Coiling Dragon Stream
Bai Xuan soared through the sky like a raven-winged omen, robes unfurling behind him in dark ripples. The wind bit against his face, but he felt nothing. Below, the jagged remnants of the Eastern Peaks stretched like broken teeth, and the blood-red glow of dawn bled across the land.
His mind replayed the night before—each moment vivid, each word Gu Siyin spoke still echoing behind his cold smile.
"Last night, my love poison worked flawlessly on Gu Siyin... It took me seven years, three failed test subjects, and a hundred spirit herbs to perfect that elixir. But at last, it bore fruit."
"Her resistance... melted like snow under spring fire. Her will, her body, even her soul — now tied to me. Even her innocence—"
He laughed, a sound colder than the high mountain frost.
"The puppet string has bound her soul. She belongs to me now, whether she realizes it or not."
He narrowed his eyes as the mountain winds grew stronger.
"It's unfortunate, of course, that the poison only works on cultivators below the fifth stage of Foundation Core. Against true experts, it's as harmless as incense smoke. I must develop a higher variant… one that can seduce and shatter 5th and 6th realm cultivators."
But that was a plan for another day.
Now, his mind was fixed on a name. A location. A prize buried in blood and shadow.
"Right now, I must secure what lies beneath the Coiling Dragon Stream... or rather, who cultivates within it."
One Hour Later – Arrival at the Coiling Dragon Stream
The once-proud Skyward Pavilion, famed across the continent for its elite disciples and ethereal techniques, was now a skeletal corpse of what it once was.
Twisted columns of jade jutted from the ground like broken ribs. Collapsed pagodas drowned beneath vines, and shattered spirit platforms crackled occasionally with dying sparks of spiritual energy.
The Coiling Dragon Stream wound its way through the ruins like a serpent made of shadow. Its waters—once famed for their clarity and healing properties—now ran black, corrupted by an ancient influx of demonic Qi. The very air was thick with corruption, humming with the groans of forgotten souls.
Bai Xuan landed silently on the jagged remains of a dragon-carved statue that overlooked the stream.
"So this is it," he whispered, gazing down. "The Coiling Dragon Stream. A ruin of the Skyward Pavilion... destroyed not long ago during the War of the Evil Cult."
He knelt slightly and brushed his hand across a cracked tile. It pulsed faintly.
"This place was where demonic energy first began to leak into the mortal realm... but what matters now is not the land—it's the one who dwells within it."
His eyes flickered with anticipation.
"According to the novel, the old demon resides beneath this stream. He was supposed to be Yang Kai's servant, a minor background character. But he just might be the key to flipping this war before it even begins…"
His brows furrowed.
"But something feels wrong. The energy coming from below... it's not the aura of a servant. It's... deeper. Older."
Below the Stream-
Far below the surface, hidden beneath layers of corrupted water and reinforced by natural demonic formations, sat old demon — a person once whispered in fear across upper world during the ancient abyssal rebellion.
He sat cross-legged on a black altar of soulstone, his emaciated body wrapped in thick black robes that swayed gently despite no breeze. Veins of blood-colored Qi ran through his skin, pulsing in slow, deliberate rhythm. Each breath he took dragged in demonic energy from the corrupted stream around him like a starving predator.
He had not moved in three months.
Until now.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open — two piercing lights of crimson flame that radiated raw killing intent.
"Who dares to disturb my cultivation?" he growled, his voice echoing unnaturally across the cavern.
A slow clap resounded through the darkness as Bai Xuan appeared, stepping through a tear in space with calm, deliberate steps.
"I am Yang Xuan, from the Yang family. I bring a message from Yang Kai."
Old demon tilted his head.
"Yang Kai... my disciple?" He snorted. "You wear his family name, yet I do not recognize you. What proof do you bring?"
Bai Xuan's heart tightened.
"Disciple? That's... not what the novel said. In the original story, old demon was just a loyal follower — a minor character, bound by servitude. But here... he calls Yang Kai his disciple? What else has changed?"
Still, his face betrayed nothing.
"I thought you'd ask. Yang Kai told me to speak of your past. Your fall in the Upper Realm — surrounded by ten thousand enemies, betrayed by the Sect of Ten Skies. You and your wife were overwhelmed, your souls torn and scattered... until he found you in the Dragon-Phoenix Cave and nurtured you back."
Old demon brows twitched.
"Enough. That memory... only he could know." His voice softened just slightly. "Very well. What message does he send?"
Bai Xuan bowed deeply and extended a jade slip carved with ancient script. Old demon took it without suspicion and activated it with a touch of divine sense.
BOOM!
A violent burst of light erupted, bathing the cavern in radiant death. Ethereal chains of runes shot outward in every direction—binding not only body but soul. The floor cracked. The surrounding demonic Qi howled.
"W-what is this?!" Mu Qinghai shouted, struggling, his crimson eyes flickering.
"A layered soul trap," Bai Xuan whispered. "First, the Divine Sense Shatter Net. Then the Soul Binding Seal. Finally... soul extraction."
Old demon screamed once more before his body turned limp, his essence compressed into a swirling black orb, trembling violently in its final throes.
Flashback – Days Earlier
Under the light of a violet moon, Bai Xuan crouched beside a demonstone slab outside the ruined stream. Blood marked his palms, which he smeared across a jade slip as ancient runes flared alive.
"Old demon... Yang Kai's hidden trump card. But even demons can be outwitted."
He inscribed the final glyph.
"The Divine Sense Attack Array, Soul-Binding Web, Concealment Seal, and Memory Displacement Rune. This trap will bypass even Soul Lords if I time it right. I only need one breath..."
He clenched the slip in his palm and smiled.
"And one lie."
Moreover he even took the body(that the old demon possessed) and store it in his space ring.It is a demon general body of upper world. Unpredictable strong that even Bai Xuan can't destroy with his trump card.He take it as maybe it will be useful for him in the future.
Present – The Harvest
Old demon soul orb pulsed in Bai Xuan's hand — furious, sentient, and filled with latent power. He slipped it into a soul vessel forged from Nether Jade and sealed it with nine spirit locks.
Then he sat.
He began the soul search.
For three full days, he saw visions. Ancient wars. Forbidden techniques. Tribes long extinct. Demonic scriptures. He witnessed old demon rise, his fall, and most of all — his teachings.
On the third morning, Bai Xuan opened his eyes, trembling with wonder.
"This... this is the true Demonic Path of Void Calamity. Not fragments. Not interpretations. The original. The source."
His hands clenched.
"In my past life, I only had scraps of the Blood Demon Inheritance. I thought it was the peak... but this... this is beyond divine comprehension."
He stood, then hesitated.
"But I cannot use it yet. My current body… this dantian cannot hold demonic Qi. I need a conduit. A vessel. A Void Crystal Core, or perhaps a Soul-Linked Cauldron… something to form an artificial dantian."
Then he remembered one final detail from the demon's memory.
"So it's true... Old demon trained Yang Kai. He give him techniques. He isn't just a tool—he's family."
Bai Xuan smiled darkly.
"Which means... if I wave this soul in front of Yang Kai's eyes, he'll do anything. Give me the Soul-Warming Lotus. The Black Book. His alliances. Even his life.Wait! Maybe he not give black book."
-----------To be continued --------