To grasp the Devil Qi, as well as the realm and power level required to break through to the Ten Directions Heaven Fiend, was a singular opportunity.

This thing was so enormous, so vast that it stirred his desire, so immense that he was prepared to take a gamble: to see if he could refine it using Devil Qi.

Devil Qi was also a form of primal energy of heaven and earth. Logically, if he could condense Yuan Power from the primal energy of heaven and earth, he should also be able to refine Devil Qi within his body, turning it into an internal source of strength to wield—two different manifestations of power.

Although the two differed in certain aspects, both could grant strength to a Heavenly Scholar.

If he could skillfully utilize the Devil Qi without suffering from Qi deviation or demonic possession, having an additional source of power should undoubtedly advance his cultivation. Perhaps.

He might truly be able to step further.

The Devil Qi merged into his body, just like the primal energy of heaven and earth.

Altering the form of the Yuan Power within him—this alone was enough to make his strength greater. As long as he could truly control the Devil Qi, in the Nine Palaces Heaven realm, his fusion of Devil Qi and the primal energy of heaven and earth should theoretically surpass a Heavenly Scholar cultivating only one type of power.

All these thoughts raced through his mind.

He felt that the proposal from the Source Poison seemed viable, yet a lingering apprehension remained in his heart; he feared the Devil Qi might not integrate with his body. After all, his current bloodline carried the power of the Four Sacred Beasts.

Vaguely, he sensed a fundamental conflict between the power within the Four Sacred Beasts' blood and the Devil Qi.

He worried that if he truly began cultivating with the Devil Qi, it might trigger an unwelcome change in the power of the Four Sacred Beasts.

However, he did not voice these concerns to the Source Poison. Wearing the Soul Controlling Crown, the surrounding demons and bizarre flora all instinctively steered clear, allowing him passage unimpeded to the summit of the peak.

Suddenly, Ji Changkong tensed, focusing all his attention.

He also signaled the Source Poison, advising caution.

Beside him, the demons parted ways. All that met Ji Changkong’s gaze were strange and grotesque fiends. These demons bore a superficial resemblance to the fierce beasts of the Five Elements Continent, yet each radiated torrents of Devil Qi and was covered in thick, viscous venom, their sharp demonic spines standing rigidly erect.

These fiends were somewhat similar to the Three-Headed Hound Demon, but they lacked the intelligence of the Three-Headed Fiend; they possessed only the simplest, most direct impulse: slaughter.

A dense, oppressive swarm of demons.

There must have been hundreds of thousands, among them perhaps a few thousand fiends whose vitality matched that of an Eight Trigrams Heavenly Scholar. The fiends possessing the life force of a Seven Stars Heavenly Scholar numbered in the hundreds of thousands—countless.

Within the horde, there were also demons whose vitality approached that of a Nine Palaces Heaven expert. These were the fewest in number, yet there were still over a hundred. These demons pulsed with overwhelming Devil Qi, showing no fear of Ji Changkong, who wore the Soul Controlling Crown, nor did they exhibit the expected deference toward the Source Poison.

Surprisingly, these demons, possessing the vitality of Nine Palaces Heavenly Scholars, actually parted ways proactively the moment Ji Changkong and the Source Poison approached.

They allowed the two to advance unimpeded into the depths.

Yin! A resonant howl suddenly emanated from the Dragon's Radiance Long Saber.

The Dragon's Radiance Long Saber violently leaped out, shaking intensely in the void.

Ji Changkong’s expression shifted slightly; he understood that the saber had detected a grave danger, otherwise, the Dragon's Radiance Long Saber would never have emerged so rashly.

Beside him, the demons possessing the formidable vitality of Nine Palaces Heavenly Scholars all glared watchfully at him, fixing their eyes on the soaring saber. Their gazes flashed with intense hatred, looking as if they wished to tear Ji Changkong to shreds.

Ji Changkong froze, daring not to make any rash moves.

Watching the powerful demons beside him stare fixedly, displaying palpable malevolence, he abruptly stopped and cautiously glanced behind him.

Behind him, the ground was choked with a dense multitude of demons! Hundreds of thousands of fiends had surrounded him.

Suddenly, these demons seemed to have lost their fear of him.

They appeared to be silently waiting for something.

The Dragon's Radiance Long Saber danced in the void. For some inexplicable reason, upon reaching this place, the saber acted strangely agitated; the killing intent surging from its blade was palpable, as if it desired to annihilate every demon present.

Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! This single message resonated continuously from the Dragon's Radiance Long Saber, urging Ji Changkong to slay every demon here, leaving not a single soul alive.

Ahead lay the summit of this mountain peak, the source of the towering Devil Qi. Yet, Ji Changkong dared not advance another step.

“These demons are terrifying; nearly a hundred with such robust life forces. Their true power likely does not fall far short of a Nine Palaces Heavenly Scholar. Where exactly is this place, to harbor so many frightening fiends?” The Source Poison surveyed the surroundings, utterly astonished.

Ji Changkong forced a wry smile, but his expression remained solemn; he dared not relax for a second. He silently exchanged a look with the Source Poison, signaling that he needed to retreat temporarily.

