The great demon charged forward at an incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, it had already broken into a group of shen cultivators. The Gathering Origin Stage cultivators blocking its path were all killed, and the next target of its deadly assault was none other than the Entering Tribulation Stage cultivator controlling the ballista.
Xu Ziqing had been focused on practicing his punches when he suddenly felt a stirring in his heart. He looked up.
What he saw was a massive palm of the great demon, carrying a torrent of power, aiming directly at the retreating Li Xiuzhu.
Clearly, Li Xiuzhu was not retreating fast enough to evade the demon.
Alarmed, Xu Ziqing reacted instinctively, shouting, “Go!”
In an instant, a humanoid puppet, which had been entangled with a high-level demon, darted forward at great speed. It threw itself in front of Li Xiuzhu and blocked the blow head-on!
A series of explosive sounds rang out as the puppet was shattered into pieces by the demon’s strike!
Li Xiuzhu had thought he was certain to die this time, especially since his comrades were all caught up in battle with other demons and couldn’t come to his aid. However, in a sudden twist of fate, a strange figure appeared before him, buying him a brief moment of survival.
He quickly seized the opportunity and retreated, his legs kicking swiftly to dodge further away. As the strange figure turned into fragments, Li Xiuzhu realized that it was not a real person. He had seen it before; it was a protective puppet that belonged to Xu Ziqing, the cultivator he had recently befriended. Since it had come to his aid, it was clear that Xu Ziqing had commanded it.
Li Xiuzhu knew how formidable the puppet was and understood that it must have been incredibly precious. He resolved that if he survived this battle, he would find a way to repay Xu Ziqing. For now, though, there was no time to dwell on it, nor to express his thanks.
Xu Ziqing had sent the puppet to save him, not for Li Xiuzhu’s gratitude, but simply to ensure someone’s survival and to make good use of the puppet. After doing so, he once again held his breath, fully concentrating on observing the battle between the great demons and the Tribulation Transformation Stage shen cultivators. He carefully absorbed all the techniques he witnessed, committing anything he couldn’t fully grasp yet to memory for later reflection.
Several hours passed this way. The divine power of the Entering Tribulation Stage cultivators wasn’t endless, and though the great demons were being suppressed by the divine power of the giant sun, their innate strength was superior to that of the Entering Tribulation cultivators.
Gradually, two or three more great demons managed to descend to the ground.
As soon as they landed, they immediately began a massacre.
Yun Lie had been killing high-level demons, using the battlefield’s killing intent to temper his recently ascended sword soul. But when he saw the great demons wreaking havoc everywhere, his expression turned icy, and he dashed toward them. With a swift swing of his sword, he slashed fiercely at one of the demon’s arms!
Under normal circumstances, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn’t have been able to harm a great demon. But Yun Lie, having just advanced to the fourth refinement of the sword soul, had refined his sword soul to be even sharper. With one slash, he made a thin cut on the demon’s arm, from which blood trickled out.
The injury wasn’t particularly painful, but the great demon, having regarded Yun Lie as an insignificant ant, was enraged by the fact that this “ant” had managed to harm it.
Immediately, the demon abandoned the Entering Tribulation cultivators it had been chasing and turned to attack Yun Lie!
Of course, Yun Lie had no intention of waiting idly for death.
Without a change in his expression, he raised his hand slightly, and an enormous beast appeared out of thin air, colliding heavily with the great demon!
The two were nearly equal in size and matched in power, and they began to engage in a fierce battle!
This giant puppet possessed power comparable to that of a cultivator in the Great Ascension Stage. It was originally the pinnacle creation of the Qianqu Wanpai Sect, a masterpiece that had consumed countless rare spiritual materials to forge. Passed down through generations, it was the strongest protective item the sect had left for its successors. As such, this puppet was extremely durable; as long as there were enough spirit stones, it could fight continuously, and its hard shell was no less sturdy than the tough skin of the great demons.
