Chapter 853: The Demon King

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion shook heaven and earth; one of the human immortals took Li Yi's blow, his arm exploding into fragments, his body grievously wounded as he was flung backward, the immortal sword in his hand lost somewhere far away.

"You've lost. The true immortals have withdrawn from Earth—they've abandoned you."

Li Yi now stood upon auspicious clouds, striding forward with clenched fists, his gaze icy, his body wreathed in radiant light, radiating the might of Dragon and Tiger—even immortals must yield before him.

"Cough, cough."

The wounded immortal now understood he was at his end; nearly all the Mahayana cultivators had been wiped out, and now only he remained on this battlefield.

The reason he had survived this long was because he wore an immortal armor and held two immortal artifacts, granting him the means to fight on.

Even Li Yi could not quickly subdue an immortal wielding two immortal artifacts.

The wounded immortal looked up and saw the flying-light glow retreating toward the Xuan Immortal Continent; he could not suppress his fury—why had the true immortals refused to come to their aid while they fought to the death here?

If the true immortals had all joined the battle, how could they possibly have lost?

But he understood why the true immortals had withdrawn: they cherished their own lives and refused to fight to the death; after all, true immortals were immortal, nearly indestructible, and naturally unwilling to provoke peers of equal strength.

Yet if true immortals refused to fight, why should human immortals willingly plunge into this cross-dimensional conflict? They only obeyed because the true immortals had ordered them to.

"Damn it!" the immortal roared, venting his inner hatred—he never imagined he would one day become a disposable pawn. How ironic.

"No matter how furious you are, it's useless—I won't let you get the chance to teleport away," Li Yi barked. The power of Dragon and Tiger shook the space, sealing the entire heavens and earth—and he was not the only one targeting this immortal.

Miao Hui Zi, Wang Chengjun, and Li Weiguo also watched him, preventing his escape.

"Death is all that awaits. When I return in my next reincarnation, I will exact my revenge," the immortal coldly scanned Li Yi, then his body began to disintegrate, his primordial spirit scattering into countless beams of light.

Knowing death was inevitable, he severed his own life force, spreading his primordial spirit across the wormhole to countless worlds, embedding a single spark of true essence into all things—should any one of these sparks ever re-cultivate and awaken memories of this life, he might yet return.

This was a technique the immortal had created by combining Earth's soul theory with immortal secrets.

Li Yi saw this and made no move, allowing the true spirit to cross the wormhole and scatter. To him, this trick was no threat—it was no different from death, merely preserving a faint, ethereal hope.

He allowed it precisely because he wished to preserve the immortal's armor and storage magic treasure.

The wealth of a single human immortal was still tempting.

With the death of the last immortal, the entire battlefield fell utterly silent; the Mahayana cultivators were now mostly dead, the few survivors either captured or fled with their primordial spirits—no longer a threat.

"Everyone, the battle is over. Clear the battlefield immediately."

Li Yi scanned the surroundings once more, confirmed the situation, and spoke.

"Li Yi, I never thought we'd win so easily. Your decision was right—the Xuan Immortal Continent may seem powerful, but they dared not fight to the death. The true immortals refused to intervene and abandoned Earth's outposts," Ye Jing Tian could not help laughing.

His mood was now light, all previous gloom swept away.

"They were right not to fight. Our battle armors have incredible defense—I haven't seen a single casualty so far," Jiang Yue was also thrilled; he had expected this battle to be nine-to-one odds of death.

He never imagined it would be so easy.

"With two True Person-level forces clearing the field, victory was simple. But this isn't the time to celebrate—the Demon King of the Demon God Realm is watching us like a predator. Our battle isn't over," Li Yi said. "Gather the scattered forces immediately. Prepare for the next fight."

His gaze was grave; throughout the battle, he had continuously sensed several deeply threatening gazes fixed upon this place.

Perhaps because we caught them off guard, the other enemies hesitated, delaying their intervention.

But their absence now doesn't mean they have no intentions. The Earth defense line and the Demon God Realm still stand in inevitable conflict.

Ye Jing Tian, Jiang Yue, and the others realized the danger had not passed. They immediately ordered all other evolvers to assemble—no time to chase after fleeing Mahayana cultivators.

Now that the true immortals had withdrawn, even the few fleeing Mahayana cultivators could cause no trouble—no need to care about them.

Li Yi now retrieved the human immortal's armor, found an immortal sword, and claimed his post-mortem storage magic treasure—inside were indeed many treasures. Though he couldn't use many of them, he never turned away excess.

And as everyone immediately began clearing the battlefield and regrouping,

Suddenly,

At that moment, a thunderous killing intent surged from afar, instantly locking onto the entire battlefield.

Every evolver's soul screamed a warning; even Daoists of the Three Flowers Realm had their hairs stand on end, faces turning pale.

All froze, then instinctively turned toward the Demon God Realm.

Instantly, a brilliant golden radiance blotted out the sky, carrying an unstoppable Demon King force, sweeping toward this place with overwhelming might.

"It's the Demon King's power—the Golden Feather Demon King has struck! He aims to obliterate us all—be on guard!" Wang Chengjun roared, leaping skyward, his fortune surging like a dragon as he met the sudden assault head-on.

Li Weiguo also acted immediately, unleashing his full power; with the blessing of cosmic fortune, he now surged with strength exceeding that of a human immortal—though still far below the Demon King's level, there was no time to hesitate.

"The Demon King of the Demon God Realm strikes now, hoping to snatch a victory?" Li Yi's face darkened. He knew that under the Demon King's strike, there was no avoiding it, no escaping it.

Just as Xiang Xiang Zi and Xuan Yue Zi had done, the combined force of Dragon and Tiger had reached a thousand li—human immortals were sealed in place, unable to teleport. He never imagined that as soon as this battle ended, they would be ambushed by the Demon King of the Demon God Realm.

"No choice—we must block it."

Li Yi also charged forward, his body blazing with crimson-gold divine light, his fist erupting in golden flame, thunder roaring as a divine silhouette reappeared behind him.

He must withstand this blow to protect the others on the battlefield—otherwise, his side would suffer catastrophic losses.

"Not to fully block it—just tear open one corner of the attack," Li Yi knew he still lagged behind the Demon King. He understood exactly what he must do now.

"Tai Yi, I'll aid you," Miao Hui Zi now stepped upon auspicious clouds, flying over. Her two Dao flowers were fully matured; her combat power was not low. With Xiang Xiang Zi and Xuan Yue Zi still absent, she naturally bore her responsibility.

The four, paired in twos, unleashed their peak attacks against the rushing Demon King force.

Wang Chengjun and Li Weiguo, the two masters of fortune cultivation, joined forces. Though insufficient to defeat the Demon King, holding one corner of the battlefield was no problem. Their combined strike tore a jagged gash into the Demon King's force—everything around was destroyed, yet behind them remained untouched.

"Heaven and Earth Severed."

"Divide the River into Land."

Li Yi unleashed divine arts, striking his peak blow; Miao Hui Zi's Dao flowers bloomed, her magic power surging as she cast Dao techniques. Together, they pierced through the Demon King's force, protecting themselves and shielding a section of the battlefield, sparing those behind from the attack.

"Not bad. Four of you together can withstand my peak strike," a cold voice echoed from within the golden radiance.

Then, a piercing cry rang through heaven and earth.

A colossal golden roc, wings blotting out the sky, as if bearing the entire heavens, soared toward them. The Demon King's aura radiated, filling evolvers and Daoists with dread.

(End of Chapter)