Chapter 415: The Treasure of the Yuan Shen (Requesting Monthly Votes)

"Correct. In fact, I am a descendant of the Yinglong, possessing Yinglong bloodline."

Fang Xing nodded.

The old white ape scanned him up and down, muttering, "Still doesn't look like it... more like a Stone Dragon pup..."

"Get lost... I saved your life this time. Remember, you owe me at least ten jars of Hundred Fruit Wine."

Fang Xing grabbed the white ape and activated the Earth-Traveling Technique.

"Sigh... fine, fine... now that Little Yellow's been taken, I'll have one less demon to drink with..."

The white ape sighed, a deeply human-like air of loneliness on its face.

Fang Xing couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Under his deliberate concealment, not even these ordinary outer-disciples of the Seven Kill Demon Palace could detect any trace—let alone the Yuan Shen elders.

Still, Fang Xing deliberately surfaced several times, provoking some outer-disciples, then probing their inner thoughts during combat.

This made the Seven Kill Demon Palace disciples aware that a peak Great Demon had emerged in the Ten Thousand Demons Realm—a mutated Stone Dragon pup, extremely difficult to handle.

More crucially, it was cowardly and bullying, only picking fights with Cultivation Stage Eight cultivators, never confronting Cultivation Stage Nine experts...

"Damn that black four-legged snake... I won't let him off."

"He actually held his own against me for a hundred strikes. That so-called Black Dragon beast is truly formidable..."

"Heh, a frog in a well doesn't even know its own appearance. How dare it shamelessly claim to be of dragon blood?"

"Then again... the Ten Thousand Demons Realm has all kinds of demons. Though I don't know what bloodline that Black Dragon has, it's possible its ancestors truly carried a trace of Yinglong blood—otherwise, how could it reach peak Great Demon?"

Fang Xing paid no mind to these rumors, focusing solely on roaming and fighting, panning through the scattered thoughts of these disciples like sifting gold from dung.

"The Seven Kill Demon Palace was founded by the 'Seven Kill Daoist,' a mighty force... its lineage spans over hundreds of thousands of years!"

"And the 'Seven Kill Daoist' still lives today, as the master of the Seven Kill Demon Palace—a Tian Xian Realm powerhouse!"

"The path of cultivation draws in heavenly qi into the body, ascending through the Nine Stages of Mortal Realm and Nine Stages of Yuan Shen Realm. Yuan Shen cultivators live ten thousand years. Above Yuan Shen lies the Tian Xian Realm! For demons, it is the 'Tian Yao Realm!'"

The more he learned, the heavier his heart grew.

Yuan Shen cultivators were at least comparable to Transformation Stage.

Could the so-called 'Tian Xian Realm' powerhouse be equivalent to the True Immortals whispered of in the Immortal Realm?

"Thinking about it, that's entirely possible! The most crucial thing for cultivators in this realm, besides techniques, weapons, and secret treasures... is 'Dao Comprehension!'"

'Dao Comprehension' was simply 'Law Comprehension'—the same thing, just different terminology.

"But these outer-disciples? Their Dao Comprehension is mediocre at best—in my view, all of them are merely at 'Beginner' to 'Proficient' levels."

Fang Xing then recalled the red-clad woman who had taken Little Yellow.

She was the strongest he'd seen; according to other disciples' subconscious thoughts, she was capable of challenging for the position of Core True Disciple.

Yet in Dao Comprehension, she was likely still only at 'Proficient' stage—perhaps slightly deeper than the others.

No one had reached the third stage: Law Heart Formation!

"Of course... if one reached the third stage of 'Mastery' in Law Comprehension, one could summon heavenly qi into the body with a single thought and ascend to Yuan Shen. In the Seven Kill Demon Palace, Yuan Shen cultivators are all elders—higher in status than True Disciples. Who would bother enduring the inner-disciple trials?"

As he pondered, two outer-disciples blocked his path.

Both wore black robes. One had a pale, nearly translucent face, unsettling to behold.

The other bore a blood-red scar across his brow and roared: "Black Dragon! Today is your death day!"

He roared and slashed with his blade.

Blade shadows stretched endlessly, bursting forth like a torrent of flame.

'Cultivation Stage Eight, Beginner-level Flame Law comprehension... how dare he?'

Fang Xing mentally scoffed and extended his claw.

This claw differed from before—it seemed perfectly harmonized with space, its power surging dramatically.

"Bad! Brother Song, this Black Dragon, having fought us repeatedly, has naturally entered the door of Dao Comprehension!"

The nearly translucent man cried out, though a flicker of strange light passed through his eyes.

Fang Xing's claw extinguished the flames; the Wanxin Secret Art instantly seized a hidden thought:

【My killing technique... Yuan Shen Treasure—unleash!】

"Hm?"

His mind stirred—he saw Brother Song's battle blade transform.

Crimson flame markings surfaced along the pitch-black blade.

The scattered blade light coalesced, becoming even hotter, more explosive...

"Yuan Shen Treasure?!"

"A treasure refined by a Yuan Shen cultivator? It seems engraved with traces of Law power..."

Fang Xing's heart stirred; he feigned defeat and retreated swiftly.

