Gu Yuan and the other three heard the roar and immediately looked in that direction, only to see a giant figure emerging in mid-air.
"A Guiyi realm demon!" Gu Yuan said with a serious expression.
"If there's one Guiyi realm, there must be others!" Jiang Yuyang's expression was equally grave. He wasn't worried about himself, but about the array they had just repaired, which was still fragile.
Of course, this was only relative to the Guiyi realm; for the Tianren realm, it would be no problem. If it were to withstand a Lian Shen realm, the newly repaired array would still need time to absorb the energies of heaven and earth to strengthen itself autonomously, reaching the same intensity as other arrays, meaning the strength set by Tianren realm powerhouses.
This self-repairing function was also the key to the array's ability to last for thousands of years.
As Jiang Yuyang had predicted, after the first giant figure soared into the sky, three more figures exuding the same terrifying aura took flight.
"Damn it, four Guiyi realm great demons, how the hell are we supposed to fight this?" Guan Ye cursed. For the three of them, facing a Guiyi realm great demon was not a problem. The key issue was Gu Yuan, who was in the Lian Shen realm, and the array that was still not fully repaired.
Due to the state of the array, they were at a significant disadvantage, unable to attack proactively and forced to defend the repaired array until it reached a level capable of withstanding Guiyi realm powerhouses.
Based on previous experiences, this would likely take three hours.
Three hours. Cui Hua also realized this and looked at Gu Yuan with concern, wondering if Gu Yuan could hold on until Priest Jiang could kill or heavily wound a Guiyi realm great demon and then come to Gu Yuan's aid.
Gu Yuan felt Cui Hua's gaze, turned his head, and met his worried eyes. Gu Yuan smiled slightly, indicating that he was fine.
Unlike the worries of the other three, Gu Yuan was looking forward to a confrontation with a Guiyi realm great demon. When sparring with Guan Ye, Cui Hua, and the others, their matches were for practice and lacked the pressure of life and death.
He wasn't sure if it was the will he had comprehended, but Gu Yuan greatly enjoyed seeking opportunities for breakthroughs in the face of death. The reason Gu Yuan broke through to the Lian Shen realm back then was also due to encountering a demon that had just broken through to the Lian Shen realm, allowing him to achieve his breakthrough amidst the danger. Upon his return, Jiang Yuyang directly reprimanded the head of the intelligence department and severely penalized his salary.
After all, that incident had nearly cost Gu Yuan his life. At that time, Gu Yuan was a beacon of hope for reaching the Tianren realm, a crucial figure closely watched by the entire human leadership, and any mishap was unacceptable.
Even if he couldn't break through to the Tianren realm, given Gu Yuan's talent, reaching the Guiyi realm would be relatively easy. In this world, the Guiyi realm still represented top-tier combat power.
Gu Yuan also wished to experience the pressure of life and death again to break through to the Guiyi realm, as he was only one opportunity away from it.
He also wanted to test the strength of a Guiyi realm great demon.
*Buzz!*
With a hum, the gap in the array was repaired by Gu Yuan and the other three. However, it was evident that the repaired section was slightly thinner than the original array.
During this time, the four giant figures appeared before Gu Yuan and the other three.
Jiang Yuyang gazed intently at the four Guiyi realm great demons before him.
The four demons were: the Corpse-Ravaging Wolf, the Skeletal Giant Whale, the Giant Bone Bear, and the Blood Falcon!
Each retained characteristics of their original animal forms, similar to the image of virus-infected animals in Gu Yuan's hometown.
However, they were far more ferocious and terrifying, capable of scaring timid mortals to death.
A dark, inky demonic aura flowed around them, and their hollow eyes stared at the four humans.
"Old acquaintances," Jiang Yuyang said, shaking his shoulders. These demons had broken through to the Guiyi realm a long time ago, and Jiang Yuyang had fought them after their breakthroughs.
These four demons were among the strongest of their kind at the Guiyi realm within the entire demon race.
Guan Ye and Cui Hua also recognized the four demons and looked at Gu Yuan with some concern.
Gu Yuan shook his head, indicating he was fine. Seeing this, the three no longer spoke much. After all, they couldn't allow two demons to attack Jiang Yuyang simultaneously. Even though Jiang Yuyang's strength was considered unrivaled among his peers, that was in a one-on-one situation.
Demons were far from weak. If it weren't for geniuses like Jiang Yuyang and the others, humans would be no match for demons of the same level. Otherwise, it wouldn't have required the sacrifice of eight Tianren realm warriors to drive the demons out of human territory, nor would they have needed to expend their life essence to establish the Heaven-Locking Earth-Sealing Array to prevent further demonic invasions.
The demons and humans had been fighting for years; the time for grand pronouncements was long past. When they met and their strength was roughly equal, there was only one word: Fight!
Jiang Yuyang initiated the attack first. The condensed point of ferocious blood energy within his body exploded like a big bang, enveloping him in crimson energy.
The air beneath his feet became as solid as substance, and with a forceful stomp, the air was instantly shattered!
A resounding boom erupted, and he charged directly at the strongest of the four demons: the Skeletal Giant Whale.
Due to the whale's immense size, it could store more energy, making it relatively the strongest among its peers.
The Skeletal Giant Whale had existed since the Tianren realm martial artist era, and its demonic energy was as vast as the sea. Jiang Yuyang, previously the most formidable genius before Gu Yuan, had nearly defeated it at his peak.
Therefore, he did not hesitate to engage the Skeletal Giant Whale.
Guan Ye drew a long saber condensed from his purest blood energy and charged directly at the Corpse-Ravaging Wolf.
Cui Hua, on the other hand, targeted the most agile demon, the Blood Falcon.
The remaining demon was the Giant Bone Bear, powerful in strength and heavy in build, but relatively slow.
Gu Yuan retracted the crimson sphere hovering in mid-air, and the blood energy within his body began to emanate outwards.
A ferocious armor slowly formed on his skin. This armor was formed by Gu Yuan compressing his blood energy, making it comparable to refined iron, as Gu Yuan's physical body still had a gap compared to the fist of a Guiyi realm demon.
*Hoo~*
He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and looked at the Giant Bone Bear. The bear, covered in pale white bone armor, let out a furious roar, slamming its massive white bone paws against its chest as demonic energy circulated.
It then charged ferociously towards Gu Yuan.
Gu Yuan activated the Great Sun True Fire within his body, covering his entire body and forming a fiery armor.
Bending his knees, with a resounding explosion, Gu Yuan transformed into a crimson streak of light, charging towards the Giant Bone Bear!