Martial Cultivator

Retreat.

Retreat again.

Xu Li felt the surging qi, as mighty as great waves crashing against the shore. At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind, which was to retreat.

He had already sensed the young martial artist's killing intent. If he remained here now, he would certainly die at the young martial artist's hands.

Even if the young martial artist would also be injured, or even severely injured, after killing him, and would not be able to leave either, the premise would still be... that he himself would already be dead.

When everything is going smoothly, unity is easy. Some tenacious people can remain united and persevere even when encountering some difficulties, but in the most desperate situations, especially when faced with the choice between life and death, not many people can still hold fast to their original intentions.

At that time, the choice they make is almost instinctive.

Xu Li was exactly like that at this moment. In the deepest part of his instincts, he thought only of surviving.

So Xu Li had already begun to think of retreating. He wanted to leave this battlefield, return to the depths of the Demon Domain, cross the northern Demon Sea, and go even farther north.

He wanted to get as far away from that young martial artist as possible.

But many times, things are just like this. If one can still stand and face it, there may still be some chance of victory, but if one retreats blindly, then death is certain.

Xu Li was already retreating fast enough, but he was still not faster than Chen Chao, who had already crashed into him. The gigantic dharma idol's forward charge gave people an extremely powerful visual impact.

A fierce wind rose across the grasslands of the desolate north at this moment.

Chen Chao's gigantic dharma idol and Xu Li's dharma idol had already collided. Demonic qi and qi became entangled together in an instant, like the cavalry under two great generals converging together like a great flood.

Every subtle place was locked in conflict at this moment. It looked as though only two people were fighting, but in reality, all across the battlefield, there were smaller battlefields everywhere.

Xu Li's gigantic dharma idol was battered by the fierce wind raised by the vast qi until even his demonic qi began to break apart. At this moment, his demon heart could no longer remain calm as still water, and even the circulation of his demonic qi had become somewhat sluggish.

The greatest aspect of a powerhouse had never been merely their cultivation realm. A dao heart more steadfast than ordinary people was the prerequisite for becoming a powerhouse.

It could not really be said that Xu Li's dao heart was not steadfast, it simply depended on who it was being compared with...

Chen Chao had already sensed that Xu Li's demonic qi was no longer circulating as smoothly as before. Narrowing his eyes, this young peerless martial artist did not hesitate in the slightest, and threw a punch straight down at his head. Vast qi followed that gigantic fist as it descended, and Xu Li hastily raised both hands above his head to block it.

Their qi met first, but as the fist descended, the vast qi it carried continuously suppressed the demonic qi below. For a moment, an extremely shocking scene appeared here.

The demonic qi was brutally blasted apart, and as the powerful qi descended, it even crushed the surrounding space along with it. For a time, sounds like shattering mirrors rang out without end.

Xu Li took a deep breath, resolving that after blocking this punch, he would immediately withdraw, because he had already glanced into the distance and saw that the other two Fuyun great demons would likely not make it in time to rescue him.

Now, he could only rely on himself.

But very soon, that punch smashed straight down onto the head of his dharma idol. The hands he had raised could not stop that punch. The powerful qi directly smashed apart both of his hands before striking his head.

A tremendous sound rang out between heaven and earth!

It was as though the heavens had let out an enormous sneeze, enough to echo throughout the world!

Xu Li's dharma idol began shattering from the head. After the demonic qi receded, Chen Chao's fist straightforwardly smashed the head of the gigantic dharma idol to pieces.

What followed was an almost completely one-sided rout. Xu Li's dharma idol which had only just been reformed and repaired now seemed to be made of paper, as Chen Chao punched hole after hole through it.

The struggles between powerhouses above Nepenthe were, in many cases, difficult to make flashy. Victory, defeat, life, and death were often decided in an instant.

Chen Chao threw punch after punch, and between heaven and earth, there was nothing but a continuous succession of thunderous sounds.

"Three people besieging one, with such an imposing display, but what's the use?"

The young martial artist's voice suddenly rang out at this moment, filling Xu Li's ears, his tone carrying undisguised ridicule.

Xu Li very much wanted to respond to the young martial artist, but at this moment, with the other party's punches crashing into him one after another, he was already unable to keep up. As his dharma idol neared destruction, whether or not he had a chance to escape with his life was the only thing that mattered. As for everything else... none of it seemed important.

The Fuyun great demons in the distance, who had already turned back and were trying to rejoin the battle, felt their hearts sink halfway when they saw this scene.

A demon race cultivator's dharma idol was intimately connected to themselves. Now that Xu Li's dharma idol had already been shattered to this extent, there was no doubt that he had been completely and utterly severely wounded.

With Xu Li in such a situation, if he could not immediately leave the battlefield, then dying here was all but certain.

If Xu Li died, then with only the two of them remaining, could they deal with that young martial artist?

The earlier situation of three people besieging one, in which they had been full of confidence and believed victory was certain, had now become a joke.

But this was not the time to care about that.

"Is there still any chance?"

As the two great demons advanced, one of them spoke, his voice filled with deep doubt.

“It's very difficult.”

The other one also stated his opinion directly.

"Once Xu Li loses the ability to continue fighting, then if the two of us still want to kill him, one of us will certainly have to stay behind here. Will it be you or me?"

That Fuyun great demon saw the situation very clearly. No one wanted to die, even if it was for the sake of the demon race, and besides, they did not believe the demon race had truly reached a moment of life and death.

This was not the time when one had to die for the demon race.

"We've already done our best. I don't think anyone can really say anything against us."

One Fuyun great demon said, "Once Xu Li dies, you and I should find an opportunity to leave the battlefield. That'll be an explanation to everyone."

"I'm afraid it'll become a joke when word gets out. Three people besieging one, only to end up with one dead and two fleeing in disgrace."

"Compared to dying here, becoming a joke is an easy choice."

In that brief span of time, the two had already reached an agreement, causing their advancing pace to slow considerably.

If Xu Li, who had already been struggling to hold on, had any final hope, it was that these two great demons would come to his aid. At this moment, all of that hope shattered completely.

With no hope left, only one path remained for Xu Li.

Death.

He was about to become the first Fuyun cultivator to die in the great war between the human race and the demon race.

And once a Fuyun Realm powerhouse died on this battlefield, it would not be the end.

It would be the starting point.