A white Daoist robe, a tall crest binding black hair, and an exceedingly youthful countenance!
With just a single glance, the hook-nosed man's pupils contracted.
He said in a chilling voice, "Could it be that you are the Daoist who stopped the Thunder Prison back then?"
Luo Chen arched an eyebrow. "I hadn't realized I possessed some slight renown on your side!"
As he spoke, waves of scorching mana began to unfurl one after another.
Surging and towering, it brimmed with the overbearing dominance of one who brooked no rival!
Senluo Fire Hell instantly deployed.
In a flash, all heaven-and-earth spiritual qi of other elements was completely forced aside, leaving behind only fire-attribute qi.
True Person Shenhuo, who had been quite close by, underwent a drastic change in expression.
His domain was also based on controlling fire-attribute qi, yet in mere moments, he had actually lost his command over the ambient qi.
Casting a wary glance at Luo Chen, True Person Shenhuo immediately departed the area.
The Demon Emperor opposing Shenhuo felt equally uncomfortable, tacitly shifting to a different battlefield along with him.
If even mere onlookers were affected to such an extent, the hook-nosed Demon Emperor directly facing Luo Chen felt it far more deeply.
He clearly perceived his own Nascent Soul domain being suppressed by a vastly greater power, making it difficult even to expand it.
Under such circumstances, he had neither the advantage of time nor terrain.
*This man is far more formidable than I imagined!*
With a flick of thought, he hesitated no longer and shot skyward.
"If you have the courage, then face me in the skies!"
Luo Chen smiled faintly and gave chase without hesitation.
Not only that, each of his hands formed an incantation seal, and as he surged forward, the Qingyang Great Handprint manifested once more in the world.
The continuously accumulating spiritual qi caused the majestic handprint to expand steadily.
Rumble...
From afar, it looked as though someone were stretching forth a gigantic hand, seeking to grasp the very heavens.
The hook-nosed Demon Emperor certainly would not sit waiting for death. Upon reaching an altitude of tens of thousands of zhang, he suddenly spun around.
Treading upon a shuttle, he darted forward in a flash.
*Chii!*
The flying shuttle and the azure palm crossed paths.
The majestic mana abruptly dispersed.
Even as halos of light erupted layer upon layer across the sky, this strike was ultimately broken.
After passing each other, Luo Chen turned around, a look of keen interest appearing on his face.
"An intriguing magic treasure, and an unusual method of attack."
"Fellow Daoist, leave your name!"
The man drifted upward slowly to face Luo Chen, the shuttle swimming intimately about him like a fish.
"Under Commander Qi Xi, I am Shuangying!"
Before his words even finished echoing, he preemptively struck.
From that single brief clash just now, he had discovered that Luo Chen's mana was vast beyond imagination.
Whether it was the domain he had deployed or the spell he had casually unleashed, neither was comparable to what an ordinary early Nascent Soul cultivator could muster.
He was at least on par with the Demon Emperors of the fifth or sixth level of Nascent Soul that Shuangying had encountered in the demon army.
Against such an opponent, failing to seize the initiative in battle was no different from waiting to die!
With a flick of his hand, the shuttle abruptly vanished from beside him.
When it reappeared, it was already within three zhang of Luo Chen.
*Swish!*
The shuttle pierced straight through. Furthermore, an enormous pale-azure eagle talon clawed out from the void.
Faced with this, Luo Chen remained unhurried and lightly took a step.
In the nick of time, he cleanly evaded the pincer attack of both methods.
"Eh? What sort of technique is this?" Demon Emperor Shuangying could not help but let out a gasp of surprise upon seeing both his overt and covert attacks miss.
Yet he did not halt his offensive.
The shuttle plunged into the void once more, concealing itself in the shadows.
As both his hands clawed at empty air, gigantic azure eagle talons manifested in the sky one after another, tearing toward Luo Chen from angles entirely unexpected.
The interplay of light and shadow made the attacks even harder to guard against!
After all, that shuttle had broken even Luo Chen's Qingyang Great Handprint. Were it to inadvertently strike a body, an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator would never withstand it.
Yet to his utter annoyance, no matter how many eagle talons he swung, that human Nascent Soul who styled himself the Alchemy Grandmaster consistently dodged them by a hair's breadth from inches away.
The footwork was so exquisite and the evasions so uncanny that his eyes could no longer track them; only by fully releasing his divine sense could he glimpse a fleeting trace of an opening.
