Chapter Six: Law

Through the overwhelming demonic aura, Yinglong lightly traced a claw, a line of golden light flickering into existence.

In the next instant, Yi Xuan’s left arm was severed, the wound smooth and clean, not a single drop of blood left behind.

Yinglong’s majestic voice echoed from above once more.

“All show and no substance. You cannot even withstand a casual strike from me.”

Yi Xuan seemed not to hear, his gaze growing ever more resolute, a brilliance in his eyes that could steal souls.

“I have a premonition—if I kill you, my art will reach perfection.”

The severed left arm swelled with flesh and blood, bursting through the sleeve, transforming into a colossal serpent of golden iron, which soared into the sky.

With a lash of its radiant, metallic tail, the serpent shattered the web of demonic energy.

In the forest, the beasts fled in terror, myriad demons scattered among the mountains, each seeking to escape the might of man and dragon.

“Not bad. I misjudged you. You are worthy to be my cauldron soul.”

Ji Xun was a little speechless; the man and dragon each spoke past the other, Yinglong arrogantly treating Yi Xuan as a plaything, while Yi Xuan seemed almost senile in his obsession.

Even as they spoke, Yi Xuan’s right arm detached, transforming into a tiger-headed flood dragon.

At the same time, new arms regenerated, and he gripped the tiger-headed dragon as if it were a spear, a demonic aura billowing to the heavens.

His legs instantly assumed a bestial form, and with a mighty leap skyward, the spear in his hands was wreathed in the phantasmal images of tiger and dragon, accompanied by roaring and howling that chilled the hearts of all demons.

Yinglong’s eyes widened, draconic might radiating, as his right claw snatched the spear.

When spear and claw collided, the trees of the forest crumbled to dust, a terrifying demonic energy sweeping outward, cracking the earth and causing mountains to collapse.

“A mayfly shaking a giant tree—how laughable, how arrogant.”

In the next moment, the spear formed from the tiger-headed flood dragon was crushed in Yinglong’s grasp.

The tiger-headed dragon, being half dragon itself, was naturally suppressed by bloodline; it was the least suitable choice of weapon against a dragon.

But it was precisely in dragon confronting dragon that the awe of the bloodline could be most deeply felt.

“So this is draconic might at the level of a demon king. You have not disappointed me.”

In his muddled state, Yi Xuan was, for once, a little more lucid; a faint trace of draconic authority now clung to him, though still far inferior to Yinglong.

High above, Yinglong lashed his tail, summoning thunder and flame from the void, the five elements reversed, countless arcane arts concealed within the lightning and fire.

Yi Xuan’s flesh and blood exploded at once, scattering in all directions.

The scattered flesh transformed into countless demon beasts—dragons, tigers, lions, elephants, phoenixes, rocs, eagles, cranes; as if a nest of all insects, a den of myriad fishes.

All manner of divine abilities, Yi Xuan wielded as easily as if reaching out a hand: he could pluck the stars from the heavens, or borrow the power of earth through the forms of myriad creatures.

In the sky, Yinglong, seeing Yi Xuan transform into a hundred demons and unleash myriad demon clan arts, was truly taken aback.

“Rebirth by a drop of blood, flesh birthing sentience—such arts are beyond even most demon kings. Yet you, still in the realm of great demon, can achieve this. Astonishing, astonishing indeed.”

Alas, in this state, Yi Xuan retained not the slightest shred of reason, unable to answer.

So man and dragon battled thus until the next dawn, from deep forests to the archipelagos at sea.

Within the ocean, Yinglong was at the height of his power, countless aquatic beasts with dragon blood coming to his aid.

But Yinglong did not realize Yi Xuan was already spent, barely holding on, about to collapse.

And by calling on his dragon-kin for reinforcements, Yinglong had in fact delivered Yi Xuan a feast.

The demons Yi Xuan became all turned into gluttonous beasts, like bashe serpents; there was even a dragon whale, dozens of feet long, that devoured and refined countless sea creatures.

“Again! Continue the fight! My art is nearly complete…”

Countless demon beasts bellowed as one, their voices thundering like the sky.

