Demonic Pangu

A sudden change took place. The black shadow formed from the baleful aura that had been hidden beside Pangu quickly solidified. The black soul escaped from Pangu's grasp and plunged into the shadow, taking on Pangu's exact appearance—but now it was wreathed in wickedness, its face full of bloodlust and murderous intent.

Demonic Pangu said, "You are me. If you won't do it, I will." He burst into laughter and left.

"Wretch, how dare you!" Pangu drew in a breath and hurried after him.

"Brother Pangu, you should rest and recover. If you don't heal your injuries soon, the consequences will be serious. Besides, though we each possess half of the primordial spirit, your powers are inferior to mine right now. You'd better stay here. If you get hurt, I won't be able to pursue the Great Dao."

Xuanhuang sighed. In the depths of his heart, he sensed the will of the Great Dao. Perhaps this was simply his fate. Of the Three Thousand Demon Gods, only he and Pangu remained. He would give Pangu this chance to grow. He had spent countless eons with Pangu, his closest friend, and had no regrets. Perhaps it was time to help him fulfill his destiny. But then, a monstrous baleful aura shook his mind. An aura utterly opposed to Pangu's emerged, and Xuanhuang cried in alarm, "Two Pangu? How can this be!"

Looking at the Pangu before him, who was filled with negative energy, he said calmly, "Fellow Daoist, are you confident you can defeat me?"

Demonic Pangu replied, "Though my primordial spirit is incomplete, I've grasped just as much of the Rule of Strength." As he spoke, a Bloodthirsty Battle Halberd radiating boundless killing qi appeared in his hand.

Pointing the halberd's tip at Xuanhuang, he said arrogantly, "You have the strongest defensive law in the world, while I have the strongest offensive law. No matter how strong your defenses are, I'll slowly wear them down. You can't win."

Xuanhuang replied calmly, "We'll only know once we've fought."

The two had little fun in their battle. It was like a tiger trying to eat a tortoise: one had sharp teeth, the other a hard shell. The tiger couldn't do much to the tortoise, but it could keep grinding away at it. In the end, the tortoise was still at a disadvantage.

Pangu watched Xuanhuang gradually fall behind but didn't rush to help. Instead, he pondered. Something felt wrong, but what was it?

Pangu gripped his Sky-Opening Axe, and a profound aura of law formed around him. He suddenly swung it at the Bloodthirsty Halberd descending again and again. With a boom, their powers collided. They came from the same source, but Pangu's strength was slightly lacking.

Demonic Pangu glanced at him. "How many more times can you block me? I'm the embodiment of all Malevolent Qi, resentment, and baleful aura. Killing Xuanhuang will make me even stronger. Then I'll devour you, become the Great Dao, and control everything under heaven."

Wrapped in boundless bloodlight, he sent the Bloodthirsty Halberd hurtling down again.

Pangu spat out a mouthful of blood, roared, and blocked the deadly strike—then spat out blood once more.

Demonic Pangu chuckled. "It's no use. You're only hastening your own death."

Pangu raised his right hand and held the Sky-Opening Axe upright. "No. I'm saving you, and myself as well. You are me, and I am you."

Demonic Pangu looked at Pangu with interest. "You think saying that will make me spare you? You're too naive."

Pangu said, "No. You've fought Xuanhuang for so long. Have you noticed anything different about him?"

Demonic Pangu stroked his chin, then said in surprise, "Nothing different. Xuanhuang is Xuanhuang."

Pangu shook his head. "You've fought for so long. Don't you find it strange that his power is on par with ours, when we've been split in two? Have you seen him use any laws? Why is he holding back his power at a moment of life and death?"

Demonic Pangu asked, "Why?"

Pangu mused, "If I'm not mistaken, we're in someone else's illusion. You are me, Xuanhuang is me, and everything here is part of me."

Demonic Pangu cackled. "What does that have to do with me? I'll devour you all, then break through this illusion. This is a great opportunity for me. Otherwise, how could I have appeared in the first place? Ha ha!"

"Demonic nature arises from the heart and exists in a single thought. You're a strand of my Spiritual Sense. If I don't exist, how can you?"

"Pangu, don't try to scare me. I'm an independent being. You can't fool me. I'll devour you first. Ha ha!"

Pangu gazed at the attack brimming with killing intent and murmured to himself, "Demonic nature arises from the heart and exists in a single thought."

The surging killing intent came at him like a tangible force, carrying the Rule of Strength with it. Demonic Pangu's halberd seemed illusory, as though it passed through Pangu's body—but in truth, it was dissipating. Then the arm wielding the halberd faded, followed by the rest of his body. Finally, Demonic Pangu's unwilling roar rang out through Pangu's Spiritual Sense: "Impossible!"

Pangu bowed to Xuanhuang. "Fellow Daoist, please." Xuanhuang vanished, an astonished look on his face.

Pangu thought, As expected of the Illusion Law. Everything seemed real. Fortunately, it could only recreate the memories in my heart. Otherwise, how could I have judged whether Xuanhuang was real? Still, I gained quite a bit. My mission, and the information I received, are real.

