Chapter 333: Tsk, Terrible Joke!

"What... what is that?!" the wounded demon shouted, his voice cracking.The two-headed demon staggered backward, both faces twisted in pure terror.

The sense of danger flooding his instincts was so overwhelming that even his bloodline screamed for him to flee.

Meanwhile, the scythe-wielding demon stood frozen.

Not because he could not move, but because he understood what happened.

"This level of control shouldn’t be possible..." he whispered hoarsely.

Now that the Absolute Order Artifact had lost its glow, they had regained their original cultivation but due to the curse Yu Zhen was still bleeding, though he regained his spirit sense.

Then the crack in space spread like lightning across glass.

Not tearing, but bleeding.

Ominous red fissures branched outward, staining the air as though reality itself had been wounded.

The pressure intensified with every heartbeat, crushing the surroundings into suffocating stillness.

Then—

The crack expanded.

It stretched as the outline of a living being materialised.

From within the bleeding void, figures stepped out one after another.

Each of them carried an oppressive aura.

Each of them radiated killing intent.

Yet all of that paled in comparison to the one at the forefront.

Black and white eyes.

Neither yin nor yang was seen in those eyes as they seem to devour these concepts.

The moment that gaze swept across the battlefield, the world itself seemed to hold its breath.

The wounded demon never even realized what had happened.

Neither did the two-headed one.

Only the scythe-wielding demon noticed.

In the instant those eyes appeared, thousands of thin red lines had silently manifested across their bodies from every angle.

Like markings drawn by an executioner.

The scythe demon’s pupils shrank to pinpoints.

"Impossible..." he croaked.

His words died in his throat.

Because the red lines activated.

Blood sprayed.

Flesh disappeared being cut into pieces so small that it was not seen with the naked eye or even with spirit sense.

The wounded demon was severed and died before pain could even register itself on him.

The two-headed demon met the similar fate.

They died without understanding why.

Only the scythe-wielding demon remained intact or rather he looked like he was dissipating.

Then the black-and-white-eyed figure finally spoke.

His voice was calm.

"Sorry! Traffic was so terrible that it took some time."

Yu Xuan cracked a terrible joke at which no one laughed.

Yu Zhen’s body trembled at that voice.

For the first time since the fight began, he felt something other than despair.

Relief.

A familiar presence stepped forward, stopping just beside him.

As he was enveloped in white-golden True Nirvana Flames.

Yu Zhen let out a weak, breathless laugh – half in pain, and the other half in disbelief.

"...You timing and mouth both are worse," he muttered.

Yu Xuan snorted softly.

"Yeah," he replied, black-and-white eyes flicking toward the disappearing scythe demon.

Yu Xuan deliberately activated a function of his newly upgraded system, a function he had sworn to reserve only for enemies who truly deserved it.

He raised his hand.

There was no glow.

No sound.

No grand phenomenon.

Yet an invisible force surged outward, sweeping across the battlefield like an unseen tide.

And then.

The system’s message was seen within his vision.

[DING!]

[Devoured a part of Blood-Faced Demon’s Existence]

[Devoured a part of One-True-Faced Demon’s Existence]

[Devoured a part of Cursed-Underworld Nether Ghost’s Existence]

Yu Xuan’s eyes narrowed slightly because of the words ’a part of’.

The text did not stop.

[Do you wish to convert these fragments into System Points (SP)? Or assimilate the characteristics contained within these existences?]

[WARNING:]

Due to the Host’s bloodline being unawakened, assimilation carries an extremely high risk of failure. Failure may result in backlash, rejection, corruption, or partial loss of self.

[RECOMMENDATION:]

Host’s Physique shows exceptional compatibility. Assimilation success rate may be increased via Physique-led refinement.

[Do you wish to proceed?]

[Yes | No]

The words hovered ominously before Yu Xuan’s eyes.

He did not hesitate.

No.

The moment his will made contact, the system interface shattered into motes of light.

Yet instead of dispersing, the intangible energy recoiled, then flowed inward.

Deeper.

Far deeper than Yu Xuan could sense.

So deep that even his spirit sense lost track of it entirely.

Yu Xuan’s brows furrowed.

"...Did he intervene?" he muttered under his breath.

The one he referred to was obvious.

Old Yu.

The realization left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He clenched his fists.

If he had arrived faster.

If he hadn’t wasted time elsewhere.

Then Yu Zhen would never have been reduced to this state.

And worse.

The system had only harvested a part of those demons.

Which meant they weren’t truly dead.

Not completely.

Some fragment of them still existed... somewhere.

"But how?" Yu Xuan didn’t know yet.

But he understood one thing clearly.

"With only a fraction of their existence left, resurrection won’t be easy," he thought grimly.

"Still... it’s not impossible."

That uncertainty gnawed at him.

With a sharp gesture, he motioned for everyone to board the spirit boat.

No one argued.

As the boat lifted into the crimson sky and sped toward Ming Tianmei’s location, Yu Xuan stood at the front, silent.

Guilt crept in.

Was it because this was the first time he’d failed to completely erase an enemy?

Or because, despite all his strength.

He had arrived too late?

Should he have used his full strength from the start?

Behind him, Yu Zhen lay sprawled on the deck, barely conscious, his wounds slowly stabilizing under residual healing flames.

Yu Xuan stepped closer.

He stared at Yu Zhen’s ruined face.

At the empty sockets where eyes should have been.

Natural regeneration would take a lot of time to heal in his current state.

Yu Xuan exhaled slowly.

"...Maybe you shouldn’t have killed that demon so quickly," Mo Lin muttered, his eyes still burning with unspent killing intent.

"Forget it," Yu Xuan replied calmly.

"They’ll likely suffer a fate worse than death."

He placed both hands gently over Yu Zhen’s eyes.

For a brief instant.

The world seemed to hold its breath.

Then.

A brilliant radiance burst forth from Yu Xuan’s palms.

His Creation affinity surged.

Not healing.

Not restoration.

But reconstruction the eye using the innate potential of Yu Zhen.

Yu Zhen’s body arched violently.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH—!!!"

A scream tore from his throat as something new was forced into existence.

The spirit boat continued forward, cutting through the sky.

While behind Yu Xuan’s calm expression, his resolve hardened.

Next time, he swore silently.

’I won’t arrive late and will definitely use my full strength.’