Immortality and cultivation begin with full comprehension.

Chapter 827 Slaying the Bone Dragon, Puppet Grandmaster Peak (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"All under Tianlan's command!"

"Sword Pavilion disciples, form the 'Great Void Demon-Slaying Sword Formation' and follow me to confront the demonic tide head-on!"

"Disciples of the Array Pavilion, immediately take over all array nodes and repair and strengthen the defenses at all costs!"

"Disciples of the Pill Pavilion and Weapon Pavilion, do your utmost to treat the wounded and replenish supplies!"

"The rest of the units shall follow the unified command of Vice Alliance Leader Yu Chenzi, coordinate their defenses, and annihilate the demons!"

"This battle concerns the very survival of Tianlan. All cultivators of our alliance must fight to the death!"

"kill!"

As soon as the word "kill" was uttered, the Sword Master of Taixu pointed his fingers like a sword and gently slashed at the surging demonic tide in front of him!
"Zheng..."

An invisible and intangible sword intent, yet seemingly capable of slicing through time and space, spread out like mercury spilling onto the ground!
Wherever the sword intent passed, it was as if a layer of space was peeled away!
The thousands of monsters charging at the forefront, whether lowly Shadow Demons or powerful Mighty Demons, all froze in their tracks!
Then, like a sand sculpture scattered by the wind, it silently turned into the finest dust and vanished!

With the power of a single sword strike, a thousand miles of demonic territory were cleared away!

This is the power of the Taixu Sword Master!

A sword cultivator at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, only one step away from the Void Return realm!

"Formation!"

The tens of thousands of disciples of the Taixu Sword Sect who came with him responded in unison, instantly transforming into streaks of light that intertwined and shuttled through the air, forming a huge sword formation that covered half of the battlefield in the blink of an eye!
Countless sword energies crisscrossed and swirled, like a giant meat grinder, crashing into the demonic tide with unstoppable force!
At the same time, under the guidance of several array masters, the disciples of the Array Pavilion, like precise worker ants, quickly dispersed to key nodes such as the "Zhou Tian Xing Chen Grand Array" and the "Jiu Xiao Yun Dong Feng Lei Array".

They embedded the large amount of rare materials and high-grade spirit stones they carried into the array eye, and the originally dim array light screen became dazzling again at a speed visible to the naked eye, even thicker and more solid than before!
The disciples of the Pill Pavilion showered down a shower of sweet rain, healing the wounds of the guards, while the disciples of the Weapon Pavilion quickly replaced and repaired the damaged magical artifacts and war machines.

The addition of fresh troops instantly made the defenses of the "Ancient Burial Realm of Immortals" impregnable, and even began to suppress the demonic tide!
"Roar……"

Deep within the demonic clouds, the Void Demon God let out an even more furious roar!

The appearance of the Sword Master of Taixu, along with tens of thousands of elite reinforcements, completely shattered His plan to quickly crush this place!

The awakening of that ancient being deep within "Meteor Cliff" made Him feel intense unease and threat!

"You...will all die!"

The demon god completely gave up the cat-and-mouse game, and raised its sky-covering giant claw again. But this time, the target was no longer Li Yunjing and the others, but the Taixu Sword Master, who had just formed a sword formation and whose aura was at its peak!

At the same time, the demonic clouds surged, and three more terrifying demonic figures with auras comparable to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage slowly emerged. They were a huge bone dragon burning with ghostly flames, a thousand-headed giant formed from countless vengeful souls, and a shadow that constantly changed shape and exuded an aura of corruption and decay!
He will personally take action, with overwhelming force, to first cut off the opponent's strongest spearhead!

Facing the demon god's furious attack and the siege of the three demon lords, the Taixu Sword Master's eyes remained calm, only the ancient longsword in his hand emitted a clear and melodious sword sound.

"Today, I will borrow your hand to break through the Void Returning Realm!"

He took a step forward, actually heading straight for that colossal claw that blotted out the sky!
"Sword Domain, open!"

hum!
Centered on him, an illusory domain composed of countless sword intents instantly unfolded, enveloping the demon god's giant claw and the three demon lords within it!
Within this realm, all techniques become swords, and spacetime is distorted!

At the same time, his cold voice rang out again: "Vice Alliance Leader Li, Fellow Daoist Blood Demon, Fellow Daoist Ice Phoenix, Fellow Daoist Yu Chenzi, those three Demon Lords are yours to handle!"

"The rest of you, focus all your efforts on eliminating the demonic tide and strengthening the defenses!"

The orders were clear and decisive, and countermeasures were assigned instantly.

