Chapter 729: A Fan Startles Demons
Chapter 729: A Fan Startles Demons
Aboard the spirit boat.
Whoosh, whoosh.
The fierce astral winds raged, yet were entirely blocked by a qi shield.
Fang Xi noticed that a formation array was also inscribed on the hull of the boat, doing its best to reduce the spirit boat's magical power fluctuations and providing a cloaking effect for its escape light.
It was clear that the three great Return to Void cultivators from Moonlight Immortal City were all exceedingly cautious.
"Once outside the human fortress, we'll be in the three races' battlefield. Although it's currently a ceasefire period, scouts from various races often patrol the battlefield, engaging in infiltration and assassination. . ."
Grand Steward Zhou came to Fang Xi's side and sighed faintly, "Fortunately, Integration-level demon beasts and demons won't easily appear. Otherwise, it would directly escalate into a period of fierce warfare. . ."
'For me, this seems like a great thing! '
Grand Steward Zhou, full of enthusiasm, spoke of ancient history as they passed by a stretch of broken peaks: "This 'Broken Demon Peak' was severed by the 'Sword Son' with a single strike back then. . . In those years, our human race was in its flourishing period, producing several Mahayana cultivators. With the strength of a single race, we suppressed the demon and monster races, forcing them to continuously retreat and entrench themselves for tens of thousands of years. . ."
"I heard that the Sword Son wielded a half-crippled flying sword of the Immortal Abode Rare Treasure level from the Sword Sect, and its power was truly earth-shattering. . ."
Fang Xi also sighed with emotion.
However, he was more interested in the history of the three races.
According to historical records, if the human race became too prosperous, reaching a point where they could crush both the demon and monster races, these two races would even abandon their past grievances and join forces. That time, when the human race greatly prospered, it was precisely the demon and monster races who united, retreated to their ancestral lands, and, relying on an Immortal World formation, barely managed to withstand the siege of human Mahayana cultivators.
They then held on until a certain human Mahayana rogue immortal failed their tribulation and was annihilated, which only then allowed the situation to gradually turn around.
'A triangular structure is the most stable. . . yet, the Earthly Immortal World is precisely a battleground for humans, monsters, and demons. . . With their respective ebbs and flows, a true conclusion is hard to come by. . . '
'According to historical records, the human race either allied with demons against monsters, or allied with monsters against demons, or was brutally beaten by both demon races, or brutally beat both demon races. . . '
'The three races were in constant turmoil, a great war erupting every few thousand or tens of thousands of years, truly devastating countless lives. . . '
Fang Xi pondered silently, when his expression suddenly changed.
Subsequently, Master Dong Qiuzi's expression stirred. He pulled out a peculiar puppet from his bosom: "The Autumn Wind Cicada sent a message, there's a Return to Void demon ahead!"
"What?"
Grand Steward Zhou and Guang Qianjian were startled: "Have our whereabouts been exposed?"
Whoosh!
How swift was a Return to Void cultivator's escape light?
Just after Grand Steward Zhou and Guang Qianjian had prepared themselves, a streak of black and white dual-colored escape light appeared in the sky.
A strange glint flashed in Fang Xi's eyes as he saw a twin-headed demonic flood dragon.
This demonic flood dragon had one black and one white head, and its aura was roughly at the low-grade sixth-tier, equivalent to an early-stage Return to Void cultivator.
Even more terrifying was the ferocious-looking demon with blood-red eyes standing atop its head; genuine demonic qi overflowed from its body, indicating it had reached the late-stage Return to Void realm!
"Human cultivators, to die by my Mo Xuan's hand is your honor."
Mo Xuan guffawed, opening his mouth to spit out.
Several streaks of black light, mixed with wind and thunder, assaulted the spirit boat.
Seeing this, a black iron shield appeared in Grand Steward Zhou's hand, suddenly splitting into two, then two into four. . . filling the sky with dark black shields that blocked the wind and thunder black light.
Clang, clang!
