Chapter 359 - 358: Two Demon Kings (2)

The two collided.

BOOM!

A violent shockwave erupted through the gorge, temporarily pushing back the thick clouds of dust and spatial debris surrounding them.

The Rhino Demon King’s massive body shuddered as its horn struck Lin Yuan’s palms, yet the human cultivator remained firmly planted in the air. His clothes fluttered in the turbulent winds, but his arms did not retreat even a fraction as he held the enormous beast in place.

The Rhino Demon King’s eyes widened visibly in disbelief. It had relied upon its sheer physical strength for countless battles, and its charge had shattered mountains and crushed powerful enemies beneath its horn.

Yet this human had stopped it with his bare hands, without relying on a defensive artifact or retreating to reduce the impact. For the first time since entering the Sacred Grounds, the demon began to seriously question whether the opponent standing before it was as insignificant as it had assumed.

Lin Yuan tightened his grip around the horn, preventing the demon from withdrawing even an inch. His expression remained calm as he glanced toward the woman hovering above the gorge, where Bai Qingyue had already begun forming hand seals. He did not need to explain what he intended, because she had fought beside him enough times to understand his thoughts from a single glance.

Bai Qingyue descended through the air with graceful precision, her gown fluttering around her as the Heaven and Earth luck surrounding her body brightened. Her fingers moved rapidly, forming a sequence of elegant seals that drew the surrounding spiritual Qi into a crystalline blue array.

She had no intention of relying on brute force to overcome the Rhino Demon King’s defensive body. Instead, she focused on disrupting its defenses and restricting its movement, creating an opening for Lin Yuan to deliver the killing blow.

"Heavenly Fortune: Severing Cascade!" she declared.

A massive crystalline array appeared instantly above the Rhino Demon King, its intricate patterns rotating as countless blue runes illuminated the surrounding gorge. Beams of concentrated Water Qi shot downward, each one infused with Bai Qingyue’s extraordinary Heaven and Earth luck.

The beams did not merely strike the beast’s armor; they carried a weight of fortune that interfered with the demonic energy sustaining its defenses, forcing its protective aura to fluctuate at precisely the wrong moments.

The first beam pierced cleanly through the Rhino Demon King’s shoulder armor, leaving a deep wound that spilled dark blood onto the ground. Several more beams followed in rapid succession, striking its legs and joints with ruthless precision.

Its thick iron scales offered far less resistance than before, and the beast’s enormous body began to stagger as its defensive energy was gradually, methodically dismantled. It attempted to force its way forward regardless, but the crystalline array pressed down upon it relentlessly, making each movement increasingly difficult.

"What kind of technique is this?" the Rhino Demon King roared furiously, struggling against the invisible pressure. It had encountered cultivators who specialized in formations and elemental arts before, but Bai Qingyue’s attack felt entirely different. Her Water Qi was not simply overwhelming its defenses through greater raw force; something within the attack was interfering with the flow of its demonic energy, causing its own power to work directly against it.

Lin Yuan did not give the demon any time to understand.

Golden-purple thunder wrapped around his right fist, merging with the destructive force of the White Tiger Secret Realm. The lightning did not spread indiscriminately through the surrounding space.

Instead, it condensed tightly around his knuckles, forming a dense layer of destructive power that caused the air to distort around his hand, faint arcs of static crackling across his skin. His Dao Fruit examined the demon’s remaining defenses carefully, identifying the precise point where the disrupted demonic energy had left its body vulnerable.

"Die," Lin Yuan said softly.

He drove his fist upward in one fluid motion into the underside of the Rhino Demon King’s jaw.

The impact carried the full force of a falling meteor, instantly crushing the beast’s skull and sending a destructive wave rippling through its enormous body. Its eyes lost their light before it could release another roar, and the demonic core buried within its chest shattered under the combined force of thunder and physical destruction.

The Rhino Demon King’s body collapsed heavily onto the broken ground at last, its massive armor striking the earth with a thunderous crash that sent dust rolling through the gorge in a wide, choking cloud.

Bai Qingyue withdrew her array, allowing the remaining crystalline runes to dissolve slowly into scattered blue light. She glanced toward Lin Yuan to confirm that he was unharmed, a flicker of quiet relief crossing her delicate features, then immediately turned her attention back toward the other battle.

Ku Ming was still locked in battle with the Red Demon King, but unlike the swift, decisive confrontation between Lin Yuan and the Rhino Demon King, their exchange had become increasingly dangerous.

The monk’s Indestructible Karmic Wheel spun ceaselessly behind him like a blazing wheel of golden light. Each rotation released searing Buddhist energy that formed enormous seals in the air, striking the Red Demon King’s body with enough force to tear away chunks of its flesh.

Yet the demon’s regenerative ability was far beyond that of an ordinary Demon King, and every wound began closing almost immediately, with fresh muscle and dark blood bubbling steadily across the damaged areas, the wet, grotesque sound of it audible even over the ongoing chaos of the gorge.

"Your golden light is weak, monk!" the Red Demon King mocked, laughing loudly as another Buddhist seal tore through its chest. The wound closed before the next attack arrived, and the demon swung one of its massive claws through the air with terrifying speed.

"You can tear my flesh apart a thousand times over, but how long can you possibly continue? I shall carve open your body and discover whether your Buddhist heart tastes as sweet as the rest of you!"