Three attacks struck almost simultaneously, with only one target in mind.
Terrifying demon qi instantly tore through everything.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out as the earth caved in and shockwaves ripped through the void.
Amidst the warped space, the hellish mountain of white bones crumbled in an instant.
The tremendous aftermath swept in all directions like a tempest, forcing back anyone with weaker magic power and sending them stumbling step after step.
Three figures stood aloft in the high sky, gazing quietly down at the epicenter shrouded in endless smoke.
One possessed a skeletal body and a savage bull's head, resembling both demon and ghost.
One bore a ferocious visage, his sharp aura on full display.
One had a sallow complexion and a listless air, yet extreme cruelty gleamed within his eyes.
Due to the trio’s strike, the other skirmishes across the battlefield had scattered.
Upon seeing the two newcomers, the demon race cried out in shock and excitement.
"Commander Huang Man!"
"Commander Bi Zheng!"
On the human side, the expressions of the five Nascent Soul cultivators instantly twisted.
"Isn't Bi Zheng supposed to be in the Five Elements Domain? How did he end up here?"
"After the peace talks at Biyou broke down, Huang Man fled into the Million Mountains. Why did he return?"
"Why are they targeting Luo Chen?"
That last question came from Lingfengzi, his voice trembling slightly.
No one answered them.
The auras of three Great Demon Sovereigns permeated the firmament, their respective Nascent Soul domains carving out separate territories that made it difficult for any living creature to draw breath.
Qin Baixiang stared at this scene with trembling eyes, his feet involuntarily shuffling backward.
Suddenly!
"This battle has exceeded my abilities. Forgive me, but I am powerless to help. Farewell!"
"You..."
Lingfengzi looked at Qin Baixiang in shock, only to see the man turn and flee without hesitation, having no desire whatsoever to linger on this battlefield.
Though he had cowered before even fighting, their opponents were indeed formidable beyond imagination.
Master Xianhe and the Crane Sovereign exchanged a glance, their unspoken understanding already aligning their thoughts.
Though they had not fled in panic yet, their posture clearly showed they were ready to withdraw the moment the tide turned sour.
As Luo Chen's nominal junior brother, Lingfengzi found himself in the most agonizing dilemma.
He could sense that Luo Chen's aura still lingered, but he dared not imagine what lay ahead.
Should he fight, or should he flee?
His conflicted gaze turned toward Sovereign Jiuling.
The sovereign stared unblinkingly at the heart of the smoke and dust. He retrieved a time-worn medicinal pill and held it in his mouth, poised on the verge of letting it dissolve.
"Luo Chen is not dead!"
"In this battle, he came for my sake. Sovereign Jiuling will never abandon him!"
His words rang out with resolute force, drawing even Bi Zheng’s savage glare from high above.
Sovereign Jiuling showed no fear. His aura climbed steadily, growing faster by the moment, and the River of the Nine Heavens manifested beside him once more, flowing lazily.
Bi Zheng gave a cold snort, looked away from Sovereign Jiuling, and cast his gaze back upon the center of their combined assault.
Thick dust and smoke settled from the sky like a curtain, making it impossible to discern the precise situation within.
Yet deep inside, a boundless, burgeoning vitality was undisguisedly welling outward.
A raspy voice drifted from within.
"In the past, three human Great Cultivators besieged Cangwu Qingshuang. Today, three Great Demon Sovereigns join forces against me."
"What virtue or capability does this humble master possess to warrant such honor?"
"Hu..."
That final exhalation sounded like the breath of a desolate beast that had roamed the vast earth in ancient times. A single gust scattered the thick shroud of smoke.
The three Great Demon Sovereigns looked down together.
Within a terrifying crater, a nine-zhang-tall giant knelt on one knee, propping himself up with a blood-colored sword. Above his head hovered a small, dull grey cauldron whose spiritual light had faded.
He was slowly rising to his feet.
As he stood, a horrifying sight was revealed.
Numerous shattered armor plates were embedded deep in his flesh, and those exposed clattered noisily against the violent winds.
Those plates belonged to the Xuanchen Armor, which had not yet fully recovered from prior damage.
The nine-zhang giant drew in a breath, and the Hunyuan Cauldron—having borne the brunt of three Great Demon Sovereigns' attacks—shrank in size, wavering as it was swallowed back into his purple mansion.
