Duke Ming roared loudly. His entire body suddenly began to blaze with flames, and a Demonic Flame Giant over thirty meters tall descended from the sky, opening its massive, ferocious mouth as it charged furiously toward Ren Zu.
The pressure from the tenth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm completely suffocated everyone inside the hall, but Ren Zu appeared unconcerned.
The Demonic Flame Giant had flown less than thirty meters when a beam of scarlet-golden flames burned through the sky. The moment it touched the Demonic Flame Giant, it was as if ferocious flames had ignited rotten wood, and the Demonic Flame Giant instantly began to burn. In the blink of an eye, the crimson-black Demonic Flame Giant turned scarlet-golden in color. Its figure distorted and it roared in profound agony... In a short while, it was burned to ashes and scattered into sparks that shattered across the sky.
Though everyone had already experienced the extremely terrifying powers of the Little Demon Empress time and again, a scene like this still shook the hearts and souls of all present with fear. Duke Ming's pupils contracted, and his chest heaved violently. He stared at the Little Demon Empress and said in a bewildered voice, "Could it be... your profound energy... has already... reached the Divine Profound Realm?"
The four words "reached the Divine Profound Realm" were so shocking that everyone was stunned, unable to snap out of that state for a long time.
The Divine Profound Realm... the legendary Realm of the Gods! Those who stepped into this realm would no longer be ordinary; instead, they would become a God among men! However, the reason it was a legend was because it had never appeared before; it was even generally recognized as impossible for a mortal to achieve and merely existed in the records and imaginations of humans.
The extremely ridiculous strength of the Little Demon Empress... the bestowal of the Golden Crow Divine Spirit...
Could the Little Demon Empress, who had awakened her bloodline and received the unparalleled divine power of the Golden Crow Soul, truly have stepped into the legendary realm that no one had ever reached...
Everyone's hearts trembled violently, and the reverence and fear in their eyes as they looked upon the Little Demon Empress increased several times... Of course, it was mostly fear. The remaining resistance in their hearts was completely shaken by the two words "Divine Profound Realm" and ceased to exist.
"No, that's impossible." Duke Ming slowly shook his head, and the crimson-black flames on his body swayed madly. In the span of a few breaths, the flames had already risen over three hundred meters high. "How could it be possible... for anyone to be stronger than this duke in this world! Absolutely impossible!!"
Duke Ming's eyes widened as he roared, and the three-hundred-meter-tall Demonic Flames burning on his body let out a demonic howl and abruptly rushed toward the Little Demon Empress.
In an instant, space collapsed, and the blue sky changed color. This was the full power of a practitioner at the tenth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, who had once been the strongest in the Illusory Demon Realm. If this Fallen Demon Flame were to land, it would be enough to burn half of Demon Imperial City to ashes.
An apocalyptic pressure caused the crowd below to scream in terror.
The Little Demon Empress focused her gaze as the Golden Crow flames burned silently on her body. She raised her arms—her slender, snow-white, and dazzling arms beneath her wide gray sleeves. But it was the simple and light swing of those slender and perfect arms that instantly formed a massive fire cage, enveloping Duke Ming and his three-hundred-meter Demonic Flames within it.
When the Fallen Demon Flame touched the fire cage, no matter how violent it was, it could not advance even half an inch. The fire cage began to shrink rapidly. For every inch it shrank, the Fallen Demon Flame retreated an inch. Gradually, the fire cage shrank to less than three hundred meters, yet it continued shrinking, and the Fallen Demon Flame, with nowhere to escape, was being compressed, swallowed, and dissipated bit by bit, like a desperate beast trapped in a cage; no matter how it struggled or howled, it could not escape and could only await complete destruction in lament.
The fire cage shrank to ten meters and only then finally stopped shrinking. The Fallen Demon Flame, which had originally been three hundred meters tall, was burned until only fragments of flames remained, and not a single trace could escape the cage. Duke Ming was imprisoned in the center of the cage and could not move... because during the process, he had tried to escape more than ten times, but each time he touched the Golden Crow flame in the fire cage, he was burned and overwhelmed by pain.
The difference in strength between him and the Little Demon Empress was evident from this.
Merely based on profound energy levels, the difference between the tenth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm and half a step into the Divine Profound Realm was less than half a small realm, but the gap between them was half a plane. Whether it was the Little Demon Empress's Golden Crow bloodline or the Golden Crow Flame, it completely suppressed Duke Ming.
The Duke Ming that the Little Demon Empress from four months ago was definitely unable to oppose was now inadequate to even be her opponent.
"Duke Ming..." The Little Demon Empress extended her palms, but they were not directed at Duke Ming; instead, they faced downward, and above her arms, the ascending Golden Crow flames blazed more and more intensely. Every word she spoke was filled with hatred, "You killed my father, killed my brother, harmed my entire clan, and plunged the Illusory Demon Realm into chaos! Your crimes must be repaid with the blood of your entire clan!!"
"This empress gave up everything and crawled back from the abyss of death... to make your entire clan... fall into infinite hell!!"
The Little Demon Empress's voice seemed to come from beyond the heavens and clearly spread to every corner of Demon Imperial City. After the last word was spoken, she swung her arms that were burning with Golden Crow flames. The rising scarlet flames turned into a massive Golden Crow flame silhouette and flew toward the western side of Demon Imperial City...
In the span of a few breaths, the massive Golden Crow flame silhouette had already flown more than ten miles away, hovering temporarily above, and then abruptly descended...
The loud explosion shook the entire Demon Imperial City, and a pillar of scarlet-golden fire shot upward, spreading toward the sky. Even from over a hundred miles away, they could see the flames shooting into the heavens. Under the cruel Golden Crow flame... and it was the Little Demon Empress's Golden Crow flame; there was no doubt that everything would be burned to ashes.
"That is... that is..."
"That is Duke Huai Palace!!"
The sound of screams came from everywhere, and there were even sounds of people gasping in cold air. The Little Demon Empress had actually sent the Golden Crow flame to Duke Huai Palace over ten kilometers away! Even at such a distance, the flames and smoke filling the air, and the power of the flames that still terrified and frightened people's hearts even from over ten miles away, all showed that the grand Duke Huai Palace had been completely demolished... The entirety of Duke Huai Palace, including the people living inside, had all been buried within... and none of them would be able to survive!
The ceaseless blazing flames and the raging, dense smoke swayed in Duke Ming's pupils. In order to end the Demon Emperor Clan, he had deliberately conspired for a hundred years, yet the Little Demon Empress used only a single torch of fire and destroyed the thousands of years of foundation of his clan.
But the nightmare for Duke Huai Palace had only just begun. The Little Demon Empress swung her arms, and Duke Huai's body was sucked into the air amid sparks of flames. He was still under the effects of the Profound Handle Soul Search. His eyes were dim, and his face was expressionless. He was not the only one sucked into the air; there were also his sons, Duke Hui Ye and Duke Hui Ran.
"Duke Ming, you caused the deaths of my father and my brother... so this empress will massacre the people of your clan, exterminate all your progeny, burn them, and kill them in the most painful way in the world!!"
"This is what your clan... deserves."
"You..." Duke Ming's face was pale, and his body was trembling slightly as well. The fire cage enveloping him was something that was not supposed to belong to this world. He was unable to escape using any of his methods and could only watch his son and grandsons being thrown high into the air...
"Little Demon Empress... spare me... I don't know anything... I really don't know anything... ahhhh!!!!"
Hui Ye begged desperately, but his pleas would never trigger the Little Demon Empress's mercy. She ignited flames out of nowhere and enveloped the three. The sounds of begging immediately turned into horrific screams.
Being burned by the Little Demon Empress's Golden Crow flame, they were destined to be burned to ashes, and no one could possibly save them. But how could the Little Demon Empress simply let them die so easily? The Golden Crow flame on their bodies followed their limbs and burned slowly, swallowing their bodies and blood bit by bit, torturing them with flames that seemed to come from hell itself.
"Waaahhh... Little Demon Empress... spare me... Grandfather... save me... save me... ahhhhh..."
The three bodies were burning in mid-air until their flesh and blood were all horribly mutilated and their limbs were all gone, but the sound of their screams was still horrific. They were in extreme pain and could neither live nor die. All the people below were trembling with pale faces, their teeth chattering. Just looking at a scene like this, hearing sounds like this, they were so terrified that they could barely stand.
"Shut up! Don't beg for her mercy!" Duke Ming roared sternly. Watching his only son and grandsons end up like this, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was pale as a fierce ghost. He extended his palm and pointed at the Little Demon Empress while trembling, declaring, "Little Demon Empress... this isn't over... don't think this duke has lost completely... the strength you have is not normal... in just four short months, for your profound energy to increase so fiercely... it's impossible not to have side effects... perhaps... your cost is death... die before this duke!!"
