Chapter 2151: Blood and Light's Demise

One month later, the entire Demon Realm was abuzz with Yuan Yan's decree to exterminate immortals. The immense rewards offered by the extermination decree tempted even some Demon Saint Ancestors. Furthermore, the target of the extermination decree was merely a Human cultivator at the Integration stage from the Spirit Realm, which naturally didn't warrant much attention from these Saint Ancestors. Most didn't even deploy their true forms, instead sending their various avatars.

However, a select few Saint Ancestors who were on good terms with Yuan Yan received more secret information from him. After careful consideration, they quietly held back their forces. Even so, the combined forces of Saint Ancestor avatars and some Integration-stage Demon Lords were enough to stir up the greater part of the Demon Realm.

Two months later, on the outskirts of Emerald Demon City, one of the Demon Realm's major cities, Han Li's tracks were finally discovered and reported to the four Demon Lords stationed in the city. Consequently, near the city's teleportation array, the four Demon Lords unexpectedly cornered Han Li and his companions. However, Reverend Crab suddenly struck, easily killing all four Demon Lords with a single blow. This display of power completely stunned the surrounding ten thousand demons, allowing Han Li and his group to stride boldly through the teleportation array and leave Emerald City.

Three and a half months later, Han Li's tracks were discovered again in the "Shuojin River Valley," a well-known perilous area in the Demon Realm. The renowned Old Ancestor Tian Ya from the Demon Realm dispatched an avatar, who, along with three other Demon Lords, rushed to the scene and once again cornered Han Li. After an intense and unrevealed battle, Old Ancestor Tian Ya's avatar and two other Demon Lords perished on the spot. Only one Demon Lord, skilled in escape techniques, managed to desperately flee the Shuojin River Valley. As soon as the news spread, demons across the various regions were in an uproar, discussing the event heatedly.

Half a year later, the true form of Bloodlight Saint Ancestor, accompanied by two avatars and several subordinates, suddenly appeared in a small town called "Chenshui Town." He immediately exposed Han Li and his companions, who had been concealing their true appearances, and unleashed a terrifying demonic art, intending to capture them all alive.

Without a word, Han Li and Reverend Crab simultaneously launched their attacks to engage in battle. After half a year of recuperation, Han Li's vital energy had almost fully recovered. Furthermore, the immense benefits he gained from the Spirit Cleansing Pool and Pure Spirit Lotus, combined with the tempering from his previous battle against the Nirvana avatar, were now truly manifesting, significantly advancing his Fan Saint True Devil Arts. Thus, when Han Li made his move this time, he immediately transformed into the Nirvana Sacred Body of the Second Nirvana Transformation. Every gesture and step he made possessed incredible, heaven-shaking power, subtly allowing him to hold his own against the true form of Bloodlight Saint Ancestor.

As a result, after a fierce battle that lasted for an entire day and night, the entire small town was almost completely destroyed. Many of the surrounding demons who had gathered to watch were also affected, suffering injuries or perishing. What was terrifying, however, was that the battle ultimately concluded with Bloodlight Saint Ancestor's true form severely wounded and fleeing, while his two avatars and all his subordinates were completely annihilated.

If the previous two battles had merely introduced the demons to Reverend Crab's terror, then after this battle, they finally recognized Han Li's formidable power, almost equating him with Reverend Crab. However, what caused an even greater sensation was that several days after the great battle, a high-ranking demon discovered the gruesome remains of Bloodlight Saint Ancestor in a mountain range a million miles away from Chenshui Town. The skull of the remains was wide open, and the interior was completely empty, as if Bloodlight Saint Ancestor's physical body had not only been destroyed, but even his Nascent Soul had been forcibly taken by someone.

Once this news spread and was confirmed by other high-ranking demons, it naturally caused an even bigger stir. Some Demon Saint Ancestors who had initially been eager to act, upon hearing this, were greatly alarmed and promptly dispatched their subordinate avatars to investigate the true reason behind Bloodlight Saint Ancestor's demise. It's important to note that while the Demon Realm has always encouraged fierce competition among its various races, and even the demise of Demon Lords is not uncommon, there had not been a single instance of a Saint Ancestor being harmed for tens of thousands of years.

Moreover, while these Saint Ancestors had some suspicion that Han Li and Reverend Crab might have been involved in the ambush, they were more inclined to believe that other Saint Ancestors, who had grievances with Bloodlight Saint Ancestor, had taken the opportunity to strike. Consequently, those Saint Ancestors whose powers were only second to the Ancestral level, while not fearing Han Li and Reverend Crab, became extremely wary after this incident and all dismissed the idea of intervening. After all, with Han Li and Reverend Crab's strength, sending avatars would be futile, akin to "throwing meat buns to a dog" – they would be lost without return. And if their true forms were to personally intervene, they would fear being targeted by their enemies. As for ordinary Demon Lords, without a Demon Saint Ancestor to lead them, they were even less likely to willingly court death.

Thus, Han Li and his group, who had originally been hunted by everyone, suddenly became a "hot potato," with no demon willing to pursue or confront them anymore. Of course, superficial investigations and bounties still existed, but they were merely a pretense, appearing strict on the outside while being lax on the inside. Han Li's reputation, too, had completely spread among the various races of the Demon Realm, even reaching a point where some ordinary demons would turn pale at the mention of his name.

