Chapter 116: August Twentieth (End of This Episode)

Episode 5, Chapter 22, August 20th – End of this Volume.

The Lord of Yuanchu Mountain, Elder Yi, and Liu Qiyue all watched the entrance of the Demon-God Blood Pool Cave. Finally, Meng Chuan, with his coarse, short hair, emerged, his aura clearly transformed.

"He succeeded," the Lord of Yuanchu Mountain and Elder Yi both smiled and nodded.

"A-Chuan!" Liu Qiyue rushed over. Meng Chuan smiled and held Qiyue's hand. "I am now a Dan Cloud Realm Demon-God, having fully mastered the Thunder Annihilation Fiendbody."

Liu Qiyue felt relief and was filled with joy.

"Alright, you two should quickly descend the mountain," the Lord of Yuanchu Mountain said with a smile. "You mustn't linger on Life-Death Peak."

"Yes," Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue respectfully replied in unison, then immediately went down the mountain together.

The Lord of Yuanchu Mountain and Elder Yi watched them depart from afar.

"Since Marquis Guihai, our Yuanchu Mountain finally has another Demon-God with the perfected Thunder Annihilation Fiendbody," the Lord of Yuanchu Mountain remarked with emotion. "And this time, when he underwent the Life-Death ordeal, he even attracted nine bolts of heavenly lightning. There must be something special about him."

"I observed him closely just now," Elder Yi said. "Both the heavenly lightning power and the fiendish aura within his body are stronger than I anticipated."

"Indeed."

The Lord of Yuanchu Mountain nodded. "I noticed that too. It's normal for the heavenly lightning power to be stronger since he endured nine bolts. But his fiendish aura is about fifty percent stronger than Marquis Guihai's when he first became a Demon-God. That's unusual."

"Perhaps the Venerable One knows," Elder Yi said.

They didn't speculate further. There are many secrets among humanity that even they, as Marquis Demon-Gods, aren't entirely privy to. For instance, what lies at the bottom of the 'Bewildering Heart Cave'? Only those who manage to walk to the bottom while maintaining their clarity can know. The Lord of Yuanchu Mountain and Elder Yi, having never reached the bottom, naturally didn't know. There are many such unknown matters. Meng Chuan likely possesses a secret, but if the Venerable One doesn't speak of it, they dare not inquire further.

Many of humanity's secrets are controlled by the Creation Venerables of the three major sects. If they choose not to speak, there's naturally a reason for their silence.

Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue traveled at a brisk pace, both in excellent spirits.

"Hm? Meng Chuan?" A Demon-God spotted Meng Chuan from a distance and immediately noticed his distinctly different aura. The aura of a mortal and a Demon-God differs greatly. "He became a Demon-God?"

"Meng Chuan, became a Demon-God?"

"He passed the Life-Death ordeal and became a Demon-God?"

On their journey from Life-Death Peak back to Jingming Peak, seven Demon-Gods of Yuanchu Mountain saw them and realized Meng Chuan had become a Demon-God. The news would surely spread quickly.

Back inside their cave dwelling on Jingming Peak.

"We must celebrate properly this afternoon. I'll cook myself," Liu Qiyue said, overjoyed, directing the servants to prepare various ingredients.

"Alright, I'll go to the training ground first to get used to my current strength," Meng Chuan said.

"Go on, go on. I'll call you when the food's ready," Liu Qiyue waved him off.

Meng Chuan then went to the training ground.

"According to the records, a perfected Thunder Annihilation Fiendbody at the Dan Cloud Realm should be comparable to an ordinary second-level demon king. Plus, my Demon-God foundation is three times deeper, so purely in terms of physical body and true essence, I should be significantly stronger than an ordinary second-level demon king," Meng Chuan thought to himself. The books had clearly outlined the strength comparisons. "Of course, one mustn't underestimate second-level demon kings. While our human race has geniuses, the demon race also has elites, and there are outstanding individuals among second-level demon kings."

"Let's see my current strongest attribute: speed."

Meng Chuan was eager to try.

With a thought, electricity surged from every cell in his body. In an instant, Meng Chuan completely transformed into a streak of lightning, shooting out of the training ground's range.

His speed was simply too fast!

"So fast," Meng Chuan thought, feeling as if he had leaped out of the training ground and soared more than thirty zhang high. Smaller mountain peaks were about that high; this was just a casual start. Observing himself closely, his entire body was covered in lightning. From a distance, he looked like a bolt of lightning moving.

"No wonder they say that practitioners of the Seven-Refinement Thunder Annihilation Fiendbody boast unmatched speed among all other fiendbodies. My perfected Thunder Annihilation Fiendbody's speed is truly unparalleled." A flash of lightning traced a large circle around Jingming Peak and returned to the cave dwelling. In that short time, he had covered seven to eight *li*. Despite having achieved this speed himself, Meng Chuan was still somewhat shocked upon returning to the training ground, sighing inwardly, "No wonder they say that upon reaching the Great Sun Realm, one's speed is comparable to a Marquis Demon-God. And upon reaching the Fenghou Realm, speed is considered unrivaled. It's said that in the final stages of cultivation, one's speed can rival true lightning."

