It turned out that the Yan King’s previous strike had not merely ruptured the giant armored beast’s rear opening—his force was so powerful that it penetrated through the intestines and into the abdomen, severely damaging the demonic beast’s internal organs!

The Yan King’s chosen angle was also extremely cunning, with the long spear threading precisely through gaps between ribs, finally stopping at the spine.

Then with that pull, he even forcibly tore out several bone fragments from the tail vertebrae.

The pain the giant armored beast endured was probably at the level of hellish torment, causing it to lose all sense of recognition in its agony. Yet its life force was also remarkably tenacious, as it remained alive despite these successive serious injuries.

The pendant on Yu Haizhen’s chest began glowing again as if she was activating a divine ability to soothe it.

Unfortunately, the Yan King had already made his next move—

The giant armored beast had just crashed into the edge of a cliff. Completely controlled by rage and pain, the demonic beast failed to realize the dangerous situation. The Yan King seized this opportunity, darting to its side and thrusting his spear.

This time, the spear tip merely pushed against its back, yet the spear shaft bent into an arch, demonstrating the tremendous force behind it.

Seven or eight-tenths of the giant armored beast’s weight was concentrated in its hardened back armor, and now it was staggering and unsteady. With his mighty push, it stumbled and fell directly into the ten-thousand-zhang-deep abyss behind it!

The Yan King had just withdrawn his weapon when he sensed movement behind his head—the Zhi had arrived.

This demonic beast moved with extreme agility. Though it was over two hundred zhang away, it only needed a few leaps to rush over and assist its companion. Unfortunately, it was still one step too late.

Without hesitation, the Yan King extended his spear to block the attack. With two metallic screeches, the Zhi’s sharp claws struck sparks against the spear tip.

But his strength was extraordinarily great. With just this one blocking motion, the Zhi was thrown several zhang away.

Yu Haizhen had not yet landed when a grey heron glided down from the sky, carrying her toward the Yan King. There were still thousands of soldiers between them—rather than cutting a bloody path through the crowd, it was better to take the aerial route, covering the distance of several li in the blink of an eye.

The Yan King glanced back and saw her, admiring her control over demonic beasts as if they were extensions of her limbs. However, there was still some distance between them, and he first had to deal with Zhi’s frenzied attacks. This creature left countless afterimages as it darted about, making it difficult for cultivators to track its movement path even with their spiritual sense fully open. More Yan soldiers had died under its claws and fangs than from the giant armored beast, including even three cultivators.

One glance told the Yan King that the Zhi possessed unique talents—competing with it in speed would be futile. He stepped back twice as black energy flashed around his body, suddenly expanding his figure several times over, transforming into a giant nearly three zhang tall, clad in solid armor.

This was another marvelous application of elemental energy.

After exchanging a few more moves with the demonic beast, he deliberately exposed an opening in his chest defense. The Zhi, as expected, pounced on him, its bloody maw aiming for his throat. The Yan King promptly raised his arm, taking the bite on his forearm.

Its biting force was extraordinary—even though the black energy had wrapped around the Yan King’s wrist to form arm armor, it couldn’t withstand the biting power, shattering with a crack.

Deep puncture wounds from two rows of teeth appeared on the Yan King’s forearm. Immediately after, the Zhi frantically shook its head, tearing at the enemy’s tendons. Were it not for the Yan King’s extraordinarily tough sinews and bones, this move alone could have torn his arm off.

Riding on the grey heron, Yu Haizhen realized the situation was dire. Clutching her pendant, she silently commanded: “Retreat quickly!”

The Zhi received her instruction but having gone berserk on the battlefield and tasted the sweetness of the Yan King’s fresh blood, it was reluctant to release its bite and withdraw.

In that split second, a dark gleam flashed in the Yan King’s hand as he grasped his spear and thrust it directly into the Zhi’s chest!

The strike was both swift and merciless.

This Zhi’s defenses were not comparable to the giant armored beast’s, though it could still be considered impervious to ordinary weapons. However, the Yan King’s spear had accompanied him on the battlefield for over a hundred years, drinking the blood of countless powerful beings—how could ordinary weapons compare? He targeted its weakest position at the chest and abdomen, piercing through from front to back, skewering its heart completely!

The Zhi roared, its sound shaking the area for ten li. In extreme pain, its giant claws struck out, leaving a bone-deep gash on the Yan King’s cheekbone. Had his head not been protected by a helmet, this blow could have smashed his face.

But almost was still not enough. The Yan King forcefully withdrew his spear, causing fresh blood to spray more than a zhang from Zhi’s chest!

In just four or five breaths of time, the Yan King had, by his strength alone, severely injured two giant demonic beasts under Yu Haizhen’s command.

These moves happened so quickly that they were difficult to follow with the naked eye. By the time one could react, the battle situation had already been decided.

This was the strength of the State Preceptor from the world’s most powerful kingdom.

Though these demonic beasts possessed tremendous life forces—even a pierced heart might not kill them—the heart was the source of all energy. The Zhi’s mobility was instantly greatly reduced, and it could barely stand steady. Just as the Yan King was about to deliver another vicious blow to its head, a gentle breeze stirred from ahead, and a cold gleam shot directly toward his eyes.

It was Yu Haizhen who had arrived, seeing the critical situation, she transformed into a beam of light and swooped down from the grey heron.

With several light clinks, the two exchanged more than ten moves in the blink of an eye. Yu Haizhen said coldly: “Since you’ve come, why not stay?”

Many people revered the Yan King as the cultivation world’s strongest expert, but this man rarely took action on the battlefield, mostly staying in the rear to control elemental energy and influence the situation. The Yan-Xi war had continued for several months, yet Yu Haizhen had crossed hands with him no more than twice—today made it the third time. This war had lasted much longer and cost the Yan army far more than the Yan King had anticipated, so with victory’s dawn just ahead, he finally couldn’t resist taking action himself.

Yu Haizhen had just been considering that if there was even the slightest hope of repelling the Yan army today, it would depend on the Yan King. Only by defeating this man could the Xi Kingdom avoid annihilation.

How unfortunate that several of her great demonic beasts had been lost during the mountain collapse—otherwise, surrounding and attacking the Yan King now might have given them a real chance of capturing him.

However, now she and the Xi Kingdom had no retreat path; they could only fight bravely!

The Yan King laughed loudly: “The Xi Kingdom’s fortunes are exhausted, and that Xi King is nothing but a coward and weakling. Why not come to my side? I would cradle you in my palm and shower you with all manner of love!”

Yu Haizhen was a top-tier beauty and held the position of State Preceptor, coveted by countless male cultivators. The Yan King’s lewd remarks were not merely meant to anger her.

But few dared to speak such words to her face. Yu Haizhen spat: “What a pity, I have no interest in such a scoundrel like you!” She retorted without losing her composure, executing her divine abilities with perfect order.

But the surrounding environment had changed.

With the giant armored beast fallen into the ravine and the Zhi severely wounded, the two sharp daggers that had pierced into the enemy army lost their effectiveness. The Xi people alone lacked the strength to contend with the enemy. The Yan army quickly reformed their battle formation and pressed forward again.

The situation was like a rising tide—if Yu Haizhen did not retreat with the Xi army, she would soon be trapped within the enemy’s encirclement. Adding the attacks from a powerful expert like the Yan King, her prospects would be grim.