Pursuit

"Wait!" At that moment, Demon King Jinchan called out. It seemed to be casting a special Dao technique, silently sensing something. After a brief moment, as if having finally confirmed the information, its expression shifted slightly. "One of those two is Qi Sha. The clan has records of his aura, so I can recognize him. The other should be Yaoguang of the Heavenly Dao Sect. However... aside from Qi Sha, Yaoguang also carries the aura of a Dao seed on him..." "A Dao seed?!" Nearby, Demon King Wuying started slightly, then reacted in disbelief. "He has already reached the peak of Void Piercing?!" "Condensing a Dao seed signifies not only the peak of Void Piercing, but also the possibility that he may have stepped into the Void Refining realm..." Demon King Jinchan said. Before it could finish speaking, however, Demon Emperor Tuntian cut it off: "Impossible! Countless people witnessed that human Yaoguang's breakthrough to Void Piercing with their own eyes. Our clan even possesses detailed projection images of his breakthrough. That fact is beyond doubt! In other words, him advancing to Void Piercing ten years ago is the absolute truth! Ten years! In a mere ten years, no matter how extraordinary his talent, it would be impossible for him to step into the Void Refining realm so quickly!" The demon emperor stated with absolute certainty, "Harmonizing a Dao seed with a grotto-heaven is in itself a laborious, time-consuming process. The peak of Void Piercing is his absolute limit!" Demon King Jinchan fell silent, but a faint sense of crisis lingered deep within its soul, seeming to urge it to put distance between itself and that target as quickly as possible. "Even if he reached the peak of Void Piercing in ten years, such talent remains terrifying," Demon King Sanshou stepped forward, ferocious light spilling from its eyes. "If this trend continues, he will inevitably step into Void Refining in another twenty or thirty years. And while the Void Refining realm takes considerable time, if he receives the support of Dao Lord Penglai, he could achieve great completion in Void Refining and break into the Void Shattering realm within a few centuries. At that point, he will become yet another grave menace to our race!" Demon King Sanshou continued, "Therefore, this time we must keep him here and slay him, giving him no opportunity to grow." "Then we must make quick work of it," Demon King Tianqing reminded. "We've been traveling at full speed, and certain traces we left behind have been deduced by the Penglai Immortal Sect. They seem to be catching up." Demon Emperor Tuntian nodded, about to speak. Right at that moment, Demon King Tianqing cried out in alarm: "Not good, he's heading over! That human... he has spotted us... Watch out!" Before the words had completely left its mouth, a golden sword light, carrying an unbelievable sharpness that seemed to slice through the void and rend the ocean, struck straight into the Dao artifact cruising deep beneath the sea—the Formless Boat. "Insolent!" Demon Emperor Tuntian barked in immediate fury, his form appearing to transform into a black hole capable of devouring all energy. Yet the descending Void Sword still jolted the Formless Boat violently, leaving a visible sword scar across the Dao artifact and forcing it out of its formless state. Demon King Wuying, who was fully integrated with the Formless Boat, went deathly pale. His Heavenly Demon True Body destabilized, and dense demonic qi billowed out from him, exposing everyone completely. "That human must have mastered a tracking Dao technique! Otherwise, there is no explaining how he could detect our traces, nor how he managed to track down so many of our demon kings and slaughter them one by one in such a short time," Demon King Jinchan asserted. "No matter what Dao technique he commands, today his end will be the same—death!" Demon Emperor Tuntian growled lowly. His figure shot out of the ocean like a beam of crimson light, throwing up colossal waves as he revealed his Heavenly Demon True Body, several hundred meters tall. Once his Heavenly Demon True Body manifested, he brought both hands together with sudden force. The void twisted and collapsed between his palms, everything within seemingly careening toward rapid annihilation... "Take my Void Collapse—" *Whoosh!