Melee

Chu Qing rubbed his temples and sighed, "He has a mutated bloodline; this is my fault."

Jiang Kunyue stood her ground: "Then he's a demon now too. Countless demons died or were injured during the demon race's trials because of their intervention, and you're telling me you're here to protect a demon? Chu Qing, you're insane."

Chu Qing glanced at the water mirror, which reflected the scene Xu Xuan had seen.

Chaos reigned within the demon cave as Mo Zuili engaged in combat with Jie Shuangxing. Jie Shuangxing's attacks were far too ruthless; even with the use of talismans and magical artifacts, Mo Zuili could only manage a draw, and even showed signs of falling into a disadvantageous position.

Chu Qing looked away and remained silent for a moment.

He knew why Jiang Kunyue hated the demon race so much. Jiang Kunyue had been sleeping in Medicine King Mountain for many years because she was harmed by the demon race. She was already irreconcilably opposed to the demon race, and now she had added another blood feud to the mix.

"My other disciple, Mo Zuili, is also inside. Are you trying to stop me from opening the ruins?" Chu Qing asked calmly.

Previously, both demons and humans, and the elders of various sects and families had tried to forcibly open the ruins, but all of them failed.

Now, due to the demons converting some of the energy within the ruins, coupled with the persistent efforts of the elders, the restrictions on the ruins have become weak.

Now that Chu Qing has come, combined with the power-enhancing pills he has and his own strength, he can definitely take a chance and temporarily open the Phoenix Ruins.

But now that these demons have also entered, opening the Phoenix Ruins at this time would be tantamount to giving the demons an opportunity to take advantage.

It's unknown whether the Demon Clan has any backup plans. If the Demon Clan has any tricks up their sleeve, opening the Phoenix Ruins now would weaken the elders and essentially give them another wave of lives.

Jiang Kunyue frowned deeply, and after a long while, she gave a sarcastic smile: "They seem to have a deep bond as senior and junior siblings. Haven't you noticed yet? Mo Zuili knew that Shen Ling was a demon, yet she still dared to associate with him. Can you guarantee that your disciple hasn't been bewitched by the demons?"

The two sides argued without reaching an agreement.

The demon race, which was originally divided into two factions due to the dispute between Mo Zuili and Huang Tianyao over the true and false saintess, was able to unite under the pressure of Jiang Kunyue, the ancestor who was the successor of Kunpeng. The demon race that supported Huang Tianyao was overjoyed when they heard Jiang Kunyue's words.

Huang Tianlu wanted to step forward to refute, saying that Mo Zuili was the Holy Maiden of the Phoenix Clan and could not possibly collude with the Demon Clan, but he was forced back by a single look from Jiang Kunyue.

In the water mirror, Jie Shuangxing summoned another undead puppet to block Mo Zuili's escape route.

Forced into a corner with no way out, Mo Zuili had no choice but to endure Jie Shuangxing's knife, and blood gushed from his shoulder.

Among the crowd observing the water mirror, the human elders held differing opinions.

Some people worried about their disciples: "If this continues, they will all die inside sooner or later! Even if the demons have a backup plan, we have already sent a message back to our sect, and reinforcements from other sects will be arriving soon!"

Some objected: "We should wait for the right opportunity. Let's wait until the restrictions on the ruins are weaker before concentrating our forces to wipe out all the demons!"

Chu Qing looked around, slowly closed his eyes, and said to Jiang Kunyue in a deep voice, "Alright, I vouch for her. I believe in my disciple. She has her own plans. If she really joins forces with the demons and indiscriminately kills innocent people, it is because I, her master, have failed in my teaching. I will bear all the blame."

Whispers rippled through the crowd, some expressing doubt, while others used secret techniques to connect with Xu Xuan and transmit their voices to the disciples within the ruins.

"Xuanzi, listen! You must protect yourself first, and then help Mo Zuili within your power. Make sure those two demons beside her absorb as much energy as possible. Once the demon lineage ends, the new demon lord must not be the demon who fought Mo Zuili."

Xu Xuan: Me? How can I help!

