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Chapter 302: Chapter 299 Perfection
After millennia of confrontation, the Heavenly Master Lineage, if not masters of the Demon Spirit, knows eight or nine out of ten secrets about them.
Of course, as the Heavenly Masters evolve, so do the Demon Spirits.
Just like the birth of the first Heavenly Monarch ten thousand years ago and the first creator three thousand years ago, Demon Spirits are also continuously transforming in the process of competing with humans.
From the ordinary Demon Spirits to the medium-sized ones, then to those over ten meters—large Demon Spirits, and even those over thirty meters—Catastrophic-level Demon Spirits.
Generation after generation.
The contention between two civilizations is almost a comparison of the speed of evolution.
Now, although Gu Jinlai was only at the Third Step of Heavenly Monarch, and had not yet entered the realm of creator, relying on the Great Sun Core, which was far more powerful than the previous Grand Sun Nine Refinement Visualization Method, he could unleash soul secret techniques several times stronger than before.
After rounds of secret technique bombardments, Catastrophic-level Demon Spirits, which usually required great effort for a Heavenly Monarch to kill, were shattered by the dozen in his hands.
Twelve Catastrophic-level Demon Spirits, nearly a hundred large Demon Spirits, and hundreds to thousands of medium and small Demon Spirits were continuously annihilated, converting into dispersed spiritual essence, which was refined by Zhang Lihuo, Si Tianyan, Guan Xingyun, Zhang Yukan, Xiang Fengyun, and others; they then injected it into the Cheng Ying Mecha, bringing it ever closer to completion.
Correspondingly, this reduced Gu Jinlai’s Qingguang reserves.
In combating the Catastrophic-level Demon Spirits, not only did he consume a great amount, but he was occasionally struck by the Demon Spirits, significantly losing spiritual essence, and had to use Qingguang for recovery.
In the continuous process of recovery, his reserve of Qingguang dwindled from double digits, sliding down sharply, and now only four remained.
"The rift in the Demon Realm will probably take another ten minutes or so to close, whereas the Cheng Ying Mecha will complete the final step of its tempering in about five or six minutes. Looks like we won’t have any problems," Zhang Lihuo said as he rapidly refined the dispersing spiritual essence, his face showing a smile.
"It’s incredible to think that we could forge the Cheng Ying Mecha even though the Demon Spirits are being forced not to cross the Demon Realm Rift," Si Tianyan remarked somewhat emotionally.
"The Demon Realm Rift at Qiushan Mountain is far inferior to the one at Tianhe. The amount of spiritual essence that can be refined from the fiends destroyed there in one opening is less than one-tenth of what can be refined from the rift at Tianhe," Guan Xingyun said with a laugh.
However, Zhang Yukan seriously added, "The dangers within the Demon Realm are not so simple; otherwise, creators wouldn’t need to lead teams deep into the Demon Realm. Let’s focus and complete the Spirit Injection of the Cheng Ying Mecha as quickly as possible. We can share our thoughts after we retreat from the Demon Realm."
Zhang Lihuo agreed, nodding his head profoundly upon hearing this.
Then, he further stimulated the spiritual essence, continuously tempering it with the Great Sun Core and injecting it into the Cheng Ying Mecha.
Almost half a minute after Zhang Yukan finished speaking, far across the plain, a huge shadow loomed over a hill at a distance, soaring into the sky.
This huge shadow somewhat resembled a sea creature, a devil ray.
But its size was a hundred meters immense...
No!
Its sheer wingspan alone exceeded one hundred meters. Including its long sinuous tail, which swept across the sky like a giant serpent, its length was over two hundred meters.
This terrifying size made it seem like a rolling red blood cloud, bearing down with an overwhelming and suffocating terror.
The key point is...
This Demon Spirit, resembling a devil ray, had the ability to fly.
Hovering hundreds of meters high in the void, it approached the battlefield with a gliding motion, sweeping across as fast as lightning once it had flown over the hill.
Seeing this, everyone’s expressions dramatically changed.
