Lin Zhao had just ridden his horse halfway up the mountain when a bell rang in his ear, signaling he wouldn't be able to descend —
"Ding!"
System prompt: Attention, a Super Boss is about to sneak attack the Snow Domain Heavenly Pond camp, sneak attack countdown: 00:10:00!
...
"Super Boss?"
Lin Zhao's expression tightened. He immediately turned his horse around and galloped straight up to Snow Domain Heavenly Pond. At the summit, he shouted, "Xiang Ji, return to camp! A Great Demon of the Upper Five Realms is about to ascend the mountain!"
"Understood!"
Xiang Ji drew his sword and turned, soaring with the wind to return to the camp with Lin Zhao.
Inside the camp, Lin Zhao quickly inspected the five demon-suppressing crossbows and the five bronze beasts. The one coming was definitely an Upper Five Realms cultivator, at least at the eleventh realm. If they couldn't utilize the Mo Family's mechanisms perfectly, it would be very difficult for him and Xiang Ji to defeat the Great Demon of the Return to Truth realm. Even then, it would still be a precarious fight.
"Lord Xiang Ji."
Lin Zhao stood atop the city wall, looking north with a frown. "If we can't win later, you run. Save who you can. It doesn't matter if I get killed once. Truly, I'm a player and have a rebirth mark. Dying a few times is fine. You'll be finished if you die once."
Xiang Ji didn't quite understand what he meant, but he nodded, "To speak of defeat before battle is not good. That's not the style of your White Clothes sect. Let's think about how to defeat the enemy later."
"Alright."
Lin Zhao nodded gently, taking a deep breath. "When the opponent truly arrives, you don't go out first. Let me. I'll use the demon-suppressing crossbows and bronze beasts to stall him, and try to lure him to the ground. Once this Great Demon lands, I'll use my methods to restrain him. At that time, Xiang Ji, you must unleash your full strength. No one says a ninth-realm martial artist can't kill an eleventh-realm Great Demon, right? As long as we plan well enough, we will have a chance."
"Precisely!"
Xiang Ji clenched his fist, his face filled with fighting spirit. "I'll listen to you. When you tell me to punch, I'll punch. When you tell me to hide, I'll hide."
"Good!"
...
Not long after, a figure strode up the snowy mountain. It was Nie Kui. He wore a grey robe and carried a three-sectioned spear on his back. He approached the camp step by step. As soon as he entered within a hundred meters of the camp, his demonic aura surged, causing Lin Zhao, standing on the city wall, to stagger. This Great Demon was too powerful. Its preemptive pressure was already making it hard for him to breathe.
"Tsk tsk..."
Nie Kui looked up at the young sword cultivator on the low city wall and chuckled, "Your ambition is commendable, but you are foolish. A mere cultivator of the Lower Five Realms, do you truly believe you can kill me, an Upper Five Realms cultivator?"
"I want to try!"
Lin Zhao raised his hand and drew his Thunderclap Sword. Lightning crackled along the blade. He pointed it directly at Nie Kui and said with a faint smile, "So what if you're Upper Five Realms? You'll still die when it's time to die."
"You? You dare say such a thing?"
Nie Kui's lips curved upwards. He suddenly lunged, instantly covering a hundred meters and reaching outside the city. As a bronze beast raised its head to bite him fiercely, Nie Kui gently opened his hand and pressed down on its head. With a "bang," he shoved it into the snow, instantly reducing the entire head of one bronze beast into a mangled mess.
Lin Zhao frowned. While he felt heartache, he also saw Nie Kui's specific attributes. He was indeed Upper Five Realms, and even above the Flowing Gold grade.
【Nie Kui】(Earth-grade boss)
Level: 100
Attack: ???
Defense: ???
HP: ???
Skills: ???
Description: Nie Kui, a Great Demon of the Return to Truth realm, was a catfish demon from a great river deep within the demon ancestral land. After cultivating successfully, it broke through to become an eleventh-realm Great Demon. Nie Kui excels in water-elemental techniques and wields a three-sectioned spear, ruling the rivers, lakes, and seas of the north with formidable power. If you encounter it, remember to escape by land immediately to increase your chances of survival.
...
