Cultivation Begins From The Desert

Chapter 643 - 628: The Great Battle with the Demon King, Impatiens Nascent Soul Formation

"Celestial Wave Outer Sea" is the territory of the demon race, the domain of the .

Having become a Tier Six Demon King less than a thousand years ago, the has much to learn.

Thus, he usually stays secluded in his underwater mansion, practicing the demon race techniques and secret divine techniques he acquired from the Flood Dragon Race, as well as studying artifact refining, alchemy, and talisman making.

However, this does not mean he completely disregards other affairs.

His presence in the "Celestial Wave Outer Sea" is to ensure it remains under demon race control. Human race cultivators are allowed to adventure here but cannot establish sects or bases, as this is the bottom line set by the Flood Dragon Race.

Because the "Celestial Wave Outer Sea" has been under the demon race’s control for thousands of years, after human cultivators from the overseas cultivation realm initially failed to reclaim it, they have since acquiesced to the demon race’s rules, and no one has attempted to establish sects or bases here.

Therefore, the has lived relatively comfortably over the years, only occasionally patrolling his territory, without much concern for external matters.

But a few days ago, as he was cultivating in the deep-sea mansion, he suddenly received a report from a Tier Five Demon Beast, stating that a Golden Core Stage cultivator from the human race was undergoing Nascent Soul Formation in the "Celestial Wave Outer Sea."

Unacceptable!

After becoming a demon king, the wisdom and insight greatly increased, and he naturally understood where the threat to the demon race from human cultivators lies.

This threat doesn’t come from the quantity of ordinary human cultivators but from their high-ranking number.

Even in the East Sea, where demon race forces are strongest, there are only over a hundred demon kings, one-third of whom are from the Flood Dragon Race.

Yet, the overseas cultivation realm alone has forty to fifty Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, with hundreds more on the western continent!

It is precisely because of these Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, far outnumbering the demon kings, that the demon race remains suppressed by humans, unable to become the masters of the "Spirit Realm," despite having ten times the middle-to-low tier demon beasts.

The "Jiao Long’s Chaos" in the East Sea that occurred thousands of years ago is the last glory of the demon race in ten thousand years.

Yet that famed "Jiao Long’s Chaos," celebrated in songs by countless East Sea demons, failed its aims due to interference by Nascent Soul Stage cultivators from the western continent. It couldn’t truly drive human cultivators out of the East Sea.

Driving human cultivators out and making the East Sea truly belong to the demon race is a simple idea formed after the became a demon king and, upon visiting the Flood Dragon Race headquarters "East Sea Dragon Palace," learning about the demon race’s situation from venerable demon kings there.

To achieve this, one must possess great power, hence the has diligently practiced the demon race techniques and divine techniques from the Flood Dragon Race over the years.

To achieve this, the number of human Nascent Soul Stage cultivators must be fundamentally reduced, so upon hearing of a human cultivator undergoing Nascent Soul Formation in the "Celestial Wave Outer Sea," the rushed over, ready to eliminate the threat.

At this moment, the , wielding the battle halberd from the Flood Dragon Race’s treasure vault, appeared above "Demon Slaying Island." Sensing the presence of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator underground, his eyes flashed fiercely, and he shouted loudly: "Listen up, human juniors, the one who will kill you is the !"

Before the shout faded, he hurled the black battle halberd in his hand with an overwhelming momentum, striking fiercely towards the grand array below.

"Water Dragon Frenzy!"

Within the array, Zhouyang, with a solemn expression, uttered lowly, swiftly forming hand seals to unleash the strongest killing move of the .

A dragon roar resounded, and a sapphire-blue water dragon, dozens of feet long, suddenly soared from the array, heading straight toward the descending black battle halberd.

Boom!

The black and blue spiritual lights each occupied a part of the sky, evenly matched.

Is this the power of a human cultivator’s array?

Seeing this, a flash of surprise appeared in the eyes.

But soon, the surprise in his eyes disappeared, replaced by a ferocious grin.

"Disperse for me!"

With a wave of his hand, he sent out a black spiritual light that landed on the sapphire-blue water dragon.

The nature of this black spiritual light was unknown, but upon contact, a large part of the water dragon’s massive body vanished, then it got smashed into countless raindrops by the black battle halberd, scattering towards the ground.

Ugh!

