Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 742 Going All Out
The thunderous roar receded slowly over the ruined city like a receding tide, leaving only deafening echoes colliding among the charred walls and rubble.

The ground was plowed with huge pits and trenches, covered with glass-like scorch marks, and the air was filled with a strong smell of ozone, burnt ash, and the pungent sulfurous odor unique to the annihilation of the demon god's flesh and blood.

That devastating attack just now did indeed cause terrifying casualties.

At least a hundred demons of various shapes lay prostrate on the ground, their bodies entwined with lightning snakes, their demonic forms broken and mangled, their demonic blood staining the ground like tar.

Furthermore, dozens of unfortunate demons who were directly struck by the core of the lightning pillar were unable to even utter a scream before being decomposed and evaporated under the lightning, truly vanishing into thin air without leaving a trace of their existence.

The Bone-Scraping Demon King was at the very front of the battle formation. Although he did not die, he was in a very sorry state.

His prized black magic ring was covered with spiderweb-like cracks, as if it could collapse at any moment.

However, his eyes, burning with ghostly flames, were fixed on the enormous Dharma image in the air, surrounded by boundless golden light and lightning, and the corners of his lips gradually turned up.

"Hehehehe..." The Bone-Scraping Demon King grinned, revealing his jawline made of sharp bone spurs, and let out a piercing, hoarse laugh. His laughter was filled with the madness of surviving a catastrophe and a mocking shrewdness that saw through the illusion: "Kid! You've had your fun, haven't you? This show of force... tsk tsk, it really scared me to death!"

He licked his lips: "But how long can you hold out? In the end, it's just the power borrowed from a great seal, not the true Thunder Ancestor descending to earth! Heh! If you really have the ability to invite the Nine Heavens Responding to the Origin of Thunder and Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable to manifest himself, we brothers will turn around and leave without saying a word, and get as far away as possible!"

The Bone-Scraping Demon King's voice suddenly rose, filled with extreme mockery and provocation, echoing throughout the entire Ghost City: "But with just this seal?! Ha! I'm afraid you're not going to kill us all, so you're going to burn yourselves to ashes first. How many drops of that little Taoist's blood can he shed? How many breaths can he burn? When he's completely exhausted, that will be the time when you are all annihilated, body and soul!"

His words were like a spark igniting a powder keg, instantly unleashing the ferocity of the surviving demons who had escaped death. Those severely wounded demons who could still move struggled to raise their heads, the demonic flames in their eye sockets flickering and burning again, no longer merely out of fear, but out of a more cruel madness, a desperate struggle like cornered beasts.

They panted and growled, greedily absorbing the thick demonic energy emanating from the air caused by the mass deaths of their kind, their tattered bodies emitting sickening healing sounds.

Some demons even realized that their physical bodies might not be able to hold on, so they simply stood up straight and stood in front of them.

In the end, it's nothing more than a thought and a physical body; it's just a pity that it lost the opportunity to enter the world.

But if they succeed, they will be able to tear open the gates of the underworld with the lives of millions of people, and then their true forms can descend to earth. These demon gods can clearly distinguish between what is more important and what is less important.

Xiao Ran looked down at the golden toad.

"Winner takes all, loser eats the dust. What are you waiting for? Let's fight!"

Don't be fooled by Jin Chanzi's usual smiling and cynical demeanor; he often sees through appearances and understands the true nature of things.

At this moment, Xiao Ran and his group had no way out, and neither did these demon gods; both sides were forced to the edge of a precipice.

This is a battle of wills, no longer a contest of pure strength, but a test of who can grit their teeth and endure until the opponent is completely exhausted!

"it is good!"

Xiao Ran understood this principle all too well. He uttered a single word without hesitation, and with that sharp shout, he raised his hand high, with a ruthless determination to fight to the death! His five fingers were spread wide, as if he wanted to grasp the entire crumbling sky!

"Boom! Sizzle!"

The response to his summons was an even more violent spectacle than before!

High in the sky, the thunderclouds that had not yet completely dissipated surged wildly once again. Countless dazzling golden snakes no longer cascaded down like waterfalls, but converged towards Xiao Ran's raised palm with a speed and density that made one's scalp tingle!

