Hearing Ye Ling's taunt, the inner demon could only force a wry smile and say, "Then I truly have made a fool of myself."
"But your presence here means you likely know the truth of the matter... What will you do now? Kill me first?"
Ye Ling asked, "How long have you been controlled by that extraterrestrial force?"
The inner demon replied, "It's been quite a long time... Ever since I was born, I was guided out of your body by those fellows. Afterwards, they used the laws of time to throw me into the past. Calculating the time... it should be around a million years?"
"Those fellows' methods are quite remarkable. It seems they had their sights set on the main body very early on. Your master, Xuan Xiao, was also resurrected by those extraterrestrial beings."
"They've been targeting me for a long time?" Ye Ling's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why are they targeting me?"
The inner demon chuckled wryly, "Of course, it's for the ultimate power of the Creation God... The Creation God usually announces the successor a period in advance. Moreover, those people can traverse time and space at will. They knew long ago that you would obtain the Creation God's inheritance, which is why they abducted me."
"The moment you obtained the Creation God's inheritance, they acted against me, attempting to seize the Creation God's ultimate power through me."
Hearing the inner demon's words, Ye Ling gained a clearer understanding of the objectives of those hidden behind the scenes, and his mood became rather heavy.
How could a group of powerful extraterrestrial beings whose goal was to seize the Creation God's power be underestimated?
Furthermore, even if he destroyed this sacrificial ritual, he would only be thwarting one of their plans. Xiao You and he still possessed the ultimate power within them, and the extraterrestrial forces would never give up!
The Heavenly Dao had said that no successor had ever succeeded since ancient times. Just this statement alone made Ye Ling realize how arduous the path ahead would be.
Ye Ling did not believe that from ancient times to the present, no successor was more outstanding than him.
Considering the fall of so many predecessors, one could imagine how terrifying the extraterrestrial forces truly were!
However, a path must still be walked. Ye Ling had achieved his current status on the East Profound Continent by carving his own path through countless obstacles.
Beneath Ye Ling's feet lay countless white bones; he was not so easily deterred by unknown dangers.
The inner demon still had the strength to resist the sacrificial ritual and could speak. He continued to warn Ye Ling, "The strength of those people far exceeds your imagination. If you encounter any of them in the future, it's best not to be careless."
"I saw one of their personal attendants. The power of that attendant alone was enough to rival mine, and even subtly surpassed me."
"That strong?" Ye Ling frowned.
The inner demon said with a wry smile, "Yes... There are always greater powers beyond the heavens. Even if you, the main body, are now standing at the pinnacle of the East Profound Continent and are a top-tier cosmic powerhouse, outside this universe, there are even stronger beings."
"However, those people seem to be wary of something and dare not easily enter the universe we inhabit. Therefore, all they can do is secretly lay their schemes. You are safe for now."
"Saying that makes me even more excited."
According to the inner demon's words, Ye Ling could almost envision a vast and boundless world existing beyond the universe, a world that, for him now, was filled with challenges.
However, this was not the time to contemplate that extraterrestrial world.
Ye Ling released the Heavenly Dao power within him, coiling it around his inner demon, and said, "You seem to be reaching your limit. I'll rescue you first, and then we'll discuss how to deal with you."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, the inner demon shook his head and smiled, "It's useless. After you saved Xiao You, those people improved the sacrificial ritual. Once I'm on the altar, I will definitely be sacrificed. Nothing you do will matter."
Ye Ling asked, "Is there no way to rescue you?"
He said this not out of genuine concern for his inner demon.
Ye Ling and the inner demon were, in essence, mortal enemies. Although they were the same person, Ye Ling had no reason to pity his inner demon.
However, this sacrificial ritual targeted the ultimate power of the Creation God. Although Ye Ling hadn't fully understood what the ultimate power was yet, he knew that if the inner demon were sacrificed, he would gain absolutely no benefit.
"If it depends on you... perhaps it will require you to truly inherit the ultimate power of the Creation God." The inner demon smiled. "But it doesn't matter. Ever since I was guided out of your body, this fate was sealed for me. I accepted this fact long ago."
"Being able to rescue Xiao You is enough of a surprise for me. Your disposition is perfect; you don't need an inner demon to temper you. I should have disappeared long ago."
Hearing the inner demon's words, Ye Ling suddenly felt something was amiss. He looked at the inner demon and asked, "What are you doing?"
The inner demon smiled, "I am, after all, the Supreme of the East Profound. After being manipulated for over a million years, how could I not have any countermeasures?"
"Even if I accept this fate, it means I will be sacrificing our power to those fellows who don't even dare to show their faces."
"Main body... take my power!" the inner demon said solemnly, and then his entire being erupted with immense power, scattering all the black energy that was entwining him!
Ye Ling could see his inner demon's body continuously becoming ethereal!
Seeing the state of his inner demon's body, Ye Ling instantly understood what he was about to do, his pupils contracting sharply, "Are you going to self-annihilate?"
The self-annihilation of an inner demon was an extremely rare occurrence!
It was something only chosen when the inner demon and the main body had highly similar dispositions, and the inner demon was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the main body!
Self-annihilation was equivalent to the inner demon committing suicide!
Generally speaking, inner demons were formed from a large amount of negative emotions and the dark aspects of an individual, inherently representing brutality and evil, wishing to completely devour the main body!
The probability of an inner demon's disposition being highly similar to the main body's was already extremely low, and now to be willing to sacrifice oneself for the main body...
This was practically impossible!
The altar seemed to sense what the inner demon was about to do and once again erupted with a large amount of black energy, surging towards the inner demon, attempting to accelerate its erosion and prevent the self-annihilation.
However, the inner demon had made extensive preparations for this. He endured the pain and erased the mark that the extraterrestrial enemy had planted in his soul, simultaneously burning his life essence and repelling all the surrounding black energy!
That black energy could not stop the inner demon at all; it could only watch as the inner demon self-annihilated.
Ye Ling looked at the inner demon's current actions, still finding it hard to believe. He asked solemnly, "When did you..."
The inner demon smiled, "You are me... In fact, when I said I was going to sacrifice Xiao You, you should have understood my intentions... but you just didn't want to believe it."
"When they were about to act against Xiao You, I decided to send them all to hell. Unfortunately, I couldn't do it alone, so I placed my bet on you."
"My original plan was that if you failed to save Xiao You, I would completely devour you, and I would walk the path ahead for you."
"But since you were able to rescue Xiao You from the altar, it means your abilities are stronger than mine. Now it is my turn to fulfill your destiny."
"Letting you confront those extraterrestrial fellows is also a good outcome."
"Main body, I acknowledge you..."
The inner demon looked at Ye Ling seriously, his body completely ethereal, and finally disappeared...
The inner demon's power surged into Ye Ling's body...
Causing Ye Ling's strength... to double directly!