A deep, ink-black curtain descended from the sky, dark as an abyss, engulfing the entire Bifeng Valley in its oppressive shadow.
The once-clear ravines and valleys of Bifeng Valley were now hidden within the thick darkness, their outlines completely invisible.
Even the gentle valley winds that used to drift through seemed to have been devoured by this pitch-black canopy, losing all their former vitality.
All anyone present could see was endless darkness.
It was as if every trace of light within Bifeng Valley had been mercilessly swallowed by the ink-black curtain that had fallen from the heavens.
This sudden turn of events shocked not only Hong Ying and his companion, but even the dozen or so Xuan Niao Wei members beside Li Chengxing. Their eyes went wide, faces filled with utter disbelief, their astonishment plain for all to see.
Wait a minute—you’ve been putting on an act for over a day now, and you were just messing with us the whole time?
You had such a terrifying trick up your sleeve, and you didn’t use it earlier?
You made us spend an entire day and more on tenterhooks!
A whole day!
Do you have any idea how we got through it?
“Li Chengxing, you damned bastard! You tricked me!”
Hong Ying’s eyes bulged instantly, fury erupting from the depths of his heart like an inferno, nearly burning away all reason.
In the blink of an eye, his aged face twisted with rage, veins bulging on his forehead, his expression ugly and distorted.
How could he not see it now? He had been completely and utterly fooled by Li Chengxing.
The power being unleashed from the Xuan Niao Heaven Seal in Li Chengxing’s hands far exceeded anything Hong Ying had anticipated.
No wonder this old fox hadn’t shown any weakness over the past day—he had been prepared all along!
Otherwise, the White Lotus Nightmare Flower back at Feihe Prefecture’s capital would have thrown Li Chengxing into complete disarray.
Wait—did they fail over at the prefectural capital?
Impossible!
That old skeleton Bai Gu carried the Primordial Spirit power of the Third Supreme Elder.
Unless a true person at the Spirit Mansion realm or above intervened, no one in Feihe Prefecture could possibly stop the White Lotus Nightmare Flower from blooming.
“Pure World Sacred Chant!”
The next second, Hong Ying threw his head back and roared, his voice rolling out like thunder, as if it could shatter the invisible air itself.
Instantly, his eyes burst forth with a piercing, eerie white glow—like two bolts of fierce lightning, cutting through the now-darkened Bifeng Valley.
At the same time, layers of strange halos began to ripple through the air, and one by one, bizarre white lotuses slowly materialized before everyone’s eyes.
The white lotuses bloomed one after another—flawless, pure, like ice and jade.
Each pristine petal radiated a soft yet dazzling light, and within the stamens lay an unfathomable mystery.
The white halos intertwined, dreamlike and surreal, yet carrying a chilling deterrent power.
Countless white lotuses spun slowly in midair, exuding an oppressive, suffocating energy.
Wave after wave of terrifying power swept outward, distorting space wherever it passed, as if it would devour every living thing in the world.
In the palm of Hong Ying’s right hand, the Pure Extremis Lotus seemed to be infused with boundless power. It broke free from his grip in an instant, hurtling toward the ink-black canopy with a shrieking howl.
The white halo surrounding the lotus exploded violently, like thousands of white blades crisscrossing in all directions, savagely tearing apart the surrounding darkness.
Wherever the white light touched, the surface of the ink-black canopy began to ripple with dizzying undulations.
And yet, for all its seemingly world-destroying force, when it struck the dark canopy, it was ultimately futile.
The canopy barely shuddered under Hong Ying’s attack.
The originally thick, ink-like darkness merely paled slightly.
Seeing Hong Ying still struggling in vain, Li Chengxing’s lips curled upward.
He leisurely stroked his neatly trimmed white beard under his chin, moving with unhurried confidence.
Then, a snicker escaped his nostrils—a laugh dripping with undisguised contempt and pride.
In Li Chengxing’s eyes, Hong Ying’s desperate struggles were nothing more than the thrashing of a trapped beast—utterly meaningless.
