Chapter 350 - 349: Quasi Demon Emperor (3)

Sha Wujue’s voice trembled.

"That aura..."

He swallowed hard, unable to conceal the shock spreading across his face.

"There is only one person currently in the Hollow Beyond who possesses such an ancient and terrifying signature."

The answer appeared in his mind before he could finish speaking.

Gu Cangming.

The Eternal Calamity Demon Lord.

The name had been passed down through countless generations, preserved in ancient records and repeated in the histories of the strongest demonic clans. Some considered him a relic of a forgotten age, while others believed that his cultivation had already reached the absolute limit of what a Demon Lord could achieve.

Yet the truth had remained hidden.

For ten thousand years, Gu Cangming had not appeared before the world.

Many had wondered whether he was dead, whether he had entered a state of permanent seclusion, or whether he had simply abandoned the struggle for supremacy that consumed the rest of the demonic race.

Now, all those doubts had been answered.

He had not vanished.

He had been waiting.

And the moment he finally released his aura, the entire Hollow Beyond was forced to acknowledge the result of that wait.

Bai Sha knelt within his own palace, his face pale as he struggled to withstand the pressure. He could feel the difference between his cultivation and the existence whose aura now covered the realm, and the realization filled him with a fear he had not experienced for countless years.

"This is not the aura of an ordinary Demon Lord," he muttered.

His fingers dug into the floor.

"Has he truly crossed that boundary?"

The answer came from the pressure itself.

No explanation was necessary, as the transformation was unmistakable.

Gu Cangming had ascended.

The news spread through the Hollow Beyond without the need for messengers. Every powerful demon who felt that aura understood what had happened, and every ancient clan that possessed records of the Eternal Calamity Demon Lord recognized the significance of his advancement.

A Demon Emperor Level demon had appeared.

And he was not some unknown genius who had recently emerged from seclusion.

He was Gu Cangming, the ancient figure whose name had survived the collapse of the world and the passage of ten thousand years.

The significance of his ascension was enough to shake the foundations of the demonic race.

If the current Demon Lords had struggled for thousands of years to reach the limits of their realm, then Gu Cangming had demonstrated that the boundary could still be crossed. More importantly, he had done so by drawing upon the foundation of the last true Demon Emperor, integrating the power of an ancient sovereign into his own existence.

His achievement was not merely an advancement in cultivation.

It was the continuation of a legacy that had been interrupted by the ancient Great War.

****

Across the endless wastelands, countless demons began throwing themselves to the ground.

Some pressed their faces against the blood-stained earth, unable to endure the pressure long enough to raise their heads. Others knelt upon the roofs of their fortresses, their bodies trembling as the immense aura passed over them.

Even the most arrogant members of the demonic race found themselves unable to resist the instinctive fear and reverence awakened by Gu Cangming’s existence.

The strongest among them understood the significance of his ascension.

The weakest could only feel the overwhelming authority of a being who had risen above the limits of their world.

A chaotic chorus of voices soon spread across the Hollow Beyond, rising from the depths of the acid oceans to the highest towers of the bone-spire cities.

"The Eternal Calamity has ascended!"

An ancient Demon General fell to his knees, pressing his forehead against the jagged rocks beneath him. His voice trembled with excitement, and tears streamed down his face as he struggled to speak beneath the pressure.

"He has shattered the ceiling of the era! After ten thousand years, the path beyond has finally opened once more!"

Far above the wastelands, millions of winged demons folded their wings and descended from the sky. Their enormous bodies struck the ground, yet none dared to complain about the pain. Every one of them lowered their heads toward the distant figure whose aura had swallowed the heavens.

"Who from this era can match him?!" they cried.

"Our Lord! The true sovereign of the abyss!"

Within his palace, Sha Wujue struggled to lift his head. The pressure remained overwhelming, and the very act of speaking required nearly all his strength, yet he forced the words from his throat.

"Who can claim to be undefeated if not you, Lord Gu?"

His voice echoed through the distant palace, carrying the reverence of a Demon Lord who understood that he was witnessing the birth of an existence beyond his reach.

"You are the pinnacle across heaven and earth!"

Bai Sha also lowered his head, his expression filled with awe.

"Glory to the Demon Emperor!"

His voice joined the growing chorus that swept across the realm.

"Glory to Gu Cangming!"

Countless demons repeated the words, their voices merging into a vast wave of reverence that shook the atmosphere.

"Lead us to the blood of the heavens! Lead us to the slaughter, our Lord!"

The Hollow Beyond had endured ten thousand years of conflict, its inhabitants fighting over territory, resources, and the right to survive. The demonic race had produced countless powerful figures during that period, yet none had managed to achieve what Gu Cangming had just accomplished.

Now, the entire realm looked toward him.

To the demons, he was more than a powerful cultivator.

He was proof that their race could rise beyond the limits imposed upon them by the current era. He was the figure who might finally break the ancient seal, lead their armies back into the lower world, and open a path toward the glory.

For the first time in ten thousand years, the Hollow Beyond possessed a figure whose ambition extended beyond survival.

It possessed a sovereign who intended to challenge the heavens themselves.