Just as Lu Qingshan and his group spotted Demon God Meng Qi, Demon God Meng Qi naturally spotted them as well.
Over the past several centuries, Demon God Meng Qi had fought many times against numerous powerhouses of the Human Race.
In those past encounters, many of those present had been capable of threatening him, especially their leader, Lu Qingshan.
Now, Demon God Meng Qi stared fixedly at the figure at their head. Back then, he had charged out of the sea, intending to devour some humans, only to encounter that terrifying opponent.
Had he not fled quickly enough, he would probably have already perished at his opponent's hands!
But things were different now!
His bloodline had undergone a transformation. Not only had it allowed him to break through to the Demon God realm, but his strength had become even more terrifying!
So when he saw Lu Qingshan and his group again, his heart held nothing but boundless fury!
"Roar!"
Demon God Meng Qi let out a low roar. The fleshy wings on his back quivered slightly, and he turned into a streak of light, hurtling toward Lu Qingshan and the others at astonishing speed!
As the humans across Xuanhuang Star watched this unfold on their screens, they could not help holding their breath.
They knew that this terrifying demonic beast was humanity's greatest enemy. Only by killing him could humanity continue to survive on Xuanhuang Star.
It was evening, and sea winds howled over the ocean beneath a darkened sky.
The martial artists who stood at the very pinnacle of humanity finally clashed with humanity's greatest enemy, Demon God Meng Qi, who had already entered the Demon God realm.
"Come on, then!"
Facing Demon God Meng Qi's roaring charge, Lu Qingshan, the leader of the human forces, showed no fear whatsoever.
With a thunderous shout, Lu Qingshan swung the Heaven-Shaking Long Staff in his hands to meet Demon God Meng Qi.
The Heaven-Shaking Long Staff had originally been the weapon of Qin's previous Martial God powerhouse. On Xuanhuang Star, it could certainly be called a divine weapon.
As Lu Qingshan swung his staff, countless staff shadows crisscrossed the sky. Then the Heaven-Shaking Long Staff slammed into Demon God Meng Qi's rapidly swinging tail.
Rumble!
A terrifying shock wave erupted in an instant, sending Lu Qingshan flying backward.
What? This...?
As he flew backward, Lu Qingshan could not help feeling shocked.
Even before exchanging blows with Demon God Meng Qi, Lu Qingshan had already estimated his opponent's approximate strength.
Although Demon God Meng Qi had previously ranked third among the many demonic beasts in the seas, the demonic beasts, unlike humanity, had no inheritances that allowed them to draw on their predecessors' wisdom while cultivating.
Thus, not only had Demon God Meng Qi's attainment been very low, but his physical force amplification had also been poor, only around two or three times. Against human powerhouses of the same level, he could only rely on his thick hide and massive body to withstand their attacks.
Human powerhouses, meanwhile, could practice the many secret manuals left behind by their predecessors. Though these were not particularly precious, they could still increase their force output to five or six times its original level!
Lu Qingshan was an outstanding example among them. He had previously practiced the Nine Transformations of the Divine Dragon, created by Qin's previous Martial God powerhouse. Once fully mastered, it could amplify physical force to as much as ten times its original level.
Later, building on the Nine Transformations of the Divine Dragon, Lu Qingshan had brought forth something new from the old and climbed another level, raising his physical force amplification to twelve times its original level. He could be called the powerhouse with the highest physical force amplification on Xuanhuang Star.
By Lu Qingshan's estimate, although Demon God Meng Qi had broken through to the Demon God level, his own twelvefold physical force amplification meant that the difference in their explosive power should have been no more than three or four times.
With the support of the Earth Domain, that three- or fourfold gap in strength was not particularly large!
Yet now that they had exchanged blows, Lu Qingshan discovered to his shock that Demon God Meng Qi's explosive power was at least ten times his own, enough to crush him completely.
Had he not possessed a domain, he would probably have been injured in that collision.
What on earth is going on? How has Demon God Meng Qi become so much stronger?
Lu Qingshan was naturally utterly baffled, but this was not the time to consider such things.
"Everyone, be careful!"
As soon as Lu Qingshan steadied himself, he warned the other human powerhouses around him, "Demon God Meng Qi's explosive power is extremely strong. Be very careful, and don't clash with him head-on!"
