“I’ll… come find you.” Xiao Kun said intermittently.
A Huang suddenly rushed in, spewing flames. His claws seized the Demon Spear and pulled fiercely in the opposite direction.
Hulü Guang shouted and charged from the side, stepping on a stone coffin to leap high and grab the Demon Spear. The Heart Lamp’s light burst forth, shocking Xiang Xian.
Hulü Guang stepped on Xiao Kun for leverage, pulling with all his might. The Demon Spear inched out.
“Let go!” Xiao Kun roared. As the pressure eased, he released the spear, summoned the Tang Dao, and with Blood Sacrifice Nether Fire, unleashed Whirling Chaos Dance with dual blades!
Hulü Guang dodged instantly. The whirling dual blades severed the chains binding Xiang Xian and the Demon Spear simultaneously. The spear exploded in midair, blasting the three apart.
Xiang Xian regained freedom and hugged Xiao Kun close. The explosion hurled them crashing into a cave wall corner.
Chaosheng poured all his power into Azure Wood Power, erupting in strong light. Even the Giant Ape’s fur bristled, eyes shooting green light.
A Huang soared up, cried long, gathered fierce flames, and dove at the central high platform.
The second wave of unbalanced magical power exploded outward, plunging the underground palace into darkness. Xiao Kun panted in the dark, half-held by Xiang Xian.
Xiang Xian: “Xiao Kun!”
Xiao Kun spat a mouthful of blood all over Xiang Xian.
“Careful!” Xiang Xian hugged him again, dodging the demonic flowers.
Xiao Kun’s chest wound from the Demon Spear still bled. Xiang Xian laid him down, removed his outer robe, balled it up, and pressed it firmly on the wound.
Xiao Kun’s eyes widened, light fading slowly. “I… next life…”
Xiang Xian shouted: “Don’t die! Xiao Kun! Don’t die—! Chaosheng! Chaosheng!”
But Xiao Kun sat up, the wound beginning to heal.
He coughed twice and patted Xiang Xian’s face.
Xiang Xian: “…”
“As long as I’m not burned by the Heart Lamp,” Xiao Kun said, “I won’t die. Did you forget I’m a Half-Demon?”
Xiang Xian: “……………………”
Xiang Xian was utterly terrified, sitting on the ground and remaining silent for a long while. Xiao Kun had thought Xiang Xian would get angry and said, “You scared me once, so I scared you back…”
Xiao Kun had wanted to say “we’re even now,” but Xiang Xian not only didn’t get angry—instead, his eyes reddened, he smiled, and suddenly hugged Xiao Kun tightly.
The cave began to collapse, filled everywhere with the chaotic melee of War Dead Corpse Ghosts.
“Where’s the Wisdom Sword?” Xiang Xian separated from Xiao Kun and asked. “Where did Mr. Liu go?”
“You can’t use Magical Power.” Xiao Kun staggered to his feet. Although his wound had already healed, he still needed to regulate his breathing after such a severe injury. He said, “Wait a moment. I’ll go deal with him… Let me see?”
Xiao Kun pressed on Xiang Xian’s shoulders and examined the collar around his neck, trying to tug it off.
“Stop talking nonsense. Hurry,” Xiang Xian said. “As long as I have the sword…”
Xiao Kun had no choice but to hand the Wisdom Sword back to him. At that moment, Mr. Liu reappeared, chanting strange syllables from the center of the high platform.
“If it doesn’t work, retract it immediately,” Xiao Kun said.
He tried to muster Magical Power several times, but his chest still throbbed with intense pain, so he pressed one hand against the cave wall and breathed slowly.
The White Ape appeared. It roared as it charged into the formation of War Dead Corpse Ghosts, utterly fearless of the numerous spears and flying arrows. It grabbed whatever it could and hurled it at the enemies. In an instant, the scene descended into utter chaos. Their side’s War Dead Corpse Ghosts followed behind the White Ape, using this massive meat shield for cover as they rushed into the Abyss Divine Palace.
Mr. Liu had no time to play the Great Si Ming Flute anymore. He gathered a black light orb in his hands, about to unleash a Magical Power cannon, when Chaosheng held the Green Branch horizontally and dashed up the Giant Ape’s back in a few steps to its head. He shouted and pointed the Green Branch toward Mr. Liu.
Inside the Abyss Divine Palace, all the Corpse Devouring Flowers surged violently at the same time. The Flowers of Death, driven by Kunlun Divine Power, came sweeping in like a tidal wave, exploding toward Mr. Liu!
Xiang Xian pressed on Xiao Kun’s shoulders and pushed him to a concealed spot, signaling him to wait there, then turned toward Mr. Liu on the high platform. Mr. Liu’s spell had already been completed; the Underground Palace was filled with flying black fire meteors that crashed down toward the sea-like tide of War Dead Corpse Ghosts. Every time one struck a War Dead Corpse Ghost, the corpse ghost’s body would swell up, turning into a deathly monster that rampaged everywhere.
In the flood of black fire, a golden light bloomed. The Wisdom Sword was unsheathed!
Under the Wisdom Sword’s ferocious power, Xiang Xian’s collar, handcuffs, and shackles all shattered completely, scattering in all directions.
The golden light burst forth, shooting out from the Underground Palace entrance. In an instant, it destroyed the entrance, whipping up a storm that hurled the War Dead Corpse Ghosts outside the Underground Palace.
Mr. Liu retreated abruptly, and the golden light followed right after.
Golden fire erupted from Xiang Xian’s entire body. He streaked through the air in a blazing arc of afterimages, pursuing relentlessly. In the next moment, Mr. Liu plunged into the great formation of War Dead Corpse Ghosts, while Xiang Xian shone with radiant light, shooting into the enemy ranks like a force that crumbled all before it.
The golden light from Acalanatha pierced the black tide like the blazing sun melting snow; everywhere it passed, the War Dead Corpse Ghosts scattered in flight. Mr. Liu no longer engaged, transforming into a mass of Demonic Qi that exploded out through the breach in the Underground Palace.
The golden light erupted from within Kuqa Canyon, converging into a beam that shot toward the horizon. Mr. Liu fled in a flash and vanished completely.
“Coward!” Chaosheng shouted angrily.
Xiang Xian held the Wisdom Sword, hovering high in the sky above Kuqa Canyon. The golden fire in his eyes gradually receded and faded.
Xiang Xian suddenly snapped back to awareness. The golden fire vanished, his consciousness scattered, and he plummeted headfirst from the heights.
Xiao Kun was prepared. With a few leaps, he soared through the air and caught the falling Xiang Xian.
Wu Yingzong, Chaosheng, and Hulü Guang chased out to the high cliff. The sunset glowed like blood as that rolling mass of Demonic Qi detached and flew toward the eastern sky.
“It looks like you’ve already finished the fight.” Jing Pian Ge’s voice rang out. He arrived alone at the cliffside and, under everyone’s gaze, walked into the Abyss Divine Palace that had once been under his command.