Blood Demon Ancestor, Li Yunjing, Yu Chenzi and the Ice Phoenix in the sky exchanged a glance, and without hesitation transformed into four streams of light, respectively heading towards Bone Dragon Demon Lord, Thousand-Headed Giant Demon Lord and Shadow Demon Lord!

The battle instantly entered its most brutal and climactic phase!
The Sword Master of Taixu battles the Void Demon God alone!

Although this demon god was weakened by the interference of the immortal artifact, it was still essentially at the Integration Realm. The sword domain and the demon claws collided wildly in the starry sky. Every clash caused the laws to wail and the stars to sway!

If the Sword Master of Taixu hadn't been wielding the "Taixu Sword Sect" immortal artifact, he probably would have perished on the spot in a single round!

"Good heavens! It seems that each sect has a founder who left behind a backup plan."

Having observed the surrounding situation, Li Yunjing breathed a sigh of relief.

The divine artifact "Divine Firmament Thunder Seal" appeared above his head!
"Boom!"

Unleashing his full thunder magic, he battled fiercely against the Netherworld Bone Dragon, where lightning and ghostly fire intertwined and annihilated each other!

Today, the fourth celestial artifact has appeared!
"Good! It seems Fellow Daoist Li is also going all out."

Yu Chenzi nodded slightly, following the natural way. With a flick of his whisk, countless immortal lights transformed into chains, wrapping around the thousand-headed giant and roaring against its vengeful spirit!

The Ice Phoenix unleashed an extreme cold storm, freezing the ever-changing Shadow Demon Lord within a world of ice crystals, constantly tearing his form apart!
Below, the allied forces, now reinforced, were in high spirits. With the cooperation of countless sword formations, arrays, magical treasures, and a massive army of demonic beasts, they began to push back and annihilate the endless tide of demons!

The entire "Ancient Burial Realm of Immortals" has been transformed into a giant furnace, where life is constantly being lost and demons are disintegrating.

The battle was unprecedentedly fierce.

With his immortal sword and supreme sword domain, the Sword Master of Taixu actually managed to barely withstand the Void Demon God's frenzied attacks. Although he was on the defensive at every turn, his sword domain was constantly being compressed, and he began to show signs of injury, he ultimately did not die.

Under the pressure of life and death, his sword intent became increasingly pure and refined, and he faintly touched the barrier of returning to emptiness.

"Hehehe... Such pure thunderous blood... If I devour you, I might be able to advance further!"

On the other side, a chilling and piercing mental fluctuation, like an ice pick, pierced directly into Li Yunjing's sea of ​​consciousness.

Immediately, the demonic clouds churned, and a colossal creature slowly emerged.

It was not a body of flesh and blood, but the skeleton of a dragon of unimaginable size!
Its entire skeleton was a dark, deathly gray-white, with two balls of eerie green soul fire burning in its eye sockets. It was surrounded by an intense, impenetrable aura of death and resentment. Wherever it passed, even starlight seemed to be swallowed up, the temperature of the space plummeted, and black ice crystals even condensed in the void!
It was none other than the Netherworld Bone Dragon Demon Lord, one of the Four Great Demon Lords!

Its aura was so strong that it had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, and it was only one step away from the Void Return stage!
They are particularly skilled in soul attacks and the laws of the underworld, and have a strong ability to suppress the life force of living beings!
"Fellow Daoist Li, be careful! This fiend's Netherworld supernatural powers are bizarre!"

Yu Chenzi, who was engaged in a fierce battle with the thousand-headed giant in the distance, hurriedly sent a telepathic warning.

"Well done!"

Instead of fear, Li Yunjing's eyes burned with fierce fighting spirit!
In a battle of this magnitude, someone has to step up and block the opponent's strongest point!

With the Sword Master of Taixu held back by the Demon God, and Yu Chenzi and the Blood Demon Ancestor each having their own opponents, it is up to him to deal with this strongest bone dragon!

"Divine Firmament Thunder Seal!"

With a low shout, an ancient purple lightning seal flew out from between his eyebrows. It grew as soon as it saw the wind, instantly transforming into the size of a mountain and hovering above his head!

Nine dragons coiled around the Thunder Seal, covered with dense thunder patterns, radiating a magnificent immortal power that was supremely yang and strong, and could ward off all evil!

It is the supreme immortal artifact that can restrain the power of the Netherworld!
"Roar!"

Sensing the threat of the lightning seal, the Netherworld Bone Dragon let out a silent soul roar. With a flap of its massive bone wings, it transformed into a gray-white stream of death light, tearing through space and carrying a chilling aura that could freeze the soul, rushing straight towards Li Yunjing!
Its enormous mouth opened, spewing out gray "Netherworld Breath," which corroded even the void itself, leaving dark marks wherever it passed!

