The tributary of Kusong River.
A figure in a red shirt flashed by the riverbank. It was Cao Ying, the Pavilion Master of the Embroidered Guard of the Great Shang Dynasty. At this moment, Cao Ying was completely unaware that Huang Qingning, who had descended west with her, had already escaped the Ghost Realm. She was flying in the air, controlling a flying sword, and her sword continuously struck out, severing the water transport paths of the tributaries. Although this journey was perilous, Cao Ying understood that it concerned the safety of the entire human realm. Therefore, Cao Ying's swordplay on the Kusong River was all-out.
Suddenly, a figure flashed across the river's reflection.
"Hm?!"
Cao Ying quickly twisted her body and dodged with a surge of sword energy. Instantly, a long spear grazed her neck. When Cao Ying turned around, she saw a great demon cultivator holding a blood-red long spear, at the twelfth realm, looking at her with a ferocious expression. He twisted the spear shaft with his left hand, and the spear vibrated, forming a white vortex and thrusting at her again.
"Buzz!"
Cao Ying's sword light turned cold, and she immediately retaliated. The moment her sword deflected the opponent's spear tip, she closed in for an attack, and simultaneously, two natal flying swords, filled with sharpness, attacked the opponent from both sides.
"Yo~~~"
The twelfth-realm great demon couldn't help but chuckle. He had underestimated this Embroidered Guard Pavilion Master. He held the spear shaft with his right hand, dancing to block streams of sword energy. With his left hand, scales appeared on his arm. He took a flying sword attack from Cao Ying head-on with his elbow, and at the same time, he spread his index and thumb, forcefully pinching Cao Ying's second natal flying sword.
Ultimately, he was a twelfth-realm great demon, stronger than most human twelfth-realm cultivators!
Cao Ying's heart turned cold. She quickly swung her sword upwards, and streams of water-elemental sword energy pierced through the air, forcing the twelfth-realm demon cultivator to release the flying sword, otherwise, he would have to endure a wave of sword energy. As the great demon retreated, a claw-like Dharma image suddenly attacked Cao Ying's back, making her heart chill. There was another twelfth-realm great demon!
Facing one, it was already extremely difficult to fight, and with another twelfth-realm great demon, there was a possibility of being killed.
Cao Ying's gaze turned cold. Without thinking, she leaned back, using her sword to break through the opponent's claw attack. At the same time, she flicked her fingertips, and two small, refined flying swords flew towards the two great demons, exploding in front of them. As the flying sword debris all fell, Cao Ying, still merged into a beam of sword light, flowed downstream to search for Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua. Only by joining forces with these two did she have a sliver of hope for victory. Otherwise, Cao Ying might never have the chance to return to the human realm.
"Chase!"
The two twelfth-realm great demons roared and pursued her together.
...
Another tributary of the Kusong River.
Amidst "puff puff puff" sounds, five natal flying swords passed through, and the twelfth-realm great demon that was already restrained in mid-air by Su Qingjiu's flying sword Willow Catkins was instantly killed, unable to withstand the combined attack of two peak twelfth-realm great sword immortals, let alone without any resistance. After this twelfth-realm demon cultivator was killed, only a dragon head remained under the entanglement of the flying sword Willow Catkins. It was another great demon of the flood dragon species. The demon realm's water transport was prosperous, and there were indeed many flood dragon-like creatures.
The next moment, the six natal flying swords all flew back. Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua stood back-to-back, surveying the group of great demons around them.
"Nine more left."
Su Qingjiu frowned and said with her mind's voice, "Among them, Ning Yuansheng is at the thirteenth realm, and the rest are at the twelfth realm. This is a bit difficult!"
"We are trapped."
Lin Wanhua gritted her teeth and said, "Ning Yuansheng is extremely fast. It's almost impossible for us to escape by controlling our swords. So, we can only kill one more to gain one. Su Qingjiu, your Sword Heart Connecting to the Divine is a heaven-sent means to kill demons. Later, I will use my flying sword Farewell to restrain as many great demons as possible, and you will be responsible for killing. How about it?"
"Understood."
Su Qingjiu's eyes were as clear as water. "I will specifically kill the great demons restrained by the flying sword Willow Catkins. You just need to clear away others around the flying sword Willow Catkins so I can focus on killing demons."
"Alright."
Lin Wanhua smiled faintly. "It's a pity that we can never go back to the human realm."
Su Qingjiu's eyes reddened. "What does it matter if we go back to the human realm or not? It's just a pity that I'll never see Brother Lin Zhao again, and I don't even have a chance to say a proper goodbye."
Tears welled up in Lin Wanhua's eyes, but now was not the time for weakness. She gritted her teeth and said, "Then let's kill a few more great demons, send the news back to the human realm, and don't let your Brother Lin Zhao down."
"En!"
At this moment, Ning Yuansheng suddenly raised the Blood Weeping Fan in his hand and laughed, "Finished talking? Then die!"
As he spoke, the Blood Weeping Fan stirred up a sky full of demonic energy, like a vortex, spanning beneath everyone's feet. Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua felt extremely uncomfortable, their sword intent and sword energy being continuously absorbed by the vortex, their overall strength reduced by at least 20%. This Ning Yuansheng had truly thought of everything, and even with such a strong advantage, he was still being so cautious.
