Inner Demons

Li Yunxin only lamented for a short while, but the Evil King and the snake spirit couldn't bear it any longer.

The Great Demon of the Profound Realm became even more anxious because the mysterious fellow before him might hold the secret he had been dreaming of. This was completely contrary to his usual composed and calm demeanor in front of the other demons. He stared at Li Yunxin, his voice thundering: "You are a Cultivator? Huh? Are you a Painting Daoist?! What exactly do you know!?"

Li Yunxin waved his hand: "Don't panic. Right now, I am more surprised than you. Allow me to—sort things out first."

He paused slightly, then looked at the Evil King: "I originally thought you and that Old Devil Fulu were mortal enemies, then you killed him, and then gave his seven children some bewitching soup and took them for your own use—I was completely wrong, wasn't I?"

The Evil King frowned. But Li Yunxin raised his hands and pressed them down slightly to appease him: "Alright, alright, let's talk about me first. I am not a pangolin. I am indeed a Painting Daoist—but that was in my previous life. Now, I am a demon."

"I came to your Trapped Sky Mountain originally intending to sow discord and let you send yourselves to die at Dongting—if a great demon like you fought with the Daoist Orthodoxy, they wouldn't be able to disperse their attention, and I could escape easily. But now it seems this matter needs to be reconsidered..."

Li Yunxin thought for a moment: "For example, what about us becoming friends?"

Hearing his words, the Evil King and the snake spirit exchanged glances. The snake spirit was slightly stunned and cried out: "You are—Long Jiu?!"

Because of her words, the setting sun in the background suddenly dipped behind the mountains, and darkness finally descended.

A sudden gust of strong wind arose between heaven and earth. Autumn leaves and dead branches danced wildly with the gale, as if a giant in the endless sky had taken a deep breath. The few remaining deep green pine needles on the old pine tree next to the great Bluestone seemed startled—they all pointed at Li Yunxin, as if they would shoot countless pine needles at him at any moment!

The look of astonishment and doubt on the Evil King's face disappeared. Because of the snake spirit's words, he no longer regarded Li Yunxin as some random mysterious enemy, but as a match for him, and he let out a suppressive, muffled sound from his throat: "Long Jiu? Ha... You have a lot of guts. Not staying in your Dongting, but daring to cause trouble in my Trapped Sky Mountain?!"

"—Take this move!!"

As the Great Demon's voice fell, his massive, mountain-like figure in the darkness suddenly lunged!

With this pounce, the strong winds between heaven and earth all dissipated—they no longer blew aimlessly, but turned into the violent wind pressure he carried, which, along with the dark color, slammed towards Li Yunxin with the force of toppling mountains and emptying seas!

The distance between the two was only a few steps. This lunge was faster than lightning or a galloping horse. Before the snake spirit next to him could clearly see—

With a loud crash and crackle, the two huge bodies had collided!

But the Evil King's momentum was clearly more fierce. This huge black figure blasted Li Yunxin in front of him several zhang away. Everything in front of them—the trees, rocks, dust, fierce wind, and even the endless darkness in the void—was instantly crushed into fine powder...

And countless fierce sparks, like a splashing rainstorm, burst forth!

The Evil King's attack lasted only an instant.

The snake spirit, Seven-Segment Brocade, hadn't even had time to dodge the fierce wind stirred up by the two before the figures of the two great demons separated.

...And so the snake spirit saw the true form of the fellow who called himself the "Debonair Jade-Faced Little Silver Dragon."

—He had become as tall as the Evil King. His body was covered in steel-like dark green scales. A pair of ferocious and terrifying crimson deer antlers grew on his forehead. The steel-wire-like white mane on his neck stood up, and large masses of swirling water mist rose from between his fur and scales, protecting him within...

The figure that had previously looked refined, handsome, and slender...

Now revealed its true form, becoming a ferocious-faced Demon God!

The snake spirit gasped—was he really the Dragon's Son?!

He... had previously spoken lightly and acted carelessly. Yet, in this instant... he was already exuding a terrifying and powerful pressure that made her almost unable to breathe!

The snake spirit couldn't help but take a small step back. But she immediately realized that she shouldn't. Yet, she hesitated for two breaths and still didn't dare to step forward—

Because it was the Dragon Clan, after all...

She gritted her teeth and looked at her Evil King.

As the two had just collided, the fierce friction between their scales and shells caused sparks to ignite the surrounding dry grass and wood. Thus, she saw the Evil King standing like a mountain not far from Li Yunxin, his expression flickering between gloom and clarity in the leaping firelight.

And the Dragon's Son was also standing, but... patches of dark golden blood were dripping from his tightly clenched right palm. As soon as it hit the ground, a puff of smoke rose, as if it were hot magma.

The Dragon's Son bared his sharp fangs and smiled coldly: "The Evil King has great strength. A Great Demon of the Profound Realm, truly living up to the reputation. I've learned a lot."

The Evil King did not speak, still frowning, as if something was baffling him.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with danger: "Then—take another lesson!!"

As his voice fell, he lunged forward again, clashing with Li Yunxin once more!

