The Rise of the Sect: I am the most persistent person in the world of immortal cultivation

"what happened?"

After dealing with the last demon.

At this moment, Ye Yang's primordial spirit power was like a fine spider web, covering most of the secret realm.

Yet they could never catch a trace of the last trace of demonic energy.

He hovered in mid-air, his brows furrowed, and his fingertips twirled a wisp of drifting demonic energy.

This demonic energy shared the same origin as the auras of the three extraterrestrial demons previously slain, yet it carried a faint trace of spiritual energy fluctuation, as if its presence had been concealed by some force.

"Something's not right. This demonic energy shouldn't have disappeared into thin air."

"Perhaps they used other means to conceal their whereabouts?"

He turned and sped off toward the mine.

He spread out his primordial spirit power once again, this time paying special attention to areas that carried human presence.

Half an hour later, Ye Yang's primordial spirit power touched a familiar aura.

That was the spiritual energy fluctuation emanating from the Flying Heaven Sect disciple, yet it was mixed with a faint trace of demonic energy, which subtly echoed the last vanished demonic energy.

"Could it be that the other party is hiding among the disciples of the Flying Heaven Sect?"

Ye Yang was startled.

His figure transformed into a pale blue streak of light and flew towards the direction where Li Qingyun was.

At this moment, Li Qingyun was standing at the mine exit, feeling the power of a perfected martial artist within his body, his eyes filled with excitement.

Just as he was about to catch up with Lin Yan and the others, the demonic soul in his sea of ​​consciousness suddenly spoke.

"Get out of here quickly! Ye Yang might have already traced it back to you!"

Li Qingyun panicked and was about to turn around when a cold voice suddenly rang out behind him.

"Where are you going?"

Li Qingyun froze, then slowly turned around. He saw Ye Yang hovering in mid-air, the Azure Dragon Sky-Splitting Sword and the Evil King Blade swirling around him, radiating a chilling aura.

"Ye... Daozu Ye?"

Li Qingyun's voice trembled as he subconsciously tried to conceal the demonic energy within his body, only to find that his every move was locked by Ye Yang's primordial spirit power, leaving him nowhere to hide.

"Where does the demonic aura emanating from you come from?"

Ye Yang's gaze fell on Li Qingyun like a sharp sword, his tone icy.

Li Qingyun's face turned deathly pale, and the demonic soul in his sea of ​​consciousness roared wildly.

"Don't admit it! Let him think you've been corrupted by demonic energy! Quick, control your mind!"

Li Qingyun took a deep breath, suppressing the panic in his heart, and forced a smile.

"When I met Dao Ancestor, I... I was only killing a low-level demonic cultivator."

"I was accidentally tainted by demonic energy, but I have never seen any extraterrestrial demons."

"is it?"

Ye Yang snorted coldly, raised his hand and waved it, a cyan-gold sword aura landed in front of Li Qingyun, blocking his retreat.

"The demonic energy on your body is of the same origin as that of the extraterrestrial demons. This is not something that can be formed simply by being exposed to their aura."

Li Qingyun's heart sank; he hadn't expected Ye Daozu to be so perceptive.

Before Li Qingyun could speak, the demonic soul in his sea of ​​consciousness panicked completely, its voice filled with madness.

"Fight him! You now possess the strength of a perfected martial artist, and with my demonic arts, you might not be without a fighting chance!"

As soon as the demonic soul finished speaking, Li Qingyun's eyes suddenly turned blood red, his demonic energy surged, and his long sword glowed with black light as he slashed towards Ye Yang.

A mere martial arts cultivator dared to attack me.

Ye Yang was stunned for a moment.

For a moment, he didn't know whether to praise the other person or laugh in exasperation. Ye Yang's eyes turned cold, and he dodged Li Qingyun's attack in a flash, while simultaneously raising his hand to strike him with a palm.

The azure-gold spiritual energy fell upon Li Qingyun, temporarily suppressing the demonic energy surrounding him.

"Stubborn!"

With a flick of his finger, Ye Yang sent out several chains formed from spiritual energy, binding Li Qingyun firmly to the demonized ancient tree beside him.

"let me go!"

Li Qingyun struggled frantically, his demonic energy and spiritual power intertwining as he tried to break free of the chains. However, he discovered that the chains contained purifying power, and with each struggle, the demonic energy within him was weakened.

"Do you think you can break free from my restraints with your meager strength?" Ye Yang slowly walked up to Li Qingyun, the Evil King Blade pressed against his neck. "I'll ask you one last time, is the remnant soul of that extraterrestrial demon in your sea of ​​consciousness?"

Li Qingyun gritted his teeth, and the demonic soul in his sea of ​​consciousness roared, "You can't speak! If he wants to kill you, I'll detonate your sea of ​​consciousness! We'll perish together!"

Li Qingyun trembled, looking at Ye Yang's cold eyes and remembering the threat of the demonic soul, he was caught in a dilemma. Seeing his hesitation, Ye Yang's eyes flashed with understanding, and he condensed a pale blue spiritual energy at his fingertips, gently touching Li Qingyun's brow.

