180: Chapter 180 The Demon Emperor Appears, Mountain Rain Pass in Peril

His vast and keen Primordial Spirit Power perception was like an invisible tide.

It swept across the entire Changning City area and its surrounding key nodes with coverage and precision far exceeding what it had been before.

The workload that previously required ten minutes even at his full patrol speed was completed in just two minutes by his Primordial Spirit, down to the smallest detail; the efficiency was terrifying.

To verify the possibility of this solidified Primordial Spirit form being detected, he controlled his Primordial Spirit to descend onto one of the busiest streets in the city center.

The Primordial Spirit form adjusted slightly, making its nose and mouth appear somewhat blurred under the shadow cast by its clothing, and then it merged into the crowd, walking slowly at a normal human pace.

Pedestrians passed by "him" without anyone glancing sideways, as if this were just a silent passerby wearing ordinary clothes and looking slightly strange.

Only those with naturally exceptionally keen Mental Energy might feel a faint, elusive pressure, but it would be impossible for them to discern its true nature.

The Primordial Spirit solidifying to the point of being indistinguishable from a real person is precisely the Origin of the name "Clone Realm".

It also explains how those Peak King-rank Divine Demons can rely on this Divine Ability to create Clones to station in different key locations simultaneously, making it difficult for the Yao Race to distinguish the real from the fake.

Satisfied with the test, the Primordial Spirit form instantly left the crowd, turned into a streak of light invisible to the naked eye, returned to the quiet room in the Underground Fortress Pass, and merged back into the top of Li Wen's head, perfectly uniting with his Physical Body.

After returning, Li Wen did not get up immediately.

He began to carefully experience the comprehensive leap in strength brought by the fourth level of his Primordial Spirit.

First, his conventional combat power.

He mobilized his Primordial Spirit Power and meticulously integrated it into the True Qi throughout his body.

Instantly, the activity and explosive power of the True Qi within his body surged, and a more powerful sense of strength filled his limbs and bones.

He evaluated it; relying solely on the amplification from integrating True Qi, his normal combat power could now rival a "threshold marquis" level expert, an increase of more than double what it was before.

Furthermore, the stability duration of this Fusion state had been extended from the very short time it could be maintained before to several minutes.

Taking it a step further, he completely fused the even more massive Primordial Spirit Power into every inch of his flesh, blood, and bones!

Boom!

A more violent and powerful sense of strength instantly exploded.

His muscle fibers felt as if they had been injected with stellar power, his bones emitted a faint hum, and every movement contained enough immense force to tear through space.

His combat power at this moment had firmly stepped into the realm of a "Marquis-level Expert", with an astonishing five-fold amplification.

And although this limit Fusion state consumed a massive amount of energy, its duration had extended from the previous fleeting few seconds to around one minute.

These two levels of amplification meant that without relying on any Primordial Spirit attack secret techniques, Li Wen, relying solely on his own martial arts cultivation combined with the power of Primordial Spirit Fusion, already possessed the hard strength to rival or even suppress most Marquis-level Divine Demons.

However, this was not the core improvement brought about by this Breakthrough.

For him, the greatest qualitative change lay in the ultimate killing move of his Primordial Spirit attacks—the "God-Shocking Sting".

When the seventh level of the "God-Shocking Sting" was perfected and activated at the third level of the Primordial Spirit, its terrifying mental piercing could already pose a fatal threat to a "threshold marquis" level.

Now, as his Primordial Spirit stepped into the fourth level, the essence of his Primordial Spirit Power had completed a leap, as if upgrading from refined iron to Divine Metal.

Activating the seventh level God-Shocking Sting rune with this purer and more domineering Primordial Spirit Power—Li Wen calmly judged its power.

If an ordinary Marquis-level Divine Demon were to encounter this strike, their Soul and Primordial Spirit would likely be completely annihilated in an instant, with no chance of survival.

If a top-tier Marquis-level Expert encountered it, it would be equally perilous unless they possessed top-tier Primordial Spirit defensive treasures or techniques.

The offensive capability of his Primordial Spirit path had now firmly established itself at the Peak Marquis-level standard.

August 1st, 235 of the galactic calendar, late at night.

In the heart of Jiangnan Province, Shanyu Pass.

As the largest interstellar fortress in the province, Shanyu Pass presented a deathly silence that was almost stagnant.

It was completely different from the scenes of bustling crowds and numerous Divine Demons stationed in Qingshi County, Panshi Fortress, or even Changning City.

Inside the core area here, it was so quiet that there was only the low hum of the energy matrix and the occasional slight ticking of monitoring equipment in operation.

