"Why do I hear the sound of water?"
Yu Ci asked Shadow Ghost, but received no reply. Moreover, he noticed that after the sound of the waves began, the surrounding thick Earthly Qi became disordered and chaotic, the cause of which was unknown.
By now, Yu Ci had traveled far, and could only see the new form of the ancient creature through Lu Qing's perspective. The collapsed earth and stone could no longer conceal its figure, but in the gloomy strata, details were hard to discern. Looking at the vague and bloated outline, Yu Ci could confirm only one thing: the ancient creature was no longer human-shaped!
With a "swoosh," the shadow slimmed down, and what appeared to be long wings unfurled, their feathered edges sharp as blades, clearly felt even in the darkness.
The ancient creature seemed to have transformed into a large, standing bird, its body abnormally thick, its head oddly shaped, seemingly topped with a horn. In the darkness, only its eyes shone a bright, dripping red, exuding a fierce aura. At the same time, the surrounding Primordial Qi grew even more turbulent.
"This damned underground!"
The curse of the ancient creature was piercingly shrill, and with it, the sound of water accompanied by a chill spread in all directions, pushing away the Earthly Qi for miles around, creating a unique area. At that moment, Yu Ci finally understood that the disorder in the Earthly Qi was due to an extreme repulsion to the creature's presence, resulting from a struggle between the two forces.
"Oh, so it's that kind of thing!"
Seeing these changes, Shadow Ghost finally recalled the origin of the other party: "A form like a sculpture, a horn upon its head, moving in water with cries like that of an infant, and seemingly with a penchant for eating humans—this must be a Gu Sculpture, right?"
"A Gu Sculpture? A Demon?"
"Yes, a rather famous type of Demon. Strange though..." Shadow Ghost still had something he didn't understand and fell into contemplation.
At this moment, Lu Qing, who had been silent since the fight began, spoke softly, her voice heavy: "So, it is two Great Demons. Are they from the Six Barbarian Mountain?"
The ancient creature let out a high-pitched laugh, its wings flapping. With another swoosh, they folded, but it did not answer Lu Qing's question. Instead, it said, "I had intended to toy with you a bit before getting bored, but now that I've shown my true form, my interest has waned. It might be better to just take a bite and see how this fiery lady tastes..."
Before the creature could finish speaking, another voice vibrated through the strata: "Enough with the nonsense, let's make it quick!"
With a thunderous roar, the eight-foot-tall man made a fierce return, and behind him, Tie Lan, silent and composed, sword energy chillingly sharp, pursued relentlessly. However, despite the swiftness of Tie Lan's sword control, the advantage was not significant over short distances, and ultimately he failed to overtake the towering figure.
Upon entering the demonic aura circle opened by the ancient, the disparity between them was immediately apparent. Tie Lan's momentum in sword control abruptly faltered, while the eight-foot-tall man's speed, rather than decreasing, surged. Having partnered with the ancient for many years, he possessed a unique method of merging auras; the intertwining of their demonic energies stimulated each other, elevating the ferocity of their malicious qi to new heights.
Tie Lan, sensing the turn for the worse, allowed his ghostly sword energy to dissipate into a wisp of pale smoke, dispersing here and reassembling there, a feat of extraordinary mystique.
Yet the eight-foot-tall man, having anticipated this move, was well-prepared to prevent an easy escape. With another bellow, his already unimaginably enlarged form expanded further, muscles across his body pulsating, patterns crisscrossing his skin. His face and head, gradually losing human semblance, now bore the vague aspect of a tiger and a leopard.
Tie Lan felt the demonic energy burning intensely, its chilling cold piercing to the bone, even threatening to harm his ghostly body with a yin soul. His heart tightened as he tried to move, but found his aura locked in place. Any attempt to shift position would draw the eight-foot-tall man's howling claw force upon him.
Where the claw force passed, the ground churned as if turned to thin soup. Knowing evasion was futile, Tie Lan concentrated his spirit into his sword, bracing for impact. Yet, he could sense the gu sculpture, now fully revealed in its original form, itching to strike. Once sword clashed with claw, a tempest of combined assault would surely follow. How long he could withstand it was known only to the heavens.
At that moment, amidst the muddy turmoil, a faint rumble of thunder sounded.
Lu Qing, without uttering a word, pressed forward with a punch, imprinting the void in this oppressive circle of demonic energy.
The eight-foot-tall man was taken aback. He had previously paid no mind to Lu Qing, considering her, despite her innate divine power of the fist, to be merely at the upper level of the Golden Elixir stage. In his view, once the restrictions were lifted and their true or semi-true forms manifested, the mere pressure of their realms would be enough to confine her—this was not a situation for a Golden Elixir cultivator to intervene in. Hadn't that junior at the initial stage of the Golden Elixir already fled more than five miles away?
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Yet, against all odds, Lu Qing was still able to make a difference.
With a single punch, the female cultivator sent ripples through the demonic aura. The punch itself had no specific target and its impact was rather minimal, but the key lay in the disruption it caused to the entangled auras, causing the connection between the two Great Demons to wobble.
Tie Lan's spectral eye gleamed as he suddenly shifted from defense to offense, boldly stepping forward and hastening the clash of sword and claw by a crucial moment. Without Lu Qing's punch, such an action would have been meaningless. But now, with the Great Demons' aura connection slightly impeded, this rhythmic alteration afforded him a chance to break free.