The Thunder Annihilation Fiendbody, the further it progresses, the closer its speed gets to that of actual lightning.

Just at its initial completion, its speed was already comparable to a Marquis Demon-God. This was truly formidable.

"However, defeating demon kings depends on many factors."

"When I fought the Poison Pool Demon King back then, I used my soul energy, and my speed was faster than his. But with one strike, his protective black mist was nearly a *zhang* thick, and my soul energy-enhanced strike only penetrated an inch deep. It was far, far from breaking through his protective black mist. While my speed was extraordinary, other aspects were merely at the Immortal Realm Demon-God level." Meng Chuan understood this point.

Each type of supreme-grade fiendbody has its specialties, and they are incredibly powerful in their respective areas.

For example, the Undying Fiendbody, among the twelve supreme-grade fiendbodies, has the strongest domain and the strongest vitality! Broken arms and legs could regrow in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and vital injuries like pierced hearts could heal rapidly. Once its domain was unleashed, enemies found it difficult to get close. Its flaw was its ordinary close-combat ability.

Meng Chuan's Thunder Annihilation Fiendbody specialized solely in speed! However, extreme speed alone was enough to make one renowned throughout the world.

For escaping, enemies found it hard to pursue.

For pursuing enemies, enemies found it hard to escape.

For killing enemies? Enemies would be struck before they even saw it coming.

"However, I mustn't rely on my speed to court death! Didn't Senior Brother Gao Cong, who practiced the Nine-Refinement Thunder Annihilation Fiendbody, and Marquis Guihai both still die?" Meng Chuan reminded himself not to become arrogant.

Gao Cong was eventually surrounded and killed by a demon army of over thirty third-level demon kings and more than a hundred second-level demon kings. Marquis Guihai, whose speed was renowned as unparalleled, also died during a mysterious special mission.

Humans were formidable, but the demon race held the upper hand against humanity! Demon kings naturally had their own specialties and various bizarre techniques. If one was careless, one could still lose their life.

At the training ground, Meng Chuan also practiced his saber techniques.

Under normal circumstances, when executing saber techniques, his soul energy would integrate with his physical true essence to perform them.

"My strength is stronger than an ordinary second-level demon king. The Poison Pool Demon King probably had about thirty percent of my current strength? It was really lucky that I escaped from the Poison Pool Demon King back then. Fortunately, I could run, and fortunately, my father arrived quickly." Meng Chuan felt a lingering fear as he personally experienced his current strength.

"However, has the help of soul energy decreased for me?" Meng Chuan frowned slightly.

Soul energy could still deeply mobilize a Demon-God body, and true essence was incredibly refined, but the explosive force only increased by approximately one time.

"When I was a mortal, with soul energy, my strength could increase several times, and my speed increase was also astonishing," Meng Chuan thought. "After becoming a Dan Cloud Realm Demon-God, soul energy can only increase my strength by one time. Furthermore, soul energy consumption has increased."

Completely controlling such a powerful body also placed a greater burden on his soul energy.

"If I reach the Great Sun Realm, the help from soul energy will be even less, won't it?" Meng Chuan speculated. "Unless my soul energy also undergoes a qualitative change."

That afternoon, Meng Chuan enjoyed the elaborate meal prepared by Qiyue.

The joy of becoming a Demon-God, when shared with someone, was a very happy experience.

He just couldn't tell his father immediately.

After lunch, Meng Chuan unfolded a sheet of paper and began to paint.

This painting was for his father.

It was an ink painting, simple and quick to create.

First, he painted a family of three: a young father and a mother holding a child. The infant was, of course, himself. With just a few ink strokes, a figure appeared, full of childlike innocence, the brushstrokes imbued with happy memories of the family being together.

Next, he painted a father and a boy, the father teaching him saber techniques alone.

The boy grew taller; the father sent him to Jinghu Dao Academy.

At the Demon Slaying Grand Meet, the youth displayed his prowess! The father smiled broadly, filled with immense pride.

On the ruins of Dongning City, the young man and his father walked side by side.

On a large bird, the young man and his father, along with others, soared into the sky led by Marquis Nanyun on the back of a flying beast.

Then came the father and son's farewell, with the son remaining on Yuanchu Mountain.

And finally, the bald youth sat cross-legged in the Demon-God Blood Pool, with heavenly lightning striking down, undergoing the Life-Death ordeal.

The ink sketch was simple, full of childlike joy and innocence, yet every stroke was also filled with Meng Chuan's longing for his father. He had never been separated from his father for so long since childhood; he truly missed his father! How he wished he could tell his father in person: "Dad, I've become a Demon-God!" But he couldn't descend the mountain, so he could only convey it through this painting.

Meng Chuan spent nearly two hours completing the painting, then wrote a few lines on the far right of the scroll:

"Your son, on August 20th, passed the Life-Death ordeal and became a Demon-God, achieving the perfected Thunder Annihilation Fiendbody. I specially made this doodle as a gift for my father, Meng Dajiang."

"Meng Chuan, painted on August 20th."

(End of this Volume)

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