Chapter 859: The Clearance Plan

This is a great mountain shrouded in the air of evil thoughts; the heavens and earth are dim, and strange, eerie whispers echo in every corner of the forests and hills.

Boom!

At this moment, extreme, violent, and astonishing energy fluctuations surge from the depths of the great mountain, sweeping like a hurricane, causing the entire mountain to tremble continuously under the impact of this energy.

The view draws closer, revealing that atop a mountain peak, a True Demon aberration lets out a long roar, with thick and cold evil thought energy constantly surging out, almost obscuring the sky.

This aberration has now entered a combat state; its flesh and blood tear open, with segments of white bones piercing through, and then these bones detach from its body, transforming into a multitude of white bone swords. Sword light swirls upon them, black as ink, while thick black liquid constantly drips down, possessing powerful corruption.

This is the Bone Sword True Demon.

The Bone Sword True Demon wields a sky-filling shadow of white bone swords, attacking a figure not far away whose body is surging with immense energy.

That figure is none other than Li Jingtang.

Relying on the "Qi-Union State," he slowly raises his hand, forming seals with both hands; in the next moment, countless energy dragon teeth form out of thin air in the void, then rapidly interweave.

Crack! Crack!

A shield of dragon teeth quickly condenses, with light patterns appearing upon it, revealing extremely powerful defensive capabilities.

Bang! Bang!

Continuous shadows of white bone swords strike the Dragon Tooth Shield like a torrent, causing it to tremble constantly, yet the Dragon Tooth Shield remains unbroken, absorbing all of the Bone Sword True Demon's fierce and corrupting attacks.

Meanwhile, bone swords constantly emerge from the flesh and blood of that Bone Sword True Demon, its assault seemingly endless.

The two sides are thus locked in a stalemate here.

"Big Brother's defense is truly impeccable; the Bone Sword True Demon's attacks are more domineering and fierce than any True Demon we've encountered before, and its sword qi carries corrupting power. Once that sword qi enters the body, it will likely cause immense harm." At a spot on the mountain peak, Li Luo watches the offense and defense between the two sides and can't help but smile.

"It's just a turtle shell, though." Li Li Fengyi pouts.

Deng Deng Fengxian shakes her head, her expression turning solemn as she says, "Unbeaten is victory. Li Jingtang's defense as the Great Flag Commander is, I fear, among the very best within the Twenty Flags. At the very least, I have no ability to break his defense."

Li Luo nods in agreement. Li Jingtang has a gentle and lazy nature, disliking warfare, yet he has found another path, cultivating the "Tooth Killing Art," known for its offensive prowess within the Dragon Tooth Meridian, into a defensive art. This proves he has found the right path for himself; he leverages his strengths and avoids his weaknesses, dispensing with futile attacks and forging himself into an impregnable fortress.

With this unique defensive capability, even among the younger generation across the Outer Shenzhou, Li Jingtang holds a unique position; at the very least, no one dares to underestimate him.

"We should also act now; we cannot let this Bone Sword True Demon escape." Li Luo smiles.

Li Li Fengyi and Deng Deng Fengxian both nod, and then the three of them dispel their concealment. Three immense energy fluctuations shoot skyward, and in an instant, all three unleash their most formidable Marquis-Sealing Arts.

Three energy light arcs tear through the sky, sweeping away even the pervasive evil thought energy.

This sudden attack causes the black light in the Bone Sword True Demon's pupils to jump violently, for in this moment it senses a fatal crisis.

Immediately, it lets out a piercing shriek; its flesh and blood contract violently at this moment, bones drilling out from within its body and constantly coiling. Within just a few breaths, it transforms into a giant sword of white bone and flesh, roughly a hundred zhang in length.

The hilt of the giant sword is a twisted face.

Wooo! Wooo!

The giant sword of white bone and flesh emits strange whispers, then, carrying immense and thick evil thought energy, collides directly with the three terrifying offensive forces rushing toward it.

Boom! Boom!

Shocking energy fluctuations rage outward, leveling the entire depths of this great mountain; many hidden aberrations within the forests and hills are completely obliterated by this impact.

Moments later, as the energy storm weakens, cracks appear on the giant sword of white bone and flesh in the sky. From within these cracks, black qi rolls out, and it seems as though countless mournful screams are emanating.

Bang!

The white bone sword explodes, scattering into countless fragments that shoot outward.

