Battle Through the Heavens: Harmony of Flame and Shadow

After Jiang Yun waved to disperse the demonic aura, his gaze penetrated through the tiny pitch-black crack, staring at an extremely evil eye within it.

That pair of eyes, even just for a momentary glance, seemed to emit a chill that shot from the soles of his feet straight to his head, giving him a creepy feeling.

"An interesting kid," the Heavenly Evil God smiled slightly from deep underground, his gaze landing on Jiang Yun.

"A person like you, who kills excessively, remaining in this world is definitely not a blessing for all beings!" Jiang Yun seemed to be talking to himself, though it sounded like he was speaking to both the Heavenly Evil God and the ever-vigilant Lord of the Undead beside him.

"Emperor of Heaven." The Lord of the Undead seemed to think of a possibility but found it absurd, staring at Jiang Yun's back in shock.

"What do you intend to do?" The Heavenly Evil God curiously looked at this young man, who had numerous connections with the Holy Demon Clan.

Naturally, he perceived Jiang Yun's current strength, that of a mid-Saint, and his bone age not exceeding fifty. Such talent, even he found remarkable. Given time, Jiang Yun would surely reach the level of the Holy Heavenly Demon Emperor.

And someone with this level of strength must hold high status in the Great Thousand World. When the final Great Thousand Pact descends a century later, with Jiang Yun and the Holy Heavenly Demon Emperor coordinating from within and without, his emergence would be certain.

He just didn't understand why Jiang Yun had come here early and said such strange things.

'Have you delved too deeply into the role? Like those of the Great Thousand World, eager to see this God dead?'

"Boastful words!"

Although unaware of Jiang Yun's intent, the Heavenly Evil God, an old player himself, instantly caused the demonic aura from the crack to surge violently. The demonic energy billowed and a black storm swept in all directions.

"Then let's try!"

At this moment, unprecedented light erupted from Jiang Yun's eyes. A terrifying aura rose from within him, causing the Lord of the Undead, who had felt increasingly uneasy at Jiang Yun's words, to shudder, unable to utter a word to stop him.

"You intend to kill me?"

"Hahahahaha..."

The Heavenly Evil God finally understood Jiang Yun's intention. His initially puzzled voice turned into uncontrollable laughter, as if mocking Jiang Yun's overestimation of himself. "The Immortal Emperor of the past couldn't kill me, only seal me with this so-called Demonic Array. After so many years, I still live and will continue to live. What he couldn't accomplish, you dare to dream of."

Jiang Yun's expression remained calm as he casually said, "The last Great Thousand Pact is over a century away. After one more obliteration trial, do you think you can survive?"

Unable to suppress his laughter, the Heavenly Evil God scoffed, "Haha, indeed, indeed, try it. Let's see if you can kill me in a hundred years."

"So you do have contingency plans. Let me first test the power above your Saint realm!"

As Jiang Yun's words fell, a golden stream of light shot out under the watchful eyes of the Lord of the Undead, directly entering the black crack of the earth, suppressing the infinite demonic aura.

"Jiang Yun!!!"

The Lord of the Undead was shocked. Hearing Jiang Yun and the Heavenly Evil God's discussion, his mind wavered, leaving him unable to react immediately. He could only watch as Jiang Yun entered the black crack.

"Reckless youth!"

"Roar!"

An angry roar echoed from beneath the earth. Moments later, the copper coffins on the black square began to shake. Pillars of spiritual light shot out from them, rapidly connecting to form an ancient and grim array over Beihuang Hill in a few breaths.

The array seemed to emit Buddhist chants. Infinite power descended, pacifying the turbulent ground.

"What's happening?"

"Why did the array activate on its own?"

"Could something have happened to the Heavenly Evil God?"

The commotion drew the attention of all the guardians. They turned into streaks of light, landing around the square. Before they could think further, a familiar elderly voice echoed in their ears.

"Remain calm. Stay at your positions. Await my command!"

Hearing the Lord of the Undead's words, they quickly took their positions atop the copper coffins, solemnly monitoring the array beneath their feet.

