Cao Yun and Demon God Da Mo were so close that they could feel the breath of their enemy on their faces. Cao Yun was in terrible pain. The previous punch he had stopped with his own skull had shattered a few cervical vertebrae. Although they were healing, they had moved and were healing incorrectly. Unfortunately, Cao Yun had no time to focus on it right now.
Demon God Da Mo's body was covered in black blood. Most of the Black Death Prison poison had left his body. Thankfully, most of his own blood had also left his body, along with a large portion of his strength. Just like Cao Yun, he was exhausted. However, his killing intent and his True Fire were extremely intense, as were Cao Yun's killing intent and Black Heart Flame.
The two cultivators stared at each other. It felt like an eternity as they were gauging each other. At this stage, even Demon God Da Mo was cautious. To be honest, even he didn't know how much strength he had left. Moreover, he was deeply scared of Cao Yun. That young abomination might have yet another trick up his sleeve. Demon God Da Mo could tell that he had somehow crushed the fragment of Demon Soul he had been able to sneak into his sea of consciousness. After everything that had happened, Demon God Da Mo didn't want to risk his Demon Soul. Even though Cao Yun didn't know it, it was good news. Indeed, Cao Yun would have been forced to use his Soul Embryo at some point. However, it was still recovering. As such, it would be better if Cao Yun didn't have to fight another soul.
Sun Liao and his men had exhausted everything they had in the ten golden arrows. Several of those arrows were still embedded into Demon God Da Mo's red flesh. Hopefully, it would be enough. They had absolutely no strength left to fight. So Sun Liao made a decision. He had doubts, but he decided to disobey his brother. After all, the situation and the battlefield had completely changed, so Sun Liao had to adapt. His brother couldn't have planned for everything, and Sun Liao was convinced that this was the best decision at this moment. Sun Liao didn't have enough strength to even send a telepathic message, so he walked toward a distant array formation hidden in a building of the Wubei Sect. With his current condition, it would take some time, unfortunately.
What seemed like an eternity to the two cultivators lasted only a breath. The humans down below saw the two cultivators face each other and suddenly attack.
Cao Yun used all of Axiu Qian's memories. He unleashed the full version of 'Axiu Qian's Blood Wrath'. Now that the cultivators had the same size, it was a bit harder for Cao Yun, though. Demon God Da Mo saw two fists going for his throat and his heart at the same time. Instead of retreating, the demon went forward, trying to grab Cao Yun. With his reduced size, Demon God Da Mo was even faster than before. Cao Yun was still able to follow his movements, but it was difficult for him to react in time. As such, Demon God Da Mo was able to grab Cao Yun in a bear hug, crushing his vertebrae and ribs.
Despite being unable to avoid this grappling move, the young man had prepared his defense. His arms were free, and both his hands struck at Demon God Da Mo's throat using his Spear Heart. Even without weapons, his hands became sharp. His fingers didn't pierce through all the flesh, but he did draw some blood from his enemy's throat. Immediately, Cao Yun used all of his strength and pushed directly against Demon God Da Mo's upper chest.
Demon God Da Mo was surprised by Cao Yun's incredible strength. Even for a late Exalted Demon, such strength would have been impressive. For an early Exalted Demon, this was unheard of. Under other circumstances, Demon God Da Mo would have been able to fight back, but he was weak. Besides, his body had been stuck under the Empyrean Human Emperor Seal for millennia. Although it was strong, it was now clearly on the weaker side of what a Reborn Demon was. It became apparent that Demon God Da Mo wouldn't be able to win in a contest of raw strength. As such, being this close to Cao Yun was a mistake.
Unfortunately, Cao Yun had not yet realized that, as he couldn't tell whether Demon God Da Mo was actually using all his strength or not. Maybe he had just been surprised by the attack and couldn't react fast enough. By the time Cao Yun sensed that something was off, Demon God Da Mo had simply let go of his hold. He was strong enough to hurt Cao Yun, but not strong enough to oppose him in brute strength.
