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Chapter 114: The Nine Demon Lords
Chapter 114: The Nine Demon Lords
Within the mountain fortress, hundreds of demonic cultivators seethed with murderous intent. But the moment they laid eyes on Lin Yuan, they uncontrollably fell to their knees and bowed their heads.
It was an unparalleled suppression that came from the depths of their souls. It was as if every demonic cultivator in the world was under his 'jurisdiction'.
"How is this possible?"
The sinister youth, Bian Mao, was kneeling on the ground, unable to move, but his heart was raging with turmoil.
With his strength, even if he encountered a peak Ninth Realm expert, he might not win or escape, but he wouldn't kneel so easily.
Yet here he was, not only kneeling but also finding that all the demonic arts and forbidden techniques within his body had fallen silent. It was inconceivable.
"This Summer Marquis Yuan…"
A chill ran through the heart of the sinister youth, Bian Mao.
Only now did he understand why, when news spread that Summer Marquis Yuan had emerged from the Great Abyss, those veteran demonic cultivators who had lived through the era thirty years ago had looked so terrified. Far from thinking of hunting him down, they hadn't even dared to harbor hostile thoughts.
Back then, Bian Mao had been dismissive, even mocking those veterans for being scared witless by Summer Marquis Yuan, their courage failing them even decades later.
But now, facing Summer Marquis Yuan himself, the sinister youth, Bian Mao, truly grasped just how terrifying the legendary figure who had once ruled over countless demonic cultivators across the Five Regions and been known as the 'Demon Sovereign' truly was. His own ambitions to replace Summer Marquis Yuan and become a new generation legend now seemed laughable.
If Summer Marquis Yuan had truly been so easily dealt with, the Nine Demon Lords of the Five Regions would have hunted him down the moment he emerged from the Great Abyss.
How could they have let a 'little demon lord' like himself get the upper hand?
"So, we were being used," a realization dawned on Yin Shi Liu, who was also kneeling on the ground.
Their mission this time hadn't been a closely guarded secret; several of the Nine Demon Lords had been aware of it.
And yet, from start to finish, they hadn't encountered any obstacles. Instead, they had smoothly and easily located Summer Marquis Yuan's position.
Up until now, Yin Shi Liu had thought that fortune was on their side.
But now, it was clear that their group had simply been a 'knife' in the hands of those veteran demonic cultivators.
Those veterans, including the Nine Demon Lords, had lived through the era of Summer Marquis Yuan, and they knew just how terrifying he was.
That was why, even knowing that Summer Marquis Yuan had just emerged from the Great Abyss and couldn't possibly be in his prime, they still didn't dare act.
And then this group of young cultivators had stepped forward, a welcome surprise for those veterans.
At the behest of several of the Demon Lords, they had come together to discuss hunting down the legendary demonic cultivator, Summer Marquis Yuan.
But they had never realized that everything was happening under the watchful eyes of those veteran demonic cultivators.
Those seniors had carefully used them to test Summer Marquis Yuan's strength.
If they succeeded in killing Summer Marquis Yuan, they would have effectively helped those veterans eliminate a major threat.
And if they failed, it wouldn't have any impact on those veteran demonic cultivators. After all, this group of young demonic cultivators had never collaborated with those seniors; all their actions had been their own doing.
"Master… why didn't my master come?"
"This Summer Marquis Yuan is too scary. Waaah!"
The girl in the light green skirt crushed the jade pendant in her hand. According to her plan with her master, once she crushed this jade pendant, her master, a Ninth Realm expert, would arrive as quickly as possible to end everything.
At that time, whether it was the young demon lord, Bian Mao, or Yin Shi Liu, they would all have to kneel before her.
And yet, she had crushed the jade pendant into a powder, but her master still hadn't shown up.
In front of the wooden house, Lin Yuan looked at all the demon cultivators kneeling on the ground.
His expression held no surprise.
Ever since he had descended upon this world, Lin Yuan had known that Xia Houyuan exerted an almost terrifying amount of suppression over the demon cultivators of the world.
Of course, this suppression wasn't without limits.
It was only effective within the same realm.
For example, when Xia Houyuan was in the Seventh Realm, all demon cultivators in the Seventh Realm and below would be suppressed by him. Even those at the peak of the Seventh Realm couldn't escape this suppression and could only kneel and bow before Xia Houyuan.
As for Eighth Realm demon cultivators, they could only slightly reduce the intensity of this suppression, but even then, they would dare not take any offensive action against Xia Houyuan.
Several decades ago, how had Xia Houyuan managed to rule over the demon cultivators of the Five Regions? Was it purely through strength?
The righteous path, led by the Celestial Sword Sect, had never been able to control the demon path over the years. So, how had Xia Houyuan achieved this feat? Even with overwhelming power, the demon lords and kings would, at most, keep their distance.
