A distance of dozens of li was no more than a blink to two late Out-of-Body Stage experts. In an instant, Sword Qi collided with the Five-Colored Coiling Dragon Staff in midair, unleashing a deafening boom. Li Dalong shuddered, and his flying sword shot away, streaking into the sky. He thought, This Spirit Monkey Demon Sage is no weakling. He has tremendous strength and extraordinary agility, and the Demon Race's tough bodies and strong defenses make him far stronger than an ordinary late Out-of-Body Stage expert. If I want to kill him, it looks like I'll have to put in some effort today!
At that thought, he formed seals with both hands, and a powerful aura surged from his body. He glanced at the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage again and said coldly, "Have a taste of the Righteous Qi Formula!"
As his words fell, he performed a Sword Formula with both hands, then pointed toward the sky. The Azure Cloud Sword instantly turned into a streak of golden light and descended from above. At the same time, he circulated his Spiritual Power to its utmost, sending it surging through his meridians into the Azure Cloud Sword.
At that moment, heaven and earth seemed to fall silent. Only the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage and Li Dalong remained facing each other in midair, each releasing a terrifying aura.
"This is... Righteous Sword Qi! How is that possible!" the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage exclaimed, terror in his eyes.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that the young man before him possessed a supreme Divine Ability like Innate Sword Qi. In that instant, he felt as though he were watching a catastrophe about to erupt.
"Heaven-Slaying Sword Strike!" Li Dalong roared. His right hand formed a Sword Formula, and Spiritual Power poured madly into the Azure Cloud Sword. As vast amounts of Spiritual Power flooded in, the blade radiated light and erupted with a powerful aura. When its aura reached its peak, he swept his hand, and the Azure Cloud Sword flashed before the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage, trailing sword light.
As the Azure Cloud Sword closed in, Li Dalong's crushing pressure also roused the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage's ferocity! Demon Power raced through his meridians, and the Spiritual Power within his demon core instantly flooded his entire body. His body swelled like a balloon to more than twice its size, his formerly slight frame becoming tall and imposing. He passed the Five-Colored Coiling Dragon Staff to his left hand, clenched his right into a fist, and fearlessly struck back, roaring, "Vajra Fist!"
Only now did the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage reveal his true strength. The Vajra Fist surpassed his earlier strike with the Five-Colored Coiling Dragon Staff in both power and speed. No longer dodging, he launched a counterattack against Li Dalong's Azure Cloud Sword.
Boom! The force of the punch slammed into the sword light with a thunderous crash.
Yet the punch's force lasted less than a breath before the sword light sliced through it and continued shooting toward the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage.
Seeing that his punch had drained only a tiny fraction of the flying sword's Spiritual Power, the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage felt a chill in his heart. He hurriedly unleashed the final move of the Vajra Fist, roaring, "Vajra Fist, ninth form-Ten Thousand Demons Pay Homage to the Saint!"
Glowing with azure spiritual light, his fist carried the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage's desperate resolve as it smashed toward the Azure Cloud Sword.
With a tremendous boom, Spiritual Power and Sword Qi scattered in the explosion, and even space seemed to have been blasted into fine cracks.
The exploding Spiritual Power also hurled the Azure Cloud Sword away. Li Dalong beckoned, drawing it back into his hand.
The Spirit Monkey Demon Sage was driven back dozens of li before he stopped, having to circulate all his Demon Power to halt his backward flight. Now that his Vajra Fist had been broken, the backlash from his technique had ruptured many of his meridians, and his body shrank back to its original size.
With the Azure Cloud Sword in hand, Li Dalong gave the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage no chance to catch his breath and unleashed the Heaven-Slaying Sword Strike again.
The Azure Cloud Sword in his hand blazed with light, giving a clear ringing cry like a dragon's roar. Beneath the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage's terrified gaze, it slashed down with unstoppable might.
That strike instantly cut through the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage's protective demonic aura and swept across his neck. The force of the flying sword sent his head soaring into the sky, while blood sprayed like a fountain from his cleanly severed neck. Before the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage could scream, he felt the world spinning around him and saw his body hovering in the air, spouting blood. His eyes filled with terror and unwillingness, then he sank into endless darkness. A mighty Demon Sage, a supreme late Out-of-Body Stage expert, had reached the end of his life just like that. Ambition was the driving force that urged people upward, but without the strength to support it, ambition became a poison that hastened death.
As the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage's head flew into the air, the Demon Venerables who had been watching the battle between the two supreme experts saw him slain in two sword strikes and lost all will to fight. The other members of the Demon Race fell into chaos after losing their leader. They stared in disbelief as their leader fell, and their terror of Li Dalong instantly stripped them of every scrap of courage. As one, they chose to flee for their lives. Controlling their respective life-saving artifacts and unleashing their strongest methods, they fled toward the outskirts of the Righteous Qi Sect.
Li Dalong formed a Sword Formula, and the Azure Cloud Sword began circling the battlefield, reaping the lives of the Ten Great Demon Venerables. Before the Azure Cloud Sword, these Nascent Soul Realm Demon Venerables were no different from melons and fruit. Within a few breaths, every last one had been slain.
Seeing his senior brother slay the Spirit Monkey Demon Sage, Zhou Yong immediately seized the opportunity and organized the sect's elders and elite disciples to pursue the remnants of the Demon Race. Under the Righteous Qi Sect's hate-filled pursuit, very few experts escaped back to the Demon Race. It would take the Demon Race at least several thousand years to recover from the losses of this battle.
After retreating, the Demon Race once again hid deep within the Demon Beast Forest. But the Righteous Qi Sect had dealt their strength a devastating blow, and they could no longer threaten the Cultivation World in the short term.
As for the Righteous Qi Sect, after these several battles to defend the sect, its disciples had become more united, stronger in battle, and more diligent in their cultivation. Their cultivation advanced several times faster than before. Under Zhou Yong's leadership, the Righteous Qi Sect gradually began moving toward becoming a major power.
This heart-stopping battle also showed the Cultivation World the Righteous Qi Sect's resilience and strength.
Zhou Yong gazed at the ravaged battlefield and the elders and disciples who had died in battle. They had all been his family, and his heart was filled with grief. Yet he knew that they had fallen before their time to protect the sect's legacy. He resolved to engrave this lesson in his heart and accelerate the disciples' training. He also needed to send disciples out to gather intelligence and prepare for any future invasion by the Demon Race.
After the battle ended, Li Dalong returned to the depths of the forbidden grounds.
A few days later, while Li Dalong was cultivating, Zhou Yong's voice rang out in the forbidden grounds again. "Senior brother, I've come to see you."
Li Dalong slowly brought his cultivation to a close and went outside his cave abode to await Zhou Yong's arrival.
By then, Zhou Yong had already opened the restrictions protecting the forbidden grounds and walked inside.
After exchanging greetings again, the two sat down.
"Junior brother, have you finished handling the aftermath for the sect?"
"Senior brother, everything has been taken care of."
"Junior brother, what brings you here this time?"
"Senior brother, the Demon Race's invasion inflicted heavy casualties on our sect's lower-level disciples."
"Over the past few days, I've been thinking that we should increase the disciples' cultivation speed so they can mature quickly."
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