Chapter 918: Triple Kill

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Deep within the abyss, two radiant figures clashed again and again in the blink of an eye. With every impact, brilliant flashes of light exploded outward, briefly banishing the surrounding darkness. Within just a few breaths, they had already exchanged thousands of blows. The stone cavern that once surrounded them had long since crumbled, leaving behind nothing but a vast and empty void.

As the fight continued, Daoist Cangqiu became increasingly shocked. No matter how many times they collided, he was the one being forced back.

Even if this young man was a prodigy who had reached the eighth realm at an early age, he should still have needed time to lay a solid foundation. Daoist Cangqiu had already attained the Heavenly Origin Realm years ago, and his cultivation of the Dao was deeper and more stable.

So why was he still being overpowered?

In contrast, the longer Chu Liang fought, the more exhilarated he became.

Each time he struck, his fists gleamed with thunderous light. Inside his body, the Large-Headed Dolls spun at a blinding pace. Above his head, two radiant Dragon Orbs floated in the air, glowing with intense brilliance.

Now that he had stepped into the eighth realm, he could finally unleash the full power of the Blue Dragon’s Orb without restriction. Divine winds coiled around him as if he held sway over half of the Great Dao of Governing Balance. At the same time, the Dragon God’s Orb surged with immense force. Waves of dragon breath poured into his dantian and sea of qi like a rising tide, then erupted from his body in a continuous barrage aimed straight at Daoist Cangqiu.

Aside from the power of his Great Daos, Chu Liang's raw strength had been elevated to a terrifying level by his eighth-realm dragon body.

At that moment, Chu Liang felt as though his strength had become boundless, like an inexhaustible wellspring!

Moreover, he wasn’t relying on brute force alone. In addition to channeling the Great Dao of Divine Clouds through his Great Dao Puppet, he also drew strength from the many Daos he had personally comprehended. He had comprehended over twenty Great Daos, and this number was something that even an experienced master of Heavenly Origin like Daoist Cangqiu could not compete with.

I am faster, stronger... I’ve got more cards up my sleeve and much better endurance. This is complete and overwhelming domination.

Boom! Boom!

After yet another fierce exchange, Chu Liang once again sent Daoist Cangqiu crashing to the ground. It was a scene that had repeated itself countless times. Stepping forward, he pressed a palm to Daoist Cangqiu’s chest, then raised his right fist high and slammed it down with unrelenting force.

Bang!

But just like before, the heavy blow failed to inflict any real damage. A surge of devilish qi surged forth from within Daoist Cangqiu’s body, instantly dispersing the impact.

In the next instant, arcs of lightning danced all over Daoist Cangqiu before lashing out at Chu Liang with a sharp crackle. The surge of electricity tore through him, hurling him backward as a wave of tingling numbness spread through his limbs.

Although Chu Liang had held the upper hand through countless exchanges, he now looked to be in worse shape. Daoist Cangqiu remained completely unscathed, while Chu Liang had already endured several blasts from the Lightning Serpent’s purple lightning. The numbness crawling through his body was growing harder to suppress with each passing moment.

Chu Liang cursed silently,

This devilish qi...makes things so hard to deal with...

He had no desire to prolong the battle any further. With a twist of his body, he flipped through the air, snatched up the severed bone fragment, and sprang upward in an attempt to flee.

But Daoist Cangqiu was not about to let him go that easily.

If Chu Liang managed to escape, he would regroup with Daoist Yan, Caiyi, and the Azure Dragon. Even with the support of the devil embryo, Cangqiu stood little chance against all three combined—especially with Daoist Yan wielding the power to summon a legendary artifact.

Chu Liang must be kept here!

With that thought, Daoist Cangqiu surged into motion, transforming into a bolt of lightning and streaking forward. He caught hold of Chu Liang’s ankle mid-flight and yanked him downward with brutal force.

But Chu Liang twisted sharply in the air, swinging his right leg around to deliver a fierce kick straight to Cangqiu’s head.

Boom!

It was a heavy, forceful strike, strong enough to snap a neck. But Daoist Cangqiu merely tilted his head from the impact. A burst of devilish qi erupted from his body as he flung Chu Liang aside.

Grinning coldly, Daoist Cangqiu said, "That didn’t hurt."

A surge of purple lightning followed, exploding from his body and streaking straight toward Chu Liang.

Zzzap.

Chu Liang started convulsing violently as the current tore through him. While arcs of lightning still crawled across his limbs, he crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.

