Zhou Ze's fighting style shifted, and his opponent immediately noticed.
A Human Demon sneered, "Facing the eight of us, what's the use of fighting to the death? The chasm of strength cannot be bridged just by changing your fighting style!"
"Stop talking so much nonsense, kill him quickly, there are more important things to do!" another barked coldly.
"Are you talking to me?" That Human Demon refused to back down, casting a cold glare at him.
"A bunch of fools, don't you realize Zhou Ze is just using us as his whetstone?"
At that moment, another person spoke up.
With those words, both humans and Human Demons fell silent, clearly holding a deep sense of dread toward this individual.
That person kept attacking while staring intently at Zhou Ze, his eyes filled with sheer admiration.
"Step aside, we can't afford to waste any time!"
As he spoke, the others immediately stepped out of the way.
Zhou Ze grew tense as well.
During the exchange of blows, he had already sensed that this person had not unleashed his full strength.
However... that tension lasted only for a moment.
With Uncle Li around, he had nothing to worry about.
"Little fellow, I can give you a chance. Join the Celestial Sect, and I will have the sect master teach you supreme supreme arts!"
Hearing this, the others looked at Zhou Ze with eyes full of jealousy.
In the shadows.
Li Zhen was utterly speechless as he watched this scene.
A hidden Tier 9 Early Stage King.
His strength wasn't much to speak of, but he sure knew how to put on airs.
Yet, the appearance of this person did arouse a sliver of curiosity in Li Zhen.
Were all these people here for Tang Yun?
And the Celestial Sect—the name sounded somewhat familiar to him.
"Beat me first, then we'll talk!"
"I don't have time to play with you!"
The man looked at Zhou Ze, reading the fighting intent in Zhou Ze's eyes, and couldn't help letting out a sigh.
Accompanied by a sword hum, a cold flash suddenly appeared, shooting straight toward Zhou Ze.
"Let's go!"
Seeing this person deploy his sword technique and convinced that Zhou Ze was a dead man, the other seven turned and darted toward the direction where Li Zhen was located.
Zhou Ze couldn't stop them.
Li Zhen saw the outcome with a single glance and was about to make a move.
"Uncle Li, I want to try!"
Hearing the telepathic transmission, Li Zhen stopped in his tracks, keeping his eyes locked on the combatants.
The moment Zhou Ze was in danger, he would immediately step in and kill that man.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
At that moment, the other seven crashed into the protective barrier Li Zhen had cast using the power of heaven and earth. Taken completely by surprise, each of them felt as though they had slammed into a solid wall; their internal organs shifted, sending a piercing, agonizing pain through their bodies.
"Not good, it's an ambush!"
"Sir, we've walked into an ambush!"
The seven reacted instantly, raising their guard and scanning their surroundings.
Yet, their meager strength was no different from that of a toddler in front of Li Zhen.
Li Zhen stretched out his hand, and a massive palm condensed entirely from the power of heaven and earth grabbed hold of all seven of them.
Under this overwhelming force, the seven had zero capacity to resist.
They were directly crushed into fine powder. Li Zhen opened his hand, and seven reddish-brown Inner Cores floated in his palm.
[Ding! Killed a Mid-Stage Demon Lord. Demon God Value +200!]
[Ding! Killed a Late-Stage Demon Lord. Demon God Value +300!]
[Ding...]
"All of them are Human Demons?"
With 2,500 Demon God Values in hand, Li Zhen grew interested.
He hadn't expected his initial judgment to be wrong; all eight of these individuals were Human Demons.
Yet, judging by the aura emanating from them, only two had appeared to be Human Demons.
It seemed that during the years of his seclusion, the demons outside had evolved as well.
The Tier 9 Demon King fighting Zhou Ze froze visibly. With a single sword strike, he forced Zhou Ze back and looked over at Li Zhen.
"I didn't expect another one to be hiding here. Friend, first come, first served in all things!"
Zhou Ze thrust his spear forward, shattering the void.
Li Zhen, who was just about to make a move, paused. Sensing something, a smile bloomed on his face, and he took a step back.
"Your opponent is him!"
Hearing this, the man felt deeply insulted. With a flash, he tried to bypass Zhou Ze.
"Trying to get past?"
