Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

……

In an instant, a large number of notification sounds rang out.

However, the reward that belonged to Xiang Tie did not appear, which meant that Xiang Tie was still alive, and Ning Xiu was ultimately unable to keep his body in the sky indefinitely.

He quickly plummeted to the ground, landing right next to the large crater created by the iron elephant.

At the bottom of the pit, Xiang Tie struggled to get up from the ground. One of his tusks was broken off by the blow, and his face was covered with bloody wounds.

"How..." Xiang Tie's ears trembled slightly, his eyes burning with anger.

It had been a long time since he had been suppressed like this. Ning Xiu's strength was definitely above his own. A human's strength was actually stronger than that of a demon, especially a race like the Elephant Demon, which was known for its strength.

Just as Ning Xiu was about to make another move to finish off the demon general Xiang Tie, a silent gust of wind suddenly swept towards Ning Xiu's mind.

Five skulls suddenly appeared above Ning Xiu's head, spewing karmic fire from their mouths and forming a barrier out of thin air. Anything that hit them would be burned to ashes by the karmic fire.

The gadfly had arrived quietly, intending to ambush Ning Xiu with his spear, but the moment the karmic fire appeared, a bad premonition arose in his heart.

Although it didn't know what karmic fire was, the gadfly had grown to its current strength, so it was clear that it had good judgment. It immediately withdrew its spear and attacked Ning Xiu's lower body, which was not protected by karmic fire.

Ning Xiu quickly released his protective golden bell, blocking the spear thrust.

Before leaving the Great Shang Dynasty for the outer realms, Ning Xiu had never actually fought against a truly powerful opponent. Today's battle at the Azure Dragon Tower has demonstrated just how formidable his current third-rank strength truly is.

It was able to deal with two demon generals at the same time, one of whom was a great demon general.

The greatest credit for achieving this level of mastery rests with the Black Heaven Floating Pagoda Supreme Body, which evolved from the Heavenly King Vajra Kung Fu.

Ning Xiu only raised it to the first stage and it already has such power. If he continues to raise it, it's unimaginable what it will do then.

Thinking of this, he checked his proficiency panel.

...

[Aura Observation and Fortune Telling Technique: Level 1 (1/2000)] (+)

【Burning Sun Taiyao Scripture: Twelve Levels (2/13000)】(+)

[Heavenly King Vajra Skill. Black Heavenly Pagoda Supreme Body: Twelfth Level (7/13000)] (+)

[Concealment Technique: Level 10 (0/7000)] (+)

[Seven Steps to Catch the Cicada: Eighth Floor (2897/6000)] (+)

[Heavenly Might Divine Spear: Level 1 (0/2000)] (+)

General Proficiency: 34560

...

After arriving in the outer realms, Ning Xiu was able to gain far more general proficiency than when he stayed in the Great Shang Dynasty. In just a few days, Ning Xiu's general proficiency had already reached 30,000.

If this amount were earned by a major merchant, it would take an unknown amount of work to earn it.

After the Demon Subduing Martial Arts Competition, Ning Xiu was to begin applying to his superiors for a transfer to the frontier to handle official duties.

"Cough!" Xiang Tie coughed loudly and suddenly jumped out of the pit.

Ignoring the blood seeping from his mouth, Xiang Tie raised his hand and forcefully pressed it against his own chest. Instantly, a red light shone from his chest, and his chest throbbed with a pounding sound.

Immediately, the iron elephant's entire body began to undergo tremendous changes. Its already enormous body became even more burly and bloated, and it continued to grow larger.

In the blink of an eye, Xiang Tie had transformed into a white elephant with iron skin that was several feet tall.

This is the true essence of Elephant Iron!

When the demon race reveals their true form, that's when they can unleash their greatest power.

When the gadfly saw that Xiang Tie had released his true form, it knew that Ning Xiu, this human, was definitely not easy to deal with, so it immediately chose to cooperate with Xiang Tie and released its own true form as well.

A giant, humanoid insect with two wings on its back and six arms.

Surrounded by two demon generals from the front and back, anyone who saw this would secretly break out in a cold sweat. Ning Xiu remained expressionless, and a crack slowly appeared between his brows, revealing the third pupil of the Great Black Heaven.

