Chapter 75: The Clear Sky Sect Master Battles the Demon Emperor
Li Dongyue stopped her steps and looked up.
They had already been surrounded by the Demonic Cult.
Although her expression did not change, she felt shocked inside.
Why were there so many people from the Demonic Cult?
Looking around, the street where the Clear Sky Sect disciples walked had already been encircled.
The number of Demonic Cult martial artists exceeded a thousand and was still increasing rapidly.
From above, they looked like ants climbing onto eaves and courtyard walls, each holding blades and swords.
“‘How could a martial sect that was already destroyed possibly have so many people…’” Zhao Linglong frowned and muttered softly.
When she heard that the provincial capital had been breached, she already had some suspicions.
Now, she produced an even more absurd one.
“‘These people have undergone battlefield training.’”
Li Yang suddenly spoke. His tone was calm, his face even colder than before, no longer carrying his usual spirited appearance.
Hearing his words, Zhao Linglong’s expression changed slightly, her eyes revealing worry.
Zhang Yuchun swept his gaze across the Demonic Cult martial artists in all directions. His face grew solemn, but he did not panic. He lifted his hand and gestured.
The direct disciples who had already stepped into the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm quickly dispersed, moving to the edge of the main group, each drawing their weapons as they prepared to fight.
Jiang Zhaoxia looked toward a tall building ahead. It should have been a six-story inn.
The lanterns hanging from the balconies were crooked, but one could still see its former prosperity.
At the top of the tall building, a figure slowly walked into Jiang Zhaoxia’s field of vision.
It was the Demon Emperor.
One of the Demon Emperor’s hands seemed to be dragging something. When he stood at the edge of the eaves, he lifted what he held—it was a person.
It was the Taixing Divine Monk of Chan Meditation Temple, who had now become a man of blood. His limbs seemed broken, dangling helplessly in midair.
The Demon Emperor lifted Taixing Divine Monk with one hand.
He looked down at the distant members of the Clear Sky Sect, his gaze cold.
In this short period of time, the Demonic Cult martial artists increased by another thousand, now exceeding two thousand.
As the enemy numbers surged, the pressure on the Clear Sky Sect increased sharply.
Even Li Sifeng, who was usually carefree, subconsciously gripped the scabbard at his waist.
“‘Where is the Clear Sky Sect Master? When two sects fight, the sect master should naturally be dealt with by the sect master.’”
The Demon Emperor’s voice sounded again, echoing through the street.
The Clear Sky Sect disciples looked at his distant figure and all felt a chill.
Their intuition told them that this person was different from the other Demonic Cult martial artists.
Jiang Zhaoxia frowned, subconsciously wanting to charge toward the Demon Emperor.
“‘Master, do not be impulsive. There are other disciples behind us.’” Xue Jin hurriedly called out to Jiang Zhaoxia.
Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxia had no choice but to stabilize his steps. He felt quite displeased, believing the Demon Emperor looked down on him.
At that moment, a shrill cry echoed through the sky.
Everyone instinctively looked up.
A giant eagle was diving down through the clouds.
This scene caused the more than two thousand Demonic Cult cultivators to stir restlessly.
They had never seen such a large eagle.
Little Eight descended from the heavens, landing above the street in front of Jiang Zhaoxia.
It beat its wings repeatedly, stirring a fierce gale that caused Jiang Zhaoxia’s robes to whip violently.
The Demonic Cult martial artists perched on nearby eaves subconsciously retreated.
Standing on the eagle’s back was a man—Li Qingqiu.
Li Qingqiu’s left hand rested on the hilt of the Tianhong Sword. He looked at the Demon Emperor, his expression calm.
“‘This eagle seems to have turned into a demon!’”
“‘Who is that man? He actually descended from the sky…’”
“‘Could immortals really exist in this world?’”
“‘Putting on airs—Daoist Wei is the real immortal.’”
