Chapter 375: Heavenly Court Civil Official Combat Strength Reference

That massive mountain-protecting formation from moments ago, did it just… vanish?

They had been in the Primordial Era for so many years and were considered worldly, but this kind of small skirmish... they had truly never witnessed anything like it.

The mountain assault hadn't even begun, yet the opponents had fled, the grand formation was gone, and the Heavenly Court's Water God, who had briefly appeared, was now nowhere to be seen.

A younger demon king innocently asked, "Du Xian Sect is now empty; what are we fighting for? The mountain itself?”

“Don't fall for the Water God's schemes! He clearly intended to sow discord between us and… that fellow Daoist just now, and now he wants to scare us away with this abnormal display! The Water God is cunning; don't be fooled!”

“Du Xian Sect has thousands of disciples; how could they retreat so easily? Who on earth leaked the information?!”

“Time is fleeting; why are we still hesitating? Is the soul of Mount Yaosheng at peace? Can the rage of our demon race be quelled?!”

The presiding elder demons almost started quarreling over this.

Because there were so many formations on Xiaoqiong Peak, Li Changshou simply activated a cloud mirror in his alchemy room, allowing Ling'e and Youqin Xuanya, who were playing chess, to also see the situation outside. He then casually summoned a cattail fan and gently waved it.

“Senior Brother,” Ling'e asked, pointing at the figures in the cloud mirror with a hint of surprise, “What kind of demons are these? They look quite scary.”

Youqin Xuanya, as the chief disciple of their generation, had traveled outside several times and was somewhat more experienced. At this moment, she was thoughtfully pinching her chin with a slender finger, commenting seriously: “The books say that the more original physical characteristics demons retain after transformation, the stronger their ferocity.”

Ling'e knelt there, swaying as she looked left and right at the cloud mirror. “How many demons have come?”

“Over a hundred thousand,” Li Changshou replied calmly, his eyes closed.

“Ten!” Ling'e, who had originally trusted her Senior Brother implicitly, couldn't help but purse her lips. “Senior Brother, 98%?”

“Otherwise?” Li Changshou opened his eyes and retorted, “Are you questioning your brother's escape technique?”

Ling'e chuckled, “I wouldn't dare! Senior Brother's escape technique is unparalleled! Invincible at running away!”

Li Changshou smiled contentedly, flicked the cattail fan in his hand, and the ground subtly trembled. Immortal light shimmered around them as the entire alchemy room began to slowly descend.

Xiaoqiong Peak appeared calm on the surface, but secretly, various grand formations were slowly operating. Formation bases lit up one by one, and the five elements of spiritual energy mutually generated and reinforced each other.

The alchemy room directly descended into the mountain, connecting to the upper part of the cave dwelling within. The gourd-shaped alchemy room fit perfectly into the mountain's crevices, and the pathways it traversed were meticulously filled with rocks.

Then, with a rumbling sound, the bookshelves around the alchemy room slowly rotated, revealing the cloud-shrouded glazed mirrors hanging on their backs.

With a wave of Li Changshou's cattail fan, these magical glazed mirrors revealed the ‘Ten Directions’ beyond Xiaoqiong Peak.

They provided real-time synchronization, with no blind spots, achieving a state of unity between man and mountain to some extent! The ultimate defense of the Primordial Era was within reach.

Ling'e remained quite calm watching these flashy operations, as she had, after all, witnessed most of her Senior Brother's renovation projects.

Youqin Xuanya, however, was truly stunned. After a moment of dazed silence, she couldn't help but ask, “What are these?”

“Formations, restrictions, combined with some spells,” Li Changshou calmly replied. “Remember not to mention them to anyone outside.”

“Understood, Senior Brother Changshou, rest assured,” Youqin Xuanya said, pursing her thin lips. Li Changshou acknowledged with a smile.

Although she often acted unexpectedly when dealing with social matters, her trustworthiness in keeping promises was reliable — after all, she had made several Grand Dao oaths related to secrecy before.

Ling'e nervously exclaimed, “Senior Brother, they're here!”

“Yes,” Li Changshou calmly affirmed, then closed his eyes and murmured, “What we need to do now is buy some time. Not all the demons here can be killed; we need to leave some demon experts to return and create momentum.”

