Chapter 828

Chapter 828: Ye Yun’s True Form

A thunderclap burst from the earth as demonic energy engulfed Lingxiao City.

Both the Demon Race and human race found themselves submerged under this sudden surge. The clashing sounds of battle between the two factions gradually faded until complete silence fell.

Having just slain Feng Xue Yi with One Sword, Ye Yun prepared to continue his slaughter when his body abruptly froze. Scanning his surroundings, he noticed demon and human cultivators alike becoming entranced – their faces twisted in bewilderment and vacant stares.

Demon God Emperor?

Who claimed such a title? The ruler of the Demon Realm? Ye Yun recalled encountering demons at the Celestial-Demon battlefield and Nine Demons Burning, even self-proclaimed demon gods and Heavenly Demons in the Celestial Tower, yet none dared declare themselves emperor.

Who did the Demon God Emperor address as "you"? Friend? Brother? Foe?

As these questions plagued the paralyzed crowd, all watched Ye Yun slowly ascend into the sky.

"Ye Yun! What’s happening?"

"Master! Can you move?"

"Elder Yun! How can he fly when we’re all frozen?"

"Strange… my cultivation level feels different."

"Me too!"

Shui Lingling and Qing Li cried out amidst the clamor of shocked demons and humans.

"I broke through! My cultivation advanced!"

"Me too! How is this possible?"

"This demonic energy… it strengthens my body and boosts cultivation!"

"Aren’t demons supposed to be evil? Why does this energy help us?"

Cheers erupted as people regained movement, though none could fly or resume fighting. Nascent Soul stage cultivators gaped at their sudden breakthroughs.

Even Shen Zhongyang’s group ceased battling the Demon Emperor, forced to land by the overwhelming energy.

Only Ye Yun remained airborne. Demonic energy flooded his body yet coexisted peacefully with his true qi and spiritual power.

"My brother… my friend. After thirteen thousand four hundred and fifty-six days… you’ve finally succeeded."

The booming voice reached every ear.

Brother? Friend? The words clearly targeted Ye Yun, not those below.

Ye Yun – companion of the Demon God Emperor?

Impossible!

The notion stunned all witnesses, making them doubt their sanity.

Ye Yun’s heart pounded with shock.

"Demon God Emperor! Are you addressing me?" he shouted.

"Who else?" the voice thundered. From the swirling demonic energy emerged a black-clad figure standing astride heaven and earth – his mere presence commanding universal submission.

Suddenly, the Demon Race and humans below all knelt down. Even Shen Zhongyang and Demon Emperor Leng Lingyun collapsed to the ground after a brief resistance. Despite their cultivation levels and realms, they couldn’t withstand the Demon God Emperor’s pressure, forced to kneel in submission.

They felt no humiliation, believing it natural. This dark shadow wasn’t just the Demon God Emperor—he should reign over all Three Realms, the true master ordained by heaven and earth.

Ye Yun stood shocked. The oppressive aura felt mighty and fearsome, yet not enough to force him to kneel. Staring at the sea of bowed heads, he remained speechless.

"After thirteen thousand years, your plans succeeded. Today, the Demon Realm passage fully opens. Humans and demons shall cultivate together again, no longer divided." The Demon God Emperor’s voice remained gentle yet carried suppressed excitement.

"What do you mean? I don’t understand." Ye Yun inhaled deeply, his tone firm.

"You’ll understand soon." The Demon God Emperor stepped forward, half a head taller than Ye Yun, his features regal and commanding.

"Explain this." Ye Yun refused to believe himself the Demon God Emperor’s kin. In his memories, the Devil Race represented the vilest of the Three Realms—savage, bloodthirsty, without morals.

The Demon God Emperor laughed, studying Ye Yun. "You remain unchanged. Only your fractured soul and sealed cultivation differ. Let me break your seal. When your soul reunites, all will become clear."

He flicked his finger. Light and shadow streaked into Ye Yun’s forehead.

Ye Yun shuddered as mental barriers shattered. Countless memories flooded his mind—a torrent of fragmented visions.

He stood motionless for two hours. When his eyes finally opened, twin sword-like gleams pierced the air, visibly splitting the void before it healed.

With the Demon God Emperor removing his mental restrictions, Ye Yun saw the truth.

He wasn’t some ordinary man or borderland outcast. He was the Demon God Emperor’s equal—a being who’d self-sealed for millennia, reincarnating repeatedly to lay arrays and treasure vaults across the Human Realm.

He ruled the Human Realm.

He was Xumi Daoist.

Every era’s greatest cultivator—all his past lives.

Through six reincarnations over thirteen thousand four hundred years, he’d dominated each epoch, weaving legends into the land itself.

"Now you see?" The Demon God Emperor’s voice resonated.

Ye Yun gripped the emperor’s arm, trembling. "Brother… After thirteen thousand four hundred years…"

"Welcome back." The Demon God Emperor’s laughter boomed. "This was your design. Without your reincarnations, the Three Realms passage wouldn’t open. We’d never reunite. That pretentious Heavenly Emperor would still reign supreme—unopposed."

