Chapter 373: Time Waits for No One
At this time, the forces of the three major righteous sects, led by Qingyun Sect, had already entered the depths of the Dead Swamp.
This deadly swamp is teeming with poisonous insects and filled with endless miasma. There are also swampy mud pits that are impossible to avoid, and even a mosquito carries a deadly poison.
These people had varying levels of cultivation, so although they were numerous, their speed of progress was not comparable to that of Li Ling.
However, having everyone working together reduced the possibility of hand injuries.
This result infuriated Biyao, who was secretly observing. Although she did not intend to wipe out everyone here, she did want to wear down some of the righteous forces. However, with everyone together and heavily guarded, she had no chance to take advantage of the situation.
As for a head-on confrontation, that is definitely not a good idea. Both the righteous and the demonic paths have a tacit understanding on this matter. In particular, although the Ghost King Sect is slightly stronger than the three major righteous sects, if the three major sects unite, their strength will far exceed that of the Ghost King Sect.
At that very moment, all the cultivators within the Dead Swamp faintly sensed an extremely terrifying power rising within it, especially the people from Burning Incense Valley, who felt this power was very familiar to them.
At this moment, in the deepest part of the Dead Swamp, near the dilapidated Heavenly Emperor's Treasury, a formation several hundred feet in diameter had been deployed in the sky. The Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation finally revealed its power in the deepest part of the Dead Swamp.
"roar!!"
Looking up at the great formation in the sky, the Black Water Serpent roared, its voice carrying a hint of fear.
Although the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation had not yet revealed its full power, with Li Ling's will, one fire snake after another fell from the formation, all aimed at the Black Water Profound Serpent.
Even though it tried its best to dodge, many fire snakes still landed on it, each one bringing it waves of pain. It immediately realized how dangerous the formation was and quickly fled from the range of the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation. Then, it looked up at Li Ling, who was manipulating the formation, and roared in extreme resentment.
Seeing the Blackwater Serpent's provocation, Li Ling sneered, took out the Profound Fire Mirror from his robes, and combined it with the array diagram of the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Array. With the Profound Fire Mirror as the array's core, the power of the entire Eight Fiends Profound Fire Array was further enhanced.
Flames rolled and churned like clouds of mist, turning the sky crimson. All the moisture within a hundred miles below the formation was evaporated, the endless trees withered on the spot, and countless poisonous insects and snakes were dried up.
At this moment, the land was scorched earth, and this was only a portion of the power that the Eight Fiends Mystic Fire Formation had inadvertently revealed.
At this moment, Li Ling stood inside the great formation, his hands forming hand seals. Amidst the rolling flames of the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation, the eight fiends roared and merged into one. After a burst of flames, an extremely large fire dragon emerged from the formation.
"drink!"
As Li Ling cast his spell, he roared to the sky, his body engulfed in flames, and his body, which was over a hundred feet long, rolled out from within the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation, rushing towards the Black Water Profound Serpent below!
"roar!!"
At this moment, the Blackwater Serpent had also been aroused to its ferocity. Facing the fire dragon engulfed in raging flames, it showed no fear. Instead, with a roar, it tore at the charging fire dragon.
In an instant, the towering ancient tree trembled repeatedly as the two ferocious beasts tore and writhed, while the Black Water Serpent and the Eight Desolate Fire Dragon, which had gathered the Eight Ferocious Profound Fire Array, were already fiercely biting each other.
With a loud, muffled thud, the fire dragon's claws left three deep wounds, each over ten feet long, on the body of the black water serpent.
The black water serpent bit down hard on the fire dragon, enduring the intense heat to tear a wound in its body. Flames spread out, and the fire dragon instantly weakened considerably.
Just as the fire dragon was injured, Li Ling, who was controlling the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation, saw that the fire dragon was injured and immediately cast a spell. A ball of flame fell from the formation and landed on the wound on the fire dragon that had been bitten by the Black Water Profound Serpent. The fire dragon regained its spirit!
The two colossal beasts were evenly matched, and the aftershocks of their all-out battle nearly destroyed everything within a radius of a hundred miles.
The Blackwater Serpent truly lived up to its reputation as an ancient mythical beast; even when facing the fire dragon summoned by the Eight Fiends Mystic Fire Formation, it held its own.
