Chapter 87: The Demon King's Essence Soul

"Human remains?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Jiuyou's face.

No one would ever expect to find a cultivator's remains in such a perilous, treacherous place. What was even stranger was how terrified those blood demons were of this spot, as if the withered bones before him had once belonged to some fearsome existence.

His gaze darkened as he pondered silently.

He wondered what astonishing deeds this person had accomplished in life, that even after death, all these years later, those beasts still dared not set foot here.

Jiuyou pushed aside his doubts and let his gaze settle on the two jade boxes at the depths of the cave dwelling.

The strange aura he had sensed earlier seemed to emanate from these two jade boxes. Both boxes were perfectly preserved, showing no signs of damage, their surfaces radiating restrained spiritual light, ancient and profound.

He did not rashly step inside.

Standing at the entrance of the cave dwelling, he raised a hand and beckoned one of the jade boxes from afar, while his Divine Sense spread out like a tidal wave, meticulously sweeping through every inch of the entire cave. Stone walls, ground, ceiling, he inspected every possible spot where a Prohibition Mark might be hidden.

Fortunately, there were no surprises.

The jade box landed in his hand, heavy and cold to the touch. Jiuyou carefully probed it with his Divine Sense, confirming that the original owner had not left any Spiritual Mark or sinister Prohibition on the box, only then did he slowly open a sliver of the lid.

The box opened.

No brilliant flash of light burst forth, no extraordinary phenomenon soared into the sky.

Inside lay only a plain-looking, dust-colored anonymous ancient book. Its pages were yellowed, the edges slightly curled, appearing utterly unremarkable.

Jiuyou frowned slightly, taking out the ancient book and flipping open the cover.

After reading only a few lines, a strange glint flashed in his eyes.

This turned out to be the life records of the remains' owner. The calligraphy was vigorous and powerful, every stroke radiating steadiness.

From the earlier passages, one could tell that this person called himself Elder Guhao, hailing from the Blood Abyss Sect, and was a Late Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator within the sect. Unfortunately, his lifespan had been exhausted, and even to his dying breath, he had never managed to touch the threshold of Spirit Transformation.

Jiuyou's gaze flickered as he rapidly flipped through the pages.

These records were invaluable to him. Not only could he glean insights into the Blood Abyss Sect's foundations, but when the time came for revenge in the future, he wouldn't be stumbling in the dark with no knowledge of his enemies. He could also learn the secrets of the Blood Demon Valley, and perhaps even find a path to leave this place.

He turned page after page, reading line by line.

Suddenly, his hand froze mid-flip.

His gaze locked onto one particular page, his breath catching for a moment.

Blood Soul Forbidden Art.

What this book contained was actually related to the Blood Soul Forbidden Art.

It turned out that Elder Guhao had known he would never achieve Spirit Transformation in this lifetime, and his only hope was this forbidden art passed down through the sect.

However, the Blood Soul Forbidden Art required the souls of a full nine Late Nascent Soul cultivators as offerings. He had scoured the entire sect, yet only managed to find two already-refined Late Nascent Souls. Still seven short, there was simply no way to gather them all.

So this man took an unconventional path. He turned his gaze toward the Blood Demon Valley, hoping to find his own chance at Spirit Transformation in this place where the Heaven Demon had descended.

Jiuyou raised an eyebrow and continued reading.

Elder Guhao ventured deep into the Blood Demon Valley, but unfortunately encountered two Tier 10 Demon Kings in succession. With all his trump cards expended, he managed to slay both beasts. But he himself was gravely wounded, his oil running dry and his lamp burning out.

In his dying moments, he forcefully carved out this cave dwelling. Even on the brink of death, he refused to accept his fate. He erased the intelligence of the two Tier 10 Demon Kings' essence souls, and inadvertently discovered that the essence souls of Tier 10 Demon Kings might be able to replace the souls of Late Nascent Soul cultivators.

Unfortunately, his lifespan was spent, his wounds too severe to heal, and he no longer had the strength to leave the Blood Demon Valley. He could only leave this discovery recorded in the book, hoping that a later visitor would carry it out.

"Essence soul?"

Jiuyou seized on the key point, his pupils constricting sharply, his chest heaving.

The essence soul of a Tier 10 Demon King could actually replace the soul of a Late Nascent Soul cultivator?

