Retreat

"Intercepting Kill Style!"

Ju Hua let out a low shout, and three terrifying sword lights instantly met the six arms of the Void-Return Fiendgod.

After a thunderous roar, a massive wound appeared on each of the Void-Return Fiendgod's six arms, while Ju Hua's nine immortal swords were sent flying away, powerless.

"He actually blocked it with just his immortal swords?" In the distance, a look of shock appeared on Qing Muling's face. However, as if she had suddenly realized something, she raised the white feather fan in her hand and swung it down fiercely.

BOOM!

A gale swept through the area, and the Void-Return Fiendgod waved his arms in irritation to block the fierce winds.

While these winds only served to annoy the Void-Return Fiendgod, the sight of Ju Hua standing not far away made him truly irate! Ju Hua had met attack with attack and blocked him head-on, which meant the man had definitely been hiding his true strength all along.

The Void-Return Fiendgod was a veteran of countless battles; he understood that although he had held the upper hand in that exchange, it would be quite easy for his opponent to stall him for a period of time.

"Cunning human, to think you'd only reveal your full strength now!" The Void-Return Fiendgod roared, waving his arms as he charged forward once more.

Although the Void-Return Fiendgod knew in his heart that it would be difficult to take down Ju Hua in a short time, he was unwilling to give up just yet; he had to at least try.

Facing the Void-Return Fiendgod's frenzied offensive, Ju Hua did not hesitate, once again channeling his immortal swords to meet the onslaught.

However, the God-Demon was wrong about one thing: Ju Hua was not using his full strength at all!

Although the fifth form of the Great Sorrow Sword Art already surpassed the level of a top-tier Loose Immortal, it was still far from the level of a million-year Loose Immortal. In that last strike, Ju Hua had not utilized the sword dao fused with the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth; he had merely used pure sword dao to drive the technique.

It was precisely because of this that Ju Hua had been at a disadvantage in his confrontation with the Void-Return Fiendgod. Otherwise, with the augmentation of the Zhuanshui Clan's grand formation, Ju Hua should have been suppressing the Void-Return Fiendgod by now, rather than being the one under pressure.

The flight of Fuyun Immortal and Zhuanshui Pingqiu had indeed slightly disrupted Ju Hua's plans, but he had not yet revealed his full hand. If he encountered a crisis in the future, he could still unleash another burst of power!

Ju Hua's decision to reveal a portion of his strength had served its purpose. Although he was still no match for the Void-Return Fiendgod, he was capable of pinning the opponent down for a short while.

In just a moment, Tianyang Ancestor would arrive, and at that point, these God-Demons would have nowhere to run.

Facing the Void-Return Fiendgod's wild attacks, Ju Hua defended himself step by step. The Void-Return Fiendgod was stronger than him, but not by a wide margin; as long as he didn't reveal any obvious flaws, the opponent would be unable to do anything to him in the short term.

The Void-Return Fiendgod naturally attempted to ambush Ju Hua several times using his divine ability, the Cave Profound Golden Light, but without exception, these sneak attacks were all blocked by the Litian Immortal Sword that Ju Hua had kept hovering outside his defense.

The Litian Immortal Sword was a top-grade immortal-tier weapon, and since Ju Hua's realm was far higher than that of Fuyun Immortal, blocking a few beams of Cave Profound Golden Light was not difficult.

The Void-Return Fiendgod attacked frantically for half a cup of tea's time, yet Ju Hua remained as steady as a mountain. Suddenly, the Void-Return Fiendgod ceased his assault.

"The battle has only just begun, why have you stopped? Keep going!" Ju Hua shouted aloud.

"Human, you just wait! Sooner or later, I will tear you apart alive!"

The Void-Return Fiendgod was no fool; he would not be baited by Ju Hua's provocation. After leaving behind a harsh threat and letting out a long howl, he turned without hesitation and bolted toward the direction of the Autumn Mountain Great Marsh.

Almost simultaneously, a group of Primordial Spirit Fiendgods who had been locked in battle with the Zhuanshui Clan's army abandoned their respective opponents in frustration and flew off to follow the Void-Return Fiendgod.

"Do not pursue a desperate foe!"

Standing high in the sky, Ju Hua watched the Void-Return Fiendgod flee into the distance and issued the order without hesitation.

Ju Hua's command was naturally met with no defiance. If the Black Armor Profound Army had obeyed Ju Hua's orders earlier solely because of his status as their commander, then after this battle, many were now willing to follow his lead from the heart, out of genuine admiration and gratitude.

Ju Hua, combined with a single ordinary squad of the Black Armor Profound Army, had been able to stall a Void-Return Fiendgod. Every Loose Immortal and many Primordial Spirit Daoists present knew exactly what that meant.

Perhaps before long, Ju Hua would fully reach the level of a million-year Loose Immortal—that was the combat power of a Celestial Immortal!

Respect for the strong was something every cultivator in the Three Realms did subconsciously.

Furthermore, with Ju Hua holding back the Void-Return Fiendgod, the rest of the Black Armor Profound Army could fight the Primordial Spirit Fiendgods with peace of mind. Had Ju Hua turned and fled like Fuyun Immortal and Zhuanshui Pingqiu, the fate of the Black Armor Profound Army would have been easy to imagine.

A hundred-man formation of the Black Armor Profound Army led by an ordinary Loose Immortal would have been utterly crushed before a Void-Return Fiendgod. From this perspective, Ju Hua staying behind to stall the enemy was a life-saving grace in disguise; it was no wonder some felt a sense of gratitude toward him!

After the God-Demons departed, Ju Hua had the army rest in place while he waited in mid-air for the arrival of Tianyang Ancestor.

Less than half a cup of tea later, Ju Hua saw a streak of golden light flying toward him at high speed from afar. The light, which had been a great distance away a second ago, arrived before Ju Hua in the blink of an eye.

The newcomer was a young man with flowing long hair and a face as handsome as jade. However, Ju Hua knew this person was anything but young, for he was one of the Celestial Immortal ancestors of the Zhuanshui Clan: Tianyang Ancestor!

"Zhuanshui Ju Hua pays respects to the Ancestor!" Ju Hua bowed slightly to the man.

"No need for formalities!" Tianyang Ancestor swept his divine sense over the area below and asked, "Have those God-Demons retreated?"

"Yes, they have," Ju Hua nodded.

"Cunning, indeed!" Tianyang Ancestor frowned, then asked, "What are the casualties of the army?"

"Casualties are light," Ju Hua replied truthfully.

"Oh? You actually managed to hold off that Void-Return Fiendgod without suffering any losses?" A hint of interest appeared on Tianyang Ancestor's face.

"Ancestor, please look!" Ju Hua took out an immortal sword and demonstrated the technique briefly.

"This is..." Although Tianyang Ancestor did not cultivate the sword dao, he was still knowledgeable. He asked in surprise, "The Intercepting Kill Style of the Great Sorrow Sword Art?"

"Before we set out, I had a stroke of good fortune and managed to comprehend this Intercepting Kill Style!" Ju Hua explained.

"Good. Having mastered the fifth form of the Great Sorrow Sword Art and with the augmentation of our Zhuanshui Clan's formation, it is indeed not difficult to stall a Void-Return Fiendgod for a short time!" Tianyang Ancestor nodded thoughtfully. However, as if remembering something, he suddenly sighed:

"It seems I have been away from the clan for too long, to not even know that such a powerful Loose Immortal had emerged from within our ranks!"

Ju Hua: "..."