In mere moments of exchange, two of the four mountain peaks had been leveled flat.
Spiritual energy churned like undercurrents in the sea, tearing open the earth and dragging everything into destruction.
Chu Xingchen's gaze remained calm as he followed Xu Linglong, who was being chased relentlessly by Wanban.
[Target: Xu Linglong]
[Cultivation: Body Integration? — Great Vehicle? — ?]
[Golden Tag: Heavenly Demon]
[Purple Tag: Charm]
[Purple Tag: Ruthless]
[Blue Tag: Cunning]
[Black Tag: Greed]
[Black Tag: Bloodthirsty]
[Black Tag: Heavenly Retribution]
Chu Xingchen did not think the system was glitching over the wildly oscillating, massive gap in the cultivation reading.
This was most likely a warning — this Heavenly Demon could either power up mid-fight, transforming into a different form when outmatched, or possessed some unique innate talent.
A golden Heavenly Demon tag, without question, meant this was a major catch.
She was very likely one of the Eight Great Heavenly Demons. His disciple Li Xingtian must have possessed something in his previous life that this demon craved, enough to drain him dry without even laying a finger on him.
And what she wanted was certainly not Li Xingtian's Nascent Soul cultivation and vital energy.
After all, this Heavenly Demon's weakest state was at the Body Integration realm, and she could potentially reach the Tribulation Transcendence realm.
If she was only after the meager cultivation of a Nascent Soul cultivator, then this Heavenly Demon would be rather laughable.
Li Xingtian currently bore a golden [Reborn] tag.
If this demon could see through even that and attempt to seize it... then this Heavenly Demon was far more formidable than he had imagined.
He had thought he was coming to capture a deceitful woman who seduced men and drained them dry, but upon closer inspection, he was dealing with a genuine demoness.
Chu Xingchen had thought he was being cautious enough, even bringing cultivators from Tianyan Sect to assist in the siege. Now it seemed he had called far too few 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 the Great Vehicle realm, she would most likely perish here. But if she could reach the Tribulation Transcendence realm, winning or losing became uncertain — and stopping her from escaping would be nearly impossible.
Chu Xingchen naturally remembered he still had the summoning talisman Bai Xuanling had given him.
When Bai Xuanling had last appeared, she looked to be in her prime — as though she could stand before all the Buddhas at Pudu River once more.
But Chu Xingchen knew the truth in his heart. There was at least an eighty percent chance she was faking it.
If he really called Bai Xuanling here for the siege, her personality being what it was, she would rather drag this Heavenly Demon into mutual destruction than let her escape.
Bai Xuanling was his trump card, but Chu Xingchen could not play her.
Besides, the situation was not yet desperate, and he had plenty of people with him.
Might as well try today!
Slay a Heavenly Demon!
Chu Xingchen tracked her with his gaze. That wisp of azure light seemed to cleave the sky itself, its terrifying might spilling forth unchecked, reducing the massive burial mound to near-ruin.
Xu Linglong's movement techniques were indeed something special, and many of her methods were quite novel. But at her current Body Integration level of power, it still was not quite enough.
Chu Xingchen held back from going all out, naturally waiting for the reinforcements outside to finish setting up the grand formation and complete the encirclement.
His goal was clear — stall Xu Linglong and prevent her from going into her ultimate transformation before the formation was ready.
If she transformed into a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator before the array was complete, she would start slaughtering.
Xu Linglong shifted her position, feeling the horrifying aura of that azure light chasing her down, and looked calmly at Chu Xingchen, who seemed rather relaxed.
"Eightfold Revolution."
Xu Linglong murmured softly. The black stream that had been entangling Wanban, shaped like a blade, rapidly retracted.
It reformed into a black short blade, and with a flash of cold light, it shot straight toward Chu Xingchen.
In the next instant, Xu Linglong's slender hand seized the short blade. Through some unknown method, her figure traversed space itself, appearing beside him in an instant.
The black short blade was already before Chu Xingchen in the blink of an eye.
The blade rose.
The blade fell.
Black light erupted from the short blade, devouring all color in the surroundings in an instant.
Only that single black blade still faintly gleamed with cold light.
The black light arrived first; the sound came after.
"Banish Shadow." Xu Linglong's voice was cold.
"Bring Light."
The smile on Chu Xingchen's face did not fade. The embroidery-needle-like Wanban transformed into a long sword.
Noble energy surged from the blade.
The pure white light of the Noble Energy flared to life — not consumed by the black light, but instead crushing toward it.
BOOM!
The shockwave of the clash rippled outward. The space maintained by the secret realm was already fragile, and naturally could not withstand this level of combat. It began to tremble.
The mountain peaks gradually dissolved into flickering light and dispersed.
Xu Linglong was once again sent flying by Chu Xingchen's sword strike. As her figure retreated, the darkness vanished with her.
This time, however, she was not too battered — a simple sidestep was enough to stabilize herself.
Xu Linglong looked at Chu Xingchen, a hint of a smile on her face, her voice calm.
"The Noble Energy of Righteousness? And this spirit treasure — you must be Chu Xingchen."
Chu Xingchen shrugged indifferently.
"Who's that? But that name alone tells me this person must be extremely handsome."
A bewitching purple began to spread through Xu Linglong's eyes. Dark, eerie inscriptions surfaced on her hands, and thick black current flowed from her fingertips into the short blade.
In the blink of an eye, the broken black blade transformed into a long sword, and her own spiritual pressure began to surge wildly.
She laughed softly, her tone warm, as though greeting an old friend.
"Do you know who I am?"
"Guess."
"Was Li Xingtian placed here deliberately by you too?"
"Guess again."
"Did someone tell you something they shouldn't have? Or did you figure something out? Tell your big sister — I'll be magnanimous and spare your life this time."
Chu Xingchen's light laugh carried through his mask.
"Who ends up begging whom this time remains to be seen."
"Getting hit really hurts." Xu Linglong's smile remained as warm as ever. "Are you sure about this?"
As the words fell, an aura nearing the Great Vehicle realm radiated from her without reservation.
Chu Xingchen gripped Wanban and chuckled.
"Brother Yuyang, she wants us to surrender. What do you think?"
As the words left his mouth, a figure leaped into this crumbling space.
Yuyang Daozi now wore the purple-glowing Supreme Spirit Robe of Taodao Sect. Above his head floated Taodao Sect's renowned spirit treasure — the Yin-Yang Swimming Fish Seal.
It was a block-like artifact resembling a phantom, with black and white fish endlessly chasing each other.
With every revolution, a profound and mysterious power rippled outward in all directions before fading into the surroundings.
The energy from the Yin-Yang Swimming Fish Seal seeped into the surrounding spiritual energy, causing it to spiral toward Yuyang Daozi. With a single thought, he could control the energy of all four directions.
Multiple protective talismans flared to life around Yuyang Daozi. The pressure from his protective aura alone was suffocating.
In his hand, he held his natal spirit treasure — the one Chu Xingchen jokingly called a glow stick. His entire setup was dazzlingly brilliant.
Even an ordinary pig wearing this much equipment could rampage across the land.
Xu Linglong could not hide her astonishment as she watched Yuyang Daozi make his grand, bejeweled entrance.
This was truly a case of cultivation falling short, compensated by equipment.
Yuyang Daozi locked his gaze onto Xu Linglong.
"She's the one who should be begging."
[
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