A deafening roar filled the air, awash with brilliant crimson light. Ning Yuansheng's palm strike, imbued with the essence of the Nine-Headed Lion's ultimate technique, shattered Xu Shuo's sword, rendering it utterly incapable of resisting the force head-on. Xu Shuo twisted his body, shifting dozens of feet to the side, and unleashed two successive sword slashes, conjuring two storms of sword qi. Since direct confrontation was impossible, he opted to maneuver and evade Ning Yuansheng.
Ning Yuansheng's gaze was sinister. His sleeves fluttered, relentlessly applying pressure. In a blink of an eye, Xu Shuo's situation became precarious.
Just then, another figure descended gracefully from afar. It was a demon race woman clad in a white dress, with a beautiful countenance and a long sword in hand. She was Fan Ling, a twelve-realm Sword Cultivator of the demon race. She narrowed her beautiful eyes, observing the battlefield not far away, and chuckled, "Does Lord Nine Spirits require assistance?"
Ning Yuansheng frowned and said, "Immediately. Together, we shall slay Xu Shuo and reclaim the Sun, Moon, Water, and Fire Cudgel!"
"Yes!"
Fan Ling's body soared upwards, but before she could land, a thunderous boom erupted from afar. In the sky, a golden thread descended from the depths of the heavens, arriving in an instant. Following it was an overwhelming surge of fist intent. The newcomer was none other than Long Dongjun, a Rebirth Realm martial artist from Furong Prefecture. Without hesitation, Long Dongjun delivered a punch directly towards Fan Ling's chest!
"Ah?!"
Fan Ling gritted her teeth and spun her body, her true form of a white crane with spread wings manifesting around her. Waves of sword qi erupted, forcefully deflecting Long Dongjun's mighty fist. However, Long Dongjun needed no respite. He propelled himself forward, his fist imbued with scorching intent, and aimed once more at Fan Ling's beautiful face.
This was no joke. Rebirth Realm martial artists never played the game of chivalry. If they had an opportunity, they would simply crush their opponent!
From a distance, two more sword lights streaked across the ground. One was Xie Yiying, the sect leader of Lingyan Sword Sect in Furong Prefecture and Chen Mengjun's master. The other was Xiao Muhan, the sect leader of Qingluan Sect in Yun Prefecture. Both were twelve-realm Sword Cultivators. Upon arriving at Baiyan Mountain, they had already joined the fray. Xie Yiying and Xiao Muhan each unleashed a transcendent sword qi, sweeping towards Ning Yuansheng. With this, Ning Yuansheng, a thirteen-realm Lord Nine Spirits, now had to face three twelve-realm Sword Cultivator experts.
"Am I late?" Xiao Muhan asked with a hearty laugh.
"Not at all, not at all!"
Xu Shuo laughed heartily, "Just in time! Sword Immortal Xiao, Sword Immortal Xie, do not hesitate to draw your swords and hack Ning Yuansheng to death. If Ning Yuansheng dies here today, it will be akin to severing one arm of the Demon Ancestor!"
"Excellent!"
The three twelve-realmers' sword intent surged continuously, instantly unleashing myriad sword qi. The sky was filled with dense flying swords. Under the relentless and inescapable assault, even the mighty Ning Yuansheng found himself struggling.
On Ling Que Lake.
Fan Ling stood gracefully on the water's surface, her long sword in hand. The surrounding lake water continuously surged, water droplets coalescing to form currents of water-based sword qi. The tips of their swords pointed directly towards the distance. In the distance, Long Dongjun stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his golden fist intent settling upon the water's surface. Today's Long Dongjun had made significant progress since the battle at Jiuyou Dragon Court. He had finally mastered the final move of the Farmer's Nine Fists, Phoenix Nirvana, to perfection. The instant he activated Nirvana Style, his true qi flowed endlessly, reaching the late Rebirth Realm.
At this moment, Long Dongjun was a true martial arts grandmaster! In the past, even his master had not achieved what Long Dongjun had. Thus, Long Dongjun now wore a smile, filled with confidence and pride.
