Chapter 870: Gods and Demons All Suffer Defeat!

A demon remarked, "The spell this man employs seems to belong to the category of external acoustics, much like 'the loudest sound is left unvoiced.' We are not currently equipped with such obscure defensive arrays, unless... we take action personally."

"..."

...

Over where Nalan Hongwu and his companions stood.

"I can't shake the feeling... that someone is eavesdropping on our conversation," Lan Mo noted. "The signal we just switched to had a pulse at first, but vanished in a flash."

"Is there any way to counter it?" Zong Wu inquired.

"Naturally!" Lan Mo replied. "When the Great Sage of Fangcun Mountain studied alongside our fellow senior disciples, there were plenty of obscure minor spells. Watch me perform one!"

In the very next instant, within the central army, a multitude of demon generals found themselves staring at what could only be described as a silent film.

A moment later, even the silent film was gone, replaced by a sudden and total blackout!

"...These mortals, what on earth is wrong with them?!" a demon general roared.

This was a far cry, as vast as heaven from earth, from what they had imagined!

...

"The malevolent aura has receded. Just now, the Cultivator Alliance utilized radar, sonics, the Mirror of Heaven's Light, and nearly ten other methods to probe the internal structure of this fiendish entity and the origin of these demon beasts. We discovered that a vast portion of the spiritual essence it swallows flows to the various locations indicated on my map." Lan Mo was still conducting his research.

"Unlike Anton, even if we sever the energy source, it likely won't severely impact the strength of the demon beasts within. However, after the recent discussion among Senior Orphan and other cultivators, we realized that by understanding this structure, we can covertly harness this immense surge of energy within its space to deploy the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits Sword Array—the very same one the Shushan Sword Sect used to subdue the Demon Lord!"

"If this array can be successfully formed, it will serve as a monumental aid to you all!"

At this moment, when everyone looked at one another again, their eyes were filled with a radiant gleam of confidence!

A sword array capable of subduing the Demon Lord... and one catalyzed by such an immense reservoir of energy.

Perhaps this time, they would use actual deeds to inform their enemies that human wisdom... was infinite!

Just like how, during their pioneering days, they had repeatedly searched for the weaknesses of powerful monsters far beyond their own strength, this time, they seemed to have found a viable path!

This was the harvest they had reaped from failing countless times within that virtual world!

"Should we encounter dire peril, we will still need your vanguard strike team to intercept them first!" Lan Mo said solemnly. "Ideally..."

He pointed right at the dead center of the map: "Keep a constant vigil on the movements here!"

"That goes without saying!"

...

Soon, transmission jades spread this news to every cultivator and martial artist who had entered this domain.

The nodes of spiritual essence delivery and the blueprint for the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits Sword Array were all set into motion with intense, calculated precision.

Meanwhile, perched upon his throne of skeletal remains, the countenance of that demon god grew increasingly frigid and grim.

The Demon General of the Nine Abysses was by no means a novice commander raw to warfare.

If it could be said that he had truly looked down on them before, then at this very moment, he had completely discarded his arrogance to re-evaluate these humans.

Securing a passage through the human realm for this surprise raid was a vital cog in the machine, one that brooked absolutely no failure.

Setting aside the few who had gone out to guard the perimeters, there remained by his side one lieutenant and one adjutant general.

One was a massive, burly demon god of black armor, his entire form encrusted in strange runes of stone plating; the other hung upside down in midair, enshrouded in ghostly vapors, his body withered and desiccated like a freshly deceased corpse.

The demon god seated high upon the skeletal throne finally stepped down from that perch which seemed to have endured for eternity, his billowing, monstrous demonic energy instantly causing the entire expanse of the Nine Abysses to tremble!

Just then, an abyssal demon, its skin as black as tempered iron, came charging in from the outside.

Following close behind was a figure drenched in blood, eyes a crimson glare, letting out low growls like a fiend emerged straight from the depths of hell.

The three demon gods, just about to set forth, froze in their tracks, eyeing these two with sharp vigilance: "Who are you?!"

Could they be of the same kin?! But they had never seen any that looked like this!

The blood-drenched fiend spoke up: "Who am I—?! I am the King of Amplification! The King of Reinforcement! The King of Can-Opening! The Supreme Emperor of Dark Iron! You dare ask who I am?!"

