So it turns out I'm the demon!

Inside the underground palace.

A Buddhist lamp, suspended in mid-air, is burning quietly.

Although the wick, no bigger than a bean, was small, it emitted a blazing golden light, covering a radius of about 10 square meters.

Outside the palace gate, eighteen heavily armored guards stood holding halberds.

Under the glow of the Buddha's lamp, the breathing of these eighteen people, and even the aura emanating from their bodies, were completely synchronized.

Their faces were expressionless, their eyes vacant.

They were like puppets whose souls had been taken away.

"My destined puppet..."

Xu Chen stopped in his tracks, staring at the eighteen Xuan Guards. His eyes, visible through the silver masks, narrowed, a hint of mockery in them.

Using his own natal divine artifact as a catalyst, he forcibly refined his loyal subordinates, who already possessed considerable cultivation, into "human puppets."

Although it could borrow the power of the divine object to forcibly raise the cultivation level of these armored warriors by a whole realm in a short period of time.

But the price is cruel.

This is tantamount to draining their souls and lifespan.

Moreover, once they leave the area covered by the divine light of the Buddha, the physical bodies of these human puppets will immediately rot and disintegrate.

"Commander Xu, leave these eighteen puppet warriors to us. We'll also guard the palace gates for you and keep out any demon-slaying envoys that might try to break in."

The dog demon king following behind rolled his eyes and quickly said, "As for the garrison commander inside, we'll leave it to you, Commander, to personally kill him!" The other two great demon kings who followed in exchanged glances and remained silent.

They were willing to clear the obstacles around Xu Chen, but unwilling to step into the underground palace. In case Xu Chen ran into trouble inside, they could make a quick getaway.

Xu Chen didn't look at them, but simply hummed in agreement before stepping onto the stone steps leading to the depths of the underground palace.

Eighteen Xuan Guards raised their long spears and charged towards Xu Chen to kill him.

Seeing this, the three demon kings attacked together, tearing a bloody path for Xu Chen.

Xu Chen walked very slowly, one step at a time.

But if you look closely, with each step he takes, a phantom of a compass appears on the steps.

The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches on the compass, like the hands of a clock, slowly turn with a "click".

With each rotation, Xu Chen's demonic energy increased by one unit.

The golden light of Buddhism that had originally enveloped the passageway was forced to retreat steadily by this demonic energy.

After crossing the last threshold, Xu Chen stepped into the main hall of the underground palace.

Inside the hall, golden light shone brightly.

Tian Wenyuan, clad in iron armor, sat upright on a lotus flower.

Behind him, a golden Buddha statue stood solemnly and majestically.

The Buddha's face is depicted with one hand in the Abhaya Mudra (gesture of fearlessness), and a dot of cinnabar between his eyebrows.

His eyes were half-closed, and his face was compassionate.

Xu Chen stopped and stared coldly at Tian Wenyuan, saying indifferently:

"You really haven't disappointed me. You're actually preparing to sacrifice the people of this city."

Tian Wenyuan slowly opened his eyes.

The brilliant Buddhist light shone on his ruddy face, which exuded an air of quiet authority, and unexpectedly added a touch of compassionate gratitude to him. He looked at Xu Chen and sighed.

"Xu Chen, you were once my subordinate. I entrusted you with important responsibilities and treated you like my own son."

Although you ultimately disappointed me, in my heart, you are more outstanding than any other prodigy in this world.

Xu Chen's eyes blazed with malice, and he let out a sneer:

"What? Now that things have come to this, Tian Wenyuan, are you trying to play the emotional card with me? Isn't it a bit too late?"

"I've given you many chances."

Tian Wenyuan's eyes showed regret.

"Chance?"

Xu Chen lowered his head, his fingers lightly tracing the branch bracelet on his wrist, his voice filled with deep-seated anger and hatred.

"Those so-called opportunities you gave me were only for your own benefit. But when I truly needed an opportunity, I only needed one. Yet you wouldn't even spare me a shred of pity."

Tian Wenyuan, you'll always be so hypocritical.

Tian Wenyuan remained silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke:

"Xu Chen, do you want to know what those vixen's last words were before I beheaded her?"

Xu Chen's fingers stopped on the branch.

Tian Wenyuan looked at him and said, slowly and deliberately, "She said she regrets falling in love with you."

The hall was deathly silent.

The only sound was the faint crackling of the burning Buddha lamp.

