Chapter 784: Demon Lair Fierce Battle

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...

The Moon Slaughter Devil Nest was enduring the most terrifying catastrophe in its history. Violent flames and eerie darkness filled every corner. Space wildly collapsed and shattered, and the colossal roar was like a heavenly bell being relentlessly struck by ten-thousand-foot mountains. If any other cultivators were present at this moment, even powerhouses of the King Profound Realm, the mere sky-shaking roar would be enough to instantly shatter their consciousness, cause their blood to reverse, and make them faint on the spot. Those with slightly weaker profound energy would even have their bodies and souls shattered, leading to death.

A human and a devil had already exchanged hundreds of blows in this enclosed, dark world. As if by unspoken agreement, their powers steadily grew, each meticulously probing the limits of the other's strength. The catastrophe engulfing the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest grew increasingly violent, making the entire small world resemble an erupting volcano. Only the unbloomed Netherworld Udumbara flower, though also caught in the storm, swayed serenely on its own, emitting sounds like the weeping and cackling of evil spirits.

Bang!!! Yun Che unleashed a sword strike, but its blade was swept aside by the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign. The flames, imbued with the power of his heavy sword, then slammed into a stone wall fifty zhang away. Immediately, a deafening crackle drowned out the sound of the exploding flames, as a long crack snaked diagonally down the wall, reaching all the way to the ground. Creating a crack in these walls was infinitely more difficult than shattering a ten-thousand-foot mountain with a single sword! Though Yun Che's first swing missed, causing him to lose balance, he swiftly spun around. The Heaven Smiting Sword, weighing a million catties, moved as lightly as his own arm, instantly countering and violently forcing back the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's demonic claw.

Boom, boom, boom, boom... The Moon Slaughter Devil Nest continued to tremble. From the crack Yun Che had created in the stone wall, sporadic fragments of rock began to fall, but before they could even touch the ground, they were swept away into a tempestuous vortex of power. After over a thousand exchanges, the human and the devil were astonishingly evenly matched, with neither gaining even the slightest upper hand from beginning to end.

Yun Che's expression turned grim and fierce, for this was no mere spar but a fight to the death; either he or the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign would perish. Yet, in his eyes, an increasingly intense excitement shone through.

However, the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign grew increasingly alarmed. He was a devil, a true ancient devil, and a king among devils at that! In the devils' perception, humans were lowly beings, akin to ants; he could effortlessly obliterate a star realm home to billions of humans with a mere flick of his wrist. Although his life soul was now damaged and his power less than one ten-thousandth of what it once was, his contempt for humans was ingrained. Even in his current state, Yun Che's aura was immeasurably weaker than his own. Even if Yun Che wielded a peculiar sword that made his own power tremble and his soul shiver uncontrollably, in his eyes, Yun Che was still nothing more than an ant.

Yet, from the very first exchange with Yun Che, shock began to spread through his soul, and instead of diminishing, it only intensified. Initially, he had not used his full power, considering it a tremendous humiliation to unleash his might against such a lowly being. But upon sensing Yun Che's unexpectedly formidable strength, he began to gradually increase his own power. However, for every increment his power rose, the opponent's strength likewise grew, until he had unleashed ninety percent of his demonic power, yet still remained unable to suppress Yun Che.

The power emanating from that scarlet greatsword astonished him. Such immense power, wielded by Yun Che's mortal body, should incur a tremendous toll with every strike. Yet, after a thousand sword blows, not only had Yun Che's sword might not diminished, but it had continuously grown stronger. A lowly being, with a lowly body and aura, yet seemingly containing power no less than that of his own devil god body! This hateful human must be desperately gritting his teeth and enduring! How could such a humble aura and despicable body possibly sustain the release of such power?!

The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's face suddenly contorted, and black light burst from his demonic eyes. The Eternal Night Illusion Devil Canon instantly activated to its highest realm, and his dark demonic power surged forth with no reservations. Yun Che's brows furrowed, and he let out a great roar. The muscles in his arms bulged, veins twisted, and his joints cracked audibly. Then, he stepped forward, and his rampaging profound energy surged from his entire body into his arms, then into the Heaven Smiting Sword, which he swept violently forward.

