For the next seven consecutive days, Great Sage Yuan Xu and Great Sage Xuan Yuan were inseparable. The two discussed the Dao daily and even refined several formations together.
However, as time passed, Great Sage Xuan Yuan gradually lost his patience.
"Fellow Daoist, you are simply too cowardly."
Finally, one day, Great Sage Xuan Yuan could no longer hold back. He directly scolded Great Sage Yuanxu to his face, "No wonder you only attained an Unorthodox Dao back then!"
His words laid bare an undeniable discrimination against the Unorthodox Dao.
Yet, upon hearing this, Great Sage Yuan Xu's eyes flashed, and he replied aggrievedly, "What's wrong with the Unorthodox Dao? A good Unorthodox Dao is no worse than an Orthodox one. Fellow Daoist, you're going too far!"
"Too far? I can go even further!"
Hearing this, an inexplicable fire surged in Great Sage Xuan Yuan's heart. He sneered, "You are an Unorthodox Dao cultivator for a day, you will be an Unorthodox Dao cultivator for your entire life!"
"Forget it, I can't be bothered to talk to you anymore. You don't deserve to listen!"
After venting these few sentences, Great Sage Xuan Yuan felt as if all his usually suppressed thoughts had been unleashed at once. It was truly satisfying, making him feel incredibly relaxed and carefree.
At the same time, Chong Guang, wearing Great Sage Yuan Xu's skin, also smiled.
It wasn't a waste of seven days secretly influencing this demon with the [Heaven of Sovereign] and using the [Five Poisonous Hearts] as a catalyst. Today, I've finally pried an opening in his state of mind. He's just an overseas demon cultivator after all, lacking any real capability.
The next second, he began to accumulate spiritual power.
His True Demon body entrenched itself in Great Sage Yuan Xu's sea of consciousness, madly squeezing out the divine sense within. After gathering sufficient essence, qi, and spirit, he rode a sinister wind and floated out.
"Boom!"
In an instant, Great Sage Xuan Yuan only felt a thunderous explosion ring out in his sea of consciousness. Following that, a chilling coldness emerged in the niwan palace between his eyebrows.
Not good!
Alarmed, Great Sage Xuan Yuan immediately shed his human form. The towering true body of the Xuan Yuan (Black Tortoise) materialized, its boundless blood qi and divine sense boiling over entirely at this moment.
Almost simultaneously, Chong Guang felt his body sear as if he had rolled through flowing fire. His originally formless and intangible True Demon body was forced to reveal itself, even emitting black smoke. Although it hadn't reached the point of injury, this was clearly some sort of divine ability meant to counter him!
"...Indeed, I cannot underestimate the people of this world."
Chong Guang took a step back, frowning slightly. "This blood qi fire can illuminate my figure. If I am burned for too long, it might actually harm me."
"With this fire protecting this demon's sea of consciousness, I cannot use [Overturn Mount Sumeru]."
On the other side, seeing that the spiritual fire he spurred was effective, Great Sage Xuan Yuan breathed a massive sigh of relief, then gritted his teeth. "Yuan Xu has actually been killed!"
"This True Demon dares to cause chaos in our overseas region!"
Is our monster race a pushover?
Uh, apparently so.
Fortunately, we also kept our guard up against True Demons. After painstakingly researching these past few days, I created this [Heart Fire Reflecting the Spirit Method]. Otherwise, I would be doomed!
At this thought, Great Sage Xuanyuan accumulated power to drive the spiritual fire to protect his soul while shouting sternly at Chong Guang, "Fellow Daoist, we can choose not to pursue the matter regarding Yuan Xu. Now that you have been exposed, if you don't leave, you won't be able to escape once all the Great Sages of my Four Seas Sect arrive!"
"Leave?"
Hearing this, Chong Guang laughed loudly, delivering his lines exactly as Lu Yang had instructed: "Aside from the Thunder Arts of the Righteous Dao in the Mystic Spirit World Realm, there are no Dao Arts in this world that can subdue me."
"Do you think I'd be afraid of you?"
Having said that, Chong Guang once again transformed into a formless sinister wind, howling around Great Sage Xuan Yuan's sea of consciousness, intending to extinguish the spiritual fire bit by bit.
Great Sage Xuan Yuan's expression remained unchanged, but he was incredibly anxious internally. This [Heart Fire Reflecting the Spirit Method] required him to continuously sacrifice his blood qi. Although his true body was massive and his blood qi was like an ocean, allowing him to hold on for a long time, there would eventually come a day when it was depleted. Who knew if he could outlast his opponent?
Just then.
Two streaks of spiritual light descended from the sky. It was Great Sage Ming Zhu and the Old Dragon Lord. However, the former arrived in her true body, while the latter was merely a spiritual power incarnation.
"Save me!"
Great Sage Xuan Yuan couldn't care about anything else. He immediately split off a portion of spiritual fire to burn a path through the sinister wind set up by Chong Guang and transmitted his voice out.
The price was that by splitting off spiritual fire to protect his divine sense and transmit a message, there was naturally less fire protecting his soul. Chong Guang immediately seized the opportunity, filling the gap with his sinister wind, further compressing the active space in Great Sage Xuan Yuan's sea of consciousness and making his situation even more dire.
Outside, Great Sage Ming Zhu also revealed a look of horror.
"This is... a True Demon!?"
"Yuan Xu is already dead, and Xuan Yuan... How could that True Demon come overseas to strike? Old Dragon Lord, do you have a way to drive it away?"
Old Dragon Lord: "..."
He glanced at Great Sage Yuan Xu on the ground, who looked like a piece of dead wood, and then at Great Sage Xuan Yuan, who was still struggling with a pained expression. Then, he nodded.
