Chapter 2869: Chapter 2869
"Argh!"
The demon, caught between Ye Liuyun’s internal and external assault, let out a piercing shriek as its form rapidly shrank. Once it dwindled to half Ye Liuyun’s size, it could no longer maintain a humanoid shape, dissolving into a cloud of dark energy that drifted apart.
Without hesitation, Ye Liuyun enveloped himself in the radiant power of Buddhist light, drew his Demon-Slaying Blade, and charged forward. The Demon Vine followed closely, unafraid of the demon’s strength.
The others remained within the protective formation, while Black Tiger and Qiong Qi used beams of white light and flames to hold off the other two demons.
The demon Ye Liuyun targeted was instantly cleaved apart by a single swing of his blade. The strike harnessed the power of heaven and earth, summoning countless spectral swords that joined in tearing the creature to shreds.
Of course, the Demon-Slaying Blade was the decisive force—once it split the demon, the creature could no longer reform. The additional blades of celestial energy finished the job, scattering it completely.
The Demon Vine’s battle was equally swift. It simply entangled one of the demons with its vines and began absorbing it directly.
"Boss, I can devour the demonic energy inside these creatures!" it exclaimed, realizing it could harness the dark power for itself. Without hesitation, it swallowed the demon whole and lunged toward the others.
After cutting down another demon with a swift stroke, Ye Liuyun retracted the Buddhist light around him, testing whether he too could absorb the dissipating demonic energy.
To his delight, the experiment was a success.
"Such refined demonic energy!" he marveled, discovering it was an exceptionally pure resource, perfect for cultivation.
Heishan emerged to try as well and found he could also absorb it.
After the three of them worked together to absorb all the demonic energy from the five demonic creatures, they returned to the formation and waited.
But after that, the black pond fell silent again, its surface growing calm once more.
"Let’s continue breaking the formations!" Ye Liuyun once again sent the Qiong Qi to dismantle the second layer of the formation, while instructing the Demon Vine to protect it. At the first sign of trouble, they were to retreat back to the formation immediately.
Ye Liuyun then put away the Black Tiger and released his double, Lei Ming, the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, the Thieving Cat Demon Lion, the Tiger-Headed Demi-Human, the giant troll Ha Tu, A Xing, and Lin Feier—all those who needed demonic energy. He had them prepare to either join the fight or absorb the demonic energy.
As soon as the Qiong Qi broke the second layer of the formation, the black pond began to stir again. Bubbles gurgled and popped on the surface, and in no time, demonic creatures identical to them emerged, charging straight at them.
The Demon Vine swiftly pulled the Qiong Qi back into the formation, then surged forward to engage the enemy. Ye Liuyun also dashed out, cutting down the demonic creature that looked exactly like him with a single, decisive slash of his blade.
However, he didn’t rush to absorb its energy. Instead, he turned to help the others cut down their opponents. The rest of the group quickly followed, joining the fray.
His double wielded the Heaven Devourer Blade, but its effectiveness paled in comparison to Ye Liuyun’s Demon-Slaying Blade. Moreover, his control over the power of heaven and earth was not as refined as Ye Liuyun’s. To achieve similar results, he had to channel more of the Buddha-Demon fusion energy.
Ha Tu found himself facing a demonic creature that mirrored his own massive build, one brimming with the thickest demonic energy. But he was no match for it. The creature was not only identical in size but also far more powerful.
This wave of demonic creatures was stronger than the last, their strength comparable to the second level of the Guiyi realm. Aside from Ye Liuyun and his double, even the Demon Vine struggled to gain the upper hand initially.
The others were quickly forced back into the formation. Fortunately, their enhanced physical resilience spared them any serious harm.
Only Lei Ming and the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, after retreating, revealed their true forms and charged out once more. Ye Liuyun and his double tirelessly swung their blades, holding off the advancing horde.