Daoist Cangqiu sneered and said, "You really think I’ll let you leave today? I’ve wanted to kill you for so long. Now I finally get my wish."

In his right hand, he condensed a weapon of purple lightning, shaping it into a massive polearm. With a sharp sizzle, he brought it down, aiming to drive it straight through Chu Liang’s chest.

At the critical moment, Chu Liang flipped his hand and drew the ancient cleaver, swinging it with full force.

Slash!

A spray of golden blood erupted into the air!

"You are at the verge of death, and you’re still struggling..." Daoist Cangqiu remarked. He was just about to mock Chu Liang when a sudden chill ran up his spine. He paused, then muttered, "Wait.. No. Why am I feeling pain?"

By the time he realized what had happened, both of his feet had already been severed. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.

That single strike had sliced clean through Daoist Cangqiu's ankles, cutting his feet from under him!

Even with the devilish qi protecting Daoist Cangqiu, or even without it, no ordinary legendary weapon should have been able to do that.

Is this ancient cleaver really that sharp? Is this for real? Let’s try it again.

Chu Liang wondered.

With the thought of testing it further, Chu Liang swung the cleaver again, slashing down across Daoist Cangqiu’s body.

Whoosh!

Like slicing through a ripe melon, the remainder of one leg was cut cleanly away.

Impressive,

Chu Liang mused.

In terms of pure sharpness, this blade far surpassed the Demon-Slaying Sword.

With the thought of testing the difference, Chu Liang drew the Demon-Slaying Sword with his right hand and brought it down in a sharp, decisive chop.

Thud!

As expected, the Demon-Slaying Sword felt a little dull.

Let’s try that again,

Chu Liang thought.

He raised the cleaver and swung once more.

Whoosh!

Yes. This one definitely sliced cleaner and quicker.

"Aaaargh!" Daoist Cangqiu screamed as he was hacked apart. Gritting his teeth, he began to activate his devilish qi, hoping to regenerate. But in that instant, a wave of dread swept over him.

The source of devilish qi inside him... had vanished!

Something had gone terribly wrong. Had something happened to the Mother Devil? Why had the once-unending flow of qi suddenly disappeared?

Daoist Cangqiu would never know the answer.

By then, Chu Liang had already carved his way up to Daoist Cangqiu’s upper torso in the course of his experiment. The moment he realized the devilish qi had faded, he calmly drove the Demon-Slaying Sword straight into Daoist Cangqiu’s chest.

Shlick.

In the blink of an eye, an eighth-realm Eminent cultivator had been reduced to nothing more than a mangled pile of flesh and blood.

Only then did Chu Liang rise to his feet. Turning toward the place where Yan Renjie had vanished, he quietly murmured, "Esteemed senior, I’ve avenged you. Rest in peace."

Though he had deeply loathed Daoist Cangqiu, Chu Liang still took the time to gather what was left of the body, unwilling to leave it exposed in the abyss. Only after that did he soar upward.

As he emerged from the depths and reached the edge of the abyss, he was greeted by the sight of three figures locked in a tense standoff.

...

The Azure Dragon stood shoulder to shoulder with Daoist Yan, both of them staring intently at Caiyi.

Caiyi stood across from them with a calm and composed expression. "You claim I tried to harm him? Then you’ll need to show proof. Cangqiu was an experienced cultivator of the Penglai Supreme Sect, renowned for many years. He wasn’t someone I could control at will. And tell me, Noble Azure Dragon, if you had been the one to make the move instead, wouldn’t there still have been a chance for him to escape?"

Her question left the Azure Dragon momentarily silent.

Even though he was nearly certain she had acted with malicious intent, her reasoning left just enough doubt to make him hesitate.

Daoist Yan offered no response. Instead, she quietly drew the Heavenly Cloud Ancient Sword.

"Whether or not there’s proof isn’t my concern," Daoist Yan said coldly. "If Chu Liang doesn’t reappear in fifteen minutes, I’ll kill you."

Caiyi’s eyes flickered. She looked like she wanted to speak, but the moment her gaze met Daoist Yan’s expression, she fell silent.

Just then, Chu Liang soared up from the depths with a relaxed smile. "The fox demon king probably didn’t intend to harm me. Daoist Cangqiu was simply too strong."

The Azure Dragon immediately turned to Chu Liang, his face lighting up with relief. "You’re alright? Cangqiu didn’t see you?"