If they couldn't win, could they not at least escape? In the face of the righteous path, even a Tenth Realm expert from the righteous path couldn't hope to catch these demon cultivators.
Over the past tens of thousands of years, three Tenth Realm experts had emerged from the Celestial Sword Sect.
Even so, the most they could do was suppress the demon cultivators of the Five Regions for a few hundred years. As soon as these Tenth Realm experts passed away, the demon cultivators would resurface.
However, Xia Houyuan had managed to keep all the demon cultivators of the Five Regions in line, and sheer strength alone couldn't account for that.
Lin Yuan, trapped in the eighteenth layer of the Great Abyss, had chosen the most torturous path to restore his strength instead of directly separating his primordial spirit to find a new body.
He was worried that if he changed bodies, he would lose this suppressive power over the demon cultivators.
Even without this innate suppression over demons, Lin Yuan was destined to rule over all. However, having this ability would undoubtedly help him avoid some detours along the way.
Moreover, Lin Yuan was quite curious about the principle behind this 'suppression.' "Stop fiddling with it. Your master has already fled," Lin Yuan said, looking at the numerous kneeling demon cultivators and glancing at the girl in the light green skirt, who was trying to crush the jade pendant that had already turned to powder.
Ever since the girl had appeared, Lin Yuan had sensed a certain aura on her that was connected to another aura a hundred miles away.
The aura a hundred miles away was of the same origin as the girl's but far surpassed hers in strength. It likely belonged to a Ninth Realm demon cultivator.
But the moment the girl crushed the jade pendant, the aura a hundred miles away fled like a startled bird, and by now, it was probably already a thousand miles away.
This caused Lin Yuan to lose any interest in pursuing it.
Not that he couldn't catch up, but he saw no need to.
His top priority now was to break through to the Fifth Realm as soon as possible, and everything else could wait.
In fact, Lin Yuan speculated that if the girl hadn't crushed the jade pendant, the Ninth Realm demon cultivator a hundred miles away might have been drawn closer out of curiosity.
But the crushed jade pendant signaled a change in variables, and the most likely cause of this change was Xia Houyuan.
How could the aura a hundred miles away dare to come any closer now?
"Xia... Xia... Xia Hou... Venerable," the girl in the light green skirt stammered.
Several decades ago, when Xia Houyuan united the demon path of the Five Regions, he was known as the 'Demon Sovereign,' and all demon cultivators under his command respectfully addressed him as 'Venerable.' "That's enough," Lin Yuan said, turning his gaze to the other demon cultivators, with brief pauses on the sinister youth, Bian Mao, and Yin Shi Liu.
"Do you want to die, or do you want to live?" Lin Yuan's voice was not loud, but it echoed in the ears of everyone present.
"Die or live?" The sinister youth, Bian Mao, was taken aback by Lin Yuan's words, but then his face lit up with wild joy. Initially, he had thought that death was inevitable, but now it seemed that Lin Yuan was offering him a chance to survive.
"Live?"
"Demon Sovereign, we want to live," the group of demon heads quickly replied, their voices filled with eagerness.
"We wish to live, Your Excellency," they added, their tones respectful and obedient.
"Since you want to live, then don't resist." Lin Yuan raised his right hand, and hundreds of streams of light flew out, landing on the foreheads of each of the demon heads.
Lin Yuan had just emerged from the Great Abyss, and the forces he had established in the past were long gone, scattered to the winds. He was in need of a new batch of subordinates to serve him.
Lin Yuan didn't have any extravagant expectations of his followers; he only required that they assist him in finding heavenly spiritual medicines to accelerate his cultivation speed.
"Yes!" The sinister youth Bian Mao and the other demon heads replied hastily, feeling a chill on their foreheads as if something had entered their bodies. They dared not inspect it further and quickly expressed their compliance.
"Hmph." Warm Protector, perched on Lin Yuan's shoulder, looked at the group of demon heads with a sense of triumph on her face. "Who's shouting and yelling now? Did you really think you could provoke our master so easily? Now look at you, all of you have been branded with the Life and Death Talisman, your lives hanging by a thread in our master's hands."
The Life and Death Talisman was a method Summer Marquis Yuan had used to control the demon heads in the past. It could simulate Summer Marquis Yuan's aura and coil within the minds of the demon heads. Once this aura erupted, even a peak Ninth Realm Demon Lord would find it difficult to survive.
Of course, the Life and Death Talismans embedded in their foreheads required reinforcement by Summer Marquis Yuan from time to time. If left unattended for too long, they would quickly dissipate.
However, none of the demon heads dared to play games with this matter, such as hiding away and waiting for the talismans to lose their power. Because before the talismans dissipated, Summer Marquis Yuan only needed a thought to detonate them instantly.
When Summer Marquis Yuan was first suppressed, it had indeed struck fear into the hearts of these demon heads. But as time passed, they realized that trapped in the eighteenth layer of the Great Abyss, Summer Marquis Yuan had lost all connection to the outside world. He couldn't activate the talismans, nor could he even sense them.