After a long pause, Xu Chen suddenly laughed:

"Trying to use such a despicable psychological tactic to disrupt my peace of mind? Tian Wenyuan, your methods are far too low."

Tian Wenyuan's eyes were sharp:

"But that's what you really think, isn't it?"

Xu Chen's cheek muscles twitched slightly.

He didn't speak again, but closed his eyes.

Behind him, a huge black compass appeared, and the pointer began to spin.

For every inch the compass turns, a jet-black longsword emerges from the surface of the compass.

One, two, three...

Nine black swords hung behind him, their tips all aimed at Tian Wenyuan.

"When the great way is flawed, one should hear of it and mend it..."

Tian Wenyuan gazed at the sky filled with countless black swords, couldn't help but shake his head, and murmured a sigh.

"A worthless fragment of a legacy that even the great demon Jiang Chaoxi discarded back then, you treat as a treasure, cultivating it to the point of being neither human nor ghost. Xu Chen, do you really think you can kill me with such a shoddy relic?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Buddha statue behind Tian Wenyuan put its hands together in prayer.

"clang"

Accompanied by a resounding, soul-stirring sound, the Buddha's light shone brightly.

A huge golden bronze bell descended from the sky, inverting Tian Wenyuan and the lotus flower inside it.

Xu Chen pointed his sword at the same point, aiming it out from afar.

The black giant sword slammed into the golden shield.

The violent explosion ripped across the surface of the bell, yet it remained unbroken.

But the sword's momentum did not stop.

Guided by Xu Chen's sword technique, the six swords behind him struck the same point of impact one after another.

A crack was finally chiseled into the surface of the golden bell.

"break!!"

Xu Chen thrust his right hand forward with a sword gesture.

Finally, the two black swords merged into one and plunged into the crack.

The golden bell trembled.

As the black sword blade drew ever closer, Tian Wenyuan closed his eyes and formed a hand seal in front of his chest.

"Xu Chen, today I will show you what the true Path of Purgatory is!"

The next moment, the floorboards on both sides of the underground palace suddenly cracked.

Two huge cracks were torn open.

Beneath the crack, there was a pool of crimson, churning lava.

Like boiling blood.

Even more terrifying, countless pale arms were desperately reaching out and clawing upwards from the boiling lava.

Accompanied by screams and wails.

It sounded like the wailing of hungry ghosts at the very bottom of hell, who could never be released.

Xu Chen looked around at the horrifying scene on both sides, and even with his composure as an eleventh-level demonic cultivator, he couldn't help but be shaken:

"Avici Hell... Tian Wenyuan, just how many living people did you capture and sacrifice to create this hellish sea of ​​resentment?"

Tian Wenyuan closed his eyes, his expression still filled with sorrow, and sighed:

"Without entering hell, how can there be a Pure Land? How can I save all living beings? How can I forge my supreme path?"

As soon as the words were spoken, two giant red hands, formed from lava and countless human bones, emerged from the blood-red lava hell on both sides.

Each of the giant hands and feet is about ten feet in diameter.

When the five fingers are spread open, hot lava continues to flow between them.

The giant hands slammed down on Xu Chen from both the left and right.

Xu Chen frowned slightly.

At that moment, the dry twig bracelet on his right wrist suddenly glowed with a soft, green light.

The branches quickly sprouted new shoots and buds, twisting and entwining.

In the blink of an eye, a spherical wooden cage was woven around him, protecting Xu Chen in the center.

Two giant lava hands slammed onto the wooden cage.

"Crackling"

The flames ignited the outer branches.

The seemingly fragile wooden cage remained resilient and unbreakable no matter how much the lava surged and squeezed it.

Xu Chen stood inside the wooden cage, staring at the two giant red hands pressing down on it, and suddenly realized something.

He abruptly raised his head, a chill running through his eyes:

"Something's not right. This power isn't something you, Tian Wenyuan, should possess. There's someone else hiding in this underground palace, isn't there?"

Tian Wenyuan's eyelid twitched.

Just then, the Buddha image that had been standing quietly behind him suddenly opened its half-closed eyes.

Faxiang said in a deep voice:

"Break through the cultivation process as soon as possible; I can't hold him for long."

Xu Chen looked completely incredulous.

The Dharma Image can actually speak?!

Normally, a Dharma Image is merely an illusory image of energy condensed by a cultivator in communication with the laws of heaven and earth; it is impossible for it to possess self-awareness.

How is that possible?

Tian Wenyuan ignored Xu Chen.

