As the eight-foot-tall man lunged forward once more, his already ferocious face contorted into an even more hideous grimace.
The piercing screeches of the ancient Gu reverberated through the strata, its demonic aura bursting forth. Still, for the moment, it struggled to reseal the erupting magma. Born by the banks of a great marsh, the Gu Sculpture thrived in damp environments, and the deep underground was already uncomfortable for it. Now, with lava flowing indiscriminately, its discomfort was magnified. More critically, the dense dual presence of fire and earth elements was bound to affect its strength. Scorched by the flames, its ferocity surged, and its clarity of mind began to wane.
In the realm of monsters, especially those of ancient bloodlines like this Great Demon, their fleshly bodies were far more robust than that of Cultivators, and their innate talents for cultivation were not inferior to humans, who were dubbed "the Spirit of all things." However, their greatest annoyance was the inherent conflict between the Malicious Qi of their bloodline and their Spiritual Intelligence. When the Malicious Qi took over, instinct often overpowered reason. This could indeed unleash greater power, but it also introduced unpredictability.
Why complicate a situation that was a sure victory?
The eight-foot-tall man was also vexed; he knew the root of the problem all too well! That little bug, who had clearly fled, had played a trick with a surprise return! Most bizarrely, the timing was impeccable. How could a mere Initial Stage Golden Elixir practitioner, from ten miles away, keep up with the rhythm of this battle?
Before he could puzzle it out, the enraged ancient Gu, no longer caring for anything else, unfurled its massive wings. With a surge of mist that rivaled the black tide, it forcefully overpowered the heat of the magma and launched a ferocious assault. As its partner, the eight-foot-tall man had no choice but to join the fray, and a great battle erupted once again.
This time, the intensity was tenfold greater than before, and the pace of the battle escalated another notch. Within this, the eight-foot-tall man deliberately played his part—could this rhythm be maintained by either Lu Qing, the female, or that little bug?
Yu Ci, too, was perplexed. He had retreated to a position nearly ten miles from the battlefield. His previous intervention had yielded unexpectedly positive results.
He had to admit that the combat rhythm of the Vacuum Walking Cultivator far exceeded his limits. Using the magma had been a strategic calculation, as well as an intuitive response from learning about the Gu Sculpture's origins from the Shadow Ghost. He had activated the plan upon withdrawing from the edge of the battlefield, employing over thirty Mountain Moving Talismans to carve a channel that diverted the magma. Moreover, he was fortunate that the magma flow in this region was quite active, and the timing of its redirection involved a stroke of luck.
Indeed, it was a stroke of genius, the God Slaying Sting that halted the eight-foot-tall man. In that instant, Yu Ci, through the perspective of Lu Qing, perceived the peril and, without a second thought, made his move.
His strike was successful, and it stirred a slight flutter in Yu Ci's heart.
In terms of combined strength, Tie Lan and Lu Qing were undoubtedly inferior to the two Great Demons. An additional force would naturally be most welcome. Yu Ci wanted to help, but to rashly interfere in a battle of this caliber—like charging in with a sword—would have been nothing short of a hindrance. That's why he exerted great effort to draw forth magma, aiming to curb the two Great Demons' advantages on a grand scale.
His strategy was sound, and it seemed there were even more effective and specific tactics to consider, perhaps taking a cue from that recent sword strike: he could directly join the fray, albeit in a different manner.
As thoughts whirled in his mind, Yu Ci stepped back. The ring of mist, woven by the gu sculptures, was damaged, causing the previously stable battle zone to expand. The explosive speed of the Vacuum Walking Cultivator was astonishing; not even the earth's layers could contain it. A single displacement covered miles—now up, now down, left, then right—the affected area had long exceeded ten miles.
In such an intense battle, shortcomings in Cultivation Level and lack of rapport were fatal. Soon enough, Tie Lan and Lu Qing faced another issue. This time, Tie Lan hesitated, considering Lu Qing's speed, which led to a failed follow-up and gave the ancient foe an opportunity. With a flap of its wings, the gu sculpture condensed the black mist into more than a dozen long tendrils, aiming to entangle the Aura, while the eight-foot-tall man, sensing a kindred spirit, immediately abandoned his pursuit of Lu Qing and converged for a pincer attack.
At that very moment, Tie Lan, trapped in the center, shook his frame and, astonishingly, split into two, and then two into four. His consciousness and thoughts scattered in all directions, fleeing towards different paths. Even more startling was the transformation of his aura, which instantly disrupted the Gu Sculpture's lock on him.
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The eight-foot-tall man was momentarily dazzled. He cursed loudly, clearly sensing that this was the result of an external force.
In the distance, Yu Ci smiled, though sweat began to bead and increasingly drench his forehead:
He had caught up at last.
