"Boom!" A bright flash of lightning cut through the sky. It extended from one side of the sky to the other, so long that it couldn't be seen from end to end. It was an unprecedented super lightning, sweeping away the never-dispersing demon energy on the great plain, leaving no trace behind.
"What's going on?" Tianyao was startled and took a step back.
Xiaokai struggled to get up from the ground, pointing at Qinghong, "Look at her..."
Qinghong was completely stunned. The sandalwood box in her hand emitted thousands of golden lights, so intense that it almost made her unable to open her eyes. A strange and indescribable feeling traveled from her hand holding the box to her heart.
It was an exceptionally strange feeling, as if it were an indescribable technique and cultivation experience. In that instant, she realized that she had suddenly learned how to manipulate the sandalwood box left by her ancestors and the sandalwood beads inside.
The sandalwood box, which had not been opened for 15,000 years, slowly opened at this moment, revealing the crystal-clear sandalwood bead inside.
"Crack!" Another lightning bolt streaked across the sky as if celebrating the reappearance of the sandalwood bead that had been covered in dust for so long.
Lantianyu took a deep breath, and suddenly tears filled her eyes.
This treasure, could it really provoke heavenly signs? What kind of terrifying power could that be?
At this critical moment, the sandalwood box opened and the bead emerged. Was it really the will of fate?
The Master who secluded himself was even more heartbroken than Lantianyu. He cried as he rambled on, "So heartbreaking, so tragic, sob, I made this box myself, I gave it to my beloved, sob, but before I could join her for dual cultivation, I hastily went to subdue demons, and now it's been over 10,000 years, until today, sob, my beloved, I don't know if she ascended to immortality or turned to dust."
"Don't cry," the master sighed, patting his shoulder. "You are fortunate to remember this past. We can't remember anything at all." He shook his head and couldn't help but add, "However, the incantation you used to open the box is really cheesy."
"Yes, too cheesy." Zhenyuan, Majiang, and Xiaoguan couldn't help but nod in agreement with deep emotion.
At this moment, Xiaokai was radiant and laughed heartily, "What do you think, Qinghong? This treasure has acknowledged you, it's going to be your unique magic weapon from now on. Why not make a move and take down this old guy?"
Qinghong raised her head, her face filled with the joy of obtaining the treasure and the belief in victory. With a clear shout, her figure soared into the air and rushed towards where Tianyao was located. As she leaped into the air, it seemed as though the sound of roaring winds and thunder filled the sky. In the eyes of everyone, the entire world seemed to be distorted, as if it had gathered the power of heaven and earth, breaking through the limits of space. The sandalwood bead was at the tip of her sword, flashing with dazzling light, headed straight for Tianyao's forehead!
"So powerful," Lantianyu sighed. "Normally, this child can only jump ten meters at most without using a sword, but now, this one jump reaches a hundred meters, and she can even easily manipulate the power of thunder and lightning to attack the enemy. This is already the limit of human power."
She was not wrong. As the light from the sword flew past, a bolt of lightning followed and struck directly at Tianyao's forehead.
Tianyao's expression was somewhat serious but not panicked. His mouth slightly opened, and a fiery red sphere flew out, colliding directly with the sandalwood bead. It actually knocked the sandalwood bead back, and at the same time, the lightning struck the sphere. With a soft "crack", the lightning seemed to melt away as if it had encountered a great fire, disappearing in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, the thunder disappeared, the sky cleared, and Tianyao still stood proudly on the great plain. However, Qinghong's petite figure seemed to be like an unstrung kite, floating down and being caught in Lantianyu's arms.
"Master, it's not working," Qinghong said weakly, with traces of blood at the corners of her mouth. "My power is still too weak. If it were you..."
"Humph, even if your master were here, it would be useless," Tianyao said coldly. "You cultivators don't think about cultivating properly. You always want to rely on magic treasures to take shortcuts. But you must know, magic treasures are lifeless, while people are alive. No matter how good a magic treasure is, in your hands, it's just useless."
It glanced at the sandalwood bead on the tip of Qinghong's sword, sneered slightly, and continued, "Moreover, the power contained in this sandalwood bead is not as great as mine. Wanting to kill me is just a daydream."
Xiaokai gritted his teeth and walked over, "Qinghong, try again."
"It's useless," Qinghong weakly looked at Xiaokai. "Xiaokai, just now... you were reciting the incantation to open the sandalwood box, right?"
Xiaokai nodded, "Don't say so much, try again, trust me."
