Chapter 426: Hunter and Prey

Among the four demon kings present, the Silk Saint Lord is the most formidable and versatile; even I would be at a disadvantage fighting him one-on-one.

The Mountain Demon's physique is as powerful as the 'Blood Asura'. True Martial King was only able to defeat the Blood Asura by leveraging King Anhai's ability to manipulate time, which allowed him to unleash the 'Ten Extinctions of the World' in a single instant. Meng Chuan's current maximum power output is merely equivalent to True Martial King's standard ultimate moves, still a considerable distance from the 'Ten Extinctions of the World'.

The Marsh Demon King, capable of transforming into black mud, is almost immortal and thus equally hard to kill.

After careful consideration, the 'Mountain Splitter Demon King' is the only one I have a realistic chance of killing.

"Be careful," he warned. After the white-furred rat demon's demise, the black lotus formed by the Silk Saint Lord's soul power suddenly expanded, becoming the core of the Black Lotus formation.

A large black lotus, flanked by three smaller ones, now dominated the space. While they hadn't extensively studied illusion techniques, all five demon kings in the Silk Saint Lord's group had practiced the 'Black Lotus Secret Art'. The white-furred rat had been the most proficient, with the Silk Saint Lord ranking second; both could act as the core for the formation. The other three companions had only a rudimentary understanding, capable of assisting in forming the 'Black Lotus'.

"My soul secret art appears to be exposed," Meng Chuan mused. "They've been wary of my Demon Cone since the battle began." He had intended to use the Demon Cone to target those with weaker souls, but the opportunity never arose.

He wasn't confident he could break the Black Lotus Secret Art maintained by Cave Lord Baicang. Even with the Silk Saint Lord, a Soul Level Six practitioner, using the Black Lotus Secret Art to shield his allies, Meng Chuan still had no certainty of success. The 'Demon Cone' was a double-edged sword; failure to penetrate a defense would result in its shattering, severely injuring his own soul.

"Mountain Splitter Demon King," Meng Chuan declared, ignoring the others. Moving with terrifying, extreme speed, he reached the Mountain Splitter Demon King before any of the other demon kings could intervene.

Despite being seemingly surrounded, Meng Chuan's terrifying speed—hundreds of miles in a flash—allowed him to easily confront his enemies one by one, preventing them from forming a true encirclement.

"His speed is too fast," the demon kings lamented helplessly.

With a soft whoosh, his blade gleamed, striking out towards the Hunchback Demon King.

The Hunchback Demon King, now wielding six arms, had also achieved the 'Cave Heaven Realm' in its blade techniques. However, Meng Chuan's already swift blade became ten times faster under the influence of his divine power, 'Quicksand'. This speed far exceeded the spread of demonic energy, reaching a point where interception was impossible.

Pushing any extreme to its absolute limit is truly terrifying. For instance, the 'Golden Lotus Descending' ultimate technique from the Starry Sky Tower, though a Venerable-level art, can enable a practitioner who masters it to the Cave Heaven Realm to slay an Emperor, a higher-ranked being. This illustrates the heaven-defying power gained by reaching such an 'extreme'.

"Hmph," the Hunchback Demon King grunted, as golden light shimmered across its skin. It could only rely on its defensive abilities to withstand the assault.

At a certain velocity, speed itself becomes subject to the suppression of universal laws; the faster one moves, the greater the resistance, which in turn affects overall power. While the Blood Blade was already swift, its speed increased by 60% and its power by several times after being accelerated by the 'Thunder-Magnetic Domain'.

Meng Chuan's blade, however, only appeared to be ten times faster; its actual speed remained unchanged, meaning the power of a single strike didn't increase. Instead, he could deliver ten consecutive strikes within the same timeframe.

The blade light now struck the golden aura protecting the Hunchback Demon King. This defensive barrier, forged from demonic energy combined with the profundities of the 'Cave Heaven Realm', barely withstood the blow. While the raw power of Meng Chuan's individual strike hadn't increased, his Blood Droplet Realm physique granted him superior strength and speed compared to both the Blood Asura and the Mountain Demon. Consequently, this single strike still made the Hunchback Demon King's golden protective aura tremble.

