Demon Commander Returns

Chapter Forty-Five: Demon Commander Returns

The astral winds were like blades, ripping through the drifting clouds.

The instant Ji Meng (Little Black) stepped beyond the Safe Zone barrier, the last traces of gentle spiritual energy around him were swallowed by the Primordial Wilderness's violent, turbid qi.

He stood atop the mountain, looking back at the Small Courtyard shrouded by an invisible barrier—in the morning mist, the stone house's outline was as indistinct as a mirage. The tender green of the Vegetable Plot spread a faint glimmer across the gray-brown backdrop of the Primordial Wilderness, tiny yet unyielding.

"Sage's Dojo..." Ji Meng murmured, the syllables rolling through his throat carrying the lingering resonance of Dragon's Roar.

He closed his eyes and looked inward. Deep within his soul, that wisp of Chaos Qi flowed like a nebula. The silver scales newly grown along his spine gleamed with a cold, hard luster in the sunlight, while the wound that had pierced his neck had been reduced to a shallow silver scar, like a crescent moon embedded in his ancient bronze-colored flesh.

Seven days of healing had allowed him to Break and then Establish. At this moment, his demonic power surged like rivers and seas, while his pressure was restrained like an abyss. His cultivation had actually brushed against the threshold of a Quasi-Saint!

Ji Meng lightly tapped the ground with his toes, and his figure transformed into a dark-golden streak of light that tore through the sky.

Wherever he passed, the clouds churned like boiling water, while the astral winds automatically opened a path. In the forests below, several wolf demons tearing at a beast carcass suddenly looked up, their scarlet pupils contracting. Before they could even whimper, they collapsed and prostrated themselves, their joints clacking from fear. A Red-eyed Eagle King perched atop a cliff shrieked once before abruptly falling silent, its wings stiff as iron as it plunged straight into the abyss!

"Roar—!"

A thunderous roar came from a distant valley. A mountain-sized Zhu Yan pounded its chest and leaped up, its blood-red eyes locking onto the streak of light in the sky as its savage, murderous aura soared into the heavens! Ji Meng's gaze turned cold. Without even slowing down, he merely flicked a finger.

"Whoosh!"

A thread of pale-golden force pierced the air like a needle through the brain! Zhu Yan's roar abruptly ceased. Its enormous body crashed to the ground, a red mark seeping black blood from between its brows. Its soul was completely destroyed!

"Annoying." Ji Meng's sleeves billowed as the streak of light crossed a thousand miles in an instant. Along the way, all the Demonic Beasts, strong or weak, crouched and trembled. At that moment, the cruel laws of the Primordial Wilderness were laid bare—power was the only pass!

The Nine Heavens, before the South Heaven Gate.

The demon soldiers on guard leaned on their bronze halberds, their faces beneath their helmets numb and weary. The clouds of the War of Witches and Demons had yet to disperse, and the heavenly gate was as desolate as a graveyard. Suddenly, one demon soldier looked up, his pupils contracting. "W-what is that?!"

At the edge of the sky, a point of dark-golden light came plunging down like a falling meteor! At first, it was faint and tiny, but in an instant it spread across the sky! Terrifying pressure crashed against the heavenly gate like a tangible tsunami. The Cloud Steps trembled, and the golden bricks hummed! The demon soldiers seemed to be struck by a heavy hammer. They staggered and fell to their knees, their bronze halberds clattering to the ground.

"Enemy attack—!" The roar caught in their throats and became terrified whimpers.

The streak of light dispersed, and Ji Meng stood upon the clouds. His dark-golden battle robes billowed violently, while the phantom of a dragon's head flashed and vanished behind him. His gaze swept across the area like a cold star falling to earth.

"Marshal Ji... Ji Meng?!" A demon general recognized him, his voice twisting with disbelief. News from the Witch-Demon Battlefield had said that this Demon Commander had been grievously wounded by Gong Gong of the Ancestral Witches, with his soul completely destroyed! Yet the person before them possessed an aura vast as a sea of stars, and his pressure was even greater than before!

Ji Meng said nothing. With one step, he passed through the open South Heaven Gate. He left the demon soldiers scattered across the ground, staring at one another as suppressed exclamations erupted amid the deathly silence:

"It really is Commander Ji! He's still alive!"

"That pressure... Could he have reached the Quasi-Saint realm?!"

"Hurry! Send word to the Demon Emperor!"

Lingxiao Palace: The Demon Emperor's Shock

Inside the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, Di Jun sat high upon the Nine Dragon Golden Throne, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the cold patterns of the River Diagram and Luo Book. Below the throne, Eastern Emperor Tai Yi stood with his hands behind his back, the phantom of the Chaos Bell hovering beside him, its walls reflecting the shattered mountains and rivers of the Primordial Wilderness.

"Report—!" A messenger demon general stumbled in, his voice hoarse with excitement. "Marshal Ji Meng... has returned!"

Di Jun's fingers paused, and the radiance of the River Diagram and Luo Book briefly stagnated. Tai Yi spun around abruptly, and the phantom of the Chaos Bell hummed. "Ji Meng? He... didn't die?"

Before he could finish speaking, the light and shadows at the hall entrance twisted. Ji Meng's figure appeared silently, his dark-golden battle robes immaculate, his back straight as the mountains of Buzhou Mountain. He knelt on one knee, his voice solemn as the clash of gold and jade. "Your subject, Ji Meng, pays respects to Your Majesty and Eastern Emperor!"

The hall fell deathly silent.

Di Jun's gaze swept over Ji Meng's entire body as tangibly as a physical force. The pale silver crescent scar on his neck, the dark-golden scales flowing along his spine, and especially that faint, indistinct wisp of Chaos Qi deep within his demonic core that even made Di Jun's heart tremble... Every detail proclaimed that this was no illusion, nor was he a remnant soul!

"Rise." Di Jun's voice revealed no emotion. "On the Witch-Demon Battlefield, Gong Gong shattered your soul with a single strike. How did you..."

"Your subject received guidance from a Sage and was granted new life." Ji Meng lowered his head, his words exploding like thunder!

"A... Sage?" Tai Yi's pupils contracted sharply, and the phantom of the Chaos Bell shook violently! All the Sages of the Primordial Wilderness were listed in the Purple Cloud Palace. When had another one appeared?