The Heavenly Demon was focused solely on killing the enemy before him.

At this moment, the one borrowing Yi-gang’s body was Zhang Sanfeng.

Since the Heavenly Demon recognized him as one of his few worthy rivals, he gave his all in the duel with Zhang Sanfeng.

However, Zhang Sanfeng was different.

Now, he was in a situation where he had borrowed Yi-gang’s body.

Though he was confronting his arch-enemy, the Heavenly Demon, how could Zhang Sanfeng not worry about Yi-gang’s well-being?

Protecting someone was inevitably many times more exhausting than having nothing to protect.

‘Just hold on a little longer!’

Yi-gang kept his mouth shut, staying silent so as not to disturb Zhang Sanfeng.

Yet, despite this, Zhang Sanfeng couldn’t unleash his full power.

Yi-gang’s body was too weak by his standards, and the fact that two souls were residing in one body made it impossible to transcend properly.

Kwaang!

However, Zhang Sanfeng was growing more elevated.

How could he not be?

He had spent centuries on Earth.

If Zhang Sanfeng hadn’t transcended humanity, the long wait would have driven him mad.

That patience had been solely to face the Heavenly Demon who would eventually appear.

That long time of patience was now being rewarded.

Yes, this duel was no different from a reward.

The Heavenly Demon’s flying fists and the occasional strikes of the Heavenly Demon Finger.

With every step taken, it felt as if the heavens were trembling with the Heavenly Demon’s Reigning Step.

Nothing in this fight was without threat.

Amidst this, Zhang Sanfeng moved as if he were dancing.

He lightly twisted the powerful force aside, and with Wudang’s palm strike, tapped at the vital points of the Heavenly Demon’s entire body.

Inevitable attacks were dispersed with Non-Act Daydream.

Even so, the Heavenly Demon’s murderous intent burned endlessly like an unquenchable fire.

Unlike the Heavenly Demon, Zhang Sanfeng’s energy was drying up, but despite that, what he felt was undeniably exhilaration.

“Good!”

The single word the Heavenly Demon unconsciously shouted was exactly what Zhang Sanfeng wanted to say.

An overwhelming sense of elation.

The Heavenly Demon’s physical body was different from before.

But that white smiling face was undoubtedly etched into Zhang Sanfeng’s memory.

“I thought you were too old, but you still have some fight left!”

“The stray dog seems to have learned how to talk!”

Indeed.

When Zhang Sanfeng first met the Heavenly Demon, he was like a stray dog.

Zhang Sanfeng recalled that time.

It was before he had undergone body transformation, so his beard was still speckled with gray.

At that time, the Heavenly Demon was nothing more than a young man.

However, he was already a rising master of the Demon Cult, with a unique status.

The meeting between Zhang Sanfeng, the strongest master of Wudang, and the demonic martial artist from the Demon Cult was indeed a special fate.

Thus, instead of immediately crossing swords to vanquish him, they exchanged words.

“Bow your head, Taoist.”

“Heh…”

Zhang Sanfeng let out a dry laugh.

Discipleship, martial skills, the dichotomy of their stances…

There was absolutely no reason for Zhang Sanfeng to bow his head to the young Heavenly Demon, then known as the Heaven-Breaking Divine Demon Zhao Guang.

At that time, Zhang Sanfeng still had a bit of youthful vigor.

The words that left his mouth were far from polite.

“Heaven-Breaking Divine Demon Zhao Guang. Do you expect a mere Taoist like me to show courtesy to a dethroned crown prince?”

“…”

“No, should I even address you as crown prince? Perhaps I should say grandson of the emperor?”

The Heavenly Demon was the Crown Prince of Song’s eldest son.

Now, he was the young firstborn of the late Crown Prince.

Zhang Sanfeng was aware that the Crown Prince’s supporters had secretly smuggled him away to the White Lotus Sect.

It was a piece of history known to very few in the world.

Perhaps because he was called out on it, the young Heavenly Demon growled like a stray dog.

“You insolent fool.”

Then, absurdly, he immediately launched an assassination strike.

Zhang Sanfeng smiled bitterly as he faced him.

He had ties with the Song imperial family.

Thus, he intended to discipline this abandoned stray dog with the mindset of giving guidance.

But who could have expected those fangs to actually reach Zhang Sanfeng?

Though their level was vastly different, the Heavenly Demon’s ferocity was unnaturally sharp.

Zhang Sanfeng had nearly killed the Heavenly Demon by mistake.

Clutching his lower abdomen where blood flowed freely, the Heavenly Demon laughed.

That laugh had been as white as snow.

“However! Junbao, you are still fighting in a human way!”

Suddenly, the Heavenly Demon’s offensive changed.

Zhang Sanfeng once again used Non-Act Daydream to block the Heavenly Demon’s hand.

