Demon Lord (26): He made such a big fuss and traveled along the way. Could it be that he wanted to take his Taoist partner with him to travel around?

Righteous cultivators could not absorb the demonic energy of the Demon Abyss, and living in the Demon Abyss would be extremely uncomfortable for them.

However, this didn’t mean that there were no righteous cultivators in the Demon Abyss.

Some righteous cultivators went to the Demon Abyss for training, some engaged in business with the Demon Abyss, and others were simply sent by their sects to observe the activities within the Demon Abyss.

Righteous cultivators had no interest in conquering the Demon Abyss, as they could not live there long-term.

But the demonic cultivators of the Demon Abyss were very interested in the cultivation world.

Over the past tens of thousands of years, the demonic cultivators of the Demon Abyss had attacked the cultivation world several times.

The resources of the cultivation world were far richer than those of the Demon Abyss, and many of these resources could be used by the demonic cultivators and creatures of the Demon Abyss.

Even the righteous cultivators themselves were useful to the demonic cultivators.

Some demonic cultivators could gain cultivation by absorbing the essence of righteous cultivators, some could increase their cultivation by consuming them, and others enjoyed capturing righteous cultivators to refine them into puppets.

In short, attacking the cultivation world was beneficial for the demonic cultivators of the Demon Abyss, hence it happened periodically.

Every time the Demon Abyss attacked the cultivation world, the righteous cultivators suffered heavy losses, which had taught them to prepare in advance.

They had placed many observers in the Demon Abyss to monitor the situation.

After the Demon Lord Haotian ascended to power, not only did he not manage any affairs, but he also had no subordinates, standing alone as a solitary figure.

The higher-ups of the major sects in the cultivation world thought he probably wouldn’t attack the cultivation world and thus held him in high regard, wishing he could remain the Demon Lord for several more millennia.

However, just when the people of the cultivation world thought they could rest easy, trouble arose in the Demon Abyss.

First, four Tribulation Transcendence stage experts from Dragon Island went to the Demon Abyss, entered the Demon Palace, and fought with Demon Lord Haotian.

Upon hearing this news, the leaders of the major sects in the cultivation world were dumbfounded.

Although the Demon Abyss and the righteous path were naturally opposed, Demon Lord Haotian had always been quite peaceful. Why would those from Dragon Island cause trouble with Demon Lord Haotian for no reason?

Upon inquiring, they learned that it was because a young dragon had come of age in the Demon Abyss.

That made sense, as the people of Dragon Island placed great importance on their young.

Not to mention anything else, just the matter of Ao Jin’s infatuation with the Vast Sea Sword Master was enough to leave people speechless.

Ao Jin’s relentless pursuit of the Vast Sea Sword Master seemed like bad luck for the Sword Master, but then the people of Dragon Island actually bothered the Sword Master for being too indifferent to Ao Jin.

Wasn’t that just asking for trouble?

The dragon clan was strict with others but lenient with themselves.

You should know, in the past, someone fell in love at first sight with the current Dragon Queen and pestered her several times, and the Dragon King killed that person without a second thought!

The Vast Sea Sword Master had such a good temper, he never even laid a hand on Ao Jin.

Righteous cultivators had a lot of complaints about the dragon clan, but at that time, they didn’t think the dragon clan would suffer any losses.

The dragon clan dispatched four Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators, which was not an easy force to deal with.

They thought that the Demon Lord might be replaced.

However, the reality was completely different from what they had imagined!

They dared not approach the Demon Palace and didn’t know exactly what had happened, but later, they saw the Demon Lord’s procession.

Four Tribulation Transcendence stage dragons pulled the chariot, thirty adult dragons and several Demon Kings guarded the sides, followed closely by many of the Demon Abyss’s top experts.

The spectacle of Demon Lord Haotian’s procession was truly terrifying!

Demon Lord Haotian did not act often, but when he did, it was astonishing. Did he manage to subdue the four Tribulation Transcendence stage experts from Dragon Island and the four unruly Demon Kings of the Demon Abyss all at once?

The ordinary people of the cultivation world were still unaware of this event, but the top experts of the cultivation world, upon learning of it, gathered together.

“What is Demon Lord Haotian up to with such actions?”

“Who would have thought his strength was so formidable? Whether it’s the four dragons from Dragon Island or the four Demon Kings from the Demon Abyss, none are weak, yet they were all defeated and subdued by him!”

“He has taken so many people away from the Demon Palace, surely he is planning a major move!”

“Our cultivation world is likely to face another catastrophe.”

…

The cultivation world had suffered multiple invasions from the Demon Abyss. Although each time they managed to stop the demons from wreaking havoc, the losses were inevitably severe.

This time, with such a grand display by Demon Lord Haotian, it was uncertain how many lives would be lost before they could stop him.

Thinking of this, the top experts of the cultivation world felt a wave of sadness.

They all had elders or close friends and relatives who perished in previous battles between the righteous and the demonic.

And this time, they themselves might also die in the battle.

“Let’s discuss our strategies and prepare for the enemy,” the leader of the Qingyun Sect suggested.

Others nodded in agreement and began to discuss together.

“We need to inform Dragon Island about this, but we must also stabilize their emotions and prevent them from acting impulsively.”

“We know quite a bit about the Demon Kings of the Demon Abyss, but we know little about Demon Lord Haotian. We need to find someone to gather more information.”

“Find someone to keep a constant watch on Demon Lord Haotian’s movements!”

“Quickly call back all the cultivators below the Golden Core stage to their sects! Those at the Golden Core stage and above should gather and be led by Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators to defend the border against the Demon Abyss.”

…

The righteous cultivators sprang into action swiftly.

The Demon Lord had already set out from the Demon Palace, and they needed to organize a defensive line in the shortest time possible!

A day later, Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators arrived at the border between the righteous path and the Demon Abyss, leading numerous cultivators to set up large formations, awaiting the arrival of the demons from the Demon Abyss.

“We need to be faster, even faster!”

“Those demons will be here soon!”

“Set up more formations!”

…

These righteous cultivators were busy non-stop, and some even called their disciples or younger members of their sects to their side for guidance: “My time is almost up, and in this battle against the demonic cultivators, I will surely be at the forefront… Now, I will teach you all that I have learned in my lifetime, so learn well.”

Their disciples and juniors wept uncontrollably.

Many of these cultivators who claimed their time was almost up actually had several hundred years left before their natural end.

Previously, they were concerned that their disciples might become unstable if they learned too much at once and were reluctant to teach them too much. Now, however, they imparted all their knowledge to their disciples in one go.

In normal times, those masters who were particularly strict with their disciples now became gentle and kind towards them.

A sorrowful atmosphere thus spread among the righteous cultivators.

Many had prepared themselves to face death.

But something was amiss.

One day, two days, three days…

As time passed day by day, the army led by the Demon Lord never arrived.

At the border of the Demon Abyss, within the territory of the Qingyun Sect.

The leader of the Qingyun Sect had been very busy and distressed during this period.

Firstly, because of the impending invasion by the Demon Abyss army, and secondly, because his young disciple, Gu Juntian, had met with an accident.

Gu Juntian was already a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, and the leader of the Qingyun Sect was relatively confident about his safety, so he didn’t always keep track of his whereabouts.

This time, fearing that Gu Juntian might encounter an accident due to the Demon Lord’s attack, he sent a message to Gu Juntian, urging him to return to the sect as soon as possible.

But Gu Juntian did not reply.

Gu Juntian had left a soul jade slip in the sect; if he died, the jade slip would shatter.

The jade slip was still intact, indicating that Gu Juntian was probably not dead, but his lack of response was always unsettling.

The leader of the Qingyun Sect immediately sought someone to inquire about Gu Juntian’s whereabouts.

However, upon inquiry, he learned that Gu Juntian had gone to the Demon Abyss.

Several months ago, Gu Juntian went to the Demon Abyss, claiming he wanted to avenge Ao Jin, and then he vanished without a trace!

Was his close disciple alright? Had he encountered danger?

The leader of the Qingyun Sect was extremely anxious and then thought of the dragons that were being driven by the Demon Lord.

The Dragon King and those dragon elders were arrogant and never bowed to anyone, yet now they were pulling chariots for the Demon Lord. Undoubtedly, they had been controlled by the Demon Lord.

Not only had the Demon Lord controlled them, but he also controlled some other dragons. In such a situation, could the Demon Lord have also controlled his disciple?

His disciple was not even a hundred years old, still so young! And now he had fallen into the hands of the Demon Lord!

The leader of the Qingyun Sect regarded Gu Juntian as his own son and was overwhelmed with grief. He then focused even more on setting up the defensive line, preparing for a decisive battle with the Demon Lord.

But the Demon Lord never came.

The leader’s heart was filled with hatred, which he had to keep bottled up inside, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Today was another day of worrying about his disciple and the future of the cultivation world.

Just as the leader of the Qingyun Sect was in distress, his eldest disciple came to report, informing him that several Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators who were setting up formations at the border of the Demon Abyss had arrived.

The leader of the Qingyun Sect composed himself and went outside to meet these people, asking, “Is there any news from the Demon Abyss?”

“There is news indeed,” said one of the Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators.

“What news? Is the Demon Lord about to arrive?” asked the leader of the Qingyun Sect.

It had been half a month since they learned that the Demon Lord was heading towards the cultivation world.

Even if the Demon Lord needed to gather more troops, half a month should have been enough.

Could it be that the Demon Lord was going to make his move in the next couple of days?

“No, it will take at least another half a month for the Demon Lord to reach here.”

The leader of the Qingyun Sect was stunned, “Another half a month?”

Half a month ago, the Demon Lord had already set out from the Demon Palace!

Even an ordinary Golden Core stage demonic cultivator, without the aid of flying treasures, could have left the Demon Abyss in half a month.

The Demon Lord, a Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator, would take another half a month to arrive?

“This half a month is a conservative estimate. If they continue to travel leisurely, enjoying the scenery, it might take a month before they get here.”

The leader of the Qingyun Sect doubted his own hearing.

The Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator said, “During this period, we have arranged for many people to go to the Demon Abyss to gather information, and the Vast Sea Sword Master personally made a trip to the Demon Abyss. Although no one dared to get close to the Demon Lord’s entourage, a lot of information was uncovered. The Demon Lord indeed took his people on a leisurely journey, enjoying the scenery, and along the way, he collected a lot of delicacies and interesting items.”

After speaking, the Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator also took out a map and marked the route taken by the Demon Lord’s group after they left the Demon Abyss.

Normally, they should have taken a straight line, heading directly for the cultivation world.

But they did not; in the past half month, they had detoured several times and stopped to rest in several places.

Most of the places they paused at had beautiful scenery.

“If it weren’t for the fact that Demon Lord Haotian brought so many people with him, I would think he was on a sightseeing trip,” said the leader of the Qingyun Sect.

“Indeed…” another Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator said, “Do you think this is something Demon Lord Haotian is doing to confuse us?”

“Possibly!” said the leader of the Qingyun Sect.

Demon Lord Haotian’s actions must be part of a grand scheme!

As they pondered the intentions of Demon Lord Haotian, one of the Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators received a message.

After receiving it, the person’s expression became somewhat conflicted: “Wait, that Demon Lord Haotian might really be on a sightseeing trip.”

Everyone was stunned and looked at this person in confusion.

This person said, “The divination from the Wanxiang Sect has come out, and the cultivation world will not be in danger this time!”

The leader of the Qingyun Sect asked, “No danger?”

“Right, the Wanxiang Sect divined several times and found that the cultivation world will not be in danger this time. After that, they began to divine the direction of the Demon Lord, and then they found out that the Demon Lord’s trip this time is to find the Phoenix,” that person said.

It was not that easy for the Wanxiang Sect to perform divinations.

Generally speaking, the lives of ordinary people and low-level cultivators, as well as some minor events, were the easiest to divine, and the results were the most accurate.

But for high-level cultivators or major events that could affect the cultivation world, divination was more difficult.

That was why it wasn’t until now that they got the results.

After a moment of silence, several Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators finally said, “Although the divination result is good, we cannot let our guard down. Let’s wait and see for now.”

They wouldn’t stop guarding against the Demon Lord just because of a divination result, but given the current situation, they could hold their position and not actively provoke a conflict.

The Demon Lord’s strength was unfathomable; they must proceed with caution!

As these Tribulation Transcendence stage experts were discussing, the Vast Sea Sword Master suddenly arrived.

The Vast Sea Sword Master was also a Tribulation Transcendence stage expert, so naturally, no one stopped him, and as soon as he entered, he said, “I discovered something during my trip to the Demon Abyss.”

Everyone immediately asked, “What is it?”

The Vast Sea Sword Master said, “Demon Lord Haotian has a soulmate, and he is very fond of his soulmate. He has been collecting things everywhere for his soulmate, and it is said that he made those dragons pull the chariot because his soulmate liked it.”

The leader of the Qingyun Sect and others were somewhat dumbfounded.

Demon Lord Haotian had a soulmate?

Wait, with such a grand display and traveling leisurely to enjoy the scenery, could it be that he was taking his soulmate on a tour?

This was not the Demon Lord they imagined!

Could the Vast Sea Sword Master be mistaken?

As they were thinking this, they heard the Vast Sea Sword Master say, “By the way, Demon Lord Haotian’s soulmate might be Gu Juntian.”

“That’s impossible! Absolutely impossible!” The leader of the Qingyun Sect almost jumped up.

The Vast Sea Sword Master paid no heed to his astonishment: “Didn’t you ask me to check on Gu Juntian’s whereabouts while I was at it? Not long after he entered the Demon Abyss, a righteous cultivator broke into the Demon Palace to assassinate Demon Lord Haotian and was captured by him. This righteous cultivator later became Demon Lord Haotian’s soulmate… I followed the Demon Lord’s procession for a while and also found that the dragons from the dragon clan who had a good relationship with Gu Juntian were often called by Demon Lord Haotian to accompany his soulmate in conversation.”

The Vast Sea Sword Master did not see who the person protected by the Demon Lord was. In fact, if it weren’t for the leader of the Qingyun Sect asking him to investigate Gu Juntian’s whereabouts, he would never have connected Demon Lord Haotian’s soulmate with Gu Juntian.

As everyone knew, Gu Juntian liked Ao Jin.

But the time of Gu Juntian’s disappearance coincided with the time when Demon Lord Haotian’s soulmate appeared.

No other cultivator in the cultivation world with strength reaching the Nascent Soul stage disappeared at that time.

And if a cultivator’s strength was not even at the Nascent Soul stage, there was no way they could break into the Demon Palace to assassinate the Demon Lord.

Of course, the Vast Sea Sword Master couldn’t be certain, so he added, “This is just my speculation, I don’t know the specifics, I didn’t dare to get close to the Demon Lord’s procession.”

The Vast Sea Sword Master was a top-tier powerhouse in the cultivation world, but his strength was only comparable to that of the Dragon King.

If the Dragon King was pulling chariots, wouldn’t it be suicidal for him to approach the Demon Lord alone?

“Demon Lord Haotian can make the Dragon King pull chariots, he must be just one step away from ascension, he probably wouldn’t take a fancy to Gu Juntian,” said a Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator: “Let’s continue to study our response strategies.”

Everyone started discussing again.

They always felt that what the Demon Lord was planning was not simple, and that everything the Demon Lord was doing now was a facade.

But there was nothing they could do.

Finally, the leader of the Qingyun Sect said, “Let’s leave it at that, if the Demon Lord doesn’t make a move, we won’t either.”

“Right, let’s do that!”

Someone else said, “The Demon Lord has brought so many people, perhaps to capture the Phoenix. The dragon clan is indeed full of treasures, but they are far less valuable than the Phoenix.”

“If that’s really the case, we can take advantage of their mutual destruction to catch them all in one fell swoop.”

“Great idea!”

After the high-level officials of the cultivation world had discussed and agreed, they continued to wait for the arrival of the Demon Lord. This wait lasted a month.

Those young people experiencing the battle between good and evil for the first time were dumbfounded—was the efficiency of the Demon Abyss always this poor? It had been a month and a half, and they still hadn’t come to attack them?

A month and a half ago, their masters thought they were about to die and became kind and amiable to them. But now, their masters had started to find fault with them again, scolding them all day long!

And at this time, the convoy of Demon Lord Haotian finally arrived.

The righteous cultivators had set up many formations, but they did not take the initiative to attack.

As a result, those formations were completely ineffective against the procession of Demon Lord Haotian flying in the air.

The procession of Demon Lord Haotian passed smoothly over the heads of the righteous cultivators, allowing those righteous cultivators to see the grandeur of the Demon Lord.

Tribulation Transcendence stage dragons pulling chariots, Tribulation Transcendence stage demonic cultivators as guards!

Those Nascent Soul stage demonic cultivators could only follow far behind, acting as mere minions to be dispatched on errands.

The grand carriage ridden by the Demon Lord was indeed imposing at first glance, adorned with various formations and studded with all kinds of precious stones. The top of the carriage was even decorated with many dragon horns.

Those were dragon horns! In the cultivation world, dragon horns are top-tier materials for crafting artifacts and can also be used for alchemy. However, if anyone used dragon horns without the consent of Dragon Island, they would surely be targeted by the people of Dragon Island and killed by its dragons!

But now? Demon Lord Haotian had decorated his carriage with dozens of pairs of dragon horns.

So majestic, truly majestic!

The Demon Lord was indeed different!

But… wasn’t the speed of the Demon Lord’s procession a bit too slow?

In Zhou Qinghao’s procession, the demonic cultivators and the dragons also felt that the speed of advance was too slow.

In the past, a month and a half would have been enough time for a major battle involving countless demonic cultivators to take place in the Demon Abyss, but now, they had only covered a little distance.

They really weren’t used to it.

At the same time, being by the side of Demon Lord Haotian and being looked at with awe by those around them, they also felt a bit smug.

When they left the Demon Abyss and entered the cultivation world, the demonic cultivators in the procession were a bit afraid, thinking that the righteous cultivators would attack them, but in the end, the righteous cultivators did nothing.

It seemed that the fame of Demon Lord Haotian had spread to the cultivation world!

Their Demon Lord was really strong, but unfortunately, he was a bit of a love fool.

During this period, the people in the procession had personally witnessed how much Demon Lord Haotian treasured his soulmate.

It was said that Demon Lord Haotian even personally grilled meat for his soulmate to eat!

Zhou Qinghao indeed personally grilled meat for Gu Juntian to eat.

In the past, Gu Juntian grilled meat for him to eat, and now, of course, he could also grill meat for Gu Juntian to eat.

Unfortunately, Gu Juntian had lost his cultivation and couldn’t eat much.

“Those righteous cultivators really didn’t attack us,” Zhou Qinghao placed a skewer of grilled meat in front of Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian picked up the skewer and took a bite: “With such a grand display from you, they certainly wouldn’t dare to make a move.”

Zhou Qinghao looked quite pleased with himself upon hearing Gu Juntian’s words.

Gu Juntian loved to see him this way, so he leaned in to kiss him, with one hand mischievously reaching into the other’s embrace.

Zhou Qinghao remained unmoved and said, “Don’t mess around, stop it quickly.”

Gu Juntian didn’t stop: “I’m feeling much better now, actually, it’s okay to mess around a bit.” Although he was weak, his functions were still intact. If Zhou Qinghao took the initiative to cooperate and was careful, it wouldn’t be impossible.

“No,” Zhou Qinghao coldly refused Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian: “…” Where is my little lustful snake? Give me back my little lustful snake!

Zhou Qinghao asked, “Do you want more grilled meat? Or should I accompany you to sleep?”

Gu Juntian had now become an ordinary person, and he was also injured, needing to sleep at least four hours a day.

Gu Juntian said, “The spring scenery is just right, sleeping would be a waste. There’s a beautiful waterfall nearby, shall we go take a look?”

“Alright,” Zhou Qinghao agreed.

Thus, the Demon Lord’s procession began to head towards the waterfall.

After the Demon Lord’s group left, the righteous cultivators followed them.

They did not attack the Demon Lord but planned to keep following him.

They needed to keep an eye on the Demon Lord’s situation at all times to prevent him from suddenly going berserk and harming the people of the cultivation world.

Then, they followed the Demon Lord’s group to the side of the waterfall.

There was nothing particularly remarkable about this waterfall, except that the surrounding scenery was quite nice.

So… was the Demon Lord here to enjoy the scenery?

“This waterfall is indeed beautiful,” Zhou Qinghao adjusted the formations on the carriage so that Gu Juntian could see the surroundings.

Of course, the people around the carriage could not see him and Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian took a bite of the grilled meat and said, “There are several poems specifically written about this waterfall, shall I recite them for you?”

“Alright,” Zhou Qinghao replied.

Gu Juntian then smiled and began reciting the poems to Zhou Qinghao.

Zhou Qinghao watched Gu Juntian intently.

He had already confirmed that Gu Juntian was indeed that Phoenix.

Through the dragon clan’s inheritance, he knew about the events of the dragon and phoenix clans in ancient times, things that even the Dragon King and others might not know.

But Gu Juntian knew them, recounting them in detail, and even knew more than he did.

