Chapter 113: Chapter 42: South Mountain Demon Emperor
One of the top ten dangerous places on the Celestial Essence Continent, the Mist Forest.
As a massive forest covering half of the Ancient Country’s border, it’s the inevitable path to traverse when traveling from the Ancient Country to Qingzhou.
Some Cultivators at the Void Reflection stage have attempted to establish a space transmission channel between the Ancient Country and Qingzhou, but the eerie mist that can penetrate even the void makes it incredibly easy for people to get lost in it.
Therefore, the only option to travel from the Ancient Country to Qingzhou is to trek through the forest.
However, this level of danger is extremely high as well.
If the Celestial Essence Ancient Country is where the Human Race’s fortune accumulates, then the Mist Forest is a paradise for Demon Beasts.
So far, it’s only been heard that the "Lotus Pavilion" has a relatively stable method to traverse the Mist Forest. Many Ancient Country Cultivators wanting to go to Qingzhou generally rely on the Lotus Pavilion’s caravans and travel with them.
Deep within the Mist Forest, a giant dragon, whose body was covered with ferocious plants and had transformed into a mountain range, suddenly opened its sun-and-moon-like eyes, gazing at a human Cultivator wrapped entirely in a white burial shroud and standing before it, their appearance obscured.
"Yin Corpse Sect Guardian Yuan Buyi, greets the South Mountain Demon Emperor." The shrouded Cultivator greeted as they spoke.
"Is your Yin Corpse Sect planning to make a move on my body?" the giant dragon responded in a low, menacing voice.
The Yin Corpse Sect Guardian chuckled: "Demon Emperor, you are overthinking it. No one would want to offend a Demon Emperor who is nearing the end of his life, not even the Yin Corpse Sect."
"My purpose here is merely to propose a business deal to the South Mountain Demon Emperor. I wonder if the South Mountain Demon Emperor might wish to live another life?"
"The Yin Corpse Sect could provide information about the ’Human Longevity Body’ to Your Excellency."
The South Mountain Demon Emperor’s dragon eyes focused intently on the Yin Corpse Sect Cultivator and said: "Human Longevity Body, how long has it been? This physique has appeared in the world again."
"Speak, what are the terms?" The South Mountain Demon Emperor’s heavy breathing resonated; it had little time left, and all methods of life-extension had failed. But perhaps the Longevity Body would be different.
"A dragon’s body that the Demon Emperor shed." the Yin Corpse Sect Guardian stated.
The South Mountain Demon Emperor sneered, ultimately they were still after its body!
"Information about the Longevity Body....."
"The Yin Corpse Sect ensures it is only provided to the South Mountain Demon Emperor. Your Excellency should be quite familiar with the reputation of the Yin Corpse Sect. Our sect never breaches contracts, which is the foundation for our standing strong for millennia and maintaining excellent cooperative relationships with various races."
The South Mountain Demon Emperor said: "Speak, where is the Longevity Body, I agree to this trade."
"The Longevity Body was originally a Beast Taming Sect disciple from the Great Wilderness Domain of the Ancient Country. Now that the Beast Taming Sect has been disbanded, the person is currently in the Hidden Dragon City of the Ancient Domain." the Yin Corpse Sect Guardian stated.
"Hidden Dragon City?" The South Mountain Demon Emperor snorted coldly once more: "Hidden Dragon City is overseen by those at the Void Reflection stage, are you suggesting I go there to die?"
The Yin Corpse Sect Guardian laughed: "Who doesn’t know that the South Mountain Demon Emperor’s cultivation at its peak reached the half step to the Void Reflection Realm of Refining Void Realm, and although you have fallen in realm due to age, your spatial attainments remain. The Yin Corpse Sect will offer the Demon Emperor a free piece of information, which is that for the next couple of years, the three Deans of the Hidden Dragon Academy will all be absent from Hidden Dragon City."
"Currently, the strong men overseeing the Hidden Dragon Academy are merely ordinary Divinity Transformation practitioners."
"Moreover, these strong men are only overseeing the Hidden Dragon Academy and are not the Guardian of the Longevity Body."
"This Longevity Body is just a disciple of a small sect, not a descendant of a grand family, and is certainly not afforded high levels of protection."
