"How far are we from the Hongjiang Branch?"
In the sky, a giant roc was soaring through the air.
On the back of this enormous roc, there was a small, exquisitely crafted wooden building. The roc's wingspan extended over several dozen meters, and the two-story building on its back was intricately carved with dragons and phoenixes.
Inside the building, a beautiful young man with a feminine yet handsome face reclined lazily by a table, a faint sinister smile on his lips. Two graceful maidservants stood beside him, pouring wine.
"Reporting to the young master, we are still about half an hour away from the Hongjiang Branch."
After filling his cup, one of the maidservants respectfully answered.
"Good!"
The young master stood up and said, "Come with me to the second floor. We need to summon the priest."
"Yes!"
The maidservant smiled and said, "This time, the Holy Master has entrusted you and the priest with the task of activating the blood altar at the southern eighteen branches to awaken the Demon Lord. If you succeed, young master, your achievements will be unparalleled. Even the legendary ancient Demon Lord will surely favor you."
"Hahaha! Indeed!"
The young master laughed heartily, "Once we complete the task, the Demon Lord will break free from his seal within half a year! By then, no matter how much the Four Great Sects and the Three Great Daoist Gates struggle, they will be no match for the Demon Lord. The entire Zhao Kingdom will fall into the hands of our Holy Sect!"
"And I will hold all of the cultivation resources of Zhao Kingdom! There will be no shortage of rewards for you two as well."
"Hehe~"
The two maidservants giggled with delight. "Thank you, young master! We are willing to serve you loyally for the rest of our lives, both on your bed and off."
"Good!"
The young master gave the two maidservants a firm squeeze, causing their faces to blush deeply. Then, he headed to the second floor to summon the Demon Sect priest.
...
Nearby Hongjiang.
At the Demon Sect branch.
"Kill, kill, kill! Kill them all!!!"
Lin Li surveyed the area. All around him, as far as the eye could see, were endless hordes of skeletons, rotting corpses, ferocious beasts, and zombies, all surrounding him!
His entire vision had turned a vivid red from the effects of his slaughter mode. His eyes, like the crimson aura surging around him, now gleamed with bloodthirsty light!
The more he killed, the stronger he became!
Every swing of his sword seemed to be an all-out effort.
For any other Foundation Establishment cultivator, attacks of this magnitude would have left them utterly exhausted by now! Even a False Core stage cultivator couldn't maintain such powerful attacks for long without running out of spiritual energy.
But Lin Li was like a tireless killing machine. Every time the Demon Sect members thought that his spiritual energy must be exhausted and he was at the end of his rope, he would unleash an even more fearsome attack!
Slash!
With a backhanded strike, Lin Li cleaved a Red Hair Zombie in two!
[Killed Foundation Establishment Stage 3 Red Hair Zombie, gained 369 evolution points]
At the same time...
"Hiss?!"
Not far away, a Corpse Control Incense Master gasped, clutching his chest in pain as he cried out in shock, "How is this possible?!"
"The Red Hair Zombies are supposed to be invulnerable! How could he cut one in half with a single strike?!"
In truth, without his slaughter mode activated, Lin Li wouldn't have been able to slice through the Red Hair Zombie so easily.
But once in slaughter mode, Lin Li's speed, strength, and attack power were all amplified several times over!
Now, even a casual strike was far more powerful than Lin Li's full-strength attacks before entering slaughter mode. So, it was no surprise that he could kill a Red Hair Zombie with one blow!
At this moment, the demonized Frost Wolf, demonized tiger, and other beasts controlled by the four Beast Control Incense Masters seized the opportunity to strike at Lin Li's weak points.
However, what happened next stunned everyone—
Swish swish swish swish!
Lin Li's figure flickered, and in an instant, he unleashed several sword strikes!
Incredibly, he killed all four of the Foundation Establishment stage beasts, which the four Beast Control Incense Masters had painstakingly raised for years!
[Killed Foundation Establishment Stage 1 demonized Frost Wolf, gained 444 evolution points]
[Killed Foundation Establishment Stage 2 demonized tiger, gained 321 evolution points]
[Killed Foundation Establishment Stage 3 demonized leopard, gained 546 evolution points]
[Killed Foundation Establishment Stage 3 demonized centipede, gained 666 evolution points]
At the same time, the powerful aura erupting from Lin Li shredded the swarm of venomous Green Mosquitoes heading his way!
[Killed Stage 3 venomous Green Mosquito, gained 7 evolution points]
[Killed Stage 4 venomous Green Mosquito, gained 9 evolution points]
...
"Amazing!"
Ye Fan felt his blood boil as the system notifications surged like an unstoppable tide!
"Another ten thousand evolution points in the bag!"
Meanwhile...
Lin Li, who had already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment Stage 4, felt the massive energy being returned to him by Ye Fan surging within his body, desperate for release.
Finally...
Crack!
With a soft sound, the bottleneck loosened and shattered!
"Foundation Establishment Stage 5!"
Lin Li's eyes burned with excitement!
After breaking through, he immediately sensed that the flow of energy being returned from the magic sword had accelerated!
In just a few short breaths, Lin Li's cultivation at Foundation Establishment Stage 5 had stabilized!
And even more...
The tremendous energy rushing out of Ye Fan's sword quickly pushed Lin Li's cultivation toward the middle of Foundation Establishment Stage 5!
...
"Damn it!"
The Demon Sect branch leader's face darkened as he saw the eight Incense Masters suffering heavy losses at the hands of this sword cultivator.
He shouted angrily, "Two Protectors, four Hall Masters, join me! Let's finish this!"
Unlike his subordinates, the branch leader's greatest strength didn't lie in controlling beasts or zombies.
After all, no matter how powerful external forces like beasts or zombies were, they were still not part of oneself.
To break through from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation, one needed to focus on strengthening oneself.
And so, the branch leader specialized in a cultivation technique that focused on enhancing his own strength!
He clenched his fists, and his knuckles extended into bone claws. A dark wind whipped around him as he charged toward Lin Li!
The two Protectors behind him did not summon zombies or beasts either.
They knew that for a powerful sword cultivator like Lin Li, such external forces were only useful for wearing him down—they would never be enough to defeat him!
"Hahaha! Bring it on!"
Lin Li faced them head-on, his heart racing.
Though his voice was filled with bravado, his steps were calculated—he wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away!
If he killed the Protectors and the branch leader, who would stop the Incense Masters and Hall Masters from fleeing?
So, while Lin Li pretended to prepare for a showdown with the branch leader and the Protectors, his real focus...
Was on the four Hall Masters and eight Incense Masters, who were reeling from the loss of their beloved zombies and beasts!