For a moment, Cao Yun had hoped that he could actually win. A 1st-grade Exalted Demon could kill a 9th-grade Reborn Demon. This was absolutely insane. Of course, an entire army had helped him. Three Sages had sacrificed themselves to weaken the enemy. A legendary artifact and many array formations had been used against the demon. Besides, the demon's Demon Soul had already been damaged before the fight. To be fair, the main difference between an Exalted Demon and a Reborn Demon was physical. A Reborn Demon would use the True Fire developed as an Exalted Demon in order to temper their own flesh and blood.
Considering that Demon God Da Mo had only just taken over his body, he had not been able to fully use his strength. After all, his body had been trapped, unable to really move, for millennia. Combined with the extreme exhaustion from all of Cao Yun's ploys, his strength was severely diminished. However, that didn't reduce Cao Yun's accomplishment. The young man had pushed Demon God Da Mo to the limit of his strength. If only he had had a bit more time, Cao Yun knew that he could have killed him. Unfortunately, he had failed.
That little bit of hope that had burned in him turned into the deepest despair imaginable. Before Cao Yun's eyes were Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan and his Six Fangs Generals. With his current cultivation, Cao Yun would have had no problem fighting each of them individually. All seven of them working together would have been a real challenge, though. Unfortunately, all that was true if Cao Yun was in good condition. At the moment, Cao Yun was fighting just to stay conscious. In other words, Cao Yun had absolutely no chance to oppose all seven of them. Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan could even kill Cao Yun in a fight. He might lose his life doing so, but Cao Yun would have almost no hope of surviving.
This was over...
Demon God Da Mo would survive this fight. Even if he died in the centuries to come, all of mankind would be wiped out. Cao Yun could see images of everyone he loved being tortured, abused and defiled before being slaughtered like animals. After all, he had seen how the fanatics of the Empyrean Asura Theocracy treated other demons they deemed heretics. Humans would be treated in even worse ways. Despair was creeping its way throughout Cao Yun's soul.
A violent red light pulsated. All of his sea of consciousness turned to blood. Cao Yun condensed Axiu Qian's killing intent as much as he could. No matter what happened, he had to kill Demon God Da Mo. The red asura had to die if mankind were to survive. Silver Wolf General couldn't have been defeated. Indeed, Silver Wolf Marshal came from the direction where Cao Yun had sent Silver Wolf General to block anyone. If they had fought, even the Silver Wolf Marshal would have been injured. Somehow, they had not encountered each other. Or maybe Silver Wolf Marshal had used his men to stall the humans while he and his generals flew here. Honestly, this didn't make much sense to Cao Yun, knowing both men. But he wasn't in any condition to think clearly. He had to accept the reality in front of him.
If Silver Wolf General were alive, he could fight Silver Wolf Marshal. Thus, Cao Yun had to take down Demon God Da Mo. Then, he would have to keep Silver Wolf Marshal and the Six Fangs Generals busy for as long as he could. Every second could mean more disciples saved. Indeed, Cao Yun wanted to save the Wubei Sect's disciples as much as he wanted to save his brothers. Ren Chao was nearby with his wife and kids. Cao Yun thought about every disciple of the Wubei Sect, not just those he knew personally. At this very moment, it sank in. He was the Wubei Sect's Sect Leader. It was his duty to protect them, even by giving his life. In the past, he had not been able to do anything to protect either his family or even his little sister. Today, he would save everyone!
His despair was completely crushed by Cao Yun's iron will.
Demon God Da Mo also saw Silver Wolf Marshal and his Six Fangs Generals. Immediately, he was overwhelmed. He had won! The young man had pushed him toward the brink of collapse. Demon God Da Mo himself had lost all hope. But now, he was safe. He didn't even need to finish off the young man. As long as he was able to get far away, the Accomplished Demons would slay the insane brat for him. Yes, Demon God Da Mo would exterminate all of Emperor Nuwa's race. He would erase her from history. No matter what happened to him in the future, he would have his revenge, even if he had to sacrifice everything else.
