After crossing hundreds of li, the pursuit reached a decisive point of battle. The Seven Stars Boat began to slow down. Not because of its speed, but because of Zhi Xuan's exhaustion of essence.

  "Slow down, mortal!" Sheng Ye roared, now hovering in the air, only tens of zhang behind the Seven Stars Boat. His cruel face was covered in sweat and fatigue, but his eyes radiated madness.

  He stretched both hands forward. A thick and fierce Law of Earth aura radiated. He no longer summoned a thunderstorm, but he manifested a deadlier Law: the Five Element Trap.

  WHIRL! WHIRL!

  Five essence vortices—Fire, Water, Earth, Thunder, and Wind—appeared in the air, forming a ring encompassing the Seven Stars Boat, trapping Zhi Xuan. The five elements spun in ordered chaos, each radiating a will capable of tearing space.

  "Die, under the will of Nature!"

  Zhi Xuan clenched his jaw. He knew he could not avoid this attack. The five elements, controlled by Sheng Ye, would destroy the Seven Stars Boat. He had to strike fully. With his remaining essence, he gave it to the Devil Seed submerged at the bottom of his Sea of Consciousness.

  The Devil Seed, which was now denser and the size of a wooden ball, dark with strands of ancient eclipse patterns, absorbed all the essence Zhi Xuan gave it. Not stopping there, Zhi Xuan gritted his teeth and gave his spiritual blood to the Devil Seed, which he no longer tried to suppress.

  "Give me, the Devil's Thought!"

  The cold hiss resonated only within his soul, a command given to the darkest part of his foundation. At the bottom of his Sea of Consciousness, the Devil Seed pulsed brutally, radiating a primordial darkness aura that surpassed the concept of Natural Law. The Seed absorbed Zhi Xuan’s spiritual blood at a terrifying speed, and in return, it released a wave of pure and ferocious Devil essence.

  BOOM!

  The Devil essence wave swept out from Zhi Xuan’s Sea of Consciousness, pierced his Perfect Five Divine Organs, and radiated out from his tattered body. The usually gentle sky-blue aura was now replaced by a thick black mist that spun wildly, enveloping the Seven Stars Boat. The red rings in his sapphire pupils widened wildly, and an intricate dark pattern appeared on Zhi Xuan’s forehead—the forbidden seal restraining the Devil Soul.

  The phenomenon that occurred was the inverse of the ordered Five Element Law. Where Sheng Ye’s Five Element Law radiated the balance of nature, Zhi Xuan’s Devil Essence radiated Primordial Chaos, an anti-Law that rejected the essence itself.

  “I cannot run,” Zhi Xuan hissed, his voice filled with deadly arrogance, distorted by the Devil resonance. “If so, I will end this with one strike. You want Law? I will give you a higher Law!”

  Zhi Xuan stretched out his right hand; his face distorted and momentarily switched to a cold, bloodthirsty smile, and then immediately returned to a cold face full of despair under the Life-and-Death pressure. From his fingers, the Devil Blood Sword emerged, contaminated by the Devil Seed.

  "Devil Blood Sword! Engraving destiny above the supreme law. This Sword will surpass and split your Five Elements!"

  Zhi Xuan's distorted hiss felt like a knife blade piercing the soul. The Devil Essence released by the Devil Seed poured into the Devil Blood Sword. The sword blade did not radiate bright light, but a thick, heavy black mist, carrying the pure will of destruction. The Devil Blood Sword blade suddenly lengthened, piercing the boundaries of space and time.

  Inside the Sea of Consciousness, the Devil Tree of Life pumped essence into the Devil Seed at a deadly speed. The Tree’s branches trembled wildly, and amidst its leaves, a black vortex of the Law of Thunder spun brutally, mixing the Law of Thunder Zhi Xuan comprehended with the Primordial Chaos Essence.

  “Destroy!” Sheng Ye yelled, his eyes widening in shock. He did not expect this youth to possess such a ferocious Devil trump card. The aura Zhi Xuan radiated now surpassed the Five Element realm; it was a higher realm pressure, an anomaly that could only be described as a Phenomenon.