Zhouyang grunted, his shoulder sinking slightly, his eyes filled with dread as he stared at the in the sky.

Only after truly facing such a Tier Six Demon King did he realize the overwhelming strength of this level of opponent.

This was no , whose power was suppressed and restrained by his divine technique, but a genuine, unrestricted demon king level being.

Even with the help of the array, it was hard to gain any advantage against the opponent, or rather, the question was how many moves he could survive against the opponent!

"Fengxian, you have to hurry, whether I survive today rests entirely on you!"

Silently glancing back at the entrance to the underground cavern behind him where she had disappeared, Zhouyang shouted lowly, unleashing the divine technique to transform into a half-dragon, half-human form.

", is it? Let’s see how you measure up today, see why the demon race’s demon king can compare to us Nascent Soul Stage cultivators!"

Zhouyang moved swiftly, suddenly appearing outside the array, eyes full of battle intent, boldly issuing a challenge to the .

"Arrogant!"

The Black Bone Demon King’s eyes turned cold as he said chillingly, "Even a mere Ninth-Layer Golden Core cultivator dares to challenge me? Today, I will show you the vast difference between Tier Five and Tier Six!"

His voice had barely faded when he moved, transforming his body into a shadow imperceptible to the naked eye, lunging towards Zhouyang.

Chilled to the core, Zhouyang clenched his fists and swung back. In an instant, his fist felt as if it had been struck by an iron hammer, and the immense force sent him flying.

Before he could stabilize himself in mid-air, an intense sense of danger again transmitted from above to his mind.

Without thinking further, he hurriedly activated the Qianyang Treasure Pearl’s power to cast the Qianyang Celestial Fire Shield.

Bang!

After a loud boom, the newly formed golden flame shield shattered instantly, sending Zhouyang crashing to the ground, leaving a human-shaped crater.

"Die!"

The Black Bone Demon King’s figure appeared above the crater, fiercely swinging his black battle halberd down at Zhouyang.

But the halberd never struck, as a red-gold protective shield enveloped Zhouyang.

It was the Exorcism Treasure Robe, a Tier Six middle-grade spiritual artifact that Zhouyang had activated.

As a purely defensive artifact, the Exorcism Treasure Robe naturally had stronger defenses than the severely damaged and non-defensive Qianyang Treasure Pearl.

"A Tier Six defensive artifact—is this what you rely on for such arrogance?"

The Black Bone Demon King gazed at the red-gold shield resisting his black battle halberd, a flash of cold laughter in his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Very well, now it belongs to me!"

His voice had barely faded when he reached a hand out to swipe the red-gold shield, releasing the same black spiritual light as before.

Hiss, hiss, hiss!

The black spiritual light fell upon the red-gold shield, and soon the thick shield visibly weakened, as if corroded by strong acid.

Roar!

Zhouyang shouted in rage, a point of golden light flew from his mouth, swiftly transforming into a seven-layer treasure tower and rushing towards the Black Bone Demon King.

Perhaps sensing the unusualness of the golden treasure tower, the Black Bone Demon King did not allow it close, quickly retreating thousands of zhang away with a move.

"With my blood, I ignite my soul, Green Blood Soul-Burning, complete!"

After repelling the Black Bone Demon King with a blow, Zhouyang immediately formed a dharma seal with his hands, and a green soul fire flared in his brow center.

Boom!

The green soul fire appeared, and Zhouyang’s magical power aura suddenly rose nearly twice.

Although his realm was still Ninth-Layer Golden Core, his magical power far exceeded that of a Ninth-Layer Golden Core cultivator.

Infusing powerful magic into the Exorcism Treasure Robe, the red-gold shield, which was near collapse under the Black Bone Demon King’s divine technique, instantly restored to its original state and became much more substantive.

"Is this all the skill Demon Kings of the demon clan have?"

Gazing directly at the surprised Black Bone Demon King afar, Zhouyang spat out a mouthful of congested blood from his throat with disdain and said with a sneer, "If this is all, then it’s no wonder the demon clan was driven by us human cultivators to desolate places!"

"You brat, you seek death!"

The Black Bone Demon King’s gaze turned sharp, with an unmistakable flash of anger in his eyes.

Zhouyang insulted him, which he could tolerate, but daring to use him to insult the entire demon race was absolutely intolerable, especially as someone committed to strengthening the demon clan after becoming a Demon King.

