Calamity of Tomorrow

Looking at the two fleeing figures, Zhou Bai didn't pursue them further. The most important thing right now was Jiaojiao's situation.

Moreover, he had just cast the Nine Sword Star River Destruction in succession, and had used all the contamination to transfer to Gu Lan, effectively destroying the fox demon.

Facing Wan Xing True Monarch and Zhu Yan now would actually be somewhat challenging, and he might even be seen through by the two of them.

Since the two had fled anyway, even if they came after him later, Zhou Bai had already seized the gap; they probably wouldn't arrive in time.

"Victory or defeat... will be decided in the moments to come."

So, after seeing the two scared off, Zhou Bai, manipulating Zhu Ye, had already moved towards the Forbidden Land to provide support.

Along the way, he scattered mechanical familiars shaped like bugs, chanting his name, creating distortion phenomena to prevent others from charging in.

...

And just a few minutes earlier, in a place below the Forbidden Land.

When the true body of Li Zhengdao left the Forbidden Land and arrived at the battlefield to clash with Zhu Ye, under Zhou Bai's control.

Xuannv seized the opportunity, leaping forward toward the Forbidden Land.

At the same time, she had activated her mutant abilities, transforming her body into nothingness and passing through the defensive fortifications without triggering any alarms, arriving within a great mass of flesh.

Five seconds later, as her ability's time limit expired, she reverted to corporeal form, slamming into the mass of flesh, and with effort, created a small opening with her body.

Xuannv knew that these vast expanses of flesh, now resembling buildings, were the Mutated Flesh proliferated from the Third Elder of the Three Pure Dao Sect, Jiaojiao, after her mutation over a hundred years ago, forcibly expelled from her body.

They had spread to every corner of the Forbidden Land, had become a part of the Third Elder, and were also the chief culprit dragging the Third Elder into the Abyss.

Xuannv had charged to the bottom of the Forbidden Land using her void ability, a place occupied by the Mutated Flesh for decades and where no one had ventured.

This was different from the upper level where the Third Elder's real body usually resided, not the same place.

Faced with the Mutated Flesh that filled her entire field of vision, Xuannv's heart stirred with excitement as if she was looking at her own kin.

"Such powerful Power of Deformation!"

Zhou Bai's words echoed in her mind.

Within the Heavenly Demon's base, she remembered Zhou Bai stroking her head, speaking gently, "Xuannv, Jiaojiao of the Three Pure Dao Sect is a very powerful mutant. I need her power.

But she still retains some of her humanity, deluding herself with the identity of a human, constantly mired in the contradictions and pains brought by her dual identities. I want to save her, to make her one of my followers."

At this moment, Xuannv still remembered the look in Zhou Bai's eyes, feeling the affection he had for mutants, the trust he had in her, and his expectations.

Zhou Bai continued, "But right now, she doesn't trust me. So, I hope you can help me."

Xuannv eagerly nodded, "What can I do?"

Zhou Bai, "Do you remember who you were before? Your human identity before the mutation was called Xiao Pei…"

Xuan Nu stared at Zhou Bai, committing every word he said firmly to her heart.

At this moment, feeling the oppressive force emanating from the flesh surrounding her from all sides, Xuan Nu called out, "Grandma! I'm back!"

As Xuan Nu's voice reverberated through the flesh and traveled into the distance, she sensed an incredibly powerful and eerily sinister will descending upon her. It was as if something hidden within the flesh was watching her, observing her, spying on her.

The voice of the Great Elder directly entered Xuan Nu's mind, cold and tinged with a hint of murderous intent, "Should I call you Xiao Pei... Or Xuan Nu?"

Xuan Nu took a deep breath and, facing the flesh before her, said, "Zhou Bai has helped me. He can weaken the Power of Deformation within my body so that I won't become a true mutant.

This allows me to increase the Power of Deformation when I need to fight, and lower it when I do not."

"Zhou Bai has successfully made it possible for humans to overcome the deformation. We won't turn into monsters anymore; instead, we have gained a new power."

"He has come this time hoping to help you control the Power of Deformation within your body too so that you can wield your power at will without truly mutating."

"Grandma, you have been tormented by the Power of Deformation for so many years. You can feel it, can't you? The changes in the Power of Deformation."

