Chapter 2577: Demon Ancestor War Body
The Phoenix Tail Needle, named "Colorful Phoenix Divine Dance Needle," was a seven-element Monarch Sacred Artifact. Crafted from rare and precious materials, it had the potential to be nurtured into a Supreme Sacred Artifact, and its power was naturally overwhelming.
Yet, such a battle artifact, worth hundreds of thousands of Divine Stones, was used by Gu Shejing to pin up her hair atop her head.
All cultivators' gazes fell upon her, some filled with wariness, others with surprise, and still others with confusion.
"The heir from the Rakshasa Clan's number one dangerous ground is indeed fearsome. Attack together and help Source Shu True Emperor reclaim the Colorful Phoenix Divine Dance Needle."
The Supreme Realm Great Saints of the Death God Temple pursued one after another, joining forces with Source Shu True Emperor.
They each released their Dao Domains and summoned their Sacred Artifacts.
Among them, a Supreme Realm Great Saint raised a bright Gate of Destiny behind him, suspending it above his head, intending to suppress the demonic might radiating from Gu Shejing.
"Just you?"
Gu Shejing stood against the wind, her gaze condescending.
Facing the Dao Domains spreading toward her from the Death God Temple's various Supreme Realm Great Saints, her eyes were filled with disdain.
"Arrogant! Though your Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm has a fearsome reputation, it's nothing remarkable before the Death God Temple," snorted a Supreme Realm Great Saint, above whose head three black islands hovered.
With that, he manipulated the three islands to press down upon Gu Shejing.
The Death God Temple, revered by the entire Death Clan, indeed had such confidence.
The three black islands, each spanning a thousand miles, could be considered three continents if placed in a planet's ocean.
This Death God Temple Supreme Realm Great Saint had also cultivated the Way of Space. The three black islands all lay within his Space Domain. At that moment, space compressed, and the three islands appeared above the giant stone altar, reduced to the size of mountains.
However, the weight contained within the three islands, combined with the Saintly Dao Rules of this Death God Temple Supreme Realm Great Saint, created a terrifyingly oppressive force, distorting and sinking the surrounding space.
In the distance, Zhang Ruochen and A Le found their breathing becoming difficult.
Xue Tu, reduced to the size of a mosquito, crashed heavily onto the giant stone, nearly all his bones crushed, letting out a muffled scream.
Then, a gust of wind blew him into a crevice in the stone, sending him tumbling into an utterly dark, unknown abyss.
There were no gaps between the stones originally, but the place where he fell was inscribed with strange Divine Patterns. Those Divine Patterns were precisely triggered by the power of that Death God Temple Supreme Realm Great Saint, awakening them.
The power of the three islands was immense, but when they were still dozens of feet above Gu Shejing's head, they could descend no further. Red Death Spirit Demon Qi transformed into the form of a demon tree, spreading its branches and leaves to support the three islands.
Gu Shejing's slender jade fingers on her right hand formed a finger technique.
Lines of Rule Divine Patterns, like blood earthworms, flowed across her fingers.
"Whoosh!"
She pointed a finger.
A light wave imbued with Divine Power flew from her fingertip, striking the chest of that Death God Temple Supreme Realm Great Saint.
A scream rang out.
That Supreme Realm Great Saint's chest now had a basin-sized bloody hole, exploding into a large cloud of blood mist as he fell onto the stone below.
"Ji Yun."
Another Death God Temple Supreme Realm Great Saint rushed over to check his injuries, only to be shocked to find that the Supreme Realm Great Saint had already died horribly, his flesh turned to powder, and even his Sacred Source corroded by demonic Qi.
This Supreme Realm Great Saint quickly retreated, trembling as he muttered, "Such terrifying Death power, even the Death Qi within the Death Clan can't compare."
Logically, Supreme Realm Great Saints possessed powerful life force and were hard to kill.
Yet now, with just one finger strike, a living Supreme Realm Great Saint had turned to dust. The impact on any cultivator was too great.
With the master's death, the three islands suspended above Gu Shejing's head automatically disintegrated.
"This demoness is too overbearing. Attack together and avenge Great Saint Ji Yun."
The Supreme Realm Great Saint supporting the Gate of Destiny shouted loudly, then launched a shuttle-shaped five-element Monarch Sacred Artifact.
The shuttle-shaped Sacred Artifact released dense electric light, transforming into an electric dragon.
"Boom!"
Gu Shejing pointed again, and the finger force struck the electric dragon.
The electric dragon exploded, and the shuttle-shaped Monarch Sacred Artifact wrapped within was sent flying.
The finger force beam did not dissipate; its power undiminished, it struck that Supreme Realm Great Saint, piercing through layers of defensive light and shattering him into a cloud of blood mist.
All the defensive trump cards he had thrown—talismans, Sacred Artifacts—were useless, unable to escape death.
The Gate of Destiny dissipated.