He had successfully executed a Taiyi Star Axis that allowed for the separation of consciousness and thoughts, but there was no time for rest. Immediately after, he cast two Heavenly River Prayer Incantations, first fortifying Lu Qing with it, and then, with barely a moment's delay, bestowing it upon Tie Lan. Within the Vacuum Walking Realm, the Heavenly River Prayer Incantation was somewhat antiquated, offering little advantage. However, the talisman of the same origin created an exceedingly subtle connection, allowing the duo, one living and one spectral, to sense each other's presence.
This was to compensate for the disruption caused to Lu Qing by Tie Lan's division into separate consciousness and thoughts, allowing her to pinpoint Tie Lan's position first and re-establish their collaborative stance. By the time the two Great Demons also developed a sense of each other, they were already a beat slower than the "same-origin sensing."
Casting the two types of talismans in succession, both of which had already been formed into Seed True Talismans in the Nine Orifices, was effortless, requiring nothing more than a thought. Yet, to accurately target a location ten miles away and to grasp the timing with such precision was an immense strain on Yu Ci's mental faculties.
To accomplish all this, the most crucial aspect was to capture, and even anticipate, the pivotal moments when the use of a Talisman was necessary. This required Yu Ci to have an absolute clear grasp of the current state of the battle, which, for Yu Ci at this stage, was clearly impossible.
However, he still had his sensitivity to A Fine Line Between Life and Death.
A distance of ten miles was trivial. At this moment, Yu Ci's thoughts were divided into four parts: two were with Lu Qing and Tie Lan, sharing the most direct perspectives; another part was in the midst of the battle—employing the technique of projecting his inner view outward, allowing his mental image to linger there in a state of nothingness; the last part resided within his body, ten miles away.
If anyone could claim to be in the thick of it, Yu Ci was undoubtedly the most qualified. Precisely because of this, his grasp of the fleeting opportunities was not dulled by distance but instead became increasingly keen.
Among the four segments of his thoughts, leaving aside the one ten miles away, the three perspectives here provided the sensation of those fleeting opportunities. Although they were constantly changing, they laid the foundation for Yu Ci's judgment.
Since the God Slaying Sting, he had consecutively activated three Talismans, all of an auxiliary nature. They did not directly harm the two Great Demons, yet they still transformed the unfavorable situation for his side—an unprecedented experience!
Perhaps instinct held the upper hand here, lacking in rational analysis. Yet when countless instincts' Divine Light were pieced together, his mind was inevitably stirred into action. Starting from basic choices, he slowly began to participate in analysis and deduction. The result was that Yu Ci's mental exertion grew greater and greater, but his grasp on the battle situation became more and more precise.
The situation was evolving.
All four combatants sensed it—the Divine Light of the Talismans flickering on and off beside them. In themselves, they were not particularly powerful, and their effects might not always be fully realized. However, the timing of their deployment was so exquisitely chosen that each activation disrupted the existing rhythm. After several consecutive disruptions, this destructive force paradoxically became another rhythm, subtly skewing the entire battle situation.
Perhaps he was not the orchestrator, but he was undoubtedly the greatest disruptor of them all.
And the root of it all... lay ten miles away.
How bizarre!
The eight-foot-tall man realized that the struggle was becoming less and less intense. If things continued this way, the variables would be endless, which was extremely disadvantageous for his side. One misstep and not only would they fail to completely capture and silence the three opponents, but his two companions might also suffer a setback.
With a low growl, his body, which had already swelled to its limit, sprouted a layer of magnificent spotted fur. At this moment, "he" had become "it," with the human element nearly vanished, replaced by a fierce demonic aura that steamed into the atmosphere, forming wondrous clouds of smoke that tumbled incessantly with its heavy breathing.
Having maintained an initial stage of Vacuum Walking in his Cultivation Level, he suddenly ascended another level. The surging spiritual pressure that formed was directed entirely by its will upon the relatively weaker Lu Qing. Caught off guard, Lu Qing's figure stiffened, and she was confronted by the eight-foot-tall man's eyes, bursting with golden light.
"Meet your death!"
With a long hissing sound, a thread of invisible Sword Energy arrived just in time. The Sword Energy, adhering to a peculiar object, broke through defenses with unparalleled force. Even the eight-foot-tall man, with his Protective Gang Sha as tough as refined steel and a body as solid as bronze and iron, could not fully withstand it. In the face of his overwhelming demonic energy, this level of Sword Energy's killing power was insufficient, yet it successfully delayed his rhythm of exertion.
This was the second time, and the eight-foot-tall man was deeply impressed.
But in the deeper recesses of its heart, something even more profound was taking root: an extremely negative imprint, not of its own memory, but one passed down through the bloodline of its ancestors, now manifesting at this moment, igniting its very blood. It roared furiously:
"Primordial Formless Sword!"
It was at this moment that Shadow Ghost's stern shout exploded in Yu Ci's mind: "Stop!"
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I have also posted the following more chapters [All free]: https://www.readgates.com/article/74a39e