Chapter 366 - 365: Defeating Elephant Demon King

Lin Yuan’s attention remained fixed on the Elephant Demon King, whose enormous body stood among the shattered remains of the plaza.

Ten muscular arms, each equipped with a different demonic weapon, had been reduced to bloody stumps, yet the creature’s eyes still burned with unwillingness and hatred. Whatever reward the system had prepared, Lin Yuan would examine it after dealing with the enemy standing before him.

The Elephant Demon King slowly tightened its grip on the weapons that remained in its hands, its expression becoming increasingly ugly as it assessed the situation. The silver light surrounding its fortune-stealing limb flickered uncertainly, and the demonic aura that had previously covered its body like an impenetrable fortress had begun to fluctuate.

For the first time since entering the Sacred Grounds, the demon no longer looked at Lin Yuan and Bai Qingyue as prey waiting to be slaughtered. It had finally realized that the two cultivators before it were far more dangerous than the rumors surrounding them had ever suggested.

The battle was far from over, but the balance of power had unmistakably changed. Bai Qingyue floated inches above the shattered jade plaza, her long silver hair drifting gently behind her as golden light surrounded her body.

The Fortune Banner in her grasp resonated with the profound principles of the Great Dao, drawing upon the invisible connections between Heaven, Earth, and every living being caught within their influence. Although her foundational cultivation remained at the Middle Stage of Core Formation, the authority radiating from her possessed the undeniable combat strength of a Middle Stage Nascent Soul expert.

She had entered the Yunqi Realm, the Realm of Fortune!

This was not an ordinary breakthrough, nor was it a conventional method of increasing one’s cultivation. Her Golden Core had not suddenly transformed into a Nascent Soul, and the spiritual Qi within her body had not undergone the usual process of advancement.

Instead, the Fortune Banner had awakened something that had always existed within her, amplifying her innate connection to the fortune of Heaven and Earth until it became a force capable of influencing the outcome of battles between powerful cultivators.

Lin Yuan had suspected that Bai Qingyue’s natural fortune was extraordinary for a long time, but even he had not anticipated such a transformation.

The fortune surrounding her had previously behaved like an invisible current, quietly guiding certain events in her favor and allowing her to encounter opportunities that ordinary cultivators might never see in their entire lives, such as the Dao fishing event. Now, that current had become a vast river, and the Fortune Banner had given her the means to direct its flow.

The Elephant Demon King stared at her in disbelief, its nostrils flaring as it struggled to comprehend what had just happened. It had spent countless years strengthening its body, refining its bloodline, and developing the extraordinary abilities that distinguished its lineage from ordinary demons.

Its ten-armed physique was considered an apex variant, a rare existence capable of overwhelming opponents through sheer physical strength and unparalleled versatility in close combat. Yet Bai Qingyue had crossed a boundary that should have been impossible for someone of her cultivation, simply by activating an artifact.

"You think a mere artifact can close the gap between us?!" the Elephant Demon King roared, desperately attempting to conceal the primal terror rising within its chest. Its voice shook the surrounding ruins, and several nearby spatial fissures widened in response to the violent fluctuation of its demonic aura.

"You are merely a Core Formation cultivator! No matter what tricks you use, you cannot change the difference between your cultivation and mine!"

Bai Qingyue looked at the demon without displaying any particular emotion. The golden light around her shoulders rippled, revealing the faint outlines of countless intricate patterns that resembled flowing rivers and intersecting paths.

She did not appear excited by her newfound power, nor did she seem particularly interested in proving the demon wrong. Her eyes simply observed the enormous creature with the calmness of someone watching an outcome that had already been decided.

"Perhaps you should stop measuring everything by cultivation alone," she replied softly. Her voice carried no arrogance, yet the certainty within it made the Elephant Demon King’s expression darken further. "Cultivation determines how much power a cultivator can possess, but it does not determine whether that power will reach its target."

The demon’s pupils contracted as it understood the implication behind her words. However, before it could respond, Bai Qingyue raised the Fortune Banner and allowed its golden radiance to spread across the plaza. The fabric fluttered despite the absence of wind, and an invisible fluctuation passed through the surrounding space.

For an instant, even the collapsing Sacred Grounds seemed to pause, as though the countless possibilities governing the next moment had been drawn toward the woman holding the banner.

"Fortune dictates the flow of all things," Bai Qingyue declared.

She waved the banner.

It was not a physical strike, nor did it release a conventional wave of destructive energy. Instead, the movement established a subtle connection between the Elephant Demon King and the countless unstable circumstances surrounding it.

The demon’s position, the angle of its weapons, the condition of the ground beneath its feet, and the spatial fissures opening throughout the plaza suddenly became parts of a single, interconnected arrangement. Bai Qingyue did not need to overpower every one of those factors individually. She only needed to alter the direction in which their combined influence flowed.

The Elephant Demon King reacted immediately, unwilling to allow the woman to complete another attack. Its remaining arms swung forward, unleashing a chaotic flurry of demonic sabers, halberds, and spiked maces.

Each weapon carried enough force to shatter a mountain peak, and the violent momentum of their movements caused the surrounding air to distort. Several spatial tears followed in the wake of the weapons, creating jagged openings that threatened to swallow everything caught within their reach.

Under ordinary circumstances, such an attack would have overwhelmed a cultivator at the Core Formation Stage regardless of their talent. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator would have needed to respond carefully, because the Elephant Demon King’s weapons covered multiple angles simultaneously. Its fighting style had been developed around the natural advantages of its ten-armed body, allowing it to attack and defend at the same time while denying its opponents any opportunity to establish a stable rhythm.

This time, however, the attack failed before it could reach Bai Qingyue.

A halberd suddenly struck the edge of a saber, sending both weapons veering away from their intended trajectories. One of the demon’s spiked maces collided with a collapsing spatial fissure, and the resulting distortion twisted its arm backward with a sickening crunch.

Another weapon passed within inches of Bai Qingyue’s shoulder before its handle slipped unexpectedly in the demon’s grasp, causing the blade to bury itself in the shattered ground. The remaining weapons collided with one another in a rapidly escalating chain of accidents, destroying the flawless coordination that had made the Elephant Demon King’s martial technique so terrifying.

"My arms!" the demon bellowed, stumbling backward as its balance collapsed. It attempted to regain control by drawing upon its immense physical strength, but the ground beneath its feet suddenly cracked apart, leaving one leg trapped between two enormous slabs of jade.

Its remaining weapons continued to move, yet every attempt to correct their trajectories seemed to create another opening for disaster. The invisible weight of Bai Qingyue’s fortune had turned the demon’s greatest advantage into a collection of liabilities.

Lin Yuan did not waste the opportunity.