As dawn broke, countless streaks of sunlight pierced through the dense clouds, painting the sky a fiery red, like blood.
...
Above the Heavenly Lake of the Snow Region.
Nu Zhi, dressed in a white gown, was completely stained with blood, a mixture of that from the demon race and her own. The single arm she had left, her chest, her back, and her legs were all covered in wounds. Even her once exquisitely beautiful face bore three crisscrossing sword marks, all inflicted by the Demon King Chen Feng.
At this moment, Nu Zhi was no longer beautiful.
Her blood was nearly drained, her body swayed precariously, yet Nu Zhi had never considered leaving. Even when Gu Lingyu and Huang Tingyu pleaded with her, she stubbornly held the formation's eye talisman stone, determined to follow Lin Zhao, Xiao Jiu'er, and Tang Guangjun.
In this mortal world, Nu Zhi felt it was rather dull and uninteresting now that Lin Zhao and Xiao Jiu'er were gone.
"It's about time."
Within the rolling clouds, the Demon Ancestor Qing Kui, clad in a grey robe, his aura ethereal and unfathomable, frowned. He mentally communicated to the assembled great demons, "Let's strike together and kill Nu Zhi. We can't let this one-armed girl continue to slaughter our demon cultivators."
"Yes, Demon Ancestor!"
The next moment, the Demon King Chen Feng let out a low roar and attacked first. Behind him, a colossal avian dharma image erupted, its blade-like sword slashing down in a straight line. This strike was incredibly perilous!
The Thirteenth Realm Ning Yuan Sheng let out a guttural cry, raising a finger. Fiery flames engulfed his digit, instantly detonating a piece of intermediate-grade talisman bone. With a fierce thrust, he directed his finger towards Nu Zhi's head.
The great demon Yu Zhi, her sleeves fluttering, gazed at the woman in white, the most capable general under Lin Baiyi. Envy flickered in her eyes. As she raised her sleeve, streams of extreme fire swept out, surging towards the Heavenly Lake behind Nu Zhi, aiming to undermine the foundation of the Ten Directions Formation with absolute power.
The Fourteenth Realm great demon Ji An raised his steel fork. His eyes glowed blood-red as he let out a wild laugh, stirring up a deep blue surge of water accompanied by potent demonic energy. The steel fork struck out like lightning, manifesting into a dharma image hundreds of feet tall, attacking Nu Zhi's head alongside Ning Yuan Sheng.
The Fourteenth Realm great demon Lian Ban, a slight smile on her lips, took graceful steps, treading out white lotus dharma images. She raised her index finger and gently pointed into the distance. As if piercing through time, a golden lotus seed, imbued with intense spiritual energy, shot directly towards Nu Zhi's brow.
Even more deadly, a gust of wind carrying demonic energy arrived, coalescing into the form of the Demon Ancestor Qing Kui. Behind him, a Qing Kui Ox dharma image, tens of thousands of feet tall, rose majestically, and with a fierce palm strike, he aimed for Nu Zhi's heart.
Multiple great demons, each unleashing a vicious attack!
"Be careful!"
Gu Lingyu suddenly sent out the bamboo scroll in his hand. The scroll instantly shattered, transforming into a long sword forged from golden text. He thrust the sword forward, colliding fiercely with the lotus seed from great demon Lian Ban. The lotus seed exploded, and Gu Lingyu's body flickered slightly, a wisp of blood seeping out.
Gu Lingyu's cultivation was indeed extraordinary, ranking among the most formidable Thirteenth Realm cultivators in the Confucian literary world, even comparable to Thirteenth Realm sword cultivators. However, he had already expended too much energy. Facing Lian Ban head-on again, he was at a disadvantage.
"Not good!"
In the center of White City, Huang Tingyu, standing atop the old banyan tree, his gaze suddenly turned sharp. He drew his sword, Amber, and slashed out. The sword light split into two in the wind. One sword met Chen Feng's attack, while the other intercepted Ji An's strike.
