Chapter 467: The Demon Lord

Ever since the three great demonic sects had been destroyed, the demonic figures throughout Great Xuan's territory had been either hiding or fleeing, and no small number of them had crossed the border into the Western Desert's martial world.

Word that Li Musheng, the great demon lord who had received the Demonic Patriarch's legacy, had now arrived in White Emperor City naturally reached the ears of the demonic figures hiding throughout the city as well.

Though demon lords who cultivated demonic arts were the common enemy of the entire martial world, unwelcome by the righteous path, in the hearts of those who walked the demonic path, they were kindred spirits sharing a common cause. Upon hearing that Li Musheng had arrived, no small number of demonic figures throughout White Emperor City quietly converged near his location.

Some wanted to pay their respects to this rare great demon lord, so seldom seen throughout the entire martial world. Others secretly hoped that this famous Great Li prince, now a demon lord, might raise the banner of a demonic revival.

"Don't worry. A few old fossils from the White Tiger Divine Hall are nothing. That man received the Demonic Patriarch's legacy and devoured the cult masters of all three great demonic sects. He's a formidable figure indeed."

Someone spoke from a dark corner of the street. Just then, the white-gold flames wreathed in metallic killing light within the five illusory White Tiger figures ignited into a towering sea of fire, as though intending to burn away the demonic cloud vortex blotting out the sky.

But in the next instant, an unfathomably dark void abyss suddenly manifested at the center of the demonic cloud vortex.

The moment the void abyss appeared, the sky full of white-gold flames descending from the eyes of the five savage White Tiger illusions was instantly bound in place.

Then, from within the void abyss, an irresistible and terrifying devouring force emerged, and in nearly the blink of an eye swallowed whole the towering white-gold flames that had illuminated the entire sky, along with the metallic killing light contained within them.

The sky full of flames finally dissolved entirely into scattered points of fiery light, which fell into the unfathomably dark void abyss and vanished without a trace. With that, the entire sky was once again shrouded by the demonic cloud vortex, darkening once more.

"A demon lord like this, if not eliminated, will inevitably become an endless source of trouble in the future."

At the sight, the elders of the White Tiger Divine Hall all wore extremely unpleasant expressions.

In the next instant, all five Divine Hall elders vanished from the air without hesitation, transforming into five streaks of killing light that shot toward the heavens, merging into the five towering illusory forms of the savage White Tiger.

In an instant, a world-shaking killing intent, like a raging storm, rose up from the five towering White Tiger illusions. The five Divine Hall elders had become the White Tiger itself, their eyes blazing with killing light, like world-ending savage beasts wielding the very authority of slaughter.

An overwhelming and terrifying aura of killing shook heaven and earth. The five towering White Tiger illusions stood as pillars between sky and earth, their eyes looking down upon the demonic clouds filling the sky as though gazing upon mere ants.

But before the five Divine Hall elders, now merged with the White Tiger illusions, could take any action, an enormous, demonically-wreathed palm suddenly descended from above the five White Tiger illusions without any warning.

The five savage White Tiger illusions seemed to sense it, all raising their heads at once and extending their claws to strike at the enormous palm above. Terrifying metallic killing light erupted with dreadful, slashing edge, as though it would destroy anything it touched.

But what the five Divine Hall elders had not anticipated was that the demonic palm carried within it the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art. As it descended and enveloped them, its terrifying devouring force covered the entire space occupied by the five towering savage White Tiger illusions.

The five Divine Hall elders changed expression sharply at once. Only now did they truly perceive, with horror, just how terrifying the demonic power contained within that descending palm truly was.

The moment the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art was brought to bear upon them, the five Divine Hall elders felt as though a hundred mountains were pressing down upon their bodies, an abyssal, oceanic demonic pressure pouring out from that palm. Even as they strained with everything they had to invoke the White Tiger Divine Hall's killing techniques, against this absolute demonic force, it proved entirely useless.

And as the demonic palm made contact with the five towering savage White Tiger illusions housing the Divine Hall elders, it became visible to the naked eye that the metallic-killing-light-wreathed White Tiger illusions, radiating world-shaking authority, were rapidly collapsing.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the five enormous illusory forms, standing suspended in the air like descended ancient savage beasts, exploded outward all at once, dissolving into countless streams of scattering true qi and light in every direction.

The five Divine Hall elders had absolutely no way to stop this. Their true bodies dropped out of the shattered White Tiger illusions, but the demonic palm above, which had suffered not the slightest damage throughout, showed no intention whatsoever of letting them off.

The Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art's overwhelming devouring power, capable of consuming all things, needed only a single contact to completely drain the martial cultivation the five had spent decades building.

The five Divine Hall elders, previously wreathed in killing aura, found their meridians and cores instantly drained dry, their vast and powerful martial true qi vanishing entirely, transforming in an instant from the White Tiger Divine Hall's top-tier experts into five utterly powerless husks of men.

In the next instant, the demonic palm above, having devoured the cultivation of all five Divine Hall elders, gave a casual sweep, and the five, dropping in a straight line, all crashed down together before the gates of the residence where Li Musheng was staying.

Amid the violent sound of shattering stone tiles, the five cultivation-stripped Divine Hall elders drove their knees into the cracked pavement, kneeling in a row right beside the two who had come to deliver the message earlier.

The two figures from the White Tiger Divine Hall, one heavyset and one thin, catching sight from the corner of their eyes of the five dignified Divine Hall elders now sharing their own fate, felt their emotions become deeply complicated.

Both were shocked that the new Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion within the residence truly lived up to his reputation, his terrifying strength every bit as formidable as the rumors claimed, having taken on five opponents at once and subdued five White Tiger Divine Hall elders with a single encounter.

At the same time, they felt a quiet inward relief at their own earlier situation, having not even managed to see Li Musheng's face, instead kneeling before the gates without any resistance in a humiliating scene.

After all, if even five Divine Hall elders were no match for this new Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion, then their own earlier failure and the disgrace it had brought upon the White Tiger Divine Hall could be entirely forgiven.

At the same time, the demonic palm above, having struck down the five White Tiger Divine Hall elders, dissolved on its own, and the demonic cloud vortex that had been shrouding the entire surrounding street district similarly dispersed at a visibly rapid rate.

For a moment, the entire world fell into an eerie silence, leaving only the five deathly pale White Tiger Divine Hall elders kneeling on the empty street, unable to move even a fraction, unable even to speak, forced to kneel motionless facing Li Musheng's residence.

Within the residence, Li Musheng said nothing further, clearly having lost interest in the White Tiger Divine Hall's people entirely after devouring the cultivation of the five elders, leaving them kneeling outside without further attention.

The martial world figures secretly watching this scene unfold from hiding, along with the many powerful martial experts who had been drawn by the earlier commotion, all fell into complete silence as well.

Every one of them was thoroughly shaken by this great demon lord's terrifying demonic might. Though many among them had traveled the martial world and encountered no small number of demonic experts, none had ever witnessed a demon lord of such horrifying power.

A single encounter had been enough to subdue five White Tiger Divine Hall elders.

They had, after all, just personally witnessed the terrifying power the five Divine Hall elders had unleashed together with the White Tiger Divine Hall's killing techniques.

And yet even so, faced with this demon lord's demonic methods, the five of them had proven utterly insignificant, subdued almost effortlessly with barely a raised hand, and that demon lord had not even shown his face throughout the entire encounter.

The gap in strength between the two sides was plain for all to see. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it was not that the five Divine Hall elders lacked strength, but that this demon lord who had just succeeded to the position of Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion was simply too terrifyingly powerful.

...

"I always said it. With the three great demonic sects destroyed, the demonic path would rise again. This Great Li prince who received the Demonic Patriarch's legacy is our demonic path's future, the true master of all under heaven's demonic world."

Someone in a dark corner of the street spoke, unable to hide his excitement, and the many demonic figures hidden nearby naturally witnessed the entire scene unfolding in the distance as well.

At this moment, every one of them breathed rapidly, demonic energy churning through their bodies, their eyes filled with unmistakable excitement.

For this group of demonic figures, the sight of Li Musheng, this great demon lord, subduing the five Divine Hall elders was not merely a personal victory for him, but a victory for the entire demonic path itself.

After all, the demonic path was something the martial world would not tolerate, and demonic figures were treated as rats to be beaten on sight by anyone who saw them. They dared not even show themselves openly, and had spent their time hiding and fleeing throughout the Western Desert's martial world.

Yet Li Musheng's actions today had shattered every precedent that had ever existed. Not only had he openly used demonic arts in broad daylight, he had done so on the White Tiger Divine Hall's own territory, pinning the Divine Hall's experts to the ground in defeat.

This was something that would have been utterly unthinkable in the past, and for the assembled demonic experts, it meant that the demonic path had finally produced a figure capable of matching the Demonic Patriarch himself.

This man showed no concern for concealing his identity as a demonic figure, no concern for becoming the common enemy of the entire martial world under heaven, embodying the truest bearing of a great demon lord. Only someone like this could lead the demonic path back to the flourishing glory it had known in the Demonic Patriarch's own era.