The Little Demon Empress furrowed her brows and said coldly, "You are about to die and still dare to speak such nonsense! This empress will now put you to a death without a grave!!"
"You alone... are not enough to kill this duke!!" Duke Ming gnashed his teeth in apparent madness. A dark stream of blood fell swiftly from the corner of his mouth, "Little Demon Empress... just wait! This duke will one day... obtain revenge, revenge that will repay this ten thousand times over!!"
Pff!!
Duke Ming spat out a large layer of blood mist, and the color of the blood mist was a terrifying crimson-black. Under the envelopment of the crimson-black blood mist, Duke Ming's body began to gradually dissipate.
At this moment, Ren Zu, who recognized that technique as "blood escape," did not hesitate and made his move.
The instant Duke Ming tried to escape enveloped in that crimson-black blood mist, a silent distortion emerged in the air in front of him. It was as if space itself had folded, coiling the surrounding void into something incomprehensible. Before he could even react, Duke Ming found himself barred, as if an invisible hand had slammed a door in his face.
Moving at a ghostly speed, Ren Zu was already in front of him, his presence emanating an icy and inevitable pressure. His eyes gleamed like black blades reflecting distant stars. Without a single hesitation, he raised his palm and, with a precise gesture, manipulated the very fabric of space as the master of the Spatial Ancestral Symbol. A translucent and malleable ring of energy appeared around Duke Ming, tightening slowly, as if the world itself were closing in around him.
The blood mist dissipated instantly, torn away by the invisible force binding him. Duke Ming's body seemed to be pulled back into reality, his muscles straining against the restraint, while a sharp sound of tension echoed in the air. His breathing grew heavy, his body trembled, and his bloodshot eyes met Ren Zu's with hatred and disbelief.
Ren Zu did not back down. His voice rang out firmly, carrying a weight that seemed to make the surrounding air vibrate:
"If Caiyi wasn't enough to kill you... perhaps I should add myself to that equation."
Duke Ming roared with a fury that shook the air around him. His heart trembled with fear; he discovered that no matter how hard he tried, he could not break the energy ring around his body. Spatial manipulation? Could this boy have also reached the Divine Profound Realm!? He immediately paled, but his pride at being trapped in this situation overrode any thought. He immediately shouted: "Release me! Release me now, you insolent worm! You dare imprison me! Release this duke now!"
The roar echoed like thunder, reverberating throughout Demon Imperial City. His muscles twisted under the pressure of the spatial prison, veins bulging across his skin as he struggled with desperate strength. The translucent ring holding him captive shimmered intensely, as if reacting to his fury, tightening even further.
Ren Zu slowly raised his hand with an almost cruel calm, as if savoring every second of that moment. His eyes fixed on Duke Ming with an icy, almost predatory gleam. With a simple gesture, he snapped his fingers.
In the next instant, the translucent ring binding him twisted and expanded, sliding through the air like a living serpent until it completely enveloped Duke Ming's mouth. It was as if a hand made of pure energy had silenced him, crushing any scream before it could escape.
Duke Ming's furious roar became trapped, transforming into a muffled, almost animalistic sound. His body still writhed against the spatial prison, but now his rage had become more palpable—a mixture of humiliation and pure fury.
Ren Zu, for his part, did not relent. His lips curved into a cold, mocking smile as his voice echoed through the silent prison:
"A stray dog that barks too much... I don't want to hear your yapping..."
He glanced toward the silent hall; at that moment, the silence from the shock of him being able to subdue someone at the tenth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm was broken by the Little Demon Empress.
The fire cage was retracted. The Little Demon Empress became a 'flash' and appeared beside Ren Zu. She looked at Duke Ming. Her eyes were filled with infinite coldness, and her chest was heaving.
Previously, Duke Ming had used blood escape, which used blood and vitality as the cost of activation. Even with the Little Demon Empress's current strength, she would not be able to track the direction in which he escaped, let alone stop him, but her husband had done it! She felt relieved and delighted in her heart, but showed nothing in her icy expression.
Behind her, the screams of Hui Ye and Hui Ran had stopped. The three bodies of the father and sons had been completely burned to ashes and were floating in the air. Duke Huai, who had appeared prestigious earlier today while wearing emperor's robes and had been elected as the new emperor, along with his two extremely proud sons, had met their miserable ends on what was supposed to be the proudest day of their lives.
Now, only Duke Ming remained to be dealt with!
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