Chapter 188

Qian Chen said in a low voice: "Noble pressure forces one to be unfree; the dragon soars and the phoenix dances, the momentum is hard to contain."

The surrounding black smoke and blood mist rolled like a huge rising wave, suddenly surging hundreds of feet high before crashing down toward the Dou Xiaoyan Pagoda. With white bones and shadows, nearly a hundred demon gods and ghosts shuttled through it incessantly, along with phosphorus fire, poisonous insects, vengeful souls, and evil ghosts. These things manifested into various demon god dharma-images, ferocious and terrifying.

Either wrapped in golden blades and raging flames, or trailing yin thunder and malevolent qi, they brandished demonic magic treasures and divine weapons, charging toward Qian Chen to kill him.

Endless demonic fire and thunder light, black smoke and blood mist submerged Qian Chen. Through the demon gods that were biting at Qian Chen incessantly, amidst the churning black smoke and blood mist, a trace of spiritual light faintly shone through.

Qian Chen held the Hun Tian Qing Luo umbrella in one hand, the Qiantian Yi Qi Qing Gang descending, and he even had the spare energy to protect the Dou Xiaoyan Pagoda beneath his feet.

The Sentient sword in his hand drew upon threads of Yuan Magnetic power, and purple lightning appeared, coiling around the sword body. At this moment, his long sword suddenly left his hand. Surrounded by a swarm of demons, Qian Chen actually waved his hand to throw the sword, casting it into the clouds. A streak of sword light flew up from the Dou Xiaoyan Pagoda, instantly piercing the night sky, reaching hundreds of feet high, and vanishing into the clouds.

The stone Buddha frowned, wondering what kind of strange move this was?

Although the Qiantian Yi Qi Qing Gang was tough and had astonishing defensive power, under the attrition of numerous demon lords, it was only a matter of time before it was broken.

Yet at this moment, Qian Chen had let go of the only long sword in his hand capable of slaying demon gods.

"Could it be that he is using sword light to pierce the shrouding black mist, to alert his companions and wait for Sima Chengzhen to come to his aid?" Garuda asked, puzzled.

"That's perfect, lure Sima Chengzhen over as well and kill them together!" the demon god who had transformed into the Yaksha King sneered.

The stone Buddha watched solemnly as the Sentient sword pierced through the shrouding black mist and was about to vanish into the clouds, when suddenly he heard a roar from Qian Chen at the top of the Dou Xiaoyan Pagoda!

"Three thousand guests intoxicated by flowers in the hall, one sword's frost chills fourteen provinces!"

The Yuan Magnetic power entwined on the Sentient sword suddenly erupted into an intense streak of sword light. In the night sky above the Great Ci'en Temple, a soul-stirring brilliance bloomed...

Like a three-thousand-foot-long ribbon of silk, illuminating the night sky of Chang'an!

The Liang Yi Yuan Magnetic Divine Light was added to the Sentient sword. Below, the black smoke and blood mist—the black tide composed of countless demon gods' bizarre magic and supernatural powers—suddenly surged again. The black mist at the very top followed the tail of the sword light, attracted by the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light. Countless demon gods, vengeful souls, and evil ghosts within the black mist rolled about, and the demon gods on the outermost edge involuntarily flew toward the sword light...

At this moment, the blood mist, black smoke, white bones, and shadows on the ground were all firmly attracted by the powerful swallowing force erupted by the sword light.

Swallowed away by that Yuan Magnetic Divine Light...

The blood mist and black smoke surged toward the sky, like a black lotus with petals closing layer by layer.

That three-thousand-foot ribbon of sword light was like a straw, instantly emptying the black smoke and blood mist below. The various demon gods surrounding Qian Chen were all involuntarily rushing toward the sky, just like a tornado sucking up a huge water spout on the sea.

Countless evil ghosts and demon lords spun within the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, constantly compressing together. A swarm of demon lords, as if squeezed into a tiny straw, were extracted by the sword light, rushing into the clouds along a path of sword light only one foot wide.

