Chapter 614 : Clash of the Celestial Blades

"We cannot allow him to complete his breakthrough."

At this critical juncture, Eldrin Chen declared in a resonant voice. He summoned forth the Celestial Abyss Twin Swords and surged through the air, launching a direct assault towards the Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign.

The others swiftly grasped the situation. While the probability of the Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign successfully advancing his cultivation realm was likely not high, should he succeed, they would all face utter annihilation.

Their only recourse now was to take advantage of the Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign's vulnerable state, strike him down, and forcibly interrupt his breakthrough to avert the impending catastrophe.

With this resolve, they all unleashed their attacks in unison, directing a storm of power towards the Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign.

"How dare you!"

At that very moment, the Flame Demon Monarch let out a thunderous roar. He erupted with a vast and mighty surge of Infant Soul Essence [the condensed spiritual core of a cultivator who has reached the Infant Soul stage], positioning himself defiantly before the group and unleashing his own overwhelming might against them.

Having unleashed his Infant Soul Essence, the Flame Demon Monarch's spiritual power had become immensely profound. Augmented by the seemingly inexhaustible energy of the Fire Vein [a subterranean channel of concentrated fire-attribute spiritual energy], he began to unleash one Great God Ability [a supreme divine technique] after another with reckless abandon, posing a significant threat to the assembled cultivators.

"You seek death!"

Witnessing the Flame Demon Monarch's rampant and overwhelming aura, Eldrin Chen's gaze turned icy, his killing intent palpable. "Hold nothing back," he commanded with chilling finality. "Slay this fiend first." Join our community of readers at audio–novel.com.

As he spoke, Eldrin Chen unleashed his Infant Soul Essence [the condensed spiritual core of an Infant Soul realm cultivator]. In that instant, his spiritual power surged, brushing against the very threshold of the Infant Soul Late Stage.

Bolstered by this formidable power, his Sky-Severance Sword Union descended with an unstoppable force, imbued with the annihilating might of Slaughter.

Seeing this, the others understood the immediate priority was to eliminate the troublesome obstacle before them. Holding nothing back, they too erupted with their Infant Soul Essence, unleashing their most treasured and powerful techniques in a concerted assault.

Even the trio guarding the entrance, Eternal Profound Chen among them, could no longer afford to hold their position. They swiftly moved, wielding their Formation Flag [a flag used to control and power a formation array] to join the suppression.

Though the Flame Demon Monarch possessed immense spiritual power, it was no match for the combined might of fifteen Infant Soul True Lord. Moreover, the True Lord who struck were far from weaklings.

It frantically wielded its Crimson Blood War Spear to parry several attacks and summoned a Divine Ability [a supreme supernatural technique] to block Exquisite Jiang's Two Polarities Divine Thunder.

But before it could catch its breath, Elara Lin's War Treasure Ship unleashed its own Divine Ability. Eldrin Chen's Celestial Abyss Twin Swords and his other Spiritual Treasure [powerful enchanted artifacts] rained down with relentless, overwhelming force.

Even the formidable defenses of the Crimson Flame Treasure Lotus had their limits. Under the sustained, combined assault of over a dozen Spiritual Treasure, its protective barrier was finally shattered.

Seizing the moment the Crimson Flame Treasure Lotus broke, Violet Consort Yan acted. She invoked her Great God Ability—the Violet Cosmos Void-Severing Blade. With a resonant *clang*, the blade sheared through the air and severed one of the Flame Demon Monarch's arms.

"Aaaargh—!"

The Flame Demon Monarch [a powerful demon lord of fire and destruction], suddenly suffering a grievous wound, finally revealed a flicker of terror in its eyes. It sought to disengage and flee for its life.

At this critical moment, Old Patriarch and the other two cultivators arrived. They activated the Three Origins Demon-Sealing Formation [a powerful formation designed to trap and seal demonic entities], its light descending to completely seal off its path of retreat.

Seizing this opportunity, Eldrin Chen raised his hand. The Celestial Abyss Twin Swords shot forth, piercing through the demon's chest and leaving a wound that seemed to have no bottom.

By this point in the battle, the Flame Demon Monarch's strength had been depleted by seventy to eighty percent. Any single Infant Soul Mid Stage [the middle stage of the Infant Soul cultivation realm] cultivator could have finished it off.

The group gave it no chance to survive. Over a dozen Immortal Swords and Spiritual Treasures [enchanted artifacts of great power] soared into the air and slashed down, tearing the demon to pieces on the spot.

After slaying the Flame Demon Monarch, Eldrin Chen took out thirty Heavenly Crystals [highly concentrated crystals of pure spiritual energy] and rapidly absorbed their energy, restoring eighty to ninety percent of his Infant Soul Essence [the core spiritual energy of an Infant Soul cultivator]. Only then did he turn his gaze towards the Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign [the supreme ruler of the Flame Demon Monarchs] who was in the midst of its breakthrough.

"*Hummm—*"

They saw the Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign unleashing an infinite, heaven-shaking aura of might. Vast, boundless magical power surged towards the very limits of the Nine Heavens [the nine layered heavens of the cosmos], pulling with desperate, reckless force at the Heaven Soul [the celestial destiny or fate-mandate] inscribed upon the Heavenly Vault [the dome of the heavens].

