The Final Stage

Nine Heavens Profound Maiden Xuan Yinghua directly condensed her most adept weapon, the Calamity Fire Sword, from the energy within her body. She controlled it as it tore freely through the monsters. Combined with Sovereign of Destiny Chu Ying'e's area-of-effect spells and Jiuli War Ghost Wangliang's flame attacks, they easily broke through the eleventh stage and arrived at the twelfth.

The following stages also went extremely smoothly. They kept breaking through, reaching the twentieth stage directly—the location of Lingxiao Tianque's Main Gate. Once they passed this stage, they would officially enter the palace complex of Lingxiao Tianque.

Thus, they encountered a monster leader here: a demonic Ksitigarbha Puppet.

It led its demonic Chimei Wangliang subordinates, along with a demonic Bifang Spirit Bird, blocking the team's path forward.

This combination was somewhat difficult to deal with. As a great figure of the Buddhist sect, Ksitigarbha possessed incredibly powerful defenses. Fortunately, the one standing before them was merely one of his demonic puppets. Otherwise, Ksitigarbha alone could have defeated every War Spirit in a single move.

In the end, Nine Heavens Profound Maiden Xuan Yinghua held off the demonic Ksitigarbha Puppet, while Jiuli War Ghost Wangliang and Night Warden Ye Ming stalled the three demonic Chimei Wangliang monsters. Sovereign of Destiny Chu Ying'e dealt with the demonic Bifang Spirit Bird alone, while Rain Master Divine Monarch Xi Zhaoyue was responsible for healing and restoring everyone.

Naturally, Chu Ying'e was the first to score a victory. Her ultimate move was the Heavenly Counter to the demonic Bifang Spirit Bird's flames, and she quickly killed it. Once free, she immediately used a special technique to ambush the demonic Chimei Wangliang from behind, breaking their combined formation. The monsters were then defeated one by one.

In the end, all four of them attacked together and besieged the demonic Ksitigarbha Puppet for over half an hour before finally killing it.

At the same time the Ksitigarbha Puppet was slain, Xiao Yu gained enough experience for his Lord Level to rise once more, reaching level 29. This was equivalent to the capabilities of a level 29 Soul Master in the outside world. However, although Xiao Yu was only level 29, the strength he could unleash far exceeded that level. With Green Lotus Sword Qi, he could easily handle Soul Masters above level 50.

After the demonic Ksitigarbha clone was killed, a red treasure chest appeared where it had stood.

Xiao Yun stepped forward and opened it. Inside were a two-star blue Blazing Sun Armor, a Blazing Sun Chain, and 300 Spirit Stones. Xiao Yu directly gave them to Taiyi Loli.

During the time Nine Heavens Profound Maiden and the others had been clearing the way, Xiao Yun had already built a good relationship with the little girl. Taiyi Loli piloted Yan Puppet No. 1 and stayed beside Xiao Yun, protecting him on one hand while listening to the interesting little stories Xiao Yu told on the other.

After passing the twentieth stage, Xuan Yinghua did not stop or suggest switching with Xiao Yun's team. Instead, she led the group deeper into Lingxiao Tianque. All around them stood collapsed palaces, covered in countless black vines growing wildly over them, utterly devoid of the Celestial Palace's former grandeur.

However, none of this was Xiao Yun's group's concern. They had already spent nearly two hours fighting their way here, and they needed to speed up for the remaining journey. Otherwise, if they ran out of time, they could easily be swallowed by the demonic monsters converging from all around the city.

The team quickened its pace, and Xiao Yun's squad, having rested enough, also joined the battle. On one hand, this relieved the pressure on Nine Heavens Profound Maiden's team; on the other, it accelerated their advance.

The two teams divided their tasks and coordinated closely, soon arriving at Lingxiao Tianque's main hall. However, the Seed of Corruption had clearly noticed Xiao Yun's group by then and directly summoned its strongest demonic monster commanders within the hall.

