This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 208 The Black Mountain Demon Arrives, the Kui Niu Drums with Divine Power

The Tree Demon Granny died, and about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Zhang Zhiwei and Yan Chixia arrived in front of Zhong Bai.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, Fellow Daoist Yan, you two should leave Lanruo Temple first... That Black Mountain Demon will probably arrive soon. I'll stay and have a look at him!"

Upon hearing Zhong Bai's words, both of them understood that they had no choice but to leave.

Staying behind would only be a hindrance, after all...

"Fellow Daoist Qianhe, in that case, let me first explore this world and take the opportunity to visit Dragon Tiger Mountain to find out what's going on!"

Zhang Zhiwei cupped his hands in farewell, and Zhong Bai smiled as he bid him farewell. Zhong Bai couldn't keep Zhang Zhiwei with him forever; the other party had already broken through to the Golden Core True Monarch realm and could choose to go on his own...

"Zhong Daojun, I, Yan, will take my leave!"
"Take care, Daoist Master!"

Zhong Bai also smiled as he bid farewell to Yan Chixia.

......................................................

Three days later, at Lanruo Temple.

Zhong Bai sat cross-legged in the void, his previously closed eyes suddenly snapping open!

"Here it comes, but it's just an avatar; nothing to fear!"

Zhong Bai murmured softly, facing the howling wind, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

Suddenly, his true essence surged within him, and a crimson bolt of lightning exploded violently into the void ahead.

In an instant, a furious roar resounded all around.

"Humph!

"This wild Taoist priest, who dared to trespass into Lanruo Temple and slay the demon king I protected! Now that I have arrived, he shall surrender immediately!"

A ghostly face slowly emerged from the void as yin energy gathered. Its ferocious appearance spoke volumes about the Black Mountain Demon's fury. He had only managed to escape through the void with a clone when he was blasted away by Zhong Bai's scarlet lightning. In any case, this was a slap in the face to the Black Mountain Demon.

Fortunately, there were no other ghost kings from the underworld around, otherwise the Black Mountain Demon would have truly lost face.

The eerie ghostly cries echoed through the heavens and earth. Zhong Bai found the Black Mountain Demon's wailing somewhat grating and couldn't help but let out a cold snort!
"Black Mountain Demon, you occupy the City of the Wrongfully Dead in the Underworld, and are at the level of a half-step Ghost Emperor. I have heard that you, Black Mountain Demon, are a spirit from the Black Mountain in the Underworld, and a cultivator of both demon and ghost."

"Today you dare to cause trouble for this lowly tree spirit? Do you really think the sect behind me is something you, Black Mountain Demon, can afford to offend!"

Zhong Bai let out a loud shout, which startled the Black Mountain Demon's clone. The distorted ghost face began to show confusion and curiosity.

Indeed, the aura that Zhong Bai was displaying at this moment, even though his cultivation was only at the early stage of the Nascent Soul Dao Lord realm, gave the Black Mountain Demon the feeling of facing a leader of a sect with the same majesty.

The world is vast, and the Black Mountain Demon knows very well who he can offend and who he cannot.

This is a key reason why he was able to occupy the City of the Unjustly Dead in the Underworld without other Ghost Emperors taking over his territory.

Taking a deep breath, the Black Mountain Demon's eyes flashed with a sinister glint. Regardless of Zhong Bai's identity, since he had already offended him, he had to kill him with a single blow.

"Speak, you stinking Taoist priest, who are you, and how do you manage to frighten this emperor?"

"This humble Taoist comes from Maoshan!"

After saying that, a scarlet lightning bolt flashed from Zhong Bai's palm and instantly shot straight towards the curious Black Mountain Demon.

"damn it!"

Before the Black Mountain Demon could retreat, crimson lightning enveloped its entire body, with countless bolts of lightning sweeping over every inch of its form.

The crackling sounds continued, and wisps of yin energy were transformed into white smoke by the lightning and rose into the air.

With a thunderous roar, the Black Mountain Demon's clone suffered a great loss with just one palm strike of lightning.

The anger in his heart reached its peak. As the Black Mountain Demon calmed down, the divine soul of the Half-Step Ghost Emperor suddenly trembled, and all the lightning on his body was annihilated.

The Black Mountain Demon also stared fiercely at Zhong Bai, his killing intent almost tangible.

"No matter what sect or faction you come from, I, the Emperor, will take your life!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Black Mountain Demon slammed his palms together, and the heavens and earth began to tremble. Countless rocks rolled and tumbled into the air, rushing straight toward Zhong Bai. In the blink of an eye, rocks piled up all around Zhong Bai.

Even though Zhong Bai kept using lightning to blast the rocks, it was still somewhat futile, and countless rocks fell like meteors.

As it hurtled towards them, it carried immense force, and Zhong Bai felt himself being rapidly buried by the rocks.

The rocks turned to ash and fell to the ground, but they actually condensed back into stone. Knowing that he could not stand on the ground and confront the Black Mountain Demon head-on, Zhong Bai broke free and leaped into the void. He stood on the spirit sword and looked at the Black Mountain Demon with equally cold eyes!

"A clone of a half-step Ghost Emperor is indeed extraordinary!" This was Zhong Bai's most pertinent assessment of the Black Mountain Demon. The fact that the Demon could establish himself in the City of the Wrongfully Dead in the Underworld was definitely not due to his words, but rather to his formidable strength.

Even if it's just a clone, it can still unleash the power of a Nascent Soul Ghost Queen in its late stage.

