On the small altar, two intersecting saber-lights flashed—one horizontal, one vertical. The horizontal blade severed a Daoist's head; the vertical sliced down at a female Daoist's face.
The female Daoist was a Six Directions Realm divine ability expert. Though she hadn't trained in Battle Skills, a golden chain hung from her forehead, set with a gemstone that blazed with light, blocking Quinn Shepherd's saber strike.
Quinn dragged his blade, splitting the woman's scalp and drawing blood. Instantly her yuanqi erupted; in her other hand, the horsetail whisk bloomed like a thousand flower stamens, its countless threads stabbing toward Quinn.
Her attack had just begun when countless saber-lights engulfed her.
Night Battle in the Storm-Lashed City.
Quinn twisted his steps, dodged the stabbing whisk, and circled behind the female Daoist's corpse—which still hadn't fallen. Behind her was another Daoist.
That Daoist had regained his senses; sheets of Yellow Talisman Paper flew from his pouch at his waist. But at that moment, Quinn abandoned his twin sabers, formed a sword-finger, and fired a razor-sharp sword-light that pierced the Daoist's brow.
Behind Quinn, dragon and elephant spirits surged. Elias Yun rode dragon and elephant forward, charging another female Daoist and slamming her against the demon-god statue with a thunderous crash.
The female Daoist spat blood, her yuanqi bursting forth as she flung Elias away. She was about to strike him down when a flash of sword-light sliced at her throat, ringing out with a crisp clang.
Her yuanqi was staggeringly strong, and she managed to block the sword for an instant. But in the next moment, Wayne Shen appeared at her side, grabbed the sword hilt, unleashed all his strength, pinned her to the demon-god statue, and yanked the blade free in a spray of blood.
Wolf Thrall flashed upward, landing atop the demon idol's head. His twin demon blades swept down, ghostly and lethal, while Claire Yue perched on his shoulders. From her sword-box, blade after blade shot out, spinning into Drill Sword Form and boring down at a Daoist below!
The Daoist snatched a white banner from the altar's edge. The banner shuddered as runes blazed, red serpent-like sigils writhing out to block the demon blades. But Claire Yue's Drill Sword spun through the banner, drilling straight into his brow.
At the same moment, Serena Yunxiang flickered in like a wraith, her hands weaving strange seals that slammed into another female Daoist, killing her outright and pulverizing her bones.
Wayne Shen's heart jolted. "Serena hides her true power—her cultivation is frightening!"
He lunged at another Daoist, but the man vaulted off the altar, bolted away, and flung sheets of Yellow Talisman Paper in a flurry back toward the altar.
Wayne rushed after him, but the talisman sheets detonated one after another, blasting him off his feet.
Across the altar, Elias Yun blocked the fleeing Daoist's path with a thunderous Great Strength Wutai Seal.
The Daoist sneered, splaying his fingers as thunder erupted from his palm, nearly shattering Elias's soul.
Relaxing, the Daoist sneered, "A bunch of juniors who haven't even reached Six Directions Realm, and yet..."
He'd barely finished speaking when a chill stabbed through his heart. Looking down, he saw a sword blade thrust through his chest—the attacker had closed in without him sensing a thing.
Quinn drew his sword. The Daoist’s voice rasped, “Impressive movement art!” With those words, he collapsed to the ground, dead.
Quinn sheathed the Grand Guardian’s Sword. On the altar, Claire Yue, Wolf Thrall, and Serena Yunxiang moved to finish off the remaining Daoists, but after circling the demon-god idol, they found corpses strewn all around it.
Some Daoists hadn’t fallen but were nailed to the statue; some hung from white banners, some were smashed into pulp by fists, others had their skulls shattered by hammers—their deaths were all different.
The three were shocked. Serena Yunxiang’s face grew grave as she carefully inspected each corpse; all had been killed by Quinn in an instant, never getting the chance to unleash their divine abilities before dying.
"Most were killed in a single move, almost none needed two," she thought, raising her eyes to look at Quinn.
Thirteen Divine Ability experts—though weak in close combat—were still Divine Ability experts. People often say that if Battle Skill cultivators get close, spell-sect experts are doomed, but that’s usually just talk.
If there’s a realm gap, Battle Skill cultivators may not be able to break through the opponent’s defensive arts.
Though they caught their enemies off guard this time, Quinn’s sheer combat power and speed were simply overwhelming.
Quinn flicked the blood from the Grand Guardian’s Sword and sheathed it. “Clean up the battlefield. Destroy the demon-god statue immediately,” he ordered.
His words had barely fallen when a thunderous boom erupted nearby. Within the black fog, a pillar of blood-light shot up, dyeing the darkness crimson.
The blood-light soared hundreds of zhang high, clearly visible even from the mountain hollow.
Waves of terrifying power surged in from another world, crashing into the source of the blood-light.
Next came rolling thunder; lightning flashed around the blood-light, squeezed from unstable space itself by overwhelming force. When the power is too great, its shockwaves compress space, making it unstable.
When space destabilizes, the thunder hidden within it bursts forth.
Everyone stared in shock. At the point where blood and thunder converged, a colossal figure slowly rose—a horned demon-god statue with four arms and four legs. Though still a sculpture, it now radiated world-shaking might, as if a demon-god had truly descended!
This descending demon-god towered even higher than Deer Mountain itself, wreathed in thick smoke streaked with fire and lightning, a blood-red halo suspended above its head.
"There’s another place where Redcrest Mountain Sect’s divine ability experts are summoning a demon…"
Quinn’s hands and feet went cold. The other Redcrest Mountain Sect spell-casters had succeeded—the demon-god had come.
The towering demon-god’s gaze crackled with thunder and lightning; wherever it looked, trees and rocks sizzled and vanished to ash.
Quinn exhaled a heavy breath and said in a low voice, “Strip the clothes.”