Chapter 619: Battle of Half-Immortals!

The chief of the Baxia clan raised his price on the spot, causing the Qiongqi chief to gnash his teeth in fury.

Yet at the thought of how magnificent this battle was, to describe it colorfully with mere words would likely require the sheer talent of a master storyteller.

"Fine, but you shall not raise the price again!"

The Qiongqi chief glared threateningly at the Baxia chief, wondering if he truly believed their Qiongqi clan was an easy target to bully.

Having parted with his money, the Qiongqi chief felt an increasing ache in his heart the more he thought about it.

"Perhaps I should find some time to learn the art of storytelling?"

If he knew how to tell stories, would he ever have to pay such unjustified money?

Zhu Tian performed a sudden, agile leap, intending to spring up from the ground, but Jiang Lianyi would give him no such chance; leaping down from the altar, she planted a heavy kick squarely upon Zhu Tian inside the pit, a blow that nearly made him vomit his intestines.

"Cough—"

Pinned to the earth beneath Jiang Lianyi's foot, Zhu Tian tried to rise several times to no avail, flying into a thunderous rage.

"I merely yielded two moves to you, and you truly think yourself extraordinary!"

Zhu Tian had not expected Jiang Lianyi to be so difficult to deal with; judging by the reactions of the Phoenix clan, they had been entirely unaware of her existence, which indicated she had likely only awakened recently, and if that were the case, she should still be a long way from reclaiming her peak condition.

Yet the moment they clashed, he discovered that the Jiang Lianyi before him was precisely in her primeval peak state, without the slightest hint of weakness, which was why he had suffered such a massive setback.

Damn it, how could this be possible.

With a furious roar, he reverted to his original form, his volume expanding vastly as he threw Jiang Lianyi off.

Jiang Lianyi stepped upon the void twice in succession to stabilize her body in midair, completely unperturbed, her two arms shifting to transform into a five-colored phoenix.

The phoenix spread its wings and soared high, its entire body covered in radiant, multicolored feathers, and as the sunlight pierced through the plumage and fell upon the earth, it transformed into a five-hued celestial glow.

When the five-hued celestial glow shone upon minor cultivators who possessed hidden injuries, those lingering wounds actually began to vanish gradually.

The strongest state of the demon race was to battle in their true forms, and now, the two half-immortals returned to their original shapes, no longer holding back as they struck out fiercely!

With a fierce kick of his legs, Zhu Tian overturned the meticulously refined glass-and-white-jade heavenly altar, which was not only an altar but also a powerful magic treasure!

The several-hundred-meter-high glass-and-white-jade nine-layered heavenly altar was hurled forth, smashing savagely toward Jiang Lianyi, who rotated her two wings to catch the altar, neutralizing its momentum, before coating it in a layer of lightning and hurling it right back.

Zhu Tian opened his mouth, releasing an invisible soundwave to freeze the altar in place, which shuddered slightly yet violently under the assault of the acoustic waves before being hurled toward Jiang Lianyi once more.

If Jiang Lianyi dared to catch the altar in the same manner as before, the altar, along with the lightning, would detonate!

Jiang Lianyi had long seen through Zhu Tian's petty schemes and commanded space itself to seal the altar.

"Return it."

The heavenly altar seemed like a toy in the hands of the two half-immortals, tossed back and forth, yet only the spectating cultivators knew that having changed hands several times, the altar now contained layers upon layers of attacks; if it exploded, even veteran Tribulation Transcenders would be severely wounded.

Ultimately, unable to endure the accumulation of one layer of attack after another, the heavenly altar exploded right between the two of them.

With two half-immortals and six Great Tribulation Demons engaged in spellcasting, the four concurrent battles left the crowd thoroughly dazzled, wishing they could grow a few extra pairs of eyes.

There were many Body Integration cultivators present, and if the battles of the Tribulation Transcenders were something they could vaguely comprehend, the combat at the half-immortal level was truly beyond their understanding.

Yet this did not stop them from unanimously choosing to watch the half-immortal level clash.

The spiritual energy for thousands of miles around was drained completely dry, falling under the control of the two half-immortal Great Demons.

The two demons fought from the sky to the earth, and from the earth back into the sky, shattering space all along their path and leaving everything in ruins, while the six warring Great Tribulation Demons did their best to stay far away from their battlefield, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.

The sky blazed with countless colors as wondrous visions manifested in rapid succession—celestial maidens scattering flowers, the phoenix emperor arriving in majesty, phoenixes nesting in parasol trees...

Then came the flash of lightning and the roll of thunder as two massive shadows battled behind the thunderclouds, offering only fleeting glimpses whenever the unleashed lightning illuminated the pair.

Zhu Tian began to dance gracefully, looking like a winged pig performing choreography, as a grim and murderous song accompanied his movements.

"Speak not of the autumn harvest as a bountiful year, for after autumn comes the execution and heads will roll..."