Demon God Da Mo even began to calculate. With enough blood, he might be able to survive long enough to become an Immortal Demon. Blood was absolutely essential for the breakthrough to the Immortal Demon realm, also known as the Blood and Spirit Realm. Immediately, his lifespan would more than double. Demon God Da Mo began to imagine a glorious future. Maybe he wouldn't even kill Silver Wolf Marshal as he had planned. In his infinite mercy, Demon God Da Mo might even allow him to keep some of his territory. But, probably not. Sadly, Silver Wolf Marshal had seen him in such a weak state that he would have to go. This was unfortunate, but a god couldn't have any embarrassing stories told about him. Later, Demon God Da Mo would have to purge many demons from his planet. But they were useful at the moment.
Demon God Da Mo poured all of his remaining strength into his arm and suddenly pushed Cao Yun away. His true goal wasn't really to send the human away, but to gain some distance and some speed. As soon as he was slightly away from Cao Yun, Demon God Da Mo only focused on flying. Unfortunately, Demon God Da Mo was indeed faster than Cao Yun. With his rekindled hope, Demon God Da Mo was even faster than before.
If Demon God Da Mo got to his allies, it would be over. Cao Yun knew it very well. At the same time, he knew that he couldn't catch up with Demon God Da Mo. Sadly, he was just too fast. With absolutely no time to think, Cao Yun turned toward his faithful weapon. From his spatial ring, his 'Dark Abyss Wrathful Serpent Spear' appeared. His flying swords would have most likely been a bit faster, but they wouldn't do the damage Cao Yun wanted. Right now, Demon God Da Mo had to be obliterated, flesh and soul.
All of Cao Yun's Spear Heart focused on a single image, a single thought, a single goal. Cao Yun had already seen Demon God Da Mo dead. He saw his body turned into a mist of blood that burned into mere ashes, and his soul scattered into pieces and engulfed in a torrent of Death Energy. Demon God Da Mo was already annihilated, but he simply didn't know yet. With this absolute certainty in mind, Cao Yun grabbed his spear with both hands.
The seven Constellations above shone even more than before. The red hue of the Heart Star was turning the entire world red as blood. Finally, Cao Yun focused on the Tail Constellation. Space around Cao Yun broke apart like glass. In front of everyone, the space between Cao Yun and Demon God Da Mo literally turned into a large portion of wandering stars, floating in the void. Although Cao Yun's understanding of the Dao of Space was very limited at the moment, his 'Azure Dragon's Seven Piercing Stars' contained some of it. As such, Cao Yun's Qi Manifestation almost looked like he was altering space. However, this was still merely Qi Manifestation, altered with his Spear Heart.
Cao Yun also poured his knowledge of 'Three Storms' into the technique. In fact, he poured in everything that he knew, absolutely everything. His Black Heart Flame spread all over his spear. At the moment, everyone was able to see a large black snake in Cao Yun's hand. It was covered in dragon scales, and its head looked like a legendary Azure Dragon. For Cao Yun, this was obviously the appearance of the Ebony Snake Dragon whose scale was embedded in his spear. That being said, it had changed and could no longer be called an Ebony Snake Dragon. In fact, it had no known name as its spirit had been altered and metamorphosed by Cao Yun's influence. This wasn't a demonic beast per se, since it had no body to speak of. Right now, it was akin to an embryonic spirit. If given enough time, it would actually become the spirit of Cao Yun's spear, just like Dian Mo had been the spirit of the Palace of Supreme Wisdom.
'Azure Fish in a Galactic Storm'!
Cao Yun used all of his physical strength as well as his Qi and blood. His muscles bulged and caused him intense pain as his entire body screamed in agony under such a strain. In order to use as much strength as possible, Cao Yun just barely clung to consciousness.
The 'Dark Abyss Wrathful Serpent Spear' left his hands. The young man threw it like a javelin. Space broke apart as the spear flew forward. The black snake swam through the ocean of stars. The stars themselves were pushed aside by a powerful gale. Lightning and black flames erupted from the Ebony Snake Dragon as it flew so fast that it created insane friction, even in what looked like the void. In the wake of the black, living spear, the stars turned into ice and shattered against one another. This was clearly Cao Yun's most powerful technique ever. Hopefully, it was enough to kill Demon God Da Mo.