With that, his consciousness returned to the dozens of paper-avatars, managing the immortal bean soldiers in sections.

It could only be said that demons truly lived up to their name...

For today's battle at Du Xian Sect, Li Changshou had prepared three contingency plans, even making the worst-case assumption that the sect's main gate would be mostly destroyed.

However, the demons, incapable of doing anything right, were number one at saving him trouble. At this moment, this group of demons neither retreated nor launched a full-scale assault. Instead, they sent 30% of their forces, along with a few experts, to first infiltrate the sect's perimeter.

No matter. Killing demons today was secondary; stirring up trouble for Ksitigarbha from a distance was the real priority.

Li Changshou issued simple mental commands, and the immortal bean soldiers on more than a dozen peaks simultaneously rose. Rows of 'Heavenly Soldiers' holding large shields and long spears shot into the sky, while the ranged immortal soldiers had already drawn their bows and tightened their strings.

A chaotic rain of arrows erupted, drums roared like thunder, demons shrieked, and the world was stained red.

Figures fell like rustling leaves. Those powerful demon kings directly lunged towards the various peaks. Li Changshou's dozen or so Heavenly Immortal-level paper-avatars went out to meet them, and as soon as they engaged in close combat with the demon soldiers, they instantly self-detonated!

Three weaker demon kings were directly torn apart by the paper-avatars' self-detonation, and several more demon kings were heavily wounded!

The enraged roars of the elder demons echoed everywhere:

“It's still the 'scattering beans to form soldiers' technique! These are all Water God's avatars; his true body must be here!”

“Hahahaha! Stop looking randomly.”

Loud laughter rang out high in the sky. A figure mysteriously appeared directly above Potian Peak, dressed in a white robe, with white hair and beard, and a small pagoda spinning above his head, scattering streaks of mysterious yellow aura.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his horsetail whisk replaced by a gleaming golden longsword, standing proudly in the air, his majestic presence suppressing all parts of the world.

“I am right here. What can you do to me?”

Many demon experts' eyes instantly turned red, and several elder demons gnashed their teeth.

An elder demon with a youthful face and white hair cursed aloud:

“Water God! You cruel, ruthless, vile, and shameless wretch! You slaughter our demon race, destroy our demon race's fortune! Did our demon race have any grievance with you before this?!”

Li Changshou's lips curled in a slight smirk, and his calm voice echoed throughout heaven and earth:

“So, the fact that the demon race almost annihilated our human race in ancient times doesn't count as a grievance?”

“Your human race is already the protagonist of heaven and earth, and our race has retreated to the fissures of the Five Continents; is that not enough?”

Li Changshou calmly said, “Demon who speaks thus, do you perhaps believe that the Human Race overthrowing the ancient Demon Court was a victory bestowed upon us by your demon race? Or perhaps, that the former Demon Emperor's demise was due to a pang of conscience upon facing humans, leading him to commit suicide?”

Another elder demon roared, “The Human Race merely took advantage of our demon and witch races battling to mutual destruction; how can you speak of valor?!”

“Enough,” Li Changshou sneered. “In ancient times, when the Human Race was still weak, knowing only how to procreate but not the methods of cultivation, the already flourishing Demon Race wantonly slaughtered humans; how can you speak of valor? The Human Race's incense never died out. They strived for strength, with generations of pioneers stepping forward, exploring the Grand Dao of Heaven and Earth, and safeguarding humanity! Your demon race failed to recognize the ways of Heaven, became arrogant and conceited. Since there was evil cause, there was evil consequence. The Human Race, attacking the strong with weakness, with the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors progressively laying down firm foundations, achieved their current status as protagonists of heaven and earth by their own strength! You are merely the defeated dogs of ancient times, with malice unceasing, good intentions hard to cultivate, entangled by karma, unable to establish yourselves in heaven and earth. Moreover, you did not forget to harm the Witch Race and refine the human-annihilating evil weapon! On that day, anyone who went to Mount Yaosheng to protect that human-annihilating sword, how could they not be destroyed? Yet today you dare to come here and raise this matter, yapping senselessly within my Human Dao Immortal Sect. It is utterly preposterous and absurd! It's said that the older a demon gets, the thicker their skin becomes. You truly live up to your reputation as renowned demons, utterly shameless!”

