Walking alone with a sword, slaying ghosts and gods

Chapter 562 The Battle Between Dao and Demon Shocks the Universe, Crimson Blood Stains the Peak of Taiqing (Seeking Rewards and Subscriptions!)

"Boom - click!"

The azure sky seemed to be torn apart by the giant claws of evil, because with the help of Duan family cultivators from within and without, the "Purple Qi Sky-Patrolling Five Thunder Immortal Array," which had suppressed the destiny of Taiqing Mountain for a thousand years, finally succumbed to the pressure.

Under the relentless onslaught of countless demonic shadows, monsters, and demonic cultivators, and the combined attack of the three demonic ancestors who had been plotting for a long time, a hideous rift was forcibly torn open!
It was as if thick, foul blood was gushing out, and the world changed color.

Thick, almost tangible demonic clouds, carrying the scents of sulfur, putrid blood, and despair, surged into this celestial paradise like an inverted River Styx from the depths of hell.

The demons have corrupted heaven and earth, and corrupted everything.

The sound of the array tearing apart swept across the mountains, shaking the peaks and causing the spiritual energy to weep.

The protection provided by the ninth-order immortal array even surpasses that of the celestial membrane of the middle plane, and it was forcibly torn apart, hence the situation.

The devil has descended upon the world!

The leader, the Demon Ancestor of the Silent Abyss, had an ordinary appearance and wore a simple Taoist robe, but his demonic aura was as deep and turbulent as an abyss, as if it could devour all light and life.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor followed closely behind, his aura shifting and unpredictable, as if an invisible shadow was accompanying him.

The Nightmare Demon Ancestor, on the other hand, was elegant and composed, like a Taoist master who could move freely. However, his pure "emptiness" and the distorted laws of the Heavenly Dao permeating his body caused all those who faced him to tremble in their hearts and become unstable in their souls.

“Lu Jingxu…” The Nightmare Demon Ancestor’s thoughts rang out silently, carrying a cruel smile like a cat playing with a mouse.

Today, the Immortal Formation of Mount Taiqing is broken, so it will be the day this person is beheaded no matter what.

Even if there were ambushes, the Nightmare Demon Ancestor would not leave until he had captured and killed this person.

The three great demon ancestors descended, followed by countless demon sons and grandsons. Wherever they went, whether it was pavilions, towers, immortal plants and spirit beasts, or even disciples with slightly weaker cultivation, they were all reduced to ashes by demonic magic weapons and flying swords!
The layers of restrictions and guardian puppets that Taiqing Mountain was so proud of proved to be as fragile as paper in the face of this overwhelming demonic calamity.

On that day, the righteous declined while the demons grew, and the flames of evil raged to the heavens!

However, this is precisely the deadly trap that the Taiqing Sect painstakingly planned and laid out at the cost of sealing off the mountain for a thousand years and sacrificing several generations of the Duan family!

Over the past thousand years, Xuanqing Daozun and Xuanzhen Daojun have noticed Duan Tianyan's wavering and the spies planted by the Demonic Sect.

However, both Xuanqing Daozun and Xuanzhen Daojun accepted it, because under those circumstances, almost no one could remain unmoved.

Furthermore, Duan Tianyan's wavering made it easier for him to gain the trust of the three Demon Ancestors. Only a deception that was nine parts truth and one part falsehood could be considered clever and possibly fool the three Demon Ancestors.

The sect's higher-ups also felt sorry for the Duan family. Although the aristocratic families had a thousand faults and ten thousand wrongdoings in the past, when the sect was on the verge of collapse, the most trustworthy people were ultimately these aristocratic cultivators who shared the sect's fate.

No matter how outstanding a cultivator like Lu Cheng is, he is not capable of undertaking this kind of task, especially if he is a first-generation cultivator who has not invested in his cultivation over thousands of years.

It was Duan Tianyan's loyalty to the sect accumulated over thousands of years that enabled him to finally complete this plan.

"Array up!"

A cold and resolute imperial edict resounded through the sky, drowning out the endless strange laughter and rampant demonic sounds!
The broken "Purple Qi Sky-Patrolling Five Thunder Immortal Array" had not completely dissipated, because it had not completely collapsed but only lost a corner. Now, with the activation of the pre-arranged mechanism, its core hub once again burst forth with brilliant light.