"Today, I will show you what a Demon King truly is!"

He shouted angrily, and his body suddenly transformed into his true form.

His true form was a giant seahorse-like demon beast, but with two dragon claws under its belly, possessing some dragon race bloodline.

It is well known that a demon king revealing its true form in battle means it is starting to fight with full force.

Having revealed his true form, the Black Bone Demon King opened his mouth with a sudden scream, a white sound wave condensed into a thin line heading towards Zhouyang—it was an extremely rare sonic attack divine technique!

This sonic attack is as peculiar and difficult to defend against as spiritual sense attack divine techniques, beyond ordinary means to counter.

Zhouyang originally thought he would inevitably suffer considerable injury this time.

But to his surprise, the red-gold shield formed by the Exorcism Treasure Robe’s divine technique showed strong defense against the sonic attack as well, blocking nearly eighty percent of its power.

The remaining twenty percent of force landed on him, merely causing a slight sway of his body, with no further effect.

"Suppress!"

A flash of surprise crossed Zhouyang’s face as he waved his hands, and the two magical artifacts, Qianyang Golden Tower and Earth God Mountain, soared into the sky to suppress the colossal seahorse measuring dozens of meters long.

"Get away!"

The Black Bone Demon King roared out, wielding his black battle halberd to hack away the Earth God Mountain, then swung his long tail fiercely at the approaching Golden Treasure Tower.

Just as he knocked away these two artifacts, an azure and golden dragon roared and came at him.

As he shattered the azure-golden dragon with his claws, a golden fireball hurtled towards him.

The abundant magical power from the Green Blood Soul-Burning Technique allowed Zhouyang to recklessly expend it, unleashing his strongest assault.

Black Bone Demon King had never expected that a mere Ninth-Layer Golden Core cultivator could possess such powerful artifacts, capable of contending with him.

The more they fought, the angrier he became and the more determined he was to kill Zhouyang.

This kind of monstrous human genius posed as much, if not more, threat than the Nascent Soul stage cultivator.

"Black Dragon Sea Split, kill!"

A black true dragon’s shadow suddenly emerged from Black Bone Demon King, and in a flash, appeared beside Zhouyang. A house-sized dragon claw suddenly solidified and swiped down at Zhouyang.

Boom!

Under the divine techniques attack of the Nascent Soul Stage level, the crimson-gold protective shield formed by the Exorcism Treasure Robe finally couldn’t withstand the pressure and shattered instantly.

Fortunately, the magical robe itself possessed considerable defense strength, barely protecting Zhouyang as he fled from beneath the dragon claw without being torn to pieces on the spot.

"Your Tier Six magical artifact is now temporarily useless; see how you die!"

An angry voice came from Black Bone Demon King. He glared at Zhouyang, and his figure moved to pounce towards Zhouyang.

Only by tearing Zhouyang apart with his own hands could he quell the hatred in his heart.

Being forced to use the lifebound divine techniques awakened after becoming a Demon King by a human Golden Core stage cultivator was a disgrace to him.

If other demon kings learned of this, they’d certainly laugh at him for hundreds or thousands of years, greatly affecting his reputation among the demon king circle.

"Who said I only have one Tier Six magical artifact? Bow before me!"

Zhouyang shouted loudly, boldly invoking his other Tier Six magical artifact, Heaven-Suppressing Azure Dragon Cauldron, sealing the void within a radius of several dozen miles.

Heaven-Suppressing Azure Dragon Cauldron is a Tier Six middle-grade artifact, capable of prohibiting any cultivators below late-stage Nascent Soul from flying in the hands of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.

Although Zhouyang was not a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, Black Bone Demon King only had early-stage Nascent Soul cultivation and could not resist the power of the forbidden sky. As Zhouyang said, he immediately fell to the ground and crouched.

"Ahhh, how dare you do this! I will kill you, I will extract your soul and refine it, never allowing you to be reborn!"

Black Bone Demon King struggled furiously, roaring repeatedly, crazed by the humiliating suppression imposed by Zhouyang.

Since becoming a Demon King, he had never suffered such humiliation.

Even when he went to pay homage to the king of the Jiao Dragon Race, just one step away from advancing to Tier Seven True Spirit, at the East Sea Dragon Palace, he had only stooped low in ceremonial salute—never bowed like this!

