Ouyang Chu Ge felt the immense power emanating from the darkness and immediately knew who was approaching, as no one else could exert such a formidable pressure.
To avoid complete annihilation, he shouted, "The Demon King is here, everyone be careful."
Although the others had already suspected as much, hearing Ouyang Chu Ge's words still couldn't conceal their disappointment. Their cultivation was utterly insufficient to face the Demon King; it was akin to seeking death.
"Hurry and leave this place," instructed Daoist Meng Xu, leading the charge towards the human realm across the Sky Scar. Within the demon realm, the Demon King's power would be amplified by the demonic energy, while their own strength would be suppressed by it. This disparity would only widen the chasm between them, turning them into lambs awaiting slaughter.
Upon hearing the instruction, the others retreated towards the human realm without hesitation. While they possessed confidence, they were not arrogant enough to confront the Demon King head-on.
After arriving in the human realm, Daoist Meng Xu looked back at the darkness with a puzzled expression. Legend had it that after being wounded in ancient times, the Demon King had fallen into a deep slumber, not waking for millions of years. How could he have recovered now? It was utterly abnormal. Was this the will of heaven?
"Everyone, speed up! We absolutely cannot let the Demon King escape," Daoist Meng Xu urged, observing the intensifying pressure. Such powerful pressure indicated the Demon King was rapidly approaching. Once the Demon King drew near, even the Five Spirit Orbs would be unable to stop him, and everyone would perish there, unable to escape in time.
Hearing Daoist Meng Xu's words, everyone redoubled their efforts, their magical power surging into the Five Spirit Orbs like a receding tide. As their magical power increased, the Five Spirit Orbs began to emit different lights, casting them upon the Sky Scar seal.
Daoist Meng Xu then began to chant ancient and complex incantations. The incantations, combined with the beams of light, enveloped the surrounding space in an eerie atmosphere. As the light swept across the seal, the already cracked fissures began to heal, gradually reforming into a complete seal pattern. However, due to the vast size of the seal, the light alone could not mend it entirely in a short time. The seal was at its weakest point; any impact would prevent further healing.
"Quick, stop her!" Daoist Meng Xu anxiously exclaimed, seeing the encroaching dark energy. The seal had become extremely fragile; if struck by the Demon King, it would be completely destroyed, rendering even the Five Spirit Orbs useless.
Ouyang Chu Ge disliked being ordered around, but at this moment, he had no choice but to step forward. After all, he was the only one available; the others were occupied. Daoist Meng Xu's words were clearly directed at him.
With a sigh, Ouyang Chu Ge moved to the front of the seal. He faced the Demon King with nervousness but no fear. Taking a deep breath, he retrieved a token from his person and tossed it forward. The token was palm-sized, intricately carved with countless skull patterns. Each skull on the token seemed alive, struggling as if trying to break free. As the token was activated, the skulls' faces contorted in pain, and streams of black energy erupted from their mouths. With the appearance of this black energy, an aura not weaker than the Demon King's pressure emerged, surprisingly managing to resist the Demon King's oppressive force.
Daoist Meng Xu had only intended to try, but he was overjoyed when Ouyang Chu Ge actually found a way to block the incursion of dark energy. It seemed luck was on their side.
"Hurry! I can't hold on for long," Ouyang Chu Ge warned, his voice trembling, noticing Daoist Meng Xu and the others relaxing slightly. This was not the Demon King's true form, but merely a wisp of his remnant soul. Yet, even a remnant soul was something he could not easily handle. The pressure was immense. Ouyang Chu Ge was relying entirely on his magical artifact to withstand the Demon King's pressure. With his own cultivation alone, he would have been killed in a single encounter. However, he knew his jade pendant had a limited duration. Once that time elapsed, it would be unable to impede the Demon King any further. By then, if they hadn't sealed the rift, he would be out of options. At that point, fate would be the best choice.
Hearing Ouyang Chu Ge's warning, Daoist Meng Xu and the others quickly increased the speed of their magical power transfer, continuing to reinforce the seal. As magical power continuously flowed from their bodies, Su Xi began to feel a growing dizziness. Her cultivation was barely at the Nascent Soul stage, far inferior to these ancient beings beside her. Under the influence of their magical power, her own energy started to wane rapidly, making her feel as if she were about to collapse. Her internal magical power seemed to be stripped away like a receding tide, far exceeding the rate at which she could absorb spiritual energy from the outside. This imbalance was overwhelming. If not for her accumulated magical power far surpassing cultivators of the same level, she would have long since become a desiccated husk.
