This beast truly lived up to its status as a mid-stage Purple Mansion demon. Even when surrounded by four opponents, it remained composed, using its divine abilities to move with the speed of lightning, leaving the group unable to catch up.
As it was about to escape, Elder Yang's gaze turned icy, and he made a resolute decision.
"Wretch! If I let you escape today, you'll become a great threat in the future."
"You won't get away!"
Elder Yang shouted and pulled out a treasure talisman.
The talisman radiated a dazzling sword light and, once activated, transformed into a brilliant sword aura that pursued the Thunder Roc like a shooting star.
This treasure talisman, named the Heaven's Abyss Immortal-Slaying Sword Talisman, was a precious high-grade third-tier talisman crafted by Jiang Linglong using her own celestial sword as the blueprint.
Sixty years ago, Elder Yang obtained this talisman during the Purple Mansion Exchange Assembly in Chu Kingdom, keeping it as a trump card for a life-or-death situation.
Now, with the Thunder Roc's incredible speed posing a dire threat during the beast uprising, Elder Yang decided he could no longer hold back.
As the Heaven's Abyss Immortal-Slaying Sword Talisman activated, a sword aura hundreds of meters long emerged, recreating the power of Jiang Linglong's celestial sword. It crossed the void in an instant and intercepted the Thunder Roc.
This was no ordinary attack—it was equivalent to Jiang Linglong unleashing her full strength. A celestial fourth-tier sword slashed through the void, causing the Thunder Roc to cry out in fear.
Decades ago, Jiang Linglong had already left a shadow of terror in its heart.
At that time, it had joined forces with the Violet-Striped Wolf King and two other mid-stage Purple Mansion beasts to besiege Jiang Linglong. Despite their combined strength, they were no match, and two of their allies were slain.
If not for the Violet-Striped Wolf King bearing the brunt of the battle, the Thunder Roc would have died in the wilderness.
Indeed, another mid-stage Thunder Roc had been slain by Jiang Linglong back then, unable to escape even with its Thunderflash Escape ability.
Now, as the Heaven's Abyss Sword Aura descended, the Thunder Roc desperately activated several treasures and divine abilities to defend itself.
But within moments, the sword aura shattered its Violet Tribulation Thunder Orb, nullified its Thunder Catastrophe Imprint, and broke through its defensive treasure seal. The sword aura finally left a deep gash on the Thunder Roc's body before its power was exhausted.
The attack severely wounded the Thunder Roc and disrupted its Thunderflash Escape ability, drastically slowing it down.
Seizing this opportunity, Elian activated the divine ability of the Seven-Star Demon-Slaying Boat. The boat's speed enchantment doubled its velocity, allowing it to catch up to the Thunder Roc in an instant.
To ensure the beast couldn't escape, Elian and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators on the boat activated the Seven-Star Demon-Slaying Sword Formation.
A dazzling sword aura tore through the void, unleashing a power comparable to a mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator's full-strength strike. It slashed toward the Thunder Roc's head.
Even in its weakened state, the Thunder Roc demonstrated its formidable power as a mid-stage Purple Mansion beast. It fearlessly activated its Thunder Catastrophe Imprint, blocking the devastating strike.
Although the Seven-Star Sword Formation didn't injure the beast, it did momentarily stall it.
At this critical moment, Elder Yang was the first to close in. He unleashed his life-bound celestial sword, the Blazing Thunderfire Sword, a dazzlingly powerful weapon.
The Thunder Roc, unable to evade due to its damaged defensive treasures and weakened Violet Tribulation Thunder Orb, was forced to counter with its demonic core.
The clash between the Blazing Thunderfire Sword and the demonic core unleashed a cataclysmic explosion of lightning and fire, devastating a radius of nearly a kilometer.
Neither side emerged unscathed. The celestial sword dimmed, while a shallow crack appeared on the demonic core.
The Thunder Roc, distressed by the damage to its core, swallowed it back and attempted to flee in another direction.
But Xu Daoyuan had already caught up, unleashing the Earth Element Divine Lightning across thousands of meters. The thunderous roar echoed clearly even from tens of miles away.
The Thunder Roc, unable to face the attack directly, changed direction again, only to be intercepted by the patriarch's Crimson-Gold Barrier-Piercing Sword Beam. Forced to change course once more, the beast found itself increasingly cornered.
"You can't escape!"
Elian's gaze turned cold as he saw an opening. He unleashed the Fiery Void Sword, its thirty-meter-long blue sword aura tearing through the skies toward the Thunder Roc.
By now, the Thunder Roc was nearly at its limit. Its treasures were damaged, its mana was almost depleted, and its speed was severely hindered after losing its Thunderflash Escape ability.
The blue sword aura ripped through the sky, leaving a massive wound on the Roc's left wing. Blood spilled across the wilderness.
"Wretch, prepare to die!"
Reeling from the pain, the Thunder Roc still tried to flap its wings and escape.
But Elder Yang roared furiously and summoned the Yang family's ultimate treasure—the high-grade third-tier Mountain-Cleaving Soul-Crushing Axe. With one mighty swing, the axe cleaved through the Thunder Roc's neck, severing its head.
At that moment, the Thunder Roc, once confident in its unparalleled speed and escape abilities, could never have imagined its demise.
It had been too arrogant. If it had fled immediately with Thunderflash Escape instead of staying to cover the Six-Winged Golden Butterfly, even a combined effort wouldn't have been enough to bring it down.
But its hesitation cost it dearly, giving the cultivators just enough time to surround it. Elder Yang's decision to use the Heaven's Abyss Sword Talisman sealed its fate.
Trapped and overwhelmed, even its incredible speed couldn't save it from the coordinated assault of four top-tier opponents.
"It's finally over."
After slaying the Thunder Roc, Elian and the patriarch collapsed onto the treasure boat, exhausted.
While their combat strength could rival early-stage Purple Mansion cultivators, their spiritual energy was far less refined.
Repeatedly using divine abilities, magical treasures, and formations had drained 80-90% of their spiritual reserves.
This was their greatest weakness. While they could match a Purple Mansion cultivator in short bursts, prolonged battles left them vulnerable once their spiritual energy was depleted.
"You've done well," Elder Yang said with a hearty laugh before diving into the battlefield below.
With two Purple Mansion elders joining the fray, the tide quickly turned. The demonic beasts, now leaderless, were slaughtered and scattered, fleeing in complete disarray.
...
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I need POWAAA! Gimme Power Stones :D