Chapter 406: It's a lost cause.

At Yuanchu Mountain, Li Guan, Qin Wu's projection, and Luo Tang's projection nervously watched the scene unfolding within the spatial ripples. The Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign, who had previously appeared overwhelmingly powerful, was now clutching his head and wailing, constantly under attack. This sight brought the three of them a sense of relief.

However, immediately after, the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign recovered completely, appearing unharmed. (His Primordial Spirit injuries were not visible externally.)

The dark-red prison began to shrink. The Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign unleashed a forbidden art, throwing a full-power punch that was terrifyingly potent.

"How insidious," Li Guan and the other two instantly realized. "If this were aimed at Meng Chuan, he would dodge it! But against Liu Qiyue, Meng Chuan will instinctively block." They understood this, but there was nothing they could do.

"Don’t block it," Bai Yaoyue muttered, her fists clenched as she nervously watched the scene in the Sky-Gazing Mirror.

"That punch carries the power of the entire dark-red prison; it cannot be blocked," Meng Tiange exclaimed, agitated. "With the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign using a forbidden art, this punch might even approach the power threshold of an Emperor."

"It absolutely cannot be blocked; blocking it means certain death," Xu Yingwu and others from Two World Island watched anxiously as well. At the Creation realm venerable level, they could all faintly infer the immense power of this punch. Mobilizing the power of the entire dark-red prison, in a true life-or-death struggle, such a punch approached the Emperor realm threshold. Could a Marquis Godfiend possibly block it?

However, the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign’s insidious punch was aimed at Liu Qiyue. The punch was so fast that space itself shattered, and Meng Chuan couldn't possibly pull Liu Qiyue into his Grotto-Heaven Bead.

"Qiyue," Meng Chuan exclaimed in alarm. As the three layers of lightning shields disintegrated one after another, his eighteen protective Blood Blades instantly expanded their range, encompassing Liu Qiyue beside him.

"A’Chuan," Liu Qiyue murmured, activating Phoenix Nirvana. The increasingly pure power of her Phoenix Bloodline was ignited, causing her Primordial Spirit and physical body to undergo transformation. Insights into the fire lineage continuously surged into her mind. This state of enlightenment came at the cost of her lifespan. Liu Qiyue felt she was strong enough, yet facing the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign's punch, she was still no match. It was her husband, Meng Chuan, who stepped forward to block it.

"Boom."

The colossal dark-red fist, after shattering the three layers of lightning shields from the Azure Cloud Heaven, then slammed into the protective layer formed by the eighteen Blood Blades. The resistance from the Azure Cloud Heaven was negligible. However, the protection from the eighteen Blood Blades was significantly stronger. These were Tribulation realm secret treasures designed purely for defense, offering much greater protection. When wielded by Meng Chuan at his current realm, they were robust enough to withstand the relentless assault of a peak Creation realm expert without breaking. It was just that the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign’s punch was too powerful, directly approaching the Emperor realm threshold.

At the same moment the punch struck the eighteen Blood Blades, a pitch-black demon cone once again pierced into the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign's sea of consciousness. The demon cone, already fractured internally, chose this critical moment to forcefully penetrate the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign’s Primordial Spirit once more!

"Argh!" The Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign writhed in unbearable pain, barely maintaining consciousness with his extraordinary willpower as he still unleashed the punch. It scattered the eighteen Blood Blades, but its momentum was disrupted, and its power was significantly reduced.

The colossal dark-red fist, its momentum scattered and power greatly diminished, still hurtled towards Liu Qiyue. Meng Chuan, however, gripped his Demon Slaying Blade with both hands and actively met the blow.

"Boom."

Divine power — World Control!Divine power — Flowing Sand!

Both divine powers fully erupted. Even against a punch whose power was greatly reduced and scattered, Meng Chuan gave his all. "He can’t block it," Bai Yaoyue, Li Guan, Xu Yingwu, and others watched with bated breath.

"A’Chuan!" Liu Qiyue was even more anxious, regretting her insufficient strength. She fully mobilized the power deep within her bloodline.

For Meng Chuan, everything outside seemed to slow down. Meng Chuan perceived time at ten times the speed of the outside world. When he executed his Cloudmist Dragon-Serpent Blade Art, its finesse appeared vastly superior to external observers. Under World Control, he unleashed greater power and speed, and his Indestructible Divine Armor also strengthened. The blade technique he employed was a force-dissipating move. Dissipate as much force as possible! Diverting most of the power aside.

