Chapter 428: War Aftermath

The demonic spike pierced through one 'stone figure' after another, and each stone figure disintegrated into metal and rock fragments. However, a single demonic spike could only penetrate a little over a hundred stone figures before the others fled, many already burrowing deep underground.

"Boom." Meng Chuan swept his gaze.

The Electromagnetic Domain erupted! Streaks of lightning appeared within the Electromagnetic Domain, indiscriminately striking a large number of stone figures. Nearly half of them were hit! The outer 'rock layer' of the stone figures shattered completely, revealing much smaller 'metal figures' beneath. The metal figures were clearly much tougher; they endured the lightning strikes of the Electromagnetic Domain without any damage and continued to flee rapidly.

"Mountain demons in the Great Sun realm would shatter their bodies to attack enemies," Meng Chuan thought to himself, seeing this. "This mountain demon, having reached the 'Grotto-Heaven realm,' can actually transform into tens of thousands of clones to escape?"

Mountain demons are a very unique type of demon. They are not living creatures that develop sentience, unlike lion demons, ox demons, spider demons, flood dragons, and so on, who cultivate to higher realms but were originally living beings. A mountain demon is, in essence, a mountain! It is an inanimate object. It gains sentience through the creation of heaven and earth, by chance, and only then embarks on the path of cultivation. It possesses too many unique characteristics; merely by virtue of its special body, it stands almost at the peak of its peer level. How difficult was Meng Chuan's cultivation of his Blood-Shedding realm body? It was only slightly stronger than a fifth-level mountain demon. This mountain demon, having reached the 'Grotto-Heaven realm,' despite still being at the fifth level, has undergone a transformation, greatly enhancing its life-preserving abilities.

"Why have you two stopped?" a cold voice rang out. The Thread Saint, hovering in mid-air, lowered the hands that had been covering its head. The collar of its robe remained high, ready to protect its skull at any moment. It stared coldly at Meng Chuan and the Guardian Wang Shan.

Meng Chuan stood on a circular disc, with twelve blood blades circling his body. The six blood blades that had initially attacked the Thread Saint were still flying around it.

"Where is your demonic spike? Why aren't you continuing?" The Thread Saint looked at the Guardian Wang Shan. "Did you stop just because it cracked?"

"Your methods are indeed brilliant, Thread Saint," Meng Chuan said with a slight smile. "Truly impressive!" After speaking, he quickly flew away with Guardian Wang Shan.

On their way, they passed by the corpse of Swamp Demon King, intending to retrieve it. "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh." However, Spatial Spider Silk had already enveloped the Swamp Demon King's corpse and was rapidly dragging it back.

"The Spatial Spider Silk Domain is indeed formidable," Meng Chuan thought to himself upon seeing this. After first storing the Guardian in his Grotto-Heaven Pearl, he then instantly moved hundreds of miles away, swiftly escaping beyond the range of the Spatial Spider Silk Domain.

The Spatial Spider Silk Domain, as a whole, possessed power comparable to a top-tier Creation realm technique, and importantly, its range was vast, extending at least three hundred miles. If the Thread Saint used its true spider silk within a one-mile radius of itself, its power would increase even further! This level of power was enough to defeat many ordinary demon saints. Of course, this was also due to its breakthrough in the World Gap. Before coming to the World Gap, its power was considerably weaker.

"Swish, swish." The silken cocoon, encasing the Swamp Demon King, flew before the Thread Saint. The Spatial Spider Silk dissipated completely, revealing the scaly, gaunt young man's corpse. "Swamp," the Thread Saint said, looking at the hovering corpse, a trace of pain in its eyes. It reached out and gently stroked the gaunt young man's face, whispering, "You followed me for many years, but now you've died at the hands of humanity. It was my overconfidence; I made a breakthrough in power in the World Gap and consequently underestimated human King-level Godfiends. Who would have thought that after my breakthrough, I would encounter Meng Chuan, King Dongning, and it would cost you your life."

