Chapter 858: Darkness Disperses

As dozens of Daoist experts and cultivators surged into the darkness, the hidden evil gods suffered an unprecedented assault, countless attacks colliding and intertwining within the gloom.

Many evil gods were grievously wounded; colorful blood and severed limbs rained down, and the darkness that had engulfed the sky had no choice but to contract and disperse.

In terms of combat power, the evil gods were not particularly strong, but they excelled in deceitful and bizarre methods.

Yet these bizarre methods were only highly effective in peacetime; once on the battlefield, the evil gods' tricks were useless. Under the coordinated assault of dozens of Daoist experts, even heaven and earth could be shattered—what use were their sinister schemes?

After a period of combat, the others gradually gathered some information about the darkness.

Within this darkness, the evil gods had ranks: the weakest were Lower Evil Gods, followed by Middle Evil Gods, then Upper Evil Gods; above them stood the most terrifying Ancient Gods.

The power of an Ancient God should rival that of a True Immortal or Demon King, but in combat, an Ancient God could not match a True Immortal or Demon King—likely due to an inferior cultivation system. After all, Li Yi had once ventured deep into the Dark World and understood it somewhat.

The enemy Li Yi now fought—a skeletal figure wielding a massive sword—was an Ancient God named Hell Ancient God, the founder of Hell in the Dark World, who had survived countless years, guiding countless civilizations into darkness, utterly evil.

Perhaps because he had reigned supreme in the Dark World for too long, this Ancient God, who had lived for countless years, found himself losing ground against Li Yi; his massive sword, wreathed in Hellfire, grew increasingly cracked with each clash.

Clearly.

The Ancient God's weapon could not match the Demon King's weapons of the Demon God Realm.

"Your power is too weak. You've clearly never fought true experts. Has prolonged stay in the Dark World corrupted you? If so, die here today."

Li Yi suddenly roared, his killing intent surging, his battle spirit raging. Having just slain a Demon King, his aura reached its peak; all the magic power within his acupoints burned, and countless divine bloods boiled.

The more he fought, the stronger he became—not weakening, but growing stronger, as if his body were evolving.

Of course, this was no illusion. The incense power continuously bolstered him; as long as Li Yi kept the cross-realm gate open, the more incense power gathered on him, the stronger he naturally became.

"Mortal, endure the wrath of the Ancient God."

The Hell Ancient God roared, raising his Hell Sword to strike back. Vast Hellfire transformed into monstrous dragons, three-headed hounds, and flame demons, all surging toward Li Yi.

"Seek death."

Li Yi shouted, gripping the Demon King weapon, Divine Jade Spear. With the power of Dragon and Tiger reinforcing him, he swung the spear—thunder roared across the sky, instantly shattering the darkness and sweeping toward the endless Hellfire.

With a single strike, all the monstrous illusions born of Hellfire were obliterated; the might of the Demon King weapon struck the Hell Ancient God's massive sword with crushing force.

The Ancient God's weapon, already battered from countless clashes, finally met its end—the great sword shattered explosively, crumbling into countless burning fragments that rained down upon the earth.

A single fragment covered dozens of li in every direction with Hellfire; everything was incinerated, turned to magma, where lingering tormented souls still wailed and struggled within, desperate to break free from the Hellfire's grasp.

When beings of this caliber clashed, even stray energy could devastate the surrounding landscape.

Seeing this, Li Yi's killing intent intensified. If these evil gods were allowed to continue ravaging Earth, even if the planet did not collapse, it would eventually become uninhabitable.

The Hell Ancient God, staring at his shattered weapon, was both shocked and furious. He realized he was no match for this human—if he continued fighting, he would likely be defeated, even killed.

But as a lofty Ancient God, how could he admit this? He still had no intention of retreating, still wished to fight Li Yi.

Yet this mindset was clearly wrong, proving the Ancient God's combat awareness was dull.

A True Immortal or Demon King would have retreated swiftly at this point, avoiding any prolonged entanglement.

Li Yi stepped on auspicious clouds and surged forward instantly. The Divine Jade Spear blazed with boundless golden light, its edge at its peak—its power, bolstered by incense and magic power, even stronger than when held by a Demon King.

A blade of annihilation appeared.

It struck the Hell Ancient God's body with full force; his indestructible bones shattered in an instant, and his body, along with the darkness behind him, was cleaved cleanly in two.

The residual force caused countless evil gods to shriek in terror; faintly, one could hear the mournful cries of the Ancient God's servants.

"Our great Hell Ancient God has been defeated."

"I saw the Ancient God's body—impervious even to Hellfire—split open by the enemy."

