Translator: Lynn
At this moment, the body of the Frost Slayer Sword had already become invisible.
It hadn’t truly disappeared, but the sword intent had enveloped it, making it seem as though it had transformed into pure killing intent, concentrated into an extremely blinding light.
Within this light, a powerful will have gathered, making it seem as though the sword was merely a vessel, while the intent upon it was the real, undeniable, and formidable force.
Seeing this, the First and Second Demon immediately sprang forward again, their Demon Subduing Staffs swinging with greater urgency, their hearts growing heavier than before.
They had a premonition that if they allowed Yun Lie to unleash his skill now, their lives would be in grave danger!
However, they were still a few moments too slow. The Frost Slayer Sword was of extremely high quality, capable of withstanding far more pressure than those spirit swords before it.
If it weren’t for a minor flaw during its forging, this sword would likely have been refined into a lower-grade treasure spiritual weapon—and because of this, the Frost Slayer Sword was considered the finest of upper-grade spirit weapons.
But after being completely enveloped by the dense sword intent, a thin crack suddenly appeared between Yun Lie’s brows.
This crack seemed as if it had been cleaved open by a sharp blade, perfectly straight, and it appeared to contain a black hole within, or perhaps it was filled with countless storms.
Only the tip of the iceberg was visible, yet it was so unfathomably deep.
Then, a strange power suddenly burst forth from within that crack.
This power was incredibly heavy, and as soon as it emerged, it seemed as though the entire surrounding area had come to a standstill—not a true standstill, but a form of binding force that trapped the space around them, and at the same time, it felt as though each person was being crushed by an enormous weight.
It made any movement extremely difficult.
After this binding force emerged, it immediately moved on the Frost Slayer Sword.
Even though the Frost Slayer Sword was enveloped in sword intent and was of exceptional quality, it still emitted a faint humming sound at that moment.
This was a sign that it had reached its limit.
It was easy to imagine that if it had been one of those previous spirit swords, it would have shattered into pieces the moment that force descended upon it. And even the Frost Slayer Sword, if any more force was applied, would no longer be able to hold on.
But within just a single breath, Yun Lie had already completed this move.
The First and Second Demon had just raised their Demon Subduing Staffs when they were immediately and completely suppressed by the space-binding force. At that moment, the two staffs slipped from their grip and fell to the ground with a sharp clink.
This sudden turn of events shocked them, and as they sensed the terrifying force emanating from Yun Lie’s sword, their faces showed unmistakable fear.
“This is… this is the embryonic form of a Small Universe!”
The First Demon exclaimed in disbelief, “Impossible! How could a mere junior at the early stage of the Golden Core realm comprehend such a thing?”
The Second Demon, now realizing what was happening, also showed a twisted expression, “The body of a Golden Core cultivator shouldn’t be able to withstand the weight of a Small Universe!”
But regardless of their disbelief, the embryonic form of a Small Universe was indeed present on Yun Lie’s Frost Slayer Sword.
In the next moment, the two demons felt every drop of blood in their bodies begin to boil, and the true essence in their dantian was being heavily suppressed, unable to circulate.
—This was the most obvious sign of being locked within a Small Universe!
Moreover, their demonic energy could no longer fuel their Demon Subduing Staffs, causing the black smoke and blood threads surrounding the staffs to completely dissipate the instant the staffs hit the ground!
“Bang, bang, bang—”
After a few muffled explosions, the two demons suddenly burst apart from their dantians, their bodies instantly transforming into a shower of blood and flesh.
Yun Lie retracted the Small Universe and an invisible barrier formed in front of him.
As the fragments of the demons’ bodies touched the barrier, they were all blocked and slid powerlessly to the ground…
While Yun Lie was slaying the two demons, Xu Ziqing was locked in a stalemate with the Third Demon.
The bloodthirsty demon vines were indeed formidable, but the Third Demon’s demonic energy was not easily overcome.
Initially, the thirty-two demon vines had completely encircled the Third Demon, forcing him to swing his Demon Subduing Staffs in a tight, impenetrable defense, blocking all of the vines’ attacks.
However, he remained calm. After adjusting slightly, he spat out a mouthful of black light.
This black light struck one of the demon vines, causing it to recoil momentarily. Xu Ziqing then saw that the area hit by the black light had turned charred black, with some of the blood within seeping out.
But being an ancient fierce creature, the bloodthirsty demon vine was not like an ordinary beast that would be hindered by pain. Although injured, the vine’s movements were hardly affected; the injured vine paused briefly, its wound covered in a layer of red light, which quickly began to heal.
At the same time, Xu Ziqing could feel the consumption of true essence from his dantian.
Indeed, the bloodthirsty demon vine, Rongjin, had planted itself within his dantian and normally relied on consuming blood to sustain itself. However, its roots were still firmly anchored in Xu Ziqing’s dantian. To heal quickly, it needed to draw on Xu Ziqing’s true essence.
Sure enough, in no time, the injured vine fully recovered and once again lashed out at the Third Demon.
Seeing that his previous attack was effective, the Third Demon continued to battle the demon vine while simultaneously spitting out more black light, injuring several more vines.
As a result, the demon vine once again drew on Xu Ziqing’s true essence to heal itself, and the Third Demon continued his strategy.
