At that moment, the blade of the Frost-Slaughter Sword could no longer be seen.
It had not truly disappeared. The sword intent surrounding it made it seem to have transformed into pure killing intent, condensed into an unbearably bright light.
An extraordinarily powerful will gathered within that radiance, as though the sword itself were only a support and the will upon it was the truly formidable force.
Seeing this, the first and second demons sprang forward again, swinging their vajra pestles with greater urgency. They were more apprehensive than before.
They had a premonition that if Yun Lie managed to release this divine ability, their lives would be in immediate danger.
But they were already too late. Frost-Slaughter was an exceptionally fine spirit sword and could withstand far more pressure than Yun Lie’s previous weapons.
If a small flaw had not appeared during its refinement, it might have become a low-grade treasure artifact. That was why Frost-Slaughter could be considered one of the finest high-grade spiritual artifacts.
Yet once the dense sword intent wrapped around Frost-Slaughter, a thin slit suddenly appeared between Yun Lie’s brows.
Straight as a sword cut, it seemed to conceal a black hole, or perhaps countless violent storms.
Only a fraction was visible, but it suggested unfathomable depths.
Then a strange power burst from the slit.
The power was tremendously heavy. As it emerged, the space around Yun Lie seemed to freeze. It was not truly motionless; rather, a force had locked the space itself, pressing an immense weight upon everyone nearby.
Every movement became difficult.
The binding power settled upon Frost-Slaughter in an instant.
Despite its excellent quality and protective sword intent, the weapon gave a faint hum.
It was at its limit.
An ordinary spirit sword like those Yun Lie had used before would have shattered beneath this power. Even Frost-Slaughter could not endure any more. Another fraction of force would break it.
Yun Lie completed the divine ability within a few breaths.
The two demons had barely raised their vajra pestles when the spatial confinement seized them. Their weapons slipped from their hands and rang against the ground.
Both were stunned. When they sensed the terrifying force gathered upon Yun Lie’s sword, their faces filled with fear.
“Th-this is… the embryonic form of a Minor Cosmos!”
The eldest shouted in disbelief. “Impossible! How could a mere brat at early Golden Core comprehend such a thing?”
The second demon’s face twisted. “A Golden Core cultivator’s body couldn’t possibly bear the weight of a Minor Cosmos!”
However much they refused to believe it, what Yun Lie held upon Frost-Slaughter was indeed the embryonic form of a Minor Cosmos.
In the next instant, both demons felt their blood boiling and their dantian true essence suppressed by a tremendous force, unable to circulate.
These were the unmistakable signs of being locked inside someone else’s Minor Cosmos.
Their demonic energy could no longer reach the vajra pestles. Almost as soon as the weapons fell, the black smoke and the red filaments dispersed completely.
Several muffled impacts sounded.
Their dantians burst under the overwhelming pressure, destroying their bodies in an instant.
Yun Lie withdrew the Minor Cosmos, and an invisible barrier appeared before him.
The aftermath of their destruction struck the barrier and fell away, leaving him untouched.
While Yun Lie dealt with the elder demons, Xu Ziqing remained locked in a stalemate with the third.
The Bloodthirsty Demon Vines were powerful, but the third demon’s demonic energy was formidable as well.
All thirty-two demon vines surrounded him, forcing him to swing his vajra pestle into a dense defensive screen that kept the vines at bay.
But he did not panic. After adapting to their attacks, he opened his mouth and expelled a streak of black light.
It hit one vine and caused it to recoil. Xu Ziqing saw a scorched patch on its surface, with a little bloody sap leaking out.
Ancient ferocious beings did not respond to wounds like ordinary beasts. Though injured, the vine’s movements were barely impaired. It hesitated only briefly as a layer of red light spread over the damage and rapidly healed it.
At the same time, Xu Ziqing felt his true essence being consumed.
Of course. Rongjin’s seed lived in his dantian. The blood it devoured nourished its growth, but its foundation was still Xu Ziqing’s dantian. Healing injuries quickly required drawing upon his true essence.
The damaged vine soon recovered and attacked the third demon once again.
Seeing that his method worked, the demon continued fighting the vines while repeatedly expelling black light from his mouth, injuring several of them together.
The vines again drew Xu Ziqing’s true essence to recover. The demon kept using the same method.
