"Two more Foundation Establishment stage immortal cultivators have arrived. One is at the late stage, and the other is at the middle stage."
The black-robed figure expanded his divine sense to probe the surrounding dozen miles. After confirming there were no other immortal cultivators in the area, the corners of his mouth curled into a faint smile. He licked his lips and muttered, "It seems I can enjoy another delicious meal."
This black-robed man was none other than the Ancient Demon, Yeluomo.
Out of an abundance of caution, he did not strike immediately.
About half a day later, once night fell, he transformed into a cloud of black mist and sped toward the location of the Huang brothers.
High in the sky above Huang Tianba and his brother.
"Honored Master, will that Ancient Demon really ambush the brothers Huang Tianba and Huang Tianxiong?" Ye Fan asked.
"My divinations are never wrong. That Ancient Demon has not yet recovered his strength to the Golden Core stage. If he wants to regain his power quickly, he must either find a place with profound demonic qi...
"...or devour the divine souls and essence blood of immortal cultivators.
"Furthermore, his identity as an Ancient Demon has already been exposed. He is helpless and constrained in whatever he does, because once discovered, he will face inescapable death."
What lay ahead would undoubtedly be a fierce battle.
Xu Mingxian, Xu Deyue, and Ye Fan were keenly aware of this, their faces all reflecting solemn gravity.
The night sky was as dark as ink.
The woods of the Heavenly Azure Mountain Range were eerily silent, broken only by the occasional chirp of insects.
Since the darkness made searching inconvenient, the brothers Huang Tianba and Huang Tianxiong sat cross-legged on a bluestone to meditate and restore the divine sense they had expended during the afternoon.
"Brother, something feels wrong," Huang Tianxiong remarked, noticing the unnatural silence around them. "Since when has the Heavenly Azure Mountain Range been this quiet? We cannot even hear the roars of demonic beasts."
"It is rather strange. It is as if the nearby demonic beasts sensed danger and fled this area ahead of time."
As they spoke...
A mass of black mist quietly drifted a short distance behind them.
"Sizzle—"
The black mist abruptly condensed, revealing the figure of Yeluomo. Wisps of black energy still coiled around the hem of his dark robes, and a greedy, crimson light flickered in his eyes.
With a wave of his right hand, several streaks of pitch-black demonic qi transformed into sharp claws, striking directly toward Huang Tianba's back.
Sensing the crisis, a long blade appeared in Huang Tianba's hands out of thin air, and he swiftly swung it behind him.
A golden blade aura surged out to meet the demonic claws head-on.
"Clang!"
As the blade aura clashed with the claws, the demonic qi scattered but did not vanish. Instead, it took the opportunity to wrap around the blade, creeping up the hilt toward Huang Tianba's arm.
"Is this... demonic qi?!"
Huang Tianba yelled in shock, hastily circulating his mana to shatter the demonic qi before retreating about ten feet.
Huang Tianxiong also reacted. Forming hand seals, he rapidly conjured over a dozen ice spikes and sent them shooting toward Yeluomo.
"A mere grain of rice dares to shine!"
Yeluomo sneered. Swiping his left sleeve, black qi formed a shield that blocked the spells. The moment the ice spikes touched the black qi, they were instantly devoured without causing even the slightest ripple.
His body blurred, closing the distance to Huang Tianxiong like a phantom. He reached for the man's throat with his fingers. His speed was so tremendous that Huang Tianxiong, a Mid Foundation Establishment cultivator, could hardly evade.
"Watch out!"
Huang Tianba roared as he slashed with his blade. The blade aura carried the full power of his Late Foundation Establishment cultivation. Yeluomo revealed a playful smirk and reached out, grabbing the blade aura barehanded.
The blade in his hands was a one-pattern magic tool gifted by the Xu family. Combined with his Late Foundation Establishment cultivation base, even a late second-tier demonic beast would suffer severe injuries if it took the blow head-on.
Yet now, that seemingly invincible blade aura was effortlessly crushed by those skeletal fingers, and the long blade itself was caught firmly in his grasp.
"Let go!" Huang Tianba bellowed.
But the long blade felt as though it were clamped in an iron vise, refusing to budge an inch.
On the other side, Huang Tianxiong controlled his peak-grade flying sword to attack, but it was blown away by a tyrannical surge of mana. He was sent flying backwards along with it, violently coughing up blood.
The massive gap in strength was utterly despair-inducing!
"Two immortal cultivators who haven't even reached Foundation Establishment Perfection think they can harm me?"
Yeluomo scoffed mockingly, "Even if my strength is not even a ten-thousandth of what it used to be, crushing you is as easy as squashing ants!"
"Today, you shall obediently become the nourishment for my recovery!"
Yeluomo laughed menacingly and exerted sudden force with his hand. Huang Tianba felt a harsh jolt in the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, and the long blade was involuntarily ripped from his grasp. It was tossed far away, embedding itself at an angle into the ground.
Following that, a cluster of black light slammed into him. Huang Tianba was struck heavily, coughing up blood as he too was sent flying before crashing onto the ground.
Yeluomo flicked his sleeve robe, and two streams of black qi shot out. Like ropes, they flew toward Huang Tianba and Huang Tianxiong, binding the two of them securely.
At this moment, both brothers felt their dantians sealed shut. Unable to circulate even a shred of mana, they had become lambs waiting for slaughter.
They couldn't even manage to self-destruct.
"Just who are you? Why are you trying to kill us brothers?" Huang Tianxiong demanded.
"Who I am is not something lowly Foundation Establishment cultivators like you are qualified to know. As for why I am killing you, I can only say that you delivered yourselves right to my doorstep."
Feeling that victory was entirely within his grasp, Yeluomo gladly humored Huang Tianxiong's question.
"Alright, enough idle chatter. Obediently become my nourishment!"
Yeluomo raised his hand, forming two demonic claws wreathed in dark qi, as if preparing to rip out their hearts.
However, right at that moment.
Within a radius of several miles, six pillars of azure light shot up into the sky, instantly forming a grand array that sealed the entire area.
"Who's there?!"
Seeing the sudden appearance of the array's light screen, Yeluomo was startled. He immediately abandoned killing Huang Tianba and his brother, sweeping his divine sense across the surroundings.
A moment later.
He snapped his head up to look into the mid-air, his pupils abruptly shrinking.
Unbeknownst to him, a flood dragon measuring over a hundred feet long was now coiling beneath the bright, pristine moon!
The flood dragon's entire body was covered in azure-black scales that gleamed with a cold luster in the moonlight. Its dragon head was raised high, and its golden, vertical slit pupils radiated majesty and killing intent. As it spread its sharp dragon claws, a faint cold qi swirled around them.
What shocked Yeluomo even more was that three men and one woman were standing upright on the flood dragon's broad back.
However, he soon realized that all four of these immortal cultivators were only at the Foundation Establishment stage, though two of them had reached Foundation Establishment Perfection.
Foundation Establishment immortal cultivators were insects he could kill with a wave of his hand. Even those at Foundation Establishment Perfection would only require a few more moves. The only thing that made him wary was that flood dragon.
The moment Yeluomo looked up, Moyue opened his massive jaws. Boundless cold qi spewed from his mouth, rapidly condensing in the air to form an ice dragon about ten feet long!
The ice dragon was crystal clear from head to tail, baring razor-sharp fangs. Accompanied by a deafening dragon roar that echoed through the mountain forest, the ice dragon shot out like an arrow released from the bowstring, carrying bone-chilling frost as it rapidly charged toward Yeluomo.
The sheer power of the ice dragon filled him with a profound sense of crisis.
Yeluomo tried to dodge, but the ice dragon appeared sentient, relentlessly pursuing him.
Yeluomo's eyes darted around, calculating a way to trick it into attacking the array barrier. However, Moyue was actively controlling the ice dragon and naturally wouldn't make such a foolish mistake.
"Seven Stars Demon-Sealing Formation, descend!"
Under the brilliant starlight, another array came crashing down.
The formation constantly generated a suppressive power that restricted the flow of demonic qi in his body. While it didn't leave him completely defenseless, it severely hindered his true strength.
"Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array, activate!"
Xu Mingxian deployed another grand array. In the blink of an eye, countless figures formed from clouds and mist—mimicking Xu Chuan, Ye Fan, and Xu Deyue—charged toward Yeluomo.
Furthermore, thick fog began to rise everywhere within the array.
Caught in a pincer attack between Moyue and the ice dragon, Yeluomo had no choice but to ignore everything else and defend with all his might.
His movement technique was incredibly ghostly, allowing him to evade time and time again.
Seizing this opportunity, Xu Chuan and the others landed in front of Huang Tianba and Huang Tianxiong.
The Autumn Water Sword in Xu Deyue's hand flashed with a cold light, cleanly slicing apart the ropes formed from demonic qi.
"Family Head, Elders, you have all come."
Xu Chuan nodded slightly without saying much. He merely stated in a calm tone, "Ye Fan, escort them out of the grand array, and wait outside together with them."
"Yes, Honored Master."
Ye Fan knew his own strength was ultimately too low, so he did not stubbornly demand to stay and fight the Ancient Demon alongside Xu Chuan and the others.
The Huang brothers cupped their fists in gratitude before quickly following Ye Fan away.
Xu Chuan said, "Disperse the fog."
Xu Mingxian nodded upon hearing this.
Suddenly.
The mist that had suddenly risen within the grand array vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.
"You two be careful as well. Do not get too close to the Ancient Demon."
With those words, Xu Chuan flew toward the mid-air battlefield. Unnoticed, a pill furnace with Eight Trigrams patterns engraved upon its surface had appeared in his hand.
It was the "Bagua Alchemy Furnace," forged by Xu Deling for Xu Chuan before her departure.
The pill furnace hovered in front of him, vibrating gently as he formed hand seals.
"Rise!"
Xu Chuan gave a low shout, pressing his left hand through the air above the furnace. The lid slid sideways with a clatter, and a streak of pale golden flame shot out from the opening.
The pale golden flame quickly roiled in the air, transforming into a fire phoenix with a wingspan of about ten feet.
He formed another hand seal, the furnace lid shifted aside, and a cluster of pale golden flame flew out. Under his control, it morphed into a fire phoenix and charged toward Yeluomo.
"Go!"
Xu Chuan pointed his finger. The fire phoenix let out a clear, resonant cry and dove straight for the constantly dodging Yeluomo.
"True Yang Flame?!"
Feeling the power of the fire phoenix, Yeluomo knitted his brows.
Such a third-tier supreme Yang flame possessed a tremendous suppressive effect on him.
This was especially true now that he had not fully recovered his Golden Core level strength; the damage it could inflict was astronomical.
Pressed from three sides by Moyue, the ice dragon, and the fire phoenix, Yeluomo found it increasingly difficult to evade.
"Dammit! How did you know I was here?!"
He yelled while furiously dodging.
Naturally, Xu Chuan did not answer.
Xu Deyue did not dare to approach recklessly; she hovered on the outskirts, waiting for the perfect opportunity to unleash a fatal blow.
Meanwhile, Xu Mingxian commanded the Seven Stars Demon-Sealing Formation and the Cloud Heaven Illusionary Array to continuously harass the demon.
"Don't think that just because I haven't recovered my Golden Core strength, you can rely on your arrays and a third-tier flood dragon to besiege me!
"If you want to kill me, you will have to pay a heavy price!
"Why don't we all take a step back?!"
Xu Chuan still remained silent.
Moyue viciously whipped his dragon tail at the demon.
"Since you are courting death, I will grant your wish! Let me show you the demonic physique of my True Demon race!"
As his words fell.
The final trace of hesitation vanished from his eyes. He threw his head back and unleashed an ear-shattering, demonic howl as the dark qi surrounding him suddenly surged wildly.
Immediately after, his body began to rapidly expand. His dark robes shredded inch by inch, his skin turned a deep purple, and grotesque black demonic patterns surfaced across his flesh.
Two curved bone spikes erupted from his shoulders, and his fingertips elongated into razor-sharp talons that glinted with a ghastly, cold light.
A pair of tattered, black bat wings unfurled from his back. Though riddled with holes, they still stirred up a fierce gale thick with demonic qi when they flapped.
In just a few breaths, Yeluomo transformed from a human into a ten-foot-tall True Demon. His dark gold, vertical pupils brimmed with unbridled savagery, and the demonic qi radiating from him was several times denser than before.
It was obvious that executing this technique severely damaged his body; hence, he avoided using it unless absolutely necessary.
As the dragon tail approached, Yeluomo flapped his bat wings and instantly vanished. His movement was more than twice as fast as before.
The next second.
Yeluomo's figure materialized out of thin air just thirty feet to Moyue's side.
His entire body surged with demonic qi as he concentrated an immense amount of energy into his right fist. Accompanied by the piercing howl of tearing air, he ruthlessly smashed his fist into Moyue's azure-black scale-covered body.
"Bang!"
The muffled thud of the impact echoed through the night sky. Moyue's massive flood dragon body actually stalled slightly from the punch, and cracks began to spiderweb across his dense scales.
This was immediately followed by a roar of intense pain.
The ice dragon, losing its master's control, abruptly dissipated.
Just as Yeluomo readied another strike, the fire phoenix shrieked and swiftly plummeted toward him.
He dodged away, his gaze turning ice-cold as he glared at Xu Chuan. "Since you want to die so badly, I'll kill you first!"
His bat wings beat the air violently once more, sending him rocketing toward Xu Chuan.
But halfway there...
Seven demon-sealing chains coalesced from the void, swiftly wrapping around his body.
Yeluomo simply flexed his demonic physique, and all seven chains snapped instantly.
Yet, that split-second delay was all it took. A massive shadow eclipsed him from above—it was Moyue's dragon tail, slamming down like an enormous battle-ax.
Boom!
Struck cleanly, Yeluomo was blasted into the ground like a cannonball, carving out a massive crater upon impact.
Right on its heels, the pale golden fire phoenix swooped directly into the crater.
Rumble—
The pale golden flames erupted violently. The blistering heat was so intense it caused the surrounding space to warp and distort.
A figure bolted out from the inferno.
Yeluomo's body was now enveloped in the faint silhouette of armor. It was the same battle armor divine ability he had used previously at the Heavenly Azure Sect, although this time, it was merely an ethereal phantom rather than a solid manifestation.
As his gaze swept over Moyue, Xu Chuan, Xu Mingxian, and Xu Deyue, the illusory armor on his body began to shatter inch by inch.
Unable to unleash his complete divine ability, he naturally couldn't withstand the full brunt of the third-tier true flame.
However, controlling such a potent flame took a heavy toll on Xu Chuan as well. Fine beads of sweat had already begun to form on his forehead.
"Commanding Golden Core level flames while only at the Foundation Establishment stage... Do you possess some sort of fire-attribute constitution?"
"No, you are relying entirely on your divine sense to forcefully control it. To possess Golden Core divine sense at the Foundation Establishment stage, your divine soul must have undergone a profound transformation. I presume it is in no way inferior to a genuine Golden Core stage immortal cultivator."
Yeluomo licked his lips.
"Kill him!" Xu Chuan ordered coldly.
The instant the word left his lips...
Moyue's gargantuan dragon claws gleamed with a frigid, cyan-blue light. Concentrating the full might of a third-tier flood dragon at the tips of his talons, he tore through the air with a piercing shriek, raking viciously toward Yeluomo's demonic physique.
Yeluomo's expression turned grave. Not daring to meet the blow head-on, he tried to dodge, only for seven chains to silently slither up from below and bind his body once again.
Xu Mingxian's mastery over the array dao was no longer what it used to be. His application of various formations had reached a state of sublime perfection, vastly outclassing any ordinary cultivator's control over a grand array.
Knowing he could no longer dodge, Yeluomo slapped his storage pouch. A shield flew out, instantly expanding into a ten-foot-tall demonic bulwark.
Meanwhile, he exerted his strength to shatter the binding chains once more.
During this brief window, Xu Deyue slashed out several sword auras aimed at his demonic body. He merely glanced at them, dismissing the threat, and continued to break free from the chains.
Just as the chains snapped, the sword auras infused with extreme cold qi struck his demonic physique. While they failed to pierce his physical defenses, they successfully weakened the demonic qi swirling around him by a significant margin.
"Such high-quality extreme cold power. Your constitution is quite special. The divine souls of those with special spirit bodies are incredibly delectable as well."
Yeluomo's eyes lit up with pleasant surprise.
"One is a Foundation Establishment stage immortal cultivator whose divine soul has mutated to produce Golden Core level divine sense, and the other possesses an extreme cold spirit body.
"Devouring the two of you would be far better than swallowing dozens of Foundation Establishment Perfection cultivators.
"It will be more than enough to restore my strength to the early-stage Golden Core.
"With this tempered demonic physique and my divine abilities, my future survival will be thoroughly secured."
"The only real nuisance is this third-tier flood dragon."
Relying on the black shield to absorb the brunt of the impact, Yeluomo narrowly evaded the attack.
However, the dragon's claws carved three deep gouges into the black shield. Piercing cold qi spread rapidly from the cracks, utterly destroying the artifact.
