Chapter 567: Chapter 567

Whether it was Zhouyang, or Lu Xuanji and Yin Hanguang, it was their first time seeing the notorious demon artifact, the "Demon Dragon Blade."

Since they returned from the "Dome Heaven Immortal Realm," the name of this infamous magic weapon was often heard in the words of others. Every cultivator who spoke of it did so with gnashing teeth and great respect.

This wasn’t just because several Nascent Soul Stage cultivators had perished under this weapon within a century, but also because its owner was the Heaven-Sundering True Demon, a demon from ancient times who escaped from the Tribulation Crossing True Immortal, Master Chongyang.

At the battle outside the mountain gate of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, the Heaven-Sundering True Demon, using this "Demon Dragon Blade," slaughtered indiscriminately. Even when facing multiple opponents, it managed to consecutively behead three Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, its fierce reputation unmatched for a time.

If not for Master Chongyang, the Tribulation Crossing True Immortal, secretly ambushing and severely wounding him, that battle might have ended in rivers of blood, with countless Nascent Soul Stage cultivators falling under this demon blade.

However, as the Heaven-Sundering True Demon lurked and hid, this demon blade vanished without a trace along with it. Why does it now appear in the hands of the Celestial Killer Corpse King?

The three of them simultaneously thought of one possibility.

It was evident that the Heaven-Sundering True Demon would hardly willingly give up the "Demon Dragon Blade," this powerful True Demon artifact.

The truth could only be one thing. The Heaven-Sundering True Demon, who vanished from the Liuyun Continent’s Cultivation Realm, had actually perished at the hands of the Celestial Killer Corpse King. As a result, the True Demon artifact, the "Demon Dragon Blade," became a weapon for the Celestial Killer Corpse King.

As to how the Heaven-Sundering True Demon knew about the spatial rift connecting to the True Demon Realm in the Sea of Death, it was no longer important.

What mattered was that with the fall of this ancient demon, the Heaven-Sundering True Demon, a heavy mountain pressing on the hearts of all who knew was finally lifted.

For a moment, Zhouyang, Lu Xuanji, and Yin Hanguang all breathed a deep sigh of relief.

The Celestial Killer Corpse King before them, though ferocious, was undoubtedly much easier to deal with than the Heaven-Sundering True Demon who had invaded the Spirit Realm from the Demon Realm.

At the very least, the Celestial Killer Corpse King definitely couldn’t communicate with the Demon Realm to bring in demon race invasions of the Spirit Realm. Moreover, limited by its cultivation realm, it couldn’t cause as much damage to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, this Great Cultivation Realm, as the Heaven-Sundering True Demon could.

Yet there’s a saying that evil must be eradicated.

While the Celestial Killer Corpse King was unlikely to threaten the entire Spirit Realm like the Heaven-Sundering True Demon, its presence as an evil giant of the Demon Path was still a significant hidden danger to the cultivation world.

If one day it were to have the unlikely luck and breakthrough to the Tribulation Crossing Stage, the Cultivation Realm would undoubtedly become turbulent.

Hence, Lu Xuanji showed no mercy at the thought that the Heaven-Sundering True Demon might have perished in the hands of the Celestial Killer Corpse King, and his killing intent did not diminish in the slightest.

At this time, seeing the black demon dragon with the demon blade in its mouth attacking through the air, he raised his hand and chopped forward, an arc of red-gold blade light shooting out from his hand.

This red-gold blade light was merely a divine technique cultivated by Lu Xuanji, naturally not as formidable as the "Demon Dragon Blade."

But it provided a slight obstruction, allowing Yin Hanguang to react. He mobilized the power of the "Eye of Light," shooting divine light from his eyes to disperse the black demon dragon, sending the demon blade flying away.

After striking the demon blade away, Lu Xuanji immediately transmitted to the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" accompanying them: "Fellow Daoist Tongtian, this demon corpse is likely connected to the whereabouts of the Heaven-Sundering True Demon. Please assist us in capturing it to interrogate the demon’s whereabouts!"

The speculation that the Heaven-Sundering True Demon might have perished at the hands of the Celestial Killer Corpse King was, after all, just a guess. To verify this speculation, they would need to capture it and use the Soul Searching technique to perform a Soul Search to be sure.

