“This thing… it is cursed!” Such was the first dread thought that pierced Wang Lin’s mind as he met the gaze of the black stone idol.

With a speed that mirrored lightning, his right index finger shot forth, aiming for the very center of the idol’s brow. An instant before contact, the idol’s eyes flared with a malevolent black light, and a bizarre rune materialized upon its brow.

The rune, wreathed in tendrils of black mist, throbbed with an unnatural power. As Wang Lin’s finger descended, the rune surged forth to meet it, a shield against his touch.

Without hesitation, Wang Lin’s finger met the rune. Where they touched, the air rippled and twisted, and the strange power that had mingled with Wang Lin’s divine sense stirred within his very soul. Like a spreading stain of black ink, it surged through his spiritual form.

A frigid light blazed in Wang Lin’s eyes. He had sensed the idol’s wickedness. This test confirmed his suspicions. With a scornful snort, the ancient god-hide upon his soul erupted in a surge of emerald light!

Simultaneously, within him, the soul of the Primordial Thunder Dragon unleashed a muffled roar. In answer to its fury, the valley above him was instantly filled with a tempest of phantom lightning.

But it was not merely the valley. In that single heartbeat, the entire Fire Demon Prefecture sky was consumed by roaring thunder, the heavens awash in infinite, crackling energy.

The sudden cataclysm startled the tribes of the Soul Refining clans within the Fire Demon Prefecture, and they gazed upwards in confusion.

As thunder echoed throughout the heavens, the chaos spread beyond the Fire Demon Prefecture, engulfing surrounding demon territories. Countless bolts of lightning descended from the heavens, filling the land with their raw power.

In the blink of an eye, almost half the Demon Spirit Land was consumed by the storm. The native inhabitants were thrown into a panic.

Even those who had achieved the ranks of Demon Generals and Demon Commanders stared at the sky in terror, a chilling understanding dawning in their eyes: This celestial fury was no natural phenomenon, but the work of some terrifying magical power!

Though it seemed an eternity, only a few breaths had passed. As the soul of Wang Lin’s Primordial Thunder Dragon roared, the lightning that blanketed half the Demon Spirit Land stirred into a frenzy. Like countless silver serpents, they converged upon Wang Lin’s valley within the Fire Demon Prefecture’s capital city.

The lightning crackled and roared, creating a cataclysmic symphony of destruction, as if the heavens themselves were enraged, unleashing their wrath upon the valley. From above, one would see a vast, swirling vortex of lightning, all of it converging, until every last spark plunged into Wang Lin’s very being!

*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*

With each resounding clap of thunder, as each bolt of lightning poured into him, Wang Lin’s Primordial Thunder Dragon roared anew. Rivers of raw, electrical energy coursed through its spectral form, engaging the encroaching black ink in a desperate battle.

The black ink, though tenacious, began to crumble under the ceaseless barrage of thunder. The alien power that formed it was limited, especially as Wang Lin, ever vigilant, had immediately contained it with his soul-force the moment it had attempted to infiltrate his spiritual core.

Forced into a desperate retreat, the black ink recoalesced into a single, pulsating drop, poised to flee Wang Lin’s soul. But in that instant, the emerald light of the ancient god-hide flared, forming an impenetrable barrier that sealed off every avenue of escape!

Then, the Primordial Thunder Dragon, fueled by the thunder drawn from the heavens, unleashed its power in a single, devastating strike. With a resounding *CRACK*, the black droplet shattered, utterly obliterated.

All this occurred within Wang Lin’s body in a fleeting moment. His eyes gleaming with frigid resolve, he pressed his right index finger forward with terrible force. The rune that had blocked his path shattered with a resounding crack.

A wave of concussive force exploded outwards, and Wang Lin’s finger finally touched the brow of the black stone idol.

Without hesitation, he unleashed the full force of his Nirvana Exaltation mid-stage cultivation, channeling his vast divine sense into the idol.

“Let me see what you truly are!”

As his cultivation and divine sense flooded into the idol, Wang Lin’s soul was struck by a wave of energy. Before his spiritual eyes, an alien realm unfolded.

A sea of white mist swirled and billowed, creating a landscape of ethereal beauty. With a cursory glance, Wang Lin recognized the mist as the essence, the spiritual energy released from the foreheads of the Soul Refining tribesmen during their century-long worship.

His mind set with icy resolve, Wang Lin dispersed his awareness throughout this strange realm. His eyes narrowed, and he locked onto a point ahead.

Merging his cultivation and divine sense, he created a spectral image of himself. With a single step, he crossed the distance, arriving at the center of this place, the idol’s spiritual core.

