A rare look of gravity appeared in Futu Yijing's eyes.
A Demon Emperor capable of contending with the Heavenly Emperor had to be a Heavenly Demon Emperor, equivalent to a Saint Grade Heavenly Sovereign.
He was merely an Earthly Sovereign who had touched the threshold of Heavenly Sovereign.
"Your true body should be with that boy Mu Chen. Absorb it quickly. Things aren't looking good," Futu Yijing told Mandala behind him.
Futu Yijing's words jolted Mandala out of her daze. Before she could seek out Mu Chen, she saw Futu Yijing raise his spear and shoot forward, heading straight for the Demon Emperor who had yet to awaken.
As Lu Heng watched Futu Yijing fly over, the smile at the corners of his mouth turned mocking instead.
"You fool. You don't know your own limits."
Just then, the Demon Emperor's tightly shut eyes actually opened a sliver.
He seemed to twitch a finger. A streak of utterly evil black light flashed past, as though merging into the void.
Bzz! Bzz!
At that very same instant, the void tore open, and thick black mist of unspeakable evil gushed out. It split into several hideous maws and flew toward the Earthly Sovereigns. Those maws resembled the mouths of demons, bristling with demonic teeth. They snapped viciously, disregarding the distance between them as they flew toward Mandala and the others.
"Damn it!" Futu Yijing naturally noticed what was happening.
He rapidly circulated the True Dragon Precious Technique, and a mighty dragon of spiritual energy appeared, rushing at tremendous speed to shield everyone in the Heavenly Emperor Mausoleum. Among them were still the people from the Great Xia Dynasty and the others who had just clashed with Futu Yijing's group.
The spiritual energy dragon's body blocked the maws. It coiled around the crowd, ensuring that these people would not die when the Demon Emperor attacked.
Every Earthly Sovereign's expression changed.
They sensed a terrifying aura within those maws. They feared that even a touch would spell their doom.
At the same time, gratitude filled their gazes as they looked toward Futu Yijing, especially those from the Great Xia Dynasty and the other groups.
"Stay together! Wait for Mandala to absorb her true body!" Futu Yijing roared at the crowd.
Once Mandala absorbed her true body, she would reach the complete Earthly Sovereign stage. Against a Demon Emperor who had yet to awaken, she would at least have some means of protecting them.
Mu Chen swept his sleeve, and boundless dark light instantly blossomed, transforming directly before him into a shadowy, bewitching divine flower from the ancient era.
Endless shadowy light emanated from it, swallowing even the light around it.
Mandala gazed at the bewitching flower before her, and a trace of excitement appeared on her usually icy little face.
She carefully stroked the Mandala Flower. The flower offered no resistance to her touch; instead, the dark patterns of light around it grew increasingly distinct, as though it were gradually awakening.
Dark light continued to blossom from the Mandala Flower. Mandala's figure seemed to grow illusory, until she finally merged completely into the flower.
Bzz!
At the very instant the two fully merged, a beam of dark light hundreds of thousands of feet across suddenly shot into the sky. Terrifying spiritual energy raged, and an indescribable pressure spread from within.
Buddhist chants seemed to drift from the void between heaven and earth. The bewitching flower unfurled its petals, as though dancing joyfully, and with each movement, the world seemed to tremble softly.
Shadowy light shrouded almost the entire world around them. The powerful fluctuations radiating from that light had unmistakably reached the complete Earthly Sovereign stage!
Although it would not make much difference in their current predicament, it would at least allow Futu Yijing to focus a little more.
Sensing those complete Earthly Sovereign spiritual energy fluctuations, Futu Yijing turned his gaze back to the Demon Emperor.
Standing before the Demon Emperor, Futu Yijing drew a deep breath and tightened his grip on his spear, his gaze colder and fiercer than ever.
Boom!!
Boundless blood energy and imposing might erupted. That blood energy chilled everyone to the marrow.
The Demon Emperor's eyes had opened. He had clearly awakened, and his pitch-black eyes held the most evil aura in all creation.
He had truly come back to life!
Futu Yijing clenched his teeth. Now they were in serious trouble!
"You did well." The Demon Emperor smiled at Lu Heng.
"It is my honor to have contributed to your resurrection, my lord." Lu Heng looked intensely excited.
The Demon Emperor stretched lazily. "That Heavenly Emperor truly was remarkable. One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones was formidable indeed. Had luck not been on my side, he really would have obliterated me."
As he spoke, his pitch-black gaze finally turned toward the supreme experts present. He immediately said with satisfaction, "Still, seeing so much blood food the moment I return to life is quite a delight."
With that, he turned his gaze back to Futu Yijing before him.
"Especially you. Your flesh and blood are most enticing, and you carry quite a few traces of my kin as well. I am in a good mood today. Tell me your name. I wish to know it." The Demon Emperor still wore a gentle smile.
The Demon Emperor's gentle smile stood in stark contrast to Futu Yijing's cold, fierce expression.
An icy voice emerged from the latter's lips:
"The Great Thousand World's Demon-Slayer King, Futu Yijing!"
"That is quite an imposing title. Demon-Slayer King, is it? It seems you have killed many of my kin." An amused look appeared on the Demon Emperor's face.
"No amount of slaughter is enough for filthy, evil scum like you!" Futu Yijing showed not a trace of fear.
Even as he spoke, Futu Yijing charged toward the Demon Emperor.
Behind him, faint demonic silhouettes flickered, prostrate on their knees.
"Demon-Slaying Spear: Demon Subduing!" An attack laden with intense killing intent hurtled toward the Demon Emperor.
Yet, faced with Futu Yijing's attack, the Demon Emperor merely smiled mockingly. Then he abruptly opened his mouth, and thick demonic energy surged forth, howling toward Futu Yijing like a storm.
"You still intend to protect others before me? Aren't you underestimating me a little too much?" the Demon Emperor asked with a smile, then extended his palm.
Countless torrents of demonic energy swept out, transforming into demonic dragons that roared as they lunged to bite and devour the supreme experts present.
Screams rang out one after another. Futu Yijing resisted the Demon Emperor's attack, his expression utterly grim.
Before the Demon Emperor had fully awakened, he could still protect these people. Now that the Demon Emperor had completely revived, Futu Yijing could no longer keep them safe.
The spiritual energy dragon also dissipated under the Demon Emperor's attacks.
For a moment, everyone scattered in flight.
Amid the chaos, the Demon Emperor smiled, occasionally raising a hand to attack Futu Yijing.
Futu Yijing gritted his teeth. His black eyes turned into golden, slit-pupiled eyes, and several scales glimmered beneath their corners.
He had fully awakened the true dragon bloodline within him.
"True Dragon Precious Technique: Black Dragon Severs the Firmament!"
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