Rumble…
Deep in the sky, dark clouds churned, crackling with lightning and thunder, as though some Forbidden existence were about to descend upon the world and rouse the heavens to fury.
On the ground, pooled water surged and roiled, turbid waves sweeping skyward, and torrential rain poured down into the cavern.
"Kill!"
Li Fei's battle cry shook the heavens. Her long sword dripped with blood as she fought two Demon Suppression Bureau members alone.
Clearly, she was holding back, careful not to actually break the Demon Suppression Bureau's forces.
Yet even though Li Fei had killed two and tied up two more, the remaining Demon Suppression Bureau members still held their own against the demons. Such fierce combat strength was the very confidence behind their arrogant, high-handed conduct.
Three Heaven Realm experts formed a battle formation, their Demon-Slaying Sabers rolling like dragons, dazzling saber-light flaring and dying without end—one careless slip and even a great Heaven Realm demon would spill its blood on the spot.
As for Xu Qianfu, he was an Innate expert all the more. With a flick of his sleeve, black light tore through the air, shredding the layer upon layer of tree roots surging toward him.
"My good child…"
The Tree Demon's voice was everywhere, brimming with gratified approval, like a kindly old woman praising a promising young talent.
Clearly, the Tree Demon was well pleased with Li Fei's performance.
This demon woman who had appeared from nowhere had eased the pressure on her far more than expected—as if even Heaven itself meant to help her survive her tribulation, the carp leaping the dragon gate.
Boom!
In the thick of the fighting, a massive silver serpent of lightning suddenly cut across the void, roaring as it ripped through the thick rock strata and slammed into the Soul-Burial Spirit-Nourishing Grand Array on the ground—built from mountains of corpses and seas of blood—stripping away a whole layer of its boundless killing energy.
The array had a spirit of its own, and it seemed to sense the threat. The river of blood, now mingled with rainwater, began to churn, letting out an eerie, mournful shriek.
The heavenly tribulation had arrived!
Every demon and human present felt a chill of solemn dread.
The Soul-Burial Spirit-Nourishing Grand Array was among the most Forbidden of evils in this world, steeped in countless sins. When it took shape, it would rouse Heaven's wrath, calling down ninefold heavenly thunder to Cleanse the filth.
And as the heavenly tribulation struck down, this struggle would reach its final act.
"Children, hold him back."
Amid the waves of blood, a towering tree wrenched itself up from the earth. Ravines crisscrossed its pitch-black bark, every inch of it soaked in endless sin; rolling demonic energy shot straight up like beacon smoke toward the stars, radiating boundless demonic might.
At this critical moment, the Tree Demon finally revealed her true form. Countless branches spread from the thick trunk, blotting out the sky. Heaps of corpses and dry bones weighed down the boughs, and as they rustled and swayed they scattered severed limbs, the stench rising to heaven.
At the Tree Demon's command, hundreds upon thousands of female ghosts merged into one, becoming a headless giant wreathed in ghastly ghost-energy.
The headless giant stood a good several dozen zhang tall, its whole body a ghastly white—the color of corpses left to soak in water. Human faces crowded its bloated frame, some weeping, some laughing, every shade of joy and sorrow. A single glance from a mortal would let the ghost-energy seep into the mind, robbing them of peace forever after.
"Heretical tricks!"
Xu Qianfu cupped a black lotus in his hands. Its eighty-one petals, guided by his True Qi, abruptly split apart and spun without pause, then transformed into a sky full of black light that pierced the headless giant's body with ease, annihilating a dozen or so female ghosts.
But the giant's vitality was stubborn indeed—every motion sent endless ghost-energy sweeping outward, and Xu Qianfu dared not ignore it. He could only keep his distance while weaving about, wearing down the female ghosts' souls with his lotus petals.
With a wet squelch!
Li Fei burst into motion. A cascade of deep-red silk poured out like a flood, decapitating a Demon Suppression Bureau member, the glaring, wide-eyed head shooting up into the sky.
The other man tangled with her was splashed full in the face with blood, and a chill ran through him as he stumbled backward again and again.
