Battle to the Death

Ear-piercing sword chimes rang out relentlessly, everywhere at once. The ebony sword transformed into a sword array, the Seven Po Killing Array cycling in continuous motion to lock down and slaughter the Blood Demon avatar. The Blood Demon avatar neither dodged nor retreated. The Blood Moon Wheel hovered above his head, its bloody glow flickering repeatedly; unaware that Qin Sang had already exhausted his Foul Blood Divine Light, he remained somewhat wary when employing magic treasures. A blood-red curtain cascaded down from the Blood Moon Wheel, encircling his body so securely that the sword qi could scarcely pierce through. Having tasted the might of the Seven Po sword array before, the Blood Demon avatar had acquired a good deal of experience in countering it. For a long time, the sword array could not break his guard. With a shift in incantation, Qin Sang recalled the sword array. The ebony sword flew back, and immediately following it, the Nine Nether Demonic Fire surged forth with majestic momentum, lunging out like a vicious dragon. The moment he made contact with the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, the Blood Demon avatar felt a foreboding premonition. Back when Qin Sang had wielded the Twelve Demonic Banners, the power of the demonic fire had been considerable, but it was nowhere near comparable to what it was now. The Blood Demon avatar sensed a mortal threat! Old Demon Ye was a veteran of countless battles. After a few exchanges, the Blood Demon avatar discerned that Qin Sang’s control over the demonic fire was slightly unpracticed and far from mastery, indicating he had yet to fully refine the fire. As long as he seized upon any openings and tangled with Qin Sang, taking care not to let himself be trapped and slain by the demonic fire, his life should not be in danger. Yet precisely at this moment, he could not afford to step aside, or he would bring even greater trouble upon his true body. The Blood Demon avatar's heart sank. Under the current circumstances, there was only one choice: fight to the death! *Buzz, buzz...* Like the eye of a sea of blood, the Blood Moon Wheel poured forth endless torrents of bloody radiance. In an instant, the area surrounding the Blood Demon avatar turned into a bloody sea. His figure disappeared into its depths as layers of tangible crimson light stacked upon one another, rumbling continuously with a deafening roar. Even the surrounding blood mist and the bloody water within the blood pool were drawn toward this sea of blood, the blood qi amassed here over ages being absorbed to bolster its might and ferocity. Seeing this, Qin Sang hurriedly urged the demon banners. The eighteen demon banners grew wildly until each stood thirty feet tall, looming in the void and revolving swiftly around Qin Sang. Beams of demonic fire shot out, spreading wide. Across the sky, black flames blazed furiously, clinging to the edges of the blood sea and incinerating the blood light. Colossal waves surged across the bloody sea, while the demonic fire possessed the might to scorch the heavens and boil the seas. In a flash, the momentum and grandeur of the battle soared to an absolute peak, surpassing even the clash between Demon Monarch Tongyou and Old Man Tianzheng. Sensing the commotion unfolding here, the surrounding cultivators glanced over in shock. Old Demon Ye had been renowned for centuries; even for his Blood Demon avatar, possessing such strength was hardly surprising. Yet how long had this Demon King Mingyue been in his transformed shape? He had first slain a Nascent Soul cultivator in battle, then wreaked havoc in the Abyss Ruins, and even escaped with his life from Old Demon Ye's own clutches. Such feats had already left peers of the same realm trailing far behind in shame. And now, manipulating this demonic fire with staggering ferocity, he was actually overwhelming the Blood Demon avatar! At their level of cultivation, every step forward was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Yet in just a few short years, this demon had made such astonishing leaps, suppressing the Blood Demon avatar to a degree that was simply sensational. How could the onlookers not be appalled? They could only sigh in secret: another legendary figure had arisen in the Xiaohan Realm. Given a few more years, his fame might very well surpass even Old Demon Ye’s. *Boom!* *Boom!