Those time travelers that year

"That is truly an honor!" the sect leader said slowly. "I never imagined that as my twenty-seventh lifespan approaches, I would not only have to engage in a peak battle with the Evil Emperor, but I also hear that I am to fight the Primordial Heavenly Demon once again!"

"But unfortunately, my time is almost up. I'm afraid that after I fight the Evil Emperor, I won't have the ability to fight the Primordial Heavenly Demon anymore."

“No! You still have a chance!” Xia Er replied, “The so-called twenty-seventh limit is not actually a curse from evil spirits. Rather, it is the price paid by the successive Great Rakshasa Sect leaders who, as mortals, forcibly cultivated the power of the Rakshasa God! This price is not unpayable…”

"You mean, you have a way to resolve the Twenty-Seventh Death Limit?" Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Xia Er in surprise, especially the Great Rakshasa Sect Master, who was about to reach the end of his life due to the Twenty-Seventh Death Limit. Not only him, but also his son Wu Yong, as well as Nian Cang Sheng and Nian Min Ren looked over in astonishment. Indeed, the Twenty-Seventh Death Limit was a death curse for all the Great Rakshasa Sect Masters throughout history, and no one had ever been able to escape this price.

Just because mortals are helpless in this matter does not mean that this reincarnated god or demon is powerless to do anything about it.

"Sect Master, you can't solve this, but your son can," Xia Er said. "As for your current situation, Sect Master, the Twenty-Seventh Life Limit is constantly squeezing your life essence. This squeezing is unavoidable and even irreversible. Under these circumstances, you only have one path: to make the ultimate leap..." Looking at the Sect Master's serious expression, Xia Er said, "In a battle that allows you to constantly surpass your peak and your limits, you will use the driving force brought by the Twenty-Seventh Life Limit to break through—the Heavenly Gate of Godhood."

"You mean, become a god!?"

“That’s right! By relying on the twenty-seven major lifespans, you can cross the heavenly barrier between humans and gods and thus be deified!” Xia Er explained. “However, this can probably only extend your life for a little longer at most. You should know that every human who has ascended to immortality has gone through countless tribulations. The twenty-seven major lifespans are equivalent to the heavenly tribulations that the Heavenly Dao has bestowed upon the sect leaders of the Great Rakshasa Sect throughout the ages.”

Is that all?

"That's right, you will eventually die. The only difference is whether you die in battle or die at the age of twenty-seven."

"Hahahaha, did you hear that, Evil Emperor!" The sect leader burst into laughter. "Looks like I have another reason why I can't afford to lose!"

"After breaking your divine sword techniques, I have reason to believe that I will become unimaginably powerful, so powerful that there is no stronger force than before. So powerful that I can challenge the Primordial Heavenly Demon, your former master!"

“Well, I’m sorry, my friend.” The Evil Emperor also smiled, replying without backing down, “In that case, I absolutely cannot afford to lose! At the very least, I still have a score to settle with the Primordial Demon…”

…………

The passionate sect leader and the Xuan Tian Evil Emperor did not back down upon hearing that they would be facing the Primordial Heavenly Demon. On the contrary, their fighting spirit was amplified.

Charles was quite pleased with this. Although, according to the original plot, the Primordial Demon would inevitably die at the hands of his brainless subordinates, Charles had now gotten involved, so he might as well go all the way and make the Primordial Demon's demise even more tragic.

To ensure the Primordial Demon's utter defeat, the number of powerful figures participating in the final battle must be increased. The Sect Master is undoubtedly a perfect choice. His strength is formidable; the amplification brought by his twenty-seventh limit is an absolute game-changer, allowing him to break through on the spot. The only requirement is to extend the Sect Master's lifespan, thus enabling this super-powerful figure to join the battle against the Primordial Demon.

This is simple, at least for Xia Er. But if a sect leader has a backup plan, then he will definitely not be able to unleash that power that constantly surpasses the peak. So what to do?! Simple, just don't give the sect leader a backup plan, but give him hope, forcing him to surpass the limits of the Rakshasa Divine Art and officially step into the realm of gods and demons. This way, they can gain a powerful figure who can confront the Primordial Heavenly Demon, and also sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Another issue to address is the flaw in the Evil Emperor's inner self. The Sect Master can't save him, but Xia Er can! In the original story, the Evil Emperor's flaw stemmed from his regaining human emotions after becoming human again, and his fear of never seeing Tie Xin again after death.

