232: Good material for war slaves

The moment the melee clash failed, Lu Tao's fingers rapidly formed hand seals at his wrist, and a clear, resonant sword hum suddenly tore through the air.

His Natal Flying Sword, which had already reached the supreme grade Magic Treasure realm, streaked out from the Purple Mansion between his brows. The silver-white sword light was like the Milky Way pouring onto the ground, slashing straight at the Fifth-Rank Bone Demon ahead.

Black Saber Qi and brilliant sword light collided violently in mid-air. The wild aftershocks of energy swept across the fields, sending surrounding gravel flying everywhere. Even a mountain cliff several zhang high not far away collapsed with a roar under the impact of the residual force.

Amidst the permeating dust and smoke, only the Bone Demon's pitch-black skeletal frame remained, flickering in and out of sight within the sword light.

This fierce battle lasted for nearly half an hour. Although Lu Tao had not yet found an opportunity to slay the Bone Demon, he already regarded this fifth-rank demonic creature as an excellent subject for testing his sword.

With every slash and every technique of his Natal Flying Sword, he was constantly refining the harmony between his Late Nascent Soul Stage spiritual power and his sword arts. The silver sword light grew increasingly sharp, actually beginning to faintly suppress the Bone Demon's saber momentum.

At the edge of the battlefield, Li Yichen and several Junior Brothers tightly gripped their Magical Artifacts, their eyes locked onto the battle. Their faces were a complex mix of worry and alarm.

They worried because although this Fifth-Rank Bone Demon was not skilled at long-range attacks, its solid fifth-rank cultivation was definitely no joke.

The deathly Saber Qi unleashed by that bone saber could easily cover a range of a hundred zhang; the slightest carelessness would result in a life-or-death crisis.

But they were even more shocked that Lu Tao, relying only on his Late Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, was actually holding his ground against the Fifth-Rank Bone Demon's wild assault.

Had any of them stepped forward and fought in Lu Tao's manner, they likely wouldn't have lasted three moves. The slightest mistake would have meant death under the blade.

Although the Fifth-Rank Bone Demon could fly, its clumsy flight posture compared to Lu Tao was like a turtle's crawl.

Lu Tao only needed to use long-range sword techniques to circle the Bone Demon. Even if he couldn't slay it, there was no reason for him to get injured.

Yet, he chose the most valiant and aggressive fighting style.

Just as the group was focused intently on the battlefield, even slowing their breathing, a clear and mellow voice suddenly sounded from beside them:

"Where did this Bone Demon pop up from?"

Li Yichen and the others were startled, their bodies jolting as they whipped their heads around, only to see Su Ling standing silently beside them, though they hadn't noticed when he arrived.

"Senior Brother Su!"

The group quickly collected themselves and bowed with cupped hands.

Li Yichen steadied himself and explained with a heavy tone, "It has been decades since a demonic creature above the fourth rank was born in this valley..."

He paused, recalling details from past patrols, and added, "In recent decades, I've noticed during patrols that the originally thick Death Qi in the valley has been quietly thinning. Even the low-rank Bone Demons and wraiths that were once everywhere have become sparse. The skeletons piled on the ground are becoming gray and withered day by day, as if an invisible force is secretly sucking away the Death Qi and Soul Power of this place. Such an anomaly never occurred in the previous two hundred years."

It was precisely for this reason that he had paid extra attention to this valley.

Until a few hours ago, a heart-palpitating dark aura suddenly erupted from underground, directly triggering the monitoring formations set up in the valley.

Only then did he discover that a Peak fourth-rank Bone Demon was hidden underground, quietly breaking through by absorbing Death Qi.

By the time Lu Tao and the others arrived, this Bone Demon had already successfully ascended to the fifth rank, leading to the fierce battle currently underway.

After hearing the full story, Su Ling's gaze landed on the massive skeletal frame in the battlefield. A faint smile curled at the corners of his mouth as he said in a relaxed tone, "Abundant strength and a tough enough defense. It's actually a pretty good material for a War Slave."

Li Yichen and the other Junior Brothers looked at each other, their faces showing some apprehension. He whispered, "Senior Brother Su, with our strength, we might be able to slay this Bone Demon if we go all out, but if we want to suppress and tame it... I'm afraid our strength is insufficient."