While Li Ling sighed inwardly, he also regretted that his cultivation level was still somewhat lacking, and he had not yet fully unleashed the power of this formation; otherwise, he would not have been able to fight the Black Water Serpent for so long.
Moreover, each time he replenished the injured fire dragon, he consumed a considerable amount of spiritual energy. If it weren't for his current profound cultivation level and abundant spiritual energy, he probably wouldn't have been able to sustain it for long.
The two behemoths were evenly matched in strength. Every time the fire dragon was injured, Li Ling would control the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Array to heal it.
The flames within the Eight Fiends Mystic Fire Formation seemed endless. As the wounds on the Black Water Mystic Serpent's body continued to increase, a deep look of fear finally appeared in the Black Water Mystic Serpent's vertical pupils.
By this time, the two beasts had been locked in combat for more than half an hour. The Blackwater Serpent felt that it might not be able to hold on any longer, so it disregarded the scorching heat on the fire dragon's body and seized an opening. At the cost of being severely injured, it used its usual serpentine technique to tightly coil around the fire dragon.
The two were pressed tightly together. The Black Water Serpent's body sizzled due to the high temperature, and a meaty aroma wafted out. However, the Black Water Serpent seemed oblivious to this. As its tens of meters thick body gradually tightened, it seemed about to completely annihilate the fire dragon.
But at that moment, Li Ling, who was in mid-air, chanted an incantation. Then, he saw the fire dragon, which could not break free from the Black Water Serpent's restraints, suddenly roar to the sky. Its entire body suddenly turned into countless flames that exploded in all directions, avoiding the Black Water Serpent's terrifying strangulation. Instead, it inflicted serious injuries on the dragon's body again.
After that, as Li Ling's spiritual power surged, the flames did not dissipate. Instead, they gradually gathered under the light of the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Array, and the fire dragon's form condensed again, as if it were no different from when it first appeared.
"Woo~~" The Black Water Serpent cried out in sorrow upon seeing this, and its body slowly slid downwards.
It knew that if it continued to entangle itself, it might really lose its life. Even though what it had been longing for was in the enemy's arms, it dared not linger any longer and instead fled quickly.
Watching the Blackwater Serpent leave, Li Ling felt no excitement as he had imagined. More than a year ago, his "Taiji Xuanqing Dao" had already reached the peak of the Shangqing realm, and his cultivation of "Da Fan Prajna" and "Fenxiang Yu Ce" had also reached the same level. However, he still had little clue how to break through.
Even though Li Ling knew that there were very few people in the world whose cultivation could surpass his, he was still not satisfied.
If Li Ling hadn't possessed the Profound Fire Mirror and the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Array, and hadn't used the power of the array to escape in a sorry state when facing the Black Water Serpent, he would probably have been the one to flee in a sorry state.
Thinking of the Beast God that would appear later, whose terror surpassed even that of the Black Water Serpent, Li Ling felt that time was of the essence.
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Chapter 374: Infiltrating the Back Mountain of Sumeru
"I still need to break through as soon as possible. Only when I enter the Taiqing Realm will I be able to unleash the true power of the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation," Li Ling thought to himself.
"Moreover, with each major realm I cross in the Taiji Xuanqing Dao, my cultivation will undergo a qualitative change. Only then will my cultivation be worthy of being called the pinnacle of this world!"
Thinking of this, a glint flashed in Li Ling's eyes: "Having obtained the third volume of the Heavenly Book, I can feel that the opportunity for a breakthrough has arrived!"
Meanwhile, righteous people, and even members of the demonic sect hiding in secret places, were all on high alert.
The battle between the Blackwater Serpent and the Fire Dragon had been so powerful that it was felt by both groups of people far from the battlefield. This made both sides cautious and on guard. They waited until things calmed down before continuing their advance, but they were even more careful as they moved forward.
However, when they arrived at the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury, they saw that the treasury had been destroyed by the Black Water Serpent, and they were unaware that someone had already taken it.
Moreover, based on the clues, it should be that the Blackwater Serpent also has a strange beast that is good at manipulating fire. These are the conclusions that everyone came to after investigating the scene.