Thousands of malevolent Demonic Chains surged forward like starving pythons, hissing through the air. Each chain was etched with the sigils of hell itself, their clashing sound tearing the very fabric of the underground chamber. The full might of the Burial Coffin was unleashed, intent on burying Yang Kai Long for eternity.
But Yang Kai Long, standing in the void, felt no fear. His eyes burned with an eerie, tranquil depth—on one side, the golden radiance of the Divine; on the other, the infinite darkness of the Demonic. The confluence of his White Dragon Martial Soul, Blue Dragon Body, and Thunder Dragon Veins had elevated his existence far beyond mortal comprehension.
As the death-dealing chains came within meters of him, Yang Kai Long raised his thunder-sword with casual ease. He didn't execute a flashy or complex maneuver. He simply swung his sword in a straight, precise slash.
The slash appeared sluggish, as if a novice were aimlessly waving his blade in the air. It seemed to lack momentum, drifting through the void. Yet, within that seemingly simple arc lay the primordial **Laws of Space** and the combined might of three ancient dragons.
When the blade met the tip of the blood-red chains, time within the chamber seemed to freeze for a heartbeat. Then, a bone-chilling explosion echoed, the shockwave shattering the very stone of the foundations.
The thousands of impregnable Demonic Chains—which could have drained the life force of any ordinary cultivator in an instant—shattered like glass upon contact with that slow slash. One by one, the chains disintegrated into dust. Even with all its dark energy unleashed, the Burial Coffin fell apart like straw before that singular blow. The air was filled with nothing but the debris of dark, sanguine energy.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Grand Elder stood frozen in disbelief. His lethal technique had been obliterated so effortlessly. His aged, bloodshot eyes widened in shock. The power of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, which he had obtained by sacrificing half his lifespan, should have made this battle a one-sided massacre. Instead, the reality was the exact opposite.
"How... how is this possible?!" A dry scream escaped his throat, but it was cut short as he felt a cold, oppressive spiritual pressure behind him—as if the God of Death himself had manifested.
He snapped his head around. Yang Kai Long stood a mere inch behind him. His face was stoic, his eyes glowing with that golden-black light, his sword still crackling with celestial lightning. He had appeared behind the Grand Elder without a single ripple in space or the sound of a footstep.
The Grand Elder's withered heart skipped a beat. The color drained from his face, and the cruel, villainous glint in his eyes was replaced by raw, primordial terror. Despite being a cultivator of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, he had utterly failed to perceive how or when Yang Kai Long had pierced the void to stand behind him.
"Demon... you are a monster!" the Grand Elder gasped in fear.
Desperate to survive, he channeled every ounce of his Demonic Qi into his feet, unleashing an obscure movement technique to flee. His speed was lethal, leaving dozens of blood-red afterimages in the air. He darted from corner to corner like a falling star, hoping to escape Yang Kai Long's reach.
But the sight that followed was enough to shatter any cultivator's sanity.
No matter how fast the Elder moved, no matter what aerial acrobatics he performed, Yang Kai Long trailed him as if he were teleporting. The Elder turned right—Yang Kai Long was there. The Elder shot into the sky—Yang Kai Long was a shadow stuck to his heels. It was as if the space between them had vanished, and Yang Kai Long had anchored himself to the Elder's very soul. Without physical effort, he simply warped space, manifesting behind the Elder every microsecond.
"Get away from me! Stay back!" The Grand Elder's mental fortitude crumbled under the relentless pursuit.
Exhausted, with his breath ragged and the Forbidden Pill eating away at his insides, he suddenly spun in mid-air. He gathered his remaining dark energy and unleashed a barrage of destructive demonic blasts toward Yang Kai Long's face. The black and red energy spheres erupted like volcanic vents.
But Yang Kai Long merely flicked his sword tip, and the blasts vanished, rendered harmless in the air.
The Grand Elder retreated, panting, his body trembling, sweat dripping from his brow. He pointed a shaking finger at Yang Kai Long and shrieked:
"What... what exactly are you?! You cannot be human! How can you match my immortal speed?! I wagered half my life, yet you stand before me like the inevitable reaper! What are you?!"
Yang Kai Long halted mid-air, the roar of the three ancient dragons subsiding, though his aura remained impenetrable. He looked at the Grand Elder with a smile—not one of warmth, but of supreme arrogance, the look of a god viewing a gnat. He lowered his sword and spoke in that dual, God-Demon voice:
"What happened? You boasted of such immense power. Why are you trembling? Why is a 'mighty' expert begging for his life from an ant?"
The words pierced the Elder's heart like a poisoned arrow. Minutes ago, he had branded Yang Kai Long a child, an ant. Now, he was shivering in the air, begging for mercy before that very same "ant."
High on the Stone Platform, Ye Fang watched the scene with profound satisfaction. He knew Yang Kai Long had not only crushed the Elder's power but had shattered the ego of the Blood Coffin Sect forever.
