Runes intertwined, forming a clear image.
This technique originated from the Eternal Sects at the center of heaven and earth. It was a special application of the Dao of Runes, so subtle that even a Source Demon couldn’t detect it.
One of the reasons Qingyun Sacred Sect had been able to repel repeated attacks from Great Demons was precisely because of this rune projection technique, allowing them to predict the trajectory of the ‘Demons’ and make preemptive decisions.
At this moment, more and more sect elders noticed something unusual, their eyes fixed on the image formed by the runes.
The focus of the image remained the terrifying giant demon, towering over ten trillion li tall, with massive black wings and a body covered in gaping mouths that constantly devoured vast amounts of demonic energy.
Though the giant demon was terrifying, what left the sect master and elders even more incredulous was the sudden appearance of a "tiny" figure above the demon's path.
Compared to the towering demon, the figure wasn’t just small—it was insignificant, not even worth a speck of dust.
Had the demon not abruptly stopped mid-stride, the sect elders might never have noticed that figure.
“What is that?”
The Qingyun Sacred Sect Master triggered a thought, and the rune image zoomed in. The minuscule figure became larger as well.
“Chen Tong?”
The sect master was momentarily stunned. As the image clarified, the small figure was clearly a young man with his hands clasped behind his back, dressed in the standardized robe of a Qingyun Sacred Sect Attendant.
The sect master remembered Chen Tong well. A thousand years ago, it was he who exposed the former senior disciple who had fallen to demonic corruption.
Later, Chen Tong applied to serve at Qingyun Archives as a Attendant, which the sect master approved. Since then, there had been no significant news about him.
The sect master hadn’t paid him much attention. The senior disciple’s corruption had been a blow to him, and stabilizing the sect took precedence.
But never did he imagine that he would see this disciple again—like this.
“It’s Chen Tong? The Attendant from Qingyun Archives.”
The other elders also recognized Lin Yuan once the rune image was magnified.
Over the past thousand years, Lin Yuan hadn’t displayed any significant power, but he had shared many insights about the ‘Demons’. After repeated validation, those insights had proven accurate.
As a result, many elders had come to know the Attendant Chen Tong from Qingyun Archives, often seeking his advice on demonic matters.
“Chen Tong?”
“Why is Chen Tong there?”
“What’s going on?”
Though deeply puzzled, the elders also understood how strange it was for Chen Tong to suddenly appear in front of that giant demon.
First, how did he even leave the sect? That demon was located unimaginably far from Qingyun Sacred Sect. Forget that every disciple needed prior approval to leave—even the sheer distance was incredible.
Second, with the demon's terrifying power approaching that of a Source Demon, the mere aura it emitted would be enough to suffocate someone like the sect master. And yet, Chen Tong stood calmly above the demon, looking down?
For the elders, even approaching such a creature would mean grievous injury or near death from demonic corruption.
They exchanged looks, eyes glued to the rune image.
Under the breathless gaze of all the elders, the fearsome giant demon in the image began to grow agitated. The surrounding demonic energy churned and surged upward toward the tiny figure.
“Not good.”
The sect master's heart sank. With the demon's strength, even he would be gravely wounded by such a sweep of demonic energy—he couldn’t possibly withstand it.
The other elders trembled, instinctively imagining themselves in the position of Chen Tong.
And then—
They all witnessed a scene they would never forget.
The tiny figure above slowly raised his right leg—and lightly stepped down on the towering demon below.
The demon, previously exuding overwhelming dominance, suddenly staggered backward several steps, the surging demonic energy halting in an instant.
Then came a second step.
The enormous demon was stomped into the ground, with most of its body buried.
A third step.
As it struggled to rise, the demon was once again slammed back down, buried even deeper.
A final step.
The towering demon collapsed, utterly broken, lying limp in a massive crater, its demonic body frail and on the verge of death.
Only then did the minuscule figure withdraw his right leg.
Compared to the giant demon, it was now this tiny figure who truly stood like a colossus—while the ten-trillion-li demon had become an ant beneath his feet.
Silence.
The great hall at the peak of Qingyun Sacred Mountain fell into utter silence.
The minds of every elder, including the sect master, went completely blank.
Some elders had suspected this Qingyun Archives Attendant was no ordinary man—but no one expected something so unimaginable.
That terrifying demon, nearly a Source Demon, had withstood only four steps?
And everyone could see clearly: Lin Yuan hadn’t even used his full strength. He didn’t deploy any secret techniques—just four simple stomps, and the demon was near death?
That kind of power?
The sect master trembled.
A demon approaching Source Demon level likely had strength comparable to a powerhouse of the Third Stage of Freedom.
And Lin Yuan, who crushed it in four steps—what level was his power?
Second Stage of Freedom? Third Stage of Freedom?
Even before the great changes of the world, during the golden age of this heaven and earth, Third Stage of Freedom powerhouses were extremely rare. They were essentially the strongest beneath the Eternal Sects.
The founder of Qingyun Sacred Sect had only barely entered the First Stage of Freedom.
The sect master took a deep breath, about to speak—when he noticed Lin Yuan in the rune image seemed to sense something and glanced toward their direction.
“Not good!”
The sect master’s scalp tingled as he instantly terminated the rune projection—the image vanished at once.
Strangely, the gathered elders actually felt a sense of relief, as if being watched by Lin Yuan had placed an unbearable pressure on them.
Demonic energy surged.
Lin Yuan looked down at the dying giant demon below.
He cast a glance toward Qingyun Sacred Mountain.
“This feeling of surveillance… a detection technique based on the Dao of Runes?”
He pondered silently. The sense of being watched was extremely faint, imperceptible even to a Source Demon. But Lin Yuan was not a Source Demon—he was something far stronger.