The root of this abnormal silence lay in its guardian, the King-rank Divine Demon, King Shanyu.

Ever since he personally took charge of this place several years ago, the Interstellar Gate corresponding to Shanyu Pass had been firmly locked by invisible deterrence.

This Interstellar Gate was merely a large fortress pass, and the upper limit of what it could accommodate for passage was only Marquis-level Yao Race.

If the Yao Race dared to send Marquis-level Yao Race in, it would be no different from a moth flying into a flame.

The existence of King Shanyu was the strongest and only barrier of this pass.

Long-term comfort had caused the Divine Demon force stationed at the fortress, including maintenance and monitoring personnel, to be fewer than ten people.

At this moment, King Shanyu was sitting quietly in the core training room of the fortress, his Aura like vast mountains, calm and motionless.

Since he had been stationed here, this place had become a Forbidden Ground that made the Yao Race tremble with fear, and even tentative harassment had become rare.

The Yao Race knew deeply that sending cannon fodder in was meaningless, other than increasing casualties in vain.

However, the Monster Realm was not doing nothing.

On the side of the Monster Realm connected to the Shanyu Pass Interstellar Gate, the atmosphere at this moment was as heavy as lead.

Ten figures emitting terrifying Demonic Qi and monstrous Auras stood solemnly; they were all Great Demon Kings capable of rivaling human King-rank Divine Demons.

Five-Tailed Celestial Fox Great Demon King Fu Yan, who had recently lost a direct blood relative, was also among them; the flames of revenge in its eyes had not extinguished, but instead appeared even colder due to suppression.

But these Great Demon Kings, who usually looked down on all sides, were now all bowing their heads slightly, with awe originating from their Bloodlines, standing respectfully behind a figure at the very front.

That was a man with an extremely demonic appearance, his face handsome to the point of being demonic, and his pair of narrow, long eyes looked calm, yet they seemed to be able to pierce through human hearts and time and space.

Just by standing there, his invisible pressure had already surpassed the sum of all the Great Demon Kings behind him.

"Great Demon King Fu Yan." The demonic man's voice was calm, yet carried undeniable power.

Great Demon King Fu Yan's body stiffened imperceptibly, and it quickly stepped forward half a step, lowering its head even further: "Grandson is here, please give your orders, Old Ancestor."

In its voice was absolute obedience.

"Present the item." The demonic man spread out his left palm.

His palm was flawless and white, and his fingernails shone with a jade-like luster.

"Yes, Old Ancestor." Great Demon King Fu Yan did not dare to have the slightest hesitation, carefully taking out an object from its bosom.

It was a strange stone the size of a pigeon egg, with a deep, dark luster flowing on its surface, and dots of light spots flickering and moving inside it like solidified stars.

It was none other than the extremely precious and rare Starry Sky Stone.

Great Demon King Fu Yan respectfully placed it into the demonic man's palm.

The demonic man picked up this strange stone containing stellar power and examined it in front of his eyes for a moment.

From his fingertips came the cold hardness and the massive spatial energy contained within.

"If it weren't for the fact that this gate is just about to reach its critical value, I would really be a bit reluctant to use this item so early," he whispered with a hint of regret, "However, it is worth it for that net to be opened sooner."

As soon as he finished speaking, his five fingers closed sharply.

Crack!

A crisp cracking sound rang out, and the Starry Sky Stone, which could withstand the full-force bombardment of a King-rank expert without damage, actually shattered inch by inch under his casual grip, turning into a handful of crystalline powder shimmering with starlight.

A stream of incomparably pure and indescribable Origin spatial power instantly escaped from it.

This strange energy did not scatter; instead, as if it had received some kind of strong summons, it rushed straight toward the huge and stable Interstellar Gate in front.

At the same time, the demonic man's right hand pressed forward through the air like lightning.

Boom!

A more vast, irresistible, and terrifying demonic power, like an invisible giant hand, instantly enveloped the entire Interstellar Gate.

The space-time gate that had been operating stably began to tremble violently, and the spatial ripples on its surface became violent and chaotic.

The starlight powder and the Demon Emperor power of the demonic man converged, surged, and fused.

Hum—!

The frame of the Interstellar Gate suddenly erupted with unprecedented, blindingly strong light.

Immediately after, the entire portal began to expand and stretch at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Twenty-nine meters in height... twenty-nine meters... thirty meters!

The originally regular door frame twisted and deformed slightly during the expansion, the stability of the space tunnel plummeted, and spatial turbulence fluctuations that made even Great Demon Kings like Great Demon King Fu Yan feel palpitations leaked out.

