Chapter 303: Slain the Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor (Combat Chapter Combined)

"Hmm."

Shen Yi nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Tang Yuan's confidence surged instantly as he exerted all his strength to resist the chains binding him.

The Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor's face twisted with cruelty, muscles slowly tightening across its powerful demonic body; the physical strength of a Demon Emperor could rival the heavenly and earthly qi manipulated by a Soul Transformation cultivator, proving just how terrifying it was.

It coiled its power, ready to strike, right at the moment it was about to act.

Yet a hoarse warning came from behind.

"Do not be deceived by him; the one breaking the formation has nothing to do with him."

Hearing this, the Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor finally noticed the small, furtive figure below.

"She is contending with me for control of the formation."

The ragged old man's ten fingers flew rapidly, his eyes dead and lifeless, yet his tone clearly revealed he felt the pressure.

"Are you not the strongest formation master in the Xuan Guang Cave? Can you not match a mere green melon?"

The Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor withdrew its gaze with contempt.

The towering, muscular figure vanished from its spot in an instant.

Overwhelming demonic qi instantly engulfed the entire high mountain!

Ah Qing's running figure froze in place; it was not due to fear or any other psychological factor, but simply because under the realm suppression of a gap between cloud and mud, she could not move a single inch.

"Hey!"

Xu Wanyun rushed forward without hesitation, the Soul-Returning Array on her body spinning rapidly.

Sword light surged like a great river, thrusting straight toward the empty space above Ah Qing.

She had actually predicted the Lion Emperor's movement; at the very moment the sword light surged forward, the Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor appeared precisely at that location.

As a Shen Zongshi of the Extreme Realm of the Hunyuan Sect, bolstered by the formation's support.

A full-power strike at this moment even held a slight possibility of injuring an ordinary cultivator of the Transformation of Spirit Realm.

Unfortunately, the Lion Emperor was no ordinary Transformation of Spirit Realm cultivator.

It merely glanced sideways, casually swiping its claw to shatter the sword light; the surging great river reversed course and crashed entirely onto Xu Wanyun.

"Auntie..."

Even though Ah Qing was wise, she had never experienced such a scene and stood stunned in place for a moment.

Immediately after, her vision was filled by a black robe.

"Focus; thank you for your trouble."

The youth's voice seemed to carry some kind of infectious power, slightly soothing Ah Qing's terrified heart; breathing heavily, she picked up the formation-breaking stone and continued to compete with the old man for control of the formation.

Brother Shen said so... then it must be no problem!

In the next instant, scalding blood splattered across her body.

Ah Qing instantly felt suffocated, her eyes widening, yet she dared not turn to look back, forcing herself to focus her mind on the formation-breaking stone in her hand.

On the other side, Xu Wanyun was struck by the sword light's backlash; ignoring the pain in her body for the moment, even her hands trembled.

She looked forward in terror.

She saw the Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor raise its palm again, smashing down toward the ground with brutality.

The black robe was swept by the gale, like a small boat in a violent storm.

The youth raised his palm, pressing it firmly against the Lion Emperor's wrist.

Under the vast force of the Demon Emperor's body crashing down.

Half of Shen Yi's body shattered away, revealing a crimson Dao Infant; fine cracks extended from his right face.

"You are... of the Hunyuan Sect?"

A hint of absurdity flashed across the Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor's expression; from its wrist, a chilling aura climbed upward, covering its entire right arm in a layer of frost.

A mere Shen Zongshi of the Hunyuan Sect actually blocked one of my palm strikes?

"But this Emperor still has one hand."

Killing intent rose in its eyes, seemingly dissatisfied that it had been intimidated by a low-realm cultivator just now.

Just as the Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor raised its palm again, it caught a trace of a smile on the youth's face.

The pristine skin and the crimson Dao Infant shone together, adding an eerie quality to the faint curve of the other's lips.

The youth did not have a twisted expression like Tang Yuan, nor did he roar aloud.

Yet inexplicably, the Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor sensed intense madness from his smile.

"Die for me!"

The Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor suddenly raised its arm to smash down; at that moment, two brilliant golden arms protruded from its armpits, gripping its shoulders.

Overwhelming force sent it flipping backward.

The Lion Emperor was stunned for an instant, completely unaware where this Transformation of Spirit Realm Golden Body had come from or why it had silently approached behind it.

At the same time, Shen Yi finally raised his eyes; thick blood plasma evaporated under the heat, and under the support of Sui Mu, the mighty demonic qi rapidly transformed into purple-gold flames.

Refreshing!

