The Snow Region Celestial Pool had fallen into a world-shattering battle.
North of White City, the cold wind howled. The Great Demon Ji An, wielding a steel fork, and the Great Demon Cang Lan, wielding a celestial sword, attacked from both flanks. They dragged torrents of water that were almost frozen into ice, creating a crushing force against White City. Instantly, the Ten Directions Formation was squeezed, the foundations of the city walls groaning and showing signs of loosening.
In the air, Su Qingjiu held the Searching Deer Sword, her left hand forming a sword seal. After clashing with a stack of bamboo slips belonging to the Great Demon Fu Sheng, her palm was splashed with blood. Having to parry an object forged in the middle realms with her bare hands, she was at a disadvantage. However, Su Qingjiu’s raised right hand swiftly moved her sword. The Searching Deer Sword, imbued with heavy killing intent, landed on Fu Sheng's shoulder.
“Su Qingjiu, how dare you?!”
Fu Sheng roared, his eyes wide. A colossal deer demon manifestation stretched out behind him, its shoulders covered in complex and dense golden Confucian characters, as he attempted to block Su Qingjiu's sword with his flesh and blood.
“Pfft!”
The sword light flashed downwards, shattering Fu Sheng's Confucian Dao defenses. The blade instantly sank several inches into flesh, its edge biting into bone.
“Audacious!”
At this moment, Ning Yuan Sheng let out a low growl, his sleeves unfurled, his eyes fierce. He launched a palm strike towards Su Qingjiu’s flank. Simultaneously, the demon race's Qing Kui summoned a sword light that descended from the sky, aimed directly at Su Qingjiu’s head.
“Little Jiuer!”
Huang Tingyu frowned, “Be careful!”
Su Qingjiu’s beautiful eyes were filled with a rich golden luster. She looked up at the demon ancestor Qing Kui, raising her left hand. Her red skirt and white robes billowed as she used a wisp of her nascent soul flying sword, Willow Catkins, to deflect Ning Yuan Sheng's palm strike. At the same time, she flipped the Searching Deer Sword, knocked Fu Sheng back, and then thrust the sword tip directly upwards, shattering the demon ancestor's sword light.
“Pfft!”
Amidst the scattered sword energy, the demon ancestor Qing Kui’s arm bore two sword wounds, and his expression became even more ferocious.
Concurrently, a figure suddenly appeared behind Su Qingjiu – the thirteenth-realm demon king Chen Feng. The tip of his ancient sword was wreathed in a wisp of golden whirlwind, a trace of the Three Realms’ wind that he had refined. In the Way of Wind, Chen Feng’s attainments were unparalleled.
The next moment, this wisp of golden whirlwind, infused with sword intent, landed on Su Qingjiu’s delicate shoulder, instantly cutting through her powerful sword qi. A sword wound appeared on Su Qingjiu's shoulder. Before Su Qingjiu could turn to retaliate, Chen Feng gracefully retreated, his form dissolving into the wind and vanishing in an instant.
This person came and went without a trace, killing unseen, and was indeed the most troublesome great demon from Mount Wu Wang.
Su Qingjiu frowned, feeling a sense of apprehension. In truth, Mount Wu Wang possessed two demon king trump cards: one was Chen Feng, and the other was Jin Cheng. Both were disciples of the Kun Peng Demon Ancestor and extremely troublesome thirteenth-realm demon kings. Fortunately, before Lin Zhao sacrificed himself for the world, he had already annihilated Jin Cheng with a single sword strike. Otherwise, the human world would have been even harder to cope with.
She suddenly swept the Searching Deer Sword horizontally, a potent killing aura erupting, forcing back the group of great demons.
However, the moment the great demons retreated, countless umbrella-wielding heart demons transformed into flames of the heart and pounced. They were inexhaustible. Under the onslaught of tens of thousands of umbrella-wielding heart demons, Su Qingjiu could only strike them down one by one. Yet, her red skirt and white robes were already speckled with drops of heart demon flames, which would lead to qualitative changes.
