Chapter 297: Leader of the Outer Gods
The camp was immersed in the dead silence of the twilight. The smell of gunpowder and blood mist had not yet dissipated, as if it was held in the air by invisible hands, adding a sticky oppression to every breath.

The aftermath of the fierce battle just now was still echoing among the soldiers: many of them were touching the scars on their shoulders or waists, and their eyes occasionally glanced into the depths of the tent.

There, Li Qingyun was sitting quietly, closing his eyes and regulating his breathing, with a hint of uneasiness between his brows.

No one dared to approach him rashly, even He Xiangu and Mu Guiying just stood far away.

Since the destruction of the Yuxu Palace’s secret sacrifice base, the human world has witnessed the cruelty of the Yuxu Palace’s collusion with the outside gods, and has also seen the rage that Li Qingyun burst out in order to stop innocent sacrifices.

But these bloody achievements did not bring much respite. Instead, they made everyone smell a more terrifying breath, as if the ultimate awakening was brewing in the darkness.

As the night deepened, a strange horn sounded faintly from the northwest, rising without warning in the center of the endless wilderness, giving the soldiers patrolling outside the guard camp a chill.

The sound was like both a beast’s roar and an ancient spell, shaking the earth slightly.

Looking far into the distance, you can see a dark purple lightning flash across the sky, which disappears in an instant, making people wonder if it is an illusion.

Mu Guiying was directing doctors to treat the wounded in the center of the camp. When she heard the voice, she looked surprised and suspicious.

She signaled to He Xiangu beside her, and the two looked at each other, both feeling ominous: the outer gods might be about to make a big move.

The door curtain of the military tent moved suddenly, and Li Qingyun walked out with a stern look on his face.

Although he looked tired, he immediately ordered the main soldiers to gather together and said briefly:
“The horn I heard just now is not something that an ordinary monster can make. Perhaps the leader of the Outer Gods is about to descend. I need to investigate first.”

He Xiangu’s expression suddenly changed: “Qingyun, if he is really the leader of the Outer Gods, are you sure you can fight him? Your injuries…”

Before he could finish his words, Li Qingyun interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

Li Qingyun’s voice was filled with irrefutable firmness:
“No matter how badly injured he is, we cannot let him do whatever he wants on our human territory. You guys organize the troops and stand by. I’ll go and see what’s going on.”

Mu Guiying also said anxiously:

“Can you bring some more people? They can help a little.”

Li Qingyun shook his head:
“We have limited manpower. If a large army of monsters attacks our camp, we will still need you to hold on. Don’t worry, I know what to do.”

After saying this, he lifted his sleeves, jumped out of the camp alone, turned into a stream of light, and disappeared into the hazy night.

The soldiers around could only see them off in silence, feeling anxious beyond words.

After destroying the main sacrificial formation of Yuxu Palace just now, the available forces in the camp were greatly reduced. If they are attacked by a strong enemy again, they will be in dire straits.

But they also knew that Li Qingyun was the backbone of the human race, and patrolling alone would help him discover clues or prevent a greater disaster.

I just hope that the “injuries” in his body won’t collapse at the critical moment.

……

The night was as cool as water. Li Qingyun rode alone. After crossing several steep mountains, the terrain gradually opened up. From time to time, he could see dark purple lightning surging in the clouds, like a group of wildly dancing snakes.

His heart shuddered, and he secretly circulated his true energy to suppress the pain in his chest. The primordial purple energy condensed into a long sword, which he hung at his waist, ready to chop through all evil obstacles at any time.

The sound of horse hooves is rapid.

He hurried along at a halting pace for a quarter of an hour. The further he walked, the more he felt the air around him was uneven, as if there was a huge vortex churning under the clouds.

After climbing up another hill, we heard a deafening roar coming from the woods ahead, mixed with strange whispers, like a giant chanting some incomprehensible spell.

Li Qingyun stopped and looked into the distance.

The trees swayed in the darkness, and dark purple lightning flashed among the branches and leaves, occasionally illuminating a curling column of black smoke.

The column of smoke was no ordinary fire smoke. It vibrated like rolling thunder and twisted with the wind, like a winding and circling evil dragon.

