Ning Caichen, who could only move his eyeballs, saw Li Qi after several years and his eyes lit up with surprise.
The next moment, Li Qi flicked his finger, and behind Ning Caichen, the formation he had drawn began to flash with dazzling light.
"Ah!"
Ning Caichen felt all the restrictions on his body lifted, and his vitality was completely restored.
"Brother Li!"
Ning Caichen said with surprise.
Li Qi did not answer directly. He looked at the large group of still-recovering puppet ministers around him.
Li Qi's finger flicked, and a formation quickly took shape in his hand.
The next moment, a feeling that could cleanse the spirit and soul emanated from the formation.
The ministers, including King Jingchang on the dragon throne, gradually regained their divine luster.
But the next moment.
"Bang bang bang."
Many ministers whose soul suppression had been lifted by Li Qi were directly thrown to the ground, and King Jingchang on the dragon throne also slumped down.
Their life force seemed very weak.
The means of the Demon Master Pudu had caused irreversible damage to these ordinary people.
"Father Emperor."
"Your Majesty."
Jing Qianan and Zuo Shang rushed to the dragon throne to help the dying King Jingchang.
King Jingchang's expression was also complicated. In the past, he had actually listened to the words of the Demon Master Pudu and sent to their deaths many powerful cultivators of the Great Jing dynasty.
If he had discovered it earlier and gathered all the cultivators to fight together, they might have been able to deal with the Demon Master Pudu.
Just then.
The sky above the imperial city suddenly turned extremely dark, with dark clouds covering the sky.
An incredibly terrifying pressure instantly swept through the entire imperial city.
In the dark clouds, a gigantic black centipede, at least a thousand meters long, coiled, making one's scalp tingle.
A chilling, hoarse voice rang out.
"The few chief directors who self-destructed to let you escape, and you two dare to come back."
"Since that's the case, I'll possess the Crown Prince's identity and become an emperor myself."
Jing Qianan and Zuo Shang glared at the giant black centipede in the sky with eyes split open.
"Demon Master!"
The weak ministers in the hall were also extremely panicked.
Ning Caichen was so scared that he shrank behind Li Qi.
The Demon Master Pudu's appearance was still quite terrifying, even more so than the skeleton Nie Xiaoqian from before.
"Brother Li."
Within a few breaths, the giant black centipede had already arrived in the imperial city.
Its thousand-meter-long coiling body swayed casually, and its sickle-like sharp limbs, as they passed through buildings, could easily slice houses in half like tofu.
"Brother Ning, do not panic, I am here."
Li Qi's gaze was also fixed on the giant centipede transformed by the Demon Master Pudu.
"No wonder, it turns out this National Master Pudu is a demon himself."
"Demon Master, die for me."
At this moment, Zuo Shang's spiritual power erupted, and a terrifying aura permeated the air. He was indeed a peak expert at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment.
Zuo Shang formed a hand seal and, with bloodshot eyes, charged towards the Demon Master Pudu.
"Three Thousand Ripping Swords. Out!"
Streams of multi-colored sword light shot out from behind him, each carrying a murderous aura, soaring towards the Demon Master Pudu's main body in the sky.
Judging by this move alone, Zuo Shang's strength was likely on par with the nine chief directors who had already perished.
However, the Demon Master Pudu in the sky let out a cold laugh. Its thousand-meter-long centipede body coiled flexibly, and its sickle-like sharp limbs clashed violently with the dense sword light.
"Boom boom boom boom!"
The sword light was actually torn to shreds.
A mouthful of turbid air was exhaled from the Demon Master Pudu's massive open mouth, shooting directly towards Zuo Shang.
Zuo Shang's expression changed, and he circulated his spiritual power to resist.
But the next moment, his defense was easily shattered by this stream of turbid air.
Zuo Shang's face instantly turned black, clearly seriously injured.
However, Zuo Shang did not care about his injuries at this moment. His face was filled with extreme shock, and even a hint of fear as he looked at the Demon Master Pudu's main body.
"Impossible, this kind of power is no longer in the Foundation Establishment stage! You have broken through."
"Thanks to the sustenance of so many experts from your Great Jing dynasty, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to break through to the Golden Core in this place where the heavens and earth are cut off!"
But the Demon Master Pudu had no intention of wasting time. With a sinister laugh, it swung its sharp limbs towards Zuo Shang, preparing to cut him in half.
Just then.
A figure appeared beside Zuo Shang with terrifying speed and threw a punch.
"Peng!"
The two collided violently. The Demon Master Pudu, which had easily shattered Zuo Shang's attack, was forcefully repelled dozens of meters.
Zuo Shang turned his head and saw Li Qi beside him. Zuo Shang's eyes were filled with unwillingness and despair, but he still said.
"Fellow Daoist! Flee quickly. He has already broken through to the Golden Core. With this kind of strength, we are helpless."
The Demon Master Pudu also looked at Li Qi in surprise, and even more so when he saw Li Qi's cultivation.
In his opinion, Li Qi's cultivation level was only at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment.
With such strength, he had actually forced himself back one move?
"Kid, your strength is not bad, but since you want to interfere in this matter, everything ends here."
"Today, I'll show you the difference in strength between the Foundation Establishment stage and the Golden Core stage."
The Demon Master Pudu's sinister voice rang out again.
As his voice fell, the terrifying aura emanating from the Demon Master Pudu's body surged. This power was dozens of times stronger than what he had shown before.
Sensing this aura, Zuo Shang's eyes became even more desperate.
As someone at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment, he couldn't even withstand a fraction of the demon's power for a single move.
"Is my Great Jing dynasty really going to perish today!"
"No, it won't perish, aren't I here."
But Li Qi beside him remained calm.
Hearing this, even Zuo Shang had a wry smile on his face.
This fellow Daoist Li truly had a good temperament, still having the leisure to joke at this point.
The sky was now completely dark, with no light visible.
The Demon Master Pudu's main body roamed the sky.
A terrifying aura emanated from the clouds.
A terrifying voice echoed from all directions, even covering the entire capital.
"Ants, today I will let you truly feel the power of the Golden Core stage. To die at my hands is not a waste of your years of cultivation."
"Let me die? You think you're worthy!"
Li Qi smiled.
"Hmph! Stubborn."
The next moment, a huge centipede tail whipped down from the sky.
Even with a distance of at least a thousand meters, the numerous buildings within the imperial city collapsed under the pressure.
Even Zuo Shang, standing beside him, felt the aura of death.
"Is the Golden Core stage so powerful? Then today, I'll show you how I'll blast you apart!"
With that said, Li Qi looked fearlessly at the coiling giant tail in the sky.
He shouted.
"Heaven and Earth are Limitless! Borrow the power of Heaven and Earth!"
"Borrowing power? Hahaha, I'd like to see what kind of power you can borrow to defeat me, a Golden Core stage cultivator, with your Foundation Establishment strength."
The Demon Master Pudu's wild laughter rang out.
Li Qi ignored him and secretly chanted in his heart.
'Giant Barbarian, Frenzied Speed! Activate!'
"Boom!"
A powerful wave of energy erupted from Li Qi's body.
An even more terrifying power exploded from Li Qi.
He stood in opposition to the Demon Master Pudu in the Golden Core stage in the sky.
The Demon Master Pudu's previous laughter suddenly stopped.