Ren Xiaoyao stepped on the Evil Aura of the dissipated Demon Dragon, his black robes stained with blood yet his posture as steadfast as a pine tree. The Chaos Power swirling around him had not yet fully subsided, and golden patterns beneath his skin moved like living things— the Heavenly Dao Imprint bestowed upon him by the Land of Heavenly Books. Each Dao Patterns shimmered with a faint light, like Star River flowing beneath his flesh, flickering with the rhythm of his breath, seemingly echoing the pulsation of the distant stars.
At this moment, he lowered his eyes and stared at his palm. The lines were winding and rising along the veins, converging into an ancient array on his wrist, faintly resonating with the Dao of Heavenly Dao. However, he did not know whether this power could withstand the impending crisis. He ran his fingertips over the raised lines and felt a slight tremor, as if the Heavenly Dao was conveying some kind of warning through these marks.
Suddenly, a bone-chilling cold shot up from my spine, as if an ice spike had suddenly pierced my mind. A pitch-black vortex split open in the void, like the maw of the Netherworld that devours everything.
A chilling laugh, tinged with a putrid stench, emanated from the depths of the vortex, making his ears ring. Ripples spread through the sea of consciousness deep within his mind, and countless long-forgotten fragments of memory began to surge uncontrollably—the High Antiquity secrets he had glimpsed in the Land of Heavenly Books flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
He saw the Gods offering their flesh and blood as sacrifices to mend the shattered Heavenly Dao piece by piece. Crimson rivers of blood flowed through the universe, each drop of blood creating cracks in space and time. He saw the Light of Creation bursting forth between heaven and earth as the sage turned the pages of the heavenly Heavenly Tome, only to be swallowed by darkness in an instant, and the wails of countless wronged souls echoing from where the light dissipated.
These images intertwined with the crisis before him, forming a giant web of fate, and he was the trapped beast at the center of this web. His temples throbbed, and the ancient images in his mind overlapped with the Pitch-Black Vortex before him, as if an invisible hand was dragging him into an abyss of no return.
The Black Robed Man slowly walked out of the staircase formed from countless wronged souls. With each step, the staircase emitted a mournful wail. The faces of the wronged souls were distorted, and blood and tears mixed with black mist dripped down, corroding holes in the ground that emitted blue smoke. Dark purple mist continuously poured out of the holes, meandering like venomous snakes.
Ren Xiaoyao stared intently and saw that the eyes of those wronged souls still held fear and resentment. Among them were the innocent faces of children, their small hands grasping at the void in vain, as if pleading with him for help. A little girl's hair was entangled in black mist, and his image was reflected in her eyes. Those eyes reminded him of his younger sister who had died in the war when he was young, and his heart clenched with pain.
The black robe moved without wind, and the Divergent Flame swirling around its edges flickered erratically, cracking the space wherever it passed. Reality was like a scroll that had been brutally torn apart, revealing the Primordial Chaos darkness behind it.
The flames emitted an eerie hissing sound as they burned, as if countless vengeful spirits were struggling within them. Ren Xiaoyao could even hear faint sobs coming from the flames; the sound seemed familiar, yet he couldn't recall where it came from.
As the flames swept past him, they sketched his mother's dying face in the air, then instantly transformed into a grinning demon, causing his pupils to contract violently.
"Little brat, you've killed my watchdog, you've got some nerve." The Black Robed Man's hoarse voice was like sandpaper rubbing against a rock wall, grating and grating. Before he finished speaking, an invisible pressure descended like Mount Tai Crushing Down, and the void beneath Ren Xiaoyao's feet made a cracking sound as if it couldn't bear the weight.
His knees buckled involuntarily, a metallic taste rose in his throat, and his internal organs felt as if they were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, making even breathing difficult. The oppressive aura was mixed with the pungent smell of blood, as if the blood of millions of living beings was surging in from all directions, engulfing him in a sea of blood.
With a wave of his hand, the entire world was plunged into eternal darkness. The stars dimmed, and dark purple lightning surged within the thick, inky clouds. With each burst of lightning, a gigantic demonic shadow was revealed, appearing and disappearing within the clouds—the shadow wore a crown of white bones and a cloak woven from countless wronged souls; it was none other than the Seven Nights Demon Lord in his prime.
Amidst the thunderous roar, Ren Xiaoyao seemed to hear the shouts of that great battle a thousand years ago, where countless cultivators were reduced to ashes under the Devil Lord's Demonic Might. The tragic scene replayed repeatedly in his mind. The instant a bolt of lightning struck, he found himself on the battlefield a thousand years ago, surrounded by familiar faces—his sect elders, his childhood playmates—all turned to dust under the claws of the demon army.
Countless Black Chains burst forth from the ground, their empty eye sockets gleaming with Nether-Green Ghost Fire. The putrid stench was nauseating as they howled and coiled towards Ren Xiaoyao. The shrill sound of the chains tearing through the air was like the Wail of Ten Thousand Ghosts, and wherever they passed, the space was torn apart with spiderweb-like cracks.
Ren Xiaoyao could clearly see that flesh and blood remained between the skull's teeth—the last traces of the devoured. The chains were greedily reaching towards him, as if to drag him into endless darkness. One chain wrapped around his ankle, and the skull suddenly opened its eyes, whispering in the voice of its deceased friend, "Come on, this is your final resting place."
Ren Xiaoyao's expression was solemn and hard. The Chaos Axe spun in his palm, leaving afterimages. Mars flew from the friction of the metal, leaving fine streaks of light in the darkness. The light of the Space-time Laws emanating from the axe blade tore open the night, like the dawn breaking.
"Break!" With a roar, the axe light, imbued with the Space-time Laws, tore through the void. Wherever it passed, the Time Flow Rate abruptly changed, and space was forcibly folded. The Black Chains crumbled inch by inch the moment they touched the light. The skull let out a shrill scream, turning into ashes and dissipating in the wind. The ashes then condensed in the air into a scene of the Demon Dragon wreaking havoc in its lifetime, only to be instantly shredded by the Space-time Turbulence.
But he knew this was merely the calm before the storm; the real crisis was yet to come. As the axe flashed, he caught a glimpse of his own reflection in the ashes, the reflection's eyes filled with madness and violence, sending a chill down his spine.
However, the Black Robed Man merely smiled contemptuously, Nine Bronze Ancient Lamps flew out from his sleeve. The twisted runes on the surface of the lamps seeped out a dark red liquid, as if they were drawn with blood. The liquid dripped onto the ground, sizzling and rising in wisps of poisonous smoke. The poisonous smoke condensed in the air into distorted human faces, all of which were innocent lives harmed by the Seven Nights Demon Lord.
Ren Xiaoyao recognized one of the faces—it was the blacksmith he had seen in a small town, now transformed into a wisp of a wronged soul in the poisonous smoke, staring at him with empty eyes filled with despair and pleading. The blacksmith's lips kept repeating "Save me," while his body was gradually corroded by the poisonous smoke, turning into Void.
As the ancient lamp appeared, a massive black mist, obscuring the sky, surged forth. From within the mist, countless Demon Soldiers emerged, wielding blood-stained scimitars. Drops of blood condensed on the blades dripped down, corroding the air and creating enormous Black Hole wherever they touched. Space twisted into eerie vortexes, and from the depths of the Black Hole came the faint cries for help from trapped creatures. The cries, filled with fear and despair, pierced Ren Xiaoyao's eardrums like sharp blades.
He seemed to hear a mother calling for her child, to hear the cries of an infant. These sounds intertwined in the black mist, forming a mournful melody that stirred endless rage within him. Countless hands reached out from the black mist, some young, some old, all reaching for him, trying to grasp at the last glimmer of life.
The battle intensified, Ren Xiaoyao was enveloped in Nine-Colored Auspicious Light, each ray representing a Heavenly Dao Laws. The Chaos Bead spun a golden vortex between his brows, the center of which seemed to connect to another world, emanating ancient chants. The chants carried the vicissitudes of time, as if the ancient sages of the Land of Heavenly Books were cheering him on.
He could feel that every Heavenly Dao Laws resonated with his power, and those lights flowed around him, weaving an indestructible barrier. As the auspicious light flowed, he saw the phantom of an ancient sage emerge in the light, nodding slightly to him, the Classics in his hand radiating a warm glow.
He spotted a flaw in the Demon Soldiers's formation, used the Law of Space to instantly Teleport to the Black Robed Man's side, and before his afterimages could dissipate, the Chaos Axe, imbued with the Demon Slaying Power, cleaved down. The trailing afterimages of the axe blade even outlined the phantom of Ancient Sages slaying demons, with the sage's eyes in the phantom both majestic and compassionate.
Just three inches from the black-robed man, a dark purple light shield suddenly rose up. Ancient demonic runes and chaotic axe runes on the shield collided, and the energy waves that erupted spread like a tsunami. The space beneath Ren Xiaoyao's feet collapsed inch by inch. He bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood essence. The blood essence transformed into a rune in the air, forcibly stabilizing his body. However, he tasted a mixture of rust and bitterness in his mouth.
As he spat out that mouthful of Essence Blood, his vision went black for a moment, and the Chaos Power within him flickered like a candle flame in a storm. His consciousness gradually blurred amidst the excruciating pain. The instant the talisman lit up, he heard a voice sigh in his mind, "Destiny is hard to defy."
As the air surged, a corner of the Black Robed Man's hood was lifted, revealing half of his face covered with spiderweb-like Demonic Runes. Those Demonic Runes writhed like living creatures, emanating an ominous black aura, each Dao Patterns resembling a ferocious beast Devour Vitality.
Ren Xiaoyao's pupils constricted sharply as memories flooded back—ancient texts from a thousand years ago recorded that when the Demonic Dao Lord Seven Nights Demon Lord, practiced the forbidden technique " Nine Netherworlds Devouring Heaven Technique," Demonic Runes would spread from his heart to his entire body when he suffered a qi deviation. And the Demonic Runes revealed by the Black Robed Man before him were exactly as described in the ancient texts!
At this moment, he finally understood why this Evil Aura felt so familiar; fate had already thrust him into this destiny-bound battle. As the Demonic Runes writhed, they spelled out the words "Pay Back the Debt" in the air, making his heart skip a beat.
"So you are the Seven Nights Demon Lord! The Demon Head sealed away a thousand years ago is still alive!" Ren Xiaoyao's roar shook the space, and the light on the Chaos Axe became even more dazzling. The spacetime around the axe blade began to distort violently, and countless tiny Time Hourglass phantoms appeared and shattered in the air. Each shattering made a crisp sound, like Glazed Ice falling to the ground.
With a roar, the Nine-Colored Auspicious Light around him surged, actually condensing into nine Auspicious Dragon in the void. The dragons' bodies were wrapped in Chaos Power, and they roared to the sky, their voices shaking the universe. But he knew that with this power alone, it was far from enough to defeat the great enemy before him. As the phantom Auspicious Dragon circled, the eyes of one of the dragons turned into the appearance of the Seven Nights Demon Lord, revealing a sinister smile to him.
A hint of surprise flashed in Seven Nights Demon Lord's eyes, then he burst into wild laughter. His laughter shook the stars in the distant Star Realms, and some fragile celestial bodies even began to collapse.
"I didn't expect anyone to still remember the name of this Devil Lord! That's right, the seal a thousand years ago actually allowed me to comprehend the path to immortality. This world will sooner or later become a paradise for the Demonic Dao!" His laughter was filled with madness and triumph, as if the entire universe was already under his control.
Laughter pierced Ren Xiaoyao's eardrums like sharp thorns, giving him a splitting headache, while in the distance, the fragments of a collapsing star formed the words "The End of the World is Coming" in the air.
Before he finished speaking, he formed hand seals, chanted incantations, and his fingernails grew three inches long, black demonic blood seeping from his fingertips. Wherever the demonic blood dripped, sharp bone spurs rapidly grew from the ground, the entire world began to tremble violently, and countless black pillars of light shot into the sky from the earth. Within these pillars appeared terrifying scenes of the Seven Nights Demon Lord's conquests a thousand years ago: he led his demon army to crush cities, the souls of cultivators were forcibly extracted, twisting into shrill screams in the air; children were refined into puppets, their empty eyes filled only with the desire to kill; the earth was corroded into scorched earth, burning meteorites fell from the sky, and desperate cries echoed throughout the universe.
These images played in a loop within the pillars of light, each repetition causing Ren Xiaoyao's heart to clench with pain. He could almost feel the fear and resentment of those beings before their deaths, and a burning rage raged within him. The light on the Chaos Axe intensified, and his resolve grew stronger amidst this fury. In one pillar of light, he saw himself surrounded by demonic forces, screaming in despair. This sight chilled him to the bone, yet it also ignited an even stronger fighting spirit within him.
Ren Xiaoyao was shocked by these terrifying scenes, and it seemed as if the wails of countless wronged souls echoed in his mind: the cries of children, the lamentations of the elderly, and the roars of cultivators.
But he quickly regained his composure, took a deep breath, and poured all his strength into the Chaos Axe. His meridians ached from the excessive use of power, as if countless steel needles were moving through his body. Each surge of power was accompanied by excruciating pain, but he gritted his teeth and refused to back down.
When he poured his power to its limit, he heard a crisp sound of his meridians breaking, as if something was shattering and something was being reborn.
The Time Patterns on the axe blade shimmered with Dazzling Light, while simultaneously drawing upon the Nine-Colored Auspicious Light obtained from the Land of Heavenly Books, condensing it into a colossal Golden Dharma Idol around him. The Dharma image was as majestic as a mountain, every strand of hair containing the Heavenly Dao Laws, creating ripples in space as it swayed in the wind; the power of time and space flowed ceaselessly in his eyes, as if containing the Mysteries of the Universe; the Chaos Bead floating between his brows projected thousands of Golden Runes, weaving in the air to form Demon-Slaying Grand Formation, which emitted bursts of Brahma Sound as it operated, dispelling the surrounding darkness.
The Dharma Image opened its massive maw and roared, shattering the surrounding black pillars of light, sending countless Black Fragments raining down like meteors. However, he knew this was only the beginning; the real battle was yet to come. As the Dharma Image roared, his consciousness seemed to enter the Dharma Image's body, overlooking the universe shrouded in darkness, feeling the weight of the Heavenly Dao and his own mission.
Upon seeing this, the Seven Nights Demon Lord's black robe exploded, transforming into a sky full of black mist. The black mist churned and condensed into a hundred-foot-tall demonic figure, wielding Giant Axe black axe. Black Venom venom dripped from the axe blade onto the ground, instantly corroding bottomless holes. From time to time, the faces of devoured creatures would emerge from the venom, writhing and struggling in agony, uttering silent screams.
The demonic shadow roared and swung its axe down, shattering space like Shattered Mirror in its wake. Space-time Turbulence surged forth, carrying sharp Space-time Fragments that sliced through everything around them. Each swing of the Giant Axe left a black crack in the void, emanating a chilling shriek, like the howl of a demon from the Nine Nether Hell.
Ren Xiaoyao gazed at the terrifying scene, yet felt no fear, for he knew he could not retreat; behind him lay the hopes of countless lives. As the demonic shadow's Giant Axe cleaved down, he saw his own reflection in the venom, swallowed by darkness. This only strengthened his resolve to fight.
The two figures clashed fiercely in the void, each exchange causing the heavens and earth to collapse. Ren Xiaoyao's Chaos Axe collided with the Seven Nights Demon Lord's black Giant Axe, and the resulting energy shockwaves turned the surrounding Star Realms into chaos, tearing countless planets apart and turning them into cosmic dust.
Under the impact of the energy aftershocks, the dust condensed into various strange shapes before disintegrating again. Cracks gradually appeared on Ren Xiaoyao's Golden Dharma Idol, and blood dripped along the patterns on the Dharma image. Each drop of blood contained his power, and where it dripped, golden lotuses grew, but they quickly withered under the erosion of Dark Power.
The demonic shadow of the Seven Nights Demon Lord began to fade, and black blood rain seeped from the black mist from time to time. The blood rain fell on the planets, staining them an eerie black and destroying all life. The aftershocks of the battle even reached distant star systems. The creatures on some planets looked in terror at the terrifying battlefield in the sky, praying that this disaster would end soon.
In this fierce battle, Ren Xiaoyao had long since disregarded life and death; he had only one belief in his heart: to protect this world. When cracks appeared in his Dharma form, he felt his life force rapidly draining away, but seeing the figures of people praying on distant planets, he was filled with renewed strength.
