The Heavenly Scorn Sword Soul surged in again, and Ye Xiu's body began to emit a translucent crimson light. The radiance accumulated and spread from within, illuminating the intensely dark surroundings with a strange, shimmering glow. In that instant, a figure materialized from the void, slowly integrating itself into Ye Xiu's memory.

"Heavenly Scorn Sword, Death God lineage! Heavenly Scorn Sword, Shadow Death God! Heavenly Scorn Sword, slay the sovereign of the world..." Ye Xiu staggered, a wave of dizziness washing over him, yet he ceaselessly muttered these words. He felt an immense power surging through him, emanating from his core and radiating into the emptiness. Slaughter, battlefields, insidious plots—all flooded his consciousness in a single moment.

"Master... ah..." Su Su tried to stop what was happening, but the crimson light sealed her completely. At that moment, she could only exist as an inconspicuous jade ring clinging to Ye Xiu's finger.

As the red light receded, the realm dimmed once more. It was still the Gate of the Death Kingdom, still that bizarre landscape. Three flashes of light rapidly approached; the three figures drifted eerily, as if burdened by an urgent mission.

"Halt!" a voice, steady yet laced with an undeniable undercurrent of malice, cut through the air. The leading black silhouette looked down at the struggling Ye Xiu on the ground. "It is the Sword Demon, Ba Fang Guling! What is he doing here?"

"Sword Demon?" Ye Xiu shook his head, intending to rise, but at that instant, a piercing, tearing pain erupted in his skull. The four words, Ba Fang Guling, surged from his heart, disrupting his memories. "I am Ye Xiu, I am Ba Fang Guling! How can this be? Ye Xiu is Ba Fang Guling, and Ba Fang Guling is Ye Xiu."

The black silhouette removed his hood. He was lean, with dark skin and intensely focused eyes. A strange, horizontal scar on his forehead was exposed to the air, resembling a gaping mouth. He extended a hand to steady Ye Xiu. "Ba Fang Guling, you must be the one escorting the King of the Underworld back. Tell me quickly, where is the King of the Underworld?"

The chaos in Ye Xiu's mind had not yet settled, but he clearly could no longer control his own thoughts. This man called him the Sword Demon, and he himself was beginning to believe he was Ba Fang Guling. He couldn't control his own mouth: "King Zhou, are you trying to take advantage of the chaos to assassinate the King of the Underworld and seize his throne?"

"Insolent!" A figure from behind the black silhouette stepped forward. He wielded two long blades, powerfully built, his gaze sharp as an eagle fixed on Ye Xiu. "I, King Zhou, came out of concern for the King of the Underworld’s safety to save him. Hurry and lead us to find him so he can be healed!"

Ye Xiu knew nothing of King Zhou. Internally, he only sensed something strange about the black silhouette, vaguely detecting a connection to Shun Yi, the Shadow Death God who had forced him into peril that day. He wished to question further, but the right to speak with his entire body had already been usurped. He realized he was now like a soul imprisoned within Ba Fang Guling’s body. "Do you think I don't know King Zhou’s wolfish ambition, his long-held desire to contend for the position of the Death Kingdom's sovereign?"

Hearing Ba Fang Guling speak with such righteous indignation, King Zhou gave a cold smile, apparently ready to drop all pretense. "I know you hid the King of the Underworld behind the Gate of the Death Kingdom. Only the Inner Cabinet of your Flame Death Gods knows how to open that Gate. If you open it for me, you will remain the Death Kingdom's Protector. How about it?"

"The Protector of the Death Kingdom died long ago; only the Sword Demon remains!" At that moment, a fierce gale swept through, whipping Ba Fang Guling’s long red hair wildly. His frame was similar to Ye Xiu’s, the sole difference being the deep crimson armor he wore, inlaid with dragon scales and serpent markings, symbolizing the status and dignity of a Death God. "No matter who you are, anyone who stands in my way meets only one fate!"

"You won't believe it until you see the coffin!" The man holding the twin long blades suddenly spun his weapons and charged toward Guling. Black smoke shimmered around his blades, instantly enveloping the surroundings and trapping Guling. "Let me test the abilities of the one called the Sword Demon!"

"Hmph!" Guling shifted aside, noticing the smoke had already coiled around his limbs like chains. He tried to draw out his Purple Flame, but before it could fully manifest, the surrounding black mist dispersed it. "In the ultimate battle against the Heavenly Emperor, the King of the Underworld was besieged and defeated by the Heavenly Emperor's Alliance. He ordered your Shadow Lineage to provide aid, yet your reinforcements were inexplicably delayed—why?"

"Hahaha, so that you all would die!" The twin blades flashed, splitting apart to attack Guling from two directions. The edges formed crescent moons, one soaring high and the other striking from the earth, aiming straight for his life. "The King of the Underworld's power is equal to King Zhou's; by what right does he command the Death God lineage?"

