Chapter 780: Slaughtering Moon Demon Lord (Three)

Yun Che slightly raised the Golden Crow Flame, avoiding looking directly at the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, and whispered, "Jasmine, where is that monster now?"

"What about its profound energy? Are you sure it's at the sixth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm?" Yun Che asked again.

"...I don't dare use too much soul power. My spiritual perception is severely limited here, so I can't be certain. But at this distance, even if there's a deviation, it won't be far off."

"Alright..." Yun Che muttered, then took a slight breath, hardened his expression, looked up at a spot about thirty to forty zhang directly above the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, and said in an extremely calm tone, "My apologies for disturbing your solitude, Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign!"

"Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign?" Jasmine asked with a hint of doubt. "Are you testing it?"

"Not entirely," Yun Che said cautiously. "I feel... it should be the Moon Slaughter Devil Den that Zi Ji mentioned! Zi Ji said it died over six thousand years ago, based on the fact that since then, no Sea Palace disciples who entered to investigate the Moon Slaughter Devil Den had ever found any trace of the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign. Yet, when the four of us entered and left earlier, it was clearly present but remained completely still... It's highly probable that its death was always just an illusion!"

"Because it doesn't need to perish at all! As long as it remains hidden there, even if the Four Sacred Masters came, they wouldn't be able to detect its existence!"

The sky, which had been nothing but endless darkness, suddenly lit up with two points of dark gray light.

They were a pair of incredibly terrifying eyes! The moment they opened, Yun Che trembled violently from body to soul.

"Foolish human! Did you recklessly stay behind just to beg this King to grant you death by my own hands?!"

There was no surprise in its voice about Yun Che discovering its presence; instead, its hoarse, obscure voice was filled with heart-pounding rage and arrogance.

"...So, you are indeed the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign who has existed here for ten thousand years?" Yun Che's heart jolted.

Although Jasmine had already told him that a terrifying monster was hidden here, witnessing its appearance firsthand still filled him with intense shock. Its existence was unknown even to the Supreme Ocean Palace, which had always guarded the Moon Slaughter Devil Den!

"Hahahaha!" The terrifying voice roared with laughter. "This King has only ever revealed my name to you humans once. I didn't expect that after ten thousand years, you would still remember my name! It seems that even though I haven't seen the sun or moon for ten millennia, I am still enough to plunge you lowly beings into eternal fear, hahahahaha..."

The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's voice was extremely grating and obscure; every word made Yun Che uncomfortable all over, and its laughter made him intensely uneasy. Yet, what it said was a clear admission... that it truly was the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign whom the Supreme Ocean Palace believed had long since perished!!

This meant... it had lived from ten thousand years ago all the way to the present!

Ten thousand years was enough time for even the strongest Emperors to perish multiple times, yet it had not vanished for a full ten millennia!

Such a lifespan completely defied common sense!

Even its strength was far from the legendary Tyrannical Profound Realm!

"It really is this guy!" Yun Che whispered to Jasmine. "To live for ten thousand years without dying, it's definitely an extraordinary monster!"

Jasmine: "..."

Yun Che took a small breath, his mind already calm again. He looked up and said in a level tone, "Although you have never appeared on the Profound Sky Continent, the name Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign has never been forgotten. As for me, I am merely a humble human in your words. I naturally have no enmity or grievances with you, and it's impossible for me to wish to become your enemy. I came here simply to retrieve an item. Once I have it, I will leave immediately and will not reveal a single word about you... My previous words were merely an apology for disturbing your peace."

Clearly, Yun Che had no desire to fight to the death with this terrifying creature that had lived in the dark environment for at least ten thousand years. If it didn't interfere with him taking the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, and they could both go their separate ways... that would naturally be the best outcome.

However, Yun Che's hope was crushed the moment it left his lips.

"Lowly, foolish, insignificant inferior creature!!" The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign suddenly roared, its piercing, soul-jarring voice laced with biting anger, mockery, and disdain. Its eyes, like dim abysses, suddenly dropped from the air. "Not only do you scheme to seize this King's Netherworld Udumbara Flower, but you also fantasize about this King letting you go!"

Bang!!

With a loud thud, a tall, gray silhouette landed heavily in front of Yun Che.

A malevolent aura, as if from hell, rushed towards him. Yun Che quickly retreated five steps, clenching his hands tightly. From the sound, it was no more than ten zhang away, but in the darkness, all he could still see were a pair of grayish-white eyes. Beyond that, even a vague outline was indiscernible.

It knew he wanted the Netherworld Udumbara Flower... Right! It had previously overheard his conversation with Zi Ji and the others!!

The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign was close by. Although Yun Che couldn't see it, a terrifying oppressive force heavily enveloped his body and soul. This pressure was completely different from all the pressure Yun Che had ever endured in his life. Coldness, resentment, rage, arrogance, delusion, bloodlust... He felt waves of intensely negative emotions permeating every corner of the world. In a daze, he even had the horrifying sensation of being chained over hell's molten lava, about to face the cruelest punishment imaginable.

"My life source and soul source were completely destroyed, forcing me to imprison myself here, unable to see the sun or moon for ten thousand years! The dark aura here is restoring my life and power, and this Netherworld Udumbara Flower can restore my soul source! This was granted to me by heaven; it is the most precious thing for my survival in this world! In this humiliating world, the day it blooms every twenty-four years is my happiest moment! You small, foolish, inferior creature, how dare you try to lay your hands on this King's most cherished possession!"

An incredibly powerful being wouldn't normally get angry when facing a "lowly creature." But clearly, Yun Che had precisely touched upon its absolute inverse scale—the one thing that must not be touched!

Its sudden burst of malevolent and angry energy startled Yun Che, but he quickly calmed down. His eyes became exceptionally cold. "It seems... there's nothing left to discuss."

Not only did things not go as he wished, but they also moved in the worst possible direction... This Netherworld Udumbara Flower was actually the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's inverse scale!

This meant that if he wanted the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, he would have to kill the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign!

Kill this monster, riddled with endless mysteries, that had lived for ten thousand years without dying!!

"Rumor has it that over ten thousand years ago, your strength was roughly at the early stage of the Tyrannical Profound Realm. Yet, after a full ten thousand years, your profound energy has only advanced to the current mid-stage of the Sovereign Profound Realm..." Since a life-or-death struggle was now inevitable, Yun Che naturally saw no need to be polite any longer. He sneered, "This pathetic growth rate is worse than even the most mediocre human! It seems you, this monster who constantly calls us inferior beings... are nothing special!"

"Hahahahaha!" The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign did not erupt in anger at Yun Che's words; instead, it burst into maniacal laughter. "How can foolish, lowly beings comprehend this King's might! My current dormancy is merely due to the severe damage to my life source and soul source! As long as this Netherworld Udumbara Flower remains, and you give this King another three thousand years, my life source and soul source will recover. At that time, my body and soul will rapidly mend, and my power will surge by thousands of miles each day! Then, everything in this world shall bow before this King!"

Jasmine: "..."

"Tsk," Yun Che scoffed with disdain. "I've met many powerful individuals in my life—a dime a dozen stronger than you. But when it comes to bragging, it seems no one can truly compare to you. Oh dear... could it be that you're just utterly insane? Well, that makes sense. In such an environment of absolute darkness, let alone driving someone mad, a month or two could probably push someone to suicide. Saying that, I suddenly feel a bit impressed by you. To be cooped up here for ten thousand years and not commit suicide, still living so well."

"Hmph..." From the darkness came the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's dangerous sneer. "This King has endured even a million years; what is a mere ten thousand years to me!"

Yun Che's eyebrows twitched sharply...

A million years!?

"Ridiculous! This King is actually wasting words on a lowly, foolish, inferior creature like you!"

Boom!!

A frigid wave of air exploded outwards. The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's eyes instantly transformed from grayish-white to pitch black. A thick black mist rose from its body, and for a moment, the dark aura within the Moon Slaughter Devil Den completely raged, as if a relentless, hellish wind swept through and corroded every corner.

Yun Che felt a tightness in his chest and leaped backward with all his might, instantly retreating a hundred zhang away. The sudden burst of dark power from the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign was incredibly terrifying, making him feel as if he had instantly fallen into hell.

Whoosh!!

Yun Che's left hand wielded Phoenix Flame, his right, Golden Crow Flame, and his entire body was bathed in fire, his brows tightly furrowed. While astonished by the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's dark power, he also inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity that shouldn't have been there...

Familiarity?

"Ignorant, inferior creature! With your lowly power, approaching the Netherworld Udumbara Flower is a dead end. This King doesn't even need to personally act. However, the low, filthy soul aura of humans will defile this King's Netherworld Udumbara Flower! This King has no choice but to personally turn you into ashes in the darkness!!"

The endless darkness made it impossible for Yun Che to see the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's location; he could only rely on his limited spiritual perception to sense its power. Thus, before even engaging in combat, he was already at an absolute disadvantage.

Just then, an extremely low voice coldly rang out: "Eternal Night Illusory Devil Manual!!"

This voice came from Yun Che, but it wasn't uttered by Yun Che himself... it was Jasmine's voice!

These mere five words stunned Yun Che and caused the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's arms, which were about to strike, to instantly freeze.

"Who is it!" The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's pupils emitted a ghostly light several times darker, and this beam of light ultimately fell upon Yun Che. "So that's it! Another soul resides within your body... and it actually recognizes this King's devil art!"

"Jasmine, what's going on?" Yun Che asked uneasily. He finally understood the source of that inexplicable familiarity... The dark aura unleashed by the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign was remarkably similar to the power aura Fen Juechen had exhibited that day. However, it was infinitely more powerful, dense, and pure than Fen Juechen's.

"This monster... it's neither beast nor human!" Jasmine's voice was frighteningly low, for the shock and horror in her heart far surpassed Yun Che's. "And it's very likely... a million years ago... from the Ancient Era... of the Eternal Night Devil Clan's..."

"Devil!!"

The "Eternal Night Illusory Devil Manual" that appeared on the Profound Sky Continent had alerted Jasmine to an extremely unusual aura. And the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign before them, it was very likely the terrifying truth behind the "Eternal Night Illusory Devil Manual"... to the absolute extreme!