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

Master Tianning's tone was somewhat serious. In response, Zhong Bai and the other three smiled faintly and headed deeper into the ancient battlefield.

The four of them were not together. Although sticking together would certainly be safer, if an opportunity came along, all four of them would need to share it, which would greatly reduce efficiency.

All four were cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage, possessed treasures like the Soul-Guiding Lamp, and had their own considerable trump cards. Therefore, as soon as they entered, the four understood each other and separated.

The deeper one ventures into the ancient battlefield, the stronger the chill becomes. This is not just ordinary cold air, but rather the malevolent energy formed from the decaying corpses that have lingered between heaven and earth for years.

A fierce wind blew, striking his body like knives. Zhong Bai remained silent, holding the Soul-Guiding Lamp in his palm. The surrounding malevolent energy was instantly dispelled by the light of the Soul-Guiding Lamp.

Within a radius of a thousand miles, the thick fog that was originally formed by the gathering of evil energy was dispelled, revealing the earth riddled with holes.

Continue deeper into the heart of the world...

About three days later, a huge corpse finally appeared in front of Zhong Bai.

For three whole days, the ancient battlefield was somewhat special. If one flew on a sword, the rate at which the true essence in one's body was consumed was terrifying.

Therefore, for three days, Zhong Bai measured the entire ancient battlefield on foot.

"Is this considered deep inside?"

Zhong Bai muttered to himself. He had been traveling for three days, following the direction from which the malevolent energy was coming. Sure enough, at the source of the malevolent energy, even though the enormous corpse had long since perished, the residual aura on its body was still astonishing.

"What a pity. This body has been decaying for at least several thousand years, so it's impossible for it to have any essence blood left. In life, it was at least a demon saint at the Nascent Soul Realm, but it easily perished in this ancient battlefield..."

Taking a deep breath, Zhong Bai began to carefully examine the body of the demon saint in front of him.

It was approximately several thousand feet long, lying horizontally on the earth.

Although it has been dead for thousands of years and its flesh and blood have dissipated, its bones have not been damaged. Each bone is like white jade, gleaming with a faint light. From its shape, it seems to resemble a dragon.

I quickly approached its head, and sure enough, even after the passage of time, the pair of dragon horns still emitted bursts of lightning.

"Dragon..."

It is true that the dragon is dead, but it is not without treasures on its body. For example, the pair of dragon horns in front of us could be easily crafted into a Nascent Soul level spiritual treasure by a skilled spirit treasure forger.

It might not be of much use to Zhong Bai, but it would be a treasure to the disciples of Maoshan who were at the Nascent Soul stage.

With a swift movement, Zhong Bai grasped the dragon horn, intending to store it in his Qiankun Ring. But at that moment, an unexpected event occurred.

The moment Zhong Bai grasped the dragon horn, wisps of black smoke instantly billowed out from the jade-white bones. Within a radius of ten miles, the same black smoke rose in waves, shrouding the entire world in darkness.

Zhong Bai frowned slightly; he sensed something unusual.

"Is this what evil is?"

There was a slight surprise in my heart, but I didn't appear flustered.

In his palm, the Soul-Guiding Lamp was still burning, its light enveloping Zhong Bai within a radius of tens of meters, preventing the black smoke from getting any closer.

"Hiding and lurking, you evil rats, why don't you come out and show yourselves?"

Zhong Bai channeled his true energy, and his booming voice echoed through the black smoke.

Hehehehehe...

"These young Taoist disciples are truly precocious! They dare to utter such arrogant words before me, the Demon Lord!"

A face formed from black smoke appeared in the void, its two pairs of crimson eyes filled with murderous intent and disdain, staring straight at Zhong Bai.

Zhong Bai looked up and met his gaze, sensing the other's presence. His initial surprise quickly subsided.

"Anyone can talk big, and you are merely a fluctuating cultivator at the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Why should I be afraid of you?"

With a slight smile, the Soul-Guiding Lamp in Zhong Bai's hand emitted a dazzling light, and the surrounding black smoke, as if encountering its natural nemesis, instantly dissipated in all directions.

"No wonder you're so confident, it turns out you have the Soul-Guiding Lamp in your hand. You're from Maoshan!"

This demon seemed to have some knowledge of the Soul-Guiding Lamp in Zhong Bai's body, and easily guessed Zhong Bai's identity.

"Knowing that I am a disciple of Maoshan, you evil demon still dare to be so presumptuous. Aren't you afraid that I will beat you to ashes?"

Zhong Bai remained calm.

