From the sky, a group of over ten cultivators descended.
"Eh... they turned into humans," murmured Lin Feng groggily.
A heavy smack landed on him before he could fully react.
Still dazed, Lin Feng suddenly noticed his companions bowing with urgency. "We greet the Alliance Master. Greetings, esteemed seniors."
A-Alliance Master?
Lin Feng stood there dumbfounded. He blinked once. Then again. Only after that did the figures before him come into focus.
The Demon-Slaying Alliance. Every member had once revered the Alliance Master from afar.
And now—
The man from the portraits stood directly in front of him.
Lin Feng's legs nearly gave out. He would've fallen if not for someone grabbing his arm in time. His heart filled with dread.
The Alliance Master of the Demon-Slaying Alliance, the head of Kunlun Sword Sect, the undisputed number one of the human race...
His long-admired idol was right here, and he'd just made a complete fool of himself. Lin Feng wanted nothing more than to slap himself silly.
Ji Wusi, however, paid these small matters no mind. His gaze moved briefly before landing on Yun Jin.
Only after seeing Yun Jin completely unscathed did Ji Wusi allow himself a faint breath of relief. He wasn't alone. Among the ten or so people accompanying him were Qing Yun, Liu Li, and the top cultivators from their respective sects.
Ji Wusi spoke calmly. "I've already learned most of what happened here. That Demon Sovereign—where is he now?"
Yun Jin replied, "He's been moved to the main hall. I'll take you all there."
Ji Wusi and the others nodded.
Inside the main hall, the lava dragon remained stationed, unmoving. In front of him were plates piled with fine wine and delicious food. Lao Huo, bare-chested, was drinking freely and with great satisfaction.
"Put on some clothes!" a sudden voice snapped, laced with fury.
Startled, Lao Huo reflexively threw his robe over his shoulders. With a resigned look, he muttered, "Tian Po, seriously..."
Then he looked up—and froze.
A whole group of people stood at the door. Judging by their presence alone, their cultivation was nothing to scoff at.
Lao Huo coughed, raising his hand. The wine and food vanished instantly.
Yun Jin acted as though nothing had happened. "The captured demon identified someone named Yang Yun as the Demon Sovereign's incarnation. This is the bead he pointed out. According to him, it came from the Demon Sovereign's crown. It's imbued with the Demon Sovereign's aura and can be used to verify his identity."
She handed the bead over.
Ji Wusi accepted it, eyes narrowing slightly.
This bead... it really was the Demon Sovereign's.
He had seen the Demon Sovereign several times in the past. Back then, a crown sat atop the Demon Sovereign's head, and this bead had been embedded in it.
Right now, the bead pulsed with heat. As they approached the cocoon, it started to twist and writhe, as if desperate to fly straight toward it.
"This bead truly did belong to the Demon Sovereign."
"And it's reacting so strongly... could it really be him?"
The crowd frowned.
Yun Jin explained, "The demon we captured said he's a sworn enemy of the Demon Sovereign. He took on this mission to ensure the Demon Sovereign could never return to the demon realm. According to him, the Demon Sovereign possesses a Nirvana technique. When gravely injured, he can initiate it to revert to a child's state and start cultivating all over again. In that form, his cultivation speed skyrockets. As long as he has enough spirit medicine, it would take him no more than ten years to return to his peak—and surpass it."
The demon hadn't actually revealed this much detail.
After all, these were closely guarded secrets. That he even knew the Demon Sovereign would turn into a child had likely taken years of covert investigation. The rest of the intel came from the book.
Yun Jin took the chance to share it now.
The male lead, Yang Yun—his most terrifying trait was this Nirvana technique.
Each rebirth made him stronger than before.
Eventually, his strength had even surpassed Ji Wusi's.
During his final Nirvana, Ji Wusi had severed his head. But that had been intentional on Yang Yun's part. He used that death to trigger one last rebirth, one powerful enough to shatter the boundary between demon and human, stepping fully onto the path of the Great Dao.
The Nirvana technique...
Just ten years to return to peak form.
And stronger with each rebirth.
The cultivators present all showed shifting expressions as they listened.
"Step aside," Ji Wusi suddenly said.
Everyone moved to clear a path.
A sword appeared in Ji Wusi's hand.
Yun Jin's eyes lit up.
This was the first time she had seen Ji Wusi's sword so clearly.
At this point, there were barely any beings left in this world who could compel her master to draw his blade.
Today, he unsheathed it. He was going all out.
Wait—
Going all out?
Yun Jin quickly stepped forward. "Alliance Master, it might be best to take this outside, to an open area."
Everyone looked toward her in surprise.
Ji Wusi had already drawn his sword. Who would dare stop him now? Yun Jin was the first.
Ji Wusi gave her a helpless glance. "Very well."
The crowd was stunned.
"Very... well?"
Was this really the same proud, arrogant Ji Wusi, the famously aloof master of Kunlun Sword Sect? Could he actually be... approachable?
"Many thanks, Alliance Master," Yun Jin said with a grin, cheerfully hoisting the cocoon and trotting outside.
She walked for quite a while, the others following behind, before she finally stopped at a massive open field. With a heave, she tossed the cocoon.
It rolled and bounced for a good distance before slowly coming to a stop.
"Please, Alliance Master," Yun Jin said, still smiling.
If Ji Wusi had gone all out in the main hall, would the building have survived?
Much safer to do this out here.
Ji Wusi nodded.
A sword appeared in his hand once more.
Inside Yun Jin's consciousness, the Tian Po Sword couldn't help but stir. It had been a long time since it last saw Ji Wusi's sword.
The crowd stepped back instinctively.
Yun Jin retreated far away, eyes curiously fixed on the center of the field.
The lava dragon's power hadn't been enough to destroy the cocoon.
But what about Ji Wusi?
The number one sword cultivator among humans—could his blade do it?
She wanted to see for herself just how far this male lead could go.
Ji Wusi stepped up to the cocoon.
And then—
Wind howled. The sword struck.
The strongest offensive sword immortal. The peak of mortal strength. In that instant, he held back nothing, unleashing the full force of his cultivation onto the cocoon.
The sword's brilliance was blinding. The onlookers instinctively squinted.
Had that strike been aimed at any of them, not a single one would've survived.
But the cocoon—it was just a cocoon. Large, sure, but seemingly fragile. Could it really hold?
It could.
The storm of sword light dispersed, revealing the cocoon still sitting there intact.
A faint crack had appeared along its surface, but in the next moment, it sealed itself back up.
Ji Wusi let out a laugh. "Interesting."
A crack meant it could be broken.
And sealing the crack had to cost energy.
Once the energy was depleted and the cocoon could no longer repair itself, it would naturally shatter.
But now—
Ji Wusi was truly intrigued. What kind of technique was this Nirvana art, to let its wielder escape death time and again? Even transformed into a cocoon, the protection was this strong.
Ji Wusi narrowed his eyes and raised his sword again. If one strike wasn't enough, then two. If two weren't enough, then ten, or twenty. He had all the time in the world. He'd grind this Demon Sovereign down, blow by blow.