Feng Haiyang seemed to have noticed his change. After the advancing Tribulation Water paused for a bit, as if wanting to contend with him, it suddenly rose into a hundred-zhang high wave. In a blink of an eye, five to six thousand devils surged out, rushing forward with a thunderous roar, storming in fiercely.

Zhang Yan was unafraid, let out a loud shout, his voice like a rushing flood, stepped forward, and with a boom, threw a punch.

In an instant, a shocking wave of Qi surged into the sky. With a loud rumble, three to four thousand devils were instantly blasted into pieces, shattered into countless Essence Qi. The remaining thousand or so charged fearlessly, each clawing at his body, but after a bout of biting, all that could be heard was the sound of cracking, unable to break through.

Zhang Yan sneered, raised his hand, and a vast stream of water light rose up, sweeping all the clinging devils into it. He opened his mouth to suck, and out of thin air, a giant vortex appeared, absorbing all the scattered Essence Qi back, turning his Mysterious Skill, directing it into the Demon Suppression Scroll. This treasure slightly refined it, then nourished his whole body with it.

After reaching the Fourth Realm of God Contract, he could absorb Essence Qi with this Treasure Scroll at any time without the need to transform it through meditation.

Those devils were exactly what the Demon Scroll loved to devour. As long as they couldn’t break through his physical body, no matter how many came, he remained unafraid. This was also the confidence that allowed him to contend with Feng Haiyang.

With a crash, Feng Haiyang emerged from the Tribulation Water, gradually rising with the wave, looking at Zhang Yan, who appeared like a towering giant. He was somewhat uncertain and secretly thought, "This looks like a Powerful Dao Skill, yet I’ve never heard of such a cultivation technique in the Mingcang Sect."

Although those thousands of devils earlier were only used to probe, he hadn’t expected Zhang Yan to destroy them so easily, unable to even regroup. If he wanted to use them again, he would have to expend mana to re-cast them.

But having suffered once, he wouldn’t make the same mistake again. He let out a cold shout, raised a hand to cast a spell, summoning the four devils nurtured with Junyang Essence. At his urging, the four devils immediately emitted sinister laughter, shaking their bodies, transforming into four swift shadows floating forward.

The four devils flew extremely quickly, not inferior to their master’s Netherworld Escape Technique, circling Zhang Yan’s body back and forth like insects, ready to bite hard if they found a weakness.

Zhang Yan wore a slight sneer, reached out, casually grasped a handful of the black Qi around him, applied mana, instantly forming a large hammer in his hand. He swung it horizontally, and the leading devil, trying to evade by shifting from solid to void, unexpectedly was struck by the hammer. With a wail, it retreated in agony. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

When he lifted the hammer again, intending to swing it, two of the devils were quite cunning, immediately darting to the sides to dodge.

Only one remained fiercely brave, not only did it not evade, but instead spun deftly back to bite hard on the back of his hand, pulling out a bloodstain.

Zhang Yan’s expression remained unchanged. He flipped his hand to grab it, shouted loudly, exerted force, and instantly squeezed it into a mass of Essence Qi, which he inhaled through his mouth and nose into his body, allowing the Demon Suppression Scroll to refine it.

After his stature elevated, even though his mana did not increase, his movements possessed enormous Divine Power. If he didn’t mind expending mana, transforming into a hundred-zhang height, he could almost move mountains and overturn seas. This devil, no matter how tough, couldn’t withstand this colossal force.

Raising his hand, he glanced at the wound. With a slight operation of skill, strands of red light and purple flame emerged from the wound, rolling and contracting the flesh, surprisingly healing it in an instant.

Initially unaware of the devils’ capability, he deliberately tested his body’s resilience against them once. Now, realizing the devils’ threat capable of injuring him, albeit minor, he couldn’t let them rampage freely, needing to block them as much as possible to avoid unnecessary mana depletion.

The duel with Feng Haiyang wasn’t something that could be resolved in a short time. Preparations for the worst scenario were necessary, possibly even reaching the point of contending mana.

Fortunately, since the swordfight, the bodies of the cultivators he acquired were hidden within the Tribulation Water. After reaching the Fourth Realm, he could convert them into his own Essence Qi using the Demon Suppression Scroll at any time, so even if it reached that point, there was no need to panic.

Due to the difficulty of refining those devils, Feng Haiyang, fearing further damage, used a spell to summon them back.

Even without this method, as a Nascent Soul Third Realm Cultivator, he still had means to deal with the situation.

In the previous matches, facing multiple opponents, he had to be cautious, ensuring no errors. But now only dealing with Zhang Yan, it was different; he could let loose.

He shouted, extended his hand, spread his fingers, and pressed downward, using the Heaven and Earth Locking Skill. As his wrist flipped downward, over twenty miles of Tribulation Water surged up with a roar, pressing down as one!

The tactic was to first trap the opponent with the Locking Skill, then press with Tribulation Water, forcing a direct mana contest. Even if Zhang Yan’s body could become enormous, his mana wouldn’t increase from it. As long as his body could be pinned down, he had confidence to suppress him entirely!

Zhang Yan suddenly felt a confining force enveloping him, his body slightly crouched. He took a breath and then issued a thunderous shout, and with a boom, punched out.

This strike seemed heaven-shaking and earth-moving. Within a thousand-zhang radius, fierce winds roared, spiritual energy surged like tides, spinning violently. Wherever it passed, Flying Peaks were shattered into pieces. Before the Tribulation Water could descend, it was dispersed by a single punch!

...

...(To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)