Chapter 989: Chapter 536: Mutual Destruction! Repelling the Demon Venerable Avatar! Unparalleled Talent Seen Once in a Millennium! (2)

But it was just a drop in the ocean.

The face of the Demon Venerable Avatar suddenly turned red, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his aura rapidly declining.

Jiang Shu seized this moment, stepping into the void, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

"Again... escaped again!"

The Demon Venerable Avatar was somewhat incredulous, the spear fell, piercing into the mountain below, instantly turning it into a sea of blood.

He was an avatar of a Demon Venerable, with space comprehension far surpassing some Daoist Monarchs of the Vientiane Realm, and his weapon was a powerful Attack Dao Artifact almost born with Spiritual Wisdom. Yet, he repeatedly failed to defeat a young man who had just advanced to the Vientiane Middle Stage not long ago.

More importantly, with each battle, he noticed Jiang Shu’s combat power was escalating at a maddening pace.

Originally, he could easily chase down and kill this young man who could only flee.

Now, he had grown to the point of mutual destruction!

Half an hour later, in a remote part of the void, ripples spread as a young man with a withered aura emerged, his face pale, appearing as if he’d lost too much blood. He sat cross-legged on the ground, absorbing the surrounding Dao Rhyme to replenish his depleted energy.

Though his realm had improved, the total amount of Dao Rhyme within him hadn’t changed.

It’s like Jiang Shu’s physical body was a sea bowl, using Divine Power Great Techniques with a small ladle was manageable, but just now, he was using a large spoon to draw from it—his body couldn’t withstand it, leaving him drained and his vitality waning.

"Fighting that Demon Venerable Avatar was indeed a bit too forceful."

"Fortunately, his mind was influenced by the Slaughter Dao, and he didn’t realize I was already at my wit’s end; otherwise, with him igniting the Tao Fire, I might really have died at his hands."

"However, compared to myself, recovering won’t be so easy for the Demon Venerable Avatar."

"More importantly, I’ve already triggered the weaknesses of the Demon Venerable Avatar."

The Slaughter Dao of the Dragon Clan Demon Venerable had fully influenced the Demon Venerable Avatar.

If the Demon Venerable Avatar harbors any selfish intentions, he would think about how to separate from it.

For the Demon Venerable Avatar, separating from the Dao is like losing an arm. Yet, succumbing to it could render him forever stuck in the Demon Monarch Realm.

Though Jiang Shu didn’t know the methods of the Demon Venerables, based on his own speculations, the Slaughter Dao is exceedingly important to the Demon Venerable.

If it were just an ordinary Dao, even if abandoned, it wouldn’t drastically impact the Demon Venerable’s combat strength. However, the Dragon Clan Demon Venerable even severed part of his own soul to create an avatar, indicating this Slaughter Dao is extremely crucial to him. It’s possibly his Fundamental Dao at this time.

This Dao is deeply rooted in his Dao Practice.

Helpless, he had to use this method to transfer the sins onto his avatar.

"This speculation is logical."

"The means of a Demon Venerable at this realm are truly terrifying."

"Even just an avatar can force me to this extent."

Jiang Shu sighed, then mustered his last bit of strength to open a passage of Two Realms Shuttle, returning to the Seventh Floor of the Eternal Tower.

...

In a mysterious space.

The Demon Venerable Avatar knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head to look at the enormous figure in the distance.

"A youngster could actually injure you?"

The Dragon Clan Demon Venerable lowered his head, those eyes like a great sun staring at the avatar without a hint of emotion in his voice, seemingly just a simple inquiry.

However, the Demon Venerable Avatar broke out in a cold sweat, seemingly recalling some dreadful horror, and urgently spoke: "Jiang Taixuan has many trump cards. Every time I think he is doomed, he always finds various ways to escape."

"Moreover, he’s very peculiar. After each fierce battle, he is severely injured, but recovers completely in a few days, without any traces of injury, and his power even grows stronger. He can even temporarily break through to the Vientiane Late Stage using a Secret Technique."

