Chapter 57 The Eldest Son

Hundreds of domains away.

In the heart of the Demon Territory,

Demon Emperor City, Li Demon Manor.

The manor floated above the Nine Serenity Demon Springs, with water pavilions and terraces nestled deep within.

Several Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Heart Lotuses, plundered from the Immortal Realm, stood in the demon springs, emitting a chilling mist.

In a bone pavilion at the center of the water terrace, Li Tianqiong reclined on a soft couch made of Demon Flood-Dragon skin.

He held a Glazed Cup filled with Divine Essence Nectar.

Li Tianqiong was the only son of the Devil Emperor Li Tiantu, and he held absolute power in Demon Emperor City.

Opposite him sat a youth from the Dragon Clan of the Yao Race royalty, clad in a dark gold dragon-patterned brocade robe. The youth had an exotic, demonic handsomeness, with two jade-like protrusions on either side of his forehead.

Between them lay an unfinished game of Go, with black and white jade pieces crisscrossing the board.

"Brother Li, this move of yours is a bit too impatient."

The Yao youth picked up a white piece and placed it on the corner of the board, blocking a large 'dragon' of black pieces. A smile played at the corner of his mouth. "The Place of Origin is about to open, and the Myriad Races Geniuses have arrived. Isn't it putting the cart before the horse to get distracted by the trivial matters of a border Demon Venerable at a time like this?"

Li Tianqiong chuckled and set the Glazed Cup on the side table.

"Brother Han, that's not quite right. Those old fogies at the border each command their own troops and usually only pay lip service to my authority. If I don't use this opening of the Place of Origin to drain away their trusted aides, who knows what trouble they'll stir up later?"

Li Tianqiong tapped the chessboard lightly with his fingertip. "I call this planning ahead."

The Yao youth, Brother Han, gave a faint smile and said nothing.

Li Tianqiong was about to place a black piece on the board.

*Tear—*

A large rift tore open in the Void Realm above the water terrace.

Spatial turbulence surged down like a flood, grinding the Ice Heart Lotuses in the pond into powder.

A figure tumbled out of the spatial gap, crashing onto the jade steps of the bone pavilion, covered in blood.

*Thud!*

The demon armor on the person shattered into dross, and silver threads of light left by spatial slicing still flickered within the wounds.

The smile vanished from Li Tianqiong's face, replaced by a flash of ferocity in his pupils.

He hated being disturbed while enjoying himself, especially in front of a noble guest from the Yao Race.

"Young... Young Lord..."

The mangled figure looked up, gasping hoarsely as fresh blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"Something big... something terrible has happened! Chong Batian, he, he..."

"Get out!"

Li Tianqiong slammed his hand on the table.

The wine in the Glazed Cup splashed out.

"Who gave you the audacity to use the Cross-Domain Array to teleport directly to my water terrace? Are you tired of living?"

Fear flashed in the guard's eyes.

Ignoring the agonizing pain of his broken body, he kowtowed desperately, his blood instantly staining the steps red.

"Young Lord, please appease your anger! This subordinate knows his crime! But... the situation is urgent. If I hadn't used that life-saving broken Formation Plate to force a cross-domain return, I fear... I fear I would never have been able to report to you!"

The guard gasped, his voice shrill and wretched.

He had forcibly crossed multiple domains, and seventy percent of his Physical Body had been destroyed by spatial turbulence; even his Divine Soul had suffered irreversible, severe damage. He had paid a heavy price, likely ending his path of cultivation, just to deliver a single message.

"Someone, come."

Li Tianqiong's gaze was icy. He didn't even bother to look at the guard, merely waving his hand toward the void. "Drag him out, flay his skin, extract his soul, and kill him."

The void distorted as two Law Enforcement Demon Guards appeared. Expressionless, they walked toward the guard, reaching out to drag him away.

"Wait a moment."

The Yao youth, Brother Han, snorted and raised a hand to stop them.

His gaze swept over the guard's injuries, and a flash of interest appeared in his eyes.

"Brother Li, don't be so furious. There's no harm in letting him speak."

Brother Han picked up his tea and took a sip. "I'm actually curious what could be so important that your subordinate would risk his life and use a Cross-Domain Array to report back."