Upon closer inspection, there were dense figures of monsters in the smoke, gathering in a clearing in the forest.

Leading the way was a huge black shadow suspended in mid-air, several feet tall, with countless mucus blood vessels attached to its body, flashing a dark green fluorescence.

With every vibration, the green light spread across the surrounding monsters, making them even more frantic.

Li Qingyun suddenly understood: This is the leader of the outer gods!
He did not dare to be negligent and used all his eyesight to peek from afar.

The surface of the black shadow seemed to be engraved with mysterious symbols, looking like moss and blood vessels.

Several deformed creatures were crawling at its feet, roaring and prostrating themselves as if they were submitting to the king.

Even worse, one could hear a low, thunder-like hum, echoing in the air, shocking one’s heart.

Only Li Qingyun was able to remain calm. He thought to himself:

“The power of this monster far exceeds that of any previous monster. I’m afraid it already has the strength of a true god.

“If I attack head-on, I don’t know if I can break its godhood in time… But if I let it enter the military domain, the consequences will be disastrous.”

Thinking of this, he secretly mobilized the power of the knife, but he also felt the pain of the seal on his chest intensified.

Gray fog surged to the edge of his sea of ​​consciousness, as if calling on him to release deeper palace power.

But he knew that once too much power was released, “Silence” might take the opportunity to invade his body, which would be tantamount to another disaster.

The decision hung in his mind for a moment and he couldn’t avoid it.

At the same time, the black shadow seemed to sense his breath, and its scarlet eyes suddenly swept towards the direction of the hill.

The monsters around also roared in alertness, stretching out their sharp claws or rotten tongues, staring at the place where Li Qingyun was hiding.

Lightning suddenly flashed, and the forest was instantly bright as day.

Only the clearer outline of the leader could be seen.

There are many tentacle-like horns on his head, and his body seems to be made up of countless dead or evil spirits, wriggling slowly, which makes people shudder at the sight of it.

Li Qingyun smiled coldly, drew his sword and stepped into the light, confronting the leader of the outer gods from a distance.

His blade reflected the lightning, a golden white, like the last torch in the world.

A low roar escaped from the mouth of the Outer God Leader, and his voice seemed to be distorted by the current, implying terrible murderous intent.

The monsters around immediately began howling incessantly, their momentum more fierce than ever.

At this moment, the world seemed to suddenly stop, except for the intense spiritual energy collision between Li Qingyun and the black shadow.

An invisible storm struck in mid-air, causing sand and rocks on the ground to splash.

Li Qingyun saw clearly that there was a black gemstone-like core embedded in the leader’s head, emitting a faint glow that seemed to be able to absorb light.

He was secretly shocked: perhaps that was the “Core of Nightmare” of the Outer God, similar to the divine nature of a god.

As long as the core is not destroyed, the leader can be revived infinitely and possess almost immortal combat power.

In the lightning, all I could hear was the leader roaring slowly in a hoarse but powerful voice:

“Human… Humanity… Ants… I am the ‘Lord of the Underworld’… Your blood and soul shall be offered to my revival…”

The words were broken and difficult to understand, yet they revealed an unmistakable chill.

Li Qingyun snorted coldly, his knife momentum gradually increased, and he said in a deep voice:
“No matter what your name is, if you become an enemy of the human race, you will only end up dead.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the Lord of the Underworld raised several long black snake-like tentacles and slashed towards Li Qingyun from the air with thunder and lightning.

Li Qingyun’s sword flashed, and he slashed forward with a loud shout. The two huge forces collided with a loud bang, and a circle of astonishing air waves swept in all directions, destroying the surrounding trees, and countless monsters were also affected and rolled over.

Both sides retreated briefly, but were unharmed, showing that they were both extremely powerful.

A large number of monsters surrounded their leader, screaming and trying to encircle Li Qingyun.

But Li Qingyun’s eyes became stern, and he shouted and slashed out with the sword again. A golden and white arc cut through the darkness, and dozens of monsters were chopped to pieces on the spot, with blood and corrupt fluid splattering everywhere.

The Lord of the Underworld roared, accelerated his approach, and raised his huge tentacles to cover Li Qingyun’s head, as if he wanted to capture this strongest enemy in one go.

