The moment the words fell, the tiny book spirit understood immediately.
It flickered into existence before the youth and slowly closed its eyes.
"Master,"
"Come..."
"I am ready!"
Xu Xian said nothing, closing his eyes as well. In that instant, a second invisible bridge was established between him and the book spirit, layered over their original connection.
The swords in the youth's hands began to vibrate violently.
One released flames.
The other breathed out a black mist.
A gust of wind seemed to rise around Xu Xian as the two swords dissolved like windblown sand, gradually dispersing into a crimson haze and thick black smoke.
Like two small rivers, they flowed slowly upward with the wind, sinking entirely into the spirit body of the tiny book spirit.
Black and red interlaced, swallowing it whole.
The aura of the plain little book spirit began to climb at an indescribable speed.
It soared rapidly.
Chi Yan witnessed the entire process, the look in his eyes shifting between dark and cold.
The two divine artifacts had vanished from the youth's hands.
The auras within the swords converged into one place, as if swallowed by an invisible, gaping maw.
Immediately after, a strange and ancient aura continued to overflow, clashing without cause...
Yet no matter how he peered into it, there was nothing there.
It was as if the swirling mass of black and red haze was connected to a void, and within that void, a powerhouse was crossing the boundless universe to rush toward this place.
Thinking back to everything that had happened and seeing the confidence and arrogance in Xu Xian's eyes, he suddenly felt a chill.
An inexplicable coldness rose from the base of his spine, whistling up to the crown of his head.
His scalp tingled for no reason.
Chi Yan did not dare to gamble.
Whether it was a bluff or some charade, all of this truly had to end.
With a flick of his large hand, he withdrew his spear. His cheeks tightened as a hint of ferocity flickered in his eyes. Then, a trickle of emerald green seeped from his tightly closed lips.
That was the blood of the demon race.
It was also Chi Yan's essence blood.
He dipped his fingertips in the fresh blood, pressed two fingers together like a sword, and smeared them across his brow from the left temple to the right. His hands quickly formed seals as he began to chant rhythmically.
【Nether-born demon, blood awakens the spirit, eternal and unbroken, let the darkness open wide.】
【Supreme Demon Lord, grant me strength!】
He suddenly shouted toward the heavens, his voice sounding frenzied and mad. Between his brows, the emerald-green blood turned into thin threads and sank into his forehead.
Above the firmament, at the peak of the dark sky, a ray of pure white divine light suddenly fell like a line suspended from the heavens, sinking precisely into the top of Chi Yan's head.
It vanished in the blink of an eye.
Then.
Chi Yan's body began to change. His flesh expanded, his bones cracked and popped, and his armor was instantly torn asunder.
His clothes burst apart, and the skin exposed across his entire body turned crimson at a speed visible to the naked eye.
He looked like a piece of red-hot iron.
His stature grew taller...
His frame became larger...
One zhang.
Two zhang.
Three zhang.
...
Ten zhang!
Two horns rose into the sky from his head, and his long hair danced like flames.
A pair of crimson wings sprouted from his back, suddenly spreading wide to blot out the sun.
The long tail behind him lashed out, seemingly tearing through the silent night, followed by the deafening roar of displaced air.
In less than ten breaths, the already burly and robust red-haired general had completely changed his appearance, becoming a crimson giant with a red face, protruding fangs, horns on his head, wings on his back, and a tail several zhang long.
Neither beast nor quite beast.
Neither man nor quite man.
A demon.
This was a demon.
It was also a bloodline divine ability unique to the demon race: [Phantom Demon Atavism].
It was a method that, once performed, allowed one to transform into the form of the ancestral demons.
Once the Phantom Demon Atavism was successful, speed, strength, and perception would all increase manifold.
It was similar to a berserk state.
Born for battle.
This was a rare divine ability that only a heavenly demon race could comprehend.
Moreover, one had to at least break through to the greater demon king stage to have a chance of grasping it.
In the Demon Abyss, there was a saying.
Not all greater demon kings could comprehend the Phantom Demon Atavism, but only those who did could possibly become a new demon god.
