"You think your puny understanding can do anything against my will?! I've conquered your pathetic planet! I've bathed in oceans of your people's blood! And you dare think you can oppose me?! You insufferable insects!"
Empyrean Asura's voice became coarser and coarser. Through the flames and the distortion of space, his voice was still able to be heard by all as his killing intent was literally spreading around. His voice could be heard directly in the minds of everyone. As he spoke, people could smell the fresh blood of his many massacres. That thing disguised in flesh had truly bathed in human blood, and demon blood as well, for that matter. He was just full of hatred and resentment.
Although Demon God Da Mo had technically plagued the Piaolu planet for millennia, he wasn't even older than five thousand years. In fact, he was most likely two to three thousand years old. Considering that time was distorted in the Withering Fusang Domains, it was almost impossible to know how much time had passed for him since his defeat at Emperor Nuwa's hands. However, his physical body had never been more than two thousand years old since he had never been able to overcome the last breakthrough in order to become an Immortal Demon. Otherwise, things would have been very different for mankind.
After his body had died, his Demon Soul could probably have lasted almost as long as his natural lifespan. However, it had been damaged. Anyway, no matter how old he truly was, he wasn't an ageless monster. His enemies, apart from Cao Yun, were mostly in his age category, from the point of view of a cultivator living many centuries. A gap of a few hundred years wasn't that much. Unfortunately, Demon God Da Mo had been an Exalted Demon and even a Reborn Demon for hundreds of those years. As such, he had much more expertise.
Cao Yun could tell that even the combined attacks of all three Sages wouldn't be enough. Already, he was getting ready for his next plan. Hopefully, at least some of them would work as intended, right...?
'Rebellion Against the Nine Heavens'!
The sky turned completely red. The blue firmament above the clouds was now the color of fresh blood. The Sun appeared as though it was bleeding instead of sending light toward the Piaolu planet. In fact, the heat from the Sun turned people's souls cold. On one side, the heat on their skin was almost unbearable. On the other side, they felt cold and dead within. The sensation was absolutely horrendous. This was the full mastery of Demon God Da Mo's Dao of Blood.
Empyrean Asura didn't try to form weapons of any kind. Instead, he brutally punched the shell, keeping him trapped. Despite everything, his frame was still very small. He truly looked like a frail young woman, although his body was male. Honestly, with the current state of his flesh, it was difficult to even tell whether he was a man or a woman. Empyrean Asura's body was quite literally rotting, as many cracks had appeared. Matriarch Huang's flames had burned off his clothes and began to sear his skin. Thanks to his great vitality, Empyrean Asura's skin was growing back almost as fast, but damage was slowly accumulating.
As he punched, Empyrean Asura used his Dao of Blood to strengthen his own body. Time stood still. Space broke apart. Even without any deep understanding of the Dao of Space, Demon God Da Mo's mastery of it was superior to Sect Leader Xuan's. His physical punch broke apart space, cracks appeared in the air as if the world was made of crystal, and he had destroyed it with sheer force.
The black shell cracked open. The flames stopped being so focused. Of course, Matriarch Huang was still focusing them on Empyrean Asura, but without Sect Leader Xuan, the heat was a bit more diluted. With no hesitation at all, Empyrean Asura chose the most logical target. He leaped through the flames. While his flesh was still burning, his other arm punched toward Sect Leader Xuan, who had just received a terrible backlash from his technique being destroyed. His very soul and his Qi were in turmoil. Unfortunately, Cao Yun's master had no time to react.
Cao Yun stopped himself from intervening. It wasn't time yet. The young man could taste the frustration his brothers had tasted before him.
With barely any time to react, Sect Leader Xuan simply put a forearm before him. Empyrean Asura's punch collided with all of his momentum. Sect Leader Xuan's forearm was pulverized. His bones shattered. However, he acted immediately. Sect Leader Xuan's elbow made a circle in the air and hit Empyrean Asura's arm before his fist crushed his rib cage. As soon as he pushed the dangerous arm out of the way, Sect Leader Xuan didn't step away, he stepped forward. With his forearm shattered, he still threw his elbow directly into Empyrean Asura's throat.