Amidst sparks flying everywhere, several long, dark black fingernails fell from mid-air.
With a sweep of his wide sleeve, he put away the spirit boat.
This spirit boat was incredibly fast in flight and had the effect of concealing escape light, but its defense wasn't particularly strong.
In a Return to Void battle, it was merely a burden.
"Fortunately, there's only one enemy. Let's attack together!"
Grand Steward Zhou gritted his teeth.
Since their whereabouts had been exposed, they naturally had to eliminate the enemy with the force of thunder, and then go search for the 'Dragon Blood Phoenix Marrow Flower'!
"This demon. . . let this old man deal with it."
Just then, Master Dong Qiuzi stepped forward: "Perfect, this old man's 'Three Heroes Chessboard' still needs a test run of its power. . ."
He transformed into a streak of escape light, blocking Mo Xuan's path. The magical power fluctuations of his late-stage Return to Void cultivation caused Mo Xuan's expression to involuntarily turn solemn.
Although this demon was arrogant and reckless, if he acted like this when facing cultivators of the same realm, he would have died countless times already.
"Go!"
Master Dong Qiuzi, holding the 'Three Heroes Chessboard' in his hand, flicked his wrist and threw it.
Whoosh!
Amidst various colored lights, dozens of puppets of various forms stood prominently in the void, continuously expanding.
Among them were flying beasts and walking animals resembling demon beasts, ferocious-looking demon puppets, and human golden-armored heavenly soldiers bearing bows, arrows, and spears. . .
At this moment, the magical power fluctuations emanating from each puppet approached the fifth-tier.
"Illusory formation spirits, with a single thought, form a formation!"
Master Dong Qiuzi continued to drop pieces onto the chessboard.
Snap!
Accompanied by the crisp sound of chess pieces being placed, the eyes of those puppets suddenly lit up, and various spirit patterns appeared on their bodies, beginning to draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, truly elevating them to the fifth-tier.
Even more, their auras connected, becoming a unified whole, transforming into a sixth-tier grand formation!
While this old man was setting up the formation, Fang Xi, Grand Steward Zhou, and Guang Qianjian naturally protected Master Dong Qiuzi, guarding against the demon's attack from the opposite side.
Seeing this, Mo Xuan merely sneered. A ferociously shaped dark black demonic blade appeared in his hand, and he paid no heed.
"Many thanks to fellow Daoists for protecting me, go!"
Master Dong Qiuzi let out a long shout, and the golden-armored heavenly soldiers, one by one, took the lead in attacking.
They either drew the longbows on their backs or raised their long spears, each gathering terrifying spiritual energy of heaven and and earth.
Twang!
The bowstring hummed like startling thunder!
Streaks of arrows transformed into beams of light, shooting fiercely towards Mo Xuan.
Mo Xuan casually waved the dark black demonic blade in his hand, and streaks of dark black light flashed, completely severing all the arrows and spears formed from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
But the next moment, he furrowed his brow, finding his surroundings enveloped in a grey mist.
Occasionally, demon beasts and demons roared and howled within the mist.
"A sixth-tier formation array?"
A trace of solemnity arose in Mo Xuan's scarlet pupils.
Rumble, rumble!
A grey lightning bolt, from who knows where, transformed into a sky-filling lightning net and crashed down.
Not far away, several demon beast-shaped puppets appeared, opening their ferocious mouths, and various colored light pillars surged forth!
Mo Xuan leaped off the twin-headed demonic flood dragon, let out a furious roar, and revealed his divine demon body, massive as a mountain.
That massive lightning net was actually torn apart by his hands, instantly ripped asunder!
And the various colored light pillars, upon landing on the demonic armor that had automatically condensed on his body, quickly dissipated in an instant, unable to cause him the slightest effect!
But at this moment, Mo Xuan let out a roar of shock and anger.
Because his mount was gone!
"Void Teleportation!"
Fang Xi saw the twin-headed demonic flood dragon appear in another space and couldn't help but praise it.
