88: Before the Nine Demon Formation, they divided the tasks to break the formation.

In the core of the Demonic Domain at the hour of hour of mao, the morning light was obscured by thick Devilish Qi. Only the peak of the Demon Palace emitted a faint, eerie glow, illuminating nine towering Demon Statues. Each Demon Statue was ten zhang tall, carved entirely from black demonic stone, and presented different forms, each surrounded by dense Devilish Qi corresponding to its attribute—the Metal Demon Statue was sharp and exposed, the Wood Demon Statue was entwined with vines, the Water Demon Statue was shrouded in mist, the Fire Demon Statue had flames soaring, the Earth Demon Statue was heavy and steady, the Wind Demon Statue had air currents surging, the Lightning Demon Statue had electric flashes, the Dark Demon Statue was hidden in shadows, and the Evil Demon Statue exuded sinister Qi. The nine Demon Statues were arranged in a nine-palace formation, their Devilish Qi intertwining to form an invisible energy barrier, firmly enveloping the Demon Palace. This was precisely the Nine Demon Formation guarding the Demon Palace.

The Alliance Grand Army quietly arrived outside the Nine Demon Formation, concealed behind nearby rocks. Looking at the imposing Formation before them, everyone's expression was solemn. Lu Chen took out the Demonic Cultivator deployment map and cross-referenced it with “First Exploration of the Demon Palace,” stating in a deep voice, “The Nine Demon Formation requires nine people to simultaneously attack the corresponding attribute Demon Statues and destroy the Formation eyes to break it. If even one person makes a mistake, the entire Formation will unleash a backlash of infinite power. We need to select nine of the strongest individuals to break the Formation, while the rest are responsible for vigilance, preventing surprise attacks from Demonic Cultivator patrol teams, and simultaneously assisting those breaking the Formation.”

Elder Xuan Qing stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the nine Demon Statues. He slowly said, “The Nine Demon Formation has various attributes, and those breaking the Formation must match the Demon Statues according to their Cultivation characteristics. The Metal Demon Statue is sharp and keen, requiring strength against strength; the Wood Demon Statue is about vitality and entanglement, requiring methods of restraint to cut off its spiritual power; the Water Demon Statue is about softening and erosion, requiring the power of Yang Flame to evaporate the water vapor; the Fire Demon Statue is about scorching flames, requiring defensive methods to resist the fire, then finding an opportunity to break it; the Earth Demon Statue is about heavy defense, requiring explosive power to Breakthrough; the Wind Demon Statue is about rapid assault, requiring stability to control movement; the Lightning Demon Statue is about the power of thunder, requiring insulation to resist electric shocks; the Dark Demon Statue is about stealth and sneak attacks, requiring perception to lock onto its position; the Evil Demon Statue is about evil Qi erosion, requiring purification to restrain it.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, beginning to assign Formation-breaking tasks according to their abilities. Lu Chen, with his Holy Spirit Power and Demon Breaking Power, which were fierce and pure, volunteered to break the Metal Demon Statue; Chu Feng, skilled in the Azure Cloud Sword Art and nimble in movement, was suitable for the Wind Demon Statue; Zhao Feng, who Cultivated the Blazing Fire Burning Heaven Art, had abundant Yang Flame Power and was responsible for the Water Demon Statue; Elder Li Ping, with his profound Cultivation and stable defense, was assigned to the Fire Demon Statue; two other Elders from Qingyun Sect, skilled in Earth-element Cultivation Technique and Lightning-element defense respectively, were assigned to the Earth Demon Statue and Lightning Demon Statue; Valley Master Yao Chen of Hundred Herbs Valley, skilled in methods of restraining Wood-element Spiritual Plants, was responsible for the Wood Demon Statue; Yu Lan, with her yin-yang twin pearls and myriad manifestations pendant, possessed extremely strong purification power and was assigned to the Evil Demon Statue; the last Dark Demon Statue was handled by a Qingyun Sect Disciple skilled in perception and investigation, who would use a Sect secret art to pinpoint its location.

Elder Xuan Qing, seeing the assignments completed, said in a deep voice, “My Cultivation is still acceptable, I can handle the Metal, Wood, and Water Demon Statues alone to share the pressure with everyone, and also ensure that these three Demon Statues are destroyed simultaneously.” Everyone was surprised to hear this; Elder Xuan Qing had such confidence to break three Demon Statues alone, clearly his Cultivation was unfathomable. Seeing this, Lu Chen no longer declined, nodding and saying, “With Elder's assistance, our chances of breaking the Formation are much greater. Let's agree to launch our attacks simultaneously in three breaths' time, without delay.”