Before this, even if the Celestial Killer Corpse King claimed to have killed the Heaven-Sundering True Demon, it couldn’t be entirely trusted.

After all, this could be a plan by the Heaven-Sundering True Demon to feign death and escape, sacrificing the "Demon Dragon Blade" in a decision like cutting off an arm to create the illusion that it was killed by the Celestial Killer Corpse King. It would then bide its time, accumulating strength in secret while the entire Cultivation Realm let its guard down, ready to make a comeback.

Such a thing, the Heaven-Sundering True Demon had done more than once. Lu Xuanji, having witnessed it abandoning its True Magical Body to escape, had to consider multiple possibilities.

What he didn’t expect was that upon hearing his transmission, the Heaven-Reaching Demon King had the desire to take advantage of the situation.

"I can assist if you want, but afterward, the corpse of this demon and that demon blade must be handed over to me. If you can’t agree to this condition, Fellow Daoist Lu, then take your time playing with this demon corpse!"

Lu Xuanji’s face immediately turned grim.

The "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" was already among the top of those below the Tribulation Crossing Stage, and even as a ninth-layer Nascent Soul Cultivator wielding the Tier Seven Spiritual Artifact "Red Sky Divine Spear," he didn’t dare claim to be able to easily defeat the demon king.

If it were to obtain the corpse of this late-stage Nascent Soul Corpse, the Celestial Killer Corpse King, refining it into a clone or a corpse and then aided by the "Demon Dragon Blade," a true demon spiritual artifact equivalent to a Tier Seven artifact, its strength might become hard for anyone to challenge.

At that point, without the external threat of the Heaven-Sundering True Demon, the strength-enhanced "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" would also be no blessing for the human race.

With a wolf in front and a tiger at the back, Lu Xuanji found himself in a dilemma, unsure of what to choose.

Therefore, he did not rush to give "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" an answer, instead he sent several artifacts flying towards the Celestial Killer Corpse King once more, attempting to deal with this demon corpse with just himself and Yin Hanguang’s combined efforts.

Ever since hearing from Zhouyang that the Celestial Killer Corpse King was a corpse transformed from an evil cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage in the Westernmost Cultivation Realm, Yin Hanguang knew he could not shirk the responsibility of slaying the Celestial Killer Corpse King.

Thus, this time he held nothing back, directly deploying the "Eye of Light," a Tier Seven Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact, to fully cooperate with Lu Xuanji’s attack on the Celestial Killer Corpse King.

The three existences at the Nascent Soul level were engaged in battle. As a Golden Core Stage cultivator, Zhouyang could only keep retreating, and it wasn’t until he withdrew over a hundred miles away that he dared to stop and watch from afar.

Previously, Zhouyang had never seen the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" in action against Nascent Soul Stage cultivators. He only knew that during the battle at the Haoyang Sect in Jinyang Country, this fiend had unleashed its demonic might, destroying the physical body of Guo Jinhong, a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul cultivator, forcing him to undergo possession and re-cultivation.

This time, witnessing the fiend battling both Lu Xuanji and Yin Hanguang, two Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, Zhouyang finally understood just how fortunate he was to escape from its grasp initially.

If not for the assistance of the "Kunxu Order," a treasure personally refined by an Upper Realm True Immortal, even if his strength had increased tenfold back then, he would never have escaped from the "Celestial Killer Corpse King’s" clutches.

However, while the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" was strong, the combined forces of Lu Xuanji and Yin Hanguang were stronger.

After the battle went on for a while, the two of them completely gained the upper hand, forcing the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" to retreat step by step, no longer showcasing its previous ferocity.

Seeing this scene, Zhouyang was naturally overjoyed.

He wished for nothing more than for the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" to die.

Because he had seized the "Netherworld Profound Coffin," there was no way the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" would ever let him go. Every time he recalled the days when he was imprisoned and enslaved by this demon, he gritted his teeth in hatred, wishing to grind its bones to dust.

Yet, given his level of cultivation, who knows how many more years of practice it would take to accomplish that?

Now that Lu Xuanji and Yin Hanguang were willing to help him, he was naturally delighted from the bottom of his heart.

But it seemed he had been a bit naive.

