The Demonhand Descends

Darkrobed Ji Ning, guiding the All-Things Avatar, struck out and immediately suppressed the Darklight Swordmaster. The power he displayed shocked all sides—this was no mere top-tier Daofather, but a being fast approaching the level of the Three Sovereigns and the leaders of the Daoist and Buddhist sects. The Shadowless Daofather, lurking in the darkness, had no time for further deliberation.

“He must be eliminated.” The Shadowless Daofather made his move.

“Oh?”

Just as the All-Things Ji Ning’s swords suppressed the Darklight Swordmaster, he saw a pitch-black figure appear before him. In an instant, that figure split into six. Each of the six shadows wielded a whip, and every whip was lined with sharp blades, as flexible as a soft sword.

Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh…

The six shadowy figures lashed their whips, the blows filling the sky and completely sealing off all directions around Ji Ning. Like a nest of venomous serpents, they writhed and coiled, striking toward him.

“The Shadowless Daofather.” Ji Ning immediately identified his attacker. “The Seamless Gate truly thinks highly of me, sending their two greatest assassins—the Darklight Swordmaster for long-range attacks, and the Shadowless Daofather for close combat. Working together, how many in the Three Realms could escape them?”

The Shadowless Daofather was a master of both Ki Refining and Fiendgod Body Refining, a True God as well. He was far more powerful than Daoist Threelives had been in his day, an existence whose status and strength rivaled that of Subhuti and Old Man Yuan.

The Darklight Swordmaster and the Shadowless Daofather were vastly different in style.

The Darklight Swordmaster attacked from a distance, unleashing his treasures to deliver a single, fatal sword-strike with explosive burst power. In a prolonged battle, however, he was comparatively weaker.

The Shadowless Daofather, by contrast, was a close-combat fighter!

He had cultivated a profoundly mysterious divine ability called the Shadowless Demon Tome. This technique circulated only among the highest powers within the Seamless Gate, but the Shadowless Daofather was the only one who had truly mastered it! The ability was somewhat similar to the Eighteen Fiendgod Avatars of Taowu, though with significant differences.

When he activated it, he could instantly split into six clones! Each of the six clones possessed the full strength of the original, and the clones were like shadows… shadows could not be killed. While maintaining this ability, all six clones appeared as shadows, and only one of those shadows concealed his true body!

Finding the true body among the six shadows was extraordinarily difficult, and the Shadowless Daofather could effortlessly shift his true body between any of the six clones at will.

With this ability, his combat power skyrocketed, and he was virtually unkillable! As a top-tier Daofather to begin with, mastering this technique elevated him to the level of Patriarch Subhuti and Old Man Yuan.

“Break! Break! Break!”

The All-Things Ji Ning was a peerless Sword Immortal, wielding two divine swords in a furious assault.

Even the Shadowless Daofather was occasionally struck. But each blow only hit a ‘shadow.’ Meanwhile, his countless whips came howling in, forcing Ji Ning to remain constantly vigilant—a single moment of carelessness could see him bound and captured.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Riiip!

The All-Things Ji Ning and the Shadowless Daofather fought at close quarters, locked in a frenzied exchange.

One wielded an invulnerable body and the finest sword-art in the Three Realms. The other fought with six clones in a siege, possessing an immortal body. And in the distance, the Darklight Swordmaster continued to launch sneak attacks. Their teamwork was perfect.

Ji Ning was completely suppressed.

“What do I do?” he thought. “My attacks are useless. The Shadowless Daofather has me completely entangled—I can’t hurt him. But his whips could bind me at any moment, and that damned Darklight Swordmaster keeps interfering. There’s no other choice. I have to stall for time. The longer this drags on, the more of our Nuwa Camp powers will arrive.”

Though it takes time to describe, the battle between these mighty figures was over in a flash.

First, Ji Ning’s true body was ambushed and destroyed. Then, his Primaltwin emerged, guiding the All-Things Avatar. The Shadowless Daofather and the Darklight Swordmaster joined forces.

Just then—

“Stonerule!” A furious voice thundered.

A majestic figure clad in animal hides appeared high in the air, tearing space itself apart. Around him, a terrifying flame coiled and danced, an aura that chilled the soul—yet if one gazed into it, their heart would inexplicably feel a warming hope, as if seeing salvation within the fire.

It was the Inextinguishable Flame.

“Suiren!” Ji Ning, locked in battle with the Shadowless Daofather and the Darklight Swordmaster, felt a surge of hope.

“Suiren has arrived!” Xuan Yuan the Yellow Emperor was overjoyed.