"Thunder Dragon Soars to the Sky!"

Li Yunjing formed hand seals and fully activated the "Divine Firmament Thunder Seal"!
"hold head high!"

Nine phantom thunder dragons roared out from the Thunder Seal, each containing destructive thunder laws, baring their fangs and claws to meet the Netherworld's breath!

"Boom!!!"

The yang thunder and the yin netherworld collided violently in mid-air!

There was no loud noise, only a teeth-grinding sound of annihilation!
The gray and purple energies intertwined and canceled each other out wildly, bursting out with a dazzling halo that distorted the surrounding space into a chaotic color!

The first encounter was surprisingly evenly matched!

But Li Yunjing's face turned pale, and his blood surged.

After all, he was only at the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage. Although he had the advantage of a celestial artifact, the quality and quantity of his magical power were still far inferior to that of the Bone Dragon at the peak of the Divine Transformation stage. In a head-on confrontation, he immediately suffered a hidden loss.

"Heh heh... The immortal artifact is indeed wonderful, but how much of its power can you actually unleash?"

The Bone Dragon Soul Fire leaped, emitting mocking mental fluctuations. Its massive bone tail swept across like a pillar of heaven, tearing through space and creating numerous spatial rifts!

"Three heads and six arms!"

Li Yunjing dared not be negligent and instantly unleashed his great supernatural power!
The flesh on both sides of the neck writhed and instantly grew two more heads, while four arms stretched out from under the armpits!

Instantly, their momentum surged!
"Yin Yang Five Elements Celestial Evolution Sword Formation!"

The newly formed arm manipulated the "Yin Yang Five Elements Heavenly Evolution Sword", "Purple Gold Gourd", "Five Dragon Wheel", "Heavenly Thunder Emperor Seal", "Heavenly Net", and "Bronze Bell", instantly setting up a great formation. The five elements rotated and transformed into an indestructible sword aura barrier in front of him!
"when!!!"

The bone tail lashed fiercely at the great formation, producing a deafening clang of metal against metal!

The formation trembled violently, and the five-colored sword light flickered. Li Yunjing groaned, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, but he ultimately managed to block this powerful blow!
"Swift Boots!"

"Five Dragon Wheels!"

His other arm wasn't idle either; his "Swift Boots" flashed with spiritual light, and his figure flickered like a ghost in the starry sky, dodging the bone dragon's subsequent claw attacks.

At the same time, the "Five Dragon Wheels" were unleashed, and five fire dragons roared out, coiling around the bone dragon's limbs. Although they could not cause fatal damage, they could interfere with its movements and burn its ghostly death aura.

"Annoying bugs!"

Enraged by Li Yunjing's slippery fighting style, the Bone Dragon's soul fire blazed brightly in its eye sockets!
"Netherworld Ghost Realm!"

It suddenly opened its huge mouth and spat out a "Netherworld Pearl" that was compressed from countless vengeful spirits!
The bead exploded, instantly transforming into a gray area covering a radius of thousands of miles!

Within the domain, ghosts howled and wolves howled, and countless vengeful spirits appeared, frantically tearing at the souls of living beings!

At the same time, the extremely strong suppression of the Netherworld Law descended, making Li Yunjing feel as if he were trapped in a quagmire, greatly reducing his speed and even making his magic power circulation somewhat sluggish!

"not good!"

Li Yunjing's expression changed; this domain technique was extremely troublesome!
If we don't break through, he'll eventually be worn down and killed!

"Great Zhou Celestial Star Technique! Star-Attracting Power Protects the Body!"

He activated his cultivation technique with all his might, and the semi-immortal artifact "Starry Robe" drew upon the power of the stars in the heavens to form a dazzling starlight film on his body, barely resisting the erosion of the vengeful spirits.

"Thunderous Divine Mace! Break through evil!"

He unleashed his strongest attack once again!

The mysterious "Thunderous Divine Mace" phantom appeared in his hand. Although he could not fully unleash its power, he only drew out a trace of it, which still burst out with brilliant purple lightning. He smashed the phantom of the Netherworld Pearl at the core of the domain with the mace!
"boom!"

Where lightning flashed, vengeful spirits melted away like ice and snow!
The field is experiencing dramatic fluctuations!

"Little bug, you have so many treasures!"

Its massive body rammed into him, its sharp claws tearing the sky, its bony wings like knives, forcing Li Yunjing to retreat and defend!

For a time, Li Yunjing was caught in a fierce battle!
He relied on the intimidating power of the immortal artifact "Divine Firmament Thunder Seal," the skillful use of various powerful supernatural abilities and magical treasures, and the super mobility brought by "three heads and six arms" to contend with the Netherworld Bone Dragon.