The Great Elder seemed utterly indifferent to the control of the Power of Deformation that Xuan Nu mentioned. After all, she knew that ever since the Heavenly Dao became twisted, humanity had never stopped researching distortions and deformations.

More than a hundred years ago, the most elite, talented, and powerful cultivators of humanity congregated to research and explore for many years, yet they only managed to devise a temporary method of suppression.

She simply did not believe that Zhou Bai could have created any method to control the Power of Deformation in such a short period.

Moreover... Zhou Bai had already defected to the Heavenly Demon.

Hearing what Xuan Nu said, the Great Elder just asked, "Zhou Bai has come to Donghua City too?"

Xuan Nu nodded, "He is currently fighting against the righteous gods of the sky, buying me time here to help reduce the Power of Deformation within your body."

The flesh surrounding her suddenly swept in, compressing Xuan Nu's body, distorting it bit by bit with cracking sounds; she felt her bones, organs, and muscles seem to be slowly fracturing.

The voice of the Great Elder slowly rose again, filled with a chilling tone, "You really are recklessly bold, aren't you? Both Shouyi and Xiao Pei have died because of you. Tell me, what reason do I have to believe you? And what reason do I have not to kill you..."

Under the relentless pressure of the flesh, blood trickled from the corner of Xuan Nu's mouth. She clenched her teeth and firmly stated, "Grandma, we really can control the Power of Deformation within our bodies now. I didn't lie to you. I came to save you."

Hearing the term "Grandma" and looking at the familiar face, the familiar voice, the flesh around her seemed to pause for a moment, and a piercing pain erupted in Jiaojiao's heart, as if someone had viciously stabbed her right at the heart with a needle.

The next moment, an even more violent killing intent swept in.

"Don't speak to me in Xiao Pei's appearance..."

Boom! Her Primordial Spirit's power poured out, and strands of blood extended from the Mutated Flesh, piercing towards Xuan Nu's body as if to tearing her apart, as if to completely devour her.

This was a unique ability of Jiaojiao, able to devour flesh to augment her own strength.

For over a hundred years, to resist the Heavenly Demon, to withstand the pressure from the Celestial Court, she had watched one companion after another willingly turn into her nourishment before their death, and every act of consumption brought her unspeakable pain.

But the Xuan Nu before her eyes was the first 'person' she actually wanted to eat, the first she wanted to devour actively.

Feeling her flesh continuously being decomposed and fed into the Mutated Flesh of the other as if it were nutrients, Xuan Nu could only silently endure the heart-piercing pain.

Struggling, she said, "I didn't lie to you. If you don't believe me, just watch. Zhou Bai said he will prove it to you in a while... You can feel the Power of Deformation in my body, can't you..."

"Proof?" Jiaojiao didn't believe it at all.

The Mysterious Lady, however, had an unwavering look in her eyes. Zhou Bai said he would prove it during the battle, so she believed him.

Just then, as Zhou Bai executed the Nine Sword Star River Destruction, a massive amount of contamination was transmitted through the air. To the perception of both the Mysterious Lady and Jiaojiao, the Power of Deformation within the Mysterious Lady began to increase wildly.

'As expected, there's treachery...' Jiaojiao's Primordial Spirit fluctuated, and she immediately wanted to completely devour the other party before any aberration could occur.

But in the next moment, to her shock, as Zhou Bai directed the contamination toward Gu Lan, a large amount of the contamination was drawn away from the Mysterious Lady.

In the perceptions of both Jiaojiao and the Mysterious Lady, the Power of Deformation within the Mysterious Lady was dissipating rapidly, weakening to an incredulous extent eventually.

The Great Elder watched the scene in surprise, "Did it really happen?"

The Mysterious Lady smiled. Zhou Bai hadn't lied to her after all. Enduring the intense pain within her, she slowly said, "Grandma, we didn't deceive you, let us help you."

Jiaojiao didn't speak and seemed to fall into silence.

The Mysterious Lady resulted from a mutation, and Zhou Bai had joined forces with the Heavenly Demon. Whether it was the mutated or the Heavenly Demon, they were both indelible enemies of humankind.

Since the Heavenly Dao twisted, too many humans had died at the hands of the Heavenly Demon, with numerous cultivators losing their lives due to deformations.

Yet, Jiaojiao did indeed feel the Power of Deformation receding from the Mysterious Lady.

