Volume 2 - Chapter 6: Savage Slaughter
With a thunderous roar, a dark cloud suddenly swept through the night.
Whoosh!
Countless black feathers shot out from midair like a torrential rain of arrows, hurtling toward Li Hongzhuang.
Li Hongzhuang lightly tapped her toes, retreating gracefully to evade the steel-like feathers.
She looked up at the massive black bird, its body as large as a hill, her gaze becoming more serious.
"Kill!!"
Chi Hu Jun roared, issuing the order to charge.
In the distance, the ground trembled as countless demons surged forward, rushing toward the pass.
Before the pass, only a single figure clad in crimson stood firm, sword in hand.
Li Hongzhuang's eyes gleamed coldly, showing no sign of retreat. Her entire presence brewed like a storm gathering strength.
...
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Flying rocks and toxic mists surged from the mountain forests, launched by the demons within fifteen li. They blanketed the area around the camp.
Some demon creatures emitted sharp, eerie screeches imbued with soul-shaking power that reverberated against Li Hongzhuang.
A golden soul emerged behind Li Hongzhuang, its hands forming incantations. With a sudden shout, its resonance shattered the demon spells entirely.
At the same time, the soul raised its hand, summoning a gale that dispersed the incoming poisonous mist.
Previously, with the army present, these spells alone would have caused devastating casualties without her protection.
Yet, despite the overwhelming tide of demon forces, Li Hongzhuang’s focus remained fixed on the two colossal demons.
The wave of demons soon arrived, like rolling black smoke and a ferocious beast tide that covered both sky and ground, aiming to engulf the lone crimson figure.
Suddenly, a sword cry rang out, clear and resonant, like a dragon's roar.
The azure edge of her sword erupted with dazzling light, transforming into a giant blade that slashed into the demon horde. In an instant, countless demons were cleaved apart, their bodies exploding.
But the sheer number of demons quickly surrounded Li Hongzhuang. Her sword swung relentlessly, cutting down the attackers, while golden radiance enveloped her, deflecting incoming attacks.
Abruptly, a black feather concealed among the demons shot toward her like a bolt.
Li Hongzhuang's gaze sharpened. Already prepared, she swung her sword fiercely, unleashing her family’s Boundless Sea Sword Technique.
Severing River!
The sword strike carried tremendous force, as if splitting the earth, severing the black feather and knocking it down.
At the same moment, a rancid wind swept in as Chi Hu Jun charged toward her. His enormous body loomed, and even just one tiger paw dwarfed Li Hongzhuang’s figure. With a fierce strike, violet light surged from his palm, accompanied by crackling lightning.
Li Hongzhuang swiftly raised her sword to block, but the impact still forced her backward.
...
From above, the flying peng swooped down, spitting a torrent of golden-red flames that streaked toward her retreating position at speeds faster than arrows.
Li Hongzhuang’s eyes flashed with golden light. She unleashed another technique—Departure!
Flames erupted spontaneously from her sword edge as she swung it, dispersing the incoming flames.
Just as she acted, a sharp, piercing sound tore through the air with explosive force.
A monstrous pig demon with curved, razor-sharp tusks charged from within the demon horde.
Recognizing the creature, Li Hongzhuang’s pupils narrowed. It was the Six-Tusked Stabbing Boar, said to carry the ancient bloodline of the demon king Dang Kang.
The demon seized the opening in her defenses, launching its attack with precision.
Li Hongzhuang’s eyes glinted with icy light. Her blood surged violently as her other hand swung a fist forward, unleashing an overwhelming force—Half-Step Invincible Fist.
However, she hadn’t yet mastered this technique fully. The ultimate essence of the technique remained known only to the old master who had created it, and Li Hongzhuang lacked the ability to execute its true potential.
Bang!
Her body was knocked back, the force breaking her fist momentum. Hastily countering the sudden attack, she suffered a minor injury, her blood and qi trembling within her body.
Chi Hu Jun and the flying peng attacked again, refusing to give her any breathing room.
Li Hongzhuang had no choice but to release her full power—Undying Force.
She had stepped into the third stage of the Three Immortals Realm: the Undying Stage.
Undying energy surged through her body, suppressing her injuries as overwhelming power roared forth.
Her expression turned icy. The enemy had purposely revealed the flying peng to lure her focus, only to ambush her with the Six-Tusked Stabbing Boar.
...
Suddenly, a piercing sound came from behind her. Alarmed, Li Hongzhuang instinctively turned to check for another ambush, only to be surprised.
Flying swords streaked toward the two colossal demons but were shattered by their powerful strikes.
The swords were incomplete, made of sturdy but insufficiently durable materials to withstand the demons’ strength.
“Someone else?”
The three great demons turned toward the source. Chi Hu Jun’s expression twisted with ferocity. “Another little brat in the Heaven and Man Realm? Courting death!”
The demons spotted a lone youth approaching with a sword.
“Overturn every tent! Leave no one hidden!”
Chi Hu Jun roared, sending the demon horde surging into the camp. The battle flags planted at the camp’s edges were utterly ignored.
Tents were ripped apart and destroyed in an instant.
