About five hundred li north of East Forest City.
Here, a vast rift canyon tore heaven and earth apart, sinking into an immense, seemingly bottomless abyss. This was the Myriad Demon Abyss.
From the captured demonic cultivator of the Myriad Demon Abyss, Liu Yurou learned that this rift canyon was several li wide, impossible for anyone who did not cultivate immortality to cross.
No one knew how deep the abyss was. Even the demonic cultivators of the Myriad Demon Abyss did not know its true depth.
The members of the Myriad Demon Abyss lived within this rift canyon, having carved countless cave abodes into the cliffs on either side.
And from the bottom of the abyss, demonic qi constantly rose.
Even standing above the rift canyon, one could sense wisps of demonic qi. Once inhaled through the nose or mouth, it would disrupt a cultivator's spiritual power and foster delusions and murderous thoughts.
According to the demonic cultivator who had gone to East Forest City, the Myriad Demon Abyss had over thirty cultivators, most at Early Qi Refining or the middle stage.
Only the lord of the Myriad Demon Abyss was a great late Qi Refining cultivator, reportedly with a chance of breaking through to Foundation Establishment within ten years.
After Liu Yurou reported these details about the Myriad Demon Abyss to Lin Feng, he sent Tie Dali to lead several dozen sect disciples there on Azure Wolves, just to be safe.
At that moment, several dozen Evergreen Sect disciples riding Azure Wolves waited above the great rift, led by Tie Dali and Liu Yurou.
With Tie Dali, a cultivator at the great perfection of Foundation Establishment, overseeing things, the Myriad Demon Abyss, a force composed solely of Qi Refining cultivators, could not stir up any waves.
The main force exterminating the Myriad Demon Abyss's demonic cultivators this time would still be Liu Yurou and the Evergreen Sect disciples.
Tie Dali remained hidden as a reserve, just in case.
Nearly all the Evergreen Sect disciples sent out as reinforcements this time had been recruited by Lin Feng during the first week. Even the weakest had already reached the Qi Refining second layer.
The strongest were the two Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivators who had originally arrived with Liu Yurou.
With the Azure Wolf King, which had likewise cultivated to the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, and over a dozen Azure Wolves above the Qi Refining second layer, the Evergreen Sect's lineup was nothing short of extravagant.
Riding the Qi Refining Sixth Layer Azure Wolf King, Liu Yurou charged straight into the Myriad Demon Abyss.
The two Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivators followed closely behind Liu Yurou.
The remaining sect disciples waited on either side of the canyon, responsible for intercepting any Myriad Demon Abyss cultivators who tried to escape.
This was the Evergreen Sect's first encounter with a local force, and its first battle to make its name known.
Lin Feng's instruction was to pull out the roots when cutting down weeds: not a single Myriad Demon Abyss cultivator was to escape.
The canyon rift was too wide for Liu Yurou's spiritual sense to cover both cliff faces completely. She could only choose to clear the cave abodes on one side first.
Liu Yurou swept her spiritual sense through the cave abodes on the cliff face one by one.
Although all these abodes had barriers of varying strength, they were somewhat flimsy before Liu Yurou, who was in the Foundation Establishment realm.
Her spiritual sense pierced these barriers with ease.
Soon, however, Liu Yurou's brows furrowed slightly. Half the cave abodes on this cliff face were empty; their demonic cultivators seemed to have gone out and not yet returned.
But when Liu Yurou thought of the demonic cultivator who had gone to East Forest City, she understood.
Most likely, these devils had gone to other towns to collect sacrifices as materials for their cultivation.
Liu Yurou moved with tremendous speed. Every time she discovered someone, she unleashed a keen streak of sword qi, instantly gravely wounding or even killing them.
The two Evergreen Sect Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivators following her finished off the gravely wounded demonic cultivators.
Having already cultivated the low-grade profound-tier Clear Breeze Returning Forest Sword Art to major mastery, Liu Yurou could deliver a casual sword strike that these ordinary Qi Refining cultivators could not withstand.
After Liu Yurou had slain nearly ten Myriad Demon Abyss demonic cultivators in succession, a furious roar came from deep within the canyon:
"Who dares run rampant in my Myriad Demon Abyss?"
As the furious shout rang out, a dark figure shrouded in demonic qi rode the wind up from the depths of the canyon at tremendous speed.
His attack arrived before he did.
