The First Immortal of Destiny

Chapter 431: Chapter 431: Stunning Sword: Slay Demon_1

Along Sea State’s extensive coastline, over a hundred defensive fortresses were scattered. Each was fortified with deep trenches, sturdy ramparts, and multiple Prohibition Arrays.

In the core areas, Teleportation Altars were constructed to facilitate the movement of stationed cultivators.

No matter where the Heavenly Demons from the nearby Demon Caves chose to attack Sea State, the defending side could swiftly mobilize a large number of cultivators to resist the Demon Tide.

While the Demon Tide included Class II and Class III Heavenly Demons, Class I Heavenly Demons were the most numerous. Against these low-class Heavenly Demons, incapable of flight or burrowing, strong fortifications played a crucial defensive role...

At that moment, Shen Mo witnessed tens of millions of Heavenly Demons coalescing into a terrifying black tide, frantically assaulting the adjacent fortresses of Dinghai, Wuchen, and Wuzi. It was no exaggeration; this was a true tidal wave of demons.

Countless Demon-corrupted Marine Races, relying on their robust vitality and ability to command waves, conjured monstrous tidal waves reaching up to a thousand feet high.

Primal Heavenly Demons, their auras merging, stood atop the waves or drifted within them, staining the colossal surges pitch black. They aimed to breach the fortress blockade, land on Sea State, corrupt humanity, and feast on fresh blood and flesh.

Furthermore, over a thousand Demon-corrupted cultivators trailed the Demon Tide. More than half were Class II demon heads, and nearly a hundred were Class III demon heads, their status clearly superior.

Counting the Demon-corrupted Marine Races within the waves, the number of Class III demon heads likely exceeded five hundred.

This was only because Human Cultivators and the Marine Races had joined forces to forcibly suppress the demonic expansion. Had the demons been allowed to freely devour the creatures of the sea, the number of Class III demon heads might have been ten or even a hundred times greater...

If there were five thousand, or even fifty thousand, Class III mutated Heavenly Demons, fighting would be pointless. We would have to seek refuge immediately!

Even five hundred Class III Heavenly Demons constituted a terrifying force. The Riverside Sect, over hundreds of years, had accumulated less than one hundred Spirit Sea Realm experts.

A hundred years ago, before the demonic disaster began, the sect boasted no more than three hundred Spirit Sea Realm experts at its peak. After nearly a century of demonic incursions, many Spirit Sea Realm practitioners had fallen, and their numbers had not fully recovered despite two decades of relative peace.

Moreover, besides this potent Near Sea Demon Cave, another major one existed near Heishan Town, in the vicinity of the Ghost Nation Ruins.

Fortunately, aside from these two Demon Caves, most other Heavenly Demon channels had been sealed. The overall situation was considerably better than it had been a few decades prior.

The black tide slammed against the three fortresses like furious waves crashing upon unyielding cliffs.

With terrifying momentum, waves surged relentlessly, battering the solemn fortresses. Each impact sent spray shooting sky-high, crashing down with earth-shattering force.

Countless primal Heavenly Demons were smashed to pieces, their agonizing shrieks drowned out by the cacophony of thunder, tsunamis, and explosions.

Innumerable mutated Heavenly Demons were slain by Formations, magic, talismans, and magic artifacts, their broken corpses littering the battlefield.

Waves taller than mountains exploded into torrents and spray in the blink of an eye, as if a colossal hole had been punched in the sky, unleashing the Heavenly River.

Beyond the common offensive measures and the surging spirit light they generated, powerful magic treasures were also deployed from the three fortresses. These included giant crossbows capable of felling True Dragons, Boat Houses equipped with fearsome ramming horns, fire dragon canopies unleashing flames that could incinerate mountains and boil seas, and clouds of vibrant miasma potent enough to poison all life.

With every breath, every blink of an eye, vast numbers of Heavenly Demons perished before these devastating weapons.

Despite this, the cultivation world of the Red Flame Country, led by the Five Great Sects, remained at an absolute disadvantage. The reason was simple: the overwhelming disparity in numbers.

The demon-slaying cultivators who had been operating in the Immortal Burial Sea had all retreated to Dingbo City and the various defensive fortresses upon sensing the Heavenly Demons’ movements before the battle. In the days following the start of the great battle, cultivators garrisoning other fortresses were continuously sent as reinforcements or to rotate the defenders here.