“This isn’t looking good…”
From behind, Huang Tingyu stood on an old banyan tree in the center of White City, guarding Tong Yu, Zhang Luobai, and Zhuang Yirong. He watched as Su Qingjiu's aura continuously declined from its peak. Her current combat strength was less than fifty percent of her peak. Su Qingjiu, alone with her sword, had been holding back the horde of demons for three full hours!
“Little Jiuer!”
Huang Tingyu transmitted mentally, “Switch out? Let Wu Zhi or Tang Guangjun take over.”
“No need.”
Su Qingjiu’s brows furrowed slightly as she replied, “If my spirit falters, I could be killed by Chen Feng anywhere.”
“In any case, be careful!”
“Mm.”
The battle in the sky intensified. Su Qingjiu sustained more and more severe injuries, her delicate face turning pale. But there was no alternative; no one could replace her. Among the four thirteenth-realm sword cultivators of the Snow Region Celestial Pool, she was the strongest. Anyone else would likely have died even sooner.
Her beautiful eyes widened, her Sword Heart resonating. She supported her frail body, fighting relentlessly in the wind.
…
White City, North City Wall.
The demon soldiers outside the city grew in number. Even the figures of the demon race's iron cavalry appeared on the eastern flank. These demon soldiers and demon race iron cavalry launched relentless assaults, with countless attacks striking the Ten Directions Formation. Although the human forces’ cannons and crossbows fired continuously, annihilating countless enemies, the sheer numbers were still overwhelming. The demon soldiers and demon race iron cavalry seemed to multiply with each death.
“Swish!”
Leng Yan’s long sword swept out, working in tandem with her flying sword, to shred three Saint-level demon soldiers. Simultaneously, a Heavenly-level Boss bear demon roared and charged forward. The moment it roared, a wisp of firefly light from an umbrella-wielding heart demon, carried by the wind, attached itself to the bear demon.
“Roar—”
The bear demon roared, its eyes instantly turning fiery red. As if clad in an armor of flames, the bear demon transformed from a Heavenly-level Boss into a Saint-level Boss. Bathed in fire, it charged towards the city walls of White City, a series of attacks landing on the protective barrier of the Ten Directions Formation.
For players at this stage, Heavenly-level Bosses were trivial. But Saint-level Bosses were not, especially this one. It would require a full team to even have a chance of defeating it.
However, the demon race clearly had no intention of letting the players have an easy time. From Mount Wu Wang, streams of umbrella-wielding heart demons flew out. Some were young men holding oil-paper umbrellas, others were young girls holding them. Old and young, they transformed into fireflies upon approach, attaching themselves to the slightly stronger minor demon bosses, turning them into uniformly Saint-level Bosses!
In the distance, even the squadron leaders among the demon race’s iron cavalry were not spared. These minor bosses were swiftly possessed by the umbrella-wielding heart demons, their combat power increasing severalfold in an instant. They directly attacked the Ten Directions Formation, putting pressure on the entire Snow Region Celestial Pool.
“This is bad!”
Leng Yan frowned, “Are they playing this aggressively against White City to weaken the strength of Su Qingjiu, Wu Zhi, and Tang Guangjun?”
“Mm.”
Lin Zhao, situated in utter darkness, only saw the game screen shared by Leng Yan. “This is the demon race's objective: to use the umbrella-wielding heart demons to create a tidal wave of attacks, exhausting the luck and combat power of White City and the Snow Region Celestial Pool.”
He frowned. “A Yan, we can't just passively defend. Mobilize everyone. Have all guilds go out and fight, repel the demon and devil armies outside the city. Although the losses will be great, at least the Snow Region Celestial Pool can hold out a little longer.”
“Alright, I’ll tell them!”
Leng Yan opened the chat channel for the major alliance leaders of the national server. There were hundreds of guild leaders bustling within. When Leng Yan relayed Lin Zhao's idea and plan, it was immediately met with enthusiastic responses.
Instantly, on the north city wall of White City, the heavy assault players of the major guilds, led by their elite members, descended like rain north of the city wall. They charged out of the protection of the Ten Directions Formation with their own flesh and blood, establishing a defensive line. Following them were players from ranged and support classes, forming a steel great wall outside the city.