He could feel his spiritual energy and willpower being consumed in chunks.

The limit was fast approaching.

If he forced himself to use any more power, the aftereffects would surely kill Yi-gang.

「It’s dangerous!」 Yi-gang shouted.

Zhang Sanfeng, too, realized the strange situation.

Once again, Non-Act Daydream scattered the Heavenly Demon’s Aura Sphere, but the Heavenly Demon’s malice wasn’t fully dispersed.

His left side appeared calm, but his right side resembled that of a ferocious wolf.

He had split his mind into two.

Zhang Sanfeng, realizing this, sighed.

“Dual Mind Art…!”

A legendary martial art that had long been lost in Wudang had manifested by the Heavenly Demon’s will.

At that moment, the Heavenly Demon’s left hand struck Zhang Sanfeng’s exposed abdomen.

Kwaaang!

Zhang Sanfeng was flung back violently, as if struck by a battering ram.

In that moment, a memory resurfaced.

The second duel with the Heavenly Demon.

At that time, it ended in a draw.

The Heavenly Demon, who had once been like a stray dog, had become a wolf over the span of a dozen years.

Indeed, the blood of the imperial family could not be denied, as the Heavenly Demon was leading countless beasts of the Demon Cult.

Back then, Zhang Sanfeng had been determined to kill the Heavenly Demon, but in the end, neither could finish the other off, and they both sustained grievous injuries.

As Zhang Sanfeng barely caught his breath, this time, the Heavenly Demon wasn’t laughing.

He wore a face of barely suppressed rage.

Just like now.

“Is that all the strength you’ve gained after enduring for hundreds of years?!”

Since Zhang Sanfeng’s ascension to immortality, the Heavenly Demon had spent an even longer time training in a human body.

Though he couldn’t be certain, Zhang Sanfeng suspected that the Heavenly Demon had become stronger than he was at the time of his ascension.

Coughing up blood, Zhang Sanfeng made an excuse.

“…It’s just because I’m low on energy. That’s all.”

That excuse must have infuriated the Heavenly Demon even more.

It didn’t matter.

At that moment, Yi-gang shouted, 「Senior Brother Dam Hyun is coming!」

Dam Hyun was running from afar.

He was carrying a sack on his back, riding a large blue fox.

The blue fox, Cheongho, had puffed up her body impressively.

Judging by Dam Hyun’s excited expression, it seemed that this was one of Cheongho’s new abilities he had mentioned before.

‘Yi-gang.’

「Yes.」

‘There are two choices. One, I could escape using your body right now. If I do, we won’t be able to stop the Heavenly Demon, and many people will die…’

「…」

‘But at the very least, you and your senior brother will survive. That’s the option I recommend.’

Yi-gang fell silent.

He hadn’t expected Zhang Sanfeng to make such a suggestion.

This was the man who had endured centuries in preparation to face the Heavenly Demon.

The battle wasn’t over yet.

If they used the elixirs Dam Hyun was bringing, they could fight again.

Even so, for him to say this…

‘I can’t risk you for the selfish desires of an old man like me…’

「What’s the second option?」

‘…’

The Heavenly Demon slowly approached.

Zhang Sanfeng hesitated before speaking.

‘You are trusting me. I may not be able to fully exert my divine power, but the Heavenly Demon himself hasn’t fully revived either.’

「…」

‘I will win and seal him again, without fail.’

It was honestly hard to believe.

Up until now, Zhang Sanfeng had only shown signs of being pushed back by the Heavenly Demon.

Perhaps that’s why he even advised Yi-gang to flee.

「I trust you, Sage.」

‘…!’

However, Yi-gang spoke without hesitation, ‘If we don’t stop him now, he will return even stronger.’

From the start, considering the first option wasn’t possible.

The Demon Cult would invade the Central Plains.

If the Heavenly Demon fully regained his strength and joined them, who would be able to stand against him?

With even the Sword Emperor having ascended, only the orthodox Murim, including Yi-gang’s father, would be left to face the Heavenly Demon.

‘I haven’t lived this long just to run away and survive.’

That kind of life would not be a human life but the life of a beast.

He couldn’t live like that, especially for the sake of those who had sacrificed themselves for Yi-gang.

If he didn’t trust Zhang Sanfeng, then who could he trust?

‘Alright, if that’s the case…’

“Zhang Sanfeng!”

Dam Hyun threw the sack containing the special elixirs.

The Heavenly Demon, noticing something strange, fired the Heavenly Demon Finger, but the Shooting Star Fang, which had been embedded in the ground until now, suddenly shot up and blocked it.

Zhang Sanfeng caught the flying sack with his hand.

Inside the sack were three types of elixirs.

One of them undoubtedly included the heart of a great dragon.

It’s said that immortals didn’t need to consume food through their mouths.

