The Grey World of the Human Demon

Ge Qian—a man of complexity, a grey life, a melancholy existence, a defeated spirit—at this moment, his voice rose like a primordial curse, ringing through all heavens, linking into a single resonance that shook myriad worlds and pierced past and present.

Dong!

The Old Stone Man King advanced unswervingly toward his goal and finally swung the wolf-fang stone club. Mists surged, battle power overflowed—nothing could stand in his way!

Ge Qian swept out a divine principle, his body like a void ghost, drifting lightly backward as if unaffected, vanishing like smoke from heaven and earth.

The wolf-fang stone club that could shatter great worlds struck as if on a pile of cotton—force applied but ineffective, like a fierce punch landing on empty air.

The gods had also arrived, and all were astonished. The Human Demon Ge Qian gave a fathomless impression, able to face the Stone Man Ancestor with composure.

"Ge Qian, I did not strike with the intent to kill. It seems difficult to suppress you instantly. Whether you live depends on your own fortune."

The Old Stone Man's words were calm, but all heard his killing intent. The aura of a supreme king suddenly exploded!

Boom!

This strange world that had been opened in the Nine Provinces collapsed by more than half. Many places directly turned to chaos, reverting to the primordial.

The overwhelming pressure of the king surged a million li, piercing heaven and earth. The Old Stone Man King's remaining dozen or so locks of hair flew wildly. His eyes were sharp as lightning. That posture that cast aside all others, that battle intent that soared into the clouds, suffocated all!

Ge Qian was unmoved. His voice grew ever more vast, reaching every corner of heaven and earth. Even if nine-day thunder descended, it would be suppressed.

Between heaven and earth, all was grey and dark. Broken celestial palaces hung in silent suspension. Countless shattered weapons and endless corpses… this was a corner of Ge Qian's grey mind, crystallized and manifested.

The Old Stone Man King, like a black specter, ascended to heaven in a single step and swept the wolf-fang stone club toward the endless ruins.

Dong!

At that moment, this world completely shattered. The wolf-fang stone club smashed a real world. This space that had been opened by someone no longer existed.

Fearful Old Stone Man King—divine might and godly power!

Chaos surged. In the far depths, a figure of defeat shook but did not fall.

"If heaven abandons me, I may yet deceive heaven. If the world forsakes me, the world deserves annihilation. Heaven abandons, the world forsakes, all heavens vanish into illusion. Past and present pierce through, I stand alone. This body immortal, the great destruction of all ages and heavens…"

This demonic sound became the only thing in heaven and earth. An invisible great hand seemed to grasp toward the Old Stone Man King.

At that moment, the gaunt Old Stone Man King holding the wolf-fang club seemed to suffer a heavy blow. His body shook violently, as if about to fall at any moment.

The gods at the edge of chaos were shocked. They never imagined Ge Qian had grown so strong. The might of the Human Demon was immeasurable!

Pfft!

In the distance, among the surging chaos, the Human Demon Ge Qian coughed blood. The vast sound in heaven and earth suddenly halted. The gods were delighted, but their smiles instantly froze.

At the same time, the Old Stone Man King's right arm that held the stone club shattered with a crash, falling through the sky to become a pile of gravel.

"Ge Qian, you surprise me." The Old Stone Man King's voice was low, neither pleased nor displeased. With a crash, his right arm reformed, and the fallen stone club returned to his hand.

"Because you are truly old. Your stone body is no longer firm, no longer complete. You are no longer the world-covering king of the past."

The gods changed color. Killing intent soared to the heavens!

"I have lain dormant through ages. I will not only return complete—I will surpass!"

The Old Stone Man King's withered body straightened, becoming terrifyingly tall. He advanced step by step, then suddenly accelerated, swinging the great weapon to strike the chaos ahead.

Boom!

A shocking battle erupted. Chaos shattered and reformed. The gods could perceive nothing within.

Those who had followed watched, their expressions shifting with time. Moments were precious now. The Old Stone Man King was blocked here, unable to break through for a time.

"Ge Qian, if you do not retreat, you die!" The Old Stone Man King's harsh shout rang out.

"My world has long had no radiance, no hope. Life to me is the same—grey and meaningless. If not, then let it end…"

From the chaos burst dazzling brilliance. Rolling thunder shook the heavens, but could not drown out the voices of the two.

"Then rest in peace!" The Old Stone Man King's killing intent blazed. Though the gods could not see, at that moment they all felt a chill in their hearts, a cold dread rising along their spines.

Bang!

The endless chaos was swept apart by the wolf-fang stone club. The chaotic mists surged, revealing the scene within.

Ge Qian was sent flying, his body cracking. But the melancholy on his face was fading, replaced by an expanding calm and composure.

"Illusory thoughts form images—kill! Man-killing king, god-slaughtering demon, annihilating demon king—kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!"

