Chapter 868: Desperate Counterattack

As Li Li Lingjing stepped closer, Li Luo's body tensed instantly, yet his face perfectly displayed a look of terror, even stumbling backward two steps.

His eyes were filled with fear.

"Li Li Lingjing" softly said: "Don't be afraid, I'll eat you very carefully, without letting you feel even a speck of pain."

With each step she took, her figure appeared like a ghost before Li Luo, her gaze fixed on him with greed and salivation, as if a starving man had spotted a peerless delicacy.

Then she opened her lips, and her white teeth rapidly turned pitch black, becoming grotesque—like the mouth of a demon.

Puff.

From "Li Li Lingjing"'s mouth, a thick cloud of black smoke erupted, within which countless eerie whispers echoed, their voices capable of corrupting the mind; Li Luo, caught first, instantly grew dazed and hollow-eyed.

His inner spirit plunged into chaos.

Even though he had prepared himself, the true demon's technique still caught him off guard.

Fortunately, at that very moment, the ferocious howl of the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf roared again within his heart, instantly purging the corruption.

Li Luo's eyes snapped back to clarity, and cold sweat sprang from his back—he had underestimated the true demon; without the protection of "He Qi," his strength stood no chance against a true demon.

Fortunately, the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf still existed.

Li Luo gripped the hilt of his blade with sudden force, and in the next instant, crimson light surged across the bracelet, spewing forth a furious, crimson energy like a tidal wave that surged directly into his body.

An immensely violent aura erupted skyward.

The sudden change startled "Li Li Lingjing" slightly, but when she sensed the power's strength, she relaxed again.

"So you had a hidden card—but it's only around First-Rank Marquis level. It won't change anything."

"Li Li Lingjing" felt no caution; black smoke coiled around her slender jade hand, then shot straight toward Li Luo's face.

Thick black smoke flowed, filled with countless rustling sounds—the black insects within writhing.

Li Luo knew that the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf's power alone was insufficient to make the "Shi Ling True Demon" fear him, so at the same moment, he sank his spirit deep into the heart of the Jin Yu Xiang Dao.

There, a "Wang Zhe Yin" shimmered with mysterious light, emitting a faint yet terrifying pressure.

This "Wang Zhe Yin" was the most precious aspect of the Jin Yu Xiang Dao, for it was forged through immense effort and time by a King-level cultivator.

Yet each use of this "Wang Zhe Yin" consumed the King's power within it; once exhausted, the mark would vanish naturally.

Thus Li Luo rarely used this trump card—but now, his life hung in the balance, so he could no longer hold back.

As Li Luo activated the "Wang Zhe Yin," mysterious golden light burst forth from it, and threads of golden radiance emerged along the blade of the Jin Yu Xiang Dao.

Li Luo showed no hesitation; his face cold and stern, he raised the straight blade and slashed straight down at "Li Li Lingjing" with no flourish.

The blade-light tore through space, crimson and furious energy surged like thunder; where the blade-light passed, cracks split the void.

But the truly terrifying part was not the crimson blade-light—it was the threads of mysterious golden light woven within.

That golden light seemed to contain an indescribable power; though faint, as it flowed, even the ferocious energy of the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf recoiled, avoiding its path entirely.

"Li Li Lingjing" had initially ignored Li Luo's slash—after all, First-Rank Marquis power posed no threat to her—so she made no move to dodge, intending to shatter his blade-light and seize him.

But at the instant of contact, "Li Li Lingjing" finally sensed something wrong—a surge of intense danger crashed into her heart, filling her with inexplicable dread.

In that moment, she finally saw the faint golden light flowing within Li Luo's blade-light.

A mysterious pressure slowly radiated, causing the surrounding void to seem to freeze; the countless "black insects" within her smoke began to writhe wildly, some even showing signs of scattering in panic.

"That's… Royal Qi?!"

Li Li Lingjing's hollow eyes now showed human-like shock—this power filled her with fear.

But the blade-light had already descended; where it passed, the thick black smoke melted like snow, countless dust-like insects vanished silently, and even "Li Li Lingjing"'s arm turned to nothingness in an instant.

Aah!

A piercing, chilling shriek erupted from "Li Li Lingjing"'s mouth; she abandoned Li Luo entirely, unleashing a torrent of malevolent energy like smoke from a wolf's den, while her figure frantically retreated, leaving countless afterimages in the void.

Li Luo's face was icy; the blade-light swirled, and the Jin Yu Xiang Dao flew from his hand, transforming into a crimson streak that pursued relentlessly.

The blade-light streak cut through like a bamboo shoot in wind; the thick, cold black smoke dissolved on contact.

In the span of a single breath, the blade-light caught up to "Li Li Lingjing"'s body and pierced through without hesitation.

Aah!

As if countless screams erupted simultaneously.

Countless cracks appeared across "Li Li Lingjing"'s body, resembling a shattered porcelain vase; thick black smoke poured out from those fissures.

Faced with Li Luo's all-out counterattack, even this "Shi Ling True Demon" was overwhelmed.

Boom!

Her body exploded completely.

A terrifying shockwave surged forth, engulfing Li Luo as well—but thanks to the protection of the Three-Tailed Heavenly Wolf, he was merely shaken into spitting out several mouthfuls of blood.

Yet he paid no heed to his wounds, his gaze locked on the spot where "Li Li Lingjing"'s body had shattered; from what he'd seen, the "Shi Ling True Demon" must have been grievously wounded—but he didn't know if it had been utterly eradicated.

Li Luo dared not lower his guard, his eyes warily scanning the surroundings.

His vigilance proved effective: the next instant, he saw countless black specks erupt from the ground, rapidly merging together.

Within seconds, a massive black insect, roughly thirty meters long, appeared before Li Luo.

This giant insect was profoundly eerie, sprouting numerous tentacles, and on its head were countless shifting human faces, thick black mist oozing from its mouth and nostrils.

This, surely, was the Shi Ling True Demon's true form.

Yet now its entire body was riddled with cracks, black qi continuously leaking out—it had suffered devastating damage.

Roar!

The "Shi Ling True Demon" shrieked wildly, its gaze toward Li Luo filled with malice, hatred, and other dark emotions.

Seeing this, Li Luo's scalp prickled—this true demon's vitality was too tenacious; even after absorbing his full-power strike, it still lived.

But it seemed to be at its last gasp, right?

As Li Luo pondered this, the "Shi Ling True Demon" did not attack him—it instead rapidly retreated, its massive body dissolving into afterimages as it fled into the distance.

Seeing this, Li Luo immediately realized the "Shi Ling True Demon"'s wounds were worse than he'd imagined; his heart hardened, and without hesitation, he gave chase.

The "Soul-Eating True Demon" is exceedingly sinister; since it has now revealed itself, it must be eradicated utterly, or once it recovers, it will surely become a scourge.

Li Luo's figure turned into a streak of light, tearing through the thick black mist as he pursued without pause.

Facing Li Luo's pursuit, the Soul-Eating True Demon's massive, bizarre body suddenly shrank rapidly—reducing to no larger than a fingertip—then whipped its tail, piercing straight through space and reappearing before Li Luo in a flash.

This cunning and cruel thing intended to strike back!

Its insect-like mouth opened wide, revealing countless twisted fangs.

It planned to burrow directly into Li Luo's brow, into his flesh and blood.

Seeing this, Li Luo's gaze turned icy—what a vicious Soul-Eating True Demon; it meant to risk its life to devour his consciousness.

Just as Li Luo attempted to once again unleash the power of the Three Tails to resist, his wrist-space orb suddenly trembled, and a faint streak of light shot out.

The sudden change startled Li Luo; he focused his gaze and saw that what emerged from the space orb was a jade pendant.

The jade pendant looked familiar.

After a moment's thought, Li Luo's pupils widened slightly—he remembered: this object… was given to him by Li Li Lingjing in Xiling City.

But why had it appeared uncontrollably now?

As Li Luo was filled with shock and doubt, the jade pendant flew forward and collided with the black insect formed by the Soul-Eating True Demon.

Boom!

The jade pendant shattered outright—but at the very moment of its shattering, Li Luo sensed an invisible force released from within, which, with deliberate intent, surged into the monstrous, fang-filled maw of the Soul-Eating True Demon.