The tension on the field was palpable. Meng Shuying drew her sword, pointing it directly at Fuguang, her brows furrowed with a murderous intent. "Whether I have the ability or not, you'll find out soon enough."
Sensing the shift in her aura, the others instinctively placed their hands on their swords.
At the summit of Kunlun, aside from Fuguang, there were five formidable demon generals—his trusted confidants and the strongest demons aside from him. In an instant, the five figures sprang up and surrounded the group, positioning themselves to attack from all angles.
Wen Miaomiao swiftly unsheathed her sword, launching an offensive before the demon generals could even touch the ground. A frigid aura surged through the air, and delicate snowflakes whirled around, obscuring their vision.
Among the four of them, Wen Miaomiao was the one with the most battle experience against the demon race. In her previous life, she had fought these five demon generals multiple times, and her path to ascension had been paved by their defeat.
Now facing them once more, she showed no mercy, her every strike aimed at their vital points. The demons, who had initially underestimated her, found themselves scrambling to defend. However, they were seasoned warriors who had lived for centuries, and after the initial chaos, three of them stayed to battle her, while the remaining two charged toward Meng Shuying and the others.
Frowning, Mingjing dashed forward, intercepting the other two demons. With a powerful strike, he sent them flying ten meters away. Just as he turned to show off his prowess to Meng Shuying, she shouted, "They're poisoned!"
With a scream of alarm, Mingjing looked down at his palm and saw that it had turned black. The poison was spreading quickly. These two demons were skilled in using poison, and since Wen Miaomiao was protected by divine powers, the poison didn't affect her, so they had chosen the seemingly defenseless Mingjing.
But they had miscalculated. Mingjing's true form was a Bodhi tree that had cultivated for countless years. The body he was using was merely an incarnation—a piece of a branch. His scream had been one of fear, not because the poison was taking effect.
After calming his mind, Mingjing decisively broke off his poisoned hand, throwing it to the ground to stop the poison's spread.
As the severed hand fell, it transformed into a charred piece of wood, and at the same time, a new hand grew from his stump.
Surprised by how difficult Mingjing was to deal with, the two demons exchanged glances, then drew their weapons to engage him in close combat.
He might not mind losing a hand, but how would he fare if his entire body was cut apart?
These two demons had immersed themselves in poison for years, cultivating their skills by absorbing it. Their entire bodies were infused with venom, leaving toxic purple liquid wherever they went.
Mingjing dodged like he was avoiding the plague, darting several meters away in the blink of an eye. However, the two demons relentlessly pursued him, determined to take him down.
While Wen Miaomiao and Mingjing were occupied, Fuguang remained unbothered. A smirk of disdain played on his lips, his posture still relaxed, though a menacing black mist swirled behind him, his aura growing increasingly terrifying.
This was the final boss—the one who had started everything. Defeating him would restore peace to the human realm.
Su Luowei intended to fight alongside Meng Shuying, but she was stopped.
Meng Shuying, gripping her sword with one hand, grabbed Su Luowei's sword hand with the other, her fingers tightening slightly. "Senior Sister, let me handle this."
Su Luowei couldn't help but glance at her, but all she saw on Meng Shuying's face was calmness and the firm resolve in her eyes.
Fuguang tilted his head slightly, tapping his forehead with a finger as if deep in thought. "Your aura feels different from the last time we met. Perhaps I've lived too long and grown dull, but I just realized that in this life, you didn't absorb the divine bone. So you crossed the Immortal Tribulation on your own. No wonder you're so confident."
His gaze shifted to Su Luowei, standing behind Meng Shuying, and a look of realization dawned in his eyes.
So that's it. After passing the Immortal Tribulation, Meng Shuying must have given the divine bone to her Daoist partner, which is how she also became an immortal.
It all made sense, but something still felt off to Fuguang. Given Meng Shuying's stubborn nature and her attachment to the divine bone, why would she willingly give it away?
Meng Shuying's voice was cold. "You have indeed lived too long. It's time for you to die."
Fuguang laughed. "By you? Or by your partner, who only ascended thanks to the divine bone?"
Su Luowei looked at him calmly and replied, "Yes, by us."
Without further words, Meng Shuying leaped into action, her sword aimed straight at Fuguang. A dark gleam flashed in his eyes as he dodged her attack.
The force of her sword melted the snow, revealing the ancient soil beneath. Where Fuguang had been standing, a deep crater formed, rocks and debris scattering. Without hesitation, Meng Shuying spun and struck again at another location.
A cold snort echoed through the air, and Fuguang's figure reappeared where Meng Shuying's sword landed. Despite the ferocity of her strike, he remained unscathed, effortlessly pinching the tip of her blade between two fingers as he scrutinized her.
Meng Shuying remained silent, pulling her sword free and spinning it into a graceful arc before thrusting again. This time, her strike wasn't ordinary—it was imbued with her Daoist intent. Spiritual energy paved the way, and the force of the Dao followed. Her attack was fierce, leaving no room for mercy. Fuguang, caught off guard, barely managed to dodge, losing a lock of hair in the process.