“You!” The elder demon with white hair and a youthful face turned crimson, then violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

Another elder demon stamped his foot and cursed loudly, “Water God! You are obstinate, intending to provoke another war between our two races! You shall bear the karmic consequences of this alone!”

“You still don't understand,” Li Changshou said calmly, “Demons are a race formed from the convergence of myriad spirits, a mixture of good and bad, with no inherent bloodline foundation! Personally, I have never considered the demon race an enemy of the human race. The greatly virtuous and compassionate Saintly Mother also once joined the demon race; the Qingqiu clan, upholding love and equality, is also a branch of the demon race. Only those evil beings who devour and kill humans, treat living beings as mere grass, intend to control and bully other races, and those who assist them in their tyrannical acts—whether demon or human—are the enemies of all living beings in the Primordial Era! Such demons, if this Daoist can kill, will certainly be killed without mercy! Such beings can be purged by the Heavenly Court, and will certainly not be left to cause any future trouble!”

As Li Changshou's voice faded, silence fell across heaven and earth, and many demons' eyes flickered with a hint of suspicion.

A moment later, a bear demon finally muttered, “What if we can't win the argument?”

“Why do I feel like what the Water God said… makes so much sense?”

“Don't listen to his nonsense! The Human Race will absolutely not tolerate us!”

An elder demon roared loudly, and several elder demons rushed furiously towards Li Changshou's figure high in the sky!

“If we kill the Water God, our sacred race can still prosper greatly!”

Then dozens of demon kings moved in unison, unleashing divine abilities and throwing magic treasures, transforming into streaks of light that smashed towards Li Changshou's figure.

However, with the mysterious yellow aura descending, Li Changshou stood safely in the air, allowing the multitude of demons to bombard him, his figure remaining unmoving.

Even Grandfather Pagoda, who had been very excited before, was now lackadaisical, somewhat dispirited...

“Weak… so boring… haven't these guys eaten?”

“Being hit by them feels like a complete disgrace to the magic treasure world.”

“Little disciple, quickly display your divine abilities and eradicate these fellows.”

Li Changshou acknowledged mentally. Seizing the moment when they attacked in unison, he waved his hand and scattered two handfuls of dark silver needles.

These silver needles were poisoned, and the poison was extracted and refined by Li Changshou from the potent venom that had once almost incapacitated the West Sea Dragon King. The 'silver needles' themselves were made from precious 'Dark Immortal Stone', specifically for breaking through protective immortal light.

What seemed like a casual strike was actually quite costly, and the needles were difficult to reuse.

However, the effect was truly excellent.

Almost in an instant, half of the besieging great demons were struck by the silver needles.

The great demons initially felt no power from the needles, but as soon as they circulated their immortal power, their vision suddenly went black.

Furthermore, several great demons whose cultivation barely reached the Heavenly Immortal realm slowly reverted to their true forms in the air, dying and their demon souls directly dissipating into black smoke.

This scene caused all the demons to change their expressions.

An elder demon roared, calling for all demons to attack in unison. Countless demon figures swooped towards Li Changshou, and in short order, surrounded him, unleashing divine abilities and magic treasures simultaneously.

But just as the demons completed their encirclement, streaks of lightning illuminated the sky, directly shattering the besieging demons!

Immortal bean soldiers also launched attacks from various peaks. The demons originally around the sect gate had now received orders to advance, initiating a fierce battle within Du Xian Sect.

With the Xuanhuang Pagoda above his head, Li Changshou charged left and right, casually unleashing lightning spells, poisonous powder, and Samadhi True Flame. Swathes of demon soldiers fell to the ground, crashing all over Du Xian Sect.

Inside Xiaoqiong Peak, in the alchemy room.

Youqin Xuanya and Ling'e watched the scenes in the glazed mirrors, at a loss for words.

Seeing the old immortal slaughtering everywhere as if entering an unmanned territory, they even had the illusion that they could do the same.

Youqin Xuanya whispered, “This senior is…”

Ling'e muttered, “From the Heavenly Court, I think? I don't know.”

