Sword Qi crisscrossed the quiet chamber. The iron-plated walls were carved into furrow after furrow by Zhou Qing's Sword Qi, riddled with a thousand scars and a hundred holes. It was like ten thousand swords bursting forth at once, like the Milky Way of the nine heavens collapsing onto the earth. Dots of sword light glittered like stars, and stellar radiance formed from Sword Qi filled every corner of the chamber, shrouding the three demons. Clang! Yuan Wuji's long staff was sliced into two and fell to the floor. Crack! The Nether Ghost's enormous skull was ground into powder, turning into wisps of sinister ghostly qi that vanished into the air. A dense, sticky cloud of blood mist suddenly erupted around the Tianxuan Blood Demon, wrapping him within it. A buzzing voice came from the blood mist. "What a Ten Thousand Swords from the Heart. Sect Master Zhou, hold your hand for now. Let us discuss this properly!"
Hearing the Blood Demon speak, Zhou Qing withdrew his Sword Qi. Everyone in the quiet chamber, humans and demons alike, felt the room suddenly darken as the starlight formed by the Sword Qi vanished without a trace. Zhou Chen was also left dumbstruck by this astonishing sword strike from her bargain-bin master, murmuring, "It comes like thunder gathering its wrath; it ends like rivers and seas congealing into clear light!" Suddenly, a faint thread of blue light emerged from nowhere and shot toward Zhou Qing. It moved with incredible speed, reaching his chest in the blink of an eye. Zhou Chen cried out, "Master, watch out!" and was about to throw herself forward.
"What are you doing? Move aside!" Though Zhou Qing knew Zhou Chen meant well, her moth-flying-into-flame behavior still infuriated him. He grabbed her and pulled her back just as the blue light reached his chest. It was the Cat Demon's favored weapon, the Poison Fang Blade. Zhou Qing roared, and a huge iron seal shaped like a shield appeared before him. Clang! Clang! The ringing collision of metal echoed through the entire quiet chamber. It was the Poison Fang Blade crashing against Zhou Qing's Heavenly Seal. Showers of sparks burst from the point of impact like exploding fireworks.
Seeing that her sneak attack had failed, the Cat Demon hurriedly formed a hand seal in secret. The Poison Fang Blade feinted, its blue radiance flaring brilliantly as it barely held off the Heavenly Seal's entanglement. Then it spun around and shot back, whirling like a top. Zhou Qing had been thinking angrily, If I hadn't held something back, I really might have been ambushed by that slut! Now that he saw the blue light trying to flee, how could he possibly let it escape? "Hiss!" He spat out a mouthful of true qi, and the Heavenly Seal became a blur. Though launched later, it arrived first, catching up with the Poison Fang Blade in an instant. It revealed its enormous true form above the blade and smashed down viciously!
The Heavenly Seal spanned three zhang in every direction, its entire body wreathed in clear light. Tiny talismans faintly revolved across its crystal-like surface. Ever since Zhou Qing's cultivation had greatly advanced and he had condensed his Second Primordial Spirit, he had been troubled by his lack of a proper magic treasure. He had no decent materials with which to forge one. Although the Blood-Devouring Divine Saber was one of the strongest magical artifacts in heaven and earth, he still could not control it. It was like a man possessing a mountain of gold yet not knowing how to spend it. Thus, Zhou Qing had fiercely tempered the Heavenly Seal with Samadhi True Fire and added a portion of Prime Gold of Taiyi. This great seal now faintly possessed the flavor of overturning heaven itself.
Clang! Though the Poison Fang Blade was a fine magic treasure weapon, it could not withstand the Heavenly Seal, controlled by Zhou Qing's Spirit Transformation cultivation, battering it wildly. Its blue light swiftly dimmed, its spiritual energy completely lost, and it fell to the ground. The Cat Demon's body trembled, and a thread of bright red blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. It was no wonder. The Poison Fang Blade had been fashioned from a Giant Flood Dragon's tooth that she had found years ago. That Giant Flood Dragon had originally been an expert at the Transformation Stage, but for some unknown reason, it had forcibly cultivated some spell and actually drawn down lightning from the nine heavens. A barrage of thunderfire blasted the Giant Flood Dragon into a mangled mess, leaving behind only this single tooth. When the Cat Demon found it, she treasured it as if she had found a priceless jewel, refining it into her personal magic treasure. She nurtured it daily with her heart's blood, and it had long since become linked to her mind and spirit. Now that Zhou Qing had shattered the Poison Fang Blade, her mind and spirit had been injured. How could she not be hurt?
