Chapter 425: Killing Intent

Fang Xing brought Song Zhong to the Qinghua Minor Realm with the intention of grabbing a quick haul and leaving.

Since he held this mindset, he had no intention of approaching the Seven Kill Demon Palace.

In fact, over these many days away, Song Zhong had never once returned to the Seven Kill Demon Palace's main camp established in the Qinghua Minor Realm, even though it was perfectly safe.

And out of fear that communication devices might conceal tracking functions and expose his teleportation ability, Fang Xing had not allowed Song Zhong to carry any contact tools, leaving him somewhat isolated.

Even today, he learned the news from his enemies.

'The demon clan's prince… that's far more formidable than any mere demon prince.'

'Could it be that I'm the one who killed Fu Shan's younger brother?'

Fang Xing felt a twinge of guilt.

Having obtained the critical intelligence, he no longer intended to let this demon-clad giant delay him.

Whoosh!

He slashed his wings, and the void before him seemed to turn into flowing water, gently parted.

A flash of silver light.

In an instant, Fang Xing and Song Zhong blinked past the giant's defenses and appeared before him.

It was the "Black Dragon on the Face" tactic of Void Piercing Flash!

"Kill!"

Song Zhong roared, and his Heart Flame Battle Blade crashed down.

"You think you can kill me?"

The giant roared: "Dream on!"

He raised his twin hammers like two massive shields, blocking the flame blade's light.

Whoosh!

But in an instant, silver light flashed again—Fang Xing used Void Piercing Flash once more, appearing behind the giant, his dragon claw extended.

Upon the claw, silver-white threads of spatial laws shimmered and coalesced… like blades of light, carrying the power to shatter void itself.

The giant's armor let out a mournful cry and exploded into shards.

"Impossible…"

The giant's back was shattered, his internal organs exposed, yet his face wore an expression of utter disbelief as he stared at Song Zhong: "Why… is your spirit pet stronger than you?"

Too bad, he would never know the answer.

"Go!"

Fang Xing, having slain the demon-clad beast, immediately seized Song Zhong with a claw and teleported away, vanishing from the spot.

Moments later, a streak of light shot in, moving with astonishing speed.

The teleportation glow faded, revealing Fu Shan within.

He gazed at the battle scars around him, his face darkening like water: "She Liu's true strength was on par with a prince—how could he die so quickly… Did he encounter a true disciple of the Seven Kill Demon Palace?"

"I've killed so many Seven Kill disciples, yet still haven't found that enemy… he's good at running."

Fu Shan's eyes flickered with coldness: "Looks like… I must exchange for that Destiny Talisman?"

The Law of Cause and Effect is mysterious and unfathomable.

As Fu Qing's elder brother, he must share a karmic link with the killer.

Following this thread of connection, he could locate the killer!

But how precious is a talisman of the Heavenly Immortal Realm?

Not to mention, one crafted by an exceedingly rare Karmic Demon Emperor.

Even as a demon prince, Fu Shan still felt a pang of pain.

But now, he knew he had little time left.

"Having killed so many of their disciples, the Seven Kill Demon Palace won't sit idle—they'll send an equally powerful true disciple into the realm…"

"That could interfere with the inheritance… and block my revenge."

"I can't wait any longer."

He transformed into a streak of light and sped toward the demon clan's camp with even greater velocity.

Fu Shan had decided—he would exchange for the "Seek Cause, Find Effect Talisman"!

Previously, he had hoped to find the killer himself, so he hadn't spent his merit points.

As a demon prince, once he stepped out of the Qinghua Minor Realm, he could immediately have his merit points spent to have the item delivered to him!

…

"Is this… the end of the Ten Thousand Serpents Mountain?"

Fang Xing stepped beyond the mountain range and saw a boundless, endless sea of blood.

This was the core of the Qinghua Minor Realm—the Infinite Blood Sea.

"Given its vastness and depth, any human or demon cultivator without special means—even with a Snake Eye Pearl—couldn't explore too deeply… no, they couldn't even reach the outer fringes, merely skimming the edges…"

"Yet even here, some treasures are found—meaning either the Blood Sea holds countless treasures… or there's an intelligent entity—a spirit of the array, artifact, or heaven and earth—deliberately testing and arranging things…"

Fang Xing, having endured countless trials and inheritances in the Great Xia World, understood this well.

He stared at the blood sea ahead and withdrew a "Snake Eye Pearl" from his scales.

The pearl was gray-white and cold… at its center, a pattern resembled an eye.

Upon entering the blood sea, it spontaneously emitted a gray-white glow.

This gray-white light enveloped a radius of several miles, within which the blood sea's strange corrosive force vanished entirely.

But Fang Xing could clearly sense that the power within the "Snake Eye Pearl" was slowly, steadily draining away… until it disappeared.

"Let's go… perfect chance for an expedition."

He still brought Song Zhong along, using him as a decoy.

And now, through constant hunting and spoils taken from demons, he possessed over a hundred "Snake Eye Pearls."

Entering the blood sea, he truly felt like a fish in water.