The swirling five-colored lightning no longer spread out for defense, but instead transformed into exceptionally tough chains of law, ignoring spatial distance and instantly wrapping around the locations of the three great demon ancestors, Jiyuan, Tianming, and Xinyan!

"Hmph, you think you can trap me with this broken formation!" The Demon Ancestor Jiyuan sneered. His demonic body trembled, and the Five Thunder Chains binding him shook violently, emitting a piercing cracking sound. The surrounding void was shaken and shattered into pieces.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor's figure flickered, attempting to escape into the shadows of the void, but the chains of law clung to him like maggots, firmly fixing him to the spatial node, making it difficult for him to completely break free.

The Nightmare Demon Ancestor frowned slightly, sensing that the chains were not merely imbued with magical power, but also entwined with a grand and pure Daoist aura. Such supernatural powers were bound to be difficult to cultivate and deal with. His empty eyes gazed at the source of the decree—the Profound Purity Daoist Venerable stood proudly in the center of the Dao Inquiry Square in front of the Taiqing Palace, a white jade ruler above his head, his hands forming hand seals, and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Clearly, he was bearing unimaginable backlash from presiding over this formation of confinement!

The next moment, a surge of purple lightning swept across the sky, and the three great demon ancestors, Jiyuan, Xinyan, and Tianming, were instantly separated and forced to dodge!

After realizing this, they looked around and discovered that the three of them had been separated by the formation.

"Hmph, what's the use of that? There are no Mahayana cultivators." The Demon Ancestor Jiyuan hadn't even finished speaking.

"Form the formation! The five elements rotate, and the Big Dipper returns to its place!" Five powerful and unstoppable Mahayana-level divine senses and magical powers soared into the sky, transforming into five torrents of light of different colors and overwhelming force, trapping the Silent Abyss Demon Ancestor, who had already broken free of most of the purple lightning chains, in the core!
These five cultivators were none other than the five Taiqing Elders who had been hidden for a thousand years by the Taiqing Sect and had advanced to the Mahayana realm in the desolate world with the help of the Heaven-Mending Pill:
Mingque Daojun: With long, flowing hair and a sharp, untamed aura, he is as tall as a sword and his aura is also like a sword. He is in charge of the battle and killing of the metal element and the connection between formations!
He wielded an ancient immortal sword called "Taiyi Dividing Light," its sword energy pure white, its intent aimed directly at the core of the power flow of the Silent Abyss Demon Ancestor, coordinating the four elements, drawing upon the killing power of the Big Dipper, and condensing it into a seven-star demon-slaying sword energy that tore through the sky!

Tongzhen Daojun: His figure was slightly elusive, yet his feet were firmly rooted to the ground. His ten fingers danced like butterflies, controlling the wood element and generating lightning. Azure lightning leaped between his fingers, transforming into ten thousand chains of divine lightning of the wood element, which coiled upwards, containing the life force of death.

Minghe Daojun: With an air of otherworldly grace, he wields an ancient whisk, wielding the power of water. With each flick of the whisk, the abyssal and profound energy of the cold abyss surges forth, freezing space and slowing down all laws.

Mingyan Daojun: Dressed in a crimson Daoist robe, with hair and beard like fire, he is in charge of the power of fire. Above his head floats a Nine Yang Fire Cauldron, within which true fire burns the heavens and boils the seas, transforming into swords of golden flames that slay demons and spin in the air.

Tongyuan Daojun: With a square face and a heavy aura like a mountain, he stands firmly on the ground and is in charge of the power of earth. His body is surrounded by the dharma image of the Wutu Qilin, which resonates with the pulse of the earth to form a solid dharma domain that suppresses the formation.

Previously, the Six Desires Demon Sect's Jiyuan Demon Ancestor jokingly said:

If the Taiqing Sect cannot gather at least five Mahayana cultivators, they can come and go as they please within the damaged ninth-order immortal array.

If they hadn't expected their words to come true, the Taiqing Sect would actually send out five Mahayana cultivators and form an array to besiege them.

