"Clang!"
The young man with the Sword Casket moved first, seizing the initiative.
The Sword Casket on his back opened, and ten thousand swords formed a torrent of blades that surged toward the Azure Phoenix.
"So you must be what the Human Race calls a Crown Champion. I never got to drink the blood of a human Crown Champion on that Black Tortoise Battlefield. Today, I'll make up for that regret!"
The Azure Phoenix let out a long, piercing cry. The Azure Voidstorm it commanded swept forward, carrying enough power to scour metal and stone.
The torrent of swords collided with it, producing the clangor of clashing metal-a testament to the ferocity of its cutting winds.
The other Sword Cultivators also took flight on their swords, putting distance between themselves and the enemy.
"Don't scatter!" a Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator shouted, deploying a Sword Formation. "All Sword Cultivators, enter the formation! These enemies are powerful, and their Innate Demon Arts are bizarre. We'll hold them off with the Sword Formation and wait for reinforcements from other Sword Envoys!"
He had activated his Sword Envoy Token's distress signal as soon as they encountered the Azure Phoenix and the other seven demons.
His talent was lacking, and he was already over a thousand years old—far too old compared to the other Nascent Soul Heavenly Prodigies.
But spending years out in the world required not only ample combat experience, but also sufficient caution.
Yet the young man with the Sword Casket did not enter the formation.
His cultivation was only at the Nascent Soul First Layer, and his realm was still somewhat unstable. Clearly, he had only recently broken through.
"Fellow Daoist Xing Jun, don't be reckless! This Azure Phoenix is already at the Nascent Soul middle stage. You're no match for it!