In the underground cave of Mount Li, the bone altar had become ruins.
The dark-gold giant egg had completely shattered. Viscous fluid flowed across the ground, giving off a nauseating fetid stench. At the center of the broken shell, an indescribably terrifying monstrosity struggled to lift its savage head from the filth!
Its main body resembled a demon lizard enlarged a thousandfold, covered in dark-gold scales. Yet its head was twisted like a dragon's, with three curved goat-like horns! Six enormous, blood-red evil eyes were scattered irregularly across its head, filled with chaos and greed. Along its back, rows of warped, writhing bone spurs burst through its scales, corrosive black fluid dripping from their tips. A long, barbed tail lashed wildly behind it, each strike tearing through the air with a thunderous crack!
It was the "Holy Lord" worshipped by Lu Buwei and the black-robed demonic person—the Shadow of the Demon Lizard Sargeras! Though it was merely a projected avatar of the true Demon God, the aura of chaos and destruction it emitted had already twisted the entire cave's space!
"Roar—!!!"
The demon lizard's six evil eyes instantly locked onto Cheng Xi, who was kneeling on one knee with a waning aura! It let out an ear-splitting roar, brimming with rage at having been wounded by an ant! A massive claw covered in thick scales came crashing down at Cheng Xi's head, carrying a vicious wind that ripped through space! Before the claw even arrived, its terrifying pressure made every bone in Cheng Xi's body groan under unbearable strain!
"It's over..." Lu Buwei watched the world-destroying claw from afar, all color draining from his face and leaving only the gray pallor of despair. The black-robed demonic person was so terrified that he collapsed limply to the ground, soiling himself.
Cheng Xi's pupils contracted sharply! The Chaos Sword Essence in his body had nearly run dry from that previous strike, his meridians on the verge of splitting inch by inch, while the Tongtian Origin Mark had dimmed to its limit! Facing this calamity, he had almost lost even the strength to raise a hand!
No—! An unwilling roar thundered through his heart! Was his Dao Path, having only just begun, going to end beneath a demon's claw?!
Critical moment!
Whoosh—!
A dark-gold streak of light, wrapped in wind, thunder, and a dragon's roar, tore through the hole in the cave ceiling like lightning splitting the night and descended with overwhelming force! As the light faded, it revealed Ying Zheng in black robes embroidered with dragon patterns, Tai'a Sword in hand and dragon eyes ablaze!
"Demon! How dare you harm this king's royal brother?!"
Ying Zheng's voice was like a dragon's roar Above the Nine Heavens, majestic and vast! Without even looking, he swung the Tai'a Sword in his hand toward the demon lizard's descending claw!
"Roar—!"
A solid dark-gold dragon-shaped sword qi, wreathed in violet lightning, roared forth from Tai'a Sword! Though it lacked the eerie unpredictability of Cheng Xi's chaotic blue-gray sword radiance, it was righteous and magnificent, bearing the supreme majesty of human imperial authority and the vast great power of the Ancestor Dragon splitting open heaven and earth! The dragon-shaped sword qi arrived after yet struck first, smashing fiercely into the side of the demon lizard's giant claw!
Boom—!!!
A deafening crash like colliding metal rang through the cave! The violent energy impact instantly sent Lu Buwei and the black-robed demonic person flying, slamming them hard into the rock wall and breaking their bones!
The demon lizard's descending claw was forcibly knocked aside by this strike containing Ancestor Dragon True Power. The scales on its claw tips shattered, black blood spraying everywhere! It roared in even greater fury from the pain, its six evil eyes instantly locking onto the newly arrived Ying Zheng!
"Ying Zheng?!" Cheng Xi looked at the dark-gold, dragon-patterned back shielding him, a complicated expression flashing through his eyes. He forced himself to draw a breath and struggled to his feet with the Qingping Sword Sheath as support.
"Can you still fight?" Ying Zheng did not turn around. His dragon eyes stared fixedly at the enraged demon lizard, his voice cold.
"I won't die!" Cheng Xi spat out a mouthful of bloody foam. Under the relentless pressure of the Tongtian Mark, the depleted Chaos Sword Essence within him painfully gathered once more into a trace. The Chaos Origin Point spun madly, absorbing the chaotic energy around it.
