Chapter 377 - 376: The Dragon King Appears
Since the Ink Flood Dragon seemed to be connected to the Great Sun Profound Light Celestial Demon Ancestor, Gu Zhao and Bai Fei brought the Daoists with them to the Eight Hundred Li Mo Lake in Pingjiang Prefecture to be on the safe side.
By now, the Ink Flood Dragon was gone, and all the Demons and Ghosts in Mo Lake had been vanquished. The Eight Hundred Li Mo Lake was perfectly still, shrouded in a faint, smoky mist. Streaks of sunlight pierced the mist and shone upon the lake’s surface, revealing a profound, inky blackness.
"So this is Mo Lake. It certainly lives up to its name." Yunyang descended to the shore and extended his Divine Thought into the water, trying to understand why it was so black. "Is this... algae?"
"Hahaha, you didn’t expect that, did you? The reason is actually that simple," Taoist Yan Song said with a teasing laugh.
Yunyang pursed his lips but nodded at the same time. "That makes sense. Without Magical Power involved, the only things that can change the color of a river or lake are algae or minerals. I just never expected there to be black algae."
Even in an Otherworld brimming with Spiritual Qi, its ecology was similar to Blue Star’s; it still had to follow basic physical and biochemical laws. Since Blue Star had red and green algae, it wasn’t surprising that this world had black algae.
"And this black algae contains Demonic Qi," Taoist Jing Feng said, scooping up a handful of water. "This Mo Lake has indeed transformed into a Demon Realm. That’s why those Water Demons were suffused with Demonic Qi."
"But the Ink Flood Dragon didn’t teach these Water Demons any Demon Techniques. They were merely tainted with Demonic Qi. Although the more deeply corrupted ones could transform into demons, they couldn’t actually use any Magic."
"It seems then, that even though the Ink Flood Dragon received the inheritance of that blasted Demon Ancestor, the situation in Mo Lake might not be as severe as the one at Black Rock Mountain."
"We’ll know if we go down and take a look," Taoist Yi Hong said, pointing toward the center of Mo Lake. "The Demonic Qi is thickest there."
"Let’s go!"
Everyone flew to the center of Mo Lake, then shielded themselves with True Qi to ward off the water and descended into the lake.
The lake was so pitch-black you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, but that couldn’t stop the old Daoists from probing with their Divine Thought. They could see there were still fish and water snakes in the lake, only now they seemed far more savage under the corrosion of Demonic Qi.
Beyond that, the lakebed was carpeted with dense, teeming weeds that snaked up from the bottom like countless water snakes, swaying erratically in the currents.
But these were all masters with hundreds, if not thousands, of years of experience. A mere sweep of their Divine Sense revealed a clearing several hundred meters across at the very center of the lakebed. There wasn’t a single weed, nor was it muddy silt, but a patch of clean, flat ground.
That must have been where the Ink Flood Dragon usually slumbered.
"There are Runes on the ground," Taoist Yan Song was the first to notice.
"There’s Demonic Qi in the grooves of the patterns," Taoist Yi Hong noted, his eyes glinting.
"It looks like some kind of sealing or suppression Talisman," commented Taoist Ming Yu, who was the most sensitive to Runes. Although they were clearly not of the Taoist Family, the flow of the lines and the aura they exuded allowed him to keenly perceive their function.
Taoist Shen Hao landed and gently brushed away the loose gravel on the stone. "This is one large stone slab. Perhaps something is sealed beneath it."
"The real Demon Realm... don’t tell me it’s right under this slab?" Taoist Yu Zhang said, raising an eyebrow.
"We’ll know if we just..."
VMMMM!
The Runes on the slab suddenly flashed with a black light. The Demonic Qi surged, becoming significantly more palpable, and pulsed like a breath for a moment before returning to normal.
"There’s something under the slab."
"It’s probably not a Demon Realm. Or at least, not *just* a Demon Realm."
"Uh, it couldn’t be the Celestial Demon True Body, could it?"
"Don’t say things like that!"
"Hahaha—huh?"
VMMMM!
