Boom!
The scythe-bearing demon shadow crashed to the ground, its corpse sprawling across the street.
Dark purple blood snaked outward like venomous serpents, soaking into the cracks between the cobblestones.
Li Zhexian, Chen Xin, Feng Bailong, and Yu Yuanzhen gathered together, standing back to back, their auras tightly condensed.
Not only the three Titled Douluo—
Even Gu Rong and Ning Fengzhi, standing at the mouth of the alley, were staring at the cold-faced young man in shock.
Earlier, though Li Zhexian had slain Tang Lie, they hadn't been present.
They still couldn't be sure just how strong he truly was.
Only now, after fighting side by side, did they finally see the full extent of his power.
"Young friend Zhexian's sword has become even sharper."
Feng Bailong stroked his beard with a faint smile.
"You overpraise me, seniors,"
Li Zhexian replied modestly.
"Zhexian merely lent support from the side."
As he spoke, he and the others turned their eyes toward the severed corpse of the demon shadow.
Swoosh—
He flicked his finger.
A strand of razor-edged sword qi split the air, striking the wide hood that covered the head.
The hat tumbled away—
Revealing a woman's face beneath.
Her skin was ghostly pale, her features strikingly beautiful—
yet covered in web-like cracks as dark as night.
Like a porcelain doll shattered and reassembled, beautiful enough to terrify.
Chen Xin, Feng Bailong, and the others' pupils constricted sharply.
"Bibi Dong?!"
That face—
it was identical to Pope Bibi Dong's.
...
Outside the secret realm.
The image projected upon the light screen had never clearly shown the demon's face.
Even the voices of Chen Xin and the others now turned muffled, distorted.
The crowd outside stirred uneasily, breaking into anxious murmurs.
High above, seated upon the Ten-Headed Serpent Emperor, Dugu Bo's eyes gleamed cold as they fixed upon Bibi Dong on her throne.
Over Spirit Hall,
the green-red mists thickened, heavy and oppressive,
slowly blotting out even the daylight.
...
Within the secret realm, Li Zhexian's gaze darkened.
He had already half expected that the scythe-bearing demon shadow would wear Bibi Dong's face.
"The current Bibi Dong should have reached the level of a Limit Douluo,"
he thought silently.
"But because of the suppression from the Rakshasa God Trials, she can only display Spirit Power of level ninety-eight."
"Judging by the timing…"
"She must have already completed the Seventh Rakshasa Trial—and perhaps even reached the Eighth."
"What is the Eighth Rakshasa Trial?"
The thought flashed through his mind—
When suddenly—
"The corpse is moving!"
"Fall back!"
The furious shouts of Chen Xin and the others exploded beside him.
Li Zhexian's instincts flared—his body dissolved into a flash of sword light, streaking a hundred meters away in an instant.
When he steadied himself and turned back—
His heart sank.
The woman's severed head lying in the street…
Had opened its eyes.
Those eyes glowed with a twisted, purple light—eyes steeped in ultimate evil, with a glass-like sheen webbed by cracks—now fixed on him without blinking.
The woman's lips curled upward, revealing a chilling smile.
In the next heartbeat—
The dark purple blood that had flooded the street began to surge backward.
From the severed neck wriggled countless blood filaments, like living serpents, dragging the head back toward the body.
Dense purple fog rose up, devouring the fallen shadow whole.
And before their grim faces—
Two scythe-bearing demon shadows stepped forth from within the mists.
At the same time, from the southeast,
came the harsh screech of metal scraping stone—
The sound of a third giant scythe being dragged along the ground.
Even before the figure itself arrived,
two beams of purple light swept through the darkness, cutting across several streets.
"Retreat!"
Li Zhexian's roar cut through the night.
Without hesitation, he and the others fell back at full speed.
Now, they understood all too well—
These scythe demons were the immortal enforcers of this dead city.
Even if one could destroy them by sheer might—
the next instant,
they would return again, stronger than before.
