Would the demons give up on entering Shangri-La just because Meng Tingfeng stood at the exit? The answer was no. If anything, it made them even more determined to break through. In the demon’s eyes, Meng Tingfeng's presence meant that the credibility of the passage increased. Why else would they station a powerful combatant there when his presence would have been more useful elsewhere?
Under Demon Emperor Jiaolang’s orders, a second and third squad of demons entered the invisible passage. Their configuration resembled that of the first squad that entered. Most of the demons had unique defensive innate abilities, or ones capable of restoring demon qi at low cost.
Meng Tingfeng, who saw this, narrowed his eyes. He looked at the incoming demons and back at Shangri-La. After a moment of hesitation, he flew forward until he was only a few hundred meters away from the first squad of demons. “Tianyi, stop attacking the first group of demons and let me deal with them. Focus on attacking the new squads!”
‘Who the hell do you think you are, ordering me like this?’ Tianyi thought. He could see Meng Tingfeng's thoughts at a glance. The sword immortal wanted to hone himself, and the narrow space of the passage made it a perfect battleground. ‘Maybe I should just use this chance and kill him with the turrets. After all, only I know their functions. I can just say that Meng Tingfeng stepped into their range.’
Ultimately, and luckily for Meng Tingfeng, Tianyi did not choose to commit patricide. Instead, he halted the turrets’ attacks. Their aim never left the demon—or Meng Tingfeng—and were ready to start attacking at a moment’s notice.
The first squad of demons, who felt much more at ease once Tianyi halted the turrets’ assault, glared at Meng Tingfeng, eyes ravenous. They knew that Meng Tingfeng didn’t stop the attack for their own good, so why would they be thankful? If anything, they wanted to tear his flesh and drink his blood upon seeing his murderous eyes.
The demons pounced on the lone human, their bodies stretched for hundreds of meters, dwarfing Meng Tingfeng’s two meter-tall body. Yet, Meng Tingfeng’s momentum made him equal to this group of demons. If anything, his momentum continued to increase and showed faint signs of suppressing the demons’ momentum.
Meng Tingfeng gripped the Seven Star Sword and drew it out. A beautiful light trailed behind the arc of the blade, almost resembling a shooting star. The sword smashed into the turtle-like demon king’s shell and knocked him backward. When the turtle-like demon stopped, a deep gash appeared on his shell.
The turtle-like demon king’s eyes revealed shock. Against immortal emperors, the most they could do was leave a white mark, but Meng Tingfeng, an immortal monarch, actually left a gash on his shell. Although the gash didn’t reach his flesh, it was still shocking. “This isn’t good. My defense isn’t enough to stop him for long. We must kill him before my defenses fail.”
The demons turned berserk. They attacked Meng Tingfeng with reckless abandon, as if they didn’t care for their lives. Of course, that was impossible. The only reason they would dare to attack so recklessly was thanks to the turtle-like demon king’s innate ability.
Meng Tingfeng’s attack frequency diminished. Most of his attention was on dodging, but he still released several sword lights every second. Whenever his sword light landed on the demons, the damage would be redirected onto the turtle-like demon king, resulting in the attack frequency not dropping.
In this high-stakes situation, Meng Tingfeng’s determination did not decrease. It only increased. His attacks became fiercer and fiercer. Since it didn’t matter where his sword hit, then just focus on increasing the attack power and the frequency!
The turtle-like demon king gritted his teeth. He could feel that the frequency of attacks landing on his body increased. More importantly, the power behind them increased, too, leaving behind deeper gashes. The worst part was the Sword Intent lingering on the wounds. Until he eliminated them, his wounds wouldn’t heal. They might even worsen if he ignored them because of Meng Tingfeng’s willpower.
“No, that human’s power is increasing too fast. If we don’t get rid of him soon, only death will await us!” the turtle-like demon said. Originally, he only sat in the back and focused on withstanding Meng Tingfeng’s attacks, but now the situation changed. At this rate, Meng Tingfeng would severely injure him, and even kill him. By then, the demons who lost the protection of his innate ability would die, too.
The turtle-like demon roared, and a domain erupted from his body. Anyone caught within would feel pressured, as if they were moving through molasses and a biting chill. If they couldn’t escape it, their body would freeze and shatter.
Meng Tingfeng’s movements slowed, and the demons took this chance to attack even more fiercely. Skilled as he was, Meng Tingfeng felt the touch of death nearing him. Still, his expression never changed as he retaliated. Injuries appeared on his body, coating his armor as he hovered on the edge between life and death.
Even so, his eyes brightened. ‘Ba Shifang, it seems that I have taken that step first.’
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Suddenly, the Seven Star Sword flashed. The speed neared the limit of light, and the demon king’s domain shattered.
The turtle-like demon king’s eyes widened in shock. A bloody hole that pierced through his shell and reached the other end of his body appeared. Blood flowed continuously from that wound and out of its mouth. “You’ve taken that step?”
In a good mood, Meng Tingfeng replied. “Not yet, but from now on, I don’t have any barriers stopping me from reaching that level.”
The turtle-like demon king’s eyes dulled. Meng Tingfeng’s previous attack had destroyed most of his soul and his demon core. He had only persisted just to get an answer. With his doubts answered, the demon king died.
