Chapter 127: The Demon Lair of the Ink Sea

The Sleeping Dragon Valley is vast, spanning over a thousand miles and cutting across the Du River. Within it, essence and blood permeate the air, surging toward the heavens for three thousand miles. In the rhythmic pulse of this energy, the essence of the sun and moon coalesces into the shape of a dragon—which is how the valley earned its name.

However, what currently met Xu Zhong’s eyes was not the rolling mountains or the peaks piercing the clouds, but a sun embedded into the mountains, acting as the source of terrifying, cloud-like mists that spread outward. They stood silently in the valley, occasionally erupting with flowers born from essence and blood.

"Where is the heart?" Xu Zhong pondered, gazing at the sun. It was a construct formed by the intertwined power of Xifeng Lie’s essence and blood.

Surrounding that sun, many Qi practitioners were harvesting Dao rhymes and refining spells. There were Qiongqi, Zhuyan, Jinwu, Taisui, as well as human practitioners. They sat atop those clouds, exuding terrifying auras capable of intimidating all living beings within a hundred miles. When Xu Zhong first set foot here, he too was shaken by that pressure. But the next moment, his Golden Core pulsed, and a branch extended from it, shattering that aura into fragments.

There were not many people in his immediate vicinity; after all, this was merely the outer rim of the Sleeping Dragon Valley. He walked deeper toward the heartland. Along the way, the spiritual trees, flowers, and immortal vines he saw had all turned crimson, exuding the power of essence and blood.

Seeing all this, Xu Zhong could not help but exclaim, "Xifeng Lie is too powerful; his essence and blood have influenced the entire Sleeping Dragon Valley."

Beyond the dense essence and blood, the air was filled with the remnants of catastrophe and the lingering power of Fengdu. A small thundercloud of catastrophe swirled above Xu Zhong’s head, and lightning bolts as thick as a little finger struck down, aiming for his Baihui acupoint. However, Xu Zhong was wearing the Xuanyuan True Water Cloak, so the tribulation lightning could not touch him.

The further he went, the dimmer the light became, and the spiritual plants and vines grew increasingly bizarre. In this dark place where sunlight never reached, countless people had died. The spiritual plants absorbed the lingering thoughts of the dead, and over time, they became polluted and twisted by those thoughts, transforming into mysterious and terrifying demons—especially now, after Xifeng Lie’s death. The overwhelming power of essence and blood had caused these plants to undergo a transformative evolution.

Xu Zhong watched his surroundings cautiously. He had never been to the Sleeping Dragon Valley before, but according to intelligence from Yuan Yi, it was not a place of extreme terror. The valley contained a demon kingdom where a Vine Dragon reigned as the Demon Emperor, appointing four Demon Kings to govern the four directions. Beyond these kings, seventy-two great demons occupied seventy-two demon caves, surrounding the demon court like stars around the moon.

Only those who had cultivated an "Inner Scene" were worthy of the title of Demon Emperor, while the great demons were generally at the "Outer Scene" level or higher. They embedded their own Outer Scenes into the Sleeping Dragon Valley to serve as their territories; otherwise, the valley, which looked only palm-sized from the outside, could not support a kingdom.

"These are not local forces of Mingzhao," Xu Zhong muttered. In Mingzhao, only gathering places like Jiankang, Qingnan Market, and Taiyue Market, which were formed from fragments of the original imperial palace, were truly native. Everything else was an outsider. It was rumored that this Vine Dragon had come ashore from the Chaos Sea, bringing its own faction with it.

Traveling from south to north, the first demon cave Xu Zhong passed was the Mohai Demon Cave. Connected to the Du River, it had birthed a terrifyingly powerful Flood Dragon demon. When Xu Zhong stepped into its Outer Scene, the creature knew. The Flood Dragon’s gaze pierced through layers of folded space and fixed upon Xu Zhong. Evidently, it had no interest in him; it merely flicked its tail, sending out a beam of spiritual light.

In an instant, the Mohai Demon Cave, connected to the Du River, transformed into a glacier, blocking Xu Zhong’s path. The meaning was clear: it did not want him passing through its domain. The cave was filled with a rich, ethereal medicinal fragrance that was soothing to the lungs, and the cave itself was aglow with radiant colors. Clearly, the dragon was guarding a precious medicine, making it wary of every passerby.

"I have no need to clash with this dragon," Xu Zhong thought. He could not handle an Outer Scene practitioner right now unless he drew upon his inner Golden Core Dao Tree, and that was not something easily controlled. He decided to take a detour.

He had not walked many steps when he heard a rustling sound. In the blink of an eye, a figure flew toward him like lightning. Xu Zhong hurriedly raised his Thunder Seal to suppress it. Looking closely, it was a verdant green vine, possessing great spirituality and trembling in his hand. The vine was shaped like a dragon.

"Where did this little demon come from, daring to ambush me? Are you tired of living?" Xu Zhong channeled his Thunder Seal into a Fire-Thunder Seal. A cluster of flames rose in his palm, surging with heat, while bolts of lightning crackled within the fire.

"Roar!" A sound emerged from the vine. It shook violently, its green hue fading away as it transformed into a hideous dragon the size of a water barrel. Its body was filled with such磅礴 (vast) essence and blood that it roared like a rushing river, and in an instant, it broke free from Xu Zhong’s control.

