The Fifth Demon Lord

"Haha… I was planning to wait until you finished your tea before making a move. Didn't expect you to see through me so quickly. Sharp, aren't you? I did let a few things slip. Originally, I meant to eliminate both Ghostbane and your apprentice on the spot—but you showed up just in time. That was my mistake." Gu Yuetian laughed maniacally, his true nature laid bare.

"You had your chance," Fengyun Wuji replied coldly. "On the road to the South Star Sword Sect—when that assassin struck—you could have attacked me from behind and succeeded."

"Hmph! You were just lucky. I never intended to act back then. Guras was merely testing your strength. But you never should have returned to this realm. You've brought this upon yourself... you're walking straight into death!" Gu Yuetian roared and tore away his robes. From his back, a jet-black spike burst forth—segments of bone, harder than steel, forming a jagged tail that thrashed in the air with a piercing screech.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The sound of breaking bones echoed as Gu Yuetian's body began to rise, layer by layer. His human flesh peeled off like brittle bark, revealing beneath it dark purple-black scales that popped out with a sinister gleam. His arms stretched and sharpened, twin horns sprouted from his skull and curved upward.

In the blink of an eye, Gu Yuetian had transformed into a monstrous demon, towering over twenty feet tall. Billows of demonic energy surged from his body, cloaking him in a rolling mist of black vapor. Within the haze, two crimson lights burned fiercely—his eyes.

"So you finally show your true form," Fengyun Wuji said, his voice thick with killing intent. "I let you draw it out… just so I could kill you more thoroughly."

Before his words even faded, he vanished. The grand hall howled with wind, thick with the wild force of his sword aura.

"Humans are all so weak!" the demon snarled in a low, reverberating growl. One massive claw shot forward and met Fengyun Wuji mid-strike. Their fists collided with a shriek of grinding friction. From Wuji's fingers erupted countless blades of sharp sword energy, scraping across the demon's scales in a shower of sparks. But when the light faded, all that remained were faint sword scars—not even a single scale had been pierced.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the Fifth Demon Lord, servant to His Majesty, the Grand Demon Emperor of the Dark Heavens. Human... die!"

A series of sharp cracks rang out as the Fifth Demon Lord's left hand flexed—his five fingers tipped with metallic, needle-like claws. They gleamed coldly as he thrust them toward Fengyun Wuji's chest, cutting through the air with a high-pitched screech.

But just as those dark claws came within two inches of his heart, Fengyun Wuji exhaled and floated backward, weightless as paper in the wind.

With a snort, the demon stomped forward. The ground cracked beneath his foot like a shattered web, and the entire palace shook. Then, with a roar, the demon launched himself like a cannonball into the sky, hot on Wuji's trail.

Fengyun Wuji's slender form suddenly stiffened in midair. No longer drifting, he said coolly, "Let's see what this Fifth Demon Lord of yours is truly capable of."

This time, he did not dodge. He channeled over twenty million years of cultivation into his fists and charged straight at his foe.

The demon laughed thunderously. "Foolish human! Outside the Primeval Heavens and the Celestial Realms, the barriers between worlds mean nothing to us. Today you will see just how vast the gulf is between humanity and the Demon Realm!"

His fist blazed as he struck—red-hot light flaring like a miniature sun—meeting Wuji's with a bone-shattering boom.

BOOM!

It was like the dawn of the universe—an explosion brighter than a dozen suns. Deep in the imperial capital, within the central palace, a hemisphere of white light erupted. Devastating energy radiated outward, leveling most of the royal complex. All that remained were ruins.

Nearly ten thousand people perished instantly. The thunderclap woke the entire city in the dead of night. Citizens stumbled from their homes only to see... the imperial palace gone, reduced to ash and silence.

From the ruins, a streak of light shot into the sky—Fengyun Wuji, sent flying. A massive shadow pursued him with demonic speed.

The Fifth Demon Lord had gained the upper hand. His ancient cultivation surpassed Wuji's by several million years. Though Wuji was only lightly wounded, the demon fared no better—his body invaded by Wuji's dense sword essence, which burrowed into his meridians, slicing bloodlines as it went. Worse yet, the sword energy carried a self-detonating force.

Though his exterior seemed unharmed, the demon's internal injuries were no less severe.

BOOM!

Thunder cracked, and black clouds surged from all directions. Silver lightning danced across the sky.

Fengyun Wuji landed beneath the clouds, his gaze icy. He spread his arms wide. Majestic wings of light unfurled from his back, and a galaxy of radiant sword energy filled the heavens.

CRACK!

A bolt of lightning fell from the clouds, striking the Fifth Demon Lord squarely. His form flickered and vanished.

Wuji looked up. High within the thunderclouds, the demon flapped a massive pair of wings, each beat summoning blue lightning to his limbs.

"Lightning Dominion Technique!" the demon roared. Electricity surged through his body, converging at his fingertips until a blinding orb of pure voltage pulsed in his palm.

Wuji raised both arms, and the countless blades of sword energy merged into a vast net of gleaming light. With a sharp whine, it tore through the air toward the demon above.

The demon crossed his arms, then hurled the lightning orb downward. It cut the air like a falling star, tearing space apart with its passage.

SZZZZZT!

No grand explosion followed. Instead, the orb collided with the sword net—and burst. Countless strands of lightning shot out in all directions, webbing the sky like a storm of electric death.

Bolts leapt from sword to sword, crackling like wildfire. Then—BOOM—the entire formation shattered like glass. Shards of white energy scattered across the sky and rained down like snow.

Smoke curled between the two combatants. The air stank of scorched flesh and burning ozone...

Chapter 107: The Surging Demonic Qi

Without pause, Fengyun Wuji struck again, darting toward the demon in a flash of light. With a flick of his right hand, a clear clang rang out—the Fifth Sword Core now gripped in his palm, its blade extending over ten feet, radiating searing brilliance.

The demon's face darkened. With a guttural shout, a rapid-fire series of sharp pops burst from his body. Spikes of black bone erupted from the backs of his hands, each extending over five feet.

With a heavy stomp, he launched himself forward, a streak of darkness hurtling toward Wuji.

CLANG! CLANG!

The bone spikes clashed with the Fifth Sword Core in a cascade of echoing strikes. Every time Wuji sliced through a spike, another regenerated almost instantly.

Meanwhile, the demon's tail darted forward like a bolt of black lightning, shredding through space itself and leaving trails of darkness in its wake—its threat rivaling that of Wuji's own sword.

"You cannot hurt me, human," the demon sneered.

"Is that so?" Wuji replied calmly.

Suddenly, he let go.

The Fifth Sword Core let out a draconic cry and slipped free from his grip. It whirled into the air like a black comet, attacking from all directions, moving faster than the eye could follow...