At the depths of the Gui Xu Sea Eye, on the edge of the dimensional rift, that entirely black Void Demon Dragon coiled around the demon nest's exterior, sealing the entrance firmly like a living wall.
Its body was even larger than Xiao Qi had anticipated. Just its fierce and terrifying dragon head alone rivaled the size of Qingxu Temple's main hall. Its dragon scales weren't physical matter, but formed by countless twisted spatial fragments layered upon each other, each one constantly shifting form, refracting dizzying light patterns. Its dragon eyes held no pupils—only two vortexes of darkness that devoured all, as if capable of sucking away the souls of those who gazed upon them.
"This isn't an ordinary dragon." Mu Xue's voice transmitted via spiritual sense, carrying rare gravity. "Half its body has merged with the void. Ordinary attacks cannot touch its true form."
Xiao Qi gripped the Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword tightly. The blade trembled slightly, seemingly sensing the threat of the powerful enemy ahead. He had already preliminarily comprehended the rudiments of spatial law, able to faintly perceive the bizarre nature of that demon dragon—its state of existence was "superimposed," simultaneously occupying multiple coordinates in both the mortal world and the void. Unless one could attack all dimensions simultaneously, it could transfer its vital points at any time.
"Someone must tie it down frontally, preventing it from focusing on maintaining the void superimposition state." Xiao Qi quickly made his judgment. "Ao Qin, you understand dragon physiology best. Work with me to attract its attention head-on. Mu Xue, look for opportunities to freeze its spatial nodes. Third Senior Sister and Tiezhu handle clearing any void demons that appear, preventing interference."
Everyone nodded. At this moment, no superfluous words were needed—everyone understood the weight of this mission.
Xiao Qi charged out first. The Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword drew a brilliant trail of fire through the void. He deliberately pushed his sword intent to its extreme, making that sword radiance containing the meaning of nirvana and rebirth the most eye-catching presence in this dim void.
The Void Demon Dragon was indeed attracted. Its black-hole-like dragon eyes turned toward Xiao Qi. Its jaws opened, spitting compressed spatial breath. That breath was silent and invisible—where it passed, space was directly erased, leaving a permanent black fissure.
Xiao Qi dared not block directly. His Wandering Dragon Nine Turns movement technique operated at full power. His form teleported in the void continuously, narrowly dodging. Even so, he could feel the terror of that breath passing by—not temperature, not impact, but a sensation of "existence being denied."
"Its breath will directly erase traces of the target's existence!" Ao Qin's voice rang out. The Dragon Prince revealed his half-dragon form, dragon horns gleaming with azure light. "Attack the third scale from its neck! That's where the dragon clan's spatial core lies!"
Xiao Qi heard this. His form flickered, already approaching the demon dragon's neck. The Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword, wrapped in Nanning Divine Fire and traces of chaotic power, hacked violently toward the spot Ao Qin indicated.
"Clang—"
A metallic clang echoed. The sword blade cut into the spatial fragment-layered scales, yet was deflected by a twisted force. Xiao Qi felt the force on his sword being decomposed layer by layer, ultimately with less than thirty percent truly affecting the target.
The demon dragon, hurt but not wounded, let out a low roar. Its dragon tail swept across. That tail wasn't physical, but a spatial fault—wherever it passed, even the void was cut with a neat fissure.
Xiao Qi had no time to dodge. He could only summon forth the Primordial Chaos Cauldron as a shield. The cauldron hummed, instantly expanding to the size of a door, forcefully receiving this blow.
Massive force transmitted through the cauldron. Xiao Qi was knocked flying backward, blood trickling from his mouth's corner. But the Primordial Chaos Cauldron was indeed a quasi-immortal artifact—only a faint white mark remained on its surface, which then self-repaired immediately.
"Its power gets dispersed through space." Xiao Qi wiped the blood from his mouth's corner, quickly analyzing. "But conversely, our attacks get dispersed too. We must prevent it from transferring damage."
Mu Xue had been preparing for a while at the rear. Countless ice crystals floated around her, each precisely corresponding to a spatial node around the demon dragon. This was a secret technique from the Mysterious Mechanism Holy Land— "Ice Sealing Ten Thousand Realms"—using extreme cold to freeze space itself, sealing the target's retreat.
"In three breaths, its spatial nodes will briefly solidify." Mu Xue's voice was cold and calm like water flowing beneath ice. "Those three breaths are the only chance."
Xiao Qi nodded, charging out again. This time he didn't choose to attack forcefully, but circled around the demon dragon using Wandering Dragon Nine Turns, continuously harassing with sword light, attracting its attention. Ao Qin approached from another direction, Dragon Clan might blazing fully, conducting spiritual confrontation with the demon dragon.