Gu Juntian was indeed that Phoenix, and even if he died, he would be resurrected in the Phoenix’s true form.

This made Zhou Qinghao feel much more at ease and gave him time to enjoy life.

Not to mention, just the carriage he and Gu Juntian were sitting in, he had decorated it over and over again.

The Demon Palace was no more, and now, this was his nest!

And there was a mate in his nest… He wanted to decorate this nest beautifully.

However, even though he knew that Gu Juntian would be fine if he died, he still couldn’t bear to watch Gu Juntian die.

The two of them enjoyed the scenery while chatting. After a while, Zhou Qinghao once again noticed the dragons outside the carriage.

“Juntian, are you sure you don’t want to eat dragon meat? Your current body can’t handle dragon meat, but your true form can. Eating a few dragons could help your true form recover faster…” With Gu Juntian’s current body, eating dragon meat would definitely cause it to explode.

But Gu Juntian’s true form wouldn’t have any issues with eating more dragon meat.

Gu Juntian sighed helplessly, “You are a dragon. Since I fell in love with you, I’ve stopped eating dragon meat!”

Gu Juntian originally wanted to sternly declare that he didn’t eat dragon meat, but the original owner indeed had eaten it.

Moreover, Zhou Qinghao believed that the original owner had chased after Ao Jin because he wanted to eat him…

Under these circumstances, it was hard for him to claim he didn’t eat dragon meat, so he simply said he had given it up for love.

Zhou Qinghao said, “As long as you don’t eat me, it’s fine to eat those outside, especially those four Tribulation Transcendence stage dragons. They wanted to kill you!”

Gu Juntian: “…” Among those four dragons, one was Zhou Qinghao’s father. Offering his father to be eaten, Zhou Qinghao really was a filial son.

Of course, the Dragon King’s actions didn’t qualify him to be Zhou Qinghao’s father.

“I really want to kill them,” Zhou Qinghao added, he truly couldn’t stand the sight of the Dragon King and the others.

Gu Juntian said, “If we kill them, we won’t have such majestic dragons to pull our carriage. Let’s keep them for now. Besides, for them, having to pull the carriage is probably more tortuous than being killed.”

“That’s true…” Zhou Qinghao nodded, no longer urging Gu Juntian to eat dragons.

“Although I don’t eat dragon meat, you are a feast for the eyes, and I want to taste you with a few kisses… Qinghao, come sleep with me,” Gu Juntian kissed Zhou Qinghao.

Zhou Qinghao said, “You can only kiss a few times, no other activities!”

He was about to start a life of pain mixed with pleasure again, alas!

Demon Lord (25): The one who really ate the dragon was the original owner, it had nothing to do with him!

Gu Juntian had prepared himself for death, but since he hadn’t died, he wasn’t going to actively seek it.

Especially because he could feel the deep sorrow emanating from Zhou Qinghao.

His little black dragon was in pain and needed his companionship.

If something were to happen to him now, it would be too cruel for the little black dragon.

Gu Juntian planned to have Zhou Qinghao take him to where his main body was, and then, in front of Zhou Qinghao, he would return to his main body.

This way, Zhou Qinghao wouldn’t be too heartbroken.

But Gu Juntian hadn’t expected that before he could even bring it up, Zhou Qinghao had already suggested going to the southernmost lands.

What was going on? Gu Juntian looked at Zhou Qinghao, wanting to ask.

But Zhou Qinghao wasn’t by his side.

After establishing the master-servant contract with the four Transcendence Stage dragons, Zhou Qinghao had already approached the Demon King of the Demon Abyss, whose strength was second only to his own.

A powerful divine sense pressed down on the Demon King, and Zhou Qinghao’s voice was calm: “Submit, or die.”

For many years, Zhou Qinghao had fought alone.

He didn’t trust others, nor did he feel he needed anyone’s help.

But now, he regretted it.

If he had subdued more subordinates and forced them to sign life-and-death master-servant contracts, making them protect him at all costs, then Gu Juntian would still be safe and sound.

Thinking of this, he decided to act immediately, starting with the Demon Kings of the Demon Abyss.

He knew that the endless stream of assassins sent to kill him had been orchestrated by these Demon Kings.

Today, they had waited outside the Demon Palace with ill intentions. If he had been at a disadvantage, they would have eagerly killed him.

Now that they had delivered themselves to his doorstep, it would be a waste not to subdue them.

“Haotian, don’t even think about it!” The strongest of the four Demon Kings roared and launched an attack at Zhou Qinghao.

The other three Demon Kings also acted at the same time.

Demon Lord Haotian wanted to force them into master-servant contracts—this was something they couldn’t tolerate. They had to resist!

Zhou Qinghao had anticipated this. He transformed into his true form and unleashed the most powerful technique from his inherited memories.

He was already stronger than these four, and after reaching adulthood, his strength had doubled!

The massive black dragon, accompanied by thunderous force, used his tail to send the three stronger Demon Kings flying.

The strongest Demon King received special attention—that tail strike was particularly heavy!

The Demon King who was sent flying also crashed into the weakest Demon King, who had feigned an attack and was preparing to flee, knocking him out of the sky.

The black dragon transformed back into the black-robed Demon Lord, and Zhou Qinghao spoke coldly, “It seems you all want to die.”

“I am willing to serve as Your Majesty’s vanguard!” The Demon King who loved food didn’t hesitate for a moment, flipping over and kneeling before Zhou Qinghao.

The strongest Demon King, who had previously been determined to kill Zhou Qinghao and become the Demon Lord, also reacted quickly, “Your Majesty, my loyalty to you is as steadfast as the sun and moon!”

They didn’t want to lose their freedom, but they wanted to live even more.

Zhou Qinghao let out a light scoff.

Of course, these people couldn’t possibly be loyal to him, but he believed in the power of contracts.

Seeing this, the fat demon cultivator and the thin demon cultivator didn’t wait for Zhou Qinghao to ask—they immediately volunteered to become his servants.

Although signing a master-servant contract with Zhou Qinghao meant they would lose their freedom and could never betray him, and if Zhou Qinghao died, they would die with him…

But Zhou Qinghao was too powerful, and as a dragon who had just reached adulthood, his lifespan was incredibly long.

Betraying Zhou Qinghao was already a death sentence, and Zhou Qinghao was unlikely to die before them anyway.

Signing the contract wasn’t a big deal.

Zhou Qinghao didn’t refuse and proceeded to sign master-servant contracts with each of them.

Because Demon Lord Haotian had always been reasonable and didn’t kill indiscriminately, when the Demon Palace incident occurred, most of the powerful figures in the Demon Abyss had come to watch the spectacle.

In addition to the four Demon Kings, there were also two Transcendence Stage experts who usually preferred to act alone. These two were also present.

Naturally, they didn’t escape Zhou Qinghao’s grasp and also became his subordinates.

After completing this, Zhou Qinghao glanced at the Body Unity stage experts of the Demon Abyss and the thirty-one dragons from the Dragon Clan.

Signing too many contracts would drain his soul energy, so he decided not to sign contracts with them. After all, they couldn’t escape.

Many of these demon cultivators were directly under the command of the four Demon Kings. By controlling the four Demon Kings, he effectively controlled them as well.

With this in mind, Zhou Qinghao looked at the four dragons who had signed the contracts first and activated the master-servant contract.

The four unconscious dragons woke up in pain and immediately realized what had happened.

They had actually signed a master-servant contract and had become controlled and subservient beings!

The Dragon King and the others were furious, wishing they could kill Zhou Qinghao, but they were no match for him to begin with, and the master-servant contract left them completely powerless to resist.

The four glared at Zhou Qinghao, but Zhou Qinghao simply took out a massive, flying carriage from his storage ring and said to the four dragons, “Clean yourselves up and prepare to pull my carriage.”

The Dragon King and the others couldn’t bear such humiliation. They wanted to resist, but under the control of the master-servant contract, they couldn’t even speak.

Zhou Qinghao didn’t pay them much attention.

He picked up Gu Juntian and placed him on the flying carriage, which was designed like a horse-drawn carriage but was adorned with pavilions and towers, larger than some small sects. He then set up various formations around Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian was too weak now, so they couldn’t travel too quickly. Zhou Qinghao planned to head slowly toward the southernmost lands, helping Gu Juntian recover along the way.

After settling Gu Juntian, Zhou Qinghao stepped down from the carriage and looked at the gathered demon cultivators, demons, and dragons. “Let’s move out.”

The Demon Kings and the many demon cultivators of the Demon Abyss had come here just fine, but now they couldn’t return.

They had no choice but to release their own flying artifacts and follow behind Zhou Qinghao.

In the end, they formed a massive procession.

At the front of the procession were four Transcendence Stage dragons in their true forms, pulling a carriage so large that it carried an entire palace.

Beside this carriage, dozens of dragons soared through the clouds, escorting it.

Following closely behind were five slightly smaller flying artifacts, belonging to the four Demon Kings and the fat demon cultivator.

The four Demon Kings were known for their extravagant travel arrangements, and the fat demon cultivator was extremely wealthy. Their flying artifacts were all unique and dazzling.

These five flying artifacts were either adorned with rare treasures, pulled by exotic beasts, or made from top-tier materials.

On their flying artifacts, many demon cultivators attended to them.

Behind them, scattered in the thousands, were other demon cultivators, each using their own flying treasures of various kinds. However, they were arranged according to their cultivation level, giving the procession a somewhat orderly appearance.

The strength of this procession was enough to sweep through the cultivation world.

Zhou Qinghao believed that with such a large entourage and generous gifts, the phoenix would be willing to give him its blood.

No matter what, he couldn’t accept the idea of Gu Juntian dying young.

This was his partner. He wanted Gu Juntian to live with him for hundreds of thousands of years!

Zhou Qinghao longed to see Gu Juntian, to be close to him, but he didn’t dare.

He sat on the roof of the carriage, letting the dry, cold wind of the Demon Abyss blow over him, while disdainfully eyeing the four dragons pulling the carriage.

These four dragons had decent cultivation levels, but they were covered in injuries, and one of them didn’t even have a tail. They looked anything but presentable.

Thinking this, Zhou Qinghao turned his gaze to the flying artifacts following behind.

The carriage he had brought out was something left behind by a previous Demon Lord. It was a top-tier magical artifact that could travel thousands of miles in an instant without needing to be pulled.

Moreover, the carriage had extremely high defensive capabilities. None of the flying artifacts behind could compare to it.

His partner deserved the best!

However, his carriage was empty, while the flying artifacts of the Demon Kings and the fat demon cultivator were filled with servants!

Zhou Qinghao even saw one of the Demon Kings having chefs prepare various delicacies for him on his flying artifact!

After a moment of thought, Zhou Qinghao leaped down from the roof of his carriage and boarded one of the Demon Kings’ flying artifacts.

Soon, he took some of the servants from that Demon King’s flying artifact and left, then boarded another Demon King’s flying artifact…

Zhou Qinghao took the best servants from the four Demon Kings and sent them to his carriage to take care of Gu Juntian.

The most delicious food should be for Gu Juntian to eat, the most beautiful songs should be for Gu Juntian to listen to, and the most captivating dances should be for Gu Juntian to watch.

Of course, the singers and dancers had to dress properly—no exposed skin!

After some thought, Zhou Qinghao began to collect various supplies and spiritual medicines. If he saw anything he liked in the hands of the Demon Kings, he would take it for Gu Juntian.

After searching through the storage rings of the Demon Kings and finding little that Gu Juntian could use, Zhou Qinghao disdainfully returned them. Then, with a flash, he appeared on the back of the Dragon King, demanding that the Dragon King and the Dragon Clan elders hand over their storage rings.

Most of the items from the Demon Abyss weren’t suitable for Gu Juntian, but these people must have things that would be useful to him.

The Dragon King and the elders wanted to resist, but they couldn’t. Zhou Qinghao didn’t even give them the right to speak.

They were forced to hand over all their storage treasures.

Zhou Qinghao unceremoniously took them.

Not far away, the four Demon Kings felt a sense of relief upon seeing this.

Being forced to sign the master-servant contract and having so many of their possessions taken had left them quite unhappy.

But the four dragons from Dragon Island had it even worse.

When Zhou Qinghao had gone through their storage rings earlier, he had only taken about a tenth of their belongings before returning the rest to them.

As for these four dragons? Zhou Qinghao had taken everything they had!

Not only that, but Zhou Qinghao was also making them pull the carriage!

Compared to the four dragons from Dragon Island, they were actually quite fortunate.

The four Demon Kings, finding a strange sense of happiness in this comparison, stayed on their flying artifacts and couldn’t help but sigh.

Their progress was painfully slow. After traveling for most of the day, they hadn’t gone very far.

At this rate, it would take them at least several months to reach the southernmost lands.

Originally, they had beautiful companions and delicious food to pass the time, but now all of that had been taken by the Demon Lord.

They were truly bored…

And it wasn’t just the Demon Kings who were bored. The demon cultivators following behind also found the journey tedious.

At first, the lower-level demon cultivators were worried that they wouldn’t be able to keep up with the main group and would be deemed useless by Demon Lord Haotian, leading to their deaths.

However, the pace of the procession was so slow that even they could easily keep up.

But this leisurely pace of travel was unusual for them, as they were accustomed to constant fighting and killing.

After Zhou Qinghao arranged for servants and various luxuries for Gu Juntian, he returned to sit on the roof of the carriage.

He began to reminisce about the moments he had shared with Gu Juntian.

Although Gu Juntian had been cold to him at first, later on, he had treated him well and had been very indulgent.

Previously, Zhou Qinghao had thought that Gu Juntian’s kindness was just a ploy to lower his guard and dig out his core.

But looking back now, Gu Juntian must have already fallen for him by then.

So much so that while Zhou Qinghao was unconscious, Gu Juntian had secretly kissed him and signed a partner contract with him.

He wondered what Gu Juntian had been thinking when he signed that contract.

At that time, Gu Juntian must have already realized how dire the situation was—that the Demon Palace’s formation couldn’t hold off the four Transcendence Stage dragons.

Had Gu Juntian wanted to become his partner before dying?

Zhou Qinghao’s heart ached with regret, wishing he hadn’t misunderstood Gu Juntian earlier.

On the other side, Gu Juntian sensed the complex emotions coming from Zhou Qinghao and felt utterly helpless.

He had no objections to Zhou Qinghao taking him to the southernmost lands.

But Zhou Qinghao avoiding him like this was just too much!

After Zhou Qinghao brought him onto the carriage, he had turned and left. At the time, Gu Juntian thought Zhou Qinghao had other matters to attend to, so he didn’t stop him. But now, Zhou Qinghao kept sending things to the carriage without coming to see him…

How could this be?!

Not long ago, the little black dragon had been clinging to him relentlessly, but now he was actively avoiding him.

Gu Juntian turned to look at Ao Hong, who was sitting beside him eating.

The Dragon Clan elders and others had been assigned to pull the carriage, while the thirty-one younger dragons were flying around the carriage, with one staying to keep him company.

The one keeping him company was Ao Hong.

At the moment, the chef Zhou Qinghao had taken from the Second Demon King was diligently and tirelessly preparing all sorts of delicacies.

As an ordinary person now, Gu Juntian couldn’t eat much of these foods, so they all ended up in Ao Hong’s stomach.

Gu Juntian clutched his chest, feigning weakness. “Ao Hong, I’m not feeling well. My whole body hurts.”

Ao Hong replied, “Your Nascent Soul is shattered. It’s a miracle you’re even alive. It’s normal to feel pain. By the way, you used to call me ‘Elder Hong’ before. Isn’t it a bit rude to just call me by my name now?”

He was a Body Unity stage dragon!

Although his strength couldn’t compare to the Dragon King’s, his seniority was the same!

Gu Juntian had always been very polite to him before, addressing him respectfully as “Elder.”

Gu Juntian didn’t respond.

He didn’t need to. Zhou Qinghao appeared in the room and glared at Ao Hong. “He can call you whatever he wants!”

Who did Ao Hong think he was to criticize Gu Juntian?

If it weren’t for the fact that Gu Juntian needed someone to talk to, he would have thrown this dragon out long ago!

After scolding Ao Hong, Zhou Qinghao turned to Gu Juntian. “Where does it hurt?”

Gu Juntian had feigned weakness to lure Zhou Qinghao out, and as expected, Zhou Qinghao had appeared.

Gu Juntian smiled and said, “My heart hurts because you won’t come to see me.”

Zhou Qinghao was stunned.

Ao Hong instinctively shivered—this was way too cheesy!

Gu Juntian continued, “Qinghao, have you been avoiding me because you’re disappointed in me? I’m just a cripple now, unworthy of you…”

“I’m not disappointed in you!” Zhou Qinghao immediately replied.

Of course, Gu Juntian knew that Zhou Qinghao wasn’t disappointed in him. In fact, he knew that Zhou Qinghao was avoiding him out of guilt.

But saying this would make Zhou Qinghao stay.

He had grown used to the little black dragon clinging to him and couldn’t stand the idea of his little black dragon avoiding him.

“Then are you upset that I destroyed the Demon Palace? Or that I ruined your treasures?” Gu Juntian asked again.

Zhou Qinghao didn’t hesitate. “I’m not!”

In fact, he hadn’t even thought about those things earlier.

He did enjoy collecting shiny objects, as well as demonic stones and artifacts that could make him stronger, but none of that could compare to Gu Juntian.

At this moment, he even felt that he should have given all the treasures of the Demon Palace to Gu Juntian earlier. If he had, maybe Gu Juntian’s injuries wouldn’t have been so severe.

“Then stop avoiding me,” Gu Juntian said. “If you avoid me, it hurts me.”

Zhou Qinghao also felt pained when he couldn’t see Gu Juntian. He nodded. “I won’t avoid you anymore.”

“Then kiss me,” Gu Juntian said, pointing to his lips.

Zhou Qinghao immediately came to Gu Juntain’s side and kissed him.

Gu Juntain couldn’t help but laugh.

His little black dragon was really too adorable and too loving towards him.

He had destroyed the Demon Palace, yet his little black dragon didn’t mind at all and even kissed him in return.

Beside them, Ao Hong felt extremely uncomfortable and couldn’t help but look at Gu Juntain with an accusatory expression; “Gu Juntain, he has just reached adulthood…”

Gu Juntain replied, “He’s already a thousand years old, and I’m not even a hundred yet!” This Ao Hong, who had never been happy about the original owner’s interactions with the underage Ao Jin, now even objected to his interactions with Zhou Qinghao, which was a bit of a mood killer.

Just as Gu Juntain thought this, he saw Zhou Qinghao grab Ao Hong and throw him out.

Zhou Qinghao hadn’t acted against Ao Hong earlier because he sensed that Gu Juntain didn’t dislike Ao Hong.

But now Gu Juntain was somewhat annoyed with Ao Hong!

Without a second thought, he took action against Ao Hong, whom he found displeasing.

After throwing the dragon out, Zhou Qinghao felt a bit guilty and instinctively looked at Gu Juntain—Gu Juntain and Ao Hong were old acquaintances, would he dislike him for doing this?

Gu Juntain thought Zhou Qinghao did quite well: “Qinghao, why don’t you ask everyone else to leave, so we can talk alone.”

He had a lot to say to Zhou Qinghao and also wanted to get intimate with him, and it wouldn’t do to have a crowd watching around them.

Zhou Qinghao also wanted to talk to Gu Juntain alone.

He asked everyone else to leave and set up two isolation formations.

Seeing this, Gu Juntain hugged Zhou Qinghao and kissed him.

Zhou Qinghao didn’t dare to move, letting Gu Juntain kiss him.

Previously, even when Gu Juntain had the cultivation level of a Nascent Soul, he was very fragile to Zhou Qinghao. Now that Gu Juntain had no cultivation at all, Zhou Qinghao was afraid that even a sneeze from him might send Gu Juntain flying.

Gu Juntain kissed him for a while but found that Zhou Qinghao showed no reaction at all, which made him feel somewhat defeated.

This was going too far!

Wait, wasn’t he like this with Zhou Qinghao before he reached adulthood?

Although Gu Juntain felt a bit frustrated, he knew that Zhou Qinghao was acting this way because he was afraid of hurting him.

Letting go of Zhou Qinghao, Gu Juntain asked, “Qinghao, how did you know that the Dragon King and the others came to find you to dig out your inner core?”

Zhou Qinghao was startled by Gu Juntain’s question.

He and Ao Jin were twin brothers, and they had a mutual connection. He had learned about this in a dream.

But he couldn’t tell Gu Juntain that.

Zhou Qinghao said, “I don’t know how it happened, but I didn’t even have a dragon form before. However, upon reaching adulthood, I directly transformed into a five-clawed dragon, received the most complete inherited memories, and those dragon clans naturally submitted to me. During my adulthood, I also saw some things related to the Dragon King, such as him throwing me into the Demon Abyss and wanting to dig out my inner core.”

“This must be a danger premonition,” Gu Juntian said.

In the world of cultivation, many people could sense danger and even see related visions.

Zhou Qinghao was a dragon, so it was normal for him to have such strong premonitions.

