Chapter 2 — The Demon Beneath the Sect
The courtyard split open.
Stone shattered.
Disciples screamed as a pillar of black qi erupted from beneath the grounds of the Azure Cloud Sect.
It wasn't ordinary demonic energy.
It was ancient.
Thick.
Viscous.
It rolled through the air like liquid night, carrying a pressure that pressed against the soul rather than the body.
Lin Mo didn't flinch.
But his heartbeat quickened.
That aura…
It resonated with him.
Not identical.
Not subordinate.
Equal.
Yue Ling drew her sword in one smooth motion. Silver celestial qi wrapped around the blade, forming crystalline frost patterns along its edge.
"Step back," she ordered.
Her voice was steady.
Her hand trembled.
Cute.
He coughed lightly. "If I step back any further, I'll fall off the mountain."
She shot him a glare.
The ground collapsed entirely.
From the abyss rose a colossal stone altar, cracked and ancient, covered in demonic runes that pulsed like a beating heart.
Disciples scrambled.
An elder appeared above them, aura blazing.
Foundation Establishment peak.
Weak.
The elder's qi radiated in bright green waves, stabilizing the panicked crowd.
"What is happening?!" he shouted.
The altar pulsed again.
BOOM.
A shockwave blasted outward.
The elder's protective barrier shattered instantly.
He spat blood midair.
Lin Mo narrowed his eyes.
Interesting.
This pressure was at least—
Nascent Soul level.
Which meant one thing.
Sealed.
Suppressed.
Waiting.
And somehow…
Reacting to him.
The demonic qi lashed outward like tendrils.
One struck toward Yue Ling.
She stepped forward without hesitation.
Her aura flared.
Celestial qi erupted from her meridians, forming a radiant sphere around her body. Silver light clashed against black darkness in a violent hiss.
Steam filled the air.
Her cultivation was stable.
Refined.
But still mortal.
The tendril shattered her defense.
She slid backward, boots carving through stone.
Lin Mo moved.
Instinct.
He grabbed her waist and pulled her aside as a second tendril crushed the ground where she stood.
Their bodies collided.
Close.
Very close.
She looked up at him.
Breath warm.
Eyes sharp.
"Remove your hand," she said.
He glanced down.
Ah.
Right.
Strategic placement.
He slowly let go.
"You're welcome."
"I didn't ask for help."
"You also didn't dodge."
Her jaw tightened.
The altar began to crack.
From within, a skeletal hand formed entirely of condensed demonic qi clawed upward.
The elder above them paled.
"Seal it!" he roared.
Three more elders arrived, forming hand seals.
Formation arrays ignited in the sky.
Golden threads descended.
They touched the altar.
They burned.
The demonic hand swatted upward.
One elder exploded into mist.
Silence.
Then panic.
Lin Mo exhaled slowly.
So this is how you greet me?
The whisper returned in his mind.
"Sovereign… reclaim what is yours…"
His head throbbed.
Yue Ling noticed.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Headache," he replied dryly. "Probably from dying once."
She stared at him.
"…What?"
"Nothing."
The skeletal hand fully emerged.
Then an arm.
Then half a torso—massive, formed from compressed darkness and ancient resentment.
Its aura was suffocating.
Disciples collapsed unconscious.
The elders' formation shattered like glass.
This wasn't a random demonic remnant.
This was a sealed Demon King.
And it was awakening because of him.
The creature's empty eye sockets locked onto Lin Mo.
The pressure doubled.
His weak body trembled.
Damn this mortal vessel.
Fine.
If subtlety won't work—
Strategy will.
He grabbed a fallen disciple's sword.
Cheap.
Unbalanced.
Embarrassing.
He turned to Yue Ling.
"When it attacks, strike the joint at its right shoulder."
She blinked.
"Are you insane? That thing killed an elder."
"Yes."
"And you think you can command me?"
"I think if you don't listen, we both die."
She hesitated.
He leaned closer.
Voice low.
Confident.
"Trust me."