At the level of the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" and Lu Xuanji, gaining the upper hand might not be difficult, but killing a cultivator of the same level was incredibly difficult.

One need only look at the "Heaven-Sundering True Demon."

Even when severely injured, the "Heaven-Sundering True Demon" faced with pursuit by "Master Chongyang," a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal, was still able to escape, showcasing the top existences’ prowess in escaping.

Now, upon realizing it wasn’t a match for the combined powers of Lu Xuanji and Yin Hanguang, the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" intended to retreat.

And it was unwilling to leave empty-handed. Before escaping for its life, it feinted to deceive Lu Xuanji and Yin Hanguang, and then suddenly used the Great Divine Technique of "Shrinking Inches" to appear mere yards in front of Zhouyang, with a treacherous grin, reaching out its claw towards him.

This truly terrified Zhouyang.

His face changed dramatically as he quickly channeled all his magical power into the "Qianyang Treasure Pearl," attempting to activate the "Qianyang Celestial Fire Shield" for self-protection.

The golden flame shield successfully appeared around him, but he wasn’t at all confident about whether he could withstand the grasp of the "Celestial Killer Corpse King."

The gap between the fourth-layer Golden Core and the ninth-layer Nascent Soul was too vast!

So vast that it couldn’t possibly be compensated for with a mere artifact.

Separated by a layer of flame shield, Zhouyang could clearly see the ugly, ferocious smile on the "Celestial Killer Corpse King’s" face.

Zhouyang knew why it was laughing.

It was definitely laughing at him for seeking his own demise, presenting himself willingly for death.

If given another choice, Zhouyang definitely wouldn’t have begged to follow Lu Xuanji here out of curiosity.

But now, it seemed too late to say any of this.

Zhouyang could only widen his eyes, desperately watching as the demonic claw came closer, closer, closer...

Something seemed off.

Zhouyang blinked and finally realized what was wrong.

The "Celestial Killer Corpse King" was suddenly immobilized, as if hit by a Body Fixation Technique, stuck in place.

Isn’t this ridiculous?

One must know that the "Celestial Killer Corpse King," equivalent to a ninth-layer Nascent Soul cultivator of the Demon Dao, couldn’t possibly be immobilized by a Body Fixation Technique, not even if cast by a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal!

Yet now, it was indeed frozen in place, unable to move a single inch.

So, there is only one truth: it wasn’t immobilized by something like the "Body Fixation Technique," a low-tier magic, but by some other great divine technique with a similar immobilizing effect.

Zhouyang racked his brain, trying to think of which great divine techniques have such an effect.

Yet before he could think further, a low voice resonated in his mind.

"Kid, aren’t you backing off? Do you want to be buried with this demon?"

It was the voice of the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King." As Zhouyang remembered this, he immediately understood how the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" was immobilized.

Then, his body instinctively followed the voice’s warning and quickly retreated backwards.

Afterwards, he saw a giant emerald beast, over thirty zhang long, as if carved from top-quality jade, suddenly descend from the sky, clawing at the immobilized "Celestial Killer Corpse King."

Clearly, this enormous beast, resembling a tiger with sharp horns on its head, was the legendary rare exotic beast "Azure Heaven Beast," naturally attuned to the laws of space, and the true form of the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King."

For demon beasts, only by showing their true form can they exert their strongest abilities.

Zhouyang had already figured out why the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" was immobilized; it must have been secretly done by the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King," using space-confining type space divine techniques to restrain it in place.

To bind a strong opponent of the same realm, the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" had to reveal his true form, and he must have been preparing for a long time, having already predicted that the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" would come towards Zhouyang.

So, was all this conspired and arranged between Lu Xuanji and the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King"?

Did the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" pretend to attack and deceive Lu Xuanji and Yin Hanguang, and were they intentionally going easy on it?

Zhouyang felt suddenly uncomfortable at the thought.

If things were really as he suspected, he was obviously also kept in the dark and used as bait, bait that could be swallowed by the "Celestial Killer Corpse King" at any slight misstep!

As a smart person, he could understand Lu Xuanji’s reasons for hiding things from him.

Clearly, for a bait to be most effective, it’s best if the bait itself doesn’t know it’s become bait, so that everything it does wouldn’t have any flaws to arouse suspicion.