Li Qingyun felt that the air was being squeezed to the point where he could hardly breathe, and the seal was causing him a dull pain.

But he did not dare to hold back, and used all his strength to shake off the evil energy of the outer god. A move of “Sword Shaking the Galaxy” rushed out from the depths of his sea of ​​consciousness. The sword light exploded like a meteorite, cutting off most of the tentacles on the spot. Large amounts of black liquid spilled onto the forest floor, carrying a strong corrosive sound and making a sharp hissing sound.

The Lord of the Underworld roared in pain, but did not give in.

The mucus on its body squirmed, and it quickly regenerated its tentacles like a living creature, forcing Li Qingyun into a tight encirclement.

The two sides once again engaged in a fierce fight.

Li Qingyun moved around in the crowd, and every flash of his sword could kill groups of monsters or cut the opponent’s body, but the leader could almost repair itself infinitely, and with the help of countless small monsters, it was difficult for him to kill it with one blow.

The flames of war reached a high place, with lightning and thunder flashing, and the figures of the surrounding monsters flickered, like ghosts from hell.

Li Qingyun occasionally saw the shadowy marks of Taoism or Yuxu Palace symbols not far away, which seemed to be observing in secret and were more likely to be connected with the Lord of the Nether Abyss.

But he couldn’t escape at this time, so he could only grit his teeth and fight hard.

After a fierce battle for a while, the void was shattered, countless huge pits were dug out on the ground, and blood flowed like pulp.

Although Li Qingyun’s blade was strong, it eventually lost its strength due to injuries and the frequent pain from the seal. The Lord of the Underworld became more and more violent, his body swelled, and the dark gem godhead became brighter and brighter, as if it was about to unleash the ultimate power.

It raised its head and roared, causing entire forests to fall down one after another, and large numbers of monsters were blown away by the air waves.

Li Qingyun felt a chill in his heart, knowing that this terrifying existence was triggering a resonance of divine power, and might directly shake the barrier of the three realms.

Just as I was wondering, a large crack suddenly appeared in the distant sky, as if Mount Buzhou was collapsing again.

The pitch-black gap connected to the sea of ​​clouds, and there was a flashing purple light and a strange thick fog inside.

The barrier between the human world, the spirit world, and the divine world was already fragile. When the divine power of the outer god leader was pushed, it seemed as if it could not withstand the pressure and it was torn apart with a crackling sound.

“Oops–“

Li Qingyun secretly thought that this was not good. If he allowed the Lord of the Nether Abyss to continue to exert his magic power, it was very likely that the barriers between the three realms would be truly broken, and the army of the outer gods would be able to pour into all realms without any hindrance.

What’s even more terrifying is that if the old gods in the spirit world and the divine world also take advantage of the situation to cause chaos, wouldn’t there be no way out for the human world?
He wanted to immediately unleash his sword to stop it, but he was entangled by the dancing tentacles and the crisis arose instantly.

An indescribable whisper swirled in his mind, and the breath of the Lord of the Underworld seemed to be invading his sea of ​​consciousness.

Li Qingyun used all his strength to use the sword energy to repel the outer god’s thoughts, but it also consumed a lot of energy, and the power of the sword was inevitably weakened.

The gray fog in the seal took the opportunity to churn suddenly, and a creepy chill crept up his back, almost making him vomit blood.

In just a blink of an eye, the Lord of the Underworld seized the flaw and slapped down with his tentacles, knocking Li Qingyun dozens of feet away and hitting him heavily on the rocks, making a deafening noise.

In the thick smoke, Li Qingyun half-knelt, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, and the pain in his body almost made him lose consciousness.

He still wanted to stand up with the sword, but the huge body of the Lord of the Underworld and the demonic flames pressed down on him again, like a mountain collapsing.

In the blink of an eye, he suddenly heard screams and cries all around him. Apparently, several of his clones were strangled by monsters, and the situation had become dark and hopeless.

At the moment when the line between life and death was suddenly broken, a thought emerged in Li Qingyun’s mind: If he fully opened up the power of the palace, he might be able to kill the Lord of the Netherworld with his destructive force, but it would also allow “Silence” to take advantage of the opportunity. Would he then become another monster like another Outer God?