Li Hongzhuang noticed the youth and realized it wasn’t an ambush but rather Li Hao coming to assist. Her face darkened, and she yelled, “Get back now!”
“I’m fine. You focus on your fight.”
Li Hao’s tone was calm.
Frustrated and angry, Li Hongzhuang hesitated before remembering that Li He was in the shadows. With his protection, Li Hao wouldn’t likely face mortal danger unless several Undying demons targeted him simultaneously.
Suppressing her concerns, she refocused her energy and launched herself at Chi Hu Jun.
...
Amidst the demon horde, a few figures emitting overwhelming demonic auras dashed toward Li Hao.
A serpent demon with a cobra-like body that had transformed into a pale-skinned, black-dressed woman smiled seductively at Li Hao.
“Little brother, you smell delicious!”
“And you reek,” Li Hao replied.
The seductive smile on the black-dressed woman’s face froze. Laughter erupted nearby as a burly man strode toward Li Hao.
“I’ll have the first taste!” the man declared.
Energy radiated from his body, forming the shadow of a massive ape that loomed over him like a mountain.
Li Hao glanced briefly at Li Hongzhuang, who was still locked in combat, then returned his gaze to the burly man. Without another word, his expression turned calm, his aura shifting abruptly.
A surge of energy erupted from Li Hao, and his entire body trembled as his yin-yang dual meridians activated in an instant.
He stepped forward, and the very ground beneath the camp seemed to quake under his presence.
“What?!”
The burly man froze mid-stride, his face contorted with shock. “What kind of—”
Li Hao was already upon him. His gaze was as cold as starlight, and with a single step, he closed the distance, unleashing a devastating punch.
The air roared as the punch swept forward, its sheer force suppressing even the winds on the battlefield.
A deafening sonic boom erupted as the fist smashed into the burly man.
“Help me! He’s not normal—!” the man managed to yell before his body transformed, sprouting thick, black fur as he attempted to assume his full ape form.
But it was too late.
Boom!
The punch shattered his hands, sending shards of bone and flesh flying. The massive figure of the ape demon was torn apart, his chest obliterated by the impact.
A gaping hole remained where his body had been.
The mighty ape demon of the Heaven and Man Realm hadn’t even completed his transformation before being annihilated by Li Hao’s single strike.
The snake woman’s charming smile disappeared, her pupils narrowing into serpent-like slits as fear gripped her.
Nearby, several other demons recoiled, their monstrous forms revealed as they no longer dared conceal themselves.
“What is this child?!”
“Is he some demon-possessed human?!”
“Damn it! Attack together and kill him!”
The demons snarled and charged as one.
The snake woman’s body elongated, her black dress transforming into shimmering green scales as she revealed her true form—a blue-scaled cobra. A toxic mist wafted from between her scales, spreading a suffocating stench.
Another demon, a multi-eyed deer, shot beams of dazzling, multicolored light from its antlers, the radiance coalescing into a divine blade that slashed toward Li Hao.
A third demon, a purple-eyed mad bull, focused its blood-red eyes on Li Hao, casting a sinister reflection of him—a soul attack designed to disrupt and weaken.
Li Hao remained steady, his expression frosty. Without hesitation, he swung the incomplete sword in his hand, unleashing a sharp wave of sword energy.
The battlefield seemed to shift as a rain of crimson flower petals filled the air. The petals landed softly on the ground, sprouting into blood-red seeds that blossomed into Manjusaka flowers.
Amidst the ethereal beauty, an enormous, razor-sharp sword energy tore through the air, cleaving toward the demons.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between Li Hao and the three demons seemed to vanish as the sword energy struck.
Three sprays of blood erupted.
With a sickening thud, the multi-eyed deer’s massive antlered head tumbled to the ground, severed cleanly.
The blue-scaled cobra let out an agonized scream as its body was sliced into two writhing halves.
The purple-eyed mad bull suffered a deep gash across its abdomen. Although the sword energy lost momentum by the time it struck, leaving the bull barely alive, its internal organs spilled from the wound.
The demons’ collective momentum crumbled in an instant.
The cobra’s severed body writhed frantically as it shrieked in terror, its eyes fixed on Li Hao.
From the deer’s lifeless body, a tattered soul emerged, fleeing desperately toward the distance. However, a single falling petal transformed into sword energy, obliterating the soul.
“This... This isn’t the Heaven and Man Realm!”
“Run! We’re no match for him!”
The snake demon’s severed halves wriggled in opposite directions, trying to escape.
The purple-eyed mad bull, despite its grievous wound, shoved its spilled organs back into its body using its energy, its bloodthirsty gaze now replaced with fear and pain as it fled.
Li Hao watched the fleeing demons, his expression unwavering. He stepped forward to give chase but quickly realized his movement speed was insufficient to catch them.
His gaze shifted inward. A skill point... I still have one remaining.
In the past, within the Divine General Mansion, Li Hao rarely needed movement techniques. But here, at the border, agility had become a vital tool.
Without hesitation, he allocated his remaining skill point.
Suddenly, an immense wave of knowledge surged into his mind. At the same time, his White Phoenix Movement Technique advanced from Supreme Perfection to True Form.
Li Hao took a single step forward, and his entire figure seemed to sprout wings, his speed soaring dramatically.