Chapter 423: 冥河 Eight Slashes

Zenhai Guanwu, fearless, slapped his waist. The spatial energy of the Hundred Prison Wind Chimes was unleashed, immediately dividing the space around him into a hundred distinct domains. The attacks of the three transcendent beings canceled each other out within the distorted space, unable to break through in a short time.

"Boom!" The Crown Prince of the Demonic Kingdom crashed into the Lintai mountain. He immediately activated the Cloud-Hidden Immortal Gate to block a sword strike imbued with supreme power. The next instant, he shot forward like an arrow from a bow, resuming his close-quarters attack with boundless battle intent. Three Immortal Gates descended, stabilizing the hundred domains of space. The Crown Prince of the Demonic Kingdom, Li Longshu, Chihuan, and the transcendent being from the Sacred Dark Family, successively closed in on Zenhai Guanwu.

"Thump! Thump!" Fighting one against four, their figures blurred as various magical artifacts, imperial techniques, and scriptures collided.

"Whoosh!" Sword light soared into the sky. A winding, chilling sword energy, like a river of the underworld, flew skyward, sweeping Li Longshu and Chihuan backward. Both groaned miserably, blood splattering from their bodies. Their magical artifact battle robes were ripped apart by a single sword strike, and terrible sword wounds appeared on their chests, piercing through to their backs, nearly severing them in two. Chihuan was almost cleaved back to his original form by the sword, exclaiming, "Eight Slashes of the Pluto River!"

The Eight Slashes of the Pluto River was even more renowned than "Fog Sea Suppressing Star River." Two thousand eight hundred years ago, she used this swordsmanship in the East Sea to slay Feilong, the Martial Dao Son of Heaven.

"Whoosh!" Zenhai Guanwu unleashed a second sword strike. The Pluto River reappeared, and a tall, shadowy figure of a Pluto God briefly flickered behind her. This sword strike tore open the Sacred Dark Family transcendent's dark domain, and the ancient war spear in their hand was severed. The lower third of their body was diagonally cut off from the waist. The bloody legs exploded into two clouds of mist.

As the third sword-energy Pluto River slashed out, a majestic shadow of a Pluto City appeared behind Zenhai Guanwu. Empowered by the supreme magical artifact, it sent the Crown Prince of the Demonic Kingdom and the three Immortal Gates flying.

Dozens of miles away, the Crown Prince of the Demonic Kingdom steadied himself, still standing tall and imposing. His eyes, bright and piercing, fixed on Zenhai Guanwu. His armor shimmered with immortal light, but a line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He was wounded! It had been many years since he had been injured.

Zenhai Guanwu was bleeding profusely, her body severely shattered. However, as golden Buddha light surged from her ancestral field, her injuries rapidly healed, and her skin became whole again. She raised her sword, surveying everyone present. Behind her, the radiance of the thirty-six earth veins grew increasingly strong. The shattered Nine-Layered City Protection Array re-formed and became even more stable.

From the giant yellow mud vessel above, Sir Lan warned, "The formations within Lingxiao City are rapidly repairing and growing stronger. Someone needs to enter the city and destroy them."

Chihuan's sword wound on his chest was a foot long, almost splitting his torso open. The spiritual energy within him circulated continuously, refining the Pluto River sword energy around the wound. Without refining it, the wound would not heal, and the bleeding would be incessant. He truly did not want to continue clashing with Zenhai Guanwu, so he volunteered, "I will go destroy Lingxiao City!"

"I'll go too!" The Sacred Dark Family transcendent, who was most severely injured, quickly swallowed healing pills. The Pluto River sword energy that had invaded his body was bizarre; it couldn't be refined quickly, and even stopping the bleeding was difficult. Reforming his legs would take at least several hours.

Below, within the city, new changes began. Duke Huo Di of the East Sea appeared, overseeing the Immortal Plain Grand Array. Immediately, 180 formation hubs began to operate in unison.

"So, Chen Su and Huo Di were secretly recalled," the Crown Prince muttered. "One to guard the thirty-six earth veins, and the other to oversee the Immortal Plain Grand Array. But they might not be enough." The Crown Prince of the Demonic Kingdom shouted, "Sir Lan, if you continue to remain uninvolved like this, the coming battle will be very difficult. With your cultivation and the assistance of the giant yellow mud vessel, you should have long since broken through the city protection array!"

Sir Lan chuckled, "Alright, I shall go destroy the formations within Lingxiao City."