So that's what Charles said to the sect leader and the evil emperor.

"Xuantian Evil Emperor, if possible, please use your full strength to fight against the Sect Master. Only in the face of death can the Sect Master surpass his peak and have a chance to step into the realm that can rival gods and demons."

"But can you confirm that he can indeed surpass the peak?" the Evil Emperor countered.

“Yes, even if it doesn’t work, I can still use this to keep him alive and prevent the Twenty-Seventh Life Limit from taking his life immediately.” With that, Xia Er waved his hand and summoned the phoenix.

"A phoenix!?" The sect leader exclaimed in surprise. "Wasn't the Phoenix Axe shattered? How could this be?!"

“Yes, a phoenix!” Xia Er confirmed. “I was there when Chi You was resurrected, and I intercepted a portion of the phoenix fire. Then, I used that portion of the phoenix fire to recreate a phoenix… Of course, it’s not as powerful as the original phoenix, but at least the phoenix fire is enough to keep a fallen warrior alive…”

“Only one!” Xia Er said, “Evil Emperor, your divine sword skills will be unable to surpass the sect master who is at the pinnacle of the pinnacle, and I will use the Phoenix Fire to keep your life hanging, then you will still have a chance to participate in the final battle against the Primordial Heavenly Demon.”

"Either you, Sect Master, defy the heavens and surpass your limits, the pinnacle of your peak. You can turn the tables, defeat the Evil Emperor, and become the first human to step into the realm of gods and demons in thousands of years. But I can still use the Phoenix Flame to save the Evil Emperor's life. Compared to you, who will be defeated by the Sect Master who has surpassed the peak, after going through a brush with death, you will definitely be able to reach a higher level!"

"You think I will be defeated!?" the Evil Emperor asked.

“Yes!” Charles nodded. “I have faith in the Sect Master. With his battle will that surpasses human limits, he is capable of turning the impossible into the possible!”

"Then I will answer, I will win the final victory!"

"Is that so? Then, Evil Emperor..." Upon hearing this, the sect leader retorted without backing down, "I will use my strongest state and the strongest fighting spirit to continuously surpass my peak. This time, I have absolute confidence that I will completely defeat you!"

.............................................

.............................................

After greeting the sect leader, Xia Er began to help him deal with the sect leader's son Yongwu's 27th birthday. However, before that, Xia Er had to treat the Heavenly Punishment Arrow wound in Mie Guishen's body. A major reason for this was that Mie Guishen also planned to participate in the final battle against the Primordial Demon, and Xia Er, intending to use another cannon fodder, decisively helped Mie Guishen deal with his Heavenly Punishment Arrow wound.

For Xia Er, the Heavenly Punishment Arrow wound, which was difficult for martial artists to treat, was a piece of cake. The Heavenly Punishment Arrow that had entered the body of the Demon Exterminator had long since transformed into a special energy that had merged into the Demon Exterminator's flesh and blood. This was an extremely troublesome injury for martial artists, and even the fat man with superb medical skills, Nian Minren, would have to put in a lot of effort to treat it.

However, for Xia Er, it was simply a matter of probing his mind into the body of the Demon Slayer. Then, he would locate the foreign energy left behind by the Heavenly Punishment Arrow within the Demon Slayer's body, and finally, control that energy, extracting it entirely from the Demon Slayer's flesh and blood. Naturally, this feat astonished these bumpkins...

After extracting the alien energy left behind by the Heavenly Punishment Arrow within the body of the Demon Slayer, this energy transformed directly into a golden arrow. Just as this arrow was about to melt into the sunlight, Xia Er carefully preserved it and then shoved it into the Demon Slayer's hand.

"This is!?"

"Here, use it to fight to the death!" Xia Er said, stuffing the golden arrow into the hand of the Demon-Slaying God. "You said you want to participate in the final battle, right?! Then I can tell you with certainty that although it is very likely that the Primordial Heavenly Demon cannot fully descend, it will not be someone that a mortal can deal with. And this arrow has been integrated into your body for too long, so long that it already contains a portion of your life energy."