Yang Kai Long hovered, not like a man, but like an ancient entity born from the union of heaven and hell. His right side shone with Divine Energy, his left draped in destructive Demonic Qi. The two energies didn't clash; they flowed in perfect, terrifying equilibrium.
The sight was so blasphemous that the Grand Elder trembled to his marrow. He had spent centuries in this ruthless cultivation world, witnessing empires crumble and surviving the Heavenly Tribulation, but *this*? Never.
"Impossible..."
The Grand Elder looked at his trembling hands. His Demonic Qi scattered like snow before a flame the moment it neared Yang Kai Long.
"My Demonic Arts... that can devour thousands of souls... why are they useless against this boy?!"
His gaze shifted to Yang Kai Long's Dantian, where blue and red light pulsed. A thought struck him like lightning.
"The Forbidden Pill..."
His face twisted in realization. "It's the effect of that Forbidden Pill! This boy has swallowed power that defies the very laws of cultivation!"
Yang Kai Long took a step forward.
*THUD!*
The air shivered, and cracks spiderwebbed across the ground below. His eyes held no emotion—no anger, no mercy. Only the cold silence of the grave. The Grand Elder knew then—if this continued, his centuries of cultivation would be extinguished today.
Below, in the massive underground chamber, dozens of Blood Coffin Sect disciples, elders, and protectors stood, looking up at their Grand Elder with reverence and hope. They were unaware that their revered master was about to devour them to save his own skin.
A glint of madness sparkled in the Grand Elder's eyes. A cruel smile spread across his lips.
"If I am to die... what is the value of your lives?"
He raised his hands to the sky, weaving a forbidden blood-seal. The entire sky turned crimson.
"**Sect Extermination Blood Sacrifice Array!**"
*BOOOOM!*
In a heartbeat, vast blood-red formations erupted on the ground. Thousands of crimson veins and needles shot from the earth, piercing the bodies of his own disciples. In an instant, their screams echoed throughout the domain.
"Aaaahh!"
"Master, save us!"
"My Qi... my lifespan is being drained!"
"Master, why are you doing this to us?!"
Their bodies withered, skin clinging to bone, eyes losing their light. Yet, the Grand Elder tipped his head back, laughing maniacally.
"Hahahaha! Fools! Do you know what your greatest loyalty is? To serve as sustenance for your master!"
He intensified the blood array. He wasn't just draining their blood—their cultivation, their demonic energy, their lifespans, even their souls were being pulled into him. In seconds, dozens of cultivators were reduced to dry husk and ash.
Then, a horrific transformation began within the Grand Elder.
*Crack... crack...*
The sound of bones breaking and knitting back together resonated through the sky. His white hair turned jet black at the roots. Deep wrinkles vanished, and his saggy skin hardened into the muscular, glowing flesh of a powerful young warrior. His old eyes became blood-red.
In moments, the withered Grand Elder was gone. In his place stood a terrifying, handsome youth of roughly twenty-five years. His aura was ten times heavier than before. He clenched his new fist.
*CRACK!*
The space around him twisted. The Grand Elder's eyes shone with insane joy.
"Amazing... I have fully absorbed their lifespans and cultivation..."
But then—his smile froze. Yang Kai Long still stood before him. Unmoving. Immovable. Invincible. And most terrifyingly, his Demonic aura remained completely unaffected by the Elder's blood technique. The Grand Elder's brows knitted.
"How is this possible...?"
His mind raced. This forbidden technique had an iron-clad rule: upon activation, the energy of every demonic cultivator nearby is forcibly pulled toward the center. Yet Yang Kai Long? His energy hadn't even flickered.
"Is his Demonic energy... of a higher grade than my technique?"
For the first time, true fear took root in the Grand Elder's heart.
Amidst his confusion, his spiritual sense brushed against the high Stone Platform. His eyes widened. A boy stood there—Ye Fang. But it wasn't his face that shocked the Elder... it was the mysterious power flowing within him. Divine Energy and Demonic Energy, perfectly balanced, just like Yang Kai Long's.
"This... another one?!"
The Grand Elder's heart pounded. He scanned the area with his divine sense and his eyes landed on two girls—Wang Mei and Wang Ling. As he felt their aura, a twisted, greedy smile spread across his face. The same energy existed within them... but in a dormant state. Exactly like Yang Kai Long before he consumed the pill.
The dots connected.
"Hahaha... now I understand..."
His eyes shimmered with avarice. The pill hadn't originated with Yang Kai Long—it was connected to the girls and that boy, Ye Fang!
The fear for Yang Kai Long vanished, replaced by insane greed. If he could capture those girls... if he could seize the source of that forbidden elixir... the union of his new youthful body and the God-Demon power would make him the Emperor of this entire continent. Perhaps... he could surpass the gods themselves.
The Grand Elder slowly pointed a finger toward Wang Mei and Wang Ling. Black, lightning-like demonic flames curled around him. His malicious gaze was now fixed on his new prey. The game wasn't over—the true bloody war was only just beginning.