Lu Ye waited for a moment.
His clone merged back into his body, and the Blood-Flesh Elixir Pill appeared in his hand.
With this thing, his tribulation crossing should be a bit easier.
Though, truthfully, he was never afraid of tribulation to begin withâeven if each tribulation he faced was more absurd and savage than the last.
What cannot destroy me will ultimately make me stronger.
He sensed the location of the Heaven-Penetrating Seal.
Lu Ye shot off at full speed.
The true essence within his body was recovering rapidly.
The Vermilion Bird had witnessed the entire battleâand at this moment, her heart was filled with cold dread and immense relief.
Lu Yeâs rise had been far too rapid.
So rapid that she could no longer even comprehend it.
Lu Ye had reincarnated as a Celestial Lord. She had reincarnated as an Emperor.
Granted, Celestial Lords and Emperors differed by a whole major realmâbut in the early stages of cultivation, that kind of gap shouldnât have made much difference, right?
Anyone capable of becoming an Emperor couldnât possibly have a shallow understanding of cultivation.
...Well, okayâexcept for Shangguan Huanling.
But now, the gap between them was just too overwhelming.
Lu Ye was chasing down the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor. The Vermilion Bird couldnât keep up. But she could observe the current situation through the Demon Emperorâs field of view.
The Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor was steeped in regret.
Still too late!
Still too late!
He had already been extremely worried that Lu Ye would grow stronger. His Dao heart had been shattered by Lu Ye, then reformed, then transferred into a new body.
He had raced to the Great Wilderness without stopping, determined to kill Lu Ye.
And yetâthis was still too late?
Back when his Dao heart shattered, Lu Ye had just stepped into the Void Refinement Realm.
Now that he saw Lu Ye again, the man was already nearing the peak of Spiritual Unity.
How long had it even been?!
At this point, the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor didnât even know what he was supposed to do.
As for whether Lu Ye could actually kill himâthe Demon Emperor wasnât too worried about that. His racial talents were far too powerful.
He was a Parasitic Demon Insectâhermaphroditic by nature, with only one born every thousand years. Across the entire race, there were probably no more than ten in existence.
Suddenly, an intense sense of danger flared behind him.
Three Lu Yes closed in from the east, south, and north, surrounding the Demon Emperor.
The Demon Emperor was startled.
He bolted toward the west at full speed, unleashing his entire power.
The three Lu Yes gradually began to fall behind.
The Demon Emperor couldnât help but feel a bit relieved. Thank heavens there were only three Lu Yes. If he had four and covered all directions, I wouldnât even know where to run.
He really didnât want to destroy this bodyâif he could keep it, he would.
Even while fleeing, the Demon Emperor didnât stay idle. He kept spreading his parasitic spawn everywhere, letting more and more creatures fall under infection.
Boom!
A fist imprint came roaring in from the east. The void itself trembled with a deafening blast. The sheer force of the blow stirred up a violent storm, blasting a vacuum {Nâ˘oâ˘vâ˘eâ˘lâ˘iâ˘gâ˘hâ˘t} clean through the clouds.
The Demon Emperor roared. Eight arms burst from his body as he met the fist head-on.
Crack!
Four of those arms were shattered on impact.
The Demon Emperor coughed up a mouthful of blood and kept fleeing.
How did he find me?!
In that instant, the Demon Emperor forcefully suppressed every trace of his aura, then started checking himself for any lingering marks.
Whooooshâwhooooshâ!
A shrill whistling cut through the airâsword qi, tearing through the sky.
The sword qi came screaming in at terrifying speed, carrying a momentum that seemed absolutely unstoppable. It slashed toward the Demon Emperor with brutal force.
The Demon Emperor dodged as fast as he could, but one of his wings still got half-sliced off.
He definitely has a way to track me!
The Demon Emperor was now completely certain.
Above the sea of clouds, two figuresâone ahead, one behindâcut clean paths through the air, leaving streaks of vacuum in their wake.
No trace!
Why canât I find it?!
