In an instant, the light throughout the entire church seemed to warp under some unseen force.
Xiao's figure transformed into a streak of blue lightning, and the Liuyue Needle traced a brilliant arc through the air—like a meteor plummeting from the heavens.
"Boom—!"
Wherever the spear passed, ripples spread through space like water waves, and the sharp crack of air being torn apart echoed like a dragon's roar.
"Hualala…"
The Earth Demon gritted his teeth and summoned the power of the earth. His skin instantly crystallized into gleaming black iron-rock armor. The moment he crossed his arms, a half-meter-thick rock shield formed before him.
"Clang—!!!"
The deafening clash of metal erupted into a visible shockwave, and the church disintegrated in an instant—as though struck by a heavy bomb.
Suddenly, the tip of the Liuyue Needle burst forth with a dazzling green flame, within which ancient runes flickered faintly.
"Crack!"
The rock shield—once thought indestructible—shattered instantly like thin ice. The spear's momentum never wavered, piercing straight through the demon's chest!
"Boom!!!!"
Wind elemental energy detonated inside the Earth Demon's body, reducing his upper half to dust in an instant.
A violent blue hurricane erupted from the demon's core, vaporizing half the church wall and revealing the dim, waning moon beyond.
Countless shards of gravel hung suspended in midair—only to be pulverized into fine powder by the lingering wind element.
But it wasn't over yet. The earth itself began to wail.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!!"
The ground within a hundred-meter radius writhed as if alive, and the streets surrounding the church collapsed simultaneously.
Earth essence from the ley lines surged madly, coalescing into dozens of torrents of mud and stone that surged toward the church ruins.
Flying debris reassembled midair, and the asphalt road twisted into a colossal black python, coiling around the battlefield.
The lower half of the Earth Demon stood amid the churning waves of earth. His regenerated form was even larger than before, and lava-like veins pulsed across his rocky surface.
"I am the earth! I am eternity!"
The Earth Demon glared down at Xiao with arrogant finality.
Xiao stepped silently into the void, the Liuyue Needle angled obliquely toward the ground.
With the lightest tap of his toe, a floating shard of gravel beneath his foot disintegrated—not into fragments, but directly into the most basic elemental particles, unraveled by wind energy.
"Bang! Bang—!!"
The demon slammed his fists together, and hundreds of rock spikes erupted from the church floor.
Each spike was thick enough for a person to wrap their arms around, stabbing skyward to form a nightmarish forest of stone.
"Shuashuashua—!"
Xiao flickered among the spikes, his every appearance heralded by earth-shaking detonations.
By his third flash, the Liuyue Needle in his hand had condensed into a hundred-meter-long lance of emerald light—
"Bang! Bang! Bang—!!"
The rock spikes were severed at their bases, the cuts polished smooth as mirrors. Then, as one, they lifted into the air, caught in a roaring green gale, and hurled back at the Earth Demon like a storm of spears!
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!"
Amid the relentless explosions, the demon's body shattered and reformed—but each regeneration grew visibly slower.
Roaring in fury, he plunged his hands into the earth, and the very crust of Manhattan Island trembled.
"I am invincible wherever I stand upon the earth!!"
Hearing this, Xiao finally removed the Nuo mask from his waist. The moment the green-faced, fang-covered mask settled over his features, the sky and earth seemed to shift in hue.
"Then… just get you off the ground."
The young immortal's voice echoed through the Nuo mask, heavy with the solemnity of a thousand-year-old demon-slayer.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—!!
No sooner had he spoken than a colossal blue hurricane erupted from the earth, centered on the ruined church. Debris—stone, steel, shattered stained glass—was ripped skyward, swirling into a vortex of metal and wind that coalesced into a storm of terrifying precision.
"Damn it! What the hell did you do—?!"
Before the Earth Demon could finish his outburst, he felt it: his bond with the earth element had been violently severed.
The ground within a hundred-meter radius tore free from the planet's grasp, rising as a floating island caught in the hurricane's maw.
Higher and higher it climbed—past the clouds, past the stratosphere—until it hovered in low Earth orbit.
"No! This can't be! How can a mere human wield such power?!"
"I never said I was human."
Amid the tempest, Xiao's true form emerged. Behind him unfurled the Six Paths Wind Wheel like divine wings, and the Flowing Moon Needle had transformed into a forty-meter-long emerald wind spear.
"Jingyao Nuo Dance——!"
Time itself seemed to freeze as the spear launched forward. Where its tip passed, space fractured like glass.
BOOM!
A third of the demon's body vanished in an instant, annihilated so completely that a micro black hole flickered into existence at the point of impact.
At that moment, all the scattered wind elements surged back inward, triggering an elemental collapse.
Under the crushing force, the suspended islands of earth and stone compressed into hyper-dense cubes.
SWOOSH… BOOM! BOOM—!!!
Once the pressure reached its limit, the cube detonated with apocalyptic force. The demon disintegrated into iridescent crystal dust that shimmered across the sky like stardust.
Slowly, the storm abated.
Xiao stood at the edge of a massive crater—nearly one hundred meters wide—where the church had once stood. He removed the Nuo mask and returned it to his waist.
Beside him, the priest sat dazed. His Bible and cross had long been lost to the gale. His lips no longer whispered "Hallelujah," but something far more desperate: "May the wind god protect you…"
Xiao brushed the glinting earth-element crystals from his coat, cast one last glance at the trembling priest, and turned away—vanishing into the deep night of New York.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
In the blink of an eye, the Wind Demon had fled over ten kilometers. He glanced back toward the church, hoping to assess Earth Demon's fate.
Instead, he saw the entire structure—and the demon with it—hurled into the sky like a firework exploding in silence.
At that moment, the Wind Demon found himself oddly nostalgic for the days of his sealing. Back then, he'd had no freedom—but at least he'd been safe.
He'd thought the emergence of a figure like the Supreme Sorcerer among humans was extraordinary enough.
Yet tonight, he'd encountered another.
This young man with inked arms might not surpass the Supreme Sorcerer in raw power—but to earth, water, and wind demons like them, the threat was equally lethal.
After all, there was little difference between being crushed by a finger and obliterated by a slap.
Compared to these two, the Wind Demon mused, Blackheart was practically harmless—gentle, even.
That settled it. He needed to disappear.
New York is no longer safe. I must flee—find somewhere those killers won't think to look.
As he ran, the Wind Demon weighed his options.
First: Kathmandu, Nepal. Nestled in the shadow of the Himalayas, it was remote, with limited infrastructure and sparse digital surveillance. Perfect for lying low.
Second: East Africa. Vast, under-monitor
ed regions, far from global scrutiny.
Either location, he reasoned, would be "easy mode" compared to this nightmare.
In the end, he chose Kathmandu.
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