"In other words, when you thrust this arrow back into your body, you can use the power of this arrow to stimulate your life force."

"How strong can I become!?" asked the Demon God.

"Judging from your situation, if you were critically injured and on the verge of death, then it could only strengthen you tenfold and keep you alive," Charles replied. "But conversely, if you weren't near death, this arrow would instantly make you fifteen times stronger—a comprehensive boost. However, re-entering this arrow into your body means that every attack you make will directly consume your remaining life force..."

The Demon Slayer silently accepted the Heavenly Punishment Arrow, an arrow that had tormented him for many years, causing him immense suffering. Now, finally, the arrow was removed from his body. However, it was highly likely that he would soon need to reinsert it…

"Hahaha, this is fate! I never thought I wouldn't be able to escape it in the end..." Gripping the Heavenly Punishment Arrow tightly, the Demon Slayer laughed loudly. His laughter was filled with mockery of his past life. After laughing for a while, the Demon Slayer's face gleamed. He gripped the arrow tightly, turned and left without a word, but the fighting spirit and determination on his face showed that he would absolutely not choose to cling to life or fear death.

Watching the departing Demon God, Xia Er turned around and began teaching Nian Minren the twenty-seven major limits of martial prowess. Incidentally, he also used his psychic abilities to cram a ton of modern medical knowledge into the head of this man, who could be considered a divine healer of the era. Suddenly, the short, fat man had no doubt about Xia Er's identity, practically worshipping him as a patriarch.

"By the way, Nianminren!" Suddenly, Charles said to the fat man, "You'd better not leave this town anytime soon..."

"An immortal?!"

"You are destined to face a calamity!" Xia Errao said with particular concern. "But since I have asked you to help the sect leader's son with the blood transfusion, then I will help you bear this calamity!"

——————————Divider Line——————————

To ensure the successful execution of the Primordial Demon, Xia Er naturally had to painstakingly strengthen the protagonist's side. Saving the sect leader's life was only the first step; incidentally, he also wanted to eliminate the demons and gods. Since they wanted to fight the Primordial Demon to the death, Xia Er felt he should personally deal with that unfortunate Divine Alliance gorilla.

You see, even the Demon Slayer, Sharl, gave him a buff, so naturally, he couldn't be allowed to fight that gorilla called the Mad King and get killed. What, you ask what the buff for the Demon Slayer is? Of course, it's that Heavenly Punishment Arrow! Only an ignorant native would think that arrow could make him risk his life! Don't be ridiculous! If that arrow hadn't been sustained by the power provided by Sharl, it would have long since dissipated in the sunlight. As for the exponential increase in power from the arrow piercing the body, that's not the arrow's effect at all; it's actually Sharl's power. When that arrow pierced the Demon Slayer's body, it was equivalent to Sharl injecting his own energy into the Demon Slayer's body; the arrow was merely an energy valve or a conduit.

Since we're already preparing to secretly attack Yin Yuanzu Tianmo, we might as well work harder and eliminate all factors that could potentially interfere with the final battle.

……

Beyond Dukang Town, in that desolate wilderness, a blade of energy, carrying wildness, anger, and resentment, surged forth. It was the power driven by hatred, a creation born from a tragedy. A burly man with silver hair charged headlong towards the town where he sensed the aura of the Evil Emperor.

The Divine Alliance is finished. His last brothers and sisters ultimately sacrificed themselves, offering their lives through bloodline fusion, which transformed into his power. The Mad King can now be said to possess the most profound power of any mortal in history. Thousands of years of power have accumulated within him, making him like a mobile nuclear bomb.

Now, the Mad King has only one goal left: to completely kill the Evil Emperor, and then wipe out the righteous martial arts world led by Wentian. To bring this all to a close…

Unfortunately, fate had already destined him to be a pitiful person.

This was the destiny that was meant to be, and it is still the destiny that is meant to be. Just as the Mad King approached Dukang Town, just as he clearly sensed the aura emanating from the Evil Emperor within Dukang Town, he went mad.

"Evil Emperor!" The Mad King's voice, filled with sorrow, anger, and hatred, resounded through the sky. "I, the Mad King, have returned from hell to take my revenge!" With the Tiger Soul Blade in hand, the Mad King, radiating boundless resentment, charged towards the distant town. At his speed, this distance would probably only take him a few breaths to cover.

