Chapter 877

The dust settled, and a scorching aura permeated the shattered heavens and earth.

Yan Buji leaned against a floating stone, the Dao Mark on his bronze arm already dim and lifeless. Nan Gong Ping propped himself with a half‑broken sword, blood constantly spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"Cough…" Yan Buji spat a mouthful of clotted blood, his eyes blazing as he stared at the fallen skull, "This old thing doesn't rest even in death."

Nan Gong Ping wiped the blood from his mouth corner, his expression complicated: "Senior Tian Ling's mortal body was ultimately corrupted by the Heavenly Demon King."

Yan Buji sneered coldly: "Comrade Nan Gong seems to know many secrets? Then tell me, what exactly is the entanglement between the Tian Ling Daoist and the Heavenly Demon King?"

Nan Gong Ping fell silent for a moment, his iron sword carving a star‑shaped scar into the ground: "Back then, Senior Tian Ling, in pursuit of immortality, indeed made a pact with the Heavenly Demon King. But later…"

Before the words finished, the seemingly dead skull suddenly shuddered violently!

"Careful!"

Yan Buji reacted instantly, grabbing Nan Gong Ping and pulling him backward. The skull's eye sockets reignited with violet flame, which then formed a streak of light shooting straight into the abyss!

"Trying to escape?" Yan Buji's eyes flashed with ferocity, the Swallow Desire Pot levitating as he summoned it, "Take it!"

Black mist churned at the pot's mouth, and the violet flame split in two. One strand continued toward the abyss; the other reversed course, heading straight for Nan Gong Ping's forehead!

"Bad!" Yan Buji tried to block, but it was already too late.

Yan Buji's rescue of Nan Gong Ping was not out of kindness; the place called Burial Sky Abyss was truly bizarre, a secret realm formed by fragments of the Nine Heavens layers converging.

Not to mention the heart‑pounding Heavenly Demon aura emanating from afar, which led Yan Buji to conclude that fragments of the Chaotic Heaven might also be present here.

That is the Heavenly Demon's old lair.

From first stepping into the Human Emperor's sealed realm, to the Gu tribe cultivators like Gu Yue sealing the Tian Ling Daoist's coffin, and now to the appearance of Nan Gong Ping bearing Heavenly Demon aura, Yan Buji fully understood the myriad dangers of this place.

But why did he come?

Isn't it simply to meet that Tian Ling Daoist and learn the Heavenly Demon King's true intentions?

Nan Gong Ping neither flinched nor dodged, allowing the violet flame to enter his body.

In an instant, demonic aura surged around him, and purple markings identical to those on the skull appeared on his forehead.

"Hahaha…" Nan Gong Ping's laugh suddenly turned hoarse and eerie, "Thanks to you two for freeing me."

Yan Buji's pupils contracted sharply: "Tian Ling Daoist?"

"Smart." The possessed Nan Gong Ping moved his wrist: "This body is fine, far better than that rotten skull."

Yan Buji silently cultivated, his face unchanged: "Senior has been lying in wait for years, just for today?"

"Wait?" the Tian Ling Daoist sneered, "I have been scheming for hundreds of thousands of years; I'm not waiting just for today." He suddenly raised his hand, a demonic light blasting into the abyss, "Awaken, my soldiers!"

"Boom—boom—boom!"

The entire Burial Sky Abyss began to quake violently. At the abyss's bottom, countless pale arms clung to the rock face, each palm bearing a ferocious maw.

Yan Buji's heart hammered.

These were all corrupted Heavenly Demon remnants, each grotesque, half‑human husk exuding a heart‑pounding Heavenly Demon aura!

"Now…" the Heavenly Demon King looked at Yan Buji, violet flame flickering in his eyes, "Hand over the Heavenly Demon Command."

Yan Buji grinned, his tone respectful: "Yes!"

After handing over the Heavenly Demon Command, the Tian Ling Daoist stared at Yan Buji: "Are you a follower of that old Heavenly Demon?"

"No, Yan (I) am not close to the Heavenly Demon King; he merely treats me as a pawn."

"Hmm, I can tell. That old Heavenly Demon taught you the Human Emperor cultivation method; his intent is obvious." As he spoke, the Tian Ling Daoist sized up Yan Buji.

In the end, that era still had many Martial Cultivation practitioners, but those capable of Martial and Law Dual Cultivation were rare. Moreover, although Yan Buji's cultivation was a bit low, the Dao Mark aura on his body was exceedingly complex.

And on top of that, the destiny flow…

"Did you inherit the Martial Ancestor's legacy?"

"Yes." Yan Buji knew the other's attitude was still unclear; if he were to make a move, Yan Buji had already prepared to flee.

He had barely managed to defeat that bizarre skull, let alone the now‑sane Tian Ling Daoist.

That fellow is likely a Great Vehicle Stage cultivator; even if his cultivation has slipped, he's still not a match for me.

The Tian Ling Daoist squinted, looking at Yan Buji: "So you came to find this old man…"

"Senior!" Yan Buji bowed and saluted, "Yan (I) only wish to ask, what exactly does the Heavenly Demon King intend?"

"Since you serve him, you can at least guess his plans." The Tian Ling Daoist chuckled.

"Since you can inherit Martial Dao fortune, it shows you have a future. The greatest difficulty in cultivation destiny is obtaining favorable fortune. The Heavenly Demon cannot receive such favor, so he will never master the Human Emperor cultivation method… In other words, he now guards those twelve Human Emperor corpses, yet has not regained his peak power… both ways, it's fine." As the Tian Ling Daoist spoke, he fell into a murmuring self‑talk.

Yan Buji, still not clear, respectfully asked, "Then what exactly is your relationship with the Heavenly Demon King?"

"He is the Heavenly Demon King that emerged with the formation of Burial Sky Abyss. In the Chaotic Heaven, there are at least fifty such Heavenly Demon Kings."

"Huh?"

Fifty… fifty Great Vehicle Stage, even Tribulation Crossing Stage Heavenly Demons?

"By the way, do you know why the Heavenly Demon exists?" the Tian Ling Daoist suddenly asked.

Yan Buji saw the other's intent to confide in him, likely having discerned his background and wanting to use him.

That isn't entirely unreasonable; what Yan Buji lacks now is a channel to learn these great beings' true plans, and cooperating with this Tian Ling Daoist—who should be opposed to the Heavenly Demon King—even serving him as a dog, isn't impossible.

"I humbly request your instruction, senior." Yan Buji's demeanor grew even more respectful.

"To understand the Heavenly Demon, you must first know why the Ancient Nine Heavens exist." The Tian Ling Daoist said, and Yan Buji's perspective broadened once again!

"The Ancient Nine Heavens are not truly the sky. We are like fish confined in a tank. The Wild Six Domains bear countless lives; the Ancient Nine Heavens blanket the Six Domains, merely awaiting a destined Existence to descend." The Tian Ling Daoist said lightly.

Yan Buji's complexion changed: "Source‑Origin Son?"

"Hm?" the Tian Ling Daoist looked at Yan Buji in surprise: "You know?"

Yan Buji nodded, recounting some matters of Zhong Tian Zhi Yu.

The Tian Ling Daoist was quite surprised, and inquired about recent major events in the Five Domains.

Yan Buji had no need to conceal anything and said it all.

After listening, the Tian Ling Daoist inhaled deeply, sighing, "So that's it. That girl Jian Fan… has fulfilled her mission, and can be said to have died fittingly."

Yan Buji isn't doing it just to hear this.

The Tianling Daoist sighed for a moment, then continued: "The Nine Heavens shroud reality, preventing all living beings from seeing the true sky. In fact, this world is a massive testing ground; since Existence has already been born, all things will be completely locked, return to the places they are meant to exist, obtain the reasons for their existence and demise, and then raise that Existence fully, achieving complete transcendence."