Chapter 402: The Demon Child's Opponent

Exiting the bloody mud dimension, Tang Wanzhou didn't immediately act, instead hiding with Li Weiyi in the darkness at the edge of the battlefield.

Graves and tombstones surrounded them, and the spiritual energy wind was fierce.

Tang Wanzhou quietly observed the distant skirmish: "Zuoqiuling has only been in the Longevity Realm for five years, yet his cultivation and combat power have improved so much. In a one-on-one fight, it would take the Demonic Child thirty to forty moves to completely defeat him. With Song Yulou assisting, their strategy of fighting while retreating might actually be able to hold off the Demonic Child."

Li Weiyi had witnessed the Demonic Child's terrifying combat power within the same realm.

Even top-tier experts at the ninth heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, like Cao Shisan and Chen Huang, were easily toyed with and utterly defeated by the Demonic Child when they teamed up, having no power to retaliate.

An ordinary inheritor would likely not be able to withstand ten moves from the Demonic Child in the same realm.

Tang Wanzhou suddenly asked, "Who exactly is your beautiful master? If she were to act, she'd be stronger than Zuoqiuling. Among their generation, she should be ranked first, yet I've never heard her name before."

Being under forty, Tang Wanzhou naturally didn't consider herself among the generation of Zuoqiuling, Song Yulou, Li Songgu, Yao Qingxuan, and Yao Qian, who were all around sixty years old.

Li Weiyi didn't answer her. Feeling deeply worried, he provoked her, saying, "Young Lord, you've been hiding here all this time. You're not scared, are you?"

Tang Wanzhou couldn't be bothered to argue. With calm confidence, she said, "Zuoqiuling and Song Yulou have been moving south. If I'm not mistaken, Longevity Realm masters from the Zuoqiu Faction are on their way. If they can deal with the Demonic Child, then I won't need to intervene!"

For the Snow Sword Tang Court, it was natural to hope the Zuoqiu Faction would get caught in the conflict surrounding Lingxiao City.

Among the human forces in the Lingxiao Living Realm, apart from the imperial court, the two largest were the Zuoqiu Faction to the south and the Snow Sword Tang Court to the north. Both boasted numerous masters and their influence covered several prefectures.

"Boom!""Rumble!"

Zuoqiuling endured ten torrent-like fist imprints from the Demonic Child in quick succession, flying straight backward. Blood seeped from his mouth and nose, the skin on his ten fingers gripping the pike burst open, and his arms became numb and lost all feeling.

The Demonic Child, agile as a spirit monkey, leaped and flashed, pressing his advantage, giving Zuoqiuling no chance to heal or recover.

"Myriad Servant Slash!"

Song Yulou appeared to Zuoqiuling's diagonal right, raising his blade with both hands. Spiritual energy erupted from his body, transforming into a dense blue cloud several miles wide.

He swung his blade!

The blue cloud, scriptures, and blade energy intertwined, materializing on the snowy plain into a vast army of horses and soldiers, their hooves and war drums thundering.

The blade's momentum cut through the earth with unmatched power.

If the Demonic Child stubbornly continued to attack Zuoqiuling, he would have to directly withstand Song Yulou's strike.

Even if he severely wounded Zuoqiuling, he would also be injured.

"The blade's power is good, it's a treasure. Too bad the blade art is far too inferior!"

The Demonic Child shifted his focus, his gaze locking onto Song Yulou. He controlled a hundred demonic figures, which collided with the surging army of horses and soldiers, crushing them all with devastating force.

With a whoosh, the Demonic Child's figure grew larger in Song Yulou's pupils, appearing before him in an instant.

His right hand formed a claw, spiritual energy flowing between his fingers. It was a capturing Dao art, directly gripping the edge of the Horse-Cutting Blade.

Song Yulou was horrified, having never seen anyone in the same realm capable of grabbing his battle blade with bare hands. This was a Thousand-Character artifact; how could its immense power and sharp edge be withstood by mere flesh and blood?

The Demonic Child's left hand clenched into a fist, intending to strike Song Yulou's chest.

Song Yulou had no time to dodge or block. He desperately channeled spiritual energy, activating the artifact battle-armor on his body, which unleashed three thousand scriptures, forming a semi-illusory, semi-solid protective green jade bell.

