The final kick

Shen Ling's body erupted with blinding white light, a move that sacrificed his life force for instantaneous explosive power, almost a self-destructive technique.

His figure moved like lightning, bypassing Jie Shuangxing and teleporting behind Jie Yuli. His long sword hummed as it pierced through Jie Yuli's protective demonic energy and slammed heavily into her heart.

Jie Yuli's pupils constricted sharply, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, his body collapsing limply beyond his control.

"Sister—" Jie Shuangxing let out a roar that sounded inhuman. Her silver-white mask shattered, revealing a distorted face underneath.

Jie Shuangxing glared at Shen Ling and roared, "Go to hell!"

Jie Shuangxing no longer cared about rules or even the limits of his own meridians, and detonated the last remaining undead puppet.

The shockwave from the puppet's explosion instantly blocked Shen Ling's retreat, forcing him to parry with his sword. The moment the sword energy collided with the demonic energy, Jie Shuangxing had already appeared before him like a ghost, slashing down heavily with his short blade.

Shen Ling was so shocked that he retreated three zhang, a metallic taste rising in his throat.

Instead of pressing his advantage, Jie Shuangxing staggered to Jie Yuli's side and carefully took the fallen Jie Yuli into his arms.

Seeing the hideous bloody hole in Jie Yuli's chest, Jie Shuangxing's eyes turned bloodshot. He suddenly looked up, his scarlet gaze sweeping over Shen Ling before finally fixing on the ball of light at the top of the altar.

Before Shen Ling could react, Jie Shuangxing, carrying Jie Yuli, rushed toward the altar at top speed. The other demons who tried to stop him were all killed by Jie Shuangxing's frenzied attacks.

Despite enduring the excruciating pain of the spiritual backlash, Shen Ling chased after him, but was still half a step too slow.

The moment Jie Shuangxing's fingertips touched the ball of light, he felt the demonic energy within it frantically converging in another direction.

The suction force was incredibly strong, not only pulling at the demonic energy inside the ball of light, but also causing the remaining demonic energy around it to surge and churn.

Jie Shuangxing's expression changed drastically.

On the other side of the ball of light was Shen Qingxing, whom no one had expected. Before Jie Shuangxing went mad, she no longer held back her strength, released the seal that suppressed the demonic energy, and targeted the two great demons closest to the ball of light. Using the magic weapon given to her by Shen Zhi for sneak attacks, she instantly killed one and injured the other.

He immediately and decisively lunged at the ball of light.

In the instant Jie Shuangxing was taken aback, Shen Ling seized the opportunity and rushed forward.

Jie Shuangxing held Jie Yuli in his arms, his fingertips touching the edge of the ball of light. The three of them were determined to pull the powerful energy in the ball of light into their own bodies.

Because Jie Shuangxing and Jie Yuli are connected by a secret technique, when Jie Shuangxing absorbs energy, half of the energy flows into Jie Yuli's body along the secret technique's link. Jie Yuli's hideous wound on his chest heals at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his originally unfocused gaze gradually becomes focused.

The moment they awoke, the two activated their secret technique in perfect unison, and energy flowed through their bloodlines like a tidal wave. Their absorption speed even slightly surpassed that of Shen Ling, who possessed the bloodline of Ghostly Vengeance.

It has now split into two halves, one halves tinged with the dark purple unique to the demon race, and the other halves wrapped in the crimson of the monster race.

Several high-ranking demons attempted to take a share of the spoils, but as soon as they touched the protective shield erected by Shen Ling and her companions, they were tightly bound by the powerful demonic energy and burned to ashes.

Hiding in the shadows of the cave, Xu Xuan clenched his fists as he heard his master's urgent voice: "Xuanzi! The moment they absorbed energy was when the ruins were at their weakest. An ancestor of the demon race and the Pill Master are working with the elders to weaken the restrictions!"

The ball of light suddenly trembled violently.

Six powerful auras collided around the ball of light, causing rubble to fall from the cave ceiling.

Xu Xuan heard his master urgently shout in his ear, "The teleportation tunnel of the Phoenix Ruins is about to open! Find a chance to get out quickly!"

At this point, the ball of light had shrunk to the size of a fist.

Jie Shuangxing and Shen Ling were locked in a fierce battle. The six of them were divided into two sides, and neither side would give way. Even though the space was about to collapse, no one was willing to let go and leave first.

Until the cave completely collapsed and space shattered in an instant.

Mo Zuili threw out a fire talisman, and Huang Tianyao also swung his sword. Mo Zuili did not defend herself. The moment Huang Tianyao made his move, she went straight forward and grabbed the ball of light that had shrunk to the size of a thumb.

Six figures staggered and leaped into the space tunnel through the collapsing cracks.

Zhu Hehong appeared in front of Mo Zuili without anyone noticing, her red dress fluttering as it was torn by the spatial turbulence.

Mo Zuili gritted her teeth and activated the Nirvana Fire, digging her fingertip into the crimson light ball. The remaining energy surged into her meridians, and a metallic taste rose in Mo Zuili's throat. Her vision went black and she collapsed.

At the last moment, Mo Zuili felt two mysterious energies suddenly surge out from within her body, protecting her.

Zhu Hehong then pulled Mo Zuili into her arms.

...

When she opened her eyes again, the tassels on the carved bed ceiling made Mo Zuili dizzy.

Mo Zuili moved her fingers and turned her head to see Zhu Hehong sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Awake?" Zhu Hehong sat on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed.

Mo Zuili stood up, pressing her head. Before she could speak, Zhu Hehong continued, "You're lucky. Before you entered the demon race trial, you obtained a demonic power during the ascension test, which blocked most of the damage. The mark your master left for you protected your heart meridian."

You were unconscious for nearly half a month. After I brought you out of the ruins, the Mo family and the Phoenix Clan fought for a long time. The Mo family wanted to bring you back to recover from your injuries, but the Phoenix Clan disagreed and wanted you to stay there. In the end, Chu Qing stepped in and brought you back to the Mo family.

"I refined a pill to suppress the energy within your body. You woke up as a peak Golden Core cultivator, just one step away from breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage. How does that feel?"

Mo Zuili blinked. No wonder she felt so full of spiritual energy when she woke up.

I had a lot of internal and external injuries in the ruins, but I didn't feel any pain after I woke up.

Mo Zuili turned her gaze to Zhu Hehong. How come this person is also at the peak of the Golden Core stage?

Where is my master?

Before Zhu Hehong could reply, a maid's exclamation came from outside the door: "Has the young master woken up?"

Mo Zuili responded loudly, and the maid's footsteps faded into the distance, presumably to report to Mo Yuan and Elder Tan.

Before Mo Yuan arrived, the lingering dizziness in Mo Zuili's mind gradually subsided, and she pieced together the current situation from Zhu Hehong's words.

Before the Phoenix Ruins were forcibly opened, Chu Qing had an argument with Jiang Kunyue.

Later, Chu Qing protected him and took him back to the Mo family, where he worked day and night to refine pills for him.

After learning about his agreement with Zhu Hehong, he refined elixirs for Zhu Hehong.

However, the seal within Zhu Hehong's body cannot be rushed; it must be done in stages. Now, a portion of the seal has been lifted, and Zhu Hehong's cultivation has returned to half its previous level.

If forcibly removed in one go, the body will explode and die on the spot.

After thinking it over, Zhu Hehong decided to stay with the Mo family.

"...I'll continue to protect you. Dan Zun only has two disciples, one is you, and the other has already fallen into demonic possession. If you die halfway through my unsealing process, your master will be heartbroken and might go into seclusion. Then the seal on me will have to wait until the monkey month."

Zhu Hehong shook the small jade bottle in her other hand: "What are your plans after this?"

Mo Zuili remained silent.

Yaowang Mountain has a secret connection with the Demon Realm. Chu Qing has been guarding the mountain for many years to suppress the demonic energy.

Now that the demon race's lineage has ended and a new demon lord is about to be born, the demonic energy beneath Medicine King Mountain should decrease sharply.

After the ruins opened, Jiang Kunyue set off for the Demon Realm, vowing to eliminate the new Demon Lord before he could fully establish himself.

