Thunder Demon!

Half an hour later...

The battlefield shifted to several hundred miles east of the Wild River, and the sky over Lingdan City gradually brightened.

Autumn sunlight fell, swaying in the gusts of wind.

An hour later...

Ye Xianyu led the group back. The Wild River had stopped flowing. For hundreds of miles outside the city, not a single demon or tree could be seen.

It was a desolate expanse, filled with drifting smoke.

The Pavilion Elders sat cross-legged, circulating their qi to recover from their injuries.

Ye Xianyu slowly landed beside Xu Xian. The blood-stained sword in her hand gradually dispersed, turning into countless wisps of black mist that merged into the youth's body.

She glanced behind her.

Meeting her gaze, the cultivators all lowered their heads, their eyes darting away.

Whether it was out of fear or shame, it didn't matter.

She merely took one look—just one.

Without a word, she stood there, gazing into the distance.

From that direction, the sounds of booming and wailing could still be heard from time to time.

Ordinary people could not see it clearly, but those at the great ascension stage could faintly discern a green figure holding a blade bathed in fire, wreaking havoc across the Great Desolation.

His opponents were more than just a single Bai Ze.

There were ten, a hundred, a thousand... an entire landscape filled with giant beasts.

Some were rushing in from afar.

Others were fleeing in panic.

Atop the city wall, Xu Xian withdrew a sword, his eyes still closed.

He remained motionless, but upon closer inspection, one could see that his tightly knitted brows had relaxed slightly.

His expression had become more peaceful.

In the visible world, the conflict had ended, and the Wendao Sword Sect had returned victorious.

In the unseen world, the slaughter continued.

It was Yun Zheng far out in the Great Desolation, and it was Xu Xian right before their eyes.

In the end, they had not participated, nor did they have the strength to participate further.

The cultivators from the Central Plains remained in Lingdan City, while the Wendao Sword Sect disciples stayed on high alert, fearing a counterattack from the beast tide.

Li Qingshan's long robes were stained and his hair was slightly disheveled. He quietly came to stand beside Ye Xianyu. He looked at Xu Xian, then at the girl, and finally raised his eyes to stare into the distance.

"That tiger..."

"Slaughtered!"

"Fifth Senior Martial Uncle..."

"Invincible!"

Li Qingshan fell silent. The atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.

They had won, and they should have been happy, but they knew—at least the Pavilion Elders knew—that even if Fifth Senior Martial Uncle returned victorious from this journey, his life was likely at its end.

After ten thousand years of seclusion, the day he revealed himself to the world would be his final battle.

Li Qingshan said unexpectedly, "Remember to pay me back when we return."

Ye Xianyu feigned ignorance. "What money?"

"I was the one who won originally!" Li Qingshan said.

Ye Xianyu gave an "oh" and didn't deny it. She simply said softly, "We'll talk when we get back."

"Mhm!"

Years ago, they had made a bet of three million merit points on whether Xu Xian could ascend the Divine Sword Pool and return with a divine sword.

At the time, Li Qingshan had lost.

Now, Li Qingshan had won.

The two divine swords originating from the youth undoubtedly came from the Sword Mound.

...

While the great battle raged in the heart of the East Desolation, the rest of Fanzhou was also far from peaceful.

To the west of the Wendao Sword Sect lay the endless wastelands. The plains at the entrance of the Demon Abyss were perpetually shrouded under a gray, somber sky.

Regardless of day or night, regardless of the season, it was deathly still, like a forbidden land.

Skeletal remains were scattered everywhere, lonely crows cried out, and the world seemed to weep blood.

Today, however, an uninvited guest arrived, startling the sky full of crows into fleeing far away.

Dark clouds rolled across the sky, and sharp bolts of lightning occasionally pierced the silent firmament, illuminating the desolation.

Then came the rolling thunder.

Within the layered clouds, it sounded as if a god were growling at the mortal world.

Amidst the lightning, a man clad in black armor suspended himself in the sky. He remained motionless with his arms crossed, indifferent to the thunder and lightning roaring around him.

A pitch-black sword was strapped horizontally across his lower back.

His eyes seemed to contain Startling Thunder as he looked down upon the world, staring coldly at the Demon Abyss below.

He was like a sword about to be unsheathed; should there be any movement from the Demon Abyss, this sword would strike and cut down everything.

Because of this one man, panic and fear spread through the Demon Abyss.

"It's him! He's come! He's come again!"

"What on earth does he want?"

"Quick, report to the High Priest immediately! Tell her Lei Yunche is here!"

Just this one man, carrying a single Startling Thunder sword, caused the entire Demon Abyss to cower, with not a single person daring to show their face in the mortal world.

Inside the Demon Abyss, the sound of drums thundered.

The High and Small Priests, the ten demon kings, three hundred demon kings, five thousand demon guards, and a million-strong demon army were all as if facing a formidable foe.

They immediately stood ready, closing the entrance to the Demon Abyss. None of the millions of demons were allowed to enter or leave.

Twelve demon god stage experts emerged in full force, appearing instantly on the desolate land outside the Demon Abyss.

They were shrouded in black robes, their deep blue eyes staring fixedly at the sword immortal.

The wariness in their eyes was unconcealed.

This man was bloodthirsty and heartless.

He was an existence like a nightmare.

He had come once before, just like now—one man, one sword, and a sky full of thunder.