But what should I do about Demonic Pangu? How can I prevent him from appearing?

He considered the matter. If this weren't someone else's law, he would want to continue. Perhaps then he could fully understand his own Dao.

This world was an illusion too. He would break through it.

Sky Opening, Earth Splitting, Sky Rend.

Pangu was startled. The Three Axes had changed. They were no longer merely three moves derived from the Law of Strength. Instead, they controlled it—yes, controlled it. Each axe seemed to wield the Law of Strength itself. Could they have gained laws of their own?

How was that possible!

At the instant he split open the chaos, a beam of golden light burst through the gray sky and pierced the firmament. A sudden clarity blossomed in his mind.

Could this be my mission? Was this how I was meant to break open the chaos?

Seeing Pangu break through Tai Xuan's Illusion Law, Tai Xuan stood there, dazed. For some reason, his whole body seemed to be in agony, and blood poured from his seven orifices. Could breaking someone's Illusion Array really cause such severe backlash?

That wasn't quite the case. Tai Xuan was suffering the backlash of the Twelve Heavens Divine Fiend Great Formation. The formation demanded great physical strength from those who formed it, and it normally required no small number of people to arrange the twelve fiends. Now Tai Xuan was alone. Though the formation's power was greatly reduced and he had not gained the abilities of a Great Dao Incarnation, the backlash was still severe. He had already been badly injured by Pangu's nearly genuine Three Sky-Opening Axes, which was why the Twelve Heavens Divine Fiend Great Formation was retaliating so fiercely.

The formation collapsed with a great roar from Tai Xuan. Outside it, the others watched the four combatants with grim expressions. Tai Xuan was gasping in midair, blood still pouring from his seven orifices. He looked close to death.

Xuanhuang remained calm and unhurried. The Time Law was powerful, but it wasn't without a counter. His Law of Non-Action could restrain it to some extent. Compared to the Great Dao Incarnation of the Twelve Heavens Divine Fiend Great Formation, who could use a little of every law, Xuanhuang's Law of Non-Action could counter almost every law to some degree. After all, it was primarily defensive.

Time needed a point of movement in order to exist. If chaos were still, the chaos qi wouldn't contract or expand, and there would be no physical or chemical reactions. The movement of chaotic matter formed space and time. Thus, after Pangu emerged in the chaos, the other Demon Gods appeared. The Time Law could be said to be one of the strongest laws in the chaos.

Xuanhuang's true form was the pure essence that formed the heavens and earth of the primordial world. The heavens and earth could perish, but the pure essence would not. If the heavens and earth perished, space and time would cease to exist as well. When Candle Dragon's Time Law faced Xuanhuang, it could only prevail if the other party let his guard down.

Seeing that things were going badly for his side, Candle Dragon noticed that Pangu seemed to have fallen into a state of enlightenment. While fighting Xuanhuang, he shouted toward the people outside the formation, "Lei Ze, seize this chance and kill Pangu!"

A deity stepped forward. He was built like a strongman, with his belly bare and two wings on his back. He had three eyes on his forehead, a monkey-red face, a long, pointed chin, and feet like an eagle's talons, sharp and fierce. He held a wedge in his left hand and a hammer in his right, poised to strike. Five linked drums hung around him from his head to his sides, with another drum suspended on each side. (Excerpted from Collected Explanations of the True.)

Lei Ze said nothing. He raised the wedge and hammer in his hands and struck them together. A twisting purple bolt of lightning, carrying a terrifying aura, plunged straight down from the sky and struck Pangu.

The chaos seemed to split apart beneath the divine lightning. A mighty aura of destruction descended from above. The thunderclaps rang out without pause as bolts of lightning surged through the chaos.

Pangu seemed not to react. Purple currents coursed over his rock-hard body with a sizzling sound, interweaving with the golden light he emitted in a dazzling display.

One bolt struck Pangu directly on the head. His black hair was instantly scorched, nearly burned away entirely.

Lei Ze scratched his head, baffled. Is this guy an idiot? He actually took my lightning head-on. He's tough, I'll give him that.

Lei Ze stopped attacking and shouted at Pangu, "Hey, you rock! How about we become friends?"

Pangu felt a pure power strike him. His thoughts stirred as he sensed the Malevolent Qi around his body rapidly diminishing. So the power of lightning could counter Malevolent Qi. Seeing the remaining Malevolent Qi that had yet to dissipate, Pangu thought of Demonic Pangu and was about to use the Azure Lotus to defend himself—but then he stopped. His opponent had actually halted and was greeting him so casually. He couldn't help but feel both amused and at a loss.

Facing such a fellow, Pangu couldn't help asking gently, "Why?"

Lei Ze replied cheerfully, "You must be a good person. Otherwise, my divine lightning would've already killed you."

Even Xuanhuang, who was fighting Candle Dragon, relaxed at that. Is this guy stupid or just too innocent? Anyone who can withstand his divine lightning must be a good person?

Pangu stared at him, taking another look. He was showing his true form without any disguise. He was definitely an honest fellow, without a trace of guile—a rather strange character too.