Streams of blood seeped into Jiaojiao's body, seemingly inspecting every inch of the other party's interior, seeking any presence of mutation.

But the more thorough the examination, the more astonished Jiaojiao became. As the Power of Deformation within the Mysterious Lady subsided, her flesh actually began to converge towards that of a human's.

'The only remaining anomaly... is the brain...'

But the brain was exceedingly complex; even with Jiaojiao's cultivation and comprehension, it was difficult to clarify the current state of the Mysterious Lady's brain.

The Mysterious Lady felt Jiaojiao's actions, letting her inspect her body. Similar exams had already been performed several times by Zhou Bai, after he had extracted and transferred the Power of Deformation from her, to check her physical condition.

It seemed that due to the situation on the Mysterious Lady's body, Jiaojiao saw a glimmer of hope, "Why did Zhou Bai join forces with the Heavenly Demon?"

The Mysterious Lady exhaled a sigh of relief, feeling that she hadn't botched the task Zhou Bai entrusted to her. She relayed the explanation Zhou Bai had prepared, thinking to herself, 'This is a carefully concocted lie by Zhou Bai; it should be useful to Jiaojiao, right?'

The Mysterious Lady: "Zhou Bai didn't join the Heavenly Demon, the Heavenly Demon forcibly tried to recruit him; they wanted to grasp the power within Zhou Bai. In fact, before the Dao discussion in Daluo Heaven, Zhou Bai didn't even know that the Heavenly Demon planned to siege Central City."

Jiaojiao: "Then why did he leave with the Heavenly Demon?"

The Mysterious Lady said, "What else could he have done? If he had stayed, his life would no longer have been his own. The Heavenly Demon has already done so much; Heaven wouldn't let him off. No one could save him, and Zhou Bai had neither the time nor the opportunity to create this method to control the Power of Deformation."

She shakily pulled out a mania-colored seed from her bosom, "Grandma, as long as you eat this, as long as you can trust Zhou Bai, he can eliminate the Power of Deformation within you."

Jiaojiao slowly said, "My junior brother died because of the mutation. My senior brothers, senior sisters, they all perished in the war with the Heavenly Demon. My disciples, apprentices, juniors..."

Jiaojiao spoke somberly, "They also all died on the battlefield. Apart from those cowards who defected to Central City, every single member of the Zhao Family in Donghua City sacrificed themselves fighting against the mutation and the Heavenly Demon."

"The Heavenly Demon is the enemy of mankind."

"We have a deep-seated hatred with the Heavenly Demon."

"And those who side with the Heavenly Demon are the mortal enemies of all humanity."

Powerful, gloomy Primordial Spirit forces, infused with dark emotions, continued to circle around Xuan Nu.

"You and Zhou Bai's prepared justifications are quite sensible, but to make me believe in someone who has sided with the Heavenly Demon, just these points... are far from enough."

Xuan Nu slowly exhaled, "Then there's one last method. Right, Zhou Bai also wanted me to confirm one thing, grandma, to what extent has your strength reached? Can you defeat Haoran Tianjun?"

"Li Zhengdao?" Jiaojiao said coldly, "If it weren't for the fact that using too much power now would lead to my complete mutation, in full force, as long as I'm in Donghua City, even now, he wouldn't be able to defeat me."

...

During the time Jiaojiao conversed with Xuan Nu and checked Xuan Nu's physical body,

Li Zhengdao had already penetrated deep into the area, arriving at the location of Jiaojiao's true body.

His clone had long been waiting there and slightly nodded upon seeing him.

The Primordial Spirit forces touched and immediately withdrew between the two, swiftly completing a further exchange of intelligence.

Li Zhengdao looked at the slightly trembling flesh below, sending his Primordial Spirit force directly to it, "Jiaojiao, what are you doing?"

Just moments before, Jiaojiao's body had started to violently convulse, causing the entire Forbidden Land to shake slightly. This scene had almost made Li Zhengdao's clone think that Jiaojiao was about to mutate.

But afterwards, the flesh stopped trembling, yet something even more suspicious occurred.

The clone could feel an exceptionally strong surge of Primordial Spirit force rising and then pouring downward into the earth, going deep down unknown distances; evidently, Jiaojiao was hiding something they were doing.

