# Chapter 836: Demon Soul Within the Sword
Xuanyuan Wentian pulled the hand holding his sword behind his back, extending his other hand toward Fen Juechen as he said leisurely, "Lord Demon, I have fully witnessed the surprise you've brought me. This game has also reached the time when it should end."
Fen Juechen: "???"
Xuanyuan Wentian's strange action and his strange words received no response whatsoever. The Heavenly Sin Divine Sword was gripped in Fen Juechen's hand, surging with dense black radiance.
Xuanyuan Wentian slowly clenched his outstretched palm, his brows sinking down. His voice, as if speaking to himself, suddenly turned several degrees colder: "Lord Demon, what do you mean by this? Have you forgotten who spent a thousand years of painstaking effort to remove all the seals the Eternal Night Royal Clan had placed upon you?! And who, despite alarming the entire continent, orchestrated a Demon Sword Assembly to undo the final Evil God seal upon you?! Now that you have obtained what you desired... could it be that you intend to forget kindness and break faith, abandoning this Sword Master to submit to this brat?!"
"What are you talking about?!" Fen Juechen said through gritted teeth.
"Hmph!" Still receiving no response, the sword Xuanyuan Wentian had hidden behind his back lit up once more: "It seems a small accident has occurred. Since that's the case, the rules of the game must also change slightly. Fen Juechen, your increase in strength is indeed enormous, but with your current power alone, killing this Sword Master... is nothing but wishful thinking!"
*Zheng!!*
The thin sword in Xuanyuan Wentian's hand emitted a trembling, gentle hum. With a flash of white light, the tip of the sword stabbed straight toward Fen Juechen's face. This time, Xuanyuan Wentian attacked proactively, and although this strike seemed ordinary, it was condensed with his unreserved full power.
The sword body was straight, but the heaven and earth energy within ten li of surrounding space was completely stirred up, boiling like scalding water.
Fen Juechen roared, smashing out with his sword. Every time he struck, it caused heaven and earth to darken, and the surrounding world was filled with endless gloom and hatred.
*Crack!!*
Space shattered. Countless spatial fragments shot out like spurting steel needles, piercing and cutting through everything they touched. Both figures slowed momentarily, then simultaneously erupted. Dazzling sword radiance and sinister black light fiercely collided in the air, producing chain explosions like successive claps of thunder.
Fen Juechen's face was as ferocious as a ghost or god. The Heavenly Sin Divine Sword, surging with black qi, struck out with unreserved full power in every swing. Each strike condensed his most extreme resentment, each strike desperately wanting to blast Xuanyuan Wentian into fragments. Dark Profound Force was inherently a negative form of profound energy. The more intense Fen Juechen's killing intent and hatred, the stronger the destructive power of the Dark Profound Force became.
He almost completely ignored the sword radiance coming from Xuanyuan Wentian, fighting for his life like a madman with every sword strike... several months ago, during his battle with Yun Che on the Eastern Sea, he had been exactly the same.
Overwhelming killing intent and dark aura suppressed Xuanyuan Wentian. The black qi on the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword continuously intensified. When swung, the gloomy sound of the blade cutting through air was like countless ghosts wailing in grief.
Xuanyuan Wentian was steadily retreating, seemingly completely in a state of suppression. The radiance of his profound energy was far inferior to the dark aura on Fen Juechen. But his expression was as calm as still water.
"Ugh... Ahhh!!"
Fen Juechen let out another wolf-like howl. The Heavenly Sin Divine Sword carried an aura like a demon god, pushing aside all sword radiance, smashing straight down toward the top of Xuanyuan Wentian's head.
But this time, Xuanyuan Wentian did not evade the sharp edge as before. His eyes slightly lifted, and an intensely sharp sword intent appeared across the sky. In an instant, the thin sword in his hand suddenly spat out a hundred-zhang sword radiance, dazzling and piercing like a cold star in an ink-black night. Then, it swept horizontally to meet the descending black radiance.
