From the fake emperor to the concubine

"The Demon King?" Zhang Yunfan exclaimed in shock. "Then what do we do?"

"Don't worry," Zheng Yi waved his hand, "It's just a mere demon king; it poses no threat to us."

"But Master, what about the Demon King's strength?"

"Indeed, not weak," Zheng Yi's avatar admitted. "A late-stage Nascent Soul cultivation level is already considered top-tier in this era."

"Wouldn't we be in great danger?" Zhang Yunfan asked worriedly.

"Danger?" Zheng Yi avatar laughed. "Yunfan, you must remember, the greatest enemy on the path of cultivation is not an external foe, but the fear within your own heart."

"If you are afraid to advance because the enemy is strong, you will never become a true strongman."

"Disciple understands." Zhang Yunfan nodded.

"Furthermore," Zheng Yi's avatar continued, "Although I am an avatar, my true cultivation is already close to the mid-Nascent Soul stage. I am quite confident in dealing with a Blood Moon who is at the late-Nascent Soul stage."

Hearing his master say this, Zhang Yunfan's worries lessened slightly.

"Master, what preparations do we need to make?" Zhang Yunfan asked.

"Prepare?" Zheng Yi's avatar pondered for a moment. "Go tell Tianhao to inform all allies to gather at the Zheng family in three days. Since the demon race is going to play big, then we'll play along to their heart's content."

"Yes, Master!" Zhang Yunfan immediately went to relay the order.

Soon, the news spread throughout the entire southwestern part of the cultivation world.

Various forces closely associated with the Zheng family responded and began to gather around the Zheng family.

Teams from various factions, including the Heavenly Serpent Sect, Green Leaf Valley, and Southern Mountain Sect, rushed towards the Zheng family's territory.

Even some forces that had previously remained neutral chose to join the human alliance after learning of the Demon King's personal campaign.

"This is a war concerning the survival of humanity," someone said.

"If the Zheng family falls, then the entire southwestern part of the cultivation world will fall into the territory of the demon race."

Driven by this sense of crisis, all human factions have united as never before.

Standing in front of the Zheng family's gate, Niu Tieshan watched the endless stream of human processions, his feelings extremely complicated.

Just a few days ago, he was a general of the demon race, fighting for the interests of the demon race.

Now, however, he is going to help the human race fight against his own kind.

"Is this fate?" Niu Tieshan thought with a bitter smile.

But then he made up his mind again.

Since you've chosen to submit to the Zheng family, you must live up to that trust.

"Come on, Blood Moon." Niu Tieshan gripped his giant hammer tightly, a determined glint in his eyes. "Let me see just how formidable you, this demon king, really are!"

In the distance, the demon army had already assembled.

Blood Moon stood atop the back of a gigantic two-headed demonic dragon, surveying the densely packed demon warriors below, his heart filled with heroic pride.

"Warriors of the Demon Race!" Blood Moon's voice echoed throughout the canyon, "How dare the humans challenge the majesty of our Demon Race! Today, I, the King, will personally lead you to raze human territory to the ground and show them the consequences of opposing the Demon Race!"

"Roar!"

Countless demons roared, their voices filled with a thirst for the impending war.

"Set off!" With a command from Blood Moon, the massive demon army began its march toward human territory.

Three days later, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and a suffocating murderous aura rolled in from the horizon.

Above the Zheng family's territory, thousands of demon warriors blotted out the sun, and the roars of various flying demonic beasts echoed through the clouds. At the very front of this massive army, the Demon King Blood Moon rode a two-headed demonic dragon, looking down majestically at the human allied forces below.

"Zheng Yi! Get out here for me!" Blood Moon's voice boomed like thunder, and his powerful aura instantly enveloped the entire battlefield.

In the square in front of the Zheng family mansion, the human alliance stood ready. Elites from various major forces, including the Heavenly Serpent Sect, Green Leaf Valley, and Southern Mountain Sect, gathered together. Although their numbers were fewer than the demon army, each of them had a burning determination to protect their homeland.

Zhang Yunfan stood at the front of the line, gripping the Void-Breaking Sword, gazing up at the Demon King in the sky. This was the first time he had felt the pressure of a Nascent Soul stage expert so closely; the suppression emanating from the level of life itself made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

"Such overwhelming pressure!" Zhang Yunfan thought to himself in surprise. "Is this the power of the Demon King?"

Just then, a beam of white light shot into the sky from the Zheng family mansion, instantly dispelling the oppressive aura emanating from the blood moon.

Zheng Yi transformed and stood in mid-air, dressed in white, his expression calm and composed, as if he were facing not a demon army, but a group of insignificant ants.

"Blood Moon, you've finally arrived," Zheng Yi's avatar said calmly. "I thought you wouldn't dare come."

"Hahaha! You dare not?" Blood Moon laughed wildly. "I have roamed the demon race for hundreds of years and have never feared anyone!"

"Is that so?" Zheng Yi's avatar revealed a mocking smile. "Then why did you bring so many subordinates? Don't you have the confidence to deal with me alone?"

These words pierced Blood Moon's pride like a sharp sword. Indeed, if he were truly confident, he could have come alone; why bother with such a large force?
"Enough with the nonsense!" Blood Moon roared in rage. "Today, I, the Demon King, will show you what true majesty is!"

"Blood Moon Heavenly Punishment!"

The blood moon spread its arms, and suddenly a blood-red full moon appeared in the sky. The moonlight, like blood, poured down on the earth, and wherever it touched, space itself began to distort.

This is Blood Moon's signature move, which has defeated countless powerful enemies. The crimson moonlight not only contains terrifying offensive power, but it can also corrupt the enemy's mind, driving them into madness.

Faced with this move, Zheng Yi's expression remained unchanged; he simply raised his right hand slightly.

"A microcosm of the universe, a vast ocean of stars!"

In an instant, countless dazzling stars appeared in the sky, each radiating a soft yet resolute light. These starlights collided with the blood moonlight, producing a deafening roar.

Two colors, blood red and blood white, clashed fiercely in the air, dyeing the entire sky with strange colors.

"What?!" Blood Moon exclaimed in shock, "You actually managed to withstand my Blood Moon Heavenly Punishment?"

"Just a trivial skill," Zheng Yi replied calmly. "Blood Moon, is this all the power you have?"

Hearing this, Blood Moon felt even angrier, but at the same time, a sense of unease also arose in her heart.

The strength Zheng Yi displayed seemed to be even greater than he had imagined.

"Hmph! This is just the beginning!" Blood Moon gritted her teeth and said, "Blood Wolf True Form!"

As the incantation was recited, Blood Moon's form began to change. His body rapidly expanded, growing sharp claws and fangs, and a head of blood-red wolf fur covered his entire body.

In the blink of an eye, the Blood Moon transformed into a gigantic blood wolf, hundreds of feet long, with eyes as crimson as the blood moon, radiating a chillingly fierce light.

"This is the true form of the Demon King." The human cultivators below were all dumbfounded.

Blood Moon in his true form as a Blood Wolf was more than twice as strong as before. Every move he made contained world-destroying power.

"Blood Claws Tear the Sky!"

The Blood Moon swung its enormous claws, leaving five blood-red claw marks that seemed to tear the entire sky apart.

These five claw marks contained the power of spatial laws, and wherever they passed, even space itself was torn apart.

Faced with such a terrifying attack, Zheng Yi finally put away his relaxed expression and became serious.

"Star Shield!" Countless stars revolved around Zheng Yi's avatar, forming a massive protective shield. The blood-red claw marks struck the Star Shield, unleashing a deafening roar.

Although it blocked the Blood Moon's attack, the Star Shield also developed obvious cracks.

"Hahaha! Zheng Yi, you're nothing special!" Blood Moon's confidence soared as he saw his attack had worked.

"Is that so?" A glint of cunning flashed in Zheng Yi's avatar's eyes. "Then try taking this move from me again."

"A star has fallen!"

The stars in the sky began to twinkle, then rained down on the blood moon like a meteor shower. Each star contained terrifying power, enough to split mountains and shatter rocks.

Blood Moon hurriedly used his movement technique to dodge, but there were too many stars, making it impossible to avoid them.

"Blood Wolf Howl!"

The Blood Moon roared to the sky, its sound waves spreading like a tsunami, shattering most of the stars. But a few stars still struck his body, leaving deep wounds.

"Damn it!" Blood Moon roared, "Zheng Yi, you have utterly enraged me!"

"A blood sacrifice to the heavens!"

This is one of Blood Moon's forbidden techniques, requiring the burning of one's own life essence to gain immense power. Blood Moon's body erupted in crimson flames, and its aura surged instantly.

Sensing the change in the blood moon's aura, the human cultivators below all showed worried expressions.

"Can our ancestor handle this?" someone asked worriedly.

“I trust our ancestor,” Zheng Tianhao said firmly, though his palms were sweating.

At this moment, Zhang Yunfan was intently observing the battle between Nascent Soul stage experts, which was an extremely valuable learning opportunity for him.