Taking a deep breath, Zhong Bai began to form hand seals, and streams of Samadhi True Fire surged out, scorching the Black Mountain Demon. The Black Mountain Demon's pupils widened, never expecting that the wild Taoist in front of him could be proficient in such supernatural powers!
At first, when Zhong Bai said he came from Maoshan, the Black Mountain Demon might have taken it as a joke. But now, his distorted face was no longer bothered by the burning Samadhi Fire and began to tremble uncontrollably.

The Black Mountain Demon knew that no matter what, he could not let Zhong Bai leave Lanruo Temple alive today!
He dared not gamble. If Zhong Bai really came from Maoshan, once Zhong Bai left Lanruo Temple and returned to his sect, the Black Mountain Demon would only have one way out: death!
Countless plumes of black smoke billowed in...

At this moment, the Black Mountain Demon decided to leave the Underworld in his true form, even if it meant that his hundred years of cultivation would be wasted.

After all, it would be very difficult for someone with only the strength of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator to defeat Zhong Bai.

With a deafening roar, the earth began to tear apart, and the passage from the underworld to the mortal realm was thus opened by the Black Mountain Demon.

Connecting to the City of the Wrongfully Dead, countless lonely ghosts poured out of the passage and fled in all directions, leaving the Underworld without a court.

These souls, who had suffered greatly trying to be reincarnated in the underworld after their deaths, are now eager to escape.
The Black Mountain Demon had a gloomy face. At this moment, he had no mood to pay attention to these wandering ghosts. As his main body passed through the passage, the Black Mountain Demon's mountain-like body slowly emerged from the passage.

Zhong Bai never expected that the Black Mountain Demon would choose to pay the price and descend in his true form.

Seeing the mountain fall, Zhong Bai took a deep breath and silently took out a treasure from his Qiankun Ring: the Kui Niu Drum!
"You filthy Taoist priest, I have descended in my true form! So what if you possess the cultivation of a Nascent Soul Dao Lord? Die!"

boom!
A massive stone palm descended from the sky, obscuring the sun, but Zhong Bai's expression remained unchanged.

"Kui Niu Drum, come out!"

As Zhong Bai's true essence surged recklessly into the Kui Niu Drum, an aura emanating from the Divine Transformation Treasure instantly permeated the entire Lanruo Temple.

The Black Mountain Demon, whose giant palm was about to descend from the void, changed his expression drastically. He truly never imagined that Zhong Bai could possess such a spiritual treasure for protection.

The Kui Niu Drum in front of him was not a mark, but a genuine Nascent Soul Spiritual Treasure. Zhong Bai did not slack off in the slightest. After his true essence surged into it, beams of light illuminated the heavens and the earth. At the same time, Zhong Bai drew out a drumstick. Holding the drumstick, the mountain-like weight made Zhong Bai's heart skip a beat. However, he still used the Golden Light Divine Mantra to enhance it and relied on his physical strength to bring the drumstick down heavily!
bang bang bang...

It seemed as if only this drumbeat remained in the world, and a purple-gold lightning bolt spread outwards from Zhong Bai's center.

The Black Mountain Demon's giant hand in the void was annihilated by lightning before it could even land.

"what!"

A series of shrill roars and countless screams followed. At this moment, it wasn't just the Black Mountain Demon who was injured by the divine power of the Kui Niu Drum; the souls that had escaped from the underworld were instantly engulfed by lightning, and their so-called escape turned into certain death.

puff!
A mouthful of jet-black blood spurted out, and the Black Mountain Demon's aura rapidly weakened. Most of the lightning from the Kui Niu Drum had been directed at him, with bolts of lightning striking his body. Even though his true form was a black mountain, he was still blasted apart by the lightning.

Zhong Bai was also suffering.

The recoil from the Kui Niu Drum sent Zhong Bai staggering back dozens of meters, a trickle of blood gushing from the corner of his mouth. But Zhong Bai did not retreat; instead, he stared intently at the Black Mountain Demon's true form with a ruthless gaze.

"not good!"

The Black Mountain Demon realized that the other party intended to kill him. If the drumbeats were to repeat themselves, the Black Mountain Demon would likely be severely injured, if not killed. Seeing that the two-world passage had not yet healed, the Black Mountain Demon threw out one of his clones and rushed towards Zhong Bai, while his main body fled towards the passage as if trying to save his life.

bang bang bang...

Zhong Bai brought his hammer down again, and the Black Mountain Demon's clone turned to dust in less than a second, while the Black Mountain Demon's true body successfully escaped into the underworld.

Standing in the void, Zhong Bai's face was somewhat pale. The two drumbeats had completely exhausted Zhong Bai's true essence and physical strength. If the Black Mountain Demon had chosen to withstand the attack head-on, the outcome would have been uncertain.

However... the Black Mountain Demon dared not gamble. Being alive was naturally the best outcome, so why continue gambling?

"The Kui Niu drum is truly terrifying!"

After Zhong Bai put away the Kui Niu Drum, he was utterly shocked when he looked at the demon-slaying panel in front of him.

[Slay a peak-level demon king to obtain one million demon-slaying points]

[Slay tens of thousands of dead souls and obtain fifty million demon-slaying points]

[Defeat one of the Ghost Queen's late-stage avatars and obtain 10 million Demon Extermination Points]

[Current Demon Extermination Points: 70 Million]

[Karma Value: 20 Million]

[Exchange ratio for cultivation: 1:1000]

Zhong Bai couldn't help but sigh slightly upon seeing this. Since arriving in this world, the demon-slaying panel had indeed been upgraded, and the exchange ratio had also increased accordingly. It was 1:100 at the Golden Core stage, but now, after entering the Nascent Soul stage, it had reached 1:1000.
Although the rewards from demon-slaying points are greater, it's not so easy to quickly improve one's cultivation level. Well, of course, it's still a thousand times faster than normal cultivation...

(End of this chapter)