Li Changshou calmly said, “Do not underestimate these demons. They could destroy our Du Xian Sect with hardly any effort. Those elder demons here possess strength comparable to slightly weaker Grand Unity Golden Immortals among humans. The reason you feel they can be easily handled is solely because of the treasured pagoda above my head. This pagoda is called the Heaven and Earth Exquisite Xuanhuang Pagoda, bestowed by the Saint Lord to help me contend with these powerful enemies.”

Ling'e and Youqin Xuanya exchanged glances, both somewhat speechless.

“But Senior Brother,” Ling'e quietly asked, “Isn't that outside your paper-avatar?”

“You recognized it, indeed,” Li Changshou chuckled. “From today onwards, you two must keep the jade talismans I gave you close. If anyone probes your minds, my true identity could be directly exposed.”

At this point, Li Changshou's tone shifted, and he said seriously:

“I'm not letting you two witness all this just for a show. Ling'e, have you seen a glimpse of the dangers of the Primordial Era today?”

Ling'e's small face was full of solemnity as she gently nodded.

“Junior Sister Youqin,” Li Changshou said, “I hope you will bear in mind what happened today. After you break through to the Heavenly Immortal realm, if you wish to slay demons and banish evil, and find a place for the sense of justice in your heart, I will naturally arrange a clear path for you.”

Youqin Xuanya bowed her head and clasped her hands, “Xuanya will not fail Senior Brother's expectations!”

Ling'e, from the side, weakly raised a small hand. “But Senior Brother… what if the paper-avatar is carrying our Human Dao's supreme treasure like this, and it gets snatched away?”

Li Changshou laughed dumbfounded, saying, “This treasure belongs to our Human Dao's Grand Pure Lord. Even if other Saint Lords were to make a move, they couldn't take it. Hmm? Experts are coming. Pay attention to all sides. I'll return my consciousness to my true body for a moment to deal with them.”

With that, the cattail fan in Li Changshou's hand stopped swaying. He closed his eyes and concentrated, and there was no sound from him in the room.

Youqin Xuanya quietly asked, “Where is Senior Brother Changshou's true body?”

“That, I can't say for sure,” Ling'e muttered, “But usually, Senior Brother is always in the safest place… Look!”

Ling'e gasped softly, and Youqin Xuanya also looked up. What they saw filled them with apprehension.

In one of the glazed mirrors, a vortex appeared high in the sky. Dozens of streaking lights shot out from it, radiating fierce aura and intense pressure!

The Primal Chaos Ferocious Beasts of Western Buddhism had arrived!

Li Changshou, who was fiercely battling the demon experts, now had his eyes light up, for among the charging Primal Chaos Ferocious Beasts, he sensed the most familiar aura.

The voice of Daoist Wen Jing sounded in Li Changshou's ear, accompanied by a charming laugh, “My lord is truly valiant; my heart blossoms seeing you.”

Li Changshou calmly said, “Grand Master might be watching.”

“Although you are handsome and dashing, my lord, I respect you more.”

“Stop chattering. Act as I instructed. Is Ksitigarbha making a move this time?”

“Indeed.”

As they spoke, a dozen handsome men and beautiful women joined the battle, actually driving back the demons and launching fierce attacks themselves.

Li Changshou was fearless. Relying on the Xuanhuang Pagoda's might, he counter-attacked the more than ten figures with his sword, but the strength he displayed at this moment was merely at the Golden Immortal realm, posing no threat whatsoever to these Primal Chaos Ferocious Beasts.

The ferocious beasts were greatly reassured!

Seeing this, those elder demons also, from the side, unleashed magic treasures, demon pearls, and divine abilities, bombarding Li Changshou wildly.

Thereupon, Grandfather Pagoda yawned, indicating that things were starting to get interesting.

Figures intertwined, the battle grew more entangled, and after only a short fierce fight, Li Changshou seemed to be reaching his limits...

The paper-avatar's immortal power was nearly depleted.

Several ferocious beasts forcefully restrained Li Changshou and the Xuanhuang Pagoda. A streak of dark light shot from the side—a black ox horn made of jade—striking squarely against the Xuanhuang Pagoda.

The Xuanhuang Pagoda swayed, actually being knocked back half a foot. Half of Li Changshou's body separated from the mysterious yellow aura.