  The Five Element Trap surrounding the Seven Stars Boat immediately shrank. The vortices of Fire, Water, Earth, Thunder, and Wind spun faster and faster, transforming into an essence sphere ready to explode and destroy everything around it.

  WHUSH!

  Zhi Xuan slashed the Devil Blood Sword forward. It was not a martial arts slash, but a release of will driven by despair and Devil madness. The thick black mist enveloping the sword blade shot forward, not as a physical attack, but as a Slash of the Law of Chaos.

  BOOM!

  The Slash of the Law of Chaos collided directly with the Five Element Trap. Unlike the previous collision which only resulted in an implosion, this collision was a deafening explosion, a spiritual tremor that tore the sky of the Central Lands.

  Fire was immediately extinguished by Chaos. Earth was melted by Chaos. Wind was stopped by Chaos. Thunder was devoured by Chaos. Water evaporated by Chaos.

  The Five Element Trap mastered by Sheng Ye, which represented the balance of nature, immediately collapsed before the Primordial Devil Essence. The five essence vortices exploded into fragments of light, and the resulting shockwave flipped the Seven Stars Boat.

  Zhi Xuan, who was already leaning weakly, was thrown into the air. He coughed up spiritual blood even more heavily, his eyes filled with blood-red darkness. But he did not retreat and stepped back onto the center of the Seven Stars Boat, a cruel smile dancing at the corner of his lips.

  Meanwhile, Sheng Ye staggered backward. His body was struck by the essence fragments of his own Five Element Trap. The manifestation of the Giant Horned Rhino behind him let out a spiritual scream; cracks spread throughout its body, and the Rhino exploded into dust.

  The Five Element man hovered in the air, his eyes widened in terror. His Five Element essence churned wildly, and he felt his cultivation foundation crack. The attack did not just destroy his technique, but also injured his Dao foundation, a wound far more severe than physical injury.

  “Devil… What kind of Devil are you!” Sheng Ye roared, his voice filled with fear and pain. He realized that he was not chasing a sect disciple; he was chasing a monster born from chaos.

  Zhi Xuan, standing on the Boat, ignored the scream. The Devil's Thought made him hungry for blood and life vitality. Sheng Ye, although his foundation was injured, was a Five Element cultivator. Anger and despair gave him a final push. He channeled his remaining essence into his palm, ignoring the pain and damage to his foundation.

  “I will kill you! Even if I have to destroy my Dao!”

  He manifested a rough hand seal, and a spear made of a mixture of earth and fire shot out, radiating an aura of destruction. The spear lacked elegance but carried deadly brute and raw force, aimed directly at Zhi Xuan’s heart.

  "Seizing the will of life, even if you destroy your Dao, the Devil's Thought will destroy it first."

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  With an arrogant wave of his hand, Zhi Xuan gave a cold, wicked smile. From the air, a Great Sword formed from Ten Devil Blood Swords merged into a singular Sword. The Sword launched from the golden ring surrounding him, carrying the weight of a will older than Sheng Ye’s spear.

  ZHINGG! RATTLE!

  The Singular Sword shot out and met the spear released by Sheng Ye, giving a deafening spiritual wave in the air. The earth and fire spear shattered into pieces, utterly destroyed before the launching Singular Sword. The Devil Blood Sword, which was now the embodiment of ten merged blades, carried the weight of primordial wickedness sharpened by the Law of Chaos. The Sword did not fly with the speed of the Seven Stars Boat, but with the inevitable will of destiny.

  “NO!” Sheng Ye roared, his eyes widened in horror at the end of his life.

  He tried to summon the Giant Horned Rhino one last time, but his foundation had cracked, and the Rhino only appeared as a weak spiritual mist. He tried to parry with his palm, but it was a mortal attempt against the Supreme Law.

  RATTLE!

  The Devil Blood Sword pierced his tattered spiritual defense and stabbed straight into his chest. No blood spurted out heavily. The Sword did not just pierce; it devoured. The Five Element essence churning wildly within Sheng Ye’s Divine Wheel was immediately sucked away by the Devil Blood Sword.

  Sheng Ye’s face stiffened in pain and disbelief. He felt his life and Dao drying up in a fraction of a second. His cruel eyes dimmed, replaced by cold emptiness.

  ZHANG!