He formed one hand seal after another, and the array beneath the lotus began to operate at an accelerated pace.

At the very center of the formation, the flame of the Buddha lamp shot up several feet higher.

Golden Buddhist flames began to spread outwards along the patterns of the array.

Just then, he frowned and turned his head to look.

A figure swept into the main hall from the end of the stone steps.

The newcomer trod across the ground streaked with sword marks and rubble, his robes stained with demon blood. His brows bore the weariness of a traveler, yet his eyes held a sharp glint.

Tian Wenyuan looked at him, her gaze complex:

"Jiang Mu".

Jiang Mu stopped, first glancing at Xu Chen in the wooden cage, then at the lava hell on both sides.

Jiang Mu sighed:

"Tian Wenyuan, oh Tian Wenyuan, I still harbor a tiny bit of fantasy in my heart, a fantasy that 'Black Mountain' might be someone else."

But you really disappointed me.

"These innocent, remnant souls struggling in the lava below, aren't they the people you secretly controlled and captured by those monsters?"

Tian Wenyuan spoke calmly:

"Jiang Mu, I thought you had already taken advantage of the chaos to escape Yunzhou City."

"Heh."

Jiang Mu scoffed, "I'd like to run, but I'm afraid you never intended to give me that chance from the very beginning, did you?" Tian Wenyuan nodded noncommittally.

"That's true. But I won't hide it from you; I did hesitate for a long time about whether to kill you or not. You might not believe it, but I truly admire you."

"letter."

Jiang Mu twitched the corner of his mouth. "It's not contradictory to appreciate a junior who is always ready to be used as a sacrificial material."

Since we've already thrown caution to the wind, I'll only ask you one question.

"If you could set up such a massive sacrificial array on your own territory in Fazhou City, why did you go to all that trouble in the first place, traveling all the way to Yan City to ambush Yuan Qianfan and perform a blood sacrifice?"

Tian Wenyuan countered:

"Since you're so intelligent, why don't you guess for yourself why?"

Jiang Mu sneered: "Breakthroughs in cultivation depend on the right timing, location, and people. There is a dragon vein hidden beneath Yan City, which is simply because its 'location' is several times better than your Fazhou City."

Tian Wenyuan nodded:

"You're only half right. That is indeed one reason. But my journey to Yan City wasn't just to seek a breakthrough to the twelfth realm, but also to... prolong my life."

"To prolong life?"

Jiang Mu frowned.

Tian Wenyuan raised his hand expressionlessly and ripped off his iron armor, revealing his upper body.

Jiang Mu was stunned when she saw the other person's upper body.

It was clear that Tian Wenyuan's entire chest and abdominal cavity, from below his throat down to his lower abdomen, had been completely emptied.

It has no heart or liver, no spleen or lungs.

All that remained were the stark white ribs and flesh.

The skeleton was filled with a strange substance resembling asphalt.

These black substances were also wreathed in golden Buddhist light, as if they were suppressing something.

"What the hell is this thing?"

Jiang Mu asked.

Tian Wenyuan lowered his head, looked at his mangled chest, and gave a self-deprecating laugh. Instead of directly answering Jiang Mu's question, he changed the subject:

"This body should have died long ago. In Yancheng, I tried to change my fate using the dragon vein, but I failed."

Although the conditions in Fazhou City are not as good as those in Yan City, I no longer have time to choose.

The way of refining and sacrificing uses human souls as fuel, demon bones as charcoal, demonic thoughts as a catalyst, and the essence and blood of cultivators as oil.

Only when all four are present can a glimmer of hope be forged in the furnace of heaven and earth.

Yan City possesses a dragon vein, a demon army, and a city full of people; it has all the advantages of timing and location, making it an ideal place for alchemy and sacrifice. It's just a pity that several powerful cultivators appeared halfway through, forcing this old man to leave.

"What about Tanzhou City?" Jiang Mu asked.

"Tanzhou City is rather lacking."

Tian Wenyuan said calmly, "Without a dragon vein, we can only use incense and prayers as a substitute. The success rate is low. And..."

He suddenly fell silent for a moment, then said sadly,

"After all, I have been stationed here for so many years. These people are, in a sense, my children. This is why I was unwilling to sacrifice the people of this city."

Jiang Mu sneered, "You're just unwilling to part with the incense offerings and prayers of this city, aren't you?"

Tian Wenyuan did not deny it, and nodded frankly:

"That's part of the reason. But it's too late to say anything now. I can't hold on much longer."