* A soundless ripple swept through the void. The razor sharpness contained within it caused the demon emperor, midway through channeling his Dao technique, to change expression. Ignoring everything else, the demon emperor swiftly hurled the freshly formed Great Void Collapse toward the Void Sword unleashed by Yaoguang. The instant the two void forces collided, the surrounding space twisted violently, everything within warping and tearing out of shape. "A demon emperor?" Yaoguang's voice rang out at that moment. A touch surprised. Yet... it also felt reasonable. If Demon King Tuntian had not been a demon emperor, able to hide and flee for so long under the encirclement of nearly half the Penglai Immortal Sect's might, then the Penglai Immortal Sect would have been far too useless. In the next breath, Yaoguang held back no longer with the Void Sword. The process of converting grotto-heaven force into void force was bypassed entirely. As the sword struck, the Void Sword took form. Amplified by the Dao artifact Swimming Dragon Sword, it manifested an edge capable of cleaving and destroying anything in its path, slashing down once more toward Demon Emperor Tuntian. After parrying Yaoguang's initial blow, Demon Emperor Tuntian immediately began channeling his Dao technique again. But feeling that Yaoguang's casting speed was not in the least inferior to his own, he suddenly realized something: "Void Refining?! Impossible!" Ten years?! Did this human truly take merely ten years to go from a newly ascended Void Piercing cultivator to stepping into the Void Refining realm?! Yet whether he believed it or not, the edge of the Void Sword was already slashing in right behind. The sharpness that seemed to slice through void like silk cloth, the terrifying ferocity that sent chills down one's spine, forced the demon emperor to hurl another Great Void Collapse without the slightest hesitation. This time, however... A strike that theoretically could tear a supergiant star to shreds on the spot was ripped apart in direct collision with the Void Sword. Though the void in that region churned into chaos, the residual edge of the void blade pressed on toward his flesh, forcing him to activate his innate Dao art. With a beat of his four wings, he materialized several hundred li away in the blink of an eye, evading the void blade. "Exquisite mastery of Dao techniques... and a Dao artifact?!" Terror flickered in the demon emperor's eyes. His own Great Void Collapse had reached initial mastery, honed to near perfection. Yet the human before him had not only achieved initial mastery of his Dao technique, but seemed to have advanced considerably further along that path. What was more... He possessed a Dao artifact! A Dao artifact that harmonized flawlessly with the Dao technique he wielded! Under such circumstances, even if both were at the Void Refining realm and both cast void-attribute offensive Dao techniques, the outcome ended with his Great Void Collapse shattered. Before he could recover from the dread of being suppressed, Yaoguang's figure appeared a hundred li before him, another Void Sword slashing down in swift execution. The friction between the edge of the Swimming Dragon Sword and the void created a visible black fissure tearing through space, making the demon emperor's scalp prickle with dread. Without hesitation, he flapped his wings once more, appearing several hundred li away. "Watch out!" Flicking several hundred li away offered him no sense of security whatsoever. Amidst Demon King Tianqing's frightened shout, Yaoguang's figure arrived right at his flank, the coalesced Void Sword slashing down without pause. "How?!" Demon Emperor Tuntian's eyes widened. Having just invoked his innate Dao art, he had no time to dodge. He could only mobilize every shred of power in his Heavenly Demon True Body with all his might, manifesting a Void Collapse to smash head-on against the descending Swimming Dragon Sword. The moment the two clashed, blood filled the sky, exploding outward in a blast of thick demonic qi. Demon Emperor Tuntian's entire arm was torn to pieces by the sharpness of the Void Sword, and nearly a third of his Heavenly Demon True Body was sheared away. Agony tore a furious roar from the demon emperor's throat. Forcing his innate Dao art into action once more, this time he materialized a thousand li away. However... Almost the instant he appeared a thousand li away, Yaoguang took a step through the void. Bathed in the flowing radiance of the Two Realms Ruler, he arrived right behind Demon Emperor Tuntian, bringing another sword strike down without reservation. Movement Dao techniques?! Demon Emperor Tuntian had one! Yaoguang had one as well! To a degree, Demon Emperor Tuntian was quite similar to Yaoguang. Both possessed offensive Dao techniques and movement Dao techniques. Able to advance and attack, or retreat and defend. Alas... Whether in Dao technique mastery or equipment, the demon emperor was an entire tier behind Yaoguang. As a result, all of his strengths were completely countered by Yaoguang. Within just a few exchanges, he was gravely wounded on the spot. Worse yet, against another Void Refining cultivator, or even a peak Void Refining expert, his movement technique that could flash a thousand li in an instant would not necessarily be overtaken. Yet Yaoguang... amplified by the Two Realms Ruler, covered several thousand li in a single flicker. In the span of a single breath, he could flicker multiple times. To the point that the demon emperor could not even escape with his life. As another Void Sword slashed down, another massive section of Demon Emperor Tuntian's Heavenly Demon True Body was shredded to dust, and more than half of the two pairs of wings on his back were shattered. "Quick, help me!" Demon Emperor Tuntian blasted his divine mind outward. Yet upon witnessing Yaoguang's terrifying might, the remaining six demon kings exchanged glances and scattered in flight without hesitation. "Think you can run?" Yaoguang instantly brought out the Heaven-Sealing Stele, and a power that suppressed the void swept down over the six demon kings. Qi Sha's figure transformed into a streak of light, entering the battlefield, fixing his sights first upon Demon King Jinchan. However... Yaoguang was still engaged with Demon Emperor Tuntian after all, and having broken through to Void Refining only recently, suppressing six demon kings across such distance was clearly beyond his reach. The sharpest-sensed Demon King Tianqing, Demon King Wuying piloting the Dao artifact Formless Boat, and Demon King Sanshou—whose combat prowess was second only to Tuntian—erupted with power simultaneously, breaking free from the Heaven-Sealing Stele's suppression and plunging into the ocean depths. "Hm?" Seeing this, Yaoguang moved to expand the range of the Heaven-Sealing Stele. Seizing the opportunity, Demon Emperor Tuntian produced a crystal. Though it looked like an ordinary crystal, it was imbued with the presence of Dao charm. Its value felt comparable to that of a Dao artifact. This was... "Demon Saint power?!" Qi Sha, having cut off Demon King Jinchan in the distance, could not help but cry out, "That's a life-saving treasure bestowed upon juniors by a Demon Saint!" Upon bringing out the crystal, Demon Emperor Tuntian swallowed it without hesitation. Immediately, his comprehension of the Dao of the Void seemed to soar to the peak. Though he had only two mangled wings remaining, in a single flicker, he reached ten thousand li away. Seeing this, Yaoguang did not bother with the rest. He focused the power of the Heaven-Sealing Stele onto Demon King Wuying, suppressing that demon king along with the Dao artifact Formless Boat and two other demon kings. "Demon King Jinchan is yours!" He called out to Qi Sha, took up the Heaven-Sealing Stele, and stepped into the void. His lifebound Dao seed, Child of the Void trait, and the properties of the Two Realms Ruler activated simultaneously as he gave chase after Demon Emperor Tuntian. Yet even though Yaoguang's current speed was by no means inferior to a demon sovereign who walked the Dao of the Void, for the moment he was still unable to close the distance between himself and Demon Emperor Tuntian. "A single drop of Demon Saint power... let's see how long you can last!" Yaoguang's Dao seed continuously drew upon grotto-heaven force, stirring void force as he triggered Void Flicker again and again, clinging doggedly behind Demon Emperor Tuntian. One human, one demon—one pursuing, one fleeing—covered a million li in moments. "No! No! No!" Feeling the Demon Saint power draining rapidly within him, Demon Emperor Tuntian felt despair welling up inside. He, Tuntian, was an extraordinary prodigy of the demon race. Not only was his bloodline outstanding, but upon entering Void Refining, he had already cultivated two Dao techniques to initial mastery. So great was his talent that even Demon Saint Yulin had granted him a personal audience, bestowing a drop of Demon Saint power—worth no less than a Dao artifact—as a reward. And yet... he had run into a human prodigy far more monstrous and brilliant than himself! Cultivation time, Dao techniques, equipment—each thoroughly surpassed his own. Against any other human Void Refining cultivator, even the deputy sect master of the Penglai Immortal Sect, he would never have ended up like this; he could have easily run circles around them using his superior movement techniques. Yet this human, Yaoguang... The sheer, across-the-board suppression made him feel a bone-chilling despair. "Tuntian!" Just then, a sharp shout came from ahead. In the next instant, a chilly sword light, carrying cold qi capable of freezing ten thousand li, pierced through the void and whistled toward him. In the past, he could have evaded such an attack with a single flicker, but now... Traveling at full tilt with his strength utterly spent, he could only watch helplessly as the frigid light tore straight through his body.