Slaying Demons: Starting with Upgrading my Calligraphy

BOOM!

The void suddenly exploded. Divine Thunder rolled, shaking the stars. Infinite thunder surged like rampant dragons, filling the space between Heaven and Earth.

A gigantic hand that blotted out the sun reached out from the Lei Mang. Its palm flowed with world-destroying Divine Thunder, the lines on it like the cosmic abyss, tumultuous with endless power.

The might of this hand was too terrifying.

In its palm seemed to be the sinking of the sun and the moon, the very countenance of the heavens and the earth.

It was as if a Thundering Great World was bearing down.

The entire Dead Spirit City seemed unable to withstand this oppression, as if it would disintegrate and scatter, turning into nothingness.

The divine might of the Divine Thunder was oppressive and immediate.

King Yintian's face contorted, and he roared furiously, "Tian Gang Five Thunder Palm! Who on earth are you, and why do you possess the Spiritual Light Treasure Sect's Supreme Purity Purple Jade Spiritual Light Great Talisman Script!"

CRACK—

Behind him rose the towering Black Mountain Daoist Spirit. Covered in innumerable white bones and faces, like the gateway to the ghost world, it surged upward to meet the thunderous giant hand!

BOOM!

The clash was terrifying in the extreme!

As if the thunders above Qiong Tian were raging, wild lightning flooded everything nearby in an instant.

In the dazzling light, one could vaguely see the collision between the thunderous hand and the Black Mountain Daoist Spirit.

The thunderous hand was already beginning to dissipate.

Yet the towering mountain, vast and enormous as the clouds, had its summit forcibly erased, turning into a rounded, flat-topped mountain!

PUAH...

The Daoist Spirit was a fusion of soul and life essence. Its summit had been forcibly erased by the thunderous hand, causing King Yintian to spit out a mouthful of old blood.

In an instant, the robust middle-aged man transformed into a stooped old man with white hair and a pale complexion. His aura plummeted by more than half.

Was the Talisman Script Daoist Qingya gave him actually this powerful?

Watching King Yintian be severely injured by a protective Talisman Script that Daoist Qingya had given him before he left, Qi Xiu's eyes widened slightly.

After all, at that time, Daoist Qingya had only told him that it was a Blood-Stained Realm Talisman Script, containing the Five Thunder Celestial Heart Skill. He had told him to use it to save his life in a crisis. But now it seemed that the power of this Talisman Script was not of the Blood-Stained Realm at all. It was entirely at the peak of the Dao Body Realm! Otherwise, a single Talisman Script could not possibly have injured King Yintian so severely, even obliterating one-fifth of his Daoist Spirit.

"Fat Daoist, you really don't have a single truthful word in your mouth. Who knows who you learned it from," Qi Xiu muttered to himself, daring not to delay.

Taking advantage of King Yintian still not having caught his breath, he transformed into a mist, scooped up Wei Wujie and Li Jun, and ran for it!

Not long after Qi Xiu and the others fled, King Yintian, having caught his breath, found his eyes turning pitch black. An infinite fury twisted his face into a vortex.

ROAR!!!

He howled skyward. His Daoist Spirit had lost one-fifth to the Tian Gang Five Thunder Palm embedded in that Supreme Purity Purple Jade Spiritual Light Talisman Script, costing him five hundred years of cultivation.

For a ghostly being, cultivation was already more difficult than for others.

This five hundred years of cultivation, he might spend a thousand years and still not recoup it.

At this moment, King Yintian thoroughly regarded Qi Xiu and his companions as mortal enemies he must kill!

"Ghostly Shadows of Yinming! Open for me!"

RUMBLE!

In an instant, the sky suddenly darkened. The entire Dead Spirit City echoed with endless cries of sorrow, as if it had suddenly been transported to the underworld.

CRACK! BOOM—

With his hands, King Yintian forcibly tore open a massive crack. From it, a Blood River full of skulls and limbs flowed furiously, surging into Dead Spirit City.

Any being touched by this Blood River would immediately be seized by the wraiths within, dragged into the waters to drown, and become part of the Blood River.

