Yellow Court Daoist

Master Xuan Yan performed the Separation and Reunion Mysterious Light, attempting to provoke the Zhu Rong Demon God's various emotions and desires, hoping to shake his True Yuan Mana. However, when it landed on the Zhu Rong Demon God, it dissipated in an instant like a spring breeze melting snow, utterly useless.

Instead, it was the Zhu Rong Demon God who charged forward, his demonic might descending and enveloping the surrounding area.

"What a formidable demon!"

Seeing that the Separation and Reunion Mysterious Light was ineffective, Master Xuan Yan quickly summoned his Flying Sword for defense.

It must be said that even without the Separation and Reunion Mysterious Light, Master Xuan Yan was still undoubtedly one of the Nine Great Golden Pills of the Annihilation Divine Sect.

He also cultivated the Annihilation Divine Eye with notable achievement.

Coordinating his attacks with the Flying Sword, he actually managed to force the Zhu Rong Demon God into a somewhat embarrassed state.

"Roar!"

With a furious roar, the Zhu Rong Demon God simply spread out twelve Du Tian Fierce Fire Divine Banners and set up the Dutian Fierce Fire Immortal Array, trapping Master Xuan Yan within.

Only then did he manage to barely stabilize the situation.

It was a stalemate.

Looking at another battlefront,

Master Li Gou energized the 'Ligu Bell', clashing with nine Golden Core Peak Dutian Ghost Generals in a fierce battle.

The Ligu Bell was Master Li Gou's famous Magic Artifact, modeled after the ancient Immortal Device 'Liangyi Ligu Bell', crafted from fine silk and resembling a silk cover. When activated, it was enveloped in Caiyun, impervious to the assaults of Water, Fire, Wind, and Thunder.

Even at the same Golden Core Level, the Dutian Ghost Generals wielding their sword and spear could not affect it, failing to injure Master Li Gou in the slightest.

Instead, Master Li Gou counterattacked from time to time. A Divine Light burst forth from the vertical eye on his forehead, alarming the Dutian Ghost Generals into disarray.

Out of necessity, they hurriedly laid out the Dutian Soul Refining Array, managing to hold on with great difficulty, but unable to sustain it for long.

However, even so,

Within a short time, neither Master Xuan Yan nor Master Li Gou could spare a moment to aid Master Fei Huo.

Master Fei Huo was deeply aware of this.

Lu Qingfeng, observing the battles on both fronts, had a clear understanding in his mind.

On the path of cultivation, differences between cultivators arise from the Cultivation Techniques they practice, the spells they refine, and the Magic Artifacts they wield. Even within the same realm, there are distinctions of strength. The gap between the outstanding and ordinary cultivators is not always a matter of simple logic.

Take Lu Qingfeng,

His cultivation was merely at the Spirit Void Grain Avoidance level. However, with his Magic Artifact in hand, and various Divine Skills at his disposal, he managed to press the Golden Core Realm Master Fei Huo into continuous retreat.

And among the Golden Cores,

Even though the Dutian Ghost Generals practiced the Side Door Level Skills of the 'Dutian Record', surpassing Master Li Gou, their attack methods were simplistic, and they did not possess powerful Magic Artifacts. Moreover, they were rapidly brought up through the energy of Dutian, lacking the foundational strength and other aspects compared to Master Li Gou.

Thus, the disparity was clear.

Even with nine against one, and setting an array, they could only entangle and hold on, unable to gain an advantage.

"Golden Core Peak Dutian Ghost Generals, at most, compare with the strength of a Golden Core Cultivator who has cultivated ordinary side door skills and has solely relied on Elixir Pills to advance without full comprehension."

Such Golden Core Experts, wrapped in elixir toxins with shallow foundations, naturally are the weakest in their tier.

They may even be inferior to the prominent cultivators of the Gathering Law Realm.

In contrast, Lu Qingfeng, though he also regularly consumed Elixir Pills, first of all, has a profound technique that purifies elixir toxins leaving no hidden problems. Secondly, through repeated enlightenment in his practice and now with the assistance of 'Derivation Technique - Enlightenment', his understanding of techniques and realms is incredibly solid.

He had none of the aforementioned shortcomings.

Nevertheless, Masters Li Gou, Xuan Yan, and Fei Huo were clearly not such incompetent cultivators. Each had a solid foundation and possessed Super-level Techniques and Sixth Rank Artifacts at their side, making them far from the bottom in the Golden Core Realm.

His gaze retracted.