“A clever use of runes.”
Lin Yuan assessed inwardly. Even he hadn’t noticed the surveillance immediately.
“They’ve likely seen me already.”
He was calm. The surveillance clearly originated from Qingyun Sacred Mountain, and he hadn’t made any effort to hide his attack on the demon. The sect master had probably already realized who he was.
Though his identity was now exposed, Lin Yuan didn’t care. His strength had long returned to its peak. With the support of a hundred billion particle worlds, this body was now the strongest of his three true forms.
With his current power, he could’ve rampaged even in the era before the great changes—let alone now.
“This demon…”
He looked again at the collapsed demon.
It was powerful. In the Chaos Void, it would’ve been at the Supreme Saint level—perhaps even tougher due to its demonic energy, which made it nearly immortal.
Each of Lin Yuan’s steps was enough to kill a Supreme Saint. Yet it had taken four to completely subdue the demon.
Of course, that was because he hadn’t used full force. He wasn’t trying to kill it, but to refine its body—extract its essence as resources to support the creation of particle worlds.
So Lin Yuan had acted carefully. One mistake, and he might have obliterated its very soul.
“Come in.”
With a thought, he transported the demon to one of his particle worlds.
Within, a great Yin-Yang grinding wheel formed by the chaotic power of Tai Chi began crushing it repeatedly.
Once done, Lin Yuan vanished from the spot.
Great Hall atop Qingyun Sacred Mountain.
The elders remained silent, eyes on the sect master.
“Sect Master, that senior…”
Finally, one elder gathered his courage and asked. The way he addressed Lin Yuan had already shifted to "senior" without hesitation.
Qingyun Sacred Sect, a top-tier power predating the great upheaval, certainly had its foundations—such as guardians.
But even the most imaginative elder wouldn’t associate Chen Tong with a sect guardian.
What a joke. If Qingyun Sacred Sect’s guardian had such power, why were they still oppressed by the Demons? Why did every Great Demon siege send the whole sect into a panic?
Even if guardians rarely acted, with such strength, Qingyun Sacred Sect wouldn’t need to live in fear.
“I don’t know either,” the sect master said, shaking his head.
He knew very little about Lin Yuan. Seeing that kind of power now, he realized he had practically no understanding of the quiet Attendant who had served at Qingyun Archives.
“But regardless, that senior clearly harbors no ill will toward our sect.”
The sect master thought for a moment and said.
“Indeed.”
The elders nodded slightly.
That much was obvious. If Lin Yuan bore them ill will, Qingyun Sacred Sect would’ve ceased to exist long ago.
“What do we do now?”
Another elder asked.
All eyes turned to the sect master.
“What do we do?”
The sect master exhaled deeply, his tone solemn: “Now that we know someone like that is residing within our sect, we must immediately pay our respects.”
It would be one thing if they didn’t know.
But now that they did—how could they not go? Even the boldest sect master wouldn’t dare risk that kind of disrespect.
“Yes, we must pay our respects at once.”
The elders all nodded.
Deep within Qingyun Archives.
Not long after returning, Lin Yuan had already finished refining the terrifying demon.
Its endless demonic energy was crushed tens of millions of times, returned to its origin, and transformed into a mass of extremely pure energy.
“This is enough to support the creation of sixty million particle worlds.”
A smile appeared on Lin Yuan’s face.
A single Demon Spirit could support hundreds or over a thousand particle worlds.
A single Great Demon could provide energy for hundreds of thousands or millions.
And this terrifying demon—though still technically a Great Demon—was infinitely close to becoming a Source Demon, making it far more valuable. It was equivalent to harvesting dozens of Great Demons.
“Moreover…”
Lin Yuan studied the refined energy and faintly sensed an extremely primal aura within it.
“This aura—is it the power of a Source Demon?”
He speculated. He had never hunted a Source Demon before, but this demon had been just a step away from becoming one. Certain parts of it might have already begun transforming.
“Pity I didn’t have the time to let it finish evolving.”
He shook his head. Though the demon was close, no one could say how long it would take to cross that final step—thousands of years? Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Even millions?
Demons did grow faster than cultivators—but even then, the transformation from Great Demon to Source Demon was so immense that a million years might still be too little.
Lin Yuan could’ve spent that time hunting a real Source Demon.
“This aura carries traces of Rank Thirteen power.”
He focused, confirming it. Rank Thirteen power was easy to recognize—transcendent, reigning above all.
At Qingyun Archives, where disciples came and went constantly—
That day, however, all disciples were asked to leave.
“What’s going on?”
“Why are we being made to leave?”
“I just exchanged for a secret technique—I haven’t even finished copying it…”
Many disciples were dissatisfied. But when they saw the sect master himself standing outside the courtyard, with numerous high-ranking elders behind him, they instantly realized something major had happened.
They quickly withdrew.
“What happened?”
“Why is the sect master here?”
“And so many elders… Wait, is that all the elders?”
“The sect master and every elder gathered? How is that possible?”
The disciples’ expressions turned grave. Only matters of life and death for the sect would draw every elder and the sect master together—but here? Outside Qingyun Archives?
Could Qingyun Archives somehow determine the sect’s future survival?
None of the disciples could understand, but none dared disobey.
All disciples withdrew from the courtyard.
The sect master steadied himself and glanced at the elders behind him.
They all stood respectfully. From what they had seen in the rune image, they now knew just what kind of terrifying existence they were going to meet. None dared show the slightest disrespect.
“Qingyun Sacred Sect’s 2638th Sect Master, along with 456 elders—pay our respects to Senior!”
The sect master bowed deeply toward the inner courtyard, his tone reverent.
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