Xungong Tian did not hesitate when his whereabouts were exposed; instead of evading, he plunged forward covertly, charging directly toward the strongest of the Shadow Demons.
Seeing that he had made his move, Ji Changkong, who had been observing, feared for his safety and was compelled to intervene ahead of schedule.
However, before acting, he took an extra precaution, quietly deploying the strange heart that housed the Ancient Nine Transformations Grand Array within his body, allowing it to affix itself to the surrounding peaks, ready to take shape instantly should the situation turn dire.
The moment Ji Haotian burst forth, the two warring factions abruptly ceased their engagement.
The Shadow Demon, unified into four heads, displayed four monstrous visages—each distinct yet equally hideous—and a savage expression suddenly twisted across all four faces as they turned their attention wholly onto Ji Haotian.
“Heh heh!” Ji Haotian showed no fear and instead charged straight for it. As he advanced, nine demonic dragons suddenly erupted from his waist, each baring its fangs and claws, manifesting an appearance of unbridled ferocity. The tails of these nine dragons were tethered to Ji Haotian’s body, making him appear far more monstrous than the Shadow Demon or the formidable Zak race experts from a distance.
The strongest Shadow Demon, unified into four heads, emitted a low, indistinct growl, like an enraged beast, and simultaneously thrust out four additional arms from beneath its armpits. These limbs immediately elongated, reaching out to snatch at the charging demonic dragons.
With edges as sharp as devastating claws, the tips of these four arms grew longer, resembling five or six-meter-long daggers glittering with cold light.
The first demonic dragon to impact was intercepted barely fifty meters from the Shadow Demon by the four extra arms; their razor-sharp claws stabbed fiercely at the leading dragon.
Shhhlick!
Faint sparks emanated from the demonic dragon's body as it let out a furious howl, savagely trying to tear and bite at the Shadow Demon.
The four-headed Shadow Demon’s ice-cold, emotionless eyes flickered with a spark of excitement. Utilizing the retracting motion of those extra arms, it instantly closed the distance to the dragon. Then, its two free arms clamped onto the demonic dragon's head, directly flinging it upwards.
“Heh heh, interesting, most interesting!” Ji Haotian guffawed repeatedly.
The remaining eight demonic dragons seized the opportunity, surging forward, and in an instant, they shrunk several times over, transforming into long serpents that rapidly coiled around the Shadow Demon’s body, instantly binding it tight.
A faint, ethereal black light flashed.
The imposing nine demonic dragons instantly transformed, becoming nine thick, dark chains; save for the one chain firmly grasped by the Shadow Demon, the other eight were wrapped securely around its form.
These nine dragons were illusory forms shaped from chains, yet because the chains harbored soaring demonic energy and had been repeatedly tempered by Ji Haotian’s mind and soul, they possessed nearly independent awareness, allowing them to shift shape rapidly into a peculiar divine weapon.
The four-headed Shadow Demon, realizing its six grasped arms were only holding onto a single thick black chain, suddenly erupted in unparalleled fury and began to struggle violently.
The Demon’s physique, originally ugly yet somewhat humanoid, began to sprout scales from its flesh beneath its violent cries. These scales were the size of copper coins and bore serpentine patterns, each flickering with a dull, muted glow.
In mere moments, the scales covered the face of this single Shadow Demon, making its four hideous visages even more terrifying.
This Shadow Demon let out piercing shrieks and wrestled fiercely, looking on the verge of madness. Under its violent strain, the black chains binding its body were grasped and yanked by its arms.
The tightly coiled black chains began to buckle under the immense strength exerted by its limbs, and the Demon managed to secure two of the chains with its other two free arms.
“Oh!” Ji Haotian exclaimed softly, delight blooming on his face, “This monster truly possesses boundless strength. The higher races of the Endless Starfield are indeed extraordinary!”
Amidst his exclamation, Ji Changkong had appeared on the scene at some unknown moment, preparing to strike and eliminate this strongest Shadow Demon first.
“Leave him to me; you go deal with the others,” Ji Haotian chuckled, striding step by step toward the Demon.
“It’s you?” At that moment, the Zak race expert spotted Ji Changkong, and a flicker of astonishment crossed his dark-golden eyes. “You finally show yourself!”
“Oh? You’re leading again? Haven’t you learned your lesson from last time, coming back here to seek death?” Ji Changkong laughed lightly.
“Hmph!” the Zak leader glared at him fiercely. “Last time, it was that fiendish, evil creature here that forced our retreat; it had nothing to do with you! We have prepared for this for so long and have found a way to deal with him. Even if he were here now, you would only find a dead end!”
“Is that so?” Shaking his head, he calmly walked over, his figure blurring as he settled beside one of the 'Light Stars’ vessels, grinning at the Zak leader. “You seem to possess a powerful artifact, something called the ‘Ice Magnetic Ripple,’ is that right? Hmm, it must be a killer move with extremely high destructive power. But now that I’m blocking the path, can you still activate it?”
