The remaining four circled her, looking for an opening, but she didn't give them one.

Her body flowed from one sword form to another, almost instinctively. This was not only thanks to her advanced battle instinct honed over millions of battles, but also thanks to her body's restructuring using the First Sword standard.

Even while fighting nine opponents at once, she found moments to cut down the common monsters swarming below. A flick of her wrist here. A casual swing there. All ending in the absolute annihilation of any monsters that happened to come across it.

The Demon Lords were strong. Together, they matched her raw power almost evenly.

But almost wasn't enough.

Her techniques were sharper. Her battle instincts deeper.

Although this advantage hadn't been enough to cross the gap between her and the crimson demon before, things were much different now with her regaining her mind realm and her body going through another round of optimizations.

She sighed as she sidestepped a coordinated strike from two Demon Lords and countered with a spinning slash that sent both reeling. All the while, she navigated around the attacks of the others without breaking rhythm.

Even in the middle of all this chaos, she still found the time to wonder what exactly Cipher was up to. He had told her to buy him time and some levels. And then he would definitely defeat the Evil God.

She ducked under a massive fist and retaliated with an upward cut.

Well...

She could only trust him and hope whatever he had in mind would work.

…

The six sect masters faced the Evil God.

Sun Lihua struck first, raising her hand and projecting a huge moon above the battlefield. From the huge moon, crescent blades condensed and shot toward the enemy. The Evil God swatted them aside like flies, but this created an opening in his defense which Chen Feng was glad to exploit.

He burst forward, his body reinforced with qi to ensure maximum damage. He delivered a devastating punch to the Evil God's midsection, the impact echoing across the battlefield.

But the Evil God didn't even flinch.

He backhanded Chen Feng, sending him tumbling through the air.

Zhao Long caught him mid-flight, stabilizing him.

"He's strong," Chen Feng grunted.

"We knew that already," Zhao Long replied, setting him down.

Li Baiyuan didn't waste the opportunity. His sword flashed - once, twice, three times - all in quick succession and each strike aimed at vital points. The Evil God blocked two and took the third across his chest. A thin line of black blood appeared.

"He can bleed, he's no god" Li Baiyuan called out.

"Then we can kill him," Wen Rouyan responded.

Her whip cracked through the air, wrapping around the Evil God's arm. She pulled, though her intention wasn't to restrain him. Although she was proud and arrogant, she wasn't naive enough to think that she could do it.

But she didn't have to…he turned toward her, annoyed.

That's when Jiang Qing's talisman struck him in the back.

It exploded in a burst of golden light, forcing him forward a step. Not much, but against a being of this level, every inch mattered.

The Evil God roared and released a wave of demonic energy. The sect masters scattered, regrouping at a distance.

"Change formation," Jiang Qing commanded.

They moved instantly, although they all practiced different cultivation ideologies and were initially rivals (still were), after years of fighting together against the Evil God and his army, their coordination was on point.

Chen Feng and Zhao Long flanked left and right. Li Baiyuan took center. Wen Rouyan circled behind. Sun Lihua rose higher, gathering even more yin energy to feed the moon above her. As for Jiang Qing herself, she began throwing talismans around - seemingly at random.

Some landed on the Evil God, doing little to no damage, others landed on the other nearby demons, destroying them instantly, while others didn't even activate.

The Evil God brushed off the talisman explosions like nothing and charged.

Li Baiyuan met him head-on, his sword clashing against the creature's clawed hand. Sparks flew as they competed for dominion. But the Evil God was ultimately stronger, pushing him back.

Chen Feng came in from the left with a flying knee. Zhao Long from the right with a palm strike infused with concentrated qi. Both attacks connected.

The Evil God stumbled.

Wen Rouyan's whip wrapped around his ankle and pulled. He dropped to one knee.

Sun Lihua performed a set of hand signs, causing the artificial moon to form a moonlight beam that struck him square in the chest, pinning him in place for a second.

But only a second.

The Evil God erupted with power, throwing them all back. Black lightning crackled around his body as he rose, fury etched into his features.

"Insects," he spat.

He raised his hand, preparing to unleash his ultimate ability…

"Now!" Jiang Qing shouted.

The talismans she had scattered throughout the fight that didn't activate suddenly blazed to life. Lines of golden energy connected them, forming an intricate formation beneath the Evil God's feet. He looked down, eyes widening.

"What…"

The others backed away instantly.

Sun Lihua clasped her hands together in prayer. "Moon Goddess, grant us your favor."

The sky darkened. A massive yin-yang symbol materialized below the Evil God, its counterpart appearing directly above him. The two symbols began rotating in opposite directions, locking him in place.

He struggled against the binding, veins bulging across his body. "You think this can hold me?!"

The formation cracked. It wouldn't last long.

But it didn't need to.

Zhao Long's body exploded with light. His human form stretched and twisted, scales erupting across his skin, limbs elongating, until a massive dragon floated where he had once stood.

He opened his maw.

Fire gathered in his throat building and building until the heat alone caused the air to shimmer.

Then he released it.

A torrent of white-gold flames engulfed the Evil God completely. The formation shattered under the intensity, but it had done its job. The Evil God couldn't dodge.

The fire burned for what felt like an eternity.

When it finally cleared, smoke rose from the Evil God's body. His skin was charred and cracked. Black blood leaked from dozens of wounds. One of his arms hung limp at his side.

He was still standing.

But he was hurt. Truly hurt.

The sect masters regrouped, breathing heavily but eyes bright with something they hadn't felt in a long time.

Hope.

"We can do this," Sun Lihua breathed.

"With her handling the Demon Lords," Jiang Qing said, glancing toward where Lyra danced through her opponents, "we might actually have a chance."

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