"Heavenly Thunder Array, Thunder Convergence!"
His plan to prolong the fight and steadily siphon the origin of this secret realm was disrupted by the demon's sudden formation. However, Yang Hong wasn't without contingency measures.
The eighty-one stalks of ninth-grade Heavenly Thunder Bamboo suddenly blazed with golden lightning, shooting upwards and directly dispersing the dark clouds and demonic energy above Yang Hong's head.
A corner of the dark sky revealed a sliver of deep blue.
Golden lightning continued to ascend, and the previously vanished five-colored glow was swiftly replaced by a sacred gold.
A golden thunderball, three hundred and sixty zhang wide, enveloped Yang Hong, protecting him completely. This golden lightning possessed potent demon-dispelling abilities, purifying the demonic energy and preventing it from approaching even an inch.
"Bald donkey—you truly are a bald donkey. All your methods carry Buddhist power, the power to dispel demons;
I never expected you, bald donkey, to carry so much Heavenly Thunder Bamboo. Ninth-grade Heavenly Thunder Bamboo is such a difficult spirit plant to cultivate, yet you carry it with you. You're likely not from the Taiyuan Realm, are you?"
The demon seemed to have calmed down as well. Its voice was slow and drawn-out, and its massive body straightened up gradually. Its dark red eyes, now solidified into a tangible gaze, fixed directly on Yang Hong.
"I told you, I am not a bald donkey.
Thunder Convergence—Thunder Convergence—Thunder Convergence—"
Yang Hong consecutively cast [Thunder Convergence] eight more times, summoning nine layers of golden lightning to shield him.
Over thirty-one days, he had prioritized imbuing seven hundred and twenty-nine stalks of [Heavenly Thunder Bamboo] to ensure his utmost safety.
"Heh heh—what a cautious bald donkey. But it's useless.
Golden Heavenly Thunder can indeed protect you from being contaminated by demonic energy for a short while, but how long do you think your golden Heavenly Thunder can protect you?
A day? Ten days?
What about a hundred days?"
"This secret realm has long been completely controlled by me, the demon. You can never leave, and your only fate will be to become my slave.
Gaha gaha gaha—"
The demon's laughter was loud, unpleasant, and terrifying.
Even more terrifying was that amidst its laughter, Yang Hong could see ripples of space appearing before his eyes. This demon's strength was truly terrifying; its laughter alone could agitate space!
Since it could agitate space, I shall use spatial attacks to combat the enemy!
Within the golden thunderball, the vitality of forty-nine stalks of ninth-grade Azure Sky Willow trees rapidly condensed and then rapidly depleted, forging the ultimate spatial power.
"Void Severing Slash!"
A silver-gray, subtly radiating three-foot long sword flashed past.
It reappeared moments later, having severed the colossal head of the hundred-zhang-tall demon.
"Hasten—"
Before the astonishment could bloom on the demon's face, the silver-gray longsword circled back and directly pierced the gaping maw of the severed head. It lifted the massive head, carrying it high and far away.
"Bald donkey, what do you think you're doing? I am formless and shapeless; I can live without a head."
Even detached from its body, with a sword still lodged in its mouth, the head could still articulate clearly and speak coherently.
"Bald donkey, it's useless. With a mere thought from me, this head will fly back to my body. Even if you take it out of this secret realm, I can summon it back."
*Puff—*
The demon's words were met with a silent explosion. The intensely condensed spatial power detonated, and in an instant, the demon's head was obliterated into nothingness.
*Rumble—*
The demon had claimed its head was insignificant, but after the head was annihilated, the demon's body, standing over four hundred zhang away from Yang Hong, immediately toppled like a golden mountain collapsing.
Amidst a cacophony of cracking sounds, numerous Enlightenment Trees were broken.
"Thunder Dragon Roll—"
Nine golden thunderballs rapidly stretched and transformed, evolving into nine golden thunder dragons that formed the Nine Dragons Emerging from the Sea formation. With ferocious momentum, they charged towards the forest of Enlightenment Trees.