The moment that pupil appeared, all living beings within a ten-mile radius felt a tremor in their hearts, and an indescribable sense of horror arose within them.

Among them, Xiang Tie and Gadfly, who were closest to Ning Xiu, were the most affected, and they looked at Ning Xiu with wary eyes.

As one of the demon kingdoms bordering the territory of the Great Shang Dynasty, the Two Demons had fought against the powerful figures of the Great Shang Dynasty before, but none of them had ever brought them such a strange and oppressive feeling as Ning Xiu.

It was as if they were facing not a person, but a demon.

Elephant Iron, unwilling to wait any longer, made its move, raising its front hoof and stomping down on Ning Xiu.

When the elephant iron revealed its true form, its kick was so powerful that it blotted out the sky and covered everything in a dark, oppressive mass. If an ordinary person were stepped on, they would surely sink into the ground and have a hole dug out by the kick. Those with weaker physiques might even be crushed to pieces.

Ning Xiu was completely unafraid. He stood up and went to meet Xiang Tie's hooves head-on, his whole body enveloped in karmic fire, and he clashed head-on with Xiang Tie's enormous body.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the gadfly flapped its wings and came behind Ning Xiu. It swung its spear and thrust it at Ning Xiu. However, the protective golden bell could not resist the power of this first-rank demon general's true form. Cracks immediately appeared on its surface, and then it exploded.

The spearhead thrust straight toward Ning Xiu's back. In front, there was an iron stampede, and behind, a gadfly attacked. Ning Xiu gripped the karmic fire around him with his left arm, and a blood-moon scimitar formed entirely of karmic fire took shape.

He gripped the knife and slashed backward with a backhand strike.

boom!

Under this pincer attack, the power of the karmic fire was fully revealed at this moment. The gadfly's spear had no ability to resist at all and quietly dissipated in front of the karmic fire.

Karmic Fire is not a real flame, but it has a burning ability far more terrifying than any real flame. Not to mention ordinary weapons, even a first-rank expert would not fare well if he touched it.

A being like Ning Xiu, who can control karmic fire at the third rank of martial arts, can definitely be considered a monster.

At the same time, the elephant's hoof landed and collided with Ning Xiu. But how could he possibly be a match for the karmic fire? In less than an instant, the karmic fire pierced through the elephant's hoof, burning a large hole in it.

Furthermore, the karmic fire continued to scorch other parts of the elephant's hoof, causing the elephant iron to let out a bellow in pain.

The horsefly quickly released the spear in his hand to prevent the flames from spreading to him. The flames were clearly unusual, and contact with them would be no joke.

With the help of the karmic fire, Ning Xiu easily held off two demon generals at the same time, which shocked the surrounding demon soldiers. Even a powerful demon general like the Gadfly was no match for Ning Xiu, so wouldn't the Four Symbols Altar be doomed to fall today?

Just then, bad news came one after another from the Vermilion Bird and White Tiger Towers. The Vermilion Bird and White Tiger illusory spirits were destroyed just like the Azure Dragon illusory spirit. It was clear that Ning Lian and He Kuang had succeeded.

Upon hearing this news, Ning Xiu immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Now, only the fat monk in charge of the Xuanwu Pagoda and Li Xianhe, who was in charge of rescuing people, remained.

Seeing that the Vermilion Bird Pagoda and the White Tiger Pagoda were both experiencing problems after Xiang Tie left, Lu Feng, the Black Heaven Gate demon guarding the Four Symbols Altar, became increasingly gloomy.

He didn't understand how many people the Demon-Subduing Commander had brought today, that they couldn't even withstand the large number of demon soldiers and generals they had deployed, and instead lost three towers in a row.

If the Four Symbols Altar fails today, I will not only be punished by the Black Heaven Gate Master, but the White Mountain Elephant King will also not let me off the hook. Once a mistake is made, a scapegoat must step forward to take the blame.

"First, activate the Four Symbols Altar. I need to draw upon the power of the Four Symbols," Lu Feng said.

His disciples Zheng He and Li Yuanyuan were both taken aback.

Forcibly activating the Four Symbols Altar without the combined power of the Four Symbols would have serious consequences, and wouldn't be overlooked simply because Lu Feng is an elder of the Black Heaven Gate.

