Chapter 137: Giant Dom

Xu Yang smirked, "So after all that, you're just a self-proclaimed empress, nothing extraordinary."

Ailusha scoffed, "Though your words are crude and unpleasant, they aren't fundamentally wrong. However, there is one thing that makes me unique among all demons on the entire continent."

As Ailusha spoke, she suddenly pointed to her chest, and the clear purple light pulsed once more.

Xu Yang dropped his playful demeanor and looked at Ailusha seriously. "If I'm not mistaken, that's the Demon Heart, which was the root cause of Gilda and his cohorts' rebellion against you."

"Indeed, you're quite sharp. My Demon Heart is truly one of a kind among all demons. The Demon Kings in other domains merely use their Demon Hearts as reservoirs for their life source, simply important organs. But within my Demon Heart, there's an infinite wellspring of energy."

The more clearly Ailusha explained, the more Xu Yang felt he was closing in on his deduction.

"So, was your Demon Heart innate? Or…?"

Ailusha hesitated. "Since you saved me, I'll tell you a bit more. My Demon Heart wasn't something I was born with. It was bestowed upon me by the previous Demon King when I was very young.

In my youth, along with Gilda and over a dozen other strong young demons, I was brought to the demon holy land – the Abyss of Silence!

There, we witnessed a top expert from the ancient Phoenix clan. It was this being who bestowed the Demon Heart upon the Demon King, instructing him to choose a destined successor from the demon race to inherit it.

After seven days and seven nights of intense battles, all the other strongest young demon warriors perished, partly to ensure this secret remained sealed forever. Only Gilda and I survived until the very end, poised for a final showdown."

Xu Yang raised an eyebrow. "And then? You won? You didn't kill him?"

"No, our duel never truly began, because the Demon King directly bestowed the Demon Heart upon me."

Xu Yang's face was bathed in sweat. "Don't tell me your Demon King is also obsessed with appearances?"

"What are you thinking? The Demon King treated me like a father. More importantly, Gilda is the Demon King's own son."

Xu Yang was speechless.

"I see. No wonder Gilda is so arrogant and powerful. It seems he might be even more suited to inherit the throne of Demon Emperor than you."

Ailusha shrugged helplessly. "That's exactly the question that has plagued me for years. To this day, I don't understand why the Demon King made such a choice. From that moment on, Gilda turned against the Demon King, left the Myriad Demon Nest to establish his own faction, and periodically launched civil wars against us."

Xu Yang sighed softly. "So, being the Demon Empress isn't as easy as it seems. By the way, I noticed you're injured. Was that Gilda's doing as well?"

The Empress's gaze suddenly turned incredibly sharp, filled with anger as she looked at Xu Yang.

"It's all your fault!"

As she spoke, Ailusha flipped her palm, and Frostmark's Wrath reappeared in her hand. This time, however, Xu Yang could clearly see that the demonic artifact was no longer a pure, translucent ice-blue. Instead, it was now streaked with red and blue, the bloodstains seemingly solidified within the artifact itself.

"Oh my god... that couldn't be my blood sealed on it, could it?"

"You guessed correctly. To be precise, it was you who sealed my divine artifact, Frostmark's Wrath. This caused an anomalous spiritual essence to form within me, preventing my demonic flames from burning to their fullest potential and severely limiting my combat prowess."

Xu Yang pursed his lips in resignation. Although the Empress's cultivation was terrifying, after living for a hundred thousand years, this was truly his first deep interaction with a demon. He had always kept his distance before, never imagining this divine artifact was so unique.

"My true demon blood is sealed within Frostmark's Wrath. I did this because I feared that one day, if my Demon Heart were stolen, I would lose my life without any chance to fight back. By transferring my true blood into the artifact, I effectively concealed my fatal weakness. And then you, you just went and fused your own blood into it, making me endure immense suffering."

Xu Yang assumed a thoughtful expression. "My apologies, that was my mistake. I'm obligated to help you resolve this issue. Tell me, what do I need to do?"

Ailusha's face suddenly flushed with embarrassment, as if she had been asked a truly unspeakable question. She immediately became exceptionally uncomfortable, even avoiding Xu Yang's gaze.

"Oh my god, could it be...?"

"Silence!!"

Ailusha was filled with extreme shame and fury, finally silencing Xu Yang before he could utter the word that would mortify her.

"I am the Empress of the demons! How could I possibly… with a lowly human like you..."

Xu Yang chuckled. "I say, don't flatter yourself too much. While you're not bad-looking, I, Xu Yang, am not so casual. Even if you begged me, I would still..."

BOOMING ROAR!!

As the two were bickering, an incredibly powerful explosion reverberated from deep within the dense forest.

Immediately afterwards, the ground in that area began to freeze at a visible rate!

An ice-blue, intensely frigid energy was on the verge of completely engulfing the entire jungle!

"Damn it... your teleportation location is truly frustrating. This is the Ice River Temple, one of the five forbidden domains of the demon race, and also one of the most dangerous areas in the entire Dao State!"

The Empress's face showed alarm. She quickly grabbed Xu Yang's arm and abruptly retreated several hundred meters, escaping the most dangerous core area.

"Hehehe, so it's the Empress of the Myriad Demon Nest who has graced us with her presence. As one of the guardians of the Ice River Temple, I must personally welcome you to show proper respect."

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM...

Each heavy footstep brought with it a tremendous tremor, as if mountains were crumbling and the earth was splitting apart.

The terrifying silhouette of this massive figure, standing five meters tall, was enveloped in ice-blue demonic flames. The blue-black great axe in his hand seemed capable of splitting mountains, creating a truly awe-inspiring sight.

"You must be Dom, the Frost Guardian of the Ice River Temple, correct? The renowned Frost Guardian of the demon race—I finally have the honor of meeting you today."

The Empress showed no trace of fear, yet maintained the deferential respect typically accorded to senior demons towards this towering figure.

It is rumored that each of the five forbidden lands of the demon race is home to ancient Demon Venerables of unparalleled power, who rarely appear. Even the Demon Kings who rule various demon factions dare not approach these forbidden lands easily, for the ancestral monsters within would show no mercy, even to their own kind.

However, Xu Yang's teleportation ability was simply too powerful. He had inadvertently transported them to such a desolate and dangerous place that escaping would prove exceedingly difficult.