Ultimately, however, they faced an enemy numbering in the tens of millions. Even if the Heavenly Demons stood still and allowed themselves to be cut down, the sheer effort would exhaust Sea State’s defending cultivators to death.

If the cultivators held the upper hand in terms of high-level power, the situation might not have been so dire.

If the Heavenly Demons dared to gather and assault the fortresses in a tide, it would merely serve as an opportunity for the Spirit Sea Realm experts and Golden Core Realm patriarchs to accumulate more merit from slaying demons!

However, the Golden Core Realm patriarchs presiding over Sea State were locked in fierce battles with Class IV Big Heavenly Demons in the Nine Heavens, their clashes eclipsing the sun and moon. Similarly, Spirit Sea Realm experts found themselves hounded by Class III mutated Heavenly Demons, preventing them from freely slaughtering the lesser demons and their spawn.

The Heavenly Demons from the Near Sea Demon Cave could even spare forces to intercept the powerful experts from the Marine Race who had come to reinforce the human cultivators.

This clearly demonstrated their determination to breach the coastline in a single decisive strike, invade Sea State, reopen more sealed Heavenly Demon channels, and shatter the current stalemate. Their ultimate goal was to corrupt the entirety of Sea State and overrun the vast territories of the Red Flame Country.

Since the bloody conflict began, countless cultivators had already fallen at these three fortresses.

Among the fallen were cultivators who had originally been fighting demons in Sea State, as well as those who had come as reinforcements from other states. There were disciples from the Five Great Sects, members of smaller immortal sects, and cultivators from cultivation families. They included local cultivators from Sea State and others from distant lands like Qing State, Zhong State, Jing State, and Yu State.

Whether for themselves, their families, their sects, or for all life in the world, they had perished fighting the Heavenly Demons.

Most could not even leave behind their remains, as they were devoured by the demons. Some suffered an even more tragic fate, being directly corrupted by primal Heavenly Demons and turned into monsters forced to fight their former comrades.

The three fortresses were teetering on the brink of collapse, seemingly moments away from being overwhelmed and uprooted by the Demon Tide...

All of this was perceived by Shen Mo through the Demon Soul General’s five senses and divine sense.

As the Black Canopy Magic Boat neared the battlefield, Shen Mo handed control to Ming Yu and positioned himself at the bow of the magic ship.

Emotions churned violently within his chest, yet his expression remained terrifyingly calm.

It’s not just about protecting countless lives. For Lingyin, for Senior Sister Chen, for Uncle Chen... I will not allow you fiends to run rampant!

As this resolve formed, his years of insights into the Sword Path, his Carefree Sword Intent, and the profound-level, top-grade magic artifact, the Demon Slaying Sword, resonated in perfect harmony.

CLANG!

A sword hum, not exceptionally loud, nevertheless resonated across the entire Heavenly Demon battlefield.

He raised his hand, the sword descended, and a torrent of Sword Light erupted.

This sword technique was not one recorded in the All-Encompassing Sword Canon; rather, it was a culmination of the essence of this spiritual-level swordplay.

His near-Extremely Perfected cultivation method, the profound understanding in his heart, the resonance between his sword intent and the magic sword, the enhancement from his Sword Body Skill, and the master’s own indomitable will... all combined to elevate this sword Qi to an unbelievable level of power.

A dozen or so Class III mutated Heavenly Demons, sensing this ferocious aura, shot forward, employing various techniques to intercept the terrifying sword Qi.

In the next instant, magic artifacts shattered, talismans disintegrated, and the spiritual light of immortal magic attacks dissipated.

The dozen demon heads attempting to block the sword Qi were all sliced in two, their bodies plummeting from the sky.

SQUELCH!

The Sword Light tore into a wave of Layer I Heavenly Demons, instantly splitting the mountain-high demonic tide in half.

Within the black tide, whether Class I primal Heavenly Demons or Class III Demon-corrupted Marine Race beings, all were instantly shredded by the Sword Light, their demonic bodies reduced to mangled flesh and gore that rained down with the seawater.

RUMBLE!

The sundered wave crashed with a deafening, thunderous roar.

Only then did Shen Mo’s voice float across the battlefield.

”Universal Demon Slaying!”