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墨書 Inktalez
In the blink of an eye, Li Hong swiftly retreated into the sky, while Black Light relentlessly pursued him, remaining just a foot away from his nose.
Li Hong did not bother to summon Lingyi; instead, he continued to retreat rapidly, inadvertently ascending into the clouds, now above the cloud layer.
The azure sky was clear, and a half moon appeared particularly large. The boundless sea of clouds rolled like silver waves, shifting and ethereal.
With his Skyward Technique at the perfected stage, Li Hong's body felt weightless, like a single Crimson Feather gliding lightly across the clouds. The Black Light remained close but never touched him.
Finally, Black Light slowed down. Li Hong could see that it was indeed the Soul Summoning and Spirit Refining Banner of the Demon Sect.
Since the banner had appeared, its master would surely follow soon.
Sure enough, moments later, a small black shadow resembling a green bean swiftly emerged from the clouds, rapidly enlarging as it stopped a hundred yards in front of Li Hong. With a wave of its hand, the Soul Summoning and Spirit Refining Banner shot back and vanished between its palms. The Demon was cloaked in a black hooded cloak, its hem billowing behind it. Against the silvery clouds, it resembled a large black bat.
Li Hong squinted; at this moment, the real battle was about to begin.
With a flash of Iridescence, Lingyi emerged from his forehead, while the Five Elements Shuttle was summoned. Combining into one, both treasures shot toward the opposing Demon.
The Demon sneered: "You dare to show off your meager cultivation? Prepare to die for my Ancestor!" The Flag Spear shot out, instantly multiplying into ten. Two intercepted Lingyi and the Five Elements Shuttle while the remaining eight shot directly at Li Hong.
Li Hong remained calm; with a flash of golden light, Yue Que flew out.
A small crescent moon of pale gold danced among the eight Flag Spears, ringing out with rapid sounds. The swirling spear shadows were repelled by this seemingly inconspicuous pale gold crescent moon. Meanwhile, Li Hong reached into his Cosmic Bag and pulled out Fire Phoenix, igniting it with Awareness in quick succession. With his thoughts guiding them, these massive True Fire Phoenixes charged toward the opposing Demon.
The Demon was truly at the Nascent Soul Stage and was surprised that a Nine Li Sect kid who appeared to be only at the Initial Golden Core level could command so many magical treasures simultaneously. He suddenly thought of his own Demon Lord; wasn't she the best at concealing her cultivation?
Could it be that this Nine Departures Sect kid also possessed such abilities?
He guessed correctly; the special artifact on Li Hong's forehead along with the Six Spirit Salty Ritual technique allowed him to conceal his true cultivation level. Although he seemed to be merely at the Initial Golden Core level, Li Hong was actually at Mid-Stage of Transformation, with Divine Consciousness even surpassing that of this Demon Sect's Nascent Soul Old Demon. Since overcoming his mental barrier days ago, Li Hong had advanced another tier from early Transmutation to Mid-Stage of Transformation. This made him realize that improvement in mental state complemented enhancement in cultivation.
Although the Old Demon was not afraid of the multitude of True Fire Phoenixes, he understood that Ants Can Kill Elephants. Seeing Li Hong continuously pull out Fire Phoenix talismans without hesitation while calmly directing three magical treasures alongside his Soul Summoning and Spirit Refining Banner against him began to make him anxious.
He knew that there were more than just Li Hong in Lin'an; prolonging the battle would only disadvantage him further.
Li Hong intended to drag it out. His role was to divert this lone Nascent Soul Old Demon among the group of Demons using a strategy akin to Tian Ji's Horse Racing—drawing away the highest cultivator among them with himself as the lowest in cultivation for this battle. Once Jiang Xuanzi and others eliminated those below Nascent Soul Stage—Golden Core Stage and Transformation Stage Demons—and rescued Empress Wu, they would naturally come to assist him.
Just hold on until then!
The Old Demon finally understood, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. If he lost Empress Wu, his own Demon Lord... He trembled, steeling himself, summoning a Flag Spear to shield himself from the Fire Phoenix. With both hands cradling a sphere, a growing Black Light energy ball gradually took shape.