"No, I have another proposal." The Crown Prince of the Demonic Kingdom looked at Zenhai Guanwu: "Fog Heavenly Son, how about we have our decisive battle outside the city?"

Zenhai Guanwu replied, "What, you wish to flee?"

The Crown Prince of the Demonic Kingdom shook his head: "Does the Fog Heavenly Son truly not care about the lives of the millions of citizens in the city? They are all elites of the Lingxiao Living Realm." As long as they left Lingxiao City, Yu Daozhen would be in an unassailable position, able to "advance to attack, retreat to defend." This was because he had already made arrangements beneath the Immortal Plain to counter the Immortal Plain Grand Array. Twenty-eight blood sacrifice altars were activated, capable of corrupting the array's barrier.

Grand Historian Tai Shi Gong's aged voice echoed from the clouds: "Master, do not leave the city. The city's formations are growing stronger, and all the martial cultivators in the city can lend you a hand. Once outside the city, Sir Lan and Lady Ye will be free to act, and in your current state, it would be very dangerous."

Sir Lan let out a cold snort, drawing the light of the yellow mud lamp and striking a certain direction within the clouds. Immediately, the muffled sound of Grand Historian Tai Shi Gong being wounded was heard. Sir Lan said disdainfully, "Do you truly believe you can hold me back with an incomplete formation?"

"Master, just give me another quarter of an hour, and the Nine Heavens Beyond Clouds Grand Array will be fully activated." The Third Palace Master used a chain of spiritual light to pull a ten-thousand-year-old imperial medicine plant from the backyard of the Lintai Great Hall and sent it towards Zenhai Guanwu. This ten-thousand-year-old imperial medicine plant had been brought back by Zenhai Guanwu herself in the past. It had taken thousands of years of cultivation for it to reach the imperial medicine level.

Zenhai Guanwu grasped the imperial medicine plant, activated her spiritual energy to refine it, causing it to melt and integrate into her body. Her slightly pale face regained its luster as she looked at the Crown Prince of the Demonic Kingdom: "None of you will enter the city within the next quarter of an hour. After that, once the Nine Heavens Cloud Mist Grand Array is activated, are you sure you'll still be able to escape?"

A mocking smile played on the Crown Prince of the Demonic Kingdom's lips, and his voice was melodious: "Since your Master insists on going her own way, Xian Min, then let Lingxiao City be utterly destroyed today!"

Just as the Third Palace Master, Grand Historian Tai Shi Gong, and many martial cultivators below in the city thought they had misheard, their eyes filled with confusion...

From the peak of Luantai, the voice of the Second Palace Master, Xian Min, rang out: "Master, it has been a thousand years since we last met. Your disciple should have appeared to pay respects sooner. However, the death aura on your body lingers, and you took Senior Sister's Heavenly Elixir of Nirvana, which truly fills this disciple with great apprehension."

"Boom!" Beams of formation light and an ocean of formation runes surged from Luantai, continuously tearing down the City Protection Array and the Nine Heavens Beyond Clouds Grand Array. No matter how sturdy a fortress, if its internal pillars collapse, it will become incredibly fragile.

Li Weiyi carried the little girl on his back, wrapping her in the grayish-black cloak given to him by Tang Wanzhou. Descending the cliff and reaching the ground, he soon sensed danger. Through the dense forest foliage, he saw several black dots flying towards him in the distance. Those individuals had demonic energy like clouds emanating from them.

Li Weiyi immediately escaped underground, sticking a Spirit-Walking Talisman to his chest. He traveled at maximum speed along an eastward underground river. In his mind, he recalled Zenhai Guanwu's departing figure. She clearly intended to return and fight to the death. She had sent him, Yu Yaozi, and the Shenwu Tower scriptures away... to preserve the foundation of Lingxiao Palace.

A powerful presence emanated from the ground, locking onto him. "How could they be so fast? A Longevity Realm giant?" Li Weiyi, empowered by the Spirit-Walking Talisman, possessed speed that ordinary Seventh or Eighth Heaven martial cultivators couldn't match. How had his opponent caught up so quickly when they were clearly over two hundred miles away? He summoned the Myriad Things Staff-Spear, mobilized the earth's yin energy, and prepared for battle.

"Boom!" Above his head, tendrils of blood energy seeped down, followed by a large section of earth collapsing. A young figure in blood-handprint demonic armor, wielding a serpentine long spear, landed in front of the underground river. Blood energy permeated his body, his blood wings were retracted on his back, his posture was upright, electrical currents flowed in his eyes, and his Dao Heart's outer manifestation enveloped Li Weiyi.