"By what right!" Upon hearing this, Guling's tone grew grave. His eyes flared as if lit by fire. He spread his arms wide and caught both long blades in his grasp. "The authority of the Death Kingdom—how dare you base individuals shake it? I once thought King Zhou was a capable ruler, but I never imagined he would sacrifice the entire Death Kingdom for his own selfish desires!"

"Nonsense!" A shadow flashed through the darkness. He struck Guling from behind, using his hand as a blade. A pale green light emanated from his hand, a chilling aura suggesting the end of the Sword Demon's myth. "I never expected the legendary Sword Demon to be so easily defeated!"

"Do not force me!" In a flash of lightning and fire, Guling stamped hard upon the ground, his long hair flying. In that instant, a streak of crimson cold light descended—a long, spectral sword shadow falling from the heavens. Its aura was like the rainbow of a cold sun, its blade like the wind of a waning moon. It plunged downward like a celestial stone, striking with ruthless finality. "Heavenly Scorn Sword, Life Adrift."

"What!" The wielder of the twin blades had no time to react. A flash of red light swept past. By the time his hand pierced toward Guling's chest, it carried no force. His head and body separated, and his robust form had inexplicably turned to dust, leaving behind only his astonished final utterance: "This... is the legendary Heavenly Scorn Sword!"

Guling extended one hand and caught the Heavenly Scorn Sword as it descended from the sky. He held the crimson longsword before his eyes. It measured over three feet long, the entire blade etched with red serpent-like patterns. Faint blue traces showed beneath the surface, as if a serpent’s tail were coiled and settled. The hilt was gripped tightly by several dragon claws fashioned into golden hooks that enveloped the dark handle. At the pommel hung dark orbs, each securely fastened by tiger claws. The weapon exuded immense power yet was exquisitely detailed. "When the Heavenly Scorn Sword is drawn, where can the heart of the deceased find rest? Heaven is deep, the sea is high, all are cold eyes touched by chilling dew!"

"Die!" At this moment, another cloaked figure beside King Zhou drew his heavy dual blades and darted towards Guling with agile movements. One blade represented the dragon, the other the tiger. As he swung them in countless patterns, it was like a dragon soaring and a tiger leaping, his momentum like a rainbow. "Do you think relying on just one Heavenly Scorn Sword is enough to project an air of lofty detachment?"

"It is not reliant on one sword!" Guling’s words were cold, yet his eyes never left the Heavenly Scorn Sword. In his gaze lay melancholy, sorrow, and the profound solitude of a peerless swordsman. With a flash of red light, the attacker found his head and body divided. Life held little value before the Heavenly Scorn. "It all stems from sin!"

"This..." The Heavenly Scorn Sword was too fast. The man's severed head floated in the air, still retaining the final words he was about to utter: "This... is... the Sword Demon?"

Ye Xiu, within Guling’s body—or rather, their souls now intertwined—witnessed his own actions and the might of the Heavenly Scorn Sword. In that instant, heaven and earth were filled only with light, a light beyond the capacity of mortal eyes.

Guling drew a shallow breath and held the Heavenly Scorn Sword upright. The blade remained as pristine as before, as if it had never tasted blood. "The King of the Underworld is indeed behind the Gate of the Death Kingdom, but you know I will never let you enter!"

Seeing his trusted subordinates so easily dispatched, King Zhou instinctively retreated a step, showing a flicker of cowardice. However, in terms of strength, he was no inferior to Ba Fang Guling. Yet, he saw no need for a life-or-death struggle here. After careful consideration, he said, "Worthy of the Death Kingdom's Sword Demon. Since that is the case, let us make a wager!"

"What wager?" Guling knew King Zhou was also royalty of the Death Kingdom; his martial arts were formidable, but his true skill lay in stratagem.

"I will only cross swords with you once! If I lose, I will leave this place and never set foot near the Gate of the Death Kingdom again." King Zhou half-closed his eyes, clearly calculating further. "If I win, you must open the Gate of the Death Kingdom for me!"

"You will never win!" Guling was a swordsman who lived for victory; the word 'failure' could never exist in a swordsman's life, for failure meant death! He already held the Heavenly Scorn Sword suspended before him. The blade moved like a spirit serpent, sensing the impending conflict, drifting as if scrutinizing its opponent's every move.

King Zhou pulled one hand from beneath his cloak. His palm was withered and ancient, like a demonic claw. With a surge of power, the black mist coiled eerily around him. As the mist encircled them like a coiling dragon, a gigantic, pitch-black greatsword manifested majestically in the sky. "Let the Shadow Dragon Fiend Sword meet the Death God's Sword Demon. We shall see if the Black Dragon is stronger, or if the Spirit Serpent prevails!"

"Clang..." The previously serene sky erupted with incessant lightning due to the entanglement of the red and black forces. Throughout the entire scene, a giant black shadow dragon descended from above, mouth agape, its claws holding massive clusters of dark energy. Accompanied by violent lightning, the energy appeared exceptionally strange. Opposite this, the red Spirit Serpent flicked its tongue toward the heavens, its body emitting waves of flame that illuminated half the sky with an unusual brightness.