Chapter 24: Nine Phoenixes

After all the sword puppets had been eliminated, the cavern did not return to tranquility as expected. Sword Mountain began to tremble, and a blinding green light suddenly flared at its center.

Boom, boom—the sound echoed like the thundering beat of a colossal heart. The entire cave seemed to shudder on the brink of collapse, and massive boulders began to rain from above. The group scattered in panic; a few wounded warriors, too slow to evade, were instantly crushed by the falling stones, their short, anguished cries cut off as their bodies were smashed into unrecognizable pulp. Witnessing the gruesome deaths of their companions, the rest were seized by dread, each fearing they would be next.

Fortunately, the disaster of falling stones did not last long. From the slope of Sword Mountain, a towering puppet began to climb to its feet, as if imbued with an irresistible suction force. The sword puppets that had just been felled were drawn toward it one by one.

“Form up! Be on guard!” someone shouted.

The mysterious energy atop Sword Mountain had reassembled the sword puppets—fewer in number now, but all the more refined.

First to emerge was a demonic monkey, its body constructed from countless sword blades. In the flickering firelight, its shimmering fur was made entirely of the sharp edges of small swords, yet it gave off a surprisingly smooth impression. The monkey demon was the size of a seven-year-old child, with a long, whip-like sword tail raised and swaying, producing a metallic clanging. Its eyes, glowing green, flashed suddenly, and in the next instant, it leapt at the nearest soldier.

Chen Longshi had been watching its every move. Using Swift Step, he shifted to intercept it head-on, parrying the attack. The sword demon was far swifter than the previous sword puppets, its strikes so quick that a moment’s carelessness would leave new wounds. But after a few exchanges, Chen Longshi discerned the creature’s attack patterns.

Though more agile, it still relied on its four limbs and claws, launching a bewildering array of sword techniques with its talons. Only the long, whip-like sword tail behind it required special caution—it could extend several meters in an instant to strike like a scorpion’s sting, nearly impossible to guard against.

Chen Longshi, already close to breaking the shackles of the Nine Extremes Sword Technique, welcomed a chance to battle such a skilled sword demon. After several rounds of defense, the demon opened its maw and spat a beam of sword energy as brilliant as a bolt of lightning—its power formidable.

His mental strength was already spread wide, allowing him to sense the buildup of this ultimate attack and evade just in time. The sword energy slashed across the stone floor, carving deep fissures, but that was all.

For Chen Longshi, this newly emerged monkey-shaped sword demon posed no real threat. With his Counterattack Shield and psychic protection, its attacks could not penetrate his defense. However, the successive emergence of more monkey sword demons did inflict casualties on the team.

This was still not the boss. Knowing the team could not afford further losses, Chen Longshi decided to hold nothing back.

He reassembled his sword and spear—his eight-foot-long spear gleaming with cold silver light, swirling in a dance so impenetrable that not even water could pass through. Each thrust, stab, whip, sweep, bind, circle, block, seize, lunge, point, parry, and flourish was executed with consummate agility. Even if the sword demon’s attacks doubled in intensity, they could not reach him.

His star power surged within, and with psychic force attached, he unleashed Starquake, sending out a massive shockwave. Any sword demon caught within its range seldom survived more than three blows.

Boom, boom, boom—

It was pure brute force overwhelming skill, the shockwaves splitting the air with deafening noise. Even more gratifying to Chen Longshi were the screams of the sword demons—the addictive satisfaction of mowing down monsters like whack-a-mole, a pleasure usually only found when facing weaklings. To experience it now, battling formidable sword demons, was a rare delight.

Of course, such results owed much to Chen Longshi’s keen perception and the aid of his weapon.

Since he could manage this, naturally, others of comparable skill—Ji Bu, Ou Lian, and Zhi Jiang—could as well, especially with the aid of their divine weapons. With their help, the chaos wrought by the sword monkey demons was soon subdued once more.

With all its underlings defeated, Sword Mountain finally ceased producing new tricks. With a thunderous roar, it rose up mightily.

“The boss is finally out…”

“Damn, it’s huge!”

Though they had anticipated this, seeing it for real was still unnerving. The thing was monstrously large—a giant sword demon several meters high, its human body and birdlike wings entirely forged from blades. When it unfurled its wings in fury, the span covered dozens of meters, casting the cavern into shadow. Each wing was like a massive sword, gleaming with a chill that nothing could withstand.

Even Chen Longshi, who had been confident until now, felt his heart pounding.

Suddenly, Ou Lian cried out, “Is that my ancestor, Ou Yezi?!”

“What? How could it be?” Zhi Jiang exclaimed in disbelief. A closer look at the giant revealed a vaguely human head, its features indistinct, yet it did bear a resemblance to the portraits left behind of Ou Yezi. “But how could the venerable Ou Yezi have become a monster?”

Chen Longshi said, “Forget about who it is—just focus on taking it down. Otherwise, none of us are making it out alive.”

Ji Bu roared, “Let me try first!” Star power blazed from his enormous hammer as he struck the giant’s wing head-on. The impact was no less impressive than the boss’s own might, but the result was vastly different. Even Chen Longshi would hesitate to meet Ji Bu’s raw strength directly, but against the sword demon, Ji Bu could only withstand a single instant before being hurled away.