At the same time, the blood flowing from the golden toad was evaporating rapidly. Seeing this, the golden toad gritted its teeth and smashed off one of its own arms with a punch.

Golden blood spurted out, quickly filling the gaps left by the evaporated blood.

"Boom!" The sky seemed to collapse at that moment.

Golden lightning pillars pierced the heavens and earth, converging on Xiao Ran's large hand.

Countless tiny bolts of lightning danced, intertwined, and merged between his five fingers, emitting a sharp sound that could pierce eardrums. At that moment, something in the void seemed to be drawn by the lightning, tearing open the clouds overhead to reveal the silhouette of a sword.

The earth trembled violently under the pressure, more violently than ever before! The debris on the ruins was pulled up by an invisible force field, and then instantly pulverized by fine arcs of electricity.

"Stop him!!"

The Demon King's ghostly pupils suddenly contracted to their maximum size. He stared at the sword shadow that was faintly about to appear above Xiao Ran's head, and his expression changed drastically. He did not expect that Xiao Ran would even borrow this sword.

He summoned the magic ring again, forming hand seals and spitting out a mouthful of black demonic blood to pour onto the ring.

Nourished by the demonic blood, the damaged magic ring was quickly repaired.

The remaining demons, still struggling, roared in despair, risking the collapse of their demonic bodies by burning their last bit of demonic energy and frantically pouring their power into the demonic ring. The enormous black light screen that had just dimmed forcefully condensed again, even taking on a dazzling dark red glow, as if it were burning!
Some of the demon gods had completely given up struggling. After pouring all their demonic energy into the demon ring, they rushed straight towards Xiao Ran.

"court death!!"

Xiao Ran frowned slightly. To deal with these demon gods who were already exhausted, using the power of thunder would only increase the consumption of the Golden Toad. Fortunately, he was not without other means. As his spiritual power condensed...

With a "whoosh!" from the City God Temple below, a short sword was snatched by Xiao Ran. The blade circled around Xiao Ran and was reactivated.

【Slaying Sword - Thief】 LV5 Spiritual Essence.

Privilege 1 [Judgment] Consumes a single Life Essence to launch a specific attack on the target based on the level of the Life Essence sacrificed.

(Note: The more deadly spirits sacrificed, the better!!)

Since Xiao Ran changed her profession, her profession is no longer a good match for the original cursed items. For example, the power of the Head-Slaying Sword is not much different, but it has not been significantly improved, and it even consumes more resources.

But at this moment, Xiao Ran couldn't care less about any of that.

He still had many deadly spirits in his hands, including some top-grade deadly spirit orbs, which Xiao Ran threw out as sacrifices.

These deadly orbs were immediately swallowed by the [Decapitation Sword]. Then, the sword trembled, flashed a blinding light, and transformed into a rain of swords that shot towards the demon gods.

At first, these demons didn't take them seriously, but when the sword shadows touched them, their bodies began to age and rot visibly.

They were already exhausted of their demonic energy, and now, after being attacked by the Head-Slaying Sword, their very strength was severed, and their physical bodies immediately crumbled.

Xiao Ran gritted his teeth, and crimson blood seeped from between them. The figure of the thunderous Dharma image behind him became somewhat blurred under the extreme energy infusion, but its supreme majesty of acting on behalf of Heaven to punish and cleanse all impurities reached its peak!

The great sword in the void, entwined with countless bolts of lightning, suddenly pierced through the sea of ​​clouds and slashed straight down.

"Give it to me! Break it—!!!"

He gathered all his mind, will, and even burning life force, and let out a roar that could split rocks and pierce the clouds! His raised arm, wrapped in earth-shattering lightning, swung down fiercely!

Time seemed to freeze completely at that moment.

Then came endless light and explosions!
The whole world seemed to be reduced to only one color: white! A fiery, absolute white that robbed all senses of white!
boom! ! !
The deafening roar was beyond description, as if a billion drums were simultaneously pounding within the chest. The entire ghost capital of Chang'an—no, the entire spacetime locked by the boundary lightning—was distorted and expanded wildly under this attack! Ripples of shattered space swept outwards in all directions like a tsunami!