Jiang Mu, I truly do not wish to kill you.

"But if I let you go, with your talent, one day you will reach the pinnacle of the Great Dao. At that time, you will definitely come back to kill me." He sat up straight again.

The light of the Buddha's lamp illuminated his chest cavity, making it appear even more eerie.

Tian Wenyuan's face was a mixture of compassion and malice, like a mask that had been torn apart and then stitched back together.

"So, Jiang Mu..."

"This city of Fazhou will be your final resting place today."

As the words fell, the lotus flower beneath Tian Wenyuan emitted a cracking sound.

With a "bang," the lotus shattered inch by inch.

Petals flew out and shattered the dome of the underground palace.

After the dome shattered, the Buddha's light did not stop, but continued to surge upwards like a flood bursting its banks.

Amidst the scattering of rubble, Tian Wenyuan's body began to rot.

Black, asphalt-like substance gushed from the ruptured chest cavity and seeped into the array beneath his feet.

Wherever the black liquid passed, the patterns of the array lit up.

They spread towards the city along the hidden tracks that had been laid out beforehand.

The array patterns that had been secretly engraved in the streets, alleys, wells, and walls were all activated at the same time.

A bird's-eye view.

It was a giant net of alchemy that firmly contained the city of Tanzhou.

"Boom!"

The earth trembled violently, and the mountains shook.

The rocks, soil, and black slime from the ground fused together, stacking and piling up layer by layer, before rising up.

In just a few breaths, a giant humanoid figure formed from earth and stone slowly stood up.

The giant was a hundred feet tall, with shoulders and back as broad as mountains.

He was surrounded by golden Buddhist light, and his facial features were exactly the same as Tian Wenyuan's.

He held the Buddha lamp in his left hand and raised his right hand upwards.

The entire city of Fazhou rose off the ground and was held in his palm.

The world, which had been swallowed by darkness, was illuminated as bright as day with the appearance of this giant. From afar, he resembled a celestial being.

The oppressive force contained within the light was as imposing as a mountain.

Inside and outside the city, many demons and demon slayers knelt on the ground, unable to move, under the oppressive force of this divine might.

Only those powerful demons and cultivators with high cultivation levels could barely withstand this oppressive force and retreat to the outskirts of the city.

Jiang Mu was naturally among them.

He dodged and retreated to the edge of mid-air, watching the scene with a solemn expression.

"Damn, is this guy cheating?"

Jiang Mu cursed inwardly.

The crimson moon in the sky disappeared into Tian Wenyuan's brow, transforming into a true blood-red eye.

As flesh and blood writhed, blood-red eyes opened, coldly gazing upon all things.

"At the pinnacle of the Great Dao, Mars guards the heart. The fire that burns the world, the way of heaven. Only I, Tian Wenyuan, take all living beings as fuel, and use the fire of calamity to open the heavens!" Tian Wenyuan's voice, like rolling thunder, echoed between heaven and earth, shaking the clouds to their core.

"I, Tian Wenyuan, am the only true god in this nine heavens and ten earths!"

The blood-red vertical pupil between his brows emitted a red light, enveloping the Yunzhou City held in his palm.

At the same time, two golden eyes fell on Jiang Mu:

"Jiang Mu, you are indeed the greatest genius of Daqing, a talent unseen in a century, but before my ascension to the heavens, you don't even have the right to look me in the eye! Today, I will first refine and sacrifice you to achieve my supreme Dao!"

After saying this, the Buddhist lamp he held in his left hand rose up.

The free palm, enveloped in boundless golden light, slammed down towards Jiang Mu!

Before the giant hand even arrived, the force of its palm had already completely compressed and sealed off the space around Jiang Mu.

The raging gale was like countless sharp blades, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek, as if it wanted to smash him into a pile of minced meat.

"Little Jiang!"

Shui Miaozheng leaped out, her fan spinning rapidly in front of her, attempting to rush into the area shrouded in golden light.

But as soon as she touched the edge of the Buddha's light, she was bounced back.

The other monsters and humans were all somewhat bewildered.

Why would Tian Wenyuan suddenly create such a world-destroying spectacle?

Even if the purpose is to perform a sacrificial ritual, why kill Jiang Mu?

Facing the overwhelming, all-encompassing hand pressing down upon him, Jiang Mu sighed softly:

"I was originally planning to wait for Elder Tian to arrive, and perhaps out of brotherhood, I could give you some face... Unfortunately, you were too impatient." Jiang Mu immediately stopped hesitating and threw the bone bead into his mouth.

