On a strange continent teeming with demonic energy, Ji Changkong, Qu Zhi, and the Source Poison stood together, coldly watching the approaching horde of fiends.
Ji Changkong’s expression was grave, devoid of the ease he usually displayed; he even appeared somewhat troubled.
This was due to two unforeseen developments: first, these demons had somehow learned to twist space, preventing him from using the Illusory Void Realm for spatial displacement; and second, the sheer number of arriving demons was overwhelming, as if the entire continent’s fiends had converged here.
The approaching demons were not only numerous, but nearly all the powerful experts had actively joined the fray. Based on Ji Changkong’s soul perception, the formidable fiends usually stationed at the great peak’s mouth had all rushed over, including the most powerful one, the serpent-headed fiend.
This sudden shift completely disrupted Ji Changkong’s original plan.
He had initially intended to clear the demons slowly, but now knew he had to eliminate them all in one decisive engagement. When the demons first appeared, he wasn't overly concerned, believing he could use the Illusory Void Realm to constantly shift the battlefield. However, realizing spatial displacement was impossible due to the spatial distortions, he understood this encounter would be exceedingly troublesome.
These demons were clearly organized, gathered from all directions under the leadership of the foremost serpent-headed fiend leader.
Perhaps the fiend leader realized that sending demons one by one was just sending them to their deaths and serving no real purpose. Therefore, the leader had made a grim resolution: to emerge from the great peak's mouth—where demonic energy churned—and bring every single powerful demon expert with him.
It was an all-or-nothing gamble.
“Troublesome,” remarked the Source Poison.
Nodding, Ji Changkong managed a bitter smile. “Indeed, rather troublesome. I only hope we can clear all of these fiends.”
Even as he spoke, Ji Changkong felt uncertain. Individually, the demons’ attack power wasn't that high. He was confident that if he went all out, none of these fiends, save for the serpent-headed leader, would escape his grasp.
Even the other demons, whose vitality rivaled that of Nine Palaces Celestial Soldiers, he believed he could slay one or two in a short time, perhaps even five at once, if he exerted his utmost effort!
However, the sheer quantity of demons here was staggering, making him dizzy. Fiends blanketed the mountains and fields, occupying every corner. Just those with vitality comparable to Nine Palaces Celestial Soldiers numbered nearly a hundred, and those matching the vitality of Eight Trigrams Celestial Soldiers numbered in the thousands!
Hundreds of thousands of demons densely packed the area, surrounding them. The forefront was composed of the most powerful fiends—it was truly an ocean of demons. Without the means of spatial displacement, the mere thought of eliminating such a massive number of fiends made one’s scalp tingle.
The fiend leader finally appeared. The serpent-headed leader, protected by a phalanx of demons whose vitality matched Nine Palaces Celestial Soldiers, approached the three of them.
The leader clearly paid no mind to Po Ke, glancing only once at Dick before fixing its gaze on Ji Changkong. Without preamble, it went straight to the point: “Join forces with me to open the passage. You can gain the power of the Four Sacred Beasts and break through to the Ten Directions Celestial Realm. I offer you one last chance.”
“No need to consider it. I cannot be a sinner to the Five Elements Continent by letting you enter, causing widespread devastation where not a single human life will survive,” Ji Changkong refused flatly.
The Five Elements Continent already harbored the Demon King, along with vile figures like You Lan and Tian Wu Wang. Perhaps since he had been dragged into the tunnel, even powerful experts from the Demonic Lands might invade. The continent was already chaotic; adding these demons would surely lead to instant collapse.
He absolutely would not allow the demons entry into the Five Elements Continent!
“A Demon King-level fiend, quite formidable!” Dick suddenly interjected.
The fiend leader still did not look at Dick, simply staring at Ji Changkong for a moment before finally stating, “Since you remain stubborn, I can only kill you. Though it will take longer, the outcome will be the same. Once you are dead and no one disrupts me, in ten years, I will surely gather enough power to shatter that barrier. Then, your Five Elements Continent and the Four Sacred Beasts will face only a dead end!”
