Chapter Twenty: Battle with the Demon Ancestor (Part Two)

"Little brat, stop spouting such tall talk. This ancestor will now teach you what it truly means to wish for death."

After the Demon Ancestor finished speaking, the dark demonic energy within the Hall of the War God converged. Soon, the thickening mist coalesced into a human form, and a tall, middle-aged man stood before Wu Shu.

The man formed from demonic energy possessed a profound aura, radiating a presence as if he alone could contend with the entire world.

A mere avatar of demonic energy? Does a single avatar possess such formidable strength?

Though amazed, Wu Shu remained calm. Looking at the middle-aged man, he said with disdain, "So-called ancestor, are you really this weak?"

The middle-aged man raised his hand and struck toward Wu Shu, roaring, "Wu family brat, die!"

"Ignite!"

A powerful mental fluctuation instantly transformed into visible ripples, spreading from Wu Shu throughout the Hall of the War God. Wu Shu seemed to transform into another person—a peerless expert whom others dared not face directly.

The middle-aged man, formed of demonic energy, frowned slightly at the change. However, having already initiated the attack, he could only commit to the strike with all his might.

The man's strength was unfathomable. As he struck, a palm print of immense pressure bore down upon Wu Shu.

The clash between the two stunned the Stele Spirit, and even the Giant Elephant, despite its mind being clouded by the demons, was left dumbfounded. Truth be told, if it weren't for being suppressed or having to suppress the Giant Elephant, both would have fled the Hall of the War God long ago.

The duel between these two would surely be earth-shattering.

"Freeze!"

"Die!"

Facing the incoming palm print, Wu Shu uttered these two words with indifference.

As he spoke, the intense mental fluctuations solidified, directly trapping both the massive palm print and the middle-aged man. Once ensnared, the man felt as if his body were being crushed under the weight of a mountain.

"Break!" Sensing the danger immediately, the man roared.

With a loud crash, thick black energy erupted from his body, shattering the mental force surrounding him. As for the giant palm print, it had already been pulverized into thin air by the sheer force of the mental energy.

From this simple exchange, Wu Shu knew clearly that while the Demon Ancestor’s avatar was extraordinary, it was merely that—extraordinary. To defeat him, who possessed the mental strength of a hundred thousand years, the Demon Ancestor would need to exert far more effort.

Of course, given the current limits of Wu Shu’s physical body, if he were to lift the thousand-year-level mental seal for too long, his own head would likely be obliterated by the inability to withstand the immense pressure. When fighting the Demon Ancestor, if he released too much mental energy, he would have to use nearly half of it just to protect his own body.

Having endured Wu Shu's blow, the middle-aged man realized his opponent's strength. He said calmly, "Boy, I must admit, you have some skill."

After this evenly matched exchange, the man acknowledged Wu Shu's ability, yet added with arrogance, "However, if you think you can defeat me, you are still far from capable. Of course, I must offer you some praise; to have such powerful mental strength at such a young age—the human race truly has no shortage of talent."

It seemed that after one exchange, the Demon Ancestor merely viewed Wu Shu as a gifted prodigy, but in his presence, such "young talents" were still just that—young.

Wu Shu had no interest in debating. Since he had committed to this battle, he would fight until the end of time; only the one left standing would have the right to speak.

"Super-Ignite!"

As Wu Shu further unsealed his internal mental barriers, the visible fluctuations instantly turned into pure white light.

Having tapped into three thousand years of mental power, Wu Shu felt he could control everything around him. In the Hall of the War God, he could reduce the towering stone pillars to dust with a mere flick of a finger.

"Freeze."

"Die."

The pure white mental energy in the hall instantly converged around the middle-aged man. Trapped once more under the crushing pressure, the man's expression changed completely.

As blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, he said in a low voice, "Demonic Dragon Devouring Art, devour!"

Following a dragon's roar that echoed through the hall, a black demonic dragon hundreds of meters long appeared above the man's head. It coiled above him, greedily swallowing the white mental energy.

The Demonic Dragon Devouring Art?

From the name alone, Wu Shu could tell it was merely a secret technique. Yet, for the Demon Ancestor to manifest a giant dragon of this scale using only a secret art—his strength was truly unfathomable. Watching the pure mental energy being consumed, Wu Shu frowned.

This ancestor appeared to be the progenitor of the Shadow Demon Tribe, who were known for their mastery of mental cultivation.

However, Wu Shu was actually pleased that his opponent chose to devour his mental energy. Mental energy infused with both Profound Qi and Saintly Qi was not exactly a tonic for a demonic powerhouse.

Within a few breaths, the black dragon had completely devoured the mental energy Wu Shu had gathered. Once free of restraint, the middle-aged man looked at Wu Shu with even greater interest. Anyone could see that a youth with such mental strength was clearly a person of great destiny.

