The steep cliffs of Extreme Heaven Peak posed no challenge for Lady Bixia and Meng Qi, but to avoid detection, they refrained from making a grand entrance with a streak of green light across the sky.
They concealed their auras and advanced quietly along the mountain path. As they neared the summit, corpses littered the ground—ordinary evil cultivators and festering zombies, emitting a foul stench and impure aura.
“It seems the Corpse Demon has been eliminated…” Meng Qi transmitted privately to Jiang Zhiwei.
Among the Seven Demon Generals, only the Corpse Demon could transform the living and the dead into zombies and control them. If he had left the mountain, he would have taken the zombies with him, so encountering them here was unexpected.
Lady Bixia had initially intended to slay the Corpse Demon as an offering, but he abruptly vanished without a trace. Now it appeared he had somehow returned to the Extreme Heaven Peak through covert means, only to meet his demise at the hands of the Star God and the Queen Mother of the West.
Jiang Zhiwei replied, “Yes, we no longer need to worry about obtaining the Demon Crystal from the Corpse Demon.”
She paused and added, “If the Queen Mother of the West has reached the Semi-Outside Realm, she must be an exceptional cultivator. Never underestimate her.”
To ascend to the Mythical Realm without reaching the Outside Realm was no small feat. If the Queen Mother of the West had indeed reached the Semi-Outside Realm, she would be on par with cultivators like Wang Siyuan and He Jiu at their peak of Heaven-Man Unity, capable of perfect transcendence and ready to merge with the external world at any moment. She might even have mastered techniques of a Dharma Body, making her a formidable opponent, comparable even to a newly ascended Outside Realm cultivator. Meng Qi and his four companions might struggle to defeat her together.
“Don’t worry. I won’t neglect the enemy before me just because my focus is on the Star God,” Meng Qi replied solemnly, relaying Jiang Zhiwei’s warning to Ruan Yushu and the others.
Lady Bixia silently exhaled, releasing two streams of green light from her nostrils, which transformed into an invisible, translucent veil enveloping the group, concealing their presence like invisibility.
“This can last only half a teacup’s time…” her voice echoed in everyone’s ears. She ascended to the summit first, bypassing the main entrance of Extreme Heaven Hall and circling to the side.
Extreme Heaven Hall was a magnificent palace entirely black in color. Even under the midday sun, it radiated a sinister, icy, and impure aura.
Following Lady Bixia, Meng Qi and the others stealthily approached the side of Extreme Heaven Hall. Fearing detection by the Star God, they dared not extend their spiritual senses, feeling as though their very perception was suppressed.
Lady Bixia gently pressed her ear against the wall, closed her eyes, and listened intently. Then she slowly ascended, peering inside through a ventilation hole above. After a moment, she descended and transmitted to Meng Qi and the others, “The Star God is near the Demon Realm passage. The Queen Mother of the West is nearby, currently meditating. When I attack first, engage the Queen Mother immediately upon sensing the shift in the power of heaven and earth. Break through the window and surround her.”
She had no prior combat experience with the Queen Mother and could not provide detailed intelligence. Turning to Meng Qi, she continued, “The Star God excels in a deadly sword technique, moving at incredible speed, combining the killing intent and death energy of the heavens and earth. You won’t be able to track him; you’ll only feel the entire hall filled with deadly sword qi, every corner a potential trap. If you encountered him alone, the five of you wouldn’t even occupy him for more than a couple of breaths. I will quickly unleash a killing move, forcing him to concentrate his power to resist, revealing his position. You must seize that moment.”
“Understood,” Meng Qi responded calmly, unafraid and untroubled.
Without further words, Lady Bixia took a crimson pill and swallowed it, suppressing the residual traces of the deadly sword qi in her body. Then she ascended onto the roof, waiting silently for a few heartbeats.
Suddenly, green light coiled around her, like an invisible force, slipping into Extreme Heaven Hall.
Instantly, Meng Qi sensed a surge of mountainous spiritual energy converging, as if the surrounding peaks had risen a foot higher, all tilting toward Extreme Heaven Peak. A cold, killing sword intent arose alongside it.
