Chapter 413: Seven Kill Demon Palace (Request Subscription)

The Black Dragon World.

Beneath the swaying shadows of a bodhi tree, a snow-white rabbit twitched its ears alertly.

Its entire body was covered in pure white fur, adorable as jade snow; suddenly it darted out, a glowing red berry clamped in its mouth.

Zuu!

Suddenly, a giant wolf leapt from the shadows, slamming its front paw down to pin the startled rabbit beneath it.

Roar! Roar!

At that moment, a dragon's roar echoed from the heavens.

A shadow shot across the sky, casting a Western dragon-shaped silhouette upon the ground.

Whoosh!

Trees toppled as a Western black dragon, over twenty meters in length, emerged.

Its body was sleek, its scales shimmering with crystalline luster in the sunlight; its head was fearsome, crowned with a cluster of stark white bone spines forming a faint bone crown.

The black dragon opened its bloodied maw, dove down, and snatched the shadow wolf whole.

Only the dumbfounded rabbit remained, frozen in place.

Crunch! Crunch!

Mid-air, Fang Xing had long grown accustomed to raw flesh and blood; he tore and swallowed the shadow wolf in a few bites, landing beside a lake of emerald-green water.

He drank deeply from the lake, occasionally flicking a claw to snatch a plump, ink-green fish—swallowing one whole with each bite.

A chilling dragon aura radiated outward, driving all predatory beasts from the vicinity.

"According to the laws of this world, the process of the purple moon filling from waning to full… equals one year."

"I've experienced seventeen Imperial Dew flows; barring accidents, tonight should be the eighteenth."

Fang Xing, sated and well-watered, returned to the black mountain range where he was born, silently crouching atop its ridge.

Time flew; before he knew it, night arrived.

The purple, alluring moon reappeared.

Then…

Tiny droplets of milky-white "Imperial Dew" began to fall.

As if sentient, they traced strange arcs, landing precisely on the foreheads of different creatures.

In the forest, the rabbit that had barely escaped by day was penetrated by a single drop of Imperial Dew; its crimson eyes flashed with a flicker of anthropomorphic wisdom, its body gradually swelled, and it rose onto its hind legs, forepaws pressed together, bowing toward the purple moon as if absorbing Yin energy in cultivation.

Roar! Roar!

A chorus of roars echoed around Fang Xing's territory; a white glow and a yellow-brown glow flashed nearby.

Within the white glow stood an ancient white ape, inhaling and exhaling lunar radiance.

Within the yellow-brown glow was a colossal toad, as large as a mountain, its back covered in bumps shaped like ancient coins; it opened its mouth toward the moon and bellowed: "Gua! Gua!"

A bright yellow demonic core flew out, seemingly being refined by lunar energy.

In comparison, Fang Xing simply flapped his wings, rose into the sky, and devoured the Imperial Dew in large gulps.

The three great demons disturbed one another not at all; before they realized it, dawn began to break.

Fang Xing landed first on a patch of grass.

Beside the grassland lay an orchard, filled with crimson fruits, bamboo nuts… a dazzling array.

The great white ape slowly ended his cultivation, drew a yellow-skinned gourd from his waist, and guzzled monkey wine.

The liquor, brewed from a hundred fruits, carried a unique fragrance that made one's mouth water.

Fang Xing watched with envy; after all, this black dragon body was terribly inconvenient—he couldn't even roast meat easily, let alone brew wine.

Moreover, the old white ape understood human ways, seemed to possess some demonic lineage, and was an unmatched master of winemaking.

"You bloodline-tainted mongrel demon… don't even think of begging for my Hundred-Fruit Brew. Last time I gave you some, it was like a cow chewing peonies… it broke my heart."

The white ape shook his head, speaking in a hoarse, aged voice.

"I am a dragon, not some mongrel demon…"

Fang Xing spoke, his voice emerging from the dragon's jaws as that of a young man.

This world's language, too, the old white ape had taught him.

"Heh… you have no ancestral memories, couldn't even speak at first—this only proves your bloodline is lowly…"

The old white ape's face twisted with unmistakably human disdain: "Dragon? Have you ever seen a true jiao dragon? In my opinion… you're just a mutated, winged stone dragon—maybe you have a trace of jiao blood in your ancestry, but who doesn't? My own ancestors might have been the Four Great Monkeys of Chaos!"

Fang Xing fell silent.

Indeed, though he perceived himself as a Western black dragon,

to these Eastern demonic beings, he was clearly just a mutated four-legged lizard.

Most crucially… the lack of ancestral memories only confirmed it.

Gua! Gua!

As the two demons spoke, the yellow-brown toad arrived.

Its body shrank instantly to the size of a millstone, hopping over: "Old Sun, I'm thirsty…"

"Right away!" The white ape instantly switched expressions, beaming as he pulled out several jars of Hundred-Fruit Brew: "Take as much as you want, I've got more…"

"Cough… isn't this blatant favoritism?"

