Chapter 601: A Different Sword Array

His strength now restored to Nascent Soul Perfection, the Blood Demon was confident in his mastery of countless Divine Techniques from the Heavenly Demon Realm. He recalled the power Bai Zichen had displayed during the battle against the Blood God True Monarch and concluded that, for a certain price, victory was his. With that, he lunged.

Blood Demon Divine Slaughter!

He took the initiative, lunging toward the Sword Array like a moth to a flame, only to abruptly swerve mid-flight and appear behind it.

His Body Technique was uncanny, changing direction multiple times in a single breath and leaving several Blood Shadows in the air.

Each time, just a moment before he would have touched the Star River Sword Array, he would phase away, leaving only the towering, tumultuous waves of the Blood Sea to crash down behind him.

He repeated this over and over, draining the True Essence of the Cultivator powering the Sword Array.

He believed that no Nascent Soul True Monarch could control the flow of their own blood and qi in the presence of his Blood Demon True Body.

‘This Taibai Sword Sect disciple within the Sword Array must already be feeling his blood and qi churn uncontrollably. Any further, and it will surge out of his body, ready for me to ignite with a single thought.’

The Blood Demon Race was born from the most ancient Blood Sea in the Heavenly Demon Realm. Every member of their race was born with an innate comprehension of the Blood Dao, making them one of the five great Demon Races and incredibly powerful.

As one of the chosen sent to the Human World, this demon’s strength ranked in the top ten among his peers; any weaker and he would have been rejected at the selection stage.

At the peak of his power, whenever he revealed his Blood Demon True Body, the lives of all beings within ten thousand miles who had not reached the Divinity Transformation Realm were his to command with a single thought.

Even Divinity Transformation Cultivators had to defend their blood and qi with their Great Dao True Intent. Otherwise, if the Blood Demon spotted an opening, he would drain them of all their Essence Blood, leaving nothing but a withered husk of skin behind.

The Blood Demon had extensive Combat experience. Though he appeared to be seething with uncontrollable rage, he was, in reality, perfectly rational.

He was waiting for his opponent to reveal a flaw, at which point he would brave the Star River Sword Array, get in close, and merge into his enemy’s Essence Blood.

It would be worth it, even if he were severely wounded by the Star River Sword Array in the process.

Devouring a Cultivator of this caliber as nourishment was equivalent to consuming several ordinary Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

Besides, he was also very curious as to how the Taibai Sword Sect had managed to pass down its legacy while contending with Outer Celestial Demons from within, an interception Array set up by Ancient Demons from without, and even a mysterious expert making moves from the shadows.

On that day, almost all the ancient beings remaining in the Human World had united to lay a trap and annihilate the Taibai Sword Sect.

The Divinity Transformation Sects of the Human Race couldn’t have had much goodwill toward this arrogant Sword Cultivation Sect that had risen so rapidly.

The resources of the Cultivation Realm were finite; if one party took more, another would naturally have to make do with less.

Moreover, the Taibai Sword Sect knew nothing of political maneuvering or forging alliances; they had subjugated the Cultivation Realm purely through their unparalleled, tyrannical strength.

Thus, when these ancient beings—who would normally be scorned like rats in the street—plotted against the Taibai Sword Sect, they received the tacit approval of nearly all the Divinity Transformation Sects and met with little resistance.

Only a few Sects had entertained the thought of coming to the Taibai Sword Sect’s aid.

But they were all neutralized by pre-arranged countermeasures—be it through persuasion, bribery, or delay tactics.

All this was to ensure that there would be no survivors among the Taibai Sword Sect disciples at or above the Core Formation Realm.

‘Cultivators from the Blood Sea Sect are already notoriously difficult to kill… Now, facing a Blood Demon from the Heavenly Demon Realm—the very source of their cultivation techniques—I’m afraid that even if I blast him to pieces and scour the remains a thousand times over, I still won’t be able to completely eliminate him.’

However, Bai Zichen was not suffering from the effects of the Blood Demon’s Divine Techniques as the demon had imagined.

The moment his Essence Blood stirred, his four Immortal Bones lit up one after another, calming the disturbance completely.

With every new Immortal Bone he refined using the Nine Heavens Bone Forging Techniques, his control over his physical body rose to another level.

‘If I could truly complete all seven Immortal Bones, I imagine many new marvels would emerge.’

This was the first time Bai Zichen had activated the Star River Sword Array since he switched his Cultivation to the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture.

‘As expected of a Cultivation Technique perfectly suited for a Sword Cultivator.’

Furthermore, the Star River Sword Array was created by a Sword Sect Cultivator to begin with, and there were many subtle details that only a Cultivator of a Sword Scripture could execute to perfection.

No matter how others studied it, unless they fundamentally rejected the Star River Sword Array’s foundation and rebuilt it from scratch, it was impossible to overcome this shortcoming.

