The white sword light condensed from Tang Xiaoqi's fingertip, gathering his lifetime cultivation and guardian belief, like the first morning ray breaking through eternal night, silently sank into that constantly twisting Demonic Lord origin.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment. Inside the Demon Palace's grand hall, everyone held their breath. Even the dust drifting in the air stopped its trajectory. Mu Xue's fingers gripping the crystal staff turned white, the golden light in Ao Qin's dragon pupils congealed like substance, Zhao Tiezhu's muscles were tight as iron, and even Second Senior Brother Luo Feng's soul body stopped fluctuating.
That seemingly slender white sword light, the moment it touched the demonic source's core, suddenly burst forth with unimaginable power. It was not a destructive eruption, but a deeper, directly pointing at origin disintegration. The guardian will contained within the sword light—attachment to loved ones, promises to companions, responsibility to all beings—transformed into countless fine law runes, like the most precise scalpel, beginning to deconstruct from within this existence condensed from the universe's utmost dark side.
"Crack... crack..."
A fine yet heart-palpitating cracking sound came from the demonic source's depths. This sound was not loud, but seemed to directly knock on everyone's divine soul, carrying some fundamental destructive meaning.
One could only see countless spiderweb-like cracks suddenly appearing on that pitch-black demonic source's surface. What showed through the cracks was no longer pure darkness, but a chaotic, out-of-control energy turbulence. The originally solid-as-substance demonic source began to violently tremble, its surface's twisting becoming more frantic, like a trapped beast in its death throes.
"No—impossible—"
A twisted howl came from within the demonic source. This voice was no longer the previous aloof indifference, but filled with shock, anger, and disbelief. It could clearly feel that the foundation of its existence was being bit by bit disintegrated by that seemingly gentle white sword light. Those negative emotions it relied on for existence—greed, hatred, fear—were being neutralized and dissolved by the pure guardian will in the sword light.
What terrified it even more was that it found itself unable to resist this disintegration. The will contained in that white sword light was too pure, too firm, like sunlight melting ice and snow naturally, making all its resistance appear futile.
Cracks rapidly spread across the demonic source's surface, more and more, deeper and deeper. The originally fist-sized demonic source began to disintegrate from the edges, transforming into wisps of black smoke, yet rapidly dissipating under the white sword light's illumination. Even more miserable howls came from within the demonic source, the sound beginning to carry obvious fear.
It had traversed all heavens and myriad worlds, devoured countless stars, never having encountered such power. This was not simple energy confrontation, but existence-level restraint. The guardian will contained in that white sword light seemed to be its natural nemesis.
"I am the source of all darkness, how could... how could I be defeated by this..."
The demonic source's howls became intermittent, filled with unwillingness and resentment. It could feel its power flowing away rapidly, consciousness beginning to blur. Those negative emotions it had devoured were reversely eroding itself, plunging it into unprecedented chaos.
Cracks had already covered the entire demonic source surface, making it look like a piece of porcelain about to shatter. Through the cracks, one could see the churning dark energy inside was colliding uncontrollably, yet could never break through the white sword light's constraint.
Suddenly, an especially large crack spread from the demonic source's top to bottom. Accompanied by a clear shattering sound, the demonic source finally completely cracked into two halves. Surging dark energy gushed out from within, yet transformed into nothingness the moment it contacted the white sword light.
The Demonic Lord's howls reached their peak at this moment, the sound filled with despair and madness. It could feel its consciousness dissipating along with the demonic source's disintegration. This thorough, irreversible extinction drove it into final madness.
However, no matter how it struggled, how it howled, it could not change the established outcome. The white sword light was like the most determined guardian, firmly imprisoning the cracked demonic source, bit by bit purifying and dissipating the dark energy within.
The cracks in the demonic source grew larger and larger, the dark energy escaping from within grew thinner and thinner, and the Demonic Lord's howls grew weaker and weaker. That demonic source that had once made the entire cultivation world tremble was now like a shadow exposed to sunlight, irreversibly fading away.
Mu Xue and the others watching this scene finally slowly let out a breath. They could feel that suffocating demonic might that had been pressing on their hearts rapidly receding, replaced by a long-lost clarity and peace.
Xiao Qi still hovered in mid-air. Although his face was pale, his eyes were unusually bright. He could clearly feel the demonic source thoroughly disintegrating. That demonic lord who had plagued the cultivation world for a hundred years, making him pay a tragic price, had finally reached its end.
The demonic source's disintegration continued. The two halves of dark masses further shattered into smaller fragments, each rapidly melting under the white sword light's illumination. The Demonic Lord's howls had become barely audible, only leaving some intermittent, resentment-filled whispers, finally completely returning to silence.
When the last fragment of demonic source transformed into nothingness in the sword light, the entire Demon Palace's grand hall went quiet. That nauseating demonic energy completely disappeared, replaced by a pure, vitality-filled aura.
Xiao Qi slowly withdrew his finger, and the white sword light also dissipated. He gazed at the original location of the demonic source. There was nothing there now, only some lingering energy fluctuation traces in the air.
The Demonic Lord was finally executed.