Volume 2 - Chapter 66: Whose Banner Is That, and Whose Name Does It Bear? - Part 2
She raised her head, staring at the pitch-black sky shrouded by demonic clouds, her eyes filled with despair and rage.
Just as she was about to rupture her primary meridians and ignite her divine soul to bolster the military formation's power, Li Xuanli seemed to sense his daughter’s volatile aura. Turning to glare at her with fury, he roared:
“Don’t act foolishly! It’s not time for that yet!”
Li Wushuang's tears streamed uncontrollably. She had never felt the battlefield's cruelty so deeply. The tragic deaths of countless soldiers on the border were still fresh in her mind.
It was because of those who sacrificed themselves as the rearguard that they had managed to retreat to the second defensive line.
“You are a Ninth-Class Battle Body, a top-tier genius! You must not waste your potential here—you still have a future ahead of you!”
Li Xuanli spoke in a low tone, “Quickly leave the military formation. I’ll have Uncle Jian protect you. Blend in with the army and enter the city through the flank.”
As he spoke, he swiftly handed a command token to Li Wushuang.
Li Wushuang’s entire body trembled. It was her father’s command token.
The command token for the second defensive line!
These tokens were exceedingly rare, not only because of the difficulty of crafting them but also because having too many made them prone to loss. If they fell into the hands of the demon horde, the protective formation would become useless!
“Father!”
Li Wushuang cried out in sorrow.
“Go now!”
Li Xuanli bellowed, “When you reach my level of cultivation, then think about slaying demons and vanquishing enemies. You still have a long road ahead—don’t act recklessly!”
Li Wushuang’s bloodshot eyes brimmed with tears that gushed like a torrent. At this moment, she finally understood: What genius? What prodigy? It was all nonsense!
Only combat power that had truly matured mattered most.
Otherwise, no matter how renowned one was, it would mean nothing in the face of life and death!
She was too weak—so weak that any large demon could easily kill her!
Her cultivation speed was already fast, but it was still not enough, not even close!
“Go!”
Li Xuanli shot her an angry glare before giving a silent signal to another general of the Three Immortals Realm beside him.
The other general immediately understood. He leapt onto Li Wushuang’s warhorse, suppressing his aura, and removed his general’s armor. At the same time, he commanded the surrounding troops to scatter, covering Li Wushuang’s retreat to the city through the flank.
The army dispersed. Against the three Demon Kings, the front lines would become even more vulnerable.
This would lead to faster deaths, but there was no other choice.
Remaining in tight formation would also result in swift annihilation by the three Demon Kings. It was better to scatter and gamble on survival!
Li Xuanli knew the Demon Kings’ target was himself. Taking a deep breath, he propelled himself into the air, roaring:
“Beasts! Dare to face me one-on-one?!”
“You think you’re worthy?”
The three Demon Kings were unmoved by the taunt, refusing to be provoked. They only wanted to eliminate him quickly and destroy the defensive formation atop the city wall.
“Die!”
One of the Demon Kings, a blood-robed elder with a cold expression, abruptly raised his hand. A beam of bloodlight shot forth from his palm, resembling a massive, crudely engraved ruler. It descended directly toward Li Xuanli, aiming to crush him on the spot.
He was in the Dao Heart Realm, and his attacks were infallible.
Li Xuanli felt a suffocating fear of death envelop him as if he were isolated from the military formation. His heart pounded furiously as he roared and unleashed his Divine Soul Fusion, his aura surging as he channeled the power of the military formation to throw a punch.
With a resounding boom, the punch’s radiance clashed with the bloodlight ruler, scattering a torrential wave of bloodied air.
Another Demon King raised a hand and unleashed a volley of violet whip-like lightning strikes that lashed at Li Xuanli.
His battle armor was instantly torn apart, and his cloak shredded. The body he had spent years cultivating in the Divine General Mansion, which had reached an Indestructible Body state, was once again severely damaged, riddled with cracks and scorched black marks.
