The Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor's plotting was indeed excellent; the first step had already succeeded, and the second step was also proceeding smoothly.

The Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword, under the continuous assault by the countless Immortal Buddha Divine Weapons of the Emei Sect, was greatly depleted of Primordial Qi, with the energy and remnants of souls it had devoured over the years constantly dissipating and drifting across the sky.

"What is he doing?" No one present could understand the reason behind his actions.

The Emei Three Immortals, with their superior insights, managed to glimpse some clues, but they were biased in their thinking. They neither believed that the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor could renounce evil and turn to good, actively severing ties with Chi You, nor did they think he possessed such high wisdom and ability.

Everyone knew that the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor had once merged with Chi You in a Human-Demon Union, their hearts and minds interlinked, each aware of the other's thoughts.

In the eyes of the Righteous Path of the Mysterious Sect, if a cultivator of the Demon Path has not fused with the Divine Demon Primordial Spirit to become one, there's still a chance for a turnaround. Once they merge with a Divine Demon, human becomes demon, demon becomes human, with no distinction left. They are essentially considered beyond redemption.

Blood God Child Deng Yin was so ferocious and uncontrollable back then, yet he hadn't undergone a Human-Demon Union. Of course, he cultivated the Blood God Scripture, turning himself into a demon, a different path altogether. It was precisely for this reason that Master Changmei repeatedly gave him opportunities.

As for someone like the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor, who had completely fallen into the Demon Path, there was basically no possibility of turning back. Because with the connection whereby each knew the other's thoughts, it was impossible to betray the Divine Demon.

In truth, their thoughts were not mistaken; it would indeed be the case if not for unexpected circumstances.

They just didn't know that back then, Shi Feiyang forcibly severed the connection between the primordial spirit of the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor and Chi You, and during the recreation of the Dharma Collection of the Wutai Sect, he incorporated many insights about the Dao.

Although the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor later re-cultivated the Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword, he always maintained a tentative relationship with it, striving to occupy a dominant position, never again fully controlled by Chi You.

But these inner details were beyond the understanding of the Emei Sect members, and others were even more clueless. Those from the Wutai Sect saw him, alone with his sword, fighting against more than twenty enemies from the Emei Sect, gradually beginning to fall into a disadvantage.

Especially since the Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword kept emitting light and trembling as it fiercely counterattacked, it still couldn't break through the enemy's sword net, already displaying signs of a cornered beast's struggles.

Those on the Wutai Sect's side were extremely anxious, wishing they could immediately rush over and have a grand battle with the people from the Emei Sect. Sadly, their multiple requests to join the fight were all rejected by the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor, they could only wait anxiously in place, with those of ill temper directly cursing at the Emei Sect.

"You Emei Sect are the most shameless group in the world... even worse than the Demon Cult... Talking about a fair swordfight, but then you use numbers to overpower, utterly shameless! You falsely claim to represent the orthodox Mysterious Sect!"

...

The elders of the Emei Sect didn't take such words to heart at all.

The younger ones also turned a deaf ear, but hearing too much could inevitably cause discomfort.

This group of Emei Sect's juniors had cultivated for decades on Emei Mountain, reaching Nascent Soul Perfection, and their Inner Refining Skills had reached Perfection. However, they hadn't undergone many of the external tribulations and tempering that they should have encountered. Although they had experienced many hardships in their past lives and accumulated experience, the external skills in this last life were mostly a blank slate.

Without undergoing the intended final tribulations, their characters untempered, they were bound to engender calamities.

The Laughing Monk was supposed to face serious consequences for a moment of greed and anger nearly causing his fellow disciples to be killed, ordered by the Ascetic Monk to face the wall on the East Sea for nineteen years.

Now without this period of tempering, there was a lack in his character, and with the harsh criticisms from those around, he couldn't help but feel anger.

He pondered that although the two factions were having a fair swordfight that day, the Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword was not merely a Flying Sword but a Demon Path Magical Artifact.