"Alright," Qinghong struggled to break free from Lantianyu's embrace and bit her lip. "This time, I must kill it!"
"Try a few more times," Tianyao smirked. "Since you rarely come out, it's just right to have fun with you today."
Qinghong let out a tender shout, but her body did not move, and the sword did not move. The sandalwood bead transformed into a stream of light and pounced directly at Tianyao.
"Not bad, progressing quickly," Tianyao praised. "You already know how to wield it in the air after just one try. But in front of me, it's still a child's play."
As it spoke, it again spit out a spherical fireball. This fiery red ball was its essence which it had cultivated for 20,000 years, a life essence pearl. Whenever an animal becomes a demon, during cultivation, it will refine its own essence pearl. The longer the cultivation, the purer the color and the larger the size of the essence pearl, and of course, the greater its power. This pearl was completely pure fire red with the size of a fist, already considered excellent among essence pearls. As the sandalwood bead was about to touch the essence pearl, Xiaokai suddenly took action.
Xiaokai had indeed not yet cultivated true essence, and didn't even know the most basic flying sword technique. However, he possessed a unique treasure that no one else had. Legend had it that this treasure was a fragment of the Ruyi Gold-Banded Staff, and countless generations ago, a demon king swept through the three realms of humans, demons, and gods with this Ruyi Gold-Banded Staff, and was undefeated.
This treasure was none other than the "Ancient Iron Essence of Ten Thousand Years."
Xiaokai forcefully threw the embroidered needle in his hand, which instantly expanded into a several dozen meters high and over ten meters thick metal mountain peak. This massive stick hung in the air and swept toward Tianyao!
If struck by this stick, even the Yellow Mountain Tian Du Peak would probably be instantly flattened. Luckily, the terrain of the great plain was extremely open. As the stick swept through the air, it actually didn't touch the sky or the ground, encountering no obstacles.
With a "bang," the sandalwood bead was indeed shaken and sent flying, but at the same time, the Ancient Iron Essence of Ten Thousand Years mercilessly struck the back of Tianyao. It appeared as if using a golf club to fiercely strike a tiny ant.
With a muffled "boom", several of the beautiful women immediately closed their eyes, not daring to look at the scene of flesh and blood flying. Only Xiaokai was able to see clearly. Tianyao's body seemed like an elastic ball, it was struck and flew who knew how far, continuing until it was no longer visible to the naked eye.
"Sigh..." Xiaokai sat on the ground, feeling completely devoid of strength. "Finally settled it."
"Is it dead?" Qinghong cautiously opened her eyes, rolled them around, and fixed her gaze on Xiaokai. After experiencing the previous "confession", the little girl calling Xiaokai sounded more affectionate.
"No problem," Xiaokai said. "Don't know where it flew to."
"Flew away?" Lantianyu hesitated. "Didn't it die?"
"It should have died," Xiaokai said. "Anyone hit by that blow would die, but its body is so tough, it didn't even shed a drop of blood."
Lantianyu's face suddenly turned somewhat pale. "No blood shed?"
"Yes," Xiaokai smiled. "But don't worry, it's all over."
Ningxiang patted her chest with lingering fear. Thinking about the earth-shattering blow just now, when she looked at Xiaokai, she didn't dislike him as much as at the beginning. "That... Xiaokai... oh, the Chosen Door Master, what treasure is that stick of yours?"
Xiaokai grinned, "This is a secret of our sect. I can't tell you."
"oh." Ningxiang responded with a hint of disappointment and fell silent.
Lantian Yu also felt deeply sighing. The treasure that Xiaokai had just used, no matter from which perspective, was definitely not inferior to the Mahjong formation and the agarwood bead. It was a pity that she had limited knowledge. She had never seen such a treasure before, nor had she even heard of it. She had always thought that Xiaokai was relying solely on the book without words, but now it seemed that besides the book, he had hidden many other skills unknown to her.
This Yan Xiaokai is really unfathomable!
"Let's go back," Xiaokai lazily said, "Leader Lan, should my mission be considered completed?"
"Of course," Lantian Yu smiled so relieved for the first time in years, "The demon has been defeated. The world will be peaceful from now on."
"Who said I've been defeated?" A strong roar rolled from a distant place. The voice seemed to thunder, resounding in the ears of the five people. "You hurt me. I will definitely eat you all!"
The group collectively took a deep breath and became nervous.
Wasn't that the voice of the demon?
At the edge of the distant horizon, at the edge of the vast plain where the demon's aura had been swept away, a vigorous figure shot out like an arrow released from a bowstring. Its speed was as fast as lightning, and in an instant, it became clear enough to see its features vividly.