“‘He is the Clear Sky Sect Master? No wonder the Clear Sky Sect rose so quickly…’”
Li Qingqiu’s arrival atop the eagle created immense pressure on the more than two thousand Demonic Cult martial artists, for they had never seen such a person.
Not only the Demonic Cult—even the Clear Sky Sect side felt the same.
Except for a few disciples who had previously witnessed Li Qingqiu stand on the eagle, most only knew of the sect master’s strength from hearsay. When entering the city, they had wondered where their sect master had suddenly disappeared to.
Li Yang, Zhao Linglong, and Su Xiling had also seen this scene before, yet seeing it a second time still shocked them.
They wondered how high Li Qingqiu’s martial strength truly was, and what this eagle’s origin could be. Had it really become a demon?
It was Jiang Zhaoxia’s first time seeing Li Qingqiu descend atop Little Eight. He had to admit that even if he used the sword-riding technique, his bearing was not as overwhelming as his senior brother’s.
As the years went by, the gap between him and his senior brother seemed to grow wider.
Li Qingqiu looked at the Demon Emperor, his gaze indifferent.
He had recognized this person.
In Lin Chuan’s memories, this person had once hunted him and Lin Xunfeng.
He had died on the road precisely because he had been struck by this man’s poisonous palm.
More than ten years had passed, and this man’s power had grown even more terrifying—far beyond what the memories had shown.
Lin Chuan lay crouched on Li Qingqiu’s shoulder, glaring at the Demon Emperor with a ferocious expression, his eyes turning blood-red.
Fortunately, his horrifying appearance was not seen by the others.
“‘Counting the years, it has been nearly sixteen. Back then, this seat deliberately let Lin Xunfeng go, wanting him to suffer the pain of being unable to avenge his son. I didn’t expect that fellow to seek immortals. Truly laughable. Did he think that even if he found an immortal, it would change the fact that his son died in his arms?’”
The Demon Emperor’s voice sounded again, filled with mockery. His words made Jiang Zhaoxia, Zhang Yuchun, Li Dongyue, Li Sifeng, and Li Sijin freeze in place. Then anger surged across their faces.
Even Wu Man’er became furious, his whole being like a raging barbaric bear.
Although they rarely mentioned Lin Xunfeng in daily life, Lin Xunfeng lived in their hearts.
He was akin to their father. Hearing that their Master’s son had been killed by this man, uncontrollable killing intent filled them.
The Demon Emperor let go.
The dying Taixing Divine Monk fell straight down, crashing onto the street, life or death unknown.
Then, the Demon Emperor raised both hands.
A scorching, surging aura burst from within him, causing the space around him to ripple.
Flames ignited in both his palms, and he lifted off the ground.
This scene left the Clear Sky Sect disciples wide-eyed.
So-called lightness skill relied on borrowing force. It could not achieve true flight.
At least, the Clear Sky Sect disciples had never seen such lightness skill before.
Cheng Canghai’s eyes widened even more, his expression as if seeing a ghost.
The Demon Emperor looked as though he held two blazing suns. His aura kept soaring.
Demonic Cult martial artists nearby felt the scorching waves rushing toward them, staring at him in shock.
What martial art was this?
A vicious glint flashed in the Demon Emperor’s eyes.
He suddenly shot toward Li Qingqiu, like a blazing meteor streaking across the sky above the long street.
Li Qingqiu moved as well, turning into a series of afterimages as he leapt from Little Eight’s back. In midair, he met the Demon Emperor palm-to-palm!
Boom—
Two powerful forces collided in midair, creating a terrifying shockwave that swept in all directions.
Everyone instinctively retreated.
Roof tiles were blown off.
The trees by the roadside shook violently, as if they were about to be uprooted.
In the Demon Emperor’s eyes beneath his mask, shock surged.
Li Qingqiu remained expressionless. His right arm trembled slightly as surging vital energy exploded forth, directly sending the Demon Emperor flying backwards, vomiting blood.
The conical hat and mask flew off in different directions.
He crashed like a battering ram into the long street, shattering and collapsing the ground.