Two deafening roars echoed through the air. Although Huang Tingyu's sword had not completely resolved the crisis, it significantly delayed Chen Feng and Ji An's assaults.
"Enough."
Nu Zhi's beautiful eyes were now tinged with blood. Her eyes red, she spoke mentally, "Dean Gu, Vice Commander Huang, thank you for your assistance. From now on, the Heavenly Lake of the Snow Region... I entrust it to you."
"Nu Zhi, you!"
Huang Tingyu was choked with anger, but by now, he understood the depth of Nu Zhi's resolve to die.
In the raging wind, Nu Zhi lifted her exquisite face, her eyes fixed on the Demon Ancestor Qing Kui. The sword intent within her surged rather than waned, erupting continuously. She had unleashed her final trump card. Then, raising a finger, she met Ning Yuan Sheng's finger with her own sword-finger. Immediately after, she conjured ten battered and broken Demon Soul Swords, sending them straight towards the Fourteenth Realm great demons.
"Now!"
The Demon Ancestor Qing Kui roared, "Shatter her Demon Soul Swords together!"
"Come on!"
The great demon Ji An laughed wildly, his face contorted with ferocity and arrogance. He spun his steel fork, once again cloaked in immensely dense demonic energy, and brought it down. The Demon Ancestor Qing Kui ignited an ancient talisman, his body radiating golden light, and slammed down a mighty palm.
The great demon Lian Ban gritted her teeth, her fingers delicately plucking in the wind. Three golden lotus seeds were held between her fingers and shot out like lightning, each aiming for Nu Zhi's Demon Soul Swords.
"Screech!"
Through the wind, two beams of sword light streaked past. The Thirteenth Realm Chen Feng and Long Zheng both unleashed strikes brimming with intense sword intent!
Instantly, including the Demon Ancestor Qing Kui, a total of five top-tier great demons attacked in unison. Their five surging demonic attacks converged on Nu Zhi's ten precarious and severely damaged Demon Soul Swords.
"Boom, boom, boom—"
The loud explosions echoed intermittently in the wind. In the blink of an eye, all ten of Nu Zhi's Demon Soul Swords were completely shattered. The foundation she had painstakingly built over half her life was instantly reduced to nothing.
But the moment the Demon Soul Swords turned into dust and debris in the wind, the Demon Ancestor Qing Kui sensed something strange. Before his eyes, the sword immortal's aura of the woman in white suddenly surged several times over. The sword intent flowing from her body even surpassed the Thirteenth Realm, reaching the legendary Fourteenth Realm!
This phenomenon only occurred in sword immortals who self-detonated their sword hearts, a dramatic surge of energy in their dying moments!
However, a Thirteenth Realm sword immortal self-detonating her sword heart above the Heavenly Lake of the Snow Region seemed somewhat fantastical. The power would be immense, potentially leveling the entire Heavenly Lake of the Snow Region, which would contradict Lin Baiyi's original intentions.
The next second, the great demon Ji An's gaze turned icy, and he revealed the truth: "Not good, she's burning her Thirteenth Realm sword heart, beware!"
Burning the sword heart was a temporary phenomenon, but during this brief period, one would gain strength previously unattainable!
"Too late!"
Nu Zhi spat blood, her beautiful eyes filled with resolve. She gently scooped the air with her palm. Instantly, the spirits of the ten shattered Demon Soul Swords were guided. Streams of sword mud rapidly converged, transforming into a sword shaped like wind and sand, which shot towards Qing Kui with lightning speed.
Everything happened in an instant. Even the formidable Demon Ancestor Qing Kui had not anticipated this last resort from the human girl. In a flash, the Demon Ancestor Qing Kui deployed three magical artifacts for protection. However, the karmic laws and heavenly suppression of the ten Demon Soul Swords were too immense. The three magical artifacts shattered simultaneously. The next moment, the Demon Ancestor Qing Kui was struck in the neck, blood gushing out!