Eleventh realm, level 100 Earth-grade boss. This was troublesome!
Lin Zhao furrowed his brow. All eight sub-major cities of the national server were now open, but the highest-level bosses spawned on the large map were still Flowing Gold grade. It seemed Flowing Gold grade was the current ceiling of the version. No matter how high-level the map, the final boss was always Flowing Gold grade. Players simply couldn't find any trace of the "Earth grade" bosses, the next level after Flowing Gold. Now he had encountered one. It was a pity it was eleventh realm; there was no hope of dropping even one or two "Earth artifacts."
In this version, Earth artifacts were divine artifacts. There was nothing more to say about that.
"Attack!"
Lin Zhao pointed his sword blade, and the other two bronze beasts immediately charged. Simultaneously, the five demon-suppressing crossbows positioned high up in the city fired almost in unison. Five massive crossbow bolts whizzed out and shot towards Nie Kui below the city.
"Tricks of a mere child, truly laughable!"
Nie Kui roared with laughter, finding it amusing. He decided to play along. He gently raised his right hand, and with a "clang," he drew out his three-sectioned spear. He flicked his wrist, and the three sections connected, forming a gleaming silver, formidable long spear. He spun his right hand, and the spear rotated into an umbrella-like canopy, "clang clang clang," deflecting all five crossbow bolts. At the same time, Nie Kui swiftly kicked out, "peng peng" twice, sending the two bronze beasts flying.
With a deafening crash, the two bronze beasts smashed through the city wall and fell into the camp. After taking a kick from the eleventh-realm Great Demon, they were in tatters, looking like scrap metal. It was unclear if they could be repaired.
Nie Kui was having fun but hadn't guarded against the young sword cultivator who was no longer on the city wall.
"Whoosh!"
A sword aura enveloped Nie Kui's head.
"Huh?"
Nie Kui looked up and sneered, "Tricks of a mere child, what can you do to me?"
The next moment, driven by the impact of the sword aura, Lin Zhao was propelled forward by an invisible force, crashing towards Nie Kui. But Nie Kui, as an Upper Five Realms, Earth-grade boss, was indeed extraordinary in every way. He swept his spear horizontally, directly repelling Lin Zhao to within three meters. The moment the three-sectioned spear swept across his Dragon-Scale Armor, a crack appeared on his chestplate, and blood splattered!
"20082!"
A massive damage number popped up. Lin Zhao almost suffocated. Was this the damage of an Earth-grade boss? It was too unreasonable! It was practically a two-hit kill!
So, Lin Zhao didn't even dare to think. He took a step forward, entering within two yards, and then a surging sword light erupted from the ground.
Rising Dragon Slash!
"Xiang Ji, punch!"
The moment Lin Zhao unleashed Rising Dragon Slash, he ordered Xiang Ji to attack. He was quite confident in the hit rate of Rising Dragon Slash. As expected, Rising Dragon Slash didn't disappoint him. The next second, the body of the Great Demon Nie Kui of the Return to Truth realm was lightly sent flying about a meter into the air. As Lin Zhao quickly unleashed Qian Kun Yi Zhi, Heng Sao Qian Jun, and Zhong Zhan, Xiang Ji's heavy punch also descended from the sky, directly smashing onto Nie Kui's head. But what Xiang Ji couldn't imagine was how incredibly hard Nie Kui's head was, harder than granite. As his fist landed, golden ripples even spread out, dissipating much of the force for Nie Kui.
Catfish heads are really hard!
"Continue!"
Lin Zhao watched the hit-stun effect of Rising Dragon Slash tick down, ordering Xiang Ji to continue punching while he began accumulating Qi Chong Dou Niu. The next moment, Xiang Ji landed two more heavy punches on the same spot on Nie Kui's forehead. This time, Nie Kui's head buzzed. The fists of a ninth-realm martial artist were already quite formidable. Not to mention the eleventh realm, even the thirteenth realm couldn't stand there and take hits like this!
"You two!"
Nie Kui was enraged. Xiang Ji's punches weren't causing too much damage, but they were extremely insulting. His face contorted with anger. The Upper Five Realms power within him surged, about to retaliate. But just as the hit-stun effect of Rising Dragon Slash ended, Lin Zhao unleashed a powerful charging sword strike. With a "peng," Nie Kui's body was sent flying horizontally.
