Chapter 88

Qian Chen pushed his sword light to its utmost, exhausting all his magical power with no reserve—this strike had reached the peak of his sword cultivation since he first took up the blade. Earlier, to drive the Three Corpses Demons into the Great White Bone Divine Form, he had faced head-on the blow of the Heaven-Towering Form, seemingly dismantling Miao Kong’s fatal strike and completely reversing the situation—but Qian Chen himself had already suffered grave injuries.

Merely touching that divine demon’s giant palm, his protective magical power was utterly shattered.

At this moment, with all his magical power spent, Qian Chen could no longer suppress his wounds; his already severely damaged body cracked open at once. The profound exhaustion of his depleted soul and the aching swelling of his spirit sea left him on the brink of exhaustion after thrusting this sword—his lamp nearly guttered out.

Yan hadn’t even caught his breath when he saw Qian Chen’s utterly relentless strike.

He cried out in horror: “Brother Qian, why such desperation? Don’t you know excessive rigidity breaks easily? To slay a Yin Spirit with a Golden Core is already an almost impossible feat—even if your sword art has broken through, you still may not kill this man!”

“A demonic cultivator who has forged a primordial demon is no longer human,” Qian Chen thought calmly: “Without a sword of treasure-grade quality, without a supreme technique capable of piercing Yin Spirits, with my Qinghong Sword and merely non-supreme sword art—I cannot kill him! The restrictions and demonic backlash triggered by the Three Corpses Demons have severely wounded him, but given time, he can suppress them. Then, even if Miao Kong is gravely injured, dealing with us will be no great challenge.”

“This ambush succeeded because we exploited his fear of ‘fate.’ To kill me, he poured out all his strength—overextending himself. Demonic arts and treasures, though immensely powerful, favor reckless gambits. Miao Kong unleashed his utmost power, yet placed himself in the gravest danger. I merely gave him a subtle nudge, causing his unleashed force to spiral out of control.”

“You could say most of his troubles are self-inflicted!”

“I’ve calculated every angle this time—leveraging his contempt, his fear, his rage, targeting the weaknesses in his nature. But next time, Miao Kong will be fully prepared. There will never be another such opportunity!”

“He must die…”

The Morning Star hung high in the east; dawn was breaking. Myriad stars faded gradually, the moon dimmed and sank low in the west. This was the darkest moment before dawn. Qian Chen’s sword light moved with unimaginable speed—beneath the dark sky, it resembled a fleeting meteor, a lightning bolt about to vanish. With silent brilliance, it flowed forth in an instant, arriving before Miao Kong’s face!

Miao Kong, struggling against the demonic backlash, suddenly opened his eyes!

His gaze instantly cleared—all demonic thoughts were extinguished. In that fleeting instant, Qian Chen and Miao Kong seemed to read each other’s eyes. Miao Kong’s expression was utterly calm, as if saying: “You’ve done all you could to drive me to this point. Too bad—I must still destroy you utterly with the most complete means. As long as a terrifying enemy like you lives, I shall never rest.”

“I underestimated you. But haven’t you underestimated me just as much?”

“Even reduced to this wretched state, I am one who has forged a primordial demon… You saw only my strongest technique—the twelve White Bone Relics. But what is my primordial demon? Did you calculate it?”

At that moment, nine ghastly spirits burst forth from Miao Kong’s body—blue-faced, fanged, with white hair and red eyes, arms grotesquely elongated past their knees, their bodies utterly devoid of flesh, blackened and emaciated.

These spirits carried boundless malice, hatred, ill will, and madness, shrieking wildly, devoid of reason, instinctively slipping into the void—suddenly darting into Qian Chen’s Sleeve of Flowing Clouds.

The nine spirits merged with the twelve White Bone Relics, instantly erupting in chaos. The frenzied spirits and white bone demons entangled, churning violently, nearly bursting through the seals of the Sleeve of Flowing Clouds. If these demonic spirits broke free, the first thing they would do is devour Qian Chen alive—his death would be horrific beyond words. Qian Chen could only recall his sword light, slashing at his own sleeve to shatter the celestial spirits and demons once more, then withdrawing all his magical power to reinforce the Sleeve of Flowing Clouds and suppress the unrest of the White Bone Relics.

Only then did Miao Kong reveal his cold, merciless killing intent: “I fear death deeply—so the primordial demon I forged is the Nine Sons and Mother Celestial Ghosts, designed first and foremost for survival!”

“Nine Sons Ghosts, plus the Boundless Mother Ghost—ten lives total! Even if you slay the demons, you must kill me ten times… Among demonic cultivators who have forged primordial demons, I am among the hardest to kill.”

“Otherwise, how could I have offended so many Nascent Soul True Persons and still roamed free until now?”

The Heaven Net Umbrella was shattered, the Dragon Sparrow Ring had not yet been recalled, the Sleeve of Flowing Clouds and all of Qian Chen’s magical power were devoted to suppressing the rebellious twelve White Bone Relics… At this moment, Qian Chen was so weak that even a mortal with basic martial skill could end him with a single sword thrust.

Miao Kong’s gaze grew even more deranged: “To kill you, I transferred those demons onto the Nine Sons Ghosts, then severed them all. I even dared to let these demons return to their place, giving you all twelve White Bone Relics. But can you even handle them? That’s none of my concern!”

The Nine Sons and Mother Celestial Ghosts are the supreme demonic spirit among demonic arts—far surpassing the Seven Emotions Demons, the Five Poisons Demons by countless degrees.

