After the departure of his Master and the Snake Demon, Sai wandered through the jagged mountain range, his body aching from the remnants of the Blood Demon Transformation. His essence was depleted, and his meridians felt scorched.
Eventually, he stumbled upon a secluded, pitch-black cavern. The silence inside was absolute—the perfect sanctuary for a cultivator. Sai crossed his legs and entered a deep state of meditation. For seven days and seven nights, he didn't move. Spiritual energy swirled around him like a silent vortex, knitting his flesh back together and refining his core.
When Sai finally opened his eyes, a spark of crimson flickered in his pupils. He hadn't just recovered; he had broken through. He had jumped from the Level 6 Mid-Stage to the very threshold of the Level 6 Peak-Stage.
He stood up, feeling the immense power surging through his veins. "My body is restored," Sai whispered, his voice cold. "Master once told me: if a thorn remains in the heart during cultivation, it will birth an Inner Demon at higher levels. To move forward, I must pull that thorn out. Iron Sect... your time has come."
The Shadow Over the Iron SectAt the Iron Sect's fortress, the air suddenly grew heavy. The Elders, sitting in their meditation halls, snapped their eyes open. A terrifying aura was descending from the heavens.
High above the sect's main plaza, Sai hovered in the sky, looking down at the disciples like an angry god. Without a word, he raised a hand. The sky darkened as he summoned a Massive Earth Boulder—a hunk of rock the size of a mountain peak—and sent it hurtling toward the sect's grand hall.
"Defend the gates!" the Lead Elder screamed.
Six Elders leaped into the air, joining their palms to create a massive shimmering shield. The boulder slammed into the barrier with the force of a falling star. Cracks webbed through the rock as the Elders poured their full power into a counter-attack. With a collective roar, they unleashed a combined energy blast that shattered the mountain-sized stone into a million fragments.
The disciples below cheered, thinking the danger had passed. One of the Elders sneered up at Sai. "You arrogant brat! You thought you could destroy our legacy with a single rock? You've made your move—now it's our turn to show you the price of treason!"
The Blood on the BladeAs the Elders surged forward to surround him, Sai's expression remained stony. He unsheathed his sword, the metal singing a mournful tune.
The first Elder reached him, swinging a heavy claymore in a wide arc. Sai didn't even blink. With a movement faster than the eye could follow, he dodged the heavy blade and delivered a precise, lightning-fast counter-cut. The Elder gasped, clutching his throat as he fell toward the earth.
Seeing their comrade fall, another Elder lunged with a spear. Sai channeled his Qi into his blade, unleashing a Inferno Slash. A wave of concentrated fire roared forward. The Elder, unable to dodge in mid-air, was engulfed instantly. He didn't even have time to scream before being reduced to ash.
The remaining Elders grew frantic. "Kill him! All together!"
But Sai was already moving. He summoned a second, even larger stone, but this time he infused it with his own weight-gravity manipulation. The Elders, exhausted from their previous defense, couldn't move out of the way in time. The massive shadow loomed over them for a split second before crushing them into the sect's courtyard.
Seeing their invincible Elders crushed like insects, the disciples broke. Panic turned into a stampede as they tried to flee the mountain.
The Appearance of the Sect Leader"SAI! HOW DARE YOU!"
A thunderous voice shook the very foundation of the sect. From the inner sanctum, the Sect Leader emerged. Beside him stood Xioneya and her husband, Ling Bei.
Ling Bei stepped forward, his face twisted in a mocking grin. "I let you live once, you pathetic worm. I see you've come back today just to make sure I finish the job properly."
Xioneya stood frozen, her eyes wide with disbelief. She remembered Sai as a talented but manageable threat. The man standing before her now radiated a killing intent so thick it felt like physical weight. He was a different being entirely.
The Sect Leader's aura flared, his Level 7 power rippling through the air. "You've murdered my Elders and terrified my disciples. Today, Sai, this mountain will be your grave."
Sai gripped his sword, his eyes locking onto the three people who had caused him so much pain. "I didn't come here to talk," Sai said, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper. "I came to erase your name from history."
The Sect Leader lunged, and the final battle for the Iron Sect began.Chapter: The Demon Among ImmortalsThe air above the Iron Sect crackled with ozone and static. Sai stood calm, his eyes glowing with a predatory light.
"Leader, since you're so eager to die, let's see if you can handle this," Sai said, his voice echoing like rolling thunder. He raised his hand, and the clouds above spiraled into a dark vortex. "Thunder God's Judgment!"
Arcs of violet lightning began to coil around Sai's arm. The Sect Leader's eyes widened. "Thunder ability? Hmph! You think you are the only one blessed by the heavens?" The Leader roared, summoning his own azure lightning, but his sparks looked like flickering candles compared to Sai's roaring sun.
