Chapter 133: Slaying the Demonic Li

The old patriarch once said that each of the three masters of the Wutong Demon Palace had reached the realm of Return to Void. This Demon Li was one of them.

After a moment of thought, I said to the old patriarch, "I will deal with Demon Li and kill him first. How about you handle the demon generals and soldiers?"

"No problem!"

The old patriarch agreed, then added, "Be very careful with Demon Li. His pair of Azure Dragon Demon Maces have slaughtered countless masters of our Phoenix clan in the past."

The Azure Dragon Demon Maces looked incredibly sinister, radiating an aura of fierce, malevolent energy.

I nodded. Shancha also spoke to me, "Lin Yi, be careful. Don't lose your life, or I won't be able to answer to the Mountain Ghost!"

"Don't worry," I replied.

Just then, Demon Li shouted across to our side, "I heard that among you demon slaves, there is a young lad who, with his own strength, could slaughter three thousand of my demon soldiers and a demon general. Who is he?"

I stepped forward.

When Demon Li saw me, he suddenly burst into loud laughter. "I wondered what kind of person it was; it turns out he’s just a child who hasn't even grown his hair out yet!"

Demon Li was burly, his body a mass of knotted muscle. The heavy maces in his hands were weapons that ordinary people couldn't even lift. Besides Demon Li, there were two other palace masters in the Demon Palace, so I had to make this a quick fight. Otherwise, if all three palace masters were to attack, I would have no chance of winning against three masters of the Return to Void realm.

After all, the three palace masters had reached the Return to Void realm over a millennium ago, whereas I had only just achieved it shortly before, while dealing with Grandmaster Hu. If I were to exhaust my vitality as I did then, even if I managed to kill Demon Li, we would never be able to take the Demon Palace.

With this in mind, I drew my sword.

As the Qingping Sword left its scabbard, the aura around me surged. The yellow sand whipped up by the wind, and my clothes rustled violently.

However, Demon Li only sneered at the sight.

Even if his opponent was in the Return to Void realm, so what? He had lost count of how many such experts had perished under his heavy maces. He felt the sword in my hand was somewhat familiar, yet he couldn't recall exactly what kind of blade it was.

No matter. Whatever sword it was, I would kill him first and figure it out later!

Demon Li gathered strength in his feet, and with a booming sound, he kicked off the sand and leaped into the air. The malevolent energy surrounding him transformed in an instant into thousands of strands, sweeping toward me like a vast net. He intended to trap me with his vicious aura before finishing me off with his maces.

I held the Qingping Sword, which resonated with my intent. A flash of green light erupted, and I swung it in a single motion, severing the incoming threads of malevolent energy.

Behind that wall of dark energy, Demon Li came crashing down, his body arched and back pulled, descending with the force of a landslide. The strike was heavy and relentless. I blocked it with the Qingping Sword, sending sparks flying everywhere.

The immense power of my aura collided with the malevolent energy of Demon Li.

However, in this clash, I felt as if I had hit a raging sea, and I was forced back four or five meters. The Qingping Sword hummed in my hand, the vibration numbing the web between my thumb and forefinger.

This Demon Li was indeed extraordinary.

Moreover, while he seemed to rely only on brute strength, every move had a devious angle; that last strike had come from the most difficult position to defend. If the Qingping Sword hadn't been tough enough, those maces would have crushed my skull.

Since he was a master of the Demon Palace who had lived for a thousand years, dragging this fight out was not an option.

Therefore, I decided to use the Sword of Absolute Slaughter.

It was the Sword of Absolute Slaughter that had killed Grandmaster Hu during the battle of the wild immortals. At the time, it had been forced out of me, but since then, I had re-contemplated it several times and now possessed the mental formula for it. However, I had never truly unleashed it until now.

Facing Demon Li was the perfect chance to test it.

I focused my mind, forming a single word within my consciousness: "Kill." To end killing with killing—that was the sword path of the Sword of Absolute Slaughter.

In this process, I had to wait for the right moment.

When Demon Li sought to kill me, that would be the moment I would slay him.

Thus, when Demon Li attacked a second time, I simply stood still, waiting for that instant. Demon Li had a violent temper; he would never miss such a perfect opportunity to kill an opponent in one strike.

On the other side, the Phoenix clan, led by the old patriarch, was cutting through the enemy ranks. They were, after all, the Phoenix clan, possessed of formidable strength and capable of taking on ten men at once.