"Apologies for alarming you all, Lord of the Undead and everyone. Jiang Yun sincerely apologizes!"

Jiang Yun, clad in black robes, slowly descended above the array, wearing a contrite expression.

"Swoosh!"

"What are you doing here?"

Before the guardians of the tomb could react, the Lord of the Undead rushed to Jiang Yun's side, staring at him in astonishment. Suddenly, a realization struck him.

"One Qi Transforms Three Purities!"

"You've actually mastered this divine technique to such an extent that even I didn't notice anything amiss?"

Seeing Jiang Yun look at him warmly without rebuttal, the Lord of the Undead marveled at him.

"But you were reckless. Although it's just an avatar, any damage would still affect you."

Listening to the admonishment, Jiang Yun solemnly said, "Sending an avatar stems from a moment of hesitation. Such a marring of my Dao heart would indeed make it difficult to face the power above the Saint realm. From now on, breaking through that realm might just become a distant dream for me."

Seeing Jiang Yun's expression flash with 'unwillingness,' a trace of regret crossed the Lord of the Undead's mind.

For a genius like him, retreat is undoubtedly painful.

Though logic dictated that Jiang Yun's choice was the best, his earlier resolute remarks left a slight regret in his heart.

Patting Jiang Yun's shoulder, the Lord of the Undead comforted, "You are still young. You have plenty of opportunities to pursue higher realms in the future. No need to risk your body."

At these words, Jiang Yun silently gazed at the ground below, his eyes deep and pensive.

Of course not. It was all nonsense to bluff. This wasn't the Heavenly Covering World where the significance of a Dao heart was unquestionable. In fact, this body was the true avatar.

Jiang Yun believed his One Qi Transforming into Three Purities could deceive everyone across both realms, except the Heavenly Evil God.

So he never planned on taking shortcuts.

"Whush..."

From beneath the black square, near the endless demonic abyss, an intrinsic diabolical wind swept along with the Heavenly Evil God's aura. A stream of light descended, bringing light to this long dark ground.

"I didn't expect you to really come down. Regardless, just for this courage, in these five thousand years, you are unparalleled in the Great Thousand World."

In the pitch-black demonic abyss, demonic energy surged wildly, an indescribable demonic might sweeping across. Within the demonic aura, a towering demonic silhouette faintly emerged.

Standing in the void of the endless demonic abyss, merely a shadow brought instant darkness to the sky. This immeasurable might blanketed the heavens like an apocalyptic demon god.

The demonic roar echoed, as the enormous shadow, gazing at the arriving Jiang Yun, laughed loudly, "I'm curious, what is your reliance? Based on your slight connection with the Holy Demon Clan?"

After the words fell, the sweeping diabolical energy let out a piercing roar, the vast shadow slowly uplifted, eyes brimming with severe malevolence. With a demonic roar, the colossal figure surged towards Jiang Yun with a frightening force.

"Strength is always the source of confidence!"

Jiang Yun slipped his hand, revealing the crystalline Heavenly Emperor Sword. In an instant, countless sword beams shot forth, forming a boundless river of sword energy, ceaselessly crashing towards the incoming Heavenly Evil God with peerless might.

"Boom!"

Demonic energy met the torrent of sword light, clashing with hissing sounds, much like snow encountering molten rock, rapidly disintegrating.

"If you were at your peak, naturally, I wouldn't be your match. But now, at your weakest in thousands of years, I believe you cannot kill me." With one strike, Jiang Yun roughly gauged the current state and strength of the Heavenly Evil God.

A half-step Sovereign realm, not even reaching half-step Sovereign, hovering between Saint and half-step Sovereign. Though there was a gap, not enough to annihilate him, especially since he had external support above.

"Arrogant!" The enormous shadow's eyes flashed with cold light, a chilling voice resonated: "World-Destroying Demonic Light!"