The Xuan Niao Heaven Seal was the foremost ritual vessel of the entire Xuan Niao Wei—a lunar-grade, eight-pattern artifact.
With Li Chengxing’s strength as a peak Outer Gang Grandmaster, coupled with the Xuan Niao Heaven Seal, he could unleash power far beyond the Outer Gang Grandmaster realm.
To escape from this Xuan Niao Canopy, it would take a true Spirit Mansion Realm expert attacking it directly.
Otherwise, there was virtually no chance for Hong Ying or his companion to break through.
Outside Bifeng Valley.
When the Azure Serpent King saw the Xuan Niao Canopy descend, its massive eyes flickered with golden light.
Like two pools of blazing gold, their radiance burned bright and dazzling.
Those useless Pure World White Lotus Sect fools seem to have been trapped by that ink-black canopy.
The Azure Serpent King pondered silently, its golden vertical pupils fixed on the dark curtain.
On its surface, profound black power of heaven and earth flickered faintly, its terrifying aura spreading like a tangible force.
Even the Azure Serpent King felt a wave of intense unease.
Its enormous body writhed restlessly, scales scraping together with a rustling sound.
More of these cursed things.
This power of the ink-black canopy was clearly the very thing the Azure Serpent King dreaded most—the vast, infinite force of heaven and earth.
No!
It was obvious that something major had gone wrong. Those damned humans of the Pure World White Lotus Sect weren’t reliable at all.
The Azure Serpent King was no fool. The moment the ink-black canopy descended, it knew trouble was brewing.
Run!
At this point, it couldn’t care less about those damned humans.
It had risked its life infiltrating the Great Xia Dynasty to carry out a vital mission entrusted by the several Demon Lords—to rescue Lord Dragon Lord and uncover some earth-shattering secrets.
Mu Yun stood firm in the void, his narrow eyes narrowing into slits, a cold gleam flashing within.
“Trying to flee?”
He had keenly detected the subtle shift in the Azure Serpent King’s posture.
The beast’s massive body was stealthily moving backward—there was no way that could escape Mu Yun’s perception.
Barely a moment after the words left his mouth, Mu Yun’s form blurred, transforming into what looked like a jet-black bolt of lightning, wrapped in sharp currents of air, charging straight toward the Azure Serpent King.
The air screamed as Mu Yun’s incredible speed ripped through it, churning the thick layers of clouds into a massive vortex.
“Azure Empyrean Infinite!”
The moment these four words rang out, the very winds and clouds changed. The bronze sword in Mu Yun’s hand suddenly blazed with an intense cyan glow.
The blade hummed and vibrated, faint azure clouds swirling around it, strands of cyan energy coiling along its edge.
Each strand of that cyan energy radiated immense power.
As the cyan energy flowed, ripples became visible in the surrounding space, distorting before their very eyes.
The ability to affect the ethereal void itself proved that this strike’s power was infinitely close to the Spirit Mansion realm’s command over the force of heaven and earth.
In the blink of an eye, a colossal cyan sword light—spanning heaven and earth—blazed into existence.
That sword light carried overwhelming, surging power as it howled through the sky, tearing the firmament in two.
It was so dazzling that wherever it passed, the space itself was seared with bright, crystalline lines, as if it could barely withstand the strain.
In less than a single breath, that cyan sword light—as if capable of severing the cosmos and erasing all life—pierced through layers of clouds and currents with boundless sharpness.
In an instant, it arrived before the Azure Serpent King, its biting sword aura striking first, rattling the beast’s scales like knives scraping against bone.
The Azure Serpent King’s enormous vertical pupils abruptly contracted, its depths reflecting the cyan sword light, now mere inches away and radiating annihilation.
That sword light carried a sense of unprecedented danger, like surging tides drowning it in an instant.
Damn you, human!
The Azure Serpent King suddenly twisted its mountain-sized body, every muscle bulging and taut, brimming with explosive power.
Especially the cyan scales at the tip of its tail—after a single instant—
They suddenly flared with a blinding, brilliant cyan radiance, like strange flames burning fiercely.
Within that cyan brilliance, terrifying power erupted.
And that immense force surged and gathered furiously at the tip of its tail.