Boom!!! The dark ground beneath Yun Che completely shattered, and he was sent flying backward like a leaf caught in a storm, slamming violently into the stone wall behind him with a tremendous crash. The overly resilient wall rebounded all the immense force he had just endured back into his body, leaving him numb, his consciousness momentarily blank, and nearly causing him to vomit a mouthful of blood. The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign was not in much better condition. He had been blasted diagonally upward by Yun Che's sword, his massive demonic body crashing into the overhead wall, then violently rebounding downwards. He then rolled dozens of zhang before finally stopping against the rear wall.

The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign stood up, his expression and eyes utterly transformed, his breathing becoming incredibly ragged. He... he, a dignified Devil Sovereign, had actually been blasted away by a mere human! Blasted away by a human! Blasted away! It was as if a curse echoed repeatedly in his ears and soul. His previous injury from Yun Che's sword had been due to being caught off guard while distracted, but this time, he had clearly used his full power in a straightforward, unyielding confrontation, yet he was still blasted away! Blasted away by a human! The humiliation was unbearable!

And this clearly proved... that this human, whom he had assumed was an ant to be crushed between his fingers, actually possessed strength capable of rivaling his own! Yun Che had already stood up before the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign. Even after enduring the opponent's full-powered strike, the million-catty Heaven Smiting Demon Punisher Sword had not left his grasp for an instant. Although his arm bones were slightly fractured and over a dozen meridians torn, for him, these were negligible minor injuries. He regulated his qi and blood, slowly approaching the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign. "Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign," he taunted, "you kept calling me a lowly human, and I thought you were so formidable... but it turns out you're nothing more than this!"

"You... how... could..." In contrast to Yun Che's unrestrained mockery, the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign was now half-delirious with rage and humiliation. In ancient times, even within the demon world, he stood above all demons! Mere humans didn't even possess the right to kneel before him! Yet now, he had been blasted away, injured, and, worse, was being scorned and ridiculed by a human. This was the greatest indignity he had ever suffered in his entire existence!

"Eternal... Night... Without... Light!!" Amidst a low growl filled with universe-spanning hatred, endless darkness descended like a black curtain, instantly plunging Yun Che into a mire of shadows. A terrifying devouring force assaulted his body and soul. Every single cell felt as if countless sinister hands were dragging him towards the abyss of death.

Yun Che immediately recognized it: this was precisely the dark domain Fen Juechen had desperately unleashed months ago during their battle when he was on the verge of defeat! At that time, all light had been swallowed, and Yun Che felt as if he had been pulled into an endless mire of darkness. Yet, only the Heaven Smiting Sword had continued to emit an undiminished scarlet glow within that boundless darkness, and with each swing, its crimson light effortlessly tore through the infinite gloom. The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's "Eternal Night Without Light" was several times more potent than Fen Juechen's, but even within its boundless darkness, the Heaven Smiting Sword's scarlet light still gleamed! In fact, against the overly dense darkness, it appeared even more dazzling.

"Break!!" "Underworld Ashes!!" The Heaven Smiting Sword slammed out, instantly cleaving the dark world and carving out a vacuum zone several zhang wide. From within it, ferocious Golden Crow flames ignited, spreading wildly and mercilessly piercing into every corner of the dark world. In the blink of an eye, the world of the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest resembled a torrent of crimson-black magma, mercilessly consuming everything it could devour.

Darkness and fire tore at each other. In the tumultuous world of disaster, the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign and Yun Che had resumed their battle. This time, there was no more probing between the human and the devil; every claw strike, every sword swing, was delivered with absolute full power. The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's face was distorted beyond recognition, and his roars had lost all demonic majesty, becoming monstrous and terrifying. Yun Che's entire body was likewise ablaze with burning blood, and every sword strike was accompanied by a hoarse roar of fury.

"Eternal Night Without Light" and "Underworld Ashes"... these two formidable domains, far beyond the human realm, clashed and erupted within the confines of the small Moon Slaughter Devil Nest. At this moment, the Devil Nest could no longer be simply called a world of disaster; it was a hell of annihilation! Any living or non-living thing that entered would be instantly reduced to nothingness. Yet, within such a destructive world, two individuals fought in a frenzy of life-or-death combat.

