Refuse to trample on the pride of heaven

The rules have been broken, the mortal world is a vast and confusing maze, the net of cause and effect is riddled with holes, and the trajectory of fate is like a wild horse that has broken free, galloping wildly toward an abyss that no one can predict.

Above the sky, the demon-sealing array, constructed from the spiritual power of countless cultivators, was radiating an unprecedentedly brilliant golden light.

Runes flowed like golden dragons, and Daoist principles descended like a celestial river, weaving together a magnificent net of light that blotted out the sky, carrying the supreme will to purify all demons and restore order to the world, and irreversibly pressed down slowly.

Wherever the light patterns passed, the thick demonic energy, like boiling water poured on snow, hissed and dissipated, as if performing a solemn baptism for this defiled world.

However, the Supreme Elder and the Demon Lord Wuzhi, who were at the core of the formation and presiding over this heaven-defying ritual, did not show any relief at the imminent breaking of the formation. Instead, their expressions became increasingly solemn.

Although the grand formation was completed, the vast spiritual energy required for its operation and the terrifying mental strain it placed on far exceeded expectations. Moreover, the formation required constant counterattacks from demonic energy that seemed to originate from the very beginning of heaven and earth, constantly attempting to distort, erode, and even "correct" the formation's structure, along with the power of strange rules. The spiritual light around the two individuals fluctuated, and their auras became disordered, clearly indicating that they were both feeling somewhat powerless.

What chilled them even more was that the Demon Lord Shi Yubai, who should have been firmly locked in place by the power of the great formation and unable to move an inch, had an aura like a slippery ghost, moving strangely and uncertainly in the gaps of the formation's power.

The enormous body of the Demon Lord seemed to resonate with the world permeated by demonic energy. The immense sealing power that fell upon him was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, being swallowed and dissolved by a deeper, more essential darkness. There were even faint signs that it was breaking free from the shackles of the majestic heavenly might!

“Something’s not right…” The silver dragon that Wu Zhi had transformed into let out a deep, thunderous roar. Its thick tail swept uneasily across the void, stirring up the wind and clouds. Its deep blue vertical pupils were fixed on the increasingly distorted and swollen demonic shadow below. “This demonic brat’s aura… is mixed with too many things. It’s strangely strong and bizarrely chaotic! This is definitely not something that can be achieved by ordinary demonic cultivation advancement! It shouldn’t be this exaggerated.”

A deep, somber ripple finally appeared in the depths of the Supreme Elder's cloudy eyes. He slowly shook his head, his whisk waving gently, releasing a hazy Daoist aura. His voice, hoarse yet certain, carried the weight of years: "It is not the First Demon Lord! Back then, my senior brother... burned his entire soul and exhausted all his cultivation at the half-step immortal realm to shatter its origin and seal its remnant soul into the Nine Netherworlds... There is absolutely no way it could be that it returned intact."

Although he rejected the worst-case scenario, the furrows between his brows did not ease; instead, they deepened—this unexpected variable was more unsettling than any known calamity.

Now, we can only hope that this demon-sealing formation, which embodies a lifetime of effort and the power of all living beings, can still have some restraining effect on it.

Below, Jun Ningdao's face was covered in frost. Her jade fingers pointed rapidly, and more than a dozen icy blue sword lights shot out from the sword box behind her, attempting to form an even more fierce sword net to block Shi Yubai's demonic energy from corroding Xie Qingwu.

However, the chilling sword energy, powerful enough to freeze rivers and cleave mountains, was swallowed and assimilated by the deep darkness once again, like a mud ox sinking into the sea, when it touched that surging demonic energy that seemed to contain the darkest part of the world. It failed to even stir up the slightest ripple.

A faint hint of fear finally flickered in her usually cold eyes as she looked at Xie Qingwu, who was being slowly lifted up by the neck like a puppet by the thick demonic energy. She felt a chill run down her spine—the situation was far more complicated than she had anticipated.

Min Xiao stood not far away, his shadowy face expressionless, only his deep, demonic eyes fixed on Shi Yubai's effortless and natural control of demonic energy, his heart already churning with turbulent waves.

