To the left and right, the vortexes spun frantically.
Black shifted to white as yin and yang intertwined.
Opposing streams of extreme dharmic power surged along contradictory trajectories, unleashing a terrifying grinding force.
Yet trapped at the very center, Luo Chen erupted with surging blood qi. Like an ancient desolate beast reborn, undaunted by the crushing weight of heaven and earth, he roared in defiance and struck back.
Mountain Breaking Style, Mountain Uprooting Style, Mountain Crashing Style...
Drawing upon the strengths of a hundred schools, the Demonic Lord Seven Scattered Hands erupted with unimaginable power under the reinforcement of his surging source energy, battering the two great millstones until they teetered on the brink of collapse.
Watching this display, the three Lu brothers were so shocked their jaws nearly hit the ground.
Was this still the frail physical body of a human cultivator?
Yet Luo Chen paid them no mind at all. His pale gold divine pupils were locked firmly onto the streak of white light shooting out from Mount Tianzhu.
Alarms blared madly in his mind!
Wrong! All wrong!
They had been completely mistaken!
That white-robed man earlier had merely carried a wisp of this demonic creature's aura; he was not the one from the Blade Dominance Domain back then at all!
This streak of white light was the true body!
This was the furtive, insidious entity spoken of by that old thief Shenyuan—the culprit behind the ruin of Fenghua Palace's Second Palace Master and the two True Persons of the Dieyun Sect, and the bizarre existence whose very name had struck dread into countless hearts across a century of war between humans and demons!
Now revealing itself once more, it had instantly devoured the Nascent Souls of three Tiandu Sect elders.
And at this very moment, it was rocketing straight toward Jinling.
Within his line of sight, Jinling had clearly sensed the approaching danger.
He had originally been fighting Demon Emperor Qiansuo with two golden feathers, but now he abruptly opened his mouth and spat out a streak of golden light.
Cultivated over several centuries, the *Life-Snatching Three Golden Feathers* was fully revealed to the world for the very first time.
In a single strike, a golden feather drove heavily through Demon Emperor Qiansuo's shoulder. Its overwhelming destructive force pierced countless wounds through the demon emperor's body from the inside out.
In an ordinary battle, Jinling would have pressed his advantage to finish him off. But now he could only barely force the foe back before spinning around in haste, thrusting both golden feathers straight forward.
Golden radiance and white light crossed in an instant.
Then, as if ignoring every defense, the white light plunged into Jinling's body.
Clutching the two golden feathers, Jinling looked down blankly, his eyes wide with utter disbelief.
"How... is this possible?"
Amidst his faint murmur, his body plummeted straight toward the earth like a kite with a snapped string.
A streak of white light burst out through his chest, darting clear in a flash.
Faintly, the chilling sound of chewing and swallowing could be heard.
Having slain Jinling, the white light showed no sign of stopping. It flew directly toward another enemy positioned along the same path.
Luo Chen!
Confronting this sight, the nine-zhang giant drew a breath and roared,
"Break for me!"
Overlord Sheds Armor was unleashed once more, striking the tottering Yin-Yang Millstones and delivering the final straw that broke the camel's back.
*Boom!*
The Yin-Yang Millstones shattered. The three Lu brothers coughed up blood in unison and were flung backward.
Like Jinling before him, Luo Chen had no time to pursue them. Black light flooded over him frantically as the Xuanchen Armor sealed tight over his entire frame.
Not only that, but a thick layer of protective qi armor formed an outer barrier.
His pale gold pupils blazed with brilliant radiance, staring dead at the approaching streak of white light.
Mirror Flower, Water Moon—activate!
With a single glance, Luo Chen peered through the white light and met a cruel, mocking gaze.
Luo Chen grunted, his brow furrowing tightly.
His soul foundation fell short of the opponent's. Not only did the illusion fail to take effect, but it also recoiled upon him.
Now!