Empyrean Asura didn't stop either. He pushed his head down and impacted Sect Leader Xuan's elbow with his very skull. Both bones suffered. Sadly, only Sect Leader Xuan's elbow gave way. His arm was completely destroyed. Even with his cultivation, he would need some time to heal. Empyrean Asura had the clear advantage when it came to physique. Not only was he stronger, but he could also heal much faster. In fact, Cao Yun could already tell that the enemy could heal faster than he could. Most likely, the Dao of Blood was helping a lot. That being said, Cao Yun wasn't sure whether he could heal to the same extent as himself.
As Empyrean Asura's body had been pushed by Sect Leader Xuan's elbow, it wasn't his punch but his elbow that crashed into Sect Leader Xuan's ribs. His bones cracked and screamed in agony, but didn't break. Ignoring the pain completely, Sect Leader Xuan tried to strike his opponent from above and below. His knee and his other elbow were coming toward the base of his neck and his solar plexus.
Emperor Weide and Matriarch Huang didn't just stand there observing the fight. They were already attacking. Although they didn't want to kill or even injure Sect Leader Xuan, they were ready to sacrifice him if necessary. As a matter of fact, they had all agreed on that point before the fight. If all three of them had to die, it was fine. After all, they had made sure that the Hongchen Kingdom and their own personal affairs were in good hands after their death. Of course, they didn't want to die or to kill the others, but they were fully aware of their current predicament.
'Divine Corpse Burial Armor'!
Empyrean Asura sent his blood exactly where Sect Leader Xuan was striking him. But he didn't stand still either. Suddenly, he raised his head. His thick skull collided with Sect Leader Xuan's chin before he could move out of the way, as the old man was already engaged in his attack. He felt his teeth shake, they resisted but almost shattered. Under the powerful strike, Sect Leader Xuan's own attacks lost their momentum. Besides, Empyrean Asura wasn't in the right position anymore.
Like a savage beast, Empyrean Asura had bloodlust in his eyes. Cao Yun understood before anyone else and called out in vain.
"Master!"
Empyrean Asura's teeth sank into the throat of Sect Leader Xuan. At that very moment, a sword reached for Empyrean Asura's heart from the side. The trajectory was perfect. Emperor Weide's sword was aimed under the ribs in an upward diagonal. It would completely obliterate their enemy's heart.
'Sword of Unified Heaven'!
'Divine Corpse Burial Armor'!
Even Empyrean Asura sensed that this attack could take his life. As such, he rotated with the powerful movement of his head. His teeth ripped apart a piece of Sect Leader Xuan's throat, but didn't completely tear it open. Blood flowed, but it wasn't immediately lethal. Empyrean Asura presented his back to Emperor Weide's sword. Thus, Emperor Weide's blade struck his scapula because his blood was acting like armor. Despite the shock, Sect Leader Xuan kicked away from Empyrean Asura just as Matriarch Huang's iron fan arrived. Empyrean Asura avoided one iron fan but completely missed another one hidden in the flames of the first one. By the time he saw it, it was already on him, about to cut off his entire head. Using the force of Emperor Weide's attack, Empyrean Asura flew forward and upward, while simultaneously trying to go toward Sect Leader Xuan.
Because of this movement, Matriarch Huang's iron fan just slashed his flank open. For a mortal, this was a terrifying wound, but for even an Accomplished Demon, it wasn't lethal at all. Taking into account Empyrean Asura's regeneration ability, it would barely hinder him, in fact.
Despite all those wounds, Empyrean Asura didn't relent. He had tasted blood, and he wanted more of it. Sect Leader Xuan was trying to stop the flow of blood, but couldn't. No matter how much he tried, he didn't seem to be able to control the hemorrhage. At the very least, he was able to slow it down a little. But some force was preventing him from truly manipulating his blood. Most likely, it had something to do with Demon God Da Mo's Dao of Blood. In fact, Demon God Da Mo might be able to simply rip the blood from a Mortal or even a Mortal Warrior's body, even from a distance. The mere fact that Sect Leader Xuan was resisting proved his strength of will.