It was a massive demonic ferocious beast, Qiongqi. Several demonic leaders stood around it, including the demonic Ksitigarbha Puppet they had encountered earlier, as well as several new demonic monsters: the Demonic Yinglong Puppet, the Demonic True Martial Emperor Puppet, and the Demonic Chang'e Puppet.

This was an extremely troublesome lineup. The demonic Ksitigarbha Puppet and Demonic True Martial Emperor Puppet were both exceptionally skilled in defense. The Demonic Yinglong Puppet excelled at spell attacks, while the remaining Demonic Chang'e Puppet was highly proficient in Healing Ability and damage reduction. As the leader, the ferocious beast Qiongqi had an enormous health pool and was extremely skilled in area attacks. Charging in all at once was absolutely not an option.

As the Lord, Xiao Yun immediately came up with a strategy: divide and conquer. They would use their advantage in numbers to split up the enemy team. Otherwise, if the enemies stalled them until all the monsters in Lingxiao Tianque gathered around them, everyone would be left with only death.

Therefore, Xiao Yun made a swift decision. He ordered Nine Heavens Profound Maiden to lead a squad against the demonic Ksitigarbha Puppet and Demonic Yinglong Puppet, while he led his own team against the remaining demonic ferocious beast Qiongqi, the Demonic True Martial Emperor Puppet, and the Demonic Chang'e Puppet. The remaining War Spirits, led by Taiyi True Lord, guarded outside the main hall to prevent the monsters outside from interfering with the battle here.

The plan quickly gained everyone's approval. With time pressing, there was no chance for much rest. After briefly recovering their strength, they immediately began the battle.

Xiao Yun opened with the Sword Immortal Spirit Body's ultimate skill, Myriad Swords Returning to the Source, summoning countless sword shadows that enveloped the demonic ferocious beast Qiongqi, the Demonic True Martial Emperor Puppet, and the Demonic Chang'e Puppet.

As Xiao Yun made his move, the others acted as well. Nine Heavens Profound Maiden directly confronted the demonic Ksitigarbha Puppet. Siming Divine Monarch used Ancient God Descent, summoning a huge phantom octopus that immediately wrapped itself around the Demonic Yinglong Puppet. Countless flames burned over the massive axe in Jiuli War General Wangliang's hand, forming an enormous fiery axe that chopped straight at Yinglong, seeking to kill it as quickly as possible.

On the other side, the moment Xiao Yun attacked, Water Ancestral Shaman Gonggong's spear turned into a blue meteor and shot directly toward the Demonic True Martial Emperor's head. A cold glint arrived first, then the spear emerged like a dragon.

The Demonic True Martial Emperor Puppet remained utterly unruffled. He raised the great shield in his hand, instantly sealing off every angle of attack from Gonggong's spear. His contemptuous attitude showed that he did not regard Gonggong as a threat at all.

As for Demon Saint Xiangliu, Candle Yin, Night's Silence, and Meow Fairy Miao Danna, the three of them joined forces against the Demonic Chang'e Puppet. Their War Spirit ranks were relatively low, so they could only handle the Demonic Chang'e Puppet, which focused mainly on Healing Ability.

Faced with Xiao Yun's fierce assault, the demonic ferocious beast Qiongqi naturally did not remain idle. Countless strands of demonic qi surged across its body, almost forming a semicircular barrier that tightly protected it. At the same time, the demonic qi transformed into claw after claw, automatically meeting Xiao Yun's rain of swords. The two sides collided violently in midair, creating countless brilliant fireworks. Unfortunately, everyone was in the midst of battle, and no one paid attention to the spectacle.

With everyone's Immortal Power and health still abundant, none of the battlefields could be resolved quickly. Before long, Xiao Yun noticed the demonic lesser monsters continuously rushing in from all around. Individually, they were not particularly powerful, but once their numbers grew, they would certainly be difficult to handle.