In the City God Temple, all the disciples of the Three Blades Gang had fallen. Some were already cold, while others had wisps of demonic energy coiling around their bodies.
Only the two gang leaders and three hall masters were still struggling to hold on.
However, their situations were not optimistic. They were covered in wounds, their robes soaked in blood, and their faces ashen.
It seemed as if a gentle breeze could topple them all.
Fortunately, Zhao Yuansong and his companions arrived in time to block the City God, who had fallen into demonic ways, and his five spirit officials.
Yet, the City God, whom Zhao Yuansong had previously been able to heavily injure alone, now seemed to have his power magnified several times. With his heavy spear, he had actually suppressed everyone.
The five spirit officials, who were initially at the early stage of the first realm, had now each ascended to the late stage of the first realm. Their weapons seemed to have gained a touch of spiritual energy, hinting at a transformation into magical artifacts.
As a result, the pressure on everyone had increased dramatically, and their initial skirmish had already put them at a disadvantage.
"Those who offend divine majesty... die!"
The City God let out a low, muffled roar.
His golden body, standing three zhang tall, strode forward. Dense incense wishes coiled around him, and his eyes, which should have been filled with divine light, now blazed with demonic energy.
The five spirit officials, each ten zhang tall, obeyed the command. They hurled their weapons, which transformed into streaks of flowing light and hurtled towards their targets.
Seeing this, Zhao Yuansong snorted coldly. He made a sword gesture, and the long sword on his back unsheathed. With a rotation in mid-air, it split into four sword shadows, which then shot out, engaging the weapons of the five spirit officials.
Meanwhile, Li Junxian, Xu Qiqi, and Jiang He, along with over a dozen disciples of the Three Blades Gang, joined forces and attacked the five spirit officials.
However, even though the spirit officials were distracted by controlling their weapons, their cultivation level remained, and they were not something a group of people could shake in a short time.
"Can a demonized deity still be called a deity?"
Xu Liuqing muttered to himself, then unleashed a powerful fighting spirit.
Even though he was now facing a second-realm deity, a renowned City God, he showed no fear in his eyes.
The next moment, he moved like a howling storm. With a resonant sword hum, two long swords unsheathed, radiating dazzling sword light.
Simultaneously, a jade pendant on his body pulsed with light, and streams of pure spiritual energy surged into his body, allowing him to unleash his power freely, replacing the罡气 possessed by second-realm martial artists.
This made Xu Liuqing, in terms of killing power alone, equivalent to an early-stage second-realm martial artist for a short period. His only drawback was his insufficient realm; his physique and other aspects were still at the first realm.
But he didn't care. His body moved like a fierce gale, yet it remained agile. No matter how the three-zhang-long heavy spear struck down, it could not touch him.
However, despite his agile footwork, with his killing power at the early stage of the Muscle and Bone Realm, he could not even break through the protective layer of incense wishes, let alone harm the City God's golden body.
Conversely, the City God seemed to be gradually adapting to his surged power. He no longer merely struck with his heavy spear but began to employ spear techniques!
Under the torrent of spear shadows, Xu Liuqing even felt a moment of helplessness, barely dodging a fatal blow with all his might. However, a deep bloody gash was torn across his chest by the wind force.
He reached out and pressed firmly on acupoints near the wound, temporarily stemming the flow of blood, then looked forward with a grave expression.
In a daze, he seemed to recall the City God's identity.
According to the records in the City God Temple's meritorious deeds stele, the City God of Qianyu City was a general who had fought on the battlefield in his lifetime. Over a hundred years ago, he had fought for the Great Yu Dynasty, killing countless enemy soldiers.
In the end, had he not been surrounded by enemies several times his number, he would not have met his end on the battlefield. With his achievements, he would likely have been promoted to a general commanding the rear.
But even surrounded by numerous enemy soldiers, he had led his hundreds of cavalry to kill over a thousand men amidst thousands of enemy soldiers!
Now, although he was dead, he had been reborn as a deity and naturally remembered all the memories of his past life, including his battlefield combat experience and his superb, lethally powerful spear techniques!
As a thought flashed through his mind, recalling the City God's past deeds, Xu Liuqing felt no fear. Instead, his fighting spirit grew even stronger.
He let out a wild laugh and then moved his body, directly facing the City God. With his twin swords, he intended to clash head-on with the heavy spear that seemed to weigh ten thousand jin!
"This fight is truly intense!"
A sigh suddenly echoed in the area. "If he can truly break through to the Muscle and Bone Realm, he might be able to contend with ordinary late-stage martial artists at the early stage."
The surviving members of the Three Blades Gang nodded subconsciously. It wasn't the first time they had witnessed Xu Liuqing's ferocity, but they couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
However, soon, their expressions stiffened, and they quickly turned to look behind them.