"Roar!"

Zuoqiuling let out a long roar. After circulating the spiritual energy within his body, his arms recovered. He shifted his body sideways and struck the Demonic Child with a palm.

From his palm, dense scriptures surged out, forming a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) imprint.

If the Demonic Child's punch landed, Song Yulou would certainly find it difficult to withstand.

But then, he would inevitably have to endure Zuoqiuling's palm strike, with predictable consequences.

This was the disadvantage of fighting two opponents. Zuoqiuling and Song Yulou were not ordinary individuals, making it difficult to quickly defeat or kill either of them. Unless the Demonic Child was already prepared to pay a heavy price.

But why would he choose to pay a heavy price?

The Demonic Child frowned, abandoning his intention to strike Song Yulou. He kicked Song Yulou and the scripture-infused green jade bell flying, then met Zuoqiuling's Bagua handprint with a fist.

"Boom!"

The ground beneath them exploded.

The Demonic Child's will controlled a hundred demonic figures, which descended from above, striking Zuoqiuling into the ground, and then continued to barrage him with fist after fist.

The phantom fist energy was even larger than the Demonic Child's body, with countless scriptures interwoven on it, clashing against the nine-colored mystical glow and Bagua imprints surging from underground.

"Bang! Bang..."

Zuoqiuling was firmly locked down by the Demonic Child's will, outer manifestation of his Dao Heart, and spiritual energy. Unable to escape or return to the surface, he could only desperately endure as his protective runes were shattered layer by layer.

"Whoosh!"

A fierce cold wind swept through the hundred-mile snowy forest from the south.

In the wind, an armored figure flew over the snowy forest, rushing forward like an arrow released from a bowstring. He unleashed a mountain-toppling palm force, with countless wind blades coalescing around him, surging forth alongside the palm imprints.

Tang Wanzhou stared at the figure arriving from the south: "That palm technique again. Are you from the Jiuli Tribe?"

It was the fundamental martial art of the Yaoli tribe, the Heavenly Wind Palm.

In the underground immortal mansion, Yao Qingxuan had once used the Heavenly Wind Palm, causing Tang Wanzhou, who was at the ninth heaven of the Dao Seed Realm, considerable trouble.

Li Weiyi nodded lightly.

The newcomer was Yao Xingyue, the Armored Leader of the Jiuli Tribe.

He was Yao Qingxuan's older brother and Yin Ershisi's father.

Yao Xingyue had obtained a Longevity Pill from the Zuoqiu Faction, which allowed him to break through to the Longevity Realm.

"Boom!""Boom!"

Within a single breath, after seven clashes, Song Yulou and Yao Xingyue, even working together, found it difficult to resist and were sent tumbling backward.

After landing, Yao Xingyue spat a mouthful of blood onto the snow, his chest armor caved in. Song Yulou, who was already significantly injured, was forced to his knees, his entire body feeling as if it would fall apart.

Seizing this opportunity, Zuoqiuling escaped from underground and rejoined the other two.

Zuoqiuling was even more severely injured than the other two, his entire skin ripped apart, turning him into a bloody mess.

"How can this demonic fiend be so strong? If Qingxuan were still alive, he probably wouldn't be his match in the same realm." Yao Xingyue could hardly imagine that one person's combat power could be so terrifying.

All three circulated their spiritual energy, rapidly healing and recovering.

The Demonic Child stood atop a pillar of demonic energy dozens of meters high, with a hundred demonic figures gathered around him, completely unharmed. "Another one! Good. Today, I shall slaughter the martial cultivators of your Lingxiao Living Realm's level until there's a void."

Song Yulou said, "This Demonic Child is definitely a 'Young Emperor' level existence. Let's gather more people to deal with him together! With just the three of us, we'll all be dead here within half an hour."

Zuoqiuling, whose physique was as imposing as a mountain, had a grim look in his eyes: "Fleeing directly means your heart is filled with fear, your fighting spirit collapses, and your will is extinguished, ensuring a quicker death. The three of us will retreat south together, fighting as we go. Masters from the Zuoqiu Faction will arrive one after another."

Song Yulou shivered involuntarily as he thought of Cao Shisan and Chen Huang from the West Sea Royal Manor.

