Greed, the original sin of humanity, and as a demon, one devoid of any human sentiment, the intensity of that avarice would naturally be far stronger.

At this moment, in a forest thirty kilometers from Yu’s advancing army, lay a veritable mountain of assorted gemstones—red, black, green, blue—all shimmering brilliantly under the illumination of the purplish-red sky.

Yu, clad entirely in black armor, stood transfixed before this hoard, his eyes blazing with reflected light. A long string of saliva, easily a foot in length, dripped from his gaping mouth, his tongue nearly scraping the ground.

So many Dark Stones here? How could there possibly be this many Dark Stones? The energy contained within such a multitude must equate to at least a millennium's worth of his allocated gains! If he were to absorb them all, could his strength breach the barrier into the Sovereign-level Realm?

Yu had brought no one with him, not even his most trusted confidantes. After all, sharing good fortune with oneself is superior to sharing it with another, isn't it?

Watching Yu gaze upon the countless, glittering jewels with such ravenous greed, Ye Jingyu sighed softly. These gems, easily found in both the Demon Realm and the mortal world, held such immense value in Yu's eyes.

From the fragmented memories he possessed, Ye Jingyu understood clearly that such stones were nearly extinct within the Demon Abyss, a testament to the severity of the environment there.

The Heaven-Overturning Seal materialized silently in his right hand. Looking at the still-dazed Yu, Ye Jingyu brought the seal down with full force onto the back of his head.

Yu was an Earth-Rank master, his power surpassing Ye Jingyu and his companions by an entire major realm. In a direct confrontation, even with all their accumulated artifacts and magical treasures, defeating him would be a monumental task, let alone obliterating him.

However, at this close range, Yu's entire focus was consumed by the gemstones; he never anticipated an attack from his own subordinate captain.

After all, if he truly intended to hoard the Dark Stones entirely for himself, why would he have summoned his captain in the first place? Just as he was contemplating how to reward his subordinate, a sudden whooshing sound tore through the air behind him. The inherent instinct of an Earth-Rank master instantly ignited.

A layer of black scales spontaneously erupted across the back of his skull, and his body instinctively lunged forward, attempting to evade the terrifying chill, but two long swords shot out directly from the pile of Dark Stones.

Almost instantaneously, a flash of cyan light and a streak of black light pierced through Yu’s body. Simultaneously, the Heaven-Overturning Seal wielded by Ye Jingyu smashed against the back of his head.

The seemingly solid scales shattered completely, and the five elemental forces—Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, and Thunder—surged inward, blasting his entire head apart.

Immediately following this, the Vast Sky Pearl and the Eastern Emperor Bell flew out, striking Yu’s body from front and back. Even with Yu’s astonishing cultivation and formidable physical might, facing these three renowned treasures of the Three Realms guaranteed complete annihilation. He didn’t even manage a single scream before his body fractured into pieces. The waiting Drought Zombies, Zhu Rong, Tian Wu, and the others rushed forward, devouring the scattered essence blood clean. The power of an Earth-Rank master was enough to propel them a significant distance forward; consuming life force was not an ability unique to demons.

Poor Yu, possessing the strength to crush Ye Jingyu and his company, yet meeting his end without even having the chance to strike—truly the most unjustly slain high-ranking demon.

If the original owners of the Immortal-Slaying Sword, the Eastern Emperor Bell, and the Vast Sky Pearl could witness Ye Jingyu and Liang Xiaoke employing so many treasures to ambush a mere demon beneath their power level, they would likely vomit blood in rage.

However, Ye Jingyu and Liang Xiaoke paid this no mind. Having successfully assassinated an Earth-Rank master, their confidence soared, bolstering their certainty in slaying Shan, the First Legion Commander under Mu.

What was he, merely a Sovereign-Rank master? Could he truly withstand the sharpness of the Immortal-Slaying Sword? With several supreme treasures in hand, as long as they were utilized effectively, killing a demon stronger than themselves was certainly not impossible.

Especially as Zhu Rong absorbed Yu’s power, his aura began to shift, his strength visibly approaching the Earth-Rank.

Just as Ye Jingyu and his companions prepared to execute the same calculated ambush on the First Legion Commander Shan, far away in another section of the Abyss, within the canyon where Dugu Bachen was located.

Dugu Bachen had dedicated his entire life to the blade, and thus, he recognized at a glance that the inscriptions carved onto the wall depicted a set of blade techniques—and techniques so profoundly advanced that he doubted he could ever conceive of such skill himself. Alongside the techniques was a brief biography of the person who created them.

Of course, these characters were in ancient seal script, yet, strangely, Dugu Bachen could comprehend them perfectly.

This individual’s name was simply Dao. He was a battle general serving the Great Sage Fuxi during the Primordial Era—a warrior truly born for combat, whose strength had undoubtedly reached the Divine Venerable realm. In terms of sheer fighting capacity, he surpassed even the Heavenly Witches like Zhu Rong and Tian Wu. Otherwise, he would never have been qualified to accompany the Saints Fuxi, Nuwa, and Shennong into this Abyss.

The Great Transcendent Beings of antiquity were countless; only a select few dozen were known to the world. Dao specialized in combat, guarding Fuxi, unlike the Heavenly Witches such as Zhu Rong who also traveled to instruct people in the use of fire. How could others know of him, apart from the mightiest of the Witches? His obscurity was only natural.

In those days, the Witches had nearly wiped out the demons, leaving only a few immensely powerful ones remaining. Faced with the assault of the several Great Sages, these remaining demons chose self-detonation. Dao was gravely wounded during one such explosion while protecting Fuxi.

He ultimately perished in this very valley. Upon his death, his physical body and vital essence transformed into an endless surge of blade energy that saturated the canyon. Facing the blade energy born from such a powerful entity, the demons who had miraculously survived dared not approach. Even the newly emerged Yu-rank masters only circled the periphery of the canyon before retreating, unwilling to risk their hard-won achievements.

Before his demise, Dao fused all his combat experience and the blade techniques he devised into that single stone blade, waiting only for the arrival of a destined person. Dugu Bachen, having devoted his entire being to the way of the blade, was clearly that destined inheritor. Indeed, the Heavenly Witches of the Primordial Era were all Great Transcendent Beings; even Dao, who specialized solely in battle, must have foreseen that eventually, a human would enter this Abyss.