The whole city was flooded. The Demonic Evil Cultivators, who had lost their minds to fury and didn't know to dodge, were swept into the Blood River, turning into wailing skulls and limbs.

The river's waters churned, pouring back into the city.

Carrying Wei Wujie and Li Jun, Qi Xiu struggled to activate his misty Escape Light, trying to find a way out of Dead Spirit City.

He had wanted to use the Divine Marvel of the Water Patrol Evasion Skill to instantly travel to Nangong Qingqiu's location.

But now, the entire Dead Spirit City was sealed by King Yintian's deployed formations. All teleportation Dharma Gates were rendered ineffective.

At the same time, there was a Divine Marvel Power within this Blood River of the Ghostly Shadows of Yinming, which prevented any power from flying over it.

Qi Xiu could only dodge the encirclement of the Blood River of the Ghostly Shadows of Yinming while relying on his memory of the streets and alleys of Dead Spirit City, attempting to find a way out.

"You can't escape! You can't escape!"

Terrifying whispers echoed continuously throughout Dead Spirit City, like a death knell inexorably drawing closer.

The cries of ten thousand ghosts grew louder, and the eerie, terrifying aura in the air grew more intense.

As if from nowhere, countless cold, pale hands seemed to pull at Qi Xiu from behind, slowing his speed more and more.

This won't do! At this rate, I'll be dragged to death!

With a flip of his palm, a copper bell the size of his hand appeared in Qi Xiu's grasp.

CRACK! BOOM—

The bell tolled, and thousands of five-colored bolts of lightning erupted suddenly.

The raging, roaring Lei Mang transformed into a furious tide.

In a flash, it quelled the surrounding Blood River of the Ghostly Shadows of Yinming and those pale arms in the void.

Using the protective thunder bell given by his master, Daoist Yunxiong, before his departure, Qi Xiu struggled to continue fleeing forward.

Whenever encircled by the Blood River of the Ghostly Shadows of Yinming, he would ring the bell, summoning a sky full of robust thunder to break the deadlock.

However, each bell could only be rung three times.

And Qi Xiu had only a total of five such bells.

Dead Spirit City had been deliberately manipulated by King Yintian, its area expanded more than a hundredfold.

Even after all five thunder bells had been exhausted, Qi Xiu still hadn't reached the edge of Dead Spirit City.

He watched as the Blood River of the Ghostly Shadows of Yinming surged forth once again.

The air was thick with a chilling and eerie presence.

Countless pale arms began to drag at his body again.

Just as Qi Xiu felt his body becoming heavier, and the mist enveloping him was about to be dispelled, a burst of golden light suddenly emanated from behind his head.

"Is this... Human Path Merit?"

Golden light descended from the sky, continuously pouring into Qi Xiu, Wei Wujie, and Li Jun.

Among them, Qi Xiu received the most light, followed by Wei Wujie, and Li Jun the least.

Watching the number next to Human Path Merit on his proficiency panel begin to soar, a sense of enlightenment rose within Qi Xiu.

The Soul Summoning Altar was an evil and sinister altar painstakingly set up by King Yintian for the cultivation of the "Nine Serene Sun-swallowing Scripture."

This altar could forcibly draw the souls of the Human Race from the entirety of Dianchuan Province into Dead Spirit City, turning them into fuel for King Yintian's cultivation.

Once these Human Race souls were swept into Dead Spirit City, they were doomed to eternal torment without release, suffering extreme anguish.

Therefore, the destruction of the Soul Summoning Altar meant liberation for millions of Human Race souls.

The Human Dao sensed this and descended merit.

As the mastermind behind the plan to destroy the Soul Summoning Altar, Qi Xiu earned the greatest share of merit. Wei Wujie and Li Jun, as executors, received different amounts of merit due to their varied efforts.

Under an intuitive inspiration, Qi Xiu brought his palms together, and a halo of golden light slowly appeared behind his head.

Amidst this halo of golden light, Qi Xiu was transformed into an image of radiant dignity. The invisible power of merit emanated from him, blooming into thousands of dazzling golden beams.

