Chapter Sixty-One: The Resurrection of the Dark Demon

Looking at the people strewn across the ground—some kneeling, some crawling—Link couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath. After so long in this world, he had encountered no fewer than a hundred powerful individuals. Yet none had ever made him feel truly invincible, so he'd developed the casual notion that even those above the seventh tier were nothing remarkable.

But now, as he truly sensed the majesty of a seventh-tier being, he realized just how foolish that idea had been. Even the pressure, not yet fully formed, filled him with the certainty: "Unstoppable. Certain death." If not for the way his primary magic core had begun to spin wildly, resisting the crushing force the moment he felt it, he would likely have been forced to his knees like everyone else.

And this was only the effect of the dark demon before it had fully taken shape. Once it finished forming, Link imagined everyone here would become like frogs paralyzed under a snake’s gaze, with no choice but to await their end.

Everyone understood this. No one wished to wait helplessly for death. Though the three elders somehow managed to withstand the demon’s pressure, when they saw the dark demon about to fully revive, they gritted their teeth, ready to sacrifice themselves to seal it once more.

But almost immediately, the elders discovered that their plans were foiled. As they began to cast their spell, they realized that the Celestial Spirit Sect’s inheritance array had already been tampered with. The moment they channeled their magic, the spell backfired violently, causing them to cough blood and collapse in a heap.

“Damn it, I should have thought of this…” The First Elder, Lingfeng, fixed Sunny with a furious, accusatory glare. “Sunny, you even sabotaged the inheritance formation! Why would you do such a thing?”

At that moment, dark energy coiled tightly around Sunny’s body, and even her eyes pulsed with smoky blackness. Her expression was cold as she replied, “Everything I’ve done has been to bring my master back to life.” As she spoke, her gaze turned reverent as she looked at the shadowy figure forming above.

“Master?” The crowd was stunned. Lingfeng, bewildered, asked, “Why do you call her your master? You were an orphan—we raised you. How could you possibly be that demon’s servant?” Her voice trembled with anguish; the other two elders’ eyes burned with the rage and confusion of betrayal. Clearly, they all cared deeply for Sunny.

Sunny glanced at the three elders, a flicker of complex emotion passing through her eyes before her face returned to its glacial calm. “Twenty years ago, when the last Celestial High Priestess sacrificed herself to reinforce the seal, my master released a portion of her power.”

“Twenty years ago?” Lingfeng’s expression shifted, and she fixed Sunny with a complicated gaze. “So that catastrophe twenty years back… it wasn’t just those who gave their lives. Even you were tainted by the demon?”

Sunny’s tone remained icy. “Everything I have done is for my master.” She looked up once more. “Now that my master is revived, let all things return to the purest darkness.”

As if in response, the black figure in the sky hastened its emergence, and the oppressive force thickened further, making it even harder for everyone present to endure.

Faced with this, the crowd was frantic but helpless—only Link, after a brief hesitation, quietly took out the Sanctuary Stone of the Holy Paladin’s Hall.

The sanctuary’s special power could deal a fatal blow to the dark demon. Link had originally planned to reserve the stone, so he could stage another divine miracle upon returning to Qinke Town, since he already had the Sword of Radiant Sealing. He hadn’t expected things to turn out like this, forcing his hand.

Still, he wasn’t worried about the Hall being stranded here after use. Advanced structures had a special feature: they could revert to their stone form up to three times. Using one charge wasn’t a big deal.

Just as Link was seeking a chance to throw the stone, White Spirit urgently warned him. Two black shadows suddenly shot out from his own, attacking from both sides. Instinctively, Link raised his arms to defend, but after a brief clash, the stone was snatched from his grasp.

Link’s face darkened as he stared at the figures. They resembled humanoid creatures, but with glowing red eyes and claws for hands. Having seized the stone, they darted to Sunny’s side with unnatural speed.

Sunny took the Sanctuary Stone from the shadow creature, examined it, and turned her cold gaze on Link. “As expected, having these two children lie in wait within your shadow was the right choice. How could a true god’s messenger not carry something that could threaten my master? I sense it—there’s powerful light energy sealed inside this odd stone. Pity for you: without a way to activate it, it’s useless, isn’t it, Neil Night, messenger of the true god?”