It was a divine ability, but it was also the stepping stone to the demon god stage.
Across the entire Demon Abyss, those who could use this move definitely did not exceed thirty people.
And Chi Yan just happened to be one of them.
Xu Xian knew this.
Chi Ji had told him about it, and he had also asked the little book spirit what this Phantom Demon Atavism was.
The little book spirit's explanation was simple and crude.
It was burning one's own demon essence to borrow power from the Demon Abyss, completely activating the potential within the body in a very short time.
This allowed them to become one of the ancestral demons from the ancient era for a brief period, possessing the strength of those first-generation demons.
This was also why Xu Xian had always chosen to run, using the chance to recover his qi.
To win, he also needed a trump card—a trump card that could deal with this Phantom Demon Atavism.
The demonized Chi Yan was like a giant as large as a small mountain. Xu Xian was as tiny as an ant before him.
Demon qi drifted around his body, and his eyes shot out eerie, green cold light.
He spoke, "Bai Mang, to be able to force this king to this point, you can die without regrets."
His voice was like a bell, carrying far into the distance.
His voice was like a drum, deafening to the ears.
Xu Xian's swords had long since disappeared, and the residual blood mist and black smoke had mostly dissipated.
He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the monster before him without being overawed or humble. There wasn't even a trace of panic in his eyes.
He said nonchalantly, "You're quite big, but mine is even bigger."
Chi Yan did not understand what he meant.
Xu Xian pointed forward.
Chi Yan's gaze drifted, moving slowly from Xu Xian to the space in front of him.
The place where the black mist and crimson had previously interlaced had been replaced at some point by a small orb of light about the size of a fist.
Chi Yan furrowed his massive brows.
The tiny orb of light exploded with a boom.
Dazzling white light surged out competitively, then rippled in all directions, momentarily blinding anyone who looked at it.
A little fellow emerged from within the orb of light.
It was only a few inches tall.
Like a little sprite, it had a nose and eyes, and silver hair just like Xu Xian's.
It wore a book on its head, was dressed in a white scholar's attendant robe, and carried a small book box on its back. Several swords were stuck haphazardly into the box.
It slowly stood up within the light. Behind it, a phantom image rose as if climbing up from the horizon.
It stood a hundred zhang tall, semi-transparent, surrounded by swirling white mist, looking like a saint himself—a Heavenly Manifestation.
The tiny creature stood up with its eyes closed.
The massive phantom behind it also stood up, its eyes also closed.
Chi Yan's gaze kept moving upward.
First, he raised his brows—not enough.
Then he raised his head—still not enough.
Finally, he tilted his head back entirely before he could catch a glimpse of the top...
It was a young man dressed as a scholar, as gentle as jade and unparalleled in the world.
It was impossible to tell if it was male or female, real or fake; it was like a Book Immortal from the heavens had descended into the Demon Abyss.
It kept its eyes closed, yet the aura on its body was like a vigorous great wave, a surging tide that rolled and crashed, hitting Chi Yan wave after wave.
The demonized Chi Yan was currently like a solitary boat in the sea, surrounded by a vast ocean, left to be battered by the wind and waves.
Just a moment ago, he had viewed Xu Xian as an ant.
Now, he viewed this phantom as a high mountain.
The roles had switched in an instant; the situation had changed in a single breath.
This time...
He wasn't just wary.
He wasn't just afraid.
It was terror—terror originating from the depths of his heart.
He gazed at it, feeling that if it merely opened its eyes, his solitary boat would be swallowed in an instant.
Shock,
Despair,
Terror,
Fear...
He still could not believe it.
Indeed, he hadn't lied; he was bigger than him.
A gargantuan beast had become a tiny speck. Chi Yan did not hesitate for a moment, not even sparing another glance at Xu Xian.
He turned and ran. After demonizing, his speed was so fast that it was like he was trekking through the void.
In just one breath, he was dozens of miles away.
As he ran, he muttered incoherently, cursing incessantly, "Monster, monster! You are a monster!"
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