Hearing this, all the surrounding human powerhouses felt their hearts tighten.
In fact, they had already guessed as much when Lu Qingshan fell into a disadvantage during their earlier exchange.
Now that they had heard Lu Qingshan's warning, they naturally became even more cautious.
"Heart-Shattering Slash!"
"Taihua Sword!"
"Moon-Chasing Strike!"
The surrounding human powerhouses unleashed their strongest finishing moves at Demon God Meng Qi.
"Roar!"
Demon God Meng Qi completely ignored the others' attacks and instead set his sights on Lu Qingshan.
He knew very well that Lu Qingshan was the hardest to deal with in this human force.
As long as he could kill Lu Qingshan, the battle that followed would become a one-sided slaughter.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Attack after attack struck Demon God Meng Qi, but the damage they inflicted was negligible.
Only a very small number of attacks caused Demon God Meng Qi any pain, making him howl.
But those slight injuries were not enough to make him abandon his target. Instead, he charged toward Lu Qingshan even faster.
"Come on, then!"
Seeing Demon God Meng Qi charging at him again, Lu Qingshan felt no concern.
After all, with his current strength, as long as he stopped clashing head-on with Demon God Meng Qi, he could absolutely keep his opponent occupied with his Earth Domain.
Meanwhile, the human powerhouses around him were constantly attacking his opponent. Though the damage they inflicted on Demon God Meng Qi was negligible, as time passed, they would definitely have a chance to grievously wound or even kill him.
"Roar!"
Demon God Meng Qi, whose body was over a thousand meters long, let out a low roar, his single black eye filled with madness and bloodlust.
Immediately afterward, Demon God Meng Qi's enormous, scale-covered tail whistled out again, sweeping toward Lu Qingshan.
Bang!
With a dull thud, the Heaven-Shaking Long Staff in Lu Qingshan's hands collided with that enormous serpentine tail once more.
But this time, Lu Qingshan's approach had shifted to defense and keeping his opponent occupied. After the violent collision, he quickly dissipated Demon God Meng Qi's terrifying force completely, even using the force of the impact to launch himself at Demon God Meng Qi again.
It really is manageable!
After several exchanges, Lu Qingshan felt considerably reassured. He then reminded the others, "Everyone, be careful. Just surround him and attack from a distance. Whatever you do, don't take a direct hit from Demon God Meng Qi!"
"Understood!"
"Don't worry, King Yongning!"
"Leave it to us!"
Seeing Lu Qingshan block Demon God Meng Qi's attacks head-on, the surrounding human powerhouses felt greatly reassured and unleashed their full strength to attack him from all sides.
Demon God Meng Qi was indeed formidable, but the Human Race's forces also coordinated very well. With the powerful Lu Qingshan keeping him occupied, Demon God Meng Qi could gain no real advantage in battle.
In fact, outnumbered as he was, Demon God Meng Qi began accumulating more and more wounds.
Although these injuries were all minor, as the saying went, "Piled earth becomes a mountain, and gathered scraps of fur become a coat." As his injuries continued to mount, Demon God Meng Qi began falling into a disadvantage.
"Grr..."
With a low growl, Demon God Meng Qi finally changed targets after finding himself continually unable to do anything to Lu Qingshan.
The membranous, fleshy wings on his back quivered slightly. His enormous body, over a thousand meters long, changed direction instantly, and he hurtled toward a fifth-tier Martial Saint.
"This is bad!"
"Stop him!"
Seeing this, the others around him unleashed attacks to intercept Demon God Meng Qi.
But Demon God Meng Qi paid no attention whatsoever to their attacks and charged straight toward that fifth-tier Martial Saint!
Whoosh!
His enormous serpentine tail swept out in an instant, as though to crush that fifth-tier Demon God directly into pulp!
"Ah!"
Seeing the enormous serpentine tail whistling toward him, that fifth-tier Martial Saint could not help letting out a furious shout.
Unfortunately, the gap between his strength and Demon God Meng Qi's was simply too great.
Faced with Demon God Meng Qi's killing blow, he had no ability to resist at all.
But even at this most critical moment, the fifth-tier Martial Saint did not choose to flee. Instead, he unleashed his strongest finishing move again, trying to inflict as much damage as possible on Demon God Meng Qi in the final moment of his life!
Rumble!