Years went by, and the Life and Death Talismans in the minds of the demon heads gradually dissipated, finally putting their anxious hearts at ease.
Several thousand miles away from the mountain fortress.
A fleeing figure sped through the air, an aura of bloodlust emanating from them.
It was clear that this figure had used a forbidden technique to boost their speed to the extreme.
Soon after.
The figure came to a halt.
A plump middle-aged beauty appeared in the sky.
"Chan'er." The middle-aged beauty's aura was unstable, but her presence alone was enough to silence the surroundings for several miles. The fierce beasts in the area seemed to sense the aura of a natural predator and curled up in fear, not daring to move.
Undoubtedly, this middle-aged beauty was a Ninth Realm expert and one of the demon heads.
However, even with her formidable strength, her face still bore traces of fear, as if she had just escaped from some great terror.
"What happened? Why did Chan'er crush the jade pendant?" The middle-aged beauty was one of those who had plotted to assassinate Lin Yuan, the master of the girl in the light green skirt.
But their relationship was a secret unknown to outsiders.
Chapter 114: The Nine Demon Lords
The middle-aged beauty was observing from a hundred li away. Even for a Ninth Realm expert, it was extremely difficult to perceive anything at such a distance.
The middle-aged beauty dared not use any probing or perception techniques, lest she be discovered by Xia Houyuan.
However, when she sensed the girl in the light green skirt crushing the jade pendant, a sense of fear arose within her, and instead of approaching, she fled in the opposite direction, using various secret techniques to hasten her escape.
She had no choice.
After all, it was Xia Houyuan.
No matter why the girl had crushed the jade pendant, if there was even a slight possibility that it was because of Xia Houyuan, she dared not take the risk.
"This won't do."
"I should go meet Moyang and the others."
The middle-aged beauty calmed herself, feeling that it was somewhat unsafe to be alone.
She wanted to find the other Ninth Realm Demon Lords, seeking safety in numbers.
Especially Moyang, who had already been at the peak of the Ninth Realm thirty years ago. After Xia Houyuan was suppressed, Moyang had gradually become the new leader of the demonic path.
As far as the middle-aged beauty knew, ever since Xia Houyuan had walked out of the Great Abyss, Moyang had been plotting something.
If anyone else had known the middle-aged beauty's thoughts, they would have been stunned.
You're a Ninth Realm Demon Lord, one of the most powerful beings in the world. What could possibly make you feel unsafe?
But if they knew that the person in question was Xia Houyuan, they would find it perfectly understandable.
He was Xia Houyuan, who had subdued Bian Mao, Yin Shi Liu, and countless other demon heads.
After taking care of them, Lin Yuan returned to the wooden house and continued his cultivation.
As for the demon heads, they remained nearby, guarding the mountain fortress and prohibiting outsiders from approaching.
"Fifth Realm."
The more Lin Yuan cultivated, the deeper his understanding of the Fifth Realm became. Having spent twenty years at the bottom of the Great Abyss's eighteenth layer, Lin Yuan had already simulated breaking through to the Fifth Realm countless times in his mind.
"It's almost time."
Lin Yuan opened his eyes.
By now, he had made all the necessary preparations for breaking through to the Fifth Realm.
All that was left was to begin the breakthrough.
"However..."
"It would be best to change locations for the breakthrough."
Lin Yuan's expression stirred slightly as he scanned his surroundings.
Firstly, breaking through to the Fifth Realm had stringent environmental requirements. Well, it wasn't so much about the environment, but if Lin Yuan had a few pots of 'Red Spirit Liquid', he could break through anywhere.
While the celestial energy near the mountain fortress far surpassed that of the Great Abyss, it still didn't meet Lin Yuan's minimum standards for the breakthrough.
Secondly, in recent days, Lin Yuan had clearly sensed a subtle surveillance, indicating that many people were already aware of his presence here.
Though Lin Yuan didn't mind being observed, he wanted to ensure that his upcoming breakthrough would be undisturbed. Thus, it was necessary to find a safe and secluded place.
"Warm Protector."
Lin Yuan called for Warm Protector and conveyed his request.
"Yes."
Warm Protector immediately nodded.
She, too, had wanted to leave this place, not only because Lin Yuan had sensed the surveillance, but also because she felt that more than one person was observing them from a distance.
Several days later, Warm Protector quickly arrived in front of the wooden house. After receiving Lin Yuan's permission, she excitedly said, "Master, I've found a place that perfectly meets your requirements."
"Oh?"
Lin Yuan opened his eyes, a hint of surprise on his face.
The requirements he had given Warm Protector were exceedingly high, and it shouldn't have been easy to find a place that matched them—a place that was likely to be the location of a major sect or power.
(End of Chapter)
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