Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 486 Starfield Schemes Unfold Amidst Warfare, Five Elements Wheel Transform into a Cataclysmic Tide (Seeking Donations and Subscriptions!)

Beyond the membrane of heaven and earth, the universe is dark and the stars are dazzling. Among them is a chaotic star field, full of dangers, which is a remnant of the war between the Red Sun and the Azure Netherworld.

This area is spatially fractured and layered like the folds of an ancient scroll, yet a magnificent and imposing Daoist palace constructed from the essence of the five elements floats deep within the chaotic star field.

At this very moment, within it, two figures with a vast aura, as boundless as the starry sky, are playing chess.

The white piece landed in a corner of the star chart. Daoist Kongji looked like an ordinary mortal, not even handsome. He wore a plain Daoist robe, but the aura he exuded when he placed the piece seemed to pierce through the void.

As a being of extraordinary status and almost the leader among the twenty-four demon gods, his majesty is not outwardly displayed, but rather contained invisibly.

As the saying goes, even an immortal can remain unperturbed by anger, yet still cause the heavens and earth to change color.

With Kong Ji Dao Ren's current level of Daoist cultivation, he is not weak even in the Earthly Immortal Realm. Only in this way can he enjoy nearly 100,000 years of peace in this realm.

"Placing a piece at the center of the board seems to secure the victory, but in reality, it traps the mind. Brother Xuanji, what do you think of this situation?" Kong Ji's voice was calm, yet no one dared to ignore it.

It seems that when he speaks, the world must listen attentively.

Opposite him was the Xuan Turtle Demon Saint, the foremost sage of the demon race, who at this moment had transformed into a gaunt-faced old Taoist priest, known as "Xuanjizi".

He held the black piece, undecided, while his withered left hand twirled countless tangled threads of cause and effect.

"The transformation of Tongxuan, like a spark igniting a prairie fire, is already predetermined, and for us, it is also a calamity." Xuanjizi's voice was calm and composed.
“That brat from Lu City, with a seventh-order Five Elements Grand Array as his foundation and the remnants of the demonic army at the Cloud Golden Peak as his weapon, is indeed a remarkable figure. He has already turned the Tongxuan Realm into a furnace, intending to destroy the foundation of my Ten Thousand Demon Heavenly Dao.”

Kong Ji smiled slightly, picked up a chess piece, and gently placed it in a corner of the chessboard:
"Ants gather sand, vainly attempting to build a tower. The flames of humanity's stubborn resistance have never truly been extinguished since the collapse of the Crimson Sun and Azure Netherworlds. Their flames are fierce, but their decline is swift."

For tens of thousands of years, it has been nothing but endless cycles of reincarnation, only accumulating more blood debts. We, who control the Heavenly Dao of Ten Thousand Demons, devour the life force of the universe; our destiny is sealed. What Lu City has gathered is but the embers of calamity; how can it possibly shake a towering tree?

The Taoist priest's nonchalant tone was not out of utter contempt, but rather stemmed from absolute confidence accumulated over countless years.

Beneath the vast starry sky, the once-powerful human cultivators and worlds have been crushed by their own hands far too many.

"Of course," Kong Ji said, changing the subject. A faint glimmer of light flew out from his fingertip, outlining in the void the image of a spirited female cultivator carrying five long swords.

"This child's fortune is intertwined, with hidden variables. His formation has the power to eliminate calamity and assimilate the origins of other realms. Its momentum is no longer a struggle between trapped beasts in one realm. Around the Tongxuan World, there are dozens of small realms attached to the Chiyang and Qingming fragments. Their five elements spiritual energy is being drawn into the formation by this formation. If this continues, it may become a hidden danger, helping to rebuild his foundation."

Upon hearing this, a glint of light flashed in the depths of the Xuan Turtle Demon Saint's chaotic eyes, before returning to their usual deep gaze: "What is the Demon God's intention?"

“Yinglong is ambitious and has never been content to be inferior.” Kongji Daoist’s expression remained unchanged, but his words carried a hint of chill that was hard to detect.

"He seeks to challenge my position and that of the Holy Sun, and we need to sharpen his claws. In that case, the Tongxuan Realm is the best testing ground for him. Issue an order to send Kong Yan with my 'Five Elements Sword Demon' to assist the army. This treasure contains a trace of my Five Elements origin, making it unparalleled in attack and defense. It can protect him and allow him to gain combat experience and refine his Dao fruit amidst the vast army."

