Chapter 789: The Heavenly Tribulation to Punish Demons

The flames were still burning, but the fire had diminished significantly. The trembling of the Demon Cavern and the raging storm had completely ceased. Yun Che lay sprawled on the ground, his blood-soaked body twitching slightly. Occasional dry groans escaped his throat, proving he was still alive and retained some consciousness.

"Yun Che, don't try to get up. Focus and immediately circulate the Great Way of the Buddha!" Jasmine urged quickly.

Jasmine's voice calmed Yun Che's tremors. He stopped trying to struggle, closed his eyes, and began to fully circulate the Great Way of the Buddha. He could vaguely see his entire body covered in blood, yet he felt no pain at all—it was as if his whole being no longer belonged to him.

At the far end of the Demon Cavern, a few dozen steps to Yun Che's right, several clusters of flames burned slowly and steadily. The source of the flames was none other than the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon's demonic body.

The Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon's left arm and both legs had been severed from his body, shattered into multiple pieces. Only his right arm remained, barely intact. His entire torso was severely mangled, spread out like a pile of mud trampled by hundreds of feet. Even this remaining "mud" was slowly being consumed and incinerated by the Golden Crow Flame.

"...This king... actually..."

Fingers on his right arm twitched, and from the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon's unmoving head came a hoarse, indistinct sound, like sandpaper.

The sound caused Yun Che's body to stir, followed by intense struggling. Jasmine whispered, "Don't worry, you've smashed him into more than a dozen pieces. The fact that he can still speak means he's just clinging to the last vestiges of demonic energy. He'll be dead beyond dead very soon."

"..." Yun Che slightly opened his eyes, his face relaxing a little. A faint smile touched his lips as he said with great difficulty, "Jasmine... thank you. Otherwise..."

"Hmph! Otherwise, you'd be dead in a far worse state than him right now!" Jasmine retorted gruffly. This time, however, she didn't scold Yun Che for forcibly activating the "Heaven Shattering" realm. It had been the only choice, the only hope… and in the end, fate had once again sided with Yun Che.

Although Yun Che's injuries were extremely severe—enough to kill any other profound practitioner a hundred times over—for him, not only would he not die, but he would also fully recover in a remarkably short period.

"Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon, do you have any last words?" Jasmine said coldly.

"Cough…" The Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon groaned in pain and despair. "The Heretic God's… million-year… seal… couldn't kill this king… yet this king… actually… dies by the hand… of a lowly human…"

"Hmph! Although the Heretic God's million-year seal couldn't completely kill you, you ultimately died by the power of the Heretic God! It seems no matter how much you struggled, even if you struggled for a million years, you couldn't escape the fate of dying by the Heretic God's hand!"

Jasmine's voice was cold, yet it carried a heavy undertone. With the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon on the verge of death, she let out a long sigh of relief, though a profound sense of gloom lingered in her heart, unable to dissipate quickly. If she hadn't come here to find the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, and if Yun Che hadn't forcibly stayed due to his tendency to court death, she would never have known that an ancient devil was hidden here.

She couldn't imagine what a terrifying sight it would be if the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon had continued to hide here until he fully recovered his former demonic power.

Yun Che's life-risking strike killed the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon, saving his own life and securing the Netherworld Udumbara Flower. But what he killed was a devil! Perhaps no one in this world would ever know that he had averted a colossal disaster that would have plagued countless planets and star realms in the future.

"Heretic… God…" The Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon murmured, then suddenly laughed hoarsely. "Ha… haha… ha… do you… truly believe… the Heretic God… is… a god…?"

"What? If the Heretic God isn't a god, then is he a human, or a devil?" Jasmine scoffed. "You're at death's door now. You've lived for hundreds of millions of years; are your last words just a pile of ridiculous nonsense?"

"Heh… heheh…" The Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon continued to laugh, but his laughter grew somewhat eerie. At that moment, his sole remaining right arm slowly and tremblingly lifted. His mangled demonic claw gradually opened, even emitting a faint black glow.

"…!" Jasmine's heart clenched. Could he still have strength left?

However, she quickly relaxed. Although Yun Che was critically injured and utterly defenseless, with the dual protection of the Dragon God's bloodline and the Great Way of the Buddha, even if the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon could unleash one last surge of demonic energy, it wouldn't be enough to kill him.

At most, it would only add a minor injury to his already severe wounds.

