Pure Yang Talisman

Boom—!!!

A dull explosion rang out!

A miniature sun formed from flames of utmost Yang and unyielding force exploded before the painting!

Scorching shockwaves swept in every direction!

The tentacles formed from ink and resentment hissed sharply before this power of pure Yang, like lingering snow beneath a blazing sun, and were instantly evaporated into vapor!

The painting's surface was scorched black over a large area. A stretch of the once-dead Nether River had been forcibly burned dry, exposing the pallid riverbed below, piled high with countless withered bones!

Even Lu Chen's eyes widened at its power.

"Ah—!!!"

An inhuman shriek filled with pain and fury erupted from the Ghostly Shadow within the painting!

"Pure Yang Talisman! How could a mere Demon Suppression Officer like you..."

Its voice was full of shocked rage. The Sun Flame Talisman's damage had far exceeded its expectations, and that force of utmost Yang had directly seared the very source of its demon soul!

Yet Lu Chen gave it no chance to keep roaring.

Talismans were merely the appetizer.

The saber was the true killing move!

"Too noisy."

Lu Chen uttered those two icy words, then advanced rather than retreated beneath the cover of the scorching shockwave!

Shadow Demon Trace Steps was pushed to its limit. His entire body seemed to turn into a demonic shadow slipping through the cracks between light and darkness, crossing several zhang in an instant to appear before the true body of the Demon Painting hanging on the wall!

"You dare!"

The Nether River Angler sensed an unprecedented, fatal threat!

It abandoned all futile attacks. The remaining waters of the Nether River in the painting surged back violently, transforming into a shield black as ink and thick as a swamp before the painting. At the same time, the ethereal Ghostly Shadow within the painting abruptly retreated deeper into it, seeking to flee into the deeper layers of the world within the painting!

But what met it was a saber flash of absolute speed and absolute coldness!

Clang—!

The Hundred Refinements Saber left its sheath!

Lu Chen's gaze was as still as an ancient well. He used no flashy technique, only the simplest and most direct thrust, driving it toward that ink-black shield condensed from resentment and dead water.

The Demon Suppressing Saber Technique at the perfected realm!

Unique Trait—[Sha Breaking]!

The instant the blade met the ink shield, there was no earth-shattering crash, nor any dazzling burst of light.

There was only a soft pfft, like a red-hot branding iron piercing ice and snow.

That sinister shield, capable of blocking ordinary Profound Rank Martial Techniques, was pierced through by the edge of the Hundred Refinements Saber as though it were a phantom, offering not the slightest obstruction!

The annihilating force on the blade, designed specifically to target the source of demonic baleful qi, smashed through everything in its path!

"No—!!!"

The Ghostly Shadow in the painting gave a despairing howl. Its ethereal body had already been completely locked down by that invisible annihilating force, unable to retreat even an inch further!

Pshk!

The dark-silver blade of the Hundred Refinements Saber pierced without resistance, with flawless precision, through the "heart" of that ethereal Ghostly Shadow at the center of the painting!

The saber tip burst through the painting and drove deep into the hard wall behind it!

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The next second.

"Crack... crack-crack..."

Fine cracks, like a spiderweb, rapidly spread across the ancient painting from the body of the Hundred Refinements Saber.

The lifeless Nether River within the painting, the winds and snow filling the sky, the rain-cloaked angler with his back to all living beings...

Everything turned, amid that soundless shattering, into the most primitive specks of ink and drifting ash, devoid of all spirituality.

The soul of the Heir of Duke Anle, imprisoned beneath the river waters, also released a sigh of liberation, transforming into motes of spiritual light and vanishing into nothingness.

[Host has slain the Ranked Demon, Nether River Angler, and obtained 450 years of Demon Devil Lifespan!]

[Detected that the host has killed a high-ranking demon head-on. System is analyzing demon traits...]

[Congratulations, Host. From the Nether River Angler's source baleful qi, you have comprehended a new trait—Soul Devour (Beginner): Your attacks will deal additional damage to spirit-type and soul-type enemies. Upon killing them, there is an extremely low chance to absorb fragments of their remnant souls and obtain scattered memories.]

The system's notification sounded like heavenly music as it thundered through Lu Chen's mind.

He slowly pulled out the Hundred Refinements Saber. The Demon Painting, which had remained uncorrupted for a thousand years, completely lost the support of all its power the instant the blade was withdrawn. With a soft whoosh, it turned into a heap of black ash that fluttered down.

Only a deep saber hole remained in the wall.

Lu Chen sheathed his saber, turned around, and calmly looked toward the Refined Iron Gate that had been locked from the outside.

He did not try to pick the lock. He simply walked up to the door and raised his right foot.

With the Ten Thousand Year Black Tortoise Art at great mastery activated, a surge of Profound Black Internal Energy, heavy as mountains, instantly flooded the meridians in his legs!

Then he kicked out!

"BOOM—!!!"

A deafening crash rang out!

That sturdy door, forged from refined iron and secured from within by layer upon layer of mechanisms, strong enough to withstand the impact of ordinary demons, was kicked clean off its hinges and sent flying outward as though it were made of paper!

The hinges snapped, and the lock bolt shattered!

With a resounding "clang," the entire door slammed onto the bluestone pavement outside, kicking up a cloud of dust!

Outside, steward Fu An, who had been listening intently to the sounds within with a venomous, delighted expression, along with several Duke's Mansion guards behind him holding powerful crossbows, froze instantly.

As if they had seen a ghost, they stared dumbfoundedly at the black-clad youth who slowly emerged from the dust without a scratch on him.

"Y-you..." Fu An's lips trembled as he pointed at Lu Chen, unable to utter a complete sentence.

"What about me?" A faintly amused smile rested on Lu Chen's face as he strode step by step toward Fu An, who had already been scared out of his wits. "Didn't you want me to be buried alongside your Young Master?"

"M-monster! You're a monster!" Unable to bear the pressure any longer, Fu An let out a terrified scream and turned to flee.

Yet the moment he turned around, a black shadow flashed past like a phantom.

Lu Chen had already appeared soundlessly before him, blocking every path of retreat.

"Why run?"