The Abyssal Ink Ocean: Nether Gloom · Night Parade of a Hundred Demons

In the next instant after blocking the attack, Xie Yunjie flicked his wrist. His calligraphy brush danced rapidly in the air, and the character for Flash instantly took shape beside him.

The moment the character appeared, Xie Yunjie's figure vanished into thin air, instantly reappearing several dozen feet away from Men Fusheng, evading the latter's incoming sweeping slash.

Before Men Fusheng could steady himself, Xie Yunjie raised his right hand again. With a lift of his brush, the four characters for Saber, Spear, Sword, and Halberd materialized in a flash.

Dense demonic ink instantly condensed, transforming into four pitch-black heavy weapons. Wrapped in endless demonic energy, they let out a howling sound as they violently charged at Men Fusheng from four different directions.

Men Fusheng's abilities were by no means simple. As a pure-blood Nether Ghost, he excelled in phantom manipulation and Netherworld secret arts.

He could merge his own netherworld miasma with the wandering spirits of the world, turning them into a highly corrosive ghost mist that could be used for both defense and offense.

At the same time, his physical body had been tempered by the netherworld miasma, making it incredibly tough. His long sword could even absorb the power of phantoms to amplify his attacks.

Seeing this, instead of retreating, he advanced. He fiercely swung the long katana in his hand, its blade carving a black arc through the air.

Phantom: Yellow Springs Guidance.

The ghost mist around him instantly gathered into a massive phantom illusion. The illusion opened its giant maw and lunged ferociously at the four demonic ink weapons.

Wherever it passed, the very void began to decay and shatter.

Xie Yunjie's gaze narrowed slightly.

Gripping the brush in his right hand, he rapidly sketched—

Seal!

A massive Seal character took shape instantly.

The character expanded against the wind, turning into a giant black net of light that cast down over the phantom illusion.

The phantom crashed into the net of light.

Sizzle—!

Another character, Corrode, crashed down and attached itself to the black net.

Like a red-hot branding iron dropping into ice water, a harsh sizzling sound of corrosion echoed.

The phantom illusion struggled madly within the black net, but the more it fought, the tighter the net became, until the phantom finally dissipated completely.

Seeing this, Men Fusheng once again advanced instead of retreating!

His figure flashed as he charged directly into the not-yet-dissipated net of light, thrusting his katana straight at Xie Yunjie.

Xie Yunjie raised his right hand and gently twirled his brush— Retreat!

As the word fell, his figure instantly fell back dozens of feet, directly widening the distance between him and Men Fusheng.

Men Fusheng's thrust hit empty air, but without any pause, he twisted his body and lunged forward once more.

......

Down below.

Jun Mukong and Jun Anshi tilted their heads up, their eyes dead-locked onto the two constantly crossing silhouettes in the sky above. They were completely dumbfounded.

Was this a battle between Half-Immortals?

The power of every collision was enough to tear the void apart.

Every evasion possessed the speed of teleportation.

The countless weapons, ghost shadows, and characters condensed from demonic energy... constantly emerged, clashed, and dissipated before their eyes.

So this was the shocking nature of a battle between the strong. There was no unnecessary flashiness; every stance and every move struck directly at the vitals.

Their hearts were filled with shock and yearning, a blazing light igniting in the depths of their eyes:

They, too, were people with top-tier talent. Given time...

Could they also possess such formidable strength? Could they become as powerful as Senior Brother Xie Yunjie and Senior Men Fusheng?

......

After several exchanges, the two went back and forth, evenly matched.

Since his original intention was merely to help Men Fusheng expend his miasma, Xie Yunjie had not been using his full strength.

The netherworld miasma surrounding Men Fusheng had partially dissipated, yet remnants still lingered.

He took a deep breath and looked at Xie Yunjie, his voice hoarse but resolute:

Your Excellency. Please... use a bit more of your strength.

Hearing this, Xie Yunjie gave a slight nod.

Then... pardon my offense.

He took a light step forward.

As this step landed, endless demonic ink instantly surged out with him at the center.

The demonic ink spread and expanded in all directions like a living creature, covering a radius of hundreds of feet in the blink of an eye.

The entire sky was thoroughly enveloped by this black sea of ink.

Myriad Abyss Ink Sea!

The ink sea churned with monstrous demonic energy. Every drop of ink contained boundless power, and Men Fusheng's figure was instantly swallowed by the sea of ink.

With his feet bound by the ink sea, he could not move easily, and the ghost mist around him gradually thinned under the sea's corrosion.

Xie Yunjie lightly twirled the brush with his fingers, his eyes narrowing slightly. The ink sea around him instantly began to boil. Countless drops of black ink condensed, transforming into a dense cluster of characters suspended above the ink sea:

Saber, Spear, Sword, Boring, Staff, Fork, Whip, Hammer, Axe, Hook, Sickle.

Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Thunder, Ice, Poison, Corrosion.

Speed, Weight, Pierce.

The first eleven characters instantly transformed into countless corresponding black weapons, gleaming with a biting cold light, tightly surrounding Men Fusheng.

The middle ten characters turned into ten types of elemental power, merging into every weapon to imbue them with fierce elemental attacks.

The final three characters fused into the weapons' offensive momentum, making them faster, heavier, and far more piercing.

Facing this grandiose assault, Men Fusheng showed not a sliver of fear on his face.

He took a deep breath.

The katana in his hand was held horizontally in front of him.

He closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, spectral green flames had ignited within his deep gray eyes.

Netherworld: Night Parade of a Hundred Demons!

As the blade's light fell, countless phantom illusions surged madly from his body like a breached dam, instantly filling the entire sky.

Completely unlike the blurry, scattered, and fragile ghost shadows from before, these phantoms had almost condensed into physical substance. Every face was clearly visible, hideous and terrifying, radiating a dense aura of netherworld death.

These phantoms were no longer vague ghost shadows, but entities nearly formed into solid matter! Some wielded broken weapons, some wore tattered armor, and some even rode decaying warhorses...

In just the span of a breath, a netherworld army composed of hundreds upon thousands of substantial phantoms materialized out of thin air in the sky. Their formation was majestic, and their death aura surged to the heavens.

Xie Yunjie swung his right hand down toward that army, and countless weapons charged at the phantoms.

The moment the phantoms and weapons collided, the entire sky was swallowed by demonic energy.

Shockwaves spread madly in all directions. Wherever they passed, the void shattered inch by inch, revealing pitch-black nothingness.

This clash lasted for a full three breaths.

Men Fusheng knelt on one knee atop the ink sea, gasping heavily for air. He was bathed in blood, his clothes torn to shreds, and the katana in his hand had lost all its luster.

And all around him—

Eleven weapons floated silently.

They were no more than three feet away from him.

If they advanced even an inch further, they would completely slaughter him.

But those weapons did not move.

Xie Yunjie lightly raised his right hand and gave a gentle tap with his brush.

The eleven weapons simultaneously turned into demonic ink and dissipated.

The ink sea also began to recede, eventually vanishing completely.