Facing Master Fei Huo.

Lu Qingfeng's expression was grave.

Brandishing the Dutian Demon Flames that forced Master Fei Huo to lurch and dodge, simply relying on the Dutian Demon Flames alone, it would still take some time to defeat Master Fei Huo.

"A prolonged battle is unwise!"

Lu Qingfeng, sensing the continuous depletion of the fourteen Golden Core Ghost Generals' power within the Dutian Xuanming Strategy, was unwilling to drag on.

"Falling God Square!"

With a wave of his hand, the partially refined Falling God Square transformed into a golden arch, arranging five gate towers. Surrounded by Five-colored Cloud Smoke, from within the gates burst forth Gale and Fierce Fire, lightning bolts flying like spears, accompanied by the roaring sound of thunder, surging forward like torrential waves, an overbearingly fierce momentum heading straight for Master Fei Huo.

"It's the Falling God Square!"

"He managed to refine it so quickly!?"

Seeing this, Master Fei Huo was instantly panicked.

As one of the Annihilation Divine Sect's three Supreme Treasures, how could Master Fei Huo not know of the Falling God Square?

Originally, it was thought that due to the limited time, even a Golden Core Expert would barely be able to erase all traces of the previous owner from a Magic Artifact in such a short period, let alone dare to hastily refine it.

Otherwise, any lingering issues could turn into disasters in future confrontations.

Even with secret techniques rapidly wiping away the marks, deep refinement in a month's time would typically result in limited power.

And so,

The three Masters had never taken the Falling God Square into their calculations.

Unexpectedly,

Lu Qingfeng had the Five-Colored Divine Light which could instantly cleanse an artifact of all traces and reservations. Plus, with the help of the Demon Gods refined from the 'Twelve Heavenly Demon God Skill', he managed to deeply refine the artifact in a month's time, achieving 54 layers of the Earth Evil Restriction, enough to unleash 70% of the Falling God Square's potential.

The Fierce Fire roared thunderously.

"This is bad!"

Master Fei Huo's eyes widened in alarm, the Mahayana Double Hooks whirling in defense in front of him, but he was still blasted backwards by the fierce Gale, the bolts of lightning and the ferocity of the Fiery Fire.

"Spitting blood in mid-air."

"Little brother!"

"Third brother!"

Masters Li Gou and Xuan Yan, witnessing the scene, immediately cried out in shock. The trio had shared life and death for two thousand years, their fates intertwined. Seeing Master Fei Huo in mortal danger, they could no longer maintain a steady front, nor heed Lu Qingfeng's presence.

"Soldiers, come forth!"

A single command, and two overlapping voices.

From the distance, three thousand Daoist Soldiers instantly dispatched two thousand, disregarding the entanglement of the Xuanming Yin Soldiers, braving casualties as they rushed towards Masters Li Gou and Xuan Yan in an instant.

The two True Men morphed into Tiger Generals leading the army, with troops in the vanguard and Armored Soldiers following. Their aura surged explosively.

Boom!

Master Xuan Yan flung his sleeves, and the Annihilation Divine Eye's Divine Light shone through, directly blasting open the Dutian Fierce Fire Immortal Array.

True Man Li Gou was engulfed by an explosion of Yunxia around him, enduring the onslaught of the Nine Great Ghost Generals as he broke free from the entanglement and escaped.

Together, they rushed towards Master Fei Huo.

As for Master Fei Huo—

"Reinforcements!"

"Reinforcements!!"

"Reinforcements!!!"

He bellowed angrily, and the remaining thousand Armored Soldiers burst through the Xuanming Yin Soldiers, ready to come to his aid.

"Where do you think you're going!"

It was too late!

With astounding speed, Lu Qingfeng deployed the Luoshen Square, blasting Master Fei Huo away and shattering all his protective forces.

He then closed in and with a thought, swept through with Dutian Demon Flames.

'Dutian Demon Flames,' although not yet at the Small Success level, had been enlightened by Lu Qingfeng eight times, equating to 1,600 years of arduous cultivation and understanding. Though this Divine Skill was not yet fully mastered, the might that Lu Qingfeng unleashed was exponentially stronger than a month ago, wasn't it?

Without a Magic Artifact for defense.

With protective spells broken.

Lu Qingfeng's palm struck Master Fei Huo's chest through the void, and a heaven of Dutian Demon Flames instantaneously concentrated around Lu Qingfeng's palm as it burst into Master Fei Huo's chest.

"Pfft!"