Before him, the mist was at its densest, obscuring a figure seated in meditation. Though indistinct, Wang Lin knew, with a sickening certainty, that the figure was his mirror image… save for the twin horns that adorned its head!

The instant he saw the horns, a knowing light ignited within his eyes.

“An Ancient Demon!”

The Ancient Demon, identical to Wang Lin, remained motionless, its eyes sealed shut. Tendrils of the surrounding white mist occasionally broke away, flowing into its body.

Wang Lin’s expression was unsettling. Aside from the horns, the Ancient Demon was indistinguishable from himself, even down to the aura of cold pride. The faint echo of loneliness, the sorrow born from millennia of cultivation… even Wang Lin struggled to separate it from his own.

“What is the meaning of this?” Wang Lin demanded, his gaze fixed on the mirrored being. After a moment of contemplation, he waved his hand forward. A sudden gust of wind roared through the space, scattering the mist that clung to the Ancient Demon’s form.

Drawing closer, Wang Lin began to understand.

The Ancient God could draw upon the energy of the world through its slaves, thus strengthening itself. The Ancient Demon, born from the same ancient lineage, must possess a similar method.

This entire Demon Spirit Land… it was a vessel for an Ancient Demon to absorb the energy of the world. According to what the Ancient Demon Bello had told him, it had once been split into nine parts, and the Nine Demon Prefectures were born!

Over countless years, the people of the Nine Prefectures had been shaped by the Ancient Demon, their customs altered, their magical abilities learned, until they had formed into the Demon Spirit Nine Prefectures!

The spirit of each Ancient Demon was the ultimate ruler of its respective prefecture, drawing upon the demon energy of its people to heal its wounds, striving to break free from its limitations, to devour the other demons, and merge once more into a single entity: a true Ancient Demon!

Wang Lin’s arrival, his alliance with the Ancient Demon Bello, had caused a cataclysmic shift in a process that would have taken countless millennia to unfold!

With Wang Lin’s aid, the Ancient Demon Bello had left its prefecture, successfully devouring the Fire Demon. Bello had become the strongest of the remaining eight demons, and had gained the power to leave its domain!

If nothing had gone amiss, once it had truly integrated the Fire Demon, it would begin to consume the other seven, one by one, until it had become a true Ancient Demon!

Wang Lin did not know if Bello had succeeded. But seeing this Ancient Demon, so like himself, he knew that Bello had not been entirely successful!

With his current five-star Ancient God bloodline, Wang Lin could see that the Ancient Demon before him was incomplete, weaker even than the original nine spirits.

This Ancient Demon was merely a remnant!

“A fragment of an Ancient Demon… and even it knows to absorb the demon energy of the Demon Spirit people to heal its wounds…” A cold smile twisted Wang Lin’s lips. He understood now. The white mist, rising from the foreheads of the Soul Refining tribesmen as they worshipped the idol, was nothing more than weak demon energy!

“The entire Soul Refining tribe… they are natives born within this Demon Spirit Land…” Seeing the Ancient Demon, Wang Lin was able to discern the truth.

Steeling himself, Wang Lin stepped forward, stopping before the Ancient Demon. Its eyes remained closed, showing no signs of awakening.

Without hesitation, Wang Lin raised his right hand, pressing it against the Ancient Demon’s head. An explosion of energy filled his mind as he plunged his divine sense into the Ancient Demon, seeking its memories.

He saw a sky of azure blue above the Cloud Demon Prefecture of the Demon Spirit Land. The wind changed, and a vortex of darkness formed as a crimson figure hurtled down towards the nine-layered Cloud Demon Tower in the Cloud Demon Prefecture’s capital city.

From within the tower, a piercing shriek echoed, tinged with disbelief. “The Nine Spirits must unite once more! Only through the rebirth of the Ancient Demon can the regrets of the past be rectified! Cloud Demon, you and I are one! We have been separated for too long! Today, we merge again! The name of the Ancient Demon shall be Bello!” As the crimson figure delivered its dark proclamation, it smashed into the Cloud Demon Tower.

An earth-shattering series of explosions shook the heavens, striking terror into the hearts of the Cloud Demon Prefecture’s inhabitants. In a fleeting moment, the roaring and thunder vanished, but the cost was the Cloud Demon Tower had collapsed.

Amidst the ruins, a faint, ghostly figure fled, carrying within it hatred and confusion. It flew away, seeking a place to heal.

But three days later, a fragment of the Demon’s spirit rose from the ruins of the tower, carrying a sliver of hatred and confusion, and darted into the distance.