For a split second—
Something flickered in her eyes.
Recognition?
No.
Instinct.
The Demon King roared.
Soundwaves shattered windows across the mountain.
It lunged.
Fast.
Too fast for this body.
Lin Mo didn't dodge.
He stepped forward.
The demonic hand descended toward him.
Yue Ling's eyes widened.
"Lin Mo!"
At the last second—
He pivoted.
Void Step.
Not perfect.
Not refined.
But enough.
The claw missed by inches.
He sliced the sword across a rune carved into the creature's forearm.
The blade shattered.
But the rune cracked.
The creature roared in pain.
Yue Ling reacted instantly.
Her celestial qi surged to its limit.
A brilliant arc of silver light cleaved
downward.
It struck the weakened shoulder joint.
BOOM.
The arm severed.
Black mist exploded outward.
The Demon King staggered.
The courtyard trembled violently.
Lin Mo felt it clearly now.
The seal wasn't breaking randomly.
It was reacting to his Heaven-Devouring core.
Which meant—
If he absorbed it—
He could leap realms instantly.
Tempting.
Extremely tempting.
Also suicidal.
The creature turned toward him again.
This time—
It bowed.
The elders froze.
Yue Ling stiffened.
The Demon King's hollow voice echoed across the sect.
"Sovereign… command me…"
Silence fell.
Every eye turned to Lin Mo.
His heart pounded.
Too early.
Way too early.
Yue Ling slowly looked at him.
Her voice was quiet.
"…What did it call you?"
Lin Mo forced a lazy smile.
"I misheard. It probably said 'sovereignly handsome.' Easy mistake."
No one laughed.
The Demon King knelt fully.
The sky darkened.
Clouds spiraled.
Ancient demonic runes began carving themselves into the air above Lin Mo's head.
Recognition.
Submission.
Claim.
The elders' expressions shifted from fear—
To horror.
"Kill him!" one shouted. "He's the source!"
Ah.
There it is.
The humiliation arc begins again.
Lin Mo's smile faded.
Fine.
If they want a villain—
He'll give them one.
Yue Ling stepped in front of him.
Sword raised.
Her aura flared defensively.
"You will not act recklessly," she warned the elders.
One glared at her.
"He is clearly connected to that thing!"
She didn't lower her blade.
Lin Mo stared at her back.
Why?
After everything—
Why stand in front of me?
The Demon King's core pulsed.
A beam of black light shot toward Lin Mo's chest.
Yue Ling turned—
Too slow.
The beam struck him directly.
Pain.
White-hot.
His dantian exploded with demonic energy.
Meridians tore open.
Blood sprayed from his mouth.
He fell to one knee.
Inside him—
The Heaven-Devouring Scripture roared awake.
The ancient power poured in uncontrollably.
Foundation Establishment…
Mid-stage.
Late-stage.
Peak.
In seconds.
His aura transformed.
Black qi erupted around him in violent spirals.
The pressure crushed the courtyard flat.
Yue Ling stumbled.
Eyes wide.
Lin Mo slowly stood.
His pupils flickered crimson.
The Demon King dissolved into pure energy and merged into him.
The sky went silent.
The elders backed away.
Terrified.
Lin Mo rolled his shoulders once.
Exhaled.
"That," he muttered, "is more like it."
Yue Ling stared at him.
"…Who are you?"
He looked at her.
Really looked.
And for the first time since rebirth—
He didn't hide the dominance in his gaze.
"I told you," he said softly. "This time… I won't lose."
Above them—
The sect's Grand Bell began ringing violently.
Not once.
Not twice.
Nine times.
An omen reserved only for existential threats.
And from the highest peak of the Azure Cloud Sect—
A terrifying aura awakened.
Far stronger than the Demon King.
Far older.
A voice thundered across the entire mountain.
"Who dares awaken the Abyssal Sovereign Seal?"
Lin Mo slowly lifted his head.
Ah.
So the real monster is awake.
And it sounds interested.
Cliffhanger.