"Demon Spirits have no vital points on their bodies, and their size is their strength; it indicates their power level. Large Demon Spirits do not exceed thirty meters, Catastrophic-level Demon Spirits do not exceed one hundred meters, and those over one hundred meters..." Zhang Yukan’s mind raced through the information recorded in ancient tomes.
"Spirit Venerable Level Demon Spirits! This is a terrifying existence among Demon Spirits known as the Spirit Venerable level!"
"Spirit Venerable!"
Zhang Lihuo also thought of something, his face turning pale.
Spirit Venerable!
A century ago, during the chaotic era of demons, the Heavenly Monarch of the Great Sun Heavenly Sect was invited by Emperor Qian, along with other Heavenly Monarchs from the Qiantian Realm, to develop methods to suppress demons based on mutual injuries.
They classified the levels of Demon Spirits based on their strength.
Large Demon Spirits, after acquiring suitable Fierce Beast bodies, could transform into Upper-level Demons in three to five years and had a small chance of growing into Demon Kings.
Catastrophic-level Demon Spirits could grow into Demon Kings within the same timeframe and had a small chance of evolving into Demon Emperors.
As for the Spirit Venerables, said to be only suppressible by creators...
They ultimately had the potential to metamorphose into Demon Emperors, rivalling Earthly True Immortals.
"The reason creators need to lead teams deep into the Demon Realm to ensure safety is due to the existence of Spirit Venerable level Demon Spirits... This level of terrifying existence, which has reached the ceiling of Demon Spirits, is simply beyond the power of us Heavenly Monarchs to resist."
Zhang Lihuo roared, "Retreat! Supreme Elder, we must retreat now!"
Gu Jinlai did not respond; he glanced at the Cheng Ying Mecha, which was nearly complete, then at the Spirit Venerable level Demon Spirit sweeping toward them like a translucent blood cloud, and finally at the remaining four Qingguang.
In the end...
He made a decision.
"Bring it on!"
He said somberly, "Catastrophic-level Demon Spirits are simply not enough to kill. Let me see just how much this Spirit Venerable level Demon Spirit weighs."
"Supreme Elder, ancient records state that only a creator can suppress this level of Demon Spirit..."
"What I need to do now is not to suppress, but to contend," Gu Jinlai said. "You guys seize the time to pump the spiritual essence into the Cheng Ying Mecha; after all, there’s a process to the dispersal of spiritual essence. Fill it up with spirit essence first, then we can slowly refine it in detail later."
Zhang Lihuo glanced at the approaching Spirit Venerable Level Demon Spirit and then at the Venerable Daoist elder of his sect.
Considering the Venerable Daoist’s astonishing performance in annihilating twelve Catastrophic-level Demon Spirits and nearly a hundred large Demon Spirits, as well as reaching the Cultivation Realm in contact with the True Spirit Realm, he fiercely bit his lip and nodded vigorously, "Yes."
Having said that, he turned to the others, "Pause the Co-spirit, pour all your spirit into the Cheng Ying Mecha!"
"Understood!"
Several people responded simultaneously.
As they acknowledged, Gu Jinlai stepped forward, visualizing the magnificent Great Sun, which emitted a dazzling and resplendent light.
A terrifying energy began to brew within the Great Sun.
As the demon spirit, resembling a devil fish, streaked through the void and pounced at tremendous speed, a blinding light exploded from within the Great Sun, converging countless rays into a laser-like column of light that fiercely struck the Spirit Venerable Level Demon Spirit.
Eternal Heavenly Curse.
"Boom!"
A deafening roar seemed to echo through the void.
A visible ring of spiritual fluctuations rippled out from the impact site.
The body of the Spirit Venerable Level Demon Spirit was directly blasted open by the power of the Eternal Heavenly Curse, creating a huge hole through which the scorched earth and desolation behind the demon spirit could be seen.
However, compared to the previous strike of the Eternal Heavenly Curse that severely wounded a Catastrophic-level Demon Spirit, this time, though it caused the Spirit Venerable Level demon spirit to falter and left a huge hole in its body, its blood-red body, resembling liquid, continuously flowed and surged, quickly sealing the hole and restoring it to its original form.
Apart from its body slightly shrinking compared to the beginning, there were no signs of any damage.