Fang Xing protested, though it was all in jest; after years of coexistence, he knew the old white ape had a good heart.

Just a touch too human in his cunning.

He sought to curry favor with the Falling Treasure Toad for his own reasons.

"How can you compare yourself to Little Yellow?" the white ape said. "Little Yellow's Heavenly Toad bloodline is extremely pure—he's mastered the Transformation of Size and Form in just a few years. Can you? Moreover… he's already forged a demonic core, and with only the Wind-Fire Tribulation left, he'll cultivate a Nascent Soul, transcend the mortal realm, and become a Nascent Soul Great Demon!"

"Nascent Soul Great Demon…"

Fang Xing fell silent.

From the old white ape, he learned that all paths in this world began with sensing heavenly qi—whether human, demon, or other—belonged to the "Mortal Realm."

Human cultivators had elaborate divisions: Blood Mobilization, Bone Refinement, Marrow Exchange… nine stages in all. Demons, however, kept it simple: daily inhalation of solar and lunar essence, ascending steadily from Mortal Realm Level One to Level Nine.

Beyond that lay the forging of a Nascent Soul—the realm of Nascent Soul Great Beings.

"Nascent Soul… if that's what I think it is, doesn't that equate to the Transformation Realm cultivators of the cultivation world? Or the Planetary-level experts of the Great Xia world?"

"In this world, it seems almost easy—just inhale heavenly qi, and you have a chance to breakthrough?"

Fang Xing felt a chill: "The waters here run deeper than I thought… I must hide myself even better."

After a bout of play, the old white ape tossed two peaches over, sighing: "I've eaten these peaches for eighty years… I wonder if I'll ever taste another one in the next twenty."

Fang Xing and the yellow toad exchanged glances; Fang Xing asked: "Are the Outworld Demons coming again?"

"Correct… according to my observations, every twenty peach harvests, a band of Outworld Demons invade… the stronger the demon, the more they relish the hunt."

The white ape said: "Black Mountain Lord and Green Scale Lord were true masters—they both perished. I was too weak back then, barely worth their notice, but last time they still chased me to the brink of annihilation… I doubt I'll survive this round."

It looked at Fang Xing and the yellow toad: "Little Yellow, Little Black… you're both under twenty years of cultivation—you don't know the terror of the Outworld Demons. When the time comes, for the sake of our shared peaches and wine, lend me a hand… though mostly you, Little Yellow. Little Black, your target's too big—just surviving yourself will be enough."

Fang Xing: "…"

He now understood this realm better—it was almost certainly a testing ground controlled by some power, a fully contained miniature world.

"In such a world, exceeding the power limit will trigger 'cleansing'…"

"I can bide my time… perfect for further studying spatial laws."

"As for escaping… I'll need to observe how the Outworld Demons attack this time."

Fang Xing decided to observe at least one cycle before acting.

He had plenty of time; this black dragon body could live a thousand years.

"What can I gain in this world?"

"If consciousness transmigration works like in Great Xia, I can't take any treasures back—only techniques and scriptures…"

"Perhaps the greatest benefit is the sheer amount of time to comprehend laws?"

…

"What do these Outworld Demons look like? How strong are they? Can they communicate?"

Fang Xing pondered, then asked.

"They call themselves humans, all at least Mortal Realm Level Seven—but never judge them by that alone…"

The white ape shook his head, as if recalling something horrific: "Last time, one of the demons chasing me mentioned… they came from… the Seven Kill Demon Palace?!"

…

Before an ancient palace,

rows of black-robed disciples stood solemnly silent.

After an indeterminate time, a soul-force descended, forming the shadow of a black-robed, black-haired Daoist.

His gaze swept over them, voice devoid of emotion: "You are all outer-disciples of the Seven Kill Demon Palace. To become inner-disciples, you must enter the Ten Thousand Demons Realm and slay one Great Demon. There are no Nascent Soul Great Demons within the Ten Thousand Demons Realm…"

He paused, then added: "This trial is far too simple."

"Your cultivation rivals that of the Great Demons, yet you wield weapons, possess techniques and combat forms, and your understanding of the Dao far surpasses theirs—after all, human bodies are the most refined vessels of heaven and earth, best suited for comprehending the Dao…"

"Therefore, I have decided to raise the difficulty: to become an inner-disciple, you must now slay two Great Demons."

A faint note of pleasure entered his voice: "And if you slay ten or more, there will be additional rewards…"

At these words, the solemn atmosphere finally shifted.

"Worse… Blood Butcher Elder is personally overseeing this trial… this won't be easy."

"Ten kills means a reward—I'll get one!"

"This is terrible… Blood Butcher Elder is openly encouraging us to kill each other for the kills?"

Many disciples exchanged glances, their eyes tinged with a hint of battle lust; one could imagine this year's Inner Disciple Examination would be far bloodier and more brutal than before…

(End of Chapter)