In just a few moments of combat, two of the four mountain peaks had been leveled.
Spiritual energy churned like undersea currents, tearing open the earth and dragging everything toward destruction.
Chu Xingchen's calm gaze tracked Xu Linglong as she was driven relentlessly across the battlefield.
[Target: Xu Linglong]
[Cultivation: Body Integration? — Mahayana? — ?]
[Golden Tag: Heavenly Demon]
[Purple Tag: Charm]
[Purple Tag: Ruthless]
[Blue Tag: Clever]
[Black Tag: Greed]
[Black Tag: Bloodthirsty]
[Black Tag: Heaven's Wrath]
Chu Xingchen wasn't particularly bothered by the system's wildly fluctuating cultivation reading.
The enormous gap between the estimates didn't strike him as the system glitching out.
More likely, it was a warning — this Heavenly Demon could either power up in the middle of a fight, transforming into different forms, or possessed some unique innate talent.
A golden Heavenly Demon tag meant one thing without question — this was a major catch.
She was very likely one of the Eight Great Heavenly Demons.
In his disciple's previous life, she must have wanted something from him badly enough to drain him dry before he could even land a finger on her.
And whatever she wanted was certainly not his Nascent Soul cultivation or his blood qi.
After all, this Heavenly Demon was at weakest a Body Integration cultivator, and possibly pushing into the Tribulation Transcendence realm.
If she were merely after a Nascent Soul cultivator's meager power, that would make the Heavenly Demon something of a joke.
Li Xingtian currently possessed the golden tag [Reborn One].
If even this demon could see through that and attempt to seize it — then the Heavenly Demon was far more dangerous than he had imagined.
He had thought he was coming to capture a demon woman who scammed people's feelings and left them drained.
But on closer inspection, what they were dealing with was a bona fide demoness.
Chu Xingchen had thought he was being cautious enough by bringing Tianyan Sect cultivators along for the ambush.
Now it seemed he hadn't called in nearly enough people.
He should have at least brought Yan Yun and Lü Xuan along, plus a few more elders.
If Xu Linglong could only power up to Mahayana cultivation, she'd likely perish here.
But if she could push all the way to Tribulation Transcendence, winning might be uncertain — and stopping her from escaping would be all but impossible.
Chu Xingchen naturally remembered the summoning talisman Bai Xuanling had given him.
When Bai Xuanling had last appeared, she had projected the image of someone in their prime — capable of blocking all the Buddhas at the Pudu River.
But Chu Xingchen knew the reality.
There was at least an eighty percent chance Bai Xuanling had been faking it.
If he called Bai Xuanling here to help hunt this demon, someone of her temperament would rather drag the Heavenly Demon into a mutual self-destruction than let her escape.
Bai Xuanling was his trump card, but he couldn't play her.
Besides, the situation wasn't truly desperate yet, and he had plenty of people with him.
Today, he might as well give it a shot.
Slay a Heavenly Demon!
Chu Xingchen tracked her with his eyes.
That wisp of blue light seemed to cleave through the sky itself, its terrifying energy spilling freely across the battlefield.
The enormous tomb was being battered so thoroughly that scarcely a single spot remained intact.
Xu Linglong's movement techniques were genuinely impressive, and many of her methods were quite exotic.
But against her current Body Integration level of power, it still wasn't enough.
Chu Xingchen hadn't gone all out yet — he was waiting for the backup outside to finish setting up the grand array.
Once the encirclement was complete, the trap would spring shut.
The objective was clear — stall Xu Linglong and keep her from going all out.
If she transformed into a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator before the array was ready, all hell would break loose.
Xu Linglong shifted her position, sensing the horrifying aura of that blue light pursuing her.
She looked calmly at Chu Xingchen, who stood with a rather leisurely posture.
"Eightfold Flow."
Xu Linglong murmured softly.
The black blade that had been entangling endlessly with her opponent's attacks rapidly retracted.
It returned to its original short blade form.
Then, with a flash of cold light, it shot straight toward Chu Xingchen.
Xu Linglong's slender fingers caught the blade, and her figure somehow crossed the entire distance in an instant.
The black blade reached Chu Xingchen's face in the blink of an eye.
The blade rose.
The blade fell.
Dark light erupted from the short blade, swallowing every color in the surroundings in an instant.
Only the blade itself retained a faint, cold gleam.
The dark light arrived first; the sound followed.
"Extinguish the shadow."
Xu Linglong's voice was ice-cold.
"Bring the light."
The smile on Chu Xingchen's face did not fade.
The embroidery needle transformed into a long sword.
Righteous energy surged from the blade.
The pure white light of righteous energy flared to life — it was not consumed by the darkness.
Instead, it twisted inward, tearing into the black light.
The shockwave of their clash sent tremors through the secret realm.
The space within was already old and fragile, and it couldn't withstand this level of combat.
It began to shudder and shake.
The mountain peaks started dissolving into glittering motes of light.
Xu Linglong was sent flying by another sword strike from Chu Xingchen.
As her figure retreated, the darkness dissipated with her.
This time, however, she didn't look too battered.
A simple sidestep was enough to steady herself.
Xu Linglong looked at Chu Xingchen, a faint smile appearing on her face.
Her voice was calm.
"Righteous energy? And that spiritual treasure sword — you must be Chu Xingchen."
Chu Xingchen gave an indifferent shrug.
"Who's that? But the name alone tells me he must be incredibly handsome."
A bewitching purple began spreading through Xu Linglong's eyes.
Strange, dark inscriptions surfaced on her hands.
Thick black currents flowed from her fingertips into the blade in her grasp.
In the blink of an eye, the broken black dagger had transformed into a full-length sword.
Her own spiritual pressure began climbing madly.
She chuckled, her tone warm and familiar, as if greeting an old friend.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Guess."
"Was Li Xingtian placed here on purpose by you too?"
"Guess again."
"Did someone tell you something they shouldn't have? Or did you figure something out on your own? Tell big sister — I'll let you live this time."
Chu Xingchen's light laugh carried through the mask.
"Who's begging whom today is still up for debate."
"Getting beaten hurts, you know."
Xu Linglong's smile remained warm and inviting.
"Are you sure about this?"
The words fell, and an aura approaching the Mahayana realm radiated from her without restraint.
Chu Xingchen gripped Wanban and chuckled lightly.
"Brother Yuyang, she's telling us to surrender. What do you think?"
As the words left his mouth, a figure leaped into the crumbling space.
Yuyang Daozi was clad in a violet-glowing robe — the Supreme Spiritual Robe of Taodao Sect's Grand Tradition.
Above his head floated Taodao Sect's famed spiritual treasure — the Yin-Yang Swimming Fish Seal.
Two ethereal fish, one black and one white, chased each other in an endless cycle.
With every revolution, a profound and mysterious force rippled outward before vanishing into the surroundings.
The energy from the seal suffused the ambient spiritual energy, causing it to spiral toward Yuyang Daozi.
With a single thought, he could command the power of all four directions.
Multiple protective talismans flared to life around Yuyang Daozi.
The pressure from his protective aura alone was enough to make anyone feel suffocated.
In his hand, he gripped his natal spiritual treasure — what Chu Xingchen had jokingly called a "glow stick."
His entire ensemble was dazzlingly brilliant.
An ordinary pig wearing this much gear could slaughter its way across the battlefield.
Xu Linglong stared in undisguised astonishment at Yuyang Daozi's magnificent entrance.
This was truly a case of — cultivation not enough? Make up for it with gear.
Yuyang Daozi locked his gaze onto Xu Linglong.
"She's the one who should be begging."