You should know, some gifted individuals could even divine the future!

At this moment, Zhou Qinghao remembered something that had always bothered him: “When I came of age, I also saw you with the prince of Dragon Island. Do you like him?”

Gu Juntian didn’t expect Zhou Qinghao to have “seen” this as well and quickly responded, “I swear, I don’t like him at all!”

Hearing Gu Juntian’s words, Zhou Qinghao felt relieved and realized he might have been a bit unreasonable.

Gu Juntian might have liked Ao Jin in the past, but now, he surely likes him.

They’ve even signed a soulmate contract!

So what if the Dragon King and the others valued Ao Jin more? Gu Juntian loved him!

Zhou Qinghao really wanted to wrap Gu Juntian up and nuzzle him, but he couldn’t do that.

To him, Gu Juntian was like a piece of tender tofu; the slightest carelessness could hurt him.

Moreover, even though Gu Juntian appeared calm and composed, having suffered such severe injuries and lost the Nascent Soul he had painstakingly cultivated, he must be in great pain at this moment.

He shouldn’t add to Gu Juntian’s burdens.

Thinking this, Zhou Qinghao said, “Don’t worry, I’ve found a way to cure you from the inherited memories of the dragon clan. As long as we go to the far south and find the Phoenix, you can be healed.”

Zhou Qinghao went to the far south to heal himself?

Gu Juntian asked, “How do you plan to treat me?”

Zhou Qinghao replied, “Phoenix blood has the power to rebirth and nirvana. I plan to offer the dragons outside to the Phoenix in exchange for their blood.”

Gu Juntian: “…” As a Phoenix, he didn’t want the dragons outside; he only wanted the little black dragon in front of him!

Of course, the key point wasn’t this, but that Zhou Qinghao wanted his blood.

“I will definitely get the Phoenix blood. Even if they don’t agree to the exchange, with so many people I’ve brought, I can force them to comply!” Zhou Qinghao added.

Gu Juntian: Zhou Qinghao also wanted to fight him?

Seeing Gu Juntian silent, Zhou Qinghao assured him with a firm expression, “You will get better!”

At this moment, Gu Juntian spoke up, “Qinghao, do you know how a cultivator like me, who has lived for less than a hundred years, knows so many intricate formations?”

Zhou Qinghao didn’t know.

Gu Juntian asked again, “Before you came of age, I had already defeated four dragons at the Tribulation Transcendence stage. Do you know how I did it?”

Zhou Qinghao still didn’t know.

Gu Juntian coughed lightly, “Qinghao, do you know why I’m not afraid of death at all?”

Zhou Qinghao remained clueless.

Gu Juntian explained to him, “Actually, I am the Phoenix you wanted to find. I was too bored living alone, so I created a body from my own flesh and blood and used this new body to explore the cultivation world…”

Zhou Qinghao looked at Gu Juntian in shock.

Gu Juntian patted his head, “You know the rest. I fell in love with you at first sight and wanted you to be my soulmate… The dragon and phoenix clans have a feud, and you must have seen our grievances in your inherited memories. Are you still willing to be my soulmate?”

“Willing!” Zhou Qinghao didn’t hesitate. Of course, he was willing to be Gu Juntian’s soulmate, whether Gu Juntian was a human cultivator or a Phoenix, he wanted to be with Gu Juntian.

Wait, Gu Juntian was the Phoenix, the one who loved to eat dragons…

Actually, it was nothing, as long as Gu Juntian didn’t eat him.

They had already formed a soulmate contract, so Gu Juntian definitely wouldn’t eat him.

Thinking this, Zhou Qinghao asked, “Do you want to eat dragon meat? I’ll get some for you?” There were plenty of reserves outside!

Gu Juntian was helpless, “That won’t be necessary…”

Then, Zhou Qinghao thought of something else, “Gu Juntian, you used to chase after Ao Jin all the time, did you want to eat him? Should I go catch him for you to eat?”

Gu Juntian used his mouth to cover Zhou Qinghao’s mouth.

He had no interest in eating sentient beings!

He never wanted to eat dragons!

It was the original owner who really ate dragons, it had nothing to do with him!

While the two were being affectionate, the cultivation world was in an uproar.

The Demon Lord Haotian from the Demon Abyss had captured four Tribulation Transcendence stage experts from Dragon Island to pull his chariot and was heading towards the cultivation world with four Demon Kings!

Was he planning to conquer the cultivation world?

Demon Lord (24): As long as he finds the phoenix and gets its blood, he can give Gu Juntian a new life!

The commotion caused by the shattering of the Demon Palace’s formation was quite significant. Outside the Demon Palace, several Demon Kings, who were either surrounded by beautiful female demons, feasting, or flirting with male dragons, all fled in unison.

It was an instinctive reaction, impossible to suppress.

In an instant, they had already fled far away, only to quickly return upon realizing there was no danger. The entire process took merely a blink of an eye.

If an ordinary person who had not stepped into the world of cultivation were here, they might not even notice that they had left.

It was at this moment that the four dragons thrown out by Gu Juntian finally landed.

The Second Elder and Third Elder of the Dragon Clan had already suffered severe injuries earlier. Gu Juntian’s full-powered attack using his divine sense directly knocked both dragons unconscious.

The Great Elder and the Dragon King were still conscious but also heavily injured, both spitting blood.

The weakest Demon King, who had fled the fastest, couldn’t help but remark, “What a waste of blood…”

The Demon King who had been constantly eating seemed pleased, “Haotian has won. Does that mean I can have roasted dragon later?”

The Demon King who had been flirting with the male dragon narrowed her eyes slightly. The defeat of the Dragon Clan was a good thing; now she could take a few dragons back for her own cultivation.

She had heard that dragons were quite strong in that aspect…

Only the strongest Demon King seemed unhappy—since Demon Lord Haotian had won, he wouldn’t be able to become the Demon Lord!

Regardless, the four Demon Kings remained relatively composed, while the captured members of the Dragon Clan felt as if the sky had fallen.

After being captured, they had pinned their hopes on the Dragon King and the Dragon Clan elders to win and rescue them.

But now, the Dragon King and the other dragons had been defeated.

As a result, they had become like meat on a chopping block, at the mercy of others.

What was even more terrifying was that the fate of the Dragon King and the other dragons might be the same as theirs.

With the loss of four Transcendence Stage powerhouses, the dragons on Dragon Island would likely not escape slaughter.

Dragon Island was finished!

At this realization, the dragons’ eyes reddened, and they struggled fiercely, but all their efforts were in vain.

In Haotian City, a fat demon cultivator had been using a magical artifact to observe the situation in the Dragon Palace.

Seeing the four Transcendence Stage dragons being thrown out, he was overjoyed. Along with his brother, a thin demon cultivator, he instantly teleported to the side of the Demon Palace.

Everyone turned their gaze to the Demon Palace, only to find that, aside from broken walls and ruins, there was now just a massive crater where it once stood.

It turned out that the Demon Palace wasn’t just an above-ground structure—it also had an underground palace.

The strongest Demon King, seeing this, was visibly annoyed.

He had sent many of his subordinates to assassinate Demon Lord Haotian and uncover his weaknesses, believing they had made significant progress.

After all, his men had even managed to infiltrate the private chambers of Demon Lord Haotian!

But now, it seemed that Demon Lord Haotian might have been living underground all along. This meant that all the subordinates he had lost had failed to uncover anything useful.

Various thoughts crossed everyone’s minds as they turned their gaze toward the man standing in the crater.

It was this man who had just thrown out the four Transcendence Stage experts of the Dragon Clan.

Although the Demon Palace had been severely damaged, the fact that Demon Lord Haotian could single-handedly severely injure four Transcendence Stage experts from the Dragon Clan spoke volumes about his immense power.

The Demon Kings and the fat demon cultivator wore smiles on their faces, ready to step forward and congratulate him.

But then, they sensed something was wrong.

The man who had thrown out the four dragons, radiating an overwhelming aura of power, now seemed to have that aura dissipate.

From his body, spiritual energy began to leak out.

It was spiritual energy, not demonic energy.

When spiritual or demonic energy leaked from a cultivator, it usually indicated that something had gone wrong with their cultivation. So, had this man’s cultivation gone awry?

No, that wasn’t the key point!

The key point was, if spiritual energy was emanating from him, then it meant he wasn’t Demon Lord Haotian!

Who was he?

After Gu Juntian’s Nascent Soul shattered, the spiritual energy within his body began to drain rapidly.

At this moment, his body was extremely fragile. If he were to use his divine sense again, it would mean certain death. Therefore, he withdrew all of his divine sense and focused his gaze on the large golden bell beside him.

He wondered if he would ever have the chance to see Zhou Qinghao as an adult.

With this thought, Gu Juntian activated the companion contract, conveying his thoughts to Zhou Qinghao: “Come find me, come find me, come find me…”

If he were to “die,” he hoped that Zhou Qinghao, once grown, would come looking for him quickly.

Gu Juntian ignored the surrounding Demon Kings, focusing intently on the large bell. At this moment, the Dragon King was the first to react: “You’re not Demon Lord Haotian!”

How could Demon Lord Haotian possibly be leaking spiritual energy? It was unthinkable that a powerful figure from the cultivation world would hide their identity and come to the Demon Abyss to become a Demon Lord!

More importantly, at this moment, everyone present could sense that this person was incredibly weak.

How weak? He seemed like an ordinary mortal!

A mortal with no trace of demonic energy whatsoever!

After the Dragon King spoke, the Demon Kings, the fat demon cultivator, and the others also realized that this person was not Demon Lord Haotian.

Where had Demon Lord Haotian gone?

Seeing Gu Juntian continuously gazing at the large bell, the others present also realized something and turned their attention to the bell.

Was Demon Lord Haotian inside that bell? What on earth was going on?

The situation before them was too bizarre, and the Demon Kings dared not act recklessly.

But the Dragon King was different.

After being tormented by the formation for seven days and suffering severe injuries, and most importantly, now surrounded by numerous demons with little chance of escape, he faced the very real possibility of dying on the spot.

It was all that man’s fault!

“Bastard!” Without a second thought, the Dragon King launched an attack at Gu Juntian.

No one stopped the Dragon King. In fact, they were eager for him to act as the scapegoat, hoping to gain some clarity about the situation.

At that moment, they felt an overwhelming surge of power accompanied by dense demonic energy emanating from the large bell. The Dragon King’s attack dissipated before it could even reach Gu Juntian, and immediately after, the Dragon King was struck by a wave of demonic energy coming from the direction of the bell, knocking him unconscious.

It was too powerful! The pressure was overwhelming!

The four Demon Kings wanted to flee, but they found themselves unable to move. They even felt that if they dared to make a move, their souls would be obliterated.

The terrifying pressure emanating from the bell continued to grow stronger, causing the entire Demon Abyss to tremble.

This was Demon Lord Haotian—the true Demon Lord.

At this moment, all the creatures of the Demon Abyss—whether the four Demon Kings, their subordinates, or the weak demons living near the Demon Palace—realized one thing.

The Demon Abyss now had a master!

Previous Demon Lords had only been able to control a portion of the Demon Abyss, but the current Demon Lord possessed the strength to dominate the entire realm.

How had Demon Lord Haotian suddenly become so powerful?

The demon cultivators present were utterly baffled, while the captured members of the Dragon Clan were filled with despair.

Demon Lord Haotian was unexpectedly this powerful—it seemed their lives were truly at an end!

However, amidst their shock, they were also puzzled.

In the crater at the center of the Demon Palace, the man they perceived as incredibly frail was standing perfectly unharmed under this overwhelming pressure!

At that moment, the large bell from which the pressure emanated was overturned, and a massive black five-clawed dragon soared into the sky, letting out a deafening roar.

Everyone near the Demon Palace who heard this roar felt their blood churn, and the Dragon Clan’s Great Elder even fainted on the spot.

Yet, the frail man standing at the center of the Demon Palace remained completely unharmed.

Gu Juntian was indeed standing there, perfectly fine.

He didn’t feel the slightest bit of pressure from Zhou Qinghao.

It was obvious—his little partner would never use such pressure against him.

Gu Juntian gazed with delight at the fully grown black dragon before him.

He had prepared himself for death, but he also knew that if Zhou Qinghao, upon reaching adulthood, discovered he was already dead, it would bring immense sorrow.

If possible, he didn’t want to die.

Of course, even if he didn’t die now, he would certainly have to “die” eventually. But before that, he could have a good talk with Zhou Qinghao and comfort him, so he wouldn’t be too heartbroken.

Speaking of which, Zhou Qinghao’s dragon form was truly magnificent now. The massive black dragon grew larger and larger, even blotting out the sky!

Just the thought that this person was his partner filled Gu Juntian with a deep sense of satisfaction.

“Roar!” Another earth-shaking roar echoed, and by now, no one near the Demon Palace could remain standing. Even the four Demon Kings were prostrate on the ground, unable to move.

At this moment, the black dragon finally calmed down. It returned to the ground and transformed into human form.

This human form was familiar to the demons of the Demon Abyss. The handsome man in black robes was none other than Demon Lord Haotian.

Demon Lord Haotian’s true form was actually a dragon?

The demons of the Demon Abyss were utterly stunned.

Equally stunned were the captured dragons.

They had come here because they sensed a young dragon reaching adulthood.

But for the past few days, they had been unable to sense the young dragon’s presence.

Many things had happened during this time, and just moments ago, they had seen the ruined Demon Palace.

They had instinctively assumed that the young dragon was already dead.

But now, this situation…

While others might not realize it, they could tell—this majestic, enormous black dragon had just reached adulthood!

So, the young dragon on the verge of adulthood was actually Demon Lord Haotian?

Their Dragon Island had lost a young dragon, and that young dragon had become a Demon Lord before even reaching adulthood?

Most importantly, as they faced this black dragon, they felt an overwhelming urge to submit from the depths of their hearts.

What did this mean? It meant that the black dragon before them had a pure bloodline—he was their king!

This black dragon was the true Dragon King.

At that moment, whether they were demons of the Demon Abyss or dragons of the Dragon Clan, everyone in their hearts acknowledged Zhou Qinghao as their king.

Zhou Qinghao was unaware of their thoughts. At this moment, his heart was filled with anxiety as he looked at Gu Juntian standing before him, his entire body trembling slightly.

He didn’t even dare to reach out and touch Gu Juntian.

After completing his molting process and receiving all the inherited memories, Zhou Qinghao had finally awakened.

The moment he woke up, he sensed the continuous message from Gu Juntian: “Come find me.”

Gu Juntian wanted to see him—his partner wanted to see him!

Recalling everything Gu Juntian had done for him during his maturation period, Zhou Qinghao felt a wave of shyness, his tail instinctively curling up.

His heart swelled with sweetness, and he was eager to see Gu Juntian.

But then, he realized something was wrong.

He was surrounded by countless defensive treasures, and an illusion formation had been set up around him.

Why were so many treasures protecting him? Wasn’t there already a formation outside?

Wait, could that formation really hold off the four Transcendence Stage experts from the Dragon Clan?

He had wanted to mature quickly so he could protect Gu Juntian, but now, where was Gu Juntian?

Zhou Qinghao used the partner contract to sense Gu Juntian’s presence, only to discover that Gu Juntian was so weak that it seemed he could die at any moment.

The Dragon King, who had thrown him into the Demon Abyss, had actually tried to kill Gu Juntian!

He repelled the Dragon King and appeared before everyone.

He felt stronger than ever before. Although he had just reached adulthood, he was incomparably more powerful than he had been.

But he wasn’t happy at all.

With a single sweep of his divine sense, he fully understood Gu Juntian’s condition.

Gu Juntian’s Nascent Soul was shattered!

If he had emerged even a moment later, Gu Juntian might already be dead.

If Gu Juntian died, what would he do?

The inherited memories of the Dragon Clan had fully merged with his own memories, and in this moment, Zhou Qinghao was filled with regret. He regretted that he had only focused on enhancing his own strength and hadn’t taken the time to subdue more people.

If he had subdued the four Demon Kings earlier and forced them to sign master-servant contracts, Gu Juntian wouldn’t have suffered such severe injuries.

But that wasn’t the only mistake he had made.

He had misunderstood Gu Juntian. While Gu Juntian had been preparing for his maturation and working hard to refine pills, he had selfishly clung to Gu Juntian, refusing to let go.

He was older and stronger than Gu Juntian, yet he had failed to protect him. Instead, it was Gu Juntian who had protected him.

This was completely unacceptable!

Countless thoughts flashed through Zhou Qinghao’s mind. For a moment, he wanted to throw himself into Gu Juntian’s arms and cry, just like he had done before.

But how could the current Gu Juntian withstand such an action?

Without a second thought, Zhou Qinghao set up several formations around Gu Juntian, shielding him completely.

The current Gu Juntian couldn’t even adapt to the environment of the Demon Abyss!

After Zhou Qinghao set up the formations, Gu Juntian indeed felt much better.

He no longer had the strength to stand and sat down heavily, then looked at Zhou Qinghao and said, “Qinghao, congratulations on reaching adulthood.”

Zhou Qinghao stared at Gu Juntian without saying a word.

Gu Juntian could sense Zhou Qinghao’s regret and pain and tried to comfort him, “I’m fine. Let’s have a good talk later.”

The partner contract could convey some information, but it couldn’t facilitate a proper conversation. He needed to explain the situation with his main body to Zhou Qinghao in detail.

Zhou Qinghao remained silent. He turned his head and looked at the dragons from Dragon Island who had been captured by the Demon Kings. “Hand over all the elixirs you have.”

As he spoke, he released the restraints the Demon Kings had placed on these dragons.

Once freed, the dragons didn’t hesitate. They immediately took out all the elixirs they had, and the strongest among them brought them to Zhou Qinghao.

After inheriting the memories of the Dragon Clan, Zhou Qinghao knew he had automatically become the Dragon King.

He could sense that these dragons bore no ill will toward him, but even so, he felt no fondness for them.

He had been abandoned at birth and had no sense of belonging to the Dragon Clan.

However, he didn’t plan to kill these dragons—they could still be useful to him.

He had already assessed Gu Juntian’s physical condition.

Not only was Gu Juntian’s Nascent Soul shattered, but his meridians were also severely damaged, and his spiritual roots were gone.

At this moment, Gu Juntian’s path to immortality was severed. He had become completely crippled, unable to cultivate further.

If he took spiritual medicine in time, he might be able to preserve his youth and live for a few more decades. But without treatment, once the spiritual energy within him completely dissipated, he would rapidly age and die.

With the inherited memories, Zhou Qinghao had a deep understanding of elixirs. His divine sense swept over the pills the dragons had given him, and he quickly selected the ones suitable for Gu Juntian, handing them to him.

Gu Juntian didn’t refuse and accepted the pills.

He didn’t want Zhou Qinghao to worry about him.

Zhou Qinghao said at this moment, “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

Gu Juntian would be fine. He had a way to help Gu Juntian regain his path to immortality.

As for what that method was… Zhou Qinghao glanced at the dragons outside.

Dragons were a great tonic, capable of strengthening a cultivator’s body.

But only cultivators could consume them. Gu Juntian was currently too weak—his body couldn’t handle such a potent supplement. Eating dragon flesh would only cause him to explode and die.

However, there was one thing that could restore Gu Juntian: Phoenix blood.

A pure-blooded Phoenix was immortal, undying, and could be reborn from death.

When a Phoenix faced death, its blood would begin to burn, and then, it would be reborn from the flames.

Phoenix blood could grant someone rebirth through nirvana.

In the past, dragons and phoenixes had fought endlessly. In the end, the pure-blooded dragons were wiped out, and the already rare phoenixes were reduced to just one.

Fortunately, one remained.

As long as he could find that phoenix and obtain its blood, he could give Gu Juntian a new life!

As for how to obtain the Phoenix blood…

Although he had grown much stronger after reaching adulthood, that phoenix was as pure-blooded as he was and had lived for who knows how many more years than him.

If he were to fight that phoenix, he wasn’t sure he could win, nor was he certain he could obtain the Phoenix blood.

Zhou Qinghao planned to offer some dragons in exchange for the Phoenix blood.

It was said that the phoenix enjoyed eating dragons. If he offered the four Transcendence Stage experts from the Dragon Clan and thirty-one strong, healthy dragons as food, the phoenix might be willing to give him some of its blood.

If these dragons weren’t enough, there were still more on Dragon Island. Ao Jin, a young four-clawed silver dragon, would surely be delicious.

With this in mind, Zhou Qinghao restrained himself from killing the Dragon King and the others outright.

At that moment, the dragon who had delivered the elixirs to Zhou Qinghao, Ao Hong, looked at Gu Juntian in shock. “You’re actually Gu Juntian!”

Ao Hong was a red dragon with the strength of the Body Unity stage, comparable to the fat demon cultivator.

Unaware that he had already been marked as a gift for the phoenix, he stared at Gu Juntian in astonishment.

Gu Juntian had originally been wearing a mask, but he had removed it to take the elixir Zhou Qinghao had given him, revealing his face.

The original owner of this body had been fond of Ao Jin and had visited Dragon Island several times. With so few dragons on the island…

The dragons of Dragon Island all knew the original owner, and he knew them as well.

