Chapter 20: The Great Evolution Sword Record vs. The Seven Absolute Techniques of the Demon God

The explosion below did not affect the battle between the two supreme experts of the age.

Tumbling clouds spread out underfoot like a boundless black ocean, while above, the sky was a deep, almost transparent clarity.

It should have been a clear, sunny day, but at this moment, night had fallen.

Stars twinkled in the far distance, their cold light carrying not a trace of warmth.

Lu Mingyue pressed her hands together in a hand seal.

A long sword wreathed in ethereal blue light floated before her.

Her dark Daoist robe did not stir a single thread in the wind.

Across from her, Wang Zanghai was surrounded by thick, writhing black demonic energy, like countless slithering snakes coiling and circling around him.

“Senior Lu. It’s been ten years.”

Wang Zanghai spread his arms wide.

Demonic energy surged wildly from his body, consolidating behind him into the embryonic forms of seven black dragons.

“Ten years ago, I didn’t even qualify to make a move before you. But today!”

He clenched his fist.

“Today, I’ll make you witness with your own eyes the apex of the Demonic Path!”

The seven black dragons let out deafening roars simultaneously, their bodies fully solidifying.

Every scale gleamed with a dim metallic luster, and crimson flames burned in their dragon eyes.

They circled around Wang Zanghai, churning the sky into a massive black vortex.

Lu Mingyue still did not speak.

Her hand seal completed, she slowly raised her right hand, two fingers pressed together, pointing vaguely toward the sky.

A clear, resonant sword cry rang out from the blade.

The sky changed.

The stars above suddenly dimmed—not because clouds obscured them, but because something brighter had appeared.

A full moon.

A moon so impossibly huge that it descended slowly from the higher heavens.

It was not a real moon, but the manifestation of Lu Mingyue’s Sword Intent: silent, cold, flawless.

This was the celestial omen that appeared only when the Grand Evolution Sword Record was pushed to its limits!

Moonlight cascaded down, illuminating the sea of clouds for dozens of miles around as if it were broad daylight.

The rolling black clouds shrank and scattered rapidly under the moonlight.

Wang Zanghai looked up at the colossal moon bearing down on him, a mad grin twisting his face.

“Just what I wanted!”

He thrust both hands forward.

The seven black dragons roared in unison, their bodies intertwining into a single torrent of darkness, charging head-on to meet the descending moon.

Wuum—!!!

The greatest sound is silence.

The extreme clash of energy shattered even sound itself.

At the moment the moon and dragons collided, a visible ring of ripples spread outward.

The sea of clouds beneath them was torn open, revealing the mushroom cloud rising from below.

But the two of them no longer had the mind to pay attention.

Cracks appeared on the moon’s surface.

The dragons’ bodies also began to crumble.

Lu Mingyue’s expression did not change.

Her two fingers pressed slightly downward.

The moon shattered—but not into ruin.

It broke into countless sharp fragments of moonlight, each one like an invisible sword, raining down on Wang Zanghai.

Wang Zanghai’s pupils contracted.

He crossed his arms in front of him, and the remaining dragon remnants quickly retracted, forming an impenetrable black barrier before him.

The moonlight fragments pierced the barrier, making a hissing sound.

The barrier trembled.

It grew thinner.

Wang Zanghai gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.

He could feel it.

That Sword Intent was piercing through his defenses, inch by inch, closing in.

Cold, sharp, utterly emotionless—just like Lu Mingyue herself.

“Still… not enough!”

He bellowed, thrusting his arms outward.

The residual demonic energy gushed from his body, patching up the barrier that was about to collapse.

The moonlight fragments finally exhausted their power, turning into points of starlight on the black barrier and fading into nothing.

Wang Zanghai panted heavily, staring at the woman across from him, who remained expressionless.

Lu Mingyue lowered her hand.

Her gaze was distant.

Finally, she spoke.

“Not bad.”

Only two words.

But Wang Zanghai knew those words were not a compliment.

“Not bad” meant… you’re stronger than ten years ago, but it’s still not enough.

The night receded.

The black clouds dispersed.

Sunlight fell once more.

Now both of them noticed the scene below.

The battle had clearly shifted.

The Demon Soul Sect’s fleet of flying boats was no longer as orderly as at the start.

The most striking thing was the gap in the rear.

Where seven or eight ships had been moored, there was now only a patch of burning wreckage, scattered in the air.

The nearby flying boats also bore varying degrees of damage, with far fewer demonic disciples visible on their decks.

The Heaven Origin Sect’s ship was not in good shape either.

A tear had been ripped open on its side, and the deck was a mess.

Several disciples were carrying the wounded.

Overall, the Demon Soul Sect had suffered greater losses.

Wang Zanghai narrowed his eyes, a flicker of confusion passing through them.

The disciples he had brought might not have been top-tier, but they shouldn’t have been beaten this badly by the Heaven Origin Sect.

Especially those rear ships—completely blown up.

That wasn’t something an ordinary Dharma artifact could do.

“Who did this?”

Of course, no one answered him.

Wang Zanghai clenched his fist, his gaze sweeping over the Heaven Origin Sect’s ship, over the still-fighting disciples, and finally landing on Lu Mingyue.

She wasn’t looking at him.

Lu Mingyue’s gaze was fixed on a certain spot below.

Unlike the vacant look she had when staring at him, her eyes now held a slight fluctuation, as if confirming something.

Wang Zanghai followed her line of sight, but at that moment, Lu Mingyue’s gaze—heavy with warning—fell on him, blocking his inquiry.

Wang Zanghai had no choice but to withdraw his gaze.

He didn’t want to fight anymore.

Not because he couldn’t, but because it was pointless.

He had already tasted Lu Mingyue’s cultivation; the gap between them was not something one breakthrough could erase.

If they kept fighting, the disciples he had brought would likely all be lost here.

“Senior Lu.”

His voice carried a trace of pride.

“It’s not over yet. Your Demon Extermination Assembly—our Three Demon Sects have prepared a big gift for you. Make sure to receive it.”

With that, he descended to his own camp.

He raised both hands.

Thick black mist surged from his palms, enveloping the remaining Demon Soul Sect flying boats and disciples.

When the dark clouds dispersed, nothing was left.

Wang Zanghai had withdrawn his people.

Lu Mingyue landed slowly on the battered deck.

The Heaven Origin Sect disciples let out cheers mixed with relief and exhaustion.

“Master, are you all right?”

Mu Qinghan stepped forward and asked with concern.

Qu Hongling also came over, but didn’t speak.

Instead, she discreetly observed Lu Mingyue’s condition, checking if she was injured or anything.

“I’m fine.”

Lu Mingyue shook her head slightly.

She glanced once more in Lin An’s direction, then turned to Qu Hongling.

“Hongling, tally the losses. Send a message back to the sect and inform them of the situation here.”

This kind of logistical work was not her eldest disciple’s forte; she usually left it to the second disciple.

Qu Hongling asked respectfully, “Master, should we request the sect to send more people?”

Lu Mingyue thought for a moment, recalling what Wang Zanghai had said before leaving.

“Have Elder Su come over.”

“The Grand Elder? This…”

Qu Hongling hesitated, a troubled look on her face.

Beside her, Mu Qinghan’s eyes also showed a hint of surprise.

“It’s fine. This time, I need her abilities.”

“Understood.”