Chapter 552: Fall of the Curtain

At this moment, the crimson sea of flames dispersed, revealing Wang Changsheng's figure. His clothes were tattered, and his exposed skin was charred black, emitting a burnt smell.

A powerful hurricane swept in, directly targeting Wang Changsheng. Before the hurricane could reach him, hundreds of colossal wind blades flew out, densely shooting towards him and blocking his retreat.

Wang Changsheng's expression changed slightly. He swiftly formed a hand seal, and the Chilly Mist Bottle spewed out a large expanse of white mist, which transformed into a white ice shield, blocking his front.

Boom!

The ice shield was shattered by the dense barrage of wind blades.

"Be careful, Fellow Daoist Wang." Huang Fugui's voice suddenly rang in Wang Changsheng's ear.

A gentle breeze swept past, and a young man in a green robe with a pair of azure wings on his back appeared behind Wang Changsheng, his gaze chilling. He held an azure scythe in each hand and struck towards Wang Changsheng. Wang Changsheng quickly dodged, but his reaction was still a step too slow. His back was struck by claws, and an unbearable sharp pain surged through him. Five long bloody gashes appeared on his back, bleeding profusely.

The young man in green possessed a cultivation level of Core Formation Stage Six, three levels higher than Wang Changsheng.

"He's my prey, get away."

Fang Mu flew over, holding a black banner in his hand, with a small armored zombie following behind him.

"Your opponent is me. Kill me first, then you can deal with others," Fang Mu said coldly, lightly waving the black banner in his hand. A chilling wind gusted, accompanied by the wailing of ghosts, as a large expanse of black mist flew out, with ghostly figures appearing within it.

The small zombie let out a monstrous roar, transforming into a streak of black light and pouncing towards the young man in green. The young man in green lightly waved the azure scythe in his hand, and a large flurry of azure blade shadows flew out, striking the small zombie. They couldn't even cut through its armor.

A house-sized colossal lightning orb smashed towards the young man in green, followed closely by five enormous white ice dragons. Wang Changsheng wielded his Ruyi Profound Jade Staff, striking towards the young man in green. The Nine-Bend Divine Sand transformed into a yellow sand dragon, baring its fangs and claws as it lunged at the young man in green.

The young man in green let out a long howl, emitting a sharp shriek, and over a dozen third-tier demonic birds swooped down, attacking Wang Changsheng and Fang Mu respectively. Wang Changsheng's brows furrowed slightly as he wielded his Ruyi Profound Jade Staff, preventing the demonic birds from getting close.

Fang Mu conjured a palm-sized crimson gourd. It instantly expanded, with a grotesque crimson corpse carved on its surface. The crimson gourd spewed out a large expanse of pungent crimson mist, striking the demonic birds. As soon as the demonic birds touched the crimson mist, they immediately emitted plumes of green smoke and rapidly plummeted from the sky. Before hitting the ground, they dissolved into pools of blood, their toxicity astonishing. This Blood Corpse Gourd was refined from various third-tier materials and contained the essence blood of multiple third-tier demonic beasts. It was specifically used to corrode magical artifacts. The Blood Corpse Gourd was a replica of the Blood-Transforming Gourd, its power not inferior to a second-tier magical artifact. The Blood-Transforming Gourd was one of the three foundational treasures of the Yin Corpse Sect.

The small zombie reached the vicinity of the young man in green. With a wave of its hands, countless dense black threads flew out, striking towards the young man in green. The young man in green wielded the azure scythe in his hand, unleashing a large flurry of azure blade shadows. Surprisingly, the azure blade shadows couldn't sever the black threads; they only managed to block them. The five white ice dragons also reached his vicinity. The young man in green fiercely flapped the wings on his back, sending out a large expanse of azure wind blades that shattered the five white ice dragons, preventing them from approaching him.

A ripple appeared in the void above, and a vast, hazy blue giant palm suddenly materialized, swiftly slapping down. The young man in green flapped his wings and quickly retreated, causing the blue giant palm to miss its target. However, a black light shot towards him. The young man in green couldn't evade in time, and his left shoulder was struck by the black light, bleeding profusely. A thick white beam of light shot past, brushing against the young man in green, and his left arm quickly froze.

A black ghostly face, over ten zhang wide, lunged forward. Its surface was filled with numerous specters, exuding an oppressive aura of Yin. The young man in green's expression changed. He fiercely flapped the wings on his back, sending out a powerful gust of wind that blew the black ghostly face away.