They belong to the same Nine Abyss Demon Path scripture, the “Complete Catalog of Celestial Demons,” as the Three Corpses Demons… By severing the Nine Sons Ghosts to absorb the backlash, Miao Kong has essentially severed his own Dao foundation—he has crippled his cultivation at its core. Even if he kills Qian Chen, his losses are unimaginable; this single act will delay his advancement into the Primordial Demon realm by a thousand years.

Countless toils and countless sins would be required to reforge the Nine Sons Ghosts.

The hatred between Miao Kong and Qian Chen had reached a point where even grinding their bones to ash could not erase it. As he spoke, his teeth clenched so tightly he seemed ready to bite a chunk of flesh from Qian Chen.

Inside the hall, the Sword Immortal Yan frantically pushed his sword light—but the distance between Qian Chen and Miao Kong had already become a mere inch apart.

Gray Nine Abyss Demon Fire raged wildly. The flames leaping in Miao Kong’s hand emitted no heat, yet radiated a clamorous madness—like the cold, cruel eyes of a wolf. Qian Chen gazed at Miao Kong’s Boundless Mother Ghost body, at the hatred seeping from his disheveled hair, the bone-deep icy gaze.

Facing the overwhelming tide of Nine Abyss Demon Fire, a flame that burned all things in the deepest abyss.

Qian Chen’s eyes remained calm, as if transcending life and death—even finding time to smile faintly: “So it’s the Nine Sons and Mother Celestial Ghosts… Miao Kong, you truly deserve to die.”

The Nine Abyss Demon Fire erupted, surging a hundred zhang high. The roaring sea of flame, merely licking with its tongues, vaporized everything it touched. The Sword Immortal Yan barely managed to seize Zhiqiu and flee, turning back only to see Qian Chen’s figure vanish into the fire—his Seven Fiend Banners, entwined with malevolent energy, could not even hold for an instant before being utterly consumed.

Beneath this torrential demon fire, even a hundred Golden Core cultivators would perish without a trace.

At this moment, every Reincarnation practitioner within the Tian Sha Peak’s range—whether locked in mortal combat or scheming against each other—felt the overwhelming force and halted instantly, silently watching this terrifying strike!

Beneath Tian Sha Peak, something opened its eyes, watching this direction with caution…

The Nine Abyss Demon Fire was the technique Miao Kong once used to annihilate the Languan Sect—its power immense. Though it could be extinguished in a single strike by a Nascent Soul True Person, beneath that level, merely brushing against it would burn the body to ash; direct exposure would prevent even the true spirit from escaping. Had Miao Kong not been certain that the Supreme Dao Dust Pearl, such an extraordinary treasure, could not be destroyed by mere demon fire, he would never have dared use this flame.

When Miao Kong used the Nine Abyss Demon Fire to kill, he left nothing but a handful of ashes!

Qian Chen’s figure vanished instantly into the gray Nine Abyss Demon Fire. He faced it all with calm composure, his image frozen in a strange, distorted frame where the demon fire warped space—appearing tragically like the end of a road.

Yet his unwaveringly calm gaze as he died left Miao Kong with a stifling frustration—his violent rage had nowhere to vent.

At this moment, the east brightened; a slender beam of light illuminated the earth.

Dawn dispelled the darkness and descended upon the mortal realm.

The Sword Immortal Yan sighed in grief: “Brother Qian…”

“This demon is beyond our capacity to confront…” Yan’s sword light seized Zhiqiu and prepared to flee: “Preserve your useful body—avenge Brother Qian another day!”

Miao Kong laughed wildly, attempting to recall the Nine Abyss Demon Fire. Where the fire receded, a hundred-li void suddenly appeared in this land…

The small hill where Qian Chen and Miao Kong had faced each other had vanished entirely. The direction facing Lanruo Temple was now open—the hill once standing there had turned to charred earth.

At this moment, the great sun in the east had leapt up, yet the western moon had not yet set. The Nine Abyss Demon Fire now remained only as a cluster of dozens of zhang, surging toward Miao Kong, drawn back into his primordial demon body. Miao Kong waited for the fire to recede, expecting the Dao Dust Pearl to appear—but he failed to notice that the bright moon above still shone brightly, crystal-clear like an ice ball, its radiance no less brilliant than the newly risen sun.

“Ice Soul Cold Light Line!”

The Guanghan Ice Soul Primordial Pill manifested from the moonlight, landing on Qian Chen’s fingertip. Within the crystal-clear primordial pill, the Yin Essence and Ice Soul Essence intertwined, shooting forth a beam of crystalline light—seemingly the purest, coldest ray from the deepest darkness of the Yin Moon.

From the primordial, frigid age of the myriad heavens!

The beam was unremarkable, its energy utterly contained, with not a trace leaking out—like a thread of moonlight gathered into a single line.

But Miao Kong had no time to react. Divine light techniques were the fastest arts in the universe. The moment he saw the light, his entire body was engulfed in a chill that froze the Three Realms—like the entire cosmos had fallen into eternal stillness, all qi solidified.

The insubstantial, formless Boundless Mother Ghost’s upper body shattered abruptly.

This celestial ghost, the very pinnacle of ghosts, had its half-body frozen into shards… Miao Kong’s Yin Spirit and primordial demon had long fused as one. Now, his primordial demon’s lower half transformed into a stream of demon fire, instantly fleeing into the void—exerting to the extreme the ghost’s ability to move freely through the void. His escape speed was unmatched in this world.