“It doesn’t make sense. How many Mahayana cultivators are there in the human race in this world? If the Taiqing Sect has more than five Mahayana cultivators, how could it have been weak for tens of thousands of years? Could it be that all five of them broke through in the last thousand years?”

The heavens are in a state of chaos; could the heavenly Dao and the heavenly heart of this realm be so acutely aware?

No matter how puzzled the Demon Ancestor of the Silent Abyss was, the five figures around him moved swiftly, subtly aligning with the interactions of the Five Elements and the killing intent of the Big Dipper.

The Xuanming Water Mist of Daoist Minghe was steamed by Daoist Mingyan's Nine Yang True Fire, transforming into countless supremely Yang and fierce Demon-Slaying Qi Swords that surged forth in layers!

Tongzhen Daojun's Yi Wood Divine Thunder not only provides restraint, but also, based on the principle of wood generating fire, continuously replenishes the source of Mingyan Daojun's natal magic treasure, the True Fire Cauldron.

At the heart of the formation, the Seven Star Demon-Slaying Sword Qi was the overflowing and flowing magical power of the other four people. Even if he didn't draw his sword, it would be fine. But every time he drew his sword, it was enough to shake the deep and powerful demonic power and energy of the Silent Abyss Demon Ancestor!

Back then at Zhenmo Mountain, facing thirteen human Mahayana cultivators, the Demon Ancestor Jiyuan still had enough confidence to come and go as he pleased, and used this to threaten the thirteen human Mahayana cultivators.

However, at this moment, he was inside a ninth-order immortal array. If he could not escape before the ninth-order immortal array was repaired, he would perish here today.

A hint of solemnity finally appeared on the face of the Silent Abyss Demon Ancestor, a face that had remained unchanged for a thousand years:
"You underestimated the Taiqing's strength. But do you think your meager power is enough to disrupt my cultivation by reversing the Five Elements?"

The Demon Ancestor of the Silent Abyss stretched out his hands to cast a spell, and then opened his mouth to spit out a black and red evil demonic lotus.

In an instant, the five Mahayana Dao Lords, Mingque, Minghe, Mingyan, Tongzhen, and Tongyuan, felt their internal magical power suddenly become chaotic. It was as if several huge forces were simultaneously generated in their meridians and pulled in different directions. This strange change made the five of them feel that they could hardly control their physical magical power.

The next moment, this chaotic and strange feeling disappeared, but instead converged and condensed into an unparalleled force that smashed into Tongyuan Daojun's Wutu Domain. Tongyuan Daojun forcefully raised his magic power to resist, but the void in front of him shattered inch by inch like glass!
Tongyuan Daojun groaned and spat out blood. The Wutu Qilin Dharma Image wailed and dimmed. Jiyuan Demon Ancestor stretched out a claw to kill Tongyuan directly, but the other four instantly exerted their power, using water to generate wood, wood to generate fire, and fire to refine metal, forcibly neutralizing and transforming the magic power of the demon claw's impact.

At the same time, Mingque Daojun's Seven Star Sword Qi became even more dazzling, and he took the opportunity to slash fiercely at the demonic arm of Jiyuan Demon Ancestor, causing filthy demonic blood to splatter!

The cultivators of the Taiqing Sect are often highly skilled and possess profound Dao power. Their cultivation foundation is more solid than that of other cultivators at the same level, making them less susceptible to being taken advantage of by demonic cultivators.

During the lightning-fast back-and-forth battle between the Demon Ancestor of the Silent Abyss and the five Great Pure Mahayana cultivators.

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor was blocked by an old Taoist priest wielding a sheathed magic sword; he was all alone.

"Xuanzhenzi, the acting sect leader of the Taiqing Sect? The most outstanding sword immortal of this generation in the Taiqing Sect who has cultivated the 'Male and Female Dragon Tiger Demon Refining Sword Scripture'!?"

The Heavenly Demon Ancestor said this because he originally did not take Xuanzhenzi Daoist seriously. However, the Xuanzhenzi in front of him was alone with his sword, and he carried an incomparably sharp sword intent and killing aura.

"However, even if it were you, how could you possibly be defeated and killed by me all by yourself?"

"Demon, be punished!"

A clear shout resounded like thunder from the heavens!