His body plummeted into the midst of the army, creating a deep crater upon impact.
Nearby, the Xuanzi Army quickly surrounded him, forming a formation to shield him.
Meanwhile, the remaining soldiers continued their scattered advance, rushing toward the city from all sides.
“Father!”
Li Wushuang saw Li Xuanli’s grievous injury, her eyes red with anguish. Yet, she didn’t cry out loud, biting her lip hard enough for bright red blood to seep into her mouth.
She knew her father was risking his life to draw the Demon Kings’ attention so she and the other soldiers could escape.
“Miss, don’t look directly at the Demon Kings, or they’ll notice you.”
The Three Immortals Realm general riding behind her warned in a low voice.
Li Wushuang seethed with frustration and fury but still withdrew her gaze, lowering her head.
“Xuanli!”
Just then, a woman’s voice rang out in anger.
A few figures sped toward them from within the defensive line.
Li Wushuang recognized the voice and looked up, seeing a familiar figure—it was her master, Daoist Ganji.
“Master has come!”
Li Wushuang’s eyes lit up with hope, like seeing salvation.
“Uncle Jian! It’s my master—it’s my master!”
She couldn’t help but shout in excitement.
Li Jian glanced up, his eyes also showing a hint of joy.
From afar, alongside Daoist Ganji, two female generals were rushing toward them. Both appeared to be in their forties.
They were Li Muxiu’s second and fourth sisters, who had long since married into faraway lands. Upon receiving Li Muxiu’s message, they immediately donned their long-hidden armor, grabbed their weapons, and hurried to the battlefield at top speed.
Along the way, their makeup had long melted away, but they seemed to have returned to their youthful selves, galloping across battlefields as they once did.
They knew that if the Li family were not in a dire situation, with Li Muxiu’s eccentric temperament, he would never have sought their help.
Thus, they didn’t hesitate for even a moment before arriving here.
“Three Demon Kings!”
Daoist Ganji’s expression turned grave as his gaze fell on the three towering Demon Kings.
His white hair and youthful visage gave him an ethereal, otherworldly air, like an immortal.
“Daoist Ganji!”
The three Demon Kings also noticed him, their eyes narrowing with mockery.
“You dare come alone?”
One of the Demon Kings stepped forward, his demonic aura surging like a dark cloud, faintly revealing the form of a winged, coiled Abyssal Dragon.
“Abyssal Dragon!”
Daoist Ganji’s face changed instantly. This was a high-ranking elder of the Dragon Gate and a powerhouse of the Reverse Fate Realm.
“The women of the Li family have come as well? It seems the Li family’s lineage truly seeks extinction!”
Another Demon King sneered, half of his face splitting open to reveal sharp teeth and a blood-red tongue. His writhing body shifted into his true form—a grotesque, monstrous insect.
“You deal with him; I’ll kill this brat!”
The Demon King with blue-green veins across his face declared.
He raised a massive boulder from the ground and hurled it toward the military camp, following up with a palm strike to crush them all in one blow.
“Stop!”
Daoist Ganji roared and struck out. A brilliant white beam of light flew forth, shattering the boulder and lashing at the Demon King’s hand.
“You dare to split your attention?!”
The Abyssal Dragon Demon King’s gaze turned murderous. He lunged forward, his dragon-like true form baring its fangs and spitting out waves of poisonous miasma.
Daoist Ganji swung his sleeve, dispersing the poisonous mist, and urgently instructed the two Li family women beside him:
“Hurry, retrieve General Li! I’ll hold them off!”
The two women understood the critical situation and split up, rushing toward Li Xuanli.
“You think you can take on all three of us alone?!”
The monstrous insect Demon King let out a sharp, grating laugh and lunged at Daoist Ganji, shooting a blood-colored blade from his mouth that gleamed with deadly black light.
Daoist Ganji raised a golden, radiant seal, which collided with the blood blade to suppress its advance.
“Who gave you this audacity?!”
