Watching Xu Zimo’s figure gradually fade into the distance, Monk Great Wisdom brought a chair from the inn.
He sat there, eyes fixed steadily on the direction of Demon-Slaying Ridge, unmoving.
...
“This time, I go to meet you as the Infernal Lord,” Xu Zimo murmured.
He walked step by step toward Demon-Slaying Ridge.
Above him, endless demonic clouds roared. The closer he got to the ridge, the darker the sky became.
Until eventually, it fell into complete and profound darkness.
Demon-Slaying Ridge stretched endlessly into the horizon.
The path to the ridge had long been overgrown with weeds, no one had walked it for ages.
Footsteps echoed softly as Xu Zimo walked to the ridge's entrance.
The entrance was a winding, narrow path.
On either side, lush forests rose, towering ancient trees reaching into the sky.
“Halt, outsider!” a stern voice barked, stopping Xu Zimo.
He looked up to see a man in a yellow robe standing at the entrance.
The man held a long spear, his body exuding a sharp aura of spear intent.
He glared at Xu Zimo, eyes full of vigilance.
“This is Demon-Slaying Ridge. Entry is forbidden. Leave at once.”
Hearing this, Xu Zimo smiled.
He raised his hand, and endless demonic energy surged from his Hell-Suppressing Demon Physique.
“I know. I came here precisely for Demon-Slaying Ridge.”
“Courting death,” the yellow-robed man growled.
He immediately hurled his long spear at Xu Zimo.
The spear sliced through the air, shattering layers of space, its tip gleaming with a cold light.
Xu Zimo tilted slightly to the side, easily dodging it.
The yellow-robed man stepped back half a step with his right foot, leaning forward as he charged at Xu Zimo.
His outstretched hand recalled the thrown spear, which spun once in the air before returning to his grip, carrying with it spatial-tearing power.
“Die!” He fused killing intent with his spear and struck at Xu Zimo.
Xu Zimo raised his hand slightly, pinching with two fingers.
The spear heading toward him snapped cleanly in half.
“What?” the man exclaimed in horror.
Xu Zimo still held the broken spear tip in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, it shot out like lightning.
So fast the man couldn’t even react.
The tip pierced his throat, pinning him to the side and killing him on the spot.
Xu Zimo lightly brushed his robes and stepped into Demon-Slaying Ridge.
...
In the Primordial Demon Cave of the Lands of Exile.
To the demons, this was just another ordinary day.
They were sealed here, never able to leave the Lands of Exile for eternity.
Suddenly, a pillar of demonic energy burst from the center of the Primordial Demon Cave.
It shot up into the sky, not merging with the existing demonic clouds above.
Instead, it stirred the heavens into a frenzy.
Crackling booms echoed as dark thunder rolled through the sky, and black lightning bolts zipped across the demonic clouds.
All the Ancient Demons looked up in surprise at the source of the eruption.
“What's that?”
“Looks like it's coming from the Sky-Piercing Halberd.”
“The Sky-Piercing Halberd is reacting!” someone shouted.
At the heart of the Primordial Demon Cave stood a pillar as tall as the heavens itself.
Its surface was wrapped in a stone shell, hiding what lay within.
The pillar stretched up to the sky, merging with the dark clouds above. Looking up, one could not see its end.
At this moment, several figures appeared from all directions.
Some rode demon dragons, roaring into the sky.
Others transformed into black streaks of light, tearing through the void.
A burly giant arrived with a single step from ten thousand miles away, shaking the heavens and the earth.
A man with a long sword and sharp eyes descended, wearing a black conical hat.
There were over a dozen figures, each exuding terrifying might.
Dense, unyielding demonic energy surrounded them as they circled the pillar.
On the surface of the pillar, the stone layer began to peel away,
A red light flowed along the pillar like blood, wrapping around it in countless coils from top to bottom.
“The Sky-Piercing Halberd is awakening. It senses the presence of the Infernal Lord.”
“How many years has it been? Our Ancient Demon Race has endured in these Lands of Exile for countless millennia. At last, our lord has returned.”
“Yes. It's time the world sees the power of our Ancient Demon Race again.”
“Be it the ten great eternal lineages or that Old Villainous Heaven, none shall stop our rise. Glory is shining again. Blood is boiling. I feel the call.”
“Infernal Lord, welcome back!”
Manic, sinister laughter echoed throughout the Primordial Demon Cave.
...
As he walked into Demon-Slaying Ridge, Xu Zimo could clearly feel it.
The demonic energy here felt intimately familiar, like a natural extension of his own body, coiling around him.
The moment he entered, the demonic clouds above became even more frenzied.
They howled as if venting the rage of countless ages of being sealed.
Xu Zimo felt completely at ease. Breathing in the air here was invigorating, even euphoric.
Ten thousand miles away, atop the tallest peak of Demon-Slaying Ridge.
A man sat on a boulder.
He held a golden sword embedded in the ground.
Clad in golden robes embroidered with intricate patterns,
Each one seemed to tell a story.
The man sat with a slight forward bend, right hand gripping the sword’s hilt as he looked up at the raging demonic clouds.
“He's here,” Huangfu Long said calmly.
“Ancestor, who is here?” Huangfu Xiong, the current patriarch of the Huangfu Clan, walked up behind him and asked in confusion.
“Our enemy,” Huangfu Long replied flatly.
“Enemy?” Huangfu Xiong still didn’t understand.
For tens of thousands of years, the Huangfu Clan had guarded Demon-Slaying Ridge. Aside from killing the occasional intruder, they lived in peace. Who could be their enemy?
“Have you forgotten the mission the Holy Progenitor left us?” Huangfu Long asked.
“Mission?” Huangfu Xiong paused.
“You mean, the Demon Sovereign has come?”
It was something from long, long ago, back when the Huangfu Clan was still an ordinary mortal family.
By chance, they had received the inheritance of an immortal.
That immortal was the Holy Progenitor.
In the Holy Progenitor’s legacy, it was said that one day, the Demon Sovereign would arrive here.
To break the seal of the Primordial Demon Cave and reconnect with his people.
Their duty was to guard all of Demon-Slaying Ridge,
To never let the Demon Sovereign near the cavern.
Thousands of years had passed. Huangfu Xiong had long forgotten about the Demon Sovereign.
Now, hearing it again, the memories suddenly returned to his heart.
“The demonic clouds seem much more violent now,” he sighed.