To an unfamiliar continent. The more powerful the demons, the greater their intelligence. Generally speaking, demons whose life force rivaled that of a Bagua Heavenly Master already understood how to utilize the terrain and their own strengths against enemies, and they also knew basic encirclement tactics.

Demons with life forces comparable to the Nine Palaces Heavenly Realm almost universally evolved to resemble humans—a peculiar trait. The more powerful the demon, the leaner its physique became, growing increasingly human-like.

Perhaps the human form, with its four limbs and intellect, represented the ultimate goal longed for by the demons. Those demons that bore striking resemblances to humans were often both powerful and intelligent.

On this strange continent, there were nearly a hundred demons possessing life forces equivalent to Nine Palaces Heavenly Masters—a number tens of times greater than what existed on the Five Elements Continent.

However, when the Origin Poison engaged these demons in combat, it discovered that while their life forces might match those of a Seven Star or Bagua Heavenly Master, the actual combat strength of these demons was not necessarily superior to Heavenly Masters of equivalent vitality.

This was because, although these demons could utilize the demonic fur of this continent, their mastery over the use of demonic energy was severely lacking. They could not unleash their power in the diverse ways that Heavenly Masters could, failing to form mature techniques or varied secret arts.

The Heavenly Masters of the Five Elements Continent had spent generations, over countless years, deeply researching and refining methods for manipulating Yuan Force, leading to the development of numerous schools of thought and the thorough mastery of various techniques.

But demons were, after all, just demons, with limited wisdom. Those truly as mighty as the serpent-headed one, possessing intelligence rivaling humans, were rare exceptions. Moreover, this exceedingly small fraction of powerful, intelligent demons tended to be fleeting flashes—appearing only for a short time before being exterminated by the first few generations of Xuanyuan dispatched on missions.

Precisely because of this history, the demons failed to develop a mature system for utilizing demonic energy. Any small insights into demonic energy application gleaned by earlier demons vanished along with the deaths of those more powerful entities.

The Origin Poison recognized this inherent weakness in the demons. Utilizing this knowledge over this period, it skillfully guided Ji Changkong to evade relentless pursuit, even managing to poison and eliminate some lower-level demons, thereby preserving Ji Changkong’s life.

"Kongkong, are you truly confident? Should we wait a little longer? I can sense that this wave only includes five demons with life forces as formidable as a Nine Palaces Heavenly Master. While it might be slightly riskier, I believe I can handle them. Kongkong, are you certain you must engage right now?" The Origin Poison noticed the peculiar expression on Ji Changkong's face and couldn't help but inquire.

Ji Changkong’s complexion truly was unsettling. Before the major battle commenced, sweat beaded on his forehead, his face was somewhat pale, and his body trembled slightly—a stark contrast to his usual demeanor.

"N-no," Ji Changkong managed, "It’s not what you think. The Star Essences stored in those acupoints haven't been fully refined yet. Drawing upon their power simply causes a degree of pain."

Ji Changkong’s forehead glistened with perspiration as he gritted his teeth to explain.

It was far more than mere pain; it was an agony that pierced the very marrow of his bones!

The Star Essences he had stored within his body's acupoints remained harmless when dormant, causing no adverse effects to the points. However, the moment he intended to mobilize them, those Star Essences—shrunken down tens of thousands of times—would churn within his acupoints like needles of steel.

Imagine the sensation of steel needles stabbing wildly inside over two hundred acupoints simultaneously. Such exquisite suffering! That Ji Changkong did not collapse in agony was a testament to his astonishing endurance.

"Is it truly impossible to proceed without using the power of the acupoints?" The Origin Poison asked, watching Ji Changkong writhe in distress.

Shaking his head, Ji Changkong managed a strained, wry smile. "On this foreign continent, there is no Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi available. I have entirely depleted the Yuan Stones in my Mustard Seed Pouch. Any internal energy expended is gone forever. I must draw upon the Star Essences within my body to gather the corresponding stellar power from the heavens at the fastest possible rate. It might be agonizing, but it is the swiftest path to power acquisition."

He had spent considerable mental and Yuan energy in previous cultivation, leaving him far from his peak condition. He needed the power of the stars to recover.