The dense, countless supernatural powers, spells, vengeful souls, evil ghosts, and demon lords around Qian Chen all lost control simultaneously, extracted by the sword light. Constantly, demonic fire and yin thunder condensed to the extreme within the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, rolling together. Shadows entwined with white bones, demonic fire clung to yin thunder; those various vicious spells, those poisonous insects and flood dragons, all collided within the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.

Demonic fire and yin thunder burned the poisonous insects and white bones, countless shadows entangled together, worn away by yin malevolence. The demon lords were refined by the purple lightning within the magnetic light, and those threads of obscure primordial qi were refined by the endless Qiantian Yang Qi drawn by the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.

Those countless demon lords, spells, supernatural powers, and magic treasures were swallowed by the sword light, surging together, out of control.

They collided and annihilated each other, destroying eighty percent of themselves.

The remainder, facing the attrition of the Liang Yi Yuan Magnetic, gradually wore away by half.

Finally, the massive demon god black tide was left with only a single line of black qi, entangled within the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light...

At this moment, the sword light that had plunged three thousand feet into the clouds began to turn back. Like lightning shooting downward, that single line of sword light returned along its original path, its tip aimed at the line of demon lord black mist, splitting it apart completely like a thunderbolt.

The remaining demon lords, facing the peerless sharpness of that sword light, could not even offer the slightest resistance before being split in two by the fierce sword light, and subsequently completely worn away by the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light.

Qian Chen lowered the Tian Luo umbrella and turned around again. He held the white shark-skin scabbard, and at the final instant the sword light descended, he guided it with his hand to receive it. The sword light pierced through the void, and the Sentient sword entered the scabbard with a "clack."

Second sword—Liang Yi Yuan Magnetic!

Standing tall on the Dou Xiaoyan Pagoda, Qian Chen moved slightly, dodging a white bone rattle that had been split in two and was falling from above.

Only then did the various remnants of magic treasures that had survived the attrition of the Liang Yi Yuan Magnetic Divine Light fall from the sky. The remains of demon gods—made of bone, copper, iron, or even strange materials refined from primordial qi and evil ghosts—scattered all over the ground.

The poor Ear-Dao God hopped down from Qian Chen's shoulder, picking and choosing among the scattered trash.

It looked at Qian Chen vigilantly, secretly tucking the things it picked up into its little belly pouch, which was a mustard-seed space it had refined at some point. From then on, it no longer needed Qian Chen to keep its wealth. Qian Chen glanced at it slightly, but ignored it. Did he help keep it because the Ear-Dao God didn't have a Qiankun bag?

Not at all...

He was afraid it would spend it recklessly and ruin all the good things!

In the distance, Yan Shu, who was rushing over, saw the sword light turning back and splitting countless demon gods, and suddenly laughed: "I still underestimated my junior brother! How could a mere hundred and eight demon gods make my junior brother moved?"

He looked around and sighed, shaking his head: "This sword strike, I don't know how many people in Chang'an it has alarmed. Tomorrow, I fear it will be even more lively!"

Ning Qingchen also glimpsed that streak of sword light from afar. Behind her, countless evil ghosts and demon lords were frozen into statues by ice.

Purple clouds clustered around the light of the Ice Soul, holding up the flying sword as it floated uncertainly.

"Yan Yan Shixiong Qian's sword technique and magic power have become even more formidable!" she said with some dejection: "Now, we are just dragging Yan Yan Shixiong down! A demon den that I could hardly sweep away without Yan Yan Shixiong lending me his external elixir, must be just one sword strike for Yan Yan Shixiong. It seems I can no longer help Yan Yan Shixiong with anything!"

The Ghost King Zhong Kui also stared at that streak of sword light from afar. Seeing his sister walk in, he turned his head and asked: "Who is urging us again?"

Zhong Hua smiled sweetly and said: "The Crown Prince sent someone to ask for the inside story!" She revealed a cunning smile and said: "I brushed them off. I told him to go back and ask Li Bi!"

"The royalty and nobility of Chang'an actually have such deep connections with those demon lords." Zhong Kui shook his head and sighed: "It is also..."