"As long as I can kill these immortal cultivators, it will all be worth it!"
Xu Chuan swallowed a pill to replenish his mana. Forming seals once more, he operated the "Bagua Alchemy Furnace" to conjure another pale golden fire phoenix and sent it flying at Yeluomo.
Yeluomo tried to dodge backward, but the clattering of the Seven Stars Demon-Suppressing Chains rang out from behind him again. He hurriedly projected his demonic qi outward to prevent them from tangling him up anew.
Although he could snap them with ease, even a split second of stagnation in this battle could spell disaster.
A dragon claw, carrying terrifying wind pressure, swatted down from above.
Wielding the Autumn Water Sword, Xu Deyue slashed out several more blinding sword lights.
Yeluomo could tell that this group was intentionally trying to wear him down.
It was true; his demonic physique couldn't hold out much longer.
"I have to end this quickly!"
"If my demonic halberd hadn't shattered, leaving me without a suitable magic treasure, I wouldn't be forced into such a pathetic corner!"
A surge of fiery rage filled his heart. Gritting his teeth, he used his demonic physique to forcefully endure the sword lights and barged out of the encirclement.
In his eyes, Xu Deyue's position was the weakest link in their assault.
At this moment, Moyue's massive dragon claw, laden with freezing power, swept toward him again, closely followed by the pale golden fire phoenix.
The corners of Yeluomo's mouth curled up abruptly, a flash of ruthlessness dancing in his eyes. His demonic qi erupted with explosive force. Instead of dodging, he spun around and chose to meet Moyue's blow head-on!
"Thud!"
The dragon claw collided savagely with Yeluomo's fist!
Crack, crack, crack...
The bones in his fist fractured instantly, and a sickening crunch echoed from his arm.
Swallowing the agonizing pain, he used the immense momentum of the dragon claw to propel himself flying backward!
"Deyue, watch out!" Xu Chuan shouted.
Yeluomo hurtled toward Xu Deyue like a kite with a snapped string. His face twisted into a vicious sneer, and absolute triumph flared in his eyes.
Borrowing Moyue's monstrous force, he closed the distance to Xu Deyue in a fraction of a second, arriving within a mere ten feet of her.
Condensing a thick layer of demonic qi into his right hand, he prepared to whirl around and strike her dead.
As for Xu Deyue's attacks, having taken a few already, he knew full well that even if he stood perfectly still, she couldn't pierce his demonic physique and kill him in a single blow.
Everything was going exactly according to plan!
However, the exact moment Yeluomo turned to face Xu Deyue, an overwhelmingly intense premonition of death enveloped his entire being.
Yeluomo's heart seized in shock.
From the corner of his eye, a blinding streak of silvery-white light filled his vision.
The next second.
Yeluomo felt a sudden chill run across his neck, and his vision immediately began to spin wildly.
He saw his own headless body, still frozen in the posture of throwing a punch, as demonic qi hemorrhaged frantically from the severed stump of his neck.
He also saw the long sword in Xu Deyue's hand. It was no longer the one he had seen earlier.
"How... is... this possible?"
Yeluomo's mind spun with incomprehension. How could a ninth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator possess a magic tool capable of severing his demonic physique in a single strike?
Even a direct blow from that third-tier flood dragon had only managed to fracture his bones.
Wait!
That wasn't a magic tool!
It was an exceptionally high-grade magic treasure!
By the time Yeluomo realized this, it was far too late.
With his possessed body dead, this fragile wisp of his remnant consciousness would only grow weaker by the second.
"No! I refuse to accept this! I am a great True Demon! I, Yeluomo, will not die like this!"
His severed head abruptly erupted with an endless surge of demonic qi. A tidal wave of black demonic fog expanded outward, blanketing a half-mile radius in pitch darkness.
Xu Chuan and the others instantly raised their guards.
Amidst the demonic fog, Yeluomo's remnant consciousness rapidly scanned the group before condensing into a veiled fluctuation and darting toward Xu Chuan at lightning speed.
Among the three humans and one flood dragon, he could tell that Xu Chuan held the highest status.
'Golden Core level divine sense might be tricky, but it will only delay the inevitable for a short while!'
Yeluomo's remnant consciousness laughed coldly. Though he was reduced to a mere shred of his former self, the intrinsic quality of his divine sense was undeniably at the authentic Soul Formation stage.