  The Devil Blood Sword withdrew, and Sheng Ye’s body, the persistent Five Element cultivator, fell like a rock to the Eastern Lands shrouded in night. His body landed with a dull thud on a distant grassland, leaving a sad trace of defeat.

  In the air, Zhi Xuan stood atop the Seven Stars Boat, his tattered body enveloped in a thick black mist that spun wildly. The Devil Blood Sword whirred softly in his hand, radiating the aura of the newly absorbed Five Element essence, an aura now mixed with Devil cruelty.

  "Just... a low-level Five Element Bastard," Zhi Xuan hissed, his voice returning to a hoarse tone, but now filled with cold, undeniable triumph.

  The red rings in his sapphire pupils began to shrink, and the dark pattern on his forehead faded. The thick black mist enveloping the Seven Stars Boat was rapidly absorbed back into the Devil Seed in his Sea of Consciousness. The spark of Devil madness had extinguished, replaced by overwhelming exhaustion.

  He forced himself to stand straight; the Devil Blood Sword vanished into his body, leaving a trace of frozen coldness. He had used the Devil Essence and his own spiritual blood to surpass the Five Element realm, a risky and deadly victory.

  Zhi Xuan felt his head spinning violently; the Devil's whisper began to spread into the recesses of his soul. An unbearable pressure gnawed at his consciousness, as if the Devil Seed, which had just been fed spiritual blood and permission to rule, now demanded a far greater price.

  The whisper seemed to gnaw at his sanity and consciousness simultaneously. From within the Sea of Consciousness, the dark purple-haired figure reappeared, radiating a spiritual wave that swept through the entire Sea of Consciousness. His dark soul, the soul he had believed he could conquer by accepting it as part of himself, now appeared before him. His cold and cruel expression stared at Zhi Xuan with a triumphant sneer.

  "Zhi Xuan, long time no see since the Devil Biting Chain Arena," the dark purple-haired figure said, his head slightly turning back to look at the Devil Tree of Life. "You truly... have grown well, my soul."

  The figure, which was the true embodiment of the Devil Seed that had been implanted in his foundation, stood tall before the spiritual Zhi Xuan. The figure was undoubtedly a perfect replica of himself, but enveloped in a thick, rotten dark aura, radiating the Supreme Darkness Law that transcended mortal comprehension. Zhi Xuan, in his spiritual form, staggered backward, his spiritual Ocean Breaker Thunder Sword trembling in his hand.

  "You broke the promise!" Zhi Xuan hissed, his voice hoarse and his spiritual body aching. "I gave you permission to release the Devil essence, not to take control!"

  The dark purple-haired Devil figure laughed, a cold and challenging laugh, resonating with the void beneath the Devil Tree of Life. "Promise? You call Chaos a promise, my Soul? I am the will you feed. I am the essence of the rotten Spiritual Blood you forced yourself to control! Every time you force me to break free, you give me strength to grow. You called me, Zhi Xuan. You fed me your spiritual blood. That was an invitation."

  Spiritual blood, for a cultivator, is the source of life and the foundation of the Dao. Zhi Xuan had sacrificed it to surpass the Five Element realm, and now, the Devil demanded a price far beyond mortal essence. The Devil's whisper was no longer a whisper, but a demanding roar, a primordial will hungry for destruction. The dark purple-haired figure radiating an aura of darkness and primordial wickedness, the Devil Soul he had suppressed all this time, now appeared before him. His cold and cruel expression stared at Zhi Xuan with a triumphant sneer.

  "Sheng Ye was delicious. A solid Five Element foundation. You gave me permission to devour him, and now, don't I stand here? We are one soul, Zhi Xuan. I come from the essence of Death, then spewed out by Ruo Xianxue when he swallowed the Essence of Death."

  Zhi Xuan, in his spiritual form, staggered backward, his spiritual Ocean Breaker Thunder Sword trembling in his hand. He knew this was a war of souls. If he allowed this Devil to take control, everything he had built—his arrogance, his sharp intellect, even his foolish promise to Zhu Qinglan—would be utterly destroyed in primordial wickedness.