"Good!" Ying Zheng uttered only one word. There was no need for more—their common enemy stood before them!
The Shadow of the Demon Lizard Sargeras was utterly enraged! Of these two tiny creatures before it, one had damaged its eggshell, while the other had cut its claw! Its six evil eyes lit up with crimson light at once. Its huge mouth opened, and deep within its throat, a mass of Chaos demonic flame, viscous as magma and radiating an aura of annihilation, rapidly condensed!
"Roar—!!!"
The destructive beam of demonic flame, carrying the terrifying power to burn away souls and contaminate laws, erupted toward Ying Zheng and Cheng Xi like a torrent from hell!
"Human Emperor Sword Seal!" Ying Zheng shouted, gripping Tai'a Sword's hilt with both hands. Purple-Gold Dragon Qi and dark-gold Ancestor Dragon True Power merged across the blade, transforming into a dark-gold curtain of swords as heavy as a mountain before him!
"Chaos Sword Wall!" Cheng Xi roared as well, pouring the last trace of condensed Chaos Sword Essence into the Qingping Sword Sheath and invoking the Tongtian Mark to form a warped barrier before him, flowing with chaotic gray radiance and Intercepting Heaven Sword Qi!
Rumble—!!!
The Chaos demonic flame crashed fiercely into the dark-gold sword curtain and the Chaos Sword Wall! Terrifying annihilating energy fiercely attacked! The sword curtain and sword wall violently trembled, warped, and Flickered Unsteadily! Ying Zheng grunted, blood overflowing from the corner of the mouth as the ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch! Cheng Xi was struck as if by a heavy hammer, coughing up blood again as his body swayed on the verge of collapse! Even working together, the two were steadily forced back beneath the demonic flames!
"Jie Jie Jie... Die! All of you, die!" From afar, the severely injured Lu Buwei watched this scene and let out a mad, venomous laugh.
Just as they were at their most precarious—
Another change occurred!
Buzz—!!!
A vast, ancient Will Fluctuation carrying compassion and profound exhaustion pierced through endless space without warning and descended once again! This time, it did not come from the Pangu Hall Projection, but from... the deepest reaches of the Imperial Mausoleum of Mount Li! This will seemed to have been stirred by the power of the Chaos demon lizard and the Ancestor Dragon True Power erupting here, carrying the fury of something profaned!
"The imperial mausoleum... the earth veins... how can they permit... evil demons... to defile them..."
The ancient will was like the whisper of a sleeping giant god, resounding directly within the sea of consciousness of every living being in the cave!
Boom!
The main ridge of Mount Li suddenly shook! A vast, pure Dragon Vein Earth Energy, unimaginably dense and heavy, erupted from the depths of the imperial mausoleum like an enraged giant dragon! No longer forcibly siphoned away by the demon cave altar, this dragon qi instead carried the will to purify, pouring like a golden flood into Tai'a Sword in Ying Zheng's hand while ignoring space itself!
"This is... the Former King's protection?!" Unprecedented light burst from Ying Zheng's dragon eyes! Tai'a Sword instantly became scorching hot, its blade humming as the dragon qi coiling around it swelled tenfold! The dark-gold sword curtain, previously on the verge of collapse, instantly solidified and thickened like the true Great Wall stretching ten thousand miles!
At the Same Time!
Another faint yet tenacious, scorching aura crossed space! It carried the will to burn away filth and originated from Yan Lingji, who was resisting the Will of Chaos within Pangu Hall! It did not attack directly. Instead, like a spark, it precisely merged into the Chaos Sword Wall Cheng Xi had formed!
Hiss—!
With the enhancement of purified Dragon Vein Earth Energy, the dark-gold sword curtain and the Chaos Sword Wall infused with the will of demon-burning witchfire surged dramatically in power! The incoming Chaos demonic flames were like snow beneath boiling water, forcibly held firm and driven back!
"Roar?!" For the first time, surprise and uncertainty appeared in the six evil eyes of the Shadow of the Demon Lizard Sargeras! It sensed that its power was being suppressed by some higher level of earth vein will and demon-burning fire!
