On the other side, Shangguan Lei and Ling Xiao’s martial soul clone were battling the Demon General. Though the clone’s strength was less than Shangguan Lei’s, its endless techniques caught the Demon General off guard. With Shangguan Lei’s coordination, they gradually gained the upper hand.
Victory seemed within reach, and Shangguan Lei’s face lit up with excitement. His only concern now was Ling Xiao’s side, which was the key. Even if he defeated the Demon General, if the Plague Demon King wasn’t killed, they’d still lose. Losing this fight meant their lives were at stake.
The Demon General knew this too. Though suppressed, he wasn’t in immediate danger of being killed. He understood the Plague Demon King’s terror. If he could hold out, he believed the Demon King would kill Ling Xiao, securing their victory. With this in mind, he stopped engaging directly, using the underground palace’s terrain to evade, fighting while retreating. As long as he survived until the Plague Demon King killed Ling Xiao, that was enough.
“Gaga gaga… your death is coming!” The Plague Demon King stood still, glaring at Ling Xiao with intense killing intent. Though other warriors had entered this place before, he’d never needed to act—his terrifying aura alone usually forced surrender. But today, a mere half-step master was forcing his hand.
He felt humiliated and vowed to make Ling Xiao suffer the most agonising death, dying in screams of torment.
“Hmph, you think you can absorb Wanyan Jun and Chen Zui’s true essence and soul power? Do you take me for a fool?” Ling Xiao snorted, having noticed the Plague Demon King’s delay in attacking. He was determined to stop it.
“Wind Phenomenon, Rain Phenomenon, Thunder Phenomenon—Tiangang Sword Formation!”
The wind roared, the rain poured, and the thunder rumbled. In an instant, the Tiangang Sword Formation, infused with three elemental phenomena, appeared above the Plague Demon King. Thirty-six Tiangang Flying Swords, carrying the forces of wind, rain, and thunder, shot toward him.
Pfft! The first sword beam pierced the dark green liquid defence, though it weakened and couldn’t advance further. But closer inspection revealed it had torn a significant gash. Meanwhile, the rain began seeping into the liquid.
Pfft! The second sword beam followed, then the third, fourth, and fifth. The Plague Demon King’s expression changed drastically. As more sword beams struck, the green liquid defence collapsed entirely, the rain mixing in, dissolving it completely, stripping away its protective ability.
The sword beams now targeted the Plague Demon King himself. Pfft! Pfft! Boom! Boom! The beams turned Wanyan Jun’s body into a pincushion, the explosions shattering it to pieces.
“Damn you, human brat!” In midair, the dark green liquid reappeared—the Plague Demon King’s true form. At the critical moment, he’d abandoned his newly acquired body to escape, or his core would’ve been severely damaged.
The liquid reformed, this time taking Chen Zui’s shape, but his face was livid with rage. His plan had been utterly disrupted by Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao never expected the Tiangang Sword Formation to kill the Plague Demon King. His goal was to interrupt the absorption of Wanyan Jun and Chen Zui’s true essence and soul power. If the Demon King succeeded, his strength would surely rise, and Ling Xiao would be powerless.
“Combining techniques really multiplies their power, and the varied effects catch enemies off guard,” Ling Xiao thought, increasingly satisfied with his training. Despite warnings from friend and foe at the sect that this technique was dangerous and could backfire, he persisted. Now, only at the third layer, it was already this powerful. What would it be like at the twelfth?
“Ah! Ignorant human, you’ve enraged me! I’ll tear you to pieces!” The Plague Demon King, now in Chen Zui’s form, was furious and launched an attack. A seemingly ordinary punch, laced with plague poison, far surpassed the venomous fist of the Yuehua Sect’s inner disciple, Swordman King.
“Cloud Dragon Divine Walk—Illusion Array!” Ling Xiao wasn’t ready to clash head-on. He planned to observe, find a way to kill the Plague Demon King, then act. Destroying the body alone would let him escape, rendering the effort meaningless. Besides, this was a Mortal Realm Fourth Layer early-stage attack—he’d rather not take it head-on. Though he might withstand it with the Human-Dragon form, he’d likely get injured. Dodging was best.
His movement technique, now a high-grade Gold Level skill with illusion array effects, made him impossible to track. Boom! The entire underground palace trembled. The Plague Demon King’s punch was brutal, corroding everything within a ten-metre radius. If Ling Xiao hadn’t dodged in time, he’d have been hurt.
Undeterred by the miss, the Plague Demon King grew angrier, unleashing countless fist shadows, each leaving a terrifying crater. Ling Xiao’s speed wasn’t exceptional, but his movement technique was unpredictable. No matter how many fist shadows came, he dodged effortlessly, as if strolling in a garden.
To an onlooker, it might seem the Plague Demon King was deliberately avoiding him. Ling Xiao’s dodges were perfectly timed—not too early, not too late—conserving true essence and energy. The “Cloud Dragon Divine Walk—Illusion Array,” enhanced by dozens of entry-level Gold Grade techniques, was vastly improved, leaving the Mortal Realm Fourth Layer Plague Demon King no openings.
The Plague Demon King suddenly stopped attacking, growing more alarmed. This kid, a mere half-step master, had such an uncanny movement technique? His relentless barrage would overwhelm even a Mortal Realm Fifth Layer warrior, yet this kid’s clothes weren’t even dirtied. Was it possible? A half-step master with such a miraculous technique? He must be hiding his strength—how cunning!
The Plague Demon King couldn’t believe his eyes, but the truth was undeniable.