Meng Tingfeng’s eyes focused on the remaining demons. Since he achieved his goal, there was no need to keep these demons anymore. Under his gaze, fear penetrated their hearts, and few couldn’t help but take a step back. Immediately after, anger burst from their eyes and they renewed their attacks on the human.
The Seven Star Sword flashed again. Unlike that brilliant moment, Meng Tingfeng’s sword was not as bright or as fast. Still, it was more than enough to kill the remaining demons. After they died, he collected their corpses and prepared to enter Shangri-La.
Although Meng Tingfeng won in the end, he also sustained injuries. He planned on recuperating before joining again. In fact, the only reason he appeared was because he had just gotten back from the front lines.
At this time, Demon Emperor Jiaolang’s face darkened. With his vision, how could he not see Meng Tingfeng’s improvement? Although only his attack power reached the immortal emperor level, it also signified that he had a high chance of becoming an immortal emperor. “No. That sword immortal must not be allowed to live!”
After a moment of hesitation, Demon Emperor Jiaolang dispatched four more squads. Each squad contained two demon kings and even more demon lords. Even if they all didn’t die, he expected more than half of them to perish in the passage, but if the sword immortal died, it would be worth it.
Statistically speaking, an immortal emperor might rise out of ten to thirty monarchs. Of course, the rate fluctuated wildly depending on many factors. Still, most of those immortal emperors only gained the power of an immortal emperor after ascending to the Extremity Immortal Realm. Immortal monarchs, like Meng Tingfeng, who possessed the power of an immortal emperor, would become elite immortal emperors immediately after ascending. Such a terrifying threat should be nipped in the bud.
Meng Tingfeng, who saw this, sneered. He stopped retreating and stood in place. He hadn’t gotten injured to the point where he was in dire need of healing. Since the demons want to send themselves to their deaths, he will help them.
The demons did their best to push forward, no longer seeking stability. They just wanted to kill Meng Tingfeng. In their eyes, if he had chosen to retreat, he might have survived. Staying only had one result, death!
The six squads of demons used all their strength to reach the middle of the passage. Soon, the second squad of demons arrived, and Meng Tingfeng unsheathed his sword and engaged in combat.
----------------------------------------
“This guy,” Tianyi started, but his words stopped. He didn’t know what to say as he watched Meng Tingfeng fighting with gusto. As someone who mastered swordplay to an incredibly high degree, he could tell that his sperm donor was improving at a tremendous rate. “Goddamn useless Demon Clan. What are you doing helping him? Use more strength and smack him away. At this rate, you’re going to train an immortal emperor for the Numinous Sword Sect.”
“No, I can’t sit by and watch.”
Under Tianyi’s control, the turrets increased their power. More mountains shot up from Shangri-La, doubling the density of the mountain turrets in the first half of the passage.
“Tianyi, stop attacking! I’m tempering myself! The more pressure, the better!” Meng Tingfeng, who had mistaken Tianyi’s intent, shouted. Simultaneously, he also felt a hint of warmth. Sure enough, his son cared about him. He only pretended not to care.
If Tianyi knew of Meng Tingfeng’s thoughts, he would have wanted to return to his Core Formation Realm days and vomit blood. Luckily, he didn’t. So, he ignored Meng Tingfeng's words and helped him, greatly lessening the pressure.
The only other person, or rather, demon displeased with Tianyi’s actions, was Demon Emperor Jiaolang. “Sure enough, the passage is more dangerous than it appears. Damn humans.”
“No, it can’t go on like this,” Demon Emperor Jiaolang said. He looked behind him. “King Cetitus, it’s your turn. Take action and eliminate the scourge.”
Behind Demon Emperor Jiaolang, a cetacean demon with carp-like scales the size of a shield nodded. He flew forward, away from the pack. Then, his size dramatically increased until he was nine kilometers in length.
Demon King Cetitus released a baritone bellow that seemed to reverberate through the void itself and swam forward. His size was far too large for the passage. Yet, the moment he came into contact with the barrier, he actually slipped through.
It was akin to a whale entering water. The only strange thing was that the moment Demon King Cetitus entered the barrier, the parts inside shrunk until he was only a little more than ninety meters long.
“Interesting,” Tianyi said. “I didn’t expect to see a space whale in reality.”
Demon King Cetitus was a demon known as the Void Whale. As the name implied, it was extremely talented in the Law of Space and the Law of Time. Its innate ability allowed it to swim between space and time. However, the barrier protecting Shangri-La was made using the Law of Spacetime. The space inside the barrier was actually thousands of times bigger than it appeared. Thus, it only appeared that Demon King Cetitus had shrunk. His actual size had not changed at all.
Tianyi stood up and disappeared. When he reappeared, he was already next to Demon King Cetitus. Even if his height remained unchanged in the barrier, he still appeared miniscule next to the Void Whale.
But that didn’t matter.
The moment Tianyi touched Demon King Cetitus, he vanished from the Divine Beast Pseudo System. He would never appear again in the Three Thousand Realms System because Tianyi had transported him inside the Nine Heavens Universe.
“Human, what did you do!?” Demon Emperor Jiaolang shouted.