The Great Peng Descends, the City Falls into Desperation; the River of Blood and Qi Proves the Path to Immortality

The cheers of Clear Wind City had not yet faded when a piercing cry suddenly came from the horizon. The sound tore through the clouds, carrying a terrifying pressure that made the air around the entire city seem to freeze. Chen Fan looked up and saw a golden figure diving down from the clouds. Its wings spread dozens of zhang wide, its golden feathers gleaming with a metallic luster beneath the sunlight, and its sharp talons curved like hooks. It was the Golden-Winged Great Peng King, ranked third among the Demon Race's ten great demon kings—a peak expert at the Late Soul Transformation stage!

"Black Scale is dead? What a pack of trash!" The Golden-Winged Great Peng King landed atop a hill outside Clear Wind City, his gaze sweeping over the Black Scale Demon King's corpse on the ground, his eyes brimming with killing intent. "Human cultivators, you dared kill a demon king of my Demon Race. Today, I will raze Clear Wind City to the ground and make you accompany Black Scale in death!"

Before his words had faded, the Golden-Winged Great Peng King beat his wings, sending countless golden feathers shooting toward Clear Wind City like sharp arrows. The feathers contained terrifying penetrating power. The defensive formation atop the city walls shattered instantly, bricks and stones flying everywhere. Many human cultivators had no time to evade and were pierced through by the feathers, collapsing into pools of blood.

"This is bad! It's the Golden-Winged Great Peng King!" Elder Li's face turned deathly pale. "His speed is unmatched among the Demon Race, and his attack power far surpasses the Black Scale Demon King's. We are no match for him!"

Chen Fan frowned tightly. He could clearly sense that the pressure emanating from the Golden-Winged Great Peng King was several times stronger than that of the Black Scale Demon King. Late Soul Transformation cultivation, coupled with the innate speed and strength of the Golden-Winged Great Peng clan—this was without question the strongest opponent he had encountered since breaking through to the Martial Saint Realm.

"Xiaohu, take the city's civilians and wounded to the valley behind us first. Leave this place to Elder Li and me!" Chen Fan said in a low voice. He knew this battle was far too dangerous to let Lin Xiaohu remain in the city.

"Brother Fan, I'm not leaving! I want to fight beside you!" Lin Xiaohu's eyes were filled with resolve. He was no longer the child who could only hide behind Chen Fan.

"Listen to me!" Chen Fan's tone carried an authority that could not be refused. "Protecting the civilians is the greatest help you can give me! Once I defeat the Golden-Winged Great Peng King, I'll come find you!"

Lin Xiaohu gritted his teeth, but in the end, he nodded. "Brother Fan, you have to be careful!" With that, he turned and began organizing the civilians and wounded within the city for evacuation.

Elder Li looked at Chen Fan, his eyes full of admiration. "Mr. Chen, rest assured, I'll help you with everything I have! Even if I die, I'll hold the Golden-Winged Great Peng King back!"

Chen Fan nodded and raised the Evil Slaying Sword again. The pale golden True Qi around him circulated to its limit. "Elder Li, you restrain him. I'll look for an opportunity to strike at his weakness!"

"Alright!" Elder Li answered, swinging the longsword in his hand. Sword Qi crisscrossed through the air as it shot toward the Golden-Winged Great Peng King.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng King sneered. With a beat of his wings, he easily dodged the Sword Qi, then dove down at the same time, his sharp talons reaching for Elder Li. Elder Li hurriedly used his movement technique to evade, but his shoulder was still grazed by the talons. Blood instantly dyed his robes red.

"With only this much skill, you dare fight me?" the Golden-Winged Great Peng King said disdainfully. He beat his wings again and charged at Chen Fan. His speed was incredibly fast, leaving trails of golden afterimages through the sky. In an instant, he was before Chen Fan, his talons clawing toward Chen Fan's head.

Chen Fan's gaze sharpened as he swung the Evil Slaying Sword at the talons. Sword and claw collided with a deafening boom. Chen Fan was shaken back again and again by the immense force, his arm going numb, blood even seeping from the web between his thumb and forefinger.

"A Martial Saint Realm body is indeed much stronger than that of an ordinary human." A trace of surprise flashed through the Golden-Winged Great Peng King's eyes before turning into contempt again. "But before me, it is still not worth mentioning!"

He launched another attack. His wings beat ceaselessly, golden feathers raining down like a storm, while his talons and beak struck at Chen Fan without pause. Relying on his agile movement technique and the Evil Slaying Sword's defense, Chen Fan barely withstood the attacks, but several wounds were still cut open by the feathers, blood flowing continuously.

Elder Li wanted to step forward and help, but he was restrained by the Golden-Winged Great Peng King's afterimages and could not get close at all. Seeing Chen Fan injured again and again, he was frantic with anxiety, yet utterly powerless.

Chen Fan could feel his stamina and True Energy rapidly draining away. If this continued, he would sooner or later be slain by the Golden-Winged Great Peng King. He drew a deep breath, and a record concerning the River of Blood and Qi from Zhao Lie's inheritance flashed through his mind—at the peak of the Martial Saint Realm, if one could draw forth the blood and qi within the body and turn it into a great river, one could break through the shackles of the flesh and achieve the Human Immortal Realm!