But Li Fei did not pursue. Instead she jerked backward and called out sharply:
"Buy me some time so I can unleash my Innate Demonic Art."
Clearly, her earlier show of leading from the front had won the demons' full trust. The moment she pulled back, a towering skeleton wielding a horse-cutting saber filled her place, throwing itself into a bloody struggle with the Demon Suppression Bureau members.
Li Fei flicked her wrist, and the short staff Quietsong slid down into her grip. Keeping her eyes locked on Xu Qianfu's movements—lest he throw caution aside and come to strike her down—she began to chant an incantation:
"o purpureus abyssus, obsecro, vocatus meus…"
A sixth-tier damage spell: Abyssal Lava!
Ever since she'd crossed into Sequence 7 and mastered the Advanced Meditation Technique, she'd gained the ability to cast this spell without burning her soul.
"Die!"
Xu Qianfu's gaze turned cold and grim. Several black lotus petals traced long, curving arcs through the air, seeking to slip around the ghost giant and pin themselves between Li Fei's brows.
He didn't know what Innate Demonic Art the demon woman possessed, but there was never any harm in disrupting an enemy's move.
Yet the headless giant formed of female ghosts, bloated as it was, was large enough—and hardly sluggish. Its belly suddenly split open, and two ghostly-white arms thrust out from within, blocking the black lotus completely.
Seeing Xu Qianfu pinned down by the giant, the last few Demon Suppression Bureau members made a token attempt to break out, only to be swallowed once more beneath the demons' roars.
They still had trump cards yet unplayed, and glory and riches waiting to be enjoyed—they had no wish to charge at that demon woman now and throw their lives away.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Above the cavern, silver serpents of lightning danced wildly through the downpour, their vast white glare lighting up the night. Thunderbolts crashed down toward the cavern, only to be blocked by the airtight canopy of branches.
Each time a heavenly thunderbolt fell, the branches would convulse and writhe madly, and swaths of corpses would splatter to the ground amid a blackened rain of blood. Now and then a charred branch would snap with a roar and tumble, trailing rolling black smoke, into the waves of blood.
Even the pitch-black trunk—thick enough that seven or eight people together could barely encircle it—trembled without cease, electricity flickering across it, crackling static rising and falling.
Clearly, beneath the vast might of Heaven, even the Thousand-Year Tree Demon—on the verge of ascending to Sequence 5—was struggling. Pitch-black, gummy blood ran down her bark, its stench sharp and foul; her very foundation had been wounded.
While the Tree Demon fought grimly against the heavenly tier, a mass of lava with black shadows drifting within it welled up and swelled in Li Fei's hand, the reek of sulfur spreading, as though a demon were gestating in her palm.
"Wh-what… kind of demonic art is this…"
The aura of destruction and Frenzy leaking out of it set the surrounding demons' hearts pounding, their legs trembling, till they half wished to fall down and worship it.
He'd die!
Alarm bells clanged in Xu Qianfu's mind. True Qi surged within him as he pushed his Qinggong to its very limit, his whole body blurring into afterimages so Li Fei couldn't lock onto him.
Yet even as he dodged with all his might, his brow furrowed tight, baffled beyond belief.
By all rights, the power of a demon's Innate Supernatural Power should be tied to its realm. Yet this demon woman overturned all common sense—that silently roaring demonic flame was more chilling than the true body of a thousand-year demon king. Even with his Innate cultivation base, he dared not touch so much as a sliver of it.
"Out of the way!"
But Li Fei didn't even glance at Xu Qianfu. With a single roar, she hurled the ball of demonic flame like a bowler releasing a ball.
Some demons in its path, too slow to dodge, dissolved and evaporated utterly before they could even react.
Next came three Demon Suppression Bureau members. They watched in despair as the surging firelight swelled in their vision, and before they could even scream, every trace of their existence was wiped away—leaving only the objects too stubborn to vaporize, melted into a puddle of scalding liquid where they'd stood.