A long spear, as black as ink, struck towards him. The young man in green hastily swung the azure scythe in his hand forward, and a large flurry of azure blade shadows flew out, striking the black spear. The black spear, of unknown origin, suddenly burst apart, transforming into a vast expanse of black threads that entangled the young man in green's body.

The small zombie's eyes lit up brightly as it rapidly pounced towards the young man in green. The young man in green's face changed drastically. He opened his mouth and spat out a wind spear, which struck the small zombie's armor, leaving only faint white marks. The young man in green's hands were bound tightly. Despite his immense strength, he couldn't break free from the black threads. He conjured a shimmering red talisman, which transformed into a vast expanse of crimson fire that engulfed the small zombie's body. His two azure scythes flew from his grasp, plunging into the sea of flames with two dull thuds.

Soon, the small zombie burst out from the sea of flames, instantly appearing before the young man in green. Its hands grabbed the young man in green's shoulders, and it opened its mouth to reveal a pair of sharp fangs, biting towards the young man in green's neck. A shrill male scream echoed, and the young man in green's body visibly shriveled into a mummy.

Wang Changsheng looked at the small zombie with apprehension. In his impression, zombies couldn't cast spells, only spew corpse fire. However, this small zombie could use some kind of spell, and its body was impervious to magical artifacts. If he were to face the small zombie, Wang Changsheng wouldn't know what to do.

"Boom!"

A tremendous roar reverberated, faintly mixed with screams. Wang Changsheng turned his head and looked around, his brows furrowed. The demon race was simply insane. Unable to defeat the human cultivators, they commanded large numbers of third-tier demonic birds to self-destruct, inflicting heavy damage on Core Formation cultivators. The Core Formation cultivators had not anticipated such madness from the demon race, and for a time, they suffered heavy casualties.

A deafening roar echoed from high in the sky as a massive crimson sun and a colossal golden sun collided. Two-colored spiritual lights intermingled, the sky and earth changed color, airwaves surged, and the void twisted and deformed.

"Stop! Everyone, stop!"

Six Nascent Soul cultivators descended from high in the sky, their faces somewhat pale. Five Nascent Soul stage demons also descended from above. Wang Changsheng noticed that their side had suffered over twenty casualties. The demon race was also in a bad state; their tactic of commanding third-tier demonic birds to self-destruct and harm enemies made Wang Changsheng somewhat fearful, though fortunately, his cultivation level wasn't high enough to be a primary target for the demon race.

"Fight on! We can afford it; at worst, we'll perish together!" A burly young man in a black shirt sneered, his eyes filled with a cold glint. Hearing this, the cultivators showed various expressions, some with fear in their eyes.

"Hmph, as if we're afraid of you. Do you think exploding a few third-tier demonic birds can scare us?" Fang Sizhe scoffed. Of course, he wouldn't be intimidated by the demon race.

"Continuing this struggle benefits no one. Ultimately, we are all just following orders, so why fight to the death?"

Fang Sizhe scoffed dismissively, "How many of our resources have you plundered? How many of our cultivators have you killed? And now you want to just walk away? Do you think it's that easy?"

"So what do you want? To continue fighting to the bitter end? Then come on!" The young man in the black shirt remained expressionless, appearing completely unconcerned.

Fang Sizhe and the other five Nascent Soul cultivators exchanged telepathic messages. They haggled with the Nascent Soul stage demons and finally decided to settle the conflict through a death match between Core Formation cultivators. If the human race won, the demon race would cede territory spanning five hundred thousand li. If the demon race won, the human race would not be allowed to pursue them further.

A territory of five hundred thousand li seemed vast, but it was less than one percent of what the demon race occupied. Although this agreement was made, it was hard to say whether either the demon or human race would renege on it later.

Wang Changsheng's cultivation was too low, so he naturally wasn't qualified to participate in the battle. Fang Mu and Daoist Ziyang both stepped forward to fight. Out of ten matches, the human race narrowly won six. Fang Mu's performance was the most striking; with his Core Formation Stage Four cultivation and a Corpse King, he managed to kill a Core Formation Stage Six half-demon. However, Fang Mu also suffered severe injuries, and the small zombie was wounded as well. The demon race won four matches, but the human race paid a heavy price. When half-demons couldn't defeat human cultivators, they would self-destruct. This suicidal fighting style sent shivers down the spines of the cultivators present.