Reaching out, he forcefully yanked a dull yellow armor scale from his flesh.
The giant glanced at the shard, a trace of regret appearing on his face.
Damaged to this extent, the Xuanchen Armor likely could not be restored to its original state without centuries of nurturing.
Centuries?
He had not even cultivated for that long. If he truly had to wait for the Xuanchen Armor to recover, he might as well forge a brand-new defensive treasure.
Once the plate was pulled out, the mangled flesh on the giant's body writhed and quickly restored itself.
It was as if those gruesome wounds had never existed in the first place.
High in the sky, the three demons narrowed their pupils as they watched, seemingly realizing something.
Niugui said in a deep voice, "I bear no blood feud with the Alchemy Grandmaster. I only want the Void-Accumulating Flower!"
Bi Zheng sneered. "Luo Chen was marked for death by Lord Ao Kuang himself. He must die today!"
Huang Man's face brimmed with hatred as he glared viciously at the giant slowly straightening his posture.
"The Mingyuan Sect brought about my father's ruin, and this Luo Chen is the figure the Mingyuan Sect values most. Worse, he even enslaved my brother for a time."
"Today, we settle both old scores and new!"
"I will make the Mingyuan Sect feel the pain!"
The three spoke to themselves as though answering Luo Chen's earlier remark.
Yet none struck immediately, because the aura currently emanating from Luo Chen sent an uneasy shudder through their hearts.
Swish! Swish!
Luo Chen stood upright and jerked his head up, his pale gold eyes glaring at the three like those of an enraged beast.
"Do you truly think you have me at your mercy?"
Before his voice faded, Luo Chen stomped a single foot.
Boom!
The earth surged violently, as if a subterranean dragon had turned in its slumber.
Luo Chen shot into the sky like an arrow unleashed, the void booming as he slashed a sword toward the three demons.
At this moment, he cast aside all external aids, relying solely on the blood sword in his hand.
Surging magic power poured unsparingly into the Yuantu Sword, releasing a dazzling arc of sword light that cleaved diagonally upward.
Facing this lone opponent daring to take the initiative against superior numbers, the three Great Demon Sovereigns remained unperturbed. Their divine senses had kept Luo Chen locked down all along.
Seeing him strike first, they unleashed their power together without hesitation.
Boom!
With just a single clash, the sword light was utterly snuffed out.
And as fast as Luo Chen had charged, he was driven back just as quickly.
Like a falling meteorite, he crashed back down into the earth.
Watching his desperate resistance, a fierce look flashed across Huang Man's face. "This man will never surrender quietly. To prevent unforeseen complications, let us finish him quickly!"
Bi Zheng nodded. "Once this battle is over, I shall return to the Million Mountains."
As he spoke, a black scimitar spun out from his sleeve, whistling through the air at his side.
With a downward chop of his hand, the scimitar struck toward Luo Chen with the speed of thunder.
Niugui did not wish to delay any further either, raising his bone staff with both hands to make his move.
Right at that moment, a ray of nine-colored brilliance surged toward him from the distance.
"Niugui, our battle is not yet over!"
It was Sovereign Jiuling!
Before Niugui could react to his assault, the three surviving ordinary Demon Sovereigns moved.
However, they did not manage to intercept Sovereign Jiuling; instead, they were blocked by Lingfengzi and the other two.
"Your opponents are us!"
Lingfengzi gritted his teeth and spat out harsh words, boldly taking on the mid fourth-rank Demon Sovereign despite being merely in the early Nascent Soul realm.
Master Xianhe and the Crane Sovereign each took on one demon as well.
Even so, they deliberately steered their fight outward, keeping their distance from the battlefield of Great Cultivator caliber.
Niugui furrowed his brows and leveled his bone staff at Sovereign Jiuling, who was charging forward without regard for his own life.
"Once I dispose of this man, I will return to help you execute Luo Chen!"
Huang Man glanced at Sovereign Jiuling, a rough stone club appearing in his hand.
"No need for your help. Bi Zheng and I are more than enough!"
With that, the three demons split up.
Niugui's staff expanded with the wind until it towered a thousand zhang high. Gripping it with both hands, he rammed it violently into the earth.
Instantly, white bones surged from the ground, raising a mountain anew!
