Elder Wan gave the warning.
The Grand Shaman and the others took out their poison-warding treasures one after another.
The grey-robed elder was skilled in the use of poisons, and he distributed some secretly concocted detoxification pills to the rest of the group.
Once their preparations were complete, they stepped through the teleportation formation in sequence.
The light of the teleportation formation extinguished.
In an instant, silence returned to the stone hall.
Yet high above the stone hall, at the edge of the gorge, a figure had been standing there all along with hands clasped behind his back. He looked down toward the stone hall, his gaze seemingly piercing through the perilous restrictions filling the valley.
Neither the Grand Shaman nor Old Devil Fang had noticed his presence.
Their actions of infiltrating the valley and unsealing the stone hall had all fallen under this person's watchful eyes.
"How do you understand witch formations? Even the Grand Shaman of the Witch Clan failed to see through the tampered work you did."
A voice rang out—emanating directly from within this person's body.
"The Witch Clan's own inheritance was severed long ago. Is fooling them that difficult?"
The person opened his mouth to retort, sounding as if he were conversing with himself.
After a brief silence, the voice inside his body spoke again in a chilly tone. "What exactly are you trying to accomplish by luring the Witch Clan into the Inner Hall? No matter your purpose, with me here, don't even dream of succeeding!"
"What? What are you afraid of?"
The corner of the person's mouth curled slightly as he sneered, "Since when did you possess such compassion for the world?"
"I have no desire to shoulder all living souls under heaven, but a catastrophe must not begin on my account!"
The voice inside him snapped, every word ringing with firm conviction.
A cold sneer played on the person's face. "So you finally admit that I, this avatar origin soul, am one and the same with you? If so, why not give up resisting and let me devour you? Wouldn't you know my purpose then?"
Waiting until the Grand Shaman and her group activated the teleportation formation, the person tapped his foot and took flight, vanishing from the area as well.
***
The Inner Hall.
An unknown secret realm.
After breaking through the immortal restriction and arriving here, the Flood Dragon King and the other demon kings had flown without a moment's rest, yet they still had not emerged from this desolate expanse.
"Fellow Daoist Nine Phoenix, how much longer until we leave this secret realm? At this rate, the Hall of Seven Kills will close before we even escape it. This king has no desire to be trapped and die here. Why didn't we use the Heavenly Phoenix True Feather back then to teleport directly into the Inner Hall?"
The carapace-backed burly man spoke in a muffled, questioning rumble, his tone laced with impatience.
Only after entering had the demons realized that they had not arrived directly in the Inner Hall. This place bore no resemblance to the records kept by humans regarding the Inner Hall; it was likely a secret realm sealed off by immortal restrictions within the Inner Hall itself.
Immortal restrictions were ubiquitous throughout the Inner Hall, so such an occurrence was not unexpected.
The demon kings had no choice but to search everywhere for an exit.
If they could not even escape the secret realm before the Hall of Seven Kills sealed itself, searching for treasures was out of the question. The only silver lining was that there were no ferocious beasts or other perils within this realm.
Nine Phoenix King was their sole hope of escaping, yet she had not found any leads either.
"Back then, I relied on the restriction power left behind by a senior of the Heavenly Phoenix Clan to clash against the immortal restriction from both sides, which was the only reason I could send the Heavenly Phoenix True Feather inside. Anywhere else, the chances of success would have plummeted. Furthermore, as far as I know, apart from the few areas explored by humans, the Inner Hall is fraught with extreme danger. Avoiding this place would only have led us into other perils."
Displeased by the man's aggressive attitude, Nine Phoenix King looked aloof and cold, and her tone was sharp and unyielding.
The Flood Dragon King stepped in to smooth things over. "Brother Hei, there is no need to be impatient. This secret realm was surely left behind by a predecessor of the Heavenly Phoenix Clan. Anyone else would almost certainly be trapped here until death. Fellow Daoist Nine Phoenix is a descendant of the Heavenly Phoenix and holds the Heavenly Phoenix True Feather in hand. Finding an exit will not be difficult, but it takes time."
