Chapter 454 - 460: Battle Against the Great Elder

After making their arrangements, Song Wanning and Baili Shang began to conserve their strength. They were, after all, planning to kill an Integration Stage Cultivator. Even though they could both fight above their station, they still faced immense pressure.

The slightest misstep could spell their doom.

But both of them were unyielding by nature and hard on themselves, so they naturally felt no fear.

Besides, if worst came to worst, they could always run!

After a night of rest, Song Wanning and Baili Shang arrived at the entrance to the forbidden area just as the sky brightened into day.

"Be extremely careful."

Baili Shang urged, then immediately began using his Demonic Qi to open the restrictive seal.

’He was profoundly skilled in the dao of Arrays, but that wasn’t the reason he could enter. The Central Domain had no shortage of Array Masters, yet none had ever succeeded in all these years...’

’His true key to entry was a partial inheritance he had received from a Demon God in some ancient ruins.’

’That was why he could open the seal and enter the forbidden area as a matter of course.’

’Therefore, Baili Shang concluded, Song Wanning must have used a similar method to get in.’

He quickly opened the seal, and his figure shot out, appearing outside the forbidden area.

The Great Elder, who had been monitoring the forbidden area, instantly appeared outside as well, directly blocking Baili Shang’s path.

"Hahaha, I’ve finally caught you!"

"Where’s the other woman?"

The Great Elder looked left and right but saw no sign of Song Wanning, and his eyes narrowed.

"Huh? You didn’t advance? Was it the woman who broke through?"

The Great Elder was suddenly overjoyed. The Demonic Qi had obscured his vision before, so he hadn’t been able to clearly see the person undergoing the tribulation.

He had thought he would be facing another Body Integration Realm opponent, but this turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

’One at the Divine Separation Stage and one at the Out-of-Body Stage... They’re no match for me at all!’

Baili Shang saw the glint in the Great Elder’s eyes and could guess what he was thinking.

A murderous glint flashed in his icy eyes. He sneered, "Even if I haven’t advanced, killing you will be child’s play!"

As he spoke, the Demonic Qi radiating from his body raged, and the surrounding wind fell silent.

Baili Shang’s arrogance made the Great Elder laugh in fury.

"Are all you Cultivators from the Outer Realm so full of yourselves?"

’I don’t know where this damn Demon Cultivator gets the nerve to say something so shameless.’

"You’ll find out soon enough if I’m full of myself!"

A cold glint flashed in Baili Shang’s eyes, and in the next instant, a long saber brimming with Demonic Qi appeared in his hand.

He took the initiative, attacking the Great Elder. As he slashed his saber, a phantom White Tiger materialized in the air and lunged toward his opponent.

With a wave of his hand, he tore open the space around them. Roaring demonic beasts clawed their way out of the rifts and swarmed the Great Elder.

The Great Elder’s expression darkened. He clearly hadn’t expected Baili Shang to be this powerful.

’But this little bit of strength,’ he thought, ’is still far too weak to deal with me.’

He produced a long spear from his Storage Ring and thrust it toward the White Tiger. At the same time, his feet blurred, and a strange halo of light enveloped him.

The charging demonic beasts were all repelled by the halo. The spear shattered the White Tiger, and the resulting shockwave pulverized the surrounding trees, turning countless stones to dust that scattered into the air.

The Great Elder swept his spear, and the dust cloud vanished, clearing his vision.

"Brat, even if you cultivated for another twenty years, you still wouldn’t be my match."

He sneered, his eyes filled with contempt for Baili Shang.

’Young people are so hot-headed. They think they’re Heaven’s chosen and can sweep away all obstacles?’

’What damn good is a genius who hasn’t fully matured?’

"Hahaha—"

He let out a few great laughs and clashed with Baili Shang once more.

Baili Shang’s face was grim as he swiftly counterattacked, but with a full major realm separating them, he was quickly injured.

Just as the Great Elder was about to strike Baili Shang again, a figure shot out and slashed at him with a sword.

The Great Elder spun around, a mocking sneer flashing across his face.

He swept his spear, its immense power shattering the sword’s light.

"I was waiting for you to pull this stunt! Did you really think I’m an idiot?"

"Hahaha—"

With that, the Great Elder began fighting both of them simultaneously.

Then, the unexpected happened. A sudden flash of light struck. The Great Elder, busy suppressing the pair, was caught off guard and hit.

A wave of dizziness washed over him, leaving him dazed for a split second.

Luckily, his reflexes were sharp, and he quickly snapped out of it.

But before he could even feel relieved, a tremendous force slammed down from behind, striking him directly on the head.

In that instant, he felt as if his head were a watermelon. There was a dull THUD, and then his Sea of Consciousness trembled violently.

"PFFT—"

Almost instantly, the Great Elder’s aura deflated. Unable to maintain his balance, he began to fall toward the ground.

"Aargh!"

He cried out in agony as his Divine Soul throbbed with pain.

Before he could regain his footing, three attacks suddenly flew toward him.

’Yes, three people!’

The Great Elder was shocked to his core. Two of them looked exactly identical!

’And just now,’ he realized, ’I was wounded because I fell for their treacherous scheme.’

The Great Elder cursed under his breath and forced himself to focus on fighting the trio. But with his Divine Soul injured, the power of his techniques was greatly diminished.

The three of them actually managed to fight him to a standstill, with neither side able to gain the upper hand.

"Damn it, you have a doppelganger?"

The Great Elder could see it clearly now—they weren’t twins at all, but a doppelganger!!

But for a doppelganger to possess the exact same Cultivation as the original was truly astonishing.

Song Wanning just smiled. She and Baili Shang had planned for this all along. After all, there were few fools in the Cultivation World, let alone an Integration Stage Cultivator. He was bound to be wary of her since she hadn’t shown herself yet.

’But surely no one would have expected her to have a doppelganger.’

That was how they managed to catch the Great Elder off guard and wound him first, making the rest of their task that much easier.

She gave a wicked smile and asked with feigned confusion, "Did the Huo Clan Leader not tell you?"

"You—"

The Great Elder was practically apoplectic at Song Wanning’s arrogant, gloating expression. He glared at her, grinding his back teeth in fury.

"You think a little injury like this means I can’t handle you?"

He sneered, "Let me tell you, even if you had ten doppelgangers, you’d still die by my hand today!"

With that, the Great Elder attacked again.

Baili Shang and Song Wanning exchanged a look and stopped holding back, both revealing their trump cards.

They had to end this quickly. If the fight dragged on and the Great Elder managed to summon the Huo Clan Leader, their only option would be to run!

Song Wanning’s gaze hardened. Her body shot upward, and the Jinghong Sword in her hand flashed as she slashed viciously down at the Great Elder.

In that moment, it was as if a Demon God had descended.