Chapter 118: Phoenix Wings Dance in the Sky

"Old Ghost! Tiger!" Seeing Old Ghost and Black Tiger instantly beheaded, Black Demon's heart nearly burst, and he almost vomited blood on the spot. The Black Demon mercenaries all stood frozen, unable to believe that three powerful vice-leaders, who possessed True Profound Realm strength, had died in the blink of an eye at the hands of a mere sixteen-year-old boy.

"Heh heh, no need for such grief. You'll be joining them soon enough." Yun Che turned, a cold smile playing on his lips as he looked at Black Demon. His Tiger Soul Sword suddenly swept up, unleashing a fiery tongue over a meter long that lashed out towards Black Demon from a distance.

"You bastard! I'll make you pay in blood! I'll tear you to pieces!" Black Demon roared in fury. He swung his spiked club, scattering Yun Che's fiery tongue, then leaped high into the air, launching a jumping attack at Yun Che. Yun Che also sprang up, gripping his Tiger Soul Sword with both hands, and collided with Black Demon mid-air.

CLANG!! Sparks flew as both bodies trembled violently, then recoiled. Yun Che landed, his body swaying only slightly before he stood firm. Black Demon, upon landing, stumbled back five or six steps before finally regaining his balance. A noticeable chip, over a finger deep, had appeared on his crude iron spiked club.

After this single exchange with Yun Che, Black Demon finally understood why Old Ghost, Black Tiger, and Black Wolf had been so easily slain in succession. In this direct clash of profound energy, even he had been at a disadvantage!

Black Demon's eyes darted wildly, his face filled with disbelief... Impossible! Absolutely impossible! That boy clearly only possessed profound energy at the tenth level of the Nascent Profound Realm, while he himself was at the third level of the True Profound Realm! How could his profound energy be stronger than his own? This was impossible, utterly impossible!

Yet, no matter how unwilling he was to believe it, the undeniable truth lay before him. The opponent's profound energy level was clearly lower than his, yet its intensity was steadily superior. Moreover, the opponent's weapon held a significant advantage. His own spiked club was a True Profound Weapon, infused with his profound energy during combat, yet it had sustained such a large chip in a single strike. A few more hits, and it would very likely be severed directly.

"It seems you're nothing special after all." Yun Che raised a hand to lightly caress the back of his Tiger Soul Sword, speaking mockingly.

"Boy, don't get ahead of yourself. I was just going easy on you!" Black Demon retorted. "You're just Nascent Profound Realm trash! How could you be a match for Black Demon? Hah! Storm Strike!"

Black Demon had roamed the world for decades. Without a sect's inheritance, he naturally couldn't learn any high-level profound arts or skills. However, he had picked up a considerable number of low-level profound skills that could be bought anywhere. He closed in on Yun Che, his body suddenly spinning rapidly, swinging his spiked club to whip up a profound energy storm of no small power.

CLANG, CLANG, CLANG, CLANG!! Yun Che retreated slightly, swiftly blocking all of Black Demon's attacks with his Tiger Soul Sword. Each clash between the Tiger Soul Sword and the spiked club produced crisp metallic sounds and a shower of sparks. After more than thirty consecutive clashes, Yun Che soared backward, retreating a dozen steps away. At that moment, Black Demon's assault ceased. He then pointed at Yun Che and roared, "What are you standing around for?! Kill him for me! Whoever slays him will be the new vice-leader!!"

The Black Demon mercenaries were still reeling from the shock of seeing their three vice-leaders perish in the blink of an eye. Hearing Black Demon's roar, they snapped out of their daze and immediately swarmed Yun Che from all directions, encircling him.

"Senior Sister, protect yourself!" Yun Che dared not be careless against the assault of seventy to eighty Nascent Profound Realm Black Demon mercenaries. In such a situation, he couldn't possibly look after Lan Xueruo. Given Lan Xueruo's strength, though physically weakened, she wouldn't be in immediate danger when facing only Nascent Profound Realm enemies.

"Seeking death!" A dozen Black Demon mercenaries formed a simple encirclement, pouncing on Yun Che simultaneously. Yun Che did not retreat; a cold smile appeared on his lips as he met their assault with a sweeping sword strike. A massive fiery tongue burst forth, making his Tiger Soul Sword seem to extend to eight feet in length.

*Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack...* The fiery tongue swept across the first person, snapping their neck. Its momentum unchecked, it then struck the second, third, and fourth... When facing multiple enemies, it is generally ill-advised to strike at all of them at once, unless one possesses overwhelmingly superior strength, as it would severely disperse attack power. Instead, one should concentrate strength to defeat them one by one, reducing the pressure on oneself.

Yet, Yun Che chose a sweeping attack of fiery profound energy! In front of these Nascent Profound Realm enemies, his profound energy could not be called overwhelmingly powerful. However, his weapon was an Earth Profound Sword capable of easily cutting through Nascent Profound Realm profound energy defenses! The flames he unleashed were Phoenix flames controlled by the power of the Evil God! The advantage in profound energy, combined with the absolute dominance of his profound art and weapon, transformed his sweeping strike into a true, effortless sweep.

Seven or eight of the dozen or so attackers were directly swept away by Yun Che's single strike. From behind, he heard the whoosh of approaching air as a heavy battle-axe swung towards his neck. Without turning his head, he clenched his left fist and punched into the wind.