Thunder, sword energy, flames, starlight... all sorts of powerful attacks bombarded the bone dragon's massive skeleton, leaving scorch marks and sword marks, and even shattering some of the smaller bones.

However, the bone dragon's defense was too strong, and the Netherworld Death Qi was endless, so those injuries could be healed quickly under the nourishment of the Death Qi!
Each of its attacks contained terrifying physical power and soul impact, putting Li Yunjing in grave danger!

Several times, the bone dragon's claws almost grazed his body, and the resulting gale tore his protective aura to shreds, leaving deep, bone-revealing bloodstains on his body!
The shock to his soul caused his mind to tremble and his head to split open!
"This can't go on..."

Li Yunjing was anxious, his magical power was greatly depleted, and the restorative power of his "Life Source" could hardly keep up with the speed of his injury.

In terms of protracted warfare, he was far inferior to his opponent.

In the end, he'll be the one who dies.

He glanced at the other battlefields.

Yu Chenzi trapped the Thousand-Headed Giant with an array, seemingly gaining the upper hand, but it was difficult to win for the time being; the Blood Demon Ancestor was locked in a fierce battle with the Shadow Demon Lord, which was extremely dangerous; the Ice Phoenix's aura was getting weaker and weaker... The entire battle was still deadlocked, and even seemed to be tilting towards the Demon Race!

We must break the deadlock!

A crazy idea rose in his mind.

"Life...destruction...the balance of yin and yang...perhaps..."

There was a flash of determination in his eyes!
"Fight!"

The next moment, he did something that even the Netherworld Bone Dragon didn't expect!

Instead of dodging the bone dragon's enhanced "Nether Breath," he went to meet it head-on!
"court death!"

The Bone Dragon Soul Fire leaped, amplifying the power of its breath!

Just as the gray breath was about to engulf Li Yunjing!

"The fountain of life! Ignite!"

He suddenly ignited the remaining majority of the "source of life" essence!
An indescribable surge of vitality erupted suddenly, like a green sun exploding within his body!

But this life force was not used to heal his wounds; instead, he used immense willpower to forcefully merge it with the destructive lightning summoned by the "Thunder Divine Mace" in his hand!

"Divine Thunder of Life and Death!"

Li Yunjing roared, pushing his Three Heads and Six Arms supernatural power to its limit, pouring all his power, along with the brief burst of energy gained from burning his life essence, into this one strike!
The "Divine Firmament Thunder Seal" also burst forth with unprecedented light, and nine thunder dragons merged into it!

A bolt of lightning, indescribable in color, burst forth from the "Thunder Divine Mace"!

It possesses both the domineering power to destroy everything and the wondrous Taoist charm of rebirth!
Wherever it passed, space was not torn apart, but rather seemed to have gone through a cycle of death and rebirth, becoming crystal clear!
The lightning bolt struck with perfect accuracy the two leaping cores of the Netherworld Bone Dragon's primordial soul fire within its eye sockets!
"Do not!!!"

The Nether Bone Dragon let out a terrifying mental scream!
It sensed a deadly threat!

The law of "birth and death" contained in this lightning bolt is precisely the absolute nemesis of this kind of undead creature!
It tried to dodge, but the inertia from its massive body and domain made it impossible for it to completely avoid the attack!

It wanted to defend itself, so it mobilized all the death energy of the underworld to form a thick barrier in front of the soul fire!
But... it's no use!
"Pfft!"

The Divine Lightning of Life and Death pierced through the barrier of deathly aura of the Netherworld with ease, like a hot knife cutting through butter, and then... disappeared into the two balls of eerie green soul fire!
Time seems to stand still at this moment.

The bone dragon's massive body suddenly froze.

"boom!!!!!"

A brilliant, life-giving light of purification burst forth from the bone dragon's eye sockets, mouth and nose, and even from the gaps between every bone!
Its indestructible skeleton, like ice and snow exposed to sunlight, began to melt and purify rapidly!
Countless vengeful spirits imprisoned within the bones let out sighs of relief, turning into specks of fluorescent light and dissipating.

In the blink of an eye, the Netherworld Bone Dragon Demon Lord, who once shook the starry sky, was completely reduced to nothingness, leaving only a wisp of pure, unadulterated soul essence, which was swept back by the aftershocks of the Divine Lightning of Life and Death and entered Li Yunjing's body.

"puff……"

Li Yunjing coughed up a mouthful of blood, his three heads and six arms supernatural power instantly dissipated, his face turned ashen, his breath became extremely weak, and he fell directly from the sky.

This attack almost drained all his power and burned a huge amount of his life essence, at a great cost!

