I Was Forced to Marry a “Trash” Cultivator, But She Turned Out to Be a Reborn Empress!

The Demon Venerable stalked toward the group of Golden Core cultivators, his suffocating aura dousing their hearts in despair.

“We must attack. Now!” Shen Xing’s voice was low and grim.

Behind him, hundreds of golden sword shadows materialized, shimmering like a mirage. A golden divine sword materialized in his right hand, humming with a sharpness that made the air itself tremble.

The others exchanged uncertain glances.

“He’s right. We can’t let this monster devour any more essence blood, or we’re all dead!” Lei Yingjie stood atop the [Eight Desolations War Chariot], the purple-gold gourd at his waist suddenly expanding, arcs of lightning crackling violently inside.

“Bring out your strongest trump cards!” Zhou Fengxing commanded, slapping his hand against the air. A set of obsidian-colored talismans drifted out.

To the naked eye, the talismans appeared empty, devoid of ink or markings, yet when linked together, they emitted a terrifying pressure, as if a grand formation had been compressed into paper.

“I have a wisp of Sword Intent,” Qiu Ruoli announced, her voice steady despite her pale face. “It can slay a Soul Formation cultivator.”

She had intended to save this lifesaver for the most dire moment, but looking at the monster approaching them, she realized that moment was now.

The eyes of the geniuses lit up.

“That can kill him instantly!” Zhou Fengxing exclaimed, overjoyed.

If they had a strike capable of slaying a Soul Formation expert, they wouldn’t even need to risk their lives.

Qiu Ruoli pursed her red lips slightly. “Using it will drain me completely.”

“If you use that Sword Intent, I swear on my Dao heart to protect you,” Shen Xing said immediately, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

The promise of the Azure Province’s number one genius settled her nerves. Qiu Ruoli nodded heavily.

“However, that Demon Venerable is strange,” Shen Xing added quickly. “We need to suppress him first to create an opening. You are the finisher.”

The Soul Formation-slaying intent was a one-time trump card; if it missed, they were doomed.

The group reached a consensus in a split second.

At this moment, Shen Xian revealed his own hand.

Boom!

A heavy metallic thud shook the floor as a Fourth Tier Middle Grade [Vajra Puppet] materialized.

Standing two zhang tall, the puppet shimmered with a dark golden metallic luster. Its joints were inlaid with complex, mysterious runes, and embedded in the center of its chest was a fist-sized crimson [Crystal Core] pulsing with dangerous energy.

Its arms were massive serrated blades, their edges gleaming coldly, while six sharp metallic bone spikes extended from its back, each carved with Buddhist mantras designed to suppress evil.

As soon as it appeared, the aura of a mid-stage Nascent Soul entity swept through the area.

The geniuses stared at Shen Xian, dumbfounded. They never expected this “evil cultivator” to possess such a terrifying construct.

For a moment, those who had harbored thoughts of “killing him to seize his treasures” felt their faces burn with embarrassment and fear. If they had tried to rob him earlier, this puppet would have turned them into meat paste.

“Die!”

The Demon Venerable roared, charging forward. Blood-colored light blotted out the sky, and countless black tentacles lashed out with unstoppable momentum.

“Charge!”

Shen Xing shouted, taking the lead.

Boom!

His sword intent erupted! Behind him, thousands of golden sword shadows aligned like an inverted galaxy, dazzling and brilliant.

The golden divine sword in his hand let out a resonant zheng, bursting with blinding light that forced back the encroaching demonic fog by thirty feet.

“Slash!”

He took a step forward, his sword light moving like a dragon, tearing through the sky.

Where the golden rainbow passed, the ground was plowed into a trench several feet deep, shattered stones flying like shrapnel.

The Demon Venerable sneered, raising a claw to block. But the sword light suddenly split into three, striking from different angles with fluid, deadly precision.

This was the first time the Azure Province’s top genius had unleashed his full power, and it was terrifying.

“Petty tricks!”

The Demon Venerable’s arm muscles swelled, the demonic patterns glowing. His black scales took on an impenetrable metallic sheen as he forcibly shattered two of the sword lights with his bare hands.

But the third beam struck true.