The white light flickered, shooting toward Luo Chen like a sharp arrow.
The thick qi armor offered no defense whatsoever, sliced through as easily as bean curd.
The sturdy Xuanchen Armor had already been pitted and riddled with flaws from the corrosion of the Nine Chapters of Melting Bone Array earlier.
Tracing the opening, the white light sought to bore directly into Luo Chen's body.
*Bang!*
As if colliding with an impenetrable wall of bronze and iron, the white light paused in surprise.
Only then did it realize that what it had struck was Luo Chen's astonishingly tough physical body. What suffused his flesh and blood was not dharmic power, but something akin to the source power of a desolate beast!
*Is this person not human, but a desolate beast?*
In that split second of hesitation, a deafening roar tore past its ears.
"Get out!"
A dragon's head lunged out from Luo Chen's body, opening a gaping maw to force the white light back from him.
The Black King manifested and, without a word, drew in a violent breath.
A terrifying devouring force saturated the surroundings.
Having failed in its ambush, the white light lost any chance to strike again and retreated in haste.
*Huuuh...*
The Black King drew a deep breath, revealing his hundred-zhang form as he coiled in midair.
Luo Chen stood atop the dragon's spine, his eyes dark as still water, glaring into the distance.
A palace-gowned woman of breathtaking beauty.
A tall, gaunt man in white, thin as a paper cutout.
The two stood side by side.
One radiated the aura of a Great Demon Emperor, suppressing the Tiandu Sect's battlefield with an indifferent gaze.
The other was not a Great Demon Emperor, yet an eerie aura oozed from every pore. The look he cast upon each person was cruel and mocking, as though inspecting mere prey.
*Whoosh!*
A streak of azure light landed before Luo Chen.
It was Fairy Fenghua, her face pale and grim.
"Luo Chen, what do we do now?"
The situation had spun entirely out of control!
This was plainly evident from how she had cast aside the usual respectful title of "Alchemy Grandmaster" to address him by name.
Luo Chen pressed his lips tight, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.
Demon Emperor Qiansuo, Huangfengke, and the three Lu brothers were gradually regrouping at Jinxiuxian's side.
Though each was wounded, their combat strength had not been diminished to any significant degree.
On their own side, Jinling was dead. Of the Tiandu Sect's four elders, only Tianquanzi was barely capable of fighting; the rest had all perished.
As for the low-level cultivators...
For a time, an atmosphere of despair began to smother the entire battlefield.
***
"Gao Chang, this is the first time I have seen you fail."
Jinxiuxian cast a mildly surprised glance at Luo Chen, speaking in a flat tone to the white-robed man beside her.
Gao Chang tugged at the corners of his mouth, stretching them into an exaggerated grin that looked ready to split his entire face in two.
"That man has seen me before, so he was on guard the whole time."
Jinxiuxian paused, then turned her gaze toward a section of the battlefield that had been leveled to the ground.
"No wonder their opening ambush bypassed Qiansuo, Huangfengke, and the Lu brothers, targeting solely Bailan whom you possessed. So that was why!"
"It matters not. His physical body is merely a bit tough, and he has a protective demon... desolate beast?"
As Gao Chang spoke, his gaze hitched on the Black King, a look of uncertainty creeping across his face.
A Tier 4 desolate beast?
From which ancient primeval wild had this thing crawled out?
Jinxiuxian cared nothing for such details. Gazing across the dead-silent battlefield, an impatient expression crossed her cold face.
"The Tiandu Domain has delayed us for far too long. Finish them off quickly!"
With a wave of her long sleeve, the other demon emperors acknowledged the command at once.
A great slaughter was about to resume.
One could already foresee that the coming clash would be an overwhelming massacre!
Yet the moment Jinxiuxian gave the order, horror flashed across her face.
By reflex, she swept out a hand to shove the white-robed man beside her away.
In the next instant, a bolt of thunder crashed down from the heavens, narrowly grazing the space between them and obliterating her sleeve in the process.
The lightning sank into the ground, splitting the earth asunder.
Only then did the rolling boom of thunder reverberate far and wide.
"As expected of ancient demon Di Tian's favored consort. Jinxiuxian truly lives up to her name. But you may save this imp once; can you save it for a lifetime?"
A voice like rolling thunder descended from the sky.
Everyone raised their heads to see ominous clouds gathering high above the nine heavens.
A tall, upright figure stood leaning upon a pitch-black greatsword, looking down over the vast earth.
"Lei Daozi!"
Recognizing the newcomer's Daoist title, Jinxiuxian's expression changed drastically.
Without a second thought, she barked an order.
"Retreat!"
In fact, before she could even finish her command, Gao Chang—who had viewed everyone as prey only moments before—had already taken flight ahead of the rest.
At this sight, Lei Daozi let out a cold laugh. He cast a massive white net toward Gao Chang, then waved his hand.
"Pursue!"
"Leave every last beast that dared invade the Eastern Desolation buried in this soil!"
Behind him, the ominous clouds parted to reveal a line of figures.
There were no fewer than ten of them!
Every single one was a cultivator of the Nascent Soul stage!
Judging by the insignia upon their robes, they were unmistakable members of the Mingyuan Sect!
Having issued the order, Lei Daozi did not lag behind. In a flash of electric light, he set off in pursuit of Gao Chang.
From beginning to end, he had not spoken a single word to Luo Chen or Fairy Fenghua.
It was disregard, and it bordered on contempt!
Fairy Fenghua's previously rigid body suddenly loosened.
Then, fury flared across her face.
"Fellow Daoist Luo, slaying a single demon does nothing to quench the hatred in my heart. I intend to aid the Mingyuan cultivators in hunting down these fiends. Will you..."
Luo Chen shook his head, his towering frame shrinking rapidly.
"Go ahead; I will not take part. Since reinforcements have arrived, our mission is largely fulfilled. Anything further would merely be putting on finishing touches."
Returning to his normal form, Luo Chen stood in his customary white robes, immaculate and unstained, as though this brief yet perilous battle had left him utterly unharmed.
Fairy Fenghua gave Luo Chen a long look, cupped her fists, and transformed into a streak of azure light to give chase.
Once they had departed, Luo Chen drifted slowly down to the ground.
The Black King slithered over, his massive form swaying through the air.
"Master, that fellow was rather bizarre. He seemed like a ghostly entity, yet resembled a desolate beast."
"Mm."
Luo Chen gave a soft murmur of agreement. In that brief brush of contact, he too had sensed that the true form of the creature named Gao Chang was exceedingly strange.
He simply had not felt it as acutely as the Black King.
Halting his steps before a corpse whose chest had been torn wide open, Luo Chen gave a faint sigh, his expression mixed.
True Person Jinling had fallen here!
From their very first encounter, Luo Chen had never shown this man a pleasant face.
It was not merely because old thief Shenyuan had schemed against him, but because Duan Feng and his wife, close friends from his youth, had fallen during the relief battle in the Liangyi Tin Forest of the Wuji Domain all on this man's orders.
The sole reason Jinling had reassigned Duan Feng there was that Duan Feng had been skilled at identifying mineral ores.
For the sake of his friends, Luo Chen could never have treated this man with warmth,
let alone turned an enemy into a friend as he had with Pavilion Master Li and Lin Qingxuan.
Yet through fighting alongside Jinling in several subsequent battles, the formidable prowess the man displayed had earned Luo Chen's grudging respect.
He was no weakling!
Even in today's battle against Demon Emperor Qiansuo, whose fighting style countered his own, Jinling had suppressed his foe from start to finish.
What a pity...
"What a pity you did not die by my hands!"
Luo Chen raised a hand, and the two golden feathers left behind flew into his grasp.
He then sent a mental command to the Black King, who opened his jaws and swallowed Jinling's corpse whole.
Once this was done, an escape light flew out from the shattered ruins of Mount Tianzhu and landed before Luo Chen.
"Alchemy Grandmaster!"
Luo Chen looked at the pale middle-aged man and gave a Daoist salute. "It is I."
Tianquanzi looked toward the great dragon coiled behind him, hesitating.
Luo Chen smiled faintly. "This is my spirit pet. There is no cause for concern."
Tianquanzi shook his head. "That was not what I meant. I wished to ask about Fellow Daoist Jinling's remains..."
Luo Chen's smile faded. "You need not concern yourself with that. Simply tell the outside world that he perished at the hands of a Demon Emperor, leaving no remains behind."
Tianquanzi was taken aback. With so many onlookers, who would believe such a tale?
Luo Chen had no wish to pursue the topic further and changed the subject. "I have an imposition to ask. Might I view the remains of your sect's three fellow Daoists?"
Tianquanzi frowned, his instinct being to refuse.
Yet recalling how Luo Chen had come to the Tiandu Sect's aid today, and how he had stood his ground even when facing overwhelming odds before the Mingyuan Sect reinforcements arrived, Tianquanzi ultimately agreed.
Moments later, Luo Chen stood in an empty, cavernous hall.
The remains of the Tiandu Sect's three fallen Nascent Soul elders lay laid out before him.
Unlike Jinling, none of the three bore a pierced chest or torn abdomen.
"How did they die?"
"An ambush. While we were projecting our Nascent Souls to reinforce the Bagua diagram with all our might, it suddenly appeared and devoured my three junior brothers' Nascent Souls. Had my reactions been any slower in pulling my own Nascent Soul back into my purple mansion, I fear I would have met the same fate."
"Did it not press the attack on you?"
"It had no time. I activated the array and temporarily displaced it outside Mount Tianzhu."
***
Luo Chen did not linger long at the Tiandu Sect. Having inquired into the specifics of the incident, he had the Black King carry him as they flew at an unhurried pace toward Lingtian Pass.
Luo Chen sat cross-legged atop the dragon's back.
With a Great Soul Pill held under his tongue, he worked to mend the soul injuries caused by the illusion's backlash.
Under the steady exhalation of his dharmic power, the pitted, battered Xuanchen Armor began to slowly knit itself whole.
Only as night fell did Luo Chen slowly open his eyes.
In this battle, aside from the slight backlash to his divine soul, he had suffered virtually no physical injury.
With the Great Soul Pill at work, that minor damage posed no real concern.
Had Gao Chang not launched that sudden ambush, Luo Chen was fully confident he could have broken through the array and dispatched the three Lu brothers unscathed.
"Gao Chang..."
Sitting cross-legged on the dragon's back, Luo Chen murmured the name softly.
"A desolate beast, and a ghostly entity!"
"Ignores defensive barriers and qi armor, unaffected by physical treasures."
"Extremely swift, capable of breaching a cultivator's purple mansion barrier to feast upon Nascent Souls."
"The means to counter it... an exceptionally powerful physical body—no, a powerful physical body fortified with the source power of a desolate beast—and lightning power specifically meant to vanquish yin ghosts!"
This final conclusion was drawn from Gao Chang's terrified reaction the moment Lei Daozi appeared.
Lei Daozi Zhang Che had been renowned for years, but what truly allowed him to stand at the pinnacle of the Eastern Desolation's geniuses was his comprehension of thunder law true intent.
Judging by his strike today, even Jinxiuxian dared not meet it head-on.
His formidable reputation was by no means unearned!
"Yet he had clearly arrived long ago, but chose to look on in cold detachment while we fought to the bitter end, leaving four Nascent Soul True Persons to die on the spot."
"His intentions are truly malicious!"
Luo Chen's eyes narrowed to slits, his murmured words dripping with icy resolve.
Chapter 840