Deep inside the cave, the battle had reached a fever pitch.

Mo Zuili's shoulder was bleeding, and his hand holding the Phoenix Flame Spear trembled slightly, but he still clung tightly to Jie Shuangxing.

The undead puppet controlled by the opponent had tricky moves, which, combined with his own short blade, forced Mo Zuili to fight and retreat at the same time, frequently using spatial power.

Huang Tianyao wanted to seize the power, but she was attacked from both sides by two Golden Core Demons. Shangguan Fu'er assisted her, but she was struggling because her previous injuries had not yet healed.

Huang Tianyao gritted his teeth and thrust out his sword, sending a demon flying.

Mo Zuili and Jie Shuangxing were locked in fierce combat when they suddenly felt a strong gust of wind coming from the side. The demon that Huang Tianyao had knocked away was forced to retreat in their direction.

Their eyes met in mid-air, and both were startled.

Just then, Jie Shuangxing unleashed a move imbued with powerful demonic energy. Mo Zuili almost instinctively spun around to avoid it, her body reacting faster than her mind, and ran towards Huang Tianyao's location.

Huang Tianyao also turned to the side at the same time to avoid the attack trajectory.

Jie Shuangxing gripped the dagger and thrust it straight forward. Before he could stop, the dagger struck the demon chasing Huang Tianyao, exploding with a "boom" and sending him flying.

This moment of tacit understanding is fleeting.

Mo Zuili was the first to regain her senses. Just as Huang Yan was about to attack Jie Shuangxing, she raised her hand and threw a fire talisman at Huang Tianyao's face.

The moment Huang Tianyao pulled out the longsword that had pierced the demon's body, he threw a magical artifact containing demonic power at Mo Zuili, intended for a sneak attack.

Both of them moved with lightning speed, their magical artifacts and fire talismans colliding in mid-air and exploding with a loud bang.

If either of them fails to seize the opportunity to ambush the other, the other will succeed.

"Hmph." Huang Tianyao sneered and turned to face the demons who had been led there by Zhu Hehong.

Mo Zuili stopped being distracted and charged at Jie Shuangxing again with his spear, but was blocked by another attack.

She spun around to dodge, then looked up and met the gaze of Jie Yuli, who was dressed in a tight-fitting black outfit.

Jie Yuli wore a loose black cloak over her head. Unlike Jie Shuangxing, who wore a mask to cover her face, Jie Yuli's beautiful face was completely unhidden. Her eyebrows were slanted, her eyes had a natural blush at the corners, and her pupils were a deep, unfathomable black. Her long hair was unbound and spread out over her shoulders and back like raven feathers.

Mo Zuili sneered and swept his spear horizontally, the powerful spiritual energy striking Shangguan Fu'er, who had been drawn by Jie Yuli.

Jie Yuli was drawn in, but the attack failed to land on Mo Zuili again.

Zhu Hehong and Shen Ling stopped Xie Yuli and engaged in combat.

The ball of light at the top of the altar surged violently, and the crimson demonic power clashed with the pitch-black demonic energy even more fiercely.

Mo Zuili faced Jie Shuangxing again when she suddenly heard a shout: "Miss Mo! Above!"

"boom!"

With a loud bang, cold sweat beaded on Mo Zuili's palm as he gripped the gun, and the wound on his shoulder was ripped open by the impact, with beads of blood sliding down the gun barrel.

As Jie Shuangxing's short blade came at her, Shen Ling moved quickly and managed to block the attack for Mo Zuili.

The two retreated in unison.

A figure, like a golden lightning bolt, fell from the top of the Ink-Drunken Glass Pavilion and quickly darted to Huang Tianyao's side.

Another loud bang, and blood dripped from Huang Tianyao's arm.

A golden figure, wielding a long whip, charged towards the ball of light atop the altar: "Haha, I am the Demon King!"

But at the last moment, they were stopped by the demons.

Huang Tianyao gritted his teeth and roared, "Phoenix Star Feather!"

