Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 252 The Last Sword

The damaged mountain-protecting formation was restarted, which was beyond the expectations of Demon Lord Wujiu.

It seems that this mountain-protecting formation originally had two layers; after the first layer was destroyed, the second layer was able to take effect.

The power of the mountains and rivers, accumulated over thousands of years, transformed into countless runes, which fiercely suppressed the Demon Lord Wujiu.

"Lu Xingzhou, you still won't give up? Fine, I'll let you experience true despair. I'll let you live, and let you watch as I torture and kill the disciples of the Burning Incense Sect one by one!"

The Demon Lord Wujiu cursed viciously, his body surrounded by demonic energy, and his enormous body began to slowly shrink.

He cultivated the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts to an extremely profound level, not only able to transform into a giant in accordance with the laws of heaven and earth, but also able to change at will, becoming whatever form he wanted.

As the body shrank, the massive formation could only shrink accordingly, but in the process of changing, many flaws appeared.

With a single grab, the crimson turbid waves devoured many runes, creating a hole in the mountain-protecting formation.

"It's just a trivial skill. Do you think I've been slaughtered like an animal for the past thousand years?" Demon Lord Wujiu sneered. "Every inch of flesh and blood that is regenerated will make my Eight-Nine Arcane Arts reach a higher level. Your use of the Soul Cleansing Flower to suppress my soul is nothing more than refining a golden elixir in a raging fire. Today, I am even stronger than I was a thousand years ago, while you have not made much progress."

With a laugh, the Demon Lord Wujiu tore the mountain-protecting formation to shreds, opened his mouth and inhaled, swallowing the broken runes into his stomach.

Countless golden lights flashed in his eyes, quickly forming shackles.

A moment later, Lu Xingzhou's figure appeared in the right eye of the Demon Lord Wujiu, but he was bound by countless golden shackles, his aura was weakening, and he had no power to resist.

"Lu Xingzhou, just use my eyes to see how the Incense Burning Sect is destroyed."

The Demon Lord Wujiu laughed loudly, reached out and grabbed a cultivator dressed in the robes of the Burning Incense Sect in the void. It was none other than Hong Xiayang, who had escaped earlier.

The leader of the Melting Gold Hall had already fled, but seeing that things were not going well, he didn't even care about his own disciples and flew hundreds of miles away on his magic weapon.

But this distance is useless; for cultivators at the Dao Integration Realm, it is commonplace for their divine sense to traverse thousands of miles.

With a sweep of his divine sense, the Demon Lord Wujiu locked onto him, reached out and pierced through the void to grab him back.

The Demon Lord Wujiu has shrunk considerably, but Hong Xiayang is still held between his fingers like a tiny insect.

Hong Xiayang hurriedly begged for mercy, "Demon Lord, I am one of your own! I betrayed the Incense Burning Sect, I did my best to break the seal, and I am utterly loyal to the Demon Lord!"

Demon Lord Wujiu laughed and said, "Lu Xingzhou, is this the Incense Burning Sect now? Those hypocrites back then may have been despicable and shameless, but at least they weren't so afraid of death."

Lu Xingzhou, trapped in his eyes, remained silent, as if he had already given up.

The Demon Lord Wujiu was in no hurry. He gently squeezed Hong Xiayang's body and slowly applied force until the sound of bones breaking could be heard.

The Demon Lord Wujiu listened with relish to Hong Xiayang's screams and slowly said, "You say you are loyal to me? When you came to retrieve the Soul Cleansing Flower, you wanted nothing more than to rip my brains out. You've been a member of the Incense Burning Sect for hundreds of years, when have you ever known my name, and when have you ever thought of saving me from this sea of ​​suffering?"
“Hong Xiayang, I remember your name, I know everything you’ve done. You treated me like a pig or a dog, and now you’ve turned against me just to scheme for your own benefit. All that talk about loyalty to me is just a lie to save your own life.”

A purple flame ignited between the fingers of the Demon Lord Wujiu, setting Hong Xiayang's body ablaze.

As the demonic fire scorched him, Hong Xiayang let out an even more shrill scream.

His physical body had been severely damaged, and his internal organs were half-cooked. Hong Xiayang desperately wanted to escape his soul, but he felt that his soul was trapped inside his body and he could not break free no matter how hard he tried.

The Demon Lord Wujiu grinned and said, "Don't waste your energy. This is a restriction that you've kept me locked up for a thousand years. Even my remnant soul can't escape it. How could you possibly run away?"

The Demon Lord Wujiu patiently burned Hong Xiayang bit by bit until he was completely reduced to ashes, making him wail for almost half an hour.

With a gentle rub of his fingers, the Demon Lord Wujiu brushed away the remaining ashes and said to Lu Xingzhou, "Junior brother, this is just the first one. There are many more disciples of the Incense Burning Sect. Don't worry, I won't use fire next time. I have a thousand kinds of torture waiting for them. And you will definitely see the end."

Lu Xingzhou, who had been silent, suddenly raised his head and said softly, "Senior brother, you can kill me. I deserve to die a horrible death, but you still have a chance to turn back."

The Demon Lord Wujiu laughed and said, "Turning back? What are you talking about? Can you bring my brother back to life?"