Link made no reply, his face black as charcoal. All this time, he had been the one outwitting others—never the one outplayed. Yet today, he’d stumbled, undone by a smoke-wreathed old crone, and even lost his precious Sanctuary Stone. His fury was hard to describe.

The stone couldn’t be summoned back by thought alone; all he could do was hope no one else could use it. Staring at the stone in Sunny’s hand, Link simmered with anger, but recognized the need to stay calm. Rushing in blindly would do him no good; he began to ponder how he might reclaim the stone.

Suddenly, the oppressive force weighing on him intensified, nearly driving him to the ground. Looking up, Link saw the dark demon finally reveal itself. But its appearance caught him entirely off guard—it was a stunningly beautiful woman.

Golden hair cascaded down her back, her figure was flawless—curves in all the right places, her body bare and immaculate, her face as exquisite as a work of art, ruby eyes gleaming like jewels, and an expression of faint bewilderment.

By any measure, she looked nothing like a demon—succubus would have been a more fitting term. If not for the overwhelming aura of darkness saturating the area and the inescapable pressure, Link would have thought the black demon had gone elsewhere entirely.

He couldn’t help but admit: her figure was exceptional, and given her utter nakedness, Link couldn’t help but stare. But soon, the demon descended to the ground, and Sunny hurried over with a black dress she had prepared, clothing the demon with great care.

The dark demon looked at Sunny, tilting her head in a daze and asked, “You carry my aura. Who are you?”

Sunny replied reverently, “Master, my name is Sunny. You bestowed your power upon me twenty years ago.”

“Twenty years?” The demon mused, nodding slightly. “So it’s been another twenty years. That means I’ve been sealed for five hundred and thirteen years now. It hardly feels real.” She turned her attention to the three elders. “Your auras are familiar—I believe I saw you the last time I manifested.”

The three elders were as tense as if facing death itself, cold sweat beading on their foreheads. Sunny supplied, “Master, these are the leaders of the church that sealed you—the three elders of today’s Celestial Spirit Sect.”

“The church’s leaders?” The dark demon’s gaze narrowed, her vacant expression replaced by a chilling murderous intent, and the darkness around her began to boil.

Everyone realized that the demon meant to kill the elders. The tension was palpable. Link wanted to help, but given the yawning gulf between his power and the demon’s, a direct assault would be suicide. He had to think of another way.

At that moment, an unexpected figure stepped before the three elders to face the demon head-on: Lingmeng. She unleashed the power of her Yin-Yang Jade, seemingly unaffected by the demon’s strength.

Everyone was stunned by Lingmeng’s action. The three elders immediately grew frantic. Lingfeng cried, “Lingmeng, get back! You’re no match for the demon!”

Lingmeng ignored her, staring impassively at the dark demon, making everyone even more anxious. As the elders tried to persuade her again, the demon’s pressure focused on their group—not the diffuse pressure from before, but a targeted onslaught. The three elders, formidable as they were, were forced to the ground, coughing blood as their injuries worsened.

Lingmeng, protected by the Yin-Yang Jade, managed to endure, but her face was drawn with pain.

The demon spoke in a husky, low voice: “I know you. Your aura is very familiar. Like those women who sealed me, you are a host of the Yin-Yang Jade. I hate you.”

Lingmeng pursed her lips, retorting irritably, “So what? I never asked you to like me, you monster!”

“Monster?” The demon tilted her head in confusion, then shook it slowly. “I am not a monster. You, host of the Yin-Yang Jade, are too weak—nothing like the ones I once knew. You are no match for me. Disappear into the darkness.”

With that, she extended her right hand toward Lingmeng. A torrent of blackness surged forth, engulfing her. Lingmeng’s face went pale; she thrust the Yin-Yang Jade before her in a desperate attempt to shield herself—though she knew it was hopeless.

In an instant, the black flood was upon her, about to swallow her whole. But at that moment, two figures sprang to her side, flanking her protectively. It was the Second Elder, Lingshui, and the Third Elder, Lingmu.

Lingmeng’s eyes widened in shock as the black torrent consumed the three of them. The others could only watch helplessly, pinned down by the demon’s oppressive might, powerless to intervene.

When the darkness finally receded, the area had been devastated by the dark energy. Lingmeng lay shielded beneath the two elders, unharmed, but the elders’ backs had been completely devoured by the dark force; their bodies were enshrouded in a mass of black substance.