Chapter 764: Dark Clouds Over the Demon Sword

Southwest of the Profound Sky Continent, within the Heavenly Sword Villa, it was late night. The moon was a mere sliver, and stars were sparse.

It was the beginning of the month, when the moon was at its most incomplete phase. In the dead of night, a thin layer of dark clouds veiled the sky, allowing only a faint, blurry crescent moon to be seen. Soon after, dark clouds, drifting from an unknown origin, began to silently gather, gradually obscuring the sliver of moon and the faint starlight, plunging the world into complete darkness.

When the moon was dim and the sky dark, the power of certain seals was at its weakest.

In a hidden underground chamber, it was pitch black, impossible to see one's own hand. Yet, at that moment, soft footsteps suddenly echoed. The footsteps resonated steadily, descending from above. The owner had no intention of lighting a lamp or activating a profound energy glow; they simply walked in complete darkness, all the way to the very bottom of the underground space.

As the footsteps ceased, a dim light slowly illuminated the space. This light was a murky, deathly grey and exuded an exceptionally eerie aura. Any ordinary person whose gaze met this light would feel an uncomfortable chill.

The source of the greyish light was, remarkably, a sword. Six and a half feet long and one foot wide, the sword was pitch black and enveloped by a strange, dark aura. Even more bizarrely, a pair of long, narrow black eyes slowly appeared on its oddly shaped hilt.

Like the eyes of a demon suddenly awakened from slumber.

These pitch-black eyes flickered between bright and dim, their terrifying gaze fixed on the figure who had approached it.

"Lord Demon," the figure began slowly, "it has been several months. Today, finally, is the time of dim sky and fading night again." From the sound of his voice, he appeared to be a middle-aged man.

This was because the time of dim sky and fading moon was when the sword's seal was at its weakest. During this time, the "Demon Lord" within the sword could briefly attain a degree of freedom, such as speaking. Otherwise, if it were to forcefully manifest at any other time, it would only accelerate the seal's irreversible consumption of its essence, leading to its quicker disappearance.

This sword had a name known throughout the world.

The Heaven Smiting Demon Sword!!

"How is the progress on breaking the seal... especially regarding that person named Fen Juechen!"

The Heaven Smiting Demon Sword emitted a terrifying sound that echoed back and forth in the dark space, like the pained wails of a malevolent spirit.

The middle-aged man smiled faintly: "Everything is going incredibly smoothly. In two months, it will be the day of the Thirteen Star Alignment, an event that occurs once every three thousand years, and also the scheduled date for the Demon Sword Convention. With the Thirteen Star Alignment, the world's Yin energy will reach its peak. By gathering the strength of all the powerful experts from the Profound Sky Continent, the seal can surely be broken."

"As for Fen Juechen, he will also arrive then. After all, he desires the Heaven Smiting Demon Sword more than anyone else."

Under the dim light, a subtly dangerous smile could faintly be seen curling at the middle-aged man's lips.

"Very good," the terrifying voice resounded from the sword. "Once you help me break this seal and reclaim my demon blood, I will personally assist you in dominating the world, making you the supreme ruler! No one will possibly be your match."

"I only hope you keep your word. I have spent a thousand years tirelessly scheming, and I do not wish for an unacceptable outcome." The middle-aged man's voice was calm, yet it carried an undertone of grimness.

"Hahahahaha, what kind of existence am I, to bother scheming against mere humans like you! I am ultimately just a sword; I do need a wielder, and you are the most suitable one!" The Heaven Smiting Demon Sword's voice suddenly became exceptionally ferocious. "Back then, I told that person surnamed Ye the same thing. I merely sought freedom, humbling myself, pleading with every word, even sacrificing my only drop of demon blood, just for him to help me break the seal. Afterwards, I would grant them supreme, invincible power..."

"But that person surnamed Ye, after gaining my demon blood and demonic techniques, not only failed to help me break the seal but added several more layers of seals, locking me in an inferno pool. Their entire clan guarded me, vowing that I would never again see the light of day! If you had not rescued me, this last wisp of my remnant soul might have completely dissipated by now, turning me into a dead sword forever!"

"You humans are truly the most despicable and shameless creatures in this world!!"

"Hehehe," the middle-aged man chuckled softly. "Rest assured, Lord Demon, I will not be as foolish and ungrateful as the Everlasting Night Royal Family. Over the years, I have paid an immense price to gradually undo the seals placed upon you by the Everlasting Night Royal Family. To break this final seal, I even orchestrated the Demon Sword Convention. All of this clearly demonstrates my sincerity."

"I trust you! Your strength and strategy are undeniably among the very best of all humans in this realm, and you are indeed worthy to be my wielder. Your biggest mistake, however, was killing Ye Mufeng a thousand years ago and leaving no trace of his body! Otherwise, why would we need to go through all this trouble!"

The middle-aged man replied indifferently: "Back then, before I met Lord Demon, how could I have known that Ye Mufeng's bloodline would be so useful? However, for the sake of preserving his bloodline, Ye Mufeng, at great cost and despite incurring heavenly wrath, used what Lord Demon referred to as the 'Forbidden Reincarnation Technique,' forcing his demon blood, which should have been extinguished, to be reborn. This was truly an act of divine aid, hahahaha."

"I placed the Soul Sealing Coffin, which contained Ye Mufeng's soul, in the extremely Yin-rich land of the Black Fiend Nation, to prevent his remnant soul from dissipating as much as possible. Then, after his son finally underwent reincarnation at the Burning Heaven Clan in the Azure Cloud Continent, I handed the key to the Soul Sealing Coffin to the then-Grand Clan Master, Fen Yijue, and implanted a mental suggestion in his mind that this was an ancestral heirloom, only to be used in desperate times. Everything went incredibly smoothly."

"I originally intended to slaughter the entire Burning Heaven Clan three years before the Thirteen Star Alignment, leaving only Fen Juechen alive, so he would take that key and reunite with Ye Mufeng. After he regained his past life memories, driven by a desire for vengeance and the power to achieve it, he would undoubtedly desperately seek to retrieve the Heaven Smiting Demon Sword, and then naturally appear at the Demon Sword Convention."

"Unexpectedly, a mishap occurred; the Burning Heaven Clan was actually annihilated by that brat, Yun Che. Fortunately, he spared Fen Juechen alone, which nearly ruined my grand plan! Otherwise, even dying ten thousand deaths wouldn't atone for his sin!" A sinister killing intent seeped from the middle-aged man's voice.

"However, what followed was exceptionally smooth. Although it happened much earlier than I planned, Fen Juechen successfully found Ye Mufeng's remnant soul, and his strength also saw astonishing improvement. This is for the better, though; if he were too weak, it wouldn't be as easy for him to 'naturally' acquire the Heaven Smiting Demon Sword."

The middle-aged man's voice remained utterly calm, yet within that calmness lay an extreme arrogance. It was as if nothing in the world could escape his gaze, and the shifts in power were merely at his fingertips.

"Lord Demon, I still don't understand why Fen Juechen must be the one to obtain the Heaven Smiting Demon Sword. Why can't we simply seize him and forcefully extract the demon blood?"

"Hmph, if it were possible, I would have done so impatiently twenty years ago! Why go through such extensive trouble!" The pitch-black demon sword growled. "My body bears a seal left by an ancient god named 'Evil God'! Although a million years have passed and the seal has become extremely weak, I have also been consumed to the point where only this tiny remnant of a soul remains! If this seal isn't broken soon, I will completely vanish! For me to still exist now is already incredibly difficult; it's utterly impossible for me to actively seize the power of the demon blood! Fen Juechen must release the demon blood, then voluntarily offer it as a sacrifice to me! It's the only way!!"

"If he merely discovers my intentions, I will never see the light of day again! All your efforts will be for naught! Let alone forcibly abducting him to extract the demon blood!"

"I see," the middle-aged man slowly nodded, his face devoid of expression. He turned around and said calmly, "In two months, with the Thirteen Star Alignment, the sky will darken and the earth will dim, Yin energy will obscure the heavens, and the seal will be at its weakest point in three millennia. By then, almost all the Emperors and a significant portion of the Tyrant Sovereigns from across the Profound Sky Continent will be present. The combined power of all the Emperors and Tyrant Sovereigns will surely be enough to break the seal."

"Rest assured, Lord Demon, they will exert their full strength. After all, they are all incredibly eager to uncover the 'Demon Sword's' secret. They are even more desperate to learn the so-called 'Divine Profound Secret,' hahahahaha..."

Amidst his laughter, footsteps echoed once more, and the middle-aged man vanished into the darkness.

He possessed power and influence capable of dominating the heavens.

Moreover, he possessed a devilish cunning and depth of planning, with almost all the heroes of the world serving as mere puppets in his hands.

And no one had ever noticed.

Even fewer realized that his grand plan to become the world's sovereign was nearing its final stage.

The Heavenly Sword Master — Xuanyuan Wentian!