"Xiang Ji! Keep up and keep punching!"
Lin Zhao dashed towards the boss, ordering Xiang Ji to punch as well.
As a ninth-realm martial artist, Xiang Ji's speed far surpassed Lin Zhao's. He turned into an afterimage and kept up, landing three more punches on Nie Kui's forehead. Then, while Nie Kui was in a 0.5-second stun, Xiang Ji landed five consecutive punches. He truly lived up to his reputation as a ninth-realm martial artist, punching fast and hard, making Nie Kui dizzy and question his existence.
"Go!"
The moment Lin Zhao arrived, he ordered Xiang Ji to retreat. At the same time, he unleashed a sword aura cage that enveloped Nie Kui. Instantly, countless sword auras ravaged the area. Nie Kui's HP bar showed a slight depletion, but killing him was almost impossible. Lin Zhao's current objective was for this Great Demon to retreat.
In the wind, crossbow bolts fired by the demon-suppressing crossbows pierced through the sword aura cage and "thwack thwack thwack" landed on Nie Kui's body. This made the Upper Five Realms Great Demon feel immense humiliation. One crossbow bolt even penetrated his skin, splattering golden blood. This was unacceptable! The blood of an Upper Five Realms cultivator was very precious.
"You two scoundrels!"
Nie Kui roared. His Upper Five Realms pressure was fully unleashed, and he moved like lightning to Lin Zhao's front, kicking him away like a meteor. At the same time, he threw his three-sectioned spear, instantly pulverizing one demon-suppressing crossbow. Then, Nie Kui leaped up, one punch after another, smashing all four remaining demon-suppressing crossbows. Although these demon-suppressing crossbows had protective runes, against an Upper Five Realms cultivator, they were practically useless.
"Die!"
Nie Kui gripped his long spear and hurled it again. The blade of the three-sectioned spear carried a cold glint, heading straight for Lin Zhao's chest.
"Too far..."
In the wind, a landscape of mountains and rivers flowed, and Su Shanjun's figure appeared. With a single sword strike, he effortlessly deflected the tip of Nie Kui's spear. But then, he was heavily kicked by Nie Kui, forced to retreat repeatedly, his golden body even becoming somewhat unstable.
"Why are you meddling!?"
Nie Kui sneered, leaped into the air, and slammed a palm from above towards Lin Zhao: "This palm will turn you to dust!"
Lin Zhao gritted his teeth and dove down, activating his protective sword aura, hoping to withstand this ultimate move!
But just then, a ball of green mist suddenly appeared between Lin Zhao and Nie Kui, taking the palm strike for him. The next second, the mist was dispersed by the palm, and Han Buyu's body was kicked away like a cannonball by Nie Kui.
Neither Su Shanjun nor Master Yun Han Buyu were a match for the Upper Five Realms Nie Kui.
...
"Your turn!"
Nie Kui brandished his three-sectioned spear, instantly creating three illusory figures in the air. The spear blades gleamed with a cold light, heading straight for Lin Zhao. Lin Zhao's heart turned cold. He couldn't fight anymore; he was going to die here. He decisively activated the five-second invincibility skill of his Qionghua Armor and roared, "Xiang Ji, descend south and escape the mountain! I'll rendezvous with you later!"
"Take care of yourself first!"
Nie Kui roared with a sinister laugh. Streaks of light from the three-sectioned spear rained down, quickly depleting Lin Zhao's HP. Facing the Upper Five Realms, the invincibility skill could only prevent him from dying but not from taking any damage. It seemed the Upper Five Realms could break through game rules on some level. Five seconds later, Lin Zhao was heavily stomped onto a giant rock. Nie Kui laughed heartily and thrust his three-sectioned spear straight towards his throat.
"It's over!"
Lin Zhao's brows furrowed tightly, bracing for death!
...
However, at that very moment, a figure appeared in front of him. Holding a sword in his left hand, with a "clang," he casually blocked Nie Kui's spear. His long hair fluttered beneath his hair bun, and the empty sleeve of his right arm also swayed gently.