Li Tianqiong chuckled and waved the two Law Enforcement Demon Guards away. He looked at Brother Han, the gloom on his face dissipating slightly.

"What big news could there be? Likely just some trashy power struggle between border Demon Venerables. That fellow Chong Batian is crude; he probably got into a conflict with that old fox Chi Xiao again."

Li Tianqiong shook his head, his tone full of contempt. "Such trivial matters aren't worth your concern, Brother Han."

The guard at the bottom of the steps was so anxious his eyeballs nearly bulged out.

He didn't bother to wipe the blood blurring his vision and suddenly lunged his upper body forward, shouting hoarsely:

"It's not that! Young Lord, it's not about Demon Venerable Chi Xiao! It's... it's about the rumors from the Lower Realm!"

"Lower Realm?"

Li Tianqiong's hand holding the Go piece paused. He narrowed his eyes, showing a hint of interest.

"Continue."

The guard, as if granted a great reprieve, gasped for breath and said,

"I was originally ordered to lurk outside Chong Batian's main hall, intending to plant a few unfamiliar guards inside. But not long ago, Chong Batian personally brought back several people!"

"That fellow Chong Batian has always been arrogant and unruly. Yet, toward one youth in white, he was... he was actually extremely respectful, even subservient! He was serving him like a slave!"

"Moreover, beside that youth in white, there was a female cultivator... she had a cold, elegant temperament and peerless beauty.

I once saw the camps of the great powers of the Immortal Realm from a distance at the edge of the Immortal-Demon Battlefield. That female cultivator's attire and aura were like a Saintess from some top-tier power in the Immortal Realm, perhaps even far exceeding them!"

As soon as these words were spoken,

The atmosphere in the bone pavilion changed.

The fingers of the Yao youth, Brother Han, which had been playing with his wine cup, stopped, and his brow twitched.

Li Tianqiong tossed the black piece back into the container and leaned forward, staring at the guard.

"Oh? A youth in white? Of the Human Race?"

"Yes! Definitely Human Race!"

The guard said with absolute certainty, "Furthermore, I heard fragments of their conversation in the hall, and combined with the recent news from the upper echelons of the Demon Territory... if I'm not mistaken, that youth in white should be the thief rumored to have refined the heaven-reaching tower in the Lower Realm!"

*Boom!*

Demon might erupted from Li Tianqiong's body, causing the demon springs around the water terrace to churn.

"The Human Race youth who refined the heaven-reaching tower?"

A sharp light flashed in Li Tianqiong's eyes. "Interesting. Truly interesting. The Divine Court of the Immortal Realm has nearly overturned the domain barriers looking for this person. I didn't expect this fat sheep to wander into the borders of my Demon Territory on his own."

He turned to look at the Yao youth, his eyes testing him.

"Brother Han, I remember your Dragon Clan has been worrying about the Legacy of The Chosen Son lately, haven't you?" Li Tianqiong tapped the table. "That Chosen Son who has been missing for countless ages, has he still not been found?"

Brother Han's expression darkened as he set down his tea cup.

"That is indeed the case."

Brother Han's tone was flat, but a shadow flickered in his eyes. "That Chosen Son of our clan had a noble status and extraordinary talent. It's just a pity that he committed a great error back then, offending the Dragon Emperor, and was sealed of his cultivation and memories, then exiled to the Lower Realm for tempering."

"According to the deductions of the clan Elders, he should have broken his shackles, achieved Ascension to the Demon Domain, and returned to the clan three thousand years ago.

Yet there is still no word. The Dragon Emperor is furious; he has executed many clan Elders responsible for the search over these past few millennia."

At this point,

Brother Han snorted, glanced at the guard on the ground, and said to Li Tianqiong:

"Why are you saying so much, Brother Li? You don't suspect that the youth who refined the heaven-reaching tower just happened to encounter our Dragon Clan's Chosen Son who ascended from the Lower Realm, do you? How could that be possible?"

Brother Han shook his head, his tone wary.

"Someone who can ignore the Law of the Heavenly Dao and forcibly refine the Divine Court's treasure, the heaven-reaching tower, must have methods and trump cards that are absolutely unfathomable.