But for Lu Feng, eliminating the invading Demon-Subduing Guards was the most important thing; everything else could wait.

“Master, isn’t this too abrupt…” Zheng He hesitated.

"Never mind, let's just do it."

Faced with Lu Feng's firm stance, Zheng He and Li Yuanyuan had no choice but to accept it, since they were merely Lu Feng's apprentices and had no real say in the matter.

So the three of them took their positions, each took out a different colored magic stone, and began to forcibly activate the Four Symbols Altar.

Then the entire Four Symbols Altar shook violently, and the totem poles in the four corners of the altar lit up, shooting out a beam of light towards the four Four Symbols Towers.

Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise.

Four very faint beams of light appeared above the Four Symbols Altar, and then slowly began to rotate. It seemed that they were about to descend and fall. It was unknown what changes would occur later.

Just as Ning Xiu and the others were causing chaos at the four Four Symbols Towers, Li Xianhe arrived at the demon camps surrounding the Four Symbols Altar and searched them one by one, just to find the Demon Subduing Officers who had been captured by the Black Heaven Gate, as mentioned by Liu Zaiyi.

Upon encountering this unfamiliar human, the demon soldiers and generals in the demon camp naturally rushed forward to stop him, but Li Xianhe didn't even flinch. Instead, streaks of sword energy appeared out of thin air, slaying the demon soldiers.

Even a third-rank demon general was no match for Li Xianhe, and could not last a single exchange against him.

He searched the demon camp but found nothing. Seeing that the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Vermilion Bird Four Symbols Towers were all silent, Li Xianhe nodded in satisfaction.

But as a sudden commotion appeared in the direction of the Four Symbols Altar, Li Xianhe's expression finally changed.

With his first-rank strength, he could clearly sense that a powerful aura was gathering at the location of the Four Symbols Altar.

Furthermore, the intensity of this aura is constantly increasing, and it is unknown where its limit is. If it is not stopped and allowed to continue to grow, it may become a great hidden danger to our side.

For a moment, Li Xianhe couldn't care less about searching for the Demon Subduing Guards. He rushed straight towards the Four Symbols Altar, intending to reach the top and see what was going on there. If there was an opportunity, he could stop them.

……

boom!

With a grasp on the back of Bai Yu Demon General's head, the Demon Buddha crushed Bai Yu Demon General's head instantly, and a great demon general perished on the spot.

The Demon Buddha, who had intended to go and support Ning Xiu, suddenly stopped and looked toward the Four Symbols Altar.

Above the Four Symbols Altar, four transparent Four Symbols Holy Spirits appeared and began to descend, emanating a powerful aura that was exceptionally noticeable.

At the same time, Ning Lian and He Kuang also sensed the appearance of that aura.

Although no one knew exactly what had happened, it was clear that it was not a good thing.

[119] Manifestation of the Holy Sword Intent vs. Four Symbols Holy Spirit

Faced with the numerous karmic flames surrounding Ning Xiu that he was completely unable to handle, the Gadfly finally began to panic.

Even though he possessed first-grade strength, he couldn't unleash his true power in front of Ning Xiu. The karmic fire was like a child getting a gun—a completely overpowered ability.

Even when the elephant transformed into its true form, it was still no match for Ning Xiu. Instead, the karmic fire pierced through its hoof, creating a bloody hole, while the fire continued to burn its flesh.

To make them feel what it means to suffer unforgettable pain, pain that wounds the soul.

Even if Xiang Tie's physique is strong, if he has no way to resist the karmic fire, then he is no match for Ning Xiu.

Even though Ning Xiu was only a third-rank official, he was proving to be quite a handful. Xiang Tie was momentarily flustered. He knew very well that he shouldn't continue to entangle with Ning Xiu, or he would surely die.

So Xiang Tie turned around and was about to leave, but Ning Xiu had no intention of letting him go. He grabbed Xiang Tie's tail, which he couldn't drag away in time, and started pulling him.

The karmic fire immediately began to spread along the iron elephant's tail, gradually engulfing the demon general's body.

"No, no, no! No..."

Elephant Iron cried out in agony as the karmic fire quickly consumed his body, leaving only a skull with enormous tusks lying on the ground.