"Why would these academy powerhouses waste effort keeping an eye on his situation at all times? As long as the Demon Emperor does not enter the academy and only acts within the city, they will surely fail to react in time."
"And the Beast Taming Sect from which he hails, the highest cultivation is merely a Late-Stage Nascent Soul Demon King, so even if a Demon King guards him, it is only a match for a move of yours."
"As long as the Demon Emperor seizes the right moment to capture the Longevity Body and flees immediately, no one can stop you."
"Of course, afterward, Your Excellency will surely encounter the academy’s frantic retaliation, but compared to living a second life, those are nothing."
"Your Excellency can also wait, wait until the Longevity Body leaves Hidden Dragon City, should the Demon Emperor have the time and patience..."
...
Shortly after, the Yin Corpse Sect Guardian left the Mist Forest and returned to a dark underground altar.
"Elder, the information on the Longevity Body has been handed over to the South Mountain Demon Emperor."
He bowed slightly and reported to an elder with purple hair in the darkness.
"The South Mountain Demon Emperor’s end is near, and he will surely not miss this opportunity. Using the Longevity Body as bait can create chaos in Hidden Dragon City." the Yin Corpse Sect elder said:
"In this way, those three old immortals should return to station at Hidden Dragon City to handle the matter."
"Having an academy prodigy kidnapped by a Demon Beast within Hidden Dragon City would certainly be considered a major incident for the academy."
The Yin Corpse Sect Guardian said: "Indeed, although the Division in the Wilderness Domain couldn’t successfully bring the Longevity Body away, being able to transmit the information up still gave the Longevity Body its worth. However, whether the South Mountain Demon Emperor can successfully abduct this Longevity Body..."
"In its prime, the South Mountain Demon Emperor’s cultivation reached the half step to the Void Reflection Realm. Though now reduced to initial Divinity Transformation Realm because of the erosion of time, using its past insights, it should be able to retreat from Hidden Dragon City unscathed."
"After all, the top experts in Hidden Dragon City are already held in check by our sect’s powerhouses. As the strong men of the Ancient Country have focused on our sect’s millennium-long plans, it’s only fitting to cause them some trouble as well."
...
In the Ancient Domain, Hidden Dragon City!
After obtaining the intelligence, the South Mountain Demon Emperor, whose lifespan was nearing its end and had planned to embrace death after nurturing a new Demon Emperor descendant, once again ignited the hope of life.
It entered the Ancient Country and stealthily approached Hidden Dragon City through the void, evading notice thanks to its Path of Space insights gained in its prime.
Upon confirming that there truly was no overseeing Cultivator of the Void Reflection stage within Hidden Dragon City, the South Mountain Demon Emperor was overwhelmingly excited, though it still dared not enter the city itself, wary of any precautions the Cultivators might have left behind.
"If there are no Void Reflection stage practitioners overseeing this place, just some ordinary Divinity Transformation ones, I don’t need to personally enter the city. A single demigod-level alter ego will suffice to capture the Longevity Body."
As a precaution, the South Mountain Demon Emperor dispatched only a "Demigod"-level incarnation to infiltrate Hidden Dragon City.
Finding the Longevity Body’s trail was also exceedingly simple for the South Mountain Demon Emperor. On the brink of life, it needed no special search; merely through life’s innate perception, the Longevity Body appeared in its eyes like a blazing life fireball.
"Found it!!!"
The South Mountain Demon Emperor quickly locked onto Lin Jing, who had just emerged from the Immortal Prison of the Demon Extermination Bureau, feeling the seductive aura of Lin Jing, and the South Mountain Demon Emperor’s eyes glowed red.
Though Lin Jing’s current realm was low and the effectiveness of consuming the Longevity Body might not be optimal, that mattered little to the life-emaciated South Mountain Demon Emperor. To it, the potential to achieve extended life overshadowed any concerns.
Hidden in the void, the South Mountain Demon Emperor suddenly directly extended a claw from the void. Yet, just as the claw extended, an overwhelming force approached.
"Who is this rookie, trying to snatch from this old man?"
To its surprise and gravity, the space knowledge of this person was shockingly high!