When the claws of the True Demon Empire threatened the Holy Dynasty itself, they finally became truly anxious. The twelve sects also sent out their most elite forces, including even the sect leaders and supreme elders of that time.
However, the True Demon Emperor and his nine Demon Kings were too terrifying. Especially the True Demon Emperor, who mastered various martial arts, his demonic skills invincible, unmatched by anyone. Some even compared him to the Human King of old.
In a short time, not only did the Holy Dynasty fail to reclaim lost territory, but it was continuously eroded, nearly facing total annihilation.
Yet, something very strange happened later. The True Demon Emperor actually chose to commit suicide in his own palace! Rumour had it that before his suicide, he met a woman, a veiled woman in white, like a fairy.
Who was this woman? Why did the True Demon Emperor take his own life? It remained an enigma.
After the True Demon Emperor’s death, the Holy Dynasty launched a counterattack. Although the nine Demon Kings were formidable, they were ultimately no match for the Holy Lord of that time. The demon army was defeated one by one.
In the end, the Holy Dynasty reclaimed all lost territory, but the losses were catastrophic. Even the Holy Lord, the only one who could rival the True Demon Emperor, died from exhaustion and accumulated injuries.
Yet, from beginning to end, the Holy Dynasty never found the True Demon Emperor’s body, nor did they kill the nine Demon Kings, only shattering the once-thriving “True Demon Empire.”
Since then, almost all sect disciples were required to study this history, to remain vigilant against potential future calamities.
Unfortunately, perhaps because too much time has passed, most young warriors today have forgotten the terror of the True Demon Empire. It was true evil, destruction that left nothing in its wake.
Wars between humans at least had some principles and boundaries, but the True Demon Empire had none. The cities they conquered were always slaughtered, plundered, and burned to the ground, as if killing were a game.
…
Because of this, seeing the statue of the True Demon Emperor, Wanyan Jun and the others surprisingly felt little fear. Too much time had passed, and the new generation of warriors, living in relatively peaceful times, had completely forgotten the bloodshed of those days. Some even regarded the True Demon Empire and the True Demon Emperor as objects of admiration, feeling not fear but excitement.
“Since there’s an altar to the True Demon Emperor here, there’s probably treasure left behind by the True Demon Empire. This time, we might really have struck it lucky. If we can kill the Demon General and the Plague Demon King, everything will be ours,” Wanyan Jun said, not with fear but with excitement from the bottom of his heart.
Chen Zui and Shangguan Lei felt the same. They had forgotten the fear the True Demon Empire once brought to humanity but remembered its strength. Such a powerful empire, even if only a tenth, no, a hundredth of its treasure remained, would be more than enough for them to enjoy endlessly.
“Right, let’s go in and check the situation!” Chen Zui’s eyes gleamed with excitement and greed.
In their view, the Plague Demon King surely hadn’t recovered, or else, with the human Holy Dynasty now at its weakest, why wouldn’t they rebuild the True Demon Empire and dominate the world?
Though Shangguan Lei was a bit worried, he couldn’t suppress his inner desires.
Was Ling Xiao any different? The mark of adventure ran in his blood. Encountering such a place and leaving without investigating would be a lifelong regret.
Slipping past the slaves quietly, to them it was as if a faint breeze had passed, unnoticed. There were no overseers, yet the slaves worked diligently, their eyes filled with numbness and fear. They had likely witnessed the terror of the Plague Demon King and knew not to slack off.
Ordinary people, in this mysterious realm, truly had no status. If someone wanted to enslave you, you wouldn’t even have a chance to resist.
Ling Xiao clenched his fists, strengthening his resolve to walk the path of martial arts—to become strong, invincible, so no one would dare bully him or harm his loved ones.
Walking among the four, Ling Xiao quietly swapped his real body with his martial soul clone. Though he wasn’t immune to greed and desire, he valued his life more and wouldn’t lose his reason to greed.
If his martial soul clone was destroyed, it could be reformed, but if his real body was destroyed, everything would be lost. Moreover, his current martial soul clone possessed nearly 90% of his real body’s strength.
Of course, this strength didn’t include special powers like the Mountain and River Martial Soul or the Ancient Golden Dragon, only slightly surpassing his standard cultivation level.
His current cultivation was the early stage of Mortal Realm Second Layer, while his martial soul clone’s strength was roughly at the mid-to-late stage of Mortal Realm Second Layer. This level was already capable of much.
Most crucially, his martial soul clone could use all his martial techniques, just not the unique powers like the Mountain and River Martial Soul or the Ancient Golden Dragon, making it less powerful than his real body.
However, the martial soul clone had a trait his real body lacked: mimicry. As part of the Mountain and River Martial Soul’s abilities, it could perfectly replicate an opponent’s moves after seeing them once, giving it additional combat strength, making it far stronger than an ordinary early Mortal Realm Second Layer warrior.
Passing through the altar, what lay behind seemed to be a palace, exuding a powerful aura of evil. Everyone could see a mass of dark green liquid, bodiless, yet radiating that evil aura.
“Master, you were right, these people really came in,” the Demon General said, standing beside the dark green liquid, showing great respect.
Honestly, when his master, the Plague Demon King, told him those people would come down, he was skeptical. There was a Plague Bone-Dissolving Formation in between—how could they possibly get through?
But now, he had to admire his master’s foresight. Of course, he was also surprised by Ling Xiao’s fearsome ability. If he guessed correctly, these four could come down largely because of Ling Xiao.
“It’s a trap!” Hearing the conversation between the Demon General and the Plague Demon King, Wanyan Jun, Chen Zui, and Shangguan Lei realised they’d been fooled.
They turned to flee, but suddenly, an overwhelmingly powerful, foul, and nauseating aura hit them, carrying immense soul-crushing pressure. The three, despite being Mortal Realm Third Layer powerhouses, collapsed to the ground like jelly, too terrified to move.