He jerked his head up, sweeping his gaze across the cave dwelling and locking firmly onto the final jade box. In a few quick strides, he raised his hand and grasped, and the jade box flew into his palm with a whoosh, kicking up a gust of wind.

The gust swept across the withered bones seated cross-legged on the stone platform.

Elder Guhao's remains scattered and crumbled into dust like sand weathered for a thousand years.

Jiuyou merely glanced at it calmly.

Just a dead thing, not worth his attention.

All his focus was on the jade box in his hand.

The lid slowly opened.

A beam of light seeped through the crack, casting Jiuyou's face alternately red and green, shifting between light and shadow. The light wasn't blinding, but it carried a heart-stopping pressure, as if something ferocious was sealed within.

Inside the jade box lay two orbs.

One red, one cyan, each the size of a human head, with spiritual light flowing across their surfaces. Vague silhouettes of two demon beasts could be seen within, one as red as fire, one as verdant as bamboo. They were lifelike, yet held not a trace of vitality.

Only the purest origin power remained.

"Essence souls of Tier 10 Demon Beasts."

Jiuyou's Adam's apple bobbed, a scorching glint passing through his eyes.

Two Tier 10 Demon Kings, slain in this place by an old man whose lifespan was nearly spent. This person's strength in life was truly terrifying. If he had been in his prime, even a grand cultivator like Gu Xuanzhou would have had to keep his distance.

He took a deep breath, closed the jade box, affixed a Spirit-Suppressing Talisman, and tucked it into the deepest part of his Storage Pouch.

This was a crucial item for his future attempt at Spirit Transformation, and it could not afford any mishap.

Afterward, he searched through the cave dwelling once more. Stone platform, corners, cracks in the stone walls, he left no spot unchecked. Only after confirming there was nothing else worth noting did he pick up the ancient book again.

He hadn't finished reading it before, and could not afford to miss anything.

He sat down cross-legged and flipped through page after page. Some content involved the Blood Abyss Sect's cultivation techniques and secret arts. Though his mouth watered at them, he knew this was not the time for cultivation. Still, he committed every key piece of information firmly to memory.

As he reached the final few pages, a place name caught his eye.

Qian Prefecture.

Jiuyou's gaze sharpened. His fingers tapped lightly on the page, and he instinctively reached up to stroke his beard, only to grasp at nothing. He settled for rubbing his chin instead, muttering to himself.

"Qian Prefecture? Could it be another continent? The Blood Abyss Sect cultivators come from Qian Prefecture... Indeed, this old man's guess was correct."

He licked his parched lips, a sharp light gleaming in his eyes.

"Crossing through the Blood Demon Valley should lead to this region. However, this Qian Prefecture is probably far more deeply established than either Lingchuan or the Tianyuan Sea. For the Blood Abyss Sect to hold its ground there with a complete inheritance, it's certainly no ordinary place."

He continued flipping.

The final page featured a complete map drawn in vivid detail.

It was a full view of the Blood Demon Valley.

Mountain ranges and their trends, intersecting ravines, demon beast population distributions, special terrain, the territories of high-tier demon beasts... Every single location was marked with utmost clarity and precision. Dangerous areas were circled in red ink, with tiny calligraphy annotations beside them.

Jiuyou narrowed his eyes, tracing the map westward.

The more he looked, the more shocked he became.

This Blood Demon Valley was far more massive than he had anticipated. That young man surnamed Ye's map probably wasn't even a fifth of this one's scale. The truly perilous places, that kid hadn't even come close to touching.

And at the westernmost edge of the map, at the very end of the Blood Demon Valley, a completely different terrain was drawn. Mountains rose and fell, rivers crisscrossed, with the words "Qian Prefecture" marked upon it.

"As long as this map is accurate, combined with this old man's concealment techniques, at most half a month's time, I can leave this treacherous place and head for that unheard-of Qian Prefecture."

Jiuyou suppressed the excitement in his heart and also tucked the ancient book into his Storage Pouch.

He stood up and carefully examined the cave dwelling one final time.

Confirming nothing was left behind.

He sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing for a moment, recovering his condition somewhat. The depletion of Essence Blood was hard to make up, but his mana had to at least be maintained above the minimum safety threshold.

A moment later, he opened his eyes.

He concealed his aura, donned the Heavenly Wind Robe, and discerned his direction.

A flash of gray light, and his figure vanished from the cave dwelling's entrance.

He shot westward at great speed.

The blood mist churned and swallowed his silhouette whole.