This was not a peer comparison between Sword Immortals but rather a battle between good and evil. The elders had also defined it as the third righteous-versus-evil swordfight.

In dealing with an Evil Demon, there was no need to adhere rigidly to old rules and restrict oneself!

Moreover, the elders had said that after this occasion, Chi You would resurrect and descend upon the world; when that time came, all life would suffer terribly, countless beings would die miserably, all originating from the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor and this Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword.

With such thoughts in his mind, he turned the sword tip and instead of attacking the Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword, he directed his attack at the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor!

Because in his previous life, he, along with Ruan Zheng and Shen Tuhong, mistakenly killed an innocent Independent Immortal overseas, they were captured by Dragon Slayer and brought before Qi Shuming, who ordered their execution according to the sect's rules.

Qi Shuming decreed that the three of them commit suicide, undergo the tribulations again, and could only return to the sect after the doors of Emei had been reopened.

The Laughing Monk had become friends with the ancient immortal Pan Luo over three thousand years ago... through countless reincarnations, forging bonds of gratitude and enmity with many people.

The Ascetic Monk, due to karmic ties from his past life, provided him with special care. Ruan Zheng and Shen Tuhong both went to endure three lifetimes of tribulations, but he was brought to the Ascetic Monk right after birth, cultivated swordsmanship from a young age, and the Ascetic Monk gathered a large amount of Crystal Iron Elixir to aid him in refining the Invisible Sword. He taught him to train with this "tangible intangible sword" first, thereby quickly mastering the Invisible Sword Energy of the Taicing Mysterious Sect.

Now, the jovial Monk had reached great success in Immortal Law. His level of Invisible Sword Energy from the Taicing Mysterious Sect was not as good as that of Zhuge Jingwo, but following the Ascetic Monk's ancient methods, he had refined four Invisible Swords. When using them to deploy Invisible Sword Energy, he exhibited a unique subtlety; when launched, not a trace of sword light or sound was seen, making them impossible to guard against.

The Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor was fighting more than twenty masters of the Mysterious Sect while constantly facing attacks from Chi You's Primordial Spirit, keeping him on high alert. He was momentarily unaware, and the four Invisible Swords closed in on him.

The Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword had a sense of responsiveness; it detected the Invisible Swords as soon as they were unleashed. But the Sword Spirit Chi You, resenting that the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor refused a Human-Demon Union with him, deliberately did not defend and did not inform the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor. By the time the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor noticed, the Invisible Sword Energy was already less than three zhang away!

With the speed of the Invisible Sword, even tens of thousands of zhang could be crossed in an instant. At this distance, it was almost impossible to put up any defense; for others, even escaping would be a vain hope.

Fortunately, the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor still had the protective treasure, the Taiyin Five Smoke Net. It had been damaged during sword refining in the Star Constellations Sea, but knowing that it was linked to his very life and would be his greatest reliance in the future, he had performed sacrificial refinement on it daily for decades, its power now stronger than before.

Sensing the approach of the Invisible Sword Energy, he grew alert and thought, "This is not good." With a mere thought, a thin layer of five-colored smoke and mist emerged around his body.

This mist was extremely light and indistinct, but it firmly blocked the four Invisible Swords.

Although invisible to the naked eye, the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor sensed the sword tips of the four Invisible Swords piercing within two chi in front of him and could not help breaking into a cold sweat!

Seeing that his surprise attack failed to kill the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor in one strike, the jovial Monk felt it was a pity. His hands performed seals unceasingly to control the four Invisible Swords, which circled rapidly around the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor, conjuring thousands of Invisible Sword blades that cut inward. They rapidly ground down the obstructing five-colored smoke and mist, and he shouted loudly to his comrades, "The opponent has used a Magical Treasure; we need not rely solely on the Flying Swords anymore!"

