Chapter 378: The Battle at the Absolute Peak!

Chen Mu dared not approach any closer; he carried Long Tutu on his back and pushed his speed to its limit, continuing to fly eastward away from the battlefield.

Only after racing over a hundred li, far beyond the suffocating range of energy radiation, did he land on a relatively gentle, open-topped mountain summit.

He set down Long Tutu, and the two stood side by side, gazing far off at the terrifying spectacle in the western sky, as if mythology had come to life.

From here, the core of the battle was shrouded in twisted light and violent energy currents; only four most prominent "light pillars" could be faintly seen colliding, entangling, and annihilating each other in midair.

Three of them glowed crimson, dark gold, and blazing white, radiating savage flames and destruction—the three heads of the Three-Headed Crimson Flame Demon Dragon.

The fourth was a "river of sword qi," formed from countless tiny sword lights, vast and ceaseless, representing the peerless sword art of the Wan Jian Ancestor.

This was a confrontation beyond ordinary comprehension; each strike seemed capable of shattering mountains and evaporating rivers.

Suddenly, Chen Mu's gaze sharpened.

High above, the blazing white light pillar flickered violently, then abruptly dimmed and vanished like a snuffed candle.

"Huh? One of the heads' light pillars went out?" Chen Mu's heart leapt.

Not long after, as the demon dragon launched a furious counterattack and the sword qi river trembled slightly, the second dark gold light pillar also shuddered violently and collapsed with a roar.

"Two gone! Has the Three-Headed Crimson Flame Demon Dragon lost two heads?!"

Chen Mu was stunned and uncertain; the distance was too great, the energy interference too strong—he could not see the details, only judge by the presence or absence of the light pillars.

"If I remember correctly—"

Beside him, Long Tutu propped her chin on her small hand, straining to recall the ancient texts she'd read, "The reason the Three-Headed Crimson Flame Demon Dragon is so troublesome is not only its immense strength, but also its terrifying vitality and regenerative ability."

"As long as its three heads aren't destroyed simultaneously, or its true core life source isn't damaged, it can regrow them—at a cost and with time!"

"Regenerate?!"

Chen Mu's heart tightened; he immediately focused again on the distant battlefield.

Indeed!

Just a few breaths after the dark gold light pillar vanished, the spot where the blazing white pillar had extinguished erupted again with violent energy fluctuations—a new, albeit thinner, blazing white light stubbornly surged forth once more!

"It really can regenerate!"

Chen Mu sucked in a sharp breath; the antiquity of this beast's tenacity surpassed imagination.

Yet the Wan Jian Ancestor clearly had anticipated this—or simply didn't care.

Just as the blazing white pillar flickered back to life, still unstable—

"Whrrr—!"

The vast "river of sword qi" spanning the sky suddenly changed.

It no longer maintained its river-like form; instead, like a celestial maiden scattering flowers, it fractured and spread out.

Countless sword qi no longer converged into one stream, but became a "lake of sword qi" or a "sword qi nebula" covering the entire sky, tightly enveloping, entangling, and wearing down the newly reignited blazing white pillar, the last remaining crimson pillar, and the demon dragon's massive body alike!

After the division, each individual sword qi might have slightly less power, but its flexibility, coverage, and sustained attack density increased by more than a notch.

They clung like burrowing parasites, turning slowly like grinding stones, steadily eroding the demon dragon's final resistance.

The crimson pillar's glow visibly dimmed under the relentless strangulation of infinite sword qi.

The newly regenerated blazing white pillar flickered like a candle in the wind, barely holding on for less than ten breaths before vanishing once more.

This time, it did not reignite.

Regenerate?

Not anymore.

Finally, under Chen Mu and Long Tutu's tense gaze, the crimson pillar—the last sign of the demon dragon's resistance—let out a final, mournful cry, like shattering glass, before dissolving into countless scattered light points, utterly annihilated.

With the disappearance of the last light pillar, the earth-shattering clash of energy, the demon dragon's furious roars, and the piercing shrieks of sword qi tearing through space gradually faded and calmed.

The twisted light gradually returned to normal; the violent energy currents began to dissipate.

Only the lingering, heart-chilling pressure, and the air thick with heat, sharpness, and blood, proved that a brief yet historically monumental battle had just occurred.

Far in the sky, the gray hue of daytime slowly returned, though the clouds in that region had vanished entirely, as if erased by an invisible giant hand.

"Dead… dead?"

Chen Mu stared at the sky gradually calming, murmuring uncertainly, "Has the Three-Headed Crimson Flame Demon Dragon been slain by the Wan Jian Ancestor?"

He turned to look at Long Tutu beside him, hoping for confirmation from this knowledgeable little girl.

"Don't look at me—I don't know."

Long Tutu spread her small hands, her face equally confused and uncertain. "Too far away, too much energy interference—we can't sense the outcome at all."

"At this level—Mansions of Ten Thousand Forms elders versus ancient beasts—the line between victory and death is razor-thin. Maybe the demon dragon used some secret technique to fake its death and escaped. Who knows?"

"That assumption is kind of terrifying."

Chen Mu patted Long Tutu's head, frowning slightly, lost in thought for a moment.

Though the battle at Wangyue Valley had grown chaotic and elevated due to the sudden appearance of the Three-Headed Crimson Flame Demon Dragon and the Wan Jian Ancestor's arrival, had any remnants of the Mo Sect's branch stronghold survived?

How were Li Tianjun, Yan Baireui, and other righteous experts faring?

Most importantly—had that terrifying demon dragon truly been slain?

If it was dead, what ability would the card he picked up grant?

Chen Mu's heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably.

Regardless of everything else—even just for the card—he had to return and confirm!

"Tutu, wait here."

Chen Mu made his decision, seriously instructing Long Tutu: "Don't wander off. Stay on this summit—it's open and relatively safe. I'll move closer to check the situation and return quickly."

"Alright, alright."

Long Tutu waved her small hand, adopting a self-assured, grown-up demeanor. "I'm not a three-year-old—I know the stakes. You be careful, Old Chen. Don't get too close. Just take a look from afar."

Chen Mu nodded, wasting no more time; his figure blurred into a faint blue shadow.

Along the ridge, he sped toward Wangyue Valley, a hundred li away, where the terrifying storm had just subsided.

Just approaching the valley…

【Corpse detected. Retrieve?】