"Is the end times coming?"

But the Hell Ancient God had no time to heed these wailing cries. He stared in disbelief at his severed body, unwilling to accept that he had been slain by a mere human.

But reality was clear.

Yet the Hell Ancient God was not yet dead—his power was draining rapidly. The residual energy from the Demon King weapon continuously corroded him; even an Ancient God could not resist.

After all, this was power of the same level. "Again."

Li Yi roared once more, charging forward. He would not give his enemy a moment to breathe—he must finish this Ancient God off in one relentless push, or else the demon might rise again and wreak havoc on Earth once more.

He swung the Demon King weapon again.

The Hell Ancient God roared, transforming his two arms into bone blades; Hellfire blazed anew as he fought desperately, for he now knew his fate—yet as an Ancient God, even in defeat, he would not flee or surrender.

The Divine Jade Spear struck, instantly shattering the Ancient God's arms. The terrifying force ravaged his remaining body, leaving it riddled with cracks.

"It's time to die, Ancient God." Li Yi roared, delivering a punch forward.

Though not a divine technique, the power unleashed by this punch rivaled a Demon King's strike—because he wore the Divine Wood Crimson Gold Gauntlets.

BOOM!

The heavens and earth trembled again. The Ancient God's shattered body took the full force of the blow. His already ravaged frame reached its limit—and vanished instantly under the roaring might of Dragon and Tiger.

Nothing remained but a few shattered skull fragments, flung outward.

After prolonged battle, this Hell Ancient God of the Dark World was finally slain outright by Li Yi.

Yet after slaying this Ancient God, Li Yi gasped for breath. Even with his ninety major acupoints full of magic power, he was nearly drained—he had fought continuously, wielded a Demon King weapon, and cast divine techniques; each drained him immensely.

Fortunately, Li Yi cultivated multiple paths. A normal cultivator would have collapsed after battling a Demon King.

"This isn't the time to rest. If we don't achieve decisive results now, next time they'll be wary and hide—then it'll be trouble." Li Yi took a deep breath and drank from the Water of Life.

Vast life essence surged through his body, instantly dispelling his fatigue; minor injuries healed rapidly. Though his acupoints remained empty, his physical strength alone still made him formidable.

He stepped once more upon auspicious clouds and charged into another patch of darkness.

Wherever he passed, evil gods screamed and died; others fled frantically into the distant depths of darkness.

And it wasn't only Li Yi achieving success.

Xiang Xiangzi had just fought a prolonged battle against an Ancient God named Earth Ancient God. Finally, her Three Flowers bloomed, incense power bolstered her, and with a Dragon and Tiger strike, she cleaved the enemy in half with her immortal sword, slaying the Ancient God deep within the darkness.

The Ancient God's massive body crashed to the ground; torrents of blood stained rivers and mountains red.

"Ancient Gods are still inferior—far weaker than True Immortals and Demon Kings."

Xiang Xiangzi panted slightly, visibly weary. She had fought consecutively against True Immortals, Demon Kings, and Ancient Gods; though the magical flowers above her head continuously drew spiritual energy from heaven and earth.

Yet her absorption couldn't keep pace with her expenditure—opponents of this caliber demanded full power in every strike; no room for carelessness.

Meanwhile, on another battlefield:

Xuan Yuezi had already ended her battle. A crescent moon blazed with boundless radiance, cleaving through darkness before returning to her side.

The Precious Moon Disc spun, unleashing lethal intent; nearby evil gods attempting to exploit the chaos screamed and died.

Her expression was cold and distant as she gazed afar.

She saw a massive head fall from the darkness.

It was a woman's head, hair like dead wood, her face adorned with blossoms of darkness.

The Ancient God she had slain was Life Ancient God. Though possessing strange abilities, it was suppressed by the Precious Moon Disc. Only its tenacious vitality prolonged the battle until its power was drained enough to be slain.

"The Precious Moon Disc is powerful, but drains too much magic power. No wonder Demon Kings rarely use it—only in life-or-death battles." Xuan Yuezi frowned slightly.

She felt her magic power nearly exhausted—she could not fight another Ancient God.

Fortunately, incense power also bolstered her; otherwise, she could not have sustained these battles.

"It's time to stop. If we keep fighting, something might go wrong." Xuan Yuezi took a deep breath and contacted Xiang Xiangzi, urging her not to be reckless.

After all, no one knew whether other Ancient Gods still lurked within this darkness.

The war had already achieved its intended results. If we pressed further and lost, it would be a disastrous cost.

(End of Chapter)