However, just as he accelerated towards the town, the air ahead suddenly darkened, and the entire world distorted. By the time the Mad King reacted, he was no longer in the town that the undergraduate had almost reached, but had suddenly appeared in another place.

But the Mad King recognized this place; he had passed through it just a day ago. In other words, someone, through unknown means, had suddenly taken away his target of revenge, who was within his grasp!

"Who is it?!" the Mad King roared furiously. "Show yourself!"

399. The Mad King (Part 1)

“Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. The one who truly brought your Divine Alliance to this state is clearly the Primordial Heavenly Demon…” Just as the Mad King was shouting angrily, a faint voice echoed beside him, “In that case, shouldn’t you be looking for trouble with the Primordial Heavenly Demon?”

"Bah! You charlatan, get out here!" The Mad King roared in fury, unleashing the immense power, accumulated over a thousand years through the fusion of his bloodlines, as he stomped onto the earth, instantly shattering everything within a radius of several hundred meters. "The Evil Emperor has harmed our Divine Alliance for over a hundred years, plunging us into darkness and endless suffering... It's all the Evil Emperor's fault!"

"Is that so? But I feel like you're just afraid? Heh..." the voice chuckled, "merely bullying the weak and fearing the strong!"

"Pah! Trash, get out here and die!" Upon hearing the voice's words, the Mad King became even more enraged. He poured his centuries of accumulated power into the Tiger Soul Blade, unleashing a powerful blade aura.

Amidst the swirling, ominous mist, the swirling sword energy transformed into a thick cloud, spreading outwards. It then transformed the sword energy into mist, and the mist into sword light—a sword technique that could be both offensive and defensive. Amidst the crisscrossing sword energy, the Mad King forced out the one who had been hiding all along.

"Why bother?!" The person who had emerged from stealth sighed, his silver hair billowing in the gusts of wind whipped up by the Mad King's blade aura. His dark golden eyes looked at the Mad King with a look of deep regret. This only fueled the Mad King's rage. The Tiger Soul Blade flashed, and he cleaved it down with tremendous force towards the revealed figure. "Why bother?!"

"Send me to hell!"

"Unfortunately, the King of Hell dares not take me!" the visitor replied. Then, several semi-transparent, semi-illusory chains appeared in mid-air, blocking Tiger Soul's path.

Clang! The Tiger Soul Blade struck the translucent chains, sparks flying. Faced with this, the Mad King roared and poured his millennia-old power into the Tiger Soul Blade. Upon receiving this massive influx of power, the Tiger Soul Blade immediately emitted a dazzling red light.

"The innocent are all dead, kill them all!" The blade flashed, and driven by a massive power that could be considered a thousand years, the Mad King's blade energy surged wildly. This blade energy, driven by hatred and carrying an unyielding will, shattered the semi-transparent illusory chains that had been binding him in front of him in a roar.

Then, Tiger Soul, imbued with sword energy, fell mercilessly towards the visitor with the glistening hair.

……

The Tiger Soul Blade's sharpness remains as formidable as ever, both before and now. Especially now, the one wielding the Tiger Soul Blade is not like the Flame God, who relies on external power; rather, the wielder possesses sufficient internal strength.

Although the bloodline of this knife-wielder was rather... bizarre in Xia Er's eyes!? In any case, in Xia Er's perception, the fact that the internal force, which was mixed with countless different and similar auras, did not explode like a time bomb and blow himself to pieces was truly a miracle in the history of biology.

So, facing the impending strike of the Tiger Soul Blade, even with his extended perception of time, Ciel still had time to think things through. Although extending the perception of time wouldn't be very effective against something that locked onto its target with killing intent and aura—after all, the Gold Saints were coming, and facing this strike, they had no choice but to confront it head-on. There was no way to dodge; the blade's energy, driven by the killing intent, would inevitably hit its target.

The best way to deal with this kind of attack is to blast the enemy down from the front.

The illusory chains reappeared, stretching into a large net that stretched across the edge of the Tiger Soul Blade. This time, the net formed by the chains shimmered with dazzling lightning. Logically speaking, someone with a cultivation level like the Mad King should be unafraid even if struck by heavenly lightning. However, this time, the power of the lightning force far exceeded his expectations.