"Boom—"

The moment the blade and fist collided, Meng Chuan’s entire body shuddered. Blood mist rose from his skin, and many of his bones, internal organs, and tissues fractured. Yet, Meng Chuan held his Demon Slaying Blade firmly with both hands. In an instant, his bones, muscles, and internal organs completely healed.

"Hmm?" The Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign had been delighted when Meng Chuan ultimately blocked the punch in front of Liu Qiyue. "Even with my Primordial Spirit under attack and shattering multiple layers of defense, this punch still retains thirty percent of its power, enough to kill him," the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign thought to itself. However, the outcome was that most of the punch’s force was dissipated. After the true power was further blocked by the Indestructible Divine Armor, it merely caused blood mist to erupt from Meng Chuan’s skin before he completely recovered.

"He blocked it?" The Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign was incredulous. Waves of searing pain from its Primordial Spirit washed over it, making even the manipulation of the dark-red prison feel arduous.

"I blocked it," Meng Chuan said, feeling extremely fortunate. That punch was too powerful. Even if only thirty percent of its power remained, had it been executed with extreme precision, it definitely wouldn't have been dissipated by his Cloudmist Dragon-Serpent Blade Art. If it had truly struck his body, there was a high probability he would have been killed!

Without the demon cone, had the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign been able to unleash its full power, a direct confrontation would have seen him swept away with no ability to resist. His only option would have been to promptly bring his wife into the Grotto-Heaven Bead and rely on a body-protecting stone talisman to escape. But then… if the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign failed, it would unleash its wrath on Jiangzhou City, and over twenty million people within the city would perish.

"Even I can gain a significant boost in strength from a Tribulation realm secret treasure. This Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign’s power after acquiring such a powerful item is indeed terrifying," Meng Chuan thought with an internal shudder. "Fortunately, I cultivated the Demon Cone secret art, which greatly damaged its strength."

"Whew." The pitch-black demon cone was now covered in cracks, seemingly on the verge of shattering at any moment, but it had indeed not broken. Meng Chuan immediately stored it back in his sea of consciousness, carefully nurturing it. If he wished, this demon cone, which could shatter at any moment, could still unleash a desperate strike. Of course, that would cost him ten percent of his own Primordial Spirit essence, and using the Primordial Spirit Star secret art would also require time to slowly recover. However, if the cracked demon cone rested within his sea of consciousness, it would fully recover in ten to fifteen days.

"Failed?" The Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign’s Primordial Spirit injuries meant it could only barely control the dark-red prison and was unable to unleash an attack as powerful as before. "No, no, I must succeed! One last strike," the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign insisted, enduring its injuries to prepare another punch.

"Boom." Behind Meng Chuan, Liu Qiyue’s aura suddenly surged, and the terrifying power made Meng Chuan involuntarily turn to look. Having reached the Marquis Godfiend realm, her activation of Phoenix Nirvana drew upon bloodline power that was increasingly closer to a true phoenix! Naturally, her lifespan was consumed even faster. From the very start of the battle, Liu Qiyue had been in Phoenix Nirvana. She had been fighting for seven breaths of time, which was already a long duration for her. Her comprehension of the fire lineage had reached a new realm.

"Boom." Liu Qiyue gazed at the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign, drawing her bow into a full circle. A fiery arrow shot through the air, its power far more terrifying than before.

"Not good," the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign realized the threat as soon as the arrow was released.

"Hum." Invisible stellar fluctuations also spread out. This was Meng Chuan’s most common move from his Primordial Spirit Star — Stellar Fluctuation. These fluctuations assaulted the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign’s Primordial Spirit, which was already severely injured, making it even more unbearable at this moment. It couldn’t even block the arrow. The arrow struck its chest, directly piercing through its dark-red robe, blood demon battle armor, and through the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign’s body. Golden flames continuously burned within the wound.

"This is bad," the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign panicked. "If I don’t leave now, I might not be able to." In a perfect state, even if Liu Qiyue had broken through, the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign was confident it could easily kill her in a one-on-one fight. But now, its Primordial Spirit was severely wounded, and the Stellar Fluctuations were continuously assaulting it! It could only exert thirty to forty percent of its strength, and facing Liu Qiyue’s arrow, it began to panic.

"The situation is untenable; flee!" The dark-red prison disintegrated, and the Nine Abyss Fiend-Sovereign’s figure flickered as it swiftly fled into the distance.