In an instant, several streaks of light shot towards Li Changshou's exposed body, but a flash of blood-red light swiftly cut across, and that graceful figure strangely appeared in front of Li Changshou, extending a slender finger that instantly jabbed him on the shoulder.

The ferocious beasts' eyes lit up, and Li Changshou's body rapidly shriveled!

Daoist Wen Jing finally revealed her complete true form at this moment, a charming smile gracing her lips, and a comfortable hum escaping her nose.

However, Daoist Wen Jing's expression suddenly changed, and her figure hastily flashed backward. She saw a drop of blue water had already struck the skin on her chest.

This water drop suddenly expanded, transforming into a thirty-foot-long water dragon, imbued with vast divine power, which sent Daoist Wen Jing flying straight backward!

A flicker of resentment passed through Daoist Wen Jing's eyes, and her figure flashed in mid-air, vanishing once again.

Look below the Xuanhuang Pagoda!

The shriveled ‘Li Changshou’ turned into a crumpled paper-avatar. The paper-avatar was now engulfed in flames, and the ‘Golden Core’ within it flew back into the Xuanhuang Pagoda.

From the Xuanhuang Pagoda emerged a tiny figure. This figure instantly transformed to normal human size, still with white beard and hair, looking exactly as before.

But at this moment, the pressure emanating from his entire body was more than ten times stronger than before!

Then, with a roaring sound of water, a water diagram slowly unfurled before him. From it, ancient dragons flew out, roaring and snarling at their surroundings.

Behind him, a water-blue banner fluttered, its rich divine power imbuing him with the might of heaven and earth.

He held the vertical axis of the water diagram in his left hand and raised the Karmic Merit Demon-Slaying Sword high in his right. With his beard and hair fluttering, he bellowed:

“Where are the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals?! Surround this place! Let not a single demon escape!”

Suddenly, thunder rumbled overhead. Thick dark clouds had gathered at some unknown point, and from within these clouds, the Heavenly Thunder, formed from countless human voices, resonated:

“Yes, Sir!”

Streaks of golden light pierced through the dark clouds, and the sky was filled with the descending figures of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals.

From the east and south, dragon roars suddenly echoed. Hundreds of ancient dragons flew rapidly, and surprisingly, on their backs were ancient battle-witches brimming with vitality!

An elder demon roared in fury, “Bastards! Today's situation is a scheme concocted by Ksitigarbha and the Water God! They're using our race to accumulate merit for themselves!”

“Stop slandering!”

Another Primal Chaos Ferocious Beast angrily rebuked, “How could we possibly ally with the Heavenly Court?!”

“Only Ksitigarbha knew about today's events! Who else could have betrayed us if not him?”

“You yourselves were careless in your movements and got exposed!”

“Hah,” Li Changshou's cold chuckle echoed through heaven and earth. “It seems today, I cannot let even half a wisp of your remnant souls escape.”

As he spoke, a湛blue lightning orb gathered beneath his feet. This orb gently shattered, exploding into countless flashes of lightning that illuminated the entire world!

Lightning Evasion!

Li Changshou plunged into the lightning. Wherever the sky-filling thunder passed, sword light flashed and water dragons surged.

He seemed to transform into thousands of figures, launching sudden attacks, but in reality, he was simply moving too swiftly, using the lightning as a medium!

In the blink of an eye, over a dozen demon kings were slaughtered, and two Primal Chaos Ferocious Beasts were heavily wounded. Li Changshou's figure weaved effortlessly through the lightning, making him impossible for the ferocious beasts and elder demons to track!

This was... a Heavenly Court civil official's... small hidden card of raw power.

Meanwhile, in a corner of Spirit Mountain, the young Daoist priest closed his eyes and smiled, listening as Di Ting reported on the battle at Du Xian Sect.

Everything was unfolding as he had envisioned. Any number of demon casualties didn't matter...

At this moment, Di Ting had just finished saying that Wen Jing had decisively attacked the Water God, but the Water God had been a step ahead and wounded Wen Jing. The young Daoist priest also slowly nodded.

“That Wen Jing is too eager for merit; she has a bit of cleverness, but is not suitable for great tasks.”

Di Ting suddenly tilted his head as if listening, and after a moment, he whispered:

“Master, this time, you're in big trouble.”

Ksitigarbha couldn't help but slightly frown.