Outside the Jiuhua Realm.
In the boundless sea of stars.
Gigantic war fortresses floated, each spanning over a thousand li, resembling fragments of void continents.
Every war fortress bore the distinct style of the Demon Race: cold, brutal, and iron-willed.
Countless demons and devils moved in and out of these war fortresses.
These war fortresses served as bases for the powerful beings of the Heavenly Demon Realm to attack the Jiuhua Realm.
Although the vast majority of demon powerhouses had poured into the Jiuhua Realm and were annihilated, a considerable number of demon and devil powerhouses had not managed to enter before the realm gate closed.
At this moment.
Within a war fortress spanning ten thousand li.
Over twenty Saint King level powerhouses from the Heavenly Demon Realm gathered to discuss something.
"Shortly after Lord Demon Emperor entered the realm gate, it suddenly closed. What happened inside?"
A black-armored Saint King with a tiger's head spoke.
"I have a foreboding feeling that Lord Demon Emperor might have met with misfortune!" a demon head dressed like a wizard, holding a skull scepter, mused.
Nonsense, Master Wu, stop spreading ominous prophecies. Lord Demon Emperor's demonic arts are peerless. Who in the Jiuhua Realm could threaten him? Lord Demon Emperor must be sweeping through this realm, perhaps even refining the entire domain into his power. How can you speculate so wildly?
Another Saint King demon head retorted angrily.
"I am merely stating my honest guess. I divined a great tribulation for Lord Demon Emperor. If he overcomes it, he will soar to unimaginable heights. But if he fails, his danger will be extreme."
The Saint King demon head holding the skull scepter said expressionlessly.
"You dare to speak such nonsense again!"
"Enough, stop arguing. What kind of conduct is this!"
A Heavenly Demon Realm powerhouse with an incredibly potent aura, subtly leading the other Saint King demon heads, spoke.
"Lord Demon Emperor should be fine, but just in case, we must remain prepared. If anything truly happens, we will immediately send word to the Heavenly Demon Realm."
The leading Heavenly Demon Realm Saint King powerhouse stated.
"You don't need to trouble yourselves. That Demon Emperor of the Ji Ji demon race has already been slain and refined by me."
Just as the numerous Heavenly Demon Realm Saint Kings were arguing.
Suddenly, a voice echoed from above everyone's heads.
All the Heavenly Demon Realm Saint Kings were startled.
Someone had stealthily infiltrated the core secret area of the war fortress without a sound. They hadn't detected the slightest disturbance. What was the intruder's power level?
"Who's being sneaky? Come out!"
A group of Heavenly Demon Realm powerhouses roared.
Two figures appeared.
A man and a woman.
The man had gray hair, wore an exceptionally ordinary green cloth robe, and had an unremarkable appearance, looking like a mortal from the secular world.
Beside him.
Stood a woman as beautiful as a celestial being, her skin delicate and fair like a peeled egg, her figure alluring and sensual, yet exuding an aura of sacred inviolability. Every aspect of her was enough to ignite a man's most primal desires.
These two.
Were naturally Ling Fan and Lan Xueyi.
"Ha! Where did these two lambs come from? You chose the path to hell when heaven's gate was open!"
"How dare you curse our Lord Demon Emperor! The man will be chopped up for wine, his soul burned to ashes by demonic fire. As for the woman, she's mine!"
A tall Saint King powerhouse with rugged demonic horns, like a ravenous tiger pouncing, reached out directly towards the two.
"Get lost! I've also set my sights on that woman. I want her!" Other Saint King Heavenly Demon Realm powerhouses attacked one after another.
Instantly, demonic claws that blotted out the sky and rolled with demonic energy reached out from all directions.
Ling Fan's eyes flashed with cold light.
"Heh!"
He let out a sudden roar.
A terrifying sound wave spread outwards in concentric circles.
Bang bang bang!
All the demonic claws instantly exploded.
All the Heavenly Demon Realm Saint Kings' expressions changed drastically. Swept by the sound wave, their demonic bodies trembled, they spat blood madly, and were sent flying backward.
"Damn it! Is he a Human Emperor? Why is he so terrifying? The power of a single roar is this immense!"
All the Heavenly Demon Realm powerhouses were utterly terrified.
"Quickly go to the Bone Gate and send a message, requesting the Heavenly Demon Realm Emperor to descend!"
The leading Saint King Heavenly Demon Realm powerhouse roared.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Ling Fan had intended to eliminate these Heavenly Demon Realm Saint Kings.
Suddenly, he changed his mind.
The Yama Hall appeared, and with a flash of light, it directly absorbed all the Heavenly Demon Realm Saint Kings.
With Ling Fan's current strength, coupled with the Yama Hall, he could suppress even a Demon Emperor, let alone these Saint King level demon heads.
In less than the time it takes to snap one's fingers.
All eighteen Saint King level Heavenly Demon Realm powerhouses became puppets within the Yama Hall, increasing its power by one to two tenths.
Although the combined power of eighteen Saint Kings was less than one-thousandth of the effect of a single Demon Emperor, it was better than nothing.
After dealing with these Saint Kings, the remaining billions of ordinary demons posed no threat. Along with all the war fortresses, they were annihilated by Ling Fan, and all the treasures within were refined into Ling Fan's world.
"Brother Fan, look."
After all the war fortresses were destroyed.
Xueyi pointed towards the depths of the void in surprise.
Behold, a bone gate, tens of thousands of feet tall, capable of containing a small star, as if forged from countless corpses, stood in their line of sight.
"What is this?"
"This is a supreme divine ability of the Heavenly Demon Realm, known as the Bone Gate."
Ling Fan's eyes flashed with two sharp beams as he flew towards the Bone Gate.
"This must have been set up by the several high-level Demon Emperors who pursued Zhou Yun Chang a thousand years ago. The power of the life-bound divine abilities of the Heavenly Demon Realm's demonic powerhouses contained within is unimaginably strong!"
"What is the function of this portal?" Xueyi asked.
"Simply put, this is a spatial teleportation channel, capable of traveling to the Heavenly Demon Realm, one of the Ten Great Heavenly Realms." Ling Fan explained.
"Xueyi, you should return to the Jiuhua Realm for now. I need to refine this Bone Gate here, to elevate my strength another step. Then, I will prepare to ascend to the Central Heavenly Realm, the most powerful and central realm among all the myriad worlds." Ling Fan said.
Xueyi bit her lip. "Brother Fan, you should tell me your true identity and origin now. After experiencing so many things with you, I vaguely know that you must have a grand background and an astonishing identity. But no matter what, I am your wife. I will always stand with you, sharing joys and sorrows, braving winds and rains, never abandoning you."
Ling Fan pondered for a moment, then reached out and grabbed a massive meteor. The two sat on the meteor, and Ling Fan began to recount the story of his past life.
...