Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Undying Demon Lord

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Undying Demon Lord

With this desperate, all-out strike, Chu Jie had believed he had finally slain the Heavenly Demon Lord. Yet, as the Demon Lord’s terrified expression twisted into one of mockery, Chu Jie realized the battle was far from over.

“You are impressive indeed, to have forced me to this point!” the Demon Lord spat, his body exploding in a shower of radiant fragments.

The Celestial Wheel spun back to Chu Jie’s side, followed by several streaks of light—tiny swords that had embedded themselves in the Demon Lord’s flesh, wreaking havoc moments before. Though his body had shattered, the Demon Lord’s head soared high into the air as the once-cleared black clouds surged back in a roiling tide.

The boundless darkness gathered beneath the severed head, and only after devouring most of the surrounding black clouds did his body reform—a process so swift that Chu Jie had no chance to attack.

Despair overtook the survivors standing behind Chu Jie; fewer than a third of them were still on their feet. None had expected that, after such a furious assault, the Demon Lord would still live. Truly, he was worthy of being the foremost among the Five Heavenly Lords.

“You dared shatter my body! Damn you! You’ll regret it!” the Demon Lord raged, half-mad. “You never imagined, did you? My constitution allows me to draw on the black clouds for immortality. As long as they remain, you will never kill me!”

A whirring sound filled the air as a spindle-shaped treasure artifact rose and shot toward Chu Jie like a streak of light.

“I want to see just how tough your body truly is!” the Demon Lord’s eyes blazed crimson, murderous light shooting several yards.

Chu Jie had already recovered from his initial shock and, fortunate to still have spiritual energy left, stood ready to fight. Even though the Demon Lord reformed his body from the black clouds, surely he was running on fumes by now.

Chu Jie threw his head back and howled, “Even if you were a god, I would still slay you!”

The Celestial Wheel transformed back into gauntlets on his hands. He clenched his fist and hurled it forward with all his might.

With a thunderous crash, Chu Jie’s fist collided with the spindle-shaped treasure, sending out a wave of invisible sound. At the point of impact, a dazzling sphere of light appeared.

“Sunfire Fist!” Chu Jie roared. The sphere exploded, a forceful shockwave blasting the treasure several yards away.

A wild fighting spirit surged within him; golden flames seemed to blaze from Chu Jie’s fists, shining brilliantly. Though his spiritual energy was nearly exhausted, Chu Jie felt no fear. If he had no more energy, he would fight on, bearing the lives of his Mad Dog Battalion brothers on his shoulders!

Seeing Chu Jie’s fearless onslaught, the Mad Dog Battalion found their courage rekindled, their fighting spirit merging into a force even stronger than at the outset.

“Live together, die together! Mad Dog Battalion—battle the heavens! Battle the earth! Battle the gods!” they chanted, their morale soaring higher with each word.

At that moment, Chu Jie felt an unbreakable bond with his brothers—a kinship deeper than blood. This was brotherhood, his greatest strength.

A cold laugh echoed as the Demon Lord’s gaze turned icy. “I must admit, you juniors have made me so wretched. I will kill you one by one, force you to watch your comrades die, push you into madness, and then annihilate you all!”

The spindle-shaped treasure attacked the battalion’s formation again.

Blood sprayed as several more fell, their fate uncertain.

From within the black clouds, the Demon Lord’s figure flickered in and out of sight. Clearly, he no longer intended to fight head-on, instead launching long-range assaults to torment Chu Jie and his men.

Once more, a demonic palm appeared, striking from the flank.

“Die! Die! Die!” the Demon Lord shrieked, his visage twisted as the giant hand crashed down.

Chu Jie met the spindle-shaped treasure blow for blow, but now his spiritual energy was dangerously low; his attacks lacked the ferocity of before. The Demon Lord, on the other hand, had immense reserves—several times Chu Jie’s.

Witnessing his brothers’ desperate defense, Chu Jie went berserk. He summoned the small cauldron once more, sending it soaring into the sky, pouring every last drop of his spiritual energy into it.

The cauldron emitted a blinding light, and a strange, ancient sound reverberated—like the voice of some primordial wilderness. The cauldron suddenly expanded, its engraved patterns writhing as if alive. A message flashed through Chu Jie’s mind.

“The Primal Cauldron!”

This was the cauldron’s true name. Only now did Chu Jie fully control it and understand its powers: it could stabilize the world and devour all things.

Chu Jie’s eyes lit up. If he could use the Primal Cauldron to consume the black clouds, then the Demon Lord would have no power left to threaten them.