“Then I certainly cannot give you that chance,” Ji Changkong laughed, drawing out the Dragon Glory Saber and donning the World-Ending Gauntlets from the Tian Yuan Pearl.
As the Tian Yuan Pearl flew out from Ji Changkong’s body, Dick’s face filled with astonishment. “The Tian Yuan Pearl!”
Just as Ji Changkong prepared to strike the fiend leader, Dick’s exclamation startled him. “You know the Tian Yuan Pearl?”
Dick nodded, then urged, “We can discuss that later. Let’s deal with these troubles first.”
Indeed, at that moment, spurred by the fiend leader, the dense mass of demons had already charged forward, surging in like a tide.
Plants were trampled and distorted under the demons’ assault. Gray dust billowed into the sky. Giant fiends soared overhead, their gaping maws dripping with viscous, sickening fluid as they descended to hunt Ji Changkong.
Above, below, and from all directions, demons swarmed. Moreover, vast amounts of worldly Demonic Qi erupted from the earth, resembling endless darkness that enveloped the entire area.
“Demon King-level fiends can communicate with the Ancestral Demon. He can utilize the Ancestral Demon’s power from beneath the earth. Although the Ancestral Demon cannot directly fight, it can alter the terrain and surge forth ample Demonic Qi for these fiends to use. Be careful; that Qi is also highly potent!”
Though Dick had only just encountered these demons, he seemed to know more about them than Ji Changkong. The moment the Demonic Qi surged from the ground, Po Ke immediately warned Ji Changkong.
Ji Changkong had no time to reply to Po Ke, as the densely packed demons had designated him as their primary target. Layers upon layers of fiends surrounded him completely, giving him no opportunity to speak.
All his energy was consumed dealing with the onslaught. The Dragon Glory Saber weaved into massive nets of blood, churning within intense scarlet waves, transforming into colossal blood dragons that tore incoming fiends to shreds.
The World-Ending Gauntlets erupted, executing the Nine Layers Crashing Waves almost instantaneously. Amidst the thunderous roar, the power of the nine waves shot out, blasting attacking demons into dust, their souls fleeing heavenward.
The Source Poison was also fully focused. He did not immediately deploy his toxins but stared intently at the suspended Tian Yuan Pearl, watching it hover in the sky, seeking to devour the escaping souls.
Dick, who had been entirely overlooked by the fiend leader, suddenly displayed astonishing power on this battlefield!
Dazzling starlight erupted from the scales covering Dick’s body. Beams of starlight, as thick as an arm, shot out from hundreds of scales across his form, piercing the surroundings.
Any demon struck by this starlight, no matter how physically tough, was immediately pierced through.
In that brief span, hundreds of powerful demons were annihilated by the widespread starlight from Po Ke’s body, their souls soaring up to become essence within the Tian Yuan Pearl.
The Tian Yuan Pearl hung in the air, drawing in the souls of the demons. The World-Ending Gauntlets, covering Ji Changkong’s arms, were slightly less potent due to receiving less energy from the Tian Yuan Pearl, but they were still more than capable of handling demons of lesser strength.
With the Dragon Glory Saber in one hand and the World-Ending Gauntlets in the other, Ji Changkong unleashed continuous, fierce attacks. Under this relentless assault, fiend after fiend was slain, their souls absorbed by the Tian Yuan Pearl.
Dick also acted as a killing machine; wherever the starlight from his scales shot, a demon’s body was pierced, resulting in instant death.
Many demons, surviving the less concentrated bursts of starlight, managed to reach Dick. However, these extremely powerful attackers, lunging and biting with all their might, could not tear even a shred of flesh from Dick’s body.
All manner of attacks striking Dick’s scales resulted only in metallic clangs. Dick remained unharmed.