Everyone immediately went to their respective Demon Statue positions, concealing themselves and preparing to break the Formation. Lu Chen arrived in front of the Metal Demon Statue, his holy spirit battle armor glowing with golden light, the demon breaking sword held in his hand, and the holy spirit token suspended above his shoulder. Holy Spirit Power and Demon Breaking Power fused together, his aura stable and immense. He stared at the Metal Demon Statue, clearly feeling the sharp Metal-element Devilish Qi contained within its body, like countless invisible blades that could erupt at any moment.

Three breaths passed in a flash. Lu Chen shouted loudly, “Act now!” As his voice fell, nine figures simultaneously rushed out from their hidden positions, launching attacks towards their corresponding Demon Statues. Lu Chen leaped up, his demon breaking sword erupting with dazzling golden-green spiritual light. A sword strike, infused with Holy Spirit Power and Demon Breaking Power, went straight for the Metal Demon Statue's arm—the Metal Demon Statue's arm was the core of its sharpness, and destroying the arm would temporarily cut off its energy output. As the sword strike landed, the demonic patterns on the Metal Demon Statue's arm instantly lit up, and a black energy barrier condensed, attempting to block the attack.

“Break!” Lu Chen roared, injecting more spiritual power. The sword strike's power surged, instantly shattering the energy barrier and heavily striking the Metal Demon Statue's arm. With a “crack,” the Metal Demon Statue's arm snapped, black demonic stone fragments scattered everywhere, and the Metal-element Devilish Qi around it instantly became chaotic.

At the same time, Elder Xuan Qing's figure flickered, appearing simultaneously between the Metal, Wood, and Water Demon Statues. With a flick of his whisk, three different attribute spiritual powers erupted simultaneously—golden spiritual power went straight for the Metal Demon Statue's remaining energy core, green spiritual power coiled around the Wood Demon Statue's vines, instantly severing them, and red spiritual power swept towards the Water Demon Statue's mist, which instantly evaporated upon contact with the heat. The three Demon Statues simultaneously let out a muffled roar, their Devilish Qi significantly weakening, and their Formation eyes severely damaged.

Chu Feng moved nimbly, his azure cloud sword flashing with green light, like a bolt of lightning, circling behind the Wind Demon Statue. The sword blade precisely struck the Wind Demon Statue's energy node. The air currents around the Wind Demon Statue instantly became chaotic, unable to launch any more surprise attacks. Zhao Feng circulated the Blazing Fire Burning Heaven Art, flames soaring around him, and a massive pillar of fire surged towards the Water Demon Statue. The remaining mist was instantly evaporated, and the Water Demon Statue completely lost its combat capability. Elder Li Ping held his whisk, his spiritual power condensing into a thick defensive barrier, resisting the Fire Demon Statue's scorching flames. At the same time, he seized the opportunity to strike its fire core with a spiritual power, and the Fire Demon Statue's flames gradually extinguished.

The two Elders from Qingyun Sect also exerted their powers. The Earth-element Elder unleashed an Earth-element spiritual power with a punch, piercing through the Earth Demon Statue's defense. The Lightning-element Elder, meanwhile, enveloped himself in insulating spiritual power, avoiding the Lightning Demon Statue's thunderous attacks, and destroyed its energy hub with a sword strike. Valley Master Yao Chen took out a Spiritual Plant that could restrain Wood-element spiritual power. Under the urging of his spiritual power, the Spiritual Plant released a special aura, and the Wood Demon Statue's vines instantly withered, completely losing vitality. The Qingyun Sect Disciple responsible for the Dark Demon Statue activated a perception secret art, pinpointing the Dark Demon Statue's hidden location, and struck its core with a sword. The Dark Demon Statue revealed itself from the shadows, its Devilish Qi dissipating.

Yu Lan held the yin-yang twin pearls, red and blue spiritual light intertwining around her. A pure purifying power shot towards the Evil Demon Statue. The evil Qi around the Evil Demon Statue was rapidly purified, and it let out a shrill roar. The evil patterns on the Demon Statue's surface gradually dimmed, completely losing activity.

