Blood Snake King has fallen? Wu Yuan cast a fleeting glance at the wider battlefield. Protected by the array, the Heavenly Rankers clashed fiercely with devil soldiers, the advantage they gained in artifacts was unable to compensate for the overwhelming numerical disadvantage they faced. On top of that, the Communion devil soldiers fought fearlessly without any regard for their lives. This was the most frustrating part about battling a worm devil.
There’s no other choice! Wu Yuan's eyes turned frigid, making a decision. Once again, he flew up to meet the crimson-winged devil soldier. The clash between the two forces intensified.
At that moment, Little Black suddenly twisted its body. It darted through the air like a fish in water, its speed skyrocketing as it raced towards Wu Yuan.
However, its actions did not go unnoticed. The two Spiritual Body devil soldiers roared and quickly flew after the Teng Snake, disregarding Qiong Sea King and Mountain Devil King.
Reacting swiftly, Mountain Devil King moved to intercept them, only to be stopped by Qiong Sea King's voice in his mind. "Disengage! Mountain Devil, disengage immediately!"
"Why?" Mountain Devil King was perplexed.
"No time for questions, just move!" Qiong Sea King growled. He had received a command via spiritual transmission from Wu Yuan to assist the other Heavenly Rankers.
Within the Middle Land Immortal Hall, confusion rippled through the gathering of Heavenly Rankers.
"The black snake has fled towards Wu Yuan, pursued by two Spiritual Body devil soldiers."
"Qiong Sea King and Mountain Devil King retreated? They didn't join the fight?" Emperor Dong Pan, Fang Xia, Daoist Wan Xing, and the other Heavenly Rankers looked on in confusion and shock.
The situation on the battlefield changed so quickly that they couldn’t grasp the specifics. For example, why would the Spiritual Body devil soldiers chase the black Teng Snake so persistently? And why would Qiong Sea King disengage so abruptly?
As the Teng Snake streaked across the sky, its body shrank and intertwined seamlessly with Wu Yuan. This scene left the majority of Heavenly Rankers stupefied, struggling to grapple with what was going on.
They understood that spirit beasts could enlarge or shrink their bodies at will. But in this case, the black flying snake and Wu Yuan seemed to merge into one, revealing only a pair of massive black wings.
Beast Fusion. Only Fang Xia understood the full truth. This was what differentiated a lifebound eldritch beast from other contracted spirit beasts.
Ordinary spirit beasts possessed soul chambers or qi seas of their own, their abilities unaffected by the cultivation level of their masters. Even at the early Qi Sea phase, one could form a contract with an Amethyst Cradle spirit beast as long as the spirit beast was willing to consent.
On the other hand, lifebound eldritch beasts lacked their own soul chambers, a limitation that prohibited them from surpassing the level of their masters' cultivation. Yet, they shared a soul chamber with their masters, resulting in an unparalleled compatibility between the two. It was this synchronicity that granted them the ability of Beast Fusion.
As the Teng Snake merged with Wu Yuan, their collective power multiplied, akin to qi refiners coordinating to control an array. This union boosted Wu Yuan’s power exponentially, similar to the execution of an ether art without the burden of having to expend his vital ether.
“Roar!” The three Spiritual Body devil soldiers descended onto Wu Yuan from all directions.
At that moment, the wings on Wu Yuan’s back seemed to shimmer with a faint glow, and his body blurred. Ether art: Deity Step.
As a creature beloved by the wind, Teng Snakes possessed an inherent mastery of this ether art. Though considered an ordinary ether art, it was still highly effective when employed during the Communion phase.
Boom! The Eldritch Form ether art already granted Wu Yuan a considerable boost in speed and strength. With the addition of the Deity Step, along with the amplification of power due to the support of his lifebound Teng Snake, Wu Yuan's strength soared to unprecedented heights.
In just a fraction of a second, he was already in front of the crimson-winged devil soldier.
"Wu Yuan's speed has surpassed 150 li per breath!" Sang Gu exclaimed within the Middle Land Immortal Hall.
"Kill!" Unrestrained battle intent radiated within Wu Yuan's eyes.
Why did he anticipate the birth of the Teng Snake so eagerly? The answer was simple. Sword cultivators depended on their lifebound flying swords to conquer any adversity. Could a sword cultivator without such a lifebound flying sword still call themselves a sword cultivator?
Likewise, could an eldritch warrior, especially one with Wu Yuan's caliber of talent, truly be deemed an eldritch warrior without a lifebound eldritch beast?
