Chapter Seventy: The Emergence of the Dragon Pearl

The Dark Demon Cult struck with all its might, abducting martial artists across the land of Black Dragon City. In just a few days, over a thousand had been taken. The various major powers responded by tightening their security. Yet all these precautions proved fruitless; the elusive, black-clad figures of the Dark Demon Cult, powerful beyond measure, brought doom even to high-level martial artists. Teams formed by mid- and low-level fighters were not spared either.

The Cult had set its plan in motion, snatching martial artists one by one. Black Dragon City quickly plunged into chaos, tension, and panic. Even the Eight Great Families, the Black Dragon Society, the Great River Gang, and others suffered heavy losses, their numbers of missing fighters climbing steadily. Not even the City Guard could avoid this fate. The city lord of Black Dragon City was furious and alarmed—what force dared to provoke even the City Lord’s Mansion of the Tianfeng Empire?

Fortunately, the Yi Tribe was far from Black Dragon City, bordering the edge of the Black Dragon Mountains, and had not suffered from the Cult’s predations. The missing martial artists were almost all within Black Dragon City and its surrounding dozens of miles. Of course, the unbridled actions of the Cult sparked wrath among all major factions. Some ninth-tier experts set ambushes, hiding among the squads of martial defenders. As a result, the Cult began to suffer casualties.

Undeterred, the Dark Demon Cult grew even more frenzied, striking everywhere. Clues led all major powers to suspect the Cult as the culprit behind the scenes. Though they ground their teeth in hatred and yearned to eradicate it, the Cult’s headquarters remained unknown, leaving them powerless to act.

Some factions sensed that something momentous was about to happen. Otherwise, why would the Cult be so desperate? The Yi Tribe, learning of the recent upheavals in Black Dragon City, strengthened its defenses and ordered its people not to venture out. The Cult’s frequent attacks lasted ten days, then abruptly ceased, vanishing without a trace. In that brief span, over eight thousand martial artists had been abducted by the Dark Demon Cult—a staggering number.

“How goes the investigation?” In a refined courtyard, a gentlemanly man sipped his tea.

“Reporting to the Dragon Head, the Cult’s members possess extraordinary perception. I dared not pursue too closely and failed to locate their headquarters. However, nearly all members vanished along the banks of the Black Dragon River, ten miles outside the city. I estimate there’s a passage to their headquarters there.” Behind the Dragon Head, a man devoid of any aura spoke.

“Withdraw,” said the scholarly Dragon Head calmly.

In an instant, the shadowy guard vanished, melting into the surroundings, disappearing without a trace.

“Sigh, I hope this time we can find the Dragon Pearl,” the Dragon Head of the Black Dragon Society murmured in a low voice. The Society had existed since the founding of Black Dragon City, for over four thousand seven hundred years. In these millennia, one Dragon Head after another had failed to complete the Tianfeng Emperor’s task.

Black Dragon City was established only after the Tianfeng Empire was founded. All these years, the Black Dragon Society had investigated every detail of the Black Dragon River. Few knew that, tens of thousands of years ago, a black dragon had rampaged out of the Fulong Mountains and wreaked havoc. Its destruction drew a Heaven-tier expert, and the two clashed fiercely for days, finally perishing together.

The dragon’s massive body was torn apart, falling into the Black Dragon River. The Society’s goal was to find the Dragon Pearl nurtured within the dragon’s body. The Dragon Pearl was quite different from a beast’s essence pill. Though it contained vast energy, the black dragon had refined it into an inner pellet akin to a magical artifact, terrifying in power and responsive to its wielder’s will.

Since the dragon’s demise, countless have searched for it over tens of thousands of years, but all in vain. Gradually, few persisted in seeking it. For the Tianfeng Empire, dispatching a team to search for millennia was not unusual.

“The Dark Demon Cult has only existed for fifty years, yet so many signs are suspicious,” mused the Dragon Head, his eyes flashing with intelligence. He had thoroughly investigated every force in the land, only the Cult remained shrouded in mystery. Ostensibly an assassin organization, the Cult accepted no commissions, seeming to pursue some hidden mission. Each member’s martial arts were strange, unlike anything seen in Jingmu Prefecture.

Meanwhile, in an underground chamber, the leader of the Dark Demon Cult appeared, surrounded by cult members. They brought their abducted martial artists up to the altar for execution.

Upon the altar, a pool of blood floated with over ninety thousand severed heads, saturated with murderous energy, as though one had plunged into the depths of hell—a scene of pure horror. These were the targets slain by the Cult over the decades, all offered as sacrifices.

The Cult leader was elated. This time, he was staking everything, even at the risk of provoking the wrath of all Black Dragon City’s powers. He was determined to complete the Demon Lord’s task and tear away the last veil.

When all sacrifices were placed upon the altar, the Cult leader knelt, chanting ancient, mysterious incantations to the twelve towering stone pillars. The demonic energy within him surged. The Cult members knelt behind, fervent and devout.

Suddenly, a terrifying force erupted from beneath the altar’s blood pool.

Countless streams of blood and vengeful spirits were devoured by the force, forming a crimson, humanoid visage.

“Greetings, Demon Lord!” All members of the Cult prostrated themselves.

“You have done well,” the blood-red face intoned. “When I am freed, you shall be granted demon blood and become my demon guards.”

“Thank you, Demon Lord!” The Cult’s members were beside themselves with excitement. They knew the demon race possessed extraordinarily long lifespans. Once transformed into demon-kin, their lives would increase to hundreds or thousands of years, rivaling Earth-tier experts—far beyond the mere two centuries of Human-tier fighters.

Then, the blood-red face floating above exploded with twin beams of blood light, piercing through the void and instantly burrowing into the earth beneath the Black Dragon River.

Beneath a river ravine hundreds of feet deep, there was a magical barrier, seamlessly blended into its surroundings, leaking no aura. The blood light shot through dozens of miles, blasting into the ravine and shattering the barrier in an instant. A terrifying radiance burst from the Black Dragon River, forming dazzling brilliance in mid-air, as the vital energy trembled violently.

A roar resounded from the river, ancient and mighty, echoing across hundreds of miles.

“What!” At that moment, every martial artist in Black Dragon City gazed in shock toward the sky dozens of miles away, where a rainbow-hued pearl had appeared. Even at such distance, the faint pressure weighed upon their hearts like a mountain.

“A peerless treasure has emerged!” One by one, martial artists and the powers reacted. Immediately, all martial artists went mad, racing toward the treasure lest others seize it first.

Even the warriors of the Yi Tribe, nearly a hundred miles from the Black Dragon River, were shaken. They could see the sky in that direction ablaze with dazzling starlight, divine radiance streaking across, and faint dragon roars echoing, stirring their souls.

“What is happening there?” Yi Tian gazed toward the spectacle, his eyes narrowing.