"This is it!" Ying Zheng and Cheng Xi roared almost simultaneously!
"Ancestor Dragon... Smites Evil!"
Ying Zheng raised Tai'a Sword above his head. The blade gathered vast purifying dragon qi and Ancestor Dragon True Power, turning into a dark-gold bolt of lightning that tore through the cave's darkness and fell down fiercely toward the demon lizard's head!
"Chaos... Intercepts Heaven!"
Ignoring the agony of his meridians tearing apart, Cheng Xi poured all his remaining strength, along with the lingering might of the Tongtian Mark within the Qingping Sword Sheath, into his sword fingers! A blue-gray sword thread, more solidified and more dangerous than before, fused with chaotic disorder and the Sky-Severing Edge. Though it arrived after, it struck first, winding around the demon lizard's frontal defenses like a venomous snake and stabbing directly at the center of its six evil eyes—the core node of its will of chaos!
"No—!!!" Lu Buwei let out a despairing howl from afar.
The demon lizard sensed a fatal threat! It twisted its body wildly, attempting to evade! But Ying Zheng's Ancestor Dragon Smites Evil sword light sealed off every path of escape!
Splat!
Cheng Xi's Chaos Intercepts Heaven sword thread, condensed from all his will and power, struck first! Silently, it pierced the center where the demon lizard's six evil eyes converged!
"Awooo—!!!"
The demon lizard let out the most shrill, agonized scream of its life! Its massive body froze as if locked in place, then convulsed Violently! Its six crimson evil eyes instantly dimmed and lost focus! The Chaos demonic flame it had condensed scattered at once!
Immediately after!
Boom—!!!
Ying Zheng's Ancestor Dragon Smites Evil sword light struck the demon lizard's head with the force of heavenly punishment!
Blinding dark-gold light instantly swallowed the demon lizard's enormous body! A terrifying energy shockwave swept through the entire cave! The bone altar was completely reduced to dust! Vast sections of the rock walls shattered and collapsed!
When the light faded.
The massive body of the Shadow of the Demon Lizard Sargeras stood rigidly in place, its head forcibly split open by more than half beneath the terrifying sword light! Dark-gold demonic blood gushed out like a waterfall! Its six evil eyes had completely lost their light. Its huge body swayed several times before crashing down with lingering hisses of unwillingness and venomous hatred, kicking up smoke and filthy blood that filled the sky!
The Source of Demonic Calamity, the Mount Li Demonic Lizard, had been slain!
"Pfft!" Cheng Xi could no longer hold on. His vision went black, and he completely lost consciousness, his body collapsing limply.
Ying Zheng planted his sword against the ground and panted heavily. The light in his dragon eyes had dimmed considerably as well; he was clearly greatly depleted. He looked at the unconscious Cheng Xi, his gaze complicated.
Yet neither the unconscious Cheng Xi, the exhausted Ying Zheng, nor the barely alive Lu Buwei in the distance noticed—
At the instant the demon lizard was slain and the projected will of the Chaos Demon Gods completely dispersed!
Boom—!!!
An invisible, enormous ripple, a hundred times clearer than before, swept across the entire Primordial Era Heaven and Earth in an instant, centered on Mount Li!
Above the Nine Heavens, within Zixiao Palace, the blurred Dao shadow seated high upon its cloud platform, seemingly eternal and unchanging, suddenly trembled! At the edge of the cushion beneath it, formed from pure Heavenly Dao Rules, an exceedingly faint yet real—crack quietly appeared!
In the Netherworld Blood Sea, the wails of endless vengeful souls abruptly ceased! Deep within the blood sea, a pair of incomparably enormous scarlet eyes, filled with filth and greed, suddenly opened. They looked toward the void and released a silent roar!
Within Fire Cloud Cave, the invisible barrier imprisoning the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors violently rippled once!
And in Xianyang City, the nearest city, every survivor—whether ordinary person or cultivator—felt the invisible, heavy shackles around their hearts seem to... very noticeably... loosen for an instant! An indescribable sense of relief spread through the air, accompanied by even deeper unease.
The Heavenly Dao Shackles... had cracked!
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