Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 849: The Demonic Old Man Xiao, Who Went Astray

Northern Continent, Myriad Caverns Mountain.

The terrain in this area resembled a vast beehive, teeming with an intricate web of subterranean tunnels that twisted into endless abysses. A dark, ominous aura hung heavily in the atmosphere, rendering it an ideal sanctuary for demonic cultivators and various malevolent entities.

Chen Huaian's form materialized silently at the mouth of a nondescript cave opening, his forehead creased in mild concern.

His earlier divination had led him here, and the turbulent, disordered yet vaguely recognizable energy pulsing from the cavern's depths verified that Xiao Feng was present, albeit in a dire state.

"In the whole Cangyun Realm, Old Demon Xiao has no equal… who could have wounded him so gravely?"

Chen Huaian's brows knit tighter, his mind swirling with puzzlement, while he held onto a portion of caution regarding the looming threat.

He advanced into the entrance, his silhouette darting like a specter across the complex maze of passages, bypassing the minor demonic beasts skulking in the darkness and the innate deceptive formations.

As he delved further, that savage energy grew denser, intertwined with anguished howls and the resounding booms of stone being wildly pulverized.

At last, in a colossal subterranean chamber, Chen Huaian laid eyes on Xiao Feng.

This version of Xiao Feng stood in stark contrast to his typical guise as a sly, irreverent elder demon.

His locks were tangled and wild, his gaze blazing with scarlet fury. Demonic Energy roiled and flared around him akin to wild, pitch-black infernos.

Right now, he assaulted the chamber's walls with reckless fury. Each strike from his limbs carried devastating might capable of rending peaks and crumbling boulders, shaking the entire space and sending debris cascading. Oddly, he employed no True Essence, as though he had lost memory of it, depending solely on raw bodily strength.

Observing this chaos, Chen Huaian grasped the truth immediately — Old Demon Xiao was enduring a profound Qi Deviation.

"Slaughter! End you! Every one of you, perish!!" Xiao Feng bellowed, his tone ragged and warped, brimming with boundless hatred and insanity.

Chen Huaian let out a soft sigh, his words cutting sharply into the ears of the raging Xiao Feng. "Old Xiao, snap out of it."

Those utterances acted like a deluge of cold liquid poured onto searing fat.

Xiao Feng jerked his head sharply, his blood-red eyes fixing on Chen Huaian with lethal intent.

No hint of recognition lingered in that stare, merely an unadulterated urge to annihilate.

"You… it's you! Everything stems from you!! Annihilate! Annihilate you!!"

As if he identified Chen Huaian, or maybe cast the root of his inner turmoil onto him. With a savage yell, he morphed into a streak of dark thunder, lunging ahead.

Demonic Energy soared skyward, forming a colossal spectral talon that ripped through the void, plummeting to seize Chen Huaian's skull!

"Foolishly persistent." Chen Huaian's gaze sharpened. He aligned his fingers into a blade and swept them forth with ease.

No cataclysmic uproar ensued, just a focused, nearly reality-tearing beam of pale golden Sword Aura that streaked by.

*Ssssh—!*

The enormous demonic spectral talon cleaved apart effortlessly, like slicing through soft butter with a heated blade, the rampaging Demonic Energy scattering at once.

The Sword Aura's force persisted undiminished, precisely striking Xiao Feng's torso.

*Pfft!*

Xiao Feng's rush halted suddenly, as if hammered by an immense impact. A gush of blood erupted from his mouth, and the scarlet hue in his eyes faded partially.

His frame hurtled rearward like a severed kite, crashing hard into the chamber wall before slumping down feebly, briefly rendered senseless.

Chen Huaian moved closer, reaching Xiao Feng's position.

He rested one palm atop Xiao Feng's crown. An immense, sea-vast Divine Sense poured out, but with utmost precision, it delved into the hidden depths of his Sea of Consciousness.

Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Demonic Energy dominated a turbulent fog.

And right at the core of that Demonic Energy, a "heart demon" bearing Chen Huaian's features but warped into a malevolent, savage sneer, cackled uproariously and without restraint.

Huddled and quivering below this heart demon stood Xiao Feng, his hair unkempt and features smeared with grime.

"Hahaha! He returns once more! Xiao Feng, behold? He comes to dominate you!

To him, you're merely a handy hound! This round, predict how he'll torment you?!"

The heart demon mocked with haughty disdain, preying on Xiao Feng's profound dread — the terror of abandonment, the unease of being "utilized" or "discarded" once again by his closest ally.

In truth, Xiao Feng had long nursed a deep-seated resentment over Chen Huaian posing as his senior brother. This bitterness targeted not Chen Huaian's nature, but rather a worry that their bond served only for gain. Actually, he didn't even mind exploitation; what chilled him was the potential loss of Chen Huaian's companionship should the truth unravel.

Though their association spanned little time, he had already embraced Chen Huaian as kin. Thus, detecting the approaching heavenly tribulation, despite Moon Shadow Sect offering the optimal site, he departed the sect, opting for this isolated, barren spot.