The Demon Vine tangled with its doppelgänger, their tendrils twisting together in a fierce struggle. But unlike its opponent, the Demon Vine’s tendrils could regenerate and grow. The mimic, on the other hand, remained static once it emerged. Though initially outmatched, the Demon Vine absorbed energy as it fought, relying on its resilient vines to avoid injury. In the end, it managed to devour its counterpart entirely.
By then, Ye Liuyun had already focused his efforts on cutting down three or four of the creatures. The Demon Vine seized the opportunity to wrap its vines around the legs of the largest demon, hindering its movement and creating an opening for Ye Liuyun to strike.
Ye Liuyun and his double concentrated their attacks, landing several heavy blows that cleaved the massive creature into several large chunks. The fragments twitched and writhed, desperately trying to reform, but the Demon-Slaying Blade’s power and the lingering Buddha light infused into its wounds made recovery impossible. No matter how hard it struggled, it could not piece itself back together.
Lei Ming and the Nine-Headed Dragon relied on their physical defenses, with Lei Ming striking with lightning and the dragon scorching enemies with flames, augmented by bursts of white light. Together, they managed to defeat two opponents, though their demonic energy reserves dwindled significantly in the process.
"Don’t waste your demonic energy!" Ye Liuyun called out, signaling them to fall back and let him and his doppelganger take over.
Without pause, he and his duplicate unleashed a relentless barrage of blade energy. Meanwhile, the Demon Vine ensnared another foe, draining it completely before shifting tactics—instead of absorbing more, it used its tendrils to whip back any demons attempting to evade the blade strikes.
Soon, all the demons were reduced to pure demonic energy, and Ye Liuyun waved the others forward to absorb it.
"Whoa, this energy is incredibly refined!"
"What a rare find!"
Astonished by the purity of the demonic energy, everyone eagerly drew it in, and within moments, not a wisp remained.
The black pool fell silent once more, its surface still and undisturbed.
The group retreated inside the protective formation, leaving Qiong Qi to work on breaking the next barrier.
Meanwhile, the Thieving Cat and the Demon Lion immediately expanded their bodies to their maximum size.
"Those demons mirror our forms and dimensions. The larger we become, the bigger the demons that emerge—and the more demonic energy we’ll gain!" the Thieving Cat explained.
Everyone agreed with the logic, and soon all the demonic beasts had enlarged themselves to their limits. Even the Demon Vine extended countless additional tendrils, weaving a dense, sprawling web.
"......" Ye Liuyun stared at the hulking figures towering behind him, his face darkening with exasperation.
"Did any of you stop to consider whether I can actually handle this?" he sighed. "Those demons we just fought were no pushovers. If the next batch is even stronger, I can’t guarantee we’ll make it through."
After speaking, Ye Liuyun summoned Qiong Qi back first, instructing him to reinforce the barrier with several additional layers.
If the enemy’s strength increased again this time, neither he nor his doppelgänger would be able to hold them off alone. Their only hope would be to wear the opponents down gradually through tactical maneuvering. Sooner or later, those demonic creatures would inevitably assault the barrier. Moreover, Ye Liuyun feared that even more formidable entities might emerge from the depths of the pond, making it absolutely crucial to fortify the defenses.
Once Qiong Qi returned and helped reinforce the barrier, he rejoined the Demon Vine to dismantle the final layer of the enemy’s formation.
But this time, before the barrier could be breached, the pond stirred once more. Countless demonic creatures, similar in size to them, surged violently from the water.
The Demon Vine immediately retreated with Qiong Qi, fearing it couldn’t defend the vine alone if left behind.
Just as Ye Liuyun had anticipated, the strength of these new demonic creatures had escalated yet again. A mere glance with his golden pupils revealed the heightened purity and intensity of the demonic energy swirling within them.
Witnessing the increased power of these monsters from within the safety of the barrier, the onlookers finally began to share Ye Liuyun’s apprehension, their concern for him growing palpable.
