"Senior, rest assured. I will complete this mission. If things spiral out of control, your survival must be the top priority."
He would rather give up revenge than risk Song Wanníng's life. Mo Yuan clenched his fists. For the mission ahead, he would need to be more careful than ever.
"Alright. Let's begin."
Time was running out. They had to eliminate the Demon Sovereign before the Demon Sea sealed itself again. At Song Wanníng's command, several high-tier demon beasts were simultaneously teleported from the depths of the Demon Sea to the Demon Sovereign's location.
The Demon Sovereign, who had just been exchanging insults, immediately scowled and spat viciously at the ground.
"That damned brat again? Using the same trick?"
These beasts were annoying, sure—but hadn't he already killed a bunch of them before?
All that did was hand him a pile of inner cores for free. They only helped speed up his ascension.
The Demon Sovereign's eyes flashed with contempt. Idiots were still idiots. No point expecting him to grow a brain.
Soon enough, the summoned demon beasts locked eyes on the Demon Sovereign. They had been minding their own business in their nests, only to be yanked into some unfamiliar battlefield. Obviously, the man before them was the culprit.
With an unspoken understanding, they lunged at him all at once.
All of them were fifth-tier demon beasts, terrifying in strength. Even the Demon Sovereign frowned under their coordinated assault, forced into a bothersome round of counterattacks.
The Crimson Flame Beast led the charge, scales etched with magma patterns flaring in the dark. Wherever its hooves landed, lava burst up violently.
The Thunderfang Wolf zipped like lightning, its path crackling with eerie blue sparks.
The massive Venomtail Drakesworn lashed its scorpion tail, loosing a downpour of toxin-laced scales like a storm of blades mixed with a noxious green fog.
"You think a few measly beasts can challenge me?"
The Demon Sovereign's cold laughter echoed off the cavern walls.
The blood-red gem atop his staff burst with blinding light as he slammed it against the ground. The earth exploded beneath his feet.
Hundreds of chains made of demonic energy surged out like dragons tearing through the heavens, instantly forming a spinning web of defense.
Boom!
Several blasts of energy collided violently, and for a moment, space itself warped and twisted.
The Demon Sovereign formed a rapid seal with his left hand. A streak of light shot toward the incoming beasts.
At the same time, the Venomtail Drakesworn's scorpion stinger whipped forward.
With a vicious snarl, the Demon Sovereign swung his staff, transforming it into a cold blade that clashed head-on with the venomous strike.
Boom!
Both man and beast were sent flying back several meters.
Pfft!
The Demon Sovereign spat blood toward the sky, eyes blazing with malice.
"Damn it. If I weren't already injured, these beasts would be nothing to me."
But he had no time to dwell on it. The demon beasts pounced again. His movements grew sluggish, and wounds appeared on both sides.
"You little bastard. You think tossing a few beasts at me is enough to take me down? You're still too naive! Once I deal with these things, you're next! I'll tear you to pieces, limb by limb!"
High-tier demon beasts were rare. The Demon Sea had existed for countless years, and it wasn't strange for a few of them to survive in its depths. But there couldn't be an endless supply.
Otherwise, Mo Yuan could've just swarmed him with beasts from the start.
As he fought, the Demon Sovereign cursed nonstop, already devising a hundred different ways to torture Mo Yuan.
Just then, a sword light streaked out of nowhere. He had just evaded a strike from the Crimson Flame Beast when the blade struck him squarely in the back.
In an instant, the scene shifted. He found himself in a strange, unfamiliar realm. That oppressive force—familiar and unbearable—pressed down on him again, as if commanding him to kneel. His heart sank.
"That woman again!"
He slammed his staff into the ground. The skull atop it snapped open, baring jagged teeth. Ghostly green flames burst from its eyes and mouth, condensing midair into a massive shadowy serpent.
The serpent roared as it smashed through the sword domain's boundary, only to meet another sword strike that shattered it into black mist.
A black-clad figure descended slowly from the sky, stopping a dozen or so feet above the ground. With the face of a fallen immortal and a presence more terrifying than death, she hovered like judgment itself.
"So it really is you."
The Demon Sovereign's voice was soaked with killing intent when he saw Song Wanníng. A dark light flickered in his eyes.
"This woman has ruined my plans again and again. If not for her, Mo Yuan would've died long ago."
He moved to attack, but then his gaze dropped to her cultivation. His pupils shrank.
"You... you've advanced to mid-stage Divine Transformation? Impossible!"
He knew better than anyone how difficult it was to make a breakthrough at this stage. But it hadn't even been that long. Yet this woman had already reached mid-stage? Jealousy surged in his chest. If he had made such progress, he would've ascended long ago.
Song Wanníng stared down at him coldly. She raised her sword in response, not with words, but with violence. With a wave of her hand, the sword split into seven. Seven blades forged of starlight converged on his skull like heavenly judgment.
The Demon Sovereign roared and raised his staff to retaliate, but the demon beasts struck again. He slapped out several palm strikes with his left hand while swinging his staff at Song Wanníng with the right.
"Roar!"
The beasts clashed with the incoming palms. One of them slipped past and struck from behind, lightning arcing straight toward him.
Crack!
The surge of electricity paralyzed him for a split second. His grip trembled, and his staff veered off course.
The sword light hit him square in the chest.
The force slammed him back down from midair, and a deep gash over ten centimeters long split his shoulder to the bone.
At the same time, the shadowy serpent lunged for Song Wanníng.
She dodged with fluid speed and summoned her golden sword.
It transformed into a golden dragon that roared as it bit down on the serpent's head.
"Roar!"
With a final cry, the serpent disintegrated.
Song Wanníng flung a burst of exotic flame, her golden sword hovering protectively beside her. She unleashed every sword technique she had ever mastered.
She was a true sword cultivator. Other than alchemy, she had devoted her entire life to refining her swordsmanship.
Even without the legacy of Immortal King Mo Yang, she had become a formidable swordmaster in her own right. Her body pulsed with power, and a thousand blades above her head surged into the air. Forming seals with both hands, she gave a single command.
"Strike."
A thousand swords descended.
The Demon Sovereign, gritting his teeth through the pain, yanked out a pitch-black jade seal and hurled it skyward.
Juggling both the demon beasts and Song Wanníng was exhausting him. The moment the black seal appeared, it expanded rapidly, transforming into a towering demonic mountain that plunged toward Song Wanníng with crushing force.
This was the Heavenly Suppression Seal, a sacred artifact of the demon clan meant to pin enemies beneath its weight. If it trapped her, she would never recover.
The Demon Sovereign's eyes brimmed with killing intent.
"You think you can bring me down? Not even close."
Elsewhere in the cave, Mo Yuan's eyes widened at the sight of the Heavenly Suppression Seal. Fury surged in his chest.
That seal... it had belonged to his mother.
That bastard still dared to use it?
Unforgivable!