"Mountain-Cleaving Earth-Rupturing Slash!" Atop the colossal sword, churning lava erupted and crashed downward!

"..."

"You two handle the side ones, leave the middle one to us!" Right at that moment, two more voices echoed over.

Two more cohorts of men and horses charged into the fray. The leader of one bore five divine swords behind his back, spread out like wings of blades; the other kept his eyes half-closed, the sword in his grip crackling with jade-like lightning!

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Then, the horn-headed, hideously faced demon god began to applaud: "I must admire your ability to find this place in such a short span of time."

"However..." His gaze turned icy. "What sort of confidence is it that makes you bold enough to come before my seat!"

This place resembled a vast, sprawling subterranean cavern. With a roar from the demon god, his knotted muscles bulged and swelled, transforming him within moments into a giant a hundred chang tall!

His horns nearly grazed the ceiling of this domain, and his gargantuan physique caused the ground to shudder with every stride.

Yet his form continued to expand, completely shattering the roof of the cavern. The space splintered apart, and a colossal demon god stood atop the back of the Heaven-Swallowing Giant Turtle, stepping into the ocean with a single stride that instantly sent cataclysmic waves surging. The churning seawater, hurtling like cannonballs, smashed the surrounding dharma vessels to splinters.

Even the few remaining Metamagnetic Wind-Thunder Vessels were now riddled with holes, teetering on the verge of collapse.

As if a hornet's nest had been stirred, an overwhelming cloud of demon soldiers flew out from that fractured space, far exceeding the last wave, blotting out the sky!

"Kill! Leave none alive!"

At a time like this, who could possibly withstand such a terrifying demon god!

Cries of shock and screams bled into one another! In this instant, this demon god from the Nine Netherworlds struck the deepest chords of terror into their hearts!

Invincible, matchless!

To say nothing of mortal flesh and blood, even the Metamagnetic Giant Vessels were mere palm-sized toys to him, shattered at a single touch!

"Today, I shall make you all learn the price of provoking my wrath!"

But... just at this juncture, thirty-six golden lights flared up beneath the feet of the demon god!

Aligning perfectly with the positions of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits, the spiritual lights interconnected, shifting like the rotation of the stars.

Directly after... within that very space beneath his feet, streaks of sword light rose up like a constellation of ascending stars!

"What sort of thing is...?!"

Above his head, sword lights converged in multitudes, transforming in the sky into a colossal Taiji Yin-Yang diagram of grand proportions!

The immense spiritual essence that had been channeled gathered within this sword array. It was impossible for humans to possess such a vast reservoir of spiritual power, but this sword array... the sheer breadth of spiritual essence it contained far exceeded mortal limits!

With a fierce shout, a silhouette flew into the high skies riding a sword: "You lot have drained the vast spiritual essence of heaven and earth, causing an imbalance that has left the surrounding energy nearly depleted; you have slaughtered wantonly, treating human life as mere grass. Do you truly believe our human realm is devoid of champions?!"

Flying swords flaunted themselves across the sky, resembling an overwhelming curtain of blades that blotted out the sun.

Then, a power that struck dread even into gods and demons began to coalesce within the sword array!

Countless sword lights, like a sweeping torrent across the sky, gathered into a single point, transforming into a golden rainbow that pierced heaven and earth as it cascaded downward!

"What... is this?!" At this moment, even the demon god showed a look of utter consternation!

He felt an aura he had not sensed in countless years... the aura of death!

In the next heartbeat! A colossal golden pillar of light struck straight down! The golden light filling the sky, like the majestic wrath of heaven, swept across the vast wilderness from the depths of the ocean!

...

And on the other side, that incomprehensibly colossal divine avatar collapsed with a thunderous roar, like the crashing of a golden mountain and the toppling of a jade pillar!

"Kill!" Every cultivator and warrior, following in the footsteps of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, charged toward these fierce deities who were once so utterly unreachable and insufferably arrogant.

"Retreat! All forces retreat!" Countless celestial soldiers and generals of every race, amidst the earth-shattering cries of slaughter, cast aside their armor and fled in wretched disgrace!

Never in their lives, perhaps, had they ever experienced such a moment.

And this day was also the day when... both gods and demons alike met their crushing defeat!

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