Chapter 1972: Chapter 1970: The Death of Black Cloud

The space for the confrontation was limited, and facing three opponents alone, unless Black Cloud had the strength of Ma Bin, he stood no chance.

How many like Ma Bin exist in this world?

So the outcome of this battle was already destined.

After half a day, Black Cloud’s massive demon body was battered and tattered, his breath weak to the extreme, on the brink of death.

Yet, he managed to cling to life.

It wasn’t because Su Yuqing and the others showed mercy but because Lu Ye had specifically instructed them to do so.

He had some questions he wanted to ask Black Cloud...

The three Sun Blaze dwarves surrounded him; even at this moment, they showed no sign of lowering their vigilance, fearing Black Cloud might suddenly launch a deadly counterattack, a possibility they had to be wary of.

Meanwhile, Lu Ye shouted from a distance, not getting any closer: "Demon Venerable, can you answer a few questions for me?"

Black Cloud lay prostrate on the ground, looking down on Lu Ye’s caution, but he couldn’t deny that the kid truly was careful enough.

He still had one final reserve of strength left, not enough to challenge the Sun Blaze, but if Lu Ye came close enough, he might drag him down with him.

Who knew this kid was this cautious!

"The victor is king, the loser is the villain. If you want to kill, then kill, why waste words?" Black Cloud snorted coldly, showing no sign of yielding even at this moment.

Lu Ye nodded: "Killing you is certain, but how you die depends on you, Demon Venerable."

Black Cloud’s voice was icy: "What do you mean?"

Lu Ye replied: "If the Demon Venerable cooperates, I’ll give you a quick death."

"And if I don’t cooperate?"

"Hehe..." Lu Ye chuckled without further explanation, but that smile alone was enough to show that nothing good would come of it.

Black Cloud’s expression changed, and his massive demon body quickly contracted, reverting to a human form with a face full of apathy: "Ask away."

Withdrawing his demon form clearly indicated he had abandoned his original plan. For him, death wasn’t frightening, but certain tortures were.

While the Dwarf Race wasn’t inherently evil, the Sun Blazes might be proficient in such methods. Not to mention, Black Cloud knew that the Dwarf Race had a type of Spirit Talisman specifically used for torment, one that truly made life worse than death if fallen into its trap.

Now, all he sought was a swift death.

Seeing this, Lu Ye finally began to ask: "How did you find this place? Who gave you the route?"

It wasn’t easy to travel from the All Phenomena Ocean to the Nine Provinces. Lu Ye had only managed it thanks to the guidance of the Reincarnation Tree, which provided a specific path, allowing him to overcome numerous challenges and finally return to the Nine Provinces.

So Black Cloud finding his way here was no coincidence; someone must have guided him. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Don’t you know who you’ve made enemies with?" Black Cloud responded sarcastically.

Lu Ye blinked: "Seems like Demon Venerable is not very convinced? Senior Brother Woo, could you help calm the Demon Venerable’s fiery temper?"

Woo Qimo stepped forward: "No problem!"

Black Cloud’s expression changed: "There’s no need!" Then he looked at Lu Ye and said: "Yuan Du gave me a route, and I followed it here!"

So it was that old fox.

"How did Yuan Du know the route from the All Phenomena Ocean to here?" Lu Ye asked further.

Black Cloud sneered, instinctively wanting to mock, but he quickly realized and restrained himself, then said: "Hadn’t there been quite a few disappearances on Three Worlds Island before? Most of them were secretly captured by Yuan Du. Under the Soul Searching Technique, what information couldn’t he extract?"

Lu Ye had already suspected this, but Black Cloud’s words confirmed it.

There had indeed been some disappearances among Three Worlds Island cultivators. Though the number wasn’t large, it wasn’t unusual. Before the massive battle with Zixuan, Luan Xiao’e had specially reported this to him.

These were unsolvable cases in such a chaotic place as the All Phenomena Ocean, where conflicts and battles among cultivators resulted in deaths or disappearances every moment.

Even on Three Worlds Island or among any renowned major factions, cultivators could vanish or die unexpectedly.

At the time, Lu Ye didn’t pay much attention to it, except for one case involving Wey Po, which eventually led to the battle between Three Worlds Island and Zixuan.

But now it seems that some of those missing cultivators from Three Worlds Island fell victim to Yuan Du, who used the Soul Searching Technique to extract routes from their memories.

"So you followed the route all the way here for revenge against the Zixuan demon cultivator?" Lu Ye asked.

"Indeed! You killed so many of my Zixuan demon cultivators; I’m just here to kill your compatriots. Is that too much?"

Lu Ye made no comment on that.

Black Cloud suddenly became furious: "Yuan Du, you good-for-nothing fellow, you’re more of a ruin than a help. His Soul Searching Technique is a pile of dog shit. Your domain has three Sun Blaze cultivators stationed here, and he was completely oblivious. It’s laughable that he even thought of using someone else’s hand to kill me!"

Lu Ye blinked... and looked at Black Cloud sympathetically.

It would be odd if Yuan Du knew. When Lu Ye led the Nine Provinces cultivators to All Phenomena Ocean initially, there was no Mount Fangcun on the Nine Provinces side, nor any Sun Blaze.

So, the intelligence Yuan Du obtained through Soul Searching was long outdated. He thought this was merely a typical large domain, secretly guided Black Cloud here for revenge, and as a result, Black Cloud blundered into a trap, finding his life and death beyond his control.