"I will avenge you; I will make more human Godfiends perish to accompany you," the Thread Saint said softly.

Having flown a considerable distance, Meng Chuan stopped. His Boundless Domain naturally isolated any detection.

"My 'Flowing Sand' divine ability only lasts for a short time, so I can't engage in prolonged combat," Meng Chuan thought to himself. "Without this divine ability, I probably wouldn't be able to escape the Spatial Spider Silk Domain."

Relying on this divine ability, he could instantly cover hundreds of miles, flying faster than the Spatial Spider Silk could spread. Combined with his ten times faster thought process, his flight path was also flexible and varied, allowing him to easily escape. But without the divine ability... that would be troublesome.

Although he could also escape by transforming his body into a stream of lightning particles using the 'Heavenly Fury' divine ability, in that state, many of his divine abilities could not be used. While his thoughts wouldn't be ten times faster, his speed would still allow him to cover hundreds of miles in an instant, leading to fewer variations in his flight path. Meng Chuan wasn't confident he could evade the 'Spatial Spider Silk Domain's' preemptive interception.

"The maximum duration for my 'Flowing Sand' divine ability is five breaths," Meng Chuan mused. "In future battles, I should try to keep it within three breaths. That leaves two breaths for contingency."

The previous battle, though recounted at length, was, in reality, as swift as lightning between powerful combatants. Meng Chuan, with a backhand strike of 'Heavenly Fury,' blasted Cave Master Baicang and then killed Splitting Mountain Demon King. Then he summoned Guardian Wang Shan to directly attack the Thread Saint... all within approximately three breaths of time.

That's why Meng Chuan quickly slipped away without lingering.

"Brother Wang," Meng Chuan summoned Guardian Wang Shan and immediately asked, "Are you alright now?"

"The demonic spike only has cracks, it didn't shatter, so the problem isn't too big," Guardian Wang Shan replied. "If it had shattered, losing a tenth of my primordial spirit's origin would significantly reduce both the time I can remain conscious and my lifespan."

Meng Chuan breathed a sigh of relief.

Guardians are different from normal King-level Godfiends. The bodies of King-level Godfiends can nurture their primordial spirits, which is beneficial to them. However, a Guardian's body is very special; while it can break the limitations of lifespan, it exerts immense pressure on the primordial spirit. Brother Wang Shan, at the sixth level of the primordial spirit, can currently only remain conscious for just over seventy years. For over a thousand years, he must meditate in stillness to alleviate the pressure his body exerts on his primordial spirit. Therefore, Guardian Wang Shan has not separated any 'primordial spirit clones' over the years, aiming to maintain his complete primordial spirit to counteract the body's pressure.

If his demonic spike were to shatter, losing a tenth of his primordial spirit's origin, it would be impossible to recover under such physical pressure; it would be a permanent loss. Both his conscious time and lifespan would be greatly reduced.

This time, cultivating the 'demonic spike' only used a tenth of his primordial spirit's origin, which didn't significantly affect the primordial spirit itself, so it was fine. If he were to use two or three tenths of his primordial spirit's origin to cultivate the demonic spike, it would severely impact his primordial spirit, greatly reducing his conscious time and lifespan. If it shattered? The loss of two or three tenths of his primordial spirit's origin would cause a huge flaw in Guardian Wang Shan's primordial spirit, leading to its complete dissipation and death within a few days under the body's pressure.

"Brother Wang, how long will it take for your demonic spike to recover?" Meng Chuan asked.

"It's just a few minor cracks," Wang Shan replied with a smile. "I believe it will recover in half a month. I can still fight within that half month, as long as I'm not dealing with someone at the sixth level of the primordial spirit."

Meng Chuan nodded: "Understood."

Elsewhere in the World Gap.

Using a communication token, the Thread Saint and the mountain demon reunited.

"Saint," the burly mountain demon respectfully said.

"Of that entire encounter, only you and I survived," the Thread Saint stated. The burly mountain demon nodded silently.