Ssshhh—
Ssshhh—
The sound of three massive scythes scraping the ground
tore through the silence of the entire city.
Dark purple sparks burst through the pitch-black alleys,
becoming the only light in this dead city—
but also, the light of death.
Not only Li Zhexian's group—
all the sect powerhouses scattered across the city were fleeing in panic, their souls nearly flying from their bodies.
"These things can't be killed?!"
"A deathtrap! This is a deathtrap with no way out!"
"I'm not leaving! Someone just found a spirit herb from a street stall! The treasures here are real—the opportunity is right before our eyes!"
"If even Li Zhexian and Chen Xin are being hunted, who else could stop those monsters?!"
Two of the scythe-bearing demons chased after Li Zhexian's group,
while the third roamed the streets, dragging its scythe as it hunted the rest.
The sound of its movement was like a whisper of doom.
The demon shadows moved like ghosts—so fast they blurred into streaks of darkness.
Wherever they passed, the shriek of tearing air and the wet crack of rupturing flesh followed close behind.
Li Zhexian and the others fought as they retreated.
Gu Rong stayed close to guard Ning Fengzhi,
while Chen Xin, Feng Bailong, and Yu Yuanzhen's Spirit Rings blazed to life beneath their feet, radiating with dazzling brilliance.
Sword winds howled.
Thunder roared.
Their attacks clashed violently against the scythes that tore through everything.
The shockwaves of Spirit Power ripped through the streets, pulverizing market stalls into dust.
And yet—
The tightly shut doors of those houses lining the streets—
Did not budge.
Not even under such terrifying force.
Li Zhexian's gaze flicked toward those doors, his brows furrowing.
Shing!
A scythe swept past his cheek, shearing away a strand of his hair.
He turned and slashed in return, his Qinglian Sword colliding with the scythe in a brilliant arc of sparks.
Using the rebound to hurl himself backward—
He staggered, blood spilling from the corner of his lips.
He was still only at the Spirit Emperor level.
Though his swordsmanship and Spirit Abilities could contend with a Titled Douluo,
his raw Spirit Power was still far inferior.
Even Chen Xin and Gu Rong, both veteran Titled Douluo—
Were barely managing to hold their ground against two unkillable foes at level ninety-seven.
Boom!!!
They rounded a corner just as the crossing scythes swept down,
unleashing a cataclysmic storm of Spirit Power.
The streets shattered. Stones blasted skyward.
And still—
The doors of those houses stood unmoved.
Cold and unyielding.
Li Zhexian's jaw clenched tight, a flash of resolve igniting in his eyes.
"Then let's gamble!"
He vanished in a flicker of motion,
appearing before one of those sealed doors.
Spirit Power surged into his palm as he struck.
Bang!
The door flew open.
A gust of frigid wind burst forth, howling around him, whipping his white robes into a frenzy.
"Seniors—inside, now!"
Without hesitation, Li Zhexian darted into the darkness beyond.
Trusting him implicitly, Chen Xin and the others followed,
transforming into streaks of light that vanished into the threshold.
...
Behind the door lay a small, overgrown courtyard.
Only two mud-walled, tile-roofed huts stood within.
They gathered close, forming a defensive circle—
Eyes wary, scanning the eerie silence of the yard—
And watching the two scythe-bearing shadows that now loomed outside the gate.
The demon shadows halted before the entrance.
Their massive, slab-like feet blocked all escape,
and their four pairs of glowing eyes locked coldly onto the people within.
Yet—
They did not step forward.
"Could it be…"
Gu Rong murmured in disbelief.
"When the moon vanished, the scythe demons appeared."
"Does hiding within the houses shield us from their hunt?"
But before his words had even faded—
Both demon shadows extended their arms from beneath their cloaks—
Skin corpse-white and tinged with blue—
Five clawlike fingers curling forward, trailing an icy chill, reaching straight for the people inside the yard.
Li Zhexian's face blanched.
"I guessed wrong?!"
"Even the houses aren't safe?!"
...
Drop some POWERSTONES to push the story forward!
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin