Chapter 363: The Great Hall of Demon Mountain

'But if this is a Celestial Demon, why would its heart contain Venerable Essence Blood?'

A question suddenly occurred to Shen Daoxing. He immediately posed it to the small red snake in his mind.

The small red snake's mouth curled into a scornful smile. "That's because this drop of Essence Blood was merely bestowed upon it by a Venerable Supreme of old."

'A Celestial Demon bestowed by a Venerable Supreme!'

Shen Daoxing was stunned.

'A Celestial Demon!'

'A Nine Nether Demon, an Outer Heaven Evil God!'

'They were already unimaginably terrifying beings.'

'And from what Elder Blood Dragon was saying, a Venerable Supreme was a being far superior to a Celestial Demon.'

Shen Daoxing couldn't help but gain a new appreciation for the power of his own Venerable Bloodline.

Then, the little red snake's disdainful voice sounded again. "What's a Celestial Demon? They're nothing but handmaidens to warm a Venerable Supreme's bed."

"Kid, Venerable Essence Blood is incredibly precious. You need to make good use of it," the little red snake reminded him.

Shen Daoxing nodded and looked at his palm. A drop of crimson blood hovered there, spinning slowly.

With just a single glance, Shen Daoxing could feel a profound power, as if it contained a vast ocean.

In truth, despite his calm and composed appearance, Shen Daoxing had suffered numerous injuries in his battle with the Black Death Ghost. Several of his bones were shattered, and he hadn't had time to recover.

This drop of Essence Blood had come at the perfect time.

Without hesitation, Shen Daoxing silently sat down cross-legged and began to meditate.

The crimson Venerable Essence Blood began to glow faintly. It floated up to Shen Daoxing's forehead and slowly merged into it.

Instantly, Shen Daoxing felt an incredibly comfortable warmth flow down from the top of his head, through his torso, and into every corner of his body.

Unconsciously, Shen Daoxing's broken ribs began to slowly reconnect and mend, piece by piece.

Shen Daoxing looked inward and saw that the drop of Venerable Essence Blood had transformed into wisps of red, bloody qi. It roamed throughout his entire body, through every limb and bone, before slowly beginning to merge with his flesh and bones.

Shen Daoxing felt his body temperature rising degree by degree, as if he were in a giant furnace. The heat was a hundred, a thousand, even ten thousand times hotter than it had been in the Volcano Prison.

Shen Daoxing's body turned completely red, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, as if he were being roasted by the Samadhi True Fire.

In a daze, Shen Daoxing seemed to arrive high in the sky, surrounded by a sea of clouds. But right now, a raging fire was burning atop the Cloud Sea, turning the entire sky crimson.

On the other side of the sea of fire, Shen Daoxing saw a tall, hazy figure. His aura was majestic, solemn, and imposing.

Shen Daoxing couldn't make out his features; only a pair of sharp, clear eyes were visible. Every move the figure made gave Shen Daoxing an undeniable sense of authority.

Outside, Chu Guifeng, Ma Wan, and the others saw Shen Daoxing's body turn completely red. Billowing heat rose from him, as if he were being boiled alive. Seven Wandering Dragons, formed from Spiritual Power, shot out from his body and circled around him, regulating his temperature.

"Yang... what's happening to him?"

Luo An asked from the side, confused.

"Young Master Yang seems to have entered some kind of cultivation state. We shouldn't disturb him," Tao Ying stepped forward and quickly advised.

Everyone nodded repeatedly.

As the strange, giant demon head shattered, the Celestial Demon's heart was split in two.

Chu Guifeng, Ma Wan, and the others saw ripples shimmering in the space ahead of them.

In the haze, they saw a figure materialize.

It was a middle-aged man, but he was now as thin as a skeleton. His shriveled face was completely devoid of color, and his chest was hollow—his heart had long since vanished.

The man had no trace of life about him.

Looking at this man, Tao Ying silently took a step forward and froze.

"That's... our ancestor! The Tao Family's ancestor!" Tao Ying suddenly cried out, her voice filled with emotion.

The others turned to look in astonishment. A thought suddenly occurred to them: if Shen Daoxing had accepted that heart just now, he might have ended up in the same state.

In a daze, they froze again and exchanged astonished glances. If the Tao Family's ancestor had been here all along, then who was the Tao Family ancestor that appeared in the East Continent several hundred years ago?

"This... this..."

At the side, Tao Ying was suddenly overcome with confusion, staring at the scene in disbelief.

Suddenly, without any warning, a gentle breeze blew by. The Tao Family's ancestor abruptly turned into specks of dust and scattered into the air.

「At the same time.」

"RUMBLE!"

"RUMBLE!"

The entire void-like space suddenly began to shake violently again.

Everyone felt the world spin around them.

"CRACK!"

A sound like shattering glass echoed out. The ground beneath Chu Guifeng, Tao Ying, Ma Wan, and the others gave way, and they all fell.

Below them, a golden light flared, and a circular Array slowly materialized, exuding a profound and ancient aura.

After they all landed on the Array, the golden light became dazzling. A faint glow flashed over each of them, and their figures began to turn illusory before vanishing completely a moment later.

Immediately after, within a majestic palace atop Demon Mountain in the Red Land Demon Realm, a golden light glittered as a circular Array appeared. The light intensified, revealing hazy figures. Shen Daoxing, Chu Guifeng, Ma Wan, and the others had materialized inside it.

Luo An slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a grand hall. "Where is this?"

Beside him, Tao Ying looked around, then flipped through the book in her hand. "We should be back where we started. This ought to be the summit of Demon Mountain."

Hearing this, Luo An was overjoyed. Though he had been on the verge of death, he instantly perked up. "That's great! We're finally out! We've finally left that godforsaken place."

Chu Guifeng and Ma Wan exchanged a look, also sighing in relief.

Nearby, Qian Gui began to think about his cargo. When they had all been inexplicably pulled into the Red Land Demon Realm, he'd had to abandon his goods back where they'd first set out. He was now calculating whether it was worth the risk to go back for them; it was a huge amount of money, after all.

Tao Ying lowered her head, looking at her completely wooden hands. She then touched her porcelain doll-like face, her expression unreadable. It was impossible to know what she was thinking. Finally, she let out a heavy, helpless sigh and shook her head.

At that moment, an impatient Luo An strode forward and pushed open the great doors of the hall.

But as soon as he opened the doors and looked up at the scene outside, he froze.