The nine Demon Statues were simultaneously destroyed, their surrounding Devilish Qi rapidly dissipated, and the Nine Demon Formation's energy barrier gradually collapsed, rendering the Formation instantly ineffective. Lu Chen and the others landed, looking at the broken Formation before them, all breathing a sigh of relief. Just then, a tattered booklet fell out from the fragments of the Metal Demon Statue. Lu Chen quickly picked it up. The cover read “Dream of Sub-Formation Breaking,” and it detailed various sub-Formation breaking techniques, including the Nine Palace Formation, Eight Trigrams Formation, etc., which would be of great help in dealing with other Formations in the future.

“The Formation is broken, quickly enter the Demon Palace!” Lu Chen shouted loudly, and everyone immediately rushed towards the Demon Palace gate. But just then, a subtle movement suddenly came from behind Zhao Feng. A black figure darted out from the shadows, holding a poisoned dagger, and stabbed fiercely towards Zhao Feng's back.

“Watch out!” Lu Chen, quick-witted, immediately shot a spiritual power at the black figure, hitting it and causing its movements to pause. Zhao Feng reacted, turning sharply, and with a swing of his long sword, a flash of fiery spiritual light passed, heading straight for the black figure. Seeing this, the black figure immediately leaped, evading the attack, and fled towards the distant darkness, disappearing in an instant.

Zhao Feng looked in the direction the black figure fled, his eyes filled with lingering fear and anger: “It's a Blood Shadow Sect remnant! They actually hid here to ambush us!” Everyone's expression darkened upon hearing this. The Blood Shadow Sect remnants had indeed defected to the Demonic Cultivator Alliance and set up an ambush here, clearly having prepared in advance.

Lu Chen walked over to Zhao Feng, checking if he was injured. Seeing that he was fine, he said in a deep voice, “Since the Blood Shadow Sect remnants have appeared, it means the Demon Lord might already be inside the Demon Palace. We need to speed up and not be delayed any further.” Everyone nodded, no longer lingering, and quickly walked towards the Demon Palace gate.

The Demon Palace gate was majestic and heavy, crafted from black rock, its surface carved with ancient runes. There were both sacred Holy Spirit Guards runes and eerie Demonic Cultivator runes, intertwining and exuding a mysterious and majestic aura. The gate was tightly shut, with a central groove that perfectly matched the shape of the demon palace key fragment, clearly the key to opening the gate.

Lu Chen took out the key fragment he found in the Zhao family's secret treasury and placed it in the groove. The fragment perfectly fit the groove, instantly lighting up with a faint spiritual glow. However, the glow only flickered for a moment before extinguishing, and the gate did not open, clearly requiring other key fragments to open it.

“It seems the Demon Lord did find other key fragments, and perhaps has already entered the core of the Demon Palace.” Lu Chen's eyes were filled with solemnity. Just as he was about to figure out how to force the gate open, Yu Lan suddenly pointed to the distant darkness and softly said, “There's movement over there, someone seems to be approaching.”

Everyone immediately became vigilant, their spiritual senses fully extended. In the distant darkness, a black figure slowly walked towards them, holding a broken token in his hand. It was the Blood Shadow Sect remnant, the one who had just ambushed Zhao Feng. The token fragment in his hand had the same aura as the fragment in Lu Chen's hand, clearly another piece of the demon palace key.

“Lord Demon Master has already entered the Demon Palace, you won't get the holy spirit mirror!” the Blood Shadow Sect remnant shouted loudly, his eyes filled with malice. Just as he was about to destroy the key fragment in his hand, Chu Feng leaped up, his azure cloud sword flashing with green light, instantly catching up to him, slaying him with a single sword strike, and retrieving the key fragment.

Lu Chen took the two key fragments and placed them simultaneously into the gate's groove. The fragments resonated with each other, spiritual light surging, and the Demon Palace gate slowly opened. An ancient and mysterious aura surged out from within the hall. Everyone looked at the open gate, their eyes filled with determination, and they all gripped their weapons, walking towards the core of the Demon Palace. The holy spirit mirror was within reach, and the Demon Lord's figure might already be waiting inside the hall. A final showdown was about to begin in the core of the Demon Palace. And whether the remaining key fragments were still in the Demon Lord's hands, and what secrets were hidden within the Demon Palace, everything would be revealed inside the hall.