Can the world still be peaceful? If not, the barrier between the three realms is about to break, and billions of lives will fall.

The fierce struggle is just a thought in the mind.

In a flash, the seal pricked his nerves again, as if mocking his powerlessness.

Then the Lord of the Underworld raised his arm again and was about to strike hard.

Li Qingyun roared: “Don’t even think about it—”

Suddenly, he forced out a trace of sword intent, and a half arc of golden-white light emerged again, hitting the tentacles of the Lord of the Abyss from below.

There was a loud bang, rocks flew everywhere, and dust filled the air.

From a distance, Li Qingyun’s legs were sunk into the ground, but his blade held the evil force tightly, preventing the opponent from completely killing him. His eyes were wide open, and his body was filled with golden light and gray aura, and it was obvious that his seal was on the verge of collapse.

He used up the last bit of his strength to temporarily withstand the attack of the Lord of the Underworld.

“You…don’t even think about destroying my human world!”

He gritted his teeth and held on to the space under the monster’s claws for a moment.

The Lord of the Underworld roared. The purple light in the surrounding cracks became more and more blazing, and the twisted edge of the cloud sky seemed to be cut open by the claws of darkness, as if countless evil shadows were about to descend upon the three realms.

Li Qingyun knew that if he dragged on any longer, he would be exhausted, so he suddenly shouted and flashed the sword again, hoping to use one last blow to disrupt the opponent’s actions.

But the seal eventually backfired, his body shook violently, and the gray mist in his body attacked so violently that it dimmed the golden light in an instant.

The Lord of the Underworld felt the opponent’s strength suddenly decrease, and he laughed wildly, pressing down his tentacles to crush him completely.

The crisis lies here.

It seemed that Li Qingyun was finally going to be defeated by the terrifying power of the leader of the outer gods, which also laid the seeds for the inevitable rupture of the three realms.

But at this moment, a powerful roar came from afar, as if there were human reinforcements, or a strange magical power cutting in, trying to distract the Lord of the Underworld.

Li Qingyun took the opportunity to thrust his knife upwards, knocking the tentacle several feet away.

However, the blood in his body was churning and the gray mist was almost bursting out. Even as strong as he was, he couldn’t help but spit out blood, with a ferocious look on his face.

Lightning flashed, and the Lord of the Underworld roared and took a few steps back, staring around with his scarlet eyes, to see who dared to disturb him from harvesting his prey.

A group of high-level monks from the Yuxu Palace rushed in unexpectedly and shouted “Save Lord Li!” They launched desperate attacks and stopped a large number of monsters.

These people are dissatisfied with the actions of Huanglong Zhenren and Sanqing Tianzun, and are determined to defend the glory of Taoism.

They were greatly helped by Li Qingyun and luckily survived the internal strife in Yuxu Palace. Therefore, they were not afraid of life and death. At the critical moment, they sacrificed themselves and saved Li Qingyun’s life.

The Lord of the Underworld was obviously angry, but he also realized that it would be difficult to win the battle quickly, and the old wounds in his body caused by the knife were still healing, so it was inconvenient to fight.

The next moment, it suddenly raised its arms, causing a vortex in the air, which sucked the remaining monsters around it into the black fog. They all retreated into the shadow of the crack high up and disappeared in an instant.

A thrilling duel ended with the opponent retreating.

Li Qingyun stood there, gasping for breath.

It’s not that he didn’t want to give chase, but the pain from the seal was so severe that he couldn’t move.

The grayness almost overflowed from the skin, and the veins on the forehead were exposed.

He barely managed to insert the knife into the ground and steady himself.

Dozens of his late companions surrounded him, some were happy that he was okay, some were sighing with fear.

The leader of the Outer Gods has appeared, and has displayed such powerful combat power that the situation almost became irreversible.

Looking up at the sky again, the crack was still floating among the dark clouds, with a faint purple light, like a lurking beast waiting to bite again.

Li Qingyun was silent for a while, and suddenly he felt that the surroundings were terribly quiet. Even the wind seemed to have stagnated. Only the lingering smell of blood and gunpowder remained in the air.