*Roar—Roar—*
Amidst the clear dragon roars, the enraged bellows and startled cries of distant demonic beasts could also be heard.
*Bang—Crackling—*
*Ya—ya—ya—*
The golden thunder dragons, churning and twisting, plunged into the scorching golden lightning of the Enlightenment Tree forest. While unable to destroy the main trunks of the Enlightenment Trees, they successfully ignited their branches and leaves.
As the leaves caught fire, strange screams erupted from the leaves, branches, and trunks. Countless grotesque faces materialized on the Enlightenment Trees.
These faces included human faces of all ages and genders, as well as faces of various animals, demonic beasts, and even insects, all appearing incredibly eerie.
"Help—help—help—"
Under the scorching of the golden lightning, those meaningless screams coalesced into cries for help that Yang Hong could understand. Even within the [Yin-Yang Two Poles Spirit Manifestation Array], he could feel countless gazes, imploring him for salvation.
To these pleas, Yang Hong not only offered no rescue but instead formed the [Immovable Mudra], channeled his full magical power, and roared:
"Zha!"
A beam of tangible, platinum-white sound waves swept out in a fan shape, instantly transforming the clear cries for help back into incoherent babbling.
"Sword Domain—Rise!"
Before the sonic attack even landed, Yang Hong forcefully activated his Sword Domain. The seventh-grade flying sword in his hand instantly shattered, and the domain rapidly expanded.
Simultaneously, he downed vials of elixirs one after another. His magical power, before it could even transform, was directly infused into the domain as spiritual energy.
Seizing the opportunity while the demon had not yet recovered, he stepped out of the [Two Poles Array]. Furious and dense sword energy relentlessly and swiftly carved at the headless corpse of the demon.
Nearby Enlightenment Trees were also felled in the process.
"Bald donkey, you're looking for—"
In less than a minute, the demon's physical body was torn apart. However, the demon's enraged voice also rang out.
"Thunder Dragon—Converge—"
Before the demon could finish speaking, Yang Hong retreated rapidly, simultaneously recalling the nine golden thunder dragons, which had been igniting and rampaging through the Enlightenment Trees, and directing them into the demon's headless neck.
"Bald donkey, you court death—"
Yet, the demon's voice still echoed from all directions within the Enlightenment Tree forest. It was truly not dead, but its voice had lost some of its ferocity.
"Explode!"
Yang Hong ignored the demon's pronouncements as it was 'growing a head' and 'regrowing a body', and made the nine thunder dragons detonate within the demon's form.
*Ah—ah—ah—*
This time, the demon likely felt pain, emitting chilling screams.
Returning to within the [Two Poles Array], Yang Hong slowly dispersed his Sword Domain, then reactivated the [Heavenly Thunder Bamboo], emitting golden lightning that formed nine layers of golden lightning spheres.
After completing this series of actions, he finally sat cross-legged, holding a top-grade spirit stone in each hand, and began to recover his magical power.
For the immediate future, he did not need to worry about the demon's harassment.
Yang Hong had never killed a demon, but he had already digested and annihilated three demon souls in his Sea of Consciousness, and he understood some of the weaknesses of demons.
One of these was the importance of a demon's [Dharma Body], which served as the carrier of their magical power.
Almost all demons were incredibly difficult to kill. Even immortals who transcended two major realms found it difficult to kill demons; at most, they could only destroy the Dharma Body, and given time, they could recover.
This was one of the reasons why many demons were sealed rather than killed. Sealing allowed for the slow attrition of a demon's magical power, soul, and origin.
If killed directly, one would have no idea where this demon might resurrect next. It was safer to seal them.
However, even with a destroyed [Dharma Body], recovery, no matter how fast, still required one to two years, and even in the demon realm, it would take several months.
To safely collapse this secret realm, Yang Hong had suddenly destroyed the demon's Dharma Body.