Xian Ni: The God of Killing Returns, Marries Li Muwan at the Beginning

Just then, a deafening battle cry suddenly erupted from the other side of Zhao. Blood-soaked guards scrambled forward, shouting hoarsely:

"Lord Suzaku! The western barrier has been breached! The advance team of the Star Hunters has broken in!"

Li Qiqing's heart sank. He looked up and saw that the western night sky was dyed black, and countless dark figures were pouring in through the gap in the barrier. Wherever they passed, flames soared into the sky, and screams filled the air.

The shadowy figures were all clad in black armor, and the weapons in their hands emitted a ghostly light that seemed to devour light—the standard equipment of the Star Hunters.

And the leader was none other than the fifth ancestor of the Immortal Remnant Clan, Cui Zhi, who possessed the late stage of the Ascending to the Peak realm!

"It's the Blood Soul Banner!"

Mei Ji's expression turned solemn. She glanced at the Soul Banner in the sky, a cold glint flashing in her eyes: "This is a Blood Star artifact. It is said that it can pollute spiritual power. I'm afraid the energy source of the great formation has been secretly destroyed by them."

The cultivator on the right seized the opportunity to sneer, "Now you know fear? Let me tell you, the Star Hunters' 'Soul Devouring Cannon' is about to blast open a spatial rift. At that time, not only you, but all the living beings on Vermilion Bird Star will become our nourishment!"

"What did you say?"

Li Qiqing suddenly turned his head, his eyes bloodshot, and roared, "You want to use the creatures of Vermilion Bird Star as tonics?"

"Otherwise, who do you think the Soul-Seizing Array was prepared for?"

The monk on the left covered his wound and sneered.

"Lord Sikong wants more than just Star Crystals; he also wants the life souls that this planet has accumulated over ten thousand years. Once we refine these life souls, breaking through to the Yin Void Realm will be just around the corner."

These words pierced the hearts of all the cultivators from the Vermilion Bird Kingdom like a sharp knife. Zhang Kuang clutched his broken longsword, his knuckles turning white from the force: "You bunch of beasts!"

"brute?"

The cultivator on the right suddenly burst into wild laughter, his eyes filled with contempt: "In the cultivation world, the weak are no different from ants, and being devoured by the strong is simply fate! If you have the guts, come and devour us too!"

Before he could finish speaking, the man suddenly felt a chill down his spine. The feeling was different from the pressure of spiritual energy; it was more like being locked down by some kind of power from the depths of his soul.

Turning around abruptly, he saw that in the direction of Qiongshan, the wooden magic weapon left by Lin Che was emitting an increasingly intense golden light, and a pair of pupils burning with flames slowly opened in the position of the wooden sculpture's eyes!
"what is that?"

The monk on the right instinctively took a step back.

Li Qiqing was also taken aback. He could feel that the wooden carving was absorbing the remaining energy of the city's protective array, and even drawing on the power of the Vermilion Bird bloodline within his body.

This extraction is not plunder, but more like a resonance, as if a sleeping ancient behemoth is awakening.

"It's Senior Brother Lin Che's magic weapon responding!"

A glimmer of hope shone in Li Qiqing's eyes: "It's absorbing the power of all those with the Vermilion Bird bloodline!"

Meiji looked up at the wooden carving and suddenly recalled a legend recorded in ancient books: "It is said that Lin Che used his own blood essence as a catalyst to seal the original will of the Vermilion Bird Star into this magical artifact. Could it be that..."

As Mei Ji's words were interrupted by a phoenix cry that resounded through the heavens and earth, the wooden carving on Qiongshan Mountain suddenly cracked open, and a giant fiery shadow ten thousand feet tall burst out of the wood—it was a real Vermilion Bird!

With wings that blot out the sky and tail feathers trailing flames that stretch for thousands of miles, every cry made the heavens and earth tremble. The black armor of the Star Hunter army began to melt under the light of the flames!
"This...this is the true form of the Vermilion Bird?!"

The cultivator on the left immediately turned ashen-faced, his expression contorted with rage as he exclaimed, "Impossible! What kind of magical treasure is this that can unleash such astonishing energy?!"

The Vermilion Bird's gaze slowly swept across the entire area, finally landing on the twin cultivators. The moment they were stared at, the two felt as if their souls were being burned away. Their previous arrogance vanished, leaving only a deep-seated fear.

"run!"

The cultivator on the right was the first to react, turning around to try and tear through space to escape.

But the Vermilion Bird merely flapped its wings slightly, and an invisible barrier of flames enveloped the entire imperial city, locking down all spatial fluctuations.

"On the land of Vermilion Bird Star, no one can escape."

Li Qiqing's voice was firmer than ever before. He walked to Meiji's side and looked at the giant shadow of fire in the sky.

"It seems that although the person we are waiting for has not yet arrived, the protection he left behind has never left."

Meiji gazed at the light and shadow beneath the Vermilion Bird's wings, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes. She knew this was only temporary.

Although the Vermilion Bird's true form is powerful, it requires a large amount of star core power, and at this moment, the Vermilion Bird Star has already been weakened by the Soul-Seizing Array.

Sure enough, after the Vermilion Bird let out a cry that shook the entire arena, the flames on its body began to dim.

It looked down at Li Qiqing, then at Meiji, and finally let out a long, mournful cry. Its enormous body gradually transformed into a rain of fire that blanketed the entire city.

The fiery rain fell on the Star Hunter, instantly turning him to ashes, but when it fell on the injured Vermilion Bird Kingdom cultivator, it transformed into a gentle warm current that healed his wounds.

When the fire struck the twin cultivators, they didn't even have time to scream before being burned into two charred patches.

The spatial rift above the imperial city continues to widen, but the advance team of the Star Hunters has been completely annihilated.

Li Qiqing gazed at the restless black shadows deep within the crack and took a deep breath: "Ancestor Meiji, it seems the real battle is only just beginning."

Meiji gripped her rapier tightly, and pink flames ignited once more: "At least we still have time. As long as we hold out until Lin Che returns..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood what she meant: waiting for Lin Che to return wouldn't be so easy.

Li Qiqing looked up at the starry sky, as if he could see through the cracks to a distant star field: "Senior brother, we will protect your home."

In the night wind, on the dilapidated city walls, the surviving cultivators of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom raised their weapons and let out deafening shouts.

The fifth ancestor of the Immortal Remnant Clan led his people in a frenzied attack on the cultivation sects within the Zhao Kingdom. With his mastery of the late-stage Great Perfection realm, annihilating these Nascent Soul stage ants was more than enough for him.

Cui Zhi grabbed a Nascent Soul cultivator by the neck and said indifferently, "I didn't expect those two Ascendant cultivators to die so quickly. They are really more trouble than they're worth."

"Senior Sikong Zhen, if you don't make a move soon, I'm afraid Vermilion Bird Star will become your training ground!"

As Cui Zhi's voice fell, the sky above Zhao was instantly torn open by some special energy, revealing endless starlight.

From within the crack, Sikong Zhen, his body brimming with lightning-attribute energy, stepped out. The oppressive aura he exuded was enough to instill unprecedented shock and fear in everyone present.

With his arrival, several mountains within the territory of Zhao collapsed in an instant, and the rivers seemed to boil, surging with towering waves.

At that moment, every cultivator on the entire Vermilion Bird Star felt a terrifying sensation, as if countless mountains were pressing down on them! (End of Chapter)