"Your skills are impressive, benefactor. To reach the third realm of martial arts at such a young age."
"Even within the Demon Slayer Division, you must be one of the finest geniuses!"
Li Xuanxiao did not respond.
Ever since earlier, he had felt that something was strange.
Despite having so many monks aiding him, the other party had not attacked him.
Clearly possessing Profound Realm cultivation, yet he seemed to have been avoiding a direct confrontation with him all along.
What exactly was he waiting for?
Why was he dragging things out like this?
Li Xuanxiao shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
In any case, whatever the enemy wanted to do was precisely what they had to stop!
Li Xuanxiao charged forward again. The Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade, brought to the Sublimity Realm, erupted without reservation.
Blade-light phantoms filled the sky like stars, densely packed beyond count.
At Li Xuanxiao's command, they all slashed toward the Demon Monk symbiotic with the Demon King.
This was the strongest of all the demons Li Xuanxiao had encountered so far!
He absolutely could not underestimate him.
The moment he attacked, he went all out, striving to achieve victory in a single blow.
Even if he could not kill his opponent, he had to wound him as much as possible—at the very least, wear him down.
"Why must you be so violent, benefactor? This is sacred ground of the Buddhist Sect. This old monk advises you to lay down your butcher's blade and attain Buddhahood at once."
The Demon Monk symbiotic with the Demon King did not choose to clash head-on with Li Xuanxiao.
Instead, he used nimble footwork and Buddhist Sect martial arts to evade and weaken Li Xuanxiao's attacks.
This only deepened Li Xuanxiao's suspicions.
The other side had to be waiting for something!
Which meant he had to do the opposite and end this battle as quickly as possible!
The movement technique "Ride the Wind" was suited for long-distance dashes and travel.
Within this relatively cramped hall, Soaring Hawk Nine Steps was more suitable, allowing for more agile movement and repositioning.
Li Xuanxiao pushed this footwork technique to its limit. Soaring Hawk Nine Steps at the Sublimity Realm made his body move like a flying shadow.
He attacked the Demon Monk once more.
The Demon Monk continued to adopt a defensive stance, neither counterattacking nor doing anything but evading. When he could not evade, he used Buddhist Sect techniques to withstand the attacks head-on.
With Mukade's enhancement, even if he suffered injuries, he could swiftly heal back to normal.
"This can't go on..."
While maintaining a steady offensive, Li Xuanxiao considered how to break the deadlock.
The other party was plainly trying to stall him, yet would not allow him to leave.
That meant that once the time was right, the other party was absolutely confident of killing him.
Yet Li Xuanxiao currently lacked sufficiently fierce offensive methods.
All the martial arts he possessed were of the Profound Realm grade, and at the Profound Realm level, they were already completely inadequate.
Even if Profound Realm-grade techniques and martial arts reached the Sublimity Realm, together with the boost of Profound Realm True Qi, they would at most equal beginner-level Profound Realm techniques and martial arts.
The advantage was that they consumed very little True Qi.
The drawback was that they found it difficult to inflict effective damage.
What should he do?
Li Xuanxiao's thoughts raced.
The other party was stalling. What exactly was he stalling for?
What was there that needed time to prepare?
Charging up an ultimate move? Cooldown time? Skill CD?
Countless thoughts collided in his mind, and suddenly, he realized something.
Even when he had released his Profound Realm aura, the other party had still refused to appear.
Only when he saw Li Xuanxiao preparing to flee this hall had he finally shown himself.
Before that, he had remained behind the Buddha statue...
"The Buddha statue..."
Lightning flashed through Li Xuanxiao's mind, and a plan formed in his heart.
He unleashed the Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade again, slashing at the Demon Monk.
"Stop struggling in vain, benefactor. Accept transcendence from mortality with us, and embrace immortality!"
The Demon Monk pressed his palms together. The Mukade Demon coiled around his body hissed, "Ssssss."
He dodged to the side again.
This time, the thousands of blade-light phantoms did not pursue him.
Instead, they curved around and all slashed toward the Buddha statue!
The Demon Monk's expression changed drastically!
The massive Buddha statue was instantly shredded by the swarming blade light, quickly crumbling into chunks of broken stone and dust.
The floor beneath the Buddha statue was blasted into a wide collapse as well.
Then...