The Old Stone Man King seemed not satisfied. He immediately followed with this world-covering divine principle, striking at the Human Demon Ge Qian to destroy him.

Boom!

Endless demonic light drowned the place. Ge Qian's shattered form instantly turned to ash, drifting slowly in the chaos like a wisp of smoke.

The gods dared not breathe. The Old Stone Man King had displayed overwhelming power. The wolf-fang stone club slaughtered in all directions. Such combat power, they knew even in this life they could never hope to see its peak. It deeply shook their souls.

Even one as strong as the Human Demon Ge Qian could not withstand it. How much more could any of them? A tremor ran through each of them.

But then!

The Old Stone Man King's hollow eyes shot two sharp beams, scanning the slowly drifting smoke. "You… are not dead yet?!"

"Abandoned by heaven, forsaken by the world. You once appreciated me—I have repaid what I owed you…" Ge Qian's melancholy face appeared in the smoke, tinged with sorrow, with defeat, with despair. He looked at the Old Stone Man King. "You want to kill me—why be so merciless? I only fear kindness from others, not cruelty. If you had left a sliver of life earlier, I would have destroyed myself. But your mercilessness has had the opposite effect. If heaven abandons me, I may yet deceive heaven. If the world forsakes me, the world deserves annihilation…"

The smoke drifted, and Ge Qian reappeared in the chaos, showing no trace of injury except for deeper defeat and melancholy.

"Ge Qian, your growth astounds me. A man who has walked the path of a Supreme Ancestral God has almost taken the final step. It would truly be a pity to kill you." The Old Stone Man King advanced with wolf-fang stone club in hand.

"I fear that with your wounded body, you can no longer kill me!" At this moment, Ge Qian suddenly became much more forceful, completely different from his earlier temperament, advancing like a sharp blade toward the Old Stone Man King. The chaos trembled with his footsteps.

The gods in the distance felt their hearts pulse with his steps, as if their rhythms had become one.

Dong!

The Old Stone Man King raised his club, sweeping a thousand armies, striking to kill Ge Qian.

Boom!

This was an unimaginable collision. Ge Qian met the Old Stone Man King head-on. His grey life, his defeated world, his hopeless radiance—his state of mind merged with the surrounding environment, drowning the Old Stone Man King.

The gaunt figure of the Old Stone Man King could be seen struggling, but could not escape the grey mists.

A roar that made one's hair stand on end rang out, shaking myriad worlds, breaking through world barriers, splitting the land of both the Nine Provinces and the Western World. The Old Stone Man King, like a world-covering fiend, issued such an angry sound.

Bang!

Blood burst forth. He swung the wolf-fang club, caving in Ge Qian's chest, shattering half his body in an instant.

But his own skull was torn off by the Human Demon Ge Qian, firmly crushed in his hand.

Ge Qian, after Keke's father, had stripped the flesh and blood from the Old Stone Man King's form. Those last dozen locks of hair and spots of flesh and blood vanished into ash!

The gods stared, hardly believing their eyes. This was too shocking, beyond their imagination.

A low, soul-crawling roar came from the Old Stone Man King's mouth. He was like a wounded beast, his hollow eyes filled with endless killing intent, radiating a chilling fierceness.

He transformed into a black shadow, rushing forward to tear Ge Qian's broken body to pieces. Then he displayed heaven-covering divine powers, attempting to refine and extinguish him completely!

Thick black mist wrapped Ge Qian's shattered form. The Old Stone Man King was going to sacrifice the Human Demon alive, chilling the gods' hearts.

But the blood mist wrapped in black yin fog seemed impossible to refine, impossible to extinguish. The Human Demon Ge Qian's voice rang clearly: "If heaven abandons me, I may yet deceive heaven. If the world forsakes me, the world deserves annihilation. Heaven abandons, the world forsakes, all heavens vanish into illusion. Past and present pierce through, I stand alone. This body immortal, the great destruction of all ages and heavens!"

Boom!

The yin fog suddenly shattered. A fearsome beam of light shot out, piercing the Old Stone Man King's chest. Half his stone body nearly shattered!

"Ge Qian!" The Old Stone Man King roared. Even he seemed not to have expected this outcome. Ge Qian's combat power was greater than he had imagined. He shouted, "Borrow the power of all heavens to refine the immortal demon soul!"

He became completely wild, determined to obliterate the Human Demon Ge Qian. Endless yin fog once again enveloped Ge Qian. The gates of all heavens opened, and boundless great power surged in!

The Human Demon Ge Qian was like a trapped cocoon, sealed within the cocoon woven from the great power of the heavens.

Boom!

Suddenly, from the depths of chaos erupted an incomparably powerful aura. The Old Stone Man King instantly changed color. He swiftly reformed his stone body, took up the wolf-fang stone club, vigorously shook the cocoon nine times, then turned without looking back, charging into the depths of chaos.