"What...what are you going to do?" Li Qingyun's voice was filled with panic.

"It's nothing, just to make you temporarily unconscious to prevent you from being controlled by this demonic soul."

Ye Yang's voice was calm as he slowly channeled his spiritual energy into Li Qingyun's sea of ​​consciousness. The demonic soul within sensed something was wrong and launched a frenzied attack on Li Qingyun's sea of ​​consciousness: "Don't let him in! I'm going to detonate your sea of ​​consciousness!"

Ye Yang's spiritual power, carrying purification and soothing abilities, quickly suppressed the demonic soul's attack. Li Qingyun's eyes gradually became unfocused, and he eventually fell into a coma.

As Li Qingyun fell unconscious, a wisp of black remnant soul drifted out from between his brows—it was the remnant soul of the extraterrestrial demon race hidden in his sea of ​​consciousness. As soon as the remnant soul left his body, it tried to escape, but found itself trapped by an invisible barrier—Ye Yang had already laid down spatial runes, sealing off his escape route.

"Ye Yang! Don't go too far!" The remnant soul looked at Ye Yang, its eyes filled with fear. "If I die, Li Qingyun's sea of ​​consciousness will also be damaged. Is it worth it for your Flying Heaven Sect to lose a genius?"

Ye Yang sneered, and the Evil King Blade approached the remnant soul: "Do you think I care about a genius controlled by a demonic soul? Besides, if I want to save him, I can do it anytime. As for you, if you don't honestly tell me the whereabouts of the last demon, I'll let you taste the feeling of the Evil King Blade devouring your primordial spirit."

The remnant soul trembled as it looked at the surging black mist on the Evil King Blade, recalling the six-winged demon and snake-faced demon it had previously devoured. It knew Ye Yang was telling the truth; the Evil King Blade had an extremely strong restraining effect on the primordial spirit, and if it were devoured, it wouldn't even have a chance to reincarnate.

"I...I confess!" the remnant soul hurriedly said, "The last demon is named 'Blood Horn.' He is skilled in stealth and should be near the protective array node at the core of the secret realm, trying to destroy the array and widen the spatial rift!"

Ye Yang's eyes darkened: "Where exactly is the protective array node located? What methods does he have?"

"The protective array node is located beneath the 'Magic Crystal Hall' at the core of the secret realm. Bloodhorn possesses a 'Array-Breaking Magic Crystal,' which can temporarily weaken the array's power!" The remnant soul dared not conceal anything and hurriedly revealed everything he knew. "Ancestor Ye, I have confessed everything. Please spare my life! I will never dare to set foot in this world again!"

Ye Yang stared at the remnant soul, his eyes unwavering: "Let you go? You think you still have a chance?" He raised his hand and waved, the black mist of the Evil King Blade surging forth, instantly enveloping the remnant soul. The remnant soul let out a shrill scream, but it only lasted a few breaths before abruptly ceasing, completely devoured by the Evil King Blade.

Ye Yang sheathed the Evil King Blade, looked at the unconscious Li Qingyun, and condensed a pale blue spiritual power at his fingertips, injecting it into Li Qingyun's sea of ​​consciousness—this spiritual power could not only repair his damaged sea of ​​consciousness, but also completely eliminate the remaining demonic energy. "I will spare your life for now, but if you dare to collude with the demon race again in the future, I will not spare you."

After dealing with Li Qingyun, Ye Yang turned and sped towards the core of the secret realm. He knew that time was of the essence; he had to find him before the Blood Horn destroyed the protective array. Otherwise, once the spatial rift widened and the Thunder Tribulation Realm Demon Ancestor descended, the entire secret realm would be plunged into catastrophe.

At this moment, beneath the Demon Crystal Hall at the core of the secret realm, a demon with blood-red horns and clad in black armor was infusing demonic energy into the protective array node, holding a dark red demon crystal. The light on the protective array node gradually dimmed, and the fluctuations of the spatial rift grew increasingly intense, as if it were about to erupt completely at any moment.

The Thunder Tribulation Demon Ancestor launched a cross-realm attack; Ye Yang's dual-wielding forces broke the deadlock.
Just as Ye Yang was about to head to the Demon Crystal Palace, suddenly, the space above the secret realm abruptly distorted, and an unimaginably terrifying pressure descended like dark clouds. This pressure did not originate from within the Blackwater River Secret Realm, but rather penetrated the spatial barrier, emanating from the distant outer demon realm. It carried the destructive aura unique to cultivators at the Thunder Tribulation Realm, causing the demonic energy throughout the entire secret realm to tremble, and even fine cracks began to appear on the ground.

"Hmm?" Ye Yang's expression changed drastically. He looked up at the sky and unleashed his full power, only to find that he couldn't detect the source of this oppressive aura. He could only vaguely sense that a pair of cold eyes were staring at him from the other end of the infinite starry sky. "A Demon Ancestor of the Thunder Tribulation Realm? He can actually attack across realms!"

