Xiao Qi, severely wounded, forcibly activated the Purification Source, single-handedly resisting Yin Jiu's "Ten Thousand Souls Soul-Destroying Malefic." The pure white light and overwhelming black cloud formed a brief, dangerous balance in mid-air. But anyone could see Xiao Qi was already at his last gasp. His body trembled violently. Blood continuously dripped from his lips. The arms supporting the light pillar emitted bone soundsunable to bear, as if about to snap at any moment.
Yin Jiu's fierce expression intensified. He wildly activated demonic origin. The cloud's malefic increased again, pressing the white light back step by step. It wasabout tocollapse.
"Xiao Qi!" Third Senior Sister Liu Yun saw the situation, anxious beyond words. She knew she couldn't hold back any longer. She fiercely bit her tongue, spraying essence blood onto her sword! The blade hummed. The originally clear ice-blue sword glow instantly dyed with a tragic, gorgeous crimson. A resolute,fierce, world-cutting terrifying sword intent soared skyward!
"Mystic Ice... Blood Spirit Slash!"
Disregarding the ghost cultivator's ghostly fire attacking from behind, she poured all her spirit, all her spiritual power, even part of her life origin, into this one strike! The sword swung. A massive sword wave, like a crimson ice river stretching across the long sky, carrying soul-freezing extreme cold and forward-resolving tragic killing intent, wasn't slashing toward the troublesome ghost cultivator, but... directly chopping at Yin Jiu, who was focusing on suppressing Xiao Qi!
This sword was Third Senior Sister's ultimate strike beyond her own limits! Its might had faintly touched the threshold of mid Golden Core!
"Mm?!" Yin Jiu felt the terrifying sword intent attacking from the side. His expression changed. He hadn't expected this female sword cultivator to be so resolute, daring to withstand the ghost cultivator's attack just to interfere with him. If he ignored it, this strike could genuinely threaten him. If he divided attention to defend, his suppression on Xiao Qi would definitely have an opening.
In a flash, Yin Jiu made his choice. His left hand maintained cloud control. His right hand hastily slapped out a condensed black palm imprint, greeting that crimson ice river sword wave.
"BOOM!"
Palm imprint and sword wave collided. Crimson ice shards and black demonic qi scattered. Yin Jiu's body slightly swayed. His right sleeve was torn several gashes byfierce sword qi. Third Senior Sister, however, from forcibly executing the forbidden technique and taking the ghost cultivator's ghost fire backlash, her face instantly turned deathly pale. Her aura plummeted. She fell from the sky, caught by a villager below.
However, this instant's distraction and wavering gave Xiao Qi a sliver of opportunity!
The pressing cloud had an extremely brief stagnation!
"Now!"
Xiao Qi's eyes flashedstern expression. He knew this was the only chance! He forcibly suppressed churning blood and qi. The final Four Symbols source power he could mobilize within his body, especially the Vermillion Bird power newly fused and extremely sensitive to demonic qi, all poured into the jade pendant at his chest!
"Four Symbols... Purification... Burst!"
He no longer maintained the light pillar defense. Instead, all purification force, in a near self-destructive manner, violently erupted upward, toward the cloud's core!
"BOOM—!!!"
Like a white sun exploding at the cloud's bottom! Incomparably pure purification light spread outward like a tsunami, impacting everywhere! That cloud condensed from countless vengeful souls, meeting its nemesis,large areas dissolving, evaporating. Countless vengeful souls emitted screams and wails as they were transcendently delivered!
Yin Jiu grunted. His spirit connected to the cloud, under this impact, his aura also appeared momentary disorder. His control over the cloud greatly diminished.
But this wasn't enough! Merely the purification force's eruption couldn't genuinely threaten Yin Jiu'strue body!
Just at this perfect moment—old force just expended, new force not yet generated, spiritemptywhite due to cloud's collapse—
Xiao Qi made his second, also most crucial move!
Forcibly enduring the needle-like agony in his sea of consciousness from extreme depletion, he again summoned that remaining, weak Southern Bright Separating Fire seed! This time, he didn't attempt to attack Yin Jiu's demonic body—that would be nearly impossible. Instead, this thread containing supreme fire law, having absolute restraint against demonic qi, mixed with his unyielding battle intent and protection belief, transformed into an invisible, intangible, yet spirit-directing... Flame Thorn!