“It’s me” Gu Juntian smiled at Ao Hong.

He didn’t like the Dragon King or the Dragon Clan elders, but he didn’t dislike Ao Hong and the others.

These dragons had no idea about Zhou Qinghao’s situation and had never harmed him.

“Why are you here?” Ao Hong asked, puzzled. “You even injured the elders earlier, you…”

At this moment, the fat demon cultivator and the Demon Kings, upon hearing Ao Hong say “Gu Juntian,” also realized his identity.

This man was actually one of the most outstanding figures among the younger generation of the righteous path, the famous Gu Juntian?

How had he ended up in the Demon Palace?

Wait, hadn’t the Demon Lord kept a righteous cultivator as a male companion… Was that person Gu Juntian?

Gu Juntian had come to the Demon Abyss to assassinate Demon Lord Haotian.

But he certainly couldn’t say that.

Pointing at Zhou Qinghao, Gu Juntian smiled and said, “I’m his partner.”

Ao Hong and the others were stunned. Then, Ao Hong spoke up, “He just reached adulthood! What did you do to him?”

Gu Juntian: “…” He hadn’t done much—just a few kisses! On the other hand, Zhou Qinghao had done a lot to him!

The demons of the Demon Abyss: “…” What had they just heard? Demon Lord Haotian had just reached adulthood?

They remembered now—the Dragon Clan had come to the Demon Abyss because they sensed a young dragon reaching adulthood here…

So the young dragon they were looking for was Demon Lord Haotian?

What a bizarre turn of events!

“Insolence!” Zhou Qinghao used demonic energy to send Ao Hong flying. “Gu Juntian is my partner. Whoever disrespects him disrespects me!”

Ao Hong was nearly knocked unconscious, and at that moment, another dragon hurriedly spoke up, “Your Majesty, you are a dragon, one of our own. We came to the Demon Abyss because we sensed your adulthood. We meant no harm…”

This Demon Lord was a dragon, one of their own. There was no need for conflict between them!

Yet, they had fought to the death, and the four Transcendence Stage experts of the Dragon Clan had all been knocked unconscious.

“No harm?” Zhou Qinghao sneered. “I was thrown into the Demon Abyss as soon as I was born. After struggling to survive and grow, these people wanted to dig out my dragon core to cure Ao Jin… Is that what you call no harm?”

Ao Hong and the others had been dissatisfied with the Dragon King, which was why they hadn’t obeyed his orders and had secretly followed him to the Demon Abyss.

They had been full of concern for the young dragon, and even when they were captured by the Demon Kings, they had still been worried about the young dragon on the verge of adulthood.

Now, hearing Zhou Qinghao’s words, they were utterly stunned.

Gu Juntian glanced at Zhou Qinghao. He hadn’t expected Zhou Qinghao to know about the Dragon King’s plan to dig out his core.

But Zhou Qinghao had not only inherited the memories of the Dragon Clan but had also become a five-clawed dragon. It was possible that he could sense the thoughts of his fellow dragons.

Gu Juntian confirmed this: “That’s exactly right. In fact, the reason I came to the Demon Abyss was because the Dragon King told me that Ao Jin’s injury could only be cured with the core of a black flood dragon. It wasn’t until I arrived in the Demon Abyss that I realized this so-called black flood dragon was actually Ao Jin’s own brother.”

When Zhou Qinghao said that the Dragon King wanted to dig out his core, the dragons had thought it was a misunderstanding.

But after Gu Juntian said the same thing, they knew it was the truth.

They had wondered how a young dragon could have ended up outside the Dragon Clan. Now they knew—it was because the Dragon King had abandoned him!

They had also wondered why the Dragon King and the elders hadn’t explained the situation clearly or allowed them to follow. Now they understood—it was because they wanted to dig out the young dragon’s core!

And Gu Juntian, even at the cost of losing all his cultivation, had protected Zhou Qinghao because he feared the Dragon King and the others would harm him, right?

For a moment, Ao Hong and the others were overwhelmed with shame.

As for the demons of the Demon Abyss, they were speechless.

They had now confirmed that Demon Lord Haotian, who had ruled for two hundred years, had not yet reached adulthood.

They had been suppressed for two hundred years by a young dragon who hadn’t even reached adulthood…

Well, forget it. He was truly powerful, and they couldn’t defeat him.

They were truly unlucky—they would never have a chance to become the Demon Lord in this lifetime.

The lifespan of dragons was truly long!

Zhou Qinghao ignored the thoughts of those around him and focused solely on Gu Juntian. “Take the medicine quickly. If you need any specific elixirs, just tell me, and I’ll have someone refine them for you.”

Gu Juntian had already taken one of the pills and said, “These pills are enough. I don’t need any others.”

He had already decided to abandon this body.

Zhou Qinghao reached out and gently touched Gu Juntian’s face, speaking again, “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

He needed to take Gu Juntian to find the phoenix immediately!

If he couldn’t exchange for the Phoenix blood, then even if it meant risking his life, he would kill the phoenix to obtain its blood!

With this in mind, Zhou Qinghao approached the Dragon King and the three Dragon Clan elders. While they were still unconscious, he directly established a master-servant contract with them.

From now on, these four dragons would be under his control, unable to resist him!

These four dragons had high cultivation levels. If the phoenix liked them and was willing to exchange for Phoenix blood, that would be ideal.

If the phoenix didn’t like them and refused to make the exchange, then he would have no choice but to take the blood by force.

In that case, he could use these four dragons as cannon fodder, having them block the phoenix’s attacks for him.

Aside from these four dragons, everyone else present could also become his allies, helping him win the battle against the phoenix.

With this in mind, Zhou Qinghao looked at the people around the Demon Palace and said, “All of you, follow me to the southernmost lands!”

As far as he knew, that phoenix lived in the southernmost lands.

Gu Juntian was stunned when he heard Zhou Qinghao’s words: How did Zhou Qinghao know he needed to go to the southernmost lands?

Demon Lord (23): Gu Juntian actually took advantage of his adulthood and fell into a coma to secretly sign a Taoist partner contract with him!

Although it was a bit strange for Gu Juntian to be concerned about what his tongue looked like at such a time, Zhou Qinghao instinctively opened his mouth to show it to him.

Then, his tongue was kissed.

The newly molted, still very weak black dragon stared in shock at Gu Juntian standing right in front of him, his eyes crossing slightly.

“What? You can kiss me, but I can’t kiss you?” Gu Juntian kissed him again.

Zhou Qinghao suddenly felt a warmth spreading through his entire body. For a moment, he couldn’t think clearly, his mind turning to mush.

Yet, even so, he didn’t pull his tongue back. Instead, he secretly hoped Gu Juntian would kiss him a few more times.

Gu Juntian didn’t disappoint. He kissed him several more times, only stopping when Zhou Qinghao, dizzy and dazed, fell into a deep sleep.

Of course, Gu Juntian knew what a dragon’s tongue looked like.

Not only did he have memories from his original body, but the original owner of this body had also seen Ao Jin’s tongue.

A dragon’s tongue is somewhat similar to a snake’s forked tongue, with a split at the tip, but it’s not as slender and elongated as a snake’s.

Snakes use their tongues to gather information about their surroundings, sensing the environment and detecting prey. For many snakes, their tongues function almost like eyes.

This was why Zhou Qinghao had always used his tongue to touch him before.

For ordinary people, the flickering tongue of a large snake might be terrifying, but for some reason, Gu Juntian wasn’t afraid of Zhou Qinghao at all. The snake’s tongue only brought him waves of tingling sensations.

During those past days, he had been “tormented” by Zhou Qinghao’s tongue more times than he could count. That tongue was something he both loved and hated.

Now, it was time for him to get his “revenge”!

Zhou Qinghao used his tongue to gather information, which was why he liked to touch Gu Juntian with it. This also meant that Zhou Qinghao’s tongue was highly sensitive.

Being kissed on the tongue—it was easy to imagine how Zhou Qinghao must be feeling right now!

Gu Juntian looked with satisfaction at Zhou Qinghao, who had been “kissed unconscious.”

With Zhou Qinghao in a deep sleep, he wouldn’t notice the surrounding situation and wouldn’t worry too much about him.

After confirming that Zhou Qinghao had lost consciousness, Gu Juntian coughed up another mouthful of blood and then shoved a handful of pills into his mouth.

He still had plenty of pills left, but with all this strain, his body was reaching its limit.

Fortunately, he didn’t just have this one body—he still had his original form.

Gu Juntian stopped controlling the formations above ground and began meditating to regulate his breathing.

On the surface of the Demon Palace, the Dragon King and the elders noticed that the changes in the formations around them had significantly decreased.

This proved that these formations were no longer being controlled.

“The Demon Lord Haotian has stopped controlling the formations,” the Grand Elder said.

The Dragon King nodded, his brow furrowed. “Why would he do that?”

The hot-tempered Third Elder snapped, “This guy has been hiding and avoiding a direct confrontation with us. It’s likely that something’s wrong with his body, and now he’s definitely reached his limit!”

The Dragon King and the Grand Elder exchanged a glance, and then the Dragon King looked at the Third Elder. “You’re absolutely right!”

When they first entered the Demon Palace, they had been wary of Demon Lord Haotian, proceeding with caution.

But now, thinking about it, Haotian had separated them but hadn’t taken the opportunity to pick them off one by one. It seemed likely that something had gone wrong with his cultivation, leaving him unable to act.

No wonder Haotian, who usually relied on brute force in battles, had suddenly resorted to using formations!

“He’s keeping that black dragon and has already offended us, yet he hasn’t come to kill us… His cultivation must be in trouble.”

“These demonic cultivators use all sorts of bizarre and unnatural methods to cultivate. It’s no surprise that something went wrong.”

“Is he refusing to release the little dragon because he wants to use it to restore his cultivation?”

…

After a brief discussion, the dragon experts increased their speed in breaking the formations.

They couldn’t let that little black dragon be devoured by the Demon Lord!

That little black dragon’s core belonged to Ao Jin!

The formations in the Demon Palace were personally set up by Zhou Qinghao, and they were indeed powerful, but the Dragon King and the others were not humans—they were dragons.

Their bodies were as tough as steel, and ordinary attacks couldn’t even scratch their scales!

On top of that, they also had numerous magical artifacts and an endless supply of pills.

At this point, although they had all sustained minor injuries, those injuries were nothing to them.

They had plenty of strength left to fight Demon Lord Haotian!

“We’re almost at the center of the Demon Palace,” the Grand Elder said, looking around with some satisfaction.

Ahead of them was the central area of the Demon Palace, where the Demon Lord’s chambers were said to be located.

The Third Elder declared, “I’ll tear that Demon Lord Haotian to pieces!”

With that, he charged toward the Demon Lord’s chambers without a second thought and instantly burst inside.

The other dragons, fearing something might happen to him, quickly followed.

Then, an ear-splitting explosion suddenly erupted!

Much of the Demon Palace’s surface was blown apart, but even in this chaos, the outermost formation designed to block prying eyes remained completely intact.

The people outside the Demon Palace had no idea what was happening inside.

“That’s quite a commotion…” said a demon king surrounded by numerous beauties.

Another demon king, seated on his flying treasure and having a few chefs prepare a meal for him, remarked, “Who knows if that commotion was caused by Haotian or those dragons.”

A third demon king, teasing a young and vigorous male dragon, giggled and said, “It must have been Haotian. I even heard the dragons screaming. That guy is pretty strong, but unfortunately, he’s got no charm.”

These demon kings appeared relaxed and carefree, but only they knew how vigilant they were, ready to flee at any moment.

When the explosion had sounded earlier, they had almost bolted.

In fact, one of the demon kings had actually run away.

Now, the fourth demon king, who had fled when the explosion occurred, returned. He rubbed his head and chuckled awkwardly, “I was just a bit too quick to react, that’s all.”

The three who hadn’t run away sneered.

“Quick to react”? More like quick to run because he was scared!

But this guy really was fast! The reason they couldn’t kill this weakest among them was precisely because he was so quick to flee.

The demon kings turned their attention back to the Demon Palace, waiting to see who would emerge victorious.

At this moment, in the Demon Palace’s inner chamber, the four dragons, now in their true forms, were all injured, their bodies bloodied and scales missing.

The dragons roared in fury.

They had charged in expecting a direct confrontation with the Demon Lord. Who could have guessed it was a trap?

Haotian, as the Demon Lord, had actually used such underhanded tactics against them—it was utterly disgraceful!

“Haotian! Come out and face us!”

“Haotian, I will never rest until you’re dead!”

The Third Elder of the dragon clan, looking at his severed tail, let out a thunderous roar.

The Dragon King was also injured. He glanced at the surrounding ruins, then took out another drop of his heart’s blood to begin divining the black dragon’s condition.

Over the past two days, their ability to sense the black dragon had grown weaker. Now, they had no idea where the black dragon was or what condition it was in.

“They’re underground!”

The black dragon was still alive, in good condition, and hiding underground!

The Dragon King breathed a sigh of relief and, along with the Grand Elder, who was less severely injured, began searching for a passage to the underground.

Gu Juntian withdrew the divine sense he had used to gather information, finally understanding how these dragon experts had managed to find their way to the Demon Palace.

The Dragon King and Zhou Qinghao were connected by blood, allowing the Dragon King to detect Zhou Qinghao’s location.

This was bad news!

If these four dragon Tribulation Transcendence experts went all out, it would be extremely difficult for him to hold out for another two days.

Unless he took pills that would forcibly unlock his body’s potential.

Gu Juntian felt a sense of relief that, despite not knowing whether the dragon experts would come, he had still prepared thoroughly.

However, taking pills that forcibly unlocked his body’s potential would cause irreversible damage. At best, his Nascent Soul would shatter, rendering him a cripple on the spot.

At worst, he might lose his life.

This body wasn’t his original one, so dying wouldn’t be a big deal—it might even be a good thing. After death, he could return to his original body and regain his full strength!

But if he died, Zhou Qinghao wouldn’t be able to handle it.

This black dragon was a bit of a romantic and extremely attached to him. If he saw Gu Juntian die, he might even follow him in death, self-destructing his core just like in the original plot.

If that happened, all his efforts over this period would have been in vain.

Of course, there was a way to deal with this.

He could form a soul contract with Zhou Qinghao. That way, even if this body died, Zhou Qinghao would know that his soul still existed and that he hadn’t truly perished.

In the cultivation world, soul contracts could be broadly divided into two types.

One type was a master-servant contract, where one party dominated and controlled the soul of the other. The other type was an equal contract, where both parties were on equal footing.

The former was widely used. When cultivators tamed spirit beasts, demonic cultivators subdued demonic servants, or ghost cultivators enslaved ghost servants, they often used master-servant contracts. This allowed them to control the other party’s soul and ensure their loyalty.

The latter, the equal contract, was rarely used.

With a master-servant contract, if the spirit beast or demonic servant died, the cultivator remained unaffected. However, with an equal contract, if one party’s soul was damaged, the other party would also suffer severe consequences.

Moreover, when it came to souls… after signing an equal contract and merging their souls, the two parties could sense each other’s thoughts!

Most people could not accept the idea of someone else knowing their innermost thoughts.

Therefore, equal contracts were rare and were usually only signed between deeply affectionate Taoist partners, which was why they were also known as Taoist partner contracts.

Gu Juntian: “…”

He couldn’t possibly sign a master-servant contract with Zhou Qinghao. Once a master-servant contract was signed, the servant’s life was entirely in the hands of the master! Of course, there were occasional cases of servants rebelling, but overall, the two parties were inevitably in opposition.

But if he were to sign an equal contract…

He had already taken advantage of Zhou Qinghao’s unconscious state to kiss him. Wouldn’t it be even worse to take advantage of his unconsciousness to sign a Taoist partner contract with him?

Then again, it wasn’t entirely inappropriate. After all, Zhou Qinghao himself had said that he had taken him captive to make him his Taoist partner!

Those four dragons could launch a full-scale attack at any moment, and by then, he wouldn’t have time to mess around with a Taoist partner contract—no, an equal contract!

Gu Juntian first extracted a drop of his own blood.

Then he circled around Zhou Qinghao, steeled his heart, and made a small cut on Zhou Qinghao’s newly formed skin, also taking a drop of his blood.

Zhou Qinghao, startled awake by the pain, noticed Gu Juntian applying medicine to his wound.

Gu Juntian had taken his blood? Why?

While Zhou Qinghao was still puzzled, he saw Gu Juntian begin to draw a formation on his head.

As the formation started to take shape, Zhou Qinghao was gripped by extreme fear.

When he was young, he had once been captured by a demonic cultivator who tried to force a master-servant contract on him in the same way.

Was Gu Juntian going to make him sign a master-servant contract?

But soon, Zhou Qinghao dismissed that thought.

Gu Juntian cared for him so much—he would never force a master-servant contract on him.

Gu Juntian would never do that to him.

Just as he was thinking this, he realized that the contract Gu Juntian was drawing wasn’t a master-servant contract at all.

So what was Gu Juntian trying to do?

Why was he trying to sign a contract with him while he was asleep?

Just as Zhou Qinghao was pondering this, he suddenly realized that the contract Gu Juntian was drawing was a Taoist partner contract.

In the past, he wouldn’t have known what a Taoist partner contract was, but now, having inherited the dragon clan’s ancestral memories, he recognized it. The dragon clan’s memories contained detailed descriptions of Taoist partner contracts and even warned young dragons like him not to casually sign such contracts with others.

Gu Juntian was actually taking advantage of his unconscious state during his transition to adulthood to secretly sign a Taoist partner contract with him!

There was no need for this! Even if he were awake, he would have been willing to sign a Taoist partner contract with Gu Juntian!

Zhou Qinghao suddenly remembered how, in the past, he had called Gu Juntian “little partner” but Gu Juntian had refused, saying they weren’t partners yet.

At the time, he had thought Gu Juntian said that because he didn’t like him, but looking back now, Gu Juntian might have said it because they hadn’t signed a Taoist partner contract.

His little partner might have wanted to sign a Taoist partner contract with him all along, but back then, he hadn’t understood and hadn’t given Gu Juntian the response he deserved.

In the end, it was his own fault!

Zhou Qinghao felt an overwhelming sweetness in his heart and couldn’t wait to open his eyes.

Gu Juntian: “…” Caught red-handed again!

Being caught red-handed wasn’t a big deal—he just needed to stay calm.

Gu Juntian looked into Zhou Qinghao’s clear eyes and spoke with confidence, “Qinghao, this is an equal contract. With this contract, you’ll be able to sense where I am. If you ever can’t find me in the future, you can use this contract to locate me. And if we’re ever separated, I can also use it to find you.”

Zhou Qinghao hummed happily in his heart.

Gu Juntian was lying to him—this wasn’t just an equal contract; it was a Taoist partner contract!

The formation was complete, and Zhou Qinghao didn’t resist at all.

Gu Juntian certainly wasn’t going to resist either, so the Taoist partner contract was successfully signed.

Zhou Qinghao could now feel Gu Juntian’s presence and even sense the affection Gu Juntian felt for him through the contract.

Gu Juntian truly loved him—so much!

Just thinking about this fact filled him with joy.

However, Zhou Qinghao’s happiness didn’t last long before Gu Juntian fed him some pills.

After taking the pills, he fell into a deep sleep once again.

He didn’t want to sleep; in fact, he felt a bit uneasy.

When he had woken up earlier, he had tried to use his divine sense to check on the Dragon King and the others, but he hadn’t been able to see anything.

Had Gu Juntian set up a formation in this room to block divine sense?

Seeing Zhou Qinghao fall unconscious, Gu Juntian first set up an illusion formation around him. Then, he took out defensive treasures he had found among Zhou Qinghao’s collection and began placing them on Zhou Qinghao’s body.

He even used a large bell to completely cover Zhou Qinghao, ensuring his safety.

Of course, he also took great care to protect himself.

Gu Juntian similarly adorned himself with numerous defensive treasures and draped a thick black cloak over his shoulders.

Now, his attire resembled Zhou Qinghao’s from before.

However, while Zhou Qinghao used to show his face, Gu Juntian covered his with a mask.

The four dragons from the dragon clan had already found the passage to the underground palace. The next step would be a fierce battle between him and them.

By now, the upper part of the Demon Palace had been almost completely destroyed. In the upcoming battle, the underground part of the palace would likely be ruined as well.

Zhou Qinghao had treated the Demon Palace as his nest. When he woke up and found his nest completely destroyed, who knew if he would throw a tantrum?

Even if he did, it wouldn’t matter. They had already signed a Taoist partner contract—Zhou Qinghao couldn’t run away.

Gu Juntian was in high spirits.

In his unconscious state, Zhou Qinghao could faintly sense the joy and affection emanating from the other person.

Filled with happiness, he felt completely at ease.

At the same time, he couldn’t wait to reach adulthood.

Once he was an adult, he would make Gu Juntian do this and that—he would become Gu Juntian’s true Taoist partner!

After a long while, Zhou Qinghao woke up again.

And then he discovered that Gu Juntian was standing in front of him, kissing him again!