"That will do." When the Interstellar Gate had been forcibly expanded to a height of about thirty meters and was barely maintaining its form under the suppression of the Demon Emperor's power, the demonic man slowly withdrew his hand, and the massive pressure dissipated by more than half.

The expanded portal was like an unstable, huge wound, connecting the two realms.

"Listen," the eerie man's voice rang out again, carrying an unquestionable chill. "Once inside, follow the plan. Shi Yao, Xuan Mang, Gang Lu, the three of you work together. Spare no cost to entangle King Shanyu. He has held this post for many years; his strength cannot be underestimated. Do not take him lightly."

His gaze lingered for a moment on the three great Yao kings he had named, whose physiques and Auras were the most formidable, clearly experts in frontal combat.

"Yes, Emperor Fu." The three responded in deep voices, their eyes burning with determination and bloodlust.

Emperor Fu's gaze turned to the remaining seven Yao kings, including Great Demon King Fu Yan.

"The rest of you, conceal your breath and hide as quickly as possible. Scatter and escape to the rendezvous point. Unless you have my orders or are absolutely certain of success, do not expose yourselves. Your mission is to prepare for the true purge that will follow."

"We obey Emperor Fu's command!" The ten great Yao kings replied in unison, their voices filled with fanaticism and fearlessness.

"Go." Emperor Fu's voice remained calm, devoid of joy or anger. "The Monster Realm will remember your contributions."

Ten incomparably powerful Auras of Demonic Qi soared into the sky. The next moment, the ten great Yao kings, comparable to the Human Race's King-rank Divine Demons, fiercely transformed into ten streaks of light of various colors and forms.

Under the protection and reinforcement of Emperor Fu's power, they forcibly pierced through the Interstellar Gate, which had just finished expanding and whose energy had yet to fully stabilize.

The blue flames twisted and fluctuated, like a massive whirlpool, instantly swallowing their figures.

The Interstellar Gate flickered violently a few times, eventually slowly returning to a deep, expanded, and serene blue.

Emperor Fu stood alone before the gate, gazing at the newly stabilized portal, a flash of deep calculation crossing his eyes.

Venting for that brat, Fox Demon Fu Ye? That was certainly part of it. But that was merely a pretext.

What truly mattered was the crack pried open by this Starry Sky Stone, and the few powerful hidden pieces that had infiltrated.

This seemingly impregnable fortress of the Human Race's future defensive line might just start to be pried open at Shanyu Pass.

As for that Human Race Prodigy named Li Wen—he didn't even take him seriously. Prodigies also need time to grow, and he didn't think the Human Race had much time left.

Shanyu Pass, Underground Fortress Pass, in the quiet room.

King Shanyu, who had been sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyelids.

Two beams of tangible, sharp light shot from his eyes, instantly piercing the silence of the quiet room.

A vast and majestic, terrifying Aura, like a mountain about to collapse or a sea about to overturn, erupted without reservation.

The walls of the quiet room were instantly covered in cracks, and the entire Underground Fortress Pass seemed to shudder.

Inside the monitoring center, all energy readings concerning the Interstellar Gate skyrocketed in an instant to the blinding crimson alert Peak, and ear-piercing alarms resounded through the originally silent core of the fortress.

Boom! King Shanyu's figure vanished from the quiet room in an instant.

At the same moment, he had already appeared in the open area before the massive Interstellar Gate.

The portal that had just been forcibly widened was now roiling with blue light, like boiling water.

The next second, ten massive figures wreathed in earth-shattering Demonic Qi burst out from within.

"King Shanyu, die!" The leader, a Yao king over three meters tall with skin like cast rock, wielding a giant hammer, roared. It was none other than Shi Yao.

Without any wasted words, his Demonic Qi boiled. The giant hammer, carrying the power to split mountains and crack the earth, formed a triangular pincer attack with the other two King-rank great Yao kings. The violent attack, like a world-destroying torrent, instantly engulfed the newly appeared King Shanyu.

Light exploded, and the torrent of energy raged wildly.

The lighting throughout the entire Underground Fortress Pass flickered unsteadily at this moment, disrupted by the erupting energy shockwave.

The massive explosion's roar made the eardrums of the staff in the distant observation center ache, terrified to the core.

It had been too long since they had experienced such a terrifying scene.

At the core of the combined torrent, capable of instantly destroying ordinary Marquis Level Divine Demons, a figure stood straight as a mountain, standing firm.

King Shanyu's fist struck out, plain and unadorned, yet it contained a power nearing the Dao, forcibly tearing a gap in the destructive torrent of Demonic Qi.