The second strike, landing on the exact same spot, shattered the golden light and inflicted a wound. However, by the time the third blade struck, the Hunchback Demon King's protective aura had already regenerated.

"Your attack power is too weak," the Hunchback Demon King thought with a quiet sigh of relief, as its six blades simultaneously lunged forward.

Meng Chuan's form blurred, effortlessly evading the incoming blade lights.

"Boom!" Suddenly, Meng Chuan's body erupted with dazzling lightning, unleashing his divine power: Heaven's Wrath!

"Be careful!" the four demon kings exclaimed, their hearts seizing. Cave Lord Baicang had just perished from a lightning strike, and the Mountain Splitter Demon King, being closest to Meng Chuan, was particularly on edge.

The dazzling lightning instantly struck the distant Silk Saint Lord. At lightning speed, all four demon kings were within thirty miles of Meng Chuan, meaning any target would be struck before they could react. They could only rely on their innate defenses.

"Boom!" As the lightning neared the Silk Saint Lord, a massive cocoon, roughly three zhang tall, woven from countless spatial threads, manifested around its body. This void cocoon served as its crucial protective measure. The lightning, being ethereal, slipped through the minute gaps in the cocoon's threads, still striking the Silk Saint Lord.

A protective white light shimmered on the Silk Saint Lord's skin, seemingly repelling the lightning, yet a numbing sensation still permeated its body. "My body feels numb; my control over it and my demonic power has slowed down?" the Silk Saint Lord thought with secret alarm. At its level, any reduction in control was extremely perilous.

"Hm?" The Silk Saint Lord noticed something else: six blood blades, their speed already reaching their maximum in the distance, were now hurtling towards him!

From the very start of the engagement, Meng Chuan's blood blades had been continuously accelerating within the Thunder-Magnetic Domain, circling repeatedly. Despite their inherent speed, it had taken this long for them to reach their maximum velocity after eight extensive circuits, each now possessing the power of a peak Creation Realm expert.

As he unleashed 'Heaven's Wrath,' the six blood blades followed immediately. This was the critical moment when the Silk Saint Lord's control over his body and demonic power was impaired. In clashes between formidable beings, seizing such opportune moments is paramount.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" Meng Chuan maintained his 'Quicksand' divine power. While this power couldn't alter the actual flight speed of the blood blades, it did accelerate his own thought process tenfold. As the blood blades flew, Meng Chuan's mind worked faster, enabling him to control them with greater precision, deftly avoiding the intercepting spatial threads. The spatial threads themselves were also slower to react.

Six consecutive strikes battered the enormous spatial cocoon encasing the Silk Saint Lord. The cocoon's threads were woven incredibly densely; each blood blade, after severing a multitude of threads, expended its force. Though six successive blades tore a large hole, the fluid spatial cocoon immediately shifted, its other threads flowing in to seal the breach.

"Peacock couldn't kill me; what makes you think your six blades can?" The numbing sensation vanished instantly, and the Silk Saint Lord effortlessly manipulated the void cocoon to defend.

"Boom!" Another blinding lightning bolt erupted, striking the Hunchback Demon King with furious force at point-blank range. The blow caused blood to seep from the Hunchback Demon King's mouth, and its body went numb, leaving it no time to react.

A blade light, so swift and ferocious, materialized before its eyes, causing its heart to pound.

"Pfft!" The Hunchback Demon King's head flew from its shoulders.

He unleashed his full power, combining the divine abilities 'Control over Heaven and Earth' and 'Quicksand', and initiated the assault with a surprise strike from 'Heaven's Wrath'. His strategy was simple: once a move was made, it had to succeed!

His earlier strike against the Silk Saint Lord had a dual purpose: first, to gauge its capabilities before the main assault, and second, to divert its focus entirely to self-preservation, thereby diminishing its protection for the Hunchback Demon King. This maximized his chances of success when he finally unleashed his full power.

"That's the second one down, three remaining," Meng Chuan murmured. Like a patient hunter, he meticulously searched for his prey's vulnerabilities.