Chapter 376 - 374: The Union of Xing Yao and Moonlight

Chapter 376: Chapter 374: The Union of Xing Yao and Moonlight

Fatian Xiangdi, True Demon Capture.

The True Demon Holy Body activated two Great Divine Techniques in succession, effortlessly capturing two Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

Master Cheng Tuo’s face turned beet red as his Apricot Yellow Treasure Banner desperately tried to hold, but the giant, Demon Fire-wreathed hand simply squeezed and popped his Protective Spirit Light.

His True Essence was sealed, making it impossible for even his Nascent Soul to escape.

Meanwhile, the Flower-Picking Arhat let out a thunderous roar. His Angry-Eyed Vajra Dharma Aspect’s six arms burst forth, prying open a sliver of a gap in the giant hand of Demon Fire.

At the same time, he executed the Flower-Picking Hand Seal, striking the five fingers that were as thick as pillars, causing the massive hand’s descent to pause for a moment.

He tumbled out of the range of the True Demon Capture in a sorry state, scrambling back to the side of Bai Zichen and the other two in just a few steps.

"Master, please fall back. When our two Sword Lights are broken later, please don’t hesitate to support us with your Buddha Light... The True Demon Holy Body has a Divine Technique called Light Containing Shadow. Don’t even think about escaping from Du Heng. Our only path to survival is to hold on."

The starlight from Yann Yuanzai’s sword wove through the Moonlight, exploiting every opening. After all, since the swords weren’t wielded by the same person, even a matched pair of Flying Swords would have flaws.

"Tianhe Ancestor Master once visited Burial Immortal Valley and studied the Ancient Demons... He said that the True Demon Holy Body’s Divine Techniques are far more powerful than any of the other Sacred Bodies that have appeared in the Human World. Even the Concealment Returning Holy Body, rumored to be born for Combat, seems far inferior to the power displayed by the True Demon Holy Body based on descriptions."

He was repeating the insights passed down by True Monarch Tianhe, both to inform and to bolster his and his companions’ morale.

Otherwise, given the power Du Heng was displaying, they had absolutely no chance of survival.

"The True Demon Holy Body comes with thirty-six Divine Techniques and the Seventy-Two Transformations, much of which relies on the Ancient Demon’s powerful physical body. If anyone else had it, it would be impossible to wield the True Demon Holy Body to the extent an Ancient Demon could. Using an Outer Body Incarnation to transform into a True Demon Holy Body is certainly an ingenious method, but no matter how strong an avatar is, it can’t compare to an actual Ancient Demon’s body. I refuse to believe Du Heng can maintain this Demon Body avatar for long."

"Everyone, rest assured. I have with me a Relic left behind by Duoji Arhat after he passed away... At the critical moment, I will certainly use it to contribute what little strength I have."

The Flower-Picking Arhat looked up at the Moonlight and starlight, clearly sensing that the defensive line formed by the two Sword Lights was far superior to his own Protective Buddha Light.

The Xing Yao Sword Light merged harmoniously with the Moonlight Sword Light, emitting a brand-new, dazzling brilliance.

He cast a surprised glance at Bai Zichen, never having imagined that he would need to rely on the power of a Core Formation junior at a time like this.

Bai Zichen’s great name had long since spread throughout the Northern Domain. Everyone had gone from initial disdain and ridicule to stunned silence, followed by frantic investigation and study.

But to be able to intervene in a battle between Nascent Soul True Monarchs—and against a True Demon Holy Body at that—still made the Flower-Picking Arhat feel as if he were in a dream.

Duoji Arhat was a senior monk of the Dharma Aspect Sect who practiced Withered Meditation. He entered seclusion two thousand years ago.

But his Relic was only discovered several hundred years ago.

This was due to the special environment in the back mountains of the Dharma Aspect Sect, which was difficult for Cultivators below the Nascent Soul realm to penetrate.

It was impossible for the Sect’s Arhats to go and search the hundreds of Cave Mansions in the back mountains one by one to check on their fellow members.

Therefore, discoveries could only be made by chance. Duoji Arhat’s Relic was found precisely because another Arhat entered an un-Forbidden Cave Mansion, intending to enter seclusion there, only to discover that the elder had already passed away. His physical body had transformed into a rainbow, leaving behind only a few Relics.

Based on the Buddha Power contained within the Relics, this Duoji Arhat had successfully broken through to the Late-Stage Nascent Soul realm during his seclusion, becoming the first verifiable Late-Stage Nascent Soul Great True Monarch in the Northern Domain in several thousand years.