Within the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon's demonic claw, enveloped in black light, a perfectly spherical, jet-black bead the size of a dragon's eye slowly materialized. His demonic claw began to tremble, and a resentful, hoarse voice erupted from him: "Lowly human… who inherits the Heretic God's power again… even if this king… sacrifices… this Demonic Orb… I will make sure you… never… recover!!"

His trembling arm gathered all the remaining power from his mangled body and flung it forward… The jet-black Demonic Orb flew through the darkness, touched Yun Che's body, and then directly merged into his flesh.

This sudden anomaly startled Jasmine. She said gravely, "What was that? What did you throw over here?!"

"Ha… hahaha… hahahaha…" The Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon burst into maniacal laughter, a sound incredibly hoarse, pained, sorrowful… and filled with twisted glee.

"Urghh!!"

At that moment, Yun Che suddenly let out a painful groan. A faint black glow gradually enveloped his blood-soaked body… and the aura released by this light was undeniably dark demonic energy!

"!!" Ignoring the risk, Jasmine's soul quickly left the Sky Poison Pearl and re-entered Yun Che's body. Her divine sense locked onto the jet-black orb that had entered Yun Che, and she was startled to find that it had embedded itself within Yun Che's profound veins, emitting layers of dark light that caused his entire profound network to glow with a dim, murky hue.

Jasmine quickly extended her palm, intending to obliterate it with her own power… but the moment her finger touched it, her soul trembled violently, and her face drained of color in shock.

The dark demonic energy released by this black orb was not strong; in fact, it was very weak, not even enough to kill Yun Che in his current state within a short time. However, the level of this demonic energy was terrifyingly high!

It far surpassed the scope of her understanding! Suddenly, Jasmine remembered the words "Demonic Orb" that the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon had uttered when he conjured this black bead…

Could this possibly be the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon's Demonic Source Pearl?!

The Demonic Source Pearl, which, according to records, contained an ancient devil's life source, soul source, and source of darkness?!

Something from the devil's fundamental level!!

Jasmine's small hand trembled slightly… No!! If this truly was the Demonic Source Pearl from the legends, even if its power was weak, I wouldn't be able to destroy it! Moreover, it had forcibly merged with Yun Che's Heretic God profound veins… Even if I could forcibly destroy it, there's a high chance it would severely damage his profound veins!

What's going on?! That's the Heretic God's profound veins; why was it so easily integrated with a Demonic Source Pearl? Was it because the Demonic Source Pearl's level was too high, and Yun Che's profound energy level was too low, causing his profound veins to be completely unable to resist?

Jasmine's expression shifted constantly, her mind struggling. Finally, she extended her palm again. A crimson profound energy surged forth, which she then weakened repeatedly… after weakening it more than ten times, she finally guided it towards Yun Che's profound veins and carefully enveloped the jet-black orb.

Instantly, the jet-black light was obscured and covered by the crimson light. The already faint demonic energy vanished completely, thoroughly sealed by Jasmine's power.

Jasmine lowered her arm and swiftly returned to the Sky Poison Pearl. Sealing this object, which was very likely a Demonic Source Pearl, was the only method she could conceive. However, to avoid harming Yun Che's profound veins, she dared not use too much power, so the seal would not last very long. Therefore, she would have to re-seal it periodically from now on.

"Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon…" Yun Che felt the drastic changes in his profound veins and body. Gritting his teeth, he hoarsely roared, "What… what have you done to me?!"

"This king… has given you… a great gift… one that will make you… wish for death… but be unable to die… Hah… hahaha… cough…" A gush of black blood erupted from the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon's mouth, carrying away most of his remaining life force.

"You…" Yun Che clenched his teeth, but he couldn't stand up.

"Don't worry, I've sealed it," Jasmine said coldly. Despite saying "don't worry," her heart was extremely heavy. Because this Demonic Source Pearl had merged with the Heretic God's profound veins, there was no telling… if it might one day cause an unpredictable mutation or anomaly!

Even Jasmine, with her vast knowledge, was utterly unable to control or predict anything on the devil's fundamental level.

"Heh…" The Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon's body was completely immobile, his voice a feeble buzz like a mosquito's. "You… these… foolish… lowly humans… do you truly believe… my demon race… was annihilated…?"

"That one… who was… banished… will… one… day…"

The last trace of dark light in the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon's pupils completely vanished.

The king of the Eternal Night Demon Race, who had escaped the calamity of gods and devils in ancient times and broken free from the Heretic God's million-year seal, met his demise at the hands of a human, vanishing forever into the sunless Demon Cavern of Slaughtering Moon.