"The way of formation arrays is inherently about overcoming strength with weakness, dividing and conquering. . ."
Master Dong Qiuzi stroked his long beard: "Although that late-stage Return to Void demon's demonic arts are formidable, this old man is confident I can hold it off. You can first go kill that twin-headed demonic flood dragon. . . This flood dragon's escape speed is very fast. If it's killed or severely wounded, and we combine our efforts to activate the spirit boat, that late-stage Return to Void demon might not be able to catch us. . ."
These were the words of a wise and seasoned strategist.
Grand Steward Zhou and Guang Qianjian both fully agreed.
After all, they had come to scavenge for spiritual herbs, not to eliminate demons for the human race.
Fighting to the death here with a late-stage Return to Void demon yielded not the slightest benefit.
Not to mention, if the opponent was pushed to desperation, there might very well be cultivators present who would be dragged down as sacrifices!
After all, apart from Master Dong Qiuzi, the cultivators present were merely at the early to mid-stage Return to Void. . .
To be precise, Fang Xi and Guang Qianjian might be dragged down as sacrifices, after all, they were only mere early-stage Return to Void cultivators. . .
"With both mutation and demonization, this demonic flood dragon isn't easy to deal with,"
muttered Grand Steward Zhou, a mid-stage Return to Void cultivator. Although this flood dragon was ranked low-grade sixth-tier, it was indeed somewhat troublesome. One couldn't tell what strange divine abilities this kind of mutated and demonized demon beast might awaken.
"The three of us making a move is enough."
Guang Qianjian coldly snorted and flew into the space encircling the twin-headed demonic flood dragon, opening his mouth to spit something out.
Whoosh!
A streak of light flew out, seemingly a flying saber within!
This flying saber had double wings on its back, and its blade was covered with various talismans and seal script. As soon as it appeared, it drew upon the primordial energy of heaven and earth, transforming into a white dragon with fleshy wings, charging towards the twin-headed demonic flood dragon.
"Fellow Daoist Guang's 'Yinglong Blade' has a streak of seventh-tier dragon qi tempered into it, which has quite a deterrent effect on all kinds of flood dragons!"
Grand Steward Zhou introduced this to Fang Xi.
Fang Xi's expression, however, was somewhat peculiar upon seeing this 'Yinglong Blade'.
Although this Fellow Daoist Guang Qianjian spoke of seeking revenge, his body was quite honest, wasn't it. . . ?
The twin-headed demonized flood dragon opened its two flood dragon heads, one black and one white; one head spat out countless wind blades, while the other suddenly manifested lightning.
The wind and thunder abruptly combined, transforming into a strange bluish-purple light that entangled with the 'Yinglong Blade'.
The double-winged white dragon let out a mournful cry, actually seeming to be directly wounded by the strange light formed by the combined wind and thunder, suffering a minor loss.
Guang Qianjian coldly snorted, his expression not looking very good.
After all, he was only at the early-stage Return to Void, and though he was a sword cultivator, his flying sword had been broken, which was considered a heavy blow to his vitality.
Even after spending several centuries to recover from his injuries and refining a new 'Yinglong Blade', this blade was, after all, newly forged and had not been nurtured for long, making it far from comparable to his previous flying sword.
If the sword he previously carried was still there, he would definitely not be at a disadvantage!
Fortunately, Guang Qianjian was not alone.
Seeing this, Grand Steward Zhou immediately slapped the back of his head. A flash of light appeared above his crown, and a purple pagoda manifested.
This pagoda glowed brightly, its eight corners exuded light, and its surface was inscribed with countless Sanskrit incantations.
A cloud of golden light appeared from atop the pagoda, and wherever it passed, both wind and thunder completely dissipated.
Grand Steward Zhou was, after all, a mid-stage Return to Void cultivator with profound cultivation. With a single move, he made that twin-headed demonic flood dragon feel immense pressure.
"Indeed, we should kill this mount first, lest things change if we delay!"