In the end, Li Yunjing used a "divine lightning of birth and death" containing the essence of life to pierce through the core soul fire of the bone dragon and completely purify it!
Even if he cannot fully activate the power of those powerful divine weapons, Li Yunjing can still use immortal artifacts to kill the most powerful Nascent Soul realm beings!
Li Yunjing stabilized his body in the void and immediately took several healing pills.

It took him a long time to regain some of his strength.

Meanwhile, changes also occurred on several other battlefields.

The battle between Yu Chenzi and the Thousand-Headed Giant was even more mysterious. He used a combination of formations and Taoist arts to drag the Thousand-Headed Giant into a trap, and used thousands of immortal light chains to obliterate its resentful soul. Finally, he used a "Purple Mansion Immortal Talisman" to shatter its core mark.

When Li Yunjing looked over, he was secretly shocked. This old Taoist was unfathomable. He could kill someone of the same level without using his true power!

The confrontation between the Ice Phoenix and the Shadow Demon Lord was the most bizarre, with extreme cold and shadow mutually corroding each other.

Ice Phoenix spared no effort in burning her own life essence and used the inherited secret technique "Absolute Zero" to turn that starry sky and the Shadow Demon Lord into an eternal stillness!

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Blood Demon Ancestor attacked, and the Blood Dragon closed in, shattering it into countless ice crystals and dust.

The four demon lords were successively defeated and killed!

Meanwhile, on the battlefield below, the demonic tide was finally contained and repelled thanks to the combined efforts of the elite sword formations of the "Tai Xu Sword Sect," the repaired and strengthened immortal formations, and the combined counterattacks of the icefield monsters and the defending troops!

Countless demons were annihilated, and the remaining demons began to scatter.

The Void Demon God, witnessing the fall of his demon lord and the rout of his army, let out a roar that shattered the stars.

He stared intently at the Void Sword Master, whose aura was increasingly approaching the Void Return realm, then glanced warily at the increasingly dense chaotic aura of the "Meteor Cliff," as well as the menacing Li Yunjing and the three immortal artifacts. Continuing the battle, even if they could win, would be a pyrrhic victory, and they might even allow the awakened ancient being to reap the benefits.

"Insects...when my true form descends, I will slaughter you all!"

Filled with resentment and bitterness, the giant claw swept across the battlefield, tearing through the void and sweeping up the remaining elite demons, causing them to retreat like a tide.

The demonic clouds churned and eventually coalesced in a star field about 100,000 miles away from the "Ancient Burial Realm of Immortals," where they ceased their advance but did not stray far either.

That star field was completely corrupted by demonic energy, transforming into a new demonic realm. A larger and more stable dimensional portal was slowly being constructed within it, and an even more terrifying aura was brewing on the other side...

The demons are regrouping and awaiting the next wave, the true all-out offensive!

Within the "Ancient Burial Realm of Immortals," the cheers of survivors did not last long, replaced by heavy breathing and an urgent solemnity.

Everyone knew that this was only a victory in the first decisive battle, a Pyrrhic victory, and a chance to catch their breath.

The next time the main force of the demon race, or even the true form of the demon god, descends, it will be a true catastrophe.

The Sword Master of Taixu withdrew his sword domain, his face pale and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes became even more profound.

He glanced in the direction the demons had retreated and said in a deep voice, "They are building a stable passage for their descent. Next time, it may be the true form of the demon god, along with an even larger army."

"Our losses are also considerable. Although the formation has been repaired, the core energy has been greatly depleted and will require time to replenish."

Yu Chenzi, his whisk stained with blood, sighed, "There are many wounded; they urgently need rest."

The ice phoenix transformed into human form, a woman dressed in ice-blue palace attire, with an exquisitely beautiful yet icy face. Her aura was weak, clearly indicating that the cost of burning her life essence was extremely high.

"I need to return to the depths of the icy plains to slumber and recover. If I have not perished in the next decisive battle, I will return."

After saying that, without waiting for a response from the crowd, he transformed into a beam of blue light and shot towards the north.

"What's there to be afraid of? We'll deal with whatever comes our way. I'd rather they weren't enough to replenish my strength!"

The Blood Demon Ancestor reaped considerable rewards, devouring a large amount of demonic essence blood. Not only did the Blood Dragon recover, it became even more solid and ferocious. He chuckled and said, "I can already sense the power of returning to the Void; I'm only a hair's breadth away!"

"The most urgent task is to make use of this precious breathing space."

Li Yunjing put away the "Divine Firmament Thunder Seal," feeling the nearly half of his mana and life force depleted within him, and said in a deep voice: "First, do everything possible to repair the defenses and replenish supplies; second, treat the wounded and improve our strength; third, we must find out whether the being deep within 'Meteor Cliff' is friend or foe, as this may be the biggest variable; fourth, contact headquarters to request more support and investigate the true nature of the Demon Clan's dimensional passage."

