Chapter 920: Going All Out

Lingyao immediately targeted the Netherworld Demon Lord, the leader of the Emperor Lords, who stood before her. She unleashed a direct sword strike, a display of incredibly powerful swordsmanship that far exceeded what the Demon Lord could handle.

"Heh, you woman are truly ruthless. I've often wondered about the source of your immense power; it truly piques my curiosity."

Lingyao sneered, "Once you fall by my hand, you'll have plenty of opportunities to seek your coveted secrets in the underworld."

In an instant, Lingyao was once again enveloped by the light of the Houtian Sword. This time, empowered by the primeval force, the sword's aura burned with a deeper azure glow—a special effect of activating all five Qi vortices simultaneously.

It must be said that when Xu Yang previously passed on the primeval force cultivation method to his team, Lingyao was not the most perceptive among them.

Yet now, after her diligent training and research during her time on Yingzhou Continent, she had achieved considerable success in this inherited discipline.

With a single sword stroke, the Netherworld Demon Lord found himself utterly unable to resist head-on and instinctively retreated. However, this time, Lingyao was determined to overpower him and would not allow him such an easy escape to the ground.

At that very moment, Lingyao's movement speed increased to its limit. She transformed into a streak of light, rapidly closing in. She accurately anticipated the approximate landing spot of the retreating Netherworld Demon Lord and, mid-air, swiftly altered the final attack zone of her sword strike.

Boom!

The Netherworld Demon Lord never dreamed that even with his evasive maneuvers, he still couldn't escape Lingyao's attack. He took the full brunt of the sword's explosive power, squarely and inescapably.

In a single exchange, the protective demonic energy surrounding the Netherworld Demon Lord's body completely disintegrated. He reeled back, coughing up large mouthfuls of blood.

"Your Excellency, are you alright?"

Several aides nearby helped the heavily wounded Netherworld Demon Lord to his feet. He glared at Lingyao with incredibly cold eyes.

"Damn it! These individuals are truly too strong. We must suppress them with the power of curses. Protect the Four Ancestral Witches at all costs! Even if it means sacrificing all your lives, ensure the Forbidden Curse formation is completed. Otherwise, all our efforts will be in vain!"

"Understood!" the Violet Flame Undead chorused in agreement.

Immediately afterward, all the external undead on the periphery of the battlefield rapidly recoiled, forming a tight circle around the Four Ancestral Witches who were conjuring the formation.

"Undead, sacrifice your souls as a contribution to the curse's power! Protect them with all your might!"

As the Netherworld Demon Lord spoke, dense demonic flames, thick enough to blot out the sky, quickly converged. A grayish-white demonic light began to expand outwards from the Four Ancestral Witches' location, forming a continuously growing hemispherical soul-light protective barrier!

"Damn it! What trick are they playing now?"

Big Brother Old Tan, bewildered, paused his attack rhythm and stared dumbfounded at the edge of his vision.

"Not good! It must be some sort of soul-sacrifice technique. In simple terms, they're burning the soul power of these undead to form an indestructible, supreme defensive barrier to block our attacks, ensuring their curse formation is perfected."

The Five Heavenly Kings exchanged glances, unsure of what to do.

"Alliance Leader, what should we do next? Such a protective force is certainly not something we can contend with on our own!"

The junior leaders of the other major alliances' Heavenly Martial Artists gathered around Lingyao, seeking her instructions.

"There's no other way. With Lord Ayang absent, I'm the strongest individual here. I have to go all out! If we can't break through this soul-light barrier, all our previous efforts will be in vain! Once this ultimate curse erupts, our main city will fall, and the entire Eastern Region will lose its last complete stronghold to maintain our position!"

As Lingyao finished speaking, she suddenly summoned the true form of her Heavenly Sword from behind her. The immensely powerful aura of frost, derived from the witch's divine ice-attribute power, was unleashed to its fullest extent.

Simultaneously, she forcefully attempted to activate her sixth Qi vortex, hoping to unleash her sword's power to its absolute maximum!

Unfortunately, compared to Xu Yang's power, Lingyao's ultimate sword strike could only achieve about 30% of Xu Yang's peak combat strength...

Although this level of power was considered top-tier on Yingzhou Continent, it was clearly still insufficient to break through the defensive layer formed by the burning souls of hundreds of thousands of undead.

Boom!

In a flash, Lingyao soared into the sky. Her massive sword aura expanded infinitely, completely enveloping her, and she became one with this world-shattering sword, crashing down towards the energy barrier.

"Heh heh, with just your power, you think you can contend with the combined might of the Five Great Forbidden Zones? Ridiculous!"

The Netherworld Demon Lord sneered disdainfully. Although he was now half-crippled by Lingyao, he understood the power of the surrounding undead's sacrifice perfectly well; it was his absolute trump card on this direct battlefield.

BOOM!!

The colossal sword aura slashed down from above, slamming into the energy barrier's surface. The fierce sword light that spread outwards unleashed unimaginable power, instantly shattering all the surrounding demonic flames. Warriors from both factions on the main battlefield were stunned and wide-eyed, staring at the scene, awaiting the desired outcome.

"You must succeed! Alliance Leader, everyone's hope rests solely on you!"

The leaders of the major alliances began to pray fervently, and the warriors of the Sacred Fire Divine Sect also watched Lingyao with eyes full of anticipation.

At this moment, they seemed to see a female incarnation of the invincible Xu Yang.

However, while she was courageous, her raw power simply could not compare to Xu Yang's. At the very least, she alone could not break through the incredibly powerful soul-force protective barrier before them.

"Damn, I'm restricted!"

Lingyao's brows furrowed.

It turned out that even as she began to gather her strength, the Netherworld Demon Lord, hidden within the protective barrier, had already prepared a countermeasure. He released a highly peculiar and powerful devouring battle mechanism from inside the energy barrier, firmly restraining Lingyao's power eruption. This left her, with her soul and sword merged, in an impossible situation, stuck on the surface of the energy barrier.

What was even more terrifying was that the energy barrier was constantly growing stronger as the surrounding undead souls burned their power, and its protective range was also continuously expanding outwards!

"This isn't good! If this continues, the Alliance Leader might be in danger!"

The Five Heavenly Kings exchanged worried glances.

"She's Boss Ayang's confidante! We can't let anything happen to her. Let's attack together and rescue her!"