Having devoured whole rows of living things, the insatiable lava still did not disperse. Its blinding light tore through the black veil of night, bored through the rock strata, and at last carved out a charred, bottomless pit.
When the firelight faded, Li Fei—who had fired off two casts of [Body-Protecting Stone Skin] into empty air—went pale and slumped to the ground, gasping in great breaths as though utterly drained, cold sweat streaming down.
"That power…"
"Is she really only Heaven Realm?"
An eerie silence fell over the cavern. Not just the Demon Suppression Bureau—even the demons were terrified by such dreadful destructive power.
But soon the demons, grinning savagely, surrounded the one remaining Demon Suppression Bureau member apart from Xu Qianfu.
Facing the demons closing in from every side, he let out a bitter laugh and resolutely cut his own throat, sparing himself a fate worse than death.
Xu Qianfu, for his part, breathed a sigh of relief.
He realized that while the demon woman's Innate Demonic Art had unmatched killing power, it took a long time to prepare and was hard to control. No matter how mighty it was, it could hardly threaten him.
As for that pack of Heaven Realm demons, he didn't regard them as worth a second thought.
Seeing the demon woman collapse from exhaustion, Xu Qianfu settled himself. His eighty-one black lotus petals shuttled through the void, grinding the giant down without pause. The human faces across its surface grew fewer and fewer, and cracks and holes appeared—it had the look of a spent force at the end of its strength.
But the now-idle demons seemed all the more uneasy, on edge and fearful.
After all, if that Innate expert of the Demon Suppression Bureau finished off the ghost giant before Granny completed her tribulation, then they—bound by the [Black Wood Contract]—would have to fill the gap with their lives, buying time for the Tree Demon.
"Sss-sss, can that Innate Supernatural Power be used again? Burn him to death!"
The serpent demon, forgetting their earlier grudge, pointed anxiously at the red-robed figure and asked Li Fei.
"Casting it once more—that's fine, but you'll have to let me catch my breath a moment."
"But I might not be able to hit him," Li Fei said weakly. "His Qinggong is no small thing—you'll have to think of something."
As she spoke, she fished out without hesitation the Demon King Crystal Core the Tree Demon had given her and crunched it to pieces, swiftly replenishing her nearly-drained magic.
True, the energy in the crystal core carried plenty of impurities that would affect her control—it was neither as pure nor as gentle as a mana potion—but a little impurity did nothing to hinder Li Fei's casting, and a stretch of Meditation later would quickly clear away the aftereffects.
Faced with the problem Li Fei had tossed out, the demons stared at one another blankly—none could think of a way to pin down that elusive Innate expert.
Time slipped away, second by second. The ghost giant, battered full of holes by Xu Qianfu, teetered on the verge of collapse, and the demons' eyes grew ever more ferocious and savage as they braced to fight to the death.
Suddenly a vast white light poured into the cavern, erasing every color in the world. An unprecedented pressure descended with it, freezing the demons' breath in their throats.
In that daze, they sensed it—the mightiest, ninth wave of the heavenly tribulation had arrived.
Yet beneath that vast heavenly might, not a single demon noticed the corner of Li Fei's mouth twisting with excitement.
Only after the white light died away did the deafening peal of thunder reach their ears—and with it came the Tree Demon's aged, gloomy, maniacal laughter:
"Not even Heaven can destroy me…"
As the thunder tribulation in the heavens dispersed, the surging waves of blood within the cavern settled as well. The rolling killing energy drew inward, and the blood on every side turned a dazzling deep crimson, carrying a soul-stealing demonic allure.
The Soul-Burial Spirit-Nourishing Grand Array was complete.
At the same instant, a sharp light blazed in Xu Qianfu's eyes.
Now was the moment!
"Demon-Sealing Grand Array—activate!"
Xu Qianfu flung his arms wide. Blazing True Qi erupted in all directions, and his whole body seemed to become a volcano, radiating an astonishing might.
The iron chains enveloping every direction ignited as one, blooming with radiance and clanging in the waterfall-like downpour. Ancient, arcane runes surfaced one after another, scattered like stars across a chessboard, sealing this stretch of space utterly.