THUD!! The chest of the ambushing Black Demon mercenary instantly shattered, and he flew backward, spitting blood.

"Die!" Yun Che felt not a shred of reluctance or pity towards these Black Demon mercenaries. He leaped up, dodging the attacks of three Black Demon mercenaries, then stomped on the chest of a mercenary diagonally behind him, crushing a bloody hole straight through it. Using the recoil, he lunged a long distance, sweeping his sword mid-air, engulfing three more in his fiery tongue. As he landed, another three were sent flying by his sword.

More and more Black Demon mercenaries swarmed forward, surrounding Yun Che like a tide. Yun Che's expression remained calm and unruffled. Using the Star God's Broken Shadow, his body weaved through the crowd like a swift in a storm. Wherever the Tiger Soul Sword struck, if it met a weapon, the weapon would invariably be severed. If it met a person, it would be a fatal blow. The profound energy defenses of these Nascent Profound Realm practitioners were truly no different from a thin sheet of paper before the Tiger Soul Sword.

Before long, Yun Che was splattered with large drops of blood, yet he remained completely oblivious. He had killed too many people in his life; for him, killing was as casual and ordinary as reaping wheat, stirring not the slightest ripple in his heart.

Black Demon, who had been observing from a distance, originally intended to launch a sneak attack, a desperate strike, while Yun Che was surrounded. But as he watched the boy, drenched in blood, slaughtering Black Demon mercenaries one by one, wave after wave, as if mowing down weeds, a deep chill began to spread through his heart... This was clearly just a youth, yet he killed so cleanly and decisively, without hesitation or mercy. Furthermore, his eyes and expression during the slaughter were far too calm; they didn't look like someone who was killing at all!

He himself had killed a fair number of people in his life, perhaps eighty if not a hundred, but he could never remain so calm while doing so. And even though Yun Che was only at the Nascent Profound Realm, he possessed such terrifying power... those horrifying fiery tongues, that dreadful longsword that spelled death for anyone it touched... Black Demon's heart pounded faster and faster. The idea of ambushing Yun Che rapidly faded, replaced by a growing fear deep within him. His steps began to falter, then he turned his body and fled wildly.

"Trying to run?" His actions were entirely visible to Yun Che. Yun Che's eyes darkened. With a sweep of his Tiger Soul Sword, he forced all the surrounding Black Demon mercenaries away. Then, with a stomp of his foot, he shot up nearly ten zhang into the air, his piercing gaze locking onto Black Demon as his entire body suddenly ignited with crimson flames.

"Phoenix Wing Sky Dance!" Flames raged around Yun Che's entire body. Behind him, two fiery phoenix wings unfurled, and he shot downwards. From a distance, he looked like a small phoenix plummeting from the sky, faintly accompanied by the sound of a phoenix's cry.

The Phoenix Wing Sky Dance, a Phoenix flame skill recorded in the fifth stage of the *Great Way of the Phoenix*, caused flaming wings to sprout from the user's back upon activation, striking enemies with overwhelming force and triggering a wide-range fiery explosion. Originally, it required the Phoenix flame power of the *Great Way of the Phoenix*'s fifth stage to activate. However, with Yun Che's exceptionally high comprehension, he had forcefully broken through the profound barrier using the power of the Evil God's Fire Seed, allowing him to activate it with his own Evil God's flame power, which was mixed with Phoenix flame energy.

The intense pressure and scorching heat in the air made Black Demon instinctively turn his head. Yet, even with his early detection, it was utterly impossible for him to evade the unparalleled momentum of the Phoenix Wing Sky Dance...

BOOM!! A colossal roar almost tore through the sky. Countless cracks spread rapidly across the parched ground like a spiderweb, but they were immediately engulfed by raging flames. Amidst the blazing inferno, a dark figure shot out, splattering large quantities of blood into the air before plummeting to the ground like a discarded rag doll, kicking up a cloud of dust.

All the Black Demon mercenaries froze, their eyes wide with horror as they stared at the black figure twitching on the ground behind the flames. Lan Xueruo also stood stunned, her small hand covering her mouth, her gaze filled with shock and bewilderment.

Yun Che slowly walked up to Black Demon, his eyes cold as he looked at the figure sprawled on the ground, unable to rise. Activating the Phoenix Wing Sky Dance required an immense expenditure of energy. This was his second use of it today, and combined with the prolonged opening of the Evil Soul Profound Veins, his body had begun to experience a relatively severe sense of weakness. However, the effect of this strike was evident; from the previous impact, he had clearly heard the sound of Black Demon's spine snapping.

With his spine shattered, Black Demon was utterly crippled. Even if he survived, he would be paralyzed for life.

"Spare me... spare me... I don't want to die..." Sensing Yun Che's approach, Black Demon pleaded in agony. The desire to live was a human instinct, especially for a thoroughly wicked person like him, who had enjoyed most of his life but still hadn't had enough.

Yun Che bent down, removed the yellow spatial ring from Black Demon's hand, and said coldly, "You no longer have any value in existing."

As his voice fell, Yun Che struck Black Demon's neck with a palm. With a *crack*, Black Demon's neck snapped, his eyes bulged, and he drew his last breath.