An Jing was slowly pulling himself out of the muddy soil and rubble, lest he defeat the Heavenly Demon but be confounded by the rain-soaked earth.
He had won—having made numerous preparations to counter the Heavenly Demon, it was only natural that he would win, even though it was a victory earned after the Demon Sect and the Red Armored Guards had borne the brunt of the enemy’s most dangerous trump cards and left it grievously wounded and slumbering.
But without a doubt, this was humanity’s victory.
Yet, the battle was not completely over.
Not far away, at the center of a mass of dark, bloody mud, a shattered core pierced by dark green thunder light was flickering uncertainly.
This core resembled a heart but shone like a black gemstone; it was similar to the Demonic Bone of the Tianyuan Realm, acting as a ’Demon Pivot’ essential for the existence of the Heavenly Demon in this world.
The Demon Pivot of the Evil Born Demon was nearly shattered, with a vast wound continuously disintegrating its essence, causing the gem-like heart to transform into rising smoke.
However, the resentful black water formed by surrounding creatures was still incessantly repairing it, maintaining a fragile equilibrium of constant destruction and regeneration.
Only one final blow was needed to utterly annihilate it.
An Jing stood upright, the Blood Fiend once again coalescing around the long spear in his hands as he walked silently towards the Demon Pivot.
"Don’t! Please don’t!"
"Spare my lord’s life!"
"Grant us a chance to live, we do not wish to be soulless specters!"
Voices seemed to arise within the black water of resentful souls, belonging to the souls of creatures transformed by the Heavenly Demon. At that moment, they were wailing and pleading, as if to say that if the Demon Pivot were destroyed, they, as resentful souls, would have no place to linger and would be completely dissipated.
"Before they were killed by the Heavenly Demon, their souls had already scattered, unable to enter the Netherworld."
Subdue Evil was well aware that many first-time demon-slayers would hesitate at this moment, which was why it straightforwardly said, "Do not believe these wails and pleas. They are all deceits of the Heavenly Demon, all fake."
"Many Immortal Gods have thought to rescue these already dead resentful souls, but in reality, they are no longer themselves, merely leaving behind illusions, a bit of residue. Their True Spirits have long since vanished... some cultivators who held back ultimately did not meet a good end."
"Being overly merciful will only hurt oneself in the end."
"Is that so," An Jing instead revealed a smile, the blood light twinkling in his eyes: "Then this Heavenly Demon is indeed merciful, having killed them early."
—If it were me, I wouldn’t have created such a conveniently comfortable situation, allowing one to righteously deal the killing blow without feeling guilty.
The Heavenly Demon, after all, is not human. Perhaps they require the despair and hatred of humans, those negative emotions, but they likely truly do not understand human evil... and human resolve.
"Don’t worry, Sword Spirit, I will not show mercy. Even if they were truly alive, not mere residues, I would still kill them, allowing them... complete liberation."
He arrived in front of the Demon Pivot, and the nine-foot-long Blood Fiend Sword Spear was thrust without hesitation, puncturing the already crumbling heart core completely.
The Divine Skill that emerged from the Fate Pattern seemed to be the sworn enemy of the Heavenly Demon. The moment the Blood Fiend’s energy penetrated the heart core, it totally shattered and disintegrated the adversary, transforming it into the most pristine Yuan Qi...
The Yuan Qi was precisely the "Residual Echo" that An Jing had obtained when he slew the Vine Demon in the Tianyuan Realm, which is also known as the ’Mysterious Primordial Qi’!
Mysterious Primordial Qi, the chaotic and unified energy, is the reward from the Great Dao of this world for those who endeavor to exterminate the enemies of heaven and earth, the Heavenly Demons. It can also be said to be a kind of immune mechanism against invaders from outside worlds.
However, compared to the meager Mysterious Primordial Qi left by the Vine Demon, the Residual Echo left by the Evil Born Demon was even more powerful, the colorless and hazy Yuan Qi roiling like flame, sweeping like a flag in the wind.
The Sword Spirit urged, preparing to impart to An Jing a secret technique to consolidate the Mysterious Primordial Qi.
But in the next instant, the ’Heavenly Profound True Talisman’ that An Jing had kept close to his body suddenly began to vibrate and even burst forth from his clothing, suspending in mid-air while emitting rays of light!
The Mysterious Primordial Qi resonated with it, rushing and howling, circling around the Heavenly Profound True Talisman, being purified layer by layer, into essence... In no time, the originally murky Mysterious Primordial Qi completely transformed into a translucent glaze of pure light, a pure ’Xuanyuan Pure Light’!
Then, this beam of Pure Light, under An Jing and the Sword Spirit’s astonished gaze, entered the Fiend Sword Spear that An Jing had used to pierce through the Demon Pivot!
An Jing could sense his Divine Skills, even his Fate Pattern, trembling faintly, filled with a hungry desire.
——After killing a Heavenly Demon, the ’Mysterious Primordial Qi’ obtained from the world’s retribution can assist in cultivation, enhance one’s power, and strengthen Divine Skills... but it can actually be purified by the Heavenly Profound True Talisman into Xuanyuan Pure Light?
And this ’Xuanyuan Pure Light’ can directly enhance all of his skills?!
——Is this the method the Heavenly Dao of this world uses to encourage all beings under its command to hunt down Heavenly Demons?
——And the Heavenly Profound True Talisman actually has such miraculous effects, no wonder the various major cultivation groups of the Tianyuan Realm are vying for it both openly and covertly!
An Jing’s Divine Skill "Coalescing Qi into Soldiers" is quite powerful, convenient, and with great potential, but this skill is always easy to learn and hard to master. Even An Jing, a gifted talent, had developed a technique to condense soldiers from Pathogenic Qi as soon as he grasped this Divine Skill, but he was still quite far from achieving Minor Achievement with Coalescing Qi into Soldiers.
An Jing was not anxious because he had already grasped the essence of this Divine Skill, with no bottlenecks whatsoever. By calmly continuing his cultivation and using time to grind the progress, he would eventually succeed.
Coalescing Qi into Soldiers. Qi, also called Qi, is Xuan and true when pure, and various evil when impure; Soldiers, meaning instruments of killing, are weapons that harm people and skills that damage the Dao.
The true power of Coalescing Qi into Soldiers is not about simply using some Blood Fiend to shape a sword, but "to mold the Artifact and Skills that can best unleash the wielder’s destructive desires with their thoughts"!
Whether it’s one’s own injuries or the lives of others, all can be slain! This is also the origin of the Pathogenic Qi Sword Finger!
Now, as the purified Xuanyuan Pure Light flooded in, An Jing felt his Divine Skill ignite like a small Fire Seed, suddenly supplied with an abundance of combustible fuel, the flames blazing fiercely.
The progress, which An Jing only needed time to grind, was suddenly filled up.
Subconsciously, the Sword Spear floated in the air, and simultaneously, behind An Jing’s head, the crimson Mars totem appeared.
The surging Blood Fiend Qi, with the assistance of the Mysterious Primordial Qi, completely disassembled the Magic Artifact long spear at its core, and then fiercely injected it into the totem ring behind An Jing’s head, branding it with a Sword Spear phantom!
"The first step, shape the Fiend to form, Coalesce Qi into Soldiers," said the Sword Spirit with an admiring tone. "And then... comes the second step, ’Gather and Disperse as Desired, Merge Soldiers into Body’!"
"The Heavenly Demon’s origin is not insignificant, and the Heavenly Profound True Talisman is extremely Divine Abnormality. It’s remarkable that it can help your Divine Skill advance further, with Minor Achievement now within close reach!"