Without uttering any unnecessary words, Daoist Xuanzhenzi stood alone with his sword, blocking the path of the Heavenly Nether Demon Ancestor who was attempting to teleport away to break the formation and provide support.

If he were to successfully escape to the side of the Demon Ancestor Jiyuan, then he would have lost. Over the past thousand years, Xuanzhenzi had been constantly calculating the three Demon Ancestors, Jiyuan, Xinyan, and Tianming. As time went by, a conjecture gradually formed in his mind.

However, this is not the time to verify it.

Although Xuanzhenzi is a newly promoted Mahayana cultivator, his foundation is solid and his sword intent is pure, making him a rare genius that Taiqing has never seen in ten thousand years.

The longsword in his hand, named "Slaying Evil," did not have any earth-shattering brilliance, but only a pure and extremely clear blue light. However, wherever the tip of the sword pointed, the shadows in the space retreated, and the unpredictable laws of the demonic path froze!

Upon seeing the sword light, the Heavenly Nether Demon Ancestor's eyes flashed with disdain: "Having just entered the Mahayana sect and only restrained your magic power for a few years, you already know no bounds! Xuanzhenzi? You have only an empty name, die!"

His figure flickered, and in an instant, he split into hundreds of illusory and shadowy figures, each carrying a dark blade that could cut through the primordial spirit and corrode the foundation of the Dao, engulfing Xuanzhenzi from all directions.

However, facing these thousands of demonic shadows, Xuanzhenzi neither dodged nor avoided them, but simply slowly extended his sword.

This sword strike seemed to strip away all the noise and distractions of the world, leaving only the long, mournful cry of the sword!

"The Primordial Sword!"

Sword light bursts forth!

It was not dazzling, but rather a chaotic, formless and intangible "domain" centered on Xuanzhenzi!
In this realm, time seems to slow down and freeze, space is disordered and blurred, and the demonic laws that the Heavenly Nether Demon Ancestor was so proud of, which allowed him to manipulate shadows and illusions, are completely ineffective!

Thousands of demonic shadows shattered one after another like bubbles, and all the dark blades were silently dissolved and assimilated in this sword domain that returned to the primordial chaos!
"One sword to end it all!"

Another burst of sword light erupted!
Its shape resembles a nine-section withered bamboo, but it is actually the form of a Dao sword transformed from the Demon-Slaying Flying Ship.

Throughout the entire Taiqing Sect, only Xuanzhenzi could refine an eighth-tier war magic weapon flying ship into a personal magic weapon.

The natal flying sword, the Demon-Slaying Sword, with its nine sections, danced and swirled in Xuanzhenzi's hands, transforming into a chaotic sword domain of yin and yang, black and white, which enveloped the Heavenly Nether Demon Ancestor.

Enveloped in sword intent and energy, the true form of the Heavenly Nether Demon Ancestor was revealed, his eyes filled with horror: "The Yin-Yang Refining Demon Sword Intent of Male and Female Dragon and Tiger?! You actually mastered it!"

This can be considered the ultimate skill of the Taiqing Sword Scripture. Even with Lu Cheng Dao Ren's talent in swordsmanship, he is still far from mastering it, and may never be able to achieve it in his lifetime.

At this moment, the Heavenly Demon Ancestor finally understood why Xuanzhenzi had come alone to fight him.

As long as he kills himself and uses his blood to consecrate the sword, even if Xuanzhenzi, a Mahayana sword cultivator, suffers a great loss of magical power, his sword intent and sword energy can be elevated to an extremely high peak.

Sword cultivators are fearless and can break through all laws with a single sword. The requirements for sword heart and sword intent in cultivating this path have always been far higher than the requirements for magic power. Sword cultivators can even hone their cultivation through bloody battles with their swords, thus replenishing their own cultivation.

Even a demonic giant like the Heavenly Nether Demon Ancestor wouldn't want to encounter a truly skilled swordsman, but unfortunately, he has encountered one today.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lu Cheng Dao Ren had already clashed with the Nightmare Demon Ancestor.

Facing a Mahayana demon cultivator, Lu Cheng preemptively summoned the Giant Spirit Warship, which transformed into a Xuanjin giant to protect himself.