Until now, to keep from obstructing the thunder tribulation, the Demon-Sealing Grand Array had been held in check. But at this moment—with the tribulation spent and the Tree Demon gravely wounded—there was no better time to activate the array and wipe out the demons in one stroke!
"Soldiers and fighters, all march forth arrayed in ranks…"
As the Demon-Sealing Grand Array took effect, a faint, half-heard chanting of scripture echoed through the cavern. The iron chains gave off a dim yellow glow, dense with runes that spread like a rising tide.
Many of the feeble ghosts and sprites, the instant the yellow light touched them, let out shrill wails, thrashing and convulsing, then burst into flame across their whole bodies and were burned alive to ash.
Even the Earth Realm demons fared poorly, blood streaming from mouth and nose as they knocked their heads against the ground. Only the Heaven Realm demons could still stand, yet their demonic energy was compressed within them like a candle guttering in the wind—nothing of their former might remained.
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"
"Granny, save me…"
"Aaah—"
In the blink of an eye, the cavern rang with the howls of ghosts and wolves, and demons by the dozen were scattered soul and spirit.
And the headless giant, gathered from female ghosts, froze once the yellow light enveloped it. Bulge after bulge rose across its body, then burst one by one.
A few breaths later, the ghost giant crumbled apart like a cake melting in an oven, the intertwined strands of female ghosts "flowing" across the ground, barely clinging to life.
Clay chickens and earthen dogs, the lot of them!
Xu Qianfu stood in midair, hands clasped behind his back, gazing down disdainfully on all sides, and let a snort escape his nose.
Then his gaze fixed swiftly on Li Fei. A flick of his sleeve, and black light hammered down at her like a driving storm, wrapped in cold murderous intent.
Merely Heaven Realm, and her Innate Supernatural Power was already this terrifying—if she became a demon king someday, how could that be allowed?
This demon woman could not be left alive!
The color drained from Li Fei's lovely face, and she cried out:
"Granny, save me!"
Before her words had faded, thick roots swept Li Fei away, out of the black light's path.
"A battered old demon and a little demon of shallow cultivation base—die together!"
Xu Qianfu's face turned colder still. His eighty-one lotus petals hooked themselves into the shape of the character "诛" (annihilate), radiating a stunning killing intent.
"You people of the Demon Suppression Bureau have always been this arrogant."
The Tree Demon jeered at Xu Qianfu in a tone neither warm nor cold, and her sky-blotting trunk turned as well, spreading toward the red-robed figure.
Yet at this moment her whole body smoked gray, nearly half her dense branches had fallen away, and the pitch-black bloodstains on her trunk had not yet dried—clearly she had suffered grievous wounds.
"Now die!"
Xu Qianfu said no more. Black light bore down and sheared through the ceaselessly surging branches with ease.
They clashed for only a moment before the gravely wounded Tree Demon fell to the disadvantage. Her defeat seemed sealed, with no turn of fortune left.
And yet—this thousand-year-old demon had long known the Demon Suppression Bureau eyed her like tigers eyeing prey. How could she possibly have no hidden card left?
Facing the ever-nearing killing intent, the Tree Demon, mired in danger, remained unhurried and calm. The aged face surfacing on her trunk wore a smile, kindly-browed and gentle-eyed.
But the long roots beneath her trunk had, without a whisper of sound, crept behind eight great Heaven Realm demons.
"Roar!"
"Granny, you—!"
Eight roots reared up abruptly and stabbed into the great demons' bodies like a mosquito's proboscis, churning without pause.
The great demons roared in fury, faces twisted, but crushed beneath the Demon-Sealing Grand Array, they couldn't bring out even half their strength—there was no breaking free of this deadly trap.
No matter how the demons struggled, the roots stayed firmly lodged in their flesh, drawing out their life and even their souls. The segment of root pressed against each wound swelled into a ball at a visible pace, then traveled back toward the base… bulge after bulge was fed into the Tree Demon's body, supplying a steady stream of nourishment, refining her demonic power, mending her wounds.