The old patriarch, in particular, despite her age, wielded her phoenix-headed staff with immense power. Amidst the army, waves of energy emanated from her, and neither demon soldiers nor generals could withstand her.

Shancha's skill also surprised me, and it was no wonder the Mountain Ghost had sent her with me. Though she carried only a short Miao knife, she moved through the fray, specifically targeting demon generals. In no time, she had already taken down over a dozen.

Seeing me standing still, Shancha grew worried and wanted to come to my aid.

The old patriarch rushed over and stopped her, saying, "Don't move. The Sect Master knows what he is doing."

I had to admit, the old patriarch understood me better than I imagined. Could she even guess my next move? I wondered what kind of relationship she had with the previous Sect Master to have such insight.

Seeing me motionless, Demon Li gave a wicked smile. "Young brat, you give up after only one strike? And you want to lead a rebellion of demon slaves? I will cut you down now!"

His intent to kill was fully manifest.

To end killing with killing—his intent to kill became my own!

As he leaped into the air, fierce and menacing, swinging his heavy maces toward my head to finish me in one blow, I suddenly opened my eyes. The Qingping Sword flashed with green light, the dark patterns of a green lotus appearing on the blade. My sword qi surged, and the true energy within me boiled.

Demon Li's maces came down toward my temples from both sides. In that split second, I slashed outward with both hands, striking his Azure Dragon maces.

Two crisp clangs rang out.

The Azure Dragon maces were severed by my Qingping Sword.

This third strike was the Sword of Absolute Slaughter. My mind was pure, holding only one word: "Kill." I roared, "Die!"

Demon Li's expression changed abruptly; he realized in that moment that he had already lost. He had underestimated me and had been too eager to kill me.

But victory and defeat are decided in a heartbeat. Regret and the desire to flee were already too late.

The killing intent of the Qingping Sword was overwhelming. I thrust forward, piercing through his armor and his protective mirror, driving the blade into his demon heart. I lunged forward, letting go of the hilt so the sword could pass through his chest, then caught it again on the other side. A bloody hole remained where his heart had been.

A spray of demon blood stained the ground.

When I turned back, Demon Li’s eyes were wide with fury, but he collapsed without being able to utter a single word.

His demon heart was destroyed.

Even as a master of the Wutong Demon Palace, he could not survive.

The blood on the Qingping Sword was absorbed into the blade, and his entire essence of malevolent energy was drained in that instant. Looking at the sword in my hand, I felt it was like a bottomless pit, as if no amount of malevolent energy could ever satisfy it.

Looking at it, it suddenly felt like an old friend. I couldn't help but whisper, "In that case, let's kill Mo Kui and Mo Xin together next."

Whether I was speaking to the sword or myself, I did not know.

With Demon Li dead, the demon soldiers and generals fell into chaos.

I sheathed the Qingping Sword and felt the true energy within me. It was abundant and full of vitality.

The Ice Silkworm had given me more than just ten years of non-stop cultivation; its effects were enough to sustain my use of the Sword of Absolute Slaughter without depleting my life force—it had far exceeded my expectations.

The old patriarch and Shancha, leading the Phoenix clan, had together slain twenty-three demon generals, and the number of dead demon soldiers was countless.

Having suffered heavy losses and lost a palace master, their morale collapsed, and they dared not fight further. They retreated into the defensive formation of the Wutong Demon Palace.

Demon Li's body was carried away in a panic by his soldiers.

Shancha asked, "Could that Demon Li be resurrected?"

As long as the demon heart remained intact, a demon could be resurrected. Shancha had been busy killing generals and hadn't seen what I had done.

Inside the Wutong Demon Palace, the soldiers brought back Demon Li's corpse. Seeing the scene, Mo Kui and Mo Xin immediately stood up, their faces pale with shock. Mo Kui asked, "What happened?"

They leaped down from their platforms. Before the guard could answer, Mo Xin checked Demon Li's condition. After a brief examination, his face darkened further.

"Big Brother, Third Brother... his demon heart is gone!" Mo Xin said, clenching his fists.

In truth, when Mo Kui saw the hole in Demon Li's chest, he had already anticipated this. He simply couldn't believe that among the demon slaves, there was someone capable of killing Demon Li.

"Who did this?" Mo Kui asked, his voice cold.

"It was a young lad wielding the Qingping Sword," the guard replied.