At this moment, in a black palace in the outer demon realm, a demon clad in dark gold demonic armor and surrounded by purple lightning sat cross-legged. Above his head floated a black demonic crystal, reflecting Ye Yang's image. This was the Thunder Tribulation Realm Demon Ancestor—the Profound Thunder Demon Ancestor—who had dispatched his clansmen to infiltrate the Blackwater River Secret Realm.

"Ye Yang... dared to kill four of my clan's Nascent Soul Realm cultivators and even devour their essence!" A ruthless glint flashed in the eyes of the Xuanlei Demon Ancestor. He slowly raised his right hand, and purple lightning gathered wildly around him. "Even if we are millions of miles apart, I will make you taste the power of lightning tribulation!"

Before he finished speaking, the Demon Ancestor Xuanlei slammed his palm down on the demon crystal. A purple lightning pillar, several meters in diameter, erupted from the crystal, instantly piercing through the spatial barrier of the demon realm and flying towards the Blackwater River Secret Realm. Wherever the lightning pillar passed, the starry sky was torn apart, and countless tiny spatial cracks appeared. The terrifying aura of destruction caused the stars along the way to dim slightly.

Within the Blackwater River Secret Realm, Ye Yang sensed the rapidly approaching pillar of lightning, and alarm bells rang in his mind. He dared not be careless in the slightest; the Azure Dragon Sky-Splitting Sword and the Evil King Blade were simultaneously drawn, his primordial spirit power frantically pouring into the two weapons. The Azure Dragon Sky-Splitting Sword erupted with a soaring azure-gold sword aura, the dragon patterns on its blade flowing, and the faint roar of an azure dragon emanating from it; the Evil King Blade, meanwhile, churned with black mist, radiating a chilling, malevolent aura, and even the space around its blade was corroded with fine cracks.

"Well done!" Ye Yang shouted, gripping his sword with both hands and crossing the two weapons in front of him. The cyan-gold sword energy intertwined with the pitch-black evil energy, forming a huge tai chi pattern. The spatial runes in the center of the pattern spun rapidly, radiating a heart-palpitating power.

The next moment, a purple lightning pillar pierced through the spatial barrier of the Blackwater River Secret Realm, hurtling towards Ye Yang like a meteor. The instant the lightning pillar landed, the entire secret realm trembled violently, a huge crater collapsed into the ground, and countless demonized trees were destroyed by the aftershocks of the lightning pillar, with black wood chips and stones flying everywhere.

"Boom!" The lightning pillar collided with the sword and tai chi pattern set up by Ye Yang, producing a deafening roar. Azure-gold sword energy and pitch-black evil energy frantically resisted the erosion of the purple lightning pillar, while the spatial runes on the tai chi pattern flickered continuously, weakening the lightning pillar's power layer by layer. Ye Yang's feet sank deep into the ground, his arms trembling slightly from the immense force, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth—this cross-realm attack from the Thunder Tribulation Realm Demon Ancestor was even more powerful than he had imagined.

"You think you can hurt me with just the power of crossing realms?" A ruthless glint flashed in Ye Yang's eyes, and his primordial spirit power surged once more. "Azure Dragon Sky-Splitting Sword, Slash!" Azure-gold sword energy suddenly erupted, and the azure dragon phantom within the Tai Chi pattern burst forth, opening its massive maw to bite at the purple lightning pillar. At the same time, the evil aura of the Evil King Blade also surged instantly, and the pitch-black blade energy surged towards the lightning pillar like a tidal wave, continuously corroding its power.

In the Demon Realm Palace, Xuan Lei Demon Ancestor watched as Ye Yang within the demon crystal withstood his attack, his brow furrowing slightly. "I didn't expect Ye Yang to possess such strength, even able to withstand my interdimensional tribulation lightning power. It seems the plan for the Blackwater River Secret Realm must be accelerated." He raised his hand and injected demonic energy once more, causing the purple lightning pillar within the demon crystal to instantly surge, its power even greater than before.

Ye Yang felt a sudden increase in the power of the lightning pillar, and his heart sank. He knew he couldn't fight for long. If he were entangled by this lightning pillar and delayed his journey to the Demon Crystal Palace, the consequences would be unimaginable if Blood Horn destroyed the protective array's nodes. "Evil King Blade, Soul Devour!" Ye Yang shouted, and the black mist of the Evil King Blade instantly transformed into a huge black net, absorbing a portion of the purple lightning pillar's power into the blade. At the same time, the sword energy of the Azure Dragon Sky-Splitting Sword condensed into a sharp blade, slashing towards the core of the lightning pillar.

"Crack!" The sword blade collided with the lightning pillar, creating a crack in the purple lightning pillar. Ye Yang seized the opportunity, pushing forward with both hands and slamming the sword and tai chi pattern towards the lightning pillar. A burst of cyan-gold sword energy and pitch-black evil energy erupted instantly, completely destroying the purple lightning pillar.

(End of this chapter)