"Master's strength is indeed unfathomable," Zhang Yunfan thought to himself. "But this demon king is no pushover either; Master seems..."

Suddenly, Zhang Yunfan keenly sensed something unusual.

Although Master's attacks appeared incredibly powerful, they all seemed to deliberately avoid Blood Moon's vital points. Moreover, although Master clearly had the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to Blood Moon, he always held back at the crucial moment.

"What is Master doing?" Zhang Yunfan wondered.

The aerial battle continues fiercely.

After burning his essence blood, Blood Moon's strength did indeed increase significantly, and his battle with Zheng Yi's avatar appeared to be evenly matched.

The two dodged and weaved in the air, their powerful spells clashing constantly, plunging the entire sky into darkness.

The mountains were leveled, the rivers were cut off, and the landscape within a radius of hundreds of miles underwent earth-shattering changes in this battle.

"This is terrifying!" The cultivators below stared in disbelief. "Is this what a battle between Nascent Soul stage experts is like?"

But only Blood Moon himself knew how dangerous his current situation was.

Although on the surface he seemed to be on par with Zheng Yi, in reality he could sense that Zheng Yi was letting him win.

Whenever he was in dire straits, Zheng Yi would always stop in time, giving him a chance to catch his breath.

"Damn it. What is this guy trying to do?" Blood Moon thought with a mixture of anger and fear. "He could have easily killed me, why did he show mercy?"

Unbeknownst to Blood Moon, Zheng Yi's avatar was deliberately controlling the pace of the battle.

As a true powerhouse, Zheng Yi was well aware of the gap in strength between himself and Blood Moon. If he went all out, he could defeat Blood Moon in three moves at most.

But he didn't do that because he had deeper considerations.

"Yunfan and the others need to grow through real crises," Zheng Yi thought to himself. "If I end the battle too quickly, they'll lose this valuable opportunity for training."

Indeed, although the human cultivators below were tense, they were all carefully observing the battle and drawing valuable experience from it.

Zhang Yunfan, in particular, was completely absorbed in observing the battle.

By observing the battle between two Nascent Soul stage experts, he gained a deeper understanding of the use of magic.

"So this is what battles between the strong are like," Zhang Yunfan thought to himself. "It's not just a contest of magical power, but more importantly, an understanding and application of the laws."

Just then, a new change occurred on the battlefield.

Blood Moon seemed to realize that Zheng Yi was giving in to him, and his anger reached its peak.

"Zheng Yi! Are you humiliating me?" Blood Moon roared. "I'd rather die than accept your pity!"

"Blood Wolf self-destructs!"

Blood Moon was preparing to self-destruct, taking Zheng Yi down with it.

Even Zheng Yi's avatar couldn't stand idly by now. The self-destruction of the Blood Moon was extremely powerful; it would not only destroy the entire battlefield but also affect the human cultivators below.

"Stop!" Zheng Yi shouted sternly, "Do you want to implicate innocent people?"

"Innocent?" Blood Moon sneered. "In a life-or-death battle, what is innocent?"

"Since you're unwilling to take me seriously, then let's die together!"

Seeing that the Blood Moon was about to self-destruct, Zheng Yi had no choice but to go all out.

"Star Seal!"

Countless stars revolved rapidly around the blood moon, forming an impenetrable seal.

The Blood Moon's self-destruction was contained within the seal and did not affect anyone else.

Even so, the terrifying energy fluctuations made everyone present feel threatened with death.

"This is insane!" someone said in a trembling voice. "The Demon King actually chose to self-destruct!"

When the light faded, the blood moon had vanished.

However, Zheng Yi's avatar did not show a victorious expression; instead, he frowned.

“No. He’s not dead,” Zheng Yi’s avatar muttered to himself.

Sure enough, a faint blood-red light flickered in the ruins where the seal had been broken.

That was a wisp of the Blood Moon's remnant soul; though faint, it had not completely dissipated.

"Zheng Yi," Blood Moon's voice was as faint as a whisper, "I...have ultimately been defeated."

"You haven't lost," Zheng Yi said, transforming into the remnant soul of the Blood Moon. "You simply chose the wrong opponent."

"Hmph, don't give me that," Blood Moon sneered. "I can sense that you've been giving me the run-in from the very beginning. Why?"

"Why should I give way to you?" Zheng Yi's avatar pondered for a moment, "Because your death is meaningless to me."

"What's the meaning?"

"My true enemy is not a demon king like you, but a being of a higher level." Zheng Yi's avatar gave Blood Moon a deep look. "Rather than killing you, I'd rather teach you some lessons." (End of Chapter)