Unfortunately, when he began his Withered Meditation in death-seclusion, he had very little of his lifespan remaining.

Not long after Breaking Realm, he died in his Cave Mansion in the back mountains, a fact unknown to the Dharma Aspect Sect’s Cultivators.

The Flower-Picking Arhat only chose one of Duoji Arhat’s Relics when he was being granted a Buddha Treasure after becoming a Nascent Soul Cultivator.

If used as a one-time Secret Treasure, it would be powerful enough to equal a Tier Five Magic Technique, but it requires a rather long activation time.

In life, Duoji Arhat was most skilled in the Buddhist Divine Power, Zhan Tan Buddha Light. Activating this Divine Technique with his remaining Relic would provide the greatest boost.

Once cast, it would envelop them in layers of protective Buddha Light. It had no offensive or killing power, but its defensive effects were outstanding.

’Moon Xuan and Xing Yao... As expected, there’s a connection between Flying Swords from the same Sword Tomb Secret Realm... It’s just that my Cultivation is too low. Even with Dual Swords Unification, I’m mostly relying on Elder Yann. I wonder how many strikes from the Demon Dragon Awl we can block.’

The Demon Body, using Fatian Xiangdi, was immensely intimidating. Every move it made held the world-altering power of Shifting Mountains and Inverting Seas.

Bai Zichen found it hard to imagine what astronomical amount of True Essence was required to maintain such a form.

A single strike had robbed Kong Bai of his ability to resist, leaving only his Life-Killing Demon Sword floating in the air, radiating a chilling killing intent.

"You’ve truly impressed me. The coordination between these two Flying Swords is utterly sublime. I never thought such a combination existed in this world... But are you sure a mere Core Formation Cultivator can survive a single blow from me?"

Du Heng turned around and raised the Demon Dragon Awl once more.

He offered no words of surrender. This wasn’t a difference in daoist philosophy or a scramble for a newly emerged treasure. To walk this path was to be fated to be an enemy of the entire Cultivation Realm, a fact that could not be changed by personal will.

This time, the Demon Dragon Awl thrust out even more slowly. Du Heng’s arm could be seen trembling and shaking, causing the trajectory of the strike to be wobbly.

The flames covering the Demon Body seemed to be sucked away by the Demon Dragon Awl, all of it pouring into the illusionary Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure in its hand.

The Demon Dragon Awl crashed into the Moonlight and starlight, kicking up countless sparks. One by one, stars moved to block its path.

The stars fell, and it was as if a great hole had been punched in the Milky Way, causing an unstoppable torrent of moonlight to pour out.

There was no earth-shattering boom, only the all-penetrating might of a Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure. Bai Zichen only felt a terrifying rate of True Essence consumption being drawn from his Moon Xuan Sword.

Even he, someone for whom Sword Control only required one percent of his True Essence and who hadn’t felt the experience of running low on it for a long time, was shocked to find that the True Essence in his Dantian Qi Sea was rapidly hitting rock bottom.

In the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box, which he couldn’t see, the Pure Qi in the slot belonging to the Moon Xuan Sword was plummeting wildly.

One mass of Pure Qi was quickly depleted, and another mass moved over from an empty adjacent slot to take its place.

Yann Yuanzai was the first to fall. His hands were a bloody mess, several fingers snapped by the immense force transferred back from the Xing Yao Sword, and his left arm was bent at an unnatural angle.

He stumbled back several steps and collapsed to the ground, but the sharp glint in his eyes did not diminish. With his uninjured right hand, he once again urged the Xing Yao Sword to assist the Moon Xuan Sword.

In that single breath of time, the defensive line nearly collapsed completely, almost allowing the Demon Dragon Awl to pierce through the Moonlight and starlight.

Ge Cang pressed his hands together. Behind him, a Divine Tree towered into the sky, and his entire body became an origin point for Divine Thunder.

Divine Thunder generated from every one of his Acupoints, including his eyes, nose, and mouth, forming a vast array of a hundred Thunderbolt Lock Chains that sought to bind the Demon Dragon Awl.

The first of the Thunderbolt Lock Chains disintegrated into ash before even making contact, but the ones in the middle were able to successfully land on the Demon Dragon Awl.