Xiao Feng glanced fearfully at the approaching Chen Huaian, then bowed his head in torment.

He remained unaware that the true Chen Huaian had entered, convinced he faced treachery and mistreatment.

Yet, upon the heart demon discerning the entrant was Chen Huaian in person, its boastful rant halted sharply.

Chen Huaian's Divine Sense manifestation appeared in the Sea of Consciousness, glaring icily at the heart demon. "Utterly ridiculous! A trifling heart demon presumes to mimic This Venerable One? Such audacious nerve!"

"You… how dare you appear here?!" the heart demon barked, falling back while feigning boldness to conceal its dread.

Sprung from the Heavenly Demon Art, it harbored an inherent, primal terror toward Chen Huaian, the originator of the Heavenly Demon Art - People's Education Press Master Edition, who knew its every nuance.

"Old Xiao counts as This Venerable One's companion. Why would I not arrive?

Regarding you… fully aware the Heavenly Demon Art was altered by This Venerable One, yet you persist in ravaging Old Xiao's Divine Soul… courting annihilation!"

Chen Huaian had no interest in prolonging the exchange. His Divine Sense shifted into myriad golden strands of sword radiance, expanding to encircle the heart demon from every angle.

The heart demon wailed, summoning the entirety of Xiao Feng's heart demon essence to counter. Black Demonic Energy shaped into diverse savage demonic forms that lunged aggressively.

Yet none of this availed against Chen Huaian.

The golden sword strands embodied supreme yang purity, infused with matchless Sword Intent and a natural dominance over the Heavenly Demon Art's origin.

The demonic forms crumbled on impact. The sword strands, forming a mesh, swiftly ensnared the heart demon securely.

"No! You mustn't eradicate me! I form part of him! Erasing me harms him as well!" the heart demon screamed in panic.

"Who claimed I intend to destroy you?" Chen Huaian's mouth twisted into a derisive grin. "Merely aiding your reversion to origin."

With a mental command, the golden sword strands abruptly tightened, compelling the refinement and cleansing of that enormous mass of heart demon essence.

Ultimately, it condensed into a thread of untainted black energy, channeling back into Xiao Feng's resting primordial spirit.

In the external realm, the insensate Xiao Feng's form convulsed sharply. The rampaging Demonic Energy encircling him started to subside and gather visibly, soon turning tranquil and deep. The savage agony etched on his features slowly faded, supplanted by a peaceful composure from devastation and rebirth.

Dozens of hours passed before a presence far stronger and more balanced than prior burst from Xiao Feng's interior!

Great Ascension third tribulation pinnacle!

At the same instant, far overhead the chamber, past the dense rock strata, the skies and ground shifted hues dramatically. Ominous clouds amassed, and lightning bolts writhed in frenzy.

A fearsome weight of heaven and earth amassed — the heavenly tribulation manifested on time.

Xiao Feng's eyes flew wide. The scarlet tinge in his irises had utterly receded, yielding to sharpness, and intensified by a steadfast resolve tempered in adversity.

He regarded Chen Huaian, who stood vigil nearby, his expression laced with intricacy and appreciation.

"Chen Sword Master, this occasion…" his voice rasped faintly, "my thanks."

Chen Huaian brushed it off with a gesture. "Spare the pleasantries. Surviving this owes to your personal Destiny. Moreover, This Venerable One employed sly tactics in the past. It's natural you'd harbor doubts."

"None of it concerns you. I was simply narrow-minded." Xiao Feng offered a wry grin, then directed his sight upward through the chamber's roof, his stare keen. "The heavenly tribulation descends. Depart swiftly, avoid entanglement on my account."

He halted, a customary, mildly cocky grin surfacing on his countenance, though his eyes held utter gravity. "After this old man ascends to immortality, I'll head to the Immortal Realm ahead and claim a domain! By the time you arrive, this old man will shield you! I vow no soul will challenge you openly!"

Spirit Void Old Ghost had voiced the identical pledge.

What did this signify?

Not yet immortal, and already scheming to secure holdings in the Immortal Realm?

Chen Huaian couldn't suppress a laugh, clapping Old Demon Xiao's shoulder. "Very well, This Venerable One anticipates your safeguarding. But take care, lest those tribulation lightning strikes reduce you to fragments."

Having spoken, he added nothing further. His form blurred, reemerging beyond Myriad Caverns Mountain, observing from a distance the firmament where thunderous clouds amassed.

Xiao Feng, sensing the torrential might coursing through him and the dread Heaven's Might fixing upon him from above, brimmed with bold fervor. He unleashed a resonant, prolonged shout:

"On this day, this old man, Xiao Feng, will ascend to the heavens bearing this demonic form! Through this trial, I affirm my Great Dao!"

Then he became a beam of ebony radiance, proactively bursting from the chamber to confront the storm of thunder and bolts!

The sable clouds roiled, unveiling a blood-golden Thunder Eye.

The Ascension Tribulation commenced.

…