Dense, pitch-black demonic qi condensed into a sinister claw silhouette, carrying a bone-chilling, baleful gale as it tore through the air straight toward Liu Yurou's face.
The demonic wind howled, bearing the vicious properties of corroding flesh and disrupting spiritual power. This was precisely the Myriad Demon Abyss cultivators' intrinsic demonic art.
Facing the surprise attack, Liu Yurou remained calm, neither dodging nor retreating.
As an orthodox early Foundation Establishment cultivator, she had a firm, stable foundation and pure cultivation far superior to unorthodox cultivators of the same stage. Having also cultivated several arts to advanced levels, she was fully confident.
Clang!
A clear sword cry suddenly rang through the dark abyss.
Liu Yurou flicked her wrist, drawing her sword and fully displaying the power of her major-mastery Clear Breeze Returning Spirit Sword Art.
All the spiritual energy in the surrounding world was drawn toward her. Pure white spiritual light wound around her blade as light, nimble sword momentum spread in layers, dancing sword silhouettes concealing a deadly edge.
Her footwork was graceful, her figure flowing like a clear breeze. At the very instant she slipped neatly past the demonic claw silhouette, several fine streaks of sword aura burst forth, precisely striking the weak points in the demonic qi surrounding the dark figure.
That dark figure was none other than the lord of the Myriad Demon Abyss. His cultivation had been stuck at half-step Foundation Establishment for years, barely improving through nourishment from the demonic qi at the abyss's bottom, his foundation hopelessly unstable.
He had thought his strength alone would suffice to crush the invading righteous cultivators, but the instant they exchanged blows, his heart shook violently.
Liu Yurou's sword moves flowed without end, spiritual wind clinging to her blade as every strike locked onto a flaw in his movements. The suppressive power of a profound-tier sword art at major mastery was simply beyond the half-step Foundation Establishment demon lord's ability to withstand.
Every demonic qi attack the demon lord unleashed was dismantled and crushed by her nimble sword momentum. Meeting the spiritually imbued sword light, his pitch-black demonic qi melted and scattered instantly, like ice and snow meeting raging fire.
Before the demon lord could steady himself, Liu Yurou abruptly changed her moves, abandoning her sword to strike with her claws.
Power gathered in her five fingers, blue-black wind aura condensing at her fingertips as the might of her major-mastery Wind-Splitting Star-Shattering Claw erupted!
The Wind-Splitting Claw, which she had previously mastered to consummate proficiency, had long since been incorporated into the foundation of her moves. Her claw wind was fierce and swift, tearing through the air; augmented by higher-tier claw force, its power to pierce armor and shatter baleful energy soared.
Several claw silhouettes howled forth in succession, overlapping to seal every retreat and forcibly tear apart the thin demonic qi shield around the demon lord.
Squelch!
Wind aura grazed the demon lord's chest and abdomen, instantly opening several wounds deep enough to expose bone.
Pitch-black demonic blood gushed out. He staggered and flew backward, slamming heavily into the black cliff face and coughing up a great mouthful of foul blood, his aura instantly weakening by more than half.
It was an utterly one-sided battle, without a shred of suspense.
Before Liu Yurou, an early Foundation Establishment cultivator armed with two top-tier yellow-tier arts and a profound-tier sword art at major mastery, the half-step Foundation Establishment lord of the Myriad Demon Abyss had no power to fight back whatsoever.
But as he looked at his subordinates' corpses strewn across the ground and felt his own worsening injuries, towering brutality and madness suddenly surged into the demon lord's eyes.
He stared fixedly at Liu Yurou as she slowly approached, his face twisting hideously as he roared hoarsely:
"Righteous-path junior! You've gone too far!"
As his words fell, he abruptly formed strange, obscure demonic hand seals. Every pore on his body suddenly opened, frantically drawing in the source demonic qi from the depths of the Myriad Demon Abyss canyon!
The pitch-black demonic qi throughout the abyss churned violently, surging toward him like a frenzied tide and pouring entirely into his body.
His shriveled body instantly swelled, his dim demonic markings suddenly blazing crimson. His previously unstable aura skyrocketed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This was the Myriad Demon Abyss's forbidden secret art, Demon Abyss Body Infusion!
At the cost of overdrawing his source and damaging his foundation, he forcibly borrowed the demonic qi at the abyss's bottom to raise his realm. From half-step Foundation Establishment, he broke through his shackles by force, temporarily ascending to mid Foundation Establishment!