Ye Yun surveyed the prostrate crowds, smiling faintly.

When creation formed the Three Realms—heavens, earth, rivers, mountains—three primordial beings emerged. The Heavenly Emperor ruled the Immortal Realm. The Demon God Emperor commanded the Demon Realm. Ye Yun embodied humanity’s supreme wisdom.

For eons, they nurtured life across realms. Peace reigned.

Until ten thousand years ago—the Ancient Era. The Heavenly Emperor schemed to conquer all realms. After millennia of plots, he banished the Demon God Emperor to the Demon Realm and shattered Ye Yun’s body, splitting his soul thrice.

Not that the Heavenly Emperor lacked desire to destroy Ye Yun completely—he simply couldn’t. As primordial beings, their existence tied to the world itself. Through celestial alignments and cosmic forces, he tore Ye Yun’s soul asunder.

Ye Yun, wisest of three, foresaw this. He and the Demon God Emperor conspired, but couldn’t thwart eons-old schemes instantly.

Knowing escape impossible, Ye Yun prepared. He sent the Demon God Emperor to amass power in the sealed Demon Realm. Across Human Realm, he wove arrays and contingencies. Even divided, his soul endured unharmed.

His primary soul evaded Heavenly Emperor’s gaze. Each time reaching the Heavenly Immortal realm’s peak, he’d reincarnate silently, avoiding detection.

Thirteen millennia passed. Six reincarnations. Today, his plans culminated—Three Realms passage opened, Demon God Emperor freed.

"Brother," the Demon God Emperor grinned, "Only your foresight could orchestrate this across millennia."

"Of course, among the three of us, you excel in strength while I prevail in wisdom. Hong Wu falls slightly short in both aspects yet merges our strengths. When someone schemes for ten thousand years to dominate the Three Realms, wouldn’t basic countermeasures be expected from one claiming wisdom?" Ye Yun remarked with calm clarity, every piece now fitting in his mind.

Each reincarnation saw Ye Yun establishing array restrictions across the void and Human Realm, each formation stockpiling energy to breach the Three Realms. The Xumi Treasure, Saint’s Secret Vault, Broken Space, and Celestial-Demon battlefield – all were threads in his cosmic web.

This lifetime witnessed his grand design’s completion. As planned, human cultivators sequentially unlocked his secret realms, each solved labyrinth fracturing another seal on the passage to the Three Realms.

When the final barrier fell that day, even Heavenly Emperor Hong Wu’s might couldn’t reseal the fully opened interworld channel, shattering his unification delusion.

The Demon God Emperor’s millennial power accumulation in the Demon Realm merged with Ye Yun’s six-life preparations. No longer merely brilliant, Ye Yun now fused human cultivation with demonic force – wisdom eclipsing the Demon God Emperor, strength rivaling his, becoming Hong Wu’s perfected counterpart.

"After ten thousand years of designs, I’ve returned."

"Returned indeed," the Demon God Emperor observed. "That vessel’s formidable, yet your soul remains incomplete. Where are the missing fragments?" Without full soul convergence, peak power eluded Ye Yun.

"I recovered them long ago," Ye Yun smiled. "After my first rebirth, I set them reincarnating through eight cycles. One already resides within me."

The supposed Ancestor of the Sword Path revealed his true nature – not some peerless expert, but Ye Yun’s second soul fragment. Completing its purpose, it streamed golden from Ye Yun’s body into his forehead, their merged voices proclaiming: "We are the Three Realms’ apex!"

Ye Yun’s aura exploded hundredfold, transcending Tenth Level Earth Immortal power to reach Heavenly Immortal realm potency.

"Where’s the third fragment?" pressed the Demon God Emperor.

"Guided through endless sword cultivation," Ye Yun answered. "Through eight lives he honed peerless sword intent. Du Jianyin IS that fragment."

A sword-energy pillar erupted across continents, carrying Du Jianyin’s denial: "Lies! I’ll kill you!" His sword arc crossed galaxies yet froze in Ye Yun’s palm.

"Brother, behold my sword essence." Ye Yun’s grasp tore space, hauling the raging Du Jianyin forth. "Ever wonder why you failed to kill me? You’re me."

The enraged fragment lunged, but twin-souled Ye Yun flicked a finger, disintegrating Du Jianyin’s form into golden sword essence. "Return, my supreme blade."

Cosmic tremors shook existence as the final soul merged. For three days, the Human Realm’s spiritual energy vortexed into Ye Yun until nothing remained.

Reemerging, he radiated ineffable transcendence – the one true Sage. Human and Demon races alike knelt, crying "Hail the Sage!" in thunderous unity.

"He knows we’re coming," Ye Yun observed skyward.

"Eons of schemes conclude today," the Demon God Emperor grinned. "Let’s see who claims the Three Realms."

Their ascent left mortal eyes in an eyeblink, legend-bound.