His body was shrouded in a layer of misty water light, seemingly soft, yet it was incomparably tough, blocking the violent aftermath of the attacks.

The three top-tier great Yao kings, Shi Yao, Xuan Mang, and Gang Lu, held nothing back, putting their full strength into trying to trap King Shanyu and suppress him in place.

Their fighting style was violent and fierce, with every move fatal. Under the aftermath of the four combatants, the space constantly emitted groans of being unable to bear the burden, cracking with black fissures.

The violent energy collisions formed visible shockwaves that spread out in circles, crashing against the fortress's specially reinforced walls, emitting dull, thunderous booms.

However, just as these three Yao kings were frantically entangling King Shanyu, the other seven figures that had rushed out of the Interstellar Gate acted completely differently.

They dispersed like ghosts, and under the cover of the energy storm and the brilliance of battle, they condensed their own Auras to near nothingness.

Great Demon King Fu Yan was particularly skilled at this. With a flash, his figure transformed into a faint gray mist, hugging the darkest corners, and sneaked toward the depths of the fortress's intricate passages at an unimaginable speed.

The other six Yao kings also showed off their unique Divine Abilities; some dove directly into the alloy floor, while others merged into the flowing halos of energy—

In the blink of an eye, these seven King-rank Auras, which should have been incomparably conspicuous, completely disappeared into the fortress's massive three-dimensional structure, as if they had never appeared.

"Hiding your heads and showing your tails!" In the gap between fierce battles, King Shanyu's powerful perception instantly swept across the entire core battlefield, immediately detecting the disappearance of those seven powerful Auras.

His expression sank completely.

The suicidal fighting style of these three great Yao kings was just to create an opportunity for their companions to infiltrate and hide.

Facing the desperate, frenzied attacks of three opponents of the same rank, even someone as strong as King Shanyu was temporarily pinned down, unable to free up his hands to conduct a wide-range, precise search.

His eyes were cold, his movements becoming increasingly heavy and swift. Every strike was powerful and heavy, forcing the three Yao, Shi Yao and the others, to respond with all their might.

"Die!" King Shanyu seized a fleeting gap and slammed a fist into Xuan Mang's hastily defending arm.

Crack! A teeth-grinding sound of bone fracturing rang out!

"Pfft—" Xuan Mang spat out a mouthful of purple Yao blood, his massive body, as if struck by a meteorite, flying backward with a boom.

He slammed hard into a heavy gate a thousand meters away, causing the special alloy gate—which even nuclear bombs could hardly damage—to cave inward, creating a huge crater. At the edges, the alloy tore, and electric sparks flashed wildly.

Sent flying, Xuan Mang clutched his nearly broken arm, the excruciating pain twisting his face.

Above Shanyu Pass, energy surged like a raging sea.

King Shanyu fought the three great Yao kings, Shi Yao, Xuan Mang, and Gang Lu, alone. His overwhelming might actually firmly suppressed his opponents into a corner.

Every swing of his fists carried the great power to tear the Void Realm, and the heavy sound of wind breaking sounded like thunder.

Shi Yao's petrified body, tough as a Divine Weapon, had already been cracked in several places. Xuan Mang's proud speed appeared sluggish under the coverage of King Shanyu's Domain, and Gang Lu's metallic Yao body was even more battered and distorted by the violent power.

King Shanyu's gaze was like a torch, his offensive like a violent storm. Every strike was enough to severely injure or even kill an ordinary great Yao king.

However, these three Yao were not only mid-tier in strength among King-rank, but they also coordinated closely.

Shi Yao fearlessly stood in the front, paying the price of severe injury to hard-block King Shanyu's attacks; Xuan Mang's figure was like a ghost, launching tricky sneak attacks in the gaps between King Shanyu's power transitions; Gang Lu was slightly further away, constantly assaulting King Shanyu's Primordial Spirit with high-pitched metallic shrieks, interfering with his judgment.

Although the wounds on the three Yao kept increasing and their Auras kept declining during the battle, they tenaciously maintained their formation, dead-set on entangling King Shanyu.

King Shanyu's heart was heavy. He could suppress and severely injure them, but wanting to completely kill these three opponents who were well-coordinated and thick-skinned in a short time was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

The subtle yet incomparably clear concealment fluctuations in the distant space had completely dissipated. The other seven great Yao kings had already successfully escaped, hiding within the vast world of the Blue Star, with no traces left to be found.

A sense of helplessness and anxiety welled up in King Shanyu's heart. He could only turn the anger in his chest into an even more violent offensive, increasing his power by another three parts, striving to resolve these three stumbling blocks before him as quickly as possible.