"Ah!" Even with a thousand years of internal energy protecting him, the Mad King couldn't help but cry out in pain after the Tiger Soul Blade touched that layer of lightning net. But even so, his anger only intensified. "This is nothing!!!" he roared. "Compared to the suffering of my people, the blood feud that has befallen the entire Divine Alliance, this is nothing!" With his power surging, the Mad King forced himself to endure the lightning force and swung the Tiger Soul Blade.

Fueled by his rage, pain, and hatred, the red light on the Tiger Soul Blade suddenly intensified, and a tangible red flame burned fiercely on the blade.

"Deep-seated hatred and bloodshed, I will slay gods and demons alike!" The crimson flames tore through the lightning and shattered the lightning net as the Mad King swung his blade, slashing directly towards Xia Er. It must be said that the Mad King far surpassed the Flame God in both fighting spirit and skill. Furthermore, the Tiger Soul Blade, fueled by hatred and resentment, perfectly complemented the current War Master, further amplifying the Mad King's power.

Even this powerful strike, capable of shattering mountains and collapsing peaks, was blocked by a slender hand. Or rather, it wasn't the hand that blocked the Tiger Soul Blade, but rather the layers upon layers of energy field superimposed upon it.

Golden lightning flashed, and a magnetic field expanded. It then converged in Xia Er's palm, blocking the sharpness of the Tiger Soul Blade. Subsequently, the Mad King's body flew backward. In the instant the Tiger Soul Blade was blocked, he himself was also blasted away by a fist one after another in a flash.

roar!!!!!

The Mad King, struck, spun around in mid-air and charged back once more. "Eternal enmity, endless grievances... Kill! Kill! Kill!" Roaring wildly, the Mad King unleashed even more sword energy. This time, the Tiger Soul Blade in his hands had turned purple, just like when Chi You used the Devouring Heaven Blade Technique.

This means that the Mad King's current power is equivalent to being infinitely close to a genuine god or demon. After all, it can be said to be the power of a thousand years that the entire Divine Alliance obtained through a forbidden bloodline fusion, fueled by hatred.

However, no matter how many sword energies the Mad King unleashed, Xia Er responded with an equal number of magnetic field heavenly swords. In an instant, the sword light in this desolate wilderness was dazzling, becoming a vast ocean of sword light. Countless things caught in it were all brutally annihilated by the endless sword light.

Boom! With a loud bang, all the sword lights collided, bringing with them a deafening roar of clashing energies.

As the flashes of light faded, Charles stood calmly on the only patch of land untouched by the blades. Opposite him, amidst a crisscross of sword wounds, lay the Mad King, his entire body riddled with cuts.

"It's useless! Your power is all external, and you haven't spent time fully controlling it, so it's completely meaningless... Give up!"

"Impossible, impossible..." With a burst of energy, the Mad King forced back all the blood flowing from his body, suppressing his wounds. "Brothers and sisters, all our people, lend me your power! The hatred of my Divine Alliance must not be allowed to end again."

His armor shattered, and the Mad King activated his beastly bloodline, transforming into a gigantic, silver-furred gorilla, charging at Xia Er once more. "Eternal hatred, endless vengeance! Those who aid and abet the Evil Emperor, die!!"

400. Mad King (Medium)

"Useless!" Facing the Berserker King, who had entered a berserk state and buffed himself, Xia Er ignored the barrage of sword light raining down from the sky. Even if this poor fellow had entered a berserk, beastly state, no amount of buffs could bridge the gap between them. After all, having spent so long in this world, Xia Er had long since adapted to its rules. The strength he was displaying now was completely at the level of a god or demon in this world.

In this world, the gap between gods and demons and humans can only be bridged by exceptionally talented geniuses. The rest either cultivate divine and demonic martial arts or are destined to become masters of divine weapons; otherwise, the difference between humans and gods is enough to drive many to despair.

The Mad King, however, falls into neither of these categories. His power comes from forbidden means and is inherently beyond his complete control. His talent is also not at the level where he can cross the abyss on his own. What he relies on is nothing more than the power brought by the fusion of bloodlines, the bestiality brought by the bloodline of wild beasts, and the rage driven by hatred and resentment.