What made them even more suspicious was that no matter how the clone tried to contact Jiaojiao, there was no response.

Li Zhengdao said, "Jiaojiao, your current situation is very dangerous, you're on the brink of complete mutation, and acting recklessly will only hasten your mutation."

Watching Jiaojiao who completely ignored him, Li Zhengdao stopped talking and instead gathered a massive quantity of Primordial Spirit force, directly shaking the entire Forbidden Land.

"Jiaojiao, I'm asking you one last time, what are you doing? Answer me."

The next moment, waves of sound came from Li Zhengdao's mouth, making the entire ground buzz.

Li Zhengdao sighed, "Jiaojiao, I granted you sufficient trust and time, but your current behavior has somewhat disappointed me; perhaps I've been a bit too lenient."

"Do you really think that the Heavenly Court is unaware of your little schemes? The void, the Tomorrow Plan, those ancient secrets, the true lineage of the Three Pure Dao Sect..."

Right then, Li Zhengdao suddenly stopped speaking and looked towards the passage's direction.

After a brief pause, Li Xiuzhu, along with his followers, had already arrived at the scene. Upon seeing Li Zhengdao, without a word, he swung the Blood Transformation Divine Sword in his hand, sending a skyful of blood light slashing towards Li Zhengdao.

Watching this scene unfold, Li Zhengdao snorted coldly, "So, is this your reliance? Jiaojiao... a few arrogant mortals."

Li Zhengdao opened his mouth and exhaled, sending a cloud of mist surging towards Li Xiuzhu.

Seeing the raging mist sweeping toward him, Li Xiuzhu did not hesitate and instantly activated the 33rd hexagram, turning his entire being transparent, allowing the mist to pass right through his body.

At the same time, Li Xiuzhu's body lost another ten years of lifespan, the wrinkles on his face deepening slightly, while a hint of weariness flashed through his eyes.

"I can't clash head-on with his Heavenly Cloud Saint Technique, I must leave the killing move of the Blood Transformation Divine Sword on his body…"

To fight against the Heavenly Court, Li Xiuzhu had spent a lot of time over the years researching the information on the immortal gods.

He knew that Li Zhengdao's most frequently used technique was the Heavenly Cloud Saint Technique, which, like Xiang Tiandi's unique skill—the Nine Heavens Demon Clearing Thunder Technique—was a signature technique of the Four Great Righteous Gods.

The Heavenly Cloud Saint Technique was derived from the observation of the changes in winds, clouds, rain, and snow between heaven and earth.

Winds, clouds, rain, and snow could be said to be the most infinitely variable natural phenomena between heaven and earth, which mortal men could not hope to fully predict even if they exhausted their entire lives.

Li Zhengdao's Heavenly Cloud Saint Technique integrated both Taoist arts and martial skills, containing near-infinite variations, and was proclaimed as the foremost among the Four Great Righteous Gods' repertoire of changes.

Therefore, Li Xiuzhu had no intention of competing in martial skills and Taoist arts with his opponent. He directly launched the divination hexagrams and rushed up to Li Zhengdao, reappearing and swinging down the Blood Transformation Divine Sword.

Watching the Blood Transformation Divine Sword suddenly appear before him, Li Zhengdao frowned.

Cloud Escape!

Li Zhengdao's entire being had already turned into a mist, scattering in all directions, and his doppelgänger had already charged forward, actively meeting Li Xiuzhu's approach.

Li Xiuzhu sighed inwardly upon seeing this, "Indeed worthy of being a Heavenly Monarch, completely devoid of arrogance, carelessness, or condescension. Even with a cultivation level so much higher than mine, he's unwilling to withstand even one of my attacks. Does he not want to give me a chance, directly using a doppelgänger to test the strength of the Blood Transformation Divine Sword?"

The doppelgänger in front of him was of mere ninth realm cultivation. Li Xiuzhu threw a punch out, accompanied by the activation of the Great Sky Flipping Fist Intent, which directly subdued the doppelgänger. Then, with a sweep of his arm, the doppelgänger before him was gradually enveloped in a red glow.

Clearly, to test the capability of the Blood Transformation Divine Sword, Li Zhengdao did not let the doppelgänger cut through the red glow. Instead, he allowed the glow to spread.

Once the red glow completely enveloped the entire doppelgänger's body, the body instantly turned into a pool of blood, spilling onto the ground.