Seeing that Mo Zuili was injured, Zhu Hehong immediately followed and stood protectively by Mo Zuili's side, whispering, "Feng Xingyu, the heir of the Phoenix Clan, is all show and no substance. All he knows is how to launch sneak attacks. How dare he come here!"

The three stood side by side in a triangle formation, with Jie Shuangxing and Jie Yuli also tacitly moving closer together. The two siblings shared a common aura, confronting Mo Zuili and the other two.

Feng Xingyu's long whip cracked loudly, but after being stopped by the demons, she was swept down by Huang Tianyao's kick before she could even make a move.

Taking advantage of Feng Xingyu's meddling and the fact that most of the attention was drawn to her, Mo Zuili took a half step back, took out a Rejuvenation Pill and put it in her mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Huang Tianyao kick someone over, with Shangguan Fu'er blocking the demons, trying to take the opportunity to seize the energy.

Mo Zuili clicked her tongue in annoyance, exchanged glances with Shen Ling, and the two nodded in tacit agreement.

Shen Ling led Zhu Hehong out and confronted the Xie siblings.

Mo Zuili flicked his spear, blocking the flying Feng Xingyu. He then spun around to avoid the attacking whip shadow, hooking the tip of his spear at Feng Xingyu's ankle and using the force to fling her back towards Huang Tianyao.

“I don’t want this kind of ‘gift,’ here you go.”

Feng Xingyu screamed in mid-air, his whip flying wildly out of his hand. He barely managed to regain his balance and tried to land, but Huang Tianyao kicked him in the chest, sending him flying towards Mo Zuili again. Mo Zuili didn't catch him; instead, he turned sideways and struck Feng Xingyu hard on the back with the shaft of his spear.

He's all show and no substance; with that kind of strength, he dares to compete for the title of Demon King.

All Mo Zuili can say is that her courage is commendable.

Neither of them took Feng Xingyu seriously, and after a few exchanges, Huang Tianyao lost his patience.

"Pathetically weak." Huang Tianyao sneered as he sheathed his sword and kicked the man into the chaotic demon horde.

Mo Zuili and Huang Tianyao clashed, their spear shadows and sword lights intertwining.

In the chaos, Xu Xuan moved to the other side and carefully hid.

"Xuanzi, be careful. We're going to force open the ruins from the outside, and the energy inside might be unstable then."

Xu Xuan looked at the ball of light at the top of the altar, feeling that it was about to explode.

More and more people are breaking through the restrictions of the small world and coming here to fight against the demons.

The crimson demonic power and pitch-black demonic energy of the light surged forth like a tide.

Mo Zuili gritted her teeth and took out talismans and magical artifacts, then started throwing them around randomly.

Mo Zuili had a premonition that it would be too late if she didn't absorb demonic power soon.

Huang Tianyao seemed to share the same feeling, and became entangled with Mo Zuili.

The two fought almost at the edge of the altar; a slight misstep and the other would have been able to touch the ball of light.

"Damn it!" Mo Zuili saw Shangguan Fu'er, who was originally injured and dealing with the demons in the outer circle, suddenly attack, her long sword carrying a resolute killing intent as she thrust it towards him.

Mo Zuili's eyes turned mad. He didn't dodge. The moment the longsword pierced his chest, Mo Zuili touched the ball of light.

The moment she succeeded, Mo Zuili used the powerful demonic energy contained within the ball of light to erect a protective barrier.

Except for Huang Tianyao, who was simultaneously struck by the orb of light, everyone else was repelled.

Due to the forced absorption of massive energy, Mo Zuili felt as if her internal organs had been shattered by the spiritual power.

But now, Mo Zuili couldn't care less about the excruciating pain in her meridians, and neither could Huang Tianyao. Both of them were desperately trying to absorb more power.

Seeing someone encounter the ball of light, Jie Yuli's moves became even more vicious, as she wanted to get rid of Shen Ling and Zhu Hehong as soon as possible.

Seeing Jie Yuli break away and return to the altar to absorb energy, a resolute glint flashed in Shen Ling's eyes as she was stopped by Jie Shuangxing.

He took out the Rebellious Blade and forcibly infused it with spiritual power using his demonic bloodline.