Among eldritch warriors, Wu Yuan’s talent was top tier. Among lifebound eldritch beasts, the Teng Snake was a top-tier bloodline. The power that culminated from such a combination exceeded the imaginations of ordinary cultivators.
Beast Fusion was originally a killing move Wu Yuan intended to reserve for the final decisive battle. But now, Wu Yuan didn’t have the luxury of holding back.
Not good! Fear flickered in the crimson-winged devil soldier's eyes as it sensed the changes within the human cultivator in front of it. This man posed a grave threat to its existence.
With a resounding boom, the devil soldier began rotating its body. Its wings spun like crimson blades, while its claws danced swiftly through the air. It resembled a tightly woven net of knives, poised to block Wu Yuan’s incoming attack.
As the clash of metal rang out, chunks of bloody flesh sprayed into the air. In mere moments, Wu Yuan broke through the crimson-winged devil soldier's defense, arriving right before its skull.
Blade rays crisscrossed, slashing open a gaping wound on the devil soldier's skull. Even though the resilience of its flesh was comparable to spirit armor, it was nothing more than a pitiful joke in the face of Wu Yuan's attack.
Thrown into disarray, the crimson-winged devil soldier spun wildly, desperately fleeing from Wu Yuan. But like a nimble butterfly, the dark wings on Wu Yuan’s back extended, leaving eerie trails as he ensnared his opponent with an iron grip.
"Faster!" Wu Yuan's eyes burned frenziedly as he swung his saber again and again, aiming to pierce through the devil soldier's head. However, the creature's skull proved too large and its flesh too sturdy. On top of that, it drew power from the devil crystal to rapidly heal its wounds.
The pair of Spiritual Body devil soldiers swooped in, swiping at Wu Yuan with their massive claws.
I can’t dodge! As Wu Yuan quickly assessed his situation, his gaze landed on the massive wound that alternated between widening and repairing itself. In that case, you can die now!
A three-chi-long purple talisman materialized next to Wu Yuan, its surface adorned with intricate patterns that glowed and crackled with sparks of lightning. This was the fifth-grade Heavenly Thunder Talisman the realm master had gifted him.
Wu Yuan had been saving it for the final decisive battle. However, the worm devil was far stronger than he had anticipated. Relying solely on his own abilities wasn’t nearly enough to slay the crimson-winged devil soldier.
The worm devil must be desperate to kill me because it recognized the Teng Snake. It cannot have that many Spiritual Body devil soldiers under its command, so each one that dies weakens its forces greatly. This crimson-winged devil soldier might even be the highest-ranked soldier of them all.
With a mental command from Wu Yuan, the fifth-grade Heavenly Thunder Talisman flew toward the open wound of the crimson-winged devil soldier.
Instantly, a colossal talon swatted Wu Yuan. Raising his saber to block the strike, his wings flared, and he propelled himself backward with the force of the clash, quickly retreating hundreds of meters.
No! Panic rose in the crimson-winged devil soldier’s eyes as it instinctively sensed the imminent danger posed by the approaching talisman. This talisman was a lethal threat!
But before it could flee, the fifth-grade Heavenly Thunder Talisman activated!
BOOM! Massive bolts of purple lightning snaked through the sky, striking with a force that seemed capable of obliterating the world. Purple light engulfed everything within a radius of several hundred meters.
The crimson-winged devil soldier was buried in the light, as were two other Spiritual Body-phase devil soldiers, and even Wu Yuan! The tempest of lightning transformed the entire vicinity into an overwhelming sea of electricity. Rocks and soil were instantaneously reduced to vapor, disappearing into oblivion.
Master? As the tumultuous sea of lightning erupted, Mountain Devil King and Qiong Sea King instantly fled for their lives, glancing back in horror. They clearly felt that each one of those streaks of lightning posed a deadly threat to them. The blinding light obstructed them from pinpointing where the lightning originated from.
Within the Middle Land Immortal Hall, the Heavenly Rankers watched the spectacle unfolding on the light screen with a mixture of astonishment, trepidation, and a glimmer of anticipation.
After a single breath, the lightning sea that had shrouded the world dissipated entirely.
All that was left was the lifeless body of the crimson-winged devil soldier, fragments of its skull falling to the ground. Two streaks of blade rays quickly dismembered the heads of the other two Spiritual Body devil soldiers, who were already split into two by the lightning
The scattered remains of the three Spiritual Body devil soldiers plummeted to the ground, electricity still coursing through their flesh.
In the sky, only one figure remained standing – Wu Yuan. His body was marred by countless injuries, and even his pair of black wings were wounded, oozing blood.