Suiren was, by reputation, the strongest combatant in the Nuwa Camp. Of course, Buddha Tathagata and Daoist Three Purities might have made progress in recent years and could even be stronger than Suiren. But at the very least, the publicly displayed power of Suiren was already at the Three Realms’ absolute peak.

High in the sky, Suiren wielded a charred black wooden staff. He swung it, carrying boundless might like a falling star smashing through all obstacles. The violet lights shattered before him.

“Excellent.” Master Stonerule raised his own wooden ruler in response.

Both expanded to a million zhang in height.

The staff and the ruler clashed.

Heaven and Earth trembled.

Master Stonerule was knocked back two steps through the void, but he traced a circle with his wooden ruler, dissipating the impact.

“In close combat, I am slightly inferior to you,” Master Stonerule said with a light laugh, his gaze ice-cold. “But I have no need to fight you to the death.”

“Transform!”

With a flicker, Master Stonerule assumed a form with three heads and six arms, each hand grasping a wooden ruler.

“Stonerule, I truly do not wish to kill you.” A sigh echoed across Heaven and Earth, and a vast, golden palm tore through the void, descending out of thin air.

“Tathagata.” Two of Master Stonerule’s arms swelled, their massive hands wielding wooden rulers to meet and block the blow.

Almost the moment Patriarch Subhuti had sent out his summons, Suiren, Tathagata, and Daoist Three Purities had already arrived.

Suiren’s wooden staff was as heavy as the Sunstar or the Grand Yin Star itself. Each blow sent Master Stonerule stumbling backward.

Tathagata’s palms contained entire vast major worlds within them, and his hands themselves had long since become comparable to Chaos treasures.

Daoist Three Purities’ ‘Extermination Immortal Sword Formation’ was the most terrifying attack of all; Master Stonerule had to devote nearly half his focus to defending against it.

“Pity that Divine Farmer and Fuxi are both deep in the endless Chaos. It will take time for them to arrive.” Patriarch Subhuti grew anxious. “If it were the Lord of All Demons or the Demonhand Daofather, they could never tie down Three Purities, Tathagata, and Suiren all at once like this. Only Stonerule can manage it.”

Patriarch Subhuti burned with impatience.

His own strength was primarily suited for escape and evasion. In close combat, though he approached the leader level, he was still far behind powers like Three Purities and Tathagata.

Master Stonerule was a freak.

He had too many techniques, too many methods combined, allowing him to simultaneously occupy Three Purities, Tathagata, and Suiren. The sight was staggering!

“Demonhand, make your move. Remember—don’t let it get out of hand. If we can avoid triggering the final battle, do so,” the Lord of All Demons instructed via a mental transmission.

“I should have been sent long ago.”

A violet-robed woman appeared above the imperial palace.

She was petite, with a pretty face.

But her killing intent made the very Heaven and Earth of the Julu Major World tremble. Dark clouds began to gather. Patriarch Subhuti, Daoist Three Purities, and Tathagata all changed expression upon seeing this violet-clad woman.

She was the true demon among demons! A maddened butcher! The great fiend who had made even the Seamless Chaosworld tremble in fear!

Demonhand Daofather!

“I didn’t expect that even with Shadowless and Darklight working together, they couldn’t handle Ji Ning. We have no choice but to send Demonhand.” The Lord of All Demons was inwardly worried. The truth was that Ji Ning, guiding the All-Things Avatar, had displayed power far beyond their expectations. Only a leader-level power could hope to capture him directly.

The Lord of All Demons had no other option. He had to send Demonhand Daofather.

The moment the violet-robed woman appeared, she reached out with a pale, crystalline hand. Her palm streaked across the sky, grasping toward the All-Things Ji Ning, who was still locked in combat with the Darklight Swordmaster and the Shadowless Daofather.

Patriarch Subhuti, Xuan Yuan, Daoist Three Purities, Suiren, and Tathagata were all being held at bay by Master Stonerule alone! Though Stonerule was struggling mightily, he held the line. Only Buddha Tathagata, relying on his mighty golden body, managed to spare a single hand, which he sent slamming toward Demonhand Daofather. But Demonhand Daofather simply split off a hand of her own to block it, while her other hand continued reaching for Ji Ning.

“Don’t you dare harm my junior apprentice-brother!”

A sudden roar shook Heaven and Earth.

An equally savage, baleful aura surged skyward. A colossal ape-like figure stood at the edge of the distant horizon, wielding a staff with both hands as he furiously swung it downward. A gigantic, golden staff descended from the heavens, smashing directly toward Demonhand Daofather.

Today is Friday. Remember that Tomato still owes everyone two chapters from before. One of those catch-up chapters will be posted before six tonight.