This move had been seen by Li Hong when the Demon Sect Monster used it; it was the ultimate technique that the Demon Sect Monster risked its life to perform. Li Hong felt a chill run down his spine, knowing he must not let him throw this Demon Ball. Steel Tooth bit down, and Yue Que suddenly withdrew the shadow of the Flag Spear, shooting towards the Demon with both palms.
In an instant, a streak of golden light that was too fast for the naked eye to follow suddenly halted in front of the Demon.
The Demon's robes billowed as invisible energy surged outwards, forcefully pushing the Celestial Artifact Yue Que outside of its energy circle, while the Demon Ball in his palms gradually took shape.
Li Hong panicked, forming a sword gesture with his hands. He directed Yue Que to stab into the energy circle with all her might while simultaneously recalling the Fire Phoenix to counter Old Demon’s Flag Spear.
He saw ripples spreading across the energy circle like water patterns. Sweat appeared on Old Demon's forehead as Li Hong's Awareness rapidly depleted.
In this stalemate, Old Demon shouted loudly, "Go!"
The black Demon Ball was thrown out, heading straight for Li Hong and instantly reached him.
In a moment of crisis, Li Hong had no time to think. He flipped his palms and randomly pulled out over a dozen Spirit Talismans from his Cosmic Bag, igniting them without looking and hurriedly placing them around his body. He spread his Awareness across his body’s surface, focusing and holding his breath in anticipation.
Suddenly there was a flash of light followed by darkness. Li Hong heard no sound but felt immense pressure on his eardrums as if his skin were being pushed inward. The light returned abruptly like fireworks exploding, red light flashing chaotically and blindingly bright; everything before Li Hong turned chaotic and unclear.
A dull rumbling sound seemed to come from far away in the sky. Li Hong felt as if he were about to explode; his entire body trembled uncontrollably, blood oozing from his seven orifices, and a buzzing filled his ears as if hundreds of mosquitoes were swarming inside his head.
The terrifying Demon Ball grew larger and larger, its explosive energy wrapping around Li Hong at its center, compressing and expanding repeatedly. Li Hong gritted his teeth and endured; Awareness continuously gathered from his Golden Core to cover his entire body surface, forming layer upon layer of defense. His Awareness was rapidly depleting; the intense energy from the Demon Ball left Li Hong's body torn and bleeding to the point where he could no longer feel pain.
Li Hong became a bloodied figure.
He could see nothing clearly; Divine Consciousness felt like it was sinking into a quagmire. A strong instinct for survival erupted within him as he exerted all his strength to form a sword gesture with two fingers, shouting "Go!" Suddenly, Yue Que flew back silently.
The Demon was gathering energy for the Demon Ball, nearly exhausting half of its Yin Power. Just as it squatted on the cloud gasping for breath, sensing danger, it raised its head only to see a thin streak of golden light swiftly approaching.
The Demon froze in place, hardly daring to believe its eyes.
With a thunderous boom, he exploded into a shower of blood. Amidst the blood rain, a Black Light swiftly darted out, heading north.
Li Hong was still struggling against the intense energy within the Demon Ball. Fortunately, he had previously prepared seventeen or eighteen Spirit Talismans for protection. Some were indeed misused in haste, but at least six or seven were mid-level protective Spirit Talismans like Fire Shield and Fire Wall. Although these protective Spirit Talismans were broken one by one by the Demon Ball, they managed to dissipate some of the energy.
Blood surged from his torn skin, only to heal automatically, then be torn apart again and heal once more. Li Hong trembled in pain, cursing that damned Demon thousands of times in his heart. After an unknown amount of time, he finally felt the energy significantly weaken. Li Hong struggled to form a sword gesture to summon Lingyi, directing Lingyi to strike down at him.
With a loud bang, the Demon Ball completely shattered. Li Hong tilted his head back and spewed forth a spectacular fountain of blood that soared several feet high, falling down from the clouds.
In this critical moment, Yue Que instinctively protected its master, expanding to about a foot in size and flying beneath Li Hong to catch him. Two streaks of Iridescence shot out as the Spirit Five Elements Shuttle did not return to Li Hong's body.