Two dragon auras collided in the void, stirring visible ripples. The demon dragon was clearly enraged. Its dragon eyes flashed with violent light, no longer focused on maintaining the void superimposition state, but wanting to first eliminate these ants who dared to provoke it.
Now!
Mu Xue's eyes cold light flashed. Her hands formed seals. The countless ice crystals around the demon dragon bloomed simultaneously, transforming into a massive ice net, freezing the demon dragon along with the surrounding space!
That ice wasn't ordinary cold, but "spacetime ice crystals" containing the power of law. Each one sealed a small piece of solidified time and space. When they bloomed simultaneously, the demon dragon's surrounding spatial nodes were instantly frozen solid. Those coordinates distributed across the void all revealed at once!
"Its true body coordinates are all manifesting!" Mu Xue's voice carried a slight tremble, clearly maintaining such a massive spacetime ice seal was extremely exhausting. "Only three breaths!"
This was what Xiao Qi had been waiting for.
He poured his entire cultivation into the Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword. Upon the blade, the green lotus phantom, Nanning Divine Fire, Protective Sword Intent, and the trace of spatial law he had comprehended, all merged into one. Where the sword edge passed, the void left a faint golden trajectory—that was the trace of Dao's rhyme materializing.
First breath, Xiao Qi appeared at the demon dragon's neck, slashing down. This time there was no spatial transfer. The sword blade squarely cut open three dragon scales. Black dragon blood sprayed profusely.
Second breath, his form turned again, arriving at the demon dragon's belly. This was the softest spot on dragons, also another spatial core node. The Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword swept upward from below, opening a wound deep enough to see bone on the dragon's belly.
Third breath, he appeared above the demon dragon's head. This was the final chance, also the most critical strike.
Xiao Qi gripped the sword with both hands, inverting the Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword, sword tip pointing down. His entire person like a falling star plummeted, fiercely stabbing into the demon dragon's head!
"Roar—"
The demon dragon issued a sky-shaking, earth-shattering scream. Its body began violently convulsing. Those frozen spatial nodes shattered one after another. But this wasn't liberation, but collapse—without the protection of the superimposition state, its true body was completely exposed in the void, and all the damage it had previously sustained erupted simultaneously at this moment!
"Mu Xue!"
Xiao Qi shouted loudly, withdrawing rapidly from the demon dragon's head. His task was complete. Now came the final strike.
Mu Xue had been prepared and waiting for this. Her hands raised high. A "Heart of Eternal Freeze" larger than all previous ice crystals condensed in her palms. This ice crystal wasn't blue, but near-transparent pure white—because what it froze wasn't temperature, but law itself.
"Go!"
The Heart of Eternal Freeze flew out, precisely piercing into the wound atop the demon dragon's head. In an instant, blinding white light erupted from within the demon dragon. Its body began freezing from the inside out, spreading from the wound's edges across its entire body. Finally, it transformed the entire Void Demon Dragon into a lifelike ice sculpture.
Within the ice crystal, the demon dragon maintained its posture of roaring toward the heavens. Even the patterns on each scale were vividly displayed.
"Shatter."
Mu Xue gently spoke this word.
The ice sculpture's surface developed countless fine cracks. Then with a crisp shattering sound, it collapsed into countless ice crystals along with the demon dragon's body. Those ice crystals danced through the void, refracting seven-colored light, possessing an eerie beauty.
When the ice crystals dispersed, a fist-sized, pitch-black yet glittering with starlight crystal floated in place.
"Void Dragon Crystal." Ao Qin drew a deep breath. "This is one of the most precious treasures among dragons, containing spatial origin law fragments. With it, our confidence in entering the demon nest increases by at least thirty percent."
Xiao Qi flew forward, placing the Void Dragon Crystal into a specially crafted jade box. The moment it entered his hand, he sensed the nearly inexhaustible spatial energy contained within. That fluctuation had some subtle resonance with the Wandering Dragon Nine Turns movement technique.
"What a pity about this demon dragon." Ao Qin gazed at the gradually dissipating ice crystals, tone complex. "Had it not been corrupted by demonic energy, it should have been an overlord roaming the void."
"So we must thoroughly resolve the demonic entity." Xiao Qi put away the jade box, gaze turning toward the demon nest's entrance. "We cannot allow more living beings to fall into demonic ways."
After a brief rest, the squad regrouped. The Void Demon Dragon's disappearance caused the demon nest's entrance guard strength to significantly weaken. The path ahead was temporarily unobstructed.
But everyone understood—the real fierce battle still lay ahead. This Void Demon Dragon was merely the gatekeeper. The existence deep within the demon nest was their true ultimate goal.
Xiao Qi gripped the jade box containing the Void Dragon Crystal. Determination flashed in his eyes. No matter what lay ahead, he would not retreat.
This was not merely for the beings of the Three Realms, but for those already sacrificed—Father, Master, and all beings who perished in the demon catastrophe.
He must, end all of this.