“What Fellow Daoist Li said is very true.”

"Fellow Daoist Yu Chenzi, I would like to ask you to coordinate the defense repair and resource allocation."

"Fellow Daoist Blood Demon, I entrust the guard duty and perimeter reconnaissance to you."

The Sword Master of Taixu nodded: "Fellow Daoist Li, you and I will try to communicate with the being deep within the 'Meteor Cliff' while we hurry up and recover."

With the order given, the entire "Ancient Burial Realm of Immortals" sprang into action once again, like a massive war machine.

This time, however, there was less despair and more of a resolute determination to fight with one's back to the wall and an urgency to make the most of every precious moment.

Li Yunjing and the Sword Master of Taixu exchanged a glance, both seeing the solemnity and determination in each other's eyes.

They gazed at the still chaotic and turbulent "Meteor Cliff," knowing that the key to the next decisive battle might lie there.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of miles away, a sinister aura emanates, and a new storm is brewing.

The shadow of the second decisive battle has already loomed.

The two cautiously approached the edge of "Meteor Cliff," using their divine senses to convey friendly intentions in an attempt to communicate with the ancient being in the chaos.

However, all that answered them was the unchanging, slow yet powerful heartbeat, and the ever-growing atmosphere of chaos.

Those enormous eyes, as large as the sun and moon, remained indifferent, as if all the conflicts and the survival of living beings in the outside world were irrelevant to them.

It merely awoke, but made no attempt to intervene.

"It seems that this ancient being has no intention of interfering in our struggle against the demons."

The Sword Master of Taixu withdrew his divine sense, his tone carrying a hint of regret, but also a sense of relief.

At least for now, it doesn't seem to be an enemy.

"That's good, at least it saves us from the worry of being attacked from both sides."

Li Yunjing nodded: "We can only rely on ourselves now."

With communication proving fruitless, the two stopped pressuring the issue and immediately returned to the core area, seizing every minute to recover their energy and throwing themselves into intense preparations for battle.

Taking advantage of this precious respite, the headquarters of the "Tianlan Alliance" spared no effort to continuously transport massive amounts of resources to the "Burial Immortal Ancient Realm" through the still stable teleportation channels.

The mountains of top-grade spirit stones, various rare spirit ores, millennia-old spiritual herbs, and countless refined talismans, array plates, and magic treasures almost filled several large warehouses.

Given the current difficulty in achieving breakthroughs in high-end combat capabilities, strengthening mid-to-lower-level combat capabilities, especially by possessing war puppets that are unafraid of sacrifice and can be mass-produced, is an effective way to counter the endless human wave tactics of the demon race.

Li Yunjing took away a huge amount of rare and precious materials from this resource, which could be used to refine high-level puppets.

He decided to rely on his foundation as a fourth-tier intermediate puppet master and the almost unlimited resource support provided by the alliance to make a full-fledged attempt to break through to the Great Dao of Puppetry!
During the ceasefire, he remained secluded, working day and night without rest.

The meditation room, originally used for cultivation, has now been transformed into a massive puppet workshop.

The subterranean fire was ignited, and the "Myriad Paths Glazed Furnace" burned ceaselessly...

Inside the quiet room, the heat was intense. Li Yunjing sat cross-legged in front of the "Myriad Paths Glazed Furnace," his expression solemn, his eyes reflecting the leaping seven-colored glazed flames within the furnace.

Dozens of rare spirit ores, each shimmering with a different luster, floated in front of him.

Star Iron, Millennium Silver, Void Crystal, Earth Refined Gold... these are all core materials for crafting high-level puppets.

"The first step is smelting and refining to remove the dross and retain the essence."

Li Yunjing formed hand seals, his divine sense guiding the furnace fire with precision.

The Seven-Colored Glazed Fire is no ordinary fire; it combines both fierceness and gentleness, and can melt materials to the greatest extent without damaging their spirituality.

The seemingly indestructible spirit ore slowly melted in the flames, impurities were burned away into blue smoke, leaving behind the most essential liquid metal streams, like colorful brooks, which, guided by divine sense, began to fuse in a specific ratio.

This process is extremely demanding. Different materials have different melting points and properties, and the slightest mistake during fusion can lead to energy conflicts and ruin everything.

Li Yunjing was completely focused, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead, but his eyes were sharp and his control was flawless.

"The second step is to shape the framework and lay the foundation."

The liquid metal flow rapidly outlined the shape of the puppet in the air.

It may be humanoid, beast-like, or alien.