As Demon God Meng Qi's enormous tail swept across him, the fifth-tier Martial Saint's body shattered instantly, all signs of life vanishing.
"Old Wang!"
"Brother Wang!"
The eyes of the human powerhouses who witnessed this nearly split with rage, their gazes filled with fury and hatred as they looked at Demon God Meng Qi.
But Demon God Meng Qi paid them no heed. Having succeeded with one strike, he quickly turned his gaze toward another fifth-tier Martial Saint!
Whoosh!
Demon God Meng Qi darted forward, attacking his new target.
Not far away, Lu Qingshan tried to stop him, but his burst speed still fell somewhat short of Demon God Meng Qi's.
Bang!
With a furious shout, the second fifth-tier Demon God likewise perished at Demon God Meng Qi's hands.
At this point, Lu Qingshan could only attack Demon God Meng Qi frantically, trying to draw his attention back to himself.
But Demon God Meng Qi had already made up his mind to eliminate Lu Qingshan's helpers first. Thus, even though Lu Qingshan's attacks inflicted some injuries on him, he still chose to continue killing the other human powerhouses.
One, two, three...
In just half a minute, five Martial Saints had perished one after another at Demon God Meng Qi's hands.
Yet faced with such a frenzied Demon God Meng Qi, not a single human powerhouse around him retreated. Instead, they began attacking him from all sides without regard for anything, no longer considering their own safety at all.
After all, even before coming to surround and attack Demon God Meng Qi, they had been prepared to stake their lives. They did not care about their own lives at all, only wanting to inflict as much damage as possible on him before they fell!
Whoosh!
In pain, Demon God Meng Qi swept one fleshy wing toward Wei Changsheng beside him with the speed of thunder that left no time to cover one's ears.
Wei Changsheng had just finished unleashing his finishing move, leaving his defenses at their weakest.
Facing Demon God Meng Qi's swift, fierce attack, he instantly used his movement technique to evade, but he was still a notch slower.
Rip!
Demon God Meng Qi's enormous fleshy wing severed Wei Changsheng's entire body in two at the waist!
Seeing this, Lu Qingshan's eyes nearly split with rage.
When he had first stepped onto the path of cultivation, he had received many kindnesses from Wei Changsheng. Wei Changsheng had even helped him through a life-and-death crisis once, so the two were absolutely friends who transcended age.
"You damned beast!"
Seeing Demon God Meng Qi preparing to finish off the gravely wounded Wei Changsheng, Lu Qingshan erupted at that very moment!
Boom!
Lu Qingshan had begun unleashing a desperate finishing move that only domain powerhouses could use.
In an instant, his aura surged several times over!
Yes!
At this moment, Lu Qingshan finally unleashed the desperate finishing move available only to domain-level powerhouses, directly burning his own soul.
Without a domain, using this move was utterly impossible.
Lu Qingshan had not used it earlier partly because its price was simply too great, and partly because they had already gained a certain advantage while surrounding and attacking Demon God Meng Qi.
But now, powerhouses were continually falling at Demon God Meng Qi's hands. Even Wei Changsheng, whose strength was second only to his own, had been gravely wounded. It would be very difficult for the human forces to maintain their advantage in the battle against Demon God Meng Qi.
If Lu Qingshan did not seize this chance to stake his life now, the human forces' earlier sacrifices would have been wasted, and Demon God Meng Qi would become even more unbridled in the future.
Thus, even knowing that burning his soul to fight Demon God Meng Qi to the death would demand an immense price, and might even kill him, Lu Qingshan still did so without hesitation or looking back.
After all, not one of the other powerhouses who had surrounded and attacked Demon God Meng Qi had ever backed down!
Boom!
After unleashing his desperate finishing move, Lu Qingshan's soul, origin energy, strength, and will merged completely, connecting with the universe and allowing him to erupt with power far beyond his own realm.
Lu Qingshan's body, along with the Heaven-Shaking Long Staff in his hands, was instantly enveloped in an earthen-yellow glow, and his aura grew several times stronger.
Feeling his own strength, Lu Qingshan did not hesitate at all. He instantly turned into a streak of light and flew toward Demon God Meng Qi.
He knew very well that he could fight for no more than one minute from here on. If he failed to finish Demon God Meng Qi within that minute, he would lose all ability to resist!