"Hahaha... with him here, this old one can already see the future revival of the demonic path before my very eyes."

A hunched old man, wreathed in bloody light and dense demonic energy, stepped out from the darkness, his face full of malicious cunning as he burst into laughter.

In an instant, the demonic experts hidden nearby all turned to look, and some recognized the old man's identity, saying, "That's a guardian elder of the Blood River Demonic Sect. After the demonic sects' experts were nearly wiped out, he fled here to the Western Desert."

At the same time, no small number of previously renowned demonic experts, who had been hiding in the shadows, similarly stepped forward one after another, revealing their true forms in the open street.

"The demonic path's rise begins today. Why don't we take this opportunity to pay our respects to that Great Li prince and pledge ourselves to his banner? When he comes to rule over the world as a demon lord, we will be counted among the founding heroes who ushered in this new golden age of the demonic path."

A demonic expert spoke up, his eyes filled with excitement and longing, and at those words, the vast majority of the surrounding demonic figures voiced their agreement.

Li Musheng's earlier display of world-shaking demonic might, effortlessly subduing the five White Tiger Divine Hall elders, had undeniably given the demonic community a tremendous boost of confidence.

At this moment, with everyone's blood running hot, they were eager to see with their own eyes the true face of this future pillar of the demonic path, and if they could seize this opportunity to follow him and become one of this great demon lord's own subordinates, it would be an extraordinary stroke of fortune indeed.

And so, led by no small number of demonic experts, many demonic figures who had been hiding in the shadows emerged one after another, forming a great procession heading toward Li Musheng's residence.

This commotion naturally did not escape the notice of the many martial world experts also concealed in the shadows nearby.

"What's happening? Why have so many demonic figures suddenly appeared in White Emperor City?"

In a half-open room on the second floor of a restaurant, several middle-aged men gathered by the window, watching the group of demon-energy-wreathed figures appear not far away, all furrowed their brows at once, then turned to the ragged old man standing behind them and asked, "Granduncle, our sect takes the elimination of demonic evil and the protection of the righteous path as our sacred duty. Should we act immediately and wipe out this group of demonic monsters in one sweep?"

At those words, Yiyangzi's brow furrowed deeply, and he glared at the group of middle-aged men before him, "If you want to die, don't drag me down with you. Demonic figures have always hidden and skulked in the shadows, never daring to show themselves openly before. For them to act so contrary to their usual nature now clearly means they have something to rely on."

At those words, the middle-aged men naturally understood what Yiyangzi meant.

"Granduncle, are you saying these demonic figures likely have that Great Li prince backing them?"

Yiyangzi gave a nod without saying anything further, simply looking through the half-open window toward the direction where Li Musheng had previously made his move, murmuring to himself, "To be honest, having lived most of my life, this is the first time I've ever seen a demon lord with demonic cultivation this formidable."

The middle-aged men exchanged a glance and immediately abandoned any thought of eliminating evil and upholding the righteous path.

Though they weren't certain whether those demonic figures were necessarily connected to Li Musheng, they didn't dare take that gamble now. After all, they had all witnessed with their own eyes the earlier confrontation between Li Musheng and the five Divine Hall elders.

A demon lord this terrifying was something even Yiyangzi didn't dare provoke. Should they end up provoking him themselves, it would surely bring nothing but disaster.

And as the crowd of demonic figures continued approaching Li Musheng's residence, their movements naturally caught the attention of no small number of martial world factions nearby.

Even so, throughout this entire time, not a single righteous martial world expert made any move against the demonic figures brazenly walking down the street below.

The sole reason for this was, of course, that Li Musheng, this demon lord who had shocked everyone with a single move, was still comfortably ensconced within White Emperor City.

If they were to make a move against this group of demonic figures, they would first need to consider the worst-case scenario of facing this demon lord directly.

And having witnessed Li Musheng's terrifying demonic power firsthand, it was clear that no one present yet had the confidence to face this young demon lord head-on.

"What a pity. Such a young martial prodigy, and yet he truly did stray onto the wrong path and fall into the demonic realm."

A renowned Western Desert martial world elder spoke from hiding, his voice carrying an unmistakable note of regret.

At those words, a gentle-faced woman in blue robes shook her head and said softly, "Indeed. Given his rumored achievements in the martial arts, he might well have had a real chance of reaching the Transcendent Realm in the future. Now that he has fallen into the demonic path, that road to becoming a Transcendent is forever closed to him. This is truly an enormous loss for the righteous side of the martial world."