Sizzle!

It slashed across his chest, leaving a charred, smoking wound.

“[Eight Desolations War Chariot], Suppress the Demon!”

Lei Yingjie roared like thunder. The bronze chariot expanded in the wind, transforming into a massive juggernaut. The dragon patterns coiled around the shafts opened their eyes, spewing liquid purple lightning.

The chariot thundered forward, crushing the ground inch by inch, smashing toward the Demon Venerable’s back with the force of a falling mountain.

BOOM—!

The impact staggered the Demon, sparks flying wildly from his scales.

He swung a claw backward to swat the chariot away, but Lei Yingjie slapped the purple-gold gourd at his waist. “Thunder, come!”

Crack!

A bolt of purple lightning as thick as a water bucket erupted from the gourd, blasting the Demon Venerable square in the face.

Amidst the exploding electric light, the Demon let out a pained roar, the scales on his face charring black.

“[Mysterious Talismans Lock the Heavens]!”

Zhou Fengxing’s hands formed seals like phantoms. The obsidian talismans unfurled in the wind, moving like living creatures to weave a canopy-like net in the air.

Runes flowed across the net, faintly revealing images of the sun, moon, and stars, emitting an aura that suppressed all movement.

“Bind!”

The net contracted, wrapping the Demon Venerable in a cocoon of light.

Sizzle—

The runes burned against the demonic energy, causing green smoke to rise from the monster’s scales.

“[Vajra Subduing Demons]!”

Shen Xian seized the opening.

The [Vajra Puppet] roared to life. Its massive metallic body shook the ground with every step. The Buddhist mantras on its six back spikes lit up, projecting six golden “卍” symbols into the air.

The puppet’s serrated arms spun like buzzsaws, emitting a teeth-grating hum as they cross-slashed down toward the Demon Venerable’s neck!

CLANG—!

A piercing sound of metal on metal shrieked across the battlefield. The bone blade the Demon hastily raised to block was forcibly cracked by the sheer mechanical force.

Golden light flared in the Vajra Puppet’s eyes. The [Crystal Core] in its chest suddenly fired a crimson beam of concentrated energy, blasting the Demon Venerable backward. He smashed through three stone pillars before finally skidding to a halt.

In the settling dust, the Demon Venerable slowly stood up. His scales were covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

He wiped a smear of black blood from his lip, his eyes showing gravity for the first time. “I underestimated you ants…”

“Now!” Shen Xing roared.

Qiu Ruoli was already poised.

Her slender finger tapped the space between her brows. A dot of cinnabar red dripped down, transforming into a three-inch blood-colored sword floating in the air.

She spat a mouthful of essence blood onto it.

Whoosh!

The small sword swelled against the wind, instantly transforming into a ten-zhang giant sword.

The blade was transparent like crystal, but inside swirled an aura of destruction so potent it made the heart stop. Space itself began to distort around it, and the rocks on the ground silently disintegrated into powder.

Slash!

“[White Rainbow Piercing the Sun]!”

This sword moved faster than thought.

Everyone saw only a blur, a flash of white light that bypassed time itself.

The Demon Venerable’s body stiffened. The ferocious expression on his face froze in disbelief.

A thin red line appeared down his center.

In the next second, under the impact of the Soul Formation Sword Intent, his body was shredded into nothingness. Not even a bone remained.

“Is… is it over?” Lei Yingjie slumped onto his broken chariot, his face smeared with blood and grime.

Zhou Fengxing clutched his chest, coughing blood, but managed a weak smile. “As expected of a Sword Intent that can slay a Soul Formation expert…”

Shen Xian recalled his Vajra Puppet, glancing at Qiu Ruoli.

She was as pale as paper, blood seeping continuously from her lips. That single strike had clearly exhausted her origin.

Shen Xian looked up at the sky.

The Demon Venerable was dead… but the [Blood Prison Demon Sealing Array] above them hadn’t vanished.

He frowned. It ended too quickly.

The others were celebrating the joy of survival, their taut nerves finally snapping loose.

No one noticed that the droplets of demon blood scattered across the ruins were silently oozing across the stone, converging toward a single point…