Meng Qi inhaled deeply, broke through the window, extended his spiritual sense, and scanned the area. His left hand was empty, his right gripping his saber, rushing toward the position Lady Bixia had described.
Inside the hall, radiant green light soared. Lady Bixia unleashed a powerful yet graceful boxing technique, each movement accompanied by the aura of mountains, manifesting into tangible peaks striking seemingly empty space.
Boom after boom, the miniature mountains, though small, were real. As they crashed down, the entire Extreme Heaven Peak trembled as if an earthquake had struck. The floor tiles had long since turned to dust. Had Lady Bixia not restrained her power to focus the impact, the hall itself might have collapsed.
However, what sent an involuntary chill down Meng Qi’s spine was not Lady Bixia herself, but the imperceptible aura of slaughter enveloping her. A deadly intent saturated the surroundings, as if a terrifying blade could lunge from any direction to claim a life. It was as though Yama, the King of the Netherworld, wielded an invisible sword, striking from all sides—undetectable until the very instant of death.
Was this the true level of an Outside Realm cultivator?
Toward the rear of the hall, a hazy column of light, dark yet faintly luminous, stretched from the ceiling to the floor, extending beyond sight.
The Demon Realm passage…
Meng Qi did not let his focus waver. The Heaven’s Scar saber flashed like lightning, slicing toward the woman in dark robes, whom Lady Bixia had described.
She wore an ancient black robe embroidered with golden threads, exuding both elegance and regal dignity.
To Meng Qi’s right, Jiang Zhiwei rushed forward, swordlight pure yet exuding death, aiming straight for the Queen Mother’s forehead. Zhao Heng struck with both palms, seemingly channeling arcane techniques, exhausting all possible evasive routes of the Queen Mother.
Slightly behind, Qi Zhengyan and Ruan Yushu followed. One slashed with a sword, icy light flashing, freezing the air. The other held a qin with his left hand and struck the strings with his right, like a general issuing commands, enhancing the power of Meng Qi and the others’ attacks.
Faced with the five-pronged assault, the Queen Mother’s masked face revealed no emotion. She extended her right hand, pale and jade-like, and clenched her fingers.
At that moment, Meng Qi felt Heaven’s Scar saber grow unbearably heavy. Without his cultivation of the Jiǔ Jiǔ Xuan Gong, the saber would have slipped from his grasp. Even so, his strike slowed to an almost comical pace. Jiang Zhiwei’s swordlight suddenly accelerated but now targeted the floor!
Clang! Qi Zhengyan’s Dragon Patterned Red Gold Sword fell to the ground.
Of the five attackers, only Zhao Heng and Ruan Yushu remained unaffected.
The Queen Mother bent her left finger and flicked. A pale white sword beam tore through the air, sharp with metallic intent, severing Zhao Heng’s follow-up techniques and forcing him into a hasty retreat.
The Queen Mother, the “Golden Sovereign” Queen Mother… Meng Qi suddenly understood. Her supreme martial art, her Semi-Outside Realm prowess, must be tied to the Metal element. At its peak, all metal would submit to her will. Now, she could already influence their sabers and swords, effectively halving the combat power of Meng Qi’s group.
Such a mystical ability was truly terrifying!
The difference between an elite and an ordinary Semi-Outside Realm cultivator was as vast as heaven and earth!
The Queen Mother stepped forward. Meng Qi’s Heaven’s Scar saber trembled, nearly slipping from his grip. Jiang Zhiwei barely managed to control the White Rainbow Through the Sun Sword, delivering a weak strike. Qi Zhengyan’s Dragon Patterned Red Gold Sword leapt up, turning against Ruan Yushu.
She crossed her palms into a blade, unleashing a pale golden sword qi that tore through the air, unstoppable, aimed at Meng Qi and Jiang Zhiwei.
At the same time, she exhaled a golden beam toward Zhao Heng.
Meng Qi sheathed his saber, forming his fingers into a sword, directly unleashing “Heavenly Immortal Descending.” The Queen Mother’s normal strike equaled an Outside Realm move of his!
