Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1408 Taking Control of the Ultimate Formation
With four demon kings present, anyone who had heard of Guan Yuan's previous losses would know to run for their lives. Lu Ning naturally understood this as well, and there was no reason why she wouldn't be able to tell whether these were demon kings or not.

Moreover, Hanzhang wasn't completely incapacitated. Although Lu Ning had rendered several of his clay weapons useless in a short time, she didn't use them and would eventually have to return them.

As for the idea of ​​avenging Bai Tieyi... even Fang Huaisu, who was closest to him, would not have such unrealistic thoughts at this moment. With a gesture from Lu Ning, everyone knew that they had to retreat immediately and could not stay here for even a moment.

However, at that moment, Ju Que raised his head slightly, raised his fist to his waist, and after gathering his strength, suddenly threw a punch. Azure lightning swept across, and Lu Ning barely dodged the lightning by relying on her instinctive reaction. The ice mirror she used to conceal her position was stained by the lightning and crackled, instantly revealing her whereabouts.

When Lu Ningteng dodged, Ju Que did not pursue, but instead showed a puzzled expression.

"She took out that useless object," Juque said to the two demon kings who had come with him. "If an ordinary person touched it, it should shatter along with the object. Why is she completely unharmed?"

"Perhaps they have come into contact with the Law of Perfection," Yu Chang replied calmly. "Besides, all things in nature are different. The Law of Abandonment has no value for study. If there are special individuals who can come across it, that is also a matter of fate. It's just that fortune and misfortune are intertwined, and we don't know which side we will choose."

"The only place in the world that can perfectly follow the laws of nature is the Ice Lake," Zhanlu said arrogantly. "I think some secret method was used to retrieve the object without any contact, just like when we threw that thing in."

Yu Chang sighed: "Silence, Zhan Lu. Ju Que has not yet made a decision; you must not overstep your bounds."

Lu Ning didn't care what the demon kings were arguing about. She had already been exposed, so there was no need to delay any longer. She immediately turned and ran. At the same time, cold mist spread around her, obscuring the demon kings' vision.

But just as the mist began to rise, Juque shouted, "Open!"

The mist created by the ice array was actually cleared, leaving a clearly visible path. A fierce wind swept past Lu Ning, making her feel a slight tremor in her heart. Ju Que had simply struck out with a palm, clearing away the mist she had used to block her way—a curtain that Tong Gong had tried to break through even after sweeping it with her abilities for a long time!
"My master must have mentioned you. She said it would be a pity if we met on the battlefield. You were so young and had such a bright future in cultivation, but alas, you have become our enemy." Ju Que said with a hint of regret. Then, he took a step and, in a flash, closed the distance to within three steps!

Lu Ning swung her sword backhand, and Ju Que raised his hand to meet it. A layer of gentle aura enveloped his palm, and he easily caught Lu Ning's sword.

"Use all your skills. I want to see what kind of abilities the person praised by my master possesses." Ju Que exerted a slight force, and a clever trick was transmitted through the sword to Lu Ning, forcing her to take two steps back. However, Lu Ning was not surprised that she could not win in a contest of strength. What made her feel troubled was the skill her opponent used.

She absolutely couldn't be mistaken... This demon king was using innate true energy!

The ice wall was revealed using Azure Thunder Tribulation Qi; the ice mist was split open using Primordial Chaos Qi; and the sword that caught her bare-handed was caught using Transformation True Qi.

Innate true energy is not an ordinary thing. Lu Ning only obtained this wisp of innate purple qi as a reward from a mission, and it hasn't grown much so far, which shows how difficult it is to obtain innate true energy. Although the demon race lives for a long time, they lack sufficient wisdom to understand how innate true energy operates. Even someone like Lu Ning, who has cheat codes, spent a long time getting the innate purple qi to be almost in sync with himself.

But Juque—and Li Ji are probably exceptions.

They have mingled among humans for long enough that their intelligence is equal to that of humans. As they live their long lives, they gradually accumulate and utilize their innate true energy. How far can they cultivate it?
Lu Ningyuan thought that if she couldn't win, she could at least run away, but now it seems that if she doesn't stop Ju Que, she won't even have a chance to run away!

With this thought in mind, she no longer hesitated, and swung her sword upwards, sending a surge of purple ice rushing towards Ju Que's face. Ju Que nodded slightly upon seeing this: "This innate purple qi is much purer than what I found, not bad."