This time, he was not teleported into the secret realm.

The moment the bone bead entered his abdomen, winding streaks of blood appeared on his arms.

The bloodstains seemed alive, climbing up his forearm, around his elbow, up his upper arm, and finally converging at his shoulder blade to form a grotesque rune pattern.

The runes glowed.

The next instant, a violent burst of malevolent energy exploded from his body.

The golden giant hand that descended from the sky collided head-on with this malevolent energy and immediately disintegrated.

"Um?"

A look of surprise flashed across Tian Wenyuan's eyes.

But at this moment, Jiang Mu was completely enveloped in black mist.

Before Tian Wenyuan could react, he was horrified to feel that Jiang Mu's aura was surging wildly.

Eighth Realm, Ninth Realm, Tenth Realm, and so on... Eleventh Realm!!

The oppressive aura that originally belonged exclusively to Tian Wenyuan was forced back by half of its power by this newly emerging terrifying aura.

Tian Wenyuan's eyes widened, his face filled with bewilderment and disbelief.

The other spectators, both human and demon, thought they were hallucinating and froze in shock.

Is this guy about to ascend to heaven?

"boom!"

Jiang Mu released his Dharma form.

The Vulcan Dharma Image, which was originally only a few dozen meters tall, grew exponentially with the influx of power from the eleventh realm of cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, a towering fire god statue, hundreds of feet tall and wreathed in flames, rose from the ground, confronting Tian Wenyuan from afar.

"Is this the power of the eleventh realm?"

Jiang Mu looked down at his hands, his fingers slowly closing, feeling the unfamiliar and boundless power surging through his meridians. He muttered to himself, "Indeed, on the Great Dao, each level presents a completely different landscape."

After speaking, he raised his right hand and pointed at Tian Wenyuan in front of him.

He uttered a single word:

"cut!"

The pitch-black sky was torn open by this gesture, creating a huge gap.

Amidst the turbulent currents of the void, a colossal sword seemed to have been drawn from the ancient universe.

He slashed down fiercely at Tian Wenyuan!

Before the blade even arrived, the earth below had already been pressed down several feet deep.

Tian Wenyuan finally recovered from his shock.

He grabbed the Buddha lamp hanging in mid-air and poured the remaining star power in his body into it without regard to the cost.

The flame of the Buddha lamp burst into flame.

Golden Buddhist flames cascaded down like a waterfall, layering and coiling around him, instantly forming a golden bell shield several times thicker than before, protecting his hundred-foot-tall body within.

"clang!"

The black giant blade slammed down hard on the golden light shield.

It's like Mars colliding with Earth.

The explosive sound waves instantly cleared the clouds within a radius of tens of miles.

Amidst the collapse of mountains and the cracking of the earth.

Wherever the blast wave passed, distant mountain peaks were flattened.

"Clang... Clang clang..."

Accompanied by a cracking sound, the surface of the light shield was covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

Every crack was humming.

The ground beneath Tian Wenyuan's feet sank several feet, and the giant's legs, from the knees down, were completely submerged in the soil.

He shouted sharply:

"You're not Jiang Mu! Who are you?!"

With his discerning eye, he could immediately tell that Jiang Mu's body had definitely been possessed.

Moreover, the opponent's spiritual strength was even stronger than his!

Jiang Mu did not answer.

He lightly pressed down on the hilt of the knife.

The giant sword sank again!

The cracks on the surface of the Golden Bell Cover are becoming more numerous and denser.

Tian Wenyuan gritted his teeth, raised the Buddha lamp above his head, and the flame burned wildly under his command, constantly repairing the cracks in the light shield. But the repair speed was far slower than the speed at which it shattered.

He is currently at an awkward critical juncture.

His Buddha image was stripped away, and most of his power was locked away by the sacrificial array. He was barely holding on by the flames of the Buddha lamp and the remaining incense and vows. In addition, he was currently in the most unstable period of his life force when he was forcibly breaking through to a higher realm.

The unknown being occupying Jiang Mu's body, while not a true peak eleventh realm being, undoubtedly possessed the full combat power of a complete eleventh realm being.

As one side gains and the other loses, the other gains.

Tian Wenyuan was completely unable to withstand this purely violent head-on confrontation.

Seeing that the light barrier was about to completely collapse, fear finally appeared in Tian Wenyuan's eyes, and he roared:

"Buddha, save me!!"