"No matter."

Su Ling waved his hand, his eyes still fixed on the sword light dancing in the battlefield. He said casually, "Let Lu Tao practice for a while. Once he's had his fun, I'll step in."

The fighting style of this Fifth-Rank Bone Demon was somewhat similar to the Body Cultivators of the cultivation world.

Su Ling recalled when he was in the Yunlan Realm, he had once sparred in Body Refining techniques with Senior Brother Mo Chen.

In terms of Physical Body strength, he was actually a notch above Mo Chen. He was only slightly inferior in power control and technique; if he didn't use Spells and Magic Treasures, he would be suppressed by Mo Chen.

But the Bone Demon before him was far inferior to Mo Chen.

At this moment, although Lu Tao was trading blows with the Bone Demon, if Lu Tao were to fully unleash the ultimate moves of the Great White Void-Breaking Sword Art, the Bone Demon's skeleton would be torn to pieces within fifteen minutes at most.

Hearing Su Ling's words, Li Yichen and the others still harbored some doubts.

After all, Su Ling rarely made a move, and they didn't know much about his true strength.

However, they quickly smiled and agreed, "With Senior Brother Su's words, we can rest easy."

In the field, Lu Tao gripped his Natal Flying Sword with both hands and slashed out a massive Sword Qi, which collided violently with the Bone Demon's Saber Qi.

The powerful force caused the Bone Demon to retreat several steps, while Lu Tao was sent flying into mid-air.

"Haha, exhilarating!"

Although slightly inferior in strength, Lu Tao still let out a hearty laugh. His entire body radiated brilliant white sword light as he threw himself back into the fray.

The cultivation world had many Yao Beasts and Body Cultivators with powerful physical bodies.

But whether it was Yao Beasts or Body Cultivators, their means were not limited to just the Physical Body.

Innate demon arts, Cultivation Techniques, secret arts, Magic Treasures, demon cores, and so on—all sorts of combat methods were endless.

Only this otherworldly Demon Species was different. Although its cultivation was comparable to Soul Transformation, aside from a powerful skeleton comparable to a Magic Treasure, its offensive means consisted only of those vast Saber Qi slashes and the occasional release of an Undead Roar capable of Divine Soul attacks.

However, when the Undead Roar hit Lu Tao, it couldn't break through the protection of the heart-clearing soul-calming jade, a Spiritual Artifact within his body.

For Lu Tao, who also practiced Body Refining, there was no better target for practice than this.

Wave after wave of force from the collisions spread outward, grinding countless bones into powder.

But over countless years, the amount of bones accumulated here was simply too vast.

The man and the skeleton had fought fiercely until now, yet not even a trace of soil had been exposed.

Everyone keenly noticed that with Su Ling's arrival, the Fifth-Rank Bone Demon's soul fire actually began to tremble slightly.

And the battlefield was gradually shifting toward the distance.

"A Fifth-Rank Bone Demon has already developed intelligence..."

Su Ling's lips curled slightly. Undead creatures were not sensitive to presence, but their perception of a powerful Divine Soul was much sharper than that of other creatures.

This Bone Demon had clearly sensed Su Ling's unsuppressed Divine Soul power.

At this thought, Su Ling immediately shouted to Lu Tao, "Lu Tao, take a break. Let me have a turn!"

Before his voice had even faded, he had already taken flight.

A large hand shimmering with Azure Firmament Lightning struck out fiercely toward the Bone Demon.

"Eh?"

Lu Tao was stunned for a moment upon hearing the voice, only then realizing that Su Ling had arrived.

However, seeing Su Ling take action, he turned into a streak of sword light and landed beside Li Yichen and the others, grumbling, "Dammit, I haven't had enough fun yet!"

Li Yichen and the others didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but their eyes were fixed tightly on the field.

Speaking of which, the last time Su Ling had made a move was decades ago when a fourth-rank Bone Witch appeared.

But that time, he had simply flickered forward and pressed his palm down, snatching away the Bone Witch's soul fire.

At that time, Li Yichen and the others hadn't even seen how the opponent was struck.

Now that Su Ling, who was legendary for being comparable to a Spirit Transformation Cultivator, was taking action again, none of them wanted to miss a single detail.