Lu Xingzhou sighed, “No, we were wrong, Master was wrong, and I was wrong too. Back then, the world was like the end of the world, and we were all like madmen, only wanting to find a sliver of hope. For the sake of all living beings, we also committed heinous crimes, and we should have died long ago. Since you still can’t let go, then come with me.”

As soon as Lu Xingzhou finished speaking, black cracks appeared around the body of Demon Lord Wujiu.

Space shattered layer by layer, and an immense force propelled the body of the Demon Lord Wujiu towards the chaotic darkness.

The power of heaven and earth fell upon the Demon Lord Wujiu, urging and pushing him to ascend to the Immortal Realm.

The Demon Lord Wujiu was originally at the Dao Integration Realm and should not have remained in this world long ago. Although Lu Xingzhou did not completely seize the body of the Demon Lord Wujiu, he and the Demon Lord Wujiu were now essentially one. After completely releasing their resistance, the power of heaven and earth fell upon them.

The power of ascension is so great that even a Dao Integration Realm expert cannot resist it. Once one ascends to the Immortal Realm, there is no going back.

Demon Lord Wujiu frowned. This power of ascension was indeed troublesome. Lu Xingzhou had been sealed inside his eyes, and now only he could fight against this power.

The Demon Lord Wujiu was reluctant to release Lu Xingzhou and was willing to sacrifice himself to keep him in the mortal realm. He said he would let Lu Xingzhou witness the destruction of the Incense Burning Sect, and he would definitely do it.

“Junior brother, you have underestimated me. I achieved Dao much earlier than you, and I understand the power of ascension better than you do.”

The majestic body of the Demon Lord Wujiu stood between heaven and earth, his feet seemingly rooted to the ground.

The ascending power emanating from all around him tried to push him into the chaotic darkness, but as the two struggled, the earth and mountains trembled, and the tremor traveled thousands of miles away.

To send the Demon Lord Wujiu to the Immortal Realm, it seems that the very land beneath their feet must also be sent away.

After a long stalemate, the power of ascension slowly dissipated, and the shattered void recovered on its own.

The Demon Lord Wujiu said smugly, "See? The mortal realm only wants to send me away, but they are unwilling to take this world with me. As long as I am connected to this earth vein, I can remain in the mortal realm forever. I am different from you. My physical body is eternal and indestructible. I can withstand any wear and tear. Not to mention a thousand years, even ten thousand years is no problem for me."

Despite the failure of his ascension attempt, Lu Xingzhou showed little disappointment, only another sigh.

"Senior brother, you've given up even your last chance."

Demon Lord Wujiu felt uneasy because he knew Lu Xingzhou's character well; this junior brother Lu never boasted.

Does Lu Xingzhou still have some trump card up his sleeve?

But his physical body was destroyed, and even his soul was sealed, so he had no power to resist at all.

He has already destroyed the Incense Burning Sect. Even if all those pillars of the sect were to appear now, they would be nothing more than ants that could be wiped out with a single slap.

What gives Lu Xingzhou the right to say that?
"Could it be..."

Just as Wujiu Demon Lord thought of something, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and the spiritual energy around him turned into a vortex, forming layers of armor around him.

The birth and death of countless runes caused large black scales to grow on his bronze skin.

This is the form of the Demon Lord Wujiu in full defensive mode, pushing the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts to its limit, transforming his body into something even more solid than a magic weapon.

There is only one person in this world who can make him act with such caution.

At that moment, sword light appeared from beyond the sky.

The light was so dazzling that it made the blazing sun in the sky pale in comparison.

When the light fell upon him, the Demon Lord Wujiu squeezed out a name through gritted teeth.

"Zhang Qi!"

Zhang Qi, the number one person in the world and the leader of the Qinghe Sword Sect.

Only this sword immortal could make the Demon Lord Wujiu so wary. Back then, it was Zhang Qi who severely injured him with a single sword strike, which led to his being sealed away for a thousand years.

Even an immortal body couldn't stop Zhang Qi's sword.

However, that was back then.

When they met again, Wujiu Demon Lord's cultivation had reached a higher level than it had a thousand years ago, while Zhang Qi was already old and frail, his aged appearance as if all his flesh and blood had been hollowed out, leaving only an empty shell of skin and bones.

The gaunt and emaciated Zhang Qi hovered before the Demon Lord Wujiu, only to sigh, "Wujiu, why don't you ascend with Old Lu?"

The Demon Lord Wujiu sneered, "What, do you think you can force me to ascend?"

Zhang Qi shook his head and said, "I'm not here to persuade you to ascend. I made an agreement with Lao Lu that if there were signs of ascension, it would mean he had done his best. The fact that you are still in the mortal realm means that his final efforts have also failed. I'm here to send you on your way, not to send you to the immortal realm."

The Demon Lord Wujiu sneered, "With your half-dead appearance, you couldn't completely kill me even when you were in your prime a thousand years ago. Now my cultivation has far surpassed that of back then, so how much skill do you still have?"

Zhang Qi did not answer, but calmly said, "Farewell, Lao Lu. I cannot hold back with this sword strike."

Zhang Qi drew the unassuming longsword from his waist, and the dazzling sword light instantly filled the sky and earth.

(End of this chapter)