"Destroy all remaining fragments!"

Seeing this, Li Luo immediately shouts softly.

This True Demon aberration possesses a vitality that is unimaginably strange; even if only a fragment escapes, as long as it rests for some time and devours evil thought energy, it can recover rapidly. Therefore, all traces must be completely erased to count as its annihilation.

Li Li Fengyi, Deng Deng Fengxian, and Li Jingtang are all prepared; they immediately act, shooting out streams of energy light that seem to form a giant net, completely covering the depths of this great mountain.

Numerous white bone fragments fail to escape, being cleared away completely.

Ten-plus minutes later, the four of them, having cleaned the area, gather together.

"Not bad; this is the second True Demon we've eliminated." Li Li Fengyi smiles.

After Li Luo proposed that bold idea earlier, although they initially thought it a bit crazy, after discussion, they found it might indeed be a good method.

After all, these True Demon aberrations are indeed a hidden threat; if they were truly gathered and commanded by that "Soul-Eroding True Demon" at that time, the ones fleeing would likely be our four flags.

Thus, this preemptive clearance plan was launched.

And the plan went more smoothly than they imagined; the power of these True Demons is only around the First-Rank Marquis level. If they had engaged individually, they might have struggled to win, but with the four of them joining forces via "Qi-Union," the difficulty was greatly reduced.

So, over these past few days, this is already the second True Demon they have hunted down.

"Continue."

Li Luo acts with decisive speed, not planning any rest; he now only wishes to clear the True Demons in this area as quickly as possible, then go to seize the Flame Infant Holy Fruit.

Although the plan over these few days has been smooth, the existence of that "Soul-Eroding True Demon" still makes him feel vaguely uneasy.

The other three have no objections; after Li Luo brought them the intelligence on that "Soul-Eroding True Demon," they also wish to complete the mission as soon as possible to avoid any changes.

Thus, the four units set off again without stopping.

One day later, Li Luo and his group arrived at the area where the third True Demon was located.

According to the intelligence, the True Demon in this area is named the "Red-Eyed True Demon," also a First-Rank True Demon, but when Li Luo and the others arrived here, they discovered a slight deviation in the situation.

They searched the entire area but could not find any trace of that "Red-Eyed True Demon."

"How could it have disappeared?" Li Li Fengyi is extremely puzzled.

Li Luo's expression is somewhat heavy; he frowns tightly and says, "Could it be that our plan was detected by that 'Soul-Eroding True Demon,' which then drove the 'Red-Eyed True Demon' away?"

Li Jingtang's expression changes slightly, saying, "Is this Soul-Eroding True Demon so cunning? Such wisdom is hardly inferior to that of humans."

Li Luo says in a deep voice, "Go to the location of the fourth True Demon!"

The three understand his thought: if that fourth True Demon is also gone, then perhaps this is no coincidence.

The four set off again.

After more than half a day, they arrived at the area where the fourth True Demon was located; after a search, the expressions of all four turned gloomy.

Because the True Demon anomalies here have also vanished.

The four exchanged glances; did the disappearance of these two True Demon anomalies truly relate to that "Spirit-Eroding True Demon"?

"Damn, this is the first time I've seen such a bizarre anomaly," Li Li Jingtao said, somewhat shaken. Generally, these True Demon anomalies like to occupy a region and rule a mountain as their own, yet now, driven by that Spirit-Eroding True Demon, these True Demons actually left their territories of their own accord.

"What now? Two True Demons have fled," Li Li Fengyi asked.

Li Luo frowned and said, "There is no need to panic. Regardless, we have successfully eliminated two True Demon anomalies; this counts as removing some unstable factors."

"Now that we are not far from the place of the Flame Infant Sacred Fruit, we must go there eventually. However, if the situation truly turns unfavorable, we must be prepared to abandon the mission," he reminded them.

The three nodded helplessly. Although they did not wish to abandon the mission, if the situation truly became critical, there was no other choice.

However, they did not depart immediately this time but chose to rest for a night. When the second day arrived, the four large formations moved out. After spending nearly a full day, Li Luo saw a range of crimson mountains appear at the edge of his vision.

The temperature in the world between heaven and earth gradually grew hot and stifling.

Li Luo gazed at that range of crimson mountains, knowing they had finally arrived at the place where the "Flame Infant Sacred Fruit" grows.

(End of this chapter)