"It's hopeless. Just wait for death."
"Farewell!"
Before his voice even faded, the Old Dragon Lord unhesitatingly dispersed his spiritual power incarnation. Following that, a brilliant light descended upon the entire Four Seas Sect, whisking away all the True Dragons.
The Old Dragon Lord packed up and bolted!
Not only did he run, but he also took the entire True Dragon race with him. His actions were so fast and his decision so decisive that Great Sage Ming Zhu didn't even have time to react!
Meanwhile, Chong Guang, who had originally been treating them as formidable enemies, was also stunned. To be honest, he didn't think the Old Dragon Lord was truly helpless against him and had even prepared for a bitter fight. He never expected the Old Dragon Lord to just grab his bags and run, without even the slightest intention of exchanging blows!
Isn't this way too cowardly?
Even so, Chong Guang wouldn't pass up such an excellent opportunity. He immediately opened up Great Sage Xuan Yuan's sea of consciousness, letting him witness the scene of the Old Dragon Lord fleeing...
"Ah!!!"
In an instant, Great Sage Xuan Yuan's roar, filled with endless grief and indignation, echoed within his sea of consciousness. Immediately after, Chong Guang felt the surrounding temperature rising...
"Hmm?"
Chong Guang froze for a moment, then seemed to realize something. But before he could make another move, Great Sage Xuan Yuan's towering demonic body exploded with a resounding boom!
"Rumble!"
The blood-red light that shot into the sky dyed almost half the overseas region crimson. This was all formed from Great Sage Xuan Yuan's blood qi, showing just how massive his true body was.
And this massive amount of blood qi was completely converted into spiritual fire the moment he self-destructed. The boiling waves of fire directly swallowed Chong Guang. Under this suicidal attack, even Chong Guang's True Demon body couldn't withstand it, evaporating into ash under the fiery waves in the blink of an eye.
But that was all.
Soon, an Inner Demon that Chong Guang had left outside the Four Seas Sect awakened, and his true self returned. Although his aura was greatly diminished, he hadn't died.
Looking back at the Four Seas Sect, a hint of wariness surfaced in his eyes.
"It seems the monster race isn't entirely without merit..."
Whether it was the [Heart Fire Reflecting the Spirit Method] or the decisive self-destruction at the end, it had snuffed out his original intention to devour Great Sage Xuanyuan, restoring his calm.
The middle stage and the early stage truly are separated by a chasm.
Right now, he was considered to be in the early stage of the True Demon realm. Relying on treacherous methods and the lack of obvious countermeasures, he was able to cause headaches even for middle-stage Golden Core cultivators.
But that was all.
Oh well, taking Great Sage Xuan Yuan's life should be enough to shock the overseas region, complete the Immortal Lord's request, and help the Perfected Lord push for the late stage of the Golden Core.
At this thought, Chong Guang withdrew his gaze.
Currently, his True Demon body was heavily damaged. He needed to first digest the soul he devoured from Great Sage Yuan Xu to recover. It was not suitable for him to continue fighting.
On the other side, not long after Great Sage Xuan Yuan self-destructed, a newborn demon within the overseas Black Tortoise race instantly opened its eyes. His soul reincarnated and instantly reclaimed the [Thunderbolt Flame] stature. Empowered by surging spiritual power, he rapidly expanded, returning to the appearance of Great Sage Xuan Yuan.
Seeing this, Great Sage Ming Zhu hurriedly flew over.
"Fellow Daoist, that True Demon..."
"He's not dead." Great Sage Xuanyuan's face was grim. "The True Demon could return at any moment, and that old loach is unreliable... We need to find another way out."
Great Sage Ming Zhu didn't find anything wrong with these words. The Old Dragon Lord's decisive flight, ignoring their past camaraderie, had truly left her greatly disappointed.
"But whose faction should we join?"
Great Sage Xuanyuan remained silent for a long time. Finally, he sighed, "I heard that True Demon say that only the Immortal Lord Master of Tribulations and Ferryman of Karma in the Mystic Spirit World Realm can subdue him."
"This statement is likely true. After all, the Inner Demons were born because of him."
"And according to recent rumors, that Immortal Lord Master of Tribulations is likely the reincarnation of a Saint Sect Perfected Lord who went to the outer heavens and has only now cultivated successfully and returned."
Great Sage Ming Zhu nodded slightly. "If that's the case, then let's go to the Saint Sect."
Both Great Sages were decisive individuals. Having made their decision, they naturally wouldn't delay. They immediately rode streaks of light and sped towards Jiangbei.
After they left.
In a remote location overseas, a pair of eyes finally opened from the mud on the seafloor. Watching the retreating backs of the two Great Sages, they revealed deep apprehension.
...There shouldn't be any problems now, right?
Why would the True Demon Chong Guang randomly cause chaos overseas for no reason? This must be the order of the mastermind behind him. They have their eyes on my two longtime friends.
Is it that Immortal Lord Master of Tribulations, or Feixue?
Do they want them to attach their Grotto-Heaven to break through to the Great Perfected Lord stage?
Forget it, forget it... Whichever it is, I can't afford to provoke them. It's better to stay far away. Moreover, the [Tribulation] was born from the Inner Demon; the karma is simply too heavy...
The Old Dragon Lord closed his eyes and continued digging deeper into the seafloor.
Only by doing this could he feel a bit of warmth in the cold, wretched place that was the Immortal Nexus, because this was when he was closest to the Ancestral Dragon's remnant bloodline.
The Ancestral Dragon's remnant bloodline, the Immortal Nexus Dao Furnace.
Where exactly is that Nascent Soul Pill from back then?