The second Supreme Realm Great Saint of the Death God Temple fell, blood mist splattering onto the faces of Source Shu True Emperor and the other Death God Temple Great Saints, leaving their expressions frozen, speechless, able only to hear their own frantic heartbeats.
Night Travel Master and Turtle Lord, who were locked in battle, as well as Seven Hands Old Man and Pillar General, all stopped.
The fall of two Supreme Realm Great Saints in succession chilled them to the bone.
"A divine ability from Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm, the Inevitable Death Finger. It seems Zhang Ruochen's paramour is this formidable, no wonder she wasn't afraid of Yuan Qianmo and dared to follow here."
Night Travel Master showed a smile, turning to glare at Turtle Lord, "See? This is an expert on my side. Little turtle, you'd better flee for your life."
Hearing "little turtle," Turtle Lord ground his teeth in anger.
After all, he was a cultivator who had trained alongside Desolate Heaven Great God, considered a disciple of a Great God. How could he be humiliated by this ugly, crooked old ghost?
Turtle Lord said disdainfully, "An... an expert my... my... my foot... foot... I... I... my young... young lady..."
"You, a turtle, are thinking about a young lady?" Night Travel Master was momentarily stunned.
Turtle Lord, enraged, turned from emerald green to fiery red.
The ghost and the turtle immediately resumed their fight, battling fiercely.
Zhang Ruochen stared intently at Gu Shejing, "Something's wrong! With the same finger technique, when she attacked Bai Qinger on Ice King Star, it definitely wasn't this powerful. What's going on?"
He absolutely couldn't believe that Gu Shejing had deliberately hidden her cultivation when fighting Bai Qinger and Wuma Jiuxing.
After all, Wuma Jiuxing's blade was no joke.
Struck by that blade, even a Demigod would find it hard to survive.
And the time since leaving Ice King Star was too short for Gu Shejing to achieve a major breakthrough.
The only explanation was that Gu Shejing might indeed have a dual personality, or even one body with two souls. The Gu Shejing who fought Wuma Jiuxing was cheerful, lively, and charming, but her strength was somewhat weaker.
The current Gu Shejing, unsmiling and exuding demonic Qi, was clearly much stronger.
This Gu Shejing before them made even Zhang Ruochen, let alone the Death God Temple's Great Saints, feel a sense of wariness. He felt she had no emotions, as if possessed by a Demon God. Even if he approached her, he might be killed with a single finger.
"Anyone who blocks me dies without mercy."
Gu Shejing cast a cold glance at the Death God Temple cultivators, then transformed into a red streak of light, charging toward the top of the altar.
"Demoness, where do you think you're going?"
Duan Lingfeng roared, pointing his red-gold staff at Gu Shejing.
In front of the staff, layers of formation inscriptions manifested, weaving into a circular formation three zhang in diameter.
"Shush, shush."
From the formation, a rain of swords flew out.
They weren't sword Qi, but metal war swords.
These war swords were condensed by Duan Lingfeng using the formation to absorb the rules of the Metal Element Sword Dao from heaven and earth.
The dense war swords formed a torrent ten zhang wide, charging straight at Gu Shejing.
"The World Hand's methods are indeed extraordinary. Even Gu Shejing's abilities were forced to a halt."
Seizing the opportunity, the eight Supreme Realm Great Saints of the Death God Temple let their Saint Qi flow like a great river within them, forming eight patches of Death Qi clouds above their heads.
Eight Supreme-rank high-level Sacred Arts took shape within the Death Qi clouds.
Gu Shejing did indeed stop, turning to face the incoming torrent of war swords, and said coldly, "I told you, anyone who blocks me dies. And you still dare to offend?"
Without using any defensive techniques, she charged straight into the torrent of war swords.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
...
Punch after punch, tens of thousands of war swords were shattered by her.
Metal fragments flew everywhere.
As for the eight Supreme-rank high-level Sacred Arts launched by the eight Death God Temple Supreme Realm Great Saints, they all struck her, but couldn't harm her demonic body.
The Death God Temple cultivators looked as if they'd seen a ghost, a chill running through their bodies.
"Even a False God, standing still and hit by eight Supreme-rank high-level Sacred Arts, would have his divine body damaged. Could her physical demonic body be stronger than a False God's divine body?" someone exclaimed in shock.
Source Shu True Emperor said, "Her physical body is indeed powerful, but not to that extent. She's using a peerless divine ability from Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm's foundational secret scripture, 'Death Spirit Diagram,' called the Demon Ancestor War Body."
"She has combined her cultivated Saintly Dao Rules with her physical body through this divine ability, making her body unbreakable and undefeatable. This is only possible by cultivating the Demon Ancestor War Body to the fifth level."
"Throughout history, fewer than ten cultivators have reached the fourth level or above of this divine ability. She must be the number one figure of Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm in this Eon."
