Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1420: 762: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind (Part 2)

“Yun Qing Cave Heaven?! Just as I expected!!” Zhao Sheng’s eyes flickered back and forth as he heard this, murmuring silently in his mind.

Hmm?

Right then, his gaze fixed on that compassionate expression, and he abruptly knit his brows.

Within those eyes that beamed with holy light, a faint shadow of sinister gloom appeared to flicker.

Before the words of caution could leave his lips, the vibrant orb of light abruptly dimmed, scattering into nothingness.

The pyramid from before vanished without a trace, replaced by a colossal figure of light, towering hundreds of meters high, bearing a serene and benevolent countenance, clad in flowing daoist robes and cloud-patterned boots, with garments billowing gently, radiating an otherworldly immortal presence.

Amid the blinding glow, Xue Susu hung suspended in the light figure’s torso, below her lay a partial corpse etched with countless dark veins that wove into an intricate and arcane design.

“That is…”

Wu Yue’s body quivered at the sight of that partial corpse, his features twisting into a mix of astonishment and elation.

Meanwhile, Zhao Sheng’s expression shifted subtly; he jerked his head skyward, where the immense canopy of the heavens turned sheer and crystalline, the void thinning like fragile glass, unveiling a glimpse of an expansive “world” from some hidden realm, which gradually descended…

In that instant, time appeared to freeze, while racing ahead at an impossible pace!

Shock filled Zhao Sheng’s eyes, and it seemed he witnessed a beam of pristine radiance plummeting from an enigmatic and bottomless void, resembling a “meteor” trailed by fiery sparks, slicing through layers of emptiness to crash into the current world’s firmament.

All at once, a mote of azure streaming light hurtled from the distant horizon, blinked into view, and merged into the corpse’s skull, vanishing in a flash.

That very second, the entire realm quaked fiercely, and a divine-like massive silhouette materialized over Demon Rising Island, unleashing a horrifying presence that overpowered the skies and earth, causing the world to “harden” in an instant.

The massive form belonged to a red-eyed burly giant with thick mane and a face like the Thunder God, apparently a morphed ape fiend, yet truly the savage Po Tao Demon Emperor of the Demon Clan.

“Hoo～～Finally… Finally, this emperor has awaited this instant!” The Po Tao Demon Emperor glared down at Zhao Sheng and the pair below, his savage visage splitting into a savage smile as he bellowed ferociously.

His words barely ended when an infinite vortex-like demonic radiance erupted from his form, the most malevolent demonic glow that in a heartbeat turned half of Dome Sea Star into “Dark Demon Land”.

Beneath the encroaching blackness, Zhao Sheng and Wu Yue each summoned a protective magical realm to fend off the advancing shadows. Xue Susu remained concealed within the light figure’s frame with eyes shut, and the pristine radiance from the light figure effortlessly dispelled the encroaching demonic darkness.

“We’re done for, we’re doomed!” Wu Yue dripped with sweat, hastily transmitting to Zhao Sheng in a voice laced with terror!

“Taoist friend, stay calm, hurry and take cover behind Mr. Xue—remember the demon-slaying sword spirit.”

At Zhao Sheng’s prompt, Wu Yue snapped to attention, his body blurring as he darted behind the “light figure”, linking up with Zhao Sheng who had reached there moments before.

Right now, the Po Tao Demon Emperor paid no heed to the two “insignificant pests”, his stare locked solely on the partial corpse inside the light figure.

He eyed the Great Venerable’s remains with burning intensity, as though beholding a priceless gem.

From behind the light figure’s Dharma Image, Zhao Sheng’s eyes glinted, fully ready to flee.

“…Even now, not playing the hidden ace? Have Wu Yue and I turned into mere disposable pieces?” Zhao Sheng mulled inwardly, his sight darting between the “light figure” and the demon emperor, quietly speculating on who would strike first!

Beside him, Wu Yue abruptly lifted his gaze to the Great Venerable’s remains, greed shining in his eyes.

Noticing this, Zhao Sheng could only shake his head in quiet dismay.

Precisely then, the Po Tao Demon Emperor appeared to lose all patience, erupting in a furious roar: “Human Clan vermin, this emperor in his benevolence offers you two paths—one is submission to this emperor, the other… death!”

Yet before his sentence concluded, Xue Susu erupted in a vast blaze of nine-colored flames, and the massive light figure blazed with raging fires.

Her eyes flew open in a cold stare, and with a sweep of her right arm, nine-colored sacred flames roared out, shaping into a immense celestial hand that slammed toward the Po Tao Demon Emperor, an inconceivable “blazing intensity” sweeping over heavens and earth.