Under normal circumstances, martial artists and sword cultivators of the same realm could fight to a draw. Sword cultivators possessed offensive advantages, while martial artists had advantages in physical defense. Neither would truly overwhelm the other. However, this common knowledge only applied below the twelve-realm. When a martial artist cultivated to the Rebirth Realm, they underwent a metamorphosis. A twelve-realm martial artist truly faced off against a thirteen-realm sword cultivator, not a twelve-realm one. Long Dongjun did not kill Xie Yiying back then simply because he held back, and because his side was in the wrong, not because he was incapable of killing her. When a martial artist was fortunate enough to cultivate to the peak thirteen-realm, they would be on par with a fourteen-realm sword cultivator. Sadly, since Mr. Bai, there had been very few thirteen-realm cultivators in the mortal world.
Therefore, Fan Ling's heart was now pounding. Could she, a twelve-realm sword cultivator, truly stop Long Dongjun?
"Stop thinking."
Long Dongjun let out a hearty laugh, his body darting forward, cleaving through the waves. The moment he raised his fist, a terrifying tidal wave surged behind him. As his fist intent exploded, he uttered, "How could you possibly stop me?!"
"Boom!"
With a deafening sound, Fan Ling was sent flying backward, sword and all. Facing Long Dongjun's peak punch utilizing Nirvana Style, she couldn't even withstand a single blow. However, as she was sent flying, a killing intent surged in her eyes. Streams of water-drop sword qi attacked Long Dongjun from all directions, their momentum quite formidable.
"Mere child's play!"
Long Dongjun roared with laughter and stomped fiercely on the lake. Instantly, a Rebirth Realm martial artist's aura field appeared around him, like a golden barrier formed by concentrated martial qi. In this "small world" belonging to martial artists, Long Dongjun was the supreme powerhouse. The water-drop sword qi exploded harmlessly on the outer perimeter, causing no damage to Long Dongjun. This display truly astounded Fan Ling. Wasn't this far more spectacular than the fist qi protective barriers of ordinary Upper Five Realm martial artists?
The next moment, Long Dongjun swung a fist towards Fan Ling's abdomen and said with a smile, "Little beauty, you look like you're about to die..."
"Boom!"
Fan Ling was sent flying through the air, spitting blood.
Fan Ling's heart was filled with despair. This fellow was not only hard-fisted but also hard-hearted, showing no mercy to her, the foremost beauty of the Southern Territory of the Demon Ancestor!
"..."
Ning Yuansheng unleashed a technique, violently detonating a flame lotus, forcibly breaking open Xu Shuo's position, and then escaping. He fluttered his long sleeves in the air and said in a deep voice, "Fan Ling, let's go. Delay will be too late!"
Fan Ling seized the opportunity and darted away, revealing her true form. She transformed into an incredibly swift white crane and, in the blink of an eye, vanished into Ning Yuansheng's sleeve. Ning Yuansheng, flying like lightning, possessed the astonishing speed of a thirteen-realm great demon. In mere moments, he disappeared into the dense forest. It was impossible to catch up, not even for Long Dongjun.
Moreover, there was no need to pursue.
Long Dongjun and the others were heading north to Shuzhou to protect the grand formation that Xu Shuo was about to set up. Anything else was secondary. The ability to kill one or two great demons paled in comparison to the fate of the human world.
...
Deep within the mountains, the fierce battle raged on.
Under Lin Zhao's "Sword Slays the Immortal," Fu Sheng's offensive power was suppressed. A wisp of sword intent from Lin Zhao's strike lingered in his heart like a form of Dao suppression, causing Fu Sheng's attacks to become weak and ineffective for several breaths. Huang Tingyu and Xu Zhi, however, seemed to grow more valiant as they fought.