With this realization, Chu Jie poured every last trace of spiritual energy into the cauldron.

“Mad Dog Battalion!” Chu Jie roared.

As if reading his mind, every brother channeled their spiritual energy into the Primal Cauldron as well.

The cauldron hungrily absorbed their energy, growing ever larger until even a vortex of spiritual power formed around it, drawing in energy from the very air.

Seeing this anomaly, the Demon Lord sneered, “You think a little cauldron can destroy me? I’ll show you how laughable you are!”

Two streaks of black lightning shot out—demonic palms crashing onto the cauldron, only to shatter instantly.

The Demon Lord’s expression darkened; he felt threatened. From the beginning, he had sensed something extraordinary about the cauldron, and now it was a thorn in his side.

He recalled the spindle-shaped treasure, shrinking it and fusing it to his arm. His body coalesced as he approached the cauldron, conjuring a giant demonic palm, as tall as two men, now crackling with the power of the treasure.

The massive hand slammed down on the Primal Cauldron.

The shock reverberated through all who were channeling their energy into the cauldron, nearly rupturing their protective formation.

“You fools! This is the fate of those who challenge a Heavenly Lord—I will grind your bones to dust!” the Demon Lord’s giant palm hammered down again and again.

The cauldron seemed unaffected on the surface, its runes flickering as it absorbed ever more energy, as though preparing for something.

Nearby, Chu Jie poured all of his spirit into the cauldron, his soul linked to it. Just a bit more energy, and it would be ready.

“Hold on! Just a little longer!” Chu Jie shouted to his brothers.

They gritted their teeth, channeling every last drop of spiritual energy, enduring the Demon Lord’s relentless assault.

When repeated attacks failed to harm the cauldron, the Demon Lord abandoned it and turned his giant palm toward Chu Jie.

The palm, as tall as two men, represented the Demon Lord’s full power—he was now throwing everything he had into this final assault.

Just as the palm was about to crash down on Chu Jie, his eyes flashed—enough spiritual energy had been gathered!

“Devour Heaven, Swallow Earth!”

Chu Jie finally unleashed the cauldron’s true ability.

The Primal Cauldron spun in midair, its mouth tilting down. A monstrous suction erupted; had Chu Jie not controlled it, his own brothers might have been pulled in.

Yet, the cauldron’s pull was limited against those at the Spirit Gathering level, and its energy demands were monstrous—Chu Jie could not have maintained it long even at his peak.

But the Primal Cauldron seemed to have a special restraining effect on the black clouds and the demonic palms. As soon as it activated, the massive palm lost control, as though the strings had been cut, and was sucked into the cauldron.

The Demon Lord’s face twisted in panic. “Come back! Come back!” he shouted, but the giant hand was drawn in like a kite with a severed string.

Once inside, the cauldron trembled violently, but soon stabilized, as if absorbing the palm had nourished it. Its suction intensified.

Now, the cauldron began to devour the surrounding black clouds, swirling them into a black vortex at its mouth.

At last, the Demon Lord’s composure broke, panic flooding his features. “My black clouds—no!”

But he quickly forced himself to calmness, his spindle-shaped treasure flashing as it launched another attack at Chu Jie.

“You can absorb the black clouds around us, but you cannot take those within my body. I am still invincible! Bring me your lives, then, to avenge my fallen brothers!” he sneered.

Yet, before he could strike, black smoke began to pour uncontrollably from his body, sucked out by force.

“Impossible!” The Demon Lord’s voice broke with terror. He placed the treasure at his feet and tried to flee. He was utterly terrified—if the black clouds within him were taken, he would die for certain.

Under Chu Jie’s command, the Primal Cauldron spun wildly. “Mad Dog Battalion, keep channeling energy!” he shouted.

Everyone continued to squeeze out what little energy they had left, even though prolonged exertion could permanently damage their spiritual cores.

The cauldron’s suction surged, black smoke billowing from the Demon Lord’s body like signal fires, all sucked into the cauldron.

It took only a handful of breaths. The Demon Lord was soon utterly drained of black smoke.

Bereft of this power, he could no longer control his treasure; his body collapsed limply to the earth.

Chu Jie called the Primal Cauldron back, stepping toward the Demon Lord one measured pace at a time.

“Heavenly Demon Lord, you and your brothers attacked us for profit, one after another rushing toward your own deaths. You have only yourselves to blame!” Chu Jie’s fist crashed down toward the Demon Lord.