Many people had red-rimmed eyes. At this moment, most of the players who charged out were no longer fighting solely for points. They were heading towards a shared human catastrophe, finally experiencing a strong sense of plot participation and emotional resonance. Although a large number of players died every second, no one retreated, desperately resisting the demon invasion.
…
Time trickled by.
The battle in the air grew increasingly fierce. Su Qingjiu had already killed an unknown number of great demons beneath her sword. The killing intent swirling around her Searching Deer Sword was incredibly dense, requiring her to exert more effort with each swing.
At this moment, Su Qingjiu's condition was extremely poor. Although Wu Zhi and Tang Guangjun provided support from both flanks, Su Qingjiu, positioned at the "array's eye," was still fighting multiple enemies alone. Her sword, though sharp and having slain numerous great demons, also inflicted numerous wounds upon herself. Especially the invasion of the umbrella-wielding heart demons was terrifying.
A trickle of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth. Su Qingjiu's red skirt and white robes were covered in heart demon flames, which continuously burned her valuable magical attire. Even more terrifyingly, many heart demon flames clung to Su Qingjiu’s fair neck and face, her skin nearly being corroded and burned through.
At this point, the no-longer-so-beautiful Su Qingjiu brought tears to Lin Zhao's eyes.
He stood in utter darkness, watching Su Qingjiu's injuries worsen. He could only weep silently, unable to help in the slightest. Little Jiuer had already resolved to sacrifice herself for the world, and he, Lin Zhao, was powerless to stop her.
“Old Huang.”
Suddenly, Su Qingjiu's voice transmitted to Old Huang, “Help me stall Chen Feng and Ji An for a moment. I’m almost done for. I intend to take down one or two forbidden demon beings before I go.”
“Understood.”
Huang Tingyu hesitated not at all. He rose abruptly, his thirteenth-realm sword cultivator and demon immortal dharma body soaring tens of thousands of feet within the city. He swung his sword, accompanied by the rumbling heavenly sounds of the Great Dao, unleashing a strike towards Chen Feng, who was hidden within the white clouds. Another strike was aimed at the head of the Great Demon Ji An. Both great demons immediately retreated.
Concurrently, Su Qingjiu’s figure darted aside. The water force celestial sword of the Great Demon Cang Lan grazed past Su Qingjiu’s chest. The next moment, with a “puff,” Su Qingjiu allowed a group of great demons and umbrella-wielding heart demons to attack her physical body, pouring all her effort into a single sword thrust into the Great Demon Cang Lan’s abdomen.
Blood splattered as the tip of the Searching Deer Sword pierced through the Great Demon Cang Lan’s back. However, this alone was not enough to kill a fourteenth-realm great demon. The next moment, Su Qingjiu raised a finger, and a sapphire-blue nascent soul star at her fingertip shot into the Great Demon Cang Lan’s forehead. Then, she withdrew the Searching Deer Sword and struck again, sending Cang Lan reeling backward.
“Boom—”
With a deafening roar, the nascent soul star exploded. Su Qingjiu had paid the price of a nascent soul star, directly causing the Great Demon Cang Lan’s body to disintegrate into a rain of blood in mid-air. Dense fortune scattered across the sky, feeding back into the human world.
However, at the same moment, a strand of water force coiled around Su Qingjiu, like sentient vines.
The next instant, Su Qingjiu’s body became immobile.
In the sky, the Great Demon Ji An soared upwards, unfolding a scroll bestowed by the Kun Peng Demon Ancestor: the Four Seas and Eight Desolations Scroll. Su Qingjiu felt a sense of soul separation as she was directly drawn into the painting.
Within the scroll, a strand of tender vine-like water force entwined a beautiful woman. The scene froze.
Su Qingjiu unleashed her sword intent, but it was extremely difficult to break free in such a short time.
“Long Zheng!”
The demon ancestor Qing Kui let out a sharp cry.
The next moment, a figure clad in snow-white appeared – the thirteenth-realm Long Zheng. Her sword light trailed, slashing across the Four Seas and Eight Desolations Scroll.
The scroll was split in two. Within the painting, the woman in the red skirt and white robes instantly lost her head.
…
Man proposes, but destiny disposes.
The karma of beheading an immortal and slaying nine tails within a painting ultimately fell upon Little Jiuer.