The aura around Zhou Ze surged.
The man caught onto this instantly, carefully sensing the shifting changes around him.
He stared at Zhou Ze in shock, his eyes filled with utter disbelief as he blurted out, "Spear Intent?!"
"How is that possible?"
Tier 7 Grandmasters began cultivating spiritual power, utilizing it to levitate themselves and barely manage flight.
Tier 8 Great Grandmasters cultivated spiritual power to the pinnacle of perfection, allowing them to gallop freely across the vastness of heaven and earth.
Tier 9 Kings could easily merge with heaven and earth, clumsily borrowing the power of heaven and earth to fight.
Pseudo-Emperors were technically still within the ranks of Tier 9, yet a single Pseudo-Emperor could easily slaughter hundreds of Tier 9s.
The reason Pseudo-Emperors were so formidable relied on their comprehension of a certain realm of intent, enabling them to effortlessly mobilize the power of heaven and earth and suppress the opponent's ability to manipulate that same power.
Tier 9 Kings had zero advantage in front of Pseudo-Emperor powerhouses, no different from Tier 8 Great Grandmasters.
Countless Tier 9 Kings spent centuries of bitter cultivation finding it hard to comprehend.
Yet Zhou Ze, right before his eyes, had actually achieved it.
And he was only at Tier 8!
One could say that once Zhou Ze—having comprehended intent—boosted his spiritual power, he would become a Pseudo-Emperor the moment he broke through.
At this thought, the jealousy in the man's eyes nearly turned physical.
Seeing that Zhou Ze had truly comprehended it, Li Zhen wore a look of gratification.
"Leave the rest to me, focus and comprehend!"
Li Zhen arrived beside Zhou Ze.
Zhou Ze did not waste words; he sat cross-legged on the spot and calmly began to comprehend.
The man looked at Zhou Ze with greed and jealousy, took a single step forward, and his figure vanished.
He could not achieve it, so he would not allow anyone else to achieve it either.
Li Zhen's expression remained calm as he suddenly lashed out, making a fierce grasping motion.
"Puff!"
The void to one side instantly shattered, and the man tumbled miserably onto the ground, coughing up a mouthful of foul blood.
The man lost all of his previous poise, looking at Li Zhen in sheer terror.
The other's overwhelming power scared his very soul out of his body!
How could this be?
What kind of magical charm did this Yangcheng possess to draw such terrifying powerhouses here?
"What's your name? Why did you come here?"
Li Zhen asked indifferently.
"I am Lü Yanshun, a subordinate of Lord Chen Gang. Who on earth are you? Don't kill me, I was just following orders..."
"Chen Gang?" Li Zhen frowned; he hadn't expected this matter to involve that madman.
Seeing Li Zhen frown, Lü Yanshun assumed Li Zhen was afraid.
"That's right, it was Lord Chen Gang who sent me here. Since you know Lord Chen Gang, you should know that his commands are something you cannot resist."
"Little friend, I know your strength is formidable, but no matter how strong your arm is, it can't twist a thigh. Honestly hand Zhou Ze over to me and let me leave, otherwise..."
Yet the very next moment.
Lü Yanshun's head was yanked right off by Li Zhen.
Fresh blood spurted three feet into the air.
Li Zhen grabbed a core that was red to the point of blackness.
Li Zhen formed a hand seal, and Lü Yanshun's soul body re-condensed.
"If Chen Gang were standing right in front of me, I might grant him three parts of respect. What kind of thing are you?"
"I only needed you to tell me what you came here to do, but instead you rambled on and on about a whole bunch of nonsense."
"You have one last sentence left to tell me why you came here, otherwise I will scatter your body and soul into nothingness!" Li Zhen said.
"I came here to capture Tang Yun. Lord Chen Gang said that as long as he gets her, he can break through to the true Demon God realm."
A flash of killing intent crossed the depths of Li Zhen's heart.
Someone else was targeting his wife!
"Senior, I've told you everything I know. Please return the Inner Core to me and spare..."
Lü Yanshun begged bitterly.
Yet flames burned in the palm of Li Zhen's hand, and Lü Yanshun's soul body was instantly ignited, completely vanishing from this world.
[Ding! Killed a Tier 9 Early Stage Demon King. Demon God Value +700!]