"You want to extract my soul and refine it, but I want to skin you alive!"

Zhouyang smiled but suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, cold sweat breaking out on his face.

The lifebound divine techniques attack from Black Bone Demon King was not easy to take. Although the Exorcism Treasure Robe blocked most of the power, the remaining power still left him with significant internal injuries.

Furthermore, the Heaven-Suppressing Azure Dragon Cauldron consumed massive magical power, and suppressing a Tier Six Demon King caused the magical power to drain away like a flood.

Seeing this, Black Bone Demon King turned from anger to joy and laughed heartily, "Hahaha, brat, you’re courting death yourself. I’ll see how much magical power you have left to wield this Tier Six artifact. Once you’ve depleted your magical power, I’ll let you understand how luxurious a thing it is to die!"

"The one who should die is you!"

A cold female voice filled with anger suddenly rang out on the battlefield.

Soon after, a golden sword light shot through the air, piercing through Black Bone Demon King’s long snout, skewering straight through to his lower jaw.

Immediately, waves of sharp and fierce sword qi erupted from the golden flying sword, shredding Black Bone Demon King’s tongue into countless pieces, turning all the flesh in his mouth—except the bones and teeth—into a bloody pulp with the sword qi.

"Zhou Lang, take a rest; I’ll handle this beast!"

The colorful-robed Jiang Fengxian’s figure flashed, instantly appearing beside Zhouyang, looking at him with full gratitude and concern.

"Be careful; this brute is quite strong. You’ve just formed your Nascent Soul; your realm is still unstable. Just drive him away!"

Zhouyang’s tense expression relaxed slightly. He managed to smile at his beloved, advised her a few words, then promptly retracted his divine techniques and retreated to the side. Under the escort of his daughter Jiang Yufeng, he returned to the underground abode to recover.

He knew very well that if he continued to hold on, he might help Jiang Fengxian severely injure the Black Bone Demon King, but he would also suffer severe injuries, potentially hindering his upcoming Nascent Soul formation.

Such a move would be too unworthy.

Without Zhouyang’s activation of the [Heaven-Suppressing Azure Dragon Cauldron], the [Black Bone Demon King] quickly returned to the sky, forced out the [Golden Flood Dragon Sword] from its mouth, and glared fiercely at Jiang Fengxian with eyes full of murderous intent.

He couldn’t even speak now, but his gaze and the violent aura emanating from his body clearly showed how furious he was.

"Vile creature, you dare to disrupt my cultivation and harm my loved one. Today, I’ll ensure you arrive but don’t return!"

Jiang Fengxian coldly met the [Black Bone Demon King’s] gaze, not showing a trace of fear.

Although she had just achieved Nascent Soul Formation, she was now a bona fide Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator. With the sharp sword in her hand, she naturally had no fear of the [Black Bone Demon King].

Moreover, despite her recent Nascent Soul Formation, and no time to cultivate other powerful divine techniques, her talent divine technique, Seven-Colored Spiritual Light, had transformed into a Great Divine Technique of the Nascent Soul Stage level as her cultivation advanced. The power of her previously mastered techniques was also greatly enhanced.

Thus, a battle between a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator and a Tier Six Demon King erupted on this "Demon Slaying Island."

The two clashed in the skies above the island; the aftermath tore the earth and shattered peaks, inflicting great damage on the entire island.

Fortunately, the underground cave mansion was a thousand feet deep and reinforced with arrays set up by senior cultivators, allowing Zhouyang, hiding and healing within, to avoid being buried alive.

This fierce battle lasted half a day, ending with the [Black Bone Demon King’s] retreating with injuries.

Realizing that further fighting would be futile after failing to defeat Jiang Fengxian, he knew that if Zhouyang stabilized his injuries and joined the fight, he might fall here.

Of course, this retreat was only temporary. It wouldn’t be long before the [Black Bone Demon King] returned with reinforcements.

So, upon confirming the [Black Bone Demon King]’s departure, Jiang Fengxian quickly took the slightly recovered Zhouyang and their daughter away from "Demon Slaying Island," flying directly across the "Nine Heavens Forbidden Realm" toward the "Inner Sea" area.