"As expected, the Demonic Kingdom had other preparations; many of their people were hidden beneath the Immortal Plain. What are they plotting?"

"Fight!" Golden Crow flame armor appeared on Li Weiyi. Using both his spiritual and martial powers, he unleashed his full strength, thrusting his spear fiercely. A child's laughter echoed throughout the underground space.

Young Marquis Luotian was slightly surprised to see how young his opponent was. The next instant, he composed himself, squatted down in an arching posture, lowered his center of gravity, held the serpentine spear level with both hands, and unleashed a grand-level combat Dao technique.

"Thump! Thump!" Countless spear shadows clashed, causing the underground river to collapse. After a dozen or so strikes, Li Weiyi leaped over Young Marquis Luotian's head, showing no desire to prolong the fight, and rushed directly to the surface. Since he had been discovered and locked onto, escaping underground would only limit his speed. Young Marquis Luotian's arms ached immensely, and blood seeped from his palms. Meeting such a formidable young expert, his heart filled with excitement, and his battle intent surged. He immediately pursued Li Weiyi to the surface.

As soon as Li Weiyi reached the surface, he saw a hundred-meter-long cyan bird circling above the treetops. It shimmered with iridescent light, and the wind force emanating from its wings spread throughout dozens of miles of mountains and forests. Clearly, the demonic expert who had caught up so quickly relied on this creature. Marquis Shenyi's mount, the Wind-Chasing Beast, had a cultivation of the Eighth Heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, but it excelled in innate Dao techniques. It could harness the wind's power, and its top speed was no less than that of a Longevity Realm giant.

"Whoosh!" The Wind-Chasing Beast spread its wings and swooped down, flattening a large swath of trees as thick as buckets in the forest. Li Weiyi activated his movement technique, rapidly dodging.

"He's there!"

"Any martial cultivator who can escape from the Cloud Heaven Immortal Plain at this time is by no means simple; they must be carrying significant treasures."

Three Bloodwing Clan elders with formidable auras were the first to arrive. Two of them spread their blood wings, flying above the treetops. The third pursued on the ground. All three had condensed Dao Fruits, making them top-tier figures of the Bloodwing Clan, thus qualified to cross the distant Nether Realm and raid the Lingxiao Living Realm. They attacked from three different directions, not underestimating their opponent. Scriptures surged from their ancestral fields, enveloping their entire bodies.

"Whoosh!" As he ran, Li Weiyi, keenly aware of his surroundings, suddenly transformed into a cluster of purple mist and light, vanishing into space before the three's astonished gazes. The next instant, he appeared directly above their heads and brought down the fully activated Purple Heaven Thunder Seal with crushing force. The Purple Heaven Thunder Seal grew several zhang in size, and the purple lightning it unleashed spread out for a hundred zhang around.

"Pfft!" A Seventh Heaven Dao Seed Realm elder was killed instantly, struck directly by the Purple Heaven Thunder Seal, his body turning into bloody mud in a deep crater. Worm-like lightning patterns lingered on the bloody mud for a long time. The other two elders were thrown back by the lightning, both spitting blood. This was an attack from a Myriad-Character artifact. The three were caught completely off guard, not expecting their opponent to be capable of spatial teleportation.

Li Weiyi acted swiftly. After landing, he immediately pierced through the head of one of the elders with a spear. Without even pulling out the Myriad Things Staff-Spear, his figure shimmered and he moved to the other elder. That elder had just regained his footing when he saw Li Weiyi appear before him. He let out a roar, exhaling a storm of spiritual energy. The Golden Crow flame between Li Weiyi's eyebrows transformed into a pillar of light, meeting the attack, piercing through the spiritual energy storm. Then, he struck the elder's chest with a palm, shattering his heart even through the battle robe.

"Pfft!" The Ci Hang Enlightenment Finger was unleashed, shattering the Seventh Heaven Dao Seed Realm elder's throat, with the light beam flying out from the back of his neck.

By the time Young Marquis Luotian arrived, Li Weiyi had already released seven Phoenix-Wing Moth Emperors to collect the three elders' Dao Fruits. He pulled out the blood-stained Myriad Things Staff-Spear and cast a cold glance at the approaching Young Marquis. Having left Lingxiao City, Li Weiyi was no longer restrained; he could use all his methods.