The five of them were engaged in a fierce battle with the fish demon.
Although the fish demon was strong, the five were no pushover, and it was gradually being pushed onto the defensive. Growing weaker by the second, the fish demon suddenly let out a bizarre screech, causing everyone to hastily cover their ears in acute discomfort.
At that moment, the fish demon's aura plummeted drastically.
The man in the purple robe smiled faintly. "Everyone, put in a little more effort. This fish demon is almost at its limit."
Just as the purple robe man's words faded, an unexpected change occurred.
Bai Chuzhen seemed to sense something, her expression shifting instantly. "Not good! Scatter!"
A massive white snake lunged abruptly from the lake, opening its monstrous maw to snap at the five of them.
The man in the purple robe was swallowed whole into the snake's belly on the spot.
The other three narrowly escaped disaster thanks to Bai Chuzhen's warning.
Everyone's faces turned ashen.
A Bitter Sea Realm giant snake—and not just any ordinary Demon race of the Bitter Sea either.
The giant snake's aura was several notches stronger than the fish demon's at its peak. Perhaps this giant snake was the true overlord of Suspended Lake, while the fish demon was merely its underling.
That roar the fish demon had let out earlier hadn't been a desperate final struggle, but a call for help.
Though the giant snake possessed a colossal body, its speed was anything but slow. Having swallowed the man in the purple robe, it lunged fiercely toward another of the men.
Bai Chuzhen slashed out with her sword, shouting at the same time, "Junior Brother Qianyi, dodge!"
Utilizing his movement technique, Qianyi narrowly evaded the giant snake's pounce by a hair's breadth.
Recovering from their initial panic, the four regained their composure and began to counter the giant snake. As veteran Demon Exorcists seasoned by countless battles, they naturally wouldn't simply wait to be captured.
However, after their grueling battle with the fish demon, the four were far from their peak condition. Moreover, this giant snake possessed several times the strength of the fish demon, and with the fish demon now lurking nearby like a tiger eyeing its prey, the balance tipped steadily against them, leaving the four in imminent peril.
The giant snake channeled a water-style Daoist spell of immense power, hurtling it toward Ye Yuxin.
Ye Yuxin's face turned pale; after a continuous chain of battles, she was no longer capable of parrying such a formidable spell.
A beam of sword Qi swept across the air, intercepting the attack for Ye Yuxin.
The newcomer was none other than Meng Bai.
Ye Yuxin said weakly, "Thank you, Senior Brother Meng."
"Junior Sister Ye, you are exhausted. You should step aside and rest."
With that, Meng Bai looked toward the giant snake in the water, a fighting spirit rising within his gaze!
The moment his sword came out, it was as though mountains and seas materialized before them.
Mountain and Sea Sword Intent!
A long, slender gash appeared across the giant snake's body.
Struck by pain, the giant snake roared and charged at Meng Bai.
Bai Chuzhen said in shock, "So strong!"
One had to know that the giant snake's demonic body was comparable to refined steel. Earlier, no matter how the four of them attacked with their Demon-Slaying Swords, they had only managed to leave shallow sword marks.
Unflustered, Meng Bai used the Moon Shadow Step to evade the giant snake's charge.
With two more sword strikes, intersecting gashes appeared on the giant snake's body.
Having lost too much blood, the giant snake collapsed resentfully.
Seeing that the giant snake was defeated, the fish demon on the sidelines saw that the situation was turning south and tried to slip away.
Meng Bai struck with his sword once more, killing it instantly with a single blow.
Everyone stared at Meng Bai in shock.
Four sword strikes!
The battle was over after just four sword strikes!
Meng Bai slowly sheathed his Demon-Slaying Sword, gazing calmly at the surface of the lake. Clad in azure robes, viewed from afar, he exuded the aura of an otherworldly expert.
At that moment, Meng Bai wasn't putting on a cool facade—he was recovering his Dharmic power.
Four sword strikes to annihilate the fiend might have looked effortless and casual, but in reality, those four strikes had drained him completely dry of Dharmic power.
Four years of tempering had made his Mountain and Sea Sword Intent even more refined; otherwise, he could never have fought opponents above his realm. Even so, the consumption of Dharmic power with every single sword strike was immense, and when going all out, he could manage at most four strikes.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Meng, for stepping in to help," Bai Chuzhen said, stepping forward.