But this time, the snake spirit was prepared and immediately conjured a shimmering, multicolored snakeskin to envelope herself.

The facts proved her reaction was correct—a continuous barrage of explosions and roars immediately sounded in her ears. It was as if this heaven and earth had become a great drum, and those two terrifying Great Demons had turned themselves into drumsticks, shaking the earth with all their might—

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The entire Land God was plowed up by the two of them. Heaven and earth were turned upside down, and then tons and tons of mud and rocks that they had blasted into the sky poured down, burying everything. Then, flames and smoke that shot into the sky intertwined into a single mass, and a continuous, sharp screeching sound almost tore her eardrums. The snake spirit felt the magical treasure made from her own shed snakeskin, which she used to protect herself, being rocked precariously by the aftershocks of the fight, like a small boat tossed on a stormy sea!

This was... what terrifying power!

The fight lasted for a full quarter of an hour.

Just as the snake spirit thought she was about to collapse and die... the world finally returned to calm.

She waited for three breaths of time before daring to brush off the mud and broken rocks on her body and poke her head out.

The scene before her was no longer what it had been. The Land God had turned into black scorched earth, with fire and smoke rising in between. The world before her seemed like a purgatory, and amidst the flames and mist...

The Dragon's Son and the Evil King still stood opposite each other.

Except that the Evil King was still the Evil King—without a single injury on his body.

But the Dragon's Son was almost coated in a layer of golden light—that was golden dragon blood. Mist still rose between his scales, but the mist was dyed a light gold color.

However, he still stood steadily five steps away in front of the Evil King—watching him.

Then he smiled again, and golden blood dripped from his fangs: "The Evil King only said 'one strike,' but now it has been so many times."

After saying this, he staggered forward one step. Because of this step, his body suddenly seemed to crack open in many places, and the golden dragon blood flowed down his scales like tiny streams: "If you keep doing this, we can't be good friends."

The Evil King still did not speak, only staring intently at him.

The snake spirit frowned, not understanding why her Great King was acting so abnormally and losing his composure. But she was not a foolish demon after all. She looked at Li Yunxin, then at the Evil King...

Suddenly, her eyes widened too, her mouth slightly open, speechless.

She suddenly realized that her Great King... was a demon of the Profound Realm!

And this Long Jiu, fought against a demon of the Profound Realm within the opponent's magical treasure for a full quarter of an hour... and could still stand!!

—And this was exactly what the Evil King couldn't understand.

The first time, he held back. It was only to teach this arrogant boy a lesson and to see if he was truly the Dragon's Son. Therefore, that first strike forced Li Yunxin to reveal his true form as a Demonic God.

The result was only a slight injury to his skin.

This astonished the Evil King. According to the information he had obtained through certain channels... this Long Jiu was previously at the peak of the Manifestation Realm, but was now in the True Realm.

But how vast was the difference between the initial stage of the True Realm and the Profound Realm?!

Even if he was the Dragon's Son... there was absolutely, absolutely no way—

One must know that during the subsequent quarter of an hour, the Evil King still held back his strength initially. But later—he hadn't encountered a worthy opponent in nearly a thousand years. He fought with increasing ferocity and excitement... and had already used his full power!

But he didn't kill him?!

The Evil King stared intently at Li Yunxin like this for a while before finally saying in a deep voice: "What trick did you pull?"

Li Yunxin laughed hysterically. With this laugh, his blood flowed like a torrent: "I told you a long time ago. You got this magical treasure but only used it to scare people and identify whether someone is a Cultivator or not... that is a waste of heavenly resources."

"The Eight Treasures Ancient Scroll," Li Yunxin shook his head, "The supreme treasure of the world. The old fogeys of the Daoist Orthodoxy and the Sword Sect would go mad if they saw this thing, but you sandwiched it between two iron plates. You ask me... how a True Realm Yin Spirit stood in front of you for so long? Hahahaha—do you believe me now when I say I know the correct way to use this thing?"

"I am skilled in the art of painting and calligraphy. And this thing... although it is your magical treasure. But how do you know how to utilize the Spiritual Power within this scroll?" Li Yunxin narrowed his eyes, "If we were outside, that one strike of yours might have killed me. But inside this scroll, hehe, Evil King, it is the home turf of us Painting Daoists. The flow of Spiritual Power, the leading of vital energy—there are far too many things you cannot see. You don't know even a millionth of the uses of this treasure!"

While he was saying all this, the golden blood on his body was still gushing out.

But neither the Evil King nor the snake spirit Seven-Segment Brocade showed any intention of taking advantage of his weakened state.

Because he had already used facts to prove his words—a True Realm demon, utilizing his opponent's magical treasure, fought almost to a draw with a Profound Realm Great Demon!

The Evil King remained silent for a long time before finally saying in a deep voice: "Then... what exactly do you want?"

Li Yunxin finally let out a soft breath. He raised his hand and pointed at the snake spirit Seven-Segment Brocade.

The Evil King and the snake spirit were both slightly stunned. Then the Evil King frowned: "You want her?"

Li Yunxin exhaled: "...Come and help me up."

And then he collapsed heavily.

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