Even a powerful fiend with vitality matching a Nine Palaces Celestial Soldier struck Dick’s shoulder with massive claws, failing to shatter the scales there. But with a fierce shove from Po Ke, the fiend burst apart amidst a shower of shining starlight.
Dick’s might was indeed as formidable as Ji Changkong had expected. Even the fiend leader, who had initially targeted Ji Changkong, recognized the terror that Dick presented.
The serpent-headed fiend leader hesitated briefly between Ji Changkong and Po Ke, then surprisingly chose to engage Dick first, abandoning Ji Changkong.
In its view, perhaps Dick posed the greater immediate threat.
The fiend leader possessed the formidable strength of a Demon King, making it the most powerful fiend on this strange continent.
Like Dick, the leader’s body was as hard as iron, covered in thousands of layers of dense Demonic Qi that shielded it from various attacks.
The beams of light from Dick’s starlight striking the fiend leader vanished instantly, as if falling into a deep black hole.
The fiend leader, beyond showing a flicker of pain on its face, suffered no further significant damage; the starlight did not pierce its body.
After all, it was the fiend leader; it was vastly more powerful than ordinary demons!
Under Po Ke’s relentless beams of light, the fiend leader closed the distance, and the two flesh-and-blood titans immediately locked in brutal combat. Amidst earth-shattering collisions, these two aberrations exchanged thousands of blows in an instant.
The fiend leader and Po Ke seemed evenly matched. The leader could not break through Dick’s scaly armor, and Po Ke’s starlight could not penetrate the thousand layers of Demonic Qi defending the fiend leader.
As they clashed violently, the Demonic Qi and starlight radiating from their bodies were rapidly depleted. Both were celestial energies, possessing immense power despite their differing forms.
The fierce engagement meant that both were caught in a dangerous war of attrition. Their attacks required their respective energies, and their formidable defenses also demanded significant reservoirs of starlight and Demonic Qi.
Whichever one’s power was exhausted first would face utter disaster. Those who ran out of strength first would meet a miserable end, as their mastery over soul energy was meager. Once their physical defenses were gone, their souls would become vulnerable to instant destruction. Therefore, if their physical barriers were breached, their souls could not escape and would be utterly annihilated.
Ji Changkong wished he could aid Po Ke, but the remaining hundreds of thousands of demons had already tightly surrounded him, leaving him no chance to break free.
Hundreds of thousands of demons, nearly a hundred possessing the vitality of Nine Palaces Celestial Soldiers, and thousands more with the powerful vitality of Eight Trigrams Celestial Soldiers—such numbers were enough to completely drown him.
The Source Poison also began to fight. Fiends were paralyzed and killed under his toxins, and his efficiency was extremely high; whenever he unleashed his poisons, demons died in droves.
Unfortunately, the sheer number—hundreds of thousands—was too great. Even working at full capacity, they had only managed to kill just over ten thousand demons combined.
There were hundreds of thousands of demons! At this rate, they needed to kill scores of times more.
Furthermore, the demons who survived longer would be the stronger ones. This massive numerical advantage could simply wear down all their strength!
“Kongkong, I have already expended sixty percent of my power; I cannot hold out much longer. How about you?” the Source Poison asked anxiously from Ji Changkong’s shoulder.
“I’ve used forty percent. I can last a while longer, but at most, I can kill another twenty thousand demons before my strength is completely gone,” Ji Changkong replied with a wry smile.
“Kongkong, unleash that miraculous power you used last time. Only power with such a wide area of effect can allow us to escape this encirclement; otherwise, we will be worn down to death,” the Source Poison urged.
“I want to, but after that last time, I've cultivated for so long and still haven't managed to grasp that profound mystery. I’ve tried hundreds of times, but it won't work,” Ji Changkong shook his head helplessly.
“Try one more time. This is our only option. If you cannot achieve it, we have no choice but death.”
“Alright, I’ll try one more time.”