Flipping to the first page of Archdevil Scripture, a pair of blood-red eyes seemed to leap out from the page. The illustration depicted a humanoid Archdevil standing upright, its upper body bare, revealing taut muscles and a head full of white hair.
As Long Huang studied the illustration, the sensation of being in hell crept over him. The madness of slaughter and an endless sea of bodies flooded his senses, causing his eyes to turn blood-red.
Confused and in pain, he began to lose consciousness in the bloodthirsty frenzy when, suddenly, behind him, his bloodline shadow appeared, roaring towards the sky.
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The thunderous roar shook the heavens.
Gradually, the red bloodlust faded from his eyes, and he regained his awareness. When he awakened, his heart pounded as if it would burst from his chest.
At that moment, the humanoid Archdevil illustration flew out from the book and, in a bright flash, entered between Long Huang's eyebrows. Inside his mind, the details of a body cultivation technique emerged: the first layer of Archdevil Scripture.
"The Origin of Hell, the beginning of evil…" he recited, finding the first layer of the Archdevil Scripture battle qi cultivation technique deeply profound and mysterious.
"This Archdevil Scripture seems to be a set of divine cultivation techniques and combat arts," he pondered.
After a while, Long Huang turned to the second page. This page featured another humanoid illustration of an Archdevil, but with a slight difference.
On the second Archdevil's back were a pair of devilish black wings that spread wide. Its body adorned with blood red armor and horns, exuding an aura of massacre and domination.
Once again, as he turned to the second page, Long Huang was enveloped by an atmosphere that seemed to originate from hell.
His bloodline activated, and behind him, the shadow of the adolescent Ancient Chaos Battle Dragon appeared once more, suppressing the bloodthirsty desire that threatened to overwhelm his consciousness, and the second layer of Archdevil Scripture was successfully imprinted in his mind.
He continued to turn the pages. Third page, fourth page, fifth page…
With each page, another layer of the Archdevil Scripture emerged in his mind. Taking his time, it took Long Huang over two hours to reach the last page.
On the final page, instead of an illustration, a line of flamboyant calligraphy filled the space.
"Burdened by Hell's aura of slaughter, the one who receives the Archdevil Scripture is accepted as my disciple, and savior of the Archdevil Race."
"When the Archdevil appears, countless bodies will fill the land, and rivers will run with blood; no enemy shall escape its blades, undefeated in battle!"
A Martial Emperor Realm cultivator of the Archdevil Race, Ren Sun, left behind these words. Long Huang was taken aback. This Archdevil race member certainly had an outrageous claim, didn't he?
Who among the heavens and earth dared to declare themselves undefeated? Yet here was Ren Sun asserting that after practicing the Archdevil Scripture, he would be unbeatable against all challengers! Didn't he also die in battle?
This simple statement exuded an aura of extreme arrogance and dominance.
At that moment, a dark-colored ring fell to the ground. Surprised, Long Huang picked it up as he picked up a voice sounded in his mind.
The voice explained that the ring was called the Divine Archdevil Ring, while a pair of black blades hung on the wall. The blades were called the Blades of Slaughter.
What Long Huang did not expect was that the Divine Archdevil Ring was a spatial ring, a legendary item.
In the whole of Blossom City, no one possessed one, not even Chi Qide owned such a treasure; only in the Kingdoms beyond the Archdevil Mountain Range might there be someone who possessed one.
The existence of a spatial ring could incite a war among powerful individuals.
After suppressing his excitement, Long Huang followed the instructions on the voice, pricking his finger and letting a drop of blood fall onto the Divine Archdevil Ring.
As his blood touched the ring, a brilliant light burst forth from its dark surface, and it floated up, slipping onto Long Huang's index finger as if it had a mind of its own.
It then vanished from sight, only to reappear again on his finger when he thought about it.
Feeling the vast space within the Divine Archdevil Ring, Long Huang realized it was several times larger than his storage pouch, and unlike a storage pouch, if stolen that anyone could open it; only the owner could open a storage ring.
With the Divine Archdevil Ring, carrying his belongings would be far more convenient, and he wouldn't have to worry about others discovering or stealing it.
Afterward, he turned to gaze at the shiny black blades on the wall. With a small leap, he took down the pair of blades. The blades buzzed with a strange energy that penetrated people's minds, producing a cold, prickling sensation that was unsettling.
Long Huang examined the Blades of Slaughter he held, noticing a faint, black, fiendish current flowing along their bodies, forming blurred images of terrifying horror.
