chill to run down the spines of every single demonic beast in the patrol squad.

"A human powerhouse..." the leader of the demonic beast patrol squad exclaimed in sudden terror.

"Enemy attack!"

"Humans are attacking!"

The demonic beasts of the entire patrol squad roared one after another, releasing various signals that echoed across all directions.

Yet at that moment, an even more thunderous voice rang out from the sky.

"I am Lan Zhen! I have shed blood for the demon race! I have performed meritorious deeds for the demon race! You cannot treat me like this! I want to see the Demon King!"

...

[My cervical vertebra just recovered, and then pulpitis struck. What a headache~]