Brilliant divine light engulfed the battlefield.
But in just an instant, it completely vanished.
As the radiance from the blade and the war sword faded, a colossal gash appeared across the battlefield. Severed limbs and shattered flesh lay strewn about, dyeing the land in red. On the ground, the enormous Sword Dragon King had collapsed.
Its scales had shattered in large swaths.
A massive slash cleaved its body, tearing through even the tough scales, exposing bone beneath flesh. Blood gushed from the wound in torrents.
Under normal circumstances, such an injury would be fatal.
But incredibly, the Sword Dragon King did not die. In fact, sword qi surged within the wound, continuously breaking down and erasing the remaining blade intent inside. Even that overwhelming blade intent couldn't kill it completely — its internal sword qi was just as domineering.
It possessed a bloodline supernatural ability.
It had awakened a Life Orifice: Sword Pool (剑池)!!
This Life Orifice was incredibly unique and powerful. It could gather heaven and earth energy into the Sword Pool, transforming it into sword qi, which would temper the body. Every inch of the creature's flesh brimmed with potent sword qi. While not as overwhelming as sword or blade intent, this sword qi resided within the body. As long as there was qi and blood, it could unleash formidable strength.
Even if blade intent couldn't be wiped out entirely, tens of thousands of threads of sword qi swept forth, wearing it down swiftly. After all, blade intent inside the body was nothing more than an intruder—rootless, fleeting. At a visible pace, it faded, and the wound began healing rapidly. The Sword Dragon lay still, but its eyes locked coldly onto Fu Hongxue, filled with hatred, ferocity, and murderous intent.
"Such a tyrannical strike. That blade intent was peerless, the battle will surging sky-high. His draw-blade technique magnified the power severalfold… But this Sword Dragon King is strong too. As a Tier-2 Royal-grade beast, it truly deserves its title. To endure such a strike and survive — and its wound is even healing rapidly. With a body like that, the damage might not be as severe as it appears."
"Fu Hongxue is gathering force again, preparing to unleash another draw-blade technique. The longer the buildup, the stronger the strike. Archers and crossbowmen — attack the Sword Dragon King! Even if you can't pierce its defenses, at least slow its regeneration! Buy Mr. Fu some time!"
From atop the wall, shouts rang out immediately.
Stunned by the Sword Dragon King's survival, no one hesitated — they acted without delay to support Fu Hongxue and suppress the beast.
War arrows and bolts streaked through the air. Even rune bombs were hurled toward the dragon.
Ding ding ding!!
As the attacks neared, sword qi burst from the Sword Dragon King, shredding most arrows and bolts to pieces. However, a few still pierced through, striking its body. Though the scales blocked most of the damage, these hits significantly slowed the healing of its wounds.
Fu Hongxue said nothing. His blade intent, true qi, and heaven and earth energy surged into his sheath like a tidal wave. The sheath was like a bottomless pit, devouring everything. From within, a clear, crisp sword hum echoed.
It felt as if, in the next instant, the blade inside would soar out of the scabbard.
"With Fu Hongxue's power, plus help from the soldiers and civilians, killing the Sword Dragon King isn't impossible."
Yi Tianxing gave it a glance but didn't interfere.
This was Fu Hongxue's battlefield.
As long as he had time to build up, as long as he stood atop the wall, Fu Hongxue wouldn't lose. Unless it became a matter of life and death, Yi Tianxing wouldn't interfere. Fu Hongxue was a swordsman, and he carried the pride of one.
Instead, Yi Tianxing's attention turned to Ye Zhiqiu's battle.
Ye Zhiqiu was a true Daoist cultivator. Even before the Cataclysm, he had been a cultivator in his original world. After arriving in the Eternal Continent, he began cultivating anew, and his progress had been astonishing — even faster than Fu Hongxue's.
According to Yi Tianxing's observations, Ye Zhiqiu had already reached the Peak of the Eighth Layer of the Divine Sea Realm, mere inches from the ninth — just one step away from refining his Sea of Transformation into a solid form using source power.
