Chapter 88: Devouring

The divine arrow trailed a long tail of blue flame, as if dragging a celestial body behind it, shooting straight for Xu Zhong’s brow.

The first arrow halted three inches from the center of his forehead. The six-foot pearl was struck dim and lifeless, the tri-colored water lotus sent flying, and the shield of Primordial True Water beneath the arrowhead shredded as easily as paper. At last, the round cauldron flew out to intercept the divine arrow, spitting out a shaft of spiritual light that swept the projectile away, shattering it instantly.

But the archer was swift. He loosed a second arrow almost immediately. This time, the arrow struck the cauldron itself, and with a strange, unfathomable magic, sent it hurtling away. The third arrow shot forth, and Xu Zhong raised the Cloud-Swallowing Sword to block it, but the sword-light was torn apart by the divine arrow’s force.

Arrow after arrow came, and in no time, thirty-three divine arrows, each trailed by the tail of a comet, hammered down on Xu Zhong like a string of pearls. The shock made Xu Zhong cough up blood, and he collapsed to the ground, his body covered in wounds that gushed with blood.

At that moment, an azure dragon let out a furious roar. Chains materialized in the void, massive and heavy, entangling the archer and binding him fast. The archer, however, bore no bow; the arrows shot at Xu Zhong were conjured by the archer’s gaze, the force of his cultivation solidifying vision into lethal shafts.

“We’re in trouble! Someone’s broken in!” The azure dragon rushed frantically to Xu Zhong’s side, paying no heed to the unconscious Shi Yue lying nearby. “If he dies, I’ll be to blame!” the dragon muttered, glancing upward. As Xu Zhong’s breath weakened, thunderclouds gathered overhead, portents of calamity swirling around the dragon.

“You’re in luck this time,” the dragon said, spitting out its pearl. The dragon pearl entered the hidden Wood Vault within Xu Zhong, instantly transforming all circulating magic power into the purest essence of life.

This vitality spread through Xu Zhong, mending his many wounds and delving into his mind to stabilize his soul. Slowly, Xu Zhong’s life returned. The azure dragon retrieved its pearl, calculating that it had sacrificed three thousand years of cultivation to save him. Yet Xu Zhong showed no sign of waking.

While the dragon puzzled over this, it saw that from the archer, bound in chains, endless divine radiance shone, forming an archway—one end anchored to the place of sealing, the other to Xu Zhong’s mind.

Seeing this, the azure dragon felt its breath shorten, its heart slow, and its temperature drop—it was petrified with fear.

“It’s over, it’s over. The great villain is breaking the seal and seizing a new body,” it wailed, sweat pouring from its massive head and rising as steam to form a cloud above.

The being sealed in this palace was a remnant consciousness left here by the Thunder Ancestor. What had appeared before was but a projection, a mingling of his essence, but here the true awareness of the Thunder Ancestor was trapped.

“If he awakens, I’m done for,” the dragon thought despairingly.

Just then, a blade of light surged from the river of time itself, slashing from a million years past into the present, aiming straight for the Thunder Ancestor’s divided soul walking from the seal toward Xu Zhong.

The Thunder Ancestor did not dodge, letting the blade fall. Before their eyes, newly grown flesh and skin withered and blackened, sloughing off until only a skeleton walked onward.

Wild lightning raged through the sealed realm, frenziedly striking at the blade from the past, until the blade shattered like a mirror, fragments reflecting the many thoughts of the Thunder Ancestor.

The azure dragon clutched its head and fled in terror, struck by both blade and lightning. Destructive energy coursed through its body, cracking its scales and spilling dragon blood upon the ground.

Meanwhile, the Thunder Ancestor’s consciousness crossed the energy archway and entered Xu Zhong’s mind.

“I warned you never to let your guard down. The moment you do, you will…” The Thunder Ancestor’s awareness tore through the chaos, laying bare the soul before his gaze.

At that moment, within the palace-like place of sealing, hundreds of primordial divine beasts awoke, merging once more into the White Ze Diagram.

“When did you cram so much into your mind?” the Thunder Ancestor exclaimed, startled.

“Thunder Ancestor, I admit I was not careful enough this time,” Xu Zhong’s soul thundered, “but you, too, let down your guard, forgot caution.”

Behind Xu Zhong, the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise charged forth, followed by the twenty-eight stellar constellations, each a field of radiant light, each transforming into a blue lotus within its own domain.

Four blue lotuses layered their petals, supporting Xu Zhong’s three souls and seven spirits. Divine light swirled, forming Pillars of Order to anchor the Thunder Ancestor’s consciousness, isolating it from the world.

“Three days apart, and you must reappraise the man you once knew,” Xu Zhong sneered. “Thunder Ancestor, the times have changed.”

After manifesting the Pillars of Order, each divine beast and pillar transformed into a chain, flying forth to bind the Thunder Ancestor’s consciousness, layer upon layer.

