Ao Tian, a Demon Emperor from the Panlong Sacred Land, had come to seek revenge for Lan Ling.
Lan Ling had repeatedly failed to harm Ji Mo, resulting in the loss of many experts from the Panlong Sacred Land. Consequently, she was severely punished by her sect and even stripped of her title as Saintess.
Unable to accept this humiliation, Lan Ling declared that whoever could bring Ji Mo’s head would win her hand in marriage.
Given Ao Tian’s true age, he was more than old enough to be Lan Ling’s great-great-grandfather. However, he had a penchant for younger women. Thus, this lecherous old man developed lustful intentions and planned to kill Ji Mo to obtain Lan Ling’s body.
Unexpectedly, before finding Ji Mo, he stumbled upon something else – the scent of a pure-blooded dragon.
Pure-blooded dragons were extremely rare in the Xuanling Realm. Even the Panlong Sacred Land, named after the dragon, only possessed a flood dragon with impure blood.
Discovering the presence of a pure-blooded dragon, he was naturally ecstatic.
Ao Tian immediately flew towards the direction of the true dragon’s aura.
However, halfway there, the aura vanished.
He conducted a carpet search within a thousand-mile radius but found no trace of any dragon.
Yet, he did discover a peculiar place.
It was an ordinary courtyard, seemingly unremarkable, but something felt subtly off.
Ji Mo’s Innate Eight Trigrams Formation had completely concealed any unusual aspects of the courtyard.
However, Ao Tian was highly skilled in formations. Although he couldn’t see through the Innate Eight Trigrams Formation, he noticed that the layout of Ji Mo’s courtyard resembled the Eight Trigrams, which piqued his suspicion.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he decided to investigate.
Little did he know, this very curiosity would lead to a lifetime of regret.
Ao Tian descended directly into Ji Mo’s courtyard.
The moment he landed, his body trembled uncontrollably, and his expression changed drastically.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth here was incredibly dense, almost tangible.
Its concentration was tens of times greater than that of the Panlong Cave in the Panlong Sacred Land. Cultivating here would undoubtedly lead to rapid progress.
Then, he looked around and let out an exclamation, his eyes nearly bulging out.
The surroundings were filled with various fruits and vegetables, emitting a rich fragrance. Vital energy permeated the air, forming a shimmering mist.
These were no ordinary vegetables; they were precious medicinal herbs. Even a single fallen leaf could cause cultivators to fight tooth and nail.
Ao Tian had always believed the Sacred Medicine Garden of the Panlong Sacred Land was the best in the Southern Region. In comparison, it was like a firefly next to the moon.
“I’m rich, I’m going to be rich!”
He swallowed hard, his heart pounding with excitement.
Tian Peng lay in the chicken coop, quietly incubating the stone egg. Simultaneously, it used the Yin-Yang energy emanating from the egg to temper its own bones and cleanse its bloodline.
Hearing the commotion, it poked its chicken head out and saw Ao Tian, who looked like he had never seen the world before.
“Country bumpkin.”
Tian Peng muttered, making no further move.
Its current task was to hatch the egg, and it had no time to bother with Ao Tian.
“Country bumpkin?”
Ao Tian turned and stared coldly at Tian Peng. Seeing that it was merely a Demon Sage, he didn’t take it seriously.
Assuming Tian Peng was the owner of the place, he threatened, “From now on, I am the new master here. If you submit, I will spare your life. Otherwise, you will face certain death.”
Tian Peng ignored him, rolled its eyes, and retreated its head to continue incubating the egg.
Seeing that Tian Peng dared to scorn him, Ao Tian’s eyes flashed with ferocity. Just as he was about to teach it a lesson, his gaze was drawn to something else.
“Innate Spiritual Root!”
Ao Tian gasped, his attention completely captivated by the crooked old willow tree by the pond.
The willow tree was as verdant as jade. Its three thousand strands swayed in the wind, emitting a radiant glow. Each willow branch contained a heavenly law, embodying the Three Thousand Great Daos.
Cultivating beneath the willow tree would prevent inner demons, grant mastery of all techniques, and resonate with the Dao, removing any cultivation bottlenecks.
He swallowed hard and then saw the Bodhi tree next to the willow tree, his face filled with shock.
“Is this the legendary Bodhi tree? Didn’t it die under the heavenly tribulation?”
Rumor had it that the Bodhi tree had been destroyed. Why was it here?
Ao Tian forced himself to calm down and examine it carefully.
Legend said the Bodhi tree was a sacred tree. However, the tree before him not only exuded sacred energy but also contained a malevolent aura.
Sacredness and evil were inherently incompatible, mutually exclusive. Yet, they were fused together here, which was almost unbelievable.
Even with his Emperor-level cultivation, Ao Tian couldn’t discern the tree’s true nature.
But he was certain that this peculiar Bodhi tree held unimaginable profound mysteries. If he could comprehend them, the benefits would be heaven-defying.
This small courtyard contained so many treasures; Ao Tian was almost delirious with joy.
With these items, he was confident he could become the supreme existence in the Xuanling Realm.
As he was lost in thought, ripples stirred in the pond.
“Dragon Fish!”
Ao Tian exclaimed. He hadn’t expected a small pond to contain over a hundred Dragon Fish.
He could also see the origin of these Dragon Fish at a glance.
The bodies of these Dragon Fish were merely ordinary golden carp. For some unknown reason, they had mutated, developing dragon blood within them and evolving towards becoming true dragons.
The true dragon aura he had sensed earlier must have been leaked by these Dragon Fish.
Ao Tian gazed at the misty pond, his heart pounding.
Could this be the legendary Dragon Transformation Pool, capable of transforming ordinary golden carp into true dragons?
Ao Tian possessed a trace of thin flood dragon bloodline. Now, he could no longer restrain himself and wished to use this magical pond to elevate his bloodline to that of a true dragon.
He excitedly leaped into the pond. Instantly, a jolt ran through him as he felt a surge of powerful spiritual energy flooding into his body.
“Spiritual Liquid!”
Ao Tian immediately realized the pond water was extraordinary, and his body trembled with excitement.
He laughed wildly, opening his mouth to gulp down the water, wishing he could drink the entire pond dry.
Then, his misfortune began.
Over a hundred Dragon Fish swarmed him, attacking him simultaneously.
“Brothers, this bastard is defiling our pond water! Kill him!”
The Dragon Fish were immensely disgusted. They hadn’t intended to bother Ao Tian, but he had the audacity to jump in and bathe. How could they tolerate this?
The pond erupted in golden light, and dragon roars echoed continuously.
The Dragon Fish, which seemed only capable of acting cute, revealed their true ferocity. Their bodies glowed with golden light, and in an instant, dragon horns and four claws emerged, transforming them into small flood dragons.
These small flood dragons all exuded the aura of peak Demon Sages, with a few even having reached the half-step Demon Emperor realm. They ferociously tore at Ao Tian.
Hiss…
Ao Tian’s legendary-grade battle armor immediately shattered into pieces under the claws and fangs of the Dragon Fish. Soon, he was stripped bare, and wounds began to appear on his body.
He let out a scream, struggling desperately to escape the pond.
Even a Demon Emperor could not withstand the collective assault of the Dragon Fish. Soon, his flesh and blood were mangled.