Vilitan's fingers dug into Xu Mu's throat, his expression contorted with pleasure.
This was the first time in three months since his retreat from West Mountain that he had felt this good. For the man he hated most, the one who had disrupted his advancement to Lord, the only one who could catch up to him, find him, and kill him despite the restrictions of the spectral night, was about to die.
"Eight, seven, six..."
Charles's countdown grew fainter. Xu Mu's eyes were bloodshot, all his strength focused on his hands, yet he couldn't break free.
Was he really going to surrender control of his body?
"Three, two..." Before he could utter the next word, a sharp glint flashed in Xu Mu's eyes. He suddenly remembered that even though he hadn't awakened his powers, he *did* have powers.
Feng Tianzhu's shadow had already crept onto Vilitan's shadow!
"Stop right there!"
As he roared inwardly, Vilitan's shadow suddenly deepened to an inky black. If one looked closely, they would see it was the same color as the demonic power emanating from the spectral night and the demon god.
The shadow ability originated from the Celestial Tome.
Thus, Vilitan's body temporarily lost control.
*Bang!*
Xu Mu pried open the hands constricting him and, with a forward lurch, grabbed Vilitan's head.
Vilitan broke free from the shadow domain. As his foot domain flared, and he thought of using his power to kill Xu Mu, he suddenly realized he had lost control of Changsun Weiying's body.
*Crack!*
The sound of a fractured jawbone. Changsun Weiying's neck skin tore inch by inch, ripped apart by immense force, revealing white bone.
Had it not been for the domain's enhancement, Xu Mu's knee strike might have decapitated him.
"Ah!" Feeling the agonizing tear, Changsun Weiying, whose body was occupied by Vilitan, screamed in his spiritual sea.
Instantly, his eyes returned to a bright black, no longer shrouded by the grey mist.
Vilitan's soul was forced out of the young man's body, and his domain vanished.
Xu Mu landed on the ground, gasping for breath, and quickly jumped off the altar, widening the distance between himself and Vilitan.
He didn't know why Vilitan existed as a spiritual body, but all he could do was stall for time.
As long as he didn't die before midnight, he would win. This was Xu Mu's battle for his own dignity.
"Shadow, I created you myself from the Celestial Tome. Why do you betray me!" Vilitan's soul floated in the air, roaring in anger.
Since Feng Tianzhu had been forcibly transformed into an ability user by special means and possessed no powers of his own, Vilitan, using the method described in the Celestial Tome, had expended considerable energy to create this shadow.
Feng Tianzhu, until his death, never knew that his shadow domain ability was not awakened by him, but bestowed upon him by another.
Vilitan's spiritual sea transformed into several transparent swords, charging towards Xu Mu.
He couldn't believe that even after advancing to Lord by abandoning his physical body using the demon lord's method, his soul attack could still be nullified by Xu Mu!
Xu Mu's eyes flickered, seemingly reflecting the transparent swords.
This appeared incredibly dangerous. Even Changsun Weiying, who had just regained consciousness, ignored his pain and rolled off the altar, daring not to touch even a trace of that spiritual energy, lest his spiritual sea collapse and he become an idiot.
But Xu Mu calmly counted in his mind:
"Three minutes and twenty-four seconds remaining."
He breathed a sigh of relief, letting Vilitan's attack enter his body. Simultaneously, he reached behind his waist and grasped a cold object.
"Demon God, why are you here!"
Xu Mu exclaimed, looking towards the blocked passage.
Vilitan turned his head but saw nothing behind him.
He knew he had been tricked. When he turned back again, Xu Mu pulled the safety ring. Thick smoke erupted, instantly obscuring the surrounding space, rendering everything invisible.
As for the transparent swords, ever since they flew into Xu Mu's spiritual sea, they had been flying aimlessly like needles in the ocean.
They attempted to attack but couldn't even stir the water before vanishing in that sea.
Xu Mu merged with the shadow, crouching in a corner beneath the altar, holding his breath.
That spiritual sea was jointly owned with Charles and the fellow in the Heavenly Palace.
Charles, known for his omniscience and omnipotence, surely had an boundless spiritual sea.
That fellow called himself the Son of Destiny, so it was naturally the same for him.
As for himself, he probably benefited from them. The weaknesses of other ability users were precisely what he least needed to worry about. Vilitan's soul was too weak to harm him.
"Two minutes and fifty-nine seconds."
Xu Mu counted silently. He should be fine. Vilitan shouldn't be able to find him.
However, he had underestimated the soul perception of a Lord-level expert, especially Vilitan, who had abandoned his body and existed as a spiritual entity.
In the midst of the swirling smoke, even with the cover of shadow and his held breath, Xu Mu was as conspicuous as a beacon in the night. The old man chuckled sinisterly and then, through the smoke, invaded Changsun Weiying's body.
"Hiding here, and you think I can't find you?"
Vilitan had found Xu Mu. Just like before, he was using Changsun Weiying's body because everyone else had fainted. Only this one was available.
Xu Mu threw a punch, his blood energy surging, but it was easily blocked by the latter.
Although Changsun Weiying was only a second-stage ability user, after being possessed by Vilitan, he gained the enhancement of a fourth-stage ability.
Therefore, no matter how strong Xu Mu's strength was, he had never truly touched Vilitan's real body.
Unless, like the previous moment, he first used the shadow domain to control Vilitan, preventing him from supplying power to his surface abilities, and then struck a blow, it would have an effect.
But how could Vilitan fall into the same trap twice? His domain had already been deployed, and endless wailing souls began to cry out, as if plunging one into purgatory. Even Changsun Weiying's soul, lost and helpless in the spiritual sea, was affected and began to weep.