In the past, Gu Juntian wouldn’t let him kiss him much, but now that he couldn’t move, Gu Juntian kept kissing him!

“Sleep,” Gu Juntian murmured, gently stroking Zhou Qinghao’s head.

Zhou Qinghao, feeling drowsy, fell asleep once more.

Outside, Gu Juntian habitually spat out a mouthful of blood.

The illusion formation had been triggered, so he knew Zhou Qinghao had woken up.

Fortunately, this little dragon was easy to fool and had quickly fallen back asleep.

In just one more day, Zhou Qinghao would reach adulthood. He only needed to hold out for one more day.

At the same time, the Dragon King and the others were growing desperate. “There’s only one day left. In one day, that black dragon will reach adulthood. If Demon Lord Haotian devours the dragon core, his power will surely increase dramatically!”

“Those demonic cultivators are cunning and deceitful. He might even use the black dragon against us.”

“We can’t hold back any longer. We must give it our all!”

…

The four dragon experts brought out their most powerful techniques.

No matter how many formations were set up underground in the Demon Palace, they couldn’t withstand the onslaught of four Tribulation Transcendence experts. Finally, they reached the last door.

The Third Elder, who had lost his tail in the explosion, had learned his lesson this time and didn’t rush forward. Instead, he looked to the Dragon King, who was in the best condition, waiting for his next move.

The Dragon King stood by the door. Being so close to the black dragon, he could clearly sense that the black dragon was on the verge of reaching adulthood.

He didn’t dare delay and prepared to attack the door in front of him.

“I spared you once, but you just won’t let it go. Since that’s the case, you’ll all stay here!”

Just as the Dragon King was about to strike, the voice of Demon Lord Haotian rang out again. At the same time, an overwhelming, boundless divine sense pressed down on them.

This divine sense was far stronger than theirs, and under its pressure, they were completely powerless.

Was Demon Lord Haotian really this powerful?

At this moment, fear welled up in the hearts of the four dragons from Dragon Island. They hesitated, wanting to flee.

Judging by the divine sense, Demon Lord Haotian was incredibly strong—they couldn’t defeat him.

Their earlier advantage might have been because Haotian hadn’t taken them seriously and had let them struggle.

At that moment, the door in front of them opened on its own.

They looked up and saw that behind the door was a spacious room. In the center of the room, a massive bell protected something. Without a doubt, lying inside was the little black dragon they had been searching for.

Beside the bell stood a figure clad in black robes.

The black-robed figure was completely covered, making it impossible to see their face, but the overwhelming divine sense emanated from them.

This person had to be Demon Lord Haotian.

If Haotian had told them to leave, the four dragons from Dragon Island would have charged forward without hesitation. But Haotian had opened the door, seemingly unafraid of them.

Their hearts filled with unease, and for a moment, they didn’t dare to step forward, fearing it might be another trap.

Gu Juntian had anticipated this reaction, which was why he had opened the door to let them in.

From the beginning, his goal hadn’t been to kill them but to buy time.

With this in mind, Gu Juntian let out a soft laugh. “You are the family of my little black dragon. I didn’t want to kill you, but why do you insist on coming here to seek death?”

The Dragon King and the others were startled.

The formations in the Demon Palace were incredibly powerful. The four of them had suffered significant injuries just getting here, and their strength was only half of what it had been.

Meanwhile, Demon Lord Haotian hadn’t lifted a finger, conserving his energy, and his cultivation level was unfathomable.

They couldn’t defeat Demon Lord Haotian.

However, judging from Demon Lord Haotian’s words, it seemed he wasn’t planning to eat the black dragon. In fact, he seemed to value the black dragon highly?

The Dragon King quickly spoke up, “Demon Lord Haotian, we mean no harm. We only came because our young dragon is here, and we want to protect it…”

“Protect? Wasn’t it you who threw him into the Demon Abyss in the first place? Isn’t it a bit ridiculous to talk about protection now?” Gu Juntian retorted.

The Dragon King was deeply shaken.

Gu Juntian continued, “Did you really come here to protect him, or was it to dig out his dragon core to cure your precious Dragon Prince?”

The Dragon King and the elders were stunned. They hadn’t expected Demon Lord Haotian to know about this.

The Dragon King, now desperate to save his own life, instinctively replied, “That’s absolutely not true! Where did Your Excellency hear such a thing?”

“People outside say I only became the Demon Lord by sheer luck, that I don’t know anything… Did you think the same?” Gu Juntian chuckled lightly. “I know far more than you think.”

Gu Juntian carried himself with the demeanor of a true master, appearing calm and composed.

In reality, he had taken pills to forcibly unlock his body’s potential, allowing him to use his full divine sense.

When he had crossed over to this world, he had been given a golden finger—his divine sense was even stronger than that of the original owner of this body, the phoenix.

But such immense power was far beyond what his current body could handle.

Gu Juntian could feel his Nascent Soul cracking inch by inch.

His Nascent Soul was definitely beyond saving, and without it, there was no point in keeping this body.

Once his Nascent Soul shattered, he would become an ordinary person, unable to withstand the harsh environment of the Demon Abyss and incapable of being intimate with Zhou Qinghao.

So, once Zhou Qinghao reached adulthood, he would abandon this body and return to his original form.

After that, he would wait for Zhou Qinghao to find him through the Taoist partner contract.

Gu Juntian had a way out, so his mindset was particularly calm.

Zhou Qinghao, sensing Gu Juntian’s condition through the Taoist partner contract, didn’t notice anything amiss.

He could feel that Gu Juntian was happy and even fantasizing about what he would do to him once he reached adulthood.

If they hadn’t signed the Taoist partner contract, he would never have known Gu Juntian was like this!

However, even though he didn’t sense any danger, Zhou Qinghao still wanted to reach adulthood as quickly as possible.

Once he was an adult, he could do all sorts of things with Gu Juntian!

At that moment, the little black dragon, protected by formations and numerous magical artifacts, finally reached adulthood!

Gu Juntian sensed this and breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, his Nascent Soul completely shattered.

With the Nascent Soul gone, his body was flooded with a surge of immense spiritual energy.

Knowing that his shattered Nascent Soul would soon expose his true state, he didn’t hesitate. He channeled the spiritual energy and divine sense within him, launching a fierce attack against the four dragons from Dragon Island.

The four dragons, in their true forms, were instantly sent flying by Gu Juntian’s attack, crashing into the already precarious formation outside the Demon Palace.

The formation couldn’t hold any longer and completely shattered.

The ravaged Demon Palace was now exposed to everyone outside.

Demon Lord (22): At such a dangerous moment, Gu Juntian cares about his tongue?

Zhou Qinghao thought about all the things he had done with Gu Juntian in the past few days and wished there was a crack in the ground for him to crawl into.

At the same time, he also realized something.

Gu Juntian must have known he was a dragon for a long time.

Previously, when Gu Juntian rejected him, it was probably because he knew he hadn’t reached adulthood and knew he couldn’t do anything.

So, what was Gu Juntian thinking when he kept clinging to him?

Would Gu Juntian hate him for treating him that way?

A familiar sensation came over him, and Zhou Qinghao knew he was about to start receiving inherited memories again.

He looked at Gu Juntian with longing and fell into a deep sleep.

Before losing consciousness, the only thought in his mind was that he needed to reach adulthood quickly.

The four Transcendent Stage experts from the Dragon Clan were attacking the formations of the demon palace outside, and Gu Juntian was in danger!

He wanted to reach adulthood; he wanted to protect Gu Juntian!

On the other side, seeing Zhou Qinghao fall unconscious, Gu Juntian moved Zhou Qinghao’s head from his lap.

After doing this, he walked out of the room and then spat out a mouthful of blood.

His spiritual sense was very powerful, but unfortunately, his body couldn’t bear it, causing him to get injured every time he used his spiritual sense.

During the process of controlling the formations, his spiritual power was also being consumed rapidly.

Gu Juntian cleaned up the bloodstains, took a few elixirs, and then gathered some of the demon stones and spirit stones collected by Zhou Qinghao to repair the formations above ground.

By now, three days had passed since the four dragons from Dragon Island arrived at the demon palace.

For dragons, three days were really short; they could casually sleep for several years.

But these three days were very long for the four dragons trapped in the formations.

Dragons are ancient beasts, with a lineage that spans an unknown number of years, and upon reaching adulthood, they can receive inherited memories from their ancestors.

They also possessed long lifespans.

Take the four dragons who broke into the demon palace; the youngest among them had already lived for tens of thousands of years.

This meant that the knowledge dragons possessed far exceeded that of human cultivators.

Whether it was artifact refining, alchemy, or formations, these four dragons had some knowledge, and coupled with their Transcendent Stage cultivation, they were fearless when they first came to the Demon Abyss.

At that time, they thought that even if they encountered the Demon Lord Haotian, they could kill him.

The entire Demon Abyss was like a plate of loose sand, and the Demon Lord Haotian was all alone; how could he possibly fight against the four of them?

With such thoughts in mind, they were not afraid when they discovered that the aura of the young dragon was emanating from the demon palace.

When they were pulled into the formations of the demon palace by Gu Juntian, they even found it somewhat amusing.

Having lived for so many years, they were quite knowledgeable about formations, and coupled with the dragons’ thick skin and tough flesh, many formations naturally had no effect on them.

The idea that the Demon Lord Haotian wanted to trap them with formations was simply a fool’s dream!

However, they were indeed trapped by these formations.

These formations were all ones they had never seen before, and many were specifically targeted at dragons!

At first, the Dragon King and others still wanted to have a good talk with the Demon Lord Haotian, but after three days, they became increasingly anxious.

One of the Dragon Clan elders was the first to lose his temper and started attacking everything around him. After being “taken care of” by Gu Juntian, he calmed down, but soon after, another Dragon Clan elder did the same.

The Dragon King and the Grand Elder of the Dragon Clan remained relatively calm, but they had stopped calling out, and it wouldn’t be long before they might also start causing trouble.

Gu Juntian sighed inwardly and began to repair the damaged formations.

While controlling the formations to fend off the enemy, he discovered that some of the formations had flaws, and he took the opportunity to fix them.

Various deadly killing formations were quickly set up by Gu Juntian.

He knew that the Dragon King was Zhou Qinghao’s biological father, but the Dragon King had come here to dig out Zhou Qinghao’s dragon core.

For this reason alone, he couldn’t afford to go easy on the Dragon King.

Nor could he afford to hold back.

He was only at the Nascent Soul Stage; without using lethal moves, he simply couldn’t hold off four Transcendent Stage experts.

He also wondered how these four had found this place… From their behavior, it seemed they didn’t know that the Demon Lord Haotian was the little black dragon they were looking for, meaning no one had told them about the Demon Lord Haotian’s identity.

Could it be that the Dragon Clan had some special method to locate young dragons?

Gu Juntian pondered many things, but his hands never stopped setting up the formations.

Gu Juntian’s thoughts were correct; the Dragon King and the Grand Elder had also run out of patience.

The maturation of a dragon was difficult to either hasten or delay.

They had expended considerable effort just to help Ao Jin delay his maturation by two months.

And before reaching adulthood, Ao Jin had to first fuse with the black dragon’s inner core to heal the wounds on his own core.

Fusing the core and healing the wounds would take at least a month, so they needed to bring back the black dragon’s inner core as soon as possible!

The formations of the demon palace were endless and extremely intricate; if they took their time to break them, it might take forever.

They couldn’t afford to waste time here!

After some contemplation, the Dragon King gritted his teeth and extracted a drop of his heart’s blood. Using this drop of blood as a medium, he began to contact his fellow clansmen around him.

There were many secret techniques within the dragon clan.

Although the Demon Lord Haotian had used a formation to separate them, preventing them from communicating with each other, by using these secret techniques, they could still discuss matters together.

Soon, three dragon elders sensed the message sent by the Dragon King: “Jin’er cannot wait much longer. Let’s revert to our true forms and attack with all our might!”

As the four dragon experts at the Tribulation Transcendence stage grew increasingly impatient, outside the Dragon Palace, several Demon Abyss kings who had rushed over upon hearing the news were also growing restless.

Their relationship with each other was not good; in the past, whenever they met, they would inevitably end up fighting.

But now, they were gathered together, talking.

“Those four dragons went in and then there was no movement. What’s going on? Could they have already been devoured by Haotian?”

“Haotian shouldn’t have that capability.”

“That’s not necessarily true. We all thought Haotian was a clueless upstart who got lucky, killing Chi Lian and taking over the Demon Palace, but look at the formation in the Demon Palace—we couldn’t set that up.”

“That Haotian might have some background.”

…

These demon kings had not previously submitted to Demon Lord Haotian.

They knew Haotian was strong, but only slightly stronger than themselves. Most importantly, the image Haotian had previously presented to them was that of a clueless novice who didn’t know anything.

After taking control of the Demon Palace, he didn’t even bother to recruit followers or demand rare treasures from the Demon Abyss!

He didn’t even care to manage his own territory!

They believed that if they were the Demon Lord, they could definitely do a better job than Haotian.

But now, they felt that they might have misjudged him before.

That Demon Lord Haotian might have been hiding his strength all along, pretending to be weak while secretly biding his time.

“Those dragon experts are here to find their young child. A dragon child ended up in the Demon Abyss, and we knew nothing about it, but Haotian had already hidden the child away…”

“The only new addition to the Demon Palace is a righteous cultivator who’s rumored to be Haotian’s male concubine.”

“Could it be that Haotian’s so-called concubine is actually the young dragon from the dragon clan?”

“No wonder Haotian has been hiding him so carefully. After all, it’s a dragon…”

“Once Haotian devours that dragon, his power will surely increase significantly.”

“A more powerful Haotian might even be able to devour those Tribulation Transcendence experts from the dragon clan.”

“Haotian isn’t that strong! The dragon clan isn’t to be trifled with. They’ve sent four Tribulation Transcendence experts this time—they might just tear Haotian to pieces.”

…

These demon kings discussed a lot.

Dragon meat was highly nourishing, and they all wanted a taste.

But Dragon Island was not to be trifled with—they had five Tribulation Transcendence experts alone.

The dragons on Dragon Island were not numerous, totaling only about a hundred, but they were very united and protective. If any dragon was harmed, the entire clan would mobilize to seek revenge.

Moreover, those who killed dragons would be marked by the dragon clan, and those who consumed dragon flesh and blood would emit a unique scent. When the dragons sought vengeance, they could track them down with pinpoint accuracy!

These demon kings had long coveted the dragons but dared not act, fearing the wrath of Dragon Island.

Throughout history, the only one who had ever eaten a dragon and escaped the dragon clan’s pursuit was that long-vanished phoenix.

However, if Haotian managed to wipe out the four Tribulation Transcendence experts sent by the dragon clan this time, wouldn’t that mean they no longer had to fear the dragons? Could they finally taste dragon flesh and boost their own power?

As the demon kings were pondering this, a report came in: traces of dragons had been detected in Haotian City.

The ones causing trouble at the Demon Palace this time were from the dragon clan.

Therefore, the demon kings brought along their subordinates—demonic cultivators with partial dragon bloodline.

Nowadays, Dragon Island kept to itself and rarely intermarried with other races, but in ancient times, dragons spread their bloodline far and wide.

In this world, there were quite a few spirit beasts, demon beasts, and magical creatures with dragon bloodlines, but their bloodlines were impure and not recognized by the dragon clan, so they were not considered true dragons.

However, even though these magical creatures were not counted as members of the dragon clan, some of them could sense the presence of dragons.

The dragons who entered Haotian City were discovered precisely because they were detected by these dragon-blooded magical creatures.

The demon kings glanced at the Demon Palace shrouded in formations, exchanged looks, and then rushed toward Haotian City together.

In Haotian City, the fat demon cultivator had also been keeping a close eye on the situation at the Demon Palace.

Lately, he had been feeling uneasy, not even daring to step out of his own city lord’s mansion.

There were a bunch of Tribulation Transcendence demon kings outside! All of them were beings he couldn’t afford to provoke!

Right now, he was hoping that Demon Lord Haotian could defeat the four Tribulation Transcendence experts from the dragon clan. If that happened, as Haotian’s subordinate, he would enjoy immense prestige in the future.

If he could even get a few bites of dragon meat, he might even be able to break through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage!

Of course, if things didn’t go as he hoped—if Demon Lord Haotian was killed by the four Tribulation Transcendence elders of the dragon clan or by those opportunistic demon kings waiting outside—then he would immediately take Haotian City and pledge allegiance to the next Demon Lord.

No matter what, his own life was the top priority.

Although the fat demon cultivator hadn’t left the city lord’s mansion, he was fully aware of what was happening outside.

The moment thirty-one suspicious individuals entered Haotian City, he knew about it. Soon after, based on various clues, he deduced that these thirty-one so-called “people” were actually dragons from Dragon Island.

Not only had the dragon clan sent four Tribulation Transcendence experts, but they had also sent thirty-one ordinary dragons!

As the fat demon cultivator was pondering how to deal with these thirty-one dragons, he saw several demon kings descend from the sky and capture all of them.

Alright, these dragons no longer needed his attention.

These thirty-one dragons were all adults who had rushed to the Demon Abyss after receiving news that the young dragon was about to reach maturity, intending to protect the young one.

They were slower than the Tribulation Transcendence experts, and since the Demon Abyss was quite far away, they hadn’t been able to arrive in time.

When they finally made it here, they discovered that not only was the young dragon in distress, but it was also trapped in the Demon Palace!

A young dragon from their clan, captured by the Demon Lord?

What on earth was going on? And where had the Dragon King and the elders gone?

These thirty-one dragons lingered nearby for a day, but eventually, they couldn’t hold back and entered Haotian City to gather information.

As a result, their large group, adorned in gold and silver, was immediately noticed upon entering the city. It didn’t take long before several Tribulation Transcendence demon cultivators descended from the sky and captured them all.

Among them, the strongest was close to the Tribulation Transcendence stage, but life on Dragon Island had been too peaceful. In the past hundred thousand years, Dragon Island had never faced a crisis, so their combat abilities were severely mismatched with their actual strength.

In short, they were no match for the demon kings of the Demon Abyss, who had fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

These dragons were subdued by the demon kings and dumped near the Demon Palace.

The demon kings, looking at their potential feast, were in high spirits.

“If Haotian is killed by those dragon experts, the position of Demon Lord will be up for grabs!”

“If Haotian kills those dragon experts, then we’ll get to feast as well!”

“As long as they don’t reach a truce, everything will be fine.”

…

The demon kings felt that no matter which side won, they would benefit.

If Haotian won, they could offer a few of these thirty-one dragons as tribute and feast on the rest.

If the dragon experts won, they would turn their attention to Haotian, causing trouble and seizing his position!

The dragons from Dragon Island listened to these discussions, trembling in fear.

Some of the younger dragons were especially terrified.

These demon cultivators actually wanted to eat them!

Righteous cultivators might exchange items with them for dragon blood or scales to refine pills or artifacts, but no cultivator had ever talked about eating them.

The Demon Abyss was truly horrifying!

Amid their fear, they grew even more worried about the young dragon about to reach maturity.

Their poor little dragon—how did he end up in the Demon Abyss? He must have suffered so much over the years.

What was going on with the Dragon King and the elders? How could they fail to protect even a young dragon from their own clan?

By now, it had already been four days since the four Tribulation Transcendence experts from Dragon Island were trapped in the Demon Palace’s formation by Gu Juntian.

Suddenly, an earth-shaking dragon roar erupted from the Demon Palace.

For the past four days, the Demon Palace had been eerily quiet, with no signs of battle visible from the outside.

But now, something was finally happening.

The demon kings grew excited.

They were fighting! They were finally fighting! Let the battle begin!

Among them, the weaker demon kings secretly cheered for Demon Lord Haotian, hoping he would win.

Even if Haotian died, they didn’t have the strength to claim the title of Demon Lord for themselves. But if Haotian won, they were sure to get their share of dragon meat.

Meanwhile, the captured dragons prayed for their own side to win.

They didn’t want to die!

“Roar!”

“Howl!”

“Haotian, come out and face your death!”

…

From within the Demon Palace, the faint voices of the dragon clan’s Tribulation Transcendence experts could be heard.

But not a single word from Demon Lord Haotian was heard.

However, Demon Lord Haotian must be present; otherwise, who could be locked in such a fierce battle with those four dragons?

The one engaged in this intense battle with the four dragons was naturally Gu Juntian, who was controlling the Demon Palace’s formations.

At this moment, Gu Juntian was under immense pressure.

He hadn’t anticipated that the four dragons would transform into their true forms simultaneously and unleash a full-force attack on their surroundings.

This sudden assault destroyed many of his formations, and as the formations shattered, he coughed up another mouthful of blood.

After swallowing a few pills to heal his injuries and replenish his spiritual energy, Gu Juntian retreated to the palace chamber where he and Zhou Qinghao had lived for so long.

From here, he would face his enemies.

The Demon Palace’s ground level was filled with formations, and the core of those formations was located within this very chamber.

