CHAPTER 359: CHAPTER 354: GRAVELY INJURED PRIMORDIAL ENERGY

"Above."

Li Fan soared upward, Sword Aura encircling his body, his speed terrifying.

However, the blade sprouting from the ground grew at an alarming rate, extending a hundred feet in an instant, blotting out the sky, and then closing in above the three, sealing the space.

"You want to escape?"

A mixture of male and female voices rang out, one deep and powerful, the other sharp and cutting, extremely eerie.

"You’re all my nourishment." That bizarre voice made Wang Yuyao feel a chill down her spine, almost losing the ability to resist. After all, she was only at the Foundation Establishment Realm and had never seen such a spectacle.

The strength of this Demon far exceeded her imagination.

Even the Divine Wood Mountain Villa colluded with Demons, this was beyond what the disciples of Yu Kun Academy could handle. The old Manor Master of Divine Wood Mountain Villa had cultivated for over a hundred years, a legendary figure in Qinghe County, said to have entered the Seven Realms, alongside the ancestors of the Cui and Xie families, considered pillars of Qinghe County.

They stamped their feet, making Qinghe County tremble; things the court couldn’t accomplish in Qinghe County, they could.

Although Da Li was under court jurisdiction, in a place like Qinghe County, the control of the court was far weaker than the powerful families, even the Commandery Prince must show them respect.

That’s why the cultivators never suspected Divine Wood Mountain Villa had issues.

The sky-covering blades descended, enveloping them. Below and from the sides, vines rolled in, leaving no path to retreat or place to escape; the Tree Spirit of Divine Wood Mountain Villa had turned into a demon.

Just as Wang Yuyao felt desperate, believing she would die, a destructive aura appeared in the sky, flying swords filling the Sword Domain, captivating.

Li Fan’s thought moved, a broken sword floating before him, spinning rapidly, piercing through the destruction Sword Intent.

"Go."

Li Fan uttered the word, myriad swords flew, boom, boom, boom... the sound of explosions echoed, flying swords violently clashed against the attacking blades, seemingly unable to break through the tree demon’s sky-covering assault.

But then, a beam of strong light sliced through the dark space, the flowing Destruction Sword Intent merging into the broken sword’s blade, tearing through the darkness, creating a breach.

The speed of Li Fan and the others incredibly fast, they rushed toward the breach, following the destructive sword light out.

"Boom..."

A hole appeared in the sky-covering destructive attack, light shone down, outside the hole, sword light broke through the air, three figures rushed out, continuing to flee into the distance.

"Magical Treasure!" That eerie voice sounded in the darkness again, the vines behind Li Fan and his companions crazily chasing, new blades sprouting from the ground to attack the high sky.

But then, violent sounds emanated from behind at Divine Wood Mountain Villa, momentarily slowing the pursuit of Li Fan.

Sword whistled in the sky, Li Fan did not look back, rushing toward the direction of the mountain.

At this moment, a beam of strong light quickly approached from the distance, moving unbelievably fast, passing overhead. Li Fan distinctly sensed that as it swept past, an overpowering Divine Sense scanned over him.

"You dare." A deep and furious voice echoed from behind, followed by sounds of violent collision, making Li Fan realize his crisis was relieved.

Li Fan turned back for a glimpse, sensing the aura, not as strong as the Sword Dao battle at West Sea, but close to the aura from the Palace Master of West Emperor Palace, likely in the early stage of Seven Realms and Myriad Phenomena.

"Arriving so quickly." Li Fan murmured.

"It should be the Cui Family Ancestor." Wang Yuyao glanced back, still shaken.

"Seems Cui Shan quickly alerted the Cui family." Li Fan said, "Hopefully it’s not too late."

He sighed inwardly, with the strength displayed by the tree demon, he barely survived leaving Divine Wood Mountain Villa; those cultivators still inside must be in grave danger.

This time Qinghe County’s cultivators were caught by the old demon’s scheme at Divine Wood Mountain Villa, truly a tragedy.

Li Fan continued racing towards Old Man Wang’s home. At this moment, Demon Energy filled the sky, as demons invaded Qinghe County amidst the chaos at Divine Wood Mountain Villa.

A beam of strong light lit up the distant sky, Li Fan glanced towards it, the strong light was an arrow, tearing through the night, briefly turning the night into day.

The arrow struck the distant darkness, a violent collision sounded from there, the resulting halo brightening the night, vaguely revealing a figure standing there.

"Old Demon, you dare invade human territory." An aged voice echoed, Wang Yuyao said, "It’s Elder Xie, who is on the other side?"

Elder Xie should also be at the early stage of Myriad Phenomena Realm, capable of fighting such a demon, possibly a Great Demon of the Seven Realms.

So Divine Wood Mountain Villa was not acting alone but colluding with demons.

The two figures instantly erupted into battle, as Li Fan continued forward. In the darkness, demons were rampant, and on the ground, a group of figures was frantically fleeing, with demons trampling over corpses, gnawing on flesh behind them.