The next moment, the Runes on the slab flashed with black light once more. The Demonic Qi surged violently, and then the Runes across the entire slab began to flow before finally returning to normal again.
Perhaps because it had lost the Ink Flood Dragon’s power to suppress it, the Demon Energy Rune on the slab was like a river without a source. Although it managed to suppress the disturbance beneath the slab each time it flared up, the effort was clearly becoming more and more difficult.
At the same time, wisps of an aura began to seep out from under the slab.
"Such dense Demonic Qi!"
"It really is a Demon Realm down there, and it’s even more severe than the one beneath Black Rock Mountain."
"There’s another aura... it’s similar to that mud-crawler’s. This is..."
"A dragon!" Bai Fei said suddenly. "This isn’t the aura of a Flood Dragon. This is the aura of a True Dragon!"
"What?" Everyone was startled by her words and they exchanged glances in shock.
"How could there be a True Dragon under here?" Li Qingshuang, who was right beside Bai Fei, couldn’t help but ask. "Aren’t all the True Dragons in the East Sea?"
Bai Fei said grimly, "You’ve forgotten. There is a True Dragon in the Wanling River."
Li Qingshuang was horrified. "The Dragon King of Ten Thousand Spirits? Are you saying the one sealed down here is the Dragon King of Ten Thousand Spirits?"
It wasn’t just Li Qingshuang; even Gu Zhao was stunned.
The Dragon King of Ten Thousand Spirits. He had heard that name more than once. He was the instigator of the great upheaval in the Wanling River thirty years ago, a being capable of going toe-to-toe with the Sect Leader of the Xuanwei Divine Sect, and the direct reason why both the Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court withdrew from Jiangnan.
But after that battle thirty years ago, the Dragon King of Ten Thousand Spirits and the Sect Leader of the Xuanwei Divine Sect had both retreated with injuries. It was said that the Dragon King of Ten Thousand Spirits had gone into seclusion to cultivate and hadn’t been seen in the thirty years since.
But more importantly...
"Isn’t the Ink Flood Dragon supposed to be the godson of the Dragon King of Ten Thousand Spirits?" Li Qingshuang couldn’t help but ask.
"Even fathers and sons by blood turn on each other, to say nothing of a godson," Taoist Jing Feng sneered.
The next moment, a draconic roar broke through the slab’s seal and rang in everyone’s ears.
ROAR—
It was higher-pitched than the Ink Flood Dragon’s roar, more resonant and far-reaching, and far more piercing. It was filled with the profound weight of ages and the oppressive might of a superior life form.
As the roar echoed, even the fish and water snakes tainted by Demonic Qi fled in a panic, clearing a large area at the center of the lakebed.
But at the same time, everyone was exceptionally perceptive. They all detected not only the struggle and pain within the roar, but also a hint of Demonic Sound mixed within it, something distinct from the roar itself.
"The Dragon King of Ten Thousand Spirits cultivated Demon Techniques, too?" Taoist Ming Chong asked in disbelief.
"The Dragon King of Ten Thousand Spirits is a True Dragon from the East Sea with extraordinary talent," Bai Fei said, shaking her head. "He has over ten thousand years of Dao Practice and was on the cusp of Ascension himself. Why would he possibly cultivate a Demon Technique?"
"But there is undeniably Demon Intent in that roar," Taoist Yan Ling said, stroking his beard, his eyes flickering.
"Could he have been corrupted by Demonic Qi?" Taoist Yan Qi guessed.
Bai Fei hesitated. "But given the Dragon King of Ten Thousand Spirits’ level of Cultivation... even if a Celestial Demon True Body were to descend, killing him would be one thing, but luring him into becoming a Fallen Demon would be nearly impossible."
Taoist Shen Hao spun the Flowing Gold Fire Bell in his hand and said coolly, "But didn’t he adopt a godson who cultivates a Demon Technique?"
At his words, realization dawned on everyone at once.
"He was betrayed by the Ink Flood Dragon?"
ROAR—
The draconic roar pierced through the slab again, a sound filled with fury and struggle, but also with savagery and malevolence.
Gu Zhao’s eyes narrowed. "Senior Uncles, recite the Heart Purification Divine Curse with me!"