*Swish!*
Amidst the dense shadows of talons, the shuttle reappeared!
*This time, he won't escape!*
Luo Chen abruptly halted, a helpless look surfacing on his face.
A perfect-grade Moon Step was still unable to entirely break the divine sense lock of a Nascent Soul Demon Emperor, especially when the shuttle magic treasure moved even faster than an ordinary flying sword.
A crimson glow flashed from his right hand. He extended his paired fingers and suddenly pointed toward the back of his head.
He lightly flicked.
*Ding!*
As though struck by an immense impact, the shuttle tumbled and flew backward in retreat.
In the distance, Shuangying's face paled slightly as he muffled a grunt.
Disbelief was written across his features.
Using physical fingers to directly flick away a shuttle at the level of a True Artifact—what sort of technique was this?
*No, neither the displacement technique earlier nor the flicking of the shuttle just now were spells, but purely physical might!*
*Not only does this man possess monstrous mana, he also commands an unimaginably terrifying physique!*
*I am no match for him!*
At this realization, no fear showed on his face; instead, a vicious resolve surfaced.
He clapped his hands together and then tore them apart!
Like wings spreading wide, surging demonic qi billowed out in every direction.
A bitter wind howled, and mist rolled.
A giant azure eagle nearly two hundred zhang in size displayed its majestic, gallant posture in the skies.
Flapping its wings violently, gusts of ice and frost swept toward Luo Chen alongside the gale.
In the blink of an eye, the entire firmament seemed blanketed in frost and snow.
Even Luo Chen's Senluo Fire Hell was temporarily suppressed, unable to affect the enemy.
Seizing this opportunity, the giant azure eagle beat its wings and pounced toward Luo Chen.
Yet just as it was about to plunge into the storm formed by the frost and wind, the great eagle angled upward, flying toward the east without the slightest hesitation.
After giving his all, he had actually chosen to flee!
Before leaving, he cast a deep backward glance toward the direction enveloped in frost and snow, as if wanting to carve Luo Chen's visage into his memory.
It was precisely this glance that caused his pupils to shrink sharply.
He possessed absolute confidence in the Azure Mist Wind and Frost that he had diligently cultivated for centuries, certain that this technique was enough to threaten any mid Nascent Soul cultivator.
Yet at this moment, at the center of the storm, a white-robed man stepped out amidst the blanket of frost and snow.
He walked as if strolling through a courtyard, thoroughly leisurely and unperturbed!
"Fellow Daoist Shuangying, fleeing without seeing the fight through—isn't that rather slighting this master?"
As the Alchemy Grandmaster chuckled, his tightly clenched right hand slowly unfurled like a lotus flower.
At the very same instant, Shuangying felt his heart clench violently.
Looking down, he saw a wisp of bone-white flame rising coldly from within his body.
When had he been struck by this attack?
Before he had time to think, he could only watch helplessly as his once exquisite, supple azure feathers lost all luster of vitality in an instant, turning utterly dead and lifeless.
Not only that, his vigorous, powerful wings grew terribly heavy, as though stripped of all strength.
Meanwhile, the white flame steadily penetrated toward the flesh and blood within, and even into the meridians, acupoints, and the barrier of the Purple Mansion that had developed after his transformation.
Once it thoroughly infiltrated him, the consequences...
In a flash, Shuangying was scared out of his wits.
"Get out of me!"
The Nascent Soul within his body glared furiously, opening its mouth to spew forth a massive plume of mana that transformed into Nascent Soul True Fire, seeking to expel the eerie white flame that had somehow tainted his body.
However, the moment the Nascent Soul True Fire touched the white flame, it only fueled its burning.
Excruciating agony caused Shuangying to lose his speed.
His massive body began falling uncontrollably.
Midway through the descent, an azure ball of light emerged from within the giant eagle.
It cast a venomous glare at Luo Chen before lunging toward a certain spot in the void.
*Swish!*
The shuttle reappeared, covering it, and with a tremble, it sank back into the void.
Standing motionless where he was, Luo Chen nodded slightly upon seeing this.
"Struck by my Wither-Bloom Divine Fire, he immediately severed the tail like a gecko, allowing his Nascent Soul to abandon the body—remarkably decisive indeed!"
"A pity, though. It's too late!"
Without making any grand movements, he merely brought his index and middle fingers together, pointing toward a distant stretch of the void.