Having neutralized the attack, the man believed this was the extent of Wu Shu's power. Just as he was about to speak, Wu Shu sighed and shook his head: "Demon Ancestor, you really are old. Do you always talk so much?"

"Soul-Ignite!"

"Freeze!"

"Die!"

Blinding, pure white mental energy instantly flooded the entire hall. Unlike before, the energy Wu Shu used this time, while radiating intense light, was mist-like.

Trapped by the mental force for the third time, the man exclaimed in disbelief, "Eight thousand years of mental power? This cannot be real! How can someone of such an age possess such vast strength?"

Not only was the man stunned, but the giant demonic dragon itself seemed to gain awareness, hesitating for a moment when faced with such an immense mental attack.

After enduring the pressure and vomiting blood, the man looked up and laughed wildly, "Good! Good boy! I will let you be arrogant for a while. Once I consume all this mental energy, I will not take your life. Instead, I will keep you by my side. Where else could I find such a succulent source of mental blood? With you, brat, my cultivation will surely reach a new height!"

The Demonic Dragon Devouring Art was indeed extraordinary; within a few breaths, nearly half of Wu Shu’s released mental energy was absorbed.

Hearing this, Wu Shu sneered, "You want to keep me as a blood-feeder? Demon Ancestor, I think you should wait until you meet the Great Demon God to dream of that. After all, anything is possible in a dream."

Drawing three thousand years of power was his physical limit. Eight thousand years was definitely beyond what his body could bear. If he hadn't used a formation to suppress his own body, he would have shattered by now.

He knew he could not drag this battle out.

Wu Shu shouted, "Universe Demon-Suppressing Formation, Five-Thunder Extermination Formation, Blazing Fire God-Burning Formation, Nine-Turn Illusionary Formation—Absolute Formation!"

Using the blood flowing from his fingertips, his hands moved rapidly. With every motion, the pressure in the hall intensified.

Once the four massive formations took shape, not only was the man's body compressed to the point of deformation, but the giant black dragon was also twisted by the immense force.

"Ah!"

As his body neared disintegration, the man let out a roar. The giant black dragon's eyes turned blood-red, and an uncontrollable surge of red demonic energy erupted from its body.

Then, the dragon seemed to break free from the formations, opening its maw to swallow the middle-aged man whole.

???

Seeing the middle-aged man consumed by the dragon, Wu Shu could hardly believe his eyes.

The dragon, created by a secret technique, had turned on its master in his final moments. Such a bizarre event was unheard of, even to one with a hundred thousand years of mental power.

"The Demonic Dragon devours its master; who in this world can stand against it?"

As Wu Shu stood in shock, the blood-eyed dragon spoke in a human voice.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he never would have believed such a terrifying secret technique existed. After devouring the man, the dragon's power surged visibly. It grew to a terrifying thousand meters in length, radiating red demonic energy that seemed capable of devouring all existence.

As dark red scales began to grow on the dragon, its aura stabilized. It fixed its gaze on Wu Shu and said calmly, "To force me to use my true demonic dragon form—boy, you are good. You are very good."

Wu Shu gazed back at the dragon and sighed, "To save your own skin, you chose to devour your master. Demon Ancestor, you are truly pathetic!"

After mocking him, Wu Shu felt an unprecedented sense of detachment. It was as if the existence of a thousand worlds was merely a thought away.

In this moment, he felt completely unburdened, as if the heavens and the earth could be moved without the slightest effort.

When Wu Shu spoke again, the giant dragon began to tremble.

"However, do you think everything ends here?"

Seeing Wu Shu prepare to strike again, the dragon hurriedly urged, "Little brother, don't be rash!"

Wu Shu replied firmly, without hesitation: "God-Ignite, God-Exterminating Profound Sword!"

"Die!"

A powerful mental pressure manifested instantly. Every expert within tens of miles of the Hall of the War God felt a sense of impending suffocation. Seeing a thousand-meter-long sword of light descending from the sky, all of them were filled with dread.

They knew that if this sword struck, even the mere shockwave would cause unimaginable damage.

Feeling the pressure of the sword energy descending upon the hall, the black dragon roared, "Boy, stop! If you do this, the Hall of the War God will be completely destroyed! Everything inside is the life's work of your own Wu family ancestor!"

The Wu family ancestor?

So, the Hall of the War God was truly related to the Wu family, and it was built by their ancestor?

Even so, it mattered not. Wu Shu’s resolve to exterminate the Demon Ancestor would not waver.

As the God-Exterminating Profound Sword struck the hall, Wu Shu said calmly, "Profound Gate!"

The sword vanished, and the black dragon roared in despair, "No..."

When the sword reappeared, it was already right before the dragon. No matter how hard and resilient the dragon’s body was, the sword sliced through it like a blade through tofu.

The giant black dragon vanished, leaving only a ball of pure white light that flew into the depths of the Hall of the War God.