The Star River Sword Array’s operation grew increasingly fluid, erasing even the imperceptible hitches in the rise and fall of the celestial bodies within it.

Even the two new Array Flying Swords he had recently swapped in caused no dissonance, integrating harmoniously into the whole.

The Blood Demon had always assumed Bai Zichen was a Taibai Sword Sect disciple. He subconsciously believed that Bai Zichen had already been practicing the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture during their last encounter; otherwise, there would have been no reason for him to be able to form the Sword Array.

He couldn’t possibly imagine that Bai Zichen had relied on the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box that day.

Switching his Cultivation to the Cave Profound Godslaying Sword Scripture was, in fact, a very recent development.

This misunderstanding led the Blood Demon to misjudge the power of the new-and-improved Star River Sword Array.

Bai Zichen did not take the offensive, hoping to bait his opponent into revealing a weakness so he could land a decisive blow.

The Blood Demon was even more cautious. If he were truly forced to charge head-on into the Star River Array, he had not forgotten the Star River Sword Monarch’s performance during the siege of Sword Mountain.

When the Outer Celestial Demons had launched their surprise attack, the Star River Sword Monarch had laid down his Sword Array, trapping over a dozen Nascent Soul Level Outer Celestial Demons by himself to buy precious time for his sect-mates.

For three whole days, not a single Outer Celestial Demon escaped from the Sword Array.

In the end, the Star River Sword Monarch died only after his True Essence was completely depleted, his life force extinguished.

When the Sword Array dissipated upon his death, only three or four of the Outer Celestial Demons were left alive, and every one of them was wounded.

‘Even if this kid from the Northern Domain isn’t as skilled as the Star River Sword Monarch, as long as he has captured a fraction of that power, he can drag me down with him to die several times over before he breathes his last.’

No matter how Immortal and Undying he was, if he truly died too many times, each newly reborn Blood Demon would feel more and more distant and detached from the original self.

After dying a hundred times, how much connection would the reborn Blood Demon even have to the first? He could already be considered a completely new individual.

‘He’s insane! How can anyone maintain a Sword Array for this long? He’s clearly just a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul cultivator!’

Ten days later, staring at the starry cosmos that continued to churn without any sign of decay, the Blood Demon’s mentality collapsed. Impatience and fury were evident even on his featureless face.

If this standoff continued, the Ancient Demon from the Heavenly Demon Realm would be the first to fall, not the Human Race’s Sword Cultivator.

Finally, on the next day, the Blood Demon saw the Star River Sword Array flicker. There was a problem with the connection between the Twelve Stars.

This was a clear sign that his control over the Sword Array was weakening.

Although it lasted for only a fleeting instant, the Blood Demon seized the opportunity, creating an almost impossible opening and charging into the Sword Array.

Upon entering the Starry Sky Heaven and Earth, he simply glanced up at the Twelve Stars above him, and tens of thousands of Blood Shadows appeared in his wake.

Every Blood Shadow moved in unison, forming hand seals to call upon the Blood Sea outside, which was still rapidly expanding.

A mysterious attractive force draped a crimson veil over the starry world, as if real blood was about to gush forth from the void.

“The Blood Sea descends! I will drag your Sword Array down to be buried at the bottom of the sea. After ten thousand years of corrosion by the Blood Sea, my race will gain a new batch of High-Tier Flying Swords… Bai Zichen, tell me, shouldn’t I thank you?”

Tens of thousands of Blood Demons spoke at once, their voices creating a massive echo within the Star River Sword Array.

“It seems the vast majority of your Blood Shadow clones have entered. If I kill all of these clones here, even if your soul isn’t shattered and scattered, you’ll have to slumber for at least a thousand years.”

Even at this moment, Bai Zichen’s expression was as serene as still water.

His sudden words caused the expression on every Blood Shadow’s face to change drastically.

SHIMMER!

A layer of starlight descended, repelling the Blood Shadow clones that were trying to escape.

In the distant starry sky, Nascent Soul Xiaobai grasped the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box and spat a mouthful of its Life Origin True Essence onto it.

Beneath the boundless starry sky, the revolution speed of the Twelve Stars more than doubled. The cycles of day and night, the celestial tides—everything was fast-forwarded.

The Twelve Stars simultaneously erupted with Sword Light, filling the entire world.

The Blood Shadow clones had no time to serve any purpose before they were sliced into dust in the ocean of Sword Light.

At this moment, the Star River Sword Array bore an even greater resemblance to real celestial stars, no longer something one could see through as being formed of Flying Swords at a glance.

The killing power of the Star Sword Light had more than doubled. Under the accumulated assault of countless Sword Lights, it actually managed to annihilate the Blood Demon and all of its Blood Shadow clones.

However, in the next moment, a brilliant light began to coalesce within the bloody glow outside the Star River Sword Array, seemingly about to form a human shape.

But after a few flickers, the brilliant light suddenly dispersed, and the Blood Demon was reborn beneath the starry sky, utterly bewildered.