Chapter 2431: Becoming Demonic

Boom! Bang! Boom!

In the quiet night, the booming sounds continued relentlessly, waking more people and drawing them to the scene out of curiosity.

"Our emperor sure has a fiery temper."

"It's that Kui Niu who's being too arrogant, making all that noise in the middle of the night."

"Getting beaten is what he deserves."

Crowds gathered in droves, murmuring like ocean waves, with most folding their arms and enjoying the spectacle. They found it quite satisfying to see Kui Niu getting pummeled. That old bull always acted so high and mighty whenever he came to Da Chu. For someone like him, not getting a thorough thrashing would be against the natural order.

"Looks like we didn't arrive too late."

From the sky, more figures descended. Leading the way was a monkey, shouldering a dark gold iron staff, his fiery eyes gleaming brightly. It was none other than Xiao Yuan Huang. Accompanying him were many close friends, such as the various Di Zi, Chen Yi, Xi Zun, and Zhong Huang. Quite a crowd had shown up, apparently having gathered early to seek some entertainment in Da Chu. Kui Niu, true to form, had been the quickest, rushing over first to challenge Ye Chen.

"As the facts show, having Di Yun or not makes no real difference," Qing Di's son sighed.

No need for him to explain—everyone could see it clearly. It seemed Kui Niu had gained some fortuitous opportunity, namely the Lei Ting Di Yun, and had come to fight Ye Chen, only to end up beaten and unable to lift his head.

"He's gotten even fiercer since we last saw him."

Xiao Yuan Huang scratched his monkey fur, referring to Ye Chen. It was evident that Ye Chen had reached the third level of Zhun Di. Even Kui Niu, with his Di Yun and domineering presence, was being sent flying all over the sky.

"From what I can divine, Young Master Ye must have been awakened from his sleep," Ri Yue Shen Zi said meaningfully, clearly enjoying his role as a fortune-teller.

His words made the crowd nod thoughtfully. Ye Chen was bare-chested, obviously having jumped out of bed. As for whose bed he had climbed out of, that was quite intriguing—perhaps he had been in the middle of something intimate with his wife, only to have it interrupted.

"You stinking old bull, ruining our good time."

Ye Ling had arrived too, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger.

Along with her came Chu Xuan and the others, all wearing similar expressions—dark faces and eyes sparking with fury. Their perfect spring night had turned into a live spectacle, all thanks to Kui Niu smashing it to pieces. Their pent-up frustration was even greater than Ye Chen's.

Ji Ning Shuang, however, was nowhere to be seen, likely still waiting in her chambers for Young Master Ye.

"Keep cursing! I'll make you regret it."

Ye Chen's roars echoed everywhere as he wielded a wolf-tooth club formed from the Hun Dun Ding, beating and cursing Kui Niu all the way. He wasn't treating Kui Niu like a brother at all—more like a sworn enemy. He wouldn't stop until he turned Kui Niu into a pulp.

"No more fighting! No more!"

Kui Niu scrambled away in panic, yelling desperately. Gone was his earlier air of being the top dog. Ye Chen had hammered him so relentlessly that he could barely stand. His so-called Lei Ting Di Yun was utterly useless, and his domineering divine body was a joke. In front of Ye Chen, it was all far from enough, with blood and bones splattering across the vast sky.

But Ye Chen wasn't having it. He swung another club down.

This strike was truly overbearing, collapsing the heavens themselves.

Splash!

Blood flowers bloomed as half of Kui Niu's divine body exploded.

In that instant, the Di Zi-level figures, the talents of Da Chu, and Chu Xuan's group all exchanged glances, furrowing their brows. Their eyes seemed to say the same thing: This isn't just a beating—this is attempted murder!

"You old hag, are you trying to wipe me out?"

Kui Niu cursed loudly, dragging his blood-soaked body and fleeing desperately through the air.

In the past, Ye Chen had beaten him plenty of times, but there had always been limits. This time was different—the strikes were world-shattering, pure killing techniques!

Ye Chen ignored him completely, chasing and striking without pause.

He was different from before. His gleaming golden eyes now held a trace of bloodlust and savagery, like a dormant demon god slowly awakening.

Not only that, but the golden light surrounding him carried a demonic aura, with faint demonic energy flickering in and out. He blinked in a daze, and so did those watching him. It was as if he were no longer Ye Chen, but a great demon intent on slaughtering Kui Niu.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

Under everyone's gaze, blood mist filled the sky. Each swing of Ye Chen's club made Kui Niu spill blood. It wasn't just his physical body breaking—it was his Yuan Shen essence suffering catastrophic damage too.