Sword clashed with claw, with sword aura and demonic energy bursting forth in all directions, instantly clearing the surrounding hundred feet of earth and stone. From behind, an ancient creature let out another piercing cry, its Sonic Slaying arriving first, followed by a surge of dark, misty water. But at that moment, Tie Lan transformed once again into Qingyan, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
In that instant, the eight-feet-tall man, with a face as fierce as a tiger and leopard combined, contorted even more grotesquely. Having missed Tie Lan, he did not pause his momentum but simply spun around. The thwarted combined strike, like a tide rebounding upon hitting a dam, piled wave upon wave into a single force, slightly shifting angle, and pressed down anew.
This time, Lu Qing was the target.
The eight-feet-tall man intended to crush this detestable female cultivator into pulp with a single blow!
Lu Qing's punch had thrown the auras into disarray, but it had also entangled her within them, like a fist plunged into a tangled mess of yarn, unable to withdraw in haste. However, as the combined assault of the two Great Demons thundered down upon her, her brow remained unchanged, as if she had resigned herself to her fate.
At that moment, Tie Lan's semi-ethereal figure burst forth from the shadows, his Sword Energy buzzing through the air.
When Lu Qing faced the enemy alone, it was akin to a death trap, her chances of survival hanging by a thread. But once Tie Lan's Sword Control entered the fray, it once again disrupted the Aura, diverting the pressure. Suddenly, the choices available to her multiplied.
With a swift movement, she positioned her hands one in front of the other across her chest, assuming a boxing stance that seemed to hold some secret technique. The Aura that had entangled her momentarily retracted, solidifying into one entity. It felt as though it was like a rock that had been smoothed by years of water flow—stable and seamless, impervious to attack unless shattered by a formidable force. There was no other way.
In theory, the two Great Demons possessed the power to do just that. However, with Tie Lan's Sword Control flying in, matched in strength and superior in sword intent, the pressure they faced was not insignificant. Unable to exert their full force, Lu Qing seized the opportunity to withstand the initial onslaught. With a clear shout, the coiled Aura exploded outwards.
Chaos Eruption Strike!
She ingeniously used the Great Demons' power against them, reversing the inward pressure into an outward blast. It appeared wild, but in reality, it was refined to perfection. At that very moment, Tie Lan's sword momentum peaked, and the angles of their attacks intersected. The Aura naturally merged into one, and their combined effort was instantly established.
The situation shifted abruptly from isolated skirmishes to a united front. The eight-foot-tall man was momentarily taken aback but soon let out a hearty laugh. He didn't particularly care—as long as none of his opponents escaped, it was fine by him. Even the youngster nearly ten miles away couldn't hope to outrun their pursuit.
His confidence was absolute. How could any collaboration compare to theirs?
It wasn't just a matter of tacit understanding. The crux lay in the fact that during combat, the perspectives and thought processes of those at the Golden Elixir and Vacuum Walking stages differed significantly. The disparity in levels and evident weaknesses meant that those with higher Cultivation Levels had to accommodate those with lower ones, which inevitably led to the inefficiency of their alliance...
Before he could finish his thought, his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets: they were actually keeping up!
Tie Lan's Sword Energy continued its relentless assault without slowing, thrusting straight at him, while Lu Qing's Chaos Eruption Strike had just begun to fall, holding back its force. On the surface, it seemed she dared not exert her full strength, but in reality, her Aura closely followed the variations of Tie Lan's sword intent without a hint of disorder. The gathered momentum of her Chaos Eruption Strike naturally formed a follow-through force, creating layers and a crystal-clear strategy.
The eight-foot-tall man felt the deepest impact, just managing to block Tie Lan's sword energy. But then Lu Qing's fist strength followed swiftly. Having gone through a process of borrowing and accumulating force, the damage was surprisingly significant, at least enough to disrupt his rhythm. This gave Tie Lan a chance to catch his breath, and in the blink of an eye, another slash of sword energy came down. Fortunately, Lao Gu was not one to sit idly by. Arriving in time, his wings flapped, sending forth a surge of dark energy that alleviated the pressure and spared him the embarrassment of defeat on the spot.
In an instant, two demons, a ghost, and a human split into two factions, clashing thrice within a five-mile radius. The stratum could not withstand it any longer, twisting and collapsing, triggering a chain reaction that affected the surrounding areas, causing tremors felt hundreds of miles away.
The eight-foot-tall man paid no mind to the impact of this man-made earthquake. He deliberately engaged in a fast-paced, high-speed offense and defense. After several exchanges, he had a measure of his opponents: the hastily formed alliance on the other side was not without its flaws. After all, there was a gap in their levels of cultivation. Lu Qing, by forcing herself to keep up with the pace, was expending a tremendous amount of energy, which one could easily imagine. Not to mention the lack of understanding between them, leading to misinterpretations.
This was inevitable.
Finally, amidst a crisscross of auras, Lu Qing misread Tie Lan's intentions, resulting in a positioning error that threw their offense and defense into disarray. The two of them were immediately overwhelmed by the two Great Demons. The eight-foot-tall man took the lead, charging at Lu Qing with the intention of breaking their forces one by one.
At that moment, he felt a sudden chill at heart and instinctively tilted his head, a faint "sizzle" sound followed, and his shoulder was splattered with blood. Simultaneously, Lao Gu's roar of fury echoed from behind. On the outskirts of the collapsing stratum, lava had inexplicably burst through the rock layers, erupting forth. The moisture that had saturated the area was instantly compromised.
Despite two delays, Tie Lan and Lu Qing had already regrouped and addressed their vulnerabilities.
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I have also posted the following more chapters [All free]: https://www.readgates.com/article/74a39e