With blood-red eyes, clenched teeth, crimson bloodstains, and nine tails fluttering in the wind, wasn't this the unrivaled Nine-Tailed Demon, the nine-tailed fox!
"My goodness, didn't that blow kill it..." Qinghong's body trembled slightly, and she subconsciously leaned towards Xiaokai beside her.
"I'm not so easily killed," the demon was obviously really angry this time and spoke in a roar. "I originally wanted to tease you, but I didn't expect that you few lowly humans could hurt me. I've decided not to play with you anymore. I'm going to eat you all!"
Xiaokai suppressed the nervousness in his heart and patted Qinghong's shoulder, "Don't be afraid, we'll go together."
Qinghong looked up and, when she saw Xiaokai's bright eyes, she suddenly felt infused with boundless confidence. Even her fear weakened by three points. She tightly gripped the agarwood bead in her hand. "Alright, Brother Xiaokai, let's go together!"
The demon indeed did not tangle with them any further. Its figure did not move, but the fiery red core had appeared in front of everyone once again and flew directly towards Xiaokai.
Qinghong pointed her finger, and the agarwood bead clashed with the core.
Although she had been defeated twice before, she was not afraid. This time, she directly countered the demon, clearly meaning to confront the demon head-on.
The demon coldly snorted, "I showed mercy just now. Do you think this lousy bead can really block my core? Well, I'll let you see how I will suck this bead dry!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the core and the bead violently collided once more.
This time, the bead was not knocked away. Instead, it firmly stuck to the core. The two spheres fluctuated in mid-air, their red and golden lights shining against each other, bursting with a continuous explosion.
This pure clash of true elemental forces was like the internal power battle of martial arts experts, with not a hint of falsehood. The instant the forces came into contact, Qinghong's weak true elemental force was overwhelmed by the demon's millennia of demonic power.
"Puff puff puff!" Qinghong spat out three mouthfuls of blood in succession. Her face instantly turned pale, her feet stumbling, and the golden light on the agarwood bead also suddenly dimmed.
Xiaokai promptly caught her, and the refined ten-thousand-year-old Xuan iron emerged, only growing to a size slightly larger than a regular iron rod and striking towards the demon.
The demon did not dodge or evade but extended its arm to block.
"Clang!" The Xuan iron struck its arm, making a clear metallic collision sound, and was actually repelled high into the air by its arm.
"Hit it again!" Xiaokai commanded loudly.
The Xuan iron once again struck in mid-air, aimed at the demon's head, but the demon's arm once again blocked it.
Xiaokai gestured incessantly, shouting, "Headshot! Back shot! Hit the chest, hit the back, keep hitting it!"
As he spoke, the Xuan iron trembled in mid-air and danced out numerous rod shadows, raining down on the demon like a storm of sticks. The constant "clang clang clang clang" sound was relentless, as if countless iron hammers were diligently pounding on a piece of iron. It was truly a breathtaking sight!
This was the first time the demon had encountered such fierce and unyielding attacks. It was thrown into chaos, exerting all its efforts to resist. The core could no longer restrain the agarwood bead, and with a "swoosh," the bead finally managed to break away from the core's attraction and return to Qinghong's hands.
As the bead was reclaimed, the pressure on the demon suddenly decreased. It angrily lifted its head, its hair disheveled, clothes torn, and even many red hairs had fallen from its nine beautiful tails. It looked disheveled and furious, saying, "Yan Xiaokai, you're doomed!"
With that, the demon suddenly flew into the air and charged directly at Xiaokai. However, the thousand-year-old Xuan iron's spirit could not allow it and quickly flew over to block, delivering another succession of wild strikes. The demon roared continuously, its arms and legs creating countless shadows. It not only withstood the heavy blows from the Xuan iron but also continued to rush fiercely towards the spot where Xiaokai stood.
The demon was infuriated to the extreme; it had made up its mind to take down this detestable boy first, even if it meant making itself miserable.
Seeing that the demon was getting closer and closer to Xiaokai, his face turned pale. He felt his feet go soft, his hands weak. Although the Xuan iron struck even more densely like rain, it still couldn't stop the demon's strides.
At a critical moment, Lantian Yu let out a clear shout and stepped in front of Xiaokai, launching a flying sword at the demon. "Whoosh! Whoosh!" Two more sword lights, from Ningxiang and Bailu's flying swords, also shot towards it.
The demon didn't even glance at the swords, simply swatting them away with a wave of its arm. The three flying swords made a clang sound, were swept away in all directions, even bent like worthless iron, clearly unusable.