Before the Leader could even form a seal, Sai's thunder struck. It wasn't a single bolt; it was a pillar of divine wrath that slammed directly into the Leader's chest. The explosion rocked the entire mountain. When the smoke cleared, the Sect Leader was on his knees, his ornate robes scorched, coughing up blood.
"You... you think this is enough to defeat me?" The Leader snarled, his face twisting into a mask of madness. "This is my greatest mistake—not killing you when you were a worm. Now, behold the true heritage of the Iron Sect!"
The Dharma BodyThe Leader bit his tongue, spitting essence blood into the air. "Great Iron Dharma Body, Appear!"
A massive, translucent golden figure, thirty feet tall, materialized behind the Leader. It mirrored his movements as he reached out with giant, glowing hands to crush Sai. The sheer pressure cracked the ground for miles.
Sai was caught. The giant hands of the Dharma Body clamped shut around him, pinning his arms to his sides.
"Hahaha!" Ling Bei burst into a manic, high-pitched laugh from the sidelines. "Look at you now, Sai! You thought you were a god? My father will grind your bones into dust! You shouldn't have come back!"
Xioneya watched with a pale face, her heart heavy with a strange, suffocating dread. She saw the Leader squeeze his fists tighter, and everyone assumed Sai had been crushed into a pulp of meat and bone.
BOOM!
A shockwave erupted from the center of the giant palms. The golden hands of the Dharma Body were blown apart like glass. Sai stepped out of the golden shards, his clothes barely ruffled.
"Is that it?" Sai asked, tilting his head. "You're strong, but you aren't strong enough to even make me bleed."
"Impossible!" The Leader screamed. He began raining down Palm of the Iron Mountain attacks, each one capable of leveling a forest. Sai didn't dodge. He stood his ground, taking the full force of the mountain-shattering blows. The ground beneath him collapsed, and he was buried under a mountain of debris.
The disciples cheered. "He's finally dead! No one survives the Leader's full power!"
Ling Bei was dancing with joy, shouting insults at the pile of rubble. But then, the laughter died. A low, guttural chuckle emerged from the dust.
The Awakening of the Blood Demon"My turn," Sai's voice sounded different—deeper, vibrating with a terrifying, ancient hunger. "The playtime of children is over. Now... look upon the face of your extinction."
"Ultimate Form: Blood Demonic Descent!"
A pillar of crimson light shot into the sky, turning the sun blood-red. Suddenly, the Iron Sect disciples began to scream. Their blood was being pulled through their pores, flying through the air in long, scarlet ribbons, all of it gravitating toward Sai.
As he absorbed the essence, Sai's form changed. His hair turned bone-white, and jagged black markings crawled up his neck like living shadows. A terrifying, demonic aura exploded outward, making the very foundations of the sect tremble.
The Sect Leader fell back, his legs shaking. "This... this isn't human. This is a True Demon's power!"
The laughter was gone. The courtyard was filled with the scent of iron and the sound of teeth chattering. Ling Bei collapsed to the ground, his pants soaked in fear.
"Leader," Sai whispered, appearing in front of the man in a blink. "Why aren't you attacking anymore? Where did your pride go?"
With a single flick of his finger, Sai shattered the remaining Golden Dharma Body. The recoil sent the Leader flying into a stone wall, his ribs shattering upon impact.
"Ancestors!" the Leader screamed in a broken voice, pulling a jade token from his robes and crushing it. "Ancestors of the Iron Alliance, save us! The sect is perishing!"
The Gathering of the AncientsThe sky split open. Five blinding lights descended from the heavens, landing in a circle around the courtyard. These were the Five Great Ancestors, the hidden trump cards of the sect alliance. Each one was a monster of cultivation, sitting at the Level 8 Peak Stage.
Ling Bei's eyes lit up with renewed madness. "Yes! The Ancestors are here! Sai, you are dead! Even a demon cannot fight five Level 8 Peak masters!"
The lead Ancestor, a withered old man with a beard that reached the floor, narrowed his eyes at Sai. "Insolent brat. You dare call me a 'shriveled old man'? Do you have any idea who you are addressing?"
The Ancestor released his aura. The ground shattered, and several nearby buildings collapsed from the sheer weight of his presence. He expected Sai to fall to his knees in terror.
Instead, Sai started laughing.
"A strong opponent at last," Sai said, his demonic aura flaring up to match theirs. The collision of their powers created a vacuum that sucked the air out of the lungs of everyone present. The five Ancestors went from arrogant to deadly serious in an instant.
"This boy is an anomaly," the lead Ancestor whispered to the others. "Do not underestimate him. We strike together, or we fall together."
Sai pointed his blood-stained blade at the five legends. "Five against one? I like those odds. Come, old men. Let's see whose blood tastes better."