Kong Yan, a descendant of Kong Ji, possesses extraordinary talent and boundless potential. He was bestowed with the Five Elements Sword Treasure, personally crafted by the Daoist Kong Ji, ostensibly for protection, but in reality, it was embedded into the core of the battle. By using the power of Yinglong, he could hone his skills and simultaneously gain insight into the true nature of the Yinglong Demon Saint and the Tongxuan Realm—a triple win.

"Good." The Xuan Turtle Demon Saint nodded. The strategy of the chess player had been decided without making a sound. The trajectories of the chess pieces intersected, pointing to an even more bloody and massive war.

From his perspective, it would be enough to simply remind the two demon gods, Sheng Yang and Kong Ji, to pay attention to the calamity in the Tongxuan Realm. With the cultivation and magical power accumulated by these two demon gods, they should already be invincible in the mortal world.

As for the calamity energy shown in the hexagrams derived by oneself, those who are proficient in the I Ching will naturally know that everyone has calamity energy to some extent, and calamity and fortune are always interdependent.

Several years later, in the Tongxuan Realm, beyond the membrane of heaven and earth.

The void is no longer peaceful, but filled with the drums of destruction.

Countless demonic warships, like a horde of bloodthirsty ancient beasts floating in the dark depths of the sea, guarded a massive war fortress suspended above the rubble of a star.

At the heart of the fortress, in the Palace of Ten Thousand Demons, atop the throne lay a strong man with a bronze complexion and an exposed upper body.

He sat languidly, leaning against a stunningly beautiful woman with skin as white as jade, a beauty who could bring ruin to a nation. He was like a mountain cast in bronze and iron, majestic and imposing, so that all his subordinates and disciples felt boundless respect and wanted to bow their heads at the mere sight of him.

As Yinglong, the Demon Saint, opened and closed his eyes, a terrifying aura flowed, radiating a fearsome dragon might that looked down upon all directions.

Below and to the left and right of him, demonic energy soared into the sky:

The Demon Saint Xiangliu occasionally manifested nine ferocious giant heads, spewing out bone-corroding poisonous miasma that corroded even stardust wherever it passed.

Bifang, the Divine Lord, had wings burning with dark blue calamity flames, and his cries were like metal tearing through the sky. Kong Yan stood solemnly behind Bifang, dressed in flowing fairy robes, with five long swords of different spiritual light on his back, which hummed in their sheaths. These were the "Five Elements Sword Demons" bestowed by Kong Ji: Geng Metal Slaying Demons, Yi Wood Reviving Life, Gui Water Condensing Abyss, Li Fire Burning the Sky, and Wu Earth Suppressing Mountains.

Further down, ancient witch spirits drift like cursed totems in the shadows; the nine-headed Ghost Chariot Demon Saint spews ghostly fire and black wind; the chaotic aura of the Gluttonous Demon seems capable of swallowing asteroids; Lu Wu wields the divine power of light; Chongming Bird's eyes pierce through evil golden light; Dang Kang stirs up a sea of ​​blood and swamp; Xiaotian Roar shatters the void boundary; Kui Niu stirs up thunder in the nine heavens; Chang You unleashes a raging flood; Ming She carries plague and poisonous smoke; Lei Shen Hammer Drum draws down billions of purple lightning bolts; Meng Ji's figure is like a ghost, vanishing without a trace; Shan Hui triggers landslides and tsunamis; Shebi Corpse controls an army of corpses; Kai Ming Beast's nine heads perceive the truth and falsehood of all things; Wuzhiqi stirs up a raging wave... Demon saints stand in rows, and demons dance wildly.

Dozens of terrifying beings at the Nascent Soul level, along with countless demon kings, demon generals, demon soldiers, and demon generals within the army formation, have formed a torrent of ten thousand demon heavenly armies capable of crushing and destroying an entire star field.

"Disdain?" Yinglong Demon Saint's gaze pierced through layers of spatial barriers, staring at the Tongxuan Realm below, which appeared unusually "tranquil" under the five-colored radiance of the Pan Kong Grand Array.

"Shengyang and Kongji are sitting idly by, hoping to use the human race as a weapon to weaken my forces? What a joke! Once I conquer the Tongxuan World, refine its core and the Five Elements Grand Array flags, and use them as a foundation, the position of leader of the Ten Thousand Demon Heavenly Dao will be filled by another person." His voice was deep, yet it resounded like thunder in the hearts of every demon king and demon saint present, stirring up boundless turmoil and greed.