Then, he curled his middle finger slightly.
A light shout escaped his lips.
"Gather!"
*Hum...*
The next instant, a giant maw emerged in the void!
Looking closely, it was no maw at all, but a cauldron!
The cauldron appeared drab and unassuming, yet it was adorned with intricate carvings—birds, beasts, insects, fish, mountains, rivers, and vast seas—all vividly lifelike, as if born of nature itself.
The flying shuttle was now like a fish caught in a net, frantically darting left and right within the cauldron's mouth in an attempt to escape.
Yet how could a single fish leap out of a boundless ocean?
"Struggle no more!"
Luo Chen smiled faintly, and black arcs of lightning abruptly erupted within the Hunyuan Cauldron.
*Crack!*
*Snap!*
*Sizzle!*
Piercing shrieks echoed incessantly.
Faintly, pleas for mercy could be heard.
"Fellow Daoist, spare my life!"
"I am willing to surrender and serve as your mount!"
"You stone-hearted bastard, you will die a wretched death..."
The screams gradually grew faint.
When the black lightning flashed and vanished, a wisp of azure smoke drifted gently upward.
Only that flying shuttle remained, floating alone in the Hunyuan Cauldron, bewildered and at a loss.
*Thud!*
Upon the earth, the colossal carcass of the giant eagle crashed down abruptly.
Unable to dodge in time, dozens of demon beasts were squashed directly into meat paste.
The nearby living beings, whether humans or demons, stopped fighting simultaneously, staring at this sight in sheer terror.
The body was brimming with life force, yet devoid of any will—unmistakably a soulless corpse.
A cultivator murmured in a daze, "A Demon Emperor... has fallen!"
The crash of the Demon Emperor's corpse was like a signal.
In their panic, countless low-tier demon beasts receded like an ebbing tide.
Every cultivator stood frozen where they were, their gazes turning toward the high heavens.
A figure in a white robe and a tall crest descended slowly.
The immense pressure of his mana pushed back the bloody fires of war upon the ground.
His robe was untainted by a speck of dust, and not a single strand of his bound black hair was out of place.
His figure paused above the corpse of Demon Emperor Shuangying, remaining silent as though observing something.
All around, the sound of people swallowing hard could be clearly heard.
Shortly after came a timid voice: "Lord Alchemy Grandmaster."
"Alchemy Grandmaster" was already an honorific, and the word "Lord" added even greater awe and dread!
Luo Chen glanced at the person and nodded slightly.
The next moment, cheers like rolling tsunamis erupted.
"Lord Alchemy Grandmaster has vanquished the foe and slain the demon!"
"The beast horde retreats! A great victory! A grand victory!"
Amidst the chorus of jubilation, a graceful, lovely figure drifted down from the city walls and arrived beside Luo Chen.
She could not help but glance down at the mountain-like, charred corpse on the ground, the scent of roasted meat filling her nostrils.
*Gulp!*
"Fellow Daoist Luo, you killed him?"
"Yes."
The Second Palace Mistress of Fenghua Palace parted her red lips slightly, looking thoroughly incredulous.
How much time had passed since the two of them ascended to the heavens to battle?
Even by the most generous estimate, it hadn't taken the time to drink a cup of tea!
A Demon Emperor of a generation had died just like that?
That was a Demon Emperor at the third level of Nascent Soul!
Furthermore, judging by his true form, he was an avian eagle beast, excelling above all in speed.
Such an existence could flee if he couldn't win; how could it come to leaving his very physical body behind?
Yet the truth lay right before her eyes, leaving her no choice but to believe it.
Clinging to a shred of hope, the Second Palace Mistress asked, "Did the demon's Nascent Soul escape?"
"Unfortunately, this demon had the misfortune of running into me."
Luo Chen toyed with an object shaped like a weaving shuttle in his hand, speaking in a flat tone as though he had done something of no consequence.
"Soul and spirit utterly extinguished, forever barred from reincarnation."
The Second Palace Mistress stared at the shuttle and fell silent.
The man and woman stood quietly in the center of the battlefield.
The low-tier cultivators nearby began sweeping the battlefield, yet they still could not stop casting glances toward the two.
After about two or three minutes passed, Luo Chen suddenly spoke: "They have returned!"
As if by prior agreement, three figures flew back simultaneously from different directions.
A golden light arrived first.