"I fought repeatedly, my strength was no longer at its peak, and this spear kept affecting my mind. Even with the Tao Fire ignited, I still couldn’t kill him."

"I’m not making excuses; it’s genuinely difficult to fathom Jiang Taixuan’s depths."

As he spoke, a trace of blood-red surged in his golden eyes again, until the Dragon Clan Demon Venerable coldly snorted, and immense pressure descended upon the avatar, finally pressing down the Slaughter Dao.

"Is this true?"

The Dragon Clan Demon Venerable’s tone was calm.

The Demon Venerable Avatar nodded, asserting that his words contained no falsehood.

Only then did the Dragon Clan Demon Venerable realize that even though his estimation of Jiang Shu was already very high, he still underestimated him.

"Could it be that Jiang Shu possesses a Dao Artifact that can cloak the perception of a Demon Venerable?"

Feeling the Dragon Venerable’s anger gradually dissipating, the Demon Venerable Avatar mustered the courage to speak softly.

Dao Artifacts are ranked, and those with an Artifact Spirit that has cultivated to the Chaos Hole Realm would practically be a living Demon Venerable.

This idea was bold, but it seemed the only explanation for Jiang Shu’s behavior.

The Dragon Venerable wanted to refute, but didn’t know what to say, so he changed the subject, saying: "The main body unleashed the Great Black Sun Technique. The Human Race Daoist Venerable surely knows it’s aimed at Jiang Taixuan. Now that you return defeated, it will spread to the Human Clan within a few days. Under this shifting morale, our Demon Race would be no match for the Human Clan and likely be pushed back to the Demon Domain."

The Cang Mang Domain is connected to the Demon Domain through the Endless Sea and Chaotic Demon Sea.

At the war’s beginning, the Demon Domain sprouted everywhere, with the Demon Sect as the vanguard. Whether in lower realm conflicts or among the Great Powers, they mostly won.

But since Jiang Shu emerged, he repeatedly accomplished significant feats, boosting the Human Clan’s morale, turning the tide, uniting the Human Clan as one.

In contrast, the Demon Race initially didn’t feel any difference. But as soon as now’s disadvantage revealed itself, the issues surfaced.

Infighting and criticism between different tribes emerged, especially when Jiang Shu stirred the Demon Domain, provoking discontent. A rebellion ignited in the Chaotic Demon Sea Southern Domain. If not for its distance from the front line, the Chaotic Demon Sea might already be under Human Clan control.

Now that the Demon Venerable sent an avatar at the Late Stage of the Demon Monarch to kill the newly-advanced Jiang Taixuan in the Vientiane Middle Stage, failure would undoubtedly exacerbate this phenomenon.

"A youngster capable of influencing the war’s outcome to some extent can only be described as an exiled immortal."

For a moment, the Dragon Clan Demon Venerable didn’t know what to say and finally just sighed.

...

Compared to the Demon Race’s miserable defeat, the Human Clan’s morale was tremendously high.

"Glorious Daoist Monarch Taixuan!"

Amidst the clinking of glasses, everyone’s faces were filled with smiles.

As the war expanded further, the Human Clan began infiltrating the Chaotic Demon Sea. Many Human Cultivators with Transformation Divine Power started to emulate Daoist Monarch Taixuan’s deeds, secretly entering the Chaotic Demon Sea, learning from nearly identical channels about recent happenings within the Demon Race.

The Demon Venerable personally performed a Great Technique, dispatching an avatar, determined to kill Daoist Monarch Taixuan.

However, it returned defeated.

Not only failing to kill Daoist Monarch Taixuan but also losing over ten major cities and millions of Demon Race soldiers to him.

When this news reached the Human Clan front line, everyone was overjoyed.

A Daoist Venerable with a high position praised Jiang Taixuan, calling him the highest peak of the young generation.

His talent is unprecedented.

This is an extremely weighty evaluation; in normal times, it might provoke dissatisfaction from others.

But what Jiang Shu accomplished was so terrifying that no prodigy of the young generation could compare.

Even those prodigies who had conflicts with Jiang Shu had to admit that they were indeed inferior to him.