Not only the Clear Sky Sect disciples on the street, even the Demonic Cult martial artists on the eaves and courtyard walls felt the ground tremble under them.
Silence!
Everyone was stunned by this scene.
The Demon Emperor’s aura had been overwhelmingly powerful—revered like a god by the Demonic Cult, feared like a monster by the Clear Sky Sect.
Even Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning had felt alarmed. Yet this man was not even able to withstand a single palm from Li Qingqiu.
Li Qingqiu borrowed the rebound, landing lightly back on Little Eight’s back.
“‘The Great Sun Pure Yang Art truly lives up to its name. But in the hands of someone like you, it is disgraced.’”
Li Qingqiu’s voice followed, breaking the silence of the street.
A tall Demonic Cult warrior suddenly raised a massive halberd and roared, “‘Kill! Kill them all!’”
The more than two thousand Demonic Cult martial artists charged like a rain of arrows, surrounding the Clear Sky Sect.
Li Qingqiu bent down, gently patted Little Eight’s head, then leapt forward, landing on the ground and walking toward the Demon Emperor.
Little Eight twisted its body and began attacking the Demonic Cult martial artists rushing onto the long street.
The grand battle erupted fully!
Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning charged toward different directions, their movements the fastest. Before the other disciples had even made a move, they had already begun killing.
Li Yang, unable to hold himself back, took a running step toward a courtyard wall.
He leapt, his right foot pushing against the wall, allowing him to easily reach the eaves.
He held his long spear forward and thrust straight toward a Demonic Cult martial artist, piercing through his throat.
The spear tip emerged from the back of his neck, blood gushing along the blade.
Seeing his ruthless strike, Zhao Linglong finally put her worries to rest.
She knew Li Yang had discarded his fantasies and had truly become a fierce warrior capable of killing.
She did not stand idle and began fighting while circling around the Clear Sky Sect disciples.
Li Qingqiu walked to the pit where the Demon Emperor had fallen. The Demon Emperor now lay in a pool of blood, barely breathing.
His mask had already fallen off, revealing a pale face—an exceedingly handsome one. Even with his white hair, he did not appear old.
He looked at Li Qingqiu, fear filling his eyes.
“‘You… who in the world are you…’”
The Demon Emperor asked in a trembling voice.
Blood continued bubbling from his mouth. His internal organs had been shattered by Li Qingqiu—he was close to death.
Li Qingqiu looked down expressionlessly. “‘Clear Sky Sect Master, Li Qingqiu.’”
The Demon Emperor showed anger, feeling that Li Qingqiu looked down on him. Then a look of resignation appeared.
“‘Forget it… I knew long ago that retribution would come… You martial people clearly know the impossible, yet still insist on doing it…’”
“‘The Heavenly Blade Sect was like this, the Xuandang were like this, Chan Meditation Temple was like this…’”
“‘Li Qingqiu, you do not understand who your enemy truly is. You and your Clear Sky Sect cannot change this world. The martial world is nothing before the dynasty…’”
The Demon Emperor spoke intermittently, and finally, he died.
Behind Li Qingqiu lay only scenes of slaughter.
No Demonic Cult martial artist dared to charge toward him.
He raised his hand and touched Lin Chuan.
Lin Chuan, who had a spiritual connection with him, immediately pounced upon the Demon Emperor’s corpse.
A black fox phantom suddenly emerged from within the Demon Emperor’s body, trying to escape. Lin Chuan quickly pinned it down, rendering it immobile.
This was the reason Li Qingqiu personally made a move. In terms of pure strength, the Demon Emperor could not compare to Jiang Zhaoxia. But there was something evil within him, and Jiang Zhaoxia had not cultivated any method that could see through ghosts.
Looking at this black fox soul, Li Qingqiu grew even more interested in that Daoist Wei.
The Demon Emperor had been nothing more than a puppet of the Demonic Cult.
The root of the chaos in the prefectural capital had not yet been solved.