He was certain that Shi Yubai had fused with some extremely ancient and powerful being, but had retained most of his own memories and had not become a puppet of demonic energy.

But what chilled him to the bone was that the fragments of memory and behavioral patterns that Shi Yubai was exhibiting at this moment seemed to be mixed with another completely different will that felt strangely familiar yet utterly alien to him...

The subtle emotions that occasionally flickered in his eyes, as if he were looking at an old acquaintance, and the coldness and...greed that transcended ordinary demon ethics when dealing with traitors, all pointed to a change that he could not understand and had never anticipated.

"This is completely wrong..." Min Xiao roared inwardly, his nails digging deep into his palms, bringing a sharp, sobering pain.

He witnessed it firsthand, participated in it personally… The Demon Lord's power infused his body, and only Shi Yubai was the vessel! Where did this other will come from? Could it be… could it be that the remnant soul of the sealed first Demon Lord had not completely dissipated, but instead, in a way I cannot understand, parasitized or rather… corrupted this newly born Demon Lord's body?

But this makes no sense at all! He personally witnessed the Demon Lord's remnant soul being thrown into Shi Yubai's body. That remnant soul had already had most of its consciousness erased, so how could it be...?

A strong sense of foreboding, like a cold, venomous snake, coiled around his heart, making him, for the first time, feel a fear of losing control over this long-planned "Demon Lord's Resurrection."

He did not recall, nor had he ever seen in any ancient demonic tome, that the successor to the power of the Demon Lord would exhibit such a bizarre fusion and mutation.

Things seem to be sliding into an abyss that even he, the architect of this plan, cannot control.

Just as everyone was watching and their hearts were pounding, Shi Yubai's devilish hand, gripping Xie Qingwu's neck, slowly tightened.

That posture was not the rage or cruelty that ordinary monsters would show when dealing with traitors, but rather something closer to... a scrutiny stripped of all emotion, leaving only pure, primal desire, as if examining a foreign object about to be dismantled and studied.

He brought the dying youth close to his eyes, and his blood-red demonic eyes clearly reflected Xie Qingwu's face, which was twisted with pain and pale with suffocation.

However, what surged deep within those pupils was not anger at the betrayal of his own kind, nor resentment at the challenge to his power, but a naked, undisguised greed and... appetite!

Yes, appetite.

Facing his compatriots who shared the same roots and flowed with similar demonic blood, that being, which had already transcended the norm, was born with the most primal and naked desire to devour!

He, or more precisely, "He" who possessed Shi Yubai's body, wanted to devour Xie Qingwu.

The moment they realized this, whether it was Jun Ning and Min Xiao nearby, or the powerful figures from all sides who were observing this place with their divine senses from afar, they all felt a chill rise from their tailbone, instantly freezing their limbs and bones...

When a powerful being with a civilized exterior and an awareness of its "true self" actively tears away its hypocritical reserve and completely releases the savage beast within, the posture it displays is enough to make any rational being tremble.

This is not a simple case of the survival of the fittest, but rather the flickering flame of civilization about to be extinguished before boundless darkness.

It is not a case of low-level monsters devouring each other out of their survival instinct, but rather a more advanced and terrifying form of "enjoyment".

The majesty emanating from the Demon Lord was like a luxurious plush bed, yet within it clung to ferocious fangs that preyed on those who sought to devour them; this was clearly a bloody, sticky feast of raw meat, yet it was cloaked in the humble shell of "cleaning house," attempting to whitewash the most primal atrocities as "reasonable."

The sticky, scarlet raw meat did not evoke a nauseating filth in his eyes, but rather a kind of "delicacy" that carried a rusty smell yet had a subtle sweet aftertaste.

What is swallowed is not just flesh and blood, but also the imprint of its existence as a "human being," all the emotions, memories, struggles, and last faint yearnings in its life.

This is tantamount to thoroughly chewing up and swallowing the last genetic landmarks that humanity relies on for identification, turning them into nourishment for its own chaos.