Li Zhengdao mentally noted, "A fierce poison? Once it spreads throughout the body, it takes effect, and the flesh and blood are effortlessly dissolved into a pool of blood?"

He looked at Li Xiuzhu and thought, "Is this the power of the Blood Transformation Divine Sword? No, it can't just be this, Li Xiuzhu would not have come at me if that were all, there must be other abilities."

Meanwhile, San Mei, Annie, and Qin Lin had all transformed into demons and charged forward, while Qian Wangsun watched the battlefield from behind, constantly transmitting messages to them, hoping to support them with his precognition abilities.

Annie grew two white feathered wings on her back, her feet turning into bird-like claws. With a slight flutter of her wings, she abruptly surged behind Li Zhengdao, her feathers shooting out toward him, petrifying any spot they hit upon contact.

San Mei transformed himself into a massive wolf, roaring as he opened his mouth wide, sending out a sonic blast. Li Zhengdao actually felt his own movements become slightly sluggish, a wooden grain appearing within his flesh and blood.

On another front, Qin Lin transformed into a colossal crocodile, his body twisting and turning as if he could swim through all manner of substances as if they were water.

These three Awardees had just fought Wan Xing True Monarch and others by solely relying on the quality boost from their demon bodies, not using any of their demonic abilities to conceal their capabilities. Now, in this moment, they unleashed all against Li Zhengdao.

But just as the three of them had made their move, Qian Wangsun's expression suddenly changed, "Not good…"

Li Zhengdao recited, "Only on this mountain, in a clouded spot unknown."

With Li Zhengdao's light chant, his body burst apart with a thunderous boom, becoming boundless mist that enveloped the entire battlefield.

Qian Wangsun watched this scene with a bitter expression. At this moment, the future he could see was an endless expanse of cloud and mist.

"He broke through my ability right from the start."

Suddenly, Qian Wangsun's brows furrowed; he felt the flesh under his feet tremble and looked down at his feet...

At the same time, a shadow abruptly appeared behind Annie. With arms outstretched, it charged towards her.

Annie's body quivered, and she fluttered her feathers, only to see the shadow rapidly petrified under the barrage of feathers, gradually turning into a stone statue.

However, looking at the parts of the figure not yet petrified, they were entirely made of clouds.

Meanwhile, another hand composed of clouds had already lightly patted Annie's body, followed by a loud explosion, the ferocious force directly turned Annie into a bloodied figure, collapsing to the ground, on the brink of death.

On the other side, San Mei felt a pain in his body as a hand formed from clouds drilled out from his chest; he spat out blood and looked at the scene: "Even the breath I just inhaled was..."

San Mei convulsed as he fell over, while Qin Lin, transformed into a crocodile, was shocked his body pelted by hundreds and thousands of small cloud-turned hands, bleeding profusely as he flew towards Li Xiuzhu.

Li Xiuzhu, who was in a transparent state to avoid the encircling clouds, was slightly stunned but a cold glint flashed across his face.

He let Qin Lin pass through his body and fall to the ground.

"Oh?" A somewhat surprised voice emanated from the clouds, "Are you really that ruthless, just watching your own man die?"

Li Xiuzhu replied, "You could have killed him directly, but you purposely threw him to me, wanting me to stop the hexagram and return to my physical body to save him, right? Moreover, although Qin Lin's injuries seem severe, he still has reserved strength, and he was even secretly gathering power... You wanted to attack me when I went to save him, didn't you?"

"He's a double agent?"

Li Zhengdao said, "It seems I've underestimated you."

"And not just underestimated," Li Xiuzhu stated indifferently, "but blatantly exploiting the intel on us. Besides the Blood Transformation Divine Sword, you probably know all our capabilities and hexagrams, don't you?"

Li Xiuzhu turned his head and coldly looked at the fallen Qin Lin: "Why did you betray us?"

Qin Lin, covered in blood, was startled by the question and suddenly burst out laughing, "Li Xiuzhu, what do you know? You demons can transform at will, live as humans when you please, or turn into monsters, but what about me? Why can't my bloodline let me turn back into a human?"

Li Xiuzhu sighed softly; he knew that Qin Lin had psychological problems because he couldn't revert to human form without scales remaining on his body, yet he didn't expect the latter to defect to the Heavenly Dao.