Moreover, Xu Chuan's overarching importance to the group would force the flood dragon and the other two to hold back, ensuring they wouldn't dare attack carelessly.
As the black demonic fog churned, a microscopic wisp of dark qi slithered toward Xu Chuan's glabella like a phantom.
'I, Yeluomo, will not make the same mistake twice!'
He was going to gamble everything!
Xu Chuan's expression changed drastically. A sharp pain suddenly drilled into his glabella as an unimaginably sinister, bone-chilling presence began savagely battering against his sea of consciousness.
He immediately sat cross-legged in the void, frantically circulating his Golden Core divine sense to fend off Yeluomo's possession attempt.
Stripped of Yeluomo's control, the demonic fog rapidly dissipated.
As the air cleared, the group saw Xu Chuan hovering cross-legged. His face was ghastly pale, and bead after bead of cold sweat poured down his forehead.
"This is bad! That Ancient Demon is trying to possess Xu Chuan!" Moyue roared instantly.
"Possession?!"
Hearing this, all color drained from the faces of Xu Mingxian and Xu Deyue.
"Uncle Moyue, quickly, think of a way! That is the remnant consciousness of an Ancient True Demon!" Xu Mingxian urged desperately.
Moyue's golden pupils constricted with immense gravity. He spoke in a heavy voice, "When it comes to a clash within the sea of consciousness, I am utterly powerless. Xu Deyue, ask the entity within your flying sword."
"She is an existence on the same level as that Ancient Demon. See if she has any methods."
'Honored Master, my grandfather is being possessed by the Ancient Demon. What can I do to help him?'
Xu Deyue immediately reached out with her mind to Murong Yun, the artifact spirit of the Supreme Yin flying sword.
The surface of the flying sword glimmered with a faint light, and a cold, clear female voice echoed in the surroundings. "Possession is perilous in the extreme. It is usually a life-and-death struggle that outsiders cannot interfere with."
"However, if an existence at the Nascent Soul stage or above attempts to possess someone and finds the situation unfavorable, they can use the opportunity to flee with their Nascent Soul."
"If I were at my peak, I could forcibly stop it."
"But now... everything depends on whether Xu Chuan has any trump cards to resist the Ancient Demon's divine sense and force it out."
"No, my father cannot die! Senior Murong Yun, please help my father! The Xu family cannot survive without him!"
"Sigh!" Murong Yun let out a soft sigh. "I am now bound to the Xu family. How could I not know his importance to the clan?"
"If I had even a one percent chance of succeeding, I would definitely help."
"But in my current condition... I am truly helpless!"
"Roar—"
Moyue thrashed wildly in the void, throwing his head back and roaring at the sky. His draconic bellow was filled with both violent rage and sheer impotence.
"That motherfucking Ancient Demon!"
Despite possessing peak third-tier strength, all he could do right now was stare helplessly!
If Xu Chuan's divine soul was annihilated, as his contracted spirit beast, he too would face inescapable death!
After all, the spiritual contract they had signed was a master-servant bond.
Xu Mingxian stood frozen in place, his pupils quivering violently. His hands were clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, drawing blood he couldn't even feel.
He possessed a naturally tranquil temperament and had never known the true meaning of fear.
Yet now, watching Xu Chuan enveloped in demonic qi, teetering on the edge of death through possession, he felt an alien emotion sprout within his heart for the very first time—terror.
It was the terror of losing someone irreplaceable, the crushing despair of being utterly powerless to change the outcome.
He desperately wished he could take Xu Chuan's place and suffer the possession himself!
Xu Mingxian opened his mouth, wanting to cry out "Father," but found his throat hopelessly choked. Not a single sound escaped his lips.
All he could do was watch as Xu Chuan's body began to tremble uncontrollably, his aura growing more and more chaotic by the second.
Beside him, Xu Deyue's face was painted with extreme anxiety, her eyes revealing profound agony and struggle.
If Xu Chuan died...
Moyue would die as well!
And relying solely on herself and her father, Xu Mingxian, she feared they wouldn't have the strength to slay the Ancient Demon's new physical host.
After all, the Supreme Yin flying sword was not something her current cultivation base could wield freely.
At this very moment.
Yeluomo's remnant consciousness had already breached the barrier of Xu Chuan's sea of consciousness and was hurtling straight for his divine soul.
In just a fleeting moment.