Gu Juntian wanted to stay by Zhou Qinghao’s side, but the situation was too urgent, and he couldn’t afford to focus on anything else. He had no choice but to let Zhou Qinghao remain alone in the underground chamber.

He wondered if his little black dragon would be afraid when it woke up.

Gu Juntian took out some items and began setting up defenses within the chamber.

To those unfamiliar with the Demon Palace, this place would appear to be its core.

After the four dragon Tribulation Transcendence experts used brute force to destroy the various formations, they would undoubtedly come here.

He planned to set up numerous offensive formations and other traps here. When the four dragon Tribulation Transcendence experts arrived, he would blow them sky-high.

As for himself, he would, of course, hide underground beforehand.

Gu Juntian began arranging Zhou Qinghao’s treasured items throughout the chamber, feeling slightly guilty as he did so.

The little black dragon was a hoarder, and if it woke up to find its treasures gone, it would surely be heartbroken.

But he had no other choice. He would just have to compensate the little dragon with his own treasures later.

After finishing the setup, Gu Juntian didn’t rush to the underground chamber. Instead, he stayed in the palace chamber to continue controlling the formations above ground.

Staying here allowed him to better manage the surrounding formations.

It was at this moment that Zhou Qinghao woke up again.

Dragons only reached adulthood at a thousand years old because their bodies were not fully developed before that age.

During the transition to adulthood, dragons underwent a dramatic transformation.

Coupled with the fact that they inherit ancestral memories… on Dragon Island, young dragons under a thousand years old were often noisy and childlike in nature. But once they reached adulthood, they matured almost instantly.

When Zhou Qinghao opened his eyes this time, his gaze was completely different from before.

Through his inherited memories, he had witnessed the rise and fall of the dragon clan.

Once, the dragon and phoenix clans were the most powerful races on this continent, and humans were barely worth their notice.

But times changed, and both races faced catastrophic disasters. Nearly all dragons and phoenixes perished in those battles, paving the way for the rise of humanity.

In truth, the dragons on Dragon Island today were not the pure-blooded dragons of ancient times. True dragons were born with five claws and shimmered in radiant gold.

Yet, on Dragon Island today, there were no five-clawed dragons, nor were there golden dragons.

In reality, the dragons of today carried traces of other races’ bloodlines within them, though only their dragon bloodline manifested outwardly.

The pure-blooded dragons had long since vanished!

Among the dragon clan, there had always been a legend: if a five-clawed golden dragon were to appear, the dragon clan would regain its former glory and even ascend to the immortal realm.

In ancient times, five-clawed golden dragons would inevitably ascend to immortality once they reached a certain age!

The current dragon clan placed great importance on bloodline purity. He had been abandoned because his bloodline was impure.

And the reason they wanted to extract his core was to purify Ao Jin’s bloodline.

Ao Jin—even his name means “gold.” The Dragon King and the others must have dreamed of Ao Jin becoming a five-clawed golden dragon.

By now, Zhou Qinghao had mostly freed himself from the serpent’s molt.

He was still black, but he had five claws.

After reaching adulthood, he had unexpectedly become a five-clawed black dragon!

The ancestral memories he inherited were likely far more extensive than those of other dragons in the clan!

Once he fully matured, he would become incredibly powerful!

Would Gu Juntian like that?

With this thought in mind, Zhou Qinghao began searching for Gu Juntian, but he couldn’t find him.

Extending his divine sense, he finally located Gu Juntian in the palace chamber where they had spent so much time together.

At the same time, Zhou Qinghao also noticed the dragon experts who were frantically attacking the formations.

Gu Juntian was holding off those dragon experts for him!

Even with the formations, Gu Juntian was only at the Nascent Soul stage. Could he really withstand them?

Would he be torn apart by those dragon experts?

Zhou Qinghao wanted to help, but even using his divine sense to assess the situation was already extremely difficult, let alone launching a divine sense attack!

He couldn’t help Gu Juntian.

The only way he could protect Gu Juntian was to reach adulthood as quickly as possible.

Zhou Qinghao’s divine sense lingered around Gu Juntian for a moment before returning to his body.

Gu Juntian could feel this divine sense.

He could even sense the clingy, affectionate emotions emanating from Zhou Qinghao’s divine sense.

His little black dragon was truly too attached!

After swallowing a few more pills, Gu Juntian regained some strength and continued the fight.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, another day went by.

The four dragon experts had stopped holding back, and as a result, most of the formations above the Demon Palace had been destroyed.

During this process, Gu Juntian realized that he had underestimated these dragon experts.

Zhou Qinghao and he had their treasures, and of course, the dragon experts had theirs as well!

Now, the four dragon experts had gathered together. They pulled out large quantities of pills and magical artifacts, advancing toward the Demon Palace’s chamber with unstoppable momentum.

In half a day, they would likely break into the palace.

Fortunately, five days had already passed since Zhou Qinghao began his transition to adulthood. A dragon’s transition typically lasted seven days, so in two more days, Zhou Qinghao would officially reach adulthood.

Although a newly adult dragon might still be somewhat weak, it would be more than capable of escaping with him.

With this in mind, Gu Juntian headed underground and sealed the passage.

The core of the underground formations in the Demon Palace was located right where Zhou Qinghao was staying.

Once inside, Gu Juntian found that his little black dragon had mostly emerged from the serpent’s molt.

The dragon was truly stunning. Its scales were no longer matte but instead reflected the surrounding light in dazzling patterns.

The scales appeared black at first glance, but upon closer inspection, they shimmered with a myriad of colors.

The dragon’s horns were also majestic, now fully hardened but still pleasant to the touch.

Gu Juntian approached the black dragon, planting a few kisses on its snout, and then noticed the dragon’s eyes opening.

The dragon’s gaze was deep and intense, giving off an aura of danger.

But this was Zhou Qinghao.

Gu Juntian felt no fear at all. He kissed the dragon a few more times and couldn’t help but ask, “What does your tongue look like now? Is it still a snake’s tongue?”

Zhou Qinghao: “…” In such a critical moment, Gu Juntian was worried about his tongue?

Demon Lord (21): When Zhou Qinghao officially becomes an adult, will he still be able to get out of bed?

The black dragon looked at Gu Juntian, its large eyes filled with disbelief.

Being stared at with such astonishment by Zhou Qinghao, Gu Juntian felt a bit embarrassed.

Zhou Qinghao was at a critical moment of maturation, and here he was, taking advantage to kiss him—it seemed somewhat inappropriate?

Wait, maybe it wasn’t so bad after all!

Zhou Qinghao had been seducing him and biting him for the past few days, leaving not a single patch of good skin on his body!

Thinking this, Gu Juntian felt justified.

He grabbed one of the dragon horns with each hand and planted a firm kiss right between Zhou Qinghao’s eyes: “You’ve kissed me all over my body so many times? It’s my turn to kiss you.”

As he spoke, Gu Juntian noticed that Zhou Qinghao’s eyes were almost crossing as he tried to look at Gu Juntian standing directly in front of him.

It was really adorable to see!

Gu Juntian kissed him again and then stroked Zhou Qinghao’s dragon whiskers.

Zhou Qinghao’s dragon whiskers stiffened!

The horns of a dragon are very hard, and so are the whiskers.

But that’s under normal circumstances.

Currently, he was in the maturation period, his bloodline just awakening, and both his horns and whiskers had just grown out, as soft as they could be.

Moreover, both the horns and whiskers could actually help dragons sense their surroundings; they contained blood vessels!

He thought Gu Juntian was going to kill him, but instead, Gu Juntian came over to touch his horns.

At that moment, he felt waves of tingling sensations spreading from the two horns on his head down through his dragon sinews and spine, permeating his entire body, causing it to stiffen.

And then, Gu Juntian kissed him!

Zhou Qinghao found it somewhat unbelievable.

Why would Gu Juntian kiss him if he was going to kill him?

He opened his eyes to look at Gu Juntian, only to see him gazing at him with loving eyes, as if he were some kind of treasure.

That was one thing, but then Gu Juntian kissed him again and stroked his whiskers.

The whiskers were even more sensitive than his horns, and Zhou Qinghao couldn’t help but twitch, his tendrils inexplicably straightening.

Seeing this, Gu Juntian looked concerned: “Qinghao, are you okay?”

Zhou Qinghao wanted to speak.

He wanted to ask Gu Juntian why he hadn’t made his move yet, and why he had kissed him.

But he couldn’t speak out.

Firstly, he currently lacked the strength to make a sound, and secondly… he was beginning to receive inherited memories again.

After giving Gu Juntian a loving glance, Zhou Qinghao closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Seeing Zhou Qinghao return to his previous state, Gu Juntian thought he must be fine.

Although dragons were weak during their maturation period, they shouldn’t be so fragile that they couldn’t even be kissed.

Zhou Qinghao had fallen unconscious, but his body was still twisting and turning, the entire dragon struggling to break free from the black snake’s shell.

This shedding of skin was a complete transformation for Zhou Qinghao.

Previously, although he had dragon bloodline, he looked more like a snake, but now it was different.

Now, he had completely transformed into a black dragon.

After maturing, his strength would surely see significant progress.

Gu Juntian, while circulating his cultivation technique to heal his own injuries, observed Zhou Qinghao’s condition.

After shedding his skin, all of Zhou Qinghao’s scales were soft… Thinking this, he took out some animal skins, wetted them, and placed them under Zhou Qinghao, then set up formations to adjust the room’s temperature to be more suitable for Zhou Qinghao’s living conditions.

This would make Zhou Qinghao more comfortable.

After doing all this, Gu Juntian turned his attention to the four Transcendent Stage dragons outside.

Gu Juntian had Zhou Qinghao set up the formations precisely to guard against these dragons, so many of the formations were specifically targeted at dragons.

If these four dragons were allowed to stay together, their combined efforts might double their strength, so Gu Juntian used illusion formations to separate them.

Now, the four Transcendent Stage dragon experts were each trapped in different illusion formations.

Unfortunately, they were quite powerful, having lived for at least tens of thousands of years, and their spiritual senses were very strong. Therefore, they could remain conscious within the illusion formations, and Gu Juntian could occasionally hear their spiritual messages: “Demon Lord Haotian, we only want our young dragon back!”

“Demon Lord Haotian, state your demands!”

“Demon Lord Haotian, do you intend to make an enemy of the entire Dragon Island?”

…

Gu Juntian pretended not to hear and continued to heal his injuries.

When Zhou Qinghao woke up again, he happened to hear those words.

His periods of consciousness were very brief now.

The last time he was awake, because the incident of Gu Juntian kissing him was so shocking, his attention was entirely on Gu Juntian, and he completely failed to notice that others had intruded into the demon palace.

At this moment, hearing these voices, he realized that the people from Dragon Island had already found the demon palace.

Those people were here to dig out his inner core.

But they couldn’t get close to him.

The formations that filled the entire demon palace blocked the people from Dragon Island.

Some of the formations set up outside could block the prying of spiritual senses, so the four powerful experts from the Dragon Clan couldn’t detect their situation.

But Gu Juntian controlled the various formation cores, and his spiritual sense moved freely within the demon palace; the whereabouts of the four Dragon Clan experts were completely under his control.

What about Zhou Qinghao? These formations were ultimately set up by him, and during the process of setting them up, he had gained a thorough understanding of the formations.

Therefore, his spiritual sense could also navigate through the formations.

Then he discovered that several Dragon Clan experts were trapped within the formations.

Zhou Qinghao’s mind wasn’t very clear, but at this moment, a thought arose in his mind—these formations weren’t meant to trap him, but to trap those dragons from Dragon Island!

As far as he knew, Gu Juntian had good relations with the people from Dragon Island. If Gu Juntian wanted to take his inner core for Ao Jin, there was no need to block the people from Dragon Island outside.

Among those people was Ao Jin’s father!

When he was dragged underground by Gu Juntian, Zhou Qinghao thought he was doomed.

But he didn’t die.

Beneath him was padded with animal fur, and his surroundings were warm.

Gu Juntian had arranged an environment perfectly suited for his skin shedding.

Even those dragons who came to capture him were blocked outside by the formations.

Zhou Qinghao instinctively looked towards Gu Juntian, who was meditating beside him.

Just then, Gu Juntian opened his eyes.

Gu Juntian had sensed that Zhou Qinghao was awake, which was why he opened his eyes, and upon doing so, he asked, “Qinghao, how are you feeling?”

Zhou Qinghao was feeling very uncomfortable at the moment, struggling to free himself from the constraints of his old skin and adapting to his new body.

And now, it was also the time when he was at his weakest.

Even at such a time, Gu Juntian still hadn’t harmed him and had even shielded him from those who wanted to hurt him.

Could it be that Gu Juntian truly liked him?

Previously, Zhou Qinghao had been lying stiffly, a posture that seemed somewhat resigned to his fate.

But now, he flicked his tail and began to make an effort to crawl towards Gu Juntian.

Seeing this, Gu Juntian quickly moved to the side of Zhou Qinghao’s head and asked again, “What’s wrong?”

Zhou Qinghao let out a “roar” and nuzzled his head into Gu Juntian’s embrace.

If he hadn’t been so weak, with the way he was nuzzling, Gu Juntian would surely have been knocked over.

Seeing Zhou Qinghao like this, Gu Juntian felt both annoyed and amused.

His adorable little black dragon was once again seeking comfort from him.

He sat down, cradling the dragon’s head to comfort Zhou Qinghao: “It’s okay, in a few more days it will be over, and then you’ll be a majestic big black dragon.”

“I like you the most, and I will always like you.”

“Qinghao, you’re really amazing…”

…

As Gu Juntian spoke, he couldn’t help but start touching the dragon horns again.

These were something ordinary people couldn’t touch; only the most trusted and closest to the dragon could.

Zhou Qinghao’s head was pressed tightly against him, and he could touch the dragon horns whenever he wanted, which gave him a sense of satisfaction.

Zhou Qinghao felt very comfortable being touched and rubbed against Gu Juntian.

He really wanted to be close to Gu Juntian, but he couldn’t hold on and fell asleep again.

Seeing this, Gu Juntian began to cultivate again.

He truly thought Zhou Qinghao was remarkable.

It was clear that Zhou Qinghao was in great discomfort, but he didn’t make a fuss and remained very well-behaved.

Of course, Zhou Qinghao also had some minor issues.

He was just a little lustful dragon; not only did he pester him before reaching adulthood, but even during his maturation period when his condition was so poor, he still kept burrowing into his embrace.

How much he wanted to be close to him!

Once Zhou Qinghao reached adulthood, would he ever be able to get out of bed?

Gu Juntian suddenly felt a bit worried.

But soon, his attention shifted from Zhou Qinghao to the four Transcendent Stage dragons outside.

One of the four dragons was getting impatient and started damaging the formations of the demon palace.

Gu Juntian had set up the formations mainly to buy time.

If he could delay for a few days until Zhou Qinghao reached adulthood, these people from the Dragon Clan would no longer be a threat.

The few powerful experts from the Dragon Clan didn’t know that the Demon Lord Haotian was the young dragon about to reach adulthood.

They didn’t want to break the peace, so previously, they just kept shouting and tried to break the formations without launching random attacks.

But now the situation had changed.

One of the Dragon Clan elders couldn’t contain his irritation and started attacking everything around him.

Although the formations of the demon palace were strong, they couldn’t withstand the full-force attacks of four Transcendent Stage experts.

If these four were to transform into their original forms and cause trouble, these formations would eventually fail.

Gu Juntian began to use offensive magical treasures to attack the “troublemaking” Dragon Clan elder, trying to calm him down.

No matter what, he had to block these dragons!

While Gu Juntian was using his spiritual sense to control the external formations to fend off the attacks from the Dragon Clan experts, Zhou Qinghao woke up again.

Upon waking, he found his massive head resting on Gu Juntian’s lap, and Gu Juntian was fully focused, seemingly engaged in something.

Zhou Qinghao used his spiritual sense to check and discovered that Gu Juntian was manipulating the formation cores to attack the four dragons outside.

Gu Juntian really didn’t intend to kill him and was even protecting him!

Zhou Qinghao looked at Gu Juntian, his eyes filled with affection.

Gu Juntian was really, really good; he liked him so much.

At this moment, Gu Juntian sensed Zhou Qinghao’s extended spiritual sense.

Previously, he had always hoped that the dragons from Dragon Island wouldn’t come knocking, so he hadn’t mentioned anything about Dragon Island to Zhou Qinghao, nor had he told Zhou Qinghao about his own origins.

Now, seeing that Zhou Qinghao had discovered the people from Dragon Island, Gu Juntian patted his head and said, “Those dragons outside are no good; they want to harm you, and I’m here to stop them.”

Zhou Qinghao’s head moved slightly, as if nodding.

Gu Juntian kissed him on the head, coaxing him: “My Qinghao is so good, once you reach adulthood, I’ll cultivate with you.”

After saying this, Gu Juntian focused his attention back on controlling the formations.

This was a critical moment; he didn’t even have time to tease Zhou Qinghao!

And Zhou Qinghao, upon hearing Gu Juntian’s words, suddenly remembered all the things he had done before.

At that time, he thought Gu Juntian didn’t love him, thought Gu Juntian was going to kill him, so he did many outrageous things to Gu Juntian.

Not only did he bite Gu Juntian all over, but he also pestered him daily to cultivate together.

How would Gu Juntian view him now?

Demon Lord (20): He took advantage of the Black Dragon’s unconsciousness to secretly kiss the dragon and was caught.

Gu Juntian was unaware of Zhou Qinghao’s thoughts.

After gathering a pile of offensive magical treasures, he returned to where Zhou Qinghao was resting to check on his condition.

The little black dragon was still unconscious, clearly uncomfortable, as his entire body trembled slightly.

Gu Juntian felt a pang of heartache and wanted to stay by his side, but outside, several dragon Transcendent Stage cultivators were already attacking his formations.

Not daring to delay, Gu Juntian left the underground and emerged to the surface. His powerful spiritual sense then fiercely pressed down on the four dragon Transcendent Stage cultivators, while he mimicked Zhou Qinghao’s voice to scold them: “How dare you! You dare to cause trouble at my demon palace!”

The overwhelming spiritual sense, coupled with the booming voice, reverberated in all directions, startling not only the four dragon Transcendent Stage cultivators but also the nearby demonic cultivators and creatures.

If the spiritual sense had targeted only the four dragon experts, the weaker demonic cultivators on the outskirts of the demon palace might have exploded from the pressure.

After doing this, Gu Juntian took advantage of the moment when the four dragon Transcendent Stage cultivators were mentally shaken to pull them into the formations of the demon palace with his spiritual sense.

He did this to demonstrate the strength of the demon palace and to prevent the demonic cultivators and creatures of the Demon Abyss, who were eyeing Zhou Qinghao covetously, from taking advantage of the situation.

Zhou Qinghao had often been assassinated in the past, and those who attempted to kill him were all from the Demon Abyss.

Now that dragons had come to kill, it was inevitable that some from the Demon Abyss would be tempted to act.

Gu Juntian’s thoughts were correct; in fact, several demon kings of the Demon Abyss had always had people observing the demon palace.

More than a month ago, when Zhou Qinghao suddenly began setting up formations around the demon palace, several demon kings suspected that the Demon Lord Haotian might have encountered issues with his cultivation.

Otherwise, why would he suddenly start setting up formations around his own demon palace?

After all, the previous Demon Lord Haotian dared to leave the gates of the demon palace wide open, allowing anyone to enter and exit freely!

However, during the period of setting up the formations, Demon Lord Haotian appeared on the outskirts of the demon palace, seemingly without any issues, and the formations he set up were extremely powerful…

After sending people to test the formations, the demon kings dared not act rashly and even gained a new respect for Demon Lord Haotian.

Who would have thought that the seemingly incapable Demon Lord Haotian could set up such powerful formations? Could it be that he left the gates of the demon palace open on purpose, just to lure them into sending people to their deaths?

Thinking carefully, all the people they sent to probe Demon Lord Haotian’s weaknesses indeed never returned.

Demon Lord Haotian was immune to poison, unaffected by gu worms, impervious to swords and spears, and his cultivation was formidable—he simply had no weaknesses!

Well, now he had a weakness; it was said that he had taken in a human cultivator.

Wait, could it be that Demon Lord Haotian set up the formations to protect that human cultivator?

Today, four Transcendent Stage experts from the dragon clan attacked the demon palace together.

The subordinates sent by several demon kings, lurking near the demon palace, became somewhat excited upon seeing this.

The Dragon Island had sent four Transcendent Stage cultivators; the Demon Lord might very well be killed by them!

Even if the Demon Lord wasn’t killed, he was sure to be severely injured. Then, couldn’t others from the Demon Abyss take advantage of the situation?

These people immediately relayed the news to the several Demon Kings of the Demon Abyss who had already reached the Transcendent Stage.

Upon receiving the news, those Demon Kings rushed towards the demon palace without delay.

With the Demon Lord Haotian confronting the Dragon Island, they intended to fan the flames, to incite both sides to fight, and to take advantage when both were weakened.

Dragons were treasures all over; a secret bite could be a great tonic.

As for the Demon Lord Haotian, needless to say, whoever killed him could control the demon palace and become the Demon Lord.

