NOVPUBWatching Xu Zimei’s figure gradually recede into the distance, the monk Da Zhi moved a chair from the inn.
He sat in the chair, his gaze tightly fixed on the direction of Demon Vanquishing Ridge, motionless.
"....."
"This time, I’m going to meet you in the capacity of the Demon Lord," Xu Zimei murmured.
He walked step by step toward Demon Vanquishing Ridge.
Above him, ten thousand leagues of demonic clouds roared, the sky growing darker the closer he got to Demon Vanquishing Ridge. 𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
Until at last, it had completely succumbed to profound darkness.
Demon Vanquishing Ridge stretched endlessly into the horizon.
The path leading to Demon Vanquishing Ridge was overgrown with weeds, due to a long time without visitors.
Footsteps sounded leisurely; step by step, Xu Zimei approached the front of Demon Vanquishing Ridge.
The entrance to Demon Vanquishing Ridge was a winding, twisty path.
On both sides stood a lush jungle, where sky-reaching great trees towered from the ground.
"Halt, stranger," a stern shout stopped Xu Zimei in his tracks.
Xu Zimei looked up to see a man clad in yellow robes standing at the entrance.
A long spear in hand, his aura bristling with spear intent.
He was glaring intensely at him.
"This is Demon Vanquishing Ridge; you may not enter. Retreat immediately."
Hearing what the man said, Xu Zimei smiled.
He raised his hand, and endless Demonic Qi surged from his Prison Suppressor Demon Body.
"I know, my visit is specifically for Demon Vanquishing Ridge."
"Courting death," the yellow-robed man muttered sharply.
He hurled his long spear directly at Xu Zimei.
On the spear, the spear intent broke through the air, shattering layers of void, as the spear tip emitted a chilling gleam.
Xu Zimei slightly shifted his body to dodge the spear.
The yellow-robed man took a half step back with his right foot, his upper body leaning forward.
He charged directly at Xu Zimei.
His right hand reached out, the thrown spear circled around, its spear intent fragmented the void as it returned to his hand.
"Die," the spear intent fused with a killing intent, aiming straight for Xu Zimei.
Xu Zimei slightly raised his hand, his two fingers gently pinching together.
The oncoming spear broke into two halves.
"What," the man exclaimed in shock.
The other half of the spear tip was still in Xu Zimei’s hand; he threw it with a light flick of his wrist.
So fast that the opponent couldn’t see clearly.
The spear tip had already pierced through the yellow-robed man’s throat, nailing him to one side.
Xu Zimei brushed his clothes lightly, his feet already stepping into Demon Vanquishing Ridge.
........
Deep within the Ancient Demon Cave located in the Exiled Lands,
for the Demon Race, it might have been just another ordinary day.
They were sealed here, never able to leave the Exiled Lands for life.
At this moment, suddenly, a strand of Demonic Qi burst skyward from the center of the Ancient Demon Cave.
Instead of merging with the other demonic clouds overhead, the Demonic Qi stirred the winds and clouds.
With "crackle and pop" sounds, dark clouds surged in the firmament, thunder rolled.
Streaks of black lightning raced through, coursing through the demonic clouds.
All members of the Demon Race looked up in astonishment, gazing at the place where the Demonic Qi shot into the sky.
"What is that?"
"It seems to be the location of Sky Piercer."
"The Sky Piercer has responded," someone shouted.
At the very center of the Ancient Demon Cave stood a column, towering like a Pillar of Heaven.
The surface of the column was enveloped in a layer of stone, obscuring its true face.
The pillar pierced the heavens, connecting to the demonic clouds in the firmament above; looking up, one could not see its upper limit.
At this moment, several figures appeared from all around.
Some of them rode Demon Dragons that roared up at the sky.
Others turned into black streaks of light, breaking through the Endless Void.
There were burly giants who stepped over from ten thousand miles away, instantly causing the whole world to quake.
There was also a man wielding a Longsword, with sword-like brows and eyes, descending here with a black bamboo hat.
These figures numbered over a dozen, each radiating an astonishing aura.
Cloaked in Demonic Qi, so dense it seemed unbreakable, they surrounded the central pillar.
This pillar’s surface, its outer stone layer, was starting to fall off bit by bit.
A red light slowly trickled on the pillar.
This red light was as vivid as blood, wrapping countless times around the top of the pillar and winding down bit by bit.
"The Sky Piercer is awakening, it has sensed the presence of the Demon Lord."
"How many years has it been, how many years.
We of the Demon Race have clung to survival in these Exiled Lands for countless eons.
At last, we have awaited the arrival of our lord."
"Indeed, it is time to let the people of this world witness the power of our Demon Race."
"No matter the Ten Great Immortal Sects, or treacherous Heaven, nothing will stop the revival of our race.
Glory is shimmering, blood is boiling; I can feel the call."
"Demon Lord, welcome back!"
A somewhat insane, sinister laughter echoed throughout the Ancient Demon Cave.
...…
As Xu Zimei stepped into the Demon Vanquishing Ridge, he could feel distinctly.
The Demonic Qi here was very familiar to him, wrapping around his body as though it were his own limbs.
The moment he entered, the Demonic Qi in the sky above became even more frenzied.
It roared, as if venting centuries of sealed resentment.
Xu Zimei felt extremely comfortable; the environment here, even a single breath, felt utterly refreshing.
Thousands of miles away, on the highest peak of the Demon Vanquishing Ridge.
A man was seen sitting on a rock at the summit.
He held a golden sword in his hands.
The golden sword was plunged into the ground.
The man was dressed in a gold robe embroidered with countless patterns.
These patterns seemed to tell a story.
The man sitting on the rock, his waist slightly bent, right hand holding the hilt, looked up at the wildly raging Demonic Qi in the sky.
"They’ve arrived," said Huangfu Long calmly.
"Ancestor, what has arrived?" Huangfu Xiong, the current Clan Leader of the Huangfu Family, walked up slowly from behind, asking in confusion.
"Our enemies," Huangfu Long said indifferently.
"Enemies?" Huangfu Xiong was still puzzled.
The Huangfu Family had been guarding the Demon Vanquishing Ridge for tens of thousands of years, aside from killing those who stealthily entered the ridge.
They were basically uninvolved with the world, what enemy could there be?
"Have you forgotten the mission that the Holy Ancestor once spoke of?" Huangfu Long said.
"Mission?" Huangfu Xiong was momentarily stunned.
"You mean, the Demon King has come?"
It was a matter of the distant past, when their Huangfu Family was nothing more than an ordinary clan in the secular world.
But due to a chance encounter, they had received a legacy left by an Immortal.
The so-called Immortal was the Holy Ancestor.
The Holgy Ancestor’s legacy once mentioned that one day, the Demon King would come here, break the seal of the Ancient Demon Cave, and thus reconnect with his kin.
Their duty was to defend the entire Demon Vanquishing Ridge and prevent the Demon King from nearing the Ancient Demon Cave by a single step.
Now, tens of thousands of years had passed, and Huangfu Xiong had long since forgotten about the matter of the Demon King.
Hearing it again now, the memories surged back into his heart.
"The Demonic Qi in the sky seems much more violent," he sighed.