Sensing Su Xi's anomaly, Lin Qing frowned and quickly channeled a portion of his own magical power into her body, helping to stabilize her soul. Although Lin Qing knew that only about one percent of his magical power could be utilized by Su Xi, it was enough to temporarily restore her energy. Upon receiving the influx of Lin Qing's magical power, Su Xi instantly felt her fatigue vanish, and a surge of vitality coursed through her. While she could only absorb a portion of the others' magical power, her internal supercomputer allowed her to convert Lin Qing's entire magical power into energy for her body.
Lin Qing noticed Su Xi's accelerated absorption of his magical power and glanced at her, his brow furrowing. "Does your conscience not ache, devouring my magical power like this?" he mused. However, at this critical juncture, other concerns were secondary; as long as Su Xi was temporarily safe. Thus, a peculiar scene unfolded. Lin Qing alone was supplying the magical power for two factions, and he did so without breaking a sweat. While the others knew Lin Qing was powerful, witnessing such immense strength still left them astounded. Such power was truly extraordinary. What was Lin Qing's true cultivation level?
"Are you done yet?" Ouyang Chu Ge asked, looking back at the others, his voice strained with urgency. In just a few breaths, his artifact had only a wisp of black energy remaining, like a reed in the wind, on the verge of dissipation. He could not hold on much longer.
"Almost," Daoist Meng Xu replied, glancing at the seal. The Sky Scar seal was nearing completion; in just three more breaths, the fissures would be entirely repaired.
"Can't hold on!" Ouyang Chu Ge grunted heavily, and then the black energy he had released vanished instantly. With its obstruction gone, the dark shadow emanating from the Demon King surged towards the seal without restraint.
"Bang!" With a violent collision, the nearly healed seal of the Sky Scar instantly developed numerous new cracks, showing signs of imminent collapse. As the Sky Scar fractured, the group suffered a backlash.
"Pfft!" They all spat out blood, their auras weakening considerably. Clearly, the recent events had severely injured them.
"Quick, don't let it crumble!" Daoist Meng Xu warned, then spat out a mouthful of vital blood, urgently stabilizing the fissures before him. If the Sky Scar seal were to shatter completely, all their efforts would be in vain. With the integration of the vital blood, the fissures stopped breaking and, with the infusion of spiritual energy from the Five Spirit Orbs, began to heal once more.
Seeing that the Sky Scar had not been destroyed, the demonic energy was unwilling to give up easily and surged towards the seal again. This seal could isolate powerful demon beings; any expert exceeding the Nascent Soul stage who approached would be annihilated. However, this time, only a clone had arrived, and coupled with the partial breakage of the Sky Scar seal, there was no need to fear such a consequence. They could act boldly. Thus, the Demon King attacked without reservation, intent on breaking through the seal. Only by shattering the seal could his true form descend upon the human world and open a new battlefield.
Seeing the Demon King charging again, the faces of everyone present grew grim. The seal might withstand the first impact, but it was unlikely to survive a second. If such collisions continued, the Sky Scar seal would undoubtedly break. Even if the seal held, their bodies would not endure.
As the Demon King's silhouette charged once more, Lin Qing roared and unleashed a white light from his body, rushing towards the dark shadow.
"Swish!" With a flash of cold light, the previously unstoppable dark shadow was instantly severed in part. Though the portion was not large, it was enough to shock everyone. This was the Demon King, not an ordinary person. Ouyang Chu Ge had struggled for a long time without inflicting any damage on the dark energy. Yet, Lin Qing's white light could wound the Demon King, which was an abnormal feat. What had happened?
After stopping the Demon King, Lin Qing did not cease his assault. He again channeled the white light, continuing to agitate the dark shadow. In a mere breath, the area of the dark shadow was reduced by more than half.
"You guys hold on, I'm going to finish him off," Lin Qing declared, seemingly fueled by the fight, and charged towards the dark shadow.
"???"
"Σ(⊙▽⊙"a"
Witnessing Lin Qing's frenzied actions, the others swallowed hard and exchanged bewildered glances. "What is happening? Are we dreaming? Such immense power, is this the Lin Qing we usually bullied? Why does the Demon King seem like paper in his hands, unable to resist? Even a mere projection of the Demon King shouldn't be this fragile."
"Mountain Master, what should we do?" Jiang Feng asked Daoist Meng Xu, looking dazed. "When did Lin Qing become so powerful? And if he's this powerful, why do we still need to strive?"
Daoist Meng Xu glanced at Jiang Feng beside him but was not as optimistic. He grimly instructed, "Let's use this time wisely. He won't be able to hold on for long." Having been friends with Lin Qing for many years, he knew very well that Lin Qing's true strength was nowhere near this level. The only explanation was that Lin Qing had used a secret technique. Although he didn't know what secret technique it was, he was certain the price would be significant. Therefore, they had to seize this hard-won opportunity, lest Lin Qing's great sacrifice be in vain.