Despite withstanding the Eternal Heavenly Curse from Gu Jinlai, the demon spirit suddenly accelerated, bursting with a terrifying speed not inferior to that of a Divinity Transformation Cultivator’s flying sword.
This speed immediately made Gu Jinlai abandon the idea of fighting while retreating.
It should be known that even if he used the Crossing the World·Four Seas full speed, he could not achieve breaking the sound barrier with his body,
The speed exhibited by the demon spirit was close to twice the speed of sound, engaging it in combat was simply suicidal.
Moreover, Cheng Ying Mecha and Zhang Lihuo and others were right behind him.
If he retreated, it would undoubtedly expose several people to the attack of this Venerate Level demon spirit.
Suddenly, he surged forward, and the intense and brilliant light once again turned into the Eternal Heavenly Curse’s beam, striking the demon spirit, causing its form to pause slightly.
As the demon spirit was about to truly engulf his form, he operated the Great Sun Eternal Radiance Technique with all his strength, his rear seeming to light up a Great Sun.
However, unlike the previous instances where the power of Great Sun Eternal Radiance melted the Catastrophic-level Demon Spirits like ice and snow, this time the brilliance of the Great Sun Eternal Radiance was for the first time overshadowed.
The hundred-meter-long body of the demon spirit, resembling a devil fish, completely obscured the light of the Great Sun Eternal Radiance Technique, seemingly poised to devour Gu Jinlai’s form.
It was like a blood cloud, layer upon layer enveloping Gu Jinlai’s form, while Gu Jinlai maintaining the light of the Great Sun Eternal Radiance continually dispersed the blood cloud, ensuring his True Spirit remained intact.
With the strength of a Spirit Venerable Level demon spirit, once it touched his True Spirit, even if his True Spirit had completed crystallization, it would still be shattered by the terrifying spirit carried by the opponent.
"Roar!"
Just then, the Spirit Venerable Level demon spirit suddenly erupted with a soul-shaking roar.
This roar, amplified by the huge form of the demon spirit and encasing Gu Jinlai’s form, created a repeated echo, drastically shaking Gu Jinlai’s spirit.
For a moment, Gu Jinlai even felt his crystallized True Spirit crack under the shaking of this spiritual echo, and the brightness of the Great Sun Eternal Radiance plummeted.
"Venerable Daoist!"
Zhang Lihuo let out a cry of alarm.
"Light!"
The response was a resolute shout.
Qingguang poured in.
The just-formed cracks in the True Spirit were rapidly repaired, and the previously dim light of the Great Sun Eternal Radiance burst forth violently, wildly dispersing the storm-like, blood cloud-covered Spirit Venerable Level demon spirit. 𝚗ov𝚙𝚞𝚋.c𝚘m
The intense light clashed with the blood cloud, like using fire to evaporate a lake, as masses of spiritual essence like steam continuously dissipated.
But overall, Gu Jinlai’s spirit consumption was greater.
In less than a minute, the brilliantly shining Great Sun Eternal Radiance dimmed.
Seeing this, the Spirit Venerable Level demon spirit prepared to strike with full force to completely extinguish Gu Jinlai’s Great Sun Core.
But at that moment, the dim brilliance once again bloomed intensely, and the barely suppressed blood cloud was once again driven away.
Gu Jinlai stood like someone holding a torch of light, illuminating the surroundings, ensuring the stormy blood cloud could never invade within ten meters of him.
"Humans!"
The Spirit Venerable Level demon spirit emitted a special spiritual fluctuation, with the embedded message clear to everyone.
"I see how long you can hold on!"
The response was a new round of shining brilliance!
And just after Gu Jinlai’s Great Sun Eternal Radiance dimmed and shone repeatedly four times, Zhang Lihuo’s side finally came with a joyful shout, "It’s enough! Venerable Daoist, we have enough spirit!"
"What are we waiting for! Retreat!"
Watching a stream of Qingguang, Gu Jinlai did not hesitate to wield the Eternal Heavenly Curse, blasting a hole through the storm-blood cloud surrounding him.
Then, with an explosive force under his feet, his form shattered the airwaves, boldly breaking through.
"Retreat! We are returning to Qiantian!"