After he left, he had left the demon race with a humiliation that could never be washed away.

At this moment, within the Demon Abyss, his arrival caused widespread panic and unrest.

A demon child asked, "Grandfather, what happened? Why was the demon drum sounded?"

"It's the Thunder Demon! The Thunder Demon is here!"

The child was confused and asked again, "Thunder Demon? Isn't that a monster from the legends?"

"No, he's not a legend. He's a nightmare... a living nightmare..."

Thunder Demon!

Thunder Demon!!

Thunder Demon!!!

Though he was human, the demon race revered him as the Thunder Demon. The younger ones might not know much, only hearing legends that there were humans outside the Demon Abyss who were terrifying.

Among the humans was an evil devil.

He could command the lightning of hell to wipe out everything; he was the nemesis of the demon race.

He killed without blinking and was cold-blooded and ruthless.

In their childhood, their elders would often warn them: "Don't go out. It's dangerous outside the Demon Abyss. Once you leave, you'll be taken by the Thunder Demon and instantly refined into dust..."

The stories were passed down through generations.

But the experts within the Demon Abyss remembered everything that had happened.

Back then, the Demon Abyss still had a demon sovereign who commanded over a hundred demon gods.

Back then, the demon race occupied the western part of the Fanzhou continent, possessing vast territory and strong fortune.

Back then, although the demon race had retreated to the demon realm, they still feared neither humans nor beasts.

The world was a balance between the three races.

Until later, a human—one man and one sword—slaughtered his way into the Demon Abyss. In ten days, he purged eight thousand miles of demons, and nine out of ten of the hundred-plus demon gods were killed.

The demon sovereign, Chong Tian, perished in the Nether Pool.

From then on, the demon race went into seclusion.

They would tremble with fear at the mere mention of the Thunder Demon.

The demon race originally had only one taboo: the Sword Demon, Li Taibai.

Later, another was added: the Thunder Demon, Lei Yunche.

It was said that Lei Yunche was Li Taibai's disciple.

Today, four thousand years later, Lei Yunche had returned, once again hanging his sword over the Demon Abyss.

No one knew what would happen—whether it would be another bloodbath or...

The ten demon gods stood in a row, silent.

The High Priest and the Small Priest, the two remaining demon experts whose power rivaled the peak of the ninth stage of tribulation transcendence, stared at him like tigers watching their prey.

One of them spoke in a low voice, "Lei Yunche, long time no see."

Lei Yunche remained silent, suspended in the air.

The Small Priest looked displeased and questioned, "Lei Yunche, our race has not set foot in the Northern Borders for four thousand years. Why have you come today? Have you forgotten the original agreement?"

Lei Yunche still said nothing, responding only with a cold, piercing gaze.

Thunder suddenly erupted across the sky. The demon gods' expressions turned grim, filled with fear, resentment, and hatred.

"What exactly do you want?"

Lei Yunche furrowed his brows, saying with great impatience, "I'm in a bad mood and don't wish to waste words with you. If you stay quiet, so be it. But if you dare to move, I will step into the Demon Abyss once more!"

The faces of the demon gods, wreathed in demonic qi, momentarily became as dark as night, their eyes cold.

Anger brewed in their chests, but out of wariness, they had to restrain their edge.

They endured in silence.

The Small Priest still tried to argue with Lei Yunche, seeking to prove who was right or wrong.

"Just because you're in a bad mood, you summon thunder across the sky to intimidate our race above the Demon Abyss? Where is the logic in that? What does it have to do with us? What does it have to do with the Demon Abyss?"

"Lei Yunche, you go too far! Do you really think our demon race has no one left?"

Lei Yunche was extremely irritable at the moment. A great battle was unfolding in the East Desolation. Regardless of the outcome, his departure from the Ancestral Peak today was a final farewell to Senior Martial Brother Yun Zheng.

Yet he could not accompany his senior brother in this final battle; he had to come to this Demon Abyss to suppress the entire demon race with the might of his sword.

He had no patience for their nonsense.

Moreover, Lei Yunche had never been a man of many words.

He uncrossed his arms. One hand pressed down slightly on the hilt of the sword at his waist, while the other pointed toward the Demon Abyss as he spat out four words.

"Unconvinced? Then fight!"

The Small Priest was naturally short-tempered and easily angered. Now, filled with shame and indignation, she was already beyond furious and wanted to fight him.

A warrior can be killed but not insulted.

The ten demon gods felt the same.

To have someone show up at their doorstep for no reason and insult them so arrogantly—who could possibly endure it?

In contrast, the High Priest calmly glanced toward the east and raised her hand to stop everyone.

"Retreat!"

Small Priest: "Sister?"

Demon Gods: "High Priest..."

The High Priest did not explain. She simply looked at Lei Yunche from across the distance, cupped her hands in a bow, and said calmly, "I hope Your Excellency does not break the agreement. Farewell!"

Lei Yunche let go of his sword and withdrew his hand. He crossed his arms again, remaining silent.

The High Priest was the first to vanish from the desolate sky at the entrance of the Demon Abyss. The ten demon gods retreated in sequence, followed by the Small Priest.

At the very last moment, the Small Priest couldn't help but look back, giving Lei Yunche a vicious glare.

She cursed inwardly, 'One day, I will make your Wendao Sword Sect pay a hundredfold for today's humiliation.'

The demon race retreated.