Battle Through the Heavens: Harmony of Flame and Shadow

Following the direction sensed by Jiang Yun, Jiang Yun lightly tapped his toes and gracefully leaped onto a thick tree trunk. His figure transformed into a series of afterimages within the dense forest, moving at full speed.

*Snap!*

His blurred silhouette stepped on a delicate leaf without disturbing it, and then, like a ghost, he vanished into the distance.

*Boom!*

Suddenly, the trees around Jiang Yun exploded, igniting with fierce black flames. The terrifying heat caused the space to warp abruptly.

*Roar!*

The next moment, the flames erupted like a volcano, quickly setting the mountains and forests ablaze. Waves of heat rolled in, overwhelming Jiang Yun.

As the demon flames engulfed the sky, a demonic figure shot out from within them, observing Jiang Yun with a sinister grin.

Even before the figure took action, Jiang Yun already knew who it was — a member of the Flame Demon Clan from the outer-world demonic tribe.

"I don't have time for you!" Jiang Yun said indifferently as he eyed the incoming figure. The next instant, his body flickered and vanished from the demon clan member's sight. Simultaneously, a massive hand descended from the sky, crushing the stunned demon into a pulpy mess.

Not long after, at the edge of Jiang Yun's line of sight, on the distant barren land, a colossal black altar became faintly visible. Surrounding the altar, at its highest point, stood four ancient stone pillars, burning with fierce flames. These flames resembled a liquid form of spiritual power, exuding a horrifying aura as they burned.

The four stone pillars formed a circle around one central pillar, and in front of the central pillar lay a gray stone coffin tightly bound by fiery chains.

That stone coffin emitted an extremely evil aura, akin to a black hole devouring all nearby energy. Anyone who approached would be consumed.

"You've arrived!"

As Jiang Yun surveyed his surroundings, an ancient voice echoed. The central stone tablet emitted a glow, and an old figure emerged from the light.

"Greetings, Elder," Jiang Yun said, cupping his hands towards the newly appeared ancestor, the Floating Pagoda Elder.

"Hehe, you've come just in time. If no one eliminates them, we old folks don't know how much longer we can hold on!" The elder looked gratefully at Jiang Yun, then stared into the distance with a forlorn expression.

Jiang Yun followed the elder's gaze. Around the altar, a strange lifeless aura pervaded half the sky. Hidden within were at least a thousand powerful outer-world demonic tribe members.

Among them, the four most formidable beings fearlessly revealed their demonic forms. They commanded the outer-world demonic army behind them, their lifeless eyes piercingly fixated on the altar.

These were the outer-world demons aiming to break the seal of the Four Holy Towers. Usually, Heavenly Exorcists from the Great Thousand World would come to fight them. However, this time it seemed the demons had found an opportune moment.

"Spiritual Demon Clan, Blade Demon Clan, Corpse Demon Clan, Flame Demon Clan; quite a few of the thirty-two major tribes have shown up," Jiang Yun remarked lightly after taking in the view.

"It seems these guys are impatient," the elder chuckled.

"I'll deal with them first and then handle the Demon Emperor," Jiang Yun said, shaking his head and walking towards the army of outer-world demons.

"Jiejie, only one person from the Great Thousand World? Are you here to court death?" A young man from the Spiritual Demon Clan, a half-step Heavenly Supreme, laughed mockingly as he saw Jiang Yun approach.

"Jiejiejie," surrounding outer-world demons erupted into laughter. Some gazed greedily at the black altar below, their eyes revealing a thirst for power. The great Demon Emperor, we are coming!

They had chosen the perfect time to invade, during the general retreat of many demon-extermination squads to the Great Thousand Tower for rest. This increased their chances of rescuing the Demon Emperor greatly.

Indeed, the Great Thousand World had sent only one person, Jiang Yun. How could he possibly stop their entire army alone?

"Let me dissect this ant from the Great Thousand World!" A bloodthirsty young man from the Blade Demon Clan said, his gaze flickering with brutality. His arms transformed into two sharp, black blades. The blade edges shimmered, slicing through space, showcasing their deadly sharpness.

"Really now, do I look like an easy target?" Jiang Yun sighed helplessly at the arrogance displayed by the various clans. His appearance always deceived them into underestimating him, thinking him a pushover. Yet, he never pretended to be weak intentionally.

"Four Spirits Heaven Sealing Imprint!"

Jiang Yun raised his hand, and black and white spiritual power rapidly condensed. In the blink of an eye, the four spirits of the heavens—Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise—materialized, forming a gigantic imprint aimed at the young man from the Blade Demon Clan.

The imprint exuded terrifying spiritual energy, its overwhelming power indescribable. As it descended, the surrounding space was crushed by the sealing force.

"Not good—"

"He's a Heavenly Supreme."

The outer-world demons immediately sensed Jiang Yun's power when he struck. Their overconfident expressions froze in fear. No wonder Jiang Yun dared face so many of them alone. The Great Thousand World's unscrupulous strategy had dispatched a Heavenly Supreme!

