"Clatter!"
Liu Bai's severed head rolled into the grass by the riverbank, stained with blood.
Lin Zhao frowned, descended from the sky on a sword light, and landed with a boom on Liu Bai's forehead. In the next moment, a deep blue demon core, swirling with rich water energy, slowly emerged under the might of his sword intent. Without a second thought, Lin Zhao tossed it directly to Wu Zhi, helping her continue to temper the Demon Soul Sword, which would further stabilize Wu Zhi's thirteenth realm.
"Buzz~~~"
Just then, a distorted phantom emerged from Liu Bai's severed head, its expression bewildered. In an instant, it seemed to sense something and immediately turned into a gust of wind, attempting to escape.
"Stop him!"
Lin Zhao raised an eyebrow slightly, "Cut the weeds and eliminate the roots!"
Instantly, Wu Zhi stepped out, and a thirteenth-realm sword dao restriction spanned across the sky above the riverbank. Liu Bai's soul let out a beastly, hoarse roar, carrying a surge of water energy. Within Wu Zhi's sword dao restriction, it repeatedly slammed against it with dull thuds, attempting to break free, but it was utterly incapable of overcoming this small, thirteenth-realm domain.
Tong Yu's beautiful eyes turned to Lin Zhao, and she slowly raised her sword, "Brother Lin Zhao, shall I kill him?"
"No."
Lin Zhao shook his head, "Aunt, please help suppress it, don't let Liu Bai's soul run wild."
"Mmm."
Lin Xing Chu, though unsure of Lin Zhao's intentions, still raised a finger. Instantly, thousands of fine water currents wove into a large, golden net that swept through the air, directly restraining Liu Bai's soul in the wind. It trembled incessantly, emitting a string of unintelligible ghostly murmurs, clearly curses.
Lin Zhao guided a sword light and charged forward, raising his hand for an Ascending Dragon Slash. Instantly, the greyish-white health bar above the soul dropped by more than 35%. Immediately after, Lin Zhao followed with a Horizontal Sword Style + Sunken Sword Style, instantly cleaving Liu Bai's soul into fragments. Concurrently, seventy-two Ephemeral Flying Swords whistled through the air, annihilating the remnant soul in the wind with thirty-six intersecting sword dao strikes, utterly eradicating Liu Bai's soul.
He was half a strategists, and by completely annihilating Liu Bai's primordial spirit, he incurred no karma. Even if there was karma, he wouldn't care. Players were ultimately different from NPCs in a game. Anyone else pinned beneath Mount Wu Wang would have long since turned to dust, but Lin Zhao had not. The Vast Golden Token played a part, as did his player status.
...
Fusui Great Wall.
Above the clouds, the great demon Jian Chen, with his sword on his back and his right arm behind him, exuded an air of immortal grace. The great demons Chen Feng, Long Zheng, Nine-tailed Fox, and others had already engaged the cultivators of Fusui Great Wall. Although the human side was bolstered by great cultivators such as Huang Ting Yu, Yu Wan Ning, Qin Yu, and Ye Lin, losses were still mounting.
However, at a certain moment, Jian Chen's eyes glanced westward, and a chill coursed through him from the depths of his heart. Just a few breaths ago, he seemed to have heard the wail of the demon king Liu Bai in his ears. Immediately after, Liu Bai's aura completely vanished from heaven and earth, utterly annihilated along with his primordial spirit.
Thus, the disciples of the Azure Kui Demon Ancestor had been completely wiped out in the great battle against humanity.
Jian Chen's brow furrowed, naturally guessing whose doing this was. A great battle was unfolding at Fusui Great Wall, but the figures of Lin Zhao, Wu Zhi, Tong Yu, Lin Zhu Jie, and others were nowhere to be seen in the Snow Region Heavenly Pond. Even Lin Xing Chu had not made an appearance. Clearly, they had all gone after Liu Bai, and now they had succeeded in thoroughly annihilating him.
"The plan has changed! We've fallen for Lin Bai Yi's diversionary tactic!"
Jian Chen stood in the clouds and directly transmitted a message to Nan Qing Feng, saying solemnly, "Lin Bai Yi, along with Wu Zhi, Tong Yu, Lin Zhu Jie, and the others, will arrive momentarily. Let's go quickly, retreat to Mount Wu Wang!"
"Alright!"
Nan Qing Feng gave the order, and the numerous great demons began to withdraw, leaving behind hundreds of thousands of famished demon elite troops and over a hundred thousand equally famished demon cavalry to fiercely battle the human army.
At this very moment, Huang Ting Yu, who was cleaving demons with his sword, suddenly halted his pursuit. He heard Lin Zhao's voice in his ear: "Old Huang, stop killing. Follow the Sword Washing River downstream, circle through the Ghost Realm, and then go challenge the Demon Ancestor Mountain with your sword. The mountain is empty now. You're familiar with the area, just hack away. But remember, as soon as Jian Chen, Nine-tailed Fox, and the other great demons go to the Ancestor Mountain to reinforce, you must leave immediately. Prioritize your survival."
Huang Ting Yu smiled wryly, "Understood."
"Hurry, use your fastest speed!"
"Alright!"
The next second, Huang Ting Yu transformed into a stream of light and shot straight towards the western frontier. The speed of a peak thirteenth-realm sword cultivator was beyond ordinary.
...
Luoyan Mountain.
On a verdant mountaintop, Lin Zhao, Wu Zhi, Tong Yu, and others stood amidst the trees. A wisp of bamboo leaves floated overhead, completely concealing their presence. Lin Zhao looked up towards the west. Old Huang had already reached the Ghost Realm. In a short while, he would single-handedly challenge the Ancestor Mountain with his sword, which was likely something Huang Ting Yu had dreamed of doing his entire life.
Huang Ting Yu was different from Lin Zhu Jie. Lin Zhu Jie had been raised by the Azure Kui Demon Ancestor himself, sharing a familial bond. Huang Ting Yu, on the other hand, was an "abandoned son" of the demon realm, who had survived thanks to Chu Huai Xi's shelter. The more he interacted with humans, the more Huang Ting Yu felt that the demon realm lacked any humanity. Furthermore, the demons called Huang Ting Yu a traitor at every turn, so there was nothing to say. He killed every demon he encountered, and Huang Ting Yu had long since considered himself a member of the human race.
Therefore, Huang Ting Yu challenging the Ancestor Mountain was the most fitting course of action.
"Mountain Lord."
Lin Zhu Jie looked into the distance, "Another diversionary tactic?"
"That's right, clever."
Lin Zhao leaned on his Zhan Lu sword, gazing into the distance, and chuckled, "If Jian Chen, Chen Feng, Long Zheng, and the others all go to reinforce the Ancestor Mountain while Old Huang is challenging it, then we'll attack Mount Wu Wang and raze all the demon ancestral shrines and the like on Mount Wu Wang to the ground, avenging the shame of the Mountain Summit Villa!"
"Good!"
Wu Zhi, Tong Yu, and the others nodded in agreement.
A short while later, they all looked into the distance. Indeed, streams of light were rapidly flying through the sky, all heading towards the direction of the Demon Ancestor Mountain. But amidst those streaks of starlight, a single brilliant sword light flashed and vanished, then transformed into an inconspicuous figure that landed in the distant Fox Forest. The person wore a short shirt and held a long sword, their demonic energy suppressed to almost imperceptible levels.
The demon king Chen Feng had stayed behind.
"???"
Lin Zhu Jie narrowed his eyes and chuckled, "What is this Chen Feng up to? He's not going to reinforce the Ancestor Mountain, so why is he staying around the Fox Forest area?"
Tong Yu and Zhuang Yi Rong looked bewildered.
Zhang Luo Bai said, "Could he suddenly have an urgent need to relieve himself in the Fox Forest before leaving?"
"Slap!"
Lin Zhao's finger flicked directly onto the impudent boy's forehead. He glared, "Do you think everyone is like you?"
Zhang Luo Bai rubbed his head, grinning through gritted teeth, "As expected of Master. This flick already possesses some of the flair of a peak fourteenth-realm sword cultivator. Your disciple cannot compare!"