The next moment, the Azure Serpent King’s thick tail lashed out with overwhelming momentum, slamming violently toward the incoming sword light.
It was like a celestial giant swinging a massive cyan steel whip.
Wherever the tail passed, the air exploded with a series of thunderous cracks as it collided head-on with the cyan sword light.
Immediately after, a terrifying storm of impact erupted, sweeping outward in all directions.
Wherever that storm passed, devastation reigned—hills flattened, rocks and sand hurled into the sky, forming a sandstorm that blotted out the sun.
“Hiss!”
But not long after, at the heart of the storm, the Azure Serpent King let out an earth-shattering, agonized roar.
That pained bellow rattled the surrounding air.
The cyan sword light had pierced straight through, plunging deep into the Azure Serpent King’s thick tail.
Its once-indestructible scales were now sliced open like paper, unable to withstand the strike’s edge.
Blood sprayed wildly from the tail wound, splattering everywhere, and its gleaming scales flew off in all directions.
Even after cutting through flesh, the sword light still carried residual power.
The split continued rapidly along the tail, flesh torn apart, barely held together by a few shreds.
In the end, the tail hung limp and nearly severed, dragging uselessly on the ground.
The Azure Serpent King shot Mu Yun a vicious glare with its golden vertical pupils, as if burning his face into its memory.
Then, before Mu Yun could react, the beast endured the searing agony.
Its massive body suddenly coiled in, then exploded outward like a cannonball, launching itself high into the air.
It stirred up howling winds, its enormous form blotting out the sun—but in the blink of an eye—
The Azure Serpent King dove headfirst into the solid ground below with crushing force.
BOOM!
A deafening crash, like the sky splitting and the earth cracking, shook the ground violently.
In an instant, a pitch-black, gaping hole appeared on the surface, with dirt and debris spraying outward in every direction.
The Azure Serpent King’s shadow moved like a phantom, plunging thousands of meters deep in the span of a breath.
In the end, only the massive hole remained, smoke and dust billowing endlessly from its mouth.
Witnessing the Azure Serpent King burrow into the earth, Mu Yun’s face flickered with hesitation. His brow furrowed slightly, his eyes reflecting deep thought and deliberation.
His feet seemed rooted to the air, frozen in place, his gaze flickering uncertainly.
This Azure Serpent King was the most troublesome demonic beast he had ever encountered—bar none.
Even as a half-step Spirit Mansion realm martial artist wielding the stellar-grade ritual vessel, the Azure Empyrean Sword, he still couldn’t kill it quickly.
Moreover, the Azure Serpent King was exceptionally fast—far surpassing ordinary demonic beasts.
Mu Yun wasn’t even sure he could catch up to it.
Against a peak Demon King beast determined to flee, unless one had overwhelming power capable of crushing it, it was nearly impossible to stop.
And that overwhelming power would require a true Spirit Mansion realm expert.
Rather than waste his energy chasing the beast, it made more sense to rush back and help Old Li finish off those Pure World White Lotus Sect scum.
After all, compared to those damned cultists and those demonic beasts—
Just as Mu Yun had made up his mind—
The thick clouds on the distant horizon were suddenly torn apart by an inexplicable force, followed by a thunderous roar:
“Beast! Don’t you dare run!”
That roar carried boundless, overwhelming power—like ten thousand bolts of thunder, shaking the earth.
The next moment, a blazing purple light shot forward, wrapped in a raging storm, tearing through all obstacles in the sky with unstoppable force, hurtling toward Mu Yun’s position.
Without a doubt, the one flying at that breakneck speed was none other than Lu Xuan.
Facing Lu Xuan directly, Mu Yun felt an invisible pressure bearing down on him—like an immense mountain standing before him, ready to crush him.
“What?!”
Caught off guard by this sudden, terrifying oppression, Mu Yun’s face went blank for a moment.
Was he being intimidated?
Such incredible power!
It had been years since he’d felt such an overwhelming, irresistible force.
Mu Yun’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief, fixed on Lu Xuan’s figure, his gaze filled with utter shock!