Yun Che's clothes had been entirely devoured, his skin a frightful reddish-black, and his body and limbs were riddled with hundreds of holes of varying sizes, nearly exposing bone. Dozens of fires had ignited on the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's body as well. Yet, both seemed completely oblivious to their injuries, utterly disregarding the damage inflicted by the other's domain. Every single attack was executed with the utmost ferocity... both were fighting with all their might, determined to put the other to death! The human and the devil were both battling like madmen. Inside the Sky Poison Pearl, Jasmine silently watched their brutal struggle. Like the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign, she had never imagined that Yun Che could achieve such an even footing with him without even revealing all his trump cards.

The most crucial reason for this was the existence of Hong'er... which was none other than the Heaven Smiting Demon Punisher Sword! Hong'er's presence completely freed Yun Che from the soul suppression inflicted by the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign (due to his vastly superior cultivation realm) and, at the same time, transferred that very suppression back onto the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign himself! Throughout their fierce battle, Yun Che maintained a state of calm and excitement. Meanwhile, the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign, whose spiritual cultivation far surpassed Yun Che's by tens of thousands of times, remained in a constant state of fury and agitation... In fact, Jasmine could even sense his soul trembling uncontrollably.

Furthermore, whenever the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's power approached Yun Che—or more accurately, approached the Heaven Smiting Demon Punisher Sword—it would instantly weaken by roughly thirty percent! This substantial weakening occurred without any discernible process, as if suddenly swallowed by an unseen void. In other words, even when the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign unleashed his full might, Yun Che only ever received about seventy percent of his peak power. Yun Che himself had not noticed this particular phenomenon, but the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign was keenly aware of it, and Jasmine perceived it with perfect clarity.

The convergence of these various factors plunged the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign, who was clearly superior to Yun Che in every aspect, into a stalemate he could never have dreamed of. And the root of all these factors was the Heaven Smiting Demon Punisher Sword! The Demon Punisher Sword was known as the bane of devils. However, the Heaven Smiting Demon Punisher Sword's suppressive effect on the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign far exceeded the level of demonic suppression described in Jasmine's inherited memories of the Demon Punisher Sword! Furthermore, the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's earlier exclamation, which he then immediately denied, "Heaven Smiting Devil God Sword," had stirred up immense, unsettling waves in her heart that had yet to subside.

While the world within the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest was turned upside down, the outside world remained calm, separated by a thin blue barrier. The sky slowly darkened, but Feng Xue'er still stood in her initial spot, not moving even half a step, enduring the sea breeze. Her beautiful eyes, reflecting the most spiritual radiance of heaven and earth, gazed intently at the blue barrier below, her gaze unwavering, afraid to miss even a single moment.

Xia Yuanba flew back from a distance, arriving beside Feng Xue'er. Four hours had passed since Yun Che was sealed inside. During those four hours, he had circled the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's barrier dozens of times, meticulously searching for any anomaly, but he hadn't detected even the slightest ripple of profound energy.

Seeing Feng Xue'er's dazed, lost-in-thought expression, Xia Yuanba felt a pang of concern. He quietly advised her once more, "Sister Xue'er, why don't you go back to the Sea Palace and rest? Your father and the others must be very worried about you. I'll keep watch here, and I promise to tell you immediately when Brother-in-law comes out. Actually, your father came by half an hour ago, watched you from a distance for a while, and then left."

"...I want to wait for Brother Yun here," Feng Xue'er murmured softly. "He'll worry if he doesn't see me when he comes out." "..." Xia Yuanba sighed inwardly, choosing not to persuade her further. He soared into the air, positioning himself directly above the center of the barrier, silently observing for any changes. Before today, he had never imagined that this girl, who appeared even more delicate than white snow, could possess such a stubborn and persistent side.

"Women, though... they truly are a lot of trouble," Xia Yuanba mused, carefully muttering to himself. "It seems I'd be better off not getting a wife my entire life."