After several cycles of this, only a short while had passed, yet half of Xu Ziqing’s dantian had already been drained. If things continued like this, once Xu Ziqing’s true essence was completely exhausted, Rongjin would have to return to Xu Ziqing’s dantian to recuperate. Without any true essence left, Xu Ziqing would be defenseless against the Third Demon, who could then easily capture him.
Xu Ziqing’s heart sank as he recognized the precariousness of his situation.
At this moment, with all his demon vines engaged in combat against the Third Demon, he had no way of knowing what was happening within the black smoke. The gap in power between the late peak of the Golden Core stage and the early stage of the Core Formation stage was vast, like a chasm. Xu Ziqing knew that he couldn’t possibly defeat the Third Demon with his own strength alone. His only option was to stall for time, waiting for his Shixiong to deal with the enemies within the black smoke and come to his aid.
With this in mind, Xu Ziqing realized he couldn’t let the demon vines be struck by the Third Demon any further. He quickly began to think of a new strategy.
His mind raced, and after careful consideration, he finally touched his forehead, releasing the Qingyun Needles.
In the next moment, the Qingyun Needles multiplied into hundreds, shooting straight toward the space between the Third Demon and the vines. To the bloodthirsty demon vines, these needles were of no consequence, but for the Third Demon, it was a different story.
The Third Demon’s brow furrowed as he saw the numerous Qingyun Needles rapidly approaching.
He immediately recognized that each point of light contained a needle, and the needles were imbued with an aura that conveyed the cycle of the four seasons—a profound technique. Although this technique demonstrated the immense potential and exceptional talent of its user, it hadn’t yet reached its full power. Under normal circumstances, the Third Demon could easily crush the attack with a simple squeeze of his demonic claws.
But this situation was different.
The Third Demon was already being surrounded and attacked by the bloodthirsty demon vines. Even though he could injure the vines, he couldn’t easily eradicate them, and he was especially wary of the countless buds on the vines. As a result, he had already dedicated most of his attention to the vines. Now, with the added pressure of launching his demonic techniques, he couldn’t afford to divide his focus any further.
At this moment, the Qingyun Needles, in coordination with the bloodthirsty demon vines, threw the Third Demon into disarray.
For a while, the Third Demon found himself unable to freely spit out black smoke, and even when he managed to do so, the demon vines would take advantage of the distraction to dodge. Without the accuracy he previously had, the Third Demon could no longer easily injure the demon vines.
Thus, while Xu Ziqing’s release of the Qingyun Needles did consume a significant amount of true essence, it was far less than what the demon vines were draining from him.
For the time being, neither side could gain the upper hand.
The Third Demon fought with growing frustration, feeling an overwhelming urge to curse out loud: ‘Where did this slippery little brat come from? How can he be so tricky? I’m six whole realms above him, and yet I still can’t take him down!’
Then, another thought crossed his mind: ‘If my brothers find out about this, I’ll definitely be punished again!’
But just as he was grappling with these thoughts, the black smoke in the distance began to dissipate.
The Third Demon, who was fully occupied with his current battle, suddenly sensed an intense danger from behind. A premonition of doom filled his heart, and he immediately realized something terrible had happened. Remembering his two older brothers who were fighting Yun Lie, he thought darkly: ‘This is bad!’
Without hesitation, he began to retreat, wildly swinging his magic staff to create a gap in the encircling demon vines, and then fled without looking back. He knew with certainty that if he didn’t move faster…
But in the end, the Third Demon was still a step too late.
Just as he turned around, he saw his two older brothers being obliterated by the Small Universe, their bodies exploding into a spray of flesh and blood—some of which even splattered onto his face.
“Brothers—!” he cried out in anguish, his heart wrenching with grief.
Yun Lie, aware of the approaching enemy behind him, turned and slashed with his sword.
The pitiful Third Demon, who had just raised his demon staff, saw a blindingly white sword light coming straight for him, and then… nothing.
At this point, the three demons who had come seeking revenge on Yun Lie had all lost their lives to him.
Xu Ziqing’s face was slightly pale, his true essence nearly depleted. He gave his Shixiong a faint smile and then sat down cross-legged.
Half an hour later, after consuming enough medicinal pills, Xu Ziqing’s cultivation had recovered to about sixty percent.
He then walked over to the Third Demon’s corpse, removed all his storage items, and placed them into a storage ring. As for the numerous belongings of the First and Second Demons, they had long since been crushed to powder by the weight of the Small Universe and could not be recovered. However, this was not a safe place to stay for a long time, and after finishing up, Xu Ziqing knew they could not delay any further.
Yun Lie, who had been quietly standing to the side, saw him get up and opened his eyes. “Let’s go.”
Xu Ziqing responded with a gentle smile, “Yes, Shixiong.”
The two of them then proceeded deeper into the dense forest.
Once inside, Xu Ziqing, as usual, extended his spiritual sense to explore their surroundings. This time, what he found slightly surprised him.
It wasn’t that this place was particularly strange; rather, it was the complete lack of anything unusual that caught his attention.
Xu Ziqing couldn’t help but feel this way because ever since entering this ancient tomb, everything he had encountered had been strange, and every place he had passed through was fraught with danger. But here, in this forest, not only were the trees and plants of the most ordinary species, but even the small animals were just like those he had seen in mundane areas. They weren’t even as fierce as some beasts he’d encountered in other secret realms.
Still, Xu Ziqing didn’t let his guard down.
Because sometimes, it’s precisely this kind of seemingly ordinary situation that can be the most dangerous.
Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.
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