Chapter 126: The Descent of the Demon Lord

Zhu Xiaoyuan began to speak.

Changsun Puyu stood to one side, listening intently to his instruction. Ruofeng, Huanyue, and the others were there as well.

Although they were not learning calligraphy, they could still glean useful insights from the lesson and apply them to their own cultivation.

“The very foundation of calligraphy lies in this first stroke: writing the character ‘one.’”

As he spoke, Zhu Xiaoyuan dipped his brush into the ink.

With a single, fluid stroke, the character was complete.

Everyone suddenly felt as though something had just begun to take shape between heaven and earth.

Amid the vast gray haze, a dazzling streak of sword light suddenly flashed.

It was as though heaven and earth had gained sound and color. The sword light cleaved straight through the primordial chaos, cutting apart all the surrounding gloom.

The majestic force of creation sharpened in an instant.

By then, Zhu Xiaoyuan had finished the character. He gently lifted his brush.

At once, everyone felt as though a spring breeze were brushing across their faces.

All things began to grow, and everything flourished with vibrant prosperity.

The world was filled with life.

“My heavens! What manner of miraculous art is this?”

“To call it the first sword that split heaven and earth would not be an exaggeration.”

“Though we do not understand calligraphy, we can feel that the sword intent contained within this stroke has endured since time immemorial!”

“Even the primordial chaos could not withstand that sword…”

Zhu Xiaoyuan’s disciples gathered around him, marveling without end.

Changsun Puyu stared fixedly at the stroke Zhu Xiaoyuan had written on the paper.

It was plainly nothing more than black ink on white paper, with no embellishment whatsoever.

And yet, he could see within it the intent of the Dao and the intent of the sword.

That sword was simply too formidable.

“Splitting heaven and earth, cleaving apart primordial chaos… Just who is Master?”

He blinked twice and muttered to himself.

Seeing the disciples around him staring in speechless astonishment, Zhu Xiaoyuan felt immensely pleased.

Back when the system had drilled him mercilessly, he himself had no idea how long he had practiced this one stroke.

Only when the character “one” was written to perfection could it truly be considered complete.

“Now practice diligently on your own. If you possess sufficient talent, you should master it soon enough.”

Zhu Xiaoyuan gave him a few more instructions.

Changsun Puyu’s heart was filled with bitter resignation.

Soon?

How soon was soon?

With his aptitude, who knew how long it would take him to master this character?

Although it consisted of only one simple stroke, the profundity contained within it was extraordinary.

In his master’s eyes, there were probably no more than one or two people in the entire Heavenly Martial Realm—or even the Immortal Realm—who could be considered “sufficiently talented.”

Still, even if he was not one of them, he had to work hard!

“Rest assured, Master. I will do my very best and complete the task as soon as possible!”

Zhu Xiaoyuan nodded, then turned and went to instruct Xianchen.

“Do not assume that sweeping the floor is an easy task! Almost everyone can do it, yet no one truly knows how.”

Zhu Xiaoyuan walked to the side and lifted a broom from the courtyard.

Holding it in his hand, he casually swept across the ground.

In a daze, everyone sensed the great Dao and immortal aura stirred up by the movement of the broom.

Even the boundless vault of heaven above their heads trembled from that single sweep.

“Look at the ground. Do you think one casual sweep will make it clean? That is merely what you think!” Zhu Xiaoyuan continued. “Sweeping is not about making the ground spotless. Even if some dirt remains, it does not matter. Sweeping is an act meant to be enjoyed!”

The moment he said this, Xianchen felt his Dao heart stir.

Something seemed to be changing silently within him.

“As expected of Master. With only a few words, he can explain every principle with perfect clarity.”

“Master means that I should sweep with my heart, not with my hands.”

“In other words, I am not sweeping the ground—I am sweeping my heart. My own heart. I think I understand now.”

Xianchen felt that he had finally grasped Senior Zhu’s meaning.

He turned toward Zhu Xiaoyuan with gratitude.

“Thank you, Senior. I will certainly sweep with all my effort!”

Zhu Xiaoyuan nodded, handed him the broom, and offered a word of encouragement.

“Keep it up. You can do it!”

…

At that moment.

At the Ascension Platform in the Southern Ridge Mountains.

Beneath ten thousand zhang of earth.

“Master, please return soon. We are waiting only for you. Hurry!”

The old man knelt on the ground, crying out frantically, his eyes blazing with excitement.

The stone coffin before him was already shrouded in black mist.

The dense aura was even beginning to seep toward the surrounding areas.

It was the aura of a demon.

“Master, awaken as quickly as you can. I have spent all these years gathering countless treasures from the Immortal Realm so that you could be resurrected!”

“Master is destined to descend upon this world!”

Seeing that the black mist within the stone coffin had reached a certain intensity, the old man opened his mouth and began reciting a string of ancient, tongue-twisting incantations.

At once, the black mist seemed to come alive and began to churn violently.

A creaking sound rang out.

It was the lid of the stone coffin.

The old man’s murky eyes immediately fixed upon it.

The lid slowly began to slide, as though someone were pushing it open from within.

“Master! You are finally about to emerge! Not just the Immortal Realm—even every world under heaven will soon submit beneath your feet!”

Tears filled the old man’s eyes as he shouted in excitement.

He had waited far too long for this moment.

At last, the coffin lid was pushed open a crack.

A hand suddenly emerged from within the coffin.

The coffin was pitch-black from end to end, while the hand was deathly pale.

The contrast between them was stark and terrifying.

In the next moment, the hand touched the coffin lid. Without any visible exertion, it gave the lid a light push, sending the entire slab flying.

The chains binding the lid turned to ashes and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Whoosh—

The lid tore through the air and crashed onto the ground.

“Master… sob, sob…”

The old man gazed at the stone coffin, weeping bitterly.

Had someone handed him a small handkerchief at that moment, the scene would have been even more fitting.

Yet in the next instant, the old man froze where he stood.

There was only one reason.

A child had climbed out of the coffin—a little girl!

At that moment, the little girl was sitting casually atop the coffin. Her small face was deathly pale, and she was wrapped in a plain robe whose origin was impossible to discern.

She looked no more than seven, eight, or nine years old.

Now she patted her little cheeks, as though she had not yet fully awakened from sleep.

“Who are you?” the old man asked, his eyes wide.

Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that a little girl would emerge from the coffin of his Demon Sovereign Master!

Where was his Demon Sovereign? His mighty Demon Sovereign?

What in the world was happening?

“Are you Ming Ye Xin?” The little girl tilted her head, looking utterly adorable.

“Who is your master?”

“I only slept here for a few centuries, and you have been muttering beside my head every single day. You were so annoying I nearly went mad.”