In his previous life, Jiang Chen had known a fair amount about the Demon Race. The ten lineages of the Demon Race were an absolute catastrophe across the Myriad Heavens Planes—countless realms had suffered under their rampages.
The Demonform Lineage!
Jiang Chen's mind began to dredge up memories from his former existence. He possessed a wealth of knowledge about the Demon Race and, correspondingly, a great deal of experience in combating each of their lineages.
Among the Demon Race, the Demonform Lineage was not among the supreme bloodlines, but its characteristics were nonetheless distinctive. The Demonform Lineage excelled above all else in transformation. At times, they could even disguise themselves as humans or as cultivators of various races, making them nearly impossible to detect.
There was no particular trick to countering the Demonform Lineage. The key was to suppress their demonic demonform energy and corruption. Being able to repress their demonform bloodline would, to a degree, weaken the Demonform Lineage's combat strength.
But repressing the demonform bloodline was far easier said than done.
Of course, that was not to say there were no methods available. At the very least, their side had ready-made solutions. The Vermilion Bird and the Black Tortoise, for instance—these True Spirits possessed powerful bloodlines. The majestic and awe-inspiring bloodlines of the Four Symbols were perfectly suited to suppress the demonform bloodline. That was precisely why these two True Spirits had been able to give Elder Guangdu so much trouble.
Elder Guangdu had been expending sixty to seventy percent of his fighting power on the two True Spirits alone.
The two True Spirits' cultivation was a full two or three stages below Elder Guangdu's. If they had been on equal footing, the two True Spirits could have subdued him in moments.
Jiang Chen's blood stirred restlessly in his veins. Within his own body, he too possessed bloodlines capable of countering Elder Guangdu—the True Dragon bloodline and the Golden Cicada bloodline.
Both of these bloodlines were among the finest and most exalted in all the world.
The True Dragon bloodline in particular, in terms of sheer noble standing, stood practically at the very apex of the Myriad Heavens Planes. The sovereign aura of the True Dragon bloodline posed an overwhelming deterrent against the Demonform Lineage.
In that moment, Jiang Chen decided to join the fray himself.
He brought out the Golden Bell and channeled the True Dragon's energy into it. The bell let out a series of deep, ancient tolls, as though the sound came from the primordial age itself, carrying a force that shook the soul to its core.
Across the surface of the Golden Bell, rune after rune blazed and surged, as if countless True Spirits had transformed into inscriptions that swam and circled around the bell.
Jiang Chen had always been fascinated by this Golden Bell. He had long felt that the runes and patterns etched on its surface were extraordinarily ancient and sacred. He also knew full well that in his hands, the bell had never been unleashed to its true potential—he had barely scratched the surface of its power.
Now, driven by the energy of the True Dragon bloodline, the glow on the Golden Bell's surface grew blindingly bright. The sealing force emanating from those runes and patterns seemed to have intensified considerably, as if the seal imprisoned deep within the bell was being unlocked one layer at a time—like a primordial beast caged since the dawn of time, straining against its chains to break free.
Even Jiang Chen found himself marveling in secret.
Murmuring an incantation, he enlarged the bell. It radiated ten thousand beams of golden light, then surged toward Elder Guangdu in a thunderous descent, its golden radiance crashing down like a crown overhead.
At the same time, Jiang Chen's Evil Golden Eye shot two beams of light toward Elder Guangdu, piercing through the void of the cosmos itself.
Jiang Chen had deployed this Golden Bell many times before, and the Vermilion Bird had witnessed its power on more than one occasion. Yet this time, even the Vermilion Bird felt a twinge of surprise—it could clearly sense the dramatic transformation the bell had undergone, the overwhelming pressure it now radiated, seeming to have risen to an entirely new level.