  Zhi Xuan clenched his jaw; the Ocean Breaker Thunder Sword in his hand radiated a muted dark blue light, a symbol of his cold and sharp Dao Will. In the face of the Devil Soul, the embodiment of rotten darkness he had suppressed all this time, he could not retreat. Retreating meant losing everything.

  "I am the master, not you," Zhi Xuan hissed, his spiritual voice now flat and cold, reflecting a sharpness that transcended panic. "You are the Seed I planted. You grow under my will. You are part of my foundation, not the decision-maker. Devil Soul, I already gave you permission to absorb, now return to your place!"

  The dark purple-haired Devil Soul laughed loudly, a laugh that shook every layer of the Sea of Consciousness. His dark purple aura enveloped the Devil Tree of Life.

  "My Master?" The Devil raised an eyebrow, a contemptuous sneer etched on the face that was exactly the same as Zhi Xuan’s. "This Seed was implanted by the great Ancient Devil. I existed after you created me. You, with your rotten Ancient Heaven Dao Heart, were only able to give me a comfortable cage to grow. And now, that cage is full!"

  The Devil Soul stepped forward, his hand stretched out toward Zhi Xuan. "Why bother with those silly promises to that Mortal Holy Fairy? Why bother with boring sect missions? Join me. We will shatter the Heavens, wash all the Plains with blood, and engrave the Supreme Law of Primordial Wickedness. We are a Phenomenon that surpasses all Ages!"

  Zhi Xuan gritted his teeth, he pointed his sword at his dark purple-figured self. His sapphire eyes now stared with the pride and absolute determination of a soul forged by blood and experience; he was not afraid of the Devil Seed which was only his foundation.

  "I will not hesitate to kill my own soul," Zhi Xuan hissed coldly, his tone radiating a wave of judgment. "If you want to take over my soul, it will be because I decide. Not you. And, I can kill myself to eliminate you!"

  The threat, thrown by a tattered spiritual soul, carried a weight far heavier than any cosmic threat. It was the suicidal determination of a true Devil; the resolve to destroy everything rather than submit.

  The Devil Soul, radiating an aura of darkness and primordial wickedness, suddenly stopped. The cold sneer on his face faded, replaced by an odd frown. The Devil had looked into Zhi Xuan’s mind, and he knew this threat was real. This figure—born from the Devil Seed, the essence of destruction—feared one thing: total Annihilation.

  "Fool!" the Devil Soul roared, his voice filled with burning anger. He pulled back his hand; his aura enveloping the Devil Tree of Life slightly shrank, a primal reaction to the absolute determination of Zhi Xuan’s Dao Will. "You would destroy your own foundation just because of a silly promise and a disgusting mission?"

  "That silly promise and disgusting mission are my anchors," Zhi Xuan countered, his spiritual voice now calm and sharp. He knew the weakness of this Devil was its absolute desire to exist and grow. "I will not let your rotten will take the helm. You are my essence, not my master. Return to your place or I will unleash the will of the Heavenly Tribulation in this Sea of Consciousness."

  The threat of the Heavenly Tribulation was his last trump card. Zhi Xuan, having seen and felt the Heavenly Tribulation himself, made the threat that he could invite the Heavenly Tribulation, a purification and destruction. Unleashing it in his own Sea of Consciousness would destroy the Devil Soul, but also destroy his Dao foundation, even endangering Xiao Die’s cocoon in the Furnace.

  The Devil Soul narrowed its eyes, assessing the threat. His dark purple aura churned wildly, a silent battle of wills. Finally, with a hiss filled with wickedness, he took a step back.

  "Very well, my stubborn Soul," the Devil Soul hissed, his tone now returning to cold arrogance, full of warning. "I will return. But remember, every time you feed me, every time you force me to fight beyond your realm, I will grow. Next time, the threat of the Heavenly Tribulation will not be enough. I will wait until you reach a point where you can no longer suppress me. At that time, I will take over, and we will etch the will of wickedness over the Nine Plains."

  The spiritual figure of the Devil Soul immediately dissolved into the Devil Seed at the bottom of the Sea of Consciousness. In an instant, the thick primordial darkness aura vanished, replaced by a deceptive calm. The Devil Seed returned to its normal size, submerged beneath the Devil Tree of Life, radiating a calm dark aura, as if no turmoil had ever occurred.