Inside a cave in the belly of a desolate small mountain peak, an old man and a brawny man sat cross-legged, facing each other. The old man had unusually long eyebrows, a gaunt face, and a triangular topknot held by a yellow wooden hairpin. His robe was emblazoned with a grotesque demonic image of three heads and six arms, giving him an exceptionally eerie appearance. The brawny man wore black armor, had a full beard, and possessed a very majestic appearance, though his face subtly carried a solemn expression. The aura emanating from both of them was extremely terrifying, far surpassing that of an ordinary Demon Lord, yet it seemed they had not quite reached the Mahayana realm.

The old man and the brawny man intensely stared at an object placed between them. It was a blood-red cauldron, about a foot tall, with a square upper section. Each of its four corners was engraved with a terrifying demonic face relief. The cauldron trembled slightly and continuously, emitting extremely shrill screams from the mouths of the demonic face reliefs, as if some demon was imprisoned inside and undergoing immense torment.

"Bloodlight, why put yourself through this? The sooner you hand over those secret caves, the sooner you can be freed from the demonic flames. Reverend Che and I have been sealed in the Demon Suppressing Lock for so long that we've become extremely patient. We could torment you for thousands of years, and it's highly likely. In the end, after enduring all the suffering, you'll still have to hand everything over to us. After all, you and we originally split from the same primordial spirit. Handing it over to us, in a sense, means keeping the benefits within our own circle." After listening to the screams from the cauldron for a while, the bearded man suddenly sighed lightly, his words subtly tinged with a hint of persuasion.

From the brawny man's words, it became clear that the one imprisoned in the cauldron was none other than Bloodlight Saint Ancestor's Nascent Soul.

"Indeed, if you double what you took from us that day and hand it all over, I might even be benevolent enough to allow you a swift reincarnation. You should know full well that I, Che Qigong, keep my word, and Reverend Feng Xie is certainly not one to break promises," the old man said with a grim expression, raising his eyebrows.

These two were none other than Che Qigong and Feng Xie, who had been trapped in the Demon Suppressing Lock that day. They had, by unknown means, finally escaped from the Demon Suppressing Lock. After lying low in the Demon Realm for a period, they seized the opportunity of Bloodlight Saint Ancestor's severe injuries to destroy his physical body, directly capture his Nascent Soul, and imprison it within the demonic cauldron before them. Judging by the tone between the three, it was clear that there was a deep-seated enmity between these two demons and Bloodlight, making it extremely difficult to discern right from wrong.

"Hehe... don't delude yourselves. Since... I've fallen into your hands this time... I never expected... to... escape with my life. I'd... rather the treasures in the secret caves remain buried forever... than hand them over to you, even if... they serve as my... burial goods. And without... these things... you'll... need... at least... thousands of years... to truly recover your former divine powers. Now is... the time of the great catastrophe in the Saint Realm, and with... your current cultivation... you could easily perish if you're not careful. This is... my only chance... for revenge... How could I... abandon it?" The screams from within the cauldron paused slightly, replaced by intermittent groans from a male voice, filled with bitter resentment towards Che Qigong and Feng Xie.

"Hmph, you refuse a toast, so you'll drink a forfeit! Let me tell you honestly, the soul-refining power currently being unleashed by this Soul-Refining Cauldron hasn't even reached one percent of its full potential. Once I cast the spell again, the torment you're enduring will instantly increase a hundredfold. That's when you'll truly wish you were dead!" Hearing this, Che Qigong immediately flew into a rage.

Then, the old demon formed hand seals, chanted incantations, and unleashed a series of magical formulas that vanished into the cauldron in a flash. Immediately, the demonic cauldron's surface emitted a brilliant crimson light, and the four demonic face reliefs simultaneously twisted and deformed, displaying expressions of extreme agony. The screams from within the cauldron also instantly became even more piercing, chilling listeners to the bone just by hearing them. However, Che Qigong's face remained grim, completely unmoved as he relentlessly urged the demonic cauldron before him. Observing this, Feng Xie shook his head and closed his eyes to rest, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

At the same time, above a vast, boundless desert, a hundred high-ranking demons with two horns on their heads, covered in blood, surrounded a man and a woman. On the sandy ground below, large swathes of mangled corpses and blood were scattered, almost saturating the sand. The surrounded pair consisted of a woman in a white robe, standing calmly in the air, her beauty unparalleled. The man wore black armor, his face was hideous and grotesque, and he held a spiked club, positioning it horizontally in front of the white-robed woman. It was Bao Hua and Black Alligator!

At this moment, Bao Hua's brows were slightly furrowed, and after her gaze swept over the demons, her expression turned grim. These demons all looked identical, clearly belonging to the same race, yet each one was expressionless, their aura cold, as if they had no life. As for Black Alligator, his demonic armor was almost completely stained crimson with blood, and his body exuded a murderous aura. It was evident that the corpses below were all his handiwork.

"Hmph, you lot truly aren't afraid of death. So many of you have already been annihilated, yet you still dare to cling on!" Black Alligator said with a sneer, licking the blood from his lips.

A demon, however, merely said the word "Charge" in a wooden, emotionless tone. Instantly, all the two-horned demons raised a single hand, and dark tokens appeared before them. After a flash of black light on their surfaces, dark orbs of light emerged, shooting towards Bao Hua and her companion from all directions.