An icy Fire Dragon coiled above Lu Yuan’s head, its presence dropping the ambient temperature significantly. The Fire-Devouring Dragon was finally complete. Lu Yuan exhaled a plume of white vapor.

At the same time, Lu Yuan noticed that this cold flame could not harm the surrounding demonic energy in the slightest. Demonic energy only feared righteous energy; it was entirely unafraid of any other aura, capable of vying with Immortal Qi or Desolate Qi without being at a disadvantage. Of course, righteousness and evil inherently restrain one another; whoever is stronger dictates the restraint.

The reason Lu Yuan could suppress it so easily was that the initial character for 'Righteousness' resided within him, whereas the opposing character for 'Evil' was clearly not present here. The character for 'Evil' was held by the Lord of the Demonic Civilization itself—it was merely a single avatar of the Demon Son at best. Right, I have already lingered here for some time; I should perhaps quicken my pace a bit.

“Oh? Another individual possessing righteous energy has emerged. Come here.” Within the void, a massive demonic hand reached out towards Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan could have easily shattered this hand; the hand itself was nothing special. But then he suddenly considered: since I am still trapped within the Myriad Demon Annihilation Formation, wouldn't I be allowing this demonic hand to seize me, taking me directly to the Demon Son, allowing me to slay him? Wouldn't that be an excellent outcome?

Lu Yuan resolved his mind and allowed the grasping hand to seize him. Immediately following this was a spatial transference, and in what seemed like an instant, he arrived at the summit of Mount Gall. …… And at this moment, a spectacular battle was unfolding atop Mount Gall.

The impact was like the shattering of the heavens, the rumbling like the cracking of the earth. With two thunderous booms, heaven shattered and earth split apart. Amidst endless roaring, black light and white light continuously erupted.

The black light represented the filth and evil between heaven and earth; the white light represented the justice of heaven and earth. Black light and white light clashed, exploding outward. The confrontation between evil darkness and luminous righteousness.

BOOM! Kong Ni and Kong Mingde both crashed heavily onto the ground, their faces pale, their ceremonial coronets fallen. These two were beings at the Half-Step Civilization Realm; such existences were normally incredibly difficult to defeat.

Yet, they were unexpectedly bested by one who was merely at the tenth stage of the World Realm. The Demon Son truly lived up to his title. However, their defeat was also partly due to the Myriad Demon Life Extinction Formation.

Without the aid of this formation, they might not have been defeated so thoroughly; the Half-Step Civilization Realm was not to be trifled with. On the other side were Meng Wei, Su Yue Mian, and several other people from the Confucian Civilization. These individuals were defeated even more miserably and swiftly; they were no match for the Demon Son, who effortlessly crushed them using the myriad demonic auras.

Meng Wei was now entirely blackened, Su Yue Mian was bound by countless demonic ropes, and the others were faring no better. All defeated, all injured. This was the astounding might of the Demon Son.

A figure descended lightly from the void, accompanied by a flash of black light. The person descending from the void was impossibly handsome, with sharp eyebrows and piercing eyes, though the corners of his eyes curved slightly with a touch of eerie charm. He bore a small red mole at the center of his brow, possessed lips as red as cinnabar, teeth like white jade, and a high-bridged nose.

His face was white as snow, his robes black as ink, and his entire being exuded a feeling of sinister strangeness as he slowly landed. A pair of extremely sharp boots touched the ground. They were long, pointed, and elegant boots.

Was this the Demon Son? The Seven Sons of Destiny each possessed their own distinct aura. Based on current observation, the Son of Desolation was overwhelmingly dominant and invincible; the Son of Immortality was soft, treacherous, and cunning; the Son of the Sword was domineering and arrogant.

As for the Demon Son, he was devastatingly handsome and strangely wicked; the Son of the Buddha held a hint of the bearing of a great monk. The Demon Son landed gently, his voice exceptionally magnetic: “Fifteen people from the Confucian Civilization. Excellent.

A sixteenth will appear shortly. Once all sixteen of you gather, it will be perfect for me to enact the Great Method of Refining Righteousness into Demonhood, assisting me in shattering through to the Half-Step Civilization Realm.” One could advance to the Civilization Realm directly from the tenth stage of the World Realm, or by first reaching the Half-Step Civilization Realm. However, the Civilization Realm was exceedingly difficult, so most opted to first reach the Half-Step Realm to enhance their combat strength.

The Demon Son waved his hand, and countless strands of demonic energy burrowed into the bodies of the fifteen individuals. Simultaneously, fifteen demonic energy trees materialized, suspending all fifteen members of the Confucian Civilization. Thin wisps of black energy were injected into their bodies, draining their life force to fuel the Great Method of Refining Righteousness into Demonhood.

Kong Ni and the other fifteen faces turned ashen; the sensation of the Myriad Demons Devouring the Body was utterly agonizing. “The sixteenth person is coming…” The Demon Son laughed heartily, rather smugly. This time, the haul was immense: he would obtain the Chaos Civilization Crystal, and sixteen experts from the Confucian Civilization to cultivate his Great Method, delivering a severe blow to the Confucian Civilization in one go.

The Confucian Civilization deserved nothing less than to be trampled under his heel. Once he reached the Civilization Realm, he would ascend to the Confucian Civilization, crush the Vice-Master of the Three Books Civilization and the Vice-Master of the Integrity Civilization underfoot, and ultimately destroy the Confucian Civilization. If he did not destroy the righteous, how could his own demonic nature be made manifest?