After only a short while, Xu Ziqing had lost half the true essence in his dantian. If this continued until he ran dry, Rongjin would have to return inside him to recuperate. With his own strength exhausted, he would have no way to resist, and the demon could seize him easily.
Xu Ziqing’s heart sank as he recognized the disadvantage.
He had committed every vine to fighting the third demon and could no longer observe the battle inside the black smoke. The gulf between peak late Golden Core and early Core Transformation was immense. He knew that he could not defeat the demon directly, so he could only delay him until Yun Lie defeated the other two and came to help.
He could not allow the vines to be injured repeatedly. He began searching for another solution.
After weighing his options, Xu Ziqing touched the space between his brows and released the Qingyun Needle.
In the next instant, the Qingyun Needle multiplied into hundreds and rushed between the demon and the blood vines. They posed no threat to Rongjin but were another matter entirely for the demon.
The third demon saw the many points of azure light rushing at him and frowned.
He immediately recognized that each light contained a tiny needle whose tip carried the conception of the Four Seasons’ cycle of flourishing and decline. It was a divine ability. Yet it belonged to a Core Transformation cultivator and had not reached its greatest strength. Under ordinary circumstances, it would hardly trouble him. If he could devote himself to defending against it, one sweep of his demonic claws could destroy the attack.
But the circumstances were different.
The demon vines had already surrounded him. He could injure them but could not readily destroy them, and their countless tooth-filled leaf buds were especially troubling. Most of his attention was occupied by the vines. Using his own demonic ability left him even less freedom to act.
Now the Qingyun Needle and vines attacked together, leaving the demon scrambling to respond.
The needles found every gap. The demon could no longer spit black light whenever he wished. Even when he did, the vines could dodge more readily, and his aim was no longer reliable. Injuring the vines was far harder than before.
Xu Ziqing also expended true essence to release the Qingyun Needle, but far less than the vines had been drawing from him to heal.
For the moment, neither side could overcome the other.
The third demon was furious. Where did this difficult little brat come from? He’s so crafty! I’m six cultivation levels above him, and I still can’t capture him!
Then he thought, If my brothers find out, I’ll be punished again!
But while he was thinking, the black smoke dispersed.
The demon was still maneuvering against the vines when he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of danger from behind. An ominous warning surged through his heart.
Remembering his two brothers fighting Yun Lie, he thought, This is bad!
He immediately tried to retreat. Swinging his vajra pestle, he forced a gap in the vines’ encirclement and fled without looking back.
He sensed that if he could not move quickly enough…
But he was too late.
As he turned, he witnessed his elder brothers’ destruction under Yun Lie’s Minor Cosmos. Some of their remains had even struck his face.
“Big Brothers!” he cried in anguish.
Yun Lie sensed someone approaching from behind. He turned and slashed with his sword.
The third demon had barely managed to raise his vajra pestle before a deathly pale sword light overtook him. After that, he knew nothing more.
Thus, all three demons who had sought revenge on Yun Lie lost their lives by his hand.
Xu Ziqing’s face had grown pale, and his true essence was nearly exhausted. He smiled at his senior brother and sat down cross-legged to recover.
Half a shichen later, after taking enough medicinal pills, Xu Ziqing had recovered sixty percent of his cultivation strength.
He approached the third demon’s remains, removed his storage artifacts, and placed them into a storage ring. The possessions of the elder two had already been reduced to powder beneath the force of the Minor Cosmos, leaving nothing to recover.
It was not a place where they could linger. When he finished, Xu Ziqing made no further delay.
Yun Lie had been standing quietly nearby. Seeing Xu Ziqing rise, he opened his eyes. “Let’s go.”
Xu Ziqing smiled gently. “Yes, Senior Brother.”
They entered the dense forest together.
Once inside, Xu Ziqing extended his spiritual sense as usual, searching every direction. The results were unexpectedly surprising.
It was not that the place seemed strange. On the contrary, it was so ordinary that he found it remarkable.
Ever since entering the ancient tomb, Xu Ziqing had faced one extraordinary experience after another, in places where danger seemed to wait around every corner.
But the trees, flowers, and grasses here were commonplace varieties. Even the small wild animals were just like those he had seen in ordinary regions.
Some were less fierce than the beasts of other secret realms.
Yet Xu Ziqing did not lower his guard.
Sometimes an appearance of complete normality was the most unusual thing of all.