Chu Qing, whether to investigate Shen Ling's situation or because of the sudden appearance of the new Demon Lord, had to personally go to the Demon Realm.

The door creaked open, and Mo Yuan hurriedly entered with Elder Tan.

Zhu Hehong tactfully left, and Mo Zuili talked with the two of them for a while before smiling and saying that she was fine.

It wasn't until the next day that Mo Zuili saw Zhu Hehong again.

He grabbed the person and asked, "Where is Huang Tianyao?"

Zhu Hehong, with her legs crossed, said, "They were taken away by the Phoenix Clan..."

After a pause, Zhu Hehong chuckled and said, "Shangguan Fu'er, on the other hand, was brought along by me and is now locked up in the Mo family's dungeon."

Mo Zuili was stunned, and asked in return, "Who is in the Mo family dungeon?"

Zhu Hehong: "Shangguan Fu'er."

Mo Zuili frowned. Zhu Hehong was acting crazy and grabbed Shangguan Fu'er in the chaos, but Mo Zuili wasn't surprised.

However, how could Mo Yuan agree to let Zhu Hehong bring people to the Mo family?

Zhu Hehong seemed to sense Mo Zuili's confusion and casually said, "I told your father that Shangguan Fu'er ambushed you multiple times in the ruins and almost killed you, so your father gave me a dungeon key. Do you want to go take a look?"

Mo Zuili shook her head: "I'm not interested. Let's keep it locked up for now."

Although the trials of the demon race and the inheritance of the demon realm have come to an end, the new demon king and demon lord who should have been born remain an unresolved mystery.

Speaking for herself, Mo Zuili could clearly feel that the demonic power she had fought for accounted for more than half of the total, but she was still missing a portion.

This means that his struggle with Huang Tianyao is not over yet, and those demons who originally supported Huang Tianyao will never bow down to him because of an energy contest that has not yet been decided.

If one is determined to become the Demon King, there will likely be no shortage of sword fights in the future.

As for the Demon Realm, the situation is already more chaotic than that of the Demon Race.

Mo Zuili remembered the last scene she glimpsed: Shen Qingxing, Shen Ling, and the Xie siblings, a total of four people.

With power divided into four, the situation in the Demon Realm is certainly more complex than that of the Monster Realm.

Originally, the plan was to resolve the troubles between Huang Tianyao and the demon race. After Shen Ling became the Demon Lord and helped him find a way to consolidate his cultivation, he and Qi Shuyan would leave.

But given the current situation, Mo Zuili felt that her feud with Huang Tianyao might drag on forever.

Upon hearing Mo Zuili's reply, Zhu Hehong raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Aren't you going back to the demon clan to fight for power?"

Mo Zuili sighed, feeling weary.

Zhu Hehong waited for a long time without receiving a reply, then changed the subject and asked, "Did you see Hua Fei when you entered the Dragon Realm?"

Mo Zuili turned her head and raised an eyebrow: "Oh, you know him?"

Zhu Hehong: "Of course I know her. We're mortal enemies. And you? Are you on good terms with her?"

Mo Zuili paused for a moment, looking at Zhu Hehong's expression, and confirmed that this person was not joking.

"Ha." Mo Zuili suddenly laughed, "Isn't this a coincidence? My relationship with her isn't very good either. What's the matter between you and Hua Fei?"

Zhu Hehong's playful expression vanished, replaced by a tone as cold as ice: "Do you know the Wasteland Lord?"

Mo Zuili frantically searched her brain, finally recalling a detail from a obscure corner of the original work.

Is he the master of that desolate land on the outskirts of the Demon Realm?

The desolate land on the outskirts of the Demon Realm is, as its name suggests, barren and desolate.

This place is a mixture of demonic and spiritual energy, and neither humans nor demons are willing to set foot here.

The original work seems to have mentioned that this forgotten land actually has a leader, whose origins are unknown. It is only rumored that he guards this barren land, and even the demons are too lazy to care.

Later, the male protagonist Shen Ling wielded his sword and ventured into the Dragon Realm, while Zhu Hehong seemed to be preparing to head towards this desolate land.

That's why Mo Zuili had some impression of it.