Qin Lin shouted angrily, "Have you seen how other people look at me? They don't treat me as a comrade."

"If I can't turn back into a human, then I will become a complete demon, hahaha, you have no idea my choice is the right one."

"I haven't given up on our dreams, dreams I am willing to give my life for. I chose this because Heavenly Dao is our true home..."

"Tsk." With a dissatisfied tone, Li Zhengdao's cloud-formed hand pressed down on Qin Lin's head, twisting it 360 degrees and utterly killing the traitor.

The robust vitality endowed by the demonic form prevented immediate death; his crocodile eyes bulged wide, seemingly filled with shock.

Li Xiuzhu sighed, 'Now I can only rely on the Blood Transformation Divine Sword...'

Just then, his entire body suddenly returned to flesh and blood... had the hexagram stopped on its own?

Li Xiuzhu was taken aback and tried to trigger another hexagram but failed again.

In those two moments of surprise, countless cloud-turned hands hammered down like a collapsing mountain, and Li Xiuzhu's protective Gang Qi was instantly shredded, with the dragon scales granted by his demonic form breaking in large areas.

'Hexagram... why did it fail?'

In fact, because Zhou Bai had used the gemstone to absorb the energy of the trigram before Time Reverse was initiated, he managed to extend the Time Reverse to four hours.

But this also resulted in only a slight residue of the power contained within the trigram remaining.

If used sparingly, it might have lasted another week or two, or possibly even a month.

However, the continuous battles just now had Li Xiuzhu constantly utilizing the power of the trigram, completely exhausting its energy.

Facing this unexpected opportunity, the battle-hardened Li Zhengdao of course would not let it pass, and he dealt Li Xiuzhu a severe blow.

Spurt!

Li Xiuzhu suddenly vomited a large mouthful of fresh blood, but he still did not sit and wait for death. Instead, with the Blood Transformation Divine Sword in hand, he slashed continuously. Accompanied by the crimson blade light, the surging mist suddenly trembled and turned into large pieces of blood and flesh that splattered everywhere.

This was the second ability of the Blood Transformation Divine Sword that Li Xiuzhu had been strenuously hiding. It could turn any material it slashed into pure, ordinary flesh and then cut it open as if it were just flesh, before reverting it back to its original material state. However, the damage inflicted would not vanish.

This could be said to be an attack that completely ignored defensive power. As long as he landed a cut, Li Xiuzhu was confident he could severely injure Li Zhengdao.

Unfortunately, at this moment, Li Xiuzhu could only use it to defend against the opponent's attacks.

With the ability of the Blood Transformation Divine Sword revealed, the strange blood light within the fog quickly dissipated and converged, reforming into Li Zhengdao's figure.

He looked at Li Xiuzhu, who was lying on the ground, with an indifferent expression and said casually, "It's over."

He looked down at Jiaojiao, "Jiaojiao, Li Xiuzhu is finished. Do you still want to be contrary? To tell you the truth, only I in the Heavenly Court still hold some mercy towards you. If you fall into the hands of another Heavenly Monarch, you won't even be able to keep a complete body."

"Your limbs and internal organs are likely to be distributed amongst different departments for use..."

Li Xiuzhu barely propped himself up on his sword and half-knelt, cold sweat continuously flowing down his forehead. He immediately activated the second trigram, repairing his injuries but halving his physical condition.

Because he hadn't used this second trigram during today's normal combat, the residual power within allowed him to activate it successfully.

As his body repaired itself, Li Xiuzhu's physical condition rapidly deteriorated, his figure began to sway, and strands of white hair appeared on his forehead. The dragon scales brought on by his demon true form also became somewhat faded and damaged, his entire aura plummeting swiftly.

Li Zhengdao looked towards Li Xiuzhu with some impatience, "You really do love dragging things out."

Just at this moment, accompanied by a series of low chuckles, a figure in the distance slowly approached. He walked while laughing heartily, seemingly mad, immediately drawing the attention of both Li Zhengdao and Li Xiuzhu.

Li Xiuzhu turned his head, a slight shock in his heart, "Zhou Bai?"

But in the next moment, he realized that although the man laughing wildly in front of him resembled Zhou Bai in demeanor, gaze, and even facial features, judging from his build, clothing, and state, he was likely that man who had summoned Zhou Bai earlier (Zhu Ye).