"Something's off," Wu Ji Di Zi murmured, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"This isn't sparring—Seventh Bro is really trying to kill Big Bro," Xiao Yuan Huang said, his brow furrowing deeper. From a distance, he could already sense Ye Chen's killing intent—the real deal.

"Has he gone mad?" Chu Xuan whispered. Though their good time had been ruined, venting would have sufficed, but Ye Chen's demeanor clearly meant he wanted to eliminate Kui Niu. His killing intent was ice-cold.

"His mind is unstable, showing signs of Ru Mo," Chu Ling sensed after a moment.

"You damn lunatic!"

As the crowd watched, Kui Niu howled again. His newly reformed body shattered once more, and his Yuan Shen reconstruction was affected, causing him to cough up mouthfuls of fresh blood.

Ye Chen said nothing, his expression turning savage in an instant as he swung another club.

"Stop!"

Xie Yun and Si Tu Nan shouted hoarsely, rushing in from left and right into the heavens. As his close brothers, how could they not understand Ye Chen? He had never gone for the kill against his own before. This violent bloodthirst was completely out of character.

"Go!"

Xie Yun snorted coldly and used Yi Tian Huan Di to teleport Kui Niu away, while Si Tu Nan channeled Dao Fa, slapping out a palm across the sky to clash directly with Ye Chen's wolf-tooth club.

Boom! Splash!

That section of the sky collapsed again. Kui Niu was rescued, but Si Tu Nan's palm bones shattered, sending him flying with blood spraying everywhere. Xie Yun, who charged in after, was also swatted away by Ye Chen's club. Not being a Di Zi-level figure, that single blow nearly scattered his soul.

Everything happened in a flash, yet the scene was gruesomely bloody.

Only then did the onlookers react, realizing how strange the situation was. Beating Kui Niu made sense, but going for the kill? And not even sparing Xie Yun and Si Tu Nan?

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Ye Chen finally halted in midair.

Bare-chested as he was, his form looked eerie. Dark demonic patterns were etched across his sacred body, and his once-cascading black hair was tinged with red, on the verge of turning fully blood-colored. The demonic energy still flickered faintly, with destructive visions manifesting and a demonic light shrouding him. Vaguely, a supreme demonic sound echoed through the heavens and earth.

What was most terrifying were his eyes, now a vivid red as if dripping blood, filled with savagery and bloodlust. He was no longer the emperor of Da Chu—he was a true demon.

"Demonic transformation," Chen Yi said, his brow tightly knit, fully aware of Ye Chen's state.

"No wonder he went for the kill on me," Kui Niu coughed up blood heavily, barely able to stand, his face ashen. He didn't know why Ye Chen had entered this state—was there some mishap?

"Clearly, his mind is no longer clear," Tian Que Di Zi pondered.

"Heart demons have disturbed his senses—he doesn't recognize his old friends anymore."

"How could this happen?" Chu Xuan and the others murmured in shock, their lips parting slightly. They knew Ye Chen would soon enter the world to face his tribulation, but they had no idea about this sudden demonic transformation. A sense of foreboding washed over them.

Ming Di was watching too, his imperial eyes narrowed into slits. He could peer clearly across the boundaries of the human and nether realms. With the insight of an emperor, how could he not understand why Ye Chen had demonized?

"It's not just karmic obstacles—there's a curse too," Dao Zu said gravely.

"The demonic curse from Mo Tian Di," Ming Di snorted coldly, uncovering the secret.

Back in the Ling Yu, at the sight of the Mo Zhu, Mo Tian Di had crossed life and death, and Di Zun had crossed reincarnation.

Though that battle was unknown to the world, great emperors like them had seen it clearly. Mo Tian Di, though destroyed, must have placed a curse on Ye Chen before dying—a curse on par with a Tian Di level. Now, with karmic obstacles accumulating, it had triggered the curse, leading to Ye Chen's demonic transformation.

"What a cunning Mo Tian Di," Ming Di's cold snort carried the killing intent of the imperial Dao.

Unfortunately, he only realized this today. Mo Tian Di had deceived both Di Huang and him, along with Dao Zu. A curse of that caliber couldn't be erased by reincarnation.