The Abyssal Dragon Demon King roared, transforming into his true form. His massive tail lashed out, sweeping through the air toward Daoist Ganji.
Daoist Ganji’s face twisted in shock as he hastily summoned a golden glow to shield himself. With both hands, he struck out to counter the incoming tail.
However, the dragon tail’s scales gleamed with a destructive aura, slicing through Daoist Ganji’s defense. The force of the blow sent him plummeting to the ground, his impact carving a deep crater.
The blood blade bypassed the golden seal and shot toward Daoist Ganji at high speed.
Daoist Ganji let out a furious cry, unleashing his divine soul. He summoned a sacred weapon—a long whip—to coil around the blood blade.
The blood blade struggled to break free, but the Abyssal Dragon Demon King dove toward Daoist Ganji with terrifying speed.
The earth trembled as the two Reverse Fate Realm powerhouses clashed, their battle shaking the heavens and earth.
Meanwhile, the blue-veined Demon King swatted aside a sacred weapon—a segmented whip—protecting the area. Now that Daoist Ganji was occupied with the Abyssal Dragon Demon King, the whip’s power had diminished significantly, allowing the Demon King to brush it aside easily.
“Die!”
The blue-veined Demon King descended toward Li Xuanli, his true form now revealed—a massive, terrifying spider.
Countless razor-sharp threads shot from his body like blades, piercing through the surrounding Xuanzi Army soldiers. The threads even eradicated their divine souls, leaving no chance for their spirits to ascend to the Martial Temple.
“Stop!”
Two furious shouts erupted simultaneously.
Golden light shimmered as a blazing sacred talisman flew into the air, transforming into a purple divine bell that enveloped Li Xuanli. It was a Sacred Heart Talisman.
The spider Demon King roared angrily and spat more threads, covering the purple divine bell. His gaze then turned to the two Li family women rushing forward.
“You court death!”
He opened his eyes wide, shooting beams of green light toward the women with murderous intent.
Li Qingling ignited another Sacred Heart Talisman in her hand. Green light surged around her, boosting her movement to near-phantasmic speed. She darted forward, grabbing her fourth sister before dashing toward Li Xuanli, attempting to flee with him using the talisman’s speed.
Li Xuanli still had a Sacred Heart Talisman, but he had already used it during the battle at the border to survive a fatal blow.
Seeing his aunts appear, Li Xuanli coughed blood and shouted anxiously, “Why did you come? You must leave quickly!”
“Stop talking and grab on!”
Li Qingling scolded urgently.
She hoisted Li Xuanli’s arm and prepared to make a break for the city.
But suddenly, a figure crashed down before them, smashing into the ground and creating a deep pit.
When the three looked, they saw that the figure was Daoist Ganji.
He was now covered in blood, his formerly ethereal and immortal-like demeanor utterly gone.
The three were horrified. How could Daoist Ganji, a powerhouse of the Reverse Fate Realm, be defeated so quickly?
At that moment, two overwhelming auras erupted in the distance, shocking the trio and causing panic on the city walls.
Turning their gaze, they saw that besides the three Demon Kings, two additional figures had appeared.
“You’re awfully slow!”
One of them wore white robes, his features elegant and refined, exuding a cold, ruthless air that was at odds with his usual composure.
“Sacred Palace, Bai Shenjun!”
“Blood Lake Mosquito Demon!”
Gasps of recognition echoed from the city walls.
The newcomers were a Divine Monarch of the Sacred Palace and an elder of the Dragon Gate, both comparable in strength to the Abyssal Dragon Demon King.
Now, five Demon Kings hovered menacingly in the air, as if ready to devour the entire world.
Their suffocating demonic aura blanketed the battlefield like dark clouds, leaving Li Xuanli, Li Qingling, and the others stunned, their eyes wide with despair.
On the city walls, soldiers fell silent, unable to muster a single word.
Five Demon Kings. Who else could possibly come to stop them?
The ground trembled violently...