Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Upon hearing Gu Changjin's words, the Deep Swamp Crocodile King was first stunned, then flew into a rage.

Its crocodile armor suddenly opened, stirring up a large undercurrent in the black water.

"You shameless snake! You failed to transform into a dragon, yet you dare to put on airs in front of me?"

"I'm only sparing you a complete corpse because of our years of neighborly relations!"

With a sudden tremor of its black iron fork, tens of thousands of deep-marsh demon soldiers behind it roared in unison, causing the water to surge and the demonic energy to merge into one, as if to crush the Black Marsh Water Palace on the spot.

"From this day forward, this entire 800-mile-long Black Swamp will be my territory!"

"If you know what's good for you, hand over your demon core, and I might let you die with some dignity!"

Gu Changjin looked at it, too lazy to even reply with a single word, and simply took a step forward.

boom!

The black robe of the Water Lord shattered on the spot, and black light burst forth from his body, instantly filling the entire water area.

Ten zhang (approximately 33 meters).

Hundred feet.

A thousand feet!

A colossal black-gold python, obscuring the sky, suddenly appeared before the Black Swamp Water Palace.

The enormous snake coiled up in circles, almost completely filling the water in front of it.

The scales were like black gold, each one flowing with ancient and tyrannical magical runes.

The serpent seal above his head was dark and deep, like an inverted abyss, swallowing even the spiritual light in the water.

The black water churned, and the eight-hundred-mile-long water palace trembled.

That primordial ferocity, which did not belong to the Nine Provinces and was not granted by the water veins, crashed down on the heads of all the demon soldiers in the deep swamp like an ancient divine mountain.

The Deep Swamp Crocodile King, who had just been laughing wildly, suddenly stopped.

Its crimson eyes widened little by little, and beneath its crocodile armor, the demonic soul trembled wildly.

What the hell is this thing?!

Jiaolong?

impossible!

A dragon has no such aura, nor could it possibly look like this!?

That was not the majestic power of a dragon, which could move clouds and water and be bestowed by heaven and earth, but a pure and extreme devouring ferocity.

He carried only the aura of an ancient, primordial species!

The Deep Swamp Crocodile King's throat was dry.

"A demon...a demon immortal?"

wrong.

This aura has indeed reached the level of a demon immortal.

This is what humans call a "transformation god".

However, the demons and immortals of the Nine Provinces will more or less affect the power of heaven and earth.

Wind, thunder, water, fire, mountains, rivers, and streams—everything has its roots.

There's nothing in front of me.

It's like a monster that crawled out from beyond the heavens.

"What...what kind of monster is this?!"

"Didn't you fail to transform into a dragon?!"

The Deepwater Crocodile King finally got scared.

He wanted to run away, but it was too late.

The Bashe Seal on Gu Changjin's head trembled slightly.

The black water within a radius of a hundred miles instantly solidified, and the Devouring Domain descended.

All the demon soldiers in the deep swamp seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand, unable to even circulate their demonic energy.

Gu Changjin looked down at the Deep Swamp Crocodile King and opened its mouth.

Darkness descended.

The Deep Swamp Crocodile King's armor bristled as it desperately activated its demon core.

"Snake King, spare my life!"

"I surrender!"

"This king is willing to offer up the Deep Marsh Water Palace..."

Click.

He hadn't finished speaking.

Gu Changjin took a bite.

The Deep Swamp Crocodile King, at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, along with its prized protective demonic armor, was bitten in two by the thousand-foot-long Bashe.

The demon core, nascent soul, flesh and blood, and crocodile armor were all twisted into rolling essence by the darkness and swallowed into its belly.

There were no major battles, no tug-of-war, and certainly no worthy opponents.

The story of the Deepwater Crocodile King from its appearance to its consumption is nothing short of a joke.

Gu Changjin casually swept his snake tail.

boom!

The black water exploded, creating waves hundreds of feet high.

Tens of thousands of deep-sea demon soldiers were instantly crushed into a bloody mist. Before their remaining demonic energy could dissipate, they were swallowed into the snake's belly by the Devouring Domain.

The remaining demon generals from the deep swamp were so frightened that they turned and fled.

At this moment, the demon soldiers and generals of the Black Swamp Water Palace went completely mad.

"The Lord of the Palace is awe-inspiring!"

"The Serpent King is invincible!"

"kill!"

"Slay all the demon soldiers of the Deep Swamp!"

The shrimp soldiers and crab generals, who were originally trembling with fear, suddenly seemed to have gained courage at this moment.

Anyway, their own lord swallowed even the Deep Swamp Crocodile King whole.

What are they afraid of?

A group of demon soldiers charged out, howling, and hacked wildly at the remnants of the defeated army in the deep swamp.

Gu Changjin ignored him.

His enormous serpentine body coiled once around the Black Swamp Water Palace.

All the demon generals who were still observing immediately knelt down faster than anyone else.

After confirming that the Water Palace was temporarily safe, he swung his snake body and soared into the sky, heading towards the Deep Swamp Crocodile King's lair.

The black water was torn open with a long ravine.

We've reached the deep waters soon.

It's even more murky here than in Kurosawa.

Everywhere there was rotting mud, withered bones, and the remains of monsters that had accumulated over many years.

At the end of the deep marshland, a great river flows into the sea.

Beyond the main river lies the near sea.

Gu Changjin swallowed the Deep Swamp Crocodile King and also seized its remaining divine soul memories.

The location of that innate spiritual object is now clear.

Near the sea, at the confluence of the river and the sea, lies a volcano submerged on the ocean floor.