Fortunately, Ji Changkong had practiced the Limit Body Tempering Great Art for many years. This art was a bizarre, self-destructive secret technique. Ever since he began practicing it, while his progress was meteoric, he had repeatedly endured suffering unimaginable to others, constantly hovering on the edge of life and death.

It was precisely this capacity to withstand pain that others deemed unbearable that forged Ji Changkong's nerves into an unbreakable steel, enabling him to endure almost any agony.

A different person, subjected to such violent, simultaneous pain across more than two hundred acupoints, would likely have fainted immediately, unable to maintain consciousness, let alone continue. But Ji Changkong bore it all, relying on his tenacious resolve to push through.

Under the gaze of the Origin Poison, Ji Changkong, dripping with cold sweat and trembling, felt his aura rapidly intensify. Tiny specks of starlight, visible to the naked eye, descended from the vast expanse of the heavens, plunging into Ji Changkong’s body and vanishing. Under the influx of this stellar power, though he still shivered, his pale complexion gradually regained its color.

Suddenly, five demons, bearing some resemblance to humans, appeared one after another. These five possessed life forces as potent as Nine Palaces Heavenly Masters. Trailing behind them were hundreds more demons, none of whom were easy adversaries, each brimming with vigorous life energy.

Ji Changkong, still shaking, let out a chilling surge of killing intent from his eyes. In an instant, the World-Destroying Gauntlet encased his left arm. The Ji Changkong who moments before was covered in cold sweat suddenly charged forward.

Faint, ethereal beams of starlight emerged from over two hundred acupoints across his body. These star projections, about a foot long and as thick as a finger, made Ji Changkong resemble a porcupine momentarily.

The first demon, covered in scales like a fish, charged with a roar. This creature had a triangular head, stood two meters tall, and its body was coated in a yellowish, viscous fluid. As it approached, its eyes shot out arcs of black lightning condensed from demonic energy. The black arcs sliced through the air like a wide curve, targeting Ji Changkong's eyes, with which they were locked in confrontation.

Simultaneously, the fish-like demon extended its four scaled arms to claw at Ji Changkong.

With a harsh "Cold!" and a grimace, Ji Changkong endured the internal agony. Wielding the Dragon's Glory Long Blade in one hand and the World-Destroying Gauntlet in the other, he engaged the piscine demon head-on. When confronting the demons of this strange continent, he often found them surprisingly fearful of the Dragon's Glory Long Blade, despite their formidable physical might.

Perhaps the scene of previous generations of Xuanyuan wielding the Dragon's Glory Long Blade to slay the demons of this continent was etched too deeply into their soul imprints—a memory preserved forever in the very essence of their demonic lives.

The Dragon's Glory Long Blade flashed, and streams of bloody light erupted outwards. The long black arc of demonic lightning aimed at Ji Changkong’s eyes was instantly scattered by the blood light, its attached power vanishing without a trace.

Lifting the World-Destroying Gauntlet, Ji Changkong unleashed the sound of rolling heavenly thunder. The rarely used Heavenly Thunder Force, channeled through the Gauntlet, manifested as massive, churning grindstones of cyan lightning, which slammed into the fish-like demon.

With a world-shaking explosion, the scaled demon was instantly blasted into a scorched black husk, billowing smoke.

Ji Changkong froze for a moment, glancing at the World-Destroying Gauntlet on his left hand, then at the demon now reduced to charcoal. He suddenly burst into hearty laughter. "It seems this heavenly thunder possesses immense destructive power against demons!"

Saying this, Ji Changkong used the Dragon's Glory Long Blade far less, relying solely on the World-Destroying Gauntlet as the medium to unleash the Heavenly Thunder Force to its utmost. He condensed immense cyan bolts of heavenly thunder around himself, causing them to hover, forming a web of lightning.

"Huh!"

He exclaimed again, examining the cyan bolts of heavenly thunder closely. Inside, thunder roared, and electric light shimmered on the surface. Furthermore, within each cyan thunderclap, there were over two hundred tiny, glittering points flashing intermittently.

This discovery genuinely astonished Ji Changkong. He stared blankly at the small dots within the cyan thunder for a moment before his face contorted in shock.