Nine great suns quickly appeared, illuminating the sky!

He suddenly darted upward; the already prepared Li Huo Fen Xin Palm, with the speed of lightning before one can cover one's ears, slammed hard onto the demon lion's brow.

Boom—

The Li Huo Great Suns struck down in succession like meteors.

Every single one landed on the exact same spot.

"Roar!"

The Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor staggered backward, breaking through the frost, and pressed both palms against its brow.

Almost at the same time, a dazzling Golden Body surged up from behind it, its palm slamming viciously onto its ear!

Boom!!

Half of the Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor's skull was smashed by the Golden Body.

Surging Li Fire engulfed it entirely; the lion's roar was deafening and utterly horrific: "Roar!"

A demon core appeared in Shen Yi's hand, which he pressed straight into his Dao Infant.

Such a rough action made the surging demonic force crash wildly within the Dao Infant, yet his expression did not change in the slightest.

He had finally found the feeling of risking his life once more.

He suddenly realized that he actually quite liked it.

His palms shot out abruptly, and nine wheels of Li Fire Great Suns appeared behind him again.

At the same time, the Golden Body leaped up once more, its two palms forcefully prying open the Lion Emperor's already shattered skull again.

Shen Yi, carrying the Li Fire, crashed straight forward.

His palm struck down fiercely.

Smashing the colorless Great Sun entirely into the Lion Emperor's cranium.

"Roar!"

This time its howl was slightly hoarse, while golden light within its eyes swept wildly around.

Wherever that golden light passed, whether mountain ranges or cliffs, were all suddenly blown apart.

The Golden Body Dharma Image stood impassively in front of Shen Yi.

Blocking the golden light with its body.

Amidst a crisp crack, the Golden Body's right arm shattered, its entire form once again covered in cracks.

Yet it did not hesitate in the slightest, instantly lunging to kill the Lion Emperor again!

Its two hands grabbed one of the creature's hind legs; with a tearing sound, it violently ripped it off!

The Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor fled in a wretched state toward the tattered old man.

Then a black chain wrapped straight around its waist, smashing it heavily onto Shanfeng; it could only roll its mangled body while howling wildly, trying to shake out the Li Fire from its cranium.

The Golden Body followed closely behind, yet chains also reached out toward it!

It顺势 stopped its steps, standing impassively in midair.

"Give me a little more time..."

A Qing wiped away her tears, her voice already carrying a hint of sobbing.

Clearly, that formation no longer belonged solely to one side.

"No need to rush; take your time."

Shen Yi's voice was as calm as before.

But in places A Qing could not see, whether Xu Wanyun or Tang Yuan, or even the old man who was currently concentrating on seizing control of the formation, all wore dazed expressions at this moment.

A Golden Body of two zhang three was not particularly terrifying.

A Shen Zongshi of the Hunyuan Realm counted for nothing inside the Thousand Demon Cave.

But now, both bore the appearance of grave injuries, yet both harbored a chilling coldness and ruthlessness.

They stood suspended in the air, looking down from above at the rolling Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor on the ground, as if viewing a lamb awaiting slaughter.

What spirit was this!

Shen Yi's body was covered by Kong Que's red light, and his flesh rapidly recovered.

He took out another demon core again, pressing it into his body to replenish the Dao Infant that had been nearly drained dry.

This casual action made the terrifying injuries on his body seem like a mere illusion.

"Where on earth did this come from..."

Tang Yuan resisted the black fog's erosion, instinctively swallowing saliva and swallowing back the last two words.

His master had once said that while he appeared steady, he was actually an impulsive madman.

But only until now did he understand what true madness was.

Tang Yuan shook his head in admiration, then looked at the withered old man and scolded angrily: "You are a human cultivator; which faction do you belong to? How dare you act as a wolf's lackey? Can you not yet see the situation clearly? Stop at once!"

The outcome is decided now, but if this drags on, who knows what trouble might arise.

After all, this is the Thousand Demon Cave.

"I am no human cultivator, nor do I belong to any faction."

The tattered old man continued to manipulate the formation; having spoken, he looked down at Xu Xu Qinger, and a few traces of mockery appeared on his terrifying face: "I am merely a discarded dead person, still willing to fiddle with a formation or two; as for who I set the formation for, I do not care."

Hearing this, Xu Wanyun, holding her long sword, exclaimed in shock: "Are you a member of the Xu family?"

The old man's mockery intensified: "You are not worthy of climbing so high."

If it had been a thousand years earlier, he would have been willing to acknowledge that surname, but having endured torture in the Xuan Guang Cave, he had never received any news from the Xu family.