All of it turned to powder and flowed into his body along with his breath.

Had Yi-gang consumed all of this instead of Zhang Sanfeng, his body would have surely exploded and he would have died.

However, Zhang Sanfeng endured it.

No, it was more than just enduring.

Tutuk, tududuk…

Yi-gang’s blocked major meridians… One of them had reconnected.

Neither the Golden Needle Phantom nor Gumiho could reconnect the meridians in this way.

It was truly a gift from the immortals.

‘This is my gift to you.’

Zhang Sanfeng had also borne a burden to make this happen.

Yi-gang felt an unusual sensation.

‘So, wait just a moment.’

At the very moment the Heavenly Demon charged, accompanied by a black tidal wave of demonic energy, Yi-gang’s vision suddenly lifted.

It wasn’t Zhang Sanfeng who had leaped into the air.

It was Yi-gang’s soul that had risen.

In order to fully unleash his martial power, Zhang Sanfeng had cleared Yi-gang’s meridians and drawn out his soul.

From above, Yi-gang could see it all.

He saw Zhang Sanfeng, who had possessed his body, clashing with the Heavenly Demon.

A white Aura Sphere opposite to the Heavenly Demon’s was gathering in Zhang Sanfeng’s hands.

The two Aura Spheres collided and intertwined as if locking together.

The sound of grinding metal filled the air.

“Zhao Guang! Even if the Song imperial family abandoned you, why seek vengeance against the entire world?!” Zhang Sanfeng shouted.

This was what he believed to be the purpose of the Heavenly Demon’s resurrection.

The Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened, and he burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! Who, who says that? Did the heavens themselves say such a thing?”

“…Are you denying it? Wasn’t it your plan to drench the world in blood and establish a demonic world?”

“Yes, that was the original plan, but…”

The Heavenly Demon let out a twisted smile.

“I didn’t understand why I revived so much earlier than expected, nor why the cult’s sorcerers recklessly resurrected me with only half of my soul.”

“…What?”

“They were all played for fools. My followers, and even you, Junbao.”

“What are you talking about…?”

Even Yi-gang, listening in, felt his face grow tense.

There was something ominous in the Heavenly Demon’s words.

Zhang Sanfeng tried to probe further, but the Heavenly Demon didn’t answer.

“I suppose we have no choice but to fight.”

A clash without the need for words.

The two Aura Spheres finally exploded.

The explosion itself had only physical force behind it.

Yi-gang, still floating in his soul state, was also flung through the air.

Fortunately, he felt no pain.

Yi-gang simply floated upwards, rising above the blackened earth.

In the form of a free soul, he could even defy gravity.

Below him, the pitch-black darkness still covered everything.

It seemed that the entire area around the Jingshan Mountains and the surrounding forest had been engulfed by the demonic energy that the Heavenly Demon had unleashed.

Like lightning flashing within storm clouds, the place where the Heavenly Demon and Zhang Sanfeng were clashing gleamed occasionally.

Yi-gang’s gaze stopped at the area around the Jingshan Mountains.

「…!」

What blackened the surroundings of the Jingshan Mountains were soldiers.

Generals on horseback, and in the front lines, there were cannons.

It must have been the Five Military Commissions and the Embroidered Uniform Guard Army troops that had gathered, but their equipment was not ordinary gear. There were tens of thousands of them, a massive army.

Yi-gang suddenly remembered.

What would happen if the Heavenly Demon escaped alive?

He could very well massacre those gathered soldiers as he advanced.

No matter how many soldiers there were, none could capture the Heavenly Demon. But could they really?

The Heavenly Demon, who hadn’t yet fully regained his strength, against tens of thousands of troops.

At the very least, the Ming army would suffer heavy losses.

Even if they managed to kill the Heavenly Demon, the emperor was already dead, along with countless ministers and generals.

The remnants of the Northern Yuan were eagerly watching for a chance to strike the borders.

Perhaps the entire empire of Great Ming itself would be shaken.

Yi-gang descended once again into the darkness.

The place he arrived at was the Emperor’s Longevity Hall, where the emperor lay dead.

Bloodied corpses were still strewn about everywhere.

The Guardian had completely lost their soul and was slumped like an empty shell.

As Yi-gang prepared to return to the place where the Heavenly Demon and Zhang Sanfeng were fighting, something stopped him.

“Why… Why was it all deceit?!”

It was someone’s voice, a voice that sounded quite familiar.

The Crown Prince, the only survivor, had fainted.

Yi-gang soon discovered the owner of the voice.

“You were supposed to return in your complete form!”

It was a severed head.

The severed head of Yi-ryong was weeping and spitting out its grievances.

“I… I was deceived…”

「You.」

“…Huff!”

Though half-dead, it seemed Yi-ryong could hear Yi-gang’s voice.

「You know something.」

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep