After clearing the patrol demons, the void temporarily returned to deathly silence, only that massive demon nest pulsated slowly like a living creature, radiating a chilling pressure. Tang Xiao Qi and the others dared not relax in the slightest, using the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl's light barrier to carefully move around the demon nest's exterior, attempting to find possible weak points or entrances.
"The demon nest is a seamless whole. The demonic energy barrier is incredibly thick, interwoven with spatial restrictions. Forcefully breaching it is by no means a good strategy." Prince Ao Qin's dragon eyes swept across, tone heavy. He had keen perception of spatial power, able to clearly feel countless twisted, broken spatial traps hidden beneath the seemingly calm void outside the demon nest.
Second Senior Brother Luo Feng's voice transmitted from the compass artifact, carrying a hint of urgency: "Energy scanning shows that in the southeastern-lower area of the demon nest, the spatial structure is relatively unstable, and the demonic energy barrier seems slightly thinner than elsewhere. This might be an old wound left from when the demonic entity forcibly traveled through space, or perhaps a periodic weak point in the demon nest's own energy circulation!"
"Let's go take a look!" Xiao Qi decided instantly.
Everyone controlled the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl, moving silently toward that direction. Indeed, the closer they got, the more they could feel subtle spatial ripples there, along with nearly imperceptible fluctuations from the demonic energy barrier.
"This is it!" Xiao Qi's eyes narrowed. Chaos power began slowly condensing at his fingertip. He intended to catch them off guard, forcefully tearing open a brief opening with chaotic power for the squad to infiltrate.
However, just as he was about to strike—
"Roar—!"
A dragon roar, as if from primordial antiquity, exploded unexpectedly in everyone's spiritual consciousness! This roar wasn't transmitted through air, but directly affected the soul, filled with berserk rage, coldness, and endless desire for destruction, shaking everyone's qi and blood. Even the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl's barrier rippled intensely.
Following this, the demon nest's pitch-black surface underwent violent writhing. A massive bulge forcefully broke through, countless writhing demonic matter rolling outward in all directions, and a colossal entity slowly emerged from within.
It was a dragon!
A dragon with dark purple scales covering its entire body, its form elongated and winding, comparable to a mountain in size! Its scales weren't smooth, but covered with twisted demonic patterns, flickering with dim luster. A pair of dragon eyes resembled two blood moons, filled with pure malice and chaos. Most chilling was that its body wasn't entirely materialized—some areas appeared semi-transparent, as if merging with the surrounding void, emanating dense spatial fluctuations.
"Void Demon Dragon!" Ao Qin cried out involuntarily, face full of disbelief. "The terrifying existence born from void turbulence, feeding on spatial fragments and stellar wreckage! It... it was actually subjugated by the demonic entity, becoming the demon nest's guardian!"
This Void Demon Dragon's aura had distinctly reached the Nascent Soul late stage, and due to its innate spatial talent in this void environment, its threat level even rivaled Nascent Soul peak!
The Void Demon Dragon's cold, blood-colored gaze fixed intensely on the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl's light barrier within the group. Clearly, the patrol demons' destruction and Xiao Qi and the others' attempt to approach the weak point had thoroughly awakened this slumbering guardian.
It gave them no reaction time. Its massive jaws opened, not spewing flames or ice, but spitting out a twisted, invisible—spatial turbulence!
Where this turbulence passed, void seemed crushed by an invisible giant hand, presenting a fragmented, terrifying scene. Where the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl's barrier contacted this spatial turbulence, ear-piercing cracking sounds erupted. Cracks like spiderwebs instantly covered the barrier's surface!
"Not good! The Sea-Stabilizing Pearl can't withstand this level of direct spatial attack!" Ao Qin's expression drastically changed, fully propelling his dragon origin, attempting to stabilize the barrier.
"Scatter!" Xiao Qi shouted sharply, knowing they couldn't continue defending at their position.
Everyone reacted extremely quickly, instantly transforming into several streams of light, scattering from the soon-to-collapse Sea-Stabilizing Pearl's barrier.
Almost the instant after they left, that spatial turbulence completely shredded the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl's barrier, turning that area into an absolute danger zone. Spatial fragments frenziedly spinning like sharp blades cutting everything.
"Its target is the Sea-Stabilizing Pearl! Or rather, treasures that can stabilize space!" Mu Xue instantly understood.
The Void Demon Dragon's attack succeeded. Its blood-colored eyes flashed with cruel satisfaction. Its massive body wound through the void, movement impossibly smooth, as if fish swimming in water. In the next instant, its massive dragon tail silently appeared behind Zhao Tiezhu, carrying power to tear space, violently slapping toward him!
"Tiezhu, watch out!" Third Senior Sister Liu Yun's sword heart was bright, sensing the crisis. A fierce and unmatched sword aura struck later but arriving first, cutting toward the dragon tail.
However, the sword aura passed through the dragon tail, as if cutting at nothing. The dragon tail illusified, the sword aura passed through harmlessly. Yet the materialized dragon tail attack firmly struck Zhao Tiezhu's hastily raised arms.