Master Fei Huo spewed out blood by the bowlful as if struck by a heavy blow, and his flesh seemed to steam away under the influence of the Dutian Demon Flames in a moment, leaving only a skin-wrapped skeleton.

Boom, boom, boom!

Lu Qingfeng's palms landed one after another.

Stirring up boundless Dutian Demon Flames.

After three strikes, the Divine Light in Master Fei Huo's eyes had already dimmed. Had it not been for the durability of his Golden Core Realm life force and his early cultivation of the True Body, he likely would have been shattered to dust by Lu Qingfeng's Hand Strength and the Dutian Demon Flames.

Even so.

This injury was undoubtedly severe.

Even if the physical body protected him, the Divine Soul had suffered major damage.

Just a few more blows would turn him into ash and smoke.

"Stop, you demon!"

"You villain, courting death!"

At this moment, a torrential storm of wind and thunder surged from behind, and two furious roars exploded next to Lu Qingfeng's ears, buzzing in his head.

Li Gou and Master Xuan Yan had arrived just in time.

"What a pity."

Lu Qingfeng unleashed a palm strike, sweeping the Dutian Demon Flames towards his rear, using the fiery inferno as a cover, and regrouped behind it.

Three thousand six hundred Xuanming Yin Soldiers arrayed in formation as the Nine Great Du Tian Ghost Generals turned around.

They trapped the thousand Hundred Battle Daoist Soldiers, who had failed to be controlled by Master Fei Huo. What was a thousand had been diminished in the skirmish and retreat to assist, continuously cut down to a mere seven hundred left.

Taking stock of the situation, Master Xuan Yan and Li Gou had fewer than a thousand troops, with only eight hundred left.

In other words.

In a brief encounter, five hundred of the 'Hundred Battle Daoist Soldiers' had already fallen.

Only a hundred of the Xuanming Yin Soldiers had been destroyed, highlighting the stark contrast.

The Ghost General Yin Soldiers trapped the remaining seven hundred Armored Soldiers.

But Lu Qingfeng paid them no attention.

The Zhu Rong Demon God was encircled by twelve Dutian Fierce Fire Divine Banners, flames blazing by his side. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Lu Qingfeng, eyeing the front.

"Little brother!"

"Youngest!"

Li Gou and Master Xuan Yan ignored Lu Qingfeng, rushing forward to catch Master Fei Huo, their voices filled with anger and worry.

Master Xuan Yan wrapped an arm around Master Fei Huo, probing with his mana to inspect him, then breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Li Gou, "His body is ravaged by Demon Flames, but the Golden Core and Divine Soul are unaffected. Expelling the Demon Flames and nurturing him in tranquility for a hundred years will spare his life."

Relieved upon hearing this, Li Gou relaxed.

Although delayed in cultivation for a century, they were fortunate to have saved a life.

Yet even so, Li Gou couldn't help but feel a towering rage.

His gaze shifted to Lu Qingfeng, revealing a chilling intent.

As he seemed ready to make a threatening statement, Lu Qingfeng preempted, uninterested in listening, "Say one more word, and while I can't slay Fei Huo in your two hands, I can certainly detain and burn him with my demon flames until his cultivation is wasted."

"Do you two dare to test me?"

With that statement,

Li Gou's face darkened, and after exchanging a glance with Master Xuan Yan, they took the severely injured Master Fei Huo and turned to leave without a word.

Not hesitating for a moment!

Compared to uttering threats, the life of a brother with whom they shared life and death was more important.

They even disregarded the trapped seven hundred Daoist Soldiers.

"Hmph!"

Lu Qingfeng watched as the two with Master Fei Huo and the sixteen hundred Daoist Soldiers left, and snorted coldly, filled with killing intent.

Yet within the Dutian Xuanming Strategy, the fourteen Du Tian Ghost Generals were each seated, channeling the 'Dutian Record' to refine Dutian Qi, their strength already drained by more than half. Continuing the fight would either cost him greatly or reveal his weakness.

"Let them go for now."

"If I gather the seventy-two Du Tian Ghost Generals, or my cultivation reaches Core Formation, I could easily wipe out the Annihilation Divine Sect with a flip of my hand."

Lu Qingfeng's mind was clear.

This battle was to establish dominance. To forcibly keep or slay Li Gou and the others with his wealth, provoking the Annihilation Divine Sect, would not bode well.

Dancing on the edge of a knife.

There was no steadiness like cultivating and accumulating strength, then sweeping away everything in one fell swoop.