As soon as Demon God Da Mo let go of Cao Yun, the young man threw a knee in his flank. He was targeting the area Cao Yun had already injured with his spear, where Demon God Da Mo's Lower Dantian would have been if he had been human. Sensing the attack, Demon God Da Mo quickly dodged and tried to go behind Cao Yun's back by flying above him. However, Cao Yun's hands were fast enough to grab one of his shoulders, but not both of them. Using most of his strength, Cao Yun's fingers literally pierced and sank into his muscles.
Demon God Da Mo was perpendicular to Cao Yun and immediately countered with a knee to his collarbone in order to make him let go of his shoulder. Cao Yun blocked the knee with his other palm. Both cultivators heard bones crack. Without any hesitation, Demon God Da Mo ripped apart his own shoulder from Cao Yun's fingers. The wound wasn't very deep, but Demon God Da Mo had lost so much blood that he couldn't easily heal himself.
Seeing his enemy's wound taking a bit of time to heal, Cao Yun was beginning to realize how weak Demon God Da Mo actually was. Unfortunately, Demon God Da Mo was still strong enough to kill Cao Yun with one move. But, on the other hand, he was weak enough that Cao Yun could also kill him with one move. Both of them were strong enough to shatter bones, pierce skin, tear tissues, and rupture organs. In other words, Cao Yun could win!
With that in mind, Cao Yun became even more aggressive. His opponent had a huge advantage when it came to speed. As such, staying as close to Demon God Da Mo as possible was the right strategy. The young man could see the frustration in his enemy's eyes. Even now, Demon God Da Mo didn't want to retreat. He couldn't accept that he had to fly around and use his speed to overwhelm his enemy. Something worse was, in fact, plaguing Demon God Da Mo's mind. What if he failed even after using those tricks?
Accepting his current condition, Demon God Da Mo cursed all of mankind and flew away from Cao Yun. Yes, it could allow the young man to use his spear again. But, at this moment, Cao Yun wasn't scarier with his spear. With or without a weapon, Cao Yun could kill Demon God Da Mo. However, with enough distance between them, Demon God Da Mo could dodge. Even if his attacks were devastating, they meant nothing if they didn't hit any vital area. On the other hand, Demon God Da Mo might still be able to strike true, even from a distance, especially if he waited for Cao Yun to create an opening.
Obviously, Cao Yun had realized his enemy's goal as he was moving away from him. Thankfully, Demon God Da Mo had wasted too much time before making his decision. Cao Yun used all of his speed to get closer to Demon God Da Mo, directly in front of him. An elbow went toward Demon God Da Mo's injured shoulder. Altering his trajectory, Demon God Da Mo blocked it with his forearm. As Cao Yun's elbow cracked, Demon God Da Mo's forearm caused pain to shoot through his injured shoulder. Demon God Da Mo felt an intense pain in his leg. Cao Yun had used this as a feint in order to kick Demon God Da Mo's knee. The joint of the demon had exploded upon impact.
Furious, Demon God Da Mo forgot about moving away and grabbed Cao Yun's throat. The young man couldn't have asked for a better opportunity. Instead of trying to protect himself from the choking, the young man sank his fist into Demon God Da Mo's chest. Several ribs shattered and pierced the demon's lungs. Unfortunately, his heart was still protected by blood and the Qi within his body. As such, even Cao Yun's powerful fist didn't rupture the asura's heart.
Staring into Cao Yun's eyes, Demon God Da Mo saw the pupils of Axiu Qian. It wasn't a young human or a young asura, it was an insane monster who had tasted flesh and blood on countless battlefields.
Realizing his precarious situation, Demon God Da Mo stopped thinking. He had no more strategy in mind. In fact, he didn't even try to move away. Now, he was primal. Just like Cao Yun, he was a beast in human clothing. His hand squeezed Cao Yun's throat as much as he could. Although he wasn't as strong as Cao Yun, his arm was still stronger than Cao Yun's neck. Even by contracting all his muscles, Cao Yun could tell that his throat would end up crushed sooner rather than later. His other arm rotated inward so that his fist was on the inside of Demon God Da Mo's choking arm. Then, it struck his painful shoulder, trying to make Demon God Da Mo let go.
