Chapter 916: Gray Turned to Ashes

"XuanYuan, you... Ah! What are you doing... Stop!""How dare you... you wretch... Ah! I'll never forgive you, even as a ghost!""Ah!!!!!"

The demon soul within the sword screamed with increasing agony, then fell completely silent after a final, desperate shriek. The pair of struggling demon eyes on the sword hilt also closed entirely.

Meanwhile, an unusual black aura suddenly rose from XuanYuan Wentian's body. Although he was severely wounded and his profound energy was weakened, the dark demonic energy around him surged violently to an extremely abnormal degree.

XuanYuan Wentian's eyes slowly opened at this moment, an indescribably deep, dark, eerie glow shooting towards Yun Che... like a pair of demon eyes that had been dormant for countless years suddenly opening.

"..." Yun Che's expression darkened considerably, and his hands, clutching the Heaven Punishing Sword, slowly tightened. He muttered, "XuanYuan Wentian, you've truly gone mad."

XuanYuan Wentian's actions just now clearly indicated he had forcibly devoured the demon soul within the Eternal Night Devil Sword!

Devouring the ancient demon soul allowed the demonic blood and demon soul within him to achieve a truly perfect fusion, causing his dark profound energy to surge dramatically in a short period. However, this state could clearly only be maintained for a very brief time. Afterward, as the demon soul dissipated within him, XuanYuan Wentian's profound energy would forever fall from the Divine Path, and his lifespan would also be greatly shortened.

If his desperate struggle to forcefully seize the power of demonic blood at the cost of his future and lifespan was like draining the pond to catch all the fish, then his current actions were like killing the goose to get its golden eggs, born of sheer madness.

"No one... can defeat me... No one!!"

XuanYuan Wentian was entirely enveloped in a dense black light; the only visible part of him was his pair of devilish eyes.

XuanYuan Wentian took a step forward. Severely wounded, his body swayed slightly, but each step caused the seabed to tremble violently, as if a true demon god were approaching.

Yun Che's hands slowly rose, and the Heaven Punishing Sword pulsed with a chaotic swirl of vermilion and pitch-black light. He felt an unprecedented, terrifying pressure... a formidable oppressive aura nearly twice as powerful as XuanYuan Wentian's full might!

"Yun Che... I will... tear you to shreds!!"

XuanYuan Wentian's voice had become hoarse like sandpaper, each word laden with immense pain and hatred. His footsteps halted, and the surrounding seawater rapidly vanished amidst annihilation. Before he even made a move, an incomparably terrifying vacuum had already formed around him.

"Ugh! Ahhhhhh!!"

XuanYuan Wentian roared, and the Eternal Night Devil Sword, now infused with the devoured demon soul, surged towards Yun Che, carrying the oppressive power and malice from the Nine Netherworlds.

Even before the sword's momentum drew near, Yun Che was absolutely certain that this was not a strike he could withstand in his current state. If he tried to forcefully block it, he would undoubtedly suffer severe injuries.

Yun Che swiftly shifted his feet backward, disappearing the instant the pitch-black demonic sword struck.

The Eternal Night Devil Sword shattered Yun Che's afterimage, ripping up hundreds of feet of the seabed rock below. A massive fissure violently tore through the ocean floor, its extent unknown.

Yun Che reappeared fifty feet away, yet was still violently thrown back by the residual shockwave. His expression darkened, and he swung his left arm, transforming his azure profound energy into a sharp sword that plunged directly towards XuanYuan Wentian's eyes, which were so dark they were almost "blinding."

XuanYuan Wentian's dark profound energy surged, but due to his severe injuries, his movements were exceptionally difficult and slow. The instant he retracted the Eternal Night Devil Sword, the profound energy sword plunged directly into his eyes.

"Aow! Ahhhhhh!!"

XuanYuan Wentian let out a bestial shriek of agony, his right hand clamped tightly over his eyes. At that moment, Yun Che charged forward like lightning, his pupils emitting a pitch-black glow even fiercer than XuanYuan Wentian's.

"The one who's going to die... is you!!"

"Heaven Rend!"

Profound light erupted from Yun Che's body, and his profound energy surged explosively in an instant... the surge even far exceeding that of XuanYuan Wentian, who had forcibly devoured the demon soul.

"Ugh! Ahhhh! I'll kill you! Kill you!!" Feeling Yun Che's approach, XuanYuan Wentian shrieked like a madman. The Eternal Night Devil Sword, infused with a demon god's power that made the ocean tremble, once again slammed towards Yun Che.

"Annihilation of Heaven and Earth!"

This time, Yun Che did not choose to retreat. The Heaven Punishing Sword, carrying the ultimate power unleashed by his forcibly activated "Heaven Rend," smashed down onto XuanYuan Wentian.

Boom!!!!!!!!!

Within a radius of several miles, everything—be it seawater or rock—vanished without a trace, utterly transformed into nothingness. In that instant, hundreds of black holes, large and small, simultaneously flashed into and out of existence.

Amidst the colossal roar that nearly overturned the ocean, blood spurted from Yun Che's arms, while XuanYuan Wentian's entire body erupted with pitch-black blood blossoms. His right arm was instantly pulverized into dust, and the Eternal Night Devil Sword was sent flying far away, like a pebble struck by a meteor.

"Die... now!!"