He had long since let go of everything.

Following the Xuan Guang Cave was fine; if the people of the Xuan Guang Cave were killed by demons and the demons wanted to use him, there was nothing wrong with that.

"..."

The withered old man withdrew his gaze and focused on the matter at hand.

This was the strongest opponent he had encountered this year... the opponent looked so young, making his heart feel a slight bitterness.

Time slowly passed.

A Qing seemed to sense that the situation had stabilized; her originally trembling palms gradually steadied.

To onlookers, the scene appeared utterly ordinary.

But in the eyes of the two, it was filled with the threads of the formation, like a game of chess.

And at this moment, the outcome was decided!

The breaking-stone in Qing's palm shattered abruptly, turning to dust that spilled from her fingers.

The ragged old man's eyes filled with despair.

He gazed silently downward, then pulled a tattered scroll from his bosom, his fingers trembling, hesitating whether to destroy it.

In the end, he hurled it angrily downward.

Immediately, his entire body was swallowed by black mist.

In the struggle of array versus array, backlash also existed.

In an instant, the Golden Body shot forward.

With earth-shattering force, it smashed clean through the skull of the Golden-Eyed Lion Emperor!

【Slain: Golden-Eyed Lion Demon, Soul Transformation Early Stage. Total lifespan: 70,000 years. Remaining lifespan: 23,000 years. Absorption complete.】

Shen Yi casually stored its corpse in his storage artifact.

His injuries had fully healed.

He looked no different from before the fight.

He walked slowly to the girl sitting on the ground, panting, and handed her the scroll he had picked up: "Thank you."

Qing mechanically took the object.

She did not open it immediately, but tucked it into her bosom.

Clearly, what she had just witnessed had shaken her deeply— as a young junior from a reclusive clan, this was an experience she had never known.

Qing touched the blood on her neck, gazing at the youth whose black robe still fluttered lightly, unsure if it was his blood.

"I'm a little scared…" she admitted honestly.

"Still want to follow me?" Shen Yi glanced at her, understanding her feelings— after all, even he had never faced a Demon Emperor while in the Embracing Elixir Realm.

"Uh, yes, I'll follow."

Xu Qing'er was still dazed, nodding unconsciously.

"Then let them go first."

Shen Yi looked at the few still being devoured by black mist and gently reminded her.

"Oh!"

Qing quickly rose from the ground and swiftly formed the hand seals.

She didn't notice that, right now, a Embracing Elixir Realm cultivator held the life of a Soul Transformation True Person in her hands.

"Cough! Cough! Cough!"

Several Hunyuan Sect disciples finally broke free from their bonds.

Tang Yuan also collapsed to his knees, gasping, clutching his throat, and after a long while spat out a clump of black ash.

It looked like a fire doused by water.

"Thank you, fellow cultivator, for your aid."

Tang Yuan took two deep breaths, then bowed downward.

But the Golden Body manifestation paid him no mind whatsoever, vanishing straight into the horizon.

Only Shen Yi gave a polite nod.

Of course, he considered this politeness.

Technically, a Hunyuan Sect disciple showing such deference to a Soul Transformation cultivator was already grossly disrespectful.

But remembering Shen Yi's ruthless demeanor earlier,

Tang Yuan inexplicably recalled his master's elder brother— such cultivators, he thought, acted exactly like this.

"I haven't yet asked your esteemed name?"

He first helped the several Daqian sect disciples dispel the black mist, then descended the mountain.

"Shen."

Shen Yi had no intention of deepening ties with Mount Wutong— it was a colossal force he was currently powerless to resist.

Though not a Mount Wutong disciple, the man had some connection to it.

"Tang Yuan, disciple of True Person Qingfeng."

Tang Yuan, still trembling with lingering fear, shook his head: "I swallowed three precious pills from my master— now I'm utterly drained. I'm fortunate to have your aid, Shen Daoist; without you, we might not have subdued this demon. Your life-saving grace—I will repay it someday."

"By the way, these are Daqian's sect masters."

He gestured toward them: "Thank Shen Daoist, or your entire Daqian Hunyuan contingent would have been wiped out in the Thousand Demon Cavern."

"We will never forget Shen Senior's great kindness."

Hou Wanhai stepped forward from the mountain: "If you ever come to Daqian, please visit us— we will report to the Martial Temple and receive you with the highest honors."

"Maybe later."

Shen Yi nodded, gazing toward Shanfeng.

After Qing took control of the array, the original breach vanished.

(End of Chapter)