Li Yunjing uses his spirit as a brush and his thoughts as a knife to meticulously sculpt every joint and every structure.

He recalled the various profound formations recorded in "Tiangong Baolu" and "Kuilei Zhenjie" and continuously optimized them by combining them with his own understanding of formations.

As the skeleton takes shape, the space inside is also being reserved for energy circuits and core installation.

"The third step is to imbue the core inscription with spirituality."

This is the most crucial step.

Li Yunjing took out specially treated fourth-order demon cores or pure energy crystals as cores.

He gathered magical power at his fingertips, mixed with a trace of his own divine soul imprint, and began to inscribe complex runes on the core like the most precise carving knife.

These runes involve multiple systems such as energy conversion, command reception, combat logic, and self-repair, making them incredibly complex. Any mistake could lead to core collapse or puppet out of control.

"Om..."

Once the core was successfully inscribed, it emitted a faint glow, as if it had acquired a simple life.

Li Yunjing carefully inserted it into the slot reserved in the puppet's chest cavity.

Instantly, the puppet's empty eye sockets lit up, and its entire body trembled slightly, emitting energy fluctuations at the Nascent Soul level.

But this is not enough.

"The fourth step is to connect the energy circuit and enhance it with the array."

Li Yunjing continued to manipulate his divine sense, like the most skillful embroiderer, to outline a complete energy network within the puppet's body along a pre-set path using a liquid metal called "spiritual guide mithril".

At the same time, he began to embed miniature attack, defense, and acceleration array modules into key parts of the puppet, such as the palms, chest, and weapons.

This process requires extremely high expertise in array formations, ensuring that each array can operate independently while also working collaboratively through energy circuits without interfering with each other.

"Step 5: Enchanting the outer shell and final debugging."

Once the puppet's skeleton and internal systems were completed, the final outer armor was applied.

These exoskeletons are also made of rare metals and enchanted on the surface to enhance their physical defense and energy resistance.

Finally, Li Yunjing connected the puppet to his main control array, input basic commands, and performed a series of complex adjustments.

Strength test, speed test, agility test, formation activation test, coordinated combat simulation...

Failure is inevitable.

Sometimes, when materials are fused together, an energy imbalance occurs, causing a sudden explosion that reduces the painstakingly fused materials to nothing.

Sometimes, if a single stroke is engraved incorrectly in the core rune, the entire core will instantly dim and lose all its spirituality.

Sometimes, errors in the energy circuit construction cause the puppet to move stiffly or even self-destruct.

Sometimes, clashes in formations trigger a chain of explosions...

Every failure means the loss of massive resources and the waste of hard work.

Even Li Yunjing felt mentally and physically exhausted after one explosion and failure after another, and even doubted his own path at one point.

Fortunately, he was determined and never gave up easily.

After each failure, he would sit quietly and reflect, deduce the problem, consult ancient texts, and even expend his divine sense to simulate the refining process countless times in his sea of ​​consciousness.

His "The Way of Sacrifice" and "The Way of Death" also played an unexpected role at this time, making his understanding of energy flow and material structure more profound.

Gradually, the failure rate began to decrease.

More and more puppets were successfully created, from the initial crude and cumbersome "Giant Vajra Puppet" that could only execute simple commands, to the later "Shadow Assassination Puppet" that was swift and adept at assassination and stealth, and then to the "Mystic Light Sky-Shattering Puppet" that could strike with precision from a distance and was equipped with a variety of formations...

Li Yunjing's techniques became increasingly refined, his control over his divine sense became more and more exquisite, and his grasp of the properties of materials and the integration of rune arrays reached a new level.

He even began to try to incorporate a faint trace of the "Thunder Law" into the attack system of some melee puppets, so that their attacks would have paralysis and exorcism effects; and to incorporate the balance concept of "Yin Yang and Five Elements" into the overall structure of the puppets to improve their stability and endurance.

Under this almost obsessive rigorous training, the puppet-making technique naturally broke through its bottleneck!

Two and a half months later, when he successfully crafted a composite elite puppet that incorporated "short-distance teleportation" spatial runes and whose attacks were accompanied by "extreme freezing" effects, he was struck by a sudden inspiration. All the knowledge, experience, and insights about the art of puppetry in his mind instantly merged together, forming a more systematic and efficient puppet manufacturing system that belonged to him alone!
Fourth-tier peak puppet master!

Not only did their skills improve, but their spiritual sense also became more refined and covered a wider range due to this extreme training.

When he emerged from seclusion, he was followed by a full 120 fourth-order puppets radiating powerful auras!
These are all high-level fourth-tier puppet mechanical beasts, comparable to cultivators at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul realm!