Xu Zhong instinctively summoned his Purple Jade Gourd, and the Cloud-Swallowing Sword flew out, forming a sword array that swirled and transformed into a cage, sealing the vine within. He could feel that this vine had only just gained sentience.

"How can it be so powerful when it has just gained sentience?" Xu Zhong whispered. The vine had already reached the "Truth-Preserving" stage, though its intelligence was not yet advanced. He looked it up and down. "A vine turning into a dragon—could this be a relative of the Vine Dragon in the valley?"

Family relations among vines were truly a headache. "Forget it, I’ll just wipe its intelligence!"

The divine sword within the array-formed cage descended, grinding the vine into nothingness. The vine fell to the ground, its spirit gone. Xu Zhong summoned it into his hand. It had not acquired its dragon shape later; it seemed to be born with it. However, the immense essence and blood power within it was not gained through cultivation.

Xu Zhong burned the vine, extracting a drop of divine blood. It was amber-like, crystalline, and clear, containing the phantom of a dragon-elephant. It exuded a suffocating pressure, with a trace of catastrophe and death swirling within it. The moment Xu Zhong touched the blood, the aura of catastrophe and death began to coil around his palm, but he easily wiped it away.

Looking at the drop of blood, Xu Zhong clicked his tongue. "Can even a single drop of this blood create a Truth-Preserving demon?" He put the blood away and continued forward.

He soon entered a dense forest with rich floral scents and a thick canopy. He stopped and immediately unleashed the Cloud-Swallowing Sword. The sword turned into a bolt of lightning, slicing the forest in two. The illusory forest vanished, replaced by a graveyard filled with skeletons and miasma. He hadn't stepped into a forest, but into the maw of a demon; another step would have seen him devoured.

Xu Zhong cleaved through the miasma and the body of the demon—a massive man-eating flower covering dozens of acres. Its stamen looked like a human upper body floating in seaweed. As the plant shrieked, Xu Zhong, annoyed, unleashed his Samadhi True Fire, incinerating it. He recovered another drop of Xifeng Lie’s divine blood from the remains.

Continuing on, he encountered a Dragon Turtle walking toward him across the waves. It started the size of a hill but shrank until it was the same size as Xu Zhong.

"One should look at the master before beating the dog. You killed Qingbi, then Zhongji, and stole their fortunes—I truly cannot tolerate this," the Dragon Turtle rumbled. "Hand over the divine blood, and I will let this pass."

The turtle was at the "Vehicle-Riding" stage, the strongest in the Mohai Demon Cave besides the Flood Dragon.

"If you want to lie, please come up with a better excuse," Xu Zhong smiled. "Rambling like this only invites ridicule." He dropped his smile, his aura turning murderous. "You said if I handed over the blood, you would let it pass? I have a message for you: hand over your divine blood, and I might spare you."

"You are courting death!" The Dragon Turtle was enraged. It was a full major realm higher than Xu Zhong; how could it suffer such provocation? It stomped the ground, causing it to crack as an underground river surged, transforming into two great dragons that lunged at Xu Zhong.

Xu Zhong reached out, casting the "Earth-to-Steel" spell. The ground compressed instantly, turning into indestructible iron. The two dragons slammed into it and were suppressed deep into the earth. At the same time, Xu Zhong deployed his sword array. Seven hundred and twenty flying swords rose and fell, their energy like a long river and their light crackling with thunder. The fierce sword aura forced the Dragon Turtle back step by step.

The turtle did not hold back, spitting out a jade pendant that emitted a dim blue light, from which a long river surged. The man and the demon clashed. Though the turtle was powerful, it lacked refined techniques and was not as formidable as the dragon-headed god-man from the Du River.

Xu Zhong’s sword array shifted, suppressing the turtle. He then breathed out a stream of Samadhi True Fire, which fell upon the beast. A sea of fire erupted, threatening to refine it alive. The turtle’s shell began to melt, and its flesh burned.

"You think you can refine me? You’re dreaming!" The turtle spat out its Golden Core, which contained Xuanyuan True Water. It used the water to extinguish the flames.

"Your Golden Core is refined from Xuanyuan True Water?" Xu Zhong’s eyes lit up with greed. His cloak was based on that very substance; if he refined the core, his cloak’s power would leap to a new level.

He acted without hesitation. He used the Thunder Seal to suppress the turtle, then drew the Cloud-Swallowing Sword, using a "Great River Sword Intent" to sever the connection between the core and the beast, seizing the prize.

The turtle lay dying, terrified and raving, "You cannot kill me! I am a demon general of the Mohai Cave. If you kill me, the Flood Dragon Demon Commander will not spare you!"

"Oh?" Xu Zhong replied dismissively. "You must be scorched senseless. Let me wake you up." He exhaled another stream of Samadhi True Fire.

As the turtle struggled and begged, a brilliant beam of light descended from the sky. In the distance, a shrill scream echoed, and the entire Mohai Demon Cave was sliced in two by a single sword strike. The Flood Dragon died before it could even finish its cry. A white-clad swordsman with an ethereal temperament walked down from the clouds into the heart of the cave, seemingly intent on harvesting the precious medicine the dragon had hidden.

"Well, I’ll send you to meet your commander now!" With those words, the Dragon Turtle perished. There was no divine blood in its body.

Xu Zhong shook his head and continued on his way.