Tang Dynasty: Inherit the Evil Sword Immortal and destroy gods and demons with one thought!-Chapter 38 - Shock Upon Shock! What Is Chong Lou Seeking!?

Chapter 38: Shock Upon Shock! What Is Chong Lou Seeking!?
In the Demon-Sealing Tower’s twelfth layer, at the Blood Demon Sky Pool, Dragon Kui grew bolder after Li Qiye’s departure. Peeking left and right, confirming solitude, she emerged. At the pool’s edge, she dipped a slender finger into the water.
Ripple
…
Waves spread from her touch. Her eyes sparkled, her delicate face alight with surprise. The water soothed her wounds and boosted her cultivation—it could nurture sword spirits. Delighted, she slipped a bare foot into the cool pool, submerging herself, leaving only her cautious, doe-like eyes above the surface, scanning like a guilty child.
In the Mortal Realm, at Yangzhou’s Xisha Ridge, the once-vibrant land lay desolate post-battle, scarred with mounds and craters, as if raked by a giant plough. To the east, a hundred-zhang-wide, bottomless pit yawned—an abyss carved by that world-shaking finger.
Whoosh!
Space twisted, rippling, as blood-haired Demon Lord Chong Lou stepped from the void. His terrifying demonic qi surged like a tidal wave, engulfing the heavens.
Standing by the abyss, his crimson eyes probed its depths. A flicker of astonishment crossed his face. “Not demonic, not devilish, nor divine… what is this power?” he muttered. Scouring his vast memory, no force matched it. His quarry wielded an unknown, mysterious energy. His fists clenched, heart pounding with exhilaration—a hunger for the unknown, a nod to this foe’s might. His resolve to battle them, to test their limits, hardened.
Whoosh!
He vanished, bound for Huizhou, where “he” had struck before.
Soon after, Yangzhou erupted in chaos.
…………………………………………………………………………….
At Shu Mountain’s Misty Peak, in the Infinite Hall, the Five Elders sat around the trembling Mysterious Heaven Mirror, their gazes horrified. “Demon Lord Chong Lou’s aura!” “He’s near!?” Their gasps echoed. Chong Lou, the Demon Realm’s apex predator, among the Six Realms’ eldest beings, was unfathomably powerful. Even Gou Mang’s heir, a Mortal Realm pinnacle, paled before him; Gou Mang himself at his prime might not prevail. A demonic titan, untouchable by the Six Realms, his presence near Shu Mountain baffled them.
“His aura… gone?” As their nerves frayed, Chong Lou’s presence vanished, a fleeting visitation. Headmaster Qing Wei’s voice grew grave. “Changqing, order all disciples: no one leaves the mountain for training!” Relieved yet uneasy, Qing Wei pondered.
Why did Chong Lou come? Why depart so swiftly?
Beyond Shu Mountain, Yangzhou’s lesser sects reeled. Smaller factions, sensing Chong Lou’s aura, were paralyzed with fear. “What the hell! First Gou Mang’s heir battles, now the Demon Lord strolls through? Is this place cursed!?” Some sect leaders plotted relocation—Yangzhou’s feng shui seemed doomed.
In Yangzhou’s city fortress, General Hou Junji, a Lingyan Pavilion hero and wielder of the Azure Dragon’s Tail Fire Tiger star, sat ashen-faced, his hands trembling. s confirmed Chong Lou’s appearance at Xisha Ridge, a mere hundred kilometres away. The news nearly floored him—not for lack of resolve, but Chong Lou’s dread reputation unnerved even celestials. Mercifully, the aura vanished quickly. Gasping, Hou Junji seized brush and paper, scribbling furiously. Slamming the brush down, he flung the letter. “Three-thousand-li Cloud-Stepping Stallion! Deliver to His Majesty in two hours! Delay by half an incense stick—death!” The courier, letter in hand, galloped off.
In Chang’an’s Daming Palace, Li Shimin, fresh from visiting Li Zhi, sought solace in the rear garden, his heart heavy. Barely two steps in, a guard rushed forward with a letter. “Your Majesty, General Hou Junji’s urgent : Demon Lord Chong Lou appeared in Yangzhou!” Li Shimin’s eyes twitched, snatching the letter. Reading it, dread gripped him. Chong Lou’s sudden arrival and departure—
what does it mean? Does Yangzhou hold some allure for him?
Clutching the letter, his thoughts churned, the garden forgotten. “Summon Heavenly Kui Star, Left Assistant Star, and Right Assistant Star to the palace!”