In the midst of the fierce battle, Ren Xiaoyao seized upon the demonic Chaos Bead's weakness and unleashed the full power of the Chaos Bead. The Chaos Pearl shone brightly, illuminating the entire battlefield. The Chaos Axe unleashed an ultimate axe beam that transcended time and space, within which Nine Heavenly Books emerged, accompanied by the Chants of Sages, a chant containing the power to World Creation.
At the same time, the Seven Nights Demon Lord unleashed the strongest Killing Moves of the " Nine Netherworlds Devouring Heaven Technique." A huge Black Vortex condensed on the black Giant Axe, from which came the wails of countless vengeful ghosts, attempting to devour everything. The vortex continued to expand, and spacetime at its edge was wildly distorted, forming a huge gravitational field that sucked in all the surrounding stars and dust.
The moment the two forces collided, space seemed to be torn into countless fragments, and time itself fell into chaos. In some places, the Time Flow Rate accelerated, and stars were rapidly born and perished; in other places, the Time Flow Rate slowed down, and even light became sluggish. In this chaotic spacetime, Ren Xiaoyao fought with all his might, just for that sliver of hope for victory.
In the instant the forces collided, his consciousness was swept into the Space-time Turbulence, where he saw himself in countless Parallel Universes. Some had already been assimilated by darkness, while others were still fighting on. This made him even more confused, yet also more determined.
Two World-Destroying Power collided with a deafening roar, and the entire universe seemed to freeze for a moment. In the intense light, Ren Xiaoyao's Dharma form shattered completely, and the fragments scattered like meteors throughout the universe.
He coughed up blood and flew backward. The runes on the Chaos Axe were dim and lifeless. His aura was weak, and his internal organs felt as if they were being repeatedly struck by a heavy hammer. Every breath was accompanied by excruciating pain. He felt as if his body was being torn apart, his meridians were broken, and the Chaos Power was running rampant in his body, burning his internal organs.
The Seven Nights Demon Lord fared no better. His demonic shadow dissipated, leaving his true form covered in blood. The Demonic Runes on his body began to crack, and black blood continuously spilled from the corners of his mouth. He was even unsteady on his feet, and the space beneath his feet was cracked like a spiderweb as it could not withstand his power. His eyes were filled with resentment and anger, and his gaze toward Ren Xiaoyao seemed to want to devour him alive.
Ren Xiaoyao looked at the Seven Nights Demon Lord and understood that although the battle had temporarily come to an end, the real crisis had only just begun. When the Dharma body shattered, he heard countless voices echoing in his mind—blessings, Curse, encouragement, and mockery. The unwillingness in the Seven Nights Demon Lord's eyes told him that the grudge between them was far from over.
"Today... you're... lucky..." Seven Nights Demon Lord said through gritted teeth, his figure rapidly shrinking, transforming into a black streak of light and disappearing into the void, leaving behind a string of hateful laughter. That laughter echoed in the universe, lingering for a long time, as if foreshadowing that this battle was not truly over.
Ren Xiaoyao was extremely anxious. He stared intently at the receding figure ahead, wishing he could catch up and kill it immediately. However, just as he was about to activate the remaining power within him, a feeling of powerlessness suddenly surged into his heart, causing his body to tremble violently.
He was shocked to find that all the power within him had been completely exhausted in that instant, as if it had been drained. Not only that, even the Chaos Bead's Light had become extremely weak, like a candle flickering in the wind, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.
Ren Xiaoyao's face instantly turned ashen, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He struggled to steady himself, but his body seemed to have lost control, tilting forward uncontrollably.
"No..." Ren Xiaoyao cried out in despair in his heart, but it was all too late. The world before his eyes suddenly blurred, the world spun, and then everything went black, and he knew nothing more.
In the moments before losing consciousness, Ren Xiaoyao seemed to see a blood-red setting sun slowly sinking in the shattered Star Realms in the distance. The afterglow of the setting sun, like blood, fell upon him, draping him in a blood-red veil, as if foreshadowing the end of his life.
Deep within the universe, a new crisis seems to be brewing, waiting for him to confront it...
During his fall, he seemed to hear an ancient call, a voice that guided him to look into the depths of the universe, where a shadow darker than the night was slowly expanding.
Bathed in the crimson glow of the setting sun, Ren Xiaoyao's figure appeared exceptionally lonely, as if he had merged with the Shattered Universe, awaiting the next challenge of fate.