Chapter Four: A Blade Light That Shakes the Heavens

Thunder roared, winds howled, and the world changed color. With a furious shout, the towering body of the Earth Demon was struck by the Evil Prince’s claw, sent flying, and only came to a halt after smashing through a mountain peak.

“Ha ha… Earth Demon, you’ve fallen. Where is the unrivaled demonic might you boasted three thousand years ago? Now you are nothing but a shadow of your former self,” the Evil Prince laughed wildly.

The Earth Demon’s face remained expressionless, his pitch-black eyes fixed on the prince. He said in a deep voice, “Even if my powers have faded, I can still destroy you, wretch of the Abyss, with my fists!”

Demonic energy surged. With a sky-shaking roar, a column of black light pierced the heavens, his body streaking across the void, leaving trails of phantom axes. Threads of dark law gathered toward the Earth Demon’s right fist, and as it absorbed this immense power, his once dull, black fist transformed into something gleaming like black gemstone, radiating an aura of utter destruction.

The prince narrowed his eyes, sneering, “So you’ve decided to risk it all? Your cultivation hasn’t recovered, yet you forcibly summon the power of the laws. Seems you’re courting death!”

With a shrill cry, his scaled body suddenly expanded to more than thirty feet, thick gray mist rolling and coiling around his massive form. Even his face transformed, becoming identical to the three monstrous creatures from before, save for the horns on his brow, which shone with a purple-gold hue.

The Earth Demon bellowed, “Heavenly Demon Shattering Star Fist!” His enormous fist, like a small mountain, smashed toward the Evil Prince. The air was thick with the scent of destruction, as if the apocalypse had arrived.

The Evil Prince let out a twisted laugh, “If you were the Earth Demon of old, perhaps I would still fear you. But now? Ha ha…”

With a roar, the Evil Prince’s body twisted and transformed into a wicked beast. Its maw, filled with fangs, inhaled sharply, drawing all the gray mist into itself.

The beast’s eyes glowed with evil light. It roared again, and a streak of gray lightning shot from its mouth, racing straight toward the Earth Demon’s fist of law!

The Earth Demon’s eyes narrowed, “Devil’s Punishment! How is this possible… How does he possess the power of punishment?”

The fist of law and the punishment lightning collided, but instead of the expected cataclysmic explosion, the fist’s radiance lasted only a moment before silently shattering, its power dissipating into specks of starlight that vanished into the void.

The gray lightning did not pause. Like a true bolt, it streaked across the air, striking the Earth Demon’s chest and tearing through, trailing a burst of deep crimson blood.

The Earth Demon groaned, falling from the void and crashing heavily onto the grass below, creating a deep crater with a dull thud.

With a hiss, the gray lightning spun back like a meteor across the sky, disappearing into the beast’s mouth in a flash.

“Ha ha! Earth Demon, today marks your death. Your demonic body will become my new vessel,” the monstrous form blinked through the void, arriving at the edge of the crater.

Staring at the weakened Earth Demon, the Evil Prince smiled wickedly, “Do not struggle. Such a perfect body, now tainted with a flaw. No matter—I will restore it, ha ha…” His laughter echoed through the mountains, chilling to the bone.

With a sinister grin, the beast’s form melted into a stream of gray liquid, which split off and wrapped around the Earth Demon in the pit, dragging him to the surface.

A devilish face formed within the liquid, smiling maliciously as it lunged toward the Earth Demon’s body…

“It’s over…” Cold Sky’s heart was heavy with sorrow for the Earth Demon. A supreme demon, reduced to the fate of being devoured.

Cold Sky longed to intervene, but he dared not. Even the Earth Demon’s law power was no match for the Evil Prince’s gray lightning—his own strength wouldn’t even merit a slap.

The little princess had fallen asleep, tear stains still marking her cheeks. Cold Sky gently picked her up, approached Spirit Kite, and spoke, “Big one, I know you understand me. I entrust your master to your care now—do you understand?”

Spirit Kite gave a soft whinny, its large head nuzzling against Cold Sky’s face. Cold Sky smiled, leaping onto Spirit Kite’s broad back, laying the little princess gently upon its soft feathers. He jumped to the ground, patted the great beast’s head, and said, “Take her home—go, quickly!”

Spirit Kite gave a cry, wings trembling as it soared into the air. Truly, even spirit beasts have feelings. Once aloft, its feathers spread to cover the little princess, and with another cry toward Cold Sky below, its mighty wings beat, carrying it away into the moonlit night.

By now, the moon hung full in the sky. Cold Sky tried to glimpse the Earth Demon’s final fate. “Where has Strong gone off to? If he were here, maybe he could save the Earth Demon!” At this moment, Cold Sky finally understood the benefit of Strong’s presence.

Just as he turned, suddenly a vast and overwhelming pressure descended from the heavens, mighty as the will of the gods. The space trembled, and a crack split the void, within which appeared a great blade, its body blue as water, standing upright in the air.

That immense pressure emanated from this blade, which had suddenly manifested in the void. As the blade rotated, its hum shook the heavens, and its radiance seemed to illuminate the entire night sky.

The Evil Prince trembled all over, releasing the Earth Demon’s body and reverting to his princely form, face twisted in terror as he stared at the blade, muttering again and again, “Impossible! Impossible!”

The Earth Demon gazed at the blade in the void, his expression full of excitement and reverence. “I never thought I would see the divine weapon of the elder again. Even if I die today, I have no regrets!”

The Evil Prince wanted nothing more than to flee, to escape as far as possible until the blade was out of sight, but the overwhelming pressure pinned him, rendering him immobile.

Cold Sky too was forced to his knees, fear etched across his face as he stared at the void. The radiance faded, revealing a blade of light a thousand feet tall, its substantial edge crackling with world-shattering power as it fell.

Mountains shattered, earth split, as if the apocalypse had arrived. Within a hundred miles, all living things fainted—including Cold Sky.

Yet the blade did not strike the ground. Its thousand-foot form simply performed a downward slash. Below, the Evil Prince’s body dissolved, gray mist flowing like water, vanishing under the immense pressure. Only a wisp of deep gray vapor managed to squeeze through, burrowing into the earth—unnoticed even by the Earth Demon.

As the blade’s light faded, a final hum echoed, and it shrank to its original size, flashing across the sky before merging like lightning into Cold Sky’s body and disappearing.

The Earth Demon looked on in astonishment, glancing at the vanished blade and the ruined mountain, unreadable thoughts in his eyes. Demonic energy surged, transforming into a stream of light that entered the tomb, and the lake returned to its original form, submerging the underground entrance beneath its waters.