This mountain of bone had once trapped Luo Chen inside, forcing him to endure the combined strike of the three Great Demon Sovereigns. How could Sovereign Jiuling hope to withstand it?
Yet Sovereign Jiuling did not flee; he charged straight inside, his nine-colored river of light washing against the endless bones.
He could not run. If he left, Luo Chen would have to face the combined onslaught of three Great Demon Sovereigns.
Therefore, even if it meant throwing himself into peril, he had to pin down Niugui!
Meanwhile, on Luo Chen's side.
Clang!
A single sword parry blocked the black scimitar, setting off a shower of brilliant sparks.
Suddenly, the black scimitar split into many, transforming into a deluge of blade light that submerged Luo Chen.
"Ugh..."
With a muffled grunt, Luo Chen unleashed his origin power, forcefully driving back the myriad blades.
When he reappeared, his body was covered in countless fresh lacerations.
Bi Zheng flew over. Seeing this, his expression turned solemn, as if he had just realized something.
"So it is indeed reattaching severed limbs and flesh rebirth. To think that a mere human like you could achieve a level of physical cultivation rivaling that of demon beasts."
Luo Chen caught his breath. His opponent's methods were exceedingly vicious.
The black scimitar was incomparably sharp, yet packed with erratic transformations.
Having lost the protection of the Xuanchen Armor, he could only rely on his formidable physique to endure the onslaught.
Although his body had been refined until it rivaled the toughness of a True Artifact, no matter how resilient it was, it could not indefinitely withstand round after round of such attacks.
Whoosh!
A piercing sonic boom suddenly erupted.
It struck precisely during the lull when Luo Chen's old momentum had expired and his new power had yet to rise.
Above his head, a massive stone club appeared, smashing downward with the crushing force of a thunderbolt.
Gritting his teeth, Luo Chen extended his left hand and struck out with the Mountain Breaker Stance.
Yet it merely slowed the club's descent by a fraction; it continued to smash downward with unstoppable momentum.
At the very instant when he seemed helpless—
"Roar!"
Black qi billowed from Luo Chen's left arm, and a black dragon surged forth with an imposing roar, horns bristling fiercely.
A single blow!
Black King took the heavy impact directly.
Yet he did not retreat an inch. His massive body coiled upward like a vine, wrapping tightly around the stone club and steadily grinding away its thunderous momentum.
Whoosh!
The stone club abruptly shrank and flew back into Huang Man's hand.
He stared downward in astonishment. Wrapped around the waist, belly, and arm of the nine-zhang giant was a small black dragon, only its head exposed, glaring viciously at him.
"A demon beast? No, a desolate beast!"
Having weathered these two successive attacks, Luo Chen finally caught his breath and sent a divine sense transmission:
"Black King, I leave the protection of my body to you."
Black King replied in a gruff voice, "Xiao Hei is honored to serve! However..."
Black King glanced across the two Great Demon Sovereigns, his tone turning exceedingly grave.
"Master, how did you provoke such terrifying enemies this time?!"
Luo Chen shook his head without answering.
It was not that he had provoked them.
Rather, they had come prepared!
This battle would be the most perilous encounter of his entire life!
Before it had barely begun, his natal treasure had suffered severe damage, and his protective armor was practically ruined.
Had his divine soul not been exceptionally powerful, the backlash from the damage to his two treasures alone would have rendered him incapable of fighting on.
In truth, it was precisely the severe blow to the Hunyuan Cauldron that had divided his concentration, causing him to appear so battered when withstanding those two strikes just now.
Yet at this juncture, he could not afford to dwell on the loss.
Luo Chen looked down at the Yuantu Sword, which was trembling and humming incessantly.
"Today, I must rely on you!"
A ruthless look flashed across Luo Chen's face, and he bit the tip of his tongue.
Splash!
A mouthful of essence blood sprayed across the Yuantu Sword.
*Since you crave my blood, drink your fill!*
At this moment, Luo Chen no longer cared about conserving his precious essence blood, intending to awaken the Yuantu sword spirit.
Having received the infusion of essence blood, the Yuantu Sword let out a resonant ring.
A sudden flash of crimson light flared, and an unrivaled stench of blood instantly surged in all directions.
Vaguely, the dying wails of a Soul Formation grandmaster seemed to echo from within.
