Chapter 142: Battling the Demonic Overlord

Upon learning the identity of the being before him, Old Demon Blood-Ghost grew significantly more respectful and awestruck.

The entity was a battle demon serving under the Demon God Guluo Tu, making him a true-blooded member of the demon race. To demons of his kind, such status was exceptionally lofty, not to mention that the entity's power far surpassed his own.

Demon God Guluo Tu was the very deity worshiped by their Demon Palace, which served as the mortal mouthpiece for the Demon God upon the Heavenly Dragon Continent.

It was precisely because the Demon Palace had Demon God Guluo Tu backing it from the shadows that forces such as the Sky-Breaking Sect, the Moon-Inviting Cult, and the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty were held in check, not daring to act rashly.

"Envoy, exactly who was it that trapped you here?"

Old Demon Blood-Ghost asked, a trace of confusion in his tone.

He had remained entirely unaware that the Demon Envoy had been suppressed in this location, nor did he know how his own disciple, Mo Tianhua, had come to discover it.

The voice of Jushou, the bull-headed demon, drifted upward, laden with a lingering thread of hatred. "Ten thousand years ago, Lord Demon God Guluo Tu forced open a spatial passage, sending a small vanguard of demons into this continent to execute a mission. To our dismay, I was suppressed right here by that old coot from the Divine Wood Sect using the Demon-Subduing Dragon Vine."

"What? The Divine Wood Sect?"

Old Demon Blood-Ghost could not conceal his astonishment.

He never would have imagined that the Demon Envoy had been suppressed here by the Divine Wood Sect.

Within his memories, although the Divine Wood Sect could be considered an ancient sect, it fell considerably short when compared to the Sky-Breaking Sect or the Moon-Inviting Cult, and it had since declined into an even more dilapidated state.

The voice of Jushou, the bull-headed demon, rose once more. "Not long ago, that young demon who performed the sacrifice for me was devoured by a ferocious beast possessing an exceptionally noble bloodline. However, it is still in its infancy, and its master belongs to the tribe located fifty li to the northwest."

"Many thanks for the envoy's guidance. Once I slaughter the killer, I shall return to the Demon Palace, report the envoy's whereabouts, and request the Supreme Elders of the palace to take action and deliver the envoy from bondage!"

Old Demon Blood-Ghost said with pleasant surprise.

Yet at that very moment, the voice of Jushou, the bull-headed demon, rang out again. "There is no need for that."

"Bound and suppressed by the Demon-Subduing Dragon Vine, I am practically joined to it in a symbiotic existence. Any attack upon the vine will inflict injury upon me; the greater the damage to the vine, the more of my vital energy it absorbs. No matter how many men you send, it will be entirely futile."

Jushou said, "All you need to do is capture that supremely ferocious infant beast and bring it to me. Once I break free, I shall put forward a good word for you before Lord Demon God Guluo Tu and bestow upon you a fortuitous encounter of a lifetime."

Hearing this, Old Demon Blood-Ghost was both shocked and overjoyed.

If he could secure the patronage of the Demon Envoy, his status within the Demon Palace would soar dramatically.

One had to bear in mind that given the Demon Envoy's standing, even the Master of the Demon Palace would have to treat him with utmost courtesy.

Around the time Old Demon Blood-Ghost manifested upon the lands of Black Dragon City, Yi Tian, who was currently residing at Linhua Mountain—the Second Ancestral Ground of the Dragon-Taming Mountain Range—seemed to sense something. A boundless, overwhelming aura appeared to drift in from the very edge of the horizon.

Even though Old Demon Blood-Ghost's momentum was separated from him by tens of thousands of li, Yi Tian could still faintly perceive it.

"Not good!"

Yi Tian realized instantly that something was amiss.

He could sense a terrifying powerhouse appearing in the distance. Could it be that the entity suppressed beneath the earth of that valley had broken free?

Without hesitation, Yi Tian and Xiao Hei instantly soared into the air, hurtling toward the outer perimeters of the mountain range. With every stride he covered seven or eight li, moving as though executing a spatial teleportation, and within a dozen breaths, he had already crossed dozens of li.

Xiao Hei sprinted through the air, keeping pace right beside Yi Tian in an unhurried manner.

This time, Yi Tian had brought Xiao Hei along precisely to cope with the entity that most likely posed a mortal threat as an enemy.

Since Yi Tian could not even defeat Xiao Hei, the creature was currently his greatest source of combat strength.

Traveling at a frantic pace, Yi Tian spent the span of a single cup of tea crossing over ten thousand li to return to his tribe.

Seeing the tranquil scene of the village, Yi Tian could not help but exhale a breath of relief.

If any misfortune had befell the tribe, he surely would have gone mad.

With a solemn expression, Yi Tian gazed toward the distant horizon. In that direction lingered a tremendously formidable existence. The distance between the two parties was merely a few dozen li—a span that, for both Old Demon Blood-Ghost and Yi Tian, was virtually negligible.

Yi Tian and Xiao Hei hastened toward that direction.

That strand of aura also shifted, rushing to meet them. In the blink of an eye, Old Demon Blood-Ghost materialized directly before them.