For a moment, the great demon was effectively held off by the puppet.
The Entering Tribulation Stage cultivators who had been aided didn’t stand idly by.
Though surprised by the appearance of this giant puppet, they quickly recognized it as an ally. Immediately, they unleashed their divine power, firing volleys of ballista arrows.
At such close range, the arrows’ power was even greater. The cultivators leaped up, taking different positions, and while the great demon was entangled with the puppet, they aimed at its chest cavity and the fleshy tumor on its head, continuously releasing arrows!
The great demon found itself under attack from all sides. No matter how formidable it was, it had to focus on dealing with the giant puppet. As a result, it couldn’t avoid the arrows. At first, it endured, but when it tried to flee, the puppet caught up with it again, preventing its escape. After several agonized howls, the great demon finally collapsed and died. Even then, the cultivators didn’t stop firing, eventually turning it into a massive ball of fire!
It burned until nothing remained.
The Entering Tribulation Stage cultivators didn’t know Yun Lie personally, but after fighting alongside him for some time, they knew he was a powerful sword cultivator. Now, seeing that he had such a formidable helper, one of them called out, “Brother, why not join us in slaying more demons?”
Yun Lie was keen to refine his sword soul, knowing that the closer he got to the great demons, the stronger the pressure, which would be beneficial to him. Moreover, the great demons were indeed powerful, and breaking them apart one by one with the help of the giant puppet and the other cultivators was an excellent plan. He nodded slightly and replied, “Alright.”
After a brief exchange, the plan was set.
The situation on the battlefield was urgent, so without further discussion, they rushed toward another great demon.
Yun Lie continued to provoke the demons with his sword techniques, while the giant puppet engaged in battle, and the cultivators fired their arrows. In this way, over time, they were able to gradually wear down and kill each great demon.
Before long, whenever the Entering Tribulation Stage cultivators found themselves in danger, Yun Lie and his group would rush to their aid, significantly reducing the number of casualties.
As the balance of power shifted, more Entering Tribulation Stage cultivators were able to focus on eliminating the great demons.
Of the dozens of great demons, many were slain, and now only half remained.
With the tide turning, the great demons’ previous dominance was diminishing. As more of them were killed, the situation began to reverse.
More and more Entering Tribulation Stage cultivators started aiding others, and many joined Yun Lie’s group. Soon, even more great demons fell.
In the sky, the Transformation Tribulation Stage cultivators who could see what was happening below were overjoyed. They no longer held back their divine power, unleashing even greater strength. The light from their armor blazed brightly, absorbing nearly half of the force from the great demons’ attacks. Moving swiftly through the battlefield, they found openings to use supreme martial techniques to pierce through the demons’ bodies and claim victory!
The more Xu Ziqing saw, the more rapidly he practiced. A dense green light surrounded him, and as his understanding deepened, a transparent form seemed to take shape around him. It was as though he was forging a magical artifact, but instead of using a furnace, his own body served as the forge, with his true essence as the material. It was a sight that would leave anyone who witnessed it in awe.
At the same time, Xu Ziqing seemed to immerse himself in a mysterious, unknown realm. His movements flowed as smoothly as clouds drifting and water flowing. Suddenly, his fist became enveloped in a green glow, within which lay an immensely terrifying power. Low rumbling sounds echoed continuously, and faintly, it even seemed like there was the sound of a dragon’s roar…
Xu Ziqing suddenly grasped something profound. On his handsome face, the faint outline of a dragon’s head emerged.
Following this, an extraordinarily powerful force surged through his meridians, rushing straight to his fingertips. Clenching his fist, he unleashed a mighty punch — “Hah!”
With a deafening boom, the air in front of him seemed to shatter.
What… incredible power!
Xu Ziqing’s expression lit up with joy. Undoubtedly, this was a divine ability he had suddenly created after observing the countless fist techniques of the Transformation Tribulation Stage cultivators.