Then, he struck back with his palm, unleashing a vast, chilling current that forcefully suppressed the solid ice reinforced by innate purple qi. However, at this moment, Lu Ning had already activated the Giant's Knuckles. As "Dishonorable Murder" landed on the ice, the solid ice, which had been gathered into one, exploded with a deafening roar, and countless ice shards hurtled towards Ju Que's face like bullets.

Hanzhang, seeing this from behind, hurriedly shouted, "Don't take that hit!"

Before he could finish speaking, Yu Chang glared at him.

"This is a battle ordered by Juque, and no one is allowed to interfere. If you have time, go kill those deserters." Yu Chang's voice remained calm, yet it brooked no argument. Han Zhang's lips twitched upon hearing this, but he didn't dare to refute it. He knew that the gap between him and Yu Chang was still very large.

Qi Mei had already rushed out laughing to chase down the remaining soldiers of the Frost Array, while Zhan Lu was clearly uninterested in such matters, simply watching the battle of Ju Que with his arms crossed, trying to absorb some useful knowledge.

As for the conflict between Ju Que and Lu Ning, both sides returned empty-handed.

The purple ice shards that Lu Ning had exploded from were swept aside by Ju Que's surging true energy, which pushed aside his clothes. However, these ice shards, imbued with the destructive power of innate purple qi, did indeed stop Ju Que in his tracks, preventing him from taking another step forward. Lu Ning had already activated the Demon Blood Curse, and the blood from the Crimson Bow had triggered the power of the curse, turning her pupils crimson. As her aura surged, the ice she controlled began to multiply and spread around her.

Ye Cong's Frost Array has four variations: Fortress, Poison Curse, Hallucination, and Pierce. However, everyone has different preferences, and Lu Ning only learned her favorite variation, Poison Curse, first.

The so-called "death upon violating the rules" effect is caused by the curse poison, which is also the fastest way to form combat power. Now, wherever the purple ice shards have gone, they are covered with the ice shard curse poison enhanced by Lu Ning, but it does not have a powerful instant death effect, but rather a variety of weakening curse methods.

Unfortunately, if she had more time to perfect her curse rules, she could have used the instant death effect, which would have been another trump card. But Lu Ning couldn't care less about that now.

Juque enveloped his limbs in Azure Thunder Tribulation Qi, then stomped down, obliterating a patch of purple ice along with the curse within. He looked at Lu Ning: "The power of the Frost Array, but compared to the one in charge of Lingjiang, you are still somewhat weaker."

Lu Ning didn't speak, but kept her eyes fixed on Ju Que's movements.

“That guy from Lingjiang even fought to a draw with our marshal on that route all by himself. Even I can’t do that. But you’re just making some poisonous ice and using some low-level tricks to escape. That’s not commensurate with the power you’ve gained.”

"No, knowing that the Innate Purple Qi can restrain you is enough." Lu Ning was extremely anxious because she sensed that two of her members within the formation had lost signal; they had probably already been found by Qi Mei. After the Frost Formation dissipated, no one could fight the Demon King, and she herself was also in the greatest danger.

Enhance innate purple qi.

She decisively used her last chance for improvement on her most effective skill.

In an instant, the pain of her body being torn apart came from all directions. The innate purple qi that had been properly integrated suddenly became incredibly surging, once again clashing fiercely with her internal energy. However, the benefits were also real. As the innate purple qi further increased, the curse poison within all the ice instantly became many times more ferocious, some even shattering the ice layer and spreading outwards.

Even Ju Que was shocked by the sudden surge of powerful innate purple qi. He had dabbled in all innate true qi except for the Azure Dragon Emperor Qi, which he could not control. He naturally knew the domineering nature of innate purple qi. Regardless of whether Lu Ning had been hiding it or was truly unable to control it, the power of this thing now was far greater than that abandoned law that had been thrown away somewhere.

Even Juque knew that this thing had to be avoided. In an instant, he had crossed the ice barrier and arrived outside the ice that Lu Ning had spread out, and then glanced at Yu Chang.

"End here?" Fish Intestine asked.

“In normal times, such a person could be let go, for he will surely achieve great things in the future. But now, in times of war, he will only become a formidable enemy in the future,” Ju Que replied.

"it is good."

Yu Chang gently placed the corpse she was holding on the ground, then looked at the spreading layers of ice, put her right thumb in her mouth, and gently bit open a wound.

Immediately, a tiny hole appeared on the ice that was in sight. It appeared layer by layer without any obstruction, like a sharp bullet piercing through all defenses, and finally reaching Lu Ning, who was casting a spell deep inside the ice.

Head, left eye.