But in an instant, the Demon Ancestor of the Nightmare had already activated the supreme demonic thoughts that distorted the Heavenly Dao and eroded the Dao Heart!
Thoughts run like lightning; in this state, there is no escaping them.

Lu Cheng felt his primordial spirit tremble violently, and illusions appeared before his eyes. Countless inner demons and obsessions surged, and even the incomparably resilient primordial spirit in his sea of ​​consciousness seemed to be eroded and dissolved by "emptiness"!
This is even more terrifying than when we first faced each other a thousand years ago. The Nightmare Demon Ancestor is determined to capture and kill him, extract his soul and refine his spirit, and decipher all his secrets!
But just as Lu Cheng's primordial spirit was in turmoil and he was gradually falling into an irreversible disadvantage.

"Wow—!"

"hold head high--!"

Two long, piercing roars from strange beasts soared into the sky!
Immediately afterwards, two dazzling lights, one blue and one purple, suddenly lit up and flew swiftly, blocking Lu Cheng Daoist's path!

It was Long Zhang and Feng Tu, a couple who, although they were well-known rogue cultivators, had close ties with the Taiqing Sect and were willing to participate in such a life-or-death battle. They stood side by side at this moment.

The erosion of Lu Cheng's primordial spirit was greatly relieved and eliminated immediately.

"Thank you both for your help."

The five Mahayana Dao Lords, Mingque, Minghe, Mingyan, Tongzhen, and Tongyuan, formed an array to besiege the most powerful of the three Demon Ancestors, Jiyuan Demon Ancestor, seeking neither merit nor demerit.

Xuanzhenzi fought alone against the Heavenly Demon Ancestor.

Lu Cheng, Long Zhang, and Feng Tu joined forces to kill the Nightmare Demon Ancestor.

This was a plan that had been agreed upon long ago, but plans can never keep up with changes. Because the three demon ancestors struggled with all their might, the teleportation formation deviated to some extent, causing Lu Cheng to briefly face the Nightmare Demon Ancestor alone.

Fortunately it was him; otherwise, an ordinary cultivator of the same realm would already be dead by now. When Long Zhang and Feng Tu arrived, they would only have time to collect the body.

"We're too late. Jingxu did a good job, he greatly depleted his spiritual energy!"

Daoist Longzhang said this with great admiration.

The method used by the Nightmare Demon Ancestor to deal with Lu Cheng was to suppress him with his supreme demonic thoughts. This is the most energy-consuming and least profound method of overwhelming someone with power. However, it also shows that in a normal battle, the Nightmare Demon Ancestor knew that he would not be able to defeat Lu Cheng in a short time, so he used this method.

If the Nightmare Demon Ancestor had captured Lu Cheng, that would have been fine, but since he failed to do so, he has lost both his wife and his army.

In a high-level battle, everyone understands the consequences of failing to concentrate one's mind at the crucial moment.

An ancient and weathered bronze mirror appeared above Longzhang Daoist's head: his natal magic treasure, the Reflecting Heaven and Earth Mirror!

The mirror's light, though faint, did not illuminate the illusion, but instead reversed its direction towards the Nightmare Demon Ancestor! The Nightmare Demon Ancestor's torrent of demonic thoughts, capable of distorting the laws of the heavens, crashed into the mirror's surface, only to be absorbed and reflected by the mirror's light, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea!
The Nightmare Power that the Demon Ancestor himself unleashed turned into a weapon that attacked him!
The Fairy of Wind Chart swiftly formed hand seals, unfurling a mesmerizing fairyland behind her: celestial birds soared through the sky, exotic flowers bloomed, and golden clouds filled the heavens! This "Myriad Phenomena Mystic Map," condensed from her life's cultivation, was not a physical attack, but a vast enchanted realm evolving from boundless beauty, vitality, and profound principles of immortality!

Immersed in this world, the false becomes real, and the real becomes false; the non-existent becomes existent, and the existent becomes non-existent. This interferes with the Nightmare Demon Ancestor's perception of the real battlefield. At the crucial moment of the battle, if he makes a mistake even for a moment, it will be a huge flaw.