"Boom!"
A dull thud. Zhao Tiezhu was like being struck by a meteor. His entire person flew backward, golden light on his body surface flickering chaotically, a trace of blood appearing at his mouth's corner. Had he not cultivated the "Vajra Demon-Subduing Divine Art" to an extremely high realm, his body tough beyond compare, this strike alone could have severely wounded him.
"This beast can switch between solid and illusory states! Physical and energy attacks are hard to lock onto its true body!" Zhao Tiezhu stabilized his form, wiping blood from his mouth corner, his voice muffled but eyes more excited—that was battling spirit encountering a strong enemy.
The Void Demon Dragon, successful in its strike, grew even more aggressive. It roared, spatial power surging around its body. Instantly, dozens of distorted spatial vortexes appeared out of thin air around Xiao Qi, Mu Xue, and Third Senior Sister. Powerful suction emanated from within, attempting to pull the three into them, banishing them to unknown void depths.
"Ice-Congealing Time and Space!" Mu Xue formed seals with both hands. Extreme cold qi expanded from her center, where it passed, even those spatial vortexes' rotation speed slowed, their surfaces covered with thin ice crystals, suction greatly reduced.
Xiao Qi directly utilized his spatial comprehension, transforming into a swimming dragon, weaving between those slowed spatial vortexes. The Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword spotted an opportunity, carrying flames to burn all directions, cutting toward the demon dragon's relatively materialized neck scale ridge area!
The demon dragon seemed somewhat wary of the Nirvana Crimson Flame's purification power, not daring to block directly. Its massive body illusified once more, letting the sword strike miss empty air. Simultaneously, its dragon claw swept, five black spatial scars like blades cutting toward Xiao Qi.
Xiao Qi parried with his sword. Blade collided with spatial scars, producing teeth-grinding sounds, sparking countless fire sparks and spatial fragments. His body slightly swayed, feeling the opponent's strength's powerful intensity.
"Its spatial talent is too troublesome. We must restrict its movement!" Xiao Qi transmitted to everyone.
"I'll try!" Prince Ao Qin let out a long cry, revealing partial dragon true form. Though his size was far inferior to the Void Demon Dragon, his dragon might was vast. He was also skilled at controlling water origin and wind clouds. Though without water power to borrow in this void, he could still draw faint void tides, forming intangible bindings coiling toward the Void Demon Dragon.
Meanwhile, Second Senior Brother Luo Feng controlling the compass artifact shot out waves of interference spiritual energy, attempting to disrupt the demon dragon's surrounding spatial energy stability.
The Void Demon Dragon, constrained from multiple directions, its movement lagged slightly. It roared in rage, blood-colored eyes fixedly staring at the greatest threat—Tang Xiao Qi.
It abandoned other targets. Its massive body coiled, its dragon jaws opened once more. This time, instead of spitting spatial turbulence, within its mouth was condensing a highly compressed, like countless spatial births and deaths within—Void Dragon Breath Orb!
This Dragon Breath Orb's destructive energy emitted made everyone feel their hair stand on end!
"It can't let it release!" Xiao Qi's pupils contracted. He could feel this strike's power was enough to severely wound or even kill any of them!
He held nothing back. Behind him, the green lotus phantom fully bloomed. Purification Light and Chaos Power simultaneously poured into the Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword. The blade became like glass, its crimson flame's edge wrapped with traces of chaotic grey.
"Slash!"
A sword intent fusing supreme purification, flames to burn heaven, and chaos decomposition, like the first light to split heaven and earth, rushed toward that about-to-erupt Void Dragon Breath Orb!
Sword intent and Dragon Breath Orb collided in the void with a thunderous crash!
No deafening roar, only a scene of extreme white light interweaving with darkness and annihilation. Terrifying energy storms swept outward, temporarily driving away nearby demonic energy. Even the demon nest slightly quivered once.
At the energy storm's center, the Void Demon Dragon issued a painful wail. Its mouth's Dragon Breath Orb was shattered and annihilated by the sword intent. Scattered energy backlash caused several deep wounds to appear on its massive body. Dark purple dragon blood scattered in the void, instantly shattered by chaotic spatial power.
Xiao Qi was also shaken by the explosion's backwash, qi and blood churning, his sword-holding arm slightly numb.
"A great chance!" Third Senior Sister Liu Yun's eyes brightened. She became one with her sword, transforming into a supremely condensed sword silk, seizing the demon dragon's moment of injury and physical stagnation, ignoring spatial distance, directly stabbing toward one blood moon-like dragon eye!
"Squelch!"
The sword silk precisely pierced into the dragon eye!
"Roar—!!"
The Void Demon Dragon issued its most miserable and frantic roar since the battle began. Its remaining single eye full of endless pain and grudging venom. It completely descended into madness, its massive body frantically twisting, recklessly drawing upon surrounding space, creating vast areas of collapse and fissures, indiscriminately attacking everything within range.
The battle entered its most bloody and dangerous stage. This space-controlling demon dragon, in its death throes, would unleash what terrifying power?