"Hehehe, vanish into thin air?"
Even this Nascent Soul Realm dragon doesn't have such ability. You, a mere Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, dare to spout such arrogant words... Let this Demon Lord devour your flesh and blood!

"Awaken, my puppet!"

Streams of black smoke coiled around the dragon's body in front of them, instantly enveloping the dragon's body, which had been dead for thousands of years. Then, a loud dragon roar resounded throughout the surrounding heavens and the clouds.

The black smoke, like flesh and blood, completed the dragon's body, which was thousands of feet long, and it leaped straight into the void before swooping down towards Zhong Bai!

"Humph! I'm not afraid of you!"

Zhong Bai put the Soul-Guiding Lamp into his pocket, and his blood and qi were instantly activated. His body, comparable to that of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, gathered terrifying power. The moment the dragon's body fell, he threw a punch with a bang. The space trembled, and with a loud bang, a tangible wave spread around, causing sand and stones to fly, and a series of crisp bone-cracking sounds suddenly rang out.

As the dust settled, Zhong Bai stood several hundred meters away, his arm trembling slightly. Although the dragon's body could be driven, it was not a living dragon after all, and its power was limited. When Zhong Bai punched down with all his might, the entire dragon's body was blasted away tens of thousands of meters.

However, the dragon bone was a demon saint in the primordial spirit realm in its previous life, so its strength was not low.

Zhong Bai's arm trembled slightly, and there was also a slight numbness.

"Hehehe, what a fine appearance! A body comparable to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator..."

How wonderful it would be if it could serve as the body of this Demon Lord!

Amidst the surrounding black smoke, the enormous face reappeared. Although several bones in the dragon's body were shattered, it had little impact on this demon.

His eyes held not only murderous intent, but also intense greed and longing.

Zhong Bai gave a cold smile. This demon in front of him seemed to still be delusional, thinking he was powerless against him...

However, what Zhong Bai wanted to do just now was simply to test the physical strength of the Primordial Spirit Demon Saint's body and bones.

"You want to possess my body?"

Then you should give it a try!

After he finished speaking, the Soul-Guiding Lamp reappeared in Zhong Bai's hand, and beams of light dispersed the black smoke in all directions, preventing the evil spirit from getting close.

After doing all this, Zhong Bai simply sat cross-legged and resumed the recovery of his right arm.

In the distant void, the giant face formed from black smoke now appeared somewhat ferocious.

Although it sounds easy, Zhong Bai in front of me is like a hard bone; if you try to bite into him, you'll easily hurt your teeth!

But he was unwilling to give up so easily; such a perfect body was the first he had seen in thousands of years! If he could possess it, advancing to the Nascent Soul Realm would not be a dream…

"Want to heal your injuries?"
Wishful thinking!

The Demon King harbors a dream, a tale of illusion and reality, devouring heaven and earth, spanning countless seasons!

In an instant, the black smoke that had previously kept Zhong Bai at bay gradually disappeared, and the moment Zhong Bai opened his eyes after recovering from his injuries, he found that everything in front of him was changing.

He saw himself when he first joined Maoshan, he saw the scene of his small mountain village being attacked by wolf demons, and he saw his own powerlessness...

These scenes, which should have been signs of a sudden inner demon, appeared utterly ridiculous in Zhong Bai's eyes.

"You do have some skill, actually managing to pull this humble Taoist into a dream!"
Unfortunately... these sights cannot shake my resolve!

Seemingly in response to Zhong Bai's disdainful words, the scene before them began to change again.

It was a scene of shattered earth. A towering mountain suddenly spewed out lava, and countless seas of fire splashed in all directions. As the earth tore apart, tsunamis hundreds of meters high surged in from all directions. There were cries and wails everywhere, and a scene of apocalypse was quietly unfolding.

Upon seeing the scene before him, Zhong Bai not only did not experience any inner demons, but his gaze instead appeared somewhat strange.

"Is this the scene of my destruction of Japan?"

very nice!
"Only I could accomplish such a masterpiece, but it's still not ruthless enough. If I could learn some forbidden curse techniques and use magic to wipe out all the Japanese left in the Western Lands, that would be perfect!"

Seeing that Zhong Bai could still offer such comments, the demon was somewhat disarmed and began to invade Zhong Bai's dream. At that moment, the demon was even a little smug, after all, such a bloody scene would have made a normal righteous person repent for their actions.

But this person in front of me doesn't play by the rules.

"Alright, I've seen it all. These methods are still so underhanded. Even if I did regret it, I would only regret not killing them all!"
"Soul-guiding lamp, come forth!"

In the vast dreamscape, as the Soul-Guiding Lamp shone brightly, everything around collapsed. At the same time, a muffled groan suddenly rang out. The moment the dream collapsed was a severe blow to the demon.