Instead of panicking, Sect Leader Xuan ripped some cloth from his robe and tightened it around his neck. It wasn't optimal, nor was it comfortable. But it would slow down the hemorrhage a bit more. Right now, he had no time to waste on this wound. Otherwise, he was certain that he would die. Being prepared to die if need be didn't mean that he wouldn't do everything in his power to stay alive. If he didn't need to die in this battle, if he could actually survive this horrifying demon, he would be happier.
Sect Leader Xuan pushed his 'Black Tortoise Under the Rain' to the limit. The Heidai Peak itself shook. All the disciples of the Wubei Sect looked up in the sky. Even those who couldn't see far enough in the sky saw a vague image. They didn't know if they actually saw their Sect Leader or if they just imagined it, but that image got burned in their memory.
Sect Leader Xuan, with his robe covered in blood and his arm mangled, still held his umbrella. He tightened his grip on it, and it completely exploded. In his hand was now a black rod. It looked as if it had come from a volcanic eruption after lava had cooled down. There were many inscriptions on it that no one could read. Cao Yun was slightly able to recognize a few he had seen in the library of the Wubei Sect. It was the most important treasure of the Wubei Sect, the 'Snake Crushing Stick'. Legend had it that it had been forged from the shell of an actual Xuanwu, a giant black tortoise.
Space around Sect Leader Xuan turned solid. His aura spread far and even affected Empyrean Asura. In that moment, the old demon was certain he had chosen his target well. Before unleashing his most devastating technique, Sect Leader Xuan had already been severely weakened and injured.
'Calamitous Tortoise Drowns the World'!
Sect Leader Xuan stepped into thin air. Each step caused space itself to crack around him. The entire Heidai Peak was shaking each time. People began to hear a troubling scream from the mountain itself. According to legends, Ancestor Wu's Xuanwu companion had been buried in that mountain. In fact, some people even said that the mountain was the corpse of a giant Xuanwu. It was probably false, but those legends still impressed everyone. At this moment, they all had a doubt. Some thought that the mountain was about to come to life and crush their enemy. Honestly, Cao Yun would have loved to see it, but he didn't believe it, not to that extent at least.
Although he was walking slowly, Sect Leader Xuan seemed to vanish and appear somewhere else with each step. Besides, it wasn't in a straight line. To be honest, even Cao Yun wasn't sure whether he was actually moving all over the place or if his own perception of space had been altered. Clearly, the concept of space was muddy at the moment. Not only was Sect Leader Xuan using his Dao of Space, but he was, above all else, using array formations set up around the Wubei Sect. Here, he was at his most powerful. Unfortunately, that might not prove enough against the current threat.
Without rushing, Sect Leader Xuan appeared right in front of Empyrean Asura. The very moment he appeared, his 'Snake Crushing Stick' fell right onto Empyrean Asura's head. There was nothing to do. It was as if a mountain were falling on the demon's head. In the sky, the foot of a giant tortoise fell down. It was as large as the Heidai Peak. And yet, it was targeting Empyrean Asura's head and nothing else.
At this moment, Empyrean Asura realized that he couldn't move his body. With no hesitation, he sent most of his blood into his right hand and sent his palm upward, toward the black stick and the tortoise's foot. When they collided, Empyrean Asura felt his own arm shatter. His bones screamed in agony as shards broke apart and pierced his very muscles. Despite the incredible brutality of the attack, Empyrean Asura's arm stood firm. The stick pushed down, but it barely budged the tyrannical arm. In the sky, the gigantic black tortoise was stopped in its tracks.
As if it had been insulted, everyone heard the scream of the black tortoise.
With all his strength focused on his arm, Sect Leader Xuan was open to attack. As such, he was paying attention to Matriarch Huang and Emperor Weide, who were floating a bit higher than he currently was. That was exactly what they wanted. Honestly, they were both impressed and terrified by their enemy's resistance. But they had tricked him.