The righteous deserved death. He heard that Lu Yuan, the eighth Son of Destiny, used the Nourishing Heaven Sword, an immortal sword of the righteous lineage—a figure deserving of death. If he hadn't been in the Central Celestial Court, he would have killed Lu Yuan long ago.

The sixteenth person? The Great Method of Refining Righteousness into Demonhood required exactly sixteen individuals who had cultivated righteous energy and reached a high level. The sixteenth person was approaching quickly, and the Demon Son anticipated it with great eagerness.

The sixteenth person—which junior brother would it be? Kong Ni, Kong Mingde, and the others were deeply disheartened, wondering which junior brother had drawn such ill fate as to run into the Demon Son. Alas, it seemed they would all accompany him in death this time.

The sixteenth person finally appeared, brought forth clutched in a pitch-black demonic hand, a hand imbued with endless demonic will, not to be trifled with—Su Yue Mian had fallen to this very hand. Many looked over, wondering which junior brother it was, but before anyone could clearly see, the sixteenth person flashed, and a beam of white light instantly sliced away the demonic hand. Breaking the hand wasn't a great feat, but this person would certainly not be the Demon Son’s match.

The Demon Son's power was too formidable. Under the authority of the Myriad Demon Life Extinction Great Formation, the number of individuals in the entire Chaos Civilization Beast capable of defeating the Demon Son could be counted on one hand, no more than ten, and the Confucian Civilization possessed no such figure. But in that single instant, before anyone could get a clear look at the sixteenth person, this individual struck fiercely.

A streak of white light followed the sixteenth person’s movement, shooting directly toward the Demon Son. The Demon Son sneered dismissively. Just one of his prey daring to counterattack him?

Truly laughable. The Demon Son genuinely did not take this sixteenth person seriously. He conjured the Nine Heavens Demonic Lock.

This technique consisted of nine layers of defense, each stronger than the last, operating in a continuous cycle. If one managed to break the first layer to attack the second, the first layer would already be mending itself. Should one possess the ability to shatter all nine layers, the first layer would have already fully repaired itself—a cycle that rendered the technique virtually unsolvable.

The only possibility was to shatter all nine layers of demonic defense at the absolute fastest speed. Furthermore, each layer of the nine-layered demonic defense possessed its own unique characteristic. The first layer was simple: a thousand demonic soldiers.

The second was the Lock of the Inner Demon, requiring the identification of the demon's weakness. The third was the Lock of Demonic Trouble, accompanied by endless vexations. Each layer differed, but the ninth layer, known as the Lock of Thousand Mechanisms, was notoriously difficult to break: it contained a thousand potential exits, only one of which was correct, with the other nine hundred and ninety-nine being traps.

Therefore, when the Demon Son unleashed the Nine Heavens Demonic Lock, he was supremely confident it could repel the sixteenth person's attack. How could anyone possibly breach his Nine Heavens Demonic Lock? But in that very moment, the white light of the sixteenth person flickered, instantly piercing the first layer of the demonic lock.

The second layer, the Lock of the Inner Demon, broken. The third layer, the Lock of Demonic Trouble, broken. The fourth layer, broken.

The fifth layer, broken. The sixth layer, broken. The ninth layer, the Lock of Thousand Mechanisms, paused momentarily, but an almost imperceptible gamble was initiated, and instantly the Lock of Thousand Mechanisms was shattered.

At this point, the first layer of the demonic lock had not yet reformed. This meant that all nine layers had been breached in a single instant. The Demon Son was utterly stunned.

His Nine Heavens Demonic Lock had been broken, especially the ninth layer, the Lock of Thousand Mechanisms. Moreover, the first layer had not yet regenerated. He had never anticipated such a situation.

Caught completely off guard, he swung his left hand, flicking out the Overwhelming Demonic Ink. But that demonic ink was pierced clean through by the streak of white light! The Demon Son cried out in pain; he had actually been struck.

He violently retreated, transforming into a mass of demonic energy, surging backward. Simultaneously, a drop of scarlet blood fell onto the ground. As soon as this single drop landed, the spot immediately erupted with endless demonic energy.

The Demon Son’s very essence was demonic blood, capable of demonizing heaven and earth; even a single drop held world-shattering power. Who exactly was this sixteenth person? At this, Kong Ni, Meng Wei, and Kong Mingde began to grow curious.

This sixteenth person used the white light of righteous energy, clearly identifying him as someone from the Confucian Civilization, but which one? Reviewing the other junior brothers of the Confucian Civilization, none possessed such skill as to injure the Demon Son with a single strike, even if it was while the Demon Son was careless. Still, injuring him was an extraordinary feat.

“Who is this sixteenth person?” Kong Ni asked. “I can’t recall either. It seems we don’t have such an accomplished junior brother in the Confucian Civilization; if we did, we should know,” Kong Mingde replied.

“Could it be Junior Brother Xun Shanshu?” Meng Wei interjected. Xun Shanshu was a rising talent in the Confucian Civilization with considerable potential, not quite on the level of the Seven Sons of Destiny, but nonetheless remarkable. “No.

Although Junior Brother Xun has immense potential and is here at the Sacred Land of Civilization, he is ultimately only at the eighth stage of the World Realm. He couldn't wound the Demon Son, even when the Demon Son was careless,” Kong Mingde stated, as he was Xun Shanshu's junior brother and knew some details. “The Ninefold Demonic Lock is not easy to break,” Kong Ni remarked.

“I used all my strength just now and couldn't penetrate it.” (First chapter delivered.)