Xu Mu did not cry, nor was he overly affected, but his mood grew impatient.
Because he could sense that his shadow ability was also being affected. He was immobilized in the domain, stuck in place.
Thus, Vilitan's hand once again gripped Xu Mu's throat.
"This time, do you have a solution? Let me see what else you can do!"
He exerted all his strength, as if intending to crush Xu Mu's neck instantly.
But at that very moment, the coffin on the altar suddenly moved.
"Vile ant, how dare you run rampant here!"
An ancient voice, filled with majesty, spoke. The entire underground palace began to tremble violently. The murals glowed a hundred times brighter than before, as if a mysterious energy was manipulating them.
The mysterious being seemed to come alive, dragging the sun into Vilitan's domain.
The endless flames touched the wailing souls, and they began to burn without resistance, like straw set ablaze by a farmer in dry autumn fields. The terrifying domain instantly transformed into a sea of fire.
Vilitan's eyes widened in fear. He released Xu Mu's throat and let out a sharp cry as he retreated backward. This was a soul attack that could truly kill him. Had the Demon Lord himself intervened!
"Hoo... hoo..." Xu Mu, freed once again, panted heavily.
He looked at the burning sea around him and the evaporating souls, raising an eyebrow. He then looked towards the coffin with some confusion:
"Why are you helping me?"
"He sought his own death by daring to deploy his domain in my sleeping chamber!"
The Demon God's voice was icy. He was the ruler of all realms. Several gods descended from the murals, their spears aimed at Vilitan, launching soul attacks.
Instantly, his domain was shattered. Changsun Weiying's body spat out a mouthful of blood, and Vilitan's soul automatically withdrew.
He fled backward in a near-manic frenzy, without the slightest hesitation.
Since his advancement to Lord and abandonment of his physical form, his soul alone was not something that even a Domain Lord could necessarily kill.
But the Demon God certainly could, even if he was currently sealed.
Therefore, Vilitan retreated without hesitation. He still intended to become the primary demon general ruling the world, and he did not wish to die here!
"Even someone as powerful as you can only operate within this underground palace."
"When I help the true Demon God break free, it will be your day of death!"
Vilitan used his ability to pass through the walls, and his figure instantly vanished from the main tomb.
Xu Mu raised an eyebrow. Was he just going to let him escape like this?
"I can only operate within this underground palace, but if you want to escape, you'll have to fly out first."
With the target of the attack gone, the other gods froze in place, seemingly unsure of what to do.
But one mysterious being holding a great bow drew it back towards the layer of earth ahead.
There was no arrow on the bowstring initially, but as he drew it back, an arrow appeared.
It blazed with a light more blinding than the sun, its boundless sharpness causing Xu Mu's spiritual sea to churn. Changsun Shouying, unable to bear it, directly fainted.
*Rumble rumble rumble!!!*
The arrow left the string, accompanied by a series of intense sonic booms. Though a soul attack, it manifested physically in the real world.
It pierced the thick layer of earth, flew out of the dark main tomb of the underground palace, and then caught up to Vilitan's soul, pinning it to a stone wall with a single arrow.
"Ah!!!"
Vilitan let out a pained howl. This was Hou Yi's arrow. He was pierced by countless arrows, his soul shattered into fragments, seemingly on the verge of death!
But he still didn't die.
Vilitan, enduring the pain of being torn apart and ascending, pulled his body from the earth and, carrying the golden arrow, flew out of the underground palace.
The Demon God sensed all of this and let out a surprised "Hmm."
"Not dead?"
Xu Mu asked with a pale face.
He had clearly heard Vilitan's pained screams. The figure drawing the bow and firing the arrow was clearly Hou Yi from mythology. He could even shoot down the sun, yet he couldn't kill Vilitan?
"My soul and body are both immortal and indestructible."
"He became a disciple of another me, so he received the true inheritance."
The Demon God spoke slowly, his voice ancient and hoarse.
Xu Mu raised an eyebrow, finally understanding.
Then, he couldn't help but envy Vilitan's fortune. First, that half of the Celestial Tome, and now the Demon God. Was this guy perhaps the true Son of Destiny?
"If you wish, you can too."
"As long as you help me break the seal and restore my strength, all my inheritance will be yours."
"I have left too many regrets in this world. Billions of years of solitude have long since stripped me of my former ambitions. I only wish to return to my world."
"The title of Demon God can be passed on to you. Unlike his first demon general, you will become the true Demon God of this world!"
The voice from the coffin continuously tempted Xu Mu, making the young man's heart flutter.
Yes, perhaps this was true. He had been sealed for too long and missed his homeland. It was normal not to interfere in worldly affairs, wasn't it?
"I can break it."
After five seconds of silence, Xu Mu suddenly spoke.
The Demon God in the coffin's spirit was lifted. Billions of years of solitude, breaking through the earth, dominating the cosmos – was today the day?
"However, I don't want to be a Demon God."
Xu Mu looked up, revealing his expressionless face. At this, all the gods on the murals simultaneously felt a sense of dread.
His pupils were grey and white. He picked up his hunting knife and then fiercely slashed at the iron chains on the coffin.
*Clang!*
With a light sound, the first iron chain sealing the Demon God's coffin snapped. The restriction on it had no effect on Xu Mu.
Because the blood flowing in his body was of the same origin as the Saint!
"The Demon God's horns, not even Fuxi could erase you. You are the most indestructible thing in the entire world."
The grey-white eyed youth grinned, revealing perfectly white teeth. His smile looked terrifying:
"Therefore, Demon God, you will be my weapon!"