The massive shadow roared in fury as echoed resonances filled the heavens. Concentrated demonic energy gathered before the shadow, a huge mouth opened and spat out a grand demonic light. Only about a hundred feet, but it tore through the void and sword river, rushing towards Jiang Yun.

"Endless Bright Body!"

Jiang Yun formed seals with his hands, vast spiritual light emerging behind him, transforming into a world of spiritual power. In the next moment, an ancient light figure appeared, fully crystalline, emitting endless light, causing surrounding demonic energy to diminish considerably.

"Boom!!!"

As the light domain collided with the demonic light, indescribable ripples exploded. Yet, the light domain, seemingly eternal, withstood the onslaught, protecting Jiang Yun within a hundred feet.

"Endless Bright Body?" The Heavenly Evil God's eyes narrowed, his expression hardened. He gazed deeply at Jiang Yun, "Who'd have thought after the Immortal Emperor thousands of years ago, now there's you!"

The Immortal Emperor left a deep impression on him. Though only a semi-step beyond the Saint realm on the Heavenly Top List, the Immortal Emperor fought him, even in his four-eyed Divine Demon state, to a standstill and eventually sealed him.

Despite his intentional ploy, the Immortal Emperor's talents were undeniable.

Now, he saw a reflection of the Immortal Emperor in Jiang Yun. If Jiang Yun took that final step, he could singly annihilate all demonic outer-realm clans in the demonic domain.

As the second-order holy godson of the Heavenly Source World's sacred lineage, his life level inherently surpassed Saints. He understood the difficulty of breaking that barrier and the terror of that realm.

"If I'm not mistaken, your body contains my clan's bloodline. Though not sure how, from the moment you came before me, I knew you weren't under Sacred Heaven's control."

"Even now, you might surpass Sacred Heaven. What is your purpose in seeing me?"

With the appearance of the Endless Bright Body, the Heavenly Evil God ceased his aggression. The Endless Bright Body, dubbed the Great Thousand's strongest defense, tougher than the Immortal Emperor's Eternal Immortal Body.

Unwilling to admit, but he couldn't instantly obliterate Jiang Yun. Quietly observing him, the Heavenly Evil God's voice turned eerie.

"For other than breaking that realm, nothing else justifies such risk," Jiang Yun sat beneath the Endless Bright Body, calmly addressing the Heavenly Evil God.

"So that's your goal!" the Heavenly Evil God suddenly understood, laughing, "You think this God would help you when your allegiance is uncertain?"

"Even if you deny, I know. The Great Thousand World births a will. Sensing this world's will allows inscribing one's true spirit, thus summoning world power to transcend Sainthood. This method is attaining the Heavenly Top List!" Jiang Yun calmly explained.

Hearing Jiang Yun's words, the Heavenly Evil God's demonic eyes flickered, chuckling after a moment, "Not yet at that realm, you already know such secrets. But mere knowledge is useless."

"Since its inception, the Great Thousand World has allowed only one to invoke its will: the Immortal Emperor. He harnessed heaven's, earth's, and humanity's unity. Do you expect such fortune?"

Mocking laughter, the Heavenly Evil God admitted Jiang Yun rivaled the Immortal Emperor but lacked his serendipity.

The Immortal Emperor's breakthrough was sheer fortune. One could even say, the Heavenly Evil God himself was the prime catalyst!

Before Jiang Yun could retort, the Heavenly Evil God continued, "To be candid, the world will only grants rights when threatened."

"Fearing my threat, the world's will granted the Immortal Emperor rights, letting him inscribe the Heavenly Top List, and even then, he inscribed merely his surname, just a half-step."

"All components were essential then: heaven, earth, and humanity united. Now at death's door, the world's will won't empower anyone again."

"I tell you, release me, and the world's will reawakens. But dare you? Hahaha..."

"Perhaps there's another way!" Jiang Yun softly murmured, observing the laughing Heavenly Evil God.

Suddenly, Jiang Yun's form emitted boundless black flames, expanding rapidly.

At this moment, the previously radiant Endless Bright Body transformed into a magical form exuding an eerie aura.

(Chapter End)