Li Hong's mind was in chaos, yet a faint smile appeared on his lips.
Hehe, I finally killed a Nascent Soul Old Demon... This was Li Hong's last conscious thought.
********
Jiang Xuanzi rushed straight down from the cave entrance and discovered that it was exceedingly deep below. He heard Li Hong using provocation tactics; sure enough, the only Nascent Soul Old Demon below could not hold back and came rushing up, nearly colliding with Jiang Xuanzi. In a moment of desperation, Jiang Xuanzi floated up tightly against the cave ceiling, and the Old Demon almost brushed past him.
Taking a breath, Jiang Xuanzi waited for the Old Demon to pass before quickly darting down.
Below was a narrow chamber measuring ten feet long and one foot wide, with four side chambers on each side and a massive Stone Sarcophagus at the back. The surface of the Stone Sarcophagus was intricately carved with a lifelike Taotie Pattern.
Upon seeing this layout, Jiang Xuanzi understood; this was an ancient tomb, specifically a Royal Tomb from the Shang Zhou Era.
At some point, this ancient tomb had been used by the Demon Sect Monster to conceal their activities. This place was a Mass Grave Mound; the yin energy was already extremely heavy here, being deep underground. It was likely for this reason that several searches using Divine Consciousness had failed to detect it. If it weren't for Qin Hui knowing about Jin Kingdom's secret contact point in Lin'an and following leads from those involved there, it would have been very difficult to discover this place.
Jiang Xuanzi's figure was transparent in the darkness; he had also used an Invisibility Talisman to conceal his presence. With his high cultivation level and deliberate suppression of his aura, the Golden Core Stage Transformation Stage Demons left behind in the tomb had no idea he had already infiltrated.
The Demons were very tense, huddled together in the middle of the tomb listening carefully to movements outside. Among them lay an unconscious woman; her luxurious robes indicated she was Empress Wu. The Demons surrounded her while Empress Wu's Nine Dragons and Four Phoenixes Crown lay discarded in a corner of the chamber. One Demon kept a tight grip on Empress Wu's neck while another held her shoulder.
Jiang Xuanzi frowned; he had to ensure Empress Wu's safety without drawing attention.
He turned back from the cave, and moments later, his two generals, Shui Qingzi and Shui Miaozi, also stealthily followed him in, the three of them spreading out in different directions to launch their attack.
An invisible Phantom longsword pierced directly into the abdomen of the Demon who was holding Empress Wu by the neck. At the same time, the Demon gripping Empress Wu's shoulder trembled violently. Both of them involuntarily looked down to see a large hole suddenly torn in their stomachs, blood mixed with intestines gushing out chaotically, scaring them so much that they couldn't even scream, and they immediately wet themselves.
With a lightness in his hand, Empress Wu suddenly flew up strangely and instantly vanished from the tomb.
Only then did the Demons realize what had happened and shouted, "Enemy attack!" They rushed towards the cave entrance, where they were met by the four great ministers of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan and two other Beast Cultivator Elders.
It was a one-sided massacre; the Beast Cultivator Elders were all at least at the early stage of Demon Baby cultivation and were lying in ambush. This battle ended without suspense very quickly. Not a single Demon Sect Monster managed to escape, not even one Golden Core.
Jiang Xuanzi appeared and handed Empress Wu over to Shui Qingzi and Shui Miaozi, instructing them to return to the palace immediately before turning and soaring into the sky to prepare for Li Hong's rescue.
Suddenly, he furrowed his brow, sensing an extremely terrifying surge of energy erupting. Instinctively looking up, beneath the dark clouds, a Crimson Shadow descended from above, carrying a familiar aura.
Jiang Xuanzi's heart sank as he exclaimed, "Chu Hongzi!" He quickly flew up to catch the falling Li Hong. A flash of golden light appeared beneath Li Hong, and something vanished.
Immediately, Jiang Xuanzi noticed that the hem of his black crane cloak was completely soaked, warm and sticky with Li Hong's blood. Without saying a word, he turned and swiftly fled towards the imperial city.
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