True Form

Hiss... A bizarre sound rose around his ears, seemingly coming from everywhere at once. Qianji Demon King appeared to have vanished. In Qin Sang's vision, serpentine shadows danced wildly in erratic, ever-shifting patterns. Although he could clearly distinguish between the genuine shadows and the false ones without falling prey to illusions, handling them with ease was by no means simple. Whoosh! Countless serpentine silhouettes snapped together in an instant. A gale whipped the black mist into a massive, tornado-like snake form that twisted without pause and pounced straight at him! Qin Sang's expression grew solemn. This was no illusion. Rather, Qianji Demon King's fist strikes had become so blindingly fast that they left trailing afterimages. With every punch converging into a single strike, their power seemed to stack cumulatively—an undoubtedly formidable combat technique! Now countless times larger than before, the serpentine silhouette closed in rapidly. It moved with such blinding speed that it seemed to break the sound barrier; shrill, piercing shrieks reverberated between the two mountain peaks, rattling his eardrums and shaking his mind. A violent gale lashed his face. In that split second, Qin Sang was seized by a suffocating sensation. Qianji Demon King's movements were simply too swift, leaving Qin Sang precious little time to react. He fell back at high speed. At the same time, the spirit sword circling him darted in front of him, its tip pulsing with a hazy green glow—the sole beam of light cutting through the black mist. Hum! Amid the booming echoes, the hum of the blade was nearly inaudible. Yet both Qin Sang and Qianji Demon King could clearly see the sword radiance erupt along the blade into a dazzling pillar of light, exuding an aura every bit as formidable as that of Qianji Demon King. In the end, it even pierced through the barrier of black mist, thrusting straight toward the firmament! Before Qianji Demon King could react, illusory sword rays burst from the pillar of light in rapid succession. Sword Ray Differentiation. A deluge of sword strikes fell like rain. A dizzying flurry of sword rays rained down upon the serpentine shadow. Qianji Demon King was formidable indeed. Faced with this onslaught of myriad swords hacking down at once, he showed no inclination to yield, pressing resolutely forward instead! Whew! The first sword ray sank into the serpentine silhouette and vanished in a flash. Looking closely, one could faintly see that the moment the sword ray struck, a dark shadow twisted across the serpent's form, entangling the sword ray until both annihilated each other. Similar clashes erupted one after another. Ray after ray of sword light was extinguished at Qianji Demon King's hands, and the massive serpentine silhouette shrank rapidly. Yet his momentum remained relentless, without a moment's pause. Qin Sang shifted his sword incantation unhurriedly. The spirit sword trembled, and the pillar of light condensed into a giant sword that slashed down from midair toward the serpent shadow! Boom! It was another direct collision, yet far more terrifying in force than the last. The earth shook, and loose boulders rolled down the two mountain slopes. The sword light and the serpentine shadow tore into each other in a mutual frenzy of consumption, locked in a stalemate. With his advance checked, Qianji Demon King's figure emerged. Then, with a sudden cold snort, he shifted several paces laterally. The next instant, another silhouette materialized precisely where Qianji Demon King had stood. Qin Sang had divided his focus to launch a surprise attack, but he struck nothing but empty air. He was not surprised. Licking his lips, he reached out to recall his spirit sword, then joined his blade in a surge from defense to all-out offense! This was true harmony between man and sword. Flapping his wings, Qin Sang transformed into a bolt of lightning, soaring alongside the spirit sword. His figure melted into countless sword rays, elusive and unpredictable. Bang! Bang! Qianji Demon King countered hurriedly. For a time, he was driven into disarray, forced into steady retreat under Qin Sang's onslaught. Although Qin Sang was not as well-versed in unarmed close combat as Qianji Demon King, his supreme swordsmanship was more than enough to make up for his shortcomings, the blade moving with his intent in flawless unison. Qianji Demon King had likely never encountered such an unyielding, relentless sword cultivator and was left somewhat dazed at first. Yet, being a renowned demon king, he quickly devised a countermeasure. The black mist roiled like storm clouds, surging wildly toward Qin Sang. As the sluggish drag grew increasingly pronounced, Qin Sang remained composed. He discreetly formed a hand seal, activating three of the demonic banners within his sleeves to unleash a stream of demonic fire. The demonic fire was not aimed at Qianji Demon King. Instead, it washed over Qin Sang himself, rapidly spreading out and solidifying into a suit of fiery armor. The instant the black mist touched the demonic fire, it was burned entirely away, giving off a strange odor. Although the demonic fire could not incinerate all of the black mist, Qin Sang's exposure to its effects was reduced to the absolute minimum under its protection. Seeing this, Qianji Demon King's expression shifted slightly. A cold gleam flickered in his eyes, and his body twisted, transforming into a gigantic demonic python over a hundred feet long. The demonic python reared upright, looking down at Qin Sang with icy, sinister eyes. Its scales were not purely black, but closer to gray, covered from head to tail with dark spots. It was none other than the renowned demon serpent—the Black-Spotted King Snake! "His demon body?" Qin Sang grew wary. Only when a demon beast revealed its original form was its combat strength truly at its peak. Sure enough, once Qianji Demon King assumed his demon form, the disadvantage he had suffered against Qin Sang was instantly reversed. Despite its enormous size, the demonic python moved with astonishing agility, and its scales were exceedingly tough. The stray sword rays that managed to graze it produced only a shower of sparks, entirely unable to breach its defenses. Whoosh! The python sprang aside to dodge an attack, then whipped its tail around in a savage lash. Taking advantage of Qin Sang's evasive maneuver, the python's figure blurred and split into three. Two phantoms swept out to either side, penning Qin Sang in the center. The three giant pythons towered over him, six cold eyes staring straight at Qin Sang. Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly. Even without the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, he could easily tell which two were illusions, yet he still sensed a thread of genuine threat emanating from them. "I wonder what divine ability this is..." The thought had barely crossed Qin Sang's mind when the three demonic pythons lunged in unison. "Seven Po Killing Array!" Not daring to hesitate, Qin Sang immediately recalled his spirit sword, pointed forward, and struck the blade with several incantations in rapid succession. Radiant light erupted all around him! Seven sword souls materialized first, followed by slender sword rays dividing outward. Taking the sword souls as their core framework, they swiftly assembled into a sword array that rotated slowly above Qin Sang's head. The sword array Qin Sang now deployed looked vastly different from how it had appeared before he formed his Nascent Soul. These sword rays were each a foot long, fully solidified and indistinguishable from the physical spirit sword itself. As the spirit sword trembled softly, the sword rays hummed in harmonic resonance. This was the Seven Po Killing Array. Although Qin Sang had yet to fathom its deepest mysteries, its sheer power far surpassed what it had been before! Just as the sword array took shape, the three demonic pythons pounced together. Even before the physical attack reached him, a terrifying force rippled through the empty air, twisting the space itself. Qin Sang felt as though he were being constricted by a real python, torn and wrenched simultaneously by three distinct forces. Qin Sang forcibly tore himself free from the binding force and formed a sword incantation. Sky-shattering killing intent surged as countless sword shadows vanished into thin air, only to reappear across the surroundings the next instant, enclosing all three demonic pythons beneath the sword array! He had no fear of exposing his identity as a human: he possessed pure demon qi within his body, the genuine wings of a Qingluan, and the Heavenly Demon Dharma Idol behind his head. Seeing all this, who would dare claim he was not of the demon race? In truth, even among true Transformation stage great demons, those capable of comprehending the dharma idol of their ancestors were as rare as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns. Faced with Qin Sang, they might well feel ashamed of their own shortcomings.