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.

This mountain resembled a beehive, riddled with an intricate maze of underground tunnels that delved into unfathomable depths. A chilling, malevolent aura filled the atmosphere, turning it into a prime refuge for demon cultivators and various wicked entities.

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

His earlier divination had led him here, and the wild, turbulent, yet vaguely recognizable presence radiating from the depths of these caverns verified Xiao Feng's location, albeit in a dire state.

"Throughout the Cangyun Realm, Old Demon Xiao has no equal… what force could have wounded him so gravely?"

Chen Huaian knitted his brows, his mind swirling with puzzlement, while he held onto a portion of caution against the looming threat.

He stepped into the entrance, his silhouette darting like a specter across the complex web of passages, bypassing the minor demonic beasts hiding in the darkness and the illusion formations that had formed naturally.

The further in he ventured, the thicker that savage aura grew, intertwined with agonized bellows and the resounding booms of stones being smashed in a frenzy.

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

The current Xiao Feng differed vastly from his typical guise as a sly old fiend.

His locks were in wild disarray, his gaze blazing with scarlet fury. Demonic Energy roiled and flared around him like untamed dark infernos.

Right now, he was lashing out wildly at the chamber's walls. Each punch and kick carried devastating force capable of cleaving peaks and crumbling boulders, shaking the whole cavern and sending debris cascading down. Oddly enough, he employed no True Essence, as though he had lost memory of it, depending solely on raw bodily strength.

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

"Kill! Kill you! All of you, perish!!" Xiao Feng bellowed, his tone raspy and warped, brimming with infinite bitterness and frenzy.

Chen Huaian let out a sigh, his words ringing sharply in the ears of the raging Xiao Feng. "Old Xiao, come to your senses."

The statement acted like cold water dousing scorching oil.

Xiao Feng jerked his head toward him, his blood-red eyes fixing on Chen Huaian with lethal intensity.

No hint of recognition lingered in that stare, just raw urge to annihilate.

"You… it's you! Everything's your fault!! Kill! I'll kill you!!"

He seemed to identify Chen Huaian, or maybe he overlaid his inner turmoil onto him. With a savage yell, he morphed into a streak of ebony thunder, lunging ahead.

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

"So obstinate and blind." Chen Huaian's gaze sharpened. He joined his fingers into a blade and swept them forth with ease.

No grand explosion followed, merely a focused, nearly space-tearing beam of pale golden Sword Aura that streaked by.

*Ssssh—!*

The enormous demonic spectral talon was severed neatly in half, as if sliced by a blazing blade through soft butter, the rampaging Demonic Energy scattering at once.

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

*Pfft!*

Xiao Feng's rush halted suddenly, as if hammered by an immense impact. He spat a gush of blood, and the red hue in his eyes faded a bit.

His frame hurtled rearward like a severed kite, crashing hard into the cavern wall before slumping down weakly, momentarily out cold.

Chen Huaian advanced with one stride, 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 gentleness, it delved into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness.

Inside the Sea of Consciousness, chaos reigned under a shroud of Demonic Energy haze.

And right in the heart of that Demonic Energy stood a "heart demon" bearing Chen Huaian's features, but distorted into a malevolent, savage sneer, cackling madly and unrestrained.

Huddled and quivering at the base of this heart demon was Xiao Feng, his tresses tangled and his features smeared with grime.

"Hahaha! He's come back! Xiao Feng, look there? He's returned to dominate you!

To him, you're just a handy mutt! This round, what sort of torment do you think he'll inflict on you?!"

The heart demon mocked with haughty disdain, preying on Xiao Feng's profound dread — the dread of deprivation, the unease of facing "abandonment" or "manipulation" once more by the key figure in his life.

In truth, Xiao Feng had long nursed a persistent resentment over Chen Huaian's pretense as his senior brother. This resentment targeted not Chen Huaian's nature, but a worry that their bond was solely for gain. Actually, he didn't even mind being utilized; he feared more the potential loss of Chen Huaian as a companion should the pretense crumble.

Though their association was brief in duration, Xiao Feng had already embraced Chen Huaian as kin. Thus, upon detecting the approaching heavenly tribulation, despite the Moon Shadow Sect offering the ideal spot, he departed from it, opting for this isolated, barren region.

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

He failed to realize it was the genuine Chen Huaian entering, convinced instead that treachery and abuse awaited him.

Yet, upon discerning the intruder was Chen Huaian in person, the heart demon's bold tirade halted sharply.

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

"You… how did you get here?!" the heart demon barked, falling back while feigning bravado to hide its dread.

It stemmed from the Heavenly Demon Art and harbored an inborn, primal terror of 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… aware that This Venerable One altered the Heavenly Demon Art, you still presume to stir turmoil in 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 full might of Xiao Feng's heart demon essence to counter. Black Demonic Energy shaped into diverse savage fiends that leaped forth.

However, such efforts proved worthless against Chen Huaian.

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

The fiends dissolved on touch. The sword strands, forming a web, swiftly ensnared the heart demon securely.

"No! You mustn't eradicate me! I am woven into him! My end means his injury as well!" the heart demon screamed in panic.

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

With a mental command, the golden sword strands tightened abruptly, 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 ferocious Demonic Energy encircling him started to soothe and gather visibly, finally turning tame and deep. The savage torment on his visage slowly ebbed, yielding to a tranquil composure arising from ruin and rebirth.

A few hours passed, and an aura vastly stronger and more balanced than prior burst from Xiao Feng's frame!

Great Ascension third tribulation peak!

At the same instant, far overhead in the cavern, past the dense rock strata, the sky and earth shifted hues suddenly. Gloomy clouds amassed, and bolts of lightning twisted wildly.

A dread force of the world began to build — the heavenly tribulation descended right on time.

Xiao Feng's eyes flew open. The scarlet tinge in his irises had vanished entirely, supplanted by sharpness, and intensified by a steadfast resolve tempered in trial.

He regarded Chen Huaian, who stood vigil nearby, his stare brimming with mixed emotions and thanks.

"Chen Sword Master, this occasion…" his voice carried a rough edge, "my gratitude."

Chen Huaian brushed it off with a gesture. "Skip the ceremony. Surviving this is your own destiny. Moreover, This Venerable One did resort to deceitful tactics previously. It's natural you'd harbor doubts."

"It isn't your doing. I was simply narrow-minded." Xiao Feng offered a wry grin, then tilted his head toward the cavern roof, his sight keen. "The heavenly tribulation approaches. You must depart at once, avoid being drawn into my ordeal."

He hesitated, a customary, touch of smugness curving his lips, yet 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 one will provoke you in your presence!"

Spirit Void Old Ghost had voiced a similar vow.

What did this signify?

He hadn't achieved immortality, yet he plotted to secure land in the Immortal Realm?

Chen Huaian couldn't suppress a laugh, clapping Old Demon Xiao on the back. "Fine, This Venerable One anticipates your safeguarding. But stay vigilant, don't let those tribulation lightning strikes reduce you to dust."

With those words, he fell silent. His form blurred, and he emerged beyond the Myriad Caverns Mountain, watching from a distance as thunderclouds amassed in the firmament.

Xiao Feng, sensing the boiling energy inside him and the fearsome Heaven's Might fixating from above, felt a rush of bold fervor. He unleashed a resounding, extended howl:

"On this day, this old man, Xiao Feng, will storm the heavens with this demonic form! Through this tribulation, I affirm my Great Dao!"

He then became a beam of dark radiance, proactively bursting from the cavern to confront the storm of thunder and lightning!

The ebony clouds roiled, unveiling a blood-gold Thunder Eye.

The Ascension Tribulation commenced.

…