Chapter 2034: Ten Thousand Deaths, Yet Undying
For a moment, the entire sky rapidly darkened, and the sword light slashed out by the Void Sword became the only dazzling radiance, cutting through the sky and illuminating the nine provinces.
"Damn it, how could she possess a Supreme Sacred Artifact?"
The Yin Fan Demoness's heart churned with turbulent waves, and she immediately wanted to avoid this strike.
Unfortunately, the sword light had locked onto her aura, leaving her no room to evade.
At this moment, the Yin Fan Demoness truly felt a massive threat; her Sacred Soul felt as if it were about to split apart.
Without daring to hesitate for even a moment, the Yin Fan Demoness frantically injected her own Blood Sea Demon Qi into the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription, doing her utmost to awaken it.
Instantly, the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription emitted an even stronger demonic aura. The phantom of the demon dragon became much more solid and lifelike, raising its head to the sky and letting out furious roars.
Above the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription, demonic clouds churned, blotting out the sky and covering the sun, as if a supreme heavenly demon was about to descend, creating a suffocating pressure.
"Rustle."
The white sword light descended, easily splitting the demonic clouds apart. The demon dragon phantom was also cut in two, and then it struck the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription.
It must be said that the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription was extremely extraordinary. Even an attack from a Supreme Sacred Artifact could not cause it any damage.
Although the sword light was blocked by the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription, the Yin Fan Demoness was not unscathed.
"Pfft."
Crimson demon blood splattered. The Yin Fan Demoness's body split apart from the middle into two halves, falling straight down.
At the same time, the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription lost control and also began to fall.
Han Xue's gaze was cold. She reached out and grabbed the air, pulling the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription toward her without any hindrance.
There was no doubt that this battle had already reached its conclusion.
"Hiss."
Many of the cultivators watching from the sidelines drew in cold breaths, their emotions surging and unable to calm down.
"What a terrifying sword strike! It killed the Yin Fan Demoness in one blow. Is Han Xue's cultivation really just at the Dao Domain Realm?"
"Han Xue herself is indeed very powerful, but the sword in her hand is even more formidable. If I'm not mistaken, that should be the legendary Void Sword used by Qiangu Nüdi. Qiangu Nüdi never became a god, yet she used this sword to slay a deity."
"So it's that god-slaying Void Sword! No wonder it's so terrifying. Zhang Ruochen is really lucky to have taken on a disciple connected to the legendary Qiangu Nüdi."
"With such an outcome, Mo Sheng probably never expected it. Defeating an opponent across realms—those around Zhang Ruochen are indeed all freaks who can't be judged by common standards."
"Three consecutive losses. The Black Demon Realm has really lost face this time. Losing three Heavenly Demon Stone Inscriptions, even Mo Sheng must be going crazy."
…………
At this moment, everyone's gaze toward Han Xue had changed significantly. Many eyes even showed reverence, convinced by the powerful strength Han Xue had displayed.
Although Han Xue had ultimately relied on a Supreme Sacred Artifact, who would dare say that a Supreme Sacred Artifact wasn't part of one's own strength?
"Even the Void Sword has appeared. The Kunlun Realm is becoming more and more interesting."
The Fire Phoenix Fairy's gaze was fixed on Han Xue, and strange lights flickered in her deep eyes.
Storing the Void Sword into her Qi Sea, Han Xue used her own Saint Qi to wrap around the two Heavenly Demon Stone Inscriptions. Stepping through the void, she quickly returned to Zhang Ruochen's side.
"Master, your disciple has successfully brought back the Heavenly Demon Ascending Dragon Diagram."
As she spoke, Han Xue handed both Heavenly Demon Stone Inscriptions to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "Well done."
To be honest, Han Xue's performance had truly exceeded Zhang Ruochen's expectations, bringing him many pleasant surprises.
It was easy to imagine that for Han Xue to possess such strength now, she must have endured a great deal of hardship in the Underworld.
Thinking back to when he first met Han Xue, she was just a little girl of three or four, thinly dressed, nearly frozen to death in the icy snow. Though small, her willpower was incredibly strong, with a firm heart that never yielded.
From that moment, Zhang Ruochen knew that Han Xue would achieve remarkable things, perhaps even following in the footsteps of Qiangu Nüdi.
Hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, a brilliant smile bloomed on Han Xue's face. Receiving Zhang Ruochen's approval filled her heart with joy.
"Zhang Ruochen, I, the Emperor, told you long ago: if you don't cultivate hard, you might very well be surpassed by this girl Han Xue. After all, she is the heir of the Nüdi," Xiao Hei said proudly.
It was as if Han Xue had been personally taught by him.
"The disciple surpasses the master—that should be what every teacher hopes to see," Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
He had always been very satisfied with Han Xue.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen turned his gaze to the center of the battlefield, locking onto the two halves of the Yin Fan Demoness's severed body.
Originally, the Yin Fan Demoness had shown no signs of life, leading everyone to believe she had been killed by Han Xue's sword strike.
But at this moment, both halves of the Yin Fan Demoness's body stood up simultaneously. Flesh writhed, transforming into two Yin Sha Demonesses.
"The Ten Thousand Deaths Undying Divine Art."
A look of realization appeared in Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
Back in the Truth Heaven Domain, Zhang Ruochen had seen Elder Qi of the Death God Temple use this demonic art.
He had forgotten earlier that the Ten Thousand Deaths Undying Divine Art was derived from the Heavenly Demon Burial Ground Diagram. With the Yin Fan Demoness's strength, how could she not have mastered it?