"Granny, I've followed you all these years…"
"Spare my life! I don't want to die!"
The great demons' expressions shifted from shocked rage and defiance to terror and dread. They begged and begged, hoping the Tree Demon would spare their lives, but she remained unmoved, coldly wringing the vitality from them.
In the end, they toppled to the ground in a sprawling heap, dull eyes wide and brimming with venomous resentment, and stirred no more.
With this rich flood of nourishment poured into her, the Tree Demon's branches unfurled completely, and a layer of scarlet blood-light draped her surface. Her decrepit old face kept contorting, turning eerie and malevolent, chilling to behold.
"You old thing…"
Xu Qianfu's face was grim as still water.
His treasured black lotus could scarcely cut through the blood-soaked roots anymore. Layer upon layer of crimson vines spread upward like a tide, hungering to devour every living thing.
Xu Qianfu knew well that this secret art of forcibly boosting combat power could not last. If he could only stall until it faded, he could still cut the Tree Demon down.
But the problem was…
He glanced at Li Fei. The earth-shattering might her Innate Supernatural Power had unleashed earlier was still vivid before his eyes, and Xu Qianfu knew he could never withstand it.
After a moment, he abandoned any hope of luck. With a long howl, he charged toward the gap above the cavern, trying to break away.
"Granny, if we can trap him, my Innate Demonic Art will melt him away to nothing!"
Without waiting for the Tree Demon to speak, Li Fei volunteered eagerly.
"Good child… you truly are Granny's lucky star."
The Tree Demon praised her sincerely, her aged face full of serenity and comfort.
She had begun with only even odds, forced to gamble for the sake of her breakthrough. But now, this demon woman offering her allegiance had given the Tree Demon complete and utter confidence!
So long as she used the Innate Supernatural Power to kill Xu Qianfu, she could safely draw in the energy of the Soul-Burial Spirit-Nourishing Grand Array and ascend to the Demon Emperor Realm! Better still, once she'd broken through, she could devour this inscrutable demon woman—perhaps she could even absorb and assimilate that unfathomable Innate Supernatural Power into her own…
By then, wouldn't Granny be invincible at the Demon Emperor Realm?
"Do it, my good child. Once this is all over, Granny will surely treat you as her very own."
The Tree Demon forcibly reined in her inner greed and bloodlust, speaking in a kindly tone laden with hidden meaning.
Once I've devoured and assimilated you, that surely counts as treating you as my own.
"Thank you, Granny! I'll be sure to honor you well too!"
Li Fei put on a look of flattered gratitude, promising with moved sincerity.
She rose to her feet, standing atop the roots, and raised the Quietsong staff high. As her jet-black hair streamed in the wind, the magic within her surged and gathered at the staff's tip.
The blazing demonic flame burned once more.
Xu Qianfu let out one shrill roar after another, hysterically burning his Innate True Qi and wringing out his potential, desperate to fight his way clear of the encirclement.
In this life-or-death struggle, within mere moments he was bathed in blood and covered in wounds, his long hair a tangled mess—yet he still could not bore through the crimson roots that barred his way with the same fearless, death-defying ferocity.
At last, Xu Qianfu cast one despairing glance at the restless mass of lava radiating endless demonic might, then closed his eyes to await death.
"Granny, I'm about to do it, all right?"
Li Fei looked sweet and demure, every bit the dutiful youngster caring for an elder.
"Good child, do it."
The Tree Demon murmured gently.
The old one and the young one exchanged smiles—the elder kindly-browed and gentle-eyed, the younger warm, gentle, and demure, a picture of perfect harmony.
"Well then—safe travels, Granny."
Li Fei smiled sweetly, and only after politely bidding the old one farewell did the staff in her hand suddenly, without warning, swing about.
The demonic flame from the abyss slammed savagely into that beaming old face.
"Child, wh-what are you doing… No, don't, no!!!"
Amid a scream torn ragged from her throat, the dazzling demonic flame swallowed the Tree Demon whole.
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