Back to reality, looking at the somewhat faded black smoke-covered giant face, Zhong Bai revealed a hint of mockery.

"Is this your supernatural power?"
"Laughable supernatural powers?"

Such mockery infuriated the demon.

"Shut up!
I am the noble Nightmare Demon Lord!
How dare you slander me like this!
You are the true demon; tens of millions of lives have perished at your hands…

"Thank you for your praise, but I still intend to exterminate you completely!"
Samadhi Fire, burn!

As the surrounding energy surged forth, transforming into Samadhi Fire that spread outwards, the Nightmare Demon Lord's pupils dilated instantly. Seeing the heatwave engulf him, he suddenly realized that the Taoist before him had been toying with him all along. Despite possessing a divine power to restrain him, the Taoist...

"Oh no!"

"No?

"Heh heh, you dared to steal my dragon bone and scare me like that? You'll be the one who dies!"

The Samadhi Fire spread extremely quickly, almost instantly turning the black smoke into nothingness the moment it touched it.

In a short while, the tranquility around Zhong Bai was restored.

There was nothing in front of them except for the enormous body of the dragon.

[Slay a Nascent Soul Realm demon and gain 100 million Demon Extermination Points!]

[Current Demon Extermination Points: 100 million!]

Looking at the fluctuating data on the demon-slaying panel, Zhong Bai didn't feel particularly excited.

If it were when you first started cultivating, you might have been able to jump up excitedly, but now, the further you cultivate, the more you need to comprehend the laws of heaven and earth in order to increase your strength.

Of course, when breaking through a bottleneck, it is still useful to use the Demon Extermination Points to speed things up, or to refine the essence of demon beasts to improve the Shangqing Dragon Elephant Technique and the Golden Light Divine Mantra.

"Something is better than nothing. Let's try our luck with the lottery. It costs 10 million to draw once. Last time we got something as good as essence blood, which is more useful than simply adding points to cultivation."

Shaking his head, Zhong Bai became engrossed in harvesting the dragon bones.

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

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the ancient battlefield.

Streaks of light came from afar.

With a whoosh, they landed and looked at each other.

"Xuantian Sect greets True Man White Eyebrows!"

The first to reveal himself was Xuan Tianzong, who held the Sun and Moon Wheel and had reached the peak of his divine transformation. This was a spiritual treasure of his master, Master Gu Yue, when he was alive. The reason he always carried it with him was simple: if he encountered his master's reincarnation, the Sun and Moon Wheel could directly recognize him as its master.

When facing Zhong Bai, he wielded the Nanming Li Huo Sword because the Nanming Li Huo Sword was of a higher grade, a true primordial spirit treasure!

When Xuan Tianzong greeted him, Master Bai Mei nodded with a forced smile as a sign of acceptance.

Master Bai Mei didn't think much of the Xuan Tian Sect. With his own sect gone, a normal person would try every means to rebuild Kunlun and continue the lineage.

But the Xuantian Sect was a different story. They spent their days drinking and getting drunk, rarely seen, which directly led to Kunlun becoming a mere shell of its former self. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were destroyed.

If something unexpected happens to the Xuantian Sect one day, Kunlun can truly declare its demise...

"My disciple Yingqi, remember to stick close to your senior brothers!"
If things go wrong, don't forget to latch onto disciples from Maoshan and Longhushan.

Ignoring Xuan Tianzong, Master Bai Mei continued to earnestly instruct Li Yingqi.

There were three Emei disciples who came with him, all of whom were at the early stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. Obviously, they did not receive the same treatment as Li Yingqi.

However, none of the three felt the slightest bit of jealousy. They had all cultivated for hundreds of years, while Li Yingqi had only cultivated for a hundred years. Their talents were clearly inferior in comparison.

Without a tremendous stroke of luck in this lifetime, they can only remain at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

But Li Yingqi is different. Even if he follows the proper path, his chances of achieving the primordial spirit in this lifetime are extremely high.

Li Yingqi smiled and nodded.

"I know, Master. You've told me eight hundred times already. I'm not a child anymore, so I'll definitely be careful."

"Ah, yes, yes, I was overthinking it. Alright, you four can go in first!"

As Master Bai Mei spoke, Li Yingqi was incredibly excited. Ignoring the fierce wind blowing in front of him, he transformed into a beam of divine light and rushed into it. The other three Emei disciples followed suit and disappeared from their original positions.

To cover their embarrassment, the Xuantian Sect, not far away, also forced themselves to enter the ancient battlefield without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)