A Death Clan Supreme Realm Great Saint said, "The Demon Ancestor War Body is strong, but the Sacred Soul and Spiritual Power might be weaknesses. Let's use Death Mind Power together to attack her Sacred Soul and spirit."
Just as the eight Death God Temple Supreme Realm Great Saints simultaneously released their Death Mind Power...
Gu Shejing had already pierced through the torrent of war swords, reaching Duan Lingfeng's vicinity.
Duan Lingfeng's face changed drastically. Formation masters hated close combat the most, especially when facing someone who had cultivated the Demon Ancestor War Body. He could clearly sense the overwhelming killing intent and boundless demonic might emanating from the stunning woman before him.
The staff in Duan Lingfeng's hand was a treasure even more precious than a seven-element Monarch Sacred Artifact, called the "Black Tortoise Staff."
The staff was serpent-shaped, covered in sharp scales, with a fist-sized turtle at the top.
It resembled a Black Tortoise.
In this life-or-death crisis, Duan Lingfeng gripped the staff tightly and wiped it downward.
The sharp scales cut his palm, spilling a large amount of Sacred Blood.
The Black Tortoise Staff absorbed Duan Lingfeng's blood, and its light surged. The turtle at the top of the staff lit up its eyes.
Duan Lingfeng slammed the staff heavily into the ground.
"Whoosh!"
A defensive formation lit up beneath his feet.
Then a second, a third...
A series of eight formations layered upon each other, their formation patterns interconnected, forming a Black Tortoise ten zhang long.
Gu Shejing punched the Black Tortoise, and all eight formations activated simultaneously, rebounding her. A large amount of lightning surged from the formations, striking her body.
Duan Lingfeng stood at the center of the Black Tortoise, breathing a sigh of relief, and smiled, "My Eightfold Black Tortoise Formation can hold even a False God at bay for a time. Don't waste your strength."
Just as Gu Shejing was about to strike again, the Death Mind Power from the eight Death God Temple Supreme Realm Great Saints fell upon her.
Death Mind Power, like a curse, was formless and invisible, directly attacking her Sacred Soul and spirit.
"How utterly clueless. Our Luozu Cloud Mountain Mountain lineage cultivates both body and mind equally. Do you think such weak Death Mind Power can attack me?"
Gu Shejing turned and glared at them, chanting, "Heavenly demons above, earthly demons below, strengthen my inner demon. The stronger the inner demon, the stronger I become."
"Inner Demon Backlash Art!"
The next moment, among the eight Death God Temple Supreme Realm Great Saints using Death Mind Power, all except Source Shu True Emperor let out agonizing screams.
One of them went completely mad, clawing open his own skull, his face covered in blood, hideous beyond measure, and charged down the altar to who knows where.
Yuan Qianmo and Wuma Jiuxing, locked in fierce combat, were finally alerted.
They immediately stopped.
One let out a long, drawn-out roar, the other a piercing blade hum, using this to intimidate Gu Shejing above.
Gu Shejing looked at the two streaks of light rapidly ascending from below, then pointed at Duan Lingfeng, "I hope you can stay hidden in your formation forever. Otherwise, I, Gu Shejing, will keep my word and make sure you die without a burial place."
"Whoosh!"
Gu Shejing broke through the air, the first to ascend to the top of the giant stone altar.
Then, as if she had seen something incredible, shock appeared in her eyes.
Duan Lingfeng let out a long breath, his sacred robe soaked through with sweat.
Zhang Ruochen looked upward, feeling that Gu Shejing had become utterly unfamiliar, and said gravely, "Set up a formation before ascending. As a World Hand, your Kailuo Earth Master's skills shouldn't be weaker than Duan Lingfeng's, right?"
"I cultivated to become a World Hand at Array Extinction Palace, the number one formation sacred ground of the Heavenly Court. How could Duan Lingfeng compare to me?"
Though Kailuo Earth Master said this, he too was greatly shaken by Gu Shejing's explosive power and immediately set about carefully arranging a defensive formation he had kept in reserve.
Once the formation was complete, it transformed into a divine beast resembling a camel dozens of zhang long.
The three of them and the Blood Wolf stood inside the camel.
The camel sprinted, climbing the giant stone altar and reaching the top.
...
"Unexpectedly, this heir of Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm has cultivated the Demon Ancestor War Body and the Inner Demon Backlash Art, causing the Death God Temple to lose three Supreme Realm Great Saints in a row," Yuan Qianmo said.
He had helped the seven Death God Temple Supreme Realm Great Saints dispel the inner demon visions that had invaded their bodies.
Except for Source Shu True Emperor, the other six Supreme Realm Great Saints had varying degrees of damage to their Sacred Souls, making recovery difficult in the short term.
Yuan Qianmo and the Death God Temple cultivators ascended to the top of the giant stone altar almost simultaneously with the formation camel.
Upon reaching the top, even Zhang Ruochen, A Le, and Yuan Qianmo, with their tempered minds, were stunned into holding their breath by the sight before them.