Chapter 401: Before the storm, Xu Hei faces the final phase |
The Soul Refining Demon Lord, the head of the four great protectors, possesses unfathomable strength. He has entered the path through Divine Sense, with an immortal soul and an indestructible body, earning him the title of the hardest Demon Lord to kill.
The plan Yu Jianqiu mentioned was indeed an effective one.
But the problem followed—luring the Soul Refining Demon Lord into the Penglai Sea would pose a severe threat to the safety of many disciples!
Even if they managed to slay the Soul Refining Demon Lord here, who could predict how many would perish in the process?
"Alternatively, you could refuse and simply kill the progenitor of the Ghost Infant, leaving the Demon Lord with no reason to come."
"But this is a one-time opportunity. If missed, in a few years, when that demon grows stronger, well..."
Yu Jianqiu's smile was insincere, his meaning clear.
The reason the Soul Refining Demon Lord has been active in recent years is that he is on the verge of a breakthrough and is gathering materials. If he is not killed this time, the consequences will be dire once he reaches the Divine Transformation Stage.
Of course, they could hope for the Soul Refining Demon Lord to fail in his breakthrough, but such demonic cultivators, who have harmed countless lives, will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Who knows what he might do?
"Should we inform the six lineages?" Elder Tiger Whale asked seriously.
"No need, the fewer who know about this, the better. With me and the master here, it's enough," the Water Kylin said in a deep voice.
It wasn't that he didn't trust them, but such matters inevitably lead to controversy, and as the leader of the Penglai Sea, he must bear the responsibility.
"Let me remind you, I am only responsible for eliminating demons, not for protecting anyone's safety. If your disciples are affected and suffer casualties, that's their own incompetence."
"Once this is over, the favor I owed your Demon Lord from back then will be repaid."
Yu Jianqiu put away his wine flask and said nonchalantly.
The two present knew that Yu Jianqiu was a man of his word. He would rather spend a year alone than be burdened by others, showing his aloof nature.
…………
As time passed, more and more talented demonic beasts returned to the Penglai Sea.
Many figures that existed only in rumors appeared, and Xu Hei heard about quite a few, such as the Nine-Headed Worm, the son of the Nine-Headed Snake who guarded the Netherworld Mine for five hundred years.
Gong Tianhe, a peerless talent of the Merman Clan, known as the Aquaman. It is said that he achieved over three hundred stars in the Trial Tower, invincible at the Demon Core Stage.
The Little Poison King, Wen Tailai, who came from the Toad Kingdom, had a record of sixteen consecutive victories in the Trial Tower.
There were also some who usually kept a low profile but suddenly rose to prominence, with each of the six lineages having their own.
Of course, there was also the ever-active Hai Teng. After dispersing his core and retraining, his cultivation returned to the late stage of the demon core, more than ten times stronger than before, easily suppressing three challengers.
This made the world understand that Hai Teng's strength was not just for show.
These Chosen ones could easily take first place in any previous year's end conference.
But this year, there was only one at the top, and most of the Chosen were destined to be mere foils.
And these were just the demonic beasts of the Penglai Sea; the number on Penglai Island on the human side was even more daunting.
…………
On the night of the full moon.
This was the last full moon before the conference began. Xu Hei returned to his cave dwelling on the island to study the third diagram on the wall.
Azure Dragon Combat Technique, Dragon Raising Its Head.
After a year of failures, Xu Hei could finally withstand that illusory strike without being blasted away. However, he was still far from fully comprehending it.
Xu Hei took out five Qingyuan Pills, lining them up in front of him.
"A whole year's accumulation, it's time to break through to the late Core Formation stage!"
Xu Hei exhaled and made up his mind.
As the saying goes, a thick accumulation leads to a thin release. This year's accumulation had made Xu Hei's foundation incredibly solid, with both his true essence and physique reaching their most perfect state.
Once he breaks through, he will no longer be an ordinary late Core Formation stage cultivator.
From then on, he would no longer have a realm disadvantage against those so-called Chosen; they would all be on the same level, and Xu Hei had no reason to be weaker than any of his peers!
"Begin!"
Xu Hei opened his mouth and inhaled, swallowing the five Qingyuan Pills in one go.
Five pills, this was the result of his precise calculations; any less would be insufficient, and any more could cause problems.
The pills melted instantly, gathering above the Demon God Cauldron into five lakes of spiritual power, slowly merging into a large lake. Streams of spiritual qi flowed from the lake, surging towards Xu Hei's Golden Core.
At first, the impact was slow, but gradually, it became more intense. The color of Xu Hei's Golden Core deepened from dark purple to pure black.
Three days later, Xu Hei's Golden Core had more than doubled in size, with tiny cracks appearing on its surface, barely visible to the naked eye.
Gradually, the cracks multiplied and spread, covering the entire Golden Core.
It was like an eggshell about to shatter!
Xu Hei was not in a hurry; during his previous breakthrough, he had been disturbed by outsiders and had to speed up the process, but this time, he aimed for perfection.
He took out an ancient spirit medicine aged ten thousand years, a walking potato, and swallowed it whole.
Spiritual power comparable to the Elemental Infant stage quickly spread from the spirit medicine, enveloping the entire Golden Core. The previously cracked Golden Core was restored to perfection, its size continuing to expand.
If he didn't break through, then fine, but if he did, it had to be perfect!
The Demon God Cauldron gave Xu Hei this advantage.
…………
In the depths of the East Sea, at the bottom of a dark trench.
There was an extremely eerie palace here, filled with bones and shrouded in blood mist, with the faint sound of ghostly wails and howls.
Suddenly, a low voice echoed.
"Soul Refining, that fox has returned, yet you still haven't captured him. This has made the Sea God very angry."
As the voice sounded, all light vanished, and even the blood mist became invisible, as if swallowed.
This was the Devouring Demon Lord, ranked second among the four great protectors.
"Hmph! That demon's movements are elusive. I set up nineteen checkpoints on his way back to the Penglai Sea, yet he didn't pass through a single one. Even my predicted routes were repeatedly wrong. I even suspect he circled this entire cultivation star before returning after a whole year."
A cold snort came from within the palace.
The Soul Refining Demon Lord had dealt with countless opponents but had never encountered someone like Yu Jianqiu, who acted so unpredictably.
The Devouring Demon Lord said coldly, "Regardless, the loss of the Sea God's heart is a top priority, and we must retrieve it!"
"No need for you to say, I am well aware!" the Soul Refining Demon Lord replied.
Everyone thought that what Yu Jianqiu brought back was merely a demon infant refined by the Soul Refining Demon Lord.
However, what he brought back was not a demon infant but the Sea God's heart!
This bait was not meant to lure the Soul Refining Demon Lord but the Sea God!