Chapter 83: The Origin of the Wind

“Young sorcerer, your magic is impressive, but I am the wind—the formless wind. You cannot harm me.” As he spoke, the Wind Demon’s gaze settled once more on Su Yan, his voice laced with an alluring temptation. “I have no wish to make you my enemy. I want only the boy beside you.”

“You are young and inexperienced; you cannot see who this boy truly is.”

“He is no ordinary person. On him clings the scent of hell and demons. He is the incarnate of evil, a child of the underworld, destined to bring calamity upon the world of men.”

“Hand him over to me. As long as you give him up, I swear I will never trouble you again.”

At these words, Gu Zhongyan let out a cold laugh. At last, he understood why the Wind Demon had appeared.

Su Yan, known as Black Sky, was already deeply entwined with the infernal realms, and had since been transformed by demonic power. Though he remained human, to those versed in the arcane, he was already half-demon.

Long ago, the Wind Demon, Earth Demon, and Water Demon, seeking to save themselves from discovery by the sorcerers of Earth, merged their essence with the natural elements. While this preserved their lives, it was not without consequence. Nature’s elements are both life and prison; though they escaped death, they abandoned their demonic bodies and could never return to hell by their own power.

Yet with Su Yan’s appearance, the Wind Demon glimpsed hope. If he could devour Su Yan’s body, he could forge a new demonic form and return to the underworld.

Hell is to demons what the mortal world is to men—utterly essential. That is why, upon discovering Su Yan, the Wind Demon appeared here, at a time he should never have come.

“Do you think such tricks can fool me? I may not be able to kill you, but I am curious—just how much power does a demon clinging to borrowed wind truly possess?”

“Blazing Inferno!”

A colossal firebird roared forth from the tip of his wand, its fiery wings slicing through the air, engulfing the earth, and soaring to the clouds.

Compared to the flames unleashed on Liberty Isle, Gu Zhongyan’s magic had grown far stronger, and the fire he summoned now was even more terrifying.

The blazing flames coalesced into a radiant phoenix, alive and writhing, encircling the Wind Demon.

The searing light lit the sky with a blinding crimson, as though the sun itself had fallen upon the plain.

Faced with this inferno, the Wind Demon vanished with a mocking laugh.

“Foolish sorcerer, you have no idea how ridiculous your actions are.”

“I am a demon from hell, and you dare use fire against me? It is no different than trying to drown a fish in water.”

“And as I told you, I am the wind—the formless wind. Your flames cannot touch me.”

With these words, the Wind Demon swept through the blaze, gathering a whirlwind that seized the flames, twisting them into a fiery tornado that howled toward Gu Zhongyan.

Gu Zhongyan responded with a flicker of phantom motion, vanishing from his spot.

Boom!

The fiery tornado slammed into the ground, its heat fusing sand into glass, leaving a scatter of crystalline fragments.

Undaunted by this initial setback, Gu Zhongyan showed no sign of discouragement. He swung his wand again and incanted another spell.

“Frozen Lance!”

A biting gleam of icy light shot forth, the air freezing in an instant as the cold cut through the sky, turning moisture to falling shards of ice.

The dazzling chill was like a blade, thrust into the heart of the firestorm, sweeping away the stifling heat in a breath.

As the blade of cold rushed toward him, the Wind Demon sneered, transforming once more into formless wind and passing unharmed through the light.

“Pointless, pointless. Give up, wizard. You cannot kill me, nor can I strike you. This fight is meaningless.”

“But I am a demon—ageless, deathless, without need for food or drink. You, however, are a mere mortal. If this drags on, it will only harm you.”

“Surrender. Hand over the boy, and I give you my word—I will never trouble you again.”

The Wind Demon persisted in his persuasion, but Gu Zhongyan remained unmoved. Knowing it was futile, he nonetheless raised his wand and cast Blazing Inferno once more.

Blazing Inferno, Frozen Lance, Blazing Inferno, Frozen Lance...

Like a machine set to its routine, Gu Zhongyan alternated between the two spells, each time met with the Wind Demon’s derision.

Again, after unleashing Frozen Lance, Gu Zhongyan paused.

By now, the once open plain was scarred and ravaged by their duel, scorched earth mingling with scattered ice, all traces of its former self erased.

“Hmm? You’ve stopped. Are you out of magic? Or ready to negotiate and accept my terms?” The Wind Demon could not help but inquire.

Gu Zhongyan curled his lips in a mocking smile, glancing at the Wind Demon with disdain. “Do you know what causes the wind?”

“What?” The Wind Demon was taken aback, puzzled by the seemingly irrelevant question.

Gu Zhongyan continued, “According to modern science, wind is the movement of air.”

“Warm air rises, cold air sinks; their interaction and flow create wind.”

The Wind Demon grew increasingly confused, yet a sense of foreboding welled within him, as though some great danger was hidden in Gu Zhongyan’s rambling words.

Before he could fathom the threat, Gu Zhongyan raised his wand once more and tapped it lightly.

“Hurricane Assault!”

A hurricane burst forth from the wand’s tip, not aimed at the Wind Demon, but at the empty land surrounding him.

Whoosh!

The hurricane swept across the scorched and frozen ground, cold and warm currents intermingling, forming a vortex that violently tore at the surrounding air.

Under this invisible force, the Wind Demon’s form wavered, and he realized that much of the air enveloping him had been ripped away.

“No!” His pupils contracted, terror flickering in his eyes. He did not understand what was happening, but he knew that without the wind’s protection, death was inevitable.

Desperately, the Wind Demon tried to muster his power to reclaim the departing currents, but after all of Gu Zhongyan’s careful preparation, how could he allow such a chance?

“Lightning Storm!”

With the Wind Demon in disarray, Gu Zhongyan struck decisively, raising his wand to unleash a tempest of lightning.

Thunder boomed across the sky, spreading like a vast net, descending with terrifying force to ensnare the Wind Demon.

In panic, the Wind Demon tried to revert to his wind form.

But before he could fully merge with the air, the vortex of opposing currents tore the surrounding wind apart, exposing the demon’s true body.