Standing there, who knew when, was a young man in a gray-blue robe. His skin had a dark, lustrous sheen.
Most importantly, he exuded a dense demonic aura. Judging by his aura alone, he was not weaker than the City God, who had ascended to the late second realm!
"You..."
The Grand Leader of the Three Blades Gang spoke, intending to inquire about the young man's origin.
But he only managed to utter a single word before a black shadow flashed before his eyes. The young man appeared before him, almost face-to-face!
"Uh..."
He slowly lowered his head and saw the young man's hand, which had somehow pierced his chest and was gripping his still-beating heart.
The Grand Leader of the Three Blades Gang, a master who had roamed the martial arts world for thirty to forty years within a radius of several hundred miles, had not perceived anything at all.
*Bang!!!*
With his heart crushed within his chest, his body heavily slumped to the ground, devoid of life.
Until the moment of his death, he could not comprehend what had happened. Why had a young man exuding a demonic aura appeared behind him silently and effortlessly ended his life?
"Bold!"
The Second Leader of the Three Blades Gang roared and swung the broken spear in his hand at the young man's head.
However, the next moment, he felt a dizzying sensation, and then his body was sent flying backward.
In mid-air, he could still see the young man holding a still-beating heart.
"Demon, die!"
The three hall masters struggled to rise and, without question, joined forces to attack.
They had clearly seen that the heart the young man held was crudely dug out from the Second Leader's chest!
Although their mid-stage Muscle and Bone Realm cultivation could indeed be considered a formidable strength in Qianyu City, it was insignificant before the young man, who possessed the late-stage Spirit Gathering Realm cultivation.
Furthermore, after a fierce battle, they were already exhausted and heavily wounded. How much fighting strength could they possibly retain?
Even the Grand Leader and Second Leader of the Three Blades Gang were no match for this person, let alone them.
In just a few blinks of an eye, the three of them had their lives extinguished and fell to the ground, their eyes wide with unwillingness as they gazed at the sky.
"Tsk, with such meager strength, you still want to slay demons and vanquish evil?"
The young man sneered, then seemed to recall something and glanced at Zhao Yuansong, who was now unprotected.
He clearly remembered that two days ago, it was this person who had discovered his whereabouts and led a group of people to hunt him down.
Not only had he lost the spiritual treasure he considered the foundation of his Great Dao, but seventy percent of his centuries of accumulated incense wishes had been lost. In the end, his golden body and temple were destroyed!
If he hadn't been aided by elixirs and medicinal pills, let alone achieving such rapid progress in his cultivation, he would have likely died on the spot.
Thinking of this, a smile appeared on the face of the young man, who originated from Xiyu River and was a transformed catfish spirit.
However, this smile was, in any case, rather sinister and terrifying.
He crushed the heart in his hand, then slowly walked towards Zhao Yuansong, his gaze lingering on Zhao Yuansong's back, as if contemplating where to strike.
At the same time, Zhao Yuansong had already sensed the abnormality behind him. However, he was currently fully focused on controlling his long sword and four sword shadows, engaged in a fierce battle with the five spirit officials' weapons, and could not afford to be distracted.
Although he himself was a second-realm cultivator and stronger than the five late-stage first-realm spirit officials, his superiority was limited. After all, he had only recently broken through, and his spiritual power was not yet sufficiently accumulated, and his realm was not even fully stable.
Sensing the killing intent behind him, Zhao Yuansong was momentarily unable to recall the spiritual power controlling his sword and sword shadows.
If he were to forcibly withdraw it, not only would Jiang He and the others be in danger, but he himself would also suffer backlash, rendering him powerless to deal with the crisis behind him.
As life and death loomed, no matter how hard he racked his brain, he could not come up with a solution.
"This feeling must be uncomfortable, right?"
The young man seemed to sense his emotions and said with a cold laugh to 'comfort' him. "Don't worry, you won't be uncomfortable for long!"
He formed a blade with one hand and viciously struck towards Zhao Yuansong's back...
"How dare you wreak havoc?!"
A roar filled with shock and anger suddenly erupted, but it did not cause the young man's movements to pause in the slightest. Instead, it made him increase the force of his strike.
However, the moment his fingertips touched Zhao Yuansong's back, a cold glint appeared!
In an instant, the spiritual power within the young man's body vibrated, and his body trembled violently. It was a primal instinct of encountering a natural enemy.
He hastily withdrew his hand-blade and turned to his right. He then saw a streak of flowing light, emitting an astonishing chill, appear before him in the blink of an eye.
The coldness emanating from the flowing light seemed capable of freezing him instantly!
But he did not doubt this instinctual feeling, for he himself was an aquatic demon, and his cultivation was fundamentally water-attributed, even his Dao foundation was the same.
And in the heavens and earth, apart from fire-attributed power, this power of frost was the one that most restrained him!