Chapter 517 - 258: Nightmare Demon Palace, Blood Prison Department, Slaughter Blade Camp

Squeak~

On the black sea, the ship’s mast creaked under the burden of the waves.

Liou Yuan and Wei Miaomeng stood at the front of the ship, gazing at the sea, while the salty sea breeze carried a hint of putrid decay to their faces.

Liou Yuan squinted his eyes, the evil light in them swirling, as he saw through the thick mist a lonely black island suspended in the vast blue sea.

That was the Nightmare Demon Palace, once one of the three major first-rate demon sects of the Linlang Domain.

The Nightmare Demon Palace once had three Golden Cores; two of them were slain by Xuanyi, and the last one is still imprisoned in the Inner Sect Disciplinary Hall.

Over the past sixty years, the Nightmare Demon Palace has not produced any new Golden Cores, slowly degrading into a second-rate sect.

But having once been a first-rate sect, its foundation was not to be underestimated. The skies above this black sea were filled with terrifying restrictions, with only ships from within the Nightmare Demon Palace able to navigate freely.

Once away from the ship, deadly perils would reveal themselves within the oppressive sea.

Liou Yuan and Wei Miaomeng easily deceived the boatman of the Nightmare Demon Palace by using the identities and badges of two Foundation Establishments in disguise, boarding the ship headed directly to the Nightmare Demon Palace.

As for Lao Xiuyuan, lacking a suitable identity disguise, it was inconvenient for him to accompany them, so he parted ways with them as they boarded the ship.

According to the plan, he would pose as a demon loose cultivator on the outskirts of the Nightmare Demon Palace during this time.

While he could support Liou Yuan and Wei Miaomeng, they would also introduce him into the Nightmare Demon Palace at the appropriate time.

The entire island of Nightmare Demon Palace was extremely steep, with towering peaks resembling swords pointing skyward, sharp and imposing.

The surface of the mountains was covered in a layer of dark black rock, shimmering with a cold luster in the dim light.

Between these peaks, bottomless gorges snaked and intersected, with thick, ink-like fog filling their depths.

Before landing on the island, Liou Yuan sent a message to Wei Miaomeng: "Miss Wei, have you memorized Fu Lin’s background and her close acquaintances?"

"I’ve already memorized it by heart." Wei Miaomeng glanced at Liou Yuan askance, replying irritably, "Don’t worry, I know the importance."

She wasn’t foolish; to survive in the Nightmare Demon Palace, everything about Fu Lin had to be remembered, as even a slight negligence could lead to disaster.

Liou Yuan nodded, his extra question was purely for caution’s sake.

After all, the two of them were now in the same boat; if Wei Miaomeng was exposed, he’d face death too.

"This time it’s like venturing into a dragon’s den or a tiger’s lair," Liou Yuan thought to himself, his evil eyes with their purple-gold glow dimming, revealing no trace of peculiarity.

"From now on, I am Dou Qianyu."

The sound of the waves gradually subsided, and the ship carrying Liou Yuan and Wei Miaomeng finally crossed the pitch-black sea, arriving at the wharf of the Nightmare Demon Palace.

"Take care, my lords."

Amid the fawning voice of the Nightmare Demon Palace’s boatman, Liou Yuan and Wei Miaomeng stepped onto the land of the wharf.

In the process, Liou Yuan casually tossed out a bag of Star Stones without looking back.

With the boatman grinning from ear to ear, Liou Yuan’s proud voice followed, "I’ve killed seven or eight boatmen; yours is the steadiest, old man. Consider it your reward."

According to the information, Dou Qianyu was a typical demon cultivator: bloodthirsty, ruthless, and vainglorious.

Since Liou Yuan had assumed his identity, he naturally had to emulate his mannerisms and actions to avoid raising suspicion.

Wei Miaomeng also got into her role, scolding Liou Yuan irritably, "You squander all our earnings like this."

The relationship between Wei Miaomeng, playing Fu Lin, and Dou Qianyu was self-evident; their simultaneous capture in Youhuang State was due to their constant companionship.

Of course, they had not officially become dual cultivation partners, but it seemed that demon cultivators cared little for such matters.

The simultaneous return of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators naturally drew attention from the Nightmare Demon Palace’s Foundation Establishments.

One could say that when they boarded the ship to the Nightmare Demon Palace, an accurate report had already reached this side of the Nightmare Demon Palace.

So, almost the instant they stepped onto the island of the Nightmare Demon Palace,

three Foundation Establishments dressed in dark black robes shot down from one of the continuous peaks.

The sect attire of the Nightmare Demon Palace was primarily an austere dark black.

The collars, cuffs, and neckline edges were outlined with a crimson, blood-like thread forming intricate nightmare patterns.

Liou Yuan’s eyes swept over the three, comparing their appearances and postures with the individuals in his intelligence, and he roughly identified their names and roles.

The Nightmare Demon Palace, being a second-rate sect, had fewer Foundation Establishments than Five Extremes Mountain, numbering merely thirty to forty, making it easy to match them up.

Liou Yuan’s gaze quickly fixed on the one with the highest cultivation among the three.

His face was stern, his skin displaying a sickly gray-black hue.

Thick eyebrows like ink, with a touch of dark red at the tips, and pupils glowing an eerie green, akin to ghostly flames.

Thin, pale lips, slightly upturned at the corners, hiding malice and cruelty within their ambiguous curve.

"Ren Beichen!" Liou Yuan silently called out his name in his heart.

This Ren Beichen was a disciple who entered the Nightmare Demon Palace in the same batch as Dou Qianyu, with both achieving Foundation Establishment around the same time.

Favored by the chief of the Blood Prison Department, Ren Beichen’s cultivation technique was of a higher grade than Dou Qianyu’s, resulting in a better quality Qi Mansion.

This created a disparity between the two, with Dou Qianyu stagnant at Foundation Establishment for over a decade, while Ren Beichen had already reached the mid-stage Foundation Establishment.