The moment True Person Jinling touched down, his gaze shifted from the azure eagle's corpse to Luo Chen.
Even though he had sensed this scene from dozens of li away, it remained hard to believe.
Next, a brilliant crimson light blazed as True Person Shenhuo returned.
He appeared slightly disheveled, his aura somewhat unsteady, but overall unharmed.
Yet when the final yellow light landed and dispersed its mana, Old Ghost Motian could not suppress it and spat out a large mouthful of clotted blood.
Upon his chest was a distinct black palm print that had pierced clean through his protective robe.
"Fellow Daoist Motian, it seems your condition isn't looking too good! I dabble slightly in the medicinal arts and happen to have some healing spirit pills. Do you require my assistance?"
Luo Chen laughed aloud, his voice so resonant that it could be heard clearly for several li around.
He had done it on purpose!
Old Ghost Motian's face was deathly pale as he glared viciously at Luo Chen.
Yet in the eyes of the several Nascent Soul Zhenren, that venomous glare carried a weakness that could not be concealed.
"No need!"
Without further words, Old Ghost Motian headed straight into Lingtian Pass.
Luo Chen smiled faintly, appearing entirely indifferent to the man's discourtesy.
Shifting his gaze, his eyes landed on Jinling and Shenhuo.
With just that single look, mana fluctuations uncontrollably surged from True Person Shenhuo.
"What are you trying to do..."
Jinling raised a hand, cutting off his junior brother.
He stared coldly at Luo Chen, a hint of wariness showing in his eyes.
"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, on slaying a formidable foe in battle!"
With that, he led True Person Shenhuo away from the devastated battlefield.
Only the Second Palace Mistress remained beside Luo Chen.
The atmosphere seemed rather stiff.
The Second Palace Mistress wore a look of indignation. "If not for you swiftly dispatching that demon and intimidating the other three Demon Emperors, how could they have extricated themselves so quickly? Rather than showing gratitude, they put on such sour faces."
Indeed!
A battle between Nascent Soul figures would drag on for half a day unless there was an absolute gap in cultivation realms.
Someone like Old Ghost Motian, who had lost his True Artifact, the Motian Cliff, and whose cultivation realm was somewhat lacking, would have found it uncertain whether he could return alive, let alone disengage, had the fight dragged on.
Luo Chen didn't mind and offered a few comforting words to her.
In his eyes, putting on sour faces?
Heh, nothing more than putting on a brave front to mask their inner cowardice!
The Second Palace Mistress vented a few more indignant words on Luo Chen's behalf, then pointed at the massive creature on the ground. "Fellow Daoist Luo, how do you intend to handle this Demon Emperor's corpse?"
Looking down at the charred carcass of Shuangying, Luo Chen licked his lips.
This was quite a substantial spoil of war!
Though it looked pitch-black and burnt to a crisp on the outside, the interior was actually undamaged.
Once that Demon Emperor Shuangying realized things were amiss, his Nascent Soul had abandoned the body immediately, so Luo Chen naturally had not continued burning the physical form.
And the corpse of a beast at the Demon Emperor rank was a treasure from head to tail!
Leaving aside the shuttle, from this corpse alone, Luo Chen had struck it rich.
More importantly, through this battle, Luo Chen had tested the true power of his Tier 5 Wither-Bloom Divine Fire!
*Perhaps I was being overly cautious before?*
With that thought in mind, Luo Chen said casually, "Have men carry it back into the city. Set aside a portion of the flesh, blood, and materials; whoever is interested in the rest can purchase them at the Luotian Treasure Pavilion."
The Second Palace Mistress nodded and immediately ordered people to handle the Demon Emperor's corpse.
In truth, there was no need for her to summon anyone.
The Luotian Sect cultivators, who had been waiting nearby for quite some time, greeted Luo Chen with reverence and eagerly hoisted the massive corpse of Shuangying, marching toward the interior of Lingtian Pass.
Wherever they passed, an uproar erupted!
Aside from the several corpses left behind when the eight Demon Emperors launched their assault on Lingtian Pass, this was the very first Demon Emperor-rank existence to fall before the battle lines since the war began.
And the one who had slain him was none other than the already renowned Grand Supreme of Luotian, the Alchemy Grandmaster Luo Chen!
For a time, even though fighting in the other sectors had yet to cease, the discussions about Luo Chen within the city drowned out everything else!
Chapter 815