Qing turned toward the Energy Circulation Formation and began preparing the Myriad Paths Formation.
On the other hand, the Elite Demon that had been the first to emerge from the portals stood at the very front of the Demon army, narrowing its eyes as its thick, fiery brows twitched slightly. Unlike the massive Demon Yue had killed in front of the Stoneheart Sect, this Demon was about the same size as an ordinary Human, but the amount of Demonic Energy radiating from its horns and body clearly marked it as an Elite Rank Demon.
"I was wondering which bastard dared to step into this domain, but I see two stupid Humans-!" Before it could finish speaking, a clean and sharp sensation passed through its neck. Its eyes widened for a brief moment before its head suddenly rolled across the ground, followed by its entire body dropping with a heavy THUD.
All the Elite Demons behind it immediately became alert and jumped away from the area without needing any warning. Just after the Demon’s body fell, Yue appeared slightly ahead of it and looked down at the corpse before narrowing her eyes.
’They have very durable Innate Defenses. To think I needed to exert that much strength in a single strike...’ With that thought, Yue shifted her attention toward the other Elite Demons before looking past them at the Lesser, Common, and Rare Demons that were already moving toward Qing.
’They’re heading toward Qing. Let’s kill a large number of them before dealing with these Elite Demons one by one.’
Yue stepped forward and vanished from her position before reappearing directly in front of the advancing Demon army, slightly above the ground. Her stance remained steady as she raised her sword, and for the first time since entering the battlefield, the sleek and thin blade was completely exposed.
The sword was already in motion as Yue swung it horizontally, the movement so smooth that it seemed more like a wave of water flowing through the air than a sword being swung. Her eyes remained focused as she executed the Technique, her voice echoing inside her mind, ’Blossom Slash — Chapter two — Water Flow!’
The moment the sword completed its swing, an enormous wave-like shockwave of Spiritual Energy spread across the entire group of lower-ranked Demons. The sword itself had not touched any of them, yet every Demon marching toward Qing suddenly stopped at the same time, and a clean horizontal cut appeared across each of their chests.
The next moment, their bodies separated along those cuts and collapsed onto the ground without any resistance.
Yue landed softly on the ground, but the moment her feet touched the surface, her legs faltered for a brief moment. She immediately sensed several Elite Demons approaching from every direction, their claws and flames already reaching toward her from only inches away as grins spread across their faces.
Yue’s eyes widened, but before she could consciously react, her instincts took over. She immediately crouched down, bending her legs under the pressure of the incoming attacks before extending her right leg outward and spinning her entire body. Her leg struck the legs of the surrounding Demons at the same time, causing all of them to lose their balance.
’Now!’ In that single moment, Yue moved at her maximum speed. Everything around her seemed to slow down as she watched the Elite Demons lose their balance and begin falling toward her, their bodies moving through the air as though time itself had slowed.
Yue instantly rose from her crouched position, and even within her slowed perception, the movement appeared only as a blur. By the time the Demons began recovering their balance, she was already standing upright with her sword once again inside its sheath.
She closed her eyes and fixed her right hand around the hilt before speaking calmly, "Blossom Slash — Chapter Four — Instinct Sword."
The moment she spoke those words, Spiritual Energy began flowing through her body in thin strands of lines slightly parted from one another that could be faintly seen beneath her skin. The Spiritual Energy spread through her body and reached her nerves, allowing the instincts she had honed over countless years of training to completely take over her movements.
Yue moved without opening her eyes, releasing only a small exhale, "Hooh..."
Her sword left the sheath.
This time, its speed surpassed anything that could reasonably be compared to the speed of sound, moving so quickly that even the surrounding air seemed unable to react to its movement. Unlike the Techniques she had used before, there was no visible layer of Spiritual Energy coating the blade, yet the sword still possessed enough force and speed to cut through the necks of the Elite Demons as easily as a knife passing through soft butter.
Within a single second, seven Elite Rank Demons were beheaded.
Immediately after killing them, Yue took a step and disappeared from the battlefield before reappearing in front of Qing. Her back remained straight as she sheathed her sword, but she was already panting heavily from the rapid consumption of her Spiritual Energy.
"How much time until it’s finished? My Spiritual Energy is dropping rapidly, and although I have Energy Recovery Pills, even they have their limits. The Demons emerging from those portals, however, seem to have no limit." Qing looked at her exhausted form before responding, "Only one minute more, Senior Yue."
Yue nodded without wasting any more time and disappeared again, returning to the front of the advancing Demon army to stop them from reaching Qing.
On the other hand, Qing clenched his fist and gritted his teeth as he continued weaving the Spiritual Energy threads required to complete the Formation, ’If only... if only I wasn’t in this weak body of mine! Damn it all!’
Even though frustration and anger continued building inside him, Qing couldn’t do anything except focus on the Formation. His suppressed Killing Intent rose sharply once again and escaped his body for a brief moment, causing the surrounding air to tremble slightly before he forced it back down.
’Just wait, you bastard Demons! I will kill all of you once I become stronger! Especially that damned unknown Demon that killed me. I need to become multiple times stronger than I was in my previous life.’
Determination flickered behind Qing’s eyes as he continued weaving the Spiritual Energy threads, his hands moving without stopping while the incomplete Myriad Paths Formation gradually took shape around him.