The gods also changed color. They knew that the powerhouse striving for the final step had reached a critical moment. If not stopped soon, he would likely succeed and emerge into the world.

The Old Stone Man King vanished. The black yin fog naturally slowly dispersed. What shocked the gods was that the blood mist did not scatter but slowly coalesced. The melancholy Ge Qian reappeared in the world.

The Old Stone Man King had used the great power of all heavens and the great weapon wolf-fang stone club, yet had not killed him. He survived tenaciously—such vitality was monstrous. Seeing him, all felt a shudder.

The Human Demon Ge Qian did not look at them. He stepped forward desolately, gradually disappearing into the chaos. Soon, a sad zither melody sounded.

He was not only a melancholy and defeated man, but also a man of demonic nature. The gods did not wish to stay long. They quickly rushed into the depths of chaos, following the Old Stone Man King.

Just then, Xiao Chen and Keke's father arrived. Keke's father did not pause, charging straight into the depths of chaos.

Xiao Chen lingered briefly, asking toward the direction of the zither: "Since you have such strength, why do you hide?"

"The more you know, the more you despair…" The Human Demon Ge Qian actually answered him.

After a long silence, Ge Qian let out a low roar: "Leave quickly, or I cannot help but kill. I have already betrayed the Nine Provinces. I am a sinner of a thousand ages!"

Clang!

The zither rang sharply, killing vibrations shaking all heavens. Ge Qian was like a demon king, hair disheveled, hollow eyes staring at the sky, filled with despair.

Xiao Chen cast a last look in that direction, then charged into the depths of chaos.

In the depths of chaos stood a colossal ancient demonic city, towering like a mountain range. Thick vines like Ancestral Dragons coiled around the city walls, dotted with divine flowers. A faint fragrance drifted out, filled with powerful life fluctuations.

At this moment, the Old Stone Man King had arrived before the great city. His eyes shot two cold beams, scanning everything ahead.

Before the great gate were two piles of broken rubble. Looking closely, one realized they were two Stone Men—of course, Stone Men who had not successfully taken the final step—shattered here by someone.

A slow old stone turtle was pacing between the two piles of rubble, swaying unsteadily as if about to fall at any moment.

Seeing the Old Stone Man King, the stone turtle wobbled and said languidly, "Hey, Firewood, long time no see—miss your big brother?"

The gods behind immediately recognized him as the hateful old turtle from the Curse Realm who had punched the Otherworld Stone Man three times with the Heavenly Stele!

And the 'Firewood' he referred to was naturally the Otherworld Ancestor. Although the Old Stone Man King's withered body did indeed resemble a stick of firewood, the gods still felt a urge to slap the old turtle upon hearing this.

"You old turtle, is there anything about you worth my admiration?" The Old Stone Man King's voice was cold, staring at the old turtle.

"Can't you say something nice? You really damage my reputation. I, your venerable turtle, have every part worth respecting."

"Give an example—is it the shell or the tail? Can it be boiled into soup or stewed into porridge?"

"You old stick of firewood, you're really no good." The old turtle shrank his neck, as if feeling the cold.

"Two Stone Men of my realm lay dormant for three civilization eras. They had just emerged before being killed by you…" The Old Stone Man King's words were exceptionally cold, glaring at the old turtle.

"Stop right there—it was not this turtle's doing! Although my surname is Wang, I have never achieved the Stone Man King realm—just an ordinary turtle. It was those two themselves who carelessly played dead outside the city wall." The old turtle swore, pointing at the wall: "Look up there—there are still traces of them hitting the wall! Tsk, if you can't bear it, you shouldn't do that!"

The gods behind were so angry their seven orifices smoked, their noses nearly twisted with rage. Powerful Stone Men, even if they had not taken the final step, were still peak experts of the Otherworld with supreme combat power—yet this old turtle dismissed them as playing dead. It made one want to fiercely beat this old turtle.

"Stop pretending. I know your true origins!" The Old Stone Man King's gaze was sharp as a blade.

"You don't know turtle hair. I, your venerable one, died long ago. Now it's only a wisp of residual thought speaking with you."

"Then I will completely obliterate you!" The Old Stone Man King advanced with wolf-fang stone club.

"Unless you first smash all those Heavenly Steles, save your energy. I was born great and died gloriously—a wisp of residual thought is eternal."

The old turtle had a face that begged to be beaten. He actually lay down between the two piles of rubble like a man, propped up his legs, and swayed leisurely.

Presenting such an attitude before a world-covering king, an Ancestor who had reached the summit a hundred million years ago, was simply unbelievable. The gods all gnashed their teeth, their eyes blazing murderous light.

"Old thing… you dare to mock me!" The Old Stone Man King hefted the wolf-fang stone club to sweep and kill.

"The man I raised—if you don't come out now, I, your venerable one, am going to be dismantled!" The old turtle suddenly shouted this.