After advancing roughly hundreds of thousands of miles, Fang Xing's spiritual sense stirred.

"Huh? Here it comes again…"

Song Zhong slashed his blade, and a strange black armor split the blood sea, rising into view.

A force wrapped the armor and set it before Fang Xing. "A Soul-Refining treasure…"

"Judging by the runes, it has three layers—among the finest Soul-Refining treasures, and a defensive type… if sold outside, its price would exceed a million yuan stones."

Yuan Stones!

These were the currency of the Qingyuan Great Realm—crystals formed from condensed heavenly qi, with countless uses.

In fact, this single Soul-Refining armor might rival the entire accumulated wealth of the Song Clan.

"Truly worthy of the Heavenly Demon inheritance… just picking up one item can make you rich."

Fang Xing sighed in awe.

Too bad, he didn't care for any of this treasure.

What he needed was inheritance!

High-level inheritance!

That was why he pressed deeper into the blood sea with Song Zhong, never once considering the cost of the Snake Eye Pearls.

After all, within the blood sea, protected by the Snake Eye Pearls, the spatial prohibitions blocked entry but not exit—so at least with his teleportation, escaping with Song Zhong was no problem.

With his escape route secure, Fang Xing naturally had far greater risk tolerance than other demon or human cultivators.

Several days later.

"Huh? Again?"

Fang Xing's eyes brightened, and he flapped his wings.

The blood sea before him split open, revealing a statue several meters tall.

The statue was carved into the shape of a strange beast, blending the gentleness of wind with the weight of earth, radiating a unique aura.

"This is… a Dao-awakening treasure? Probably a casual creation by some powerful figure… too bad, it's tied to the Wind and Earth Dao principles…"

Fang Xing shook his head and prepared to have Song Zhong collect it.

Suddenly!

A powerful sense of danger made his massive black dragon body instantly vanish into the void.

Almost as he completed the dodge, a strange bell smashed into the spot where Fang Xing had been, causing the void to ripple slightly.

The blood sea surged, parting once more.

Then, another woman, holding a Snake Eye Pearl, appeared before Fang Xing.

Dressed in red, her waist slender and graceful—it was Ning Qian!

"Sister Ning Qian?"

Song Zhong shouted: "Why did you attack me?"

"Cai Zhujin and Murong Yue may be useless, but they were still my people—and you took my pearl…"

Ning Qian's stunning face broke into a smile: "... o demon sect cultivators even need a reason to strike from the shadows?"

This was undeniably true, leaving Song Zhong speechless.

Besides, he already knew Cai Zhujin's Soul-Refining treasure had been borrowed from this Sister Ning.

He even suspected the assassination he faced upon leaving his sect had also come from this true disciple.

No need for further words—Song Zhong gripped his blade with both hands, and the world of flame descended.

"I heard your mount and spirit pet can teleport through space... but in the Sea of Blood, that's just inviting death."

Sister Ning smiled sweetly and tossed out a pink silk pouch.

Gu gua!

A toad's croak echoed through the surroundings.

Amid flashes of yellow light, a colossal toad as large as a mountain emerged, extending a scarlet tongue toward Fang Xing.

On its back, copper-coin-shaped warts burst open, spewing forth multicolored miasmas.

Combined with its Tianchan bloodline and its own mastery of the Poison Dao, it could easily poison countless Foundation Establishment cultivators!

"Little Huang... we meet again."

Fang Xing roared, deliberately leaving Song Zhong behind, spreading his wings and whipping up a furious wind.

Boom!

The two colossal beasts crashed into each other with full force.

The sheer spectacle of their clash surpassed even the battle between Ning Qian and Song Zhong.

"Little Huang..."

Fang Xing pressed his dragon claw forward and asked casually: "How's your master treating you? We were neighbors once. Why fight to the death over mere humans? Let's just put on a show and call it quits."

"But... my master is strict. If I fail a command, the consequences are terrible."

Little Huang let out a shriek, and behind it, the spectral image of the Tianchan appeared.

"Besides... your master isn't a match for mine. When your master dies, you die too."

Little Huang paused, then surrounded itself with countless toxins: "Black Dragon... we've been friends. Let me send you on your way."

"Damn it. Where's the bond between beast races? Where's the loyalty between spirit pets?"

Fang Xing cursed with a laugh.

Truth be told, he wasn't truly panicked—he could crush this toad with a single claw at any moment.

But then, he felt a sudden, intense sense of dread.

As if some lethal danger was drawing near—far more terrifying than Ning Qian's earlier ambush!

Boom!

On the battlefield, countless tree silhouettes suddenly appeared. Amid a sea of forest illusions, a massive green face emerged.

Its features bore a striking resemblance to the earlier demon race man, Fu Qing.

Yet its aura was a hundredfold stronger.

That green face was formed entirely of countless threads of Dao principles, radiating pressure akin to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

At that moment, its gaze locked directly onto Song Zhong: "Finally... I've found you..."

"A demon race prince?!"

Ning Qian's expression changed drastically. She turned and fled, abandoning even her own spirit pet.

(End of Chapter)