Chapter 440: Heaven‑Priced Bounty

"This evil nature... is it being affected by the annihilating source power?"

Gu Yuan felt a flicker of doubt in his heart.

He created this avatar to stage a play, to fish.

He endowed the avatar with the template of an Ancient Primeval Sacred Body and a portion of his own combat awareness, yet the avatar's extreme bloodthirst exceeded the script he had set.

The annihilating source power is not merely raw force; it is a toxin that corrodes the mind and amplifies the deepest darkness within a being's heart.

Although this avatar is his extension, to make the performance more authentic, Gu Yuan did not grant it a complete divine soul will.

Could this cause it, after absorbing a massive amount of annihilating source power, to be truly assimilated by that force, turning from an actor into a genuine... demon lord?

Is a bloodthirsty monster what Zang Tian Ge desires?

…

On the other side, Yao Qinglian could clearly feel her cultivated celestial essence of tens of thousands of years, the hard‑won Immortal King Dao Fruit, even the most primal life qi, surging wildly into the opponent's body through a massive hand at her throat that resembled iron tongs.

It was an irresistible devouring, as if everything of hers became nourishment for the other's growth.

"Stop! You demon lord! Release the holy maiden!"

In the distance, the five half‑step Immortal King elders, whose eyes were about to burst from being blasted away, clenched their surging blood and again transformed into five streaks of light that surged forward.

Immortal light roiled in their hands as they summoned various treasured Immortal King artifacts: a treasure seal that suppresses heaven and earth, an immortal sword that tears the void, a divine furnace that incinerates all, and from five directions they unleashed an unreserved barrage upon Gu Yuan.

They knew clearly that if the holy maiden were drained before their eyes by an unknown native, they would return to Jade Pool and face a punishment more terrifying than death.

"A bunch of annoying flies."

Gu Yuan didn't even turn around; he simply squeezed Yao Qinglian's throat and casually flicked his left hand backward.

Boom!

A more massive, purer gray‑black annihilating source wave surged out like a breached torrent.

Those five Immortal King artifacts, which could drive ordinary true immortals to despair, dimmed their surface immortal light at a visible speed the moment they met the wave; the bodies emitted a strained wail and were violently blown back.

The five elders, as if struck by a heavy hammer, spewed fresh blood again, their breath waned to the extreme, and their eyes held endless horror.

"What... what exactly is this power? How can it even corrupt Immortal King artifacts?!"

"His power... has grown stronger! He's using the holy maiden's essence to nourish the demonic cultivation within him!"

They finally realized a fact that sent chills through their bodies.

The demon lord before them could indeed become stronger by devouring others!

What a wicked demonic cultivation this is!

On the Sky‑piercing Vine, Lei Qianjue, Feng Lingyun, and Mo Wuxin watched, their hearts trembling.

"Such a domineering demonic cultivation, even the Immortal King Dao Fruit can be devoured and turned to one's own use... This person is certainly not a mere pond dweller."

Mo Wuxin licked his lips, and in his bizarre eyes, greed and apprehension intertwined.

His Yin‑Collecting Yang‑Complementing method, compared to this, was merely a novice's trick.

Lei Qianjue's complexion was so gloomy it seemed water could drip from it.

He stared fixedly at Gu Yuan, a sense of helplessness arising.

The thunder technique he boasted of was child's play before the opponent.

His proud ninety‑eight immortal meridians were utterly fragile against the opponent's pure, ultimate bodily force.

Now, the opponent even displayed this unheard‑of devouring demonic cultivation.

"If this person is not eliminated soon, they will become a serious internal threat later!"

Killer intent boiled in Lei Qianjue's heart, yet he dared not act rashly.

Feng Lingyun watched silently; beneath her light veil her pretty face revealed no expression, but her cold eyes flickered with an inexplicable light.

She recalled her earlier well‑meaning warning, and a hint of absurdity rose in her heart.

To remind a primeval colossal beast not to be tripped by roadside weeds?

And at this moment, Gu Yuan, watched by everyone, was wholly immersed in a strange experience.

He could feel Yao Qinglian's pure Immortal King essence continuously flooding into this avatar, rapidly transmuted by the Ten Thousand Transformations Returning to Origin Manual, ultimately merging into the limbs and bones of the Ancient Primeval Sacred Body.

His power was soaring.

The cultivation bottleneck that had already reached the pinnacle of the Celestial Emperor realm showed faint signs of loosening.

"So that's it—Zang Tian Ge's annihilating source power is essentially a form of devouring and assimilation. It devours the world's essence, and the Ten Thousand Transformations Returning to Origin Manual applies this trait to living beings, ultimately birthing a characteristic unique to that individual."

Gu Yuan's true self analyzed the situation in the shadows.

"This avatar, under the influence of the annihilating source power, has its bloodthirst and killing instincts amplified infinitely; so what characteristic will it ultimately develop? Killing, death, or... devouring?"

"Ah... save... save me..."

Yao Qinglian's consciousness was already blurring; she could feel her life slipping away rapidly, and the eyes that once shone with divine light grew hollow and ashen.

She regretted.

She shouldn't have been so reckless, shouldn't have acted without first discerning the opponent's background.

But now, everything was too late.

…

Primordial Celestial Realm, above the Nine Heavens.

The dreamlike chaotic region belonging to the Lord of the Jade Pool erupted in another wild, violent tremor.

"No—!!!"

A roar, more mournful and angrier than the previous death of a grandson, thundered throughout the celestial palace.

"Jade Pool, what madness are you unleashing again?!"

Thunder Emperor Ancestor's gloating voice rang out, "What, another granddaughter dead?"

"Get out!"

In the Yaochi Saint Lord's voice there was an unprecedented ferocity and madness.

He could clearly feel that the protective seal he had left deep within Yao Qinglian's divine soul was being wildly corroded by a power filthy to the extreme!

That power shares the same origin as the one that previously devoured his law eye's source!

It is that thief!

That damned thief has appeared again!

Moreover, this time he did it in front of the entire True Immortal Battlefield, devouring another of his successors, the present chief saintess of the Yaochi Sacred Land!

What a humiliation!

What an arrogance!

"Too much deceit! Too much deceit!"

The Yaochi Saint Lord trembled with rage, wishing he could instantly descend in his true form and grind that damned demon, together with the entire True Immortal Battlefield, into mush.

But he could not.

The Supreme Immortal King's warning still rang in his ears, and the other several giants eyed him greedily.

If he dared to break the rules, a joint suppression by all the giants would await him.

Puff—!

Incensed, the Yaochi Saint Lord spewed another mouthful of golden giant blood.

This time, he was not angry but aggrieved.

The dignified Giant Immortal King had been forced to this point by a thief he had never even seen!

"Investigate! Let me investigate!"

"Send a message to all forces in the Immortal Realm that are friendly with my Yaochi, so that their disciples within the True Immortal Battlefield, at any cost, keep a close watch and kill that demon for me!"

"Whoever provides a clue about him will be rewarded with an Immortal King artifact! Whoever kills him, I will personally confer the topmost seal upon him, helping him achieve Immortal King!"

One frantic edict after another spread from the Supreme Immortal Hall, stirring a great upheaval again among the high echelons of the Immortal Realm.

Everyone was stunned by the Yaochi Saint Lord's grand gesture.

A native demon fetched such a sky‑high bounty?

What earth‑shattering secret lies behind this?

For a moment, undercurrents surged.

……