Lin Zhao looked into the distance, his eyes narrowing, and chuckled, "If nothing unexpected happens, Chen Feng is setting an ambush, waiting for human cultivators to go to the Snow Region Heavenly Pond and killing them one by one as they pass. The Ancestor Mountain only has Huang Ting Yu, and Jian Chen, Nan Qing Feng, and the others have gone, so they can manage."
"What a cunning Chen Feng!"
Lin Zhu Jie frowned and said, "What should we do?"
"We'll use his own plan against him!"
Lin Zhao raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "When Jian Chen and the others arrive at the Ancestor Mountain and are pursuing Old Huang, we will act immediately and, at all costs, kill Chen Feng in the Fox Forest!"
"Right!"
Lin Zhu Jie nodded heavily, "Many of our comrades from the Mountain Summit Villa died because of Chen Feng. This thirteenth-realm sword cultivator has a true blood feud with us. However, a few of us might be a bit stretched. Should we recall Yu Wan Ning?"
"Mmm."
...
Demon Ancestor Mountain.
Dozens of mid-fifth-realm demon cultivators, swords at their belts and family emblems pinned to their collars, were chatting and laughing when a figure descended gracefully and struck the Ancestor Mountain's protective array with a fierce sword.
"Boom!"
The entire Ancestor Mountain trembled. A group of demon cultivators looked forward to see a thirteenth-realm great demon with surging demonic energy, a great demon with bloodline regression. Such a being was truly at the pinnacle of the demon realm, a "god of slaughter." However, this great demon seemed to have ill intentions, walking up the mountain step by step with his sword drawn.
"You are..."
An old demon of the Golden Core realm frowned deeply and suddenly roared, "Not good, it's the traitor Huang Ting Yu! All demons, defend the Ancestor Mountain's gate with your lives!"
A group of demon cultivators drew their swords.
But the next moment, Huang Ting Yu raised his eyebrows. Under the cover of his potent sword intent, the swords in the hands of the mid-fifth-realm demon cultivators seemed to lose control and flew out, forming a long bridge in the air. Huang Ting Yu then stepped across the bridge, looking down at the lesser demons and laughing, "Isn't living good enough? Must you sacrifice your lives for this decaying Ancestor Mountain?"
Instantly, surprisingly few of the demon cultivators made a move. Those who did were swiftly pierced by lightning-fast sword strikes, their heads rolling down the mountain path.
"Swish~~~"
A wisp of flame appeared in Huang Ting Yu's hand, and he ignited a valor talisman. Although such low-level strategists' talismans had only a negligible effect on a thirteenth-realm cultivator, Huang Ting Yu still narrowed his eyes and chuckled, "The Mountain Lord's talismans are truly fierce. Even I, Old Huang, feel extraordinarily brave. Then, this sword shall open the gate of the Ancestor Mountain!" The Immortal Sword Amber erupted with a powerful sword light, slamming against the Ancestor Mountain's gate and its restrictions, shattering and peeling them away. At this time, the upper-fifth-realm great demons on the Ancestor Mountain had all gone to Fusui Great Wall and had not returned. The cultivators guarding the mountain array were only mid-fifth-realm, naturally unable to exert the array's true power. After a few booming sword strikes from Huang Ting Yu, the protective array completely collapsed.
He stepped up the mountain, streams of flying swords patrolling near and far. Anyone who dared to resist instantly became a sacrifice beneath the flying swords.
At this moment, no one could stop Old Huang!
...
Fox Forest.
Chen Feng sat on the branch of an old pine tree, leaning against the trunk with his hands behind his head, lazily squinting at the distance, a cold sneer on his lips. He wondered if Qin Yu, Ye Lin, and the others would go to the Snow Region Heavenly Pond to watch the excitement. If they came, there was nothing to say; he'd kill them all with a single sword. But what if it was Yu Wan Ning?
He smiled faintly. It was fine. If it were a surprise attack, with a wisp of blazing three realms wind, he could instantly inflict damage on the female war god. If he was lucky enough, killing Yu Wan Ning within fifteen minutes wouldn't be impossible.
Just then, his left eyelid twitched repeatedly.
"Damn it, not good!"
Chen Feng abruptly stood up. He was good at everything, except he was extremely superstitious. His left eye twitching was a sign of great ill fortune!