A vast underground space hidden beneath the Buddha statue was revealed!
Li Xuanxiao took only one glance, and his heart and mind shook violently!
Mukade!
Countless Mukade, packed so densely they seemed endless!
They were tangled together, layered upon layer, carpeting the underground space whose depth could not be seen.
Amid those Mukade were countless skeletons and masses of flesh.
And above them were one living person after another, their bodies twisted grotesquely, not yet completely devoured!
But at this moment, their faces were hollow, as if their souls had been stripped away.
They allowed the Mukade to burrow through their bodies and gnaw at their flesh.
Through their ears, through their noses, through their mouths, through their eyes...
"What the fuck have you done?!"
Li Xuanxiao was nearly beside himself with rage. The Demon Monk's actions were simply inhuman.
Yet what answered Li Xuanxiao was a fierce gale of force!
The Demon Monk finally took the initiative, forcing Li Xuanxiao back.
The aftermath of Li Xuanxiao's Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade had just killed quite a few Mukade.
Those had all been blood food he had painstakingly gathered. Every one lost pained his heart.
He had thought Li Xuanxiao was a grasshopper after autumn, doomed to die in the end.
He had only needed to be a patient hunter.
Yet he had not expected his opponent to notice the anomaly so quickly.
At this moment, he finally lost the calmness and restraint of a hunter, throwing himself wholly into this deadly battle!
Fury burned in Li Xuanxiao's heart. He yielded not an inch and counterattacked.
Violent shocks erupted between the two in rapid succession.
The battle's aftermath killed many more Mukade.
This caused the Demon Monk's face to darken like still water.
He had distributed all his power among these Mukade.
All so they could absorb the life force from these people as quickly as possible.
And feed it back to him.
But now that the Mukade were being damaged one after another, not only would he grow weaker, the final effect would also be greatly reduced.
Yet once the ritual began, it absolutely could not be stopped, or he would suffer backlash.
His own life force would instead be drained away.
The Demon Monk's expression shifted as he fell into a dilemma.
He had to use every possible means to prevent the Mukade Demons from being harmed!
The Demon Monk made up his mind and deliberately drew the battlefield away from the pit.
But how could Li Xuanxiao possibly let him have his way?
If you dared to move away, he would slash the Mukade Demons!
If you stayed here, he would slash you!
Li Xuanxiao had figured it out.
The Demon Monk's current strength was not an act. He truly was about as strong as someone who had just entered the Profound Realm.
Earlier, Li Xuanxiao had sensed that the aura around him seemed unstable, somewhat hollow.
It was not that he had deliberately feigned weakness.
He truly possessed only this much strength.
No matter the reason, this was good news for Li Xuanxiao!
His offensive grew even fiercer.
Once the Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade emerged, it instantly blanketed a vast area. The Demon Monk could dodge, but could those Mukade Demons dodge?
After several exchanges, the Demon Monk's aura had visibly withered!
He could no longer even mend his own injuries.
His realm had become visibly unstable, nearly falling to the Peak Realm.
By now, vast numbers of Mukade in the pit had been killed or wounded, and the Demon Monk had suffered considerable backlash as a result.
They were the source of all his power!
Damn Demon Slayer Division!
Why did they have to ruin his plans?!
This could not continue. If the ritual failed, then so be it—it was still better than losing his life!
The Demon Monk made up his mind and began, with immense pain in his heart, to try to reclaim his power.
Yet in only a brief moment, Li Xuanxiao had slaughtered another vast swath of Mukade!
A mouthful of blackish-purple blood spilled from his mouth.
This backlash was truly severe. His realm had genuinely fallen to the peak of the Peak Realm.
At last, fear appeared on his face!
Li Xuanxiao did not care what he thought. He merely raised the blade in his hand again and silently brought it down!
Thousand Peaks Ruin Blade!
Slash!
Thousands upon thousands of blade-light phantoms appeared again, shooting straight toward the Demon Monk and his pit.
Despair appeared on the Demon Monk's face.
Puchi! Puchi! Puchi—
Countless blade-light phantoms pierced through his body, pinning him firmly to the wall and leaving him motionless.
The Mukade in the pit were all slain as well!
You have slain a Profound Realm Third Layer Mukade Demon King. Obtained 300 Demon Points! First time slaying a Profound Realm demon. Additional reward: 500 Demon Points!
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