*Crack!* *Boom!!*
Following the thunderclap came a sound like the collapse of the heavens. Two peak-level powers at the Sovereign Xuan Realm collided head-on. The force of the profound energy explosion instantly turned dozens of li of the world into a complete vacuum. Dazzling white sword radiance and black qi shattered in midair. Xuanyuan Wentian and Fen Juechen were both blasted back a hundred zhang.
*Ptoo...*
Fen Juechen, having stopped his momentum, swayed and then violently spat out a large mouthful of blood. Although the majority of Xuanyuan Wentian's sword qi had been neutralized by his power, about ten percent had still broken through his profound energy defense and invaded his body, injuring him both externally and internally.
In contrast, Xuanyuan Wentian, although blasted back the same distance as Fen Juechen, showed a normal expression with no signs of injury. Only one sleeve had been partially devoured by the dark demonic aura.
Fen Juechen's power had exploded exponentially in a short time, seemingly reaching a level that could match Xuanyuan Wentian. But this collision laid bare his weakness.
If one's profound energy skyrockets due to some turning point, then for a period afterward, one must settle down and focus entirely on foundation-building and stabilization. This is common sense in the profound way — just as when Yun Che used the Overlord Pill to elevate the profound strength of all disciples of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, he personally ordered all disciples to focus on foundation-building for at least the following month, not cultivating any profound arts.
Yun Che's power had also experienced several explosive increases, but with the Dragon God's Body and Desolate God's Power as his foundation, even with numerous power surges, he had never experienced a situation where his body couldn't adapt to the power.
But Fen Juechen was different. His desire for revenge was too intense, and his power had grown too violently. The most direct consequence was that his control over this power was extremely unstable. Moreover, his body had carried this power for too short a time and had not yet been tempered to match the level of his profound strength. Thus, while he could rival Xuanyuan Wentian in power, his defensive capability was far inferior.
Consequently, when both endured profound energy explosions of equal intensity, Xuanyuan Wentian was basically unharmed, while Fen Juechen was severely injured. More severe than the injury itself was the consequence that, under the damage, his control over the power on his person became even more out of control. Both his inner breath and the boiling black qi on his body showed clear signs of chaos.
Xuanyuan Wentian was not at all surprised by Fen Juechen's suddenly changed state. He pointed his sword forward. As he swung it, spatial fragments spun like flying knives, rolling up hundreds of spatial vortices of various sizes.
Fen Juechen panted heavily. With his breath in chaos, facing this sword strike from Xuanyuan Wentian, he couldn't gather enough power in his haste. A loud "boom" rang out. Black radiance exploded. Fen Juechen was sent flying horizontally, more than a dozen sprays of blood bursting from his body. Internally, his blood and energy were churning. The chaotic dark demonic aura, like a frenzied wild beast, had broken free from his control, rampaging through his body. He stopped his form, desperately gasping for breath, but for a long time, couldn't suppress it.
"Heh heh," Xuanyuan Wentian laughed. He said flatly, "Eighteen hundred years ago, this Sword Master achieved a breakthrough, becoming an Emperor Lord at the age of one hundred seventy-three. Two hundred eighty years later, I reached the Sovereign Xuan Realm, Level Six... which was your level when we last met. This Sword Master took an entire one thousand five hundred years to go from Sovereign Xuan Realm, Level Six to my current level of power. And you took only nineteen days."
"What a terrifying thing."
"But unfortunately, although your power intensity is now no less than mine, you lack over a thousand years of foundation!"
Before Xuanyuan Wentian's voice had even faded, his figure suddenly became illusory. A force that made Fen Juechen completely suffocate descended over him from above.
Fen Juechen's eyes split at the corners. He roared violently, the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword rolled up a black giant wave, smashing toward the sky above... But his sword had only swung halfway when a loud boom sounded in his ears. His arms instantly lost all sensation. His entire body flew out like duckweed. The black qi on his body dispersed, and the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword also flew out of his hands.
Xuanyuan Wentian, the number one sword master of the Tian Xuan Continent, by no means concentrated his abilities solely on the sword path. As one of the four individuals on the Tian Xuan Continent to have reached the extreme of the Sovereign Xuan Realm, a single surge of his profound energy, even without any profound art, could overturn seas and topple mountains.