The ball of dark qi arrived before the radiant orb of Xu Chuan's divine soul.
"Xu Chuan, was it? You underestimate the existence of a Soul Formation mighty figure. Even if I am reduced to a remnant consciousness, I am not something a lowly Foundation Establishment cultivator can scheme to kill!
"The fact that you were able to slay my possessed mortal vessel is indeed worthy of praise.
"What seemed to be the weakest link—my sole path of escape—turned out to be the fatal trap!
"Even a grand demon like me was caught in your web.
"However, Soul Formation divine sense is virtually indestructible! Since you destroyed my physical body, you will just have to pay for it with your own!
"Let's see if your little friends have the gall to butcher you before my possession is complete!"
"You sure talk a lot. Let's see if you actually have the ability to possess me!"
Hearing Xu Chuan's voice echo out, Yeluomo was momentarily stunned before flying into a towering rage. "Even now, you dare to provoke me! Then go to hell!"
The black qi instantly dispersed, enveloping Xu Chuan's divine soul orb from all directions, leaving absolutely no avenue of escape.
Yet, Xu Chuan's divine soul orb remained completely unmoving.
The black qi plunged inward, violently corroding his divine soul.
Right at that moment.
A faint, five-colored membrane abruptly materialized from the depths of the glowing orb!
The film was as thin as a cicada's wings, yet it radiated an aura of ancient, monumental majesty, shielding Xu Chuan's divine soul flawlessly.
"Bang!"
The black qi crashed into the five-colored membrane and was instantly repelled as if struck by a massive hammer. Portions of the demonic qi directly evaporated into nothingness beneath the membrane's radiant halo.
"How is this possible?!"
Yeluomo's remnant consciousness shrieked in shocked fury, the black qi roiling wildly. "Don't tell me you possess a divine soul defensive magic treasure as well?!"
Even at his Soul Formation level, he had never seen such a bizarre defensive method. The aura exuded by the five-colored membrane instilled an instinctual terror deep within his remnant consciousness.
"Take a guess!"
Before his voice even faded.
The five-colored membrane pulsed with blinding light. The radiance converged into an ancient, black-covered tome with gilded edges hovering right above Xu Chuan. Engraved on its cover were four ancient characters: "Xu Clan Genealogy."
The pages of the Clan Genealogy fluttered open on their own, emitting a gentle yet utterly irresistible suction force.
Before Yeluomo's remnant consciousness could even react, it was firmly locked onto by the vortex. The dense black qi surrounding it was sucked uncontrollably into the ancient book.
"No! I am the True Demon Yeluomo! How could I fall in a place like this?!"
The remnant consciousness thrashed violently. Its demonic qi swelled frantically in a desperate bid to break free from the suction, but it was entirely futile.
The pulling force from the genealogy only grew stronger, dragging Yeluomo's remnant consciousness and all the surrounding black qi directly into its pages.
The book snapped shut. The Clan Genealogy hovered silently in the air for a moment, shimmering with golden light as if refining the trapped consciousness.
About half a cup of tea's time later, the genealogy opened once more. Two streams of light—one gray and one white—flew out from the pages. The white light solidified in the air into a pure, crystalline stone the size of a finger joint.
The crystal was entirely translucent, radiating a faint, five-colored halo and exuding overwhelmingly pure divine soul power. It was the refined essence of Yeluomo's Soul Formation remnant consciousness.
Xu Chuan examined the crystal, his divine soul instinctively yearning to devour it.
But ultimately, he suppressed the urge.
It was best not to carelessly consume mysterious, foreign objects.
As for the gray light, it remained an amorphous gray glow.
However, in the very next instant, the gray light surged straight into Xu Chuan's divine soul and vanished without a trace.
Outside the sea of consciousness.
Xu Mingxian, Moyue, and Xu Deyue stared unblinkingly at Xu Chuan. Tension, terror, and a chaotic myriad of emotions were plainly etched across their faces.
"Father, if Grandfather is... do we have to... kill him?"
"Your grandfather will be fine!"
Xu Mingxian had finally managed to regain his calm. He remembered that Xu Chuan possessed the power of divination. If this trip had truly posed a mortal threat, why would he have risked coming here in the first place?!
"I believe in your grandfather. He is the most cautious man alive. If there was genuine danger, he absolutely wouldn't have brought us here to besiege an Ancient Demon!"
"You really do understand me, Mingxian."
