Ghosts and Gods Do Not Remain

After Zhou Qing's interruption, the old man in the yellow robe forgot his original intention. He scrutinized Zhou Qing and the other three again, but couldn't detect any trace of demonic energy. He cupped his hands and said, "My apologies, I must have been mistaken. I am Chenkong Taoist from Mount Ailao. May I ask for your name, fellow Daoist?"

If a cultivator at the Transformation Stage were to be mistaken, it would be as absurd as an ant crushing an elephant. Had it been anyone else, this old Daoist Chenkong would have already beaten them half to death before asking questions. However, Zhou Qing's demeanor was unfathomably profound, making it impossible to gauge his cultivation level. He decided to probe first. He wondered, When did such a powerful young man appear in the cultivation world? I've never seen him before. Among the prominent disciples of the major sects, only Yi Yunzi of Kunlun has reached the Transformation Stage, but he's not this formidable!

Old Daoist Chenkong could never have imagined that Zhou Qing had condensed a Second Primordial Spirit, something unseen in the Daoist sects for hundreds of years.

"Oh! You are too kind, Daoist Chenkong! I am Zhou Qing, the Sect Master of the Heavenly Dao Sect. These are my three disciples! Come, pay your respects to Daoist Chenkong!" Zhou Qing interrupted repeatedly. It seemed the situation was about to be resolved peacefully. Suddenly, with a soft "Ying!", the girl slowly regained consciousness.

Zhou Qing was filled with regret. He wished he had quickly killed that troublemaker instead of causing all this fuss. Now that the girl was awake, and he had just killed three disciples of the Mao Shan sect and a member of the Dragon Group, it would surely spread. With the world being so vast, there might be no place left for him to hide.

Making a swift decision, the moment the girl let out a soft "Ying!", Zhou Qing's expression suddenly changed. A faint blood-red light emerged from his hand, instantly filling the heavens and earth. All color vanished, leaving only a viscous, blood-red hue.

It was Zhou Qing fully wielding the Blood-Devouring Divine Saber, slashing towards Old Daoist Chenkong and the girl.

Killing them to silence them, Zhou Qing had no reservations once he decided to act. A master of Chenkong's caliber was not far from the Five Grandmasters of the current era. If he deliberately tried to escape, no one in the world could stop him. Letting him get away would be an irreversible mistake.

With a saber in hand, neither gods nor demons could survive.

Under the Blood-Devouring Divine Saber, all life was subject to destruction.

During the Battle of Investiture of the Gods, the Heavenly Origin Sect gathered its elites, and 108 feudal lords besieged the Shang Dynasty's Chaoge. The Demonic Dao Grandmaster Yu Hua defended Sishui Pass. Under the Blood-Devouring Divine Saber, both immortals and demons were repelled. Even Erlang Zhenjun Yang Jian, hailed as the foremost war god of the Heavenly Origin Sect, was wounded by the saber. Truly, he was a formidable guardian, impossible to overcome.

Although Zhou Qing's current power was less than one-thousandth of that of the Demonic Dao Grandmaster Yu Hua back then, the gap between Old Daoist Chenkong and Erlang Zhenjun Yang Jian was likely much greater.

Old Daoist Chenkong had been subtly observing Zhou Qing's movements and had a magical artifact ready in his hand. However, the girl's groan caused his attention to waver slightly. He never expected that Zhou Qing, who had been smiling moments before, would suddenly attack.

A vast, heaven-and-earth-filling demonic energy surged towards him. His vision was filled with a viscous blood-red. Old Daoist Chenkong was greatly alarmed. The density of this demonic energy and the immensity of its aura were even beyond that of Wen Lanxin, the foremost expert of the Demonic Dao, who was once known as the "Demon among Demons."