The Po Tao Demon Emperor lifted one hand, and the “dark demonic radiance” blanketing half of Dome Sea Star gathered in his grasp, morphing into a gigantic skull that he hurled at the nine-colored colossal hand; it whirled at high speed, the skull ballooning thousands of times over in a blink, smashing fiercely against the massive palm.

Rumble!

The ocean surged back, the ground split and crumbled, the emptiness ripped into a frightful “gaping rift” spanning hundreds of miles wide, and a temporal-spatial tempest raged out, only to be quelled into “stillness” by the two overwhelming forces.

Xue Susu had single-handedly repelled the Cave Void Demon Emperor’s all-out assault.

This astonishing display stunned Wu Yue into silence.

Zhao Sheng too felt deep inner surprise.

While the pair reeled in their separate shocks, a voice abruptly sounded in their thoughts: “Hold on a bit, I’ll strive to bind the Demon Emperor. Seize any opening to flee this spot at once!”

Hearing this, Zhao Sheng jolted in alarm, a foreboding chill gripping his heart.

Ere he could reply, a verdant streaming light lanced out and fused into his form, fading away completely.

On the opposite side, Wu Yue was similarly taken aback as a verdant streaming light hit him.

Xue Susu cried out, and the Dharma Image of the Light Figure encasing her surged in size manifold, becoming a colossal spirit giant whose form pierced the clouds.

This Dharma Image titan unleashed a nine-colored realm, rapidly enveloping over half of the Red Star, clashing savagely with the Demon Emperor’s realm.

The skies and earth, along with every scrap of space, seemed to “ignite,” bursting with brilliant, flashing lights. The powers of two Dao Laws intertwined in brutal combat, locked in a fierce clash at the profound level of the great Dao.

Mortal vital energy and vicious demonic essence collided and scattered with fury. Thunderous booms, shrieks, and myriad vibrations merged in a heartbeat, as if Dome Sea Star teetered on the brink of apocalypse.

Drawing on the might of the Great Venerable’s corpse, Xue Susu held her own against the Po Tao Demon Emperor for the time being.

“Hurry, leave!”

As the duel of Dao techniques raged, an insistent voice rang urgently in Zhao Sheng’s mind. Simultaneously, he sensed a vast magical energy wrapping around him, accompanied by a warp in time and space.

Strange glows filled his vision, and his whole form was hurled forward by an unseen power, turning into a bolt of lightning that streaked toward an unknown destination at inconceivable velocity.

Seeing the two hurled into the Void Realm, the Po Tao Demon Emperor guffawed madly: “Ha, attempting flight? Not so simple! Taotie Demon Sky… activate!”

His declaration scarcely finished when a cluster of Turbulent Demonic Radiance materialized behind him, this demonic glow connecting straight to the Second Divine Palace Heaven.

The demonic radiance pouring from the Divine Palace Heaven, upon hitting the Dark Sky, chased the two “verdant lights” at velocities dwarfing lightning by hundredsfold, swallowing them in a moment.

At that juncture, a bloodied gray-white stone sword appeared abruptly in Xue Susu’s grip, cleaving from afar at the Po Tao Demon Emperor.

In that split second, the Demon-slaying Sword crossed boundless eras and voids, carving into the cluster of Turbulent Demonic Radiance, grievously injuring the entity lurking within the glow in a single blow.

This woman’s accuracy and ruthlessness utterly surpassed the Po Tao Demon Emperor’s wildest guesses.

He could never have imagined that every prior maneuver was a ruse, with Zhao Sheng and Wu Yue serving as mere lures, designed solely to force him to unveil his grotto-heaven and pinpoint his true form.

The Po Tao Demon Emperor’s countenance twisted in fury, his demonic radiance thrown into chaos, and the Demon Emperor’s realm spanning the world halted briefly, letting the foe’s realm infiltrate slyly, plunging him into total peril as he yielded ground steadily!

Having grasped the advantage through fortune, Xue Susu refrained from pressing her assault, instead abruptly pressing her palms to the remains beneath, and vanished in a blink.

“Boom”

Dome Sea Star trembled once more with violence, and the darkness on the verge of rout abruptly surged in power, launching a vicious backlash that reclaimed most of Dome Sea Star instantly.

Only then did the Po Tao Demon Emperor grasp that an opportunist had slipped away, his demonic soul blazing with wrath.

Fuming and deranged, he keenly detected the subtle trace from the Great Venerable’s remains, while directing his sight into the Demon Sky.

Zhao Sheng and Wu Yue, ensnared in the Taotie Demon Sky right then, inevitably became the targets of his seething ire.