As he fled, his wings rippled like ripples across space, his movement exploding to an unbelievable speed.

Then—

He circled around behind the scarred man and lashed out with his tail.

Puff!

Brother Song spat blood from mouth and nose, crashing hard into a mountainside. "Void Dao... this beast has entered Void Dao?!"

Even the translucent man's face was filled with disbelief: "Void Dao is a top-tier Law! I heard Sister Ning captured a pet with Tian Chan bloodline, naturally suited to Poison Dao—yet this Black Dragon is even more formidable! Though its bloodline is impure, its enlightenment is astonishing!"

Enlightenment!

This talent was indescribable—some beggar might possess more of it than a seasoned cultivator.

But without reaching a certain realm, it was useless. Without resources, you still starved to death.

"Do demons, living wild in heaven and earth, find it easier to comprehend the cosmos?"

"Isn't it said that human beings, as the most spiritual of creatures, are better at comprehending the Dao?"

The translucent man's heart trembled; his gaze toward Fang Xing and the Yuan Shen Treasure blade now carried a hint of greed.

Then, he summoned a transparent longsword forged as if from ice; streams of water materialized in the air, twisting nine times and winding eighteen bends, enveloping a radius of dozens of li: "Brother Song, I'll assist you!"

"Let's go!"

Brother Song gripped his blade; crimson threads of Flame Law energy emerged along its edge.

This was not his own comprehension—it was directly activated through the array patterns on the Yuan Shen Treasure!

'A Yuan Shen Treasure with this power... reminds me of the Wu Sheng Mech...'

'Of course, the Wu Sheng Mech provides not just Law comprehension but also base combat power—this blade clearly lacks that... its power is still inferior.'

'And that elder brother—he clearly wants to capture me as a pet, and covets his brother's Yuan Shen Treasure...'

Fang Xing flashed forward, merging into the void, moving at astonishing speed, barely evading the crimson blade slash.

Then, he beat his wings and slammed into the water-like prison.

【First, restrict the battlefield—wait until they're both wounded, then strike.】

A hidden thought surfaced.

"Heh, I'm done playing with you."

Fang Xing shattered the water barrier like a black meteor, vanishing into the distant sky.

"This..."

Brother Song chased after him, saw the scene, and sighed: "Pity. This Black Dragon was quite majestic—if captured, giving it to Xiao Zhong as a pet would be perfect..."

"Haha, Brother Song, you're truly a good elder brother... Are you alright? Quick, I have healing pills here."

The nearly translucent man stepped forward, concerned, offering a vial of pills.

"Thank you, Elder Brother."

Brother Song took it—then his palm suddenly burned as if seared. He snapped his head up, eyes wide with disbelief: "You..."

Shhh!

A blade flash pierced straight through Brother Song's throat.

Plop!

The jade vial fell to the ground, transforming into a jade scorpion.

"Haha... Brother, I'll take this Yuan Shen Treasure for myself."

The black-robed elder grinned savagely: "Don't blame me..."

His sword moved; Brother Song's head flew off, life extinguished: "Brother Song... you were slain by the Black Dragon. I will avenge you."

Just as the black-robed man stepped forward to retrieve the Yuan Shen Treasure blade—

Suddenly!

A gale howled!

A black shadow flashed; a massive claw seized the blade, then beat its wings, carving a graceful arc through space, evading every sword slash, vanishing without a trace.

"Black Dragon? Black Dragon! Aaaahhh!!!"

The black-robed man's eyes bulged; he roared in fury to the heavens.

"You made me take the blame? You think I won't get paid?"

"Yuan Shen Treasure? Take it back and study it..."

After distancing himself from the battlefield, Fang Xing shrank his form, gripped the pitch-black blade, and burrowed into the ground.

In a subterranean cavern.

The white ape twitched its ears, instantly alert, gripping the iron rod beside it.

Seeing Fang Xing enter, it let out a long sigh: "Black Dragon… where did you pick up that demonic artifact?"

"I took it from someone."

Fang Xing moved to one side, pressed himself to the ground, and slowly permeated his spiritual force inch by inch into the battle blade.

"You don't just pick up things from the Outer Realm Demons… it's easy to invite trouble. You… ah… if you won't listen to the old ape, you'll suffer the consequences right now."

The old white ape shook its head and swayed for a while; seeing Fang Xing showed no reaction, it sullenly lay down, pulled out a yellow-skinned gourd, and gulped down wine.

Life underground was terribly dull—you had to find some amusement.

On the other side, Fang Xing's eyes suddenly brightened:

"Indeed, a soul artifact must be made of exceptional material—I've never seen anything like it before, yet it can carry the power of cosmic laws, so naturally it's extraordinary…"

"This battle blade contains two layers of secret runes… The first layer is simple: only requires Seventh Layer of the Mortal Realm strength, plus basic comprehension of the Fire Law, to activate—unleashing the power of the Fire Law… nothing can withstand its cut!"

"As for the second layer of runes… that man could never activate them. At least Ninth Layer of the Mortal Realm cultivation is needed, along with proficient mastery of the Fire Law… perhaps even second-stage perfected comprehension of the Fire Law…"

(End of Chapter)