As the strands fell to the ground, his expression shifted. Gone was the casual arrogance. His face turned serious, his brows furrowing. "Your strength is far greater than I anticipated. It seems you're barely worthy of being my opponent."
He straightened abruptly, biting down on his fingertip and drawing a line of blood across his forehead. As the blood dripped down his nose, a massive black phantom appeared behind him. The shadow had two heads, six arms, and wings sprouting from its back, towering over the Kunlun peak like an ancient giant.
The sky darkened as large snowflakes began to fall again.
"You've already used up most of your life force, and now you're summoning a demon god?" Meng Shuying's gaze was fixed on the massive figure behind him, her expression turning serious.
The shadow looming behind Fuguang suddenly formed a face. Its skin was pale, its hair curly, and it looked identical to Fuguang. However, the body remained translucent, a sign that the summoner was nearing the end of his life.
Fuguang responded, "No matter. Once I dispose of the two of you, I'll extract Kunlun's spiritual veins and replenish my life force."
He muttered an incantation, and dark energy surged from his body, pouring into the shadow. The right hand of the phantom solidified, mirroring Fuguang's movements.
In an instant, the mountain shook. All 81 peaks of Kunlun were uprooted, slowly converging toward them, blocking out the sun, moon, and stars.
When the mountains joined together, it was as if the entire world had been sealed off. No sky above, no ground below—just a foggy, closed-off world formed by the merging peaks.
"This is…" Meng Shuying had returned to Su Luowei's side. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they gazed at the world around them.
"Yes, welcome to my Demon Realm." Fuguang chuckled from the sky.
Legend had it that the ultimate achievement in the demonic path was to create one's own Demon Realm, granting them eternal life, just like the Taixu Immortals. Though Fuguang had not fully mastered this ability, he could summon the Demon Realm with the help of the demon god.
"You should feel honored. You're the first to enter my Demon Realm."
In this realm, Fuguang was the ruler of both heaven and earth. Everything—lightning, rain, or destruction—was under his command. With a single thought, countless gray figures appeared in the realm. From a distance, they were indistinct, but as they drew closer, their faces became clear, revealing identical expressions.
Each figure wielded a different weapon—swords, spears, axes, halberds. At Fuguang's command, they charged at Meng Shuying.
These figures weren't physical beings but manifestations of chaotic energy. They felt no fear and couldn't be destroyed.
Meng Shuying stood firm, sword raised, defending Su Luowei from the onslaught. She cut down every gray figure that approached. Meanwhile, Su Luowei, shielded by her, observed the strange world they were trapped in.
Seeing that the gray figures couldn't touch them, Fuguang formed a complex hand seal. "You are, after all, my only daughter. I had hoped not to use this technique."
He lifted his gaze, his eyes as dark and bottomless as a dried-up well, as if they could suck in anyone who looked into them.
"But you've been far too disobedient, and it's my duty as a father to discipline you."
In the closed-off world, countless black lines began to emerge from the sky and earth. Each line radiated a suffocating aura of despair and annihilation, causing the entire realm to tremble.
The gray figures in mid-air let out agonized cries as the black lines sliced through them, tearing them into pieces that were swiftly devoured by the darkness.
The black lines, like a giant net, slowly tightened around Meng Shuying and Su Luowei. Meng Shuying felt an unprecedented sense of danger from these threads. She attempted to cut through them with her sword as they closed in, but it was futile. She could only watch as they ensnared her and her Senior Sister, binding them tightly.
The lines coiled around them, the stifling aura of annihilation draining their life force. Like prey caught in a spider's web, they were rendered immobile, forced to watch as Fuguang approached step by step.
Summoning the demon god and activating the Demon Realm had drained much of Fuguang's life force. Though his face remained composed, his steps had grown sluggish. By the time he reached them, silver strands of hair had appeared at his temples, and his once-taut skin had begun to sag.
Meng Shuying stared at him. "I never knew you had such a trick up your sleeve."
Fuguang smiled. "You should always be cautious, even with your own daughter. I wouldn't reveal all my cards to you."
Ignoring her cold glare, he moved in front of Su Luowei, gazing at her delicate features. He turned to Meng Shuying. "There's something I still don't understand. Why did you give her the divine bone?"
Su Luowei met his gaze, saying nothing.
Fuguang paced back to Meng Shuying, baffled. "In your past life, you were willing to kill yourself for the owner of that jade ring. Now that you've been given a second chance at life, how could you bear to give the divine bone to someone else?"
Meng Shuying abruptly raised her head. "So, you knew all along."
"I didn't know at first." Fuguang shook his head with a sigh. "I assumed that after entering the Endless Sea, you would die there alone. After all, no one had ever returned. But fate is impartial, favoring no one. On the day of the 'reset,' I caught a glimpse of something."
That day, he had been at the summit of Kunlun, refining the spiritual vein when he suddenly felt the flow of spiritual energy in the world become chaotic. Then, he "saw" Meng Shuying step onto a deserted island, activating a teleportation array. At the other end of the array stood Wen Miaomiao, waiting for her.
Wen Miaomiao told Meng Shuying that the owner of the jade ring had perished, body and soul. The only way to see her again was to reset the entire world, and Wen Miaomiao had the means to do so.