Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

"It's a fox clan illusion!"

Leng Yue cried out in surprise, her longsword instantly unsheathed, and a sharp sword aura slashed towards the boy.

The boy's figure vanished like a bubble, leaving only a broken red fox fur.

The real fox demon had already transformed into a red shadow, suddenly appearing behind Zhou Tong, its sharp claws piercing straight into his heart.

"How dare you, you beast!"

Zhao Lingyun's eyes were bloodshot, and he roared. His Jingyun Spear transformed into a silver lightning bolt, piercing straight into the fox demon's back, attacking where the enemy would inevitably defend.

"hehe……"

The fox demon chuckled, neither dodging nor avoiding, its claws still aimed at Zhou Tong. Its bushy red fox tail swelled up and swept towards the tip of Zhao Lingyun's spear, seemingly intending to meet the attack head-on.

"clang!"

The fox tail collided with the spear tip, producing a metallic clang. Zhao Lingyun felt a strange, supple force come through him, and his spear thrust faltered slightly.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the fox demon's sharp claws tore through Zhou Tong's back, leaving several deep wounds that exposed bone.

Zhou Tong groaned, spitting out a mouthful of blood. The light in his eyes faded, revealing a pained expression. He was then kicked away by the fox demon, crashing into the tomb wall and sliding to the ground. His life or death was unknown for a moment.

In the blink of an eye, Tian Ce Academy had lost two key figures: Sun Miao was unconscious and Zhou Tong was seriously injured.

"You bastard! I'll make you pay with your life!"

Enraged, Zhao Lingyun thrust his spear again, while Leng Yue joined the attack with her sword.

Unexpectedly, the fox demon, having succeeded in her attack, did not linger in the fight. Her figure once again transformed into a wisp of red smoke, merging into the shadows of the tomb passage wall, leaving behind only a string of silvery laughter.

"Hehehe... Tian Ce Academy, so nothing special. I'll gladly accept this token. The rest, you can play with it slowly..."

As the laughter faded into the distance, Zhao Lingyun's face turned ashen. He had never encountered such a setback since he began testing spiritual abilities.

"ah--!"

He looked up to the sky and roared in resentment, feeling utterly humiliated!

Outside the tomb, hearing the angry roar coming from inside, Wen Ruoxu's heart sank, knowing that Tian Ce had most likely fallen into a trap.

In the secluded valley.

Under the onslaught of countless vines, the Divine Martial Squad found themselves in an increasingly difficult situation. The ghostly wails and demonic sounds were relentless, and poisonous mist was corroding their meridians. The five members stood back to back, struggling to hold on, each bearing several wounds and suffering a great loss of true energy.

"This can't go on!" Yu Ling'er said breathlessly, her voice already showing some anxiety.

"The vine demon's true form is hidden too well; it's impossible to find it," Chu Yunhe sighed, shaking his head.

Shen Lian remained silent, only slashing fiercely with his sword. Ji Fanghua's face grew increasingly pale, clearly unable to hold on any longer.

Li Yuan's gaze fell on the hilt of the sword behind him.

Since obtaining this nameless sword, Li Yuan had tried to communicate with it many times, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea, with no response. He could only use it as a sharp ordinary weapon.

At this moment, in this battlefield filled with demonic energy, the sword was actually trembling slightly. He was startled. Could it be that the demonic energy of the vine demon had actually caused it to react?

He originally intended to use the Bronze Palace to deal with the Vine Demon, but he changed his mind at this moment.

He suddenly reached out and gripped the hilt of the knife, pouring his inner energy into the blade without hesitation.

"Whoosh!"

Li Yuan twisted his wrist, aimed at a main vine that was whipping towards him, and slashed down fiercely.

"Buzz—!"

Just as the blade touched the vines, the nameless ancient sword, which had been silent for countless years, emitted a deep, resonant sound.

On the blade, the originally blurry and dim dark gold runes suddenly lit up. Although they were still incomplete, they exuded a cold and sharp aura.

To Li Yuan's even greater surprise, the moment the blade pierced the vines, he clearly felt that the runes on the blade seemed to transform into countless tiny vortexes, which began to devour the demonic power contained within the vines.

Unexpectedly, it, like the Bronze Palace, also possesses the ability to devour demonic power. However, the demonic power absorbed by the Nameless Blade did not return to Li Yuan, but instead flowed slowly along the lit runes, seemingly nourishing the blade.

He felt the knife in his hand begin to heat up slightly, no longer a cold, lifeless object, but possessing a faint trace of spirit.

"Haha! This is truly a stroke of luck!"

Li Yuan was overjoyed. He tried every possible method to awaken the spirit within the sword, but all his attempts ended in failure.

Unexpectedly, his unintentional act has turned out to be a lucky one. His eyes flashed with a sharp light, and without hesitation, he swung his long sword, targeting the thickest vines for attack.

The body's internal energy continuously flowed into the blade, activating the runes.

Chi Chi Chi!

Wherever the blade passed, the luster on the surface of the vines quickly dimmed, and demonic power surged wildly into the blade.

Before long, the dark golden light on the blade grew brighter and brighter, the runes became clearer and clearer, and the blade grew hotter and hotter, as if a peerless divine weapon was being reforged.

Just as Li Yuan was immersed in the pleasure of absorption, Chu Yunhe and the others noticed that the vines around him had been cleared away and were rushing over to help them out.

"Great! As expected, Senior Brother Li has a solution!" Yu Ling'er cheered.

As Li Yuan swung his sword, he shouted in a deep voice, "Protect me! Buy me some time!"

The four men were greatly encouraged and, with all their might, followed behind Li Yuan, holding off attacks from other directions for him.

As time went on, the vine demon's true form finally realized something was wrong. It possessed regenerative abilities, but the vines that Li Yuan had cut off not only rapidly depleted their demonic power, becoming withered and fragile, but their connection to it was also forcibly severed.

Moreover, it vaguely sensed that its demonic power, scattered among countless vines, was being frantically plundered and devoured by that blade.

Although the amount of demonic power absorbed from each vine was not much for its own body, it added up over time. Moreover, the feeling of its power being forcibly stripped away instilled in it an instinctive fear.

"roar--!"

An aged roar echoed through the valley as the vine demon finally abandoned its cat-and-mouse game of attrition and began to unleash its true power.

The valley floor trembled violently as dozens of vines, comparable to ancient trees and covered with jagged wooden spikes, tore through the ground and charged toward Li Yuan with the terrifying force of a landslide.

It will stop at nothing to destroy this human brat who threatens its very origin.

"Block it!"

Chu Yunhe roared angrily, his sword light surging, and he charged forward desperately. Shen Lian followed without hesitation, while Yu Ling'er and Ji Fanghua gritted their teeth and tried their best to intercept him.

Amidst the deafening roar, the energy surged wildly, and the defensive circle formed by the five people was on the verge of collapse under this terrifying attack.

"puff!"

Chu Yunhe was unable to dodge in time and was grazed on the shoulder by a vine, instantly tearing his armor and leaving him covered in blood.

Li Yuan's eyes darkened, and he leaped into the air, slashing the heavy blade at a main vine. Vast demonic power surged into the blade, making the runes shine even brighter.

"Boom!"

Shen Lian clashed head-on with a main vine, the impact causing his tiger's mouth to split open, and his long sword to hum continuously, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Yu Ling'er and Ji Fanghua faced numerous dangers, nearly being swept away by the vines several times.

But none of them retreated; they stood firmly around Li Yuan, using their own bodies to buy him the most precious time.