Fang Xi muttered, and also made a move.
However, he still kept in mind his identity as a talisman master, merely casually scattering dozens of fifth-tier talismans.
Although each talisman was only equivalent to a single strike from a Soul Transformation cultivator, throwing out so many in one go still startled the twin-headed demonic flood dragon.
"Slash!"
Guang Qianjian was, after all, once a sword cultivator, proud and arrogant. Seeing that the two fellow Daoists had already suppressed this demonic flood dragon, he couldn't help but pound his chest and spit out a mouthful of vital blood.
The Yinglong Blade, having received this mouthful of vital blood mixed with magical power, immediately rumbled, its aura surging.
It transformed into a massive white blade, cleaving through the remaining wind and thunder, and even instantly appeared above the twin-headed demonic flood dragon's head, chopping down directly!
"Roar, roar!"
This demonic flood dragon let out a roar. Suddenly, a strange light enveloped its body, and its form split into two, actively dodging the strike.
Subsequently, the sound of wind and thunder abruptly arose!
Accompanied by the sudden surge of wind, a green demonic flood dragon appeared beside Guang Qianjian, extending its green flood dragon claw like a cloud dragon reaching out.
Caught off guard, Guang Qianjian could only barely raise a white light barrier for defense.
Tear!
The white light barrier dented with a dangerous arc, then instantly shattered, allowing this green flood dragon to press a claw onto Guang Qianjian's chest.
This cultivator, who had just recovered from his injuries, instantly turned pale. Sword qi continuously shot outwards from the acupoints all over his body, as if he had transformed into a hedgehog.
Even so, his chest caved in a section, and he continuously flew backward in retreat!
And just as Guang Qianjian was ambushed!
With a flash of lightning, a purple flood dragon also appeared before Fang Xi. It opened its claw-waving, fang-bearing dragon mouth, and a purple lightning bolt the thickness of a bowl's mouth surged forth!
A silver talisman in Fang Xi's hand flashed with light; it was precisely a 'Minor Void Teleportation Talisman'!
With a flash of light, his entire person seemed to teleport, appearing several miles away.
"Fellow Daoist's void attainments are truly profound."
Grand Steward Zhou, seeing this scene, couldn't help but sincerely praise him.
Once cast, the 'Minor Void Teleportation Talisman' originally had the effect of randomly teleporting one ten thousand li away, making it extremely difficult to control.
But in the hands of 'Talisman Elder', it could be used as a blink talisman, controlling both direction and distance, which was enough to show the profoundness of this Talisman Elder's void attainments, even exceeding his original expectations.
"This demon beast's innate divine ability is actually to create clones? !"
Fang Xi gazed at the green and purple flood dragons, each manipulating wind escape and lightning escape, and couldn't help but show an interested expression.
This twin-headed flood dragon could actually split into two different individuals, and the color of their scales had changed, seemingly each specializing in one of the wind or thunder forces.
Moreover, their auras didn't diminish much; it was instantly equivalent to two low-grade sixth-tier flood dragons, their combat power practically doubled!
"The innate divine abilities of mutated demon beasts are indeed formidable. . . This flood dragon, whether used for artifact refinement or alchemy, should yield remarkable effects."
Grand Steward Zhou also muttered, making the golden Brahma pagoda's radiance shield his body.
The escape techniques of these wind and thunder twin flood dragons were too formidable; he wouldn't dare say he could do better than Guang Qianjian and Talisman Elder.
"Hmph, I was just careless for a moment. Now that this flood dragon's trump card is exposed, the three of us will proceed steadily and surely skin it and pull out its tendons!"
Guang Qianjian waved his hand, and the Yinglong Blade immediately returned, protecting his body. A hint of ruthlessness appeared on his pale face.
"Exactly so!"
Fang Xi chuckled: "Fellow Daoist Guang and I can trap one, and Grand Steward Zhou will have to work a bit harder to deal with one by himself. . ."
As he spoke, he sent out a dark green ring.