"Let's see how a mere early Foundation Establishment cultivator like you takes another blow from me!"
The demon lord howled fiercely, his aura more than several times stronger. Demonic qi around him condensed almost into substance, pitch-black demonic flames winding around his body. With a raise of his hand, a skyful of demonic palms descended.
Absolute suppression in cultivation realm instantly erased every disparity in arts and foundation.
Liu Yurou's expression shifted slightly, and she immediately drove her arts to their full power to meet him.
Clear-breeze spiritual sword aura and Wind-Splitting Star-Shattering Claw force erupted in full, spiritual light and wind aura interweaving into a tight defense. Yet before the vast demonic might of mid Foundation Establishment, they ultimately seemed thin and powerless.
Bang!!
A tremendous crash shook the canyon.
The keen sword light and claw silhouettes were instantly crushed by the demonic palms, and the remaining berserk demonic force exploded outward.
Liu Yurou's slender body shuddered violently, her blood and qi churning as she was viciously sent flying. She landed unsteadily and stumbled back several steps, the web of her sword hand numb and her meridians faintly stinging. A thin trace of pale red blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
The suppression of cultivation realm was impossible to overcome.
The battle that followed reversed completely.
Having forcibly broken through to mid Foundation Establishment, the demon lord attacked with extreme ferocity. Every blow carried the corrosiveness and tyranny of the demonic qi from the abyss's bottom, each move ruthless and lethal.
Relying on the nimble footwork of her major-mastery profound-tier sword art, Liu Yurou continually dodged and maneuvered. Her exquisite arts barely allowed her to resist, but she was driven back step by step, utterly suppressed and without any chance to counterattack.
Demonic wind continually tore at her spiritual power shield. Its light grew ever dimmer, and her spiritual power drained at an increasingly frantic pace. She was in a sorry state; defeat was only a matter of time.
Just then, a mighty, domineering blast of fist force abruptly swept across the entire demonic abyss canyon from afar!
"Insolence!"
A deep shout shook heaven and earth, making the demonic qi filling the sky tremble violently.
A burly figure strode through the air, his physical blood and qi booming like a great bell, his spiritual power dense and condensed. It was Tie Dali, who had long since reached the great perfection of Foundation Establishment!
He wore low-grade spirit artifact gauntlets on both hands, faint spiritual light flowing over their dark surfaces. As he raised his hand, the spiritual qi around him gathered frantically, and the consummately mastered might of Fierce Tiger Roaring at the Mountain Fist erupted in full!
Roar!!
An illusory tiger a hundred zhang long materialized from nothing, its jaws spread wide, intimidating the surrounding wilderness. Its domineering fist momentum suppressed the demonic flames filling the sky, forcibly interrupting the demon lord's assault.
An upper-grade yellow-tier fist art perfected to its pinnacle, empowered by low-grade spirit artifacts and backed by the crushing cultivation of great perfection of Foundation Establishment-the three combined into power of unparalleled terror.
The demon lord's expression changed drastically, an overwhelming fear of death surging within him. Abandoning his suppression of Liu Yurou, he hurriedly redirected all his demonic qi to condense a thick demonic shield in a futile attempt to resist.
But it was all in vain.
Boom!!!
The fierce tiger fist force crashed down, its vast, domineering power instantly tearing through layer after layer of demonic qi. The sturdy demonic shield shattered and collapsed like papier-mâché.
The next instant, the heavy fist struck the demon lord squarely in the chest.
Crack!
A piercing sound of breaking bones suddenly rang out.
The demonic markings covering the demon lord instantly dimmed and shattered. His forcibly elevated mid Foundation Establishment realm collapsed, and his vast demonic qi instantly turned back upon him.
His eyes bulged, black blood spraying wildly from his mouth as his body slammed deep into the cliff face like a kite with its string cut.
Tie Dali never stopped moving. He flashed after him and, without the slightest hesitation, followed through with a second Fierce Tiger Mountain-Collapsing Fist!
The shrill scream cut off abruptly.
The lord of the Myriad Demon Abyss exploded, his demonic qi dispersing as he perished utterly on the spot. Not even a wisp of his remnant soul escaped.
In an instant, the demon lord who had so forcefully turned the tables on Liu Yurou was slain by a punch from Tie Dali, cleanly and decisively, with no life left in him.