The enormous black light curtain, burning with the last vestiges of the demon god's hope, couldn't even hold for a millisecond.

The moment the sword fell, it vanished silently! The Bone-Scraping Demon King and all the demon gods supporting the magic ring froze, and the magic ring shattered!

The first few dozen demon gods were so engulfed in the pure white lightning that they didn't even have time to scream before they were vaporized along with the scorched earth beneath their feet! The lightning continued its relentless momentum, transforming into a roaring torrent of destruction that crashed directly into the remaining demon god formation!

"Pffffffffffffffff!!"

The continuous, nauseating sounds of flesh exploding were drowned out by the deafening thunder. Those mountain-like demonic bodies, before the lightning punishment imbued with the majesty of a celestial being and the authority of an inspector, were as fragile as paper. Strong limbs were disintegrated and vaporized, tough bone armor was blasted into dust, and the churning demonic energy was completely swept away!
On the high platform of the shrine, the petrified body of the Golden Toad suddenly trembled violently and spat out a mouthful of pale golden blood. This time, the golden blood was mixed with a streak of bright red.

Clearly, at this point, Jin Chanzi was also nearing the end of his life.

After unleashing that earth-shattering strike, Xiao Ran's spine seemed to have been ripped out instantly. His face turned deathly pale, his body swayed, and he collapsed heavily to his knees.

The enormous image of the Thunder God behind him flickered like a faulty lamp, eventually vanishing completely, along with the [Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable Seal], its light suddenly dimming.
It has vanished. In its place is a huge circular pit, centered on the high platform, with a diameter of over a kilometer and a depth reaching the bottom of the scorched bedrock of the Ghost City. It exudes a glassy luster and terrifyingly high temperature! The pit walls are as smooth as a mirror, and the "sizzling" sound of electric arcs still lingers.

Within the crater, all traces of demons vanished! Regardless of strength or distance, all demons exposed to the lightning were reduced to ashes!
Only a very few demons who were furthest away or who cleverly avoided the lightning strike at the last moment using some strange secret technique survived. But they were all mutilated, barely breathing, and their bodies were covered with charred lightning marks. They lay in the burning ruins outside the crater, like candles flickering in the wind.

The deafening battlefield fell eerily silent. Only the crackling of burning rubble, the faint tearing sound of space repairing itself, and heavy breathing remained...

"Click!!"

A dull thud as if stirring mud suddenly rang out. A charred, cracked hand, its dark red, magma-like bone structure visible inside, burst forth from the black, scorched mud!
His five fingers twisted and gripped the damp, cold air with great force, as if trying to crush the remaining lightning from the thin air.

Immediately afterwards, a large patch of sticky, charred mud was lifted up. A huge, hunched figure, reeking of charred flesh and bones, struggled to its feet from the mud.

He is the Great Demon King of Bone Scraping.

His appearance at this moment was extremely miserable: half of his body was destroyed, revealing charred ribs and broken bone fragments, and the remaining flesh was curled and peeled off like rags, dripping with thick black blood. Only a small half of the charred bone of one arm protruded from the side of the shoulder, with a few pieces of charred flesh hanging on the skeleton, but the demonic fire flickering deep in his demonic eyes had not been extinguished.

However, what was most striking was the expression on his face—not ferocity, not rage, not despair, but rather…

A victor's smile that was almost insane, a mixture of immense pain and an undeniable triumph.

The smile tore at the charred flesh on his face, splitting it all the way to his ears, revealing his pale, sharp teeth.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

A low, hoarse laugh, like a leaky bellows, burst from his throat, which seemed to have been scorched by lightning.

His laughter shook his broken body, dislodging the clumps of mud clinging to his charred bones, and was filled with the ultimate mockery of the entire battlefield, as well as Xiao Ran and Jin Chanzi:
"Ha...cough cough...hahahahahaha...cough cough..."

He coughed up black smoke tinged with sparks, his face filled with the ecstatic joy of surviving a catastrophe and the satisfaction of revenge: "Pfft... Pfft... In the end... in the end you couldn't hold on anymore!!!"

(End of this chapter)