"He did," Chu Liang replied with a casual wave. "But I killed him, that’s all."

The Azure Dragon felt speechless. Only then did he understand why Chu Liang had praised Daoist Cangqiu for being too strong. It had all been a buildup for this reveal.

"Since you’re safe, then that’s naturally for the best," Caiyi said mildly from the side.

"I may be unharmed," Chu Liang said as he turned to Caiyi with a long, deliberate look, "but someone else was not. I saw Esteemed Senior Yan Renjie at the bottom. He told me of the torment he suffered over the years. I was just about to bring him out when Cangqiu appeared and killed him."

The moment those words left his mouth, the other three froze in shock. "What?"

They had come with only the faintest hope, but hearing that Chu Liang had truly seen Yan Renjie left them stunned.

Five hundred years had passed. After everything that had happened, he had actually survived?

"He..." Caiyi’s pupils trembled. "Are you telling the truth?"

"Absolutely," Chu Liang said with a firm nod. "Before he died, he told me he would never see you again, not in life and not in death."

"No... it can't be." Caiyi began trembling uncontrollably, her entire body on the verge of collapse. She muttered to herself in a daze, as if teetering on the edge of a breakdown. "Was it really me who caused his death?"

"You made him bear the burden of Mount Shu’s downfall," Chu Liang said calmly. "He endured five hundred years of torment in that place, and in the end, it was you who helped free him. Meeting you was the greatest misfortune of his life."

Caiyi hovered in the air, completely dazed. In that moment, she could no longer say a single word.

Just then, a burst of black light suddenly erupted from her eyes!

Suddenly, shrill, distorted laughter erupted from her lips, the sound alternating between a man's voice and a woman's. "Hahahahahaha... ahahahahahahahaaaaa..."

A voice echoed from within Caiyi—one that clearly did not belong to her. "You are nothing more than a demonic creature. Why bother imitating the seven emotions and six desires of the human race?"

"It's the devil embryo!" the Azure Dragon shouted.

Daoist Yan had already raised her hand, preparing to summon Mount Shu Sect’s Vessel of God once again.

As it turned out, the devil embryo had never truly left. It had transformed into a formless, invisible evil thought and scattered fragments of itself across heaven and earth. Under normal circumstances, it would not have been able to possess any of them so easily. In fact, Caiyi should have been the least likely of all to be possessed.

But at the moment her emotions collapsed and her mind gave way, the devil embryo found its opening.

Whoosh whoosh whoooooooosh.

Before Daoist Yan could summon Mount Shu Sect’s Vessel of God, a white fox tail—now tainted with black qi—whipped out and instantly bound all three of them together. At such close range, the attack caught them completely off guard!

Now that the devil embryo had taken over a real body, it was far more terrifying than the devilish qi that had once infected Daoist Cangqiu and the others. With a physical vessel, its explosive power was overwhelming!!

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"You three... come, merge with me..." the devil embryo cackled, pulling the three of them closer. "Become the children of Mother Devil."

The three resisted with all their strength. They were powerful enough to hold on for now, but if this continued, it was only a matter of time before they were drawn in completely.

At that critical moment, a burst of multicolored light flared in Caiyi’s eyes. Even through the corruption, it shone clearly, and the pressure from the fox tails began to weaken.

"Attack me!" she shouted.

She turned to Daoist Yan. "Kill me!"

Black light surged again as the devil howled in fury. "Fool! Not even a legendary artifact could destroy me. What foolish hope are you still clinging to?"

The multicolored light flickered once more in her eyes. There was no longer any will to live in her gaze. "I’ve sealed it inside my spiritual platform. Kill us both!"

It turned out that even after being possessed, Caiyi had not surrendered completely. In a single breath, she had constructed a miniature world within her consciousness and sealed the devil embryo inside it.

She had already given up all will to live and was prepared to drag the devil embryo into death along with her.

But even with that determination, the devil embryo had spoken the truth. Not even the Vessel of God had been able to destroy it entirely. What hope did the three of them have now? The most likely outcome was that only Caiyi would die, while the devil embryo would slip away once more.

That fear alone was enough to make even Daoist Yan hesitate.

As the standoff stretched on, a streak of lightning shot forward.

It was Chu Liang! He flew in and, without the slightest hesitation, thrust a weapon straight into Caiyi’s chest.

Squish.

The strike was filled with righteous might, divine light bursting forth as the blade pierced through both Caiyi and the devil embryo in a single blow.

Both the demon and devil were vanquished!