No one spoke. They looked at him covered in dust and blood, knowing that the approach of the “Lord of the Underworld” was no illusion. They also knew that the order of the Three Realms was once again shaken to the point of collapse.

Perhaps the late rescue meant that the battle did not determine the winner, or perhaps the Lord of the Underworld determined that Li Qingyun could not be completely wiped out at this time, but no matter what, this bloody confrontation still heralded the true arrival of the leader of the Outer Gods.

It is the owner of the “Core of Nightmare”. As long as the core is not destroyed, it will come back again and bring even more devastating disasters to the human race and even the three realms.

Mu Guiying rushed to Li Qingyun, looking concerned:
“Qingyun, are you okay?”

Li Qingyun exhaled a breath of foul air and forced a smile:
“Alive… the seal is activated, but it can still be suppressed.”

He waved his hand to let everyone back off, then he closed his eyes and remained quiet for a few breaths, forcibly suppressing the gray mist surging in his body.

The pain like a knife piercing his lungs, but was suppressed by his will.

Wang Xuanfu also came to meet him, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he had not fallen down:

“Huh… Fortunately, Qingyun is fine, otherwise, he would be in trouble in this world.”

As everyone talked, they all recalled the Lord of the Underworld who had just left, causing waves of chills: once it comes again with a larger army of monsters, will humans still be able to hold on?
Li Qingyun calmed down, summoned the generals and said briefly:

“The leader of the Outer Gods has indeed appeared. He has not yet recovered to his full peak, so he chose to retreat temporarily. We should step up our defense and also prepare for a counterattack. The Yuxu Palace is still assisting in secret, which makes this matter even more difficult.”

Everyone nodded, realizing that the situation was extremely serious.

Li Qingyun then thought of the hidden movement of “Silence”, and felt that he was facing internal and external troubles.

But he still didn’t show it on his face, and focused his hope on the unity of the human race and the murderous intent under the knife.

The stars in the sky dimmed, as if they were all frightened by the night battle.

Occasionally a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, making the scene of corpses strewn across the ground even more eerie.

Some people were worried that the Lord of the Underworld would come for a second attack, but fortunately, it seemed to still be healing or planning in the breath, and did not come back immediately.

Humanity had no choice but to seize the opportunity to collect the dead and wounded, seal off the passes around the rift, and prepare for the even more terrible conflict that was to come.

However, no one could ignore it: the breakdown of the barrier between the three realms was already obvious.

Even Li Qingyun himself could sense that the surrounding spiritual energy was disordered, and cracks in time and space were increasing in various places along the border.

Small cracks that may have appeared occasionally in the past are now spreading on a large scale.

Looking at the spiritual world and the divine world, they are bound to be in turmoil as well.

The ancient remnant gods in the divine world and the big bosses in the underworld of the spirit world may take the opportunity to disrupt the mortal world. It is unclear whether it is a blessing or a curse.

The soldiers used hastily built torches to illuminate the ruined ground, revealing dark bloodstains and strange traces, as well as many fragments of scale armor that looked like crystals. These were the skin layers shed by the Lord of the Abyss and the Outer God monsters.

Some people collected these fragments and wanted to hand them over to the court or Li Qingyun for analysis, but when they got close, they felt a dull pain in their souls. They did not dare to delay and hurriedly collected them with a special sealing tool.

All these things show that the Outer Gods’ pollution of the real world has gone from the surface to the deep level.

Li Qingyun didn’t say much and returned to the core of the camp.

Although the seal was temporarily stabilized at this time, it left a burst of sweat and colic.

He took a deep breath silently, and a trace of sadness and anger flashed in his eyes.

The Outer God leader is powerful enough to raze this territory to the ground in the next charge.

If combined with the evil formation of Yuxu Palace, the three realms will surely fall into doomsday.

You have to find a solution yourself.

No one could sleep well that night.

Most of the soldiers were on high alert, and Li Qingyun also closed his eyes as if he was resting, but in fact he was on full alert. The gray mist in the palace fluctuated in his mind from time to time.

In the darkness, I seemed to hear a whisper, as if someone was mocking me:

“You are nothing more than a mortal. The Outer Gods are as powerful as we are. How can we stop them?”

