The Demon Dragon

By the banks of the Nether Pool, within the Crimson Demon Palace.

At the peak of the towering castle sat a massive terrace. It was filled with various flowers, blooming in a riot of vibrant colors that looked like a sea of rainbows beneath the gloomy sky.

Occasionally, demon butterflies would flutter gracefully among the blossoms. Yet, amidst the ten thousand flowers, a single splash of brilliant red was particularly striking, overshadowing all others.

She stood there, gazing toward the direction where the Nether Pool flowed out. She twirled a flower in her hand, whispering softly over and over as petals fell one by one, scattering across the ground at her feet.

A blue flower was soon stripped of its petals. She furrowed her brow, looking quite displeased as she threw it away indignantly.

"That doesn't count!"

She plucked a red flower and began pulling it apart.

"He will come."

"He won't come."

"He will come."

"He won't come..."

She had heard that in the Demon Abyss, if a demon came into a sudden fortune, they would definitely come to the Nether Capital.

Everyone was like that, and she thought he should be the same, right?

Even if he was very different.

"He will..."

"He won't..."

She was so focused that she didn't notice a figure arriving silently until he stood right beside her.

The newcomer glanced at the small mountain of petals on the ground, then at the nearby flowerbeds that had already been stripped bare.

His dark brows knitted together into a deep frown.

It wasn't that he was distressed over these precious seven-colored demon irises being ruined so carelessly.

He was simply worried about the child. Ever since she returned, her mental state had been abnormal.

"A Ji,"

He called out gently.

Chi Ji snapped back to reality and looked to the side. A hint of panic flashed through her eyes as she guiltily hid the remains of the flower behind her back. "Father, why are you here?"

Chi Ming didn't answer directly, asking instead, "Did you forget?"

Chi Ji asked blankly, "Forgot what?"

But as soon as the words left her mouth, a spark of realization hit her. "Oh, we're going to the Nether Hall. Of course I remember."

"It is about time. Let's go."

Chi Ji tossed the flower away behind her back and nodded in agreement.

"Okay!"

Chi Ming asked dotingly, "Do you need to change your clothes?"

Chi Ji smiled. "No need, this is fine."

"Then let's go."

"Mhm!"

Chi Ming took a step forward, treading on thin air. A glint of light flashed through his emerald-green eyes. "Come!"

With that single word, the giant dragon atop the castle—which had looked like a statue—suddenly snapped its eyes open.

Its massive eyes were like two great red lanterns hanging high above.

The giant dragon had come to life.

It beat its wings, detaching itself from the castle, and circled in the air before diving down and then rising slowly.

It came to a stop right beneath Chi Ming's feet.

Chi Ji stepped onto it.

The giant dragon shook its massive head and gently flapped its wings, slowly flying toward the Nether Pool.

As they passed over a section of the northern riverbank, Chi Ji accidentally caught sight of a figure.

He stood on a high embankment with his hands behind his back, his deep blue hair dancing in the wind.

As she looked down, he also looked up.

That brief moment of eye contact passed in a flash as the giant dragon leaped over the pool's edge and flew toward the center of the Nether Pool. Chi Ji couldn't help but look back, her slender brows pressed low.

He felt familiar.

Yet also a stranger.

Chi Ming, keen as ever, followed his daughter's gaze and naturally saw the figure as well.

A black robe, long blue hair, and half a face covered by a black mask.

He asked casually, "A Ji, do you know him?"

Chi Ji snapped back to her senses and withdrew her gaze, looking back at her father. After a moment of thought, she replied, "I don't."

Chi Ming was skeptical.

Chi Ji added ambiguously, "But it feels like I've seen him somewhere before. I can't quite remember, though. It's probably just an illusion."

His build was very similar, even his eyes were similar.

Unfortunately, his hair was blue.

Chi Ming didn't say much more, only remarking calmly, "Perhaps you really have seen him, and you just can't remember."

Chi Ji nodded, not arguing.

The circle of the heavenly demon race was not large, and for descendants of demon gods like them, there were even fewer people they would come into contact with.

They were bound to meet at certain occasions; perhaps she really couldn't recall.

"Does Father know him?"

Chi Ming smiled faintly but said nothing more.

Chi Ji also shook her head with a smile, answering her own question. "How could Father remember everyone? I'm just being muddled."

Chi Ming didn't contradict her, but he followed up on her words. "You've been restless lately. You can't go on like this."

He left it at that.

Chi Ji lowered her eyes respectfully. "I understand..."

...

In a corner of the Nether Pool's bank, Xu Xian gazed at the giant dragon flying toward the opposite shore, unable to help but click his tongue. "Tsk tsk, that's a nice dragon."

That dragon looked somewhat like the ancient Yinglong.

It had a majestic head, incredibly wide wings, blood-colored eyes, and pitch-black scales.

Xu Xian had read about such creatures in demon books; it was called a demon dragon, the most powerful demon beast in the Demon Abyss.

It was said that the strongest among them could rival the early demon god stage. They were also the only type of demon beast in the entire Demon Abyss that could fly across the Nether Pool.

Legend had it that the demon dragons were born during the primordial era of the Demon Abyss, existing in the same age as the ancestral demons.

However, while the ancestral demons had perished for no clear reason in the long river of time, a portion of the demon dragons had managed to survive.

They were later tamed by the heavenly demon race, who established a powerful military unit: the Demon Dragon Guards.

In the past, the Demon Dragon Guards were all ridden by demon cultivators of the eighth rank or higher, and their strength was formidable.

That was also the period of the demon race's greatest prosperity.

Led by the demon sovereign, the eight great tribes emerged from the Demon Abyss and expanded toward the sun.

They created the Black Sand Desert!

They vied for supremacy against the demons, spirits, and humans.

Later, when the Sword Ancestor appeared, the demon race was defeated, and the Demon Dragon Guards lost over half their strength, becoming a broken shell of their former selves.

Later still, when Lei Yunche swept through the Demon Abyss with his sword, the few remaining Demon Dragon Guards were completely crushed and ceased to exist.

It was heard that only three demon dragons survived.

One followed the river down and entered the Demon Void, never to be seen again.

One became the guardian beast of the Nether Hall.

This last one was the mount of the Crimson Demon, Chi Ji's father.

Word was that the Crimson Demon was currently the oldest existence in the entire Demon Abyss and held great influence. As for whether that was true or false, Xu Xian didn't know.

He only knew that the Crimson Demon was probably just old, and his actual strength might not be all that much.

If he were truly ruthless, would others dare to mess with his daughter like that? Or would his subordinate have dared to betray him?

However... he had only caught a brief glimpse and hadn't realized the person on the dragon's back was Chi Ji.

He withdrew his gaze and headed back into the city.

There were too many patrolling guards by the Nether Pool; with so many eyes around, it would be bad if he were exposed.

A single look at the Nether Pool was enough. Next, he really needed to get down to business.

After several days of pondering and analysis, Xu Xian had decided to take a risk and try to dive to the bottom of the Nether Pool to mine Shadow Soul Stones directly.

That would be faster and more practical.

He needed far too many of them.

But before that, he had to solve one problem: how to ensure he could actually reach the bottom.

Xu Xian planned to use the Shadow Soul Stones he had to forge a sealed container.

A submarine, or maybe a mecha suit...

As for the descent and mining, he would use the Yellow Spring Burial or the Heaven-Burning Sparrow to pull himself down. Once the mining was done and he retracted the technique, he would use the Shadow Soul Stones' properties to float back up.

Xu Xian had asked Shuer.

In theory, it was feasible.

The difficulty lay in the execution...