Two of the greatest man made treasures—the Sugato Sword and Skyturning Seal—had taken the stage at the same time and melded their auras together, forming one enormous entity of light and shadow that centered on the Venerated Sacrosanct Demonic Sovereign.

Skyturning Seal in hand, the demonic sovereign smashed it down on the egg with the force of a thunderbolt originating from the cosmos itself.

Rumble!!

A great explosion rang out as a palm of searing red burrowed out from the ground, punching out powerfully at the treasure in the demonic sovereign’s hands.

Boom!

The hand exploded into a downpour of bloody mud, but the demonic sovereign was sent flying as well. The Skyturning Seal slipped from his hand, and even the Sugato Sword in midair was shaken by the impact.

Serpentine creatures that resembled blood vessels started swimming through the land around the chasm; it’d turned viscous and slimy like a bloody swamp. Or, more precisely, it was an Ichor Bog, the very one that’d been outside the Exalted Divine Tombs. It’d somehow made its way here as well.

“Aouuu aough aough aough!!” Fur seals that’d been minced to diced meat earlier by the Skyturning Seal popped back out of the swamp, bizarrely reformed and ready for action. The serpentine creatures swiftly latched on to them and stuck more than ten thousand fur seals together, creating a titanic member of their species.

A big fur seal, the king of fur seals.

As the Skyturning Seal meandered about in the air, at a loss for what it should do next, a faint figure of green walked out of the void. It was a very fine-looking gentleman with chiseled features and a heroic air between his brows. Lanky and lean, a long robe of green drifted around him like a cool, refreshing breeze. He was plainly a Green Firmament powerhouse, one who’d made use of another special method to circumvent the immortal restriction’s detection.

“Lu Yun, the Demonic Sovereign Cauldron.” Unexpectedly, he addressed Lu Yun out of everyone present at the scene. “Combine the cauldron with its feet.”

“Eh?” Lu Yun blinked.

“Combining the two will awaken the demon god’s lingering fragment of true spirit in the cauldron. It will send his cultivation into disarray and temporarily prevent him from undergoing his tribulation.” The newcomer in green spoke in measured, unflustered tones and projected a completely calm and collected attitude. “However, that will only keep him at bay for four hours. Use that time to enter the immortal emperor’s tomb and obtain the Immortal Subjugation Seal.”

“Alright!” Lu Yun nodded and flipped his hand, materializing the inky black cauldron and its three cauldron feet.

“The body of my past life!!” The demon god’s thoughts shook violently inside the egg. “Bring me the body of my past life!!”

“Aooough!!” roared the big fur seal and he charged as a bloody blur, bearing down on Lu Yun with a blazing demonic aura.

Wham!

The Venerated Sacrosanct Demon Sovereign snarled in response, sending the Hadal Bonefire in his head leaping to new heights and commanding a vast billow of sword energy from the Sugato Sword. The resulting sea of swords blocked the big fur seal from its target.

Hummm.

Black radiance sparkled and replaced everything within a hundred kilometer radius. A pair of crimson eyes slowly opened in the void, heralding the awakening of a magnificent demonic entity. They were cold, aloof, and bereft of any emotion. All of creation was naught but dust and grass to them.

Whoosh!

A pillar of black light soared to the heavens, carrying with it a revolving Demonic Sovereign Cauldron. Its three feet had been connected again, and it’d somehow sprouted a projection of a pair of handles where there’d been none before.

One body, two handles, three feet… the cauldron was a weapon of the heavenly dao and symbolized that from dao came one, one begat two, two gave birth to three, and from three resulted all living things.

While the demonic cauldron was becoming whole again, an immense shadow grew in size and reached for the clouds. It surveyed the land with a terrifying demonic aura, even dispersing half of the tribulation clouds for the time being.

……

“AHHHHH!!” In the North Sea, the demon god’s replica suddenly shrieked with anguish. A pair of enormous cauldron handles drilled out of its body and vanished into the distance, causing it to explode into dust with a loud pop. Its demise started a chain reaction as the demons in the area clutched their heads in pain, falling listlessly into the sea.

“Get him!” Chen Xiao’s eyes lit up and he grabbed at Donglin Taihuang.

……

Central World.

“Suppress it!” roared the man in green. A mysterious rune glimmered between his brows, forming a great seal that slammed into the demonic cauldron. What had once been pure black suddenly flashed gold.

Clang!

Clang!

A pair of cauldron handles whistled through the air and attached themselves to the cauldron. Within his egg, the demon god shrieked and wailed with agony. Confusion stabbed into his thoughts, as if some sort of existence was interfering with them.

“Go obtain the Immortal Subjugation Seal. Remember, you only have four hours.” The man in green blurred into a streak of light as he spoke, smacking firmly into the cauldron and beating back the demonic shadow that wanted to rush out of it.

Meanwhile, the demonic sovereign took up the two treasures again and waded into battle with the big fur seal that had melded with the Ichor Bog. Blows and attacks flew fast and furious in a thick flurry of action.

Lu Yun spun on his heel and left without another word. Once the demon god passed his tribulation, he would be able to directly call upon the immortal dao to temper his body. If he possessed the capability to fully utilize the strength contained in his true spirit, the entire world of immortals would fall to his rule.

Lu Yun had hardly forgotten that when the demon god had first arrived in the world, his unbounded aura had almost demonized an entire major. The Immortal Subjugation Seal was what the primordial immortal emperor had once used to bring all immortals to heel. Only that treasure had the ability to make use of the immortal dao and finally bring the demon god into the fold, making it a demon god that had to answer to the immortal dao.

As for actually killing the demon god… well, there didn't seem to be anyone yet who could destroy the true spirit of a great emperor.

……

“Heh heh heh—“ a sinister chuckle sounded in the heartland of the Central World as Ge Yanxia stood up from a patch of Ichor Bog that’d suddenly materialized.

Immortals that’d been trying to find a way out of the area had all scattered the second the tribulation clouds appeared. Making use of the swamp to manifest herself, Ge Yanxia wasn’t affected by the immortal restriction in the slightest. Bloodlust flashed through her eyes when she looked upon the seated Qing Yu, who was refining the central mandate.

“That brat Dongfang Hao keeps wanting to get you so he can control the immortal dao through you, but I just want to eat you. That’ll make me the Dao Sovereign then!” Ge Yanxia brayed with gleeful laughter.

Zing!

Without further ado, an ancient bronze spear gleaming with a faint luster pierced her through from head to toe, nailing her bulbous form to the ground. [1]

Though she shrieked and struggled with pain, wanting to use the strength of the bog to disassemble herself and slip away, the power of time contained within the spear kept her firmly confined where she was.

Xing Chen walked out of the void, black light dancing dangerously in his eyes.

“You’ve actually become one with the Ichor Bog, huh? I won’t be able to kill you if I don’t drain the swamp so… where is the primary body of the bog?”

Whoosh!

Emerald Mistfire crackled to life and set both swamp and fur seal ablaze. Shrieks redoubling in intensity, the fire slowly consumed Ge Yanxia and left behind a mound of ashes.

“Lu Yun, I will break you into a million pieces the next time I see you!!” Ge Yanxia’s howl of tortured pain echoed through the area for a very long time.

1. The author makes a point of saying the tip went out her… anus. I opted for the more common English idiom. These fur seals are already graphic enough? Please let me know if you disagree and I can put it back in.