For several minutes, the two cultivators struck each other, over and over again. Those strikes were so powerful that they could be heard throughout the Heidai Peak. Even those in the distance could hear something. Of course, they were unable to tell what it was, but they could hear muffled drums.
Cao Yun and Demon God Da Mo were fighting like beasts. All techniques were aimed at weak spots or vital areas. Their bones kept on cracking, breaking, and even shattering. Most of their injuries were healing themselves very fast, but they were breaking each other's bodies faster than they could heal. Now, Cao Yun was also covered in the black blood of Demon God Da Mo. Above this layer of black blood, both fighters had fresh red blood on them, too.
The men below couldn't comprehend what was happening in the sky. The two most powerful cultivators of the Piaolu planet were fighting with their bodies alone. There was no manifestation of Qi or soul, or anything at all. They were just bludgeoning each other with their own flesh and bones. Although it wasn't as fantastical as they would have imagined, it was much more bloody and visceral. It felt much more real. Those were two animals fighting for their lives. And they were ready to destroy themselves in order to achieve victory.
Cao Yun grabbed a golden arrow still embedded in Demon God Da Mo's arm and twisted it. Demon God Da Mo headbutted Cao Yun and broke his nose. He immediately tried to bite into the young man's neck, but a fist struck his throat from below and suddenly closed his mouth, shattering several teeth. Cao Yun's other hand pulled out the arrow still slick with Demon God Da Mo's blood. As his head was vibrating from the punch, Demon God Da Mo didn't realize what had happened. The very next instant, Cao Yun stabbed the arrow into Demon God Da Mo's neck.
Some primal instinct overwhelmed Demon God Da Mo, and he moved his head at the very last moment. The arrow passed right in front of his throat and sliced it open. Demon God Da Mo began to bleed even more. Able to change his trajectory, Cao Yun stabbed the arrow into Demon God Da Mo's injured shoulder, sending another jolt of pain throughout Demon God Da Mo's body.
The arrow didn't pierce far because Cao Yun's hand was also covered in blood and slipped on the shaft of the weapon. This didn't stop the young man from attacking again, though. Demon God Da Mo also attacked at the same time. Their fists collided and turned into mangled meat. Even their bones were visible. However, Cao Yun and Demon God Da Mo didn't stop, they kept hitting each other with bones sticking out of their hands. Punches to their bodies broke ribs here and there and even caused internal bleeding. The fight was much more brutal than they would have imagined.
Cao Yun had hoped to fight a powerful cultivator in order to develop his martial arts. Right now, he wasn't even using any technique at all. In fact, he was acting out of pure instinct, with almost no conscious action. At the same time, his mind had never been clearer. He was starting to understand a very important lesson about his own martial arts. In a fight where his life was actually on the line, the enemy wouldn't try any fancy moves, and neither would Cao Yun. All of their techniques died in order to keep them alive. This sensation was extremely important, and Cao Yun had to cultivate it.
Several times, Cao Yun saw openings he could have used. In his mind, he had many techniques that could have ended the fight. However, he always realized it too late. He simply couldn't think while fighting at the moment. This was a completely different state of mind than what he was used to. He had been in brutal fights before. But in this fight, he could absolutely feel that any move could be his last. Demon God Da Mo had the exact same state of mind. Thus, the fight was lacking in elegance, but it was much more real than anything Cao Yun had ever experienced.
Cao Yun would have to meditate on that. First, he had to survive, though. Both cultivators could tell that they didn't have long to live. Their bodies were in terrible condition. They weren't even sure whether they could survive after winning such a fight. Cao Yun was more confident because he had physicians and alchemists present for him. In fact, it helped him. Indeed, Demon God Da Mo was absolutely dead. There was no doubt in Cao Yun's mind. Even if Demon God Da Mo could somehow survive, he would never escape alive.
As Cao Yun was thinking that, he saw several figures appear in the distance. His heart sank. They were coming from the demon territory, flying in the air at incredible speed. Those were powerful Accomplished Demon. A shiny armor made Cao Yun recognize them. They were the Silver Wolf Marshal and his Six Fangs Generals.