*Mutilating himself in the middle of a battle?*
Huang Man and Bi Zheng exchanged a glance, instantly realizing their opponent was preparing for a desperate, do-or-die struggle.
"Strike together!"
"Do not give him another moment to breathe!"
Two silhouettes suddenly burst forward.
The black scimitar and the rough stone club struck out simultaneously.
Retreating frantically, Luo Chen took in the overwhelming stench of blood rushing from his hand.
The third seal had been temporarily broken by his essence blood.
The Yuantu sword spirit was awakening!
Facing the attacks arriving in swift succession, Luo Chen formed a seal with one hand, his magic power churning.
A fire phoenix screeched, soaring into the sky.
A flame dragon descended, roaring to incinerate the world.
Yet these were merely ordinary techniques; even at their peak, they could not deflect a single blow from a Great Cultivator.
How could they hold up when cast in haste?
After buying merely an instant of delay, the fire phoenix whimpered and dissipated, while the flame dragon was shattered into pieces by a single blow from the massive stone club.
Just as the scimitar multiplied into myriad forms and the massive stone club was about to strike his flesh—
Luo Chen grasped the broad hilt with both hands and slashed his sword into the air.
Boom!
A terrifying fluctuation of magic power warped the void, ripping chilling chasms into the earth.
*Did the unsealed Yuantu Sword possess such immense might?*
The pupils of the two Great Demon Sovereigns shrank, realizing their foe had unleashed something extraordinary.
Luo Chen tumbled backward like a kite with a broken string.
The meridians within his body ran dry for a brief instant.
He had not anticipated that the awakened Yuantu sword spirit would drain magic power at such a horrifying rate.
Having his Nascent Soul channel fresh magic power would be a moment too late.
Luo Chen retrieved a wine jar, shattered it with a slap, and inhaled deeply with an open mouth.
A copious amount of Golden Wind and Jade Dew flowed down his gaping maw and into his body.
With this infusion of spiritual qi, Luo Chen's hollow sensation instantly vanished.
Watching the two relentlessly close in, Luo Chen knew that if this continued, even with the sharpness of the Yuantu Sword, he could not outlast them.
They wanted a swift resolution, and so did he!
With a thought, Luo Chen executed the Moon Step, weaving through the void before lunging toward Bi Zheng with an explosive boom.
He needed to forge a breakthrough!
Facing Luo Chen's charge, Bi Zheng sneered rather than grew angry.
"Courting death!"
Ten thousand blade lights instantly converged into one.
Clutching the black scimitar, a crescent moon manifested behind his back.
The crescent moon fused into the blade, which then slashed out!
Luo Chen swung his sword in kind.
Blade and sword clashed once more.
Clang!
To Bi Zheng's shock, a notch appeared on the natal treasure he had painstakingly tempered for centuries.
The backlash from the treasure caused him to freeze for a split second.
Right at that moment, Luo Chen patted his lower abdomen.
The Hunyuan Cauldron, which had been retracted earlier, emerged once more, spinning as it hovered in the sky above.
Bang!
The massive stone club suddenly smashed in.
Clearly, Huang Man would not grant Luo Chen an opportunity to isolate and break through Bi Zheng; his attacks had never ceased.
And this time was different from before.
Black King roared and lunged to intercept the stone club once more, but a dense yellow radiance reinforced the weapon, dealing him a crushing blow.
"Master, watch out..."
Before Black King could finish his warning, the terrifying force was transmitted into Luo Chen's body.
It knocked him down into the dust once more.
This time, Luo Chen crashed into a surging river. Blood flowed profusely, washed away by the rushing currents, leaving him in a wretched state.
Yet without pausing for a moment, he pointed a finger toward the Hunyuan Cauldron in the sky.
Crack!
A wisp of electrical arc crackled into existence.
Huang Man and Bi Zheng, who had been about to press their advantage, halted in their tracks.
Looking up at the sky, more and more black arcs of lightning began to spread outward from the small cauldron.
Dark clouds converged in a frenzy, plunging heaven and earth into profound gloom.
Streaks of lightning crisscrossed, sketching intricate patterns across the sky.
Vaguely, it felt as though some entity was about to step forth from the storm clouds.
And this familiar spectacle was something no cultivator who had attained the Nascent Soul realm could ever fail to recognize.
Two voices rang out in unison, blurting out the same words:
"A heavenly tribulation!"
Chapter 880