"No one is allowed to hurt Brother Xiaokai!" Qinghong mustered up her last bit of true elemental force and shot the agarwood bead again.
The demon opened its mouth, and the core appeared again, colliding with the bead. Qinghong screamed, and another large mouthful of blood spurted out, causing her to faint on the spot. The bead rolled to the ground and lay motionless.
The fiery red core, accompanied by a roaring wind, flew towards Xiaokai's chest, nearly engulfing him.
At this moment, it seemed that no one could stop the demon's world-ending attack.
Feeling short of breath and dispirited, a surge of frustration built up inside Xiaokai. In that instant, he suddenly recalled the situation when he had subdued the demon last time. Every scene, every detail, even the slightest breeze and his trembling fingertips, all vividly flashed through his mind.
In that moment, an extremely peculiar feeling returned to him!
He rubbed his eyes, wiped his nose, and shouted at the fire-red core right in front of him, "Seal! Demonic! Incantation!"
In the next moment, everything fell silent.
The fiery red core completely lost its luster in an instant. It softly fell to the ground with a "plunk," and the demon's thunderous movements suddenly ceased.
Xiaokai looked up at the demon, and even the demon looked at him. Xiaokai blinked his eyes, still somewhat disbelieving, and couldn't help but turn to look at Lantian Yu.
Lantian Yu had a relieved look and a faint smile on her face, the bloodstains at the corners of her mouth still not wiped clean.
"Success?" Xiao Kai asked.
"Success!" Lan Tianyu replied.
"Sealed off?" Xiao Kai asked again.
"Yes, sealed off!" Lan Tianyu nodded heavily.
Xiao Kai's mouth widened, "Are you saying, it's all done?"
Lan Tianyu took a long breath, "Almost, it's considered done."
Xiao Kai was stunned for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter, "I told you...I told you...in the end, it still depends on me!" He laughed, wiped the sweat and snot off his face, and glared fiercely at the demon, "Alright, it's my turn to teach you now!"
Xiao Kai rolled up his sleeves, tidied his hair, clenched his fists, and was about to go forward and attack. Lan Tianyu felt a burst of cold sweat seeing Xiao Kai's behavior, and remembered the previous time when Xiao Kai did the same. Unable to hold back, she reminded him, "Leader, be careful..."
"Careful about what?" Xiao Kai said fiercely, "I almost died at its hands just now. Now that it's sealed off, I must vent my anger on it!"
"It's not like that," Lan Tianyu hesitated, pointing to where Xiao Kai was looking, "Look...look at it..."
Xiao Kai looked forward and was instantly shocked.
The demon's eyes became even bloodier, showing no sign of fear, but instead full of rage. Its eyebrows were furrowed, its nose wrinkled, showing its white teeth, breathing heavily. If anger could ignite flames, its current anger was enough to reduce Xiao Kai to ashes.
"You...weren't sealed?" Xiao Kai stammered, "You still want to fight?"
"Of course," the demon gritted its teeth and said through them, "You sealed my inner core, but I can still kill you with my physical body!"
"Don't overexert yourself," Xiao Kai shook his head with pity, "You should know that the Demon-sealing Incantation is a permanent seal. It can't be resolved. Without your inner core, you are no match for us. Just surrender." He looked at the demon, who looked weakened, and added, "You are already running out of strength, nowhere near my match."
The demon showed a smile uglier than crying, coldly said, "Do you think...the energy of your ten-thousand-year Xuan Iron is endless?"
"Uh..." Xiao Kai was taken aback, "Does it have physical limitations?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly felt a void in his heart. The rod he was holding fell from the air and landed on the ground, motionless.
At this moment, everyone was stunned.
Today's battle was full of twists and turns, full of suspense. From Moonlight Sealing to the Sandalwood Pearl, then to the Ten-thousand-year Xuan Iron Essence, and then to the Demon-sealing Incantation, at this moment, everyone was equally injured. Lan Tianyu and the three others, Feng Jian and White Dew, had destroyed their flying swords, suffered severe injuries, and Qing Hong had passed out from exertion. The Sandalwood Pearl fell to the ground, the Demon-sealing Incantation had been used, and the ten-thousand-year Xuan Iron Essence had exhausted all its energy and temporarily become useless. When everything settled, everyone suddenly realized that all five humans had become useless, while the demon, Hu Tian, despite being barely alive, was the only one left with fighting capability among them all.
This battle, with all its twists and turns, had ended with the demon being the sole victor.