"I am the True Man of Wildfire! Kill them for me!!"
A bony twelfth-realm great demon, with its claws spread wide, pounced forward, with rolling blazing energy behind it. This was a demon cultivated from a Flame Badger. Killing intent filled its eyes. These two were the strongest twelfth-realm sword cultivators of the human race. If they were killed, half of the young generation's sky would collapse.
The other great demons also used their divine abilities one after another and pounced together!
Lin Wanhua clutched a sword intent with her left hand and held her sword Jinghua upside down in her right hand. Instantly, she conjured a constantly rising sword formation restriction, which shattered the divine abilities of many great demons. At this moment, Lin Wanhua held back nothing, bringing out all her cultivation foundation. Her first natal flying sword, Feihua, flew horizontally and directly, forcing a great demon back. Simultaneously, with a thought, the flying sword Farewell appeared behind six great demons, instantly dragging all six of them.
"Now!"
Su Qingjiu exclaimed softly, pointing her sword tip and shaking off a great demon. The flying sword Willow Catkins appeared silently, directly entangling the bony twelfth-realm Flame Badger.
"Be careful!"
Ning Yuansheng roared, "They want to repeat their old trick!"
Two more great demons each unleashed their divine abilities, summoning a rain of fire to attack. But they were dispersed by Su Qingjiu's sword Lingxi. At the same time, Lin Wanhua's sword intent in her hand suddenly shot out, transforming into a sharp sword qi that pierced into the Flame Badger's vital acupoint, breaking through its flame armor Dharma image. Su Qingjiu then controlled the flying swords Baiyu and Qingyu to attack the Flame Badger's vital points from above and below. The moment two streams of blood spurted out, this twelfth-realm Flame Badger, known as "True Man of Wildfire," immediately lost its life force and was almost instantly killed.
Concurrently, a heavy golden palm print from Ning Yuansheng landed on the sword aura behind Su Qingjiu, while Lin Wanhua took a sword and a blade attack. Both of them turned pale. Without any advantage in realm, for them to kill a great demon together, they had to pay a bloody price for each kill.
However, in the blink of an eye, two twelfth-realm cultivators were killed. This was a scene that Ning Yuansheng never expected. Originally, he thought that with 15 twelfth-realm great demon cultivators under his command, he could achieve a complete victory. He hadn't expected them to be so troublesome. The combined strength of Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua, complementing each other's weaknesses, might have surpassed that of an ordinary thirteenth-realm sword cultivator!
From then on, each twelfth-realm great demon fought more cautiously, and no one dared to risk their true form anymore. Ning Yuansheng continuously controlled his divine abilities, resealing the area. Relying on his thirteenth-realm advantage, he continuously wore down Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua's sword intent and spiritual energy. He knew very well that once their sword intent and spiritual energy were depleted, it would be their time to die.
For a time, intense sword light raged across the river, as if the entire world was about to split open. Su Qingjiu and Lin Wanhua's injuries grew, and they were powerless, only able to be slowly consumed.
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away.
A Mohist sword cultivator was slowly walking on the river, dragging his sword. It was Xu Zhan of the Mohist school.
After being ambushed, Xu Zhan's strength was severely damaged. There was little he could do. He could only conserve his remaining strength and walk slowly on the river. Wherever the tip of his sword dragged, the water transport below was annihilated.
Further away.
On the riverbank, sword light flashed. Han Fang, a great sword immortal from Fusang Great Wall, was entangled by a twelfth-realm demon. The two fought fiercely, their exchanges too numerous to determine a winner. However, if either side harbored any thought of retreating, the other would have the opportunity to kill. Han Fang sworded while sweating profusely. He also knew that Lin Wanhua, Su Qingjiu, and others would need reinforcement, but he was unable to split himself. If he wanted to help, he might be killed before he even arrived. The best outcome would probably be a mutual kill. The twelfth-realm great demon in front of him was arrogant and didn't care about his life at all!
The upper reaches of the Kusong River.
Xu Shuo stood on the water, holding a compass, his brows tightly furrowed. In the downstream tributaries, the aura of many human twelfth-realm cultivators was continuously declining, while the demonic energy was extremely dense. He feared the situation was not good, but he was in charge of the overall situation and could not leave. He could only guard here, otherwise, if the water transport continued to flow down from the Xi Jian River, the one underwater might enter the fourteenth realm.
More importantly, something seemed to have happened to the human race as well.
Xu Shuo turned to look east, feeling a sense that his master had descended to the mortal world.
...
East side of Xueyu Tianchi.
"Tsk tsk..."
The Demon King Manyuan, bathed in flames, carried the Sun, Moon, Water, and Fire Cudgel on his shoulder, looking arrogantly at the Mohist Patriarch whose Dharma image reached the sky in the distance. He tilted his head and smiled. "I wonder who it is, but it turns out to be the old Mohist Patriarch. This is not worth watching. Why didn't the most capable God of War come, but instead sent this old man? If I beat your old bones apart, I wouldn't fight for it."
The Mohist Patriarch smiled slightly. "Let's see if you can win first!"
"Die!"
Fury flashed in Manyuan's eyes. He shifted his body and fiercely swung his cudgel at the Mohist Patriarch's head.