The dragon's nature is characterized by greed, resilience, and arrogance. With such innate qualities, it seems destined to be above all living beings.

"Kill! Wherever the energy of that Five Elements Formation spreads, kill there. I allow you to consume as much blood as you want, and I will not sheath my sword as long as there is any resistance."

At a single command, the massive demon army, like boiling magma, transformed into countless black and red interwoven torrents of destruction, plunging down and tearing through the star field, fiercely attacking the seemingly dazzling but actually incredibly fragile five-colored light shield in the eyes of the demons.

Within the Tongxuan Realm, at the central hub of the Pankong Grand Array.

Lu Cheng stood atop the Xuanjin Cloud Palace, like a pillar stabilizing the sea.

His Taoist robes fluttered, his long hair moved without wind, and the five elements of immortal energy swirled around him. Behind him, the five-colored divine light of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth transformed into a giant, slowly rotating, ever-renewing wheel of light, connecting heaven and earth. This was the core manifestation of the "Five Elements Reincarnation Wheel Formation".

Below it, nine dragons dragged the cloud palace, their roars resonating with the hum of the formation.

Those flanking him were numerous powerful figures of the demonic path, bound by blood pacts and corpse pills, now forced to cooperate fully:
The ancestor of the Chaotic Ancestor, Yang Xiao, hovered to the left. Although his demonic body had been reforged, his aura was more restrained and profound. Lady Wanmiao, Blood Skull Demon Lord, Hundred Bone True Venerable, Black Fiend Demon Lord, Yin Cha Fairy, and others each occupied a key point of the formation, channeling their own magical power into the formation flags. Although they harbored demonic thoughts, they were firmly suppressed by the Netherworld Blood Pact and Lu Cheng, forced to integrate their most ruthless and vicious supernatural powers into the formation's operation, transforming them into part of the defense and trap.

Even more impressive was Lin Xuance, who had attained the primordial spirit through the Dao of Arrays. He sat cross-legged amidst countless array projections, his hands moving like butterflies flitting among flowers, precisely controlling every surge of immense magical power flowing into the array—including the primordial power slowly drawn from the small worlds attached to the Crimson Sun and Azure Nether fragments.

A sixth-order formation can form its own world and move through the void, not to mention the Five Elements Reincarnation Void Formation that this Lu Cheng avatar purchased at a considerable cost in the Earth Immortal Realm.

After this great formation was established, its power of the five elements continued to spread to other small worlds around it. These small worlds were fragments of the Crimson Sun and Azure Netherworlds, which were divided and occasionally harvested by these demon gods, just like the Tongxuan World.

Every time this great formation breaks through a small realm, the Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators in that small realm will naturally sense the formation. Most of them will come to join it after learning the truth.

Of course, there are also those who hide themselves and do not participate in this calamity at all. This is also a way to deal with the great calamity of the twenty-four demon gods. After the demon gods have washed the world in blood, they will not kill them all. There will always be some survivors.

When the allied forces of the extraterrestrial demon race cast a spell together, summoning a rain of meteors and fire that seemed capable of destroying the heavens and the earth, it crashed down on the boundary of the Tongxuan Realm with a force capable of annihilating everything.

The once vast and ever-flowing light of the Pan Kong Grand Array suddenly became "weak" and dim.

The enormous five-colored wheel phantom trembled violently, and the five elements divine light flickered wildly and uncertainly. Its brilliance dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if a giant net stretched to its limit was about to be completely torn apart and pierced by this destructive torrent in the next second!
Beyond the boundary wall, tyrannical demonic energy had already surged in, staining the sky of the Profound Realm crimson. Within the boundary wall, the core area covered by the Profound Realm's last line of defense—the Pan Kong Grand Array—was instantly transformed into a furnace of flesh and blood!
"kill!"

Almost at the same moment the light of the boundary wall dimmed, the already assembled human cultivator army erupted with a deafening roar and the spiritual light of their Daoist arts, signaling a desperate battle. The reason the Five Elements Reincarnation Void Array had become ethereal a moment earlier was to avoid the destructive edge of the demonic alliance's large-scale demonic magic.