Demon Exorcists had always respected strength above all else. Since Meng Bai possessed the highest strength, Bai Chuzhen addressed him as Senior Brother rather than Junior Brother.
Without minding how Bai Chuzhen addressed him, Meng Bai looked at the colossal white snake and said, "The snake demon's vital blood belongs to me, and the fish demon's belongs to you. How about that?"
"Had Senior Brother Meng not intervened, all four of us would have lost our lives in the snake's maw. Naturally, we have no objections."
The post-battle "spoil-dividing" concluded smoothly, and Meng Bai left as soon as he had secured the snake blood.
.......
Inside a mountain cave,
Meng Bai had recovered his Dharmic power, and his condition had returned to its absolute peak.
Producing the precious bottle containing the snake demon's vital blood, Meng Bai declared, "Today is the day I ascend to the Bitter Sea!"
Swallowing the snake demon's vital blood, he crossed his legs and sat in meditation.
In an instant, Meng Bai felt the blood throughout his entire body boil, his Dharmic power circulating several times faster than usual.
The Origin Solidification cultivation of this realm possessed three more stages of advancement than the Qi Condensation cultivation of the immortal cultivation world, giving it a far more profound foundation; consequently, ascending to the Bitter Sea was also far more perilous than advancing to Foundation Establishment.
Ascending to the Bitter Sea required controlling the Dharmic power within one's body to compress it into liquid, forming a swirling vortex that rotated endlessly in an unceasing cycle. Excessively massive Dharmic power made this process all the more difficult, but once successful, a fellow Bitter Sea True Person would possess even greater strength.
An hour later,
Meng Bai emerged from the cave, his entire body radiating a foul stench and covered in mud.
"Is this the cleansing of the marrow and renewal of the veins?"
Sensing the changes within himself, Meng Bai found that his ascension to the Bitter Sea had vastly increased his Dharmic power!
A Dust-Cleansing Spell cast upon his body instantly restored his azure robes to an immaculate, spotless state.
Once ascended to the Bitter Sea, one was capable of flying on swords.
Having practiced swordsmanship, Meng Bai had long since grasped the essentials of sword flight.
With a gentle beckoning motion, the Demon-Slaying Sword hovered horizontally in mid-air.
As the saying went: ride the wind upon your sword, and eradicate demons across heaven and earth!
Flying on a sword had always been Meng Bai's dream.
Though he had also fantasized about flying within the dreams he created, those were, after all, ordinary dreams that dissolved into nothingness upon waking. But this time would be different!
Controlling the Demon-Slaying Sword, Meng Bai sped toward the center of the Heavenly Universe Realm.
"Meng Bai, congratulations on becoming a Bitter Sea True Person!" Li Kui congratulated, stepping out from his tent.
"True Person Li, thank you for your guidance and grace over these past few years!" Meng Bai bowed deeply.
As the person in charge of the Heavenly Universe Realm, Li Kui had helped Meng Bai immensely over the years, treating him like a personal direct disciple, and well deserved this bow from Meng Bai.
Stroking his beard, Li Kui smiled. "Old bones like us can only stay here to teach you little fellows and make use of our remaining warmth. Once you become a Bitter Sea True Person, you are finally considered to have set foot on the path of the Demon Exorcist; from now on, you must rely on yourself. I will open the gates of the realm right now and send you out."
Meng Bai thought to himself: Is the dream about to end?
This dreamscape had been entered for the sake of advancing to Foundation Establishment, and it wasn't something one could wake from at will—it required the right timing.
Just at that moment, a hollow roar rang out.
The entire realm began to tremble, only subsiding after quite a while.
Li Kui's expression changed drastically.
Meng Bai asked perplexedly, "True Person, what has happened?"
With a grave expression, Li Kui said, "A spacetime fissure has appeared in the realm. There's no telling what might wander in."
A spacetime fissure indicated that spatial fluctuations had occurred within the realm, much like a person accidentally scratching a small wound onto their skin.
Though the fissure would heal on its own, outside creatures might slip through it in the meantime.
Should a powerful Demon race enter, it would spell disaster.
Immediately, Li Kui flew up into mid-air on his sword. "All mentoring True Persons, follow me to the location of the spacetime fissure!"
With those words, hundreds of Bitter Sea True Persons rose into the air on their swords, heading toward the spacetime fissure.