The next instant, countless figures emerged from the corners of Dead Spirit City, their faces expressionless and their bodies a pale grey.

However, after being illuminated by the Merit Golden Light, they gradually regained their color, and their stiff, numb faces regained expression.

After a bewildered glance at themselves, these awakened Human Race souls gratefully bowed deeply to Qi Xiu.

They then swarmed towards the pale arms dragging Qi Xiu. They formed a human wall, constructing a dam with their bodies and blocking the encroaching Blood River of the Ghostly Shadows of Yinming for Qi Xiu.

The souls were fragile, incapable of withstanding the Blood River for even one percent of a second.

But the number of souls within Dead Spirit City was colossal, numbering in the millions!

An endless stream of souls continued to flood in, spontaneously becoming Qi Xiu's guard under the salvation of the Merit Golden Light.

With millions of Human Race souls protecting him, Qi Xiu no longer worried about the siege of the Blood River of the Ghostly Shadows of Yinming.

"Old Seven, you rock! HAHAHA!"

Having witnessed all of this, Wei Wujie laughed out loud.

It seemed that they really were going to escape from under the nose of King Yintian, a Dao Body Realm Leader.

With the help of the Human Race souls, Qi Xiu quickly found an escape path through the Blood River of the Ghostly Shadows of Yinming that enveloped the city.

Driving his Escape Light at full force, he saw the city wall drawing ever closer.

Qi Xiu's eyes blazed with Divine Light, ready to muster all his strength to flee Dead Spirit City.

A dreadful presence, accompanied by a roiling Blood Sea and a blade aura that resented all living things, crashed down, brutally cutting off the trio's path to life.

Slowly sheathing his blade, a Blood-Stained Realm Fierce Ghost looked impassively at Qi Xiu and the others.

The next instant, other Blood-Stained Realm Fierce Ghosts arrived in quick succession.

In a matter of moments, a dozen or so Fierce Ghosts encircled Qi Xiu and the others in a tight formation.

A terrifying aura of cataclysmic destruction surged and swelled.

A dozen cold and vindictive gazes seemed to want to devour Qi Xiu and the others alive!

"Alas, all is lost at the last moment," Wei Wujie said, shaking his head with a wry smile. Despite his grave injuries, he stepped forward to shield Qi Xiu and Li Jun.

"Looks like today, the three of us brothers are done for. Let's get this straight first: you two can't die before me."

Hearing Wei Wujie's words, Qi Xiu and Li Jun exchanged a smile, then turned serious, slowly rallying their cultivation in preparation for a final stand.

But in that instant, Wei Wujie's eyes suddenly flashed.

He flipped his hand, revealing two Divine Talismans, and spat a mouthful of vital blood essence onto each.

Instantly activating the power of the Talisman Scripts, he then spun around and slapped them onto Qi Xiu and Li Jun with lightning speed.

HUM—

The void trembled. Before Qi Xiu and Li Jun could react, these two Divine Talismans miraculously broke through King Yintian's blockade, intending to teleport them away.

"Heh, the Empty Gate's Star Plucking Travel Talisman," Wei Wujie said, standing his ground as he watched Qi Xiu and Li Jun's figures begin to fade. He smiled resignedly, "TSK, too bad. I knew I should have saved an extra one earlier."

"If you see the master, tell him I'm sorry; his unworthy disciple Wei Wujie wasn't able to fulfill his filial duty. If there's a next life, I, Wei Wujie, will still be a disciple of Shenxiao Sect!"

WHOOSH—

As they furiously pounded on the starlight barrier, Qi Xiu and Li Jun struggled with all their might but could not escape the power of the Star Plucking Travel Talisman.

Gradually, all they could see was the brilliance of countless stars. The outside world was no longer visible.

All they could hear was a roar of defiance from outside, a cry that resonated with unrepentant valor.

"I am Wei Wujie of Shenxiao Sect's Yunti Peak, the eldest disciple! You scum, do you dare to battle me!"

BOOM—!

Suddenly, a tremendous noise.

The world outside fell silent in an instant.

...