As her vision was suddenly stained crimson and then turned pitch black, Lu Ning's body fell backward. A large amount of demonic blood gushed from her body, piercing the area around her eyes and forming a temporary protective barrier. Despite the intense pain, Lu Ning could still feel her soldiers continuing to dwindle in number.

"Damn it...it's been dragging on for so long..."

Even if she were to exchange one life for one death to kill a demon king, it wouldn't mean much to her. However, judging by the timeline, if only Bai Tieyi unfortunately encountered the demon king, then the more astute Xuan Yangzi should have already found a way to send a message.

As Lu Ning fell to the ground, a flame shot out from the forest, drawing a clear burning line between the Demon King and the ice. At the same time, Qi Mei's figure was also swept out of the forest by the gale. Although he was not injured, he was still quite disheveled to be blasted out like that.

"There seem to be many demon kings in the demon army, but only a few are truly capable fighters. Are you one of those few?"

The shadowy army emerged from the forest. Qin Luo took Lu Ning's discovery very seriously. In addition to his entire Flame Array, the two commanders he had brought with him, Wind Howl and Soul Fall, were also summoned, instantly forming a counter-encirclement.

"The master of the Blazing Flame Array... Qin Luo." Ju Que looked at the newcomer without panic. There were five demon kings on this side, and a fight between them would be considered evenly matched, it was just a pity that they couldn't kill Lu Ning. Now, in front of Qin Luo, there was absolutely no way to make a move.

"General, those ice... seem to be blocking our way, preventing us from going in to rescue them," someone reported to Qin Luo.

“She’s alright. Let’s deal with these demon kings first. Once the threat is gone, her instincts will disarm most of the ice array’s defenses.” Qin Luo glanced at the center of the ice layer, then his gaze fell on Ju Que. “Such perfectly integrated innate true energy is truly remarkable. If we kill you, the Demon Suppression Division will definitely be very interested in studying you.”

"I'm eager to witness the power of the legendary Flame Array, renowned for its formidable offensive capabilities," Ju Que replied.

Then, the atmosphere suddenly became quiet for a moment, and then flames broke through the ground and spewed up from under the feet of the five demon kings. The demon kings were prepared and dodged, but Juque waved his hand and directly cleaved the flames that spewed up from under his feet.

But at this moment, a group of infantrymen from the Flame Formation had already put on their helmets and drawn their large swords, which were different from conventional weapons. With a synchronized sound of swords being drawn, the blades brushed against the scabbards, sparking a burst of light and instantly igniting a ball of crimson flame on the swords.

"When we get back, we'll have to teach Ye Cong a bit more. The Ten Deadly Formations are a formation; it's not something one person can do alone," Qin Luo said in a low voice, while the flag officer beside him had already given the order.

Before the flaming greatsword could even reach them, the explosive crossbows had already struck. In this skirmish, Qin Luo naturally wouldn't use the sky-piercing fire cannons he used for city defense, but the power of the explosive arrows alone was enough to obliterate ordinary demons. Han Zhang, still weakened, immediately reacted, transforming the soil into a shield to block the explosive arrows. But before he could fully construct his defense, the front layer of soil was shattered, while the soil behind was disrupted by the magical effects of the explosion, preventing it from coalescing. Just as Han Zhang was horrified and transformed himself into elemental energy to burrow underground and escape the attack, a bolt of arrows arrived before him and exploded with a deafening roar.

After the flames subsided and the smoke cleared, only half of the statue, almost burned to terracotta, remained standing. Han Zhang was not dead; the elemental transformation had saved his life, but he was now completely unable to move.

The remaining four were not so badly affected, but they were still significantly impacted by the magical interference from the arrows exploding in mid-air. Except for Juque, who relied entirely on his martial arts and innate true qi and did not rely on magic at all, the other three were burned by the flames to varying degrees.

For Qin Luo, these arrows were merely a means to "hold the line."

The moment the Flame Soldiers enter the fray is the moment the Flame Formation begins its encirclement and slaughter.

Juque took the lead, unleashing a powerful hand strike accompanied by Azure Thunder Tribulation Qi, which struck the head of a Flame Soldier directly. The soldier's head exploded, but instead of flesh and blood, numerous sparks flew out. Then, a flame rose from the cavity in the neck, transforming into a burning head.

The soldiers' bodies were merely temporary constructs to avoid frightening civilians. After joining the Flame Array and clarifying their beliefs, they had already transformed their bodies into flames. As long as the flames blaze, their fighting spirit will continue.