Ten Great Demon Ancestors of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion

Unlike the human realm, the Jiuxiao Realm, which was divided into the five vast continents of East, West, South, North, and Central, with each continent further subdivided into five domains of the same names, the territorial division of the Demon Realm was much older and strictly adhered to the laws of nature. Its territories were mostly demarcated by geographical features such as ancestral veins, divine mountains, sacred lakes, and ancient forests.

Cultivators in the Jiuxiao Realm were predominantly human, and the number of human cultivators far exceeded that of the demon race. Therefore, the territory occupied by the human realm was much larger than that of the Demon Realm.

Although the overall area of the Demon Realm was not as vast as the human realm, the level of danger in some of its absolute death zones and perilous environments was even greater.

The number of demon cultivators was also far less than that of human cultivators. However, due to their individual innate talents and lifespan advantages, their top-tier combat power was not at all inferior.

In terms of cultivation methods, demon cultivators and human cultivators were fundamentally different.

Human cultivators primarily practiced acquired cultivation techniques. They improved step by step by absorbing spiritual energy, comprehending Daoist laws, and refining external elixirs and magical artifacts. Their divine abilities and spells were mostly acquired through learning.

Demon cultivators, on the other hand, were accompanied by the awakening or latency of innate divine abilities from the moment they were born. Their cultivation process was more like a continuous unearthing, strengthening, and perfecting of their own bloodline origins and innate divine abilities. Their cultivation techniques were mostly created to suit their specific bloodlines.

The advantage lay in the fact that their powerful innate divine abilities possessed peerless might and were perfectly compatible with themselves. The