Chapter 175: Zi Chen’s Return

The demon king and Yuan Jiang struck at the same time, their attacks blasting straight toward Sheng Heng atop the altar. Startled, Sheng Heng instinctively raised a hand, summoning a web of vines to block. The demon king’s strike was stopped, but Yuan Jiang was an upper immortal; his full-powered blow hit Sheng Heng head-on. The impact sent him tumbling from the altar, blood spurting from his mouth.

“Li’er! Li’er!” The demon king rushed up to the altar, catching Ji Li in his arms. He called her name again and again, but she gave no response, her expression growing more frantic by the second.

“Let me see!” Yun Jiao ran up behind him, placing her fingers on Ji Li’s wrist. Her brow furrowed at once — there was no pulse, no spiritual flow. Looking closely, she saw Ji Li’s face had gone deathly pale, her body stiff, her life force fading at an alarming rate. Yun Jiao’s expression darkened. “Her soul…” she murmured, “…is gone.”

“What?!” The demon king stiffened and turned sharply toward Sheng Heng, who lay crumpled below. “What did you do?!”

“ Hahaha …” Sheng Heng’s laughter broke through the chaos — wild, unrestrained, triumphant. “Did you really think I’d wait for you to arrive before beginning the unsealing?”

“What do you mean?!”

But Yuan Jiang’s expression suddenly changed. “Little niece — get back!”

He reached out to grab Yun Jiao, who was still checking Ji Li’s pulse — but in a flash someone else moved faster. A figure swept her up and leapt away. Yuan Jiang could only redirect his hand, pulling the demon king and Ji Li with him as he retreated.

An instant later, blinding white light erupted. The altar flared like a colossal lighthouse, and the ground around it split open with cracking thunder, fissures spreading in all directions. The earth quaked violently.

“Ancestor, what’s …” Yun Jiao looked up at the man beside her.

Ye Yuan cast a calm glance at the blazing light. His tone remained as indifferent as ever. “The seal is broken.”

Everyone’s face went pale. On the other side, Sheng Heng threw back his head and laughed even harder, his eyes alight with madness. “Hahahahaha — my king shall return!”

As he spoke, a faint green figure slowly rose from the center of the altar, bathed in white light — the body that had lain beside Ji Li’s. Streams of light poured into it as if drawn by an unseen force. The once lifeless corpse began to stir; color returned to her cheeks; her form grew warmer and more vibrant by the heartbeat.

It was Zi Chen — the first Demon King.

The altar’s glow intensified as more energy surged into her body. At the same time, the trembling of the earth worsened. Something below seemed to be awakening, pressing upward from the depths. The cracks in the ground widened, and from them seeped dense, pitch-black vapors.

The black mist was strange — though gaseous, it rolled like thick, viscous liquid. Wherever it drifted, the lush green forest withered instantly, the trees crumbling into ash before their eyes.

“It’s demonic miasma!” Yuan Jiang’s face hardened. He quickly drew several golden talismans and threw them around, forming a barrier that enclosed the group. “Stay inside! Don’t let it touch you!”

Everyone’s hearts pounded. The miasma looked formless, yet they could feel its freezing, corrosive chill — hundreds of times stronger than ordinary yin energy. They backed away instinctively, but the black fog spread too fast; there was no escaping it completely.

“ My … king …” Across the field, Sheng Heng gazed up at the altar in a daze. The surrounding miasma surged toward him, devouring his demonic energy and flesh, yet he didn’t even flinch. Oblivious to pain, he staggered forward, step by step, toward the awakening figure.

The light atop the altar grew dimmer until it vanished entirely into Zi Chen’s body. Slowly, her fingers twitched. She opened her eyes.

A pair of ink-black pupils shimmered beneath her lashes — eyes filled with boundless warmth and compassion, yet sharpened by an unspoken authority that made the heart tremble. This was Zi Chen, the First Demon King, returned to life.

“My king, you have finally awakened,” Sheng Heng whispered. He dared not draw closer, his face contorted with both reverence and sorrow. The cruelty that had twisted his features melted away, replaced by pure devotion. Tears welled uncontrollably and slid down his cheeks as he sank to his knees.

“ My king …” Inside the barrier, the demon king froze, staring up at the woman on the altar in disbelief. After a stunned pause, he too dropped to his knees beside Sheng Heng.

This was their true sovereign.

She… had returned.

On the altar, Zi Chen’s expression still held a trace of confusion from waking. She looked around slowly, her voice hoarse but clear. “Sheng Heng? Why do you weep?”

Sheng Heng jolted, hurriedly wiping the tears from his face. He gazed up at her with fearful adoration, as if she might vanish at any moment. “Your servant weeps for joy, my lord — joy that I can once more behold you!”

“Once more?” Zi Chen frowned slightly. Memory stirred in her gaze as it swept the surroundings. When she saw the miasma rolling through the forest, her brow tightened. “I remember … I sealed the Crimson Abyss with all my power that day. I should … have perished.”

Sheng Heng trembled. “No, my king — you are the ruler of our realm! It was not you who should have died, but those ungrateful traitors. You never deserved such an end. Heaven itself was unjust!”

“So …” Zi Chen’s voice chilled. Her eyes, calm but penetrating, fixed on him. “You revived me — even if it meant breaking the seal?”

“ My king …” Sheng Heng’s gaze softened into pleading. “The Crimson Abyss can be sealed again — by others. But there is only one king who can lead our realm — only you…”

“Sheng Heng!” Zi Chen’s tone turned sharp. “Do you realize that once the miasma spreads, the Three Realms will drown in corruption? The demon realm will fall first!”

A flicker of uncertainty flashed in Sheng Heng’s eyes, but he clenched his fists stubbornly. “I know — but the sealing isn’t yours alone to bear. The Celestial Realm and the Mystic Gate will not ignore it. If we can just hold on — with you here, the demon realm will endure!” He pressed his fists together and bowed deeply. “Please, my king, believe me. The demon realm is not as fragile as you think.”

Zi Chen’s gaze deepened. She studied him for a long moment, then sighed softly and pressed a hand to her chest. “Very well. Then tell me this — why does my inner core carry the essence of countless demon souls?”

“…” Sheng Heng froze. All color drained from his face.

Her eyes sharpened. “What method did you use… to bring me back?” she asked slowly, each word like a blade.

He didn’t answer. His fingers curled tightly into his palms. At last he straightened, his voice trembling but resolute. “The demon realm cannot exist without its king!”

Zi Chen said nothing.

Only silence filled the ruined forest.

(End of chapter)