This ring was also a Return to Void treasure, 'gifted' by a Return to Void cultivator during the past five hundred years when his main body established void coordinates and traded in various human territories.
Because its artifact spirit was quite submissive, it thus did not receive the treatment of a tribulation consumable.
Moreover, that Return to Void cultivator was the leader of a faction; after his death, his faction directly disintegrated, and no one would even think of revenge, leaving no lingering troubles.
Buzz, buzz!
At this moment, this dark green ring rumbled, suddenly emitting a brilliant green light and growing as large as a house.
From the center of the ring, emerald green rings shaped like bracelets flew out one by one, densely packed and spreading throughout the void.
A blue deer-like artifact spirit appeared, controlling countless flying rings, and charged towards that purple lightning flood dragon.
Seeing this, Guang Qianjian flicked the Yinglong Blade.
The Yinglong Blade rumbled, erupting with a seventh-tier true dragon aura, forming a deterrent against the purple lightning flood dragon.
"Alas. . . pity this old bone of mine."
Grand Steward Zhou rubbed his shoulder, gazing at the green wind flood dragon opposite him, his expression gradually turning cold. . .
......
Inside the formation array.
Roar, roar!
A terrifying giant divine demon body was roaring furiously, tearing at the colorful chains on its body.
In the distance, five-tier puppets, one by one, were using the formation to conceal themselves, occasionally launching arrows and light pillars from a distance to restrain him. . .
Of course, five-tier puppets were fundamentally incapable of causing any injury to Mo Xuan.
Therefore, the true main force was still two sixth-tier puppets, lifelike in appearance and resembling half-humans, half-demon beasts!
Master Dong Qiuzi stood in a safe place, not even a wrinkle on his clothes, appearing extremely at ease.
He was, after all, a great cultivator of the late-stage Return to Void, and a grandmaster of puppets.
Merely controlling puppets to besiege him caused Mo Xuan to suffer a great loss.
And even when holding a complete advantage here, he did not relax in the slightest. A purple orb by his side emitted a layer of radiant light, defending his entire body flawlessly.
Not long after, from another part of the formation array, came the death cry of a flood dragon.
Hearing this sound, Mo Xuan was incomparably shocked and enraged. The demonic blade in his hand rapidly expanded, and he suddenly slashed!
Thwack!
A patch of grey mist shattered, revealing a fifth-tier ape puppet that was chopped into pieces by his single strike.
But this was utterly useless; more grey mist immediately spread over, filling the gaps in the formation array.
Those two Return to Void puppets were even more hidden among numerous puppets, their movements appearing mysterious.
"Fellow Daoist, don't be stubborn. . ."
While casting divine consciousness secret arts and using words to mislead Mo Xuan's mind, Master Dong Qiuzi secretly activated his puppets, preparing to combine them for a killing blow.
"Hmm?"
Fang Xi was currently using his ring to smash the head of that purple lightning flood dragon when he suddenly felt an extremely subtle void fluctuation and looked in Master Dong Qiuzi's direction.
Ripple!
Invisible ripples surged in the void. A pale white palm opened the void as if lifting a curtain, pressing in front of Master Dong Qiuzi, onto the radiant light of that purple orb.
The primordial energy of heaven and earth violently fluctuated, suddenly exploding!
A slender demon girl with twin wings on her back and two horns on her head appeared. She smiled slightly, spitting out a streak of pink mist from her mouth.
Hiss, hiss!
The purple orb intertwined with the pink mist, immediately emitting sounds of weakening as a crack appeared on its surface.
And at this moment, a shriveled arm had already passed through the purple light barrier, piercing into Master Dong Qiuzi's vital back!
Master Dong Qiuzi turned his head with difficulty and saw a tall, withered demonic shadow.
"Hmph. . . I knew you two would surely follow!"
Inside the grand formation, Mo Xuan coldly snorted, his voice like thunder: "It's fine to pick up scraps, but let's kill these human cultivators together, and we'll share the battle merits equally!"
"Wrong!"