From the demons’ eyes, he perceived an overwhelming sense of hatred. Judging by the Dragon's Radiance Long Saber’s reaction, he felt he had walked into a trap. Facing nearly a hundred demons with the vitality of Nine Palaces Heavenly Scholars, he knew he stood no chance of victory, hence his decision to withdraw first.

“Xuanyuan! The new generation Xuanyuan!” Suddenly, a piercing shriek echoed from the summit of the massive peak ahead. It was sharp, like a blade-tip carving through stone, grating and unbearable.

Startled stiff, Ji Changkong froze. Xuanyuan? Someone knew who he was? Someone knew he would come here? What in the blazes was going on? He had crossed over from the tunnel the Heavenly Martial King connected to the Demonic Continent. When the Heavenly Martial King was setting up that passage, he must have been affected by the power of the Soul Quelling Melody, causing an error during the tunnel's construction, thus depositing him on this entirely alien continent.

This continent was not in the Solar Star Domain; he had no idea how many star systems separated it from the Five Elements Continent. How could someone know of his existence here? As confusion swirled, a demon with the head of a python but the body of a human slowly descended from the peak.

An overwhelming tide of Devil Qi erupted from this demon. With every step it took, its colossal life force pressed down upon Ji Changkong like a mountain range.

“You haven't reached the peak of the Nine Palaces Heaven realm, nor did you arrive via the passage beneath the Poison Dragon Pool. You were dragged here by accident?” The python-headed demon also sounded puzzled.

This was the powerful entity whose life force Ji Changkong had sensed earlier when probing with his soul—its vitality was even greater than Cao Xuanqi’s!

“Poison Dragon Pool? The tunnel beneath?” Ji Changkong exclaimed in shock, staring blankly at the demon. “What are you talking about?”

“So, you still do not understand your mission.” The demon’s triangular eyes scrutinized Ji Changkong with wicked calculation. It then looked at the Dragon's Radiance Long Saber hovering in the air, suddenly reaching behind it and tearing at the sky.

Behind the massive peak, a shimmering, colossal vortex materialized as if an invisible curtain had been ripped apart! Within that vortex, meteorites collided, and specks of strange light shot wildly in all directions.

This was a turbulent region of another space. At the center of that spatial turbulence lay a massive tunnel. This passage remained wide open, water-like ripples churning within it, through which the aura of the Four Sacred Beasts was faintly discernible. Deep inside the tunnel, there seemed to be an immensely powerful, transparent barrier. Beyond this barrier flowed foul, black water. Further in the depths, black stones pulsed with a faint glow. A gigantic creature periodically manifested in the black water of the passage.

Ji Changkong was struck as if by a physical blow, his eyes wide with disbelief and horror. He pointed toward the black water deep within the tunnel: “This, this is? This is?”

“The Poison Dragon Pool!” the python-headed demon enunciated, word by painstaking word.

Indeed! That was the Poison Dragon Pool! The tunnel contained the essence of the Four Sacred Beasts, and the stones submerged in the black water deep within were the Black Jade Primal Crystals—substances he knew intimately! The massive creature that flickered in and out of sight was none other than the Heavenly Devouring Winged Dragon, which should have been deep beneath the Oro Temple of the Western Regions! Heaven! What was happening? Ji Changkong was utterly bewildered.

“You were originally… supposed to enter from here!” The python-headed demon pointed at the spatial turbulence hanging above the Devil Qi-shrouded mountain, then at the tunnel revealing the floor of the Poison Dragon Pool. “You are the new generation Xuanyuan. You were meant to emerge from this tunnel. Your mission is to kill every living being on our continent. This is the mission of every generation of Xuanyuan!”

“Just as my mission is to blast open this tunnel and lead all the living things of our continent into your Five Elements Continent! This is the mission for both of us!” The python-headed demon continued, looking at Ji Changkong with a sharp, grating voice, “It seems you… arrived a little early. You haven't reached the Nine Palaces Heaven realm yet. It appears the Ancestor Demon finally has a chance to see the light of day!”

“What in the—what the hell is going on here?” Ji Changkong couldn't help but curse.

“This is the war between the Ancestor Demon and the Four Sacred Beasts! You and I represent their respective sides! I achieved my current strength by relying on the Ancestor Demon’s Devil Qi, while you became a Nine Palaces Heavenly Scholar relying on the essence blood of the Four Sacred Beasts and the primal energy of heaven and earth. The Ancestor Demon is imprisoned here by the Four Sacred Beasts, and the Four Sacred Beasts are equally gravely wounded and lying dormant on the Five Elements Continent, forced to rely on people like you and me to continue the struggle.”

“The Ancestor Demon nourished us with Devil Qi; our mission is to break into the Five Elements Continent, completely annihilate it, and release the Ancestor Demon from this place. Your mission is to prevent all this from happening—to slay every living creature on our continent, leaving us no chance whatsoever!”

“Six hundred years. The Ancestor Demon waited another six hundred years, fostering me and others like me, all for the purpose of entering your continent, slaughtering life forms such as yourselves, and destroying the dormant bodies of the Four Sacred Beasts. Only then can the Ancestor Demon break free!”

The python-headed demon suddenly let out a sharp, piercing shriek. The sound was excruciatingly high-pitched, and all the surrounding demons surged toward them, as if eager to tear Ji Changkong to pieces.