The Peace That Never Existed

A moment later, two demonic Yao Qi descended.

"So it was you, kid!"

The one who spoke was the Demon King Mengying. As the saying goes, enemies meeting are bound to be extremely hostile. The moment he saw Si Ming, he unleashed his ultimate move without hesitation.

"Horsefly Sea Devours Spirits!"

In an instant, the wind and clouds shifted, yin and yang dimmed, and countless insects transformed into a gigantic hand that covered the sky and pressed directly towards Si Ming. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was constantly destroyed in the palm, carrying a dense aura of death. Wherever it passed, life was extinguished, as if the god of death had descended.

"Get out of my way, I have no interest in my defeated opponents."

Si Ming activated his level 18 Blazing Sun True Qi and launched the Drought God Palm to meet the attack head-on. Behind him, a phantom of Drought Demon appeared, its crimson palm striking out and shattering the giant palm, burning away the millions of scattered insects in the process.

"Qiongfangchi Ghost Domain!"

Mengying had already begun to gather strength during the pursuit, so he didn't care about the failure of the first move. The second move followed immediately. The Burning Heart Ghost Fire illuminated the place where he stood, and the strange and bizarre phenomena of the forest showed their extraordinary power for the first time. The eerie ghost wailing suddenly dyed the dark illusion, and thousands of ghost claws suddenly pierced the ground, as if they wanted to tear the enemy to pieces.

"Stop embarrassing yourself with such outdated tricks. After all these years, haven't you invented a single new move?"

Si Ming held the Dragon Scale Sword, his Sword Intent soaring. Countless blazing Sword Qi surged forth, condensing into a giant fire dragon. The raging flames burned in all directions, instantly incinerating all the ghost claws.

"Snow melts, a thousand peaks burn, a crimson dragon blazes!"

This is the fourth of the five moves of the "Imperial Dragon Heaven-Defying Sword Art" that Si Ming only knows. Although it ranks lower than "Rain Falls on All Things, Purple Dragon Billows", its power is stronger because its attributes are compatible with his Cultivation Body.

With a flick of its tail, the fire dragon shattered the ghostly illusion with its powerful Sword Intent. The tiny insects that filled the space, ready to ambush at any moment, were all burned to death. The fire dragon, still brimming with power, continued to attack Mengying, the crimson flames illuminating a slightly panicked face.

Three years is insignificant for the long-lived Demon Race. For example, Mengying's cultivation level did not increase much in three years. However, he never expected that the opponent who could fight him to a standstill three years ago could now easily force him into danger. In particular, the fire dragon's ability to burn everything was effective in restraining his life-saving method of transforming into a swarm of insects to avoid attacks.

His life-saving Divine Ability appeared to transform into millions of insects, seemingly requiring them all to be burned to death in order to harm his true form. In reality, Mengying's true body was hidden within one of these insects. As long as this insect remained unharmed, he would not be injured. The other insects were merely illusions; no matter how many died, they would not affect him.

In the midst of the crisis, a majestic figure appeared before Mengying, extending his five fingers to block the Sword Qi fire dragon charging head-on. At the same time, purple waves emanated from between his five fingers, causing ripples to spread through the space, quickly extinguishing the burning Sword Qi of the sword energy and causing the fire dragon to collapse and disintegrate in the blink of an eye.

"Well done! May Slaying All Gods and Devils!"

Knowing that this was the formidable enemy he had been waiting for, Si Ming unleashed the Demon-Slaying Sword Technique and immediately entered the Solar Prominence Eruption state, his entire body enveloped in golden light, his power multiplied, and there were faint traces of lightning flashing.

In an instant, killing intent filled the world, and Sword-Ray filled the space within a ten-mile radius, all aimed at the two demons and striking simultaneously.

At this moment, the opponent raised his sword and swung it, causing a dramatic change in the void. Although he was attacking in only one direction, shadows appeared from every angle around him, blocking all blind spots and making his defense impregnable.

The Evil-Slaying Sword Qi struck the demon Demon Blade, bursting forth with dazzling starlight. Every breath was a thousand collisions and clashes, almost engulfing both demons in the starlight.

Suddenly, a million Sword-Ray condensed and converged into one place, revealing Si Ming's figure. The Dragon Scale Sword, carrying the sword momentum of a mountain torrent, slashed down.

Just as the suddenly changed One Sword was about to strike the opponent, an Anomalies eye suddenly appeared on the forehead of the majestic figure. The moment the eye opened, countless evil lights burst forth, carrying all sorts of bizarre pupil effects, distorting space, annihilating vital Primal Qi, or tearing matter apart, making it impossible to make a full defense.

Although Si Ming managed to parry with his sword in time, he still couldn't block them all. Several stray rays of evil light struck his body, but fortunately, the Gang Qi generated by the Solar Prominence Eruption blocked them, so he wasn't injured, though he was blasted away.

With a palm strike behind him, using the recoil to stabilize himself, Si Ming looked up and stared at the opponent who had knocked him back. The opponent was tall and imposing, with bronze skin and distinct, deep-set features, like a Greek sculpture. His dark, deep-set eyes were wild and unrestrained, and the vertical eye on his forehead was particularly sinister.

The other party turned to Mengying and said, "Continue the pursuit and be sure to Universe-Shaking Divine General. This is the best opportunity to kill him, so don't miss it."

"But..." Mengying glared at Si Ming with intense resentment.

"You don't need to worry about this person; leave him to me."

Although Mengying was still unwilling and wanted to stay and deal with Si Ming, he dared not disobey orders. He could only grit his teeth and bypass Si Ming to continue the pursuit of Ying Zhou and the others.

Si Ming didn't draw his sword to stop him, because he was firmly locked onto by his opponent's aura. The intense pressure made him dare not be distracted, so he could only think of a countermeasure while asking, "Who are you?"

"I am the Demon Emperor."

Chapter 809 The Peace That Never Existed

"Demon Emperor... a rank above Demon King?" Si Ming said solemnly, "Judging from your strength, you certainly deserve it. But Demon Emperor is just a title, isn't it? What's your name?"

The Demon Emperor said, "Before asking questions, you should state your name. Isn't that a custom of your Human Race?"

"It was my rudeness. I am Si Ming, also known as 'Mad Ink' in the martial world. I pay my respects to the Demon Emperor."

"Mad Ink? You're from the Mohist School family?"

"Yes."

"I've heard that the Mohist School and the Military School are centuries-old enemies, with a long-standing feud. Why would you come to help your enemy?"

"The root of the conflict between the Mohist School and the Military School lies in their ideologies. The Military School Strategists were warlike, while the Mohist School war. The Mohists did not oppose the identity of being disciples of the Military School Strategists, but rather the act of 'aggression.' Therefore, when Nation of Valor invaded others, the Mohist School wanted to stop them, and when others invaded Nation of Valor, the Mohist School would also stand up for them. This is what is meant by focusing on the issue, not the person, and acting for the public good, not for personal gain."

The Demon Emperor questioned, "Can the members of the Mohist School truly be so selfless and of such high moral character?"

"Some people can do it, some can't; some are truly noble, some are just pretending to be noble, but regardless, at least we are indeed chanting this slogan and adhering to this principle."

"... That makes sense. All living beings in the world have their own thoughts, and they can't be restrained by a single set of rules. But those who shout slogans are always better than those who don't even shout slogans."

The Demon Emperor nodded slightly, then extended his hand to Si Ming and said, "My name is Chongjing, Mad Ink Mo. Would you be willing to join my ranks?"

Si Ming was taken aback by this unexpected invitation. After looking at it carefully and confirming that the other party was not joking, he said, "Are you out of your mind? You actually invited me, Human Race, to join your Demon Race."

"Isn't Huang Yan, the Hundred-Victory Military God, a prime example?"

"This proves that guy's brain is fried too. After all, there's no shortage of lunatics in the world, but unfortunately, I'm not one of them."

The Demon Emperor, with his hands behind his back, said, "In ancient times, there was no distinction between Human Race and Demon Race; they were all among the myriad spirits. The one who ruled over all spirits was the Demon Saint, which shows that Human Race also belong to the Demon Race."

Si Ming said solemnly, "You're wrong. Demons are neither human nor demon; they are either human or demon. In ancient times, there was indeed no distinction between Human Race and Demon Race. However, there were no tigers, wolves, or rabbits in this world; there was only one Human Race and one Demon Race. This shows that the concept of Human Race appeared first among all Human Race, and then other races were called Demon Race. Human Race came first, and then Demon Race. Therefore, the statement that 'Human Race also belong to the Demon Race' is completely untenable."

"As a member of the Mohist School, are you so concerned about differences in stance? I have heard that the Mohist School advocate universal love and equality. Does your so-called universal love and equality extend only to the Human Race? Can such a narrow view of universal love and equality truly be called universal love and equality?"