After saying this, he hesitated for a moment before releasing the Wall Moon Saber given to him by the Ascetic Monk, transforming it into a spinning halo of gold and green radiance that flew towards its target.

Strictly speaking, this saber was also a type of Flying Sword, not a Magical Treasure.

A single Wall Moon Saber, along with four Invisible Swords, rapidly circled and sliced around the Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor, but they could not penetrate the Taiyin Five Smoke Net at all.

He gritted his teeth and brought out an axe-shaped Magical Treasure.

This was once used by the ancient Immortal Pan Luo, hidden within an Immortal Mansion, which the jovial Monk had obtained when leading his fellow disciples to unlock the treasury.

A total of seven Treasures emerged from Pan Luo's Immortal Mansion, among which this Ancient Iron Token was the most formidable. It was engraved with twin axes and upon deployment, immediately split into two axe heads, which flew out crossing each other in a perfect circle.

One axe resembled a full moon with a gleaming cold light; the other had four glittering golden edges with a deep red center, like a ball of the Sun Wheel. The two axes were slanted into an axe handle, shaped like a long spear with brilliant flashes, producing thunderous sounds during flight.

With a succession of thunderclaps, this object struck heavily on the Taiyin Five Smoke Net, causing the smoke and colors to surge and scatter.

The Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor was taken aback. While diverting attention to control the sword, he managed his Magical Treasure and saw the two axe heads encircling the Taiyin Five Smoke Net at high speed, continuously hacking and slicing. Recognizing it as an Ancient Treasure, he steadied his nerves, feeling that the Taiyin Five Smoke Net could still withstand it. The Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword had already exhausted a great deal of Primordial Qi, and as long as he could hold out for the time it takes to eat a meal, even if the Demon Sword did not shatter, it would have suffered significant damage. He planned to place it back in the furnace later, seek Shi Feiyang's help with the power of the Purple and Blue Duoluo Fire, and together, they would refine it for three days and three nights to completely annihilate it.

His thoughts were good, but the plan did not account for rapid changes.

Yi Jing, who abhorred evil and believed in eradicating it completely, felt that the jovial Monk's actions were excellent. Focusing solely on exhausting the Heavenly Demon Immortal Slaying Sword was time-consuming and effort-wasting. Dealing with a Demon required no such persistence.

She drew out the Demonic Destruction Moon Crossbow, first loading a Scattering Light Pill and shooting it out, striking precisely on the Taiyin Five Smoke Net.

Her Scattering Light Pill was specifically designed to break through Magical Treasures formed by condensed Light Energy. Fired with the Demonic Destruction Moon Crossbow, it was further empowered with a layer of Buddha Light and a stream of Immortal Energy, vastly increasing its power.

This was still the Taiyin Five Smoke Net; any other Magical Treasure would have surely been shattered in one strike!

In the original story, she used this Scattering Light Pill to break the Xuan Guang Ruler held by Sanfeng in one go.

The Taiyin Five Smoke Net was hit so hard that the smoke twisted and turned, with parts becoming incredibly thin. Yi Jing, spotting the advantage, loaded another three Scattering Light Pills and fired them in rapid succession.

The Taiyin Hunyuan Ancestor knew that if he was hit continuously by her, the Taiyin Five Smoke Net would inevitably be forced away.

He flicked his wrist, sending two bubbles to meet the Scattering Light Pills halfway, enveloping them. Then, with two "pops", they burst, transforming into a sky of golden light and colorful Qi, mutually annihilated.

Yi Jing revealed the Six Yang Divine Light Mirror, giving it a slight shake to display six Qian Trigram symbols, conjuring six fireballs. Upon contact in mid-air, they exploded immediately, sending streams of light bombardment towards their target much like a barrage from a cannon.

Seeing her use a Magical Treasure, the jovial Monk grew even bolder. Since he was already using one, there was no need for any more hesitation, so he took out all the formidable Magical Treasures he had acquired that day in Pan Luo's Immortal Mansion for use.

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