Xuanyuan Wentian, having blasted Fen Juechen away, did not pursue. Instead, he flatly extended his hand, pulling the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword that had flown into the high sky.
He grabbed the sword body and looked toward the hilt area, his eyes narrowing into extremely fine slits: "Lord Demon, now, at last, you should have something to say to me, shouldn't you?"
Black mist coiled around the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword. Under Xuanyuan Wentian's questioning voice, it began to tremble slightly... And at that moment, a tremendous tearing force came from the sword body. Without sufficient defense, Xuanyuan Wentian let the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword fly from his hand. It traced a straight black line and fell back into its master's hand.
Fen Juechen was covered in blood, both hands gripping the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword, his eyes as sinister as a demon's. His torn black robe billowed. His black hair all flew up, wildly dancing in the rising black qi.
The speed at which he recovered his mobility surprised Xuanyuan Wentian. Even more astonishing was that the black qi on his body had become even denser. The gloomy aura was even stronger than before. Although he had been heavily injured and his breath in chaos, he was like a demon god who had suddenly awakened from the Nine Nether, descending before Xuanyuan Wentian's eyes with terrifying darkness and killing intent!
Xuanyuan Wentian's pupils slightly contracted... This was, at the highest level, the power of a demon god!?
A sudden unease grew in Xuanyuan Wentian's heart. He dared not hesitate. The sword in his hand abruptly pointed at Fen Juechen. Profound energy surged at the sword tip. In an instant, it stabbed before Fen Juechen's eyes.
This single sword strike directly chiseled open a spatial tunnel, truly crossing space.
*Puh!!!*
This strike interpreted what it meant to be the number one sword master of the Tian Xuan Continent!
Fen Juechen, like a awakened demon god, made no reaction whatsoever under this strike. The sword stabbed into his chest... But this strike did not pierce through his heart. Instead, it released countless sword radiances that stabbed into Fen Juechen's body.
The black qi that had just risen again rapidly sank and dissipated. Fen Juechen's pupils dilated. Blood gushed from his seven apertures. His body slowly tilted backward, then, like a lifeless sculpture, fell straight from the air, crashing onto the long-suffering ground below. No more movement.
Xuanyuan Wentian withdrew his arm and then slightly exhaled.
"It seems the power of the demon path simply cannot be understood by common sense," Xuanyuan Wentian said in a low voice. Fen Juechen's state just now left him with considerable lingering fear.
Beside Fen Juechen, a beam of black shadow shot into the sky... This time, the Heavenly Sin Divine Sword came to Xuanyuan Wentian's front of its own accord. Xuanyuan Wentian looked at it and said flatly, "Lord Demon, your previous silence... I hope it does not mean you intend to betray your thousand-year promise!"
Within the swirling black mist, a pair of narrow demon eyes slowly opened on the hilt. In Xuanyuan Wentian's sea of consciousness, a gloomy, hoarse voice sounded: "Of course not. It's just that the situation is different from what I anticipated... completely different!"
"Different?" Xuanyuan Wentian's brow moved: "What's going on?"
"He awakened the power of his demon blood through me, and I gradually revived and regenerated through the nourishment of that demon blood. But just as I was preparing to destroy his soul, I discovered that his willpower was extraordinarily terrifying... Not only did I fail, but I was defeated and became his puppet!" The demon soul within the sword roared unwillingly.
"What!?" Xuanyuan Wentian's face darkened.
"Now, not only is it impossible for me to seize his demon blood in return, but I can only rely on him to survive, unable to resist his commands. If he dies, my demon soul, which has only just begun to revive, will be utterly annihilated! If you hadn't injured him to the point of unconsciousness, I couldn't even transmit a sound to you!"
Xuanyuan Wentian's face was ashen. His finger bones cracked and popped. The corner of his mouth twitched, revealing a twisted, ferocious smile: "So you're saying... this thousand years of painstaking effort has not only completely come to nothing, but has become... a wedding garment sewn for another..."
"No," the demon soul within the sword's sinister tone suddenly changed at this moment: "It is not completely without hope. There is another method. The power that method can bring you is even greater than simply obtaining the demon blood. But it is also far more dangerous. It depends on whether you... dare to gamble!"