He had long discerned that the Zak race members lacked sufficient corporeal strength, but their mastery of the soul was profoundly deep, enabling them to control many artifacts through their souls.
Having listened in for a while, he knew that the ‘Ice Magnetic Ripple’ was the Zak race’s ultimate weapon for this venture. Since they were confident enough to claim it could blast the Ghost Demon King, the ‘Ice Magnetic Ripple’ must be truly extraordinary.
Therefore, his first step before dealing with the Zak race was to prevent them from unleashing the ‘Ice Magnetic Ripple.’
His main body positioned itself directly in front of one ‘Light Star’ vessel. With a shift of his spiritual sense, the Origin Pearl flashed, and another version of himself materialized beside him. In the next instant, that duplicate vanished, reappearing in front of the second ‘Light Star’ vessel.
The main body and the demonic body took positions one after the other, completely blocking the entrance to the ‘Light Stars,’ cutting off the Zak race’s retreat.
The remaining Zak experts, upon seeing another body emerge beside him and block the second ‘Light Star,’ were consumed by rage, fixing fierce and ferocious glares upon Ji Changkong.
He remained completely unafraid, both bodies wearing identical expressions as they stared at the Zak race members, saying with a smile, “It looks like I can reap a larger harvest this time. Hmm, you can leave both of these ‘Light Stars’ behind as well.”
The ‘Light Star’ was a treasure a full rank higher than the ‘Dark Star.’ Not only did the ‘Light Star’ possess formidable defensive capabilities, but it could also utilize energy crystals to launch attacks, making it both offensive and defensive. If he could acquire both ‘Light Stars,’ Xuan-Yuan Valley could navigate the Solar Starfield even without his presence.
“You seek death!” The Zak leader’s face changed color, and he unceremoniously pointed a finger at Ji Changkong.
As the finger extended, an icy-blue flame shot out from the fingertip, enveloping a small golden orb within the flame. The orb was engraved with the pattern of three small birds.
Frowning slightly, Ji Changkong watched the approaching icy-blue flame, daring not to intercept it lightly, his expression growing instantly grave.
Having observed in secret for so long, he knew the Zak race’s terror lay in their artifacts, especially the silver sphere that suddenly erupted with dazzling light and shot out a swarm of spatial blades when dealing with the three Shadow Demons. That weapon had filled him with extreme apprehension.
Spatial blades were practically indestructible. In the Endless Starfield, few things could remain intact under their cutting edge; even cultivators in the Tenth-Tier Heaven Realm found them difficult to withstand.
Thus, the moment he saw the golden orb within the icy-blue flame, his demeanor immediately became serious.
“I don’t believe you’ll dare to stay put now!” The Zak leader stared at him coldly, golden light flashing in his eyes as if communicating with the golden orb.
A strange soul fluctuation suddenly emanated from the orb. The three engraved birds on its surface appeared to be flapping their wings, attempting to fly free, but they were shrouded by the icy-blue flame.
However, the three little birds struggled violently, the blue flame flickering like a candle in the wind, seemingly unable to contain the momentum of their impending escape.
At that juncture, a bizarre aura began to spread from the three little birds.
Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
The golden orb burst open, and the three golden birds, using the icy-blue flame as wings, let out strange calls and flew toward him in a ‘pin’ formation with lightning speed!
Whoosh!
The main body and the demonic body suddenly swapped positions; the crisis that should have faced the primary form was instantly transferred to the demonic body.
The demonic body reached out, snatching the three birds into its palm and gripping them tightly.
Crack!
The three birds emitted a sound of shattering, dissolving into red, yellow, and blue smoke. They converged in the air, instantly engulfing one of the demonic body’s arms.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
That arm of the demonic body became a bloody mess within the smoke, then was rapidly corroded, melting into droplets of blood that fell away.
In a mere instant, only the blue, crystalline bone structure remained of that arm, devoid of any flesh or skin.
The corrosive power from a single shattered golden sphere had instantly crippled one of his arms. The Zak leader opposite looked at him coldly and said, “You seek death.”
Ji Changkong’s demonic body, with one arm reduced to blue crystal bone, remained utterly impassive, as if the corrosion had not happened to him. He lowered his gaze to examine his arm, knitted his brow slightly, and gave a soft command: “Regenerate!”
From the blue crystal-like bone, wisps of blue lightning suddenly surged, coiling around the entire section of bone.
Tendons and flesh began to regrow at a visible rate. In just a few breaths, the arm had completely recovered its original appearance, without a single trace of injury.
“You, you became him?” The Zak leader’s eyes finally betrayed a look of terror as he stared blankly, gasping in shock.
“Limb regeneration is a common ability; you truly see too little,” the demonic body of Ji Changkong stated calmly, then continued placidly, “It is now my turn to act.”