The light turned pale gold, glowing faintly, radiating brilliance like a divine being descending from heaven. His fingers struck the sword qi.
Crack! The sword qi shattered. A golden glow flickered across Meng Qi’s fingers, as sharp qi pierced his body, causing intense pain. He barely managed to suppress it.
A sword light flared, descending from above like a mountain cleaving sea, Jiang Zhiwei, relying on years of cultivation and connection with her sword, barely regained control of the White Rainbow Through the Sun Sword. But “Strike the Sea” was now at least thirty percent weaker than usual.
The sword qi scattered, Jiang Zhiwei took a step back, slightly disadvantaged.
Zhao Heng gathered spiritual energy behind him, forming a true dragon, seemingly merging with the landscape’s power. He threw a punch, shaking the hall and stirring fierce winds. The invisible dragon surged forth, merging with his punch, squarely striking the golden beam.
The golden beam cracked. Zhao Heng’s face paled slightly.
Ruan Yushu flicked her fingers, unleashing sword qi that struck the Dragon Patterned Red Gold Sword, deflecting it. She spat a mouthful of blood onto the Qifeng Qin, a wooden artifact unaffected by the Queen Mother’s power.
The Queen Mother’s fingers twitched slightly, as if preparing for a world-shaking transformation. Sword energy gathered around her, sharp and menacing—it seemed that in the next instant, countless beams of Gengjin Taiyi energy would erupt, tearing apart everything in their vicinity.
At that moment, Ruan Yushu played her ancient qin with both hands.
A long, high-pitched phoenix cry pierced the clouds, reaching the heavens above and the underworld below. The Queen Mother shuddered, and the gathered sword qi instantly dissipated, turning into bone-chilling winds.
Qi Zhengyan’s Hun Tian Treasure Mirror did not rely on weapons. Crimson light coiled around him as he used his fingers as a sword, unleashing “Frozen Thousand Miles.” Snowflakes danced, and crystalline ice layers formed, striking the Queen Mother’s protective golden aura, freezing a translucent layer.
Seizing this opportunity, Jiang Zhiwei’s aura surged to its peak. Her swordlight shortened the distance, like a rainbow from the heavens, instantly arriving, as if cleaving the heavens and earth.
Zhao Heng spun, transforming into a whirlwind. Anyone caught in it would be torn into pieces, shaking the entire hall even more violently.
As the “Phoenix Cry Reaching Heaven” rang out, the Star God was slightly affected. Lady Bixia seized the opening, shifting from fists to palms, unleashing both life and death. Before her, half was boundless darkness, silent and unchanging, a single touch possibly leading to instant death. The other half was vibrant green vitality, capable of sprouting life even in the most desolate and deathly places.
Lady Bixia, a female immortal of the Dao Sect, was said to have originally been a mountain deity before joining the Dao Sect, cultivating the art of commanding life and death!
The silence spread, the vitality surged, and the killing intent and death energy filling the hall vanished. A figure in scholarly robes finally appeared before Meng Qi’s eyes.
He suppressed all emotions, his aura shifting.
Now, he imagined himself as the true Guangcheng Heavenly Venerable, delivering a heavy and domineering palm strike capable of overturning heaven and earth.
No, Meng Qi’s thoughts shifted. Guangcheng Heavenly Venerable was not strong enough, nor his aura high enough. If he was to imagine, he would imagine himself as the Yuanshi Heavenly Venerable!
The first of the Dao Sect, symbolizing the beginning, symbolizing creation, second only to the Dao Venerable!
The beginning of all things, the origin of heaven and earth, was Yuanshi!
He raised his right hand, his aura becoming vast and boundless.
The heavens and earth seemed to shatter entirely with this palm strike, returning to chaos and nothingness!
The Heaven-Upturning Seal! The Star God’s pupils constricted. His entire attention was drawn to Meng Qi. He saw him expressionless, his aura ancient and profound, his hand white as jade, fingers long and powerful. Before his palm, darkness loomed, as if the entire world had condensed within, ready to collapse, shattering the heavens and earth!
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