* Where demonic fire collided with the sea of blood, waves of flame and blood surged straight toward the heavens, stopped only by the ancient restriction over the blood pool. Had it not been for the restriction, the devastation would have spread far beyond this area. The Blood Demon avatar suffered in bitter silence. The Eighteen Demon Banners were truly the most terrifying magic treasures he had ever encountered. Who knew where this kid had obtained them? Under the crushing assault of the demonic fire, the bloody radiance shattered, and even the Blood Moon Wheel was reaching its limit. Qin Sang sneered. In his battle against Dongyang Bo, the Eighteen Demon Banners had displayed tremendous might, validating their power. Had Dongyang Bo not concealed a means of escape, his fate would have been to burn to ashes in the demonic fire, perishing with regret in the blood river! Strong as the Blood Demon avatar was, he was still outmatched when facing the Eighteen Demon Banners. Furthermore, unlike Dongyang Bo, whose sole focus had been flight, the avatar was bent on stopping Qin Sang and had chosen to clash head-on with the demonic fire. He would see just how long the avatar could hold out! The Blood Moon Wheel shook violently, bearing the brunt of the terrible onslaught. The Blood Demon avatar’s fingers blurred like a wheel as he rapidly formed hand seals. The blood qi within him surged wildly, condensing into a bizarre bloody diagram that flew into the Blood Moon Wheel. Reinforced by the avatar’s power, the Blood Moon Wheel steadied slightly, but this relief was short-lived; it soon began to show signs of instability once more. Seeing this, the Blood Demon avatar knew his wishful calculations had fallen flat. The demonic fire's power was simply too horrifying. At this rate, long before Qin Sang’s true essence ran dry, the Blood Moon Wheel would break under the strain. After all, he was merely an avatar; the treasures the true body could spare him were limited. The Cold Blood Divine Needle had already been lost, the Blood Moon Wheel he had spent years tempering was no match for the demonic fire, and his remaining items were hardly presentable on such an occasion. For the first time, he felt he had exhausted all his tricks. Giving a quiet sigh, his eyes half-closed, and his hands formed an odd incantation gesture. In the next breath, bloody light flared brilliantly from the Blood Demon avatar. *Bang!* The Blood Demon avatar suddenly vanished, splitting into three bloody silhouettes. This was a certain secret blood art, akin to the Demonic Path's Body Disintegration Great Art. It exacted an immense toll, yet with the three bloody silhouettes joining forces to drive the Blood Moon Wheel, it actually held steady against the battering demonic fire. Qin Sang was secretly startled by the sight. Old Demon Ye truly possessed an endless repertoire of methods; even a mere avatar proved so difficult to handle. How terrifying must his true body be? Would Senior Sister be able to hold him off? Though anxious, Qin Sang had no alternative. The Eighteen Demon Banners were his strongest trump card. If even they could not force back the Blood Demon avatar, other methods would stand even less chance. However, a disintegration art like this was bound to overdraft one's potential and severely deplete one's vitality; it could not be maintained for long. Without holding anything back, Qin Sang immediately pushed both his divine sense and true essence to their limits, activating the Eighteen Demon Banners with full force. Wave after wave of demonic fire rose higher and higher, crashing relentlessly into the bloody radiance. *Rumble...* Qin Sang, together with the demon banners, plunged into the demonic fire and charged furiously forward. Before long, the three bloody silhouettes indeed began to waver. Yet the Blood Demon avatar still fought desperately to hold his ground. Right at that moment, a sudden disturbance erupted at the center of the blood pool. With a resounding splash, a figure broke through the surface of the water. This sudden turn of events took everyone by surprise, instantly drawing all eyes toward the figure. It seemed the outcome beneath the bloody water had already been decided, though none yet knew into whose hands the prize had fallen. Yet when they clearly saw the figure's appearance, everyone was struck with profound shock. It was actually a skeleton of jade bones with shriveled flesh! "Is this the ancient cultivator who has clung to life until now? How eerie—to think one could still live like this! What about the three who went down earlier? Could they have all been..." Seeing only the jade skeleton without any sign of Old Demon Ye and the others, the crowd was filled with horror. Ancient cultivators possessed unfathomable divine abilities. The Sin Abyss had mobilized on such a grand scale partly to join forces in opening the seal and the blood gate, and partly to prevent the ancient cultivator from turning upon them once freed. They had never anticipated the Xiaohan Realm interfering, leaving Old Demon Ye to dive into the blood pool alone. Had the scenario they feared most actually come to pass? The cultivators of both factions felt their hearts churn with unease. Immediately afterward, several streaks of radiant light flew out right behind the jade bones. Looking closely, the onlookers identified the magic treasures: the Five Directions Pagoda, the Yin-Yang Dagger-Axes, and the Thunder Remembrance Bead. The magic treasures circled the jade bones, clashing continuously in struggle. The jade skeleton remained in a cross-legged sitting posture, completely motionless, allowing itself to be dragged haphazardly back and forth by the force of the battling treasures, with no sign of reviving at all. Witnessing this, everyone breathed a quiet sigh of relief, yet their bewilderment only deepened.