Pausing, the Flood Dragon King turned back to Nine Phoenix King. "Fellow Daoist Nine Phoenix, Brother Hei's worries are not entirely groundless. Once we leave this secret realm, I must first execute the Dragon Attracting Art to pinpoint the location of the True Dragon skeleton. If it is too far away, we will need to budget enough travel time. We must devise a way to escape as soon as possible."
Nine Phoenix King nodded. She raised her jade-like hand, and the Heavenly Phoenix True Feather hovered over her palm as she continuously poured true essence into it.
Her eyes half-closed as she focused her senses.
The black-armored burly man gave a dry chuckle, not daring to disturb Nine Phoenix King further. Glancing at the white bone in the Flood Dragon King's hand, he asked curiously, "The Dragon Attracting Art you mentioned—is it a secret technique passed down within your Flood Dragon Clan?"
The Flood Dragon King nodded. "According to legend, a True Dragon is full of treasures. After death, its remains cannot be left exposed outside; they must be brought back to the Dragon Tomb for burial to prevent desecration. For this reason, the True Dragon Clan created a blood-tracing technique to seek out corpses. Although the Dragon Attracting Art is a heritage of my clan, legend has it that it was derived from this very technique of the True Dragon Clan. This piece of white bone is indeed a True Dragon bone, which I obtained from a human Nascent Soul cultivator. Under interrogation, he confessed that he had chanced upon it in the Inner Hall of the Hall of Seven Kills. As long as a dragon corpse exists within the Hall of Seven Kills, this bone and the Dragon Attracting Art can be used to track it down..."
The carapace-backed burly man's eyes glinted. "How powerful does Fellow Daoist think that True Dragon was when it lived? If it were a True Dragon of the heavenly demon rank, its bones shouldn't have decayed to such an extent, right?"
"The might of a heavenly demon is beyond our fathoming."
The Flood Dragon King gazed at the nearly decayed white bone in his hand. "Regardless, the True Dragon's strength far surpassed ours. Any stray treasure left by a True Dragon would greatly boost our might. If it is an intact dragon corpse that has never been looted, even if the bones have decayed, we might very well find an inverse scale, true blood, or even a far more precious demon core. At that point, Deity Transformation or even Void Refinement will no longer be an extravagant dream..."
A subtle trace of allure laced the Flood Dragon King's tone.
The other demon kings nearby felt their hearts stir, wishing they could claim the dragon corpse that very moment.
"The gap between the present age and the ancient cultivation world exists on every level; that is not something a single dragon corpse can bridge. Otherwise, even the Deity Transformation stage would not be so exceedingly rare, let alone indulging in delusions of Void Refinement."
The carapace-backed burly man remained remarkably clear-headed, unaffected by the Flood Dragon King's enticement. "This king will be satisfied if I can smoothly break through to the late Transformation stage and survive a few more heavenly tribulations. If an opportunity for Deity Transformation truly arises, I only hope Fellow Daoist can break through smoothly. We will help you seize the teleportation formation and counterattack the cultivators. When the time comes, both domains will belong to our demon race! My only fear is that the dragon corpse has already been found and stripped bare by the humans."
He worried their trip would be in vain.
The Flood Dragon King, however, remained confident and said placidly, "Even if this white bone were placed right before cultivators, their blind eyes would fail to recognize it. Besides, the True Dragon remains are not only useful to our demon race, but are supreme treasures to cultivators as well. If they had truly found it, there would never have been zero sign of it up to this day. Every True Dragon possesses means to protect its remains after death. If it was exceptionally powerful in life, some of that protection might still linger. It wouldn't be easy for outsiders to dig up the entire dragon corpse. When the time comes, Brother Hei will see for himself."
Unable to aid Nine Phoenix King, they began deducing their subsequent course of action.
Hunting for treasures in the Inner Hall meant they might cross paths with human Nascent Soul cultivators.
Lingzhuzi and the Demon Lord went without saying.
Though the chiefs of the Three Great Merchant Alliances were not Great Cultivators, they were said to be peak mid-Nascent Soul experts whose prowess far outstripped ordinary cultivators of the same rank. That both the righteous and demonic factions held them in deep wariness spoke for itself.
Compared to the humans, the Flood Dragon King was the only one among the demon kings who had reached the late Transformation stage; their overall strength was vastly inferior to that of the human cultivators.
Chapter 1049