Yi Tian's pupils contracted sharply. The adversary's speed was astonishing.

"So you are the ones who murdered the disciple of Old Demon Blood-Ghost?"

Old Demon Blood-Ghost stared fixedly at Yi Tian and the creature called Xiao Hei. Murderous intent billowed around him as he mentally marked Yi Tian as a dead man.

His gaze lingered on Xiao Hei for a brief moment.

Yet try as he might, he could detect nothing miraculous about the beast, sensing merely a faint, latent threat radiating from its body.

A sudden flash of realization struck Yi Tian.

So the intruder was the master of Mo Tianhua, whom he had previously slain; the fellow had come seeking retribution.

A Terrestrial-tier titan!

Yi Tian felt his throat go slightly dry.

This was his very first encounter with a titan of the Terrestrial tier. Although the adversary was a titan of the demonic path, his momentum was all the more towering and oppressive.

"Die!"

Old Demon Blood-Ghost flickered like a flash of black lightning. The next instant, he appeared directly in front of Yi Tian, a massive hand shooting out to seize Yi Tian by the throat as if picking up a mere chick.

In his eyes, Yi Tian, who was merely at the Human tier, was no different from a helpless chick compared to a Terrestrial-tier titan; he could be suppressed and subdued with absolute ease, incapable of any resistance whatsoever.

Just as a ferocious grin spread across Old Demon Blood-Ghost's face, his grasp suddenly met only empty air.

Yi Tian had vanished completely.

What?!

A slight tremor shook Old Demon Blood-Ghost's heart. He stared at his empty right hand in sheer disbelief.

Simultaneously, Yi Tian's figure materialized a thousand yards away.

"That was close!"

A lingering wave of shock gripped Yi Tian's heart.

The preceding moment had been perilous in the extreme; he had come within a hair's breadth of being captured by Old Demon Blood-Ghost.

The opponent's speed far exceeded his imagination, resembling a beam of light. Against such terrifying velocity, the subtle movement techniques of Mo Tianhua looked like child's play.

Fortunately, Yi Tian's spiritual awareness was formidable; he had sensed the danger ahead of time and employed a divine shifting technique to evade the blow.

"You have some tricks up your sleeve."

Though Old Demon Blood-Ghost was somewhat surprised by Yi Tian's capabilities, he quickly reasoned it away upon remembering that this was the master of the killer who had slain his disciple.

If Yi Tian possessed no skill whatsoever, his disciple would certainly not have met a violent end.

Without missing a beat, Old Demon Blood-Ghost's right hand expanded into a massive palm spanning hundreds of yards, wreathed in billowing demonic energy that shook the surrounding void. In an instant, it traversed the thousand-yard gap and descended upon Yi Tian, intent on crushing him to dust.

"Great Sun Fist!"

Yi Tian channeled the Great Sun Heavenly Art to its absolute limit, causing the six Great Sun runes within his sea of consciousness to burst with boundless radiance.

Facing this demonic titan, Yi Tian felt no fear; instead, his fighting spirit soared. At that moment, he threw a punch with all his might, hurling forth a miniature sun radiating intense, searing heat.

Boom!

The miniature sun collided with the sky-shrouding palm, detonating instantaneously. Boundless flames of the Great Sun erupted, instantly annihilating vast swaths of demonic energy.

Under the scorching heat of those endless flames, the black giant hand gradually began to dim.

Even so, the flames of the Great Sun were countered by the dense, terrifying demonic energy, which steadily extinguished them until they vanished completely.

Reduced to less than thirty percent of its original might, the remaining palm crashed directly down, driving Yi Tian deep into the earth.

Woof!

At that very moment, Xiao Hei, hovering in the air, witnessed its master struck down by the enemy in the blink of an eye, and rage flared within it instantly.

A heaven-shaking momentum erupted from its body, and an aura of supreme majesty pervaded the air. Its form suddenly ballooned, transforming in an instant into a double-headed demonic hound standing dozens of yards tall. Wisps of black Qi coiled around its entire body, and its terrifying pressure nearly caused Old Demon Blood-Ghost to turn tail and flee on the spot.

Only then did Old Demon Blood-Ghost truly lay eyes upon this terrifying infant beast.

He found it hard to fathom just how terrifying and formidable this creature would become once it matured.

Given Xiao Hei's terrifying coercion, Old Demon Blood-Ghost had no doubt that the beast could eventually grow into a divine divine beast.

Yi Tian burst forth from beneath the earth.

Despite throwing himself into the defense with everything he had against the opponent's previous palm strike, he still could not withstand it; the impact had left his entire body feeling as though it were cracking apart. A martial artist with a slightly weaker physical constitution would likely have been blasted to smithereens under that single blow.

Through this clash, Yi Tian realized that with his current level of strength, he stood no chance against such an opponent. This was the might of a true titan—the gap between those below the Terrestrial tier and a titan was as vast as a heavenly abyss.

Had he not stepped into the Yuan Fa realm and cultivated a sixth-grade heavenly art, granting him combat prowess far surpassing ordinary Primordial Dan martial artists, he would undoubtedly have been pulverized into dust by Old Demon Blood-Ghost's attack.