Hell on Earth

"Your swordsmanship is impressive. To achieve the third realm of the Martial Path at such a young age..."

"You must be a top genius, even within the Demon Slayer Division!"

Li Xuanxiao didn't reply.

Ever since a moment ago, he had felt something was strange.

The opponent, with the assistance of so many monks, hadn't attacked him.

Despite possessing Profound Realm cultivation, he seemed to be deliberately avoiding a direct confrontation.

What was he waiting for?

Why was he stalling for time like this?

Li Xuanxiao shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

In any case, whatever the enemy wanted to do, we had to stop it!

Li Xuanxiao lunged forward again, unleashing the Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade, which had reached the Sublimity Realm, without any reservation.

The sky was filled with dense, star-like blade lights and afterimages.

Under Li Xuanxiao's command, they all slashed towards the Demon Monk who was coexisting with the Demon King.

This opponent was the strongest among all the demons he had encountered so far!

He absolutely could not afford to be careless.

He had to go all out from the start, aiming for a decisive blow.

Even if he couldn't kill the opponent, he had to injure them as much as possible, or at least wear them down.

"Why must you be so violent? This is a pure land of Buddhism. I advise you to lay down your butcher's knife and become a Buddha."

The Demon Monk, coexisting with the Demon King, didn't choose to clash directly with Li Xuanxiao.

Instead, he used agile footwork and Buddhist martial arts to evade and weaken Li Xuanxiao's attacks.

This further deepened Li Xuanxiao's suspicion.

The opponent must be waiting for something!

Therefore, he had to do the opposite and end the fight quickly!

The movement technique "Ride the Wind" was suitable for long-distance sprints.

In this relatively narrow great hall, "Soaring Hawk Nine Steps" was more appropriate, offering greater flexibility in movement and evasion.

Li Xuanxiao applied this footwork to its extreme. The Soaring Hawk Nine Steps, having reached the Sublimity Realm, made his movements swift as if he were flying.

He attacked the Demon Monk once more.

The Demon Monk continued to adopt a defensive stance, neither counter-attacking nor evading. If he couldn't evade, he would use Buddhist techniques to withstand the blows.

With the enhancement of the Mukade, even if he sustained some injuries, he could quickly heal as good as new.

"This can't go on..."

Li Xuanxiao maintained a steady offensive while contemplating a way to break the stalemate.

The opponent was clearly trying to stall, but wouldn't let him leave.

This implied that once the time was right, the opponent was absolutely confident in defeating him.

However, Li Xuanxiao currently lacked sufficiently sharp offensive techniques.

All his martial arts were of the Profound Realm grade. At the Profound Realm level, they were completely inadequate.

Even if Profound Realm techniques and martial arts reached the Sublimity Realm and were augmented by Profound Realm True Qi, they would at best be equivalent to the introductory level of Profound Realm techniques and martial arts.

The advantage was minimal True Qi consumption.

The disadvantage was that it was difficult to inflict effective damage.

What should he do?

Li Xuanxiao's mind raced.

The opponent was stalling, but what exactly were they stalling for?

Was there something that required time to prepare?

Ultimate move charging? Cooldown period? Skill CD?

Countless ideas clashed in his mind, and he suddenly realized something.

Even when he was exuding his Profound Realm aura, the opponent had never appeared.

Only when he saw Li Xuanxiao about to escape the great hall did he show himself.

Before that, he had been hiding behind the Buddha statue...

"The Buddha statue..."

A flash of lightning struck Li Xuanxiao's mind, and he formulated a plan.

He unleashed the Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade again, slashing towards the Demon Monk.

"Stop struggling pointlessly, benefactor. Accept the metamorphosis with us and embrace immortality!"

The Demon Monk clasped his hands together, and the Mukade Demons coiled around his body let out hissing sounds.

He dodged to the side again.

The myriad blade light phantoms did not pursue him this time.

Instead, they curved and slashed towards the Buddha statue!

The Demon Monk's expression changed drastically!

The colossal Buddha statue was instantly torn apart by the surging blade light, quickly crumbling into fragments of stone dust.

The floor beneath the Buddha statue also collapsed in a large section.