He spat blood repeatedly as he flew through the air, his vitality rapidly fading.

The giant sword swept down mercilessly, and the others paled with dread. Ou Lian, abandoning his shock, threw himself before Zhi Jiang to shield her, joined by several soldiers. “Princess, be careful!”

But all efforts were futile. The moment the giant sword came down, they met the same fate as Ji Bu.

Zhi Jiang stood before the towering sword demon, unmoving. Her expression was complicated—not fear, but hesitation.

Chen Longshi understood her internal struggle but said nothing. He leapt forward, repeating the same maneuver as the others, shielding Zhi Jiang behind him. “Princess, fall back now!”

The Counterattack Shield, now a reflexive spell, formed nine six-pointed star shields in the air before him—the most he could manage. Yet, as the colossal sword descended, each shield shattered in succession, dissolving into fragments of starlight in the darkness.

Fortunately, the Counterattack Shield’s retaliatory effect managed to slow the blade’s fall, but it was not enough—one strike was followed by another. Chen Longshi unleashed his full psychic power.

With a sudden pop—like puncturing a gas-filled balloon—his usually invincible psychic force was instantly broken. Chen Longshi suffered the gravest injury since his rebirth: a blow like a hammer to the skull, leaving his mind reeling and blank. His innards quaked from the shock, his body hurled uncontrollably through the air until he coughed up a mouthful of blood that splattered across Zhi Jiang’s chest.

That spurt of blood finally snapped Zhi Jiang out of her trance. She cried out, “Teacher—!”

Confronted by the ferocious sword demon, the woman hesitated no longer. Her hands formed a complex seal, her eyes flaring crimson and shining a foot beyond her face, while her long hair rose in an unfelt wind. An unending tide of star fire burst from her body, the air burning silently in its wake, the earth cracking and melting as if the cavern had become a molten inferno.

A piercing, savage bird cry rang out, echoing through the entire cavern.

Chen Longshi was stunned. He had never witnessed such a powerful surge of star power—it flowed like liquid, an almost inconceivable phenomenon.

Looking back, he saw Zhi Jiang now levitating in midair. Billowing flames blazed behind her, forming vast, burning wings. Her long tail feathers shimmered in rainbow hues—a veritable phoenix descending to the mortal realm. Yet this giant avian form bore nine fierce heads.

“In the great wilderness, there is a mountain called the Northern Celestial Pillar, where the northern seas reside. There dwells a god with nine heads, a human face, and a bird’s body, called the Nine-Fold Phoenix.”

“At my command, the phoenix soars, pursuing the cycles of day and night; the tempest gathers and parts, leading clouds and rainbows in its wake.”

In this critical moment, Zhi Jiang finally unleashed the spirit of the Nine-Headed Divine Bird. The mighty beast spread its wings and faced the sword demon, their cries clashing in the darkness—a dreadful, grating sound that set every listener’s teeth on edge and filled them with nightmare dread.

The sword demon was no less savage, its wings of steel striking unflinchingly at the phoenix’s heads.

The Nine-Fold Phoenix turned its nine heads as one, spewing nine crimson spheres of star power—no, these were more like cannons, each blast as powerful as artillery, and all fired at once.

The first two blasts shattered the sword demon’s wings; the remaining seven struck its body in succession, heating its countless blades until they glowed red-hot, then melted them into rivers of molten steel.

Unable to withstand the divine beast’s power, the sword demon lost all its weapons and protections, leaving only a green heart pulsing faintly in the darkness.

After unleashing this world-shaking attack, the Nine-Fold Phoenix seemed utterly spent. The raging flames collapsed inward, shrinking quickly into her body, and the cavern was plunged once more into darkness.

…

The cave fell into brief silence. If not for the rolling waves of heat and the still-glowing magma cooling on the floor, there would be no trace that such a fierce battle had just taken place. The scene was like a dream.

As everyone’s eyes adjusted to the dark, the groans of the wounded began to fill the air.

Within Chen Longshi, vitality surged as he rapidly healed his internal injuries. Though his head still spun, he was the first to rise and make his way toward the magma, where he found Zhi Jiang collapsed and unconscious, her clothes burned away. He wrapped her frail body in his own garments and held her to his chest, shielding her from the molten rock’s heat.

“How is everyone?” he called.

Ji Bu coughed up a clot of blood, half-kneeling in exhaustion. “I’m fine—still good for another three hundred rounds,” he declared gruffly, though his voice lacked its usual vigor, clearly gravely wounded.

“Don’t push yourself, General. The sword demon has been slain; we’re safe for now.”

Ou Lian cried out anxiously, “My injuries are too severe—I fear I can’t fight any longer. Teacher, how is Her Highness?”

Chen Longshi answered, “Don’t worry, Her Highness is merely unconscious from exhaustion. But the battle here was too fierce; I fear we may have drawn the undead creatures of the Chu King’s tomb. And this cavern will collapse soon—it’s no place to linger. General, please order a retreat.”

“I understand,” Ji Bu said, clasping his hands. He turned and shouted to the soldiers, “All who can still move, help the wounded and withdraw from the cave at once!”

“Yes, sir!” came the ragged responses from the survivors.

After a quick count, Ji Bu found that fewer than fifty soldiers remained fit for battle. When they’d entered, their force had numbered over a hundred; the toll had been devastating.