Although those meteor showers that crashed down on the Tongxuan Realm would bring endless death and injury.

However, it can greatly reduce the load on the formation and save a great deal of magic power. Therefore, when countless demon allied forces rushed into the Tongxuan Realm, they only felt a swirl of five-colored light before their eyes, and they were transported to another world.

This is a war that affects the entire realm, and no one, even a mortal, can remain uninvolved.

High in the sky, the most brutal battles erupted first in the air, between human cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage and demon saints of the demon race.

Human cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage, whether they were righteous rogue cultivators or demonic giants bound by Lu Cheng with blood pacts and pills, all put aside their past grievances and frantically poured their life's power into the array flags around them, while facing the oncoming Nascent Soul level demon saints.

Beneath a vast, azure sky filled with arrayed voids, the Venerable Poison Dragon, a emaciated and ruthless demonic figure clad in a dark green Daoist robe, let out a sinister, grotesque laugh:

"Turn into pus and blood for the Ancestor!"

Instantly, a dark green poisonous cloud burst forth around him, obscuring the sky. This poisonous cloud was extraordinary, containing millennia-old corpse poison, bone-corroding miasma, and soul-corroding smoke. Even more bizarrely, it seemed to have a life of its own, transforming into billions of tiny poisonous insects that hissed and actively lunged at the massive demon army charging towards him.

Ordinary demon soldiers and generals would turn to dust upon contact, unable to even utter a wail before turning into pools of putrid pus. Even the thick-skinned, transformed demon kings would have their protective demonic aura melt away like spring snow, their demonic bodies rapidly decaying.

When the poisonous cloud passes, a large fan-shaped "clear air zone" appears in the vacuum, and all demons flee in terror!

However, a Nascent Soul Demon Saint whose true form was a golden-scaled dragon was not afraid of the poisonous clouds and rushed over with overwhelming ferocity. The Poison Dragon Venerable sneered and flicked his wrist, sending out a black bone whip covered with strange runes. It was the seventh-order magic weapon, the Dragon-Slaying Whip, which he had painstakingly crafted.

The whip lashed out, subtly stirring up a kind of primal malevolent energy in the world that was directed against dragons. It emitted a sharp, piercing whistle, ignoring spatial distance, and struck the body of the Flood Dragon Demon Saint with a resounding "crack".

The scales, as hard as divine iron, shattered instantly, splattering blood everywhere.

The Flood Dragon Demon Saint let out a deafening howl of pain, its massive body writhing and twisting as a small portion of its demonic energy was shattered by the whip, causing its momentum to dissipate drastically.

Why did Lu Cheng try to subdue this Poison Dragon Venerable first?
This demon is truly skilled in poison techniques, adept at group battles, and wields a dragon whip. When facing the Dragon Vein Demon Saint, he possesses strength comparable to a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Today, Yu Qingzi's face is withered, and he holds an ancient jade chime in his hand, but his eyes are as sharp as an eagle's. He faces a ghost wolf lord whose core is a ghost fire formed from demonic souls, and he mutters incantations.

Suddenly, the jade chime in his hand rang silently.

It does not act on the eardrum, but directly vibrates the soul.

Visible gray ripples spread out from him like lightning – this was his ultimate Soul-Destroying Technique!

Wherever the ripples passed, low-level demon souls were instantly annihilated. The millions of Soul-Devouring Fire Wolves unleashed by the Ghost Wolf Lord vanished with mournful cries the moment they touched the ripples.

The ripples rushed straight to the Wolf Lord's body. The Nine Netherworld Ghost Fire protecting the Wolf Lord suddenly dimmed, letting out a shrill howl. Cracks appeared on the solid ghostly body, and its aura plummeted. It was about to be completely destroyed.

This terrifying demonic attack succeeded instantly, attracting the attention of a cold gaze from high in the sky.

Just as Yu Qingzi was fighting the Ghost Wolf Lord alone and severely injured him, and his old strength had just been exhausted and new strength had not yet been generated, a five-colored light, like a shooting star chasing the moon, instantly tore through the chaotic battlefield and descended a hundred feet in front of him.

The newcomer was none other than Kong Yan Daoist, whose body was surrounded by five five-colored sword lights. Her figure was graceful, but her eyes were cold and ruthless.

Five-colored light flowed around him, and the aura he emitted was of the same origin as the Pan Kong Grand Array, but even purer and more condensed, faintly forming a suppressive force.