There are now 120 more Nascent Soul Realm seventh-level cultivators!
This is a tremendous force!

As long as there are enough top-grade spirit stones to activate them, these puppet mechanical beasts can be kept in constant combat!
This consumption is enormous!
However, given the outbreak of the demonic calamity, the "Tianlan Alliance" certainly wouldn't care about the consumption of top-grade spirit stones. As long as there were still some, they would do their utmost to supply them!
The sheer size of the puppet army immediately alarmed the entire fortress.

A moment later, inside the main council hall.

The three sword masters, Yu Chenzi and Blood Demon Ancestor, glanced at the silent and powerful puppet army behind Li Yunjing, and a hint of surprise and admiration flashed in their eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Li's seclusion this time has yielded astonishing results!"

Yu Chenzi stroked his beard and exclaimed in admiration, "With the help of this puppet army, I have an additional iron army that is not afraid of casualties and obeys orders without question, which gives me more confidence in dealing with the demonic tide."

"Hehe, kid, you've got some skills."

The Blood Demon Ancestor licked his lips with his scarlet tongue, his gaze sweeping over the puppets as if assessing their combat strength. "It's a pity they're all at the Nascent Soul stage, otherwise they could have participated in the main battlefield battle."

"It is the perfect time for Fellow Daoist Li to emerge from seclusion."

The Sword Master of Taixu nodded slightly, acknowledging Li Yunjing's achievements, but his expression immediately turned serious: "On the Demon Clan's side, the dimensional passage has stabilized, and the concentration of demonic energy is increasing day by day. I'm afraid the real all-out attack will arrive in less than ten days."

With a wave of his sleeve, a screen of light unfolded, revealing a star field ten thousand miles away that had been completely corrupted by demonic forces.

A colossal, purplish-black vortex was slowly rotating. Its center was incredibly deep, emanating a terrifying aura that sent chills down one's spine. A will even more terrifying than the previous Void Demon God was lurking at the other end.

"Based on the array pavilion's long-range detection at all costs, once this passage is stabilized, it is highly likely that the true form of the demon god will descend, and its strength will be far beyond that of the previous projection."

"Moreover, the accompanying demon army will far surpass the last one in both quantity and quality."

The voice of the Sword Master of Taixu was solemn.

The atmosphere instantly became oppressive.

"Although we have received full support from headquarters and our supplies are not a problem for the time being, and the wounded have recovered to a large extent, the gap in high-end combat power is still huge."

"The fact that we were able to repel the demon god's projection last time was purely by chance, and it was also thanks to the unexpected help of the Ice Phoenix and the remote attacks from the 'Ten Thousand Demon Tower' and 'Falling Treasure Immortal Coin'."

Yu Chenzi interjected, "If the true form of the Demon God were to descend, with the power of his Integration Realm cultivation, even if we join forces and have the assistance of immortal artifacts, our chances of victory... would still be slim."

"A secret order has been sent from headquarters."

He paused, then looked at everyone: "If things become unbearable, allow us to abandon the 'Ancient Burial Realm of Immortals' and retreat to 'Tianlan Star' to make a final stand, relying on the 'Ten Thousand Demon Tower' itself and the Star Domain Array."

Retreat back to "Tianlan Star"!
This is the final, and worst-case scenario.

This means abandoning all overseas strongholds and bringing the war directly to their homeland.

There was silence in the hall.

"retreat?"

"Hey! I've finally found a place where I can devour everything without restraint, what's the point of going back?"

After a long silence, the Blood Demon Ancestor broke the silence first, a hint of madness and determination flashing in his blood-red eyes: "Besides, do you think those demon bastards will just watch us leave? They'll probably be ambushed and killed halfway there!"

His body was filled with surging bloodthirsty energy, and his aura was even more profound and obscure than before, faintly touching an invisible barrier.

"After devouring that Shadow Demon Lord and many demon cubs last time, I, the ancestor, have already touched the threshold of the Void Returning Realm!"

"Give me a little more time, kill one or two real demon god avatars, and maybe I can use this pressure to break through the barrier in one fell swoop!"

"You may leave, but I, the Ancestor, will stay and confront that demon god's true form!"

His words were full of confidence and fighting spirit, and he actually wanted to use the pressure from the demons to break through to the Void Returning Realm!

"madman!"

Li Yunjing's gaze towards the Blood Demon Ancestor changed.

This is truly putting money before life!

In an attempt to break through to the Void Realm, he even uttered the arrogant statement of leaving it all behind!

How insane is this?

Even Li Yunjing admired this madman.

The saying "Man dies for wealth, bird dies for food" refers to people like the Blood Demon Ancestor.

(End of this chapter)