It seems I can only take a risk and try it! Chen Fan made his decision. He no longer defended against the Golden-Winged Great Peng King's attacks. Instead, he poured all the True Energy within his body into his blood and qi, while simultaneously circulating the methods of the Burning Heaven Art and the Blazing Spear Art, guiding his blood and qi to surge through his body.

"Have you gone mad? You're not even defending?" The Golden-Winged Great Peng King saw Chen Fan's actions, and his eyes filled with confusion before turning excited. "Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish!"

He suddenly dove down, his talons reaching for Chen Fan's chest, intending to kill him in a single blow.

Just as the talons were about to strike Chen Fan, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from within him. Pale red blood and qi surged out around his body, gathering in the air into an enormous river—the River of Blood and Qi!

The River of Blood and Qi emanated an immense, majestic force that sent the Golden-Winged Great Peng King staggering backward. Within the river, countless spear phantoms and fist phantoms formed from the power of blood and qi flashed continuously, containing terrifying might.

"This is... the River of Blood and Qi? You're actually breaking through to the Human Immortal Realm?" The Golden-Winged Great Peng King's eyes were filled with disbelief. He had never expected Chen Fan to dare break through during battle, and to the Human Immortal Realm at that!

Chen Fan said nothing. With his eyes closed, he devoted himself wholly to the breakthrough. Under his control, the River of Blood and Qi surged ceaselessly toward the Golden-Winged Great Peng King. The spear phantoms and fist phantoms within it crashed toward him in wave after wave, like an endless tide.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng King's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly mobilized demon qi to form a shield, while beating his wings as golden feathers and talons constantly blocked the River of Blood and Qi's attacks. But the river's power was far too terrifying. Cracks quickly spread across the shield, golden feathers were shattered one after another, and his body was struck by the power of blood and qi, blood continuously seeping from his wounds.

"No! This is impossible! How could you possibly break through to the Human Immortal Realm during battle?" The Golden-Winged Great Peng King let out an unwilling roar. He could not accept that he was being suppressed by a human who was in the midst of a breakthrough.

He went all out, drawing upon every last trace of demon qi within his body and condensing it into an enormous golden claw of light that clawed toward the core of the River of Blood and Qi—Chen Fan. He wanted to kill Chen Fan before his breakthrough was complete.

Just as the claw of light was about to strike Chen Fan, the River of Blood and Qi suddenly erupted. Countless streams of blood and qi condensed into a gigantic Blazing Spear, blasting toward the claw of light.

"Blazing Spear Art: Burning Heaven!"

Chen Fan's voice rang out, carrying the majesty of the Human Immortal Realm. The Blazing Spear collided with the claw of light in an earth-shattering explosion. The claw of light shattered instantly, while the Blazing Spear continued onward without losing momentum, blasting toward the Golden-Winged Great Peng King.

"Ah—!"

The Golden-Winged Great Peng King let out a shrill scream. The Blazing Spear pierced through his body, and golden blood flowed without end. His body fell from the sky and crashed heavily onto the ground, never stirring again.

With the Golden-Winged Great Peng King's death, the River of Blood and Qi within Chen Fan gradually subsided and merged back into his body. He slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them. The pressure of the Human Immortal Realm radiated from around him—he had successfully broken through to the Human Immortal Realm!

Elder Li and the surviving human cultivators in the city looked at the pressure surrounding Chen Fan, their eyes filled with shock and admiration. They had never expected Chen Fan to break through to the Human Immortal Realm in such desperate circumstances, much less slay the Late Soul Transformation Golden-Winged Great Peng King!

"Human Immortal... Mr. Chen has actually achieved the Human Immortal Realm!" Elder Li said excitedly, his voice trembling.

"Human Immortal Chen Fan! Human Immortal Chen Fan!"

The human cultivators in the city erupted into cheers, their voices ringing through the clouds. Chen Fan stood atop the city wall, looking at the cheering crowd below, his eyes full of determination. He knew that achieving the Human Immortal Realm was only a new beginning. The war of all races had not ended, and the conspiracies of the cultivation world had yet to be uncovered. But he now possessed enough strength to face the challenges ahead, defend humanity's homeland, and shatter the shackles of Spiritual Root Destiny, allowing the light of martial cultivation to illuminate the entire world!

At that moment, in the Demon Race's sacred land thousands of miles away, an old man in a purple robe, a Great Sage of the Demon Race in the Void Refinement Realm, sensed the Golden-Winged Great Peng King's death. A cold killing intent flashed through his eyes. "A Human Immortal has appeared among the humans... It seems this war of all races is about to become more interesting." With a wave of his hand, a purple Communication Talisman flew into the distance. "Notify the other demon kings. Accelerate the attack and make certain to raze all their sects before the human cultivators can grow stronger!"

An even greater storm was quietly brewing. And Chen Fan, this newly ascended Human Immortal, would become humanity's hope against the Demon Race, as well as the key to shattering the cultivation world's conspiracy.