Moreover, Long Zhangfeng and his wife are deeply in love and have been together for thousands of years. They are skilled in combined attack techniques. When the couple joins forces, they can deal with or even defeat cultivators who are a level (minor level) higher than them in terms of magical power.

The mountains echoed each other, and the masses formed a united front!
Outside the three main battlefields within Taiqing Mountain, the entire Taiqing Mountain range has long since been transformed into a blood-soaked grinding mill and a slaughterhouse!

Xuanqing Daozun, sitting in the central command, devoted himself to maintaining overall coordination, and every breath he took seemed to affect the very foundation of the entire sect.

"This battle has been prepared for a thousand years. We must not only win, but win spectacularly. If most of our sect's six Mahayana cultivators and two guest elders perish in battle, even if we survive this demonic calamity, our sect will never have another chance to revive. We cannot afford any mistakes on our side!"

With this thought in mind, Xuanqing Daozun disregarded the loss of his own mental energy and looked down on the whole situation like a giant observing a chessboard.

At this time, the Taiqing Sect still had seventeen elders in the Integration Stage! They either occupied their respective peaks, activating the peak-guarding magic treasures to draw upon the earth's spiritual energy and transform it into the power to slay demons, or the Fire God Flame Cannon, or the Gengjin Yuan Magnetic Sword Peak.

Or they would gather in groups of three or five, forming smaller immortal formations such as "Three Powers Exterminate Evil," "Four Symbols Subdue Demons," and "Seven Stars Sweep Away Demons," piercing deep into the demon clouds like sharp knives to annihilate those Nascent Soul level demons and Void Returning Demon Lords who had surged in with the three great demon ancestors.

Just as a demon at the peak of the Integration Realm had torn apart a Void Returning cultivator from the Taiqing Sect with his claws, he was trapped by three Taiqing Integration Realm elders using the "Three Talents Golden Lock Demon Subduing Formation." Water, fire, and lightning bombarded him in turn, and the demon let out an unwilling roar as his demonic body dissolved inch by inch in the pure light of the Dao!

At this time, the Taiqing Sect still had seventy-four Void Returning cultivators! They led the sect's true disciples to form large and small sword formations, talisman formations, and magic formations, turning them into strong defensive lines.

Outside the main battlefield, the cultivators who had returned to the Void formed flowing vortexes, diverting, cutting, and surrounding the ever-flowing demonic creatures!

Sword energy surged like a celestial river pouring down, talismans exploded like stars falling from the sky, and cultivators even unleashed their natal magic weapons, some transforming into giant seals to suppress, others into sky-covering fans to sweep wildly, fighting fiercely with the ferocious demons. Everywhere in the mountains, there were the deafening sounds of magic weapons clashing and the roar of spells exploding, with severed limbs and debris mixed with scorched earth flying everywhere!

Nascent Soul cultivators—these are the elite inner disciples of the Taiqing Sect! They are the most numerous, roughly estimated to number at least several hundred! They are the cornerstone of massive formations and group attack spells.

Under the command of higher-level cultivators, hundreds of Nascent Soul cultivators formed a massive "Starry Sky Array" and "Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Origin Sword Array," channeling their relatively weak individual magical power into a vast torrent, transforming it into purifying immortal light, meteor showers, and countless fine yet deadly storms of spiritual energy flying swords that covered the battlefield. Like a dense swarm of bees, they precisely struck at the low-level demons that had slipped through the net and the demon army that attempted to destroy the array nodes.

A disciple in the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm had bloodshot eyes and spat out blood essence to activate the sword box in front of him. Thousands of fine gold swords transformed into a storm of light, shredding dozens of ferocious demonic bats that were trying to attack the seriously injured elder into blood mist!
His fellow disciples kept falling as they were corrupted by the demonic energy, but others immediately took their place, their eyes filled with the determination to live and die with the sect!
The Taiqing Sect has cultivated its Dao for ten thousand years; it certainly wouldn't perish today.

Below the Nascent Soul stage, numerous disciples of even lower realms, under the protection of the sect's core and under the coordination of elders and deacons, risked their lives to maintain the core of each cave and the nodes of the spiritual vein from contamination, to transmit spiritual energy, and to heal the wounded.

The world was filled with a chilling, blood-stained atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)