She was now a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, capable of sustaining long flights even within the Gang Wind Layer of the "Nine Heavens Forbidden Realm" without worrying about being tracked by sea demon beasts.

After several days of continuous flight, she finally descended onto an uninhabited barren island.

On the barren island, Jiang Fengxian casually opened a temporary cave mansion and looked at Zhouyang with concern, saying, "Zhou Lang, you should recover from your injuries here. I will stand guard to ensure no one can disturb you."

Although Zhouyang had temporarily stabilized his injuries with a drop of [Rejuvenating Immortal Dew], the divine soul damage caused by using the "Green Blood Soul-Burning Technique" remained severe.

During these few days of travel, his complexion worsened daily, and now he appeared as haggard as a chronically ill person, with his essence, qi, and spirit even worse than that of an ordinary person.

Jiang Fengxian was worried that further delays would aggravate his injuries, prompting her to hastily choose this uninhabited island for him to recuperate.

The divine soul injuries required special spiritual objects or spirit pills for healing, and Zhouyang just happened to possess a rare sea treasure, the [Sea Soul Pearl], capable of restoring divine soul injuries.

Seated cross-legged in the cave mansion, he placed the chicken-egg-sized, light purple pearl in his mouth and began to slowly refine it.

After half a month passed, the [Sea Soul Pearl] was fully refined by him.

Thanks to the aid of this rare sea treasure, Zhouyang’s divine soul injuries quickly healed completely.

With the divine soul injuries cured, the physical and meridian injuries became minor issues for him. He had various spirit pills to recover such injuries and needed only a year or two of recuperation without any lasting effects.

However, Zhouyang did not continue to heal in seclusion on this barren island; instead, he emerged from seclusion once his divine soul injuries had healed.

Upon coming out, he spoke solemnly to Jiang Fengxian, guarding outside, "During the Demon Slaying Island battle, both you and I revealed our strengths. After returning, that [Black Bone Demon King] will surely report the news to the Flood Dragon Race behind him. I’m afraid a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator from the Dragon Taming Clan has already arrived in the Overseas Cultivation Realm, allied with the Flood Dragon Race to hunt us down!"

Jiang Fengxian, hearing this, nodded in agreement, "Zhou Lang, what you said is absolutely true. I have been worried about this too. Although I have successfully achieved Nascent Soul Formation, compared to those Nascent Soul Stage cultivators who formed their nascent souls years ago, I’m far inferior, so we must carefully avoid them!"

She knew her own situation well. If a comparatively weak [Black Bone Demon King] among Tier Six Demon Kings could only be slightly surpassed by her, encountering a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator from the Dragon Taming Clan or a Demon King of the Flood Dragon Race would make escape difficult.

"In fact, evading their pursuit isn’t hard; the challenge lies in my impending Nascent Soul Formation. The Dragon Taming Clan, unless they’re foolish, would surmise from the [Black Bone Demon King] that I’m about to seek a place to achieve Nascent Soul Formation. They will certainly closely monitor all locations in the Overseas Cultivation Realm capable of providing the spiritual qi for nascent soul formation, and deploy spies to observe various sea regions, doing everything to prevent my formation!"

Zhouyang first nodded, then shook his head, quietly expressing his real concern.

Once the Nascent Soul Formation phenomenon appeared, high-tier presences within ten thousand miles would sense it, and in the Overseas Cultivation Realm, the Dragon Taming Clan and Flood Dragon Race could jointly monitor at least eighty percent of locations suitable for nascent soul formation.

If they focused on this aspect to ambush me, achieving Nascent Soul Formation in the Overseas Cultivation Realm would be nearly impossible, and forcing the formation would be suicidal.

"Why don’t we return to the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm? After all these years, I’m now a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. Perhaps the Donghua Immortal Palace might change its mind and help us!"

Jiang Fengxian, looking at Zhouyang’s heavy expression, hesitated before voicing her suggestion.

"No, we can’t rely on others for such hope!"

Zhouyang decisively shook his head, dismissing her unreliable suggestion.

Then, with a flash of hesitation in his eyes, he suddenly said, "Actually, there’s a place where the Dragon Taming Clan absolutely cannot find me for nascent soul formation, but it might be even more dangerous!"

"Oh, what place?"

Jiang Fengxian curiously looked at him.

"Donglai Immortal Island!"

Zhouyang slowly uttered four words.