"We absolutely cannot let it succeed."

Eldrin Chen's gaze turned icy. He immediately summoned forth the Celestial Abyss Twin Swords and launched a devastating slash directly at the Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign.

However, the strike of the Sky-Severance Sword Union [a powerful sword technique that merges multiple sword energies into one devastating blow], though formidable, was forcefully blocked by a layer of crimson-hued protective aura when it reached a distance of several ten thousand Zhang-lengths [one Zhang-length equals three point three three meters] before the Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign.

"It's the Protective True Aura [a supreme defensive technique that forms an impenetrable barrier of condensed spiritual energy]," Exquisite Jiang remarked, her gaze sharpening with focus.

Exquisite Jiang's eyes narrowed slightly, a trace of solemnity coloring her expression.

The Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign was naturally not some defenseless prey. At this moment, he had fully unleashed his Infant Soul Essence [the condensed spiritual core of an Infant Soul realm cultivator], not only pouring all his effort into drawing upon the Heaven Soul [a celestial fate or destiny one attempts to connect with during a breakthrough] but also reserving a sliver of strength to maintain his Protective True Aura.

Such a supreme existence at the Half-Step Primordial Spirit level possessed a spiritual energy reserve more than twice as vast as a cultivator at the Great Perfection of Infant Soul stage. The Protective True Aura he could sustain after unleashing his Infant Soul Essence was, therefore, exceptionally powerful.

To breach such a defensive aura, one either needed a Divine Ability [a supreme mystical technique] or Spiritual Treasure [an enchanted artifact of immense power] capable of overwhelming its defensive upper limit, or one had to exhaust his spiritual energy through sustained assault. The complete novel can be found at @udio-novel.com.

Yet, the Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign's current situation was precarious. He was forcefully propping up his momentum; once this surge of energy waned, the entire endeavor would collapse like a mighty dam breached by a trickle, and the Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign would inevitably fail his breakthrough.

Realizing this, Exquisite Jiang spoke decisively, "The Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign is already halfway through his breakthrough, and his spiritual energy consumption is immense. If he abandons it now, he will suffer severe backlash and grievous injury."

"Let us attack together. Once we shatter his Protective True Aura, his momentum will completely dissipate, guaranteeing his failure."

"Agreed. Then let us hold nothing back."

As he spoke, the Heavenly Reed Sect Master drew forth a supremegrade talisman, one that had reached the Fifth Rank High-Grade.

This talisman, named the Heavenly Hut Demon-Slaying Talisman [a powerful enchanted scroll designed to vanquish demonic entities], was a treasured foundational asset of the Heavenly Reed Sect, capable of unleashing an attack comparable to the power of a Great Perfection of Infant Soul cultivator. To slay this formidable foe, he could no longer afford to hold back.

Seeing this, the others also erupted with their full Infant Soul Essence [the condensed spiritual core of an Infant Soul cultivator], summoning their Spiritual Treasure [powerful enchanted artifacts] and unleashing their Great God Ability [profound supernatural techniques] in a furious barrage.

The Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign truly lived up to its status as a Half-Step Primordial Spirit entity. The protective aura and Great God Ability it manifested were vastly more powerful than any Great Perfection of Infant Soul attack, stubbornly withstanding the combined assault of the group.

With each passing moment, the risk of unforeseen complications grew, tightening a knot of anxiety in everyone's chest.

"A curse upon it! My Trinity Divine Thunder [a divine lightning technique combining three elemental forces] has not yet been cultivated to the Great Perfection Realm."

Eldrin Chen gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his brow. He could only continue to deploy his Celestial Abyss Twin Swords and Two Polarities Divine Thunder [a divine lightning technique harnessing opposing forces], relentlessly attacking to drain the Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign's spiritual energy.

After a relentless assault lasting half a Ke-time [fifteen minutes], the cultivators felt their own energy reserves becoming strained. The Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign, too, sensed its power waning, its protective aura visibly weakening.

"This cannot continue."

In that instant, the thought flashed through the Flame Demon Monarch Sovereign's mind. It had truly been caught in a dire predicament, finding itself with no clear path forward or back.

If he continued his breakthrough attempt, his spiritual energy reserves were clearly insufficient under the collective consumption of his opponents. Although the Fifth Rank High-Grade Underground Fire Vein provided an endless supply of Fire Vein essence to replenish his energy, its efficacy at his current cultivation level was limited and could no longer keep up with the demand.

Yet, abandoning the breakthrough was also a path to certain doom. In his current state, halting the process would inevitably trigger a severe backlash, grievously wounding him. A heavily injured man facing the combined assault of over a dozen Human Race True Lord would find his fate equally uncertain.

Even the best possible outcome would likely be a bloody, arduous fight to the surface, leaving him with incurable Dao injuries [permanent, fundamental damage to one's cultivation path]. He would be forever trapped at the half-step Path Lord realm, his path to greater heights severed. Join our community of readers at audio–novel.com.