"Moreover, the route he provided was actually incomplete. I wasted quite a bit of time finding the correct path!" Black Cloud’s face was full of anger, clearly showing his dissatisfaction with Yuan Du.

No wonder this guy, being a Sun Blaze, took several years to travel from All Phenomena Ocean to Nine Provinces; it turns out this was the reason.

But in fact, Yuan Du couldn’t really be blamed, because the Soul Searching Technique is extremely sinister. Once used, it causes massive trauma to the psyche of those it is used on, so the information obtained through it is limited and mostly incomplete.

"Aside from directing you here, did he say anything else?" Lu Ye asked.

Involved with Nine Provinces, Yuan Du having performed Soul Search on the cultivators from Three Worlds Island might not necessarily be unaware of the true name of Nine Provinces. Yet he still led Black Cloud over here, undoubtedly proving that even if Yuan Du knew about Nine Provinces, he paid it no mind.

Additionally, Three Worlds Island cultivators are aware of the Merfolk Race and the underwater Merfolk Territory; does Yuan Du know?

Even if he knows incompletely, he probably has some understanding, just that he keeps it secret for some unknown purpose.

But Lu Ye isn’t too worried about the Merfolk issue. Even if Yuan Du knows, he can’t use it to make a big deal.

"Nothing more." Black Cloud assumed a meditative position, trying to make himself comfortable, hanging his head low and said: "You have offended him, and have grievances with my Zixuan as well. He can’t leave All Phenomena Ocean easily, so he incited me to come here. If I succeed, he would feel relieved."

"That’s not right." Lu Ye stared deeply at him. "I’ve heard that you’ve been in this domain for a while. What are you sneaking around looking for?"

Black Cloud seemed very cooperative, yet Lu Ye could sense that this guy wasn’t being honest; there were things he hadn’t revealed.

Black Cloud remained expressionless: "I’m new here; it’s just caution, being careful. What’s there to find? If searching, it’d be for individuals related to you."

Lu Ye quietly observed him for a few moments before softly asking: "Demon Venerable, have you heard of... the Dao Tree?"

The seated Black Cloud still showed no change in expression, with no trace of a flaw.

But having no flaw is the biggest flaw. An experienced Sun Blaze of the Demon Race, living so long, how could he not know the Dao Tree? If Black Cloud were in perfect form, he might disguise it more convincingly, but now heavily injured and near death, he couldn’t maintain the perfect facade.

Lu Ye already arrived at a conclusion, and pressed: "Does Yuan Du know about Nine Provinces and the Dao Tree?"

Black Cloud glanced up at Lu Ye before speaking: "Yuan Du found it odd why you claim to be Nine Heavens, yet it’s merely that! If he knew this Nine Provinces was the once-famous Nine Provinces, he wouldn’t have sent me; he would have come personally!"

A reasonable explanation.

"However... he doesn’t understand now, which doesn’t mean he won’t ever understand. Since the Dao Tree is involved, no matter how minute the possibility, he should thoroughly investigate."

Lu Ye smiled: "Then we must welcome him warmly when he arrives."

Black Cloud’s eye twitched, almost foreseeing the wretched fate that awaits if Yuan Du truly comes to Nine Provinces, potentially as tragic as his.

"Anything else you want to ask?" Black Cloud looked at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye slowly shook his head, having clarified everything that needed clarification.

He turned to Chen Xuanhai: "Please, Senior Brother, give the Demon Venerable a swift end."

As these words fell, a sword light flashed. When Lu Ye turned to look, he found Black Cloud had already been decapitated, with life ebbing rapidly.

"Number Nine, let us out." Lu Ye called out, then instructed: "Also, keep this scene intact for now to ensure Black Cloud is thoroughly dead before lifting it."

A vortex gradually formed, and Lu Ye, along with the three Sun Blaze cultivators of the Dwarf Race, departed.

In some corner of the stellar space, a giant planet lies expansive, encircled by a band of ring-shaped nebulae. From a distance, under the big sun’s radiance, the nebula casts a mystical purple hue.

The name Zixuan comes from this, renowned across the stellar space.

On the demon planet, countless members of the Demon Race thrive, with strong ones like clouds.

On the entire Zixuan Demon Planet, there are five Great Demon Venerables, eighteen minor Demon Venerables, twenty-three Demon Venerable-level experts overseeing various places in the domain, leading to the mighty Zixuan Demon Planet being divided into twenty-three regions, each belonging to a Demon Venerable’s territory.

Both Great and minor Demon Venerables are Sun Blaze experts; a domain with twenty-three Sun Blaze cultivators attests to the powerful foundation of Zixuan, not including the Sun Blaze cultivators from other domains in the Star System.

At this moment, within the territory belonging to Demon Venerable Black Cloud, atop Black Cloud Summit, a furious roar echoes from the grand hall, causing the entire spirit mountaintop to tremble!

"Who! Who killed my doppelgänger!"

Inside the grand hall, Demon Venerable Black Cloud’s face is engulfed in rage. One must know that the fallen doppelgänger wasn’t ordinary, but something he painstakingly prepared over three thousand years for a possible great disaster. It wasn’t just a doppelgänger but a magic body.

Though the magic body isn’t as powerful as his primary form, it belongs to the Sun Blaze level, barely a step below his own strength. Now it’s suddenly dead, rendering three thousand years of preparation futile. How could he not be furious?