However, when these Demon Kings arrived and learned that Demon Lord Haotian not only suppressed the four dragon experts with his spiritual sense but also pulled them into the demon palace’s formations, they dared not act.

They lurked around, observing the situation at the demon palace.

Demon Lord Haotian seemed stronger than they had imagined.

Perhaps Demon Lord Haotian set up these formations not to protect that human cultivator, but because he knew the dragons were coming to trouble him and thus prepared in advance.

With four Transcendent Stage cultivators from Dragon Island coming this time, Demon Lord Haotian shouldn’t find it easy to cope, right?

In any case, they would watch first, hoping for both sides to be mutually weakened.

Not far away, in Haotian City.

The fat demon cultivator and a group of experts from Haotian City were also quietly watching the demon palace.

They hoped that Demon Lord Haotian would win, as only then could they continue to live their peaceful lives.

“The Lord has prepared in advance; those dragon cultivators are surely in for a hard time!” the fat demon cultivator said to those around him.

“Is that so?” the other demon cultivators looked puzzled.

The fat demon cultivator explained, “Some days ago, the Lord asked me about Dragon Island.”

He had wondered why Demon Lord Haotian, who was doing well, would ask him about Dragon Island. It turned out he had a feud with Dragon Island.

Could it be that Demon Lord Haotian had already secretly eaten a dragon from Dragon Island?

Outside the demon palace, countless demon cultivators or demonic creatures were quietly watching the palace, while inside, the four Transcendent Stage cultivators from Dragon Island were already trapped by the formations.

After sensing the signal of the young dragon’s maturity, they had traveled day and night from Dragon Island to the Demon Abyss.

Upon arriving at the Demon Abyss, they found that the young dragon had already begun its maturation period.

The maturation of a young dragon took about seven to eight days, during which the dragon was at its weakest and most vulnerable to attack.

They were confident in their abilities, believing that even if the young dragon had matured, they could still capture it and extract its dragon core.

But they feared someone might beat them to it, taking advantage of the young dragon’s weakness to devour it first.

Upon arriving at the Demon Abyss and discovering that the young dragon was within the demon palace, they grew very concerned.

The young dragon had always been restless; could it be because he had been captured by the Demon Lord and brought to the demon palace?

What else could the Demon Lord want with the young dragon, if not to eat him?

As for why he hadn’t eaten him immediately, it was probably to wait for the young dragon to mature.

After maturing, the dragon’s level would increase, and the tendons, skin, blood, and meat of an adult dragon are much more valuable than those of a young dragon!

They must snatch that little black dragon from the Demon Lord!

Although they thought this, the Dragon King and others were not confident they could defeat Demon Lord Haotian.

So initially, they tentatively attacked the formations of the demon palace, hoping to lure out Demon Lord Haotian and negotiate a trade, offering treasures from the Dragon Palace in exchange for the little black dragon.

But as soon as they made their move, Demon Lord Haotian pulled them all into the formations of the demon palace.

The Third Elder of the Dragon Clan was somewhat worried: “What should we do now?”

The Dragon King did not answer but instead addressed the surrounding formations: “Demon Lord Haotian, we mean no harm. We merely sensed that a young dragon of our clan is maturing within your palace. We are willing to offer treasures in exchange for our young dragon. Please, name your price!”

The Grand Elder of the Dragon Clan quickly added: “Demon Lord Haotian, you must have heard of our clan’s concern for our young dragons. As long as you are willing to hand over the young dragon, state your conditions.”

They had no desire to confront Demon Lord Haotian; they only wanted the little black dragon.

However, no matter how they called out, Demon Lord Haotian, who had just suppressed them with his spiritual sense and dragged them into the demon palace, did not respond again.

The four Transcendent Stage elders of the Dragon Clan grew anxious.

Of course, Gu Juntian would not respond to them. He would never hand over Zhou Qinghao, so why bother responding?

With that energy, he might as well do something else.

After using his spiritual sense to claim ownership of the offensive magical treasures one by one and placing them within the formations, Gu Juntian breathed a sigh of relief and headed underground.

But as soon as he reached the underground, he couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

His spiritual sense was very strong, capable of suppressing the powerful members of the Dragon Clan.

In the cultivation world, spiritual sense could also be used as a weapon.

Normally, he could have used his spiritual sense to kill the powerful members of the Dragon Clan.

But his body was too weak to handle it.

The Nascent Soul Stage and the Transcendent Stage were several major realms apart. His Nascent Soul Stage cultivation simply couldn’t withstand the spiritual sense of the Transcendent Stage.

If he really used his spiritual sense to fight against the Transcendent Stage experts of the Dragon Clan, those experts might not be harmed, but he would have already exploded and died!

He had no desire to die.

Gu Juntian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, cast a cleansing spell on himself, and then took out some elixirs to consume.

Earlier, he had used his spiritual sense to impersonate Zhou Qinghao and drag the dragon experts into the formation, and had also claimed many offensive magical treasures. Now, his body was struggling to cope and needed proper healing.

The formations outside the demon palace should be able to trap those individuals for a few days, and he could use this time to recover.

In fact, the reason he hadn’t responded to the Dragon King and the others earlier wasn’t just because he felt it unnecessary, but also because his physical condition was too poor to allow a response.

After taking the elixirs, Gu Juntian opened the door to the room where Zhou Qinghao was lying.

His little black dragon was still lying in the same place, trembling uncontrollably, and the old skin on his head had split open, with his head trying to push its way out.

Previously, the little black dragon didn’t have a dragon form; there were only two small bumps on his head without dragon horns. But now, dragon horns had emerged on his head.

Surprisingly, the dragon horns were still soft, hanging down on either side of his head!

Seeing the dragon horns, Gu Juntian couldn’t resist the itch in his hands and walked towards him.

At that moment, Zhou Qinghao woke up again.

He had already started shedding his skin, and his weak, newborn body was about to break free from the old skin.

At this moment, he was extremely weak, even weaker than Gu Juntian at the Nascent Soul Stage.

Gu Juntian must have known this as well.

With just an attack from a magical treasure, Gu Juntian could easily injure him and then extract his inner core.

Although Zhou Qinghao had woken up, he didn’t open his eyes, pretending to still be unconscious, waiting for Gu Juntian’s next move.

Then, he felt Gu Juntian approach near his head and grab the newly grown horns on his head.

The dragon horns on a dragon’s head contain immense energy.

If a dragon’s horns were sawn off, their strength would significantly diminish.

However, dragon horns were extremely hard and were fused with the bones of the head, making it very difficult to damage a dragon’s horns.

But at this moment, his newly grown horns were still very soft.

Even though Gu Juntian was only at the Nascent Soul Stage, he could easily cut off his horns.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qinghao felt a surge of sadness.

Was Gu Juntian going to target his horns?

Indeed, Gu Juntian did target Zhou Qinghao’s horns.

Only those closest to a dragon could touch their horns.

Others who touched a dragon’s horns would provoke the dragon’s wrath, leading to their demise by being impaled by the horns.

But he was definitely the closest to Zhou Qinghao.

Gu Juntian felt no psychological pressure and directly reached out to touch the horns.

The newly grown horns were covered with fine fuzz, feeling furry and incredibly pleasant to the touch. Gu Juntian couldn’t help but touch them repeatedly, then kissed them a few times.

Zhou Qinghao’s newly grown horns were really too adorable!

After kissing, Gu Juntian didn’t stop there; he also hugged Zhou Qinghao’s head, which had just emerged from the old skin, and kissed it several times.

Even while shedding his skin, Zhou Qinghao remained black, but now his scales were soft, making them particularly nice to kiss.

Gu Juntian kissed for a while, and when he finally finished, he met Zhou Qinghao’s wide-open eyes.

He had been caught secretly kissing the black dragon while it was unconscious.

Demon Lord (19): Gu Juntian could never have imagined that one day he would actually say such disgusting words.

Gu Juntian had been pestered by Zhou Qinghao for a full ten days.

During these ten days, when he grilled meat for Zhou Qinghao, Zhou Qinghao would lie on his back; when he accompanied Zhou Qinghao to sleep, Zhou Qinghao would wrap his tail around him; and when he told stories to Zhou Qinghao, Zhou Qinghao would press on him and bite him.

There wasn’t a single good spot left on his body, and it was all covered with Zhou Qinghao’s scent.

If only Zhou Qinghao could be this passionate after reaching adulthood.

Gu Juntian had already figured out Zhou Qinghao’s situation and knew how to calm him down a bit. Just when he felt he couldn’t take it anymore, he would hold Zhou Qinghao and coax him: “Qinghao, be good, I like you the most…”

Being coaxed like this, Zhou Qinghao would calm down for a while, but would also shed tears silently because of discomfort.

Every time he saw Zhou Qinghao crying, Gu Juntian’s heart ached unbearably.

The once domineering Zhou Qinghao suddenly becoming so fragile made him somewhat unaccustomed: “Don’t worry, it won’t be long before it gets better…”

Zhou Qinghao hugged Gu Juntian, burying his head in Gu Juntian’s chest.

Indeed, it wouldn’t be long before it got better.

He probably wouldn’t live much longer either.

But these days, Gu Juntian had been really indulgent towards him, perhaps feeling a sense of guilt, so he went along with everything.

Unfortunately, it was only going to last for a few more days.

He would soon reach adulthood, and then he would become very weak, at the mercy of others.

At that time, Gu Juntian would take away his inner core.

Thinking this, Zhou Qinghao bit Gu Juntian again: “Why won’t you cultivate with me?”

Gu Juntian tapped Zhou Qinghao’s head: “Why are you always thinking about this? We’ll talk about such things after you get better.”

“You don’t really like me,” Zhou Qinghao said.

“How could I not like you? I like you the most, you’re my sweet little darling,” Gu Juntian replied.

Gu Juntian never imagined that one day he would say such cheesy things.

But his little partner was feeling unwell all over, clinging to him for comfort, and as he kept saying these things, some words just became habitual.

Now, he could blurt out all kinds of cheesy lines without thinking.

Zhou Qinghao felt very pleased hearing Gu Juntian’s words.

He told himself to pretend not to know about Gu Juntian’s feelings for Ao Jin and to just enjoy the present.

But the discomfort in both body and mind made it hard for him to do so.

Just thinking about Gu Juntian saying such things to Ao Jin made him want to bite Gu Juntian.

Zhou Qinghao instinctively squirmed—he was starting to feel uncomfortable again.

Actually, maintaining his original form would be more comfortable for him now, but he knew Gu Juntian preferred his human form.

To leave Gu Juntian with relatively good memories, during this time, he at most transformed his legs into a snake tail.

But now, he suddenly couldn’t control himself and directly reverted to his original form.

Zhou Qinghao suddenly realized something—he was starting to shed his skin, officially entering adulthood.

The speed of his maturation was faster than he had anticipated.

Previously, he could still cling to Gu Juntian, but now that he was maturing, he couldn’t have Gu Juntian carry him around all the time.

Thinking this, Zhou Qinghao felt a discomfort in his scales and a sharp pain throughout his body.

Next, all the energy in his body would be used for shedding his skin, and because he had to accept inherited memories, he would be in a semi-conscious state, unable to fully concentrate on fighting.

This was the best time for Gu Juntian to deal with him.

Zhou Qinghao looked at Gu Juntian, just in time to see him let out a long sigh of relief.

Finally, he wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore, was Gu Juntian happy?

From the moment he hatched, he was never liked.

His clan did not accept him, and his father abandoned him.

The person he liked did not like him either.

Thinking of this, tears began to fall from Zhou Qinghao’s eyes again.

Then, he saw Gu Juntian dress and walk towards him.

What was wrong with Gu Juntian? Could it be that he was going to act against him so soon?

A wave of panic rose in Zhou Qinghao’s heart, and immediately, he was hoisted up by Gu Juntian: “Qinghao, it’s safer underground than here, I’ll take you below.”

The safest place in the entire demon palace was the underground where countless treasures were stored.

When they set up the formations earlier, they started from the underground. Gu Juntian had arranged many defensive formations there to ensure Zhou Qinghao’s safety.

Of course, there were also many killing formations there.

Zhou Qinghao still had the strength to resist now and could easily kill Gu Juntian.

But he did not resist, allowing Gu Juntian to carry him forward.

Two large teardrops rolled from his eyes and fell to the ground with a “plop.”

Carrying Zhou Qinghao, Gu Juntian found the situation both frustrating and amusing.

How to put it… Zhou Qinghao’s original form was quite large, his head as big as Gu Juntian’s body.

And when he cried, it was like someone pouring water from a basin onto the ground.

So now, he was drenched by the two “basins” of water Zhou Qinghao had “poured”!

Besides, the scene of him carrying Zhou Qinghao’s head forward, with Zhou Qinghao’s long body hanging behind, dragging on the ground, was also quite bizarre.

“Qinghao, you’re just about to shed your skin, it’s okay,” Gu Juntian continued to comfort Zhou Qinghao.

Zhou Qinghao’s maturation was faster than in the original plot, which should be his doing.

He had fed Zhou Qinghao many good things, and with ample nutrition, Zhou Qinghao naturally matured faster!

He hoped the people from Dragon Island wouldn’t come looking, and that everything would go smoothly.

Gu Juntian carried Zhou Qinghao underground and placed him in the center of the underground demon palace.

There was a large room here, originally filled with demon crystals and demon stones, but now it was empty.

After being placed in the center of the room by Gu Juntian, Zhou Qinghao flipped over onto his back and continued to silently shed tears.

This place, originally his treasure trove, had now become his tomb.

With a sob, Zhou Qinghao couldn’t help but speak to Gu Juntian: “The skin I shed can be used to refine magical treasures, you should make a magical robe out of it.”

“Alright,” Gu Juntian agreed readily.

He planned to make a magical robe for Zhou Qinghao from the fur shed by his own true form, so it was only fitting that Zhou Qinghao’s shed skin be used to make a robe for him.

Zhou Qinghao cried again.

Seeing such a large snake lying stiffly on its back shedding tears, Gu Juntian felt quite uncomfortable.

A snake lying belly up always gave off a somewhat ominous feeling.

After some thought, Gu Juntian flipped Zhou Qinghao over and then sat beside his head, stroking his large head: “Don’t be afraid, it will be over soon.”

He didn’t tell Zhou Qinghao not to cry.

For a young dragon feeling unwell, crying a bit was no big deal.

Zhou Qinghao’s willingness to cry in front of him was a sign of trust.

If he weren’t here, if no one cared, Zhou Qinghao certainly wouldn’t cry but would silently endure the pain.

In the original plot, when the original owner acted against Zhou Qinghao, Zhou Qinghao didn’t cry, just coldly watched with vertical pupils.

Zhou Qinghao said, “Gu Juntian, I feel terrible.”

“You are the best, just get through this and it will be fine,” Gu Juntian said.

Zhou Qinghao asked, “Will you stay with me all the time?”

“I will.”

“Will you cultivate with me after I shed my skin?”

“I will.”

“Who do you like the most?”

“I like you the most.”

Zhou Qinghao gave Gu Juntian a deep look and then lost consciousness.

The inherited memories of the dragon clan flooded his mind, and he instantly fell into a coma.

This was good; before he passed out, Gu Juntian was still comforting him.

However, he probably wouldn’t wake up, right?

Actually, he should be grateful to Gu Juntian.

Without Gu Juntian, he would never have known what it feels like to love someone.

He might have never liked anyone before being found by the people from Dragon Island and having his inner core taken away.

He would also never have known what it feels like to be loved.

Gu Juntian was really good to him; the month they spent setting up the formations together was very happy for him.

Later, he was very sad, but for him, this was also a completely new experience, much better than living in a daze and then dying directly.

Zhou Qinghao fell into a coma, and seeing this, Gu Juntian took out the essential oil he had previously used to care for Zhou Qinghao’s scales from his storage ring. He then used his spiritual sense to control these oils, letting them evenly coat Zhou Qinghao’s body.

Next, he used a brush to help Zhou Qinghao clean his scales.

These essential oils were extracted from the fruits of spiritual plants and contained energy beneficial to Zhou Qinghao.

After brushing for a while, Gu Juntian suddenly felt the formations of the demon palace he controlled being triggered.

He was startled, and his vast spiritual sense stretched out, only to see four powerful figures from Dragon Island standing outside the demon palace.

Gu Juntian was shocked.

He had not informed the people from Dragon Island about Zhou Qinghao as the original owner did, yet the people from Dragon Island had still found them!

However, in the original plot, all five of Dragon Island’s transcendent stage experts came, whereas this time only four came.

Gu Juntian felt somewhat fortunate, glad that he had made ample preparations.

Without a second thought, he activated all the formations of the demon palace.

These formations were set up under his guidance by Zhou Qinghao. Even Zhou Qinghao, the Demon Lord, would lose a layer of skin if attacked by these formations, let alone the dragons from Dragon Island who had reached the Transcendent Stage relying solely on their dragon bloodline and long lifespan!

For a short while, those people couldn’t break in!

However, he needed to make more preparations. Among Zhou Qinghao’s treasures were some powerful offensive magical treasures, which he could place within the external formations.

It was just that, after using so many treasures, he wasn’t sure if Zhou Qinghao would cry upon waking up.

Well, if he cried, he cried. At most, he would just have to comfort him a bit more.

Gu Juntian glanced at Zhou Qinghao, realizing that he wouldn’t wake up for a while, so after reinforcing the protective formations around Zhou Qinghao, he left the area.

Not long after Gu Juntian left, Zhou Qinghao woke up.

He felt the summoning from his kin.

The adult dragons from Dragon Island had sensed his presence and had come for him!

Those people had ill intentions. Zhou Qinghao would rather die at the hands of Gu Juntian than at theirs, so he did not respond to their summoning.

“Gu Juntian…” He instinctively looked for Gu Juntian but couldn’t find him.

At the same time, he noticed that all the formations of the demon palace had been activated, and the place where he was staying was enveloped by countless formations.

Where was Gu Juntian?

Zhou Qinghao used his spiritual sense to search for him and only then discovered that Gu Juntian was next door, rummaging through his treasures.

Every time he found an offensive magical treasure, Gu Juntian would take it.

Gu Juntian was being too cautious. Now that he had started shedding his skin, he couldn’t move at all and thus couldn’t harm Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian didn’t need to prepare so many offensive magical treasures.

He wouldn’t harm Gu Juntian either.

If Gu Juntian wanted his inner core, he could just come and take it directly; there was no need for all this trouble.

Thinking this, Zhou Qinghao lost consciousness again.

Demon Lord (18): When Zhou Qinghao comes of age, he won’t have to go through the extremes of ice and fire!

Dragon Island.

Ao Jin looked at the Dragon King and the elders who were still circling around him, showing no urgency to find the black dragon, and felt a surge of resentment.

These people kept saying how important he was and talked about digging out the black dragon’s inner core for him, but what was the result? They weren’t in a hurry at all.

During this time, Ao Jin hadn’t dreamed about the black dragon again, which made him somewhat uneasy.

He was afraid that something unexpected might happen.

If they couldn’t find the black dragon and didn’t have its inner core, there was no way he could become a five-clawed golden dragon after reaching adulthood; maintaining his current bloodline level would be the best he could hope for!

If that were the case, would he still be able to enjoy superior treatment on Dragon Island?

No, he must get the black dragon’s inner core!

Ao Jin once again brought up the matter of the inner core.

The Dragon King comforted him: “Jin’er, don’t worry, it won’t be long before we bring the inner core back for you.”

Before a young dragon officially reached adulthood, adult dragons could sense the presence of the young dragon, a fact that every dragon learnt through inherited memories upon reaching adulthood.

The Dragon King knew he would definitely find the black dragon he had thrown into the Demon Abyss, but since they hadn’t handled the matter properly, it was difficult to explain to Ao Jin.

“Father, has Gu Juntian returned? Has something happened to him?”

“No,” the Dragon King said, “he must have gone to find the black dragon. Don’t worry, he’s safe.”

As the treasured disciple of the Qingyun Sect’s leader, Gu Juntian had a soul lamp kept within the sect.

If something had happened to him, the leader of the Qingyun Sect wouldn’t be sitting so comfortably in the sect.

“Father, before Gu Juntian left, he told me he was going to the Demon Abyss. I’m really worried about him… Father, is he going to the Demon Abyss because the black dragon is there?” Ao Jin asked again.

Back then, the Dragon King had thrown the little black dragon into the Demon Abyss, so it was highly likely that the black dragon was still there. The Dragon King said, “The black dragon might very well be hiding in the Demon Abyss.”

Although he said this, the Dragon King showed no urgency to go find the little black dragon.

Seeing this, Ao Jin was extremely anxious: “Father, could you go to the Demon Abyss to check for me? I’m afraid something might happen to Gu Juntian.”

The Dragon King found this somewhat amusing: “Jin’er, you didn’t pay much attention to Gu Juntian before, why are you mentioning him so often now? Speaking of which, Gu Juntian is much better than the Vast Sea Sword Master…”

In terms of strength, Gu Juntian was far inferior to the Vast Sea Sword Master.

But he was young!