In his frantic search, the Demon Emperor couldnât locate any tracking mark on his body.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Beams of light shot toward the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor.
He dodged when he couldâwhen he couldnât, he took the hit head-on. And each time he took a hit, blood sprayed from his mouth.
He searched inch by inch for the tracking mark.
Right now, he was fleeing toward the Demon Realm. If he could reach it, the formations there might be enough to hold off Lu Yeâs pursuit.
Lu Ye followed at a leisurely pace, as if he were walking a dog.
Very quickly, the chase carried them out of the Great Wilderness and into the void.
The Demon Realm was already in sight.
Another sword light slashed out from Lu Yeânearly cutting the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor in two.
The Demon Emperor finally burst into the Demon Realm.
âFound it!â
He had located the mark Lu Ye had left on himâand immediately activated his power to start erasing it.
At the same time, the entire Demon Realm surged with demonic mist as a great formation activated and blotted out the sky.
The entire Demon Realm was one massive formation.
It was a grand array left behind by an ancient demon powerhouse. And it was precisely thanks to this array that the demon race had managed to survive this long.
âHmph! You were a fool to be so arrogant. Competing for the Dao isnât about a single moment. When we meet again in the Second Heaven, who wins and who loses will still be up in the air!â
Lu Yeâs figure shot into the demon formation.
This formation? Lu Ye had already broken it in his previous lifeânever mind this one.
The powerful demon body the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor had forged earlier had already self-destructed while fighting Lu Ye over the Dao. Now, he had taken over a body with Qiongqi bloodâpatching it hastily, but it was still far too weak.
Nowhere near his peak state.
Lu Ye barely had to try, and he was already about to beat the Demon Emperor to death.
Which honestly gave Lu Ye a bit of a headache.
If I donât hit him, he wonât feel any danger.
If I do hit him, he canât take it.
The Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor hadnât even finished his sentence before he watchedâwide-eyedâas Lu Ye stepped right out of the demon formation again.
âLooks like we didnât need the Second Heaven after all. Here we are, meeting again,â Lu Ye said with a smile on his face. But deep inside, the pain he carried was almost ready to surge forth again.
The Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor let out a roar.
âImpossible!â
Lu Ye was already in front of him. The Heaven-Penetrating Fist Art launched into motionâand a punch smashed directly into the Demon Emperorâs body.
Boom!
The Demon Emperor was sent flying.
He spat out a beam of light, but Lu Ye shattered it with a single palm strike.
The next instant, Lu Ye vanishedâonly to reappear grabbing one of the Demon Emperorâs wings, driving his knee into it.
The Demon Emperorâs three remaining arms all swung at Lu Ye simultaneously.
Boom!
Lu Yeâs knee struck the Demon Emperorâs flank. The sound of bones shattering rang out as the Demon Emperor howled in pain.
His attacks landed on Lu Yeâbut all of them were blocked by a protective aura of force. Lu Ye started punching him over and over in a frenzy.
Lu Ye could have dodged the Demon Emperorâs attacks. But they were so weak, he couldnât even be bothered.
The Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor went from roaring in rage... to screaming in agony... to whimpering in despair.
Iron fists, one after another, without pause.
The Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor was about to abandon this body altogetherâbecause the pain was unbearable. And he couldnât see even the faintest hope of survival.
Just as he was ready to give upâ
Lu Ye suddenly stopped.
Without a word, Lu Ye vanished.
The Demon Emperor: ???
Gone?
He just left?
Without saying a wordâhe just left?
Even the Vermilion Bird was stunned. She had no idea what Lu Ye was thinking.
The Demon Emperor waited a momentâand realized Lu Ye really was gone. His spirits lifted.
He was seriously wounded. If he wanted this body to survive, heâd have to absorb blood essence to heal fast.
A vicious glint appeared in the Demon Emperorâs eyes.
He had already resolved to ascend to the Second Heavenâand once he did, there would be no more need for restraint.
He would parasite.
He would parasite everythingâmadly and without mercy.