But understanding is one thing; when such things happen to oneself, few can be magnanimous.

Willingly sacrificing oneself for justice and having to sacrifice oneself due to someone else’s schemes are two completely different concepts.

Zhouyang bitterly contemplated these matters, losing interest in the ongoing battle.

When he finally snapped out of his thoughts, the trapped "Celestial Killer Corpse King" had already been dismembered, with Lu Xuanji holding its head, performing a soul search.

Only after the soul search lasted for a full half-hour did Lu Xuanji’s palm surge with magical power, igniting a "Profound Yang True Flame" to incinerate that sinister head to ashes.

And thus, the era of the "Celestial Killer Corpse King," a giant of the demon path, ended in total annihilation.

"So, what about that ’Heaven-Sundering True Demon’? Is it alive or dead?"

Having reverted to human form and now examining the "Demon Dragon Blade" beside him, the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" set down the demon blade and smilingly inquired about the previous owner of the blade.

Judging by his demeanor, he seemingly saw nothing wrong with the blade having changed hands thrice in just a century.

"Hard to say, hard to say!"

Lu Xuanji shook his head, showing no sign of joy.

"What do you mean ’hard to say’? Fellow Daoist Lu, please don’t be cryptic with this king, be straight with me."

The "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" frowned, quite displeased with Lu Xuanji’s ambiguous answer.

Seeing this, Lu Xuanji had no choice but to frankly explain, "When I was soul searching the demon corpse, I only found memories of its battle with that ’Heaven-Sundering True Demon.’ But the part about the battle’s outcome was destroyed before I could even view it!"

After speaking, he shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "Fellow Daoist Tongtian, you also know, at our level of cultivation, even if the demon corpse is inherently weaker in divine soul compared to me, it won’t be completely defenseless. It forcibly destroyed those memories at the cost of its divine soul perishing, and I couldn’t stop it!"

The "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" was rendered speechless.

In matters of the divine soul, cultivators who practice the Nascent Soul Dao are naturally much stronger than their demon race and beings like the "Celestial Killer Corpse King," otherwise he wouldn’t have asked Lu Xuanji to perform the soul search.

Feeling slightly irked, he shook his head, his voice heavy as he said, "Forget it, whether it’s alive or dead, as long as we seal this spatial rift, it won’t stir up any waves!"

"Does fellow Daoist Tongtian saying this mean you already have a plan?"

Lu Xuanji’s eyes lit up, full of anticipation as he looked at the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King."

If the spatial rift can be sealed, it would indeed address the issue at its root, and there would be no need to worry about the Demon Race invading the "Spirit Realm" through this rift in the future.

"Hehehe, there is a plan, but it depends on whether Fellow Daoist Lu is willing to spend the money!"

"Heaven-Reaching Demon King" sneered, casting a somewhat malicious glance at Lu Xuanji, and before Lu Xuanji could inquire further, he voluntarily revealed his plan.

"This spatial rift is so large that this king cannot seal it alone, but I know you Humans have a special space sealing secret array handed down from the True Immortal Realm that can also seal spatial rifts."

"If Fellow Daoist Lu can provide the array map for this formation for the king to study and also provide a piece of [Space Source Crystal] as material, the king is eighty percent confident in completely sealing this spatial rift!"

Lu Xuanji’s expression changed instantly.

He looked at the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" with a gloomy face and coldly said, "What a good means, Demon King, to even know such a secret. It seems indeed our Human Race must be well cleaned out!"

"But to disappoint the Demon King, such a space array is always held by Tribulation Crossing True Immortals; even if I wanted to agree with the Demon King, I am powerless!"

He had just addressed him as Daoist, yet in the blink of an eye, he switched to the term "Demon King," which clearly carries a racial distinction, showing that Lu Xuanji was indeed annoyed.

He had every reason to be angry because the information the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" just mentioned is unknown to even most Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators within the Human Race; only those Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators of longstanding great powers have the qualification to see such records from their sect’s secret materials.

It is clear that the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" knowing this news must have been leaked to him by a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator from a great Human power.

Such behavior could only be considered a betrayal to the entire Human Race!

You must know that the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" itself is inherently gifted and incredibly intelligent; what limits its advancement to Tier Seven True Spirit is its bloodline.

