Chapter 1243

Between East and West, above the vast azure heavens.

The thoughts of several Mahayana cultivators were once again startled by this sudden drastic change.

"What?! Han Wuxian not only didn't die, but broke out of his confinement and charged straight for the Western Demon Cave!" Bloodfiend Old Ancestor's thought conveyed undisguised excitement and shock, "Hahaha! Good lad! You've got guts! I, the old ancestor, want to see how that old demon Yan Buji meets his end!"

The illusory Eight Trigrams of the Heavenly Secrets Old Man fluctuated violently: "Not good! That Western extinction demonic intent is surging wildly! Yan Buji is going all-out, sparing no expense! Little Friend Han just escaped confinement, his condition not yet recovered—this trip bodes more ill than good!"

In the Star River Void Shadow of the Star Evolution Venerable Master also appeared a solemn expression: "Not only that… Little Friend Han's aura seems different from before, carrying a… implication of proving existence within extinction. This battle is no mere Dao dispute; it may involve a debate on the essence of the Great Dao."

The ethereal voice of the Wonderful Sound Fairy carried a hint of urgency: "Should we… intervene? If we let them fight to the death, regardless of who wins or loses, it would likely be a calamity for this realm."

The solemn thought of the Xuanyuan Old Ancestor pressed down: "Wait and observe! This is their Dao dispute; if we rashly intervene, the karmic consequences would be too great. Moreover… look!"

Only seen in the void image projected by the Star Evolution Venerable Master, the gray flow representing Han Wuxian and the black demonic qi representing Yan Buji, like two omens of doom, were crossing the infinite distance at beyond-reasonable speed toward the same point—the Forgotten Sand—where they violently collided.

At the edge of the Forgotten Sand.

Han Wuxian's figure suddenly halted, hovering above the endless yellow sand. He gazed ahead at the desert that was originally dead and desolate, now shrouded in a tangible black demonic qi that roiled, forming countless twisted faces of desire emitting soundless howls. The space of the entire region became viscous and twisted, as if forming a terrifying demonic domain of its own.

And at the heart of the demonic domain, the Extinction Stone Coffin had fully manifested, beating like a demon god's heart. Yan Buji's figure slowly rose from the coffin, the demonic qi entwining his body now turned pure black; his eyes, once vortexes of desire, now held only the purest, ice‑sealing killing intent toward all things.

"Han Wuxian…" Yan Buji's voice sounded like countless souls whispering in unison, directly echoing in Han Wuxian's sea of consciousness: "You managed to escape the corridor—indeed beyond my expectation. But this place shall be your burial ground!"

Han Wuxian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his chaotic eyes calmly gazing at the overwhelming demonic might; gray light flowed in his hand, and an ancient‑looking long sword gradually formed, as if condensed from countless minute Returning-to-Void vortices—this was the "Sword of Returning to Void" he had forged by newly comprehending the high fusion of will and Returning-to-Void power.

"Yan Buji, your schemes have come to naught." Han Wuxian's voice was not loud, yet carried the force of a decisive verdict, clearly penetrating the demonic domain: "Your 'extinction' cannot confine my 'existence'. Today, here, we shall utterly settle our Dao dispute."

Without further words, both knew speech was meaningless now; only the Dao, only power, could decide the final outcome.

Boom!

Yan Buji struck first! He raised his hand and pressed down; the demonic domain of the Forgotten Sand boiled over! Countless black lightning, corrosive storms, and devouring vortices condensed from extinction-desire power surged like an apocalyptic flood, heaven‑covering and earth‑covering, rushing toward Han Wuxian! This was a pure, crushing power explosion; he sought to overwhelm Han Wuxian together with his newly sprouted nascent Dao intent with absolute superiority.

A fierce gleam flashed in Han Wuxian's eyes as he thrust the Sword of Returning to Void forward in a level slash!

With a single sword, the surging demonic flood seemed to strike an invisible boundary! The front of the flood, upon touching the sword's light, vanished silently as if erased by an eraser! This was not a mere clash of energies but a more fundamental erasure of "existence"! Han Wuxian's sword appeared to draw an absolute "line of termination" before him: outside the line lay Yan Buji's extinction demonic domain; inside lay the Returning-to-Void pure land governed by his will.

"What?!" Yan Buji's pupils contracted sharply! Han Wuxian's use of Returning-to-Void power was so exquisite and overbearing?!

"Your 'Dao Corrosion', your 'Assimilation' are futile before the line I have drawn!" Han Wuxian stepped forward; with each step, the Sword of Returning to Void swept out a gray blade‑curtain, continually slashing the incoming demonic attacks and redrawing the boundary! He actually pressed forward against Yan Buji's full‑power burst, moving upstream toward the demonic domain's center, toward the Extinction Stone Coffin, step by step.

Han Wuxian advanced step by step; the "Line of Termination" drawn by his Sword of Returning to Void violently collided and annihilated with Yan Buji's extinction demonic domain, emitting a soundless yet soul‑shaking roar. Each sweep of the blade‑curtain forcibly erased a patch of the demonic domain, returning it to primordial void. Han Wuxian's face grew ever paler, faint golden blood began to seep from his seven orifices—a sign of intense consumption of the Dao's origin. Yet the will in his eyes burned like a phoenix flame, growing ever fiercer.

Yan Buji stood atop the Extinction Stone Coffin, his countenance cold as ancient ice. He commanded the deathly qi accumulated over myriad years in the Forgotten Sand, shaping it into endless demonic assaults like stormy waves, each wave stronger than the last, slamming toward Han Wuxian. He could see Han Wuxian was overexerting himself, barely holding on.

"See how long you can endure!" Yan Buji formed seals with both hands; the demonic domain abruptly contracted, ceasing its scattered attacks and coalescing into a black flood that stretched across heaven and earth! Within this flood lay the amplified fears of myriad beings for annihilation, their greed for existence, and despair for eternity—the ultimate fusion of desire and extinction, the supreme manifestation of Yan Buji's Dao! Wherever the flood passed, space itself seemed to weep, heading toward collapse.

Faced with this heaven‑shattering, earth‑destroying blow, Han Wuxian drew a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. He no longer watched the oncoming flood; instead he poured all his mind into his own battle‑hardened, unyielding "true self", into the profound realization he had gained in the Eternal Silence Corridor—"to exist within nothingness."

His aura became ethereal, as if both out of place amidst the raging demonic domain and about to merge into it.

"Playing mystic tricks! Die!" Yan Buji bellowed fiercely; the black flood, with the might to annihilate all things, crashed down!

At the very instant the flood was about to engulf Han Wuxian, he snapped his eyes open!

In his eyes were no longer chaos nor pure "nothing", but a reflection of the cycle of birth and death, the rise and fall of all things! The Sword of Returning to Void in his hand was not slashed forward; instead he slowly lifted it level, pointing the tip at the destroying flood.