Thirty years ago, the Dao and Demonic factions clashed again. Kunlun, Tianshi, Mao Shan, Wudang, and Shu Mountain, the major Daoist sects, challenged the Demonic Dao on Mount Everest. Due to the decline of the Demonic Dao and the scarcity of experts, they were outnumbered by the Daoist sects and were at a disadvantage. At that time, Wen Lanxin, the foremost expert of the Demonic Dao, known as the "Demon among Demons," proposed that she alone would face all the challenges from the Daoist sects.

Lingxu Taoist, the Elder of Shu Mountain, Kaiyang Taoist of Mao Shan, and Daoyi Tianshi of Dragon Tiger Mountain took turns attacking, and all were successively defeated by Wen Lanxin. Finally, Old Daoist Ganji of Kunlun intervened. Having defeated three major Daoist experts, Wen Lanxin was exhausted and was struck down by Old Daoist Ganji into a deep mountain ravine, her life tragically ended. Although she was a woman, she was superior to men. Even many Daoist experts at the time admired her. If not for the irreconcilable conflict between the Dao and Demonic factions and the prevailing circumstances, many Daoist experts would have been reluctant to fight her.

That battle was not glorious. Upon returning to their respective mountains, the experts from the major sects who participated in the Dao-Demonic war never mentioned it. Over time, the event faded from people's memories. However, Old Daoist Chenkong was one of the participants in that battle. At that time, Old Daoist Chenkong had only recently entered the Transformation Stage and was considered an expert. He was brought along to make up the numbers and personally witnessed that earth-shattering battle.

The overwhelming demonic energy and astonishing demonic techniques were still vividly etched in Old Daoist Chenkong's memory.

As expected of someone at the Transformation Stage, Old Daoist Chenkong instinctively sensed danger but did not panic. His mind became crystal clear and flawless. The magical artifact in his hand shot out – a bead the size of a pigeon's egg, surrounded by a swirling clear light. The dense clear light transformed into a screen, protecting his chest. He unleashed the ultimate technique of the Mount Ailao lineage, the Profound Heaven Nine Transformations, with nine dragon-shaped golden lights lunging ferociously towards Zhou Qing.

Clang! A flying sword, as clear and transparent as autumn water in a stream, devoid of any impurities, shot out from the top of his head, shielding both the girl and himself with myriad sword lights. Old Daoist Chenkong knew Zhou Qing intended to kill. Judging by the overwhelming demonic energy, the girl would absolutely not be able to withstand it. Fearing the screen formed by the bead would not hold, he added his life-bound Primordial Spirit's refined flying sword.

From the surge of blood-red light to Old Daoist Chenkong deploying his artifact and counterattacking with his flying sword, it all happened in an instant. Liao Xiaojin, Zhou Chen, and Little Fox had no time to react before the blood-red light blinded them. The surrounding trees withered rapidly under the blood-red glow and, blown by the breeze, turned into white powder. Even the ground beneath was scorched black, devoid of any life.

Once the Great All-Encompassing Godly Fiend Formation was activated, all things withered. The vitality within a radius of over ten feet was absorbed. If Zhou Qing hadn't been able to control it, even the three behind him would have been difficult to save from turning into dust.

"This isn't even its full power!" Zhou Qing was astonished by the power of the Blood-Devouring Divine Saber. His current cultivation was still shallow, and the saber's power was likely not even a tenth of its full potential. Judging by its might, it could truly kill gods and buddhas alike. Zhou Qing finally understood the immense power of those ancient supreme treasures.

With a single strike, an area of a thousand miles turned to dust. Zhou Qing had initially dismissed such claims as exaggeration, but now he realized they might have even understated its capabilities.

The viscous blood cloud was like a ravenous, gluttonous ghost. The nine dragon-shaped golden lights from Old Daoist Chenkong plunged into the blood cloud and vanished like clay oxen entering the sea. The blood cloud then surged towards the screen formed by the bead, instantly absorbing the clear light, which was at least a foot thick, completely dry. The boundless blood cloud enveloped Old Daoist Chenkong and the girl, who were surrounded by sword light, from all directions.