Chapter 207: Execution

Jiang Yuan had no time to mount an effective defense; Wu Jie the monk and Bei Tian were equally caught off guard—the Bai Yuying demon’s speed was simply too fast.

At the very brink of death, as the Bai Yuying demon poised to sever Jiang Yuan’s head with its sharp wings, its body suddenly froze midair.

Qing!

A tiny fluorescent moon sword suddenly appeared, and the moment the Bai Yuying demon broke free from the heavenly and earthly momentum technique, it was flung away by the sword.

The book spirit Yan Chixia, summoned earlier by Lu Fang, clenched his fist—the fluorescent moon sword shattered into thousands of blades, lashing toward the Bai Yuying demon.

At first, the Bai Yuying demon paid it no mind, but when each streak of sword light effortlessly pierced through its demonic aura, it paid the price for its arrogance.

The fluorescent moon sword did not pierce the Bai Yuying demon with multiple holes, but it did wound it.

“Book spirit?”

The Bai Yuying demon twitched its lips, as if verifying something, scanning Lu Fang and the book spirit Yan Chixia.

In the entire Zhou Empire, few could manifest a book spirit.

And everyone who could was no obscure figure—let alone Lu Fang, the Prophet, whose deeds the Bai Yuying demon had long known.

Including the appearance of the book spirit Yan Chixia, and the fluorescent moon sword.

Yet the image of this bearded middle-aged man did not match the known identity of the Zhou Empire’s Wenguang Marquis, causing the Bai Yuying demon to hesitate repeatedly before finally blurting out: “How can you summon the book spirit Yan Chixia of the Zhou Empire’s Wenguang Marquis?”

Seeing Lu Fang remain silent, it added: “No mistake—that fluorescent moon sword, which has special effects against demonic qi, I would never misidentify.”

“You’re wrong!”

The giant Lu Fang rumbled, clenched his fist, and the space around him churned like boiling water—the ground trembled as if struck by an earthquake, countless pebbles leapt into the air under some unseen force.

The powerful shockwave sent Jiang Yuan and the other three sliding over ten zhang away.

The three exchanged glances, each seeing shock in the others’ eyes—was this the power of a fourth-rank martial cultivator?

This was too strong—ridiculously strong!

Even with all their strength, the shockwave left them aching all over.

The Bai Yuying demon, at the epicenter of the heavenly and earthly momentum technique, could not move a muscle—even breathing was agonizing.

Lu Fang, using the supernatural ability “Conceal Heaven and Deceive Earth,” had unleashed a heavenly and earthly momentum far beyond the norm for a sixth-rank, third-stage cultivator.

Cracks of snapping bones echoed from the Bai Yuying demon’s body—immense force crushed portions of its hardened bones into powder.

Pu!

The Bai Yuying demon spat out a mouthful of blood—this acted like a switch; blood began seeping from its seven orifices and skin.

“Interesting!”

It gazed at Lu Fang with manic eyes.

Under Lu Fang’s current state, the full force of the heavenly and earthly momentum was indeed formidable—if a weaker fourth-rank cultivator had been caught in it, they would have been torn apart instantly.

But the Bai Yuying demon was no ordinary fourth-rank demon—this shock alone could wound it, yet it was far from enough to kill it.

Qing!

The fluorescent moon sword reappeared, under the control of the book spirit Yan Chixia, launching a furious assault on the Bai Yuying demon.

The Bai Yuying demon’s pupils turned crimson—it broke free of the restraint outright, clearly using some secret technique to temporarily boost its power.

In this state, the Bai Yuying demon’s abilities surged dramatically, yet it still remained under the pressure of the heavenly and earthly momentum—its demonic aura for defense had visibly weakened.

The book spirit Yan Chixia easily inflicted numerous sword wounds upon it in this condition, but only wounds.

Yet that was enough.

Lu Fang only needed the book spirit Yan Chixia to stall the Bai Yuying demon—originally, this task was meant for Jiang Yuan and the other three—but he had just realized their power gap was too vast; only the book spirit could handle it.

Almost the instant the book spirit Yan Chixia attacked the Bai Yuying demon, Lu Fang began gathering power for the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, drawing upon ten soul forces.

By the time the Bai Yuying demon sensed something amiss and turned toward Lu Fang, it was too late.

The Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, charged with ten soul forces, severed the Bai Yuying demon’s head—a massive geyser of blood shot into the air.

In an instant, the scene fell silent.

Lu Fang reverted to his original size, swaying slightly before steadying himself.

As he had predicted, due to his improved realm and strength, he did not collapse into weakness as he had last time.

After gulping down large quantities of bookish qi, he quickly regained some of his strength.

Jiang Yuan and the other three stood frozen, staring at Lu Fang as if he were a monster—the flash of the blade that slew the Bai Yuying demon had been but a fleeting glimpse, yet it had shaken their very souls.

Such an unparalleled slash.

If it had struck them, their fate would have been the same.

“This place is dangerous. If I’m right, many more demonic barbarians will come here—you’d better find a hidden spot to hide and lie low. They’re not after you—they’re after the Lesser Upper Realm.”

Lu Fang walked toward the Bai Yuying demon’s corpse, waved his hand to store it in his storage pouch, and turned to Jiang Yuan: “Wait until they’ve all entered the Lesser Upper Realm before you leave.”

With that, he vanished into the distance.

Only after Lu Fang was gone did Jiang Yuan and the other three exhale in unison, staring at the bloodstained ground and the deep, trench-like scar left by the blade, their expressions filled with complex emotion.

Bei Tian swallowed hard and forced out a smile: “I never had much faith in the martial path before—but now I see how narrow-minded I was. If I had even half the power that man possesses at fourth rank, it would be quite splendid.”

The Wu Jie monk cleared his throat twice, murmured a Buddhist chant: “That elder doesn’t seem purely a martial cultivator—he summoned a book spirit just now. Even all three of us combined might not be a match for that book spirit alone.”

Jiang Yuan shook her head with a bitter smile: “It’s truly astonishing. I’ve met many geniuses before, but that elder… he’s beyond comprehension.”

It was no wonder these three felt so awestruck.

Though Lu Fang had disguised himself as a fourth-rank martial cultivator, Jiang Yuan and the others were not far behind in realm.

Yet even so, every supernatural ability Lu Fang wielded was something they could never hope to attain.

Take the heavenly and earthly momentum—mere residual force left them aching; had they been at its center like the Bai Yuying demon, they would have been dead.