"I thought you were strong," he said, his voice slightly muffled because half his face had swollen, though he still spoke clearly. "I never expected you to be nothing but a poor imitation of me."
He raised his hand. A mass of black mist gathered in his palm, as dense as ink, slowly swirling as tiny flecks of light curled along its edges.
He poured all the Spiritual Power of the Dark Prison Reincarnation Art into that black mist, making the air around his palm warp slightly. Staring into the Inner Demon's eyes, he thrust his hand forward.
The black mist shot from his hand, moving so fast that it enveloped the Inner Demon in the blink of an eye.
The smile vanished from the Inner Demon's face. It opened its mouth as though trying to say something, but the black mist had already clogged its throat.
Like a thick liquid, the black mist seeped through its skin, burrowed into its pores, and poured into every opening in its face.
The Inner Demon's body began to distort. Lumps bulged beneath its skin, as though something were churning underneath.
At last, it made a sound-a scream. It no longer sounded like Nie Li, nor did it resemble Shen Fei's own voice. It was a warped, rending sound, like something being forcibly snapped in two.
The screams echoed through the Soul Sea, layer upon layer, growing weaker and thinner until they dwindled into a low whimper.
The black mist contracted. As it shrank, the Inner Demon's body grew smaller, thinner, and more transparent.
Wrapped from head to toe in black mist, it was squeezed and compressed like a crumpled piece of cloth until only a fist-sized ball remained. A dull gray sheen glimmered over its surface as it trembled gently in Shen