Shi Lang chuckled as he held the blade in his hand. Unaware that the people outside were at their wit’s end. These people did not know what was happening to him inside the domain. He had forgotten about everyone while fighting with the enemy. To him, only Zavir and himself existed in this time and space.
However, thanks to his sword spirit, she told the people they would be fine if the lightning boundary remained intact. She asked Shi Lang to attack the demon and beat him half to death in one attack because she had come to understand the demon’s physique.
From the beginning of this battle, despite the damage they have done, none of the attacks have managed to leave a scratch on the demon’s skeleton, despite suffering multiple attacks in the same spot. This was because the demon was deriving his strength from the skeleton itself.
The black bones were the eternal symbol of negativity in the world; thus, they will continue to provide energy. The demon was not chewing on the bait to use his full power to deal with Shi Lang because even if this guy was a villain, he was smart enough to know that the rules of this universe confined his strength.
If he displayed his full strength, the extreme yin would attract a tribulation of heavens, and the passing result would allow him to manifest Yang energy. However, that will make him ascend this realm and leave this place unobstructed. So the only way to have the demon derive the most of his energy was to hurt him.
The healing process will force him to reveal his cultivated extreme yin. It was all just a calculation and not something that would come true because they were thinking about it.
Shi Lang raised his sword above his head and took a deep breath. His sword intent condensed at the edge of the blade. The terran did not hold back anything in this attack. His mind was filled with the thoughts of guarding his family and friends. He recalled the memories from his military days and how he suffered to ensure his friends stayed alive and well.
He recalled the days when he was just a cadet and running through those long windy corridors to become stronger so that he could look Jenkins back in the eye, how he walked away from Jane when Lucas confessed to her.
All the bitter-sweet memories of the past became the source of his sword intent. Shi Lang did not leave out even the slightest thing he could find, but most of his strength was hidden, where he sat in a cave surrounded by spirit barrier arrays and refined his body with the sword intent.
The seething pain that made him stay awake and the resolve not to give in to the demonic energy. How he lost his confidence after recovery, his shaky dao heart, the defeat. All this came to his mind, and his emotions flowed through his blade and condensed on the edge.
After he finished gathering the intent, he swung the blade down in a relatively gentle manner. As if he was a painter and his blade was a brush that glided across the canvas. The sword intentionally shot from his blade like a streamer. The effect of the attack was completely different from the initial momentum.
The demon watched it, and he condensed the demonic energy into a sword while putting a hold on his healing and slashed back at the spiritual manifestation of the sword slash targeting him.
However, this was something he never expected. The spirit slash passed through his sword like a hot knife through butter. The demon was hurt as the slash cut through his left shoulder and rubbed against the black bones.
He wanted to wail but focused on using the demonic energy to absorb the spiritual slash. At this moment, Shi Lang appeared before him with shining eyes. This was the Shura realm illusion technique. This technique would not harm the demon much but at this juncture of the battle.
Zavir was too busy to multi-task, and the slightest diversion from his actual situation could severely injure him. The illusion did not put him into anything like a battlefield. Shi Lang sent this guy to demon heaven. From his memories, he created a place where the demon cultivators from the ancient ages would gather and worship the demons in the higher realm.
Zavir was confused. This slight moment of daze was enough for Shi Lang to manipulate his intent, cut through the bones, and leave the demon with a gap in his body. The pain woke the demon. His bones had already begun releasing the black mist to rebuild his body.
However, the wound was so ghastly that it almost killed the demon. Zavir could not take the pain and knelt in the void. His dark domain of demonic energy was also called back to help him heal when Shi Lang snapped his fingers and took back his lightning boundary. Zavir opened his bloodshot eyes and said, “You tricked me well, Terran. You tricked me well.”
He raised his head and spotted a thick cluster of dark clouds condensing overhead with golden lightning squirming through them. He said, “You think that our battle has ended?” 𝐎𝐕𝑙xt.𝗇𝓔t
Shi Lang shrugged and asked, “Why, do you still have something left?”
Zavir shook his head and said, “No, I do not. However, I want to tell you something. This body is just a clone. The real me is waiting for you in the upper realm.”
Shi Lang put up his guard, and a dark fog shot toward him. The sword in his hand trembled, and the fog was dispelled. The illusory avatar of Raksha appeared and said, “Can you think of something original? You wannabe.”
Zavir had just tried to leave his mark on Shi Lang to make the tracking easier. Shi Lang did not say anything, and at this moment, the first golden lightning bolt shot down and landed on the demon. The person screamed, but that was it. The heavens did not have it his way, and he would die.
The demon screamed, and the lightning kept pouring down like dam-opening floodgates. Screams rang through the void, and everyone who heard them shivered. They could not believe that this heavenly tribulation was so destructive. The planets and the cosmic bodies in the surroundings were trembling, and some weaker ones had exploded already.
Shi Lang had returned to the crowd and shared a moment of peace. Amelia asked, “What did he mean by meeting you in the upper realm?”
Shi Lang replied, “This body of his is just a clone. The original one seems to be located in the upper realm.”
The people nodded, and Amelia said, “If that is the case, shouldn’t the upper realm one be stronger than this guy?”
They were all worried, and Shi Lang said, “I have no idea, but even if the guy is stronger, I will be able to defeat him. The upper realm is not like this place. The spiritual energy is far stronger, and the cultivation techniques are immense. When I ascend, I will be able to learn more and hold my ground.”
Everyone nodded in understanding. They watched the lightning bolts destroy Zavir.
…
Somewhere in the upper realm, a man sat inside a blood pond with his eyes closed. Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and his eyes exploded all of a sudden. The man clutched his face and wailed in pain. The face of this person was identical to that of Zavir.
Hearing his wail, a few people rushed over from the side, and one pulled the man out of the blood pond. He quickly passed him the healing elixir and asked, “Zavir, what happened?”
This person looked pale, and his eyes were slightly sunken. The only difference between him and a corpse was that this guy could speak. Zavir said, “My clone in the lower realm was defeated, and heavenly tribulation occurred when I tried to look for the person responsible. The backlash took away my eyes.”
After some thought, the corpse man frowned and said, “Do not worry. The person responsible is most likely to be the first person to ascend from that place. We have people around the bridge of ascension. He will not get away.”
Zavir was not satisfied. He replied, “This man will die at my hand. It will take him a few hundred years before he can ascend. Let me heal. I will wring his head personally.”
…
In the lower realm, the heavenly tribulation ended and Shi Lang said, “Collect those bone fragments. They need to be buried and guarded heavily. If they fall into the hands of the wrong people, they are capable of causing heavy damage.”
The five centurions reacted and collected the bones quickly. Then they said, “Let us deal with it. Our lifespan is coming to an end. We will spend our time guarding these bones. Only we will know the location of these fragments.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “That will be for the best.”