Suddenly.
Xu Chuan's voice rang out, and he slowly opened his eyes.
Though his complexion was still horribly pale, his expression had returned to its usual tranquility.
"I knew you wouldn't die, Xu Chuan! A cunning bastard like you could easily live for another thousand years!"
"Moyue, when did I become a cunning bastard?" Xu Chuan chuckled, glancing at Moyue, who had shrunk back down to about ten feet long.
"Haha, slip of the tongue! Slip of the tongue!"
"Father."
Seeing that Xu Chuan was alright, the massive boulder crushing Xu Mingxian's heart was finally lifted. A wave of profound relief washed over him.
"I made you all worry. Although I didn't divine that he would attempt possession, it was merely a false alarm in the end."
Indeed, the result of Xu Chuan's divination for this expedition had simply been "a false alarm with no real danger."
Because it involved an Ancient Demon, the specifics were too muddled for him to predict clearly. He had only gleaned those four words.
He just hadn't expected the "alarm" to ultimately manifest on himself.
If it had been anyone else—even an early-stage Golden Core cultivator—they likely wouldn't have been able to fend off the Ancient Demon's remnant consciousness.
After all, the fundamental disparity in the quality of their divine sense was simply too vast.
"It's nothing short of a miracle," Murong Yun's voice drifted over. "Junior Brother Xu, how did you block the Ancient Demon's possession attempt? What happened to his remnant consciousness?
"Don't tell me you annihilated it?"
"Senior Sister Murong, are you trying to pry into my secrets?"
Xu Chuan replied with a question before smiling faintly. "But there's no harm in telling you, Senior Sister. The Ancient Demon's remnant consciousness is completely dead. From now on, the Xu family no longer needs to worry about its revenge.
"As for how exactly I killed him, that is inconvenient for me to disclose.
"However, there is one item that my meager experience cannot identify. I'd like to ask Senior Sister to take a look at it."
With that, Xu Chuan flipped his wrist. A crystal the size of a finger joint appeared out of thin air in his palm, completely translucent and radiating a faint, five-colored halo.
"This is..." The moment the crystal appeared, Murong Yun let out a surprised gasp.
"What is that?" Moyue leaned in closer, his massive dragon eyes locked onto the crystal. Taking a deep sniff, he couldn't help but gulp. "Xu Chuan, it smells incredible. How about you let me swallow it?"
"Stop messing around and back off." Xu Chuan used his mana to block the dragon from lunging and shooed him away.
"If my eyes don't deceive me, that appears to be a Divine Sense Crystal."
Murong Yun continued, "A Divine Sense Crystal can only be refined using extremely high-quality divine sense through specialized methods.
"Such exceptional quality divine sense is exclusive to existences at the Soul Formation stage and above.
"During the Soul Formation stage, one's Primordial Spirit coalesces and is baptized by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Their divine sense reaches an astonishing degree of purity that ordinary cultivators find impossible to obliterate.
"Therefore, even if those below the Soul Formation stage manage to destroy a Soul Formation cultivator's physical body, it is exceptionally difficult to permanently kill them.
"This item is an incredible tonic for the divine soul, packed with unadulterated soul essence. However, you must reach the Golden Core stage before you can refine and absorb it.
"Xu Chuan, guard it well.
"In the future, when you achieve Golden Core Perfection, absorbing it might trigger a mutation in your divine soul, allowing you to attain Nascent Soul level divine sense ahead of time."
"Thank you for clearing my doubts, Senior Sister."
Xu Chuan stowed the Divine Sense Crystal away.
Although Murong Yun speculated that this Divine Sense Crystal might have been refined from the Ancient Demon's remnant consciousness, the sheer thought of it was too beyond common sense to fully believe.
After all, in ancient times, only those who wielded greater divine abilities—namely, existences at the Body Integration stage or above—were capable of forging such an item.
Murong Yun fell silent, quietly recuperating within the Supreme Yin flying sword.
Xu Deyue retracted the blade back into her dantian.
Xu Chuan extended a hand, effortlessly drawing the Ancient Demon's storage pouch into his grasp. Sweeping his divine sense across it, he found nothing particularly valuable inside—only standard pills and magic tools meant for the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages.
Most likely, they were plundered from the immortal cultivators he had murdered.
"Father, Huang Tianba and his brother saw Moyue. How should we handle them?" Xu Mingxian asked.