"Sister, what do you think of the person who unleashed this sword light?" Zhong Kui raised his hand to unfold a portrait. It was indeed the swordsman Li Taibai, whom Qian Chen had disguised himself as, but with three long whiskers added, making him look more mature and steady. Looking at him, he naturally had an air of immortal wind and sword bones, clear and free. Zhong Kui laughed: "I sent someone to ask Sima Ziwei, and he said this person has the air of an immortal and the bones of a Daoist, capable of wandering the eight poles!"

"Having made such a big scene and jumping so high, I fear that within these few days, sooner or later, he will die an unnatural death!"

"When he dies! How about I summon him to be your husband?"

Zhong Hua smiled and shook Zhong Kui's arm, saying: "Brother, how can these righteous men who risk danger to protect Chang'an be allowed to die an unnatural death? With you protecting them, and with Celestial Master Sima there, they should be safe and sound."

"Sister!" Zhong Kui sighed and said: "You don't know the dangers of Chang'an. Even I, at times, can only protect you. The Crown Prince, Minister Yang, His Majesty, Imperial Consort Taizhen, and even An Lushan and Gao Xianzhi—which one of them is an ordinary person? This city is indeed the Divine Capital that shelters millions, but it is also a demon den that eats people without spitting out the bones!"

"Tonight, I can hold on for a while, but by tomorrow, Chang'an will no longer be a city under my jurisdiction!"

"They can only pray for their own good fortune and see if Sima Ziwei can protect them!"

"Someone who can have such sword technique..." Zhong Hua stared at the sword light that had not dissipated for a long time, and replied in a low but firm voice: "Absolutely will not die so easily!"

Under the Dou Xiaoyan Pagoda, the stone Buddha's aura was condensed and heavy; the Garuda Demon God opened its mouth several times but could not speak; the Yaksha King trembled all over, not knowing if it was out of fear or anger.

Although these demon gods were not the strongest among them, they represented nearly half of the demonic strength that had been lurking in temples and Daoist monasteries since the Empress's reign.

The sword light had not dissipated for a long time. Under the illumination of the residual sword light, that figure, who kept his hand on his sword and stared at them as if he were about to slowly draw it, gave the swarm of demon lords an incomparably strong sense of intimidation. Just being swept by his gaze felt like being faced by a peerless divine sword; the sharpness made their hair stand on end and their hearts jump with fear.

Except for the few of them, the remaining demon gods all looked at Qian Chen with trepidation, their eyes filled with fear.

Under the gaze of the swarm of demon lords, Qian Chen seemed to have three different faces, with six arms extending from his back. Clearly just a poet-swordsman holding a sword, in the eyes of the demon lords, he seemed like a three-headed, eight-armed demon god. One of Qian Chen's heads looked up at the moon, romantically reciting poetry; one head stared at the long sword in his hand, his expression incomparably focused; and the last head was indifferent and heartless, like the Heavenly Dao.

This was a change in Qian Chen's expression after he appeared in the eyes of the demon gods.

The one reciting poetry was the romantic and elegant poet standing on the Wild Goose Pagoda.

The one staring at the long sword was the swordsman who wielded his sword to kill, slaughtering the demon gods...

But who was the indifferent and heartless one? The swarm of demon lords did not know; this was the demonic nature they faintly glimpsed hidden within Qian Chen's essence.

Demonic natures also resonate with each other. The reason these demon gods were so afraid, and the reason Qian Chen killed them like slaughtering chickens, was because of what was deeply hidden in Qian Chen's essence—an infinite demonic nature capable of dominating them, making them fear him involuntarily, to the point where they didn't even dare to resist.

Of the six arms extending from Qian Chen's back, one held a long sword made of ice, one held a light sword where Yuan Magnetic forces converged like divine light, and the sword shadows in the other four hands were blurry, yet they made the swarm of demon gods fear him from the bottom of their hearts.

This person had only unleashed two sword strikes, and he was already about to slaughter them all.

If there were really four more sword strikes left, what would happen then?