"Beasts."

Li Fan shouted angrily, and immediately, thousands of swords rang above his head.

"Kill." As his words fell, swords rained down like a storm, the incessant sounds of piercing, pinning demons to the ground one by one.

Lu Yuan’s face was also frosty, and as moonlight surged, Taiyin Radiance spilled downward, leaving demons dying tragically in its wake.

Wang Yuyao’s heart was shaken as she watched, the overwhelming combat power of Li Fan and Lu Yuan far exceeded her expectations. The sense of oppression brought by this indiscriminate slaughter and crushing, she had only felt before in the top geniuses of Yu Kun Academy, Cui Shan and Xie Lingxuan.

And this was not even their limit. Perhaps, these two are truly as astonishing as Cui Shan and Xie Lingxuan.

But are Cui Shan and Xie Lingxuan still alive?

Li Fan and Lu Yuan walked and slew as they reached Old Man Wang’s side, seeing Huang Xiong, Liu Ji, and others occupying various positions, with many demon corpses lying around.

Seeing Wang Yuyao return safely, Old Man Wang approached somewhat agitatedly, "Yuyao."

"Father." Wang Yuyao stepped forward, still not recovering her bearings, somewhat unsettled.

"Thank you, young heroes," Old Man Wang bowed to Li Fan and Lu Yuan, but Li Fan supported him.

"Old sir, there’s no need for formality. Demons are rampant, and tonight will unlikely be peaceful. However, top cultivators from the Cui and Xie families have arrived; there shouldn’t be a major calamity."

Li Fan said as he looked towards Lu Yuan and the others, "Let’s go kill the invading demons. Luo, you guard the old sir with a few others."

"Okay." Luo Qingyan nodded, and Li Fan, Lu Yuan, and the others turned and left to continue slaying demons.

"What happened at the manor?" Old Man Wang asked.

"Father, Divine Wood Mountain Villa has become a demon lair," Wang Yuyao explained to her father, "This trap was set to hunt the cultivators of Qinghe County; they are likely doomed. If it weren’t for Young Hero Lu, I couldn’t have come out alive."

"The young hero is indeed a remarkable person," Old Man Wang marveled, not expecting this demon calamity to be so severe.

Wang Yuyao looked at Yang Qingshan and asked, "What sort of remarkable person is Young Hero Lu?"

"Brother Xiao Fan?" Yang Qingshan said somewhat proudly, "He is the one destined to become the strongest sword cultivator in the world."

Wang Yuyao was taken aback, speechless.

A night of chaos.

At dawn, looking out, there was no smoke from cooking fires, only ruins, blood, and bodies everywhere.

Li Fan walked over from afar, his body covered in blood.

In the air, many cultivators traveled by air, all of whom were rushing here. The forces of familial and sectarian powers had almost turned out in full force, realizing that this demon calamity was largely directed at them.

The previous night at Divine Wood Mountain Villa, nearly all of Qinghe County’s forces were annihilated, with only a few survivors. Moreover, many of the cultivators who went to Divine Wood Mountain Villa were Qinghe County’s elites, completely wiped out.

Wang Yuyao also walked over from outside, her hair somewhat disheveled, having not rested or meditated for recovery, appearing slightly fatigued.

"What are the findings?" Li Fan asked Wang Yuyao.

"In the battle at Divine Wood Mountain Villa, both sides were gravely damaged. Elder Cui was injured, but the villa was destroyed. The old Manor Master fused with the Tree Demon, becoming a demon, and fled with some people. Meanwhile, almost all of Qinghe County’s cultivators yesterday perished, even the elders of Yu Kun Academy and the Cui and Xie families. Senior Brother Cui and Senior Sister Xie survived under the elders’ desperate protection, and with the help of a magical treasure, yet they still suffered serious injuries."

"The Great Demon is an Old Hound, a creature that reportedly appeared during the magical chaos in ancient times, then vanished, and now reappeared in Qinghe County. It is said to have been struck by Elder Xie’s arrow, but..."

Wang Yuyao paused here and said in a low voice, "Elder Xie was severely wounded, and his current situation is unknown."

"What a tragic scene!" Old Man Wang trembled, saying that even with actions taken by two elders, both were injured, and the entire cultivation world of Qinghe County suffered great losses because of this battle.

At this moment, a powerful aura approached from afar, and Li Fan looked up, seeing a strong presence approaching both in the sky and on the ground.

"What is this..." Everyone stopped and looked towards that side, seeing those arriving wearing identical robes, and the people on the ground donned in armor, their vitality surging.

There were fewer people in the air, but many of them were cultivators of the Condensed Core Realm.

"It’s the people from the court," Wang Yuyao said, her gaze somewhat cold.

"They arrived ’quickly’ indeed!" Yang Qingshan muttered, after the battle, the court finally arrived.