He and Zuoqiuling had been able to fiercely battle the Demonic Child for a thousand miles and withstand him. Besides their tacit cooperation, the biggest reason was their sheer tenacity and resilience, always holding a desperate resolve to perish together.

"My will wavered!" Song Yulou rallied, gritting his teeth and clutching his blade.

"I've brought the Yaoli tribe's most important clan treasure, the Medicine King Cauldron. It should be able to deal with this fiend."

Space ripples emanated from Yao Xingyue's ancestral land.

An ancient, reddish-purple cauldron flew out, slowly rotating within the spiritual energy. It gradually grew larger, erupting with increasingly bright fiery radiance that illuminated the sky and earth in crimson, emanating astonishing heat.

It was a Ten-Thousand-Character artifact, with dense scriptures inscribed within.

"If one could be invincible simply by relying on artifacts, then what would be the point of cultivating Dao arts?"

The Demonic Child displayed a movement-based Dao art, vanishing from their sight.

In the same realm, there were only two ways to deal with an opponent wielding a powerful artifact.

First, possess a powerful artifact of the same caliber.

Second, speed.

If one's speed was sufficient, no matter how powerful the artifact, it couldn't hit them.

Their figure couldn't be found, and their steps couldn't be followed.

If one's speed was sufficient, the wielder of the powerful artifact would be killed before the artifact could even unleash its full power.

Zuoqiuling and Song Yulou unleashed spiritual energy beams, helping Yao Xingyue activate the Medicine King Cauldron. At the same time, all three released their outer manifestations of Dao Heart. With three outer manifestations boosting them, they were finally able to restrict the Demonic Child's movement technique and catch a glimpse of his figure.

But it was too late!

"Watch out..."

Zuoqiuling roared.

The three were simultaneously struck and sent flying by a hundred demonic figures. The Medicine King Cauldron slipped from their grasp and was sent flying over ten miles away with a resounding thud by the Demonic Child's kick.

"Boom!"

The Medicine King Cauldron crashed onto a small mountain, cracking its slopes. Flames and artifact energy burst forth, transforming the surrounding area into a crimson inferno.

The Demonic Child burst into prolonged maniacal laughter, his voice shifting between that of a child and a middle-aged man.

Suddenly, his laughter ceased. His gaze turned grim as he looked towards the distant fiery expanse, sensing an unusual intent.

"Another master?"

The sky was thick with clouds, and goose-feather sized snowflakes drifted down.

A sword hum, extremely piercing, echoed through the air, as if countless strings were stretched between the sky and the earth, constantly snapping.

Zuoqiuling, Song Yulou, and Yao Xingyue, all in various states of disarray, exchanged glances, their eyes filled with wild joy.

Song Yulou laughed loudly, "Demonic Child, your opponent has arrived!"

The night sky was crimson from the fiery expanse, and graves dotted the ground.

Amidst the black dust, a slender, tall figure slowly approached from over ten miles away. Her long hair was tied up into a high ponytail.

"An opponent? Interesting!"

The Demonic Child narrowed his eyes. The demonic energy pillar beneath him suddenly rose several thousand meters, lifting his body into the air above the clouds.

The next instant, pulled by his vast outer manifestation of Dao Heart, the entire cloud layer pressed down, sinking lower and lower, covering the land for dozens of miles around.

The dozens of miles of thick clouds instantly contracted into a small mass, transforming into a single fist energy.

The Demonic Child had already traversed over ten miles, appearing before Tang Wanzhou.

"Bang!"

Tang Wanzhou held her palm flat, steadily receiving the punch.

Beneath her feet, snowflakes, dust, and gravel scattered outwards in a wave of vital energy.

The dozens of miles of clouds and mist also instantly exploded.

The Demonic Child's pupils contracted sharply. He hadn't expected her to be able to stand perfectly still and deflect all his fist energy into the ground. Such martial arts mastery was simply unfathomable.

Before he could change his move, Tang Wanzhou preemptively transformed her palm into a fist, striking his punch.

"Boom!"

The Demonic Child flew backward over a mile, then retreated another six or seven steps, feeling an intense pain in his fingers. Realizing the newcomer was no ordinary opponent, he immediately raised his hand above his head, summoning a hundred demonic figures to hover behind him.