During a moment of Fu Sheng's astonishment, his defenses above his shoulders completely collapsed. He took another unceremonious sword strike from Huang Tingyu, and his body was sent flying, crashing through a mountain before falling into a lake not far away. Lin Zhao and Xu Zhi immediately pursued. Xu Zhi, wielding ten demonic soul swords, unleashed an aerial bombardment.
For a time, huge waves surged in the lake. Fu Sheng was severely wounded once more, with gaping wounds appearing on his back and legs. He was already quite seriously injured, but he showed no sign of retreating. Instead, a calm expression filled his eyes as he stood on the water's surface, facing Huang Tingyu, Xu Zhi, and Lin Zhao.
Killing Lin Zhao was out of the question. That wily fellow was like a fox; the moment he approached, Lin Zhao would escape on his sword. Fu Sheng had tried to pursue Lin Zhao but had been cut all over his back by Xu Zhi and Huang Tingyu, proving to be a loss. However, not killing him, his "Sword Slays the Immortal" and the "Hearthfire" of his flying sword were truly vexing. Especially the Hearthfire, Fu Sheng could discern some of its secrets. The flame intent within the Hearthfire originated from the Demon King Man Yuan. Thus, Lin Zhao wielding the Hearthfire felt like being struck repeatedly by Man Yuan's cudgel. It was excruciatingly painful.
In fact, Fu Sheng had already made up his mind. Since the opponents were so formidable, he would risk it all. What if he sacrificed a life-bound item to kill the two great Sword Immortals of the Snow Region Heavenly Lake?
The next moment, a golden scroll appeared in Fu Sheng's hand. It was his fourth life-bound item, the "Sea of Books Secret Scroll," a supreme treasure he had found in a sage's遗迹. To obtain this Sea of Books Secret Scroll, he had once transformed into an extremely seductive woman to deceive a twelve-realm Dao cultivator, beheading him at the last moment, a truly exhilarating experience.
Now, this Sea of Books Secret Scroll was his winning card!
"Swish—"
In an instant, Fu Sheng unleashed the secret scroll. The entire great lake seemed to unfold into a new world. Huang Tingyu and Xu Zhi found themselves instantly within a golden sea of books and secret realms. This secret realm was filled with ancient bamboo slips, and countless characters flickered in and out of existence amidst the mountains and forests, like a miniature world that trapped Huang Tingyu and Xu Zhi.
What was worse, Huang Tingyu and Xu Zhi disliked reading, and thus were suppressed by the Heavenly Dao.
"Fu Sheng!"
Huang Tingyu gritted his teeth and charged towards the sky with his sword, but Fu Sheng casually flicked his sleeve and knocked him down. Xu Zhi was the same, trapped within this sea of books secret realm. Although Fu Sheng couldn't kill them, they also couldn't get out.
Just then, Fu Sheng crushed a bamboo slip and threw it directly at Lin Zhao.
With a deafening roar, Lin Zhao, despite being protected by his Golden Armor Immortal Robe, was still blasted into the depths of the great lake. When he emerged from the water using his "Reed Crossing the River" technique, he felt as if he were in a secret realm. A small boat floated nearby. Lin Zhao leaped onto the boat and looked at his surroundings, only to find that Huang Tingyu and Xu Zhi were nowhere to be seen. His heart became a mess.
At this moment, a person carrying a long sword, moving swiftly across the lake, hacked fiercely at the back of Lin Zhao's neck. Gu Yanshu had finally made her move!
"Hmm?!"
Lin Zhao turned abruptly, only to find Gu Yanshu, an eleven-realm cultivator, swinging her long sword at him, but her speed was very slow. In the water ahead, a giant finger, as plump as an emerald onion, emerged from the surface and, with a "snap," sent Gu Yanshu and her sword flying backward.
...
"Who is it?!"
Lin Zhao, holding his Zhan Lu sword, felt a chill in his heart.
Dozens of meters away, a stunningly beautiful face surfaced from the water, smiling and saying, "We met at Qin Suihan's bookstore before. Have you forgotten?"
Her demonic energy was immense, clad in a crimson robe, with nine tails swaying behind her.