The tall demonic shadow's palm retracted, pulling out a fresh red heart, yet a hint of suspicion appeared on its face.
And at this moment, Master Dong Qiuzi's expression also turned blank, and a large number of spirit patterns appeared on his surface.
Bang!
A ball of multicolored flame erupted from his body, suddenly exploding. Amidst it, countless golden and silver runes flashed.
Caught off guard, the demon girl could only form hand seals with both hands, causing countless silver runes to converge and form a shield.
The tall, withered demonic shadow, however, transformed into a true shadow.
Even so, after the great explosion, the two appeared at the edge, their expressions both very ugly, their auras low, clearly both injured: "We fell into a trap. . . I never thought it was actually a flesh and blood puppet!"
At this moment, a figure flew out from a Grotto-heaven Treasure on Grand Steward Zhou's person; it was precisely Master Dong Qiuzi!
"Is this old man's flesh and blood puppet still pleasing to fellow Daoist's eye?"
He smiled at Fang Xi, wanting to seek some opinion.
"Mixing the false with the true, truly remarkable!"
Fang Xi sincerely praised him.
If his main body were here, perhaps by identifying lifespan through the Withered Glory Chant, he could have seen a flaw.
But he was merely an External Avatar, and truly didn't find anything amiss.
"Haha!"
Master Dong Qiuzi chuckled, then his expression turned serious: "I never thought there would be two more demons. Now this is troublesome. . ."
If the demon reinforcements were endless, they should start thinking about how to escape.
"Alas. . . it cannot be done, we can only give up."
Grand Steward Zhou's expression was solemn: "Later, we'll break through separately and regroup in human territory. . ."
As for the exploration? Naturally, it can be done another day!
As long-livers with lifespans of ten thousand years, they were all very patient.
A temporary setback, or even complete failure, in exploring mysteries counted for nothing at all.
But Fang Xi was too lazy to do that.
"In other words, as long as we quickly kill these three demons, we can continue our journey, right?"
His eyes narrowed slightly, and another 'Minor Void Teleportation Talisman' appeared in his hand.
Whoosh!
The next instant, his figure seemed to teleport, appearing before the demon girl with twin wings on her back and the tall demonic shadow.
"A mere early-stage Return to Void cultivator. . . Even if we are injured, you can't take advantage of us."
The demon girl smiled sweetly, and a pink slender needle appeared in her hand.
The tall, withered demonic shadow let out a cackling laugh, a decaying genuine demonic qi emanating from its body, seemingly capable of making all things in heaven and earth wither. . .
Fang Xi's expression remained unchanged, and a seven-colored feather fan appeared in his hand.
Swish!
He continuously poured his magic power into the 'Five Fires Seven Birds Fan', then fanned it fiercely!
WHOOSH!
A scorching, majestic aura permeated the ten domains of the heavens, as seven-colored light wheels appeared and swept towards the two demons, their divine might so awe-inspiring it seemed capable of suppressing all ages!
“Aaah! ”
A look of terror appeared on the demoness's face; she was about to unleash a secret art of the Void Demon race and flee into the void to escape.
As for the tall, withered demonic shadow, she had already completely forgotten about him.
But the next moment!
SCREECH!
Accompanied by a long cry from a Heavenly Phoenix, strands of silver light appeared within the seven-colored iridescent glow, actually seeming to seal off the void.
SIZZLE!
The seven-colored flames, like an ocean, instantly engulfed the young woman. . .
Then, spiritual birds like Great Rocs, Azure Luhans, White Cranes, and more appeared one by one, circling the tall, withered demonic shadow, and with a single pounce!
The demonic shadow let out a miserable shriek, its entire body erupting in flames. . .
None of these three demons cultivated the 'Myriad Manifestations True Demon Arts', so Fang Xi held nothing back.
After that single fan strike, the vital energy of heaven and earth surged like a tide, repairing the devastated landscape.
And those two Return to Void-level demons had long since vanished without a trace. . .
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