Sensing something, Jiang Lianyi flapped her phoenix wings to fly sideways, as an imperceptible blade grazed past her, shearing off a few phoenix feathers.

"The Autumn Song from the Songs of the Four Seasons?"

Jiang Lianyi was well-versed in the laws of melody and began to chant softly, her tune likewise bearing a murderous intent.

Two distinct melodies echoed across the high skies, transforming into visible ripples that agitated the local space, fraught with lethal intent, a perfect ambush from all sides!

Suddenly, a torrential downpour fell from the sky, pattering loudly against the ground.

"Hmm? This isn't rain, these are... seeds?"

Lu Yang picked up a seed from the ground, unable to discern its origin.

"Those are the seeds of the Dragon-Locking Vine; they shouldn't exist in your era."

"The Dragon-Locking Vine?"

"As the name implies, this thing once bound Ao Ling tightly."

Lu Yang recalled the Immortal Fairy mentioning that Jiang Lianyi and Ao Ling were quite close in strength, a forty-sixty split, with Jiang Lianyi having a forty percent chance of winning and Ao Ling sixty percent.

The Dragon-Locking Vine took root upon hitting the ground, sprouting and expanding vastly, and in an instant, the entire demon city was overrun with Dragon-Locking Vines, resembling countless hands reaching toward the sky in a somewhat eerie fashion.

The Dragon-Locking Vine grew rapidly and suddenly curved, coiling around to envelop Zhu Tian, who flapped his four wings, which resembled four celestial blades capable of cleaving heaven and earth in two, entirely invincible.

This time was no different, as his four wings unleashed four sweeps of blade-qi, hacking the Dragon-Locking Vine into countless shattered pieces.

But immediately afterward, Zhu Tian noticed something amiss, for vigorous flames were actually burning within the severed ends of the Dragon-Locking Vine, as though the vine were hollowed out and filled with fire.

"Not good, this is the True Nirvana Fire!"

The Dragon-Locking Vine sprouted anew, and Zhu Tian continued to flap his wings to sever it, yet no matter how many times he cut it down, the Dragon-Locking Vine would regrow endlessly.

The Immortal Fairy explained to Lu Yang: "The Dragon-Locking Vine is a celestial vine specifically cultivated by Lianyi, roasted with the True Nirvana Fire so that a wisp of the flame fuses into the seeds; once the Tree-Growing Spell is used to take root and sprout, the Dragon-Locking Vine becomes a celestial vine that grows forever under the enhancement of the True Nirvana Fire."

"Under the control of the embryonic Dao Fruit, the Dragon-Locking Vine moves according to Lianyi's will, highly flexible, ever-changing, and impossible to guard against."

"Little Ling failed to anticipate this move back then, taken completely off guard, and was bound securely."

Zhu Tian was likewise bound by the Dragon-Locking Vine, his six wings wrapping around him like the leaves of a zongzi.

Unwilling to be constrained like this, he let out a furious roar.

"Law Phenomenon!"

He executed the Law Phenomenon, transforming into a ten-thousand-yard behemoth with bulging muscles in an attempt to break free by brute force, but seeing that expanding did not shatter the bonds, he transformed into a human form to slip through the gaps of the Dragon-Locking Vine instead.

Under Jiang Lianyi's control, the Dragon-Locking Vine could expand or contract at will, and no matter what form Zhu Tian took, it bound him tightly, rendering him unable to break free.

"You forced my hand!"

Zhu Tian's eyes split with rage as he opened his massive maw, and countless primeval ghosts spewed from his mouth to form a ghostly army.

The primeval ghosts possessed varied forms, including humans, demons, and even spirits; these were the losers of the ancient war, devoured by Zhu Tian and refined through the power of his embryonic Dao Fruit.

"The legendary Ghost Soldiers Marching, all demons withdraw!"

A Great Tribulation Demon cried out in terror; this was a renowned legend from ancient times, where the march of ghost soldiers would leave thousands of miles of scorched earth, devoid of a single blade of grass, turning entire planets desolate—a taboo of the demon race often used to frighten children.

It turned out the origin of this legend was the Supreme Zhu Tian!

No matter how Lu Yang looked at this move, it seemed remarkably familiar.

"It looks familiar because it is; this move was learned by the Tiger clan and modified into the Ghost Chang technique, which is the origin of the phrase 'acting as a ghost for the tiger'." The Immortal Fairy said casually.

Jiang Lianyi spat out a ball of fire, a flame whose temperature was practically higher than that of the sun, for this was the very origin of the True Nirvana Fire!

She bit the tip of her tongue, letting a drop of her phoenix essence blood fall upon the true fire of nirvana, which let out a resonant cry and transformed into a phoenix identical to her own form.

This was the true, ultimate nirvana of the phoenix!

The true fire of nirvana, burning with pure and absolute yang energy, was the ultimate bane of all ghosts and malevolent demons!

The second update will be at eleven o'clock.