Two hundred and thirty-seven small dots! Not one more, not one less!

Every grindstone-sized cyan thunderclap contained exactly two hundred and thirty-seven small dots—the precise number of acupoints in his body that stored Star Essence!

Staring intently at the two hundred and thirty-seven dots within the cyan thunder, he clearly sensed the stellar power within those points. Moreover, as the cyan thunder rotated, the two hundred and thirty-seven dots also altered their trajectories.

Vaguely, they seemed to mimic the pattern of his nebula-shaped Divine Soul! This was an astonishing realization!

It was already miraculous that two hundred and thirty-seven dots manifested within the cyan thunder, but the fact that these dots were operating according to the trajectory of the Star Nebula Soul Refining Art far exceeded his expectations.

The wonder didn't end there!

While he was reeling from the shock, stellar energy from the heavens continued to pour into his body, making the internal stellar power increasingly potent—like an arrow nocked and ready. Ji Changkong began using this energy to condense more cyan thunder.

One after another, the cyan thunderclaps materialized, each containing two hundred and thirty-seven dots, corresponding exactly to the Star Essence stored in his two hundred and thirty-seven acupoints.

Gradually, more and more cyan thunderclouds appeared beside him. Though they varied in size, they all shared the same characteristics: the power of lightning, and within the thunder, two hundred and thirty-seven points of stellar energy.

The peculiarities did not cease.

Finally, Ji Changkong noticed that his left World-Destroying Gauntlet stopped releasing cyan thunder. At this moment, Ji Changkong realized an even more astonishing fact!

Unbeknownst to him, exactly two hundred and thirty-seven cyan thunderclaps now encircled him—no more, no less!

Each of the two hundred and thirty-seven cyan thunderclaps contained two hundred and thirty-seven pinpoints of starlight, matching the two hundred and thirty-seven acupoints holding Star Essence within his body.

What did this imply? Was there some profound, hidden cosmic rule at play?

Ji Changkong was stunned, feeling a sense of unreality.

Calm down. He had to be calm. Why were there two hundred and thirty-seven points of starlight in each of the two hundred and thirty-seven cyan thunderclaps? Why did those star points appear to trace paths according to the Star Nebula Soul Refining Art?

Star Nebula Soul Refining Art! Star Nebula Soul Refining Art!

As if touching upon some arcane universal truth, his soul suddenly assumed a nebula shape and began revolving according to the trajectories dictated by the Star Nebula Soul Refining Art.

A marvelous transformation occurred again!

As if heavenly fire activated earthly fire, as his nebula-shaped soul began to slowly cycle according to the patterns of the Star Nebula Soul Refining Art, the two hundred and thirty-seven cyan thunderclaps hovering motionlessly beside him suddenly stirred!

Not only did they move, but the two hundred and thirty-seven cyan thunderclaps—and the two hundred and thirty-seven starlight points within them—began to rotate in concert, following the orbital path of the Star Nebula Soul Refining Art!

A sudden, profound sense of soul resonance washed over him.

With a mere thought, a desire to annihilate the surrounding demons surged within Ji Changkong’s soul. The moment this thought arose, everything moved beyond his conscious control.

Those two hundred and thirty-seven cyan thunderclaps seemed to spring to life. They flew outward simultaneously, expanding their area of effect to engulf the surrounding demons that had been lurking watchfully.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

This unfamiliar continent seemed to become the epicenter of a vast lightning storm, the sound of endless thunder rolling continuously. Every demon pulled into the field of lightning was utterly pulverized, regardless of how mighty its life force.

In mere moments, the demons, renowned for their extreme physical toughness, were reduced to scorched chunks of flesh.

Even the five terrifying demons possessing life forces comparable to Nine Palaces Heavenly Masters were blasted into char under the seemingly unending barrage of thunder. As the explosions persisted, the life force of those five mighty demons was steadily drained, their demonic energy completely dispersed into the ether, and their bodies turned into black, pulpy residue.

The torrential lightning storm had not yet ceased, but within a hundred li radius around Ji Changkong, there was not a single living creature left, save for the Origin Poison.

All the demons that had launched the assault were annihilated into dust within that brief span of time.

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