Of course, Zhang Ruochen wasn't too surprised that the Yin Fan Demoness hadn't died. With her profound cultivation, she couldn't be killed so easily.
However, it was likely that Han Xue's sword strike had dealt immense damage to the Yin Fan Demoness; otherwise, she wouldn't have waited so long to activate the Ten Thousand Deaths Undying Divine Art.
This demonic art might seem miraculous, but it wasn't truly undying. If the Sacred Soul and life force were completely obliterated, death would be the only outcome.
A moment later, the two Yin Fan Demonesses merged into one. However, her face was extremely pale, and her aura was weak, clearly having suffered severe injuries.
It was evident that the Yin Fan Demoness's eyes held terror, and she was still shaken.
If not for the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription blocking part of the sword light's power, the Yin Fan Demoness would have surely been doomed.
"Still not dead even after that. She sure has a lot of lives," Bao Lie said with a curl of his lips.
Xiao Hei, however, chuckled and said, "Indeed, she has a lot of lives. But she's definitely badly injured this time. It might even prevent her from breaking through to the Proximate Dao Realm."
When it came to sharp eyes, few could match Xiao Hei. Since he said so, he had likely seen something.
The Yin Fan Demoness cast a venomous glare toward the Blood God Sect, then dragged her severely wounded body and flashed back toward the Black Demon Realm camp.
"I didn't expect even you, Yin Fan, to lose!" Zuo Li said with a bitter smile.
If it were in the past, he might have mocked the Yin Fan Demoness a few words, but now that he had lost first, he had no right to ridicule anyone.
The Yin Fan Demoness's face was dark. Without a word, she quietly sat down cross-legged, took out a healing sacred pill, and began to circulate her energy to heal.
Even she hadn't expected to lose to a junior, and so miserably at that.
"Losing to the heir of Qiangu Nüdi isn't unjust. Through this person, we might find clues about Qiangu Nüdi and complete the task assigned by our master," Mo Sheng said calmly.
Overall, this was still a considerable gain.
Zhuo Gu stepped forward with his spear and said, "Senior Brother Mo Sheng, leave this battle to me."
"Mm. Be careful and don't be careless. I don't want to see another failure," Mo Sheng said in a low voice.
Zhuo Gu nodded and replied, "Rest assured. As long as I don't face Zhang Ruochen, I don't consider anyone else a threat."
Mo Sheng said nothing more and decisively handed a Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription to Zhuo Gu.
The Saint King Realm cultivators of their Black Demon Realm had almost all been mobilized, expending tremendous effort to collect some of the original Heavenly Demon Stone Inscriptions.
But in the blink of an eye, three had been lost. If they said it didn't hurt, no one would believe them.
Unfortunately, with so many cultivators watching these betting battles, no matter how painful it was, they couldn't go back on their word. Otherwise, what face would the Black Demon Realm have left?
Wrapping the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription in demonic qi, Zhuo Gu wasted no time. Like an azure dragon emerging from the sea, he shot straight toward the battlefield.
"Shua."
He swung his Purple Gold Demon Spear, pointing it at the Blood God Sect, and said arrogantly, "I, Zhuo Gu of the Black Demon Realm, am here. Who dares to fight me?"
"This time, the Black Demon Realm has indeed sent Zhuo Gu. This guy is a bit troublesome to deal with," Zhang Ruochen murmured, showing no surprise.
Compared to sending others, sending a top-tier expert like Zhuo Gu undoubtedly gave a higher chance of victory.
Luo Chen's expression was indifferent. He gently wiped his You Yue Blade with his hand, as if he had merged with it.
Since Zhang Ruochen couldn't fight, the only one capable of contending with Zhuo Gu was Luo Chen.
It was a pity that Kong Lanyou wasn't here; otherwise, she would have had a better chance.
"Fourth Junior Brother, it's up to you!" Jin Yu said, patting Luo Chen's shoulder, his eyes full of anticipation.
Zhang Ruochen took out a space scroll and a Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription, handing them to Luo Chen. "Fourth Senior Brother, be very careful. Don't push yourself. We've already won back three Heavenly Demon Stone Inscriptions. Even if we stop the betting here, it doesn't matter."
From the start, Zhang Ruochen had adopted the mindset of winning whatever he could. The current results had already exceeded his expectations.
So, he didn't want Luo Chen to take too many risks. If things became impossible, he should immediately use the Space Teleportation Scroll to escape.
By then, even if Mo Sheng stopped the betting, it would be too late.
"Mm." Luo Chen nodded, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
Putting away the Space Teleportation Scroll, Luo Chen picked up the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription with one hand, soared into the air, and flashed toward Zhuo Gu.
Standing ten zhang away from Zhuo Gu, Luo Chen said in a low voice, "Luo Chen, fourth disciple of Emperor Ming, answers your challenge."
"So you're Zhang Ruochen's senior brother. I hope your strength isn't too weak, or this will be boring," Zhuo Gu said with a light laugh.
Luo Chen instantly entered a state of unity between man and blade, saying coldly, "You'll find out soon enough."
His surging Saint Qi surged, pouring into the You Yue Blade, activating this Monarch Sacred Artifact.
"Quite a personality. I like opponents as arrogant as you."
Zhuo Gu shook his Purple Gold Demon Spear, and numerous King-level Inscription Patterns emerged.
There was no doubt that the weapon in his hand was also a Monarch Sacred Artifact.