Gu Changjin continued downwards.

The seawater grew colder and colder, and the surroundings grew darker and darker.

Until one moment, a faint crimson light suddenly appeared at the bottom of the deep sea.

It is a volcanic crater lying dormant beneath the rivers and seas.

Here, icy seawater meets underground magma, forming a strange realm of water and fire.

Outside the crater, there was also a very well-hidden array.

The patterns are intricate and the aura is profound and righteous; it's clearly not something a demon could have created.

Gu Changjin sneered.

"Fancy and overly complicated."

Without even stopping, he charged straight in with his Nascent Soul level Bashe demon body.

boom!

The formation shattered on the spot.

Before the restrictive spiritual light could even retaliate, it was swallowed whole by the Bashe Seal.

Gu Changjin plunged deep into the volcano.

Lava churned and seawater surged in.

At the heart of the confluence of water and fire, a wondrous lotus flower is slowly blooming.

The lotus is half fiery red and half deep blue like water.

Hidden celestial restrictions flowed across the petals, like invisible chains, firmly binding it here.

Kan and Li create the fiery lotus.

Gu Changjin recognized the object from the memories of the Deep Swamp Crocodile King.

No wonder that old crocodile has been guarding it for so many years without daring to eat it.

This fire lotus has the Heavenly Secrets Restriction of the Qiyun Sect.

Let alone a Nascent Soul Demon King.

Even if a Nascent Soul cultivator swallows it whole, the demon core will be instantly locked by the restriction, making it a target for others' swords.

Gu Changjin stared at the restriction with icy eyes.

"Heavenly Secrets Restriction?"

"This old ancestor even wants to devour the heavens, why would I be afraid of your shabby restriction?"

The snake opened its mouth and swallowed it whole.

boom!

The Dao Fruit resounded deep within the soul.

The moment the Kanli Creation Fire Lotus entered his stomach, those Heavenly Secrets Restrictions launched a frantic counterattack, trying to lock the demon core and influence the fate of the Nine Provinces.

But in the next instant, the Bashe Seal and the Dao Fruit trembled simultaneously.

The so-called Heavenly Secrets Restriction was directly crushed into shreds.

The pure essence of water and fire was being frantically refined.

A wisp.

Five strands.

Ten strands.

Finally, all thirty strands of the Dao Yuan condensed and emerged.

Gu Changjin transformed back into a burly man with a black face, standing between the lava and the sea.

His eyes were a little red.

Thirty strands.

A single fire lotus, with a total of thirty strands.

How many resources would be needed to cultivate innate thunder spirit wood using spirit stones?

When will we finally get there?

He suddenly laughed.

"Damn Qiyun Sect."

"You actually arranged for your disciples to eat my meal ahead of time."

This flavor is just right.

Gu Changjin immediately understood.

The Four Demon Kings are also good.

Deepwater Crocodile King is also good.

All the famous demon kings of Kyushu are probably part of the Qi Yun Sect's scheme.

The demon kings considered themselves kings of the mountains, ruling over their respective regions.

Actually?

They were just free watchdogs who were assigned to the job.

Before the treasure matures, let the Demon King guard it.

Once the treasure has matured, the righteous disciples descend the mountain.

Slay the demon.

To retrieve the treasure.

To become famous.

All in one go.

The demon king is dead, the treasure has been taken, and the righteous disciples are still entitled to the title of "acting on behalf of Heaven."

That's a really good deal.

Gu Changjin chuckled softly, but he was not blinded by the immediate benefits.

These prestigious and righteous sects in Kyushu have profound foundations, and their most shameless trait is their love of "strength in numbers".

They always have several immortal ancestors in charge, and they even set up some kind of demon-subduing sword formation or mountain-protecting formation, mainly to carry out a righteous gang fight.

Although he has now achieved the Great Perfection of the Bashe Demon Body, if he were to fight the Qiyun Sect head-on in a one-on-one battle, he would inevitably be besieged by these righteous high-ranking members who do not have martial ethics.

"Since you prestigious sects like to bully others and like to gang up on each other."

"Then, when facing you treacherous and cunning hypocrites of the righteous path, this old patriarch naturally cannot speak of any chivalrous code."

"When facing evil spirits and heretics, even the demon race must stand shoulder to shoulder with them!"

Gu Changjin stroked his chin, a sinister smile appearing on his pure black face.

The Black Swamp, stretching eight hundred miles, is just the tip of the iceberg in the Southwest Ten Thousand Demon Mountains. Countless other powerful demon kings reside in its outer perimeter and depths.

He decided to take the initiative, defeat them all, bring them under his command, and build a massive demon army.

Of course, recruiting underlings was merely a convenient tactic to deal with the Qi Yun faction.

Most importantly... since these demon kings are all "watchdogs" arranged by the Qiyun Sect, their respective territories must be guarding many rare and precious treasures that have not yet been taken away by the righteous disciples!

"Since everyone has been defeated by me and become like brothers,

"The innate treasures hidden in the homes of those brothers are naturally also my treasures."

Gu Changjin gazed into the depths of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains, his dark golden vertical pupils filled with greed and domineering intent.

"If these unparalleled treasures were to fall into the wrong hands and be picked up by those hypocritical righteous people, wouldn't I be heartbroken?"

"For the sake of all living beings, I, this old ancestor, shall swallow this perilous karma whole!"

Gu Changjin laughed loudly, too lazy to even return to the Black Swamp Water Palace. His figure transformed into a streak of black light that tore through the deep sea, soaring directly into the sky, impatiently heading towards the next demon king's territory.