But Zhou Qing would not let up just because he had the upper hand. The Heavenly Seal trembled, then let out a long cry—the sound of its body tearing through the air. The seal, three zhang wide and carrying the force of thunderbolts, enveloped even the Eight Extremes Wolf King. The Eight Extremes Wolf King's heart turned to ashes. Judging by that momentum, there was no way he could withstand it. The three demons were like clay bodhisattvas wading across a river, unable even to protect themselves, much less him. The Eight Extremes Wolf King could only look pleadingly toward the Tianxuan Blood Demon, who was shrouded in sticky blood light.
Suddenly, a sheet of blood light firmly supported the seal. The Tianxuan Blood Demon said, "Sect Master Zhou, let us speak properly. There is no reason to harm our harmony!" Zhou Qing only felt an enormous, resilient yet gentle force supporting the Heavenly Seal. His power was like a blow striking a mass of cotton, soft and yielding, leaving him nowhere to exert his strength.
This demon really is a little stronger than me. I wonder whether he has any formidable magic treasures. He doesn't seem simple either! Zhou Qing's thoughts stirred. The great seal shrank into a three-inch square and dropped into his hand before disappearing. "Alliance Leader, you're not being very straightforward. Either we make the exchange—after all, the Gouchen Heavenly Book is written in ancient demon script, and we can't read it anyway—or we fight it out and let our skills decide the truth. But your Monster Alliance seems to have quite a reputation. A tall tree catches the wind, so I imagine you have no shortage of enemies. That would be rather troublesome, wouldn't it?" Zhou Qing subtly reminded the Blood Demon.
The Tianxuan Blood Demon withdrew his blood light, revealing his form. "Sect Master Zhou is indeed forthright. You have actually cultivated Shu Mountain's Soaring Sword Qi Art to the level of Ten Thousand Swords from the Heart. Even Shu Mountain's several Elders and its sect master are no more than this. Could it be..."
"Cut the nonsense. Naturally, I have a slight connection to Shu Mountain, but this does not seem like the time to discuss that. Well? Where is she?" Zhou Qing laughed inwardly. Of course I have a connection to Shu Mountain. I killed their disciples and seized their treasured swords and secret manuals. How could there be no connection? A tortoiseshell-like object had already appeared in Zhou Qing's hand. It was the Gouchen Heavenly Book Zhou Chen had just handed him.
Looking at the Gouchen Heavenly Book, which somewhat resembled a tortoise shell, Zhou Qing's eyesight was exceptionally sharp. At a glance, he clearly saw the densely packed tiny writing upon it, and his heart gave a thump. Strange. Why are these characters exactly the same as those on my **? I thought they were ancient Sanskrit. Who would have thought they were ancient Demon Race script? Damn it! This is what Emperor Gouchen left behind—a piece of tortoise shell? No matter how I look at it, it seems utterly ordinary! Zhou Qing thoroughly looked down on Emperor Gouchen in his heart.
Yet the moment the Tianxuan Blood Demon saw it, his eyes went wide. He said in a deep voice, "That's right! That is it. You! Nether Ghost! Go bring Little Fox here." The Nether Ghost answered, transforming into a cloud of ghostly qi and slipping through the cracked wall. Before long, he returned carrying an unconscious girl who looked rather like Zhou Chen but was clearly much younger.
"Little sister!" Hearing Zhou Chen's cry, how could Zhou Qing fail to understand? "I say, Alliance Leader, why is my disciple's little sister unconscious? Nothing happened to her, did it?"
"Don't worry. I merely put Little Fox to sleep. She is perfectly fine. Now then, hand over the book!" The Tianxuan Blood Demon stretched out a hand, and an invisible suction force pulled Zhou Chen's younger sister over.
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