Demon God Da Mo could feel the incredible attack on his back. Without looking back at all, he tried to fly even faster, and faster. His only goal was to get to Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan. As long as he got there, he was certain he could triumph. Even if it was humiliating right now, Demon God Da Mo could take it. He would accept any humiliation if he was assured of his goal. The all-powerful Demon God Da Mo was scrambling in front of a young human who had not even lived a century. The two millennia that Demon God Da Mo had lived through were a joke. Besides, Cao Yun had been born dozens of millennia after Demon God Da Mo. He truly was a speck in the cosmos. And yet, Demon God Da Mo had been forced to such a state. What did that say about Demon God Da Mo?!
Anyway, Demon God Da Mo only focused on survival. Hopefully, the Silver Wolf Marshal and his Six Fangs Generals would fly to his rescue. However, Demon God Da Mo's smile slowly turned sour. He could see that the seven Accomplished Demons had just stopped moving. No, maybe they were just getting ready for something. Maybe they were preparing some kind of battle formation to defend Demon God Da Mo.
Contrary to Demon God Da Mo's hopes, they didn't set up any kind of battle formation. They were just floating in the sky, observing Demon God Da Mo's plight. Demon God Da Mo wanted to scream, to yell at them, to insult them, to tear them apart. Deep down, he also wanted to beg... He needed them! Couldn't they see it?! Were they that stupid?! Did they think that he actually was a Demon God who could deal with this situation?!
Cao Yun was still fighting to stay conscious. He wanted to see what his spear would actually do to Demon God Da Mo. Then, he heard a familiar voice in his mind. Honestly, he didn't even register what it said to him. However, his tension disappeared. Cao Yun almost fell unconscious at this very moment. Although he stayed aware of his surroundings, he lost all control over his body and slowly fell toward the ground. He was barely able to slow down his fall as he couldn't fly any longer. Many humans were on the ground to help him.
Realizing that he was alone, Demon God Da Mo turned around to face the attack. He couldn't escape anymore. The young man had spent all of his energy and couldn't do anything anymore. Demon God Da Mo only had to survive this single attack. There was no way he would... Seeing the attack head-on, Demon God Da Mo finally understood. He couldn't move aside. The spear was going straight for his heart. No matter where he went, the spear would stay true, he could tell. His only hope was to stop the spear, but he was certain that he couldn't. Something in him screamed. He was dead!
No!
Demon God Da Mo refused to hear this sinister voice deep in his gut. He pushed both his hands in front of him to block the spear. Cao Yun's spear collided with his hands. There was a thick layer of True Fire all around Demon God Da Mo's hands. As soon as the spear entered this intense heat, everyone heard the Azure Dragon scream in agony. But a powerful wind was all around the spear, pushing away the invisible True Fire. Demon God Da Mo's hands even began to freeze a little. Small pieces of ice appeared and sizzled away all over his fingers.
For Demon God Da Mo and the Accomplished Demons, it seemed slow, but the movement of the spear was incredibly fast. It tore through the True Fire. All of Demon God Da Mo's fingers exploded as the spear turned his hands into a mist of blood. Demon God Da Mo literally tried to use his forearms as a last shield, but the spear got to his chest in an instant. His rib cage collapsed inward as the spear stabbed his flesh.
The next instant, a storm ravaged Demon God Da Mo's internal organs. His heart was struck by lightning while wind was pushing against all of his other organs. The tip of the spear hit his heart, which exploded in his chest. Demon God Da Mo knew that his body was dead, but he might be able to salvage his soul at the very least. The lightning and wind assaulted even his skull, crushing his brain just as his Demon Soul tried to escape. The Black Heart Flame on the surface of the spear spread to Demon God Da Mo's body. Without his Demon Soul inside his body, Demon God Da Mo couldn't even focus the True Fire, so nothing could block the Black Heart Flame as it swallowed his Demon Soul.
Demon God Da Mo fought with everything he had. No matter what, he had to salvage his Demon Soul.