The "Azure Heaven Beast" is brilliant in talent but ultimately not a True Spirit Bloodline; to advance to Tier Seven True Spirit, it must either forcibly ascend by devouring other True Spirit Bloodlines of the same attribute or comprehend the spatial laws that fit its bloodline talent to get the Heaven and Earth Dao’s recognition, granting it the Power of Spatial Origin to elevate its bloodline to Tier Seven True Spirit.

And the space secret array the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" is asking for contains the True Immortal Realm True Immortals’ understanding and utilization methods of spatial laws.

If he gets hold of this treasure, he might understand higher-level spatial law usage. Then, with the help of the "Space Source Crystal" containing a trace of the Power of Spatial Origin, he might indeed achieve what countless predecessors of various races have failed to accomplish: elevate the bloodline of the "Azure Heaven Beast" clan in this realm to True Spirit Bloodline!

As a top-tier existence among Human Cultivators, how could Lu Xuanji allow such a thing to happen!

The "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" probably didn’t expect Lu Xuanji to be so resolute, and at this moment, he was rather unable to back down and coldly snorted, "Hmph, it doesn’t matter if you are unwilling. I’m telling you now, without the king’s participation, even if you invite Tribulation Crossing True Immortals, you certainly can’t seal this spatial rift!"

"There’s no need to trouble the Demon King with this matter. I’ll mention it to Elder Chongyang when I return,"

Lu Xuanji squinted his eyes and retorted defiantly.

"Hehehe, want to use Du Chongyang to scare this king? This king indeed can’t beat Du Chongyang, but if he dares to act against this king, our Demon Race’s [Red Abyss Spirit Saint] will surely repay him tenfold for me!"

With a cold smile on his face, the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" said this and then flicked his sleeves and directly performed the Space Instant Teleportation Divine Techniques to leave the place.

This Space Instant Teleportation Divine Technique originally can only be displayed by Tribulation Crossing True Immortals, but his "Azure Heaven Beast" clan, being innately gifted, can grasp it early at Tier Six.

Having displayed such divine technique before Lu Xuanji, there might also have been a sense of flaunting and intimidation.

"[Red Abyss Spirit Saint] this old monster hasn’t sat down yet?"

Yin Hanguang, who had been watching Lu Xuanji and the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King’s" verbal confrontation, seeing the "Heaven-Reaching Demon King" had already left, couldn’t help but speak.

The "Red Abyss Spirit Saint" he mentioned is a very ancient Tier Seven True Spirit among the Demon Race, rumored to have participated in the ancient war among immortals, demons, and fiends, and has lived for tens of thousands of years!

While Human Race Cultivators, even if they are Tribulation Crossing True Immortals, cannot exceed ten thousand years in lifespan.

"I don’t know about this either, probably only esteemed seniors like Elder Chongyang would know. Indeed, many among the Demon Race make one envy regarding lifespan!"

Lu Xuanji’s eyes flashed with envy as he sighed with full of emotion.

He, having lived for over three thousand years as a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, is already quite rare among Human Cultivators, but within the Demon Race, some Tier Five Demon Beasts can live to his age. How can he not envy when his lifespan is nearing its end?

Yin Hanguang heard his sigh and immediately fell silent, not wishing to provoke him with this topic further.

And after losing himself in emotion for a while, Lu Xuanji returned to his senses, then he cast his gaze towards Zhouyang, who had been silent all along, smiling slightly as he said, "Little Friend Zhou has been silent all along. Could it be he’s still bearing a grudge about how I plotted against you earlier?" Dıscover more novels at NovєlFіre.net

Upon hearing this, Zhouyang showed a look of panic and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "The younger generation dare not; the younger generation knows that the senior did so for the greater good."

"It’s natural for a friend to feel angry; actually, I am somewhat angry as well. I have been unjustly blamed and forced to fiercely duel a Demon Cultivator of the same tier. If it were you, Little Friend, wouldn’t you feel aggrieved?"

Lu Xuanji looked at Zhouyang with a faint smile, and his words made Zhouyang’s face stiffen, leaving him momentarily speechless.

ps: Although I am currently posting only once, the word count of each post is equivalent to two posts from before, all being combined Chapters of six thousand words!