Yun Che's eyes were more ferocious than a devil's. Ignoring his full-body injuries and chaotic surging qi and blood, he mobilized the last vestiges of power from his profound veins and Demon Origin Pearl, along with all his hatred and killing intent, and thrust the Heaven Punishing Sword towards XuanYuan Wentian.

Squelch!!!!!

The vermilion sword light, like a meteor in the darkness, pierced into XuanYuan Wentian's body... and then, carrying Yun Che with it, passed straight through!

"Ah... ah... ah... ah..."

Blood streamed from XuanYuan Wentian's right eye, and his bloodshot left eye was wide to the point of bursting. Slowly, he lowered his head to look at his own body, his gaze not meeting his chest, but rather passing through a massive void to see the darkness behind him.

His body now had a large hole nearly a foot in length and width. His internal organs and profound veins were completely destroyed. His "demon body," once invincible under heaven, had become a blood-soaked bag with a massive gash, from which reddish-black blood gushed out like a broken dam.

"Ugh..." Yun Che's face, having passed through XuanYuan Wentian, was ashen white. He knelt on the ground, taking several breaths to regain his composure. His entire body felt an unprecedented weakness, and his hands were even unable to grasp the Ancestral Sword of Punishing Heaven.

With his current body, the consequences of forcibly activating "Heaven Rend" were not as severe as before, but still extremely difficult to bear. Having faced XuanYuan Wentian and forcibly activated "Heaven Rend" twice today, his body's endurance had reached its limit. The power of the Demon Origin Pearl was also completely exhausted with the final sword strike, leaving only a trace of power remaining within his profound veins.

He slowly turned around, struggling, and looked at XuanYuan Wentian, whose body had been pierced with a large hole by his attack. He burst into delighted laughter: "Ha... hahahaha... hahahahaha! XuanYuan Wentian... this is... your end! Cough, cough..."

His loud laughter severely aggravated his full-body injuries. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, a fiercely arrogant smile still etched on his face.

"Ah... ah... no... impos... sible... I... how... could this be..."

Whoosh!!

The surrounding seawater surged back in, refilling the vacuum created by the destructive power of their battle.

The seawater swirled with XuanYuan Wentian's black blood. His power rapidly drained away with the loss of blood, and his weakening body could no longer withstand the immense pressure of the deep ocean, slowly beginning to twist and deform.

Sensing his power rapidly fading, immense terror appeared in XuanYuan Wentian's dilated pupils, and he let out a hoarse, frightened cry...

"No... my power... my power... No... no... no... no!!!"

"This... this isn't real... my power... my power..."

His sole remaining arm thrashed wildly in the water, as if trying to reclaim the rapidly disappearing power back into his body. But his struggles and frightened cries only resulted in the relentless loss of his life and power.

"Ahhh... No! My power... come back... come back!! I don't want to become useless... come back... come back ahhh... Ugh! Ahhhhhh..."

His struggles and cries ultimately devolved into desperate, helpless wails. His rapidly weakening body had already twisted into an incredibly grotesque shape under the water pressure.

Yun Che panted heavily, slowly recovering his vitality and profound energy by utilizing the water element. As he watched XuanYuan Wentian's miserable state, amidst his satisfaction, a hint of pity even arose within him.

Throughout his life, he had desperately pursued power, calculating and resorting to any means necessary. Finally, after a thousand years, he achieved his desire, only to be sent to hell by Yun Che on the very first day of becoming a "Heavenly Venerable."

For him, losing his power was undoubtedly the greatest torture in the world.

"My power... I am... the Sovereign of the World... Why... why... why..."

Even though his body was so broken and twisted that he no longer resembled a human, he still refused to die, screaming in despair...

"Why? Because for your selfish desires, you resorted to unscrupulous means and committed countless evil deeds. How many innocent people have you killed? How many lives have you ruined? Even if I didn't kill you today, eventually, you would still be judged by the Heavenly Way!!"

After roaring, Yun Che suddenly thrust out his palm, and a streak of flame pierced through the seawater, striking XuanYuan Wentian's remnant body.

Bang!!

This flame was not intense; it couldn't even singe a single hair of XuanYuan Wentian's former self. But for XuanYuan Wentian in his current state, it was the fire of destruction. Amidst the exploding flames, XuanYuan Wentian let out one last unwilling shriek, rapidly vanishing within the fire.

He was completely burned into pitch-black ashes, which were then scattered in all directions by the turbulent seawater.

Perhaps for a few days in his life, he could have been said to have reached the pinnacle of cultivation. However, before he could truly enjoy the fruits of his lifelong pursuit, he vanished like smoke.

"Whoosh!!"

Yun Che took a deep breath, his body floating limply in the seawater, almost devoid of the strength to even balance himself.

"Honestly, what right do I have to call XuanYuan Wentian evil... The innocent people who died by my hand... are countless times more numerous than those he killed... Heh, perhaps it's people like me who truly deserve the Heavenly Way's judgment."

Yun Che chuckled self-deprecatingly, then closed his eyes and softly said, "Jasmine, did you see that? I won. I defeated XuanYuan Wentian. Even without you by my side, I finally conquered a powerful enemy... If you saw it... hehe... would you perhaps bring yourself to praise me just once?"

As Jasmine's habitually cold and serious expression appeared in his mind, he involuntarily chuckled. His smile was warm yet tinged with bitterness. Opening his eyes, the figure of an old man appeared before him.

"Grandfather, I finally... avenged you with my own hands... In heaven, please be happy and peaceful."