The moment the chains shot out, the Thunder Ancestor felt a tidal wave of demonic intent—eternal and immutable, the “One” that had endured since time immemorial. He knew that only one such demon existed.

“If even that one can be sealed, what hope have I?”

The Thunder Ancestor immediately tried to flee, but the chains dragged him inward. It was a struggle, but the seal’s power prevailed, pulling him inexorably into the heart of the seal.

There, the Demon Aspect of the Heavenly Dao had already opened its maw wide. As soon as the Thunder Ancestor’s awareness entered, it was swallowed whole.

He struggled, but the Demon Aspect did not move; even as clouds of golden blood rolled from his form, the demon seemed utterly unmoved.

Thunder rumbled—the Thunder Ancestor’s consciousness was utterly annihilated.

As a result, the seal within Xu Zhong’s mind loosened. Wisps of demonic energy seeped outward, casting a pall over his inner world.

Having devoured the Thunder Ancestor’s mind, the Demon Aspect grew stronger, gradually able to rend the seal and threaten Xu Zhong.

But now Xu Zhong had anchored the “One” within his mind, the inextinguishable divine light flowing ceaselessly, his soul incarnated as a golden dragon statue to guard his spirit. The meager demonic energy leaking outward was not enough to affect him.

Xu Zhong calmed his mind, suppressing the demonic thoughts, though he eyed the seal with concern.

“If it devours a few more divine souls like the Thunder Ancestor, the seal may no longer hold it,” he thought. “I must hurry and cultivate to become a primal deity, or I’ll be devoured by the Demon Aspect eventually.”

He woke slowly.

At that moment, the vast form of the azure dragon appeared before him. Xu Zhong jumped in fright and hurriedly retreated.

The dragon tried to shrink itself as much as possible, but still spanned dozens of yards, its body thick as three men’s arms together, enough to make anyone’s heart tremble.

Recognizing the azure dragon, Xu Zhong asked, “Where’s your shell?”

The dragon’s face darkened, and it roared, summoning wind and cloud, its voice sharp as blades. “Anyone who asks that question dies.”

Xu Zhong wisely shut his mouth.

“You devoured the Thunder Ancestor’s mind?” the dragon asked, gesturing with its mighty tail to the empty husk behind it.

The husk had a great cleft from a blade, splitting it neatly. Apart from the human skin, it was utterly hollow.

Outside the husk, the chains were shrinking, their power fading now that their target was gone.

The Thunder Ancestor’s consciousness truly seemed to have been consumed by Xu Zhong.

“It seems so,” Xu Zhong replied quietly.

The joy on the dragon’s face was plain to see. Its tail rose high, trembling with excitement and making its whole back half quiver.

Noticing Xu Zhong’s gaze, the dragon hurried to control its tail.

“Now that the villain is dead, I can finally leave this place!” The dragon tried to steady its voice, but could not quite manage it. “In light of this, I’ll forgive your earlier mockery.”

“But where will you go?” Xu Zhong asked.

The dragon froze.

Where could it go? Long ago, at its birth, it had been placed here to maintain the seal with the patterns inscribed on its body. Since then, it had never truly left—save for brief excursions, always cut short, especially after being pursued by the fearsome Xuan Jiuyuan.

The world outside was utterly unfamiliar. Here, it had spent every day suppressing the Thunder Ancestor’s mind—its only real purpose.

Now, released from its duty, it found itself unmoored, uncomfortable, like a worm writhing in discontent.

“Why not come with me?” Xu Zhong offered tentatively.

“Are you trying to trick me into being your bodyguard?” the dragon retorted. “The world is vast—surely there is a place for a dragon.”

With newfound clarity, the dragon stretched its body, ambition kindling in its eyes.

“Very well,” Xu Zhong said lightly. “But when you hit a wall out there, don’t come running back to me!”

The dragon glanced at him. “You think I’d ever stoop to asking an ant for help?”

“Who can say?” Xu Zhong muttered inwardly, then asked, “By the way, what is this place, exactly?”

He looked around. All was empty, a formless void without boundary as far as the eye could see.

“This is the place of sealing,” the dragon replied offhandedly. Then, after a moment’s thought, “In terms of the human body, this would be the dantian.”

Dantian!

Xu Zhong looked about. He sensed no spiritual energy at all. The dantian should be the nexus of spiritual power, the font of magic—but here, there was nothing.

“What’s so strange about that?” the dragon scoffed. “I’ve been here for years, cultivating. Of course I’ve used up all the spiritual energy.”

Then it seemed to recall something.

“But aside from that, there remains a plot of immortal light.”

With a sweep of its long tail, as though dusting off the void, the dragon revealed a small field within the dantian, where immortal light flowed ceaselessly.

Xu Zhong’s heart leapt for joy. He had been sorely lacking in immortal light—and now, it was right before him.

But in the next instant, his expression changed.

Within that field of immortal light, a human figure began to take shape, struggling to emerge from the radiance.

Here ends Chapter Eighty-Eight: Devouring.