Li Qingyun cursed inwardly, suppressing the temptation of “silence” and keeping his sword heart pure.

Two days later, the leader of the Outer Gods did not immediately counterattack, but more bad news came.

Large-scale cracks have appeared in the divine world’s barrier, and there are rumors that the border of the spirit world has also been lost.

The world was seething with war and public resentment, and the imperial court had no time to take care of it.

There are also hidden clues showing that the Taoists in Yuxu Palace may be planning to unite a large number of remnants with the leader of the outer gods to trigger an ultimate storm of “collapse of the three realms”.

They want to use this to rise rapidly and truly reshape Taoism into the supreme ruler.

When Li Qingyun received this message, he was studying the terrain and troop deployment, trying hard to suppress the pain in his heart.

Lu Dongbin was filled with indignation and proposed to immediately wipe out the main nest of Yuxu Palace. However, considering that the leaders of the foreign gods were eyeing him covetously, he could only ask Li Qingyun to make the decision.

Mu Guiying anxiously advised him not to be reckless, fearing that the seal would explode again.

He comforted:

“I still have my sword. If the leader of the Outer Gods comes again, we will fight again.”

After hearing this, everyone had complicated expressions, but they couldn’t hide their admiration.

If this continues, a major split is inevitable and the ultimate conspiracy is surging under the surface.

After the Lord of the Underworld or the leader of the Outer Gods has rested, he may come again. The collision of higher-level divine powers may lead to the complete destruction of the barrier of the three realms.

By then, if the barrier between the three realms is broken, the remnants of the ancient times and the ghosts of the spirit world will also engage in chaos.

All kinds of hidden dangers converged on Li Qingyun and “Ji” like rivers flowing into the sea. No one could predict how long he could hold on.

No matter how deep the night is or how cold the wind is.

In the distant sky, ominous purple lightning appeared and disappeared from time to time, as if warning people: The Lord of the Underworld has not gone far, he is just waiting to attack.

Li Qingyun sat quietly in the darkness, cold sweat oozing from his palms from time to time.

The sealing thread was pulled tighter and tighter, nearly causing him to go insane several times.

However, he was determined as iron and endured with gritted teeth: if he fell at this moment, all his hard work would be in vain.

The leader of the Outer Gods will surely revel in the destruction of the human world. No matter how difficult it is, we must persevere.

Finally, he stood up, leaned on the hilt of his knife, and looked at the dark crack:
“I will never allow you to trample on the human world.”

Although the words were soft, they echoed in this dilapidated camp.

Many soldiers felt inexplicably at ease: with him around, even if the leader of the Outer Gods became more ferocious, there was still a glimmer of hope for survival.

So there was no more major battle that night, but people all over the world could not sleep well.

The turmoil in the three realms intensified, the conspiracy of Yuxu Palace grew stronger, and the appearance of the leader of the outer gods had already broken all the balances.

Although Li Qingyun’s dominance has won blind expectations for mankind, it has also made the crisis more acute.

When the Outer God truly impacts the world with his most powerful godhood, his fateful entanglement with “Silence” will reach an extreme that cannot be avoided.

After this cold twilight, the morning sun will surely bring the bloody wind back.

The hidden shadow of the Outer God’s leader is waiting for an opportunity to strike, and no one knows what kind of devastating scene will happen next.

There is only one thing that is certain: the closer he gets to the end, the more Li Qingyun will have to face the terrifying source behind the seal.

Perhaps the Lord of the Abyss and “Silence” belong to the same ancient chaos, and together they control even deeper chaos.

If so, can his magic sword really cut through everything?

The ground shook slightly, perhaps a new round of sacrifices was still brewing in the distance.

The soldiers were on high alert and had no energy to think too much. They could only hope that Li Qingyun’s sword would be rekindled.

Too much blood has been shed in the world. When the great schism intensifies to the limit, the leader of the outer gods will surely appear again, bringing a catastrophe that sweeps across the three realms. Even if the sword is shining brightly, can it really withstand this world-destroying wave?
Perhaps only in the darkest despair can we see the final answer…

……

(End of this chapter)