"Vermillion Bird... Demon-Slaying Intention!"
This intention attack fused with Southern Bright Separating Fire's origin realm, ignoring physical and energy defense, like piercing through void, instantly stabbed into Yin Jiu's sea of consciousness, where a crack appeared due to cloud collapse!
"Err ah—!"
Yin Jiu let out an extremely mournful scream, clutching his head! It felt like a red-hot branding iron was directly thrust into his soul's depths! Southern Bright Separating Fire's supreme yang purity, burning away evil intent—for a cultivator like him practicing yin-evil demonic arts, the harm far exceeded any physical attack! His thoughts instantly fell into chaos. Demonic origin circulation abruptly stagnated. His entire person convulsed violently in mid-air!
And just at this moment when Yin Jiu suffered severe wounds, completely losing self-protection—
On the ground, Chief Lie Shan, who had beenfirmlyfocus on the battle, eyes erupted with desperate light!
"With my blood, summon ancestral spirit's Gu! Please... Golden Cicada Gu King!"
He fiercely used his battle axe to cut open his chest. A stream of hot heart essence blood sprayed out, falling onto the ground before him. Elder Wumeng simultaneously bit his finger, blood drawing an ancient Gu pattern invoid. Both auras instantlyweak, as if aged twenty years.
"Chirp—!"
A sharp, extremely penetrating insect cry rang from deep within the village's underground! A golden light, fast beyond visual capture, like teleportation, shot from underground. Target: Yin Jiu in mid-air, clutching his head screaming, completely unguarded!
That golden light was a strange cicada insect, merely thumb-sized, entirely like pure gold, with four pairs of transparent membranous wings on its back! It radiated ancient, primordial, and a bizarre aura specialized in piercing protective qi and biting souls! This was Fire Crow Village's generations-worshipped, blood-nurtured final trump card—the Golden Cicada Gu King!
The golden light flashed and vanished!
The next moment, Yin Jiu's protective demonic light was pierced like paper. The Golden Cicada Gu King had already perched on his brow point! Its sharp proboscis viciously stabbed into his forehead!
"Ah—!!!"
An even more mournful scream filled with extreme pain and fear erupted from Yin Jiu's mouth! The Golden Cicada Gu King not only gnawed his flesh and blood, but frantically devoured his soul origin!
Xiao Qi's purification eruption, Southern Bright Separating Fire intention ambush, Third Senior Sister's desperate sword interference, then Golden Cicada Gu King's killing strike! Each link interlocking, perfectly coordinated!
Yin Jiu could no longer maintain flight. His surrounding demonic qi lost control and ran amok. He fell from the sky like a broken sack! His hands frantically grabbed toward the Golden Cicada Gu King on his brow. But that Gu King was like flesh-burrowing maggot, firmly fixed there, frantically devouring.
"Retreat... quickly retreat—" Yin Jiu used his last strength toemitted an unclearhowl. His body twisted in mid-air, transforming into an uncontrolled black escape light, desperately fleeing outside the village! He couldn't even attend to the precious Golden Cicada Gu King!
The ghost cultivator battling Third Senior Sister, seeing Deputy Hall Master Yin Jiu suffer such a miserable fate, was scared out of his wits. How could he dare stay? Forcing Third Senior Sister back (who also had no strength to pursue), he transformed into a ghostly shadow, following Yin Jiu's desperate escape.
The remaining Shadow Snake Pavilion Foundation Establishment cultivators, seeing their leader flee or die, morale collapsed. They let out a war cry, scattering like headless flies, fleeing in all directions. They were pursued by Fire Crow Village defenders, leaving corpses everywhere.
The rampant demonic cloud slowly dissipated. Sky regained light.
Xiao Qi could no longer hold. He fell from mid-air, caught by Yan Lie who had forced himself to fly up. He looked toward where Yin Jiu fled, then at Chief Lie Shan and Elder Wumeng, whose brows had the Golden Cicada Gu King perched, faces showing exhausted yet relieved smiles. Finally his gaze fell on Third Senior Sister, being helped up, face pale yet showing relief.
With Foundation Establishment (Third Senior Sister), Golden Core initial (Xiao Qi's apparent realm), and the entire village's strength, paying heavy price... they actually... repelled a mid Golden Core, severely wounded an initial Golden Core!
This battlecan be called a miracle, finally... ended.
Fire Crow Village... held.