"You scoundrel, your life is over!"

Kong Yan pointed her fingers like a sword, and five pure and sharp sword energies of red, yellow, white, black, and blue burst forth from the air. They did not pierce directly, but instead instantly linked together to form a small Five Elements Deadly Sword Array, enveloping the jade chime.

The sword energy collided with the defensive magic weapon and protective aura hastily summoned by the jade chime, producing a teeth-grinding cutting sound.

Yu Qingzi's injuries in the battle at Yunxiao Golden Summit were not as severe as those of his master, Hunxie Ancestor, but he did not receive the thirty-six Qingling Nine Aperture Pills, and his injuries from that time have not fully healed to this day.

"puff!"

Therefore, a crimson sword aura broke through his defenses, pierced through his right chest, leaving a charred hole, and the destructive five elements evil energy frantically eroded his meridians and primordial spirit.

"laugh!"

Immediately afterwards, a dark sword aura swept across his left arm, and his entire arm, along with a shoulder blade, vanished into nothingness in an instant.

Yu Qingzi was struck as if by a heavy hammer, spitting out blood and his life force plummeted. He narrowly escaped death.

Just then, a streak of crimson light flashed across the sky, and when Kong Yan focused his mind again, the figure of the Jade Chime Daoist was no longer there.

If Lu Cheng hadn't used the power of the formation to move it away, Yu Qingzi would have perished on the spot.

In the lower airspace, Nascent Soul cultivators led countless Golden Core disciples to form battle formations, clashing with the transformed demon kings and the overwhelming elite demon soldiers.

Magical artifacts flew wildly, sword energy crisscrossed, and demonic magic ran rampant.

Fireballs and ice spikes rained down, and lightning and poisonous fog filled the air.

A Nascent Soul-level monster with bristling hair and beard controlled a giant metal puppet, rampaging through the demon horde and smashing countless demon soldiers, only to be struck by a giant tail from a Nascent Soul-level demon king, the crocodile, causing the puppet's outer shell to shatter.

On the other side, several Nascent Soul cultivators who were well-versed in formations joined forces to set up the Sword Rain Meteor Formation. Sharp sword energy poured down like a waterfall, annihilating the flying demon army that was attacking the formation base below. Blood mist stained half the sky red.

But soon a high-level demon king roared and charged in, using brute force to shake the nodes of the formation, causing the curtain of sword rain to teeter on the brink of collapse.

Golden Core cultivators who had formed formations were constantly torn apart by powerful demons that broke through their defenses, their severed limbs and fragments of magical artifacts falling like raindrops; Nascent Soul cultivators were also besieged by several demon kings, their magical treasures destroyed, and finally roared and self-destructed their Nascent Souls, perishing together with their enemies, the resulting blood-red mushroom cloud carrying a destructive energy shockwave that swept in all directions.

"Profound cultivators, heed my command! Retreat to the inner circle!" Lu Cheng's voice echoed clearly across the battlefield, calm and undisturbed.

Those powerful figures of the demonic path and the righteous cultivators retreated as instructed, suffering defeat after defeat, yet they did not collapse.

The allied forces of demons and gods, on the other hand, were in high spirits and pursued the enemy swiftly.

"Pathetic!" Kang Yaosheng grinned, his fangs shattering the protective magic treasure of a Nascent Soul cultivator and piercing through his flesh. His gigantic maw opened to devour the gathered cultivators, then he let out a satisfied roar.

"With such a weak defense, how dare you provoke the might of Heaven?" Kang Yaosheng said disdainfully as blood flowed from his mouth.

"Lord Kong, have you seen the human race's struggling posture?" The voice of the Yinglong Demon Saint boomed, as if giving a reminder, but also as if declaring victory.

If the conquest continues in this manner, even if the human cultivators put up some resistance, they will eventually be crushed into dust by the army of ten thousand demons.

Upon hearing this, Daoist Kong Yan frowned slightly. The five elemental flying swords swirling around her hummed softly. She felt a strange wariness towards the ever-flowing, ever-renewing power with a shared attraction at the core of the Pan Kong Grand Array. However, this wariness was quickly overwhelmed by the fervor of the impending victory of the demon army.

'What can these human cultivators do in the face of absolute power? It seems Yinglong is truly going to achieve great things this time, and Father will be even less likely to harm him easily.'

(End of this chapter)