Miscalculation!
He never imagined he would suffer such a significant blow from Nu Zhi. Qing Kui had always believed that, apart from Ding Muchuan, no sword cultivator in the world could seriously wound him again. Yet, this mere Thirteenth Realm sword cultivator, Nu Zhi, had managed to put him in such a sorry state with a single sword!
This strike had almost forced the Demon Ancestor Qing Kui to fall back to the Thirteenth Realm!
However, it was also this strike that exhausted half of Nu Zhi's lifelong accumulation. The ten Demon Soul Swords had truly turned to dust in the wind.
"Kill her!"
The Demon King Chen Feng roared, his body enveloped in sword light as he charged at Nu Zhi.
Nu Zhi, however, curled her lips, suddenly finding a hint of happiness as a talisman appeared in her hand.
It was a Speed Talisman, left for everyone by Lin Zhao before the battle.
While the Speed Talisman was a unique artifact of the military, its enhancement for cultivators above the Fifth Realm, especially the Thirteenth Realm, was almost negligible. Furthermore, the higher one's cultivation, the less they should rely on external aids. Yet, holding a Speed Talisman personally drawn by Lin Zhao filled Nu Zhi with warmth. This was almost the last way she could feel Lin Zhao's presence at this moment.
"Swish!"
The Speed Talisman was ignited. Nu Zhi's sword heart burned intensely, her speed increasing to an unimaginable degree. With a slight sidestep, she dodged Chen Feng's strike. But as they passed each other, Chen Feng's sword flashed back, leaving another ghastly wound on Nu Zhi's back.
"You!"
The great demon Lian Ban gritted her teeth, looking at the charging Nu Zhi. She couldn't help but frown and hastily conjured lotus leaves to protect herself. However, Nu Zhi was now filled with a fighting spirit. With a flick of her finger, four natal flying swords shot out, each infused with self-detonation spiritual energy.
"Are you insane!?"
The great demon Lian Ban was enraged. To her, Nu Zhi now seemed like a mad dog, biting anyone in sight. But why was she targeting her specifically?
The next moment, the four natal flying swords exploded one after another, shattering Lian Ban's protective demonic aura. Immediately after, Nu Zhi gritted her teeth and, using the last of her sword heart's burning power, unleashed a strike. Her sword, Cheng Xin, along with her master's declining aura, showed continuous cracks. It could no longer withstand this level of combat and was rapidly breaking.
"Screech!"
Amidst spraying blood, one of the great demon Lian Ban's arms flew off, directly severed by Nu Zhi.
Concurrently, the great demon Liu Bai let out a low roar, bent his body slightly, and delivered a powerful punch to Nu Zhi's chest, creating a bloody, mangled hole.
Nu Zhi spat out a mouthful of blood, her body like a withered leaf in the wind, her aura almost extinguished.
For the demon race, their most detested opponent at this moment was no longer Lin Baiyi, but this one-armed female sword immortal, Nu Zhi. Nu Zhi had not only stalled the demon race's southward advance for half a night, but her ten Demon Soul Swords had also slain nearly fifty thousand Heart-Parasites who held umbrellas and many of the demon race's Upper Fifth Realm cultivators. Finally, with a surprise maneuver, she had severely wounded the Demon Ancestor Qing Kui and then chopped off an arm of the great demon Lian Ban.
Now, numerous great demons from the Ancestral Mountain in the Lower Realm and the Unrestrained Mountain in the Upper Realm all wished to tear this female sword immortal to shreds!
"Turn into a pile of minced meat!"
The Demon King Chen Feng soared into the sky, his sword hacking down fiercely at Nu Zhi. The air filled with chaotic, dense sword energy, and the entire Heavenly Lake of the Snow Region felt the pressure, vibrating with a hum.
...
"Alas..."
On the old banyan tree in the center of White City, Huang Tingyu sighed.