Zanxing

Chapter 103 - Demonic Formation (3)

"You lied to me?" The merman's face suddenly darkened, the silver scales on his face turned black, and his nails grew longer. In a moment, his hands had turned into black claws. He roared wildly, and the demonic energy around him surged, and he pounced towards Gu Baiying.

Gu Baiying shouted, "Xiu Gu—"

A silver spear suddenly appeared in his palm. The young man gripped the spear, engaging in a fierce struggle with the demonic merman.

The demonic merman exuded intense demonic energy, and the spear in Gu Baiying's hands whipped up powerful winds. Ordinary people would have been overwhelmed by this chaotic battle and injured by flying debris. The guards of Li'er Country protected their ruler as they retreated towards the White Jade Hall, warning, "Your Majesty, be careful!"

Seeing this, the merman, who was entangled with Gu Baiying, struck at the ruler with one hand, declaring, "Don't think you can escape!"

"Stop him!" The other cultivators surged forward, each raising their weapons to attack the demonic merman.

In an instant, the royal tomb was filled with the sounds of clashing swords and blades.

The cultivators entering the secret realm were all carefully selected disciples from major sects, with cultivation levels that were by no means low. Yet, this demonic merman proved to be exceptionally troublesome. Despite their numbers, they could not gain any advantage, and even Gu Baiying, who was at the late stage of Spirit Separation, could only inflict minor injuries on Rongyu with his Xiu Gu spear.

Meng Ying and Mu Chengxiao exchanged glances; one wielded the Moonlight Sword while the other held the Divine Annihilation Blade. They both soared into the air, attacking the merman from both sides. Their blades struck Rongyu's wide robe, but the ordinary robe seemed as solid as iron, leaving no trace. The demonic merman sneered, suddenly channeling his demonic power, and both Meng Ying and Mu Chengxiao were sent flying.

Tian Fangfang pulled a golden axe from his waist, fire dragons flowing from the fire wolf's fang and wrapped around the axe blade, and shouted to Zanxing, "Junior Sister, let's attack together!"

Zanxing understood and let the front of her Panhua staff blossom into a sea of flowers. She leaped into the air and, together with Tian Fangfang, pounced toward the merman's back. However, before the tip of her staff could touch his robe, large clouds of black mist poured out from beneath his robe, quickly engulfing Zanxing's Illusory Flower, Water Moon Technique, and Tian Fangfang's  Dragon-Slaying Fire.

With a sudden sweep of his hand, the two were struck by the massive surge of demonic energy and sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground. Zanxing felt pain in her back and attempted to speak, but as she opened her mouth, she coughed up blood.

"Junior Sister," Tian Fangfang struggled to get up, pulling his to her feet. "This demonic merman is too strong; we are no match for him."

Looking at the distance, the cultivators from Xiangling Sect, Yinfeng Sect, Chihua Sect, and other sects were sprawled all over the ground. This demonic merman was extremely vicious; those with lower cultivation were directly impaled through the chest by his claws, having their blood essence drained, while those with higher cultivation were unable to put up any resistance.

"Relying solely on Seventh Uncle is not enough," Zanxing murmured, then looked towards Mu Chengxiao, who was rising while clutching his chest.

Isn't this the moment for the male lead in the original story to shine with his protagonist's aura?

 Why does it seem like he shows no signs of counterattacking?

"Look!" Tian Fangfang suddenly focused his gaze. "Seventh Uncle has hit him!"

Zanxing looked up to see, in the night, that a hint of crimson had suddenly appeared on the silver spear held by Gu Baiying. Across from him, the silver scales on the merman had been cut, leaving a trace of blood.

The demonic merman extended his hand and slowly wiped away the blood from beneath his eye. He looked at Gu Baiying, his azure eyes stunning like the ocean, but now within that ocean, a great storm was brewing.

"I came for revenge; it has nothing to do with you. Why must you meddle, Immortal Gu?" His voice echoed, laced with chilling coldness. "How about we both take a step back? You can just pretend you didn't see me."

Gu Baiying raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Just for revenge?"

"What else?"

The demonic energy swirled like black fog, and the youth's crimson hairband shone brightly in the heavy darkness. With a smile on his lips and bright, penetrating eyes, he calmly said, "If it's just for revenge, then why hide your demonic energy and go to great lengths to enter the Xingxiu Platform?"

The merman's expression shifted slightly.

"I don't know why you are currently slaughtering innocent girls in Li'er Country, but your original goal was simply to enter the secret realm," Gu Baiying's gaze sharpened. "You targeted Rongyu from Liuli Sect because it is inconspicuous among the sects entering this secret realm. You feared the disciples of Liuli Sect discovering that their life tokens had shattered and created a commotion, so you spared Rongyu and his senior brother simply to ensure everything would go smoothly before entering the secret realm."

"If it weren't for the Firm Step Technique revealing your flaw tonight, you should have successfully entered the secret realm by now." Gu Baiying pointed his silver spear at the demonic merman, small snowflakes dancing at the spear's tip in the night. He asked, "But I don't understand, the secret realm of Li'er Country is not particularly rare. Why did you go to such lengths to want to enter it... What exactly is in the secret realm?"

The air fell silent.

After a moment, the merman chuckled. The demonic merman was beautiful, and as he smiled, the fierce aura that once surrounded him dissipated significantly, revealing a mesmerizing charm in the dim light of night. "You truly are the son of Fairy Qinghua; however, I don't even know what is in the secret realm!" As he finished, his voice suddenly turned harsh, and his figure transformed into a mass of black mist, lunging at Gu Baiying!

The silver spear was instantly engulfed by the black mist. Men Dong shouted, "Martial Uncle, be careful!"

"Go help!" Seeing the demon merman becoming increasingly frenzied, Meng Ying and Mu Chengxiao charged towards Rongyu with their swords. 

Tian Fangfang also raised his axe and joined the fight. 

Zanxing's blood soaked into the red pattern of the honeysuckle on her Tianji robe; she had been badly injured by the demonic merman's earlier strike. When she looked up again, she saw the black mist continuously pouring from the demonic merman's side, as if it were endless and growing wider and thicker.

How could he have such intense demonic energy? If he had this strong of demonic energy back then, how could he have been killed by the Demon-Slaying Formation? At this rate, even Gu Baiying would probably be unable to kill him, and Li'er Country would soon be destroyed.

Just then, the Xiao Yuan Pearl in her heart suddenly stirred.

Zanxing was taken aback.

This Xiao Yuan Pearl had felt dead since she entered Li'er Country; she had almost forgotten about its existence. However, at this moment, it seemed to slightly radiate heat.

It was as if a layer of mist had shrouded her vision; Zanxing rubbed her eyes and suddenly noticed something different.

She saw the merman in the black mist; she could even see his true form. He had a silvery-white fishtail, and on his chest, there was a scale that differed from the other silver scales—a pitch-black scale that resembled the black mist surrounding him.

"This is... his weakness?"

A surge of joy filled her heart. Zanxing patted her chest. This Xiao Yuan Pearl was quite good; she shouldn't have spoken ill of it. At a crucial moment, it proved reliable and impressive!

"Martial Uncle, I'm coming to help you!" Zanxing gripped her floral staff and charged toward the source of the black mist.

The flower waterfall blossoming from the tip of her staff transformed into a ray of light, heading straight for the demonic merman's heart!