At his age, the Vast Sea Sword Master didn’t have his level of strength.

Gu Juntian was also skilled in alchemy and artifact forging. Given time, he was sure to become a major figure in the cultivation world, and Ao Jin would not lose out by being with him.

Most importantly, Gu Juntian treated Ao Jin very well.

And what about the Vast Sea Sword Master? All along, the Vast Sea Sword Master had been avoiding Ao Jin as much as possible.

“Father! That’s not what I meant!” Ao Jin said.

Seeing Ao Jin’s urgency, the Dragon King immediately said, “Alright, alright, father won’t say anymore. You should take your medicine now, focus on recovering your health first…”

The Dragon King’s words were cut short as he suddenly stopped speaking.

He sensed that a young dragon was about to reach adulthood.

He also sensed that this soon-to-be adult dragon was deep within the Demon Abyss.

The Dragon King looked at Ao Jin: “Jin’er, father has something to attend to, I must leave now.”

After saying this, the Dragon King quickly left to find the elders of Dragon Island.

The Demon Abyss, that was the Demon Abyss, filled with many Transcendence Stage demons and demonic cultivators.

The dragon’s adulthood would inevitably cause some commotion, and consuming a dragon would be greatly beneficial for demonic cultivators.

Bringing back the black dragon’s inner core from the Demon Abyss would not be easy.

There were a total of five Transcendence Stage experts on Dragon Island.

After consulting with the elders who had also sensed the black dragon’s impending adulthood, the Dragon King decided to leave one Transcendence Stage elder on Dragon Island, while the remaining three Transcendence Stage elders and he, also at the Transcendence Stage, would go to the Demon Abyss to retrieve the black dragon’s inner core.

The Dragon King and the others could sense the information about the black dragon’s adulthood, and of course, the other adult dragons on Dragon Island could sense it too.

Suddenly discovering that a young dragon was about to reach adulthood, these dragons were stunned: “How is there a young dragon about to become an adult?”

“Where did this young dragon come from?”

“Why isn’t he on Dragon Island?”

…

The adult dragons of Dragon Island were not fond of moving and usually stayed in their caves, but upon sensing the news of a young dragon’s impending adulthood, they all flew out of their caves in a panic, eager to rush to the Demon Abyss to save the youngling.

Protecting young dragons was something ingrained in their genes.

However, after causing a commotion for a while, they were suppressed by the Dragon King’s aura.

At the same time, they received a message from the Dragon King.

The Dragon King informed them that the Demon Abyss was very dangerous, and this time, the protection of the young dragon’s adulthood would be handled by the Transcendence Stage experts of the dragon race, while the other dragons should stay on Dragon Island.

The Dragon King also instructed them not to disclose this matter to outsiders, as knowledge of a young dragon’s adulthood could bring danger to the young dragon.

The ordinary dragons of Dragon Island found the Dragon King’s words reasonable and thus quieted down, no longer thinking about leaving Dragon Island to protect the young dragon.

Seeing this, the Dragon King also told them not to inform Ao Jin about this matter, to avoid affecting Ao Jin’s recovery from his injuries.

After speaking, the Dragon King and the dragon elders quickly left Dragon Island.

The ordinary dragons could always feel the call from the young dragon, making them restless. Those who originally loved to sleep now found it impossible to do so and instead gathered together to chat, discussing the origins of that young dragon.

A thousand years ago, apart from Ao Jin, there were no other young dragons born. Where did this soon-to-be adult dragon come from?

Wait! After calming down, these dragons suddenly remembered something.

Back then, the Dragon Queen had actually laid two eggs. One of them hatched into Ao Jin, while the other egg supposedly contained a dragon that did not survive.

For the dragon race, laying two eggs at once is quite rare.

Dragons require a lot of energy to nurture young dragons, and they can usually only nurture one at a time.

Ao Jin was a four-clawed silver dragon, exceptionally well-developed, and it was normal that he took all the nutrients from his sibling, preventing the sibling from being born successfully.

Given the current situation… could it be that Ao Jin’s sibling did not die but survived?

And that young dragon was living in the Demon Abyss?

The Demon Abyss, that was the Demon Abyss! A young dragon living in the Demon Abyss would undoubtedly face many dangers.

The adult dragons of Dragon Island were heartbroken.

Just then, one of the dragons spoke up: “How did that youngling end up in the Demon Abyss? Back then, Dragon Island was not attacked, and the Dragon King and the others never mentioned that a dragon egg was stolen…”

Hearing this, the other dragons were startled.

This dragon suddenly declared, “No, I must go to the Demon Abyss to see for myself!”

Another dragon added, “I also want to go and see; that young dragon is very uneasy.”

Dragon Island was very safe, and the protection for young dragons was comprehensive.

Under such circumstances, how did that young dragon end up in the Demon Abyss? What had he encountered?

What role did the Dragon King and the others play in this matter?

Over the past thousand years, Ao Jin had been doted on by the Dragon King and the others, never scolded no matter what he did, which some dragons on Dragon Island were actually dissatisfied with.

Now, learning that Ao Jin’s sibling had been silently living outside, they could no longer sit still.

“I went to see those two eggs back then. They were born together. Over the past thousand years, Ao Jin has lived well, while the other little dragon has been living in the Demon Abyss… I also want to go and see!”

About one-third of the adult dragons on Dragon Island secretly left the island.

The other dragons should, in principle, inform the elder guarding Dragon Island about this matter, but they tacitly agreed to say nothing.

Feeling the unease transmitted by the young dragon, they now only hoped that the young dragon could be safe and sound.

The unease transmitted by the young dragon was most clearly perceived by the Dragon King.

“That young dragon is probably in a dangerous situation; we must speed up and not let others get there first,” he said. Of course, he wanted to protect the youngling, but he also wanted to ascend.

If Ao Jin successfully transformed into a five-clawed golden dragon, he might lead their entire dragon race to ascend!

Compared to ascension, sacrificing one young dragon was nothing, especially since it was a defective young dragon.

He didn’t even want people to know that his child looked no different from a black snake.

“Let’s go!” the Grand Elder of the dragon race declared.

He was nearing the end of his life, but he didn’t want to die.

Only ascension could extend his lifespan; he must ascend.

Meanwhile, at the Demon Palace.

Zhou Qinghao, whose uneasy emotions were sensed by others, was lying on Gu Juntian, tearing at him.

He ripped Gu Juntian’s clothes and left scratches all over his body.

He was in great discomfort.

His whole body itched, likely because his scales were about to shed.

His head ached, and so did his limbs.

He wanted to transform back to his original form and roll on the ground, to destroy everything around him.

But the physical discomfort wasn’t the hardest part for him.

In the previous thousand years, he had endured so much physical pain that he had long since gotten used to it.

His suffering came more from psychological reasons.

He was about to come of age.

Right now, he had not yet officially entered adulthood, nor had he become weak.

Because he was feeling irritable and had a surge of energy with no outlet, he even felt that his combat power was slightly stronger than before.

But so what?

In a few days, he would start shedding his skin, and by then, he would probably not even be able to defeat Gu Juntian in the Nascent Soul stage!

He wanted to take advantage of the fact that he could still control Gu Juntian and practice dual cultivation with him.

But no matter how he provoked him, Gu Juntian had no reaction.

Was Gu Juntian being celibate for Ao Jin?

Zhou Qinghao’s anger surged, and he lashed out at Gu Juntian again.

He wanted to kill Gu Juntian, making Gu Juntian die with him and be buried together in this demon palace.

But he couldn’t bear to part with it.

Just seeing the bruises he had left on Gu Juntian’s body, he already regretted it.

Would Gu Juntian hate him?

Actually, it was fine if Gu Juntian hated him. That way, Gu Juntian would always remember him.

Zhou Qinghao thought to himself and bit Gu Juntian again.

Gu Juntian gasped, feeling that his life was about to be worn out by Zhou Qinghao’s antics.

Even if he didn’t end up losing his life, after practicing the “Calm Mind Technique” so many times, he was still afraid of messing up some of his bodily functions.

It shouldn’t be, right? After all, at this moment, he was still restless, to the point that he had to continue practicing the “Calm Mind Technique”

Zhou Qinghao was probably feeling unwell, so he kept clinging to him, twisting and turning on him, occasionally biting him, then regretting it, afraid he would be in pain, and then licking his wounds.

A cultivator doesn’t care about superficial injuries, so this was really, truly, a complete provocation!

He just couldn’t resist!

Zhou Qinghao’s strength was too formidable.

If Zhou Qinghao didn’t want to be pushed away by him, then he wouldn’t be able to push him away no matter what. Therefore, he could only let Zhou Qinghao have his way with him.

He eagerly hoped that Zhou Qinghao could come of age soon; once Zhou Qinghao came of age, he won’t have to endure the tormenting duality of ice and fire anymore!

Demon Lord (17): Isn’t it a bad idea to challenge his self-control again and again?

After biting Gu Juntian, Zhou Qinghao felt a bit of regret.

Would Gu Juntian stop grilling meat for him after getting injured? Would he turn against him?

Just as he was worrying, Gu Juntian pinched his face to check his teeth, and then asked him if he wanted to bite a few more times.

Zhou Qinghao stared blankly at Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian’s gaze was very focused, and his eyes seemed to shine.

Previously, he really liked it when Gu Juntian looked at him like this, making him feel deeply loved.

But now, he only felt that Gu Juntian’s acting was too good.

Zhou Qinghao’s teeth looked fine. After checking, Gu Juntian kissed the corner of Zhou Qinghao’s mouth: “If there’s any discomfort, you must tell me.”

After speaking, Gu Juntian continued to grill the meat.

Zhou Qinghao still clung to Gu Juntian, using his neck and shoulders to grind his teeth.

He actually wanted to bite a few more times.

Just the thought that Gu Juntian didn’t love him and was with him only to dig out his inner core for Ao Jin made his teeth itch with hatred.

But he couldn’t bear to bite.

Just now, seeing Gu Juntian’s shoulder bleeding, his heart panicked, fearing that if he didn’t control himself, the force might be too great, and he might accidentally kill Gu Juntian.

Although Gu Juntian wanted to kill him, he didn’t want Gu Juntian to die.

Zhou Qinghao gave a bitter smile, his legs transforming into a serpent’s tail, tightly coiling around Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian, tightly wrapped by Zhou Qinghao, gasped sharply.

Zhou Qinghao kept kissing his neck and now was coiling around him like this, which was truly challenging his self-control!

Gu Juntian continuously practiced the “Heart-Calming Technique” to keep his mind as still as water.

Zhou Qinghao was clinging to him because he was physically uncomfortable; he couldn’t let his thoughts wander to those beastly desires!

“The meat is ready, eat up,” Gu Juntian said, cutting a plate of grilled meat.

Zhou Qinghao lay on Gu Juntian’s back and said, “Feed me!”

Probably to please him, Gu Juntian was very indulgent.

In that case, he shouldn’t blame Zhou Qinghao for pushing his luck.

He was about to die, and before that, he certainly wanted to enjoy himself a bit.

Hearing Zhou Qinghao’s words, Gu Juntian sped up his practice of the “Heart-Calming Technique.”

Zhou Qinghao not only coiled around him but also acted coquettishly towards him. If it weren’t for his strong self-control, he definitely couldn’t have handled it.

Thinking this, Gu Juntian picked up some grilled meat and fed it to Zhou Qinghao.

Zhou Qinghao opened his mouth to eat: “More.”

“Don’t worry, there’s plenty. I’ll grill as much as you want to eat,” Gu Juntian smiled and fed Zhou Qinghao another piece of meat.

All the preparatory work had been completed, and now he could focus entirely on accompanying Zhou Qinghao.

He wanted to personally witness his little black dragon reach adulthood.

Although having a dragon coiled around him was a bit heavy, what man would dislike his partner lying on his back, licking his neck?

Gu Juntian’s enthusiasm for grilling meat was unprecedented.

It was just that Zhou Qinghao kept tempting him, and his “Heart-Calming Technique” couldn’t be stopped.

Zhou Qinghao ate a lot of grilled meat in one go.

Gu Juntian’s gentle expression and continuous feeding of grilled meat significantly eased the irritation in his heart.

But after eating enough grilled meat, he suddenly thought, after feeding him, would Gu Juntian go back to refining pills?

He only had a few days left to live. If Gu Juntian went back to refining pills, wouldn’t their time together be greatly reduced?

He didn’t want Gu Juntian to go refine pills!

Thinking this, Zhou Qinghao also realized that previously, when Gu Juntian went to refine pills, was it to avoid him?

“Don’t go refine pills, stay with me,” Zhou Qinghao coiled around Gu Juntian even tighter: “Accompany me to sleep!”

“Alright, I’ll accompany you to sleep,” Gu Juntian agreed immediately.

Zhou Qinghao, acting a bit spoiled, was really too adorable!

“Take off your clothes,” Zhou Qinghao added.

Gu Juntian looked at Zhou Qinghao, who was in a human form with a serpent’s tail, and hesitated a bit.

Was it not good to keep challenging his self-control like this?

“Hurry up and take them off!” Zhou Qinghao bared his teeth at Gu Juntian, “If you don’t take them off, I’ll bite you!”

This was too adorable, really hard to resist!

Gu Juntian felt like kissing Zhou Qinghao’s mouth, but it took him a lot of effort to control himself and silently started to undress.

Who could bear to refuse such a cute little partner’s request?

Previously, when Zhou Qinghao slept, he would always transform into a snake, but this time, he maintained his human form with a serpent’s tail.

He also made the clothes he had conjured disappear.

After making Gu Juntian lie down on the bed, he lay beside Gu Juntian, hugging him tightly, and then coiled his tail around Gu Juntian…

The weakness before shedding his skin quickly lulled him into sleep.

Being used as a pillow, Gu Juntian could only silently practice the “Heart-Calming Technique.”

Fortunately, Zhou Qinghao was almost an adult, otherwise, how could he endure these days!

However, Zhou Qinghao’s appearance with a human body and a serpent’s tail was truly enticing.

In the future, when the two of them truly became partners, could he kiss every part of Zhou Qinghao like this, and then…

Nosebleed was coming!

What was he thinking! Better focus on practicing the “Heart-Calming Technique”!

Zhou Qinghao had already fallen asleep, and in his dreams, he received more inherited memories from the dragon race.

Previously, he had learned what dragon adulthood was like, and now, he understood how dragon reproduction worked.

Dragons are inherently lustful, and the content in the dragon race’s inherited memories left Zhou Qinghao in awe.

Having grown up in the demon realm, he was quite familiar with the intimate matters between partners.

But due to issues with his own body, he would deliberately avoid such topics and had never specifically studied related knowledge.

At this moment, he was profoundly educated.

So, it could be like this…

In Zhou Qinghao’s memory, there was a silver dragon who chose a human as a partner, and the two lived very happily.

Silver dragon… Ao Jin was a silver dragon.

Ao Jin didn’t like Gu Juntian but preferred another human. However, if Gu Juntian brought back his inner core, would Ao Jin, moved by this gesture, choose to be with Gu Juntian?

And then? Would they be intimate?

Zhou Qinghao had previously only thought about his impending death and hadn’t considered this point. Now, thinking about it, he felt as if a string in his mind had snapped, and boundless anger surged from his heart.

He had coiled around Gu Juntian and been intimate with him, and Gu Juntian would push him away. But what if Ao Jin wanted to be intimate with Gu Juntian?

Zhou Qinghao suddenly woke up and bit Gu Juntian’s shoulder in front of him.

Gu Juntian, who had been silently practicing the “Heart-Calming Technique,” asked Zhou Qinghao, “What’s wrong?” Why bite him again? Hmm, this time it was the other shoulder, quite symmetrical.

Zhou Qinghao had previously been afraid that Gu Juntian would seek intimacy with him. He felt that his body was flawed and couldn’t satisfy Gu Juntian, who would then despise him.

But now, he suddenly realized that Gu Juntian was different from those who had fawned over him in the past.

Gu Juntian should be the one in control.

Gu Juntian liked Ao Jin, and Ao Jin, no matter how you look at it, didn’t seem like someone who could take control.

So, it didn’t matter if he couldn’t; as long as Gu Juntian could, that was enough!

Zhou Qinghao said, “Let’s dual cultivate.”

Gu Juntian: “!!!” The “Heart-Calming Technique” was really going to be useless now!

Hearing Zhou Qinghao say such things with such an innocent face was truly shocking!

Gu Juntian didn’t even dare to look at Zhou Qinghao: “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Zhou Qinghao replied, “I’m not talking nonsense, I want to be with you.”

He wanted to possess Gu Juntian.

Gu Juntian’s primordial yang¹ was still intact, and he didn’t want to leave it for Ao Jin.

If he could become Gu Juntian’s first man, Gu Juntian would surely remember him for a lifetime.

“Don’t think wildly, you’re not feeling well,” Gu Juntian said.

“I’m just about to shed my skin, my body is fine!” Zhou Qinghao argued.

“No!” Gu Juntian still refused.

Zhou Qinghao’s serpent tail, coiled around Gu Juntian, began to move, teasing Gu Juntian, only to find, to his dismay, that Gu Juntian showed no reaction at all.

Gu Juntian didn’t like him.

Zhou Qinghao’s heart flared up with anger again, and he bit Gu Juntian once more.

Gu Juntian took the opportunity to pull him into his arms: “Be good, once you finish shedding your skin, you can do whatever you want. For now, take care of your body, okay?”

In the cultivation world, there was indeed the concept of “primordial yang.”

When Ao Jin was training in the human world, the dragon elders kept a close watch on him, fearing he would lose his primordial yang.

He couldn’t harm Zhou Qinghao.

Zhou Qinghao didn’t want to listen to Gu Juntian and continued to bite his shoulders and neck.

He didn’t use any cultivation power, so he didn’t really hurt Gu Juntian, just left many marks on him.

Zhou Qinghao was igniting fires all over Gu Juntian’s body, who was in pain yet also enjoyed it, and could only coax Zhou Qinghao: “Do you want to hear a story from me? Or should I teach you some fun moves? Or maybe teach you alchemy?”

Previously, when Gu Juntian took Zhou Qinghao to set up formations, he noticed that Zhou Qinghao learned things very quickly.

In just a month, Zhou Qinghao had grasped most of his knowledge on formations.

Of course, Zhou Qinghao had been pretending not to know, deliberately letting him teach.

He also pretended not to notice and continued to teach Zhou Qinghao.

This was all part of their interaction!

“I hate alchemy,” Zhou Qinghao said with a displeased expression.

“Alright, alright, then we won’t learn alchemy,” Gu Juntian responded.

Zhou Qinghao looked deeply at Gu Juntian.

He certainly knew that having something happen between him and Gu Juntian now would not be beneficial for his upcoming adulthood.

But he was about to die, so why would he care about that?

However, no matter how much he wanted it, if Gu Juntian didn’t respond, there was nothing he could do.

Zhou Qinghao’s eyes reddened, and tears fell again: “You’re a bad guy, not willing to dual cultivate with me.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to dual cultivate with you, but let’s wait until later, until your body is better, okay?” Gu Juntian sat up, holding Zhou Qinghao to comfort him.

He really had a hard time; after resisting temptation with strong willpower, he still had to be blamed.

Zhou Qinghao looked at Gu Juntian: “I feel terrible, will I ever get better?”

“How could it be that serious? You’re just about to shed your skin, nothing will happen,” Gu Juntian said, kissing Zhou Qinghao.

If the people from Dragon Island didn’t know Zhou Qinghao’s whereabouts, he would soon smoothly pass through his adulthood.

If the people from Dragon Island came, with the formations outside, he was confident he could help Zhou Qinghao safely pass through his adulthood.

“Gu Juntian, who do you like the most?” Zhou Qinghao asked.

Gu Juntian replied, “I like you the most.”

“Say it a few more times,” Zhou Qinghao requested.

Gu Juntian didn’t refuse; he hugged Zhou Qinghao and repeated, “Qinghao, I like you the most…”

As he spoke, he stroked Zhou Qinghao’s back and then noticed that Zhou Qinghao had fallen asleep again.

From what Gu Juntian knew, many young dragons would cause chaos before reaching adulthood.

Zhou Qinghao only bit him a few times, really easy to take care of.

It was just that Zhou Qinghao seemed a bit insecure.

Thinking this, Gu Juntian hugged Zhou Qinghao a little tighter, and at the same time, he was also coiled a bit tighter by the serpent tail.

Next, he would multitask, talking while practicing the “Heart-Calming Technique”!

Notes

1. The primordial Yang in this context refers to a man’s virginity but also some sort of energy, I found this explanation on reddit:  This comes from the old believe that when a person is still in the womb, he/she is in the “primordial” stage, untainted by the mortal world, and thus holds a special essence (the Yin for woman, and Yang for Men). Think of it as a concentration of pure energy or Qi that every one gets from the time when they are conceived. It’ll stay with them until the first intercourse as then he/she is not “pure” anymore. And if you have a good way to harvest such energy, it been pure, is very powerful and thus can convery special abilities and do special things that other energy/Qi that’s not “primordial/pure” can do. Link ↩︎