Zhu Ye looked at Li Zhengdao with a laugh, "You should have stopped me from coming. Sadly, it's too late now. Now it's my turn to fight you."

Li Zhengdao coldly observed Zhou Bai, then suddenly used Instantaneous Movement in the next moment, crossing space to appear behind Li Xiuzhu, and then kicked out.

Li Xiuzhu swung his sword to slash, only to see Li Zhengdao's right leg dissipate into a mist and scatter, smoothly evading Li Xiuzhu's blade, then aiming a kick at his chest.

"You're too slow."

Left with no other choice, Li Xiuzhu used his other hand to block and, accompanied by a loud 'bang,' Li Xiuzhu's whole body spurted blood as he flew towards Zhu Ye.

Zhu Ye stepped forward to catch him, and just as he received Li Xiuzhu's body, he saw clouds of fog burst out from beneath Li Xiuzhu's clothes and strike towards Zhu Ye's body.

Heavenly Dao, Li Zhengdao, had just made a move on Li Xiuzhu and still had the strength to conceal a portion of mist on Li Xiuzhu's body, waiting for the opportunity to strike Zhu Ye.

Boom! Zhou Bai's Primordial Spirit power surged out from behind Zhu Ye, only to be overwhelmed instantly by that small clump of mist, and it ultimately took several times the effort to erase the mist.

Li Zhengdao, who was quietly observing the scene, smiled and said, "Zhou Bai, with these two probing attacks, I am now ninety percent confident..."

"...that your strength has not changed much compared to the past. The abilities that Zhu Ye has shown are just those you have demonstrated before."

"You still rely on lies to twist the minds of others. Hmm... let me think, you must have obtained some new ability, the ability to possess others? Or remote control over others, and sharing your abilities with them?"

"No, maybe just sharing your abilities, after all, controlling others remotely is something even the Heavenly Demon can do."

While speaking, Li Zhengdao's Primordial Spirit power, accompanied by layers of Gang Qi, transformed into a giant beast that filled the entire space and charged towards Zhou Bai and Li Xiuzhu.

"Let me see if you're as formidable as you pretend to be."

Boom! The endless mist struck them with force, and Li Xiuzhu and Zhou Bai desperately defended, only to be pushed back at every turn.

Previously, Li Xiuzhu managed to resist the Heavenly Monarch by relying on the special nature of his trigrams, while Zhou Bai relied on the explosive power of the Nine Swords and the uniqueness of his abilities.

But now in a head-on contest of raw strength, they simply couldn't rely on pure power to combat a Heavenly Monarch.

In this clash of pure strength, though means are simplest, they also most clearly reveal one's true power.

"You are too weak, both of you together are not my match," Li Zhengdao said as he gently pressed down his palm, and alongside more ferocious mist, he softly spoke, "Goodbye."

"What if you add me to the mix?"

Li Zhengdao suddenly turned around, only to see another 'Zhou Bai' appear behind him, arms crossed, eyes mockingly fixed on him.

Li Zhengdao tried to move, but he found his whole body chilling, as if even his Primordial Spirit had frozen.

No, not just the Primordial Spirit, even the light surrounding them seemed to have frozen.

Li Zhengdao: "You!"

"Jiaojiao has returned to me, and the reason? Because you're too weak." 'Zhou Bai' said lightly, holding Li Zhengdao's neck, "I told you, you should have stopped me."

The next moment, 'Zhou Bai' pressed Li Zhengdao's head downwards fiercely, his knee shooting upward as if it were a projectile propelled by a railgun at twenty times the speed of sound, striking hard into Li Zhengdao's face.

Boom! The violent pull of gravity acted directly on Li Zhengdao; not downwards, but upwards.

In almost one-tenth of a second, Li Zhengdao's whole body was launched skyward like a cannonball, tearing through the multiple layers of the ground of Donghua City.

Countless armored plates, defensive structures, and metal grounds were violently shattered.

Accompanied by a huge hole hundreds of meters in diameter, Li Zhengdao was blasted in one shot to 2,000 meters above the highest level of Donghua City's skies.

----

Book recommendation "The Golden Age"

"I, a programmer, was tricked by a housemaid into buying property worth tens of millions, creating a beautiful and happy home."