Yi Tianxing was curious just how powerful Ye Zhiqiu truly was.
He had rarely seen him fight at full strength.
And most intriguing — he knew Qimen Dunjia.
Qimen Dunjia was a broad term.
It encompassed talismans, spells, formations, artifact crafting, divination, and various esoteric techniques.
It was all-encompassing.
On the city wall.
Ye Zhiqiu stood upright, a simple bamboo tube slung across his back. It clearly wasn't made of ordinary bamboo — likely some mystical spiritual bamboo or even divine metal. Whatever it was, it was clearly extremely precious to him, never leaving his side.
It was like a treasured artifact.
Along with it was an ancient sword.
He stood on the wall, radiating an ethereal, immortal-like aura.
As the Spider Demon with a Human Face approached rapidly, Ye Zhiqiu suddenly shouted:
"Urgent Weapon of the Divine! Divine Fire Demon-Slaying Talisman!"
A flash of light appeared in his hand as he rapidly formed hand seals. In the air, an illusory talisman emerged, wreathed in flames and covered in glowing runes. A surge of heaven and earth energy poured into it, and the talisman quickly became solid, a flaming pattern swirling upon it.
This was the Divine Fire Demon-Slaying Talisman (神火灭魔令) — one of Ye Zhiqiu's Qimen techniques.
It was a composite Daoist spell formed from multiple talismans — more powerful than any single talisman alone.
To train it, one had to master various base talismans and fuse them into a divine spell seed using specific techniques. Its power was immense.
The talisman absorbed heaven and earth energy rapidly, growing in strength before shooting through the air in a red streak toward the Spider Demon.
ROAR!!
The spider sensed the threat immediately. Its body froze briefly, then opened its maw, spitting out a black web.
This web gleamed faintly with metallic light.
The blackness hinted at lethal poison — extremely virulent, capable of killing in moments. It spread wide and fast, trying to ensnare the talisman and drag it down.
The two collided in midair — red talisman against black web.
Upon impact, scorching divine fire burst from the talisman.
Though the web was strong, the divine fire easily ignited it, burning a large hole and letting the talisman punch through.
But then, from the shadows, a massive hand appeared — reaching from the shadow realm, a demonic claw attempting to seize the talisman.
BOOM!!
The shadow hand and the talisman collided. The shadow tried to drag the talisman into its realm, but the talisman exploded with divine fire, releasing a destructive aura of purification and anti-demon might.
The shadow hand shattered on the spot, incinerated.
But the talisman failed to break through to strike the demon directly.
The Innate Life Orifice of the Spider Demon — Shadow (阴影)!
It was a terrifying power, allowing it to wield the strength of shadows, deadly in darkness.
That talisman only managed to destroy the shadow hand.
"Urgent Weapon of the Divine! Giant Spirit Demon-Slaying Talisman!"
Ye Zhiqiu's eyes flashed. Without hesitation, he unleashed another Qimen spell.
This time, a talisman radiating earthy yellow light appeared, absorbing energy until it solidified. Runes flashed, emanating an aura of heavy earth.
It shot forward — but then burrowed into the ground ahead of the Spider Demon.
RUMBLE!!
The earth shook as golden light surged.
The soil twisted, and in moments, a massive giant rose from the earth — a Giant Spirit God, formed from the power of the land. It radiated strength and indomitable defense, with nearly endless stamina.
It towered over even the Spider Demon — at least ten zhang tall.
In its hands was a massive stone axe.
Without hesitation, it stepped forward and swung the axe like a mountain descending.
But the Spider Demon reacted instantly.
Its legs danced with frightening speed, gracefully dodging like a dancer and teleporting behind the giant, thrusting out two spear-like spider legs, pitch-black, aimed like venomous lances.
They stabbed straight into the Giant Spirit God's back.
This strike was as fast as lightning, using the spider's superior speed to the fullest.
The spears landed solidly—