Then...

A vast underground space hidden beneath the Buddha statue was revealed!

Li Xuanxiao's heart trembled with shock after just one glance!

Mukade!

Countless, densely packed Mukade!

They were intertwined, layered upon layer, filling an unfathomably deep underground space.

Among these Mukade were countless skeletons and flesh.

And above them were living people, their bodies grotesquely twisted, not yet fully devoured!

But these people now had vacant expressions, as if their souls had been ripped away.

They allowed the Mukade to burrow and gnaw at their flesh within their bodies.

From their ears, noses, mouths, and eyes...

"What the hell did you do!"

Li Xuanxiao was almost beside himself with rage. The Demon Monk's actions were utterly inhumane.

However, the only reply Li Xuanxiao received was a fierce gust of wind!

The Demon Monk finally made his move, forcing Li Xuanxiao back.

The aftermath of Li Xuanxiao's Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade had killed quite a few Mukade.

These were all painstakingly collected blood food, and he felt pained by every loss.

He had initially thought Li Xuanxiao was like a grasshopper after autumn, destined to die.

He only needed to be a patient hunter.

He hadn't expected the opponent to sense the abnormality so quickly.

At this moment, he finally lost his hunting composure and restraint, fully committing himself to the battle!

Li Xuanxiao's anger burned, and he refused to yield, counterattacking.

Violent tremors erupted between them repeatedly.

The residual shockwaves from the battle killed even more Mukade.

This made the Demon Monk's face turn as dark as water.

He had distributed his power to these Mukade.

It was all to make them absorb the life force from these people as quickly as possible.

And then feed it back to him.

But now, with the Mukade suffering continuous damage, not only would he become weaker, but the final result would also be greatly diminished.

However, once the ritual began, it absolutely could not be stopped, or he would suffer a backlash.

His own life force would be drained instead.

The Demon Monk's expression shifted, caught in a dilemma.

He had to do everything possible to prevent casualties among the Mukade demons!

The Demon Monk made up his mind and deliberately led the battlefield away from the pit.

But how could Li Xuanxiao comply with his wishes?

If you dare to move away, I'll slay the demon insects!

If you stay here, I'll slay you!

Li Xuanxiao finally understood.

The Demon Monk's current strength wasn't an act; it was genuinely comparable to someone who had just entered the Profound Realm.

He had sensed earlier that the aura emanating from the Demon Monk seemed unstable and slightly superficial.

It wasn't that the Demon Monk was intentionally feigning weakness.

He truly only possessed that level of strength.

No matter the reason, this was a good thing for Li Xuanxiao!

His offensive grew even fiercer.

The Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade unleashed, instantly covering a vast area. The Demon Monk could dodge, but could those mukade demons?

After several exchanges like this, the Demon Monk's aura had visibly weakened considerably!

He couldn't even mend his own injuries anymore.

His cultivation realm was visibly unstable, almost falling back to the Apex Realm.

Now, the mukade in the pit had suffered heavy casualties, and the Demon Monk had also received considerable backlash because of it.

These were the sources of his power!

Damn the Demon Slayer Division!

Why must they ruin my plans!

I can't let this continue. If the ritual fails, it fails. It's better than losing my life!

The Demon Monk made up his mind, and with immense heartache, began to try and recall his power.

But in just a moment, Li Xuanxiao had already slain a large number of mukade!

A stream of black and purple blood surged from his mouth.

This time, the backlash he received was truly severe, and his cultivation realm genuinely slipped to the peak of the Apex Realm.

He finally showed a look of fear!

Li Xuanxiao paid no mind to his thoughts, merely raising the blade in his hand once more and silently striking down!

Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade!

Slash!

Myriad blade-light phantoms appeared again, shooting directly towards the Demon Monk and his pit.

The Demon Monk's face was filled with despair.

Puchi puchi puchi—

Countless blade-light phantoms pierced his body, pinning him firmly to the wall, silent.

The mukade in the pit were also all slain!

[Killed a Profound Realm Third Layer Mukade Demon King, gained 300 Demon Points!]

[First time killing a Profound Realm demon, an additional 500 Demon Points awarded!]