Chapter 369: The Demon Lord's Advent

He had once seen an expert at the Tongxuan Realm. That person was brilliant and vast, like a divine being, with a power akin to a terrestrial Immortal that had left a profound impression on him. Yet even someone so mighty was probably not even a tenth as powerful as the Tongxuan True Monarch in the distant heavens.

Just the aftershocks from such a vast distance were enough to make him tremble with a deep, instinctual terror.

It made him think of the Harmonization Giants who stood above True Monarchs, supreme experts who could suppress the very heavens and earth. The aftershocks of their casual movements could span tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of miles—enough to cause a continent to collapse and sink!

“A… A Tongxuan True Monarch! Uncle Lin, are you serious?” The pupils of the gray-robed youth at the Spiritual Martial Ninth Layer constricted. His face was a mask of disbelief as he stammered out the words.

To him, this was a Tongxuan True Monarch—a terrifying expert with an eight-hundred-year lifespan, hailed as an Immortal! Among the trillions of people in the entire Southern Wilderness Territory, there were only a few dozen such beings. Every single one was a majestic figure, standing at the very peak of the Southern Wilderness’s Cultivation Realm!

“Of course. I was fortunate enough to see one once.” As he said this,

the middle-aged man in the black shirt tilted his head back slightly.

He had the smug, worldly air of someone who had seen it all.

“So, Uncle Lin… do you think I could reach the Tongxuan Realm one day? And become a True Monarch?” the plain-faced young man in the gray robes asked, his voice tinged with excitement.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man in black lowered his head to gaze at the honest-looking, passionate youth before him, a fire alight in his eyes.

“You, huh…”

The middle-aged man in black just smiled without another word, but a flicker of a familiar memory surfaced in his eyes.

…

「Meanwhile.」

A crimson radiance, like a blazing sun descending upon the mortal world, erupted with boundless light, covering every corner of the sky and earth.

BANG!!

Thousands of crimson thunderbolts slammed into dozens of enormous Blood Sea Flood Dragons, weaving a chaotic maelstrom. The Demon Qi radiating from the flood dragons saturated the void with such terrifying power that it felt as if space itself was trembling in fear.

However, after clashing with the crimson thunder for less than a moment, the terrifying Blood Sea Flood Dragons were suddenly incinerated and shattered by the Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Thunder. The Divine Thunder then pierced through the heavens, carrying its vast Divine Power as it hurtled toward Blood Nether Celestial like a form of Celestial Punishment!

“Damn it!”

“How do you have something like this!”

Floating above the sea of blood, Blood Nether Celestial’s pupils shrank. He looked as though he had just witnessed the impossible. A savage expression twisted his uniquely handsome features as he let out an indignant roar.

As a Demon Fiend at the Tongxuan Mastery Peak, he was naturally familiar with Heaven and Earth Divine Thunder—in fact, the memory was burned into his mind. Demon Fiends were not without their nemeses, and the Thunder Punishment Power contained within this Divine Thunder was the ultimate counter to their kind.

But this stuff was exceedingly rare in the Celestial Essence Realm. Over thousands of years, he had never seen more than a few Human Race experts who possessed it. So, while Demon Fiends were extremely wary of it, they never truly took the threat to heart.

‘To think that some random human I’ve run into now actually wields Heaven and Earth Divine Thunder. Fate truly is a cruel mistress.’

Before Blood Nether Celestial could finish his thought, thousands of terrifying crimson thunderbolts shattered the sky, hurtling toward him with immense power, intent on his destruction!

“Damn it all!”

Blood Nether Celestial’s heart sank, his uniquely handsome face contorted with savagery.

The terrifying aura of the Celestial Punishment locked onto him, making escape impossible. At the critical moment, a terrifying Demon Fiend Dao Rhythm surged around him. The vast, ocean-like blood-red Demon Qi in his body erupted forth, and his five fingers flashed through the air, instantly forming a seal.

“Blood Demon Shield.”

The blood-red Demon Qi spun rapidly in the void, transforming into a dark, blood-colored shield of light that stretched for hundreds of miles, suffused with the rhythm of a Demon Fiend. Profound, gnarled runes were carved upon its surface. The entire light shield blotted out the sky, resembling an indestructible fortress wall in the void.

BOOM!!

The next instant, thousands of crimson thunderbolts, imbued with vast heavenly might, slammed into the blood-red demon shield. A massive tremor rang out as a terrifying shockwave blasted in all directions, causing the very heavens and earth to tremble violently!

CRACK! CRACKLE!

The next moment, cracks appeared on the dark, blood-red shield—the shield that was suffused with Demon Qi and Demon Rhythm and stretched for hundreds of miles. The fissures spread across its surface like a spiderweb, and then, with a deafening CRASH, it exploded!

Seeing this, Blood Nether Celestial couldn’t help but curse inwardly. ‘Goddamn it all to hell.’

He stared at the Vermilion Bird Heaven-Burning Thunder as it tore through the sky, hurtling toward him with vast Divine Power, intent on his annihilation. Blood Nether Celestial’s robes whipped about, and his blood-red hair danced wildly. His pupils dilated, and a flicker of desperate resolve flashed in his eyes as he roared, “You forced my hand!”

“Demonic Authority to blot out the heavens! Body merge with the sea of blood! Annihilate all creation! Overwhelm the world!”

Blood Nether Celestial’s fingers formed a profound Seal, and in the next instant,

he transformed into a boundless sea of blood. It stretched for thousands of miles, radiating terrifying Demon Qi and containing both infinite vitality and the power of annihilation. The monstrous, roiling sea of blood spanned the heavens, dyeing the entire world crimson.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!

Thousands of crimson thunderbolts, carrying the power of divine punishment, slammed into the boundless sea of blood. They blasted massive holes through it one after another, revealing the silent, vast, abyssal void beyond.

“AAAAHHH!”

A heart-rending shriek of absolute agony erupted from within the sea of blood. It was a sound of immense suffering, as though his very foundation had been damaged.

RUMBLE!

The Divine Thunder continued its relentless bombardment of the boundless sea of blood, scorching the heavens and annihilating all in its path. It left behind gnarled fissures in space, and its terrifying crimson flames incinerated everything that remained.