The longer he held the Blades of Slaughter, the more he grew fond of them.
"Blades of Slaughter, from this moment on, you will accompany me in my quest to defeat all my enemies!" he said as he caressed the ridges of the blades.
As if responding to his words, the blades emitted a cheerful hum.
Seeing this, Long Huang only grew fonder. Then, using the same method of recognizing the owner, he dripped a few drops of blood onto the blades, and as the drops of fresh blood melded, a blood-red light burst out from the blades as they hovered in the air.
One flew to the left, and the other to the right of Long Huang. On Long Huang's arms emerged two tiny tattoo-like Blades of Slaughter.
Long Huang placed the Archdevil Scripture book into the Asura ring for safekeeping and prepared to leave the room; however, he paused just as he reached the door and turned back, looking at the jade bed. Placing it away, too.
After stepping out of the third room, Long Huang circled once around the cave. After confirming that he did not miss anything, he walked to the exit.
As he exited the cave, he looked at the water dispersing pearl. He did not plan to remove the inlaid Water Dispersing Pearl at the cave's entrance, for he planned to use the cave in the future for his practice, given the cave's well-hidden location in the valley.
Emerging from the lake, Long Huang swam to the side and put on his clothes. He then returned to his camping site.
Exactly at this moment, the little deer had finished absorbing the spiritual energy from the Yang fruit and came running towards Long Huang in a cheerful gait.
Long Huang noticed that after absorbing two Yang fruits, the Nine Element Spirit Deer fur became glossier, and its eyes brighter; however, its body size remained the same.
"Little guy, you have to go back now." Long Huang leaned forward and said to the little deer. But as he turned around to leave, the little deer cried out and, in a flash, appeared in front of Long Huang, snorting. Long Huang was dazed for a moment and jokingly said,
"Little guy, don't tell me that you want to follow me? You do know I kill your kind, right?"
Unexpectedly, the little deer snorted and nodded its little head. Long Huang did not expect that this little deer would be willing to follow him. After a brief consideration, he said with a smile,
"Very well, it beats being lonely in this forest, so let's go." A boy and a deer departed from the valley.
Passing through the valley and seeing the mountains of bones, Long Huang wondered to himself,
"Were all these beings killed by Ren Sun?"
As they exited and returned to the forest, the cover of night slowly fell the moon hung low; a boy and a deer could be seen rushing through the forest towards the outskirts of it.
As they met a flowing stream close to the edge of the forest, Long Huang decided to camp for the night. As Long Huang set up camp, the little deer went and scavenged for some food.
"Hmm, now thinking about it, I don't sense any changes after breaking through to the 13th stage."
Long Huang then sat and circulated his Cultivation technique. As he did this, he noticed that his Meridians were more flexible and twice as big.
The human body has 12 main meridians, and most cultivators stop at Tempering 9 either due to the extreme pain, but some strong-minded geniuses could temper the 3 remaining meridians.
What wasn't known to those geniuses was that there were 14 meridians and 108 mara points that helped the flow of qi in the body. This was knowledge that even Long Huang would have been ignorant of, if not for the dragon's inheritance.
A deep weariness settled over him, so Long Huang decided to retire for the night. Before lying down, he gently pulled back the flap of his tent and peered into the moonlight. There, curled in a soft patch of grass, was the little deer. The sight was a small, simple comfort. He finally turned in, hoping for a peaceful night.
But his hope was in vain.
AHHHHHHH!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Long Huang jolted upright, his heart hammering against his ribs. His robes clung to him, drenched in cold sweat. He tried to calm himself after the nightmare, which had been anything but pleasant. It was a hellish scene filled with torment just like he had witnessed in the Archdevil Scripture.
The screams of agony of lost souls, along with blood and destruction, replayed over and over in his mind, accompanied by the constant urge to kill.
Long Huang took out the Archdevil Scripture and began cultivating it to calm his mind. Just as he was about to complete circulating the technique, his Chaos Battle Dragon breathing technique activated on its own.
The two techniques clashed over and over until the Chaos Battle Dragon Breathing technique devoured the Archdevil Scripture cultivation technique and evolved. Long Huang Qi now seemed to carry a devilish aura.
This aura scared the Nine Element Spirit Deer awake it causing it to run away frantically.
"Hehe!"
Chuckling softly, Long Huang worked to soothe the little deer, his movements gentle. In that quiet moment of connection, he felt the two arts within his mind truly become.
"Now that it has become a new technique, it's time for a name change."
"Let's call it the Chaos Battle Devil Dragon Art."