Xu Mu had finally avenged himself.
But in that moment, he felt neither happy nor sad. He simply, suddenly, remembered the wooden chair in the small courtyard of his home in Fengqing Village.
All he wanted now was to hold the neighbor's tabby cat, sit in the wooden chair, and bask in the afternoon sun, quietly feeling the passage of time.
But for Xu Mu now, this was nothing more than a fantasy.
For even though Veritarian was dead, the Demon God was not.
He had to kill the Demon God, or he would die.
*Chink!*
His fingernails dug into his palm, the pain bringing his numb mind back to a slight clarity. The tabby cat and the wooden chair vanished, replaced by cold, gray stone walls.
*Swish!*
Xu Mu snapped back to reality, instantly withdrawing his demon sword and then slashing it forward in a fluid motion.
*Hum!*
Dao Yuan attached itself to the blade's edge, carving a dark golden crescent. Sword intent raged outwards, incredibly terrifying.
This was a sword strike that could truly kill the Demon God's soul fragment.
The Demon God cried out in fear:
"Veritarian you've killed, why must you kill me too!"
"Kill me, and you will never obtain the Heavenly Tome!"
"If you let me go, I can give you all that I have!"
The Demon God begged for mercy while fleeing back into the cave entrance Xu Mu had come from, its speed astonishingly swift, like a ghost.
*Boom!*
Xu Mu's sword strike hit the stone wall, leaving a gash tens of meters deep.
This stone wall was a vital point of Mephisto. The latter yelped in pain, but Xu Mu had no time to attend to him, hastily raising his sword and pursuing the Demon God.
All of their actions were witnessed by the crowd outside.
They were utterly shocked by Xu Mu's madness, unable to comprehend why he would kill both the Demon God and Veritarian. But after the shock came endless fear and anger.
Just as the Demon God had shouted, if he died, then none of them would be able to obtain the Heavenly Tome. Everything they had strived for, all the promised rewards, would turn to nothing!
"Xu Mu, stop at once!"
"Xu Mu, it's not too late to stop now, don't be so willful!"
"Xu Mu, the Demon God cannot be killed. If you kill the Demon God, I will kill you!"
Countless Domain Lords shouted simultaneously, trying to halt Xu Mu. But he acted as if he heard nothing, relentlessly pursuing, closing the distance.
*Thump thump thump thump!*
Innumerable sword marks landed behind him, stirring up countless rock fragments, filling the Demon God with immense dread.
This passage was too winding and convoluted; it couldn't unleash its full speed.
But Xu Mu could. For he had created it. Therefore, he was about to be caught, and being caught meant death!
"Damn it!"
Seeing that Xu Mu had no intention of stopping, the crowd cursed a few times, then focused their attention intently on the opening in Mephisto's body.
They had gathered their abilities, and as soon as the Demon God emerged, they would all attack without hesitation, to capture or abduct it.
"Hurry and change back, or we won't be able to snatch them!" Annie exclaimed, seeing this. Mephisto, hearing this, immediately used his abilities to withdraw the earth-yellow elemental energy from the mountain.
*Rumble!*
With a loud noise, the mountain abruptly vanished.
Consequently, the bodies of the Demon God and Xu Mu suddenly appeared in mid-air.
The Domain Lords who had been staring intently at the ground were momentarily stunned, not understanding what had happened. But Annie, who had anticipated this, had already commanded Tibbers the bear to reach out and grab the Demon God.
"Hand over the Heavenly Tome!" Annie's voice was childish yet greedy. Tibbers' palm was enormous, and the flames within seemed to form a prison of their own. The Demon God, sensing all of this, let out a contemptuous laugh.
Now that it was in a soul state, it had to be faster than Veritarian. Veritarian had taken considerable effort for so many people to capture before. Facing such a siege, it would naturally be able to escape with ease.
"Xu Mu, I will remember today's events!"
The Demon God's soul drifted, narrowly dodging the palm Tibbers brought down, and then flew unhindered into the distance.
"You think you can escape? Hand over the Heavenly Tome!" Burning Fire roared in anger. Dharmakaya reached out to grab the Demon God, conjuring a thousand-meter-long fiery prison out of thin air to trap it. But before it could fully form, it was shattered by the wooden sword of the Wine Immortal Daoist.
"A pity." The Wine Immortal's face was pale as he shook his head. He had intended to kill the Demon God with a single strike, but its speed was too great, and he had missed.
"I'll deal with you later!" Burning Fire had no time to concern himself with others. At this moment, all the Domain Lords were in hot pursuit of the Demon God, their diverse abilities erupting in a dazzling display.
"Stop right there!"
"You cannot escape!"
"Demon God, hand over the Heavenly Tome quickly!"
The numerous Domain Lords roared. Each of their abilities seemed to offer a chance to capture the Demon God, but when they collided, they became mutual hindrances.
Under these circumstances, the Demon God's form grew increasingly distant from them.
"Damn it!" Burning Fire anxiously controlled his Dharmakaya in pursuit. The Demon God was too fast and had already broken through the encirclement.
Everyone's face turned ashen, and they stopped in their tracks.
It seemed they had no chance of catching the Demon God now; the Heavenly Tome had slipped through their fingers.
"It's all Xu Mu's fault!"
"Why did you kill Veritarian earlier? Now he's dead, and the Demon God has escaped. What about the Heavenly Tome?" Some Domain Lords, seeing that they could no longer catch up, turned their accusations towards Xu Mu. Their imposing demeanor seemed as if they would crush the young man's body.
Xu Mu stood rooted to the spot, gazing at the Demon God's retreating back, silent.
"You can't catch it yourself, so you find excuses to blame others. You truly open my eyes!" The Wine Immortal Daoist approached Xu Mu, speaking with a sneer.
Upon seeing him, the Domain Lords who had been about to blame Xu Mu faltered. Only the Old Ancestor of the Wang family, who held a grudge against Xu Mu, found the courage to speak further:
"Regardless, the fact that Xu Mu killed Veritarian and caused us to lose the Demon God is undeniable. He must pay the price for it!" He Zhè from the Demon Slaying Division, who had defected, also chimed in indignantly:
"That's right, he should bear the losses!"
"We didn't notice before; he has so many points displayed above his head. Hand over your points quickly to compensate us for our losses!" The crowd spoke in turn, wanting Xu Mu to surrender the points within his body. That way, even if they hadn't obtained the Heavenly Tome, the points they received would be enough to exchange for many treasures.
Xu Mu sensed the fluctuations in the spatial energy and rubbed the dragon scale on his palm.
He lowered his gaze, looking at the Old Ancestor of the Wang family, and then said calmly:
"Old man, listen carefully."
"I will not give you any points. Furthermore, I will kill the Demon God."
"I'm about to make my move. Why don't you try to stop me?"