The final dozens of Thunderbolt Lock Chains collided and merged, forming a Heaven-Reaching Lock Chain several meters thick. One end connected to the sea of thunder in the sky, while the other locked onto the Demon Body.

It attempted to bind the hands of the Demon Body avatar, thereby affecting the Demon Dragon Awl.

From activating his Thunder Skill to forming the Heaven-Reaching Thunder Chain, in less than ten breaths of time, the Divine Thunder Ge Cang manifested had already undergone more than thirty subtle variations.

Some were his own doing, while others were the Divine Thunder Spirit itself spontaneously adjusting and optimizing, strengthening its targeted effect several times over.

The Qiantian Primordial Yang Divine Thunder Net was known as the bane of Demon Cultivators, but against an inheritance from the Demon Realm, it became just an ordinary Thunder Skill, losing all of its suppressive and enhancing effects.

But after the Divine Thunder evolved, every three masses of Qiantian Yuan Yang Divine Thunder were mixed with one Profound Nether Qi Formless Divine Thunder. This re-enactment of the Yin Yang Divine Thunder transformation allowed it to hold its own against the True Demon Holy Body, easily breaking through the Protective Demon Flame.

However, in the next moment, the True Demon Avatar ripped the Heaven-Reaching Thunder Chain apart, pulling the chain free as if yanking a radish from the ground.

Ge Cang looked at the empty Thunder Pool before him and gave a bitter laugh. A branch fell from the towering Divine Tree behind him, turning into specks of emerald light in mid-air. Thunder Juice and Electric Light began to gather once more in the Thunder Pool.

The Flower-Picking Arhat gritted his teeth. A finger-shaped Relic flew out from his chest. Just holding it in his palm gave off a sense of peace and tranquility.

He chanted a Buddhist Scripture, activating the pure Buddha Power within the Relic. A layer of pale yellow Buddha Light descended upon everyone’s heads.

Layer after layer, a total of eighty-eight layers of Zhan Tan Buddha Light were formed.

The Demon Dragon Awl, having passed through multiple obstacles, still had power to spare when it reached the Zhan Tan Buddha Light. It easily penetrated dozens of layers of Buddha Light.

Only at the forty-fifth layer did its form flicker, its momentum spent, before it finally dissipated.

’How can they have so many tricks? I’ve suppressed even Late-Stage Nascent Soul cultivators, yet I’m being hindered by a few Early-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivators...’

Du Heng felt a surge of anxiety. The True Demon Holy Body’s might was infinite, possessing the power to battle across realms.

But just as Yann Yuanzai had guessed, his Outer Body Incarnation was not sufficient to display all of the True Demon Holy Body’s Divine Techniques.

Take the Seventy-Two Transformations, for example. Without the Desolate Beast Essence Blood of the seventy-two species from the Demon Realm inside him, how could he possibly manifest the transformations?

As for the thirty-six Divine Techniques, nearly half were useless to him due to his realm or the limitations of his body’s strength.

Most critically, the Artifact Spirit of the Demon Dragon Awl, which he was forcefully suppressing with True Demon Qi, was showing signs of reawakening.

At most, he could only strike two more times before he would lose control and be unable to activate it.

But since he had already made his move, there was no possibility of peace or a draw. As soon as the news that Du Heng had switched to cultivating the Ancient Demon Inheritance spread, the world would surely be shaken.

At that time, several Super Major Sects would join forces to crusade against him, and the power of Zengguang Immortal City alone would be unable to withstand it.

’Did I make my move too early? Should I have waited for the Ten Thousand Immortals Ceremony?’

Du Heng’s original plan was to use the Ten Thousand Immortals Ceremony to kill the attending Nascent Soul True Monarchs, allowing both his main body and his avatar to break through to the Late-Stage Nascent Soul realm.

Below the Divinity Transformation stage, he would fear no number of enemies who came to besiege him.

And as long as he could cultivate to the Divinity Transformation Stage, even if the various Super Major Sects negotiated terms and paid any price to summon their Ancestors from their Grotto Heavens, he would already have the power to resist them.

However, after learning about the sword duel between Xiangg Ji and Tang Fei, and with so many Nascent Soul True Monarchs present to observe it, he changed his mind.

If he could kill everyone present, and then perform a blood sacrifice on a few more people at the Ten Thousand Immortals Ceremony, he could even cultivate directly to Nascent Soul Perfection.

The plan had its twists and turns, but he had still reached the final step. He just hadn’t expected new problems to arise at the very end.