"No—"

The young man from the Blade Demon Clan felt an unmatchable force suppressing him. He mobilized his demonic aura, conjuring a thousand-meter-long black demonic blade behind him. 

The demonic blade absorbed the battlefield's killing energy voraciously, showing signs of turning blood-red within moments. However, even with his inherited demonic skill, the Heavenly Demonic Blade, he could not resist the descending imprint. He screamed in terror as he was crushed by Jiang Yun's attack.

"Bastard!"

"Everyone, attack together! Against a Heavenly Supreme, we have no chance of escaping."

"Hold him off for one incense stick of time, and reinforcements from our tribe will arrive. Even a Heavenly Supreme will only face death then!"

Watching a peer perish in front of them, the outer-world demons couldn't help but tremble. Despair loomed over them. 

At that moment, the young man from the Spiritual Demon Clan rallied them, and leaders from the other major clans like the Flame Demon Clan and Corpse Demon Clan echoed his call to action.

"Interesting, it seems these are the elite disciples of each clan!" Jiang Yun chuckled. Their quick recovery and calmness were commendable, not to mention they had five half-step Heavenly Supremes and several full Sovereign level masters. They might have the defense to withstand an average Spiritual Heavenly Supreme.

However, Jiang Yun was no ordinary Spiritual Heavenly Supreme.

"Flame Demon Avatar!"

Black flames gathered rapidly behind the Flame Demon Clan's leader, forming a gigantic demon figure radiating a destructive aura.

"Roar—"

A colossal skeletal figure emerged in the rippling space, exuding an impressive aura. Judging by their presence, they were formidable in life.

When the major clans' powerholders unleashed their might, other outer-world demons followed suit, filling the space with terrifying demonic presence. The overwhelming demonic energy caused the surrounding space to crack like a spiderweb, an apocalyptic scene.

"Split Sky Dragon Claw!"

Seeing the outer-world demons' desperate struggle, Jiang Yun chuckled, extending his palm. A resonant dragon's roar echoed between heaven and earth.

*Boom~*

Jiang Yun's hand grew gigantically, transforming into a large golden dragon claw covered with gleaming scales. A gold dragon circled the claw, emanating an intimidating dragon might. Jiang Yun brought the claw down upon the outer-world demons.

The massive dragon claw, blocking the sky, caused the surroundings to collapse into a black hole. Mountains below turned into abyssal craters.

*Ah—*

That devastating power obliterated the space for tens of thousands of feet around, silencing all outer-world demons' hopeful cries as they perished instantly.

"Now it's the demon emperors' turn."

After easily eliminating the outer-world demons' squad, Jiang Yun returned to the elder's location, his gaze fixing on the black stone coffin. "It's time to deal with these Demon Emperors."

*Buzz, buzz, buzz!*

As if sensing danger, the black stone coffin, bound in chains, shook violently. A dense, substantive demonic aura emerged, corroding the ancient chains.

"Hehe, seems like he's aware of the danger and getting anxious!" The elder chuckled, stroking his beard with relief and joy.

"He doesn't get a choice!"

With a smile, Jiang Yun condensed a blazing sphere in his palm. The next moment, it shot towards the stone coffin, its searing heat capable of incinerating worlds.

*Boom!*

Feeling the threat, the stone coffin shuddered more fiercely. The immense demonic aura broke through the Floating Pagoda Elder's seal, and the stone coffin exploded in a burst of ten-thousand-meter-high demonic light.

The elder looked surprised, not expecting the blood zombie's sudden burst of accumulated power to break the seal, but Jiang Yun's presence allowed the elder to relax and not fully enforce the seal himself.

In the sky, an enormous demonic shadow formed from concentrated demonic energy. With disheveled hair and black fur, it emanated an indescribable terror.

The shadow roared at the descending flame, its voice booming like thunder across the land.

"I will not die here. What can a Heavenly Supreme from the Great Thousand World do? How many Heavenly Supremes have fallen to me?"

"Blood Demon Wave Sphere!"

With a resounding cry, the blood zombie emperor gathered the surrounding demonic energy into a tiny black sphere.

The sphere, a miniature black hole, caused surrounding space to collapse as if unable to endure its presence.

*Boom!*

The concentrated demonic sphere shot towards the descending flame, devouring space itself as it moved, amplifying its terrifying aura.

"A futile struggle!" Observing this from outside, the elder saw the power gap. The blood zombie emperor's effort was in vain.

*Boom!*

The red flame cut through the demonic sphere, incinerating the surrounding demonic energy.

"No—"

The blood zombie emperor's eyes widened in horror. Sensing the impending doom, he roared in defiance, exuding demonic energy madly to resist.

But the descending flame, without pausing, pierced the demonic shadow from top to bottom.

The blood zombie emperor's screams echoed as the unquenchable flame consumed him, his aura weakening.

"So many exorcism points, none should go to waste."

Watching his opponent's aura fade, Jiang Yun's palm reached out, extracting a wisp of black mist and guiding it towards the exorcism order in his hand.