Yinglong, seeing this, was already wavering, yet he had already summoned other demon king dragons for support, but they had not arrived.

Far away, in a remote valley, three dragons of demon king rank were being held back by many great demons.

“Do you really think you can stop me?” The leading dragon’s voice boomed like the rising sun, his draconic might far surpassing Yinglong’s.

Just then, a phoenix cry sounded from the distance, and a great phoenix descended from the sky, ten thousand birds bowing in homage behind her, her might equal to the dragons.

“That Yinglong, not only did he violate the pact of all demons, but also slaughtered his kin to refine artifacts. Dragon King, as leader of the demon alliance, will you shield him for your own?”

“Though he may be in the wrong, he possesses true dragon blood. When we fight the sorcerers and fiends in future, we will need his strength.”

A golden-winged roc appeared from nowhere, saying, “That Yinglong has long intended to defect to the sorcerers. Dragon King, if you think your might alone can sway his heart, you are too arrogant.”

Just as the Dragon King was about to fly into a rage, five more demon kings emerged from the void.

In an instant, the seven demon kings joined forces, trapping the Dragon King.

Within the formation of demon kings, the Dragon King could not break free in a short time.

…

By now, Yinglong had been driven into a demonic abyss, fleeing in all directions, his former majesty utterly gone.

Yi Xuan, still but a great demon, had forced a demon king to flee—an almost unheard-of feat.

“Spare me! I swear to help you ascend to the demon king’s realm with all my power.”

“Still not enough.”

Yi Xuan ignored Yinglong’s pleas, his myriad demon bodies fusing into one.

At last, all his flesh and blood transformed into a demon blade, upon which the patterns of a hundred beasts were inscribed with unfathomable art.

In the next moment, the long blade fell in a vertical slash.

A sickening crack sounded—the dragon’s head was severed, and it seemed as though heaven and earth let out a mournful cry. Spiritual energy surged, pouring into the depths of the abyss.

A demon core burst forth from Yinglong’s corpse, which Yi Xuan swallowed.

In that instant, he felt a strange sensation within: if he used the dragon core as his foundation, the dragon’s corpse as his body, inherited Yinglong’s memories and became Yinglong himself, then the demon king’s realm would be within reach, and his lifespan extended by centuries.

“But then, I would no longer be myself—I would become Yinglong. I refuse.”

As he spoke, Yi Xuan’s right hand twisted unnaturally behind him, tearing the skin and flesh from his back.

“My art is now complete, able to reach beyond the demon king’s realm. What shall I name it?”

As he muttered, his demonic blood and flesh began to slough off, piece by piece, dissolving into blood as they touched the ground and soaking into the earth.

This was a sign he could no longer control his own divine abilities and demon blood—his powers departing, his flesh fading.

“Hmm… I’ll call it… the Yi Xuan Demon King Art.”

“Alas, I have never reached the realm of demon king, even in death.”

He then used his claw-like nails to carve mysterious patterns into his skin, lines of power blooming in exquisite complexity.

Once finished, his right hand transformed into a massive bear’s paw, which struck Yinglong’s corpse and the Demon King Art deep into the earth.

All the dragon blood and flesh he turned into demonic energy, hiding them within the depths of the abyss.

Perhaps, after millions of years, when this abyss is no more, a demonic vein will emerge here, nourishing countless great demons.

Yi Xuan made his way out from the depths of the abyss, losing a divine art and a piece of flesh with every step.

Yet the dragon-blooded salamander truly was a rare treasure; even in such a state, it allowed his flesh to regenerate.

But the new flesh was devoid of any supernatural power.

No one knows how much time passed before Yi Xuan finally emerged from the abyss.

Now his hair was white as snow, his skin like the bark of an ancient tree. All demonic blood and divine power lost, his vitality exhausted—only his spirit remained undiminished.

Within his clouded eyes, there seemed to hide all manner of profound truths.

And as he stepped from the mouth of the abyss, demons once sheltered by him rushed to his side.

Yi Xuan sat cross-legged at the abyss’s edge, palms upturned to the heavens.

“My time is done, but my art has yet to be passed on. I am unwilling, so I have used a secret art to extend my life by a hundred days, and here I shall teach my way.”