My Enemy Became My Cultivation Companion-Chapter 703 - 456: The Reappearance of Mount Tu (Combined)_2

Jinggu True Monarch was bathed in blood, his Sword Intent growing ever more intense. As he charged toward Zhu Yu, his sword slashed down with a ferocious gale wrapped around it.

The Wind Cloud Sword let out a heart-piercing wail. The wearer of the crimson robes was forced back several zhang, barely managing to meet the sword strike head-on. Blood sprayed from her palm. Zhu Yu glanced briefly and understood that Min Ning's martial arts cultivation realm could not withstand many of Jinggu True Monarch's blows. She saw Jinggu True Monarch lift his sword for another strike, so she twisted her body, sidestepping his path before casually thrusting forward with her own sword.

Jinggu True Monarch only saw the sword light expand dramatically and then condense into a single point, moving slowly at first but accelerating suddenly. He shifted his body abruptly to the side, blood bursting from his left shoulder; it turned out Zhu Yu had followed the gaps left by his Sword Qi.

In the blink of an eye, he realized the exquisite mastery behind this strike. Though his body was blood-stained, his Sword Intent surged unabated, showing no signs of dimming.

On one side, their deadly exchange continued fiercely. Meanwhile, on Chen Yi's end, it was as if he were threading through a barrage of flashing blades. His figure weaved between Magic Treasures and spells, wielding both a knife and a sword. Around him, Magic Treasures and weapons collided, producing deafening booms that hurt the ears. With a turn of his blade, Chen Yi deflected an ancient zither, following it with a sword thrust that pierced through the gap in a dead Immortal's prior armor breach.

Chen Yi then looked up to see streams of light converge, his body's instincts immediately on alert.

As he turned around, he saw hundreds of beams of radiance raining down on him like a storm of arrows.

Chen Yi rode the wind and used his peak-level skill "Cloud Stepping," his movements morphing in myriad patterns. Yet those beams pursued him relentlessly, like a torrential downpour. Between his evasive maneuvers, he caught sight of three golden-armored Immortals forming an array amidst the dense veil of rain.

Arrows to the front; what now?

Charge through the arrow storm?

Chen Yi's eyes revealed a fierce determination.

No matter!

He turned atop the treetops and abruptly leapt forward, a streak of black lightning surging forth as his blade and sword cleaved through the arrow storm layer by layer.

The three golden-armored Immortals appeared to have anticipated this, stepping into their battle positions to change formation.

Suddenly, a ghostly azure figure emerged behind them, its presence nearly imperceptible amid the chaos of Immortal battles.

Yin Weiyin's Nascent Soul struck three precise sword strikes toward the crowns of the three Immortals.

At the moment when the array was shifting and their minds were focused, the three golden-armored Immortals were struck as though by lightning. Their souls trembled violently, and their heads buzzed, lost in a flash of white. By the time they regained their senses, a blood-drenched figure was already upon them, driving blades and swords through their open mouths mid-chant.

Two Immortals' heads were wrenched off midair.

The remaining Immortal struggled on, battling Chen Yi with his Magic Treasure for dozens of exchanges. At first, the golden-armored Immortal's techniques retained their lethal edge, but they gradually weakened and decayed. His bloodshot eyes grew frantic until finally, Chen Yi seized an opening, driving his sword through the breach in the Immortal's armor.

Upon closer inspection, the golden armor was already riddled with wounds, streaked with blood.

Chen Yi spat out a mouthful of blood. The experience of storming through the arrow barrage had not been pleasant. Even with his blade and sword in motion, his body bore numerous wounds.

What's worse, as he continued fighting, the golden armor only seemed to grow increasingly impenetrable, resembling one tortoise after another.

He turned his head, his gaze locking onto the resplendent golden Magic Platform suspended high above.

Wu Ling True Monarch's face darkened like iron. With several Immortals already fallen, the rest dared not approach rashly, hesitant to provoke. Fear of battle began to spread among them. Taking advantage of this shift in momentum, Jinggu True Monarch was still engaging in combat, and above all stood the immovable Taichua Goddess...

It was as if a towering mountain pressed down on Wu Ling True Monarch's shoulders.

His brows furrowed deeply.

He and Taihe True Monarch were the core of the array. If the array required transformation, it would demand a blood sacrifice—offering up their own souls and dharma bodies to push the Invocation Array to its zenith.

Should he do it, or not?

While Wu Ling True Monarch hesitated, Chen Yi had already adjusted his sword and charged toward the Magic Platform.

Taihe True Monarch suddenly shouted harshly, "I fear not death, and you, Wu Ling—are you truly afraid to die?!"

Wu Ling True Monarch jerked his head upward to see the man before him, like a streak of lightning, determined to tear through the Magic Platform that ceaselessly absorbed the souls of Immortals.

"What are you still hesitating for?! The fates of hundreds of Immortals hang on this battle!"

The thunderous rebuke rang like a boom. No longer dithering, Wu Ling True Monarch activated the array, its light intensifying—but instead of gold, it turned dark, infused with purples tinged with crimson. A chilling demonic aura began seeping out, filling the heavens and earth with bone-deep cold.

The demonic aura spread, exuding an eerie and sinister chill.

The golden-armored Immortals around hesitated momentarily before they transformed into streaks of light, blocking Chen Yi's assault against the array.

The sky dimmed entirely. Lightning flashed within the dark clouds above, sounding like agonized wails. The array resembled a boiling three-legged cauldron, in which flesh, blood, and souls were churned and cooked alive, their screams of torment piercing. Wu Ling True Monarch stood atop it, forming hand seals, his entire body shrouded in gradually intensifying golden light, which resembled fireflies glowing in the night.

Suddenly,

a pitch-black fissure split open.

A claw as thick as a giant tree emerged from the crack, its grotesque, deep-green form gripping the fissure. A hideous Heavenly Demon, its face twisted into a sinister grin, extended half of its massive body. Yet as golden light encircled it, a golden band formed around its head. The Heavenly Demon howled in agony, its blood-red eyes struggling furiously, but under the suppression of the two True Monarchs, it was rendered powerless.

Amid the clash of sword edges, Zhu Yu glanced toward the other side.

The Heavenly Demon—born of a fleeting moment's thought from secluded cultivators in the mountains—often coalesces when a virtuous Daoist strays into demonic paths. Its purpose is to restore universal balance by expelling entities from outside the realm. Yet, unwilling to linger in the barren void beyond, the Heavenly Demon seeks to return to this plane by manifesting during a Daoist's tribulation, appearing in visions of celestial palaces, banners, exotic fragrances, or divine music. Many Daoists mistaken these illusions for death or ascension. Only by seeing past such delusions can one achieve true enlightenment. What the world refers to as obsession is being ensnared by the Heavenly Demon's illusory form, becoming trapped in its demonic semblance.

These Immortals who forcibly open Heaven's Gate to ascend often succumb to such obsessions and are never truly enlightened. As such, it is no surprise they resort to these Evil Techniques.