Even if we find him, with our current cultivation levels, we might not be able to defeat him. If we really run into him, we might not even know how we died."

Li Tianqiong rubbed his brow, falling into deep thought.

Brother Han's words made sense.

Though Chong Batian was a crude man from the border, he was still a Demon Venerable, and his combat power was notable in the border regions.

To make a hardened rogue like Chong Batian willing to be so subservient, that youth in white was indeed not simple.

"Brother Han is right."

Li Tianqiong opened his eyes, a trace of ruthlessness flashing in his dark red pupils. "However, why should we personally handle such a hot potato?"

A wisp of black demon flame emerged from his fingertip, incinerating the dying guard into ash.

"Such a great merit should naturally be left for those Seniors in secluded cultivation to fight over. As long as we send the news back to the Demon God Hall, there will naturally be old monsters at the level of Demon Emperor or even Devil Emperor to suppress him. We only need to reap enough benefits from the ensuing chaos."

Li Tianqiong stood up, stretching his limbs. Looking at the churning Demon Clouds above Demon Emperor City, a sense of pride surged in his chest.

"The Ten Thousand Races Talent List is about to be revealed. As long as we enter the Place of Origin to train and seize the Origin Luck overflowing from the Lower Realm, we will surely leave our names on the list.

By then, when we hold the power of our two races, a mere owner of the heaven-reaching tower will be nothing more than a slightly larger ant."

...

Meanwhile.

At the Demon Territory border, the Blood-Vein Mine, in front of the Demon Venerable's palace.

A white-bearded old man wearing the robes of the Taixu Sword Sect stood in the void, looking down at the demon city below.

The pressure of an Immortal Emperor poured down without reservation.

*Crack! Crack!*

Above the city, the defensive array that could withstand a full-strength strike from a Peak Demon Venerable was like paper before this pressure. It didn't even last three breaths before it shattered and collapsed.

On the plaza below,

Thousands of heavy-armored demon guards didn't even have time to scream before they were forced to their knees by the Immortal Emperor's pressure, coughing up black blood.

At the palace entrance.

Chong Batian looked at Jiang Wuji in the void, feeling as if the blood in his body was about to freeze.

The immense pressure caused his Demon Venerable body to tremble.

"An Immortal Emperor expert... an existence second only to a Quasi-Immortal Emperor!"

Chong Batian's Adam's apple bobbed.

An old monster of this level, even in the entire Demon Territory, would be a titan capable of presiding over a major domain.

With just a thought or a single glance, they could easily slaughter dozens of border cities like the Blood-Vein Mine.

"...What kind of mess is this?"

"I can only bite the bullet and face it!"

Chong Batian gritted his teeth, pushing the remaining demonic essence in his body to the limit.

He straightened his back, enduring the Immortal Emperor's pressure that was enough to crush his bones, and forced a step forward against the Sword Qi.

He looked up,

Staring directly at Jiang Wuji high in the sky, his voice carrying a chill of one prepared for death:

"Senior!"

"As a grand Immortal Emperor, instead of enjoying your blessings in the Immortal Realm, you've come to my Demon Territory border to bully the weak. Isn't that inappropriate?"

He paused intentionally, puffed out his chest, and shouted loudly:

"If you're looking for someone, look elsewhere! We don't have the person you're looking for! Please leave quickly, Senior, lest you bring trouble upon yourself!"

In the void,

Jiang Wuji's robes fluttered in the Sword Qi.

Hearing Chong Batian's words, his weathered eyes lowered slightly, casting a glance at Chong Batian as if looking at a pebble on the road.

"Bring trouble upon myself?"

There was no emotional fluctuation on Jiang Wuji's aged face.

He didn't even spare a second look at this border Demon Venerable who was like an ant in his eyes.

"A mere Demon Venerable, yet you dare to be so noisy before me."

Jiang Wuji's tone was icy and domineering.

"Too much nonsense. Since you refuse to hand over the person, I shall simply search with my Divine Thought!"

Before his voice had even faded,

A vast Divine Thought crashed down toward the Demon Venerable's palace below!