Anand and the first demon disappeared within a cloud of dust and clashing spiritual energies. Both of them were experts at the upper stage of the Spiritual Control Realm that trained in sky-attribute spiritual arts. Anand's aura was definitively denser and stronger but it was uncertain how long he could last. It was a race to defeat the demon before the unstable deposits of jade with his body exploded.

Gray turned his attention back to his own battle, one he didn’t want to fight, one he wasn’t prepared to fight. The plan had been to wait for Anand to kill a single demon at the Spiritual Control Realm, not two. The plan did not include Alisha being out of the fight already.

He couldn't abandon his companions. He couldn't outrun the second demon even if he wanted to. He had to keep the second demon occupied while Anand took care of the more fearsome foe.

He held the unconscious Alisha with his left hand and gripped the maddeningly heavy pickaxe with his right.

“Hey, ugly!” He yelled.

The demon paused in surprise and then scowled, "Brave words for someone that's about to die."

“Oh, yeah?” Gray said and pointed at the furious brawl that was moving steadily away from them, "Your friend is losing."

"Nonsense. Brother Jacob won't lose to a..." He trailed off as a well-aimed lead ball bounced off the side of his head.

The thin cloak of spiritual energy around the demon's body blocked the sneak attack. Such a direct hit could have knocked down a guard captain or bandit elder but against someone at the Spiritual Control Realm, it was as harmless as a gentle breeze.

"You're dead!" The demon spat.

He closed the distance between them swiftly. His sword swung down; filled with fatal sharpness, keen like a razor, as domineering as a head-chopping ax. The pressure of this attack was enough to cleave apart a large boulder with ease.

Gray stood still and summoned the power of the Tome of Glorious Fortune. Golden spiritual energy poured out, not in controlled amounts like before but an earthshattering landslide. Strength of the indomitable mountains surged to every corner of his body, filling his organs and veins as well as bones, tendons, muscles, and skin. Everywhere that special energy touched began to emanate a pure gold light.

The golden brilliance peaked in a blinding flash and out from it emerged a glorious warrior, clad from head to toe in gold.

It was the complete form of the Golden Body of the Bodhi!

Gray raised his golden right arm. His golden hand clutched the heavy gold pickaxe and lifted it up with only a little effort. He was at least two or three times stronger than before.

Clang!

The demon's sword clashed against the pickaxe with a dull ringing noise. The resulting shockwave sent both sides back with Gray even winning out slightly in raw strength.

"Impossible! What trickery is this?" The demon snarled but there was a flicker of doubt on his face.

He didn’t know about the Tome of Glorious Fortune. He didn’t know what Gray’s golden body did. He only knew that something impossible had just taken place. A young man at the 9th Level of the Spiritual Strengthening Realm managed to block a full-on attack at the 1st Level of the Spiritual Control Realm. This was not just surpassing a few levels within a realm, this was surpassing a whole realm. It was something almost unheard of, something only the greatest prodigies of legends could achieve!

Gray smirked, "You two were hiding your true power. Why couldn't I do the same?"

"What? You dare?"

Indeed, this was the secret precaution he had saved for a critical moment. He intended to use the completed secret art against the first demon elder in case of an accident, in case he got separated from Anand or Alisha. He had been very close to completing the first stage of the Tome of Glorious Fortune. All he needed was a slight push. The prospect of a deadly battle helped. Being pummeled by Alisha for three days straight also helped.

Gray raised his pickaxe once more, "Come on, let's get on with it. You better kill me quickly or else you won't get a chance to after Anand kills your friend."

“You think you can be arrogant with just a shiny makeover? I'll kill you!"

The demon let out a furious shout and attacked once more. This time, the attack pattern was complicated, with many feints and misdirections. Gray managed to block the first two slashes but the third landed directly on his shoulder.

He was sent flying and crashed through the tall grass twenty strides away. He got back up shakily but his arm was still intact. There wasn't even a bloody mark on his skin. In addition to a drastic boost in strength, the golden body provided him a profound defense that was equal to the protective spiritual aura of those at the Control Realm. The only difference was that his protection came from transforming his entire body which required comprehension, concentration, and a steady supply of spiritual energy

The demon attacked again and again. Gray dodged and ducked when he could and blocked when he couldn't. He was knocked around like a ragged flag in a storm but he also found opportunities to fight back. The heavy gold pickaxe was a formidable weapon and made the demon howl in pain with each direct hit. It didn't cause crippling damage but the demon avoided Gray's counters from that point onward.

Gray stubbornly held his ground but he was growing more and more worried. He couldn't lose easily but it was even more difficult to win. The demon was still stronger than him, faster than him, and twice as skilled. Gray was surviving simply through the sheer dominance of his cultivation art but it couldn’t last forever.

As the duel dragged on, the flaw in his strategy emerged. The complete Golden Body of the Bodhi drained a substantial amount of spiritual energy each passing moment and his spiritual sea was quickly running out. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold on for. He had hoped Anand would be finished with the first demon by now but the old man was nowhere in sight.

The demon’s ugly face flashed with a cruel smile as he realized Gray’s struggle. The pace and intensity of attacks increased two-fold.

Gray felt his spiritual energy deplete even faster and his golden body even started to dim and weaken in power.

The heavy gold pickaxe felt heavier and heavier in his hand. The muscles in his arms were becoming soft like tofu.

Each blow from the demon’s sword wracked his body with ever-increasing levels of pain. His tendons felt like they were about to snap. His bones creaked dangerously with every impact.

But he got back up every time, ignoring his heavy and unsteady steps.

The demon's strategy suddenly shifted and he maneuvered to attack Gray's weaker left side. Gray was holding Alisha and he had to reach across his body to defend her with the pickaxe in his right hand. This then left his back exposed which was what the demon actually had been aiming for.

“Ahh, shit! Demon shit!” Gray shouted as jagged pain erupted between his shoulder blades.

The Golden Body of the Bodhi failed at the most vulnerable spot. The sword sliced through skin and flesh and nicked his ribs. He would have lost his life if it had gone any deeper.

He cursed his own weakness. He regretted all the times he had been lazy in his cultivation. If he had properly cultivated every chance he had, he could have been at the tenth level already, perhaps even the Spiritual Control Realm.

The demon gave him no time to rest and contemplate. Every exchange pushed Gray closer and closer to the abyss, to the edge of life and death.

His body was now covered in blood. The golden transformation was almost finished.

He was going to lose.

He was going to die…

"Is that the best you can do?!!" Gray bellowed and picked himself off the ground for the last time.

His spiritual sea felt empty as a dried-out lake. The nine golden hills that had previously stood tall were now merely molehills. They were completely depleted and could give no more.

However, there was still the endless black sky above which always absorbed spiritual energy without giving any back. It never contributed to his fights at all but now was the time. He needed that energy now.

He needed it now!

“Die, human!”

The enemy’s sword snaked around Gray’s sluggish pickaxe and aimed for his throat. His reaction speed was hampered by his injuries. His movements had already slowed to a fatal level. He couldn’t avoid this attack that would soon end his life.

But how could he die here when he hadn’t even managed to see Xueling again? How could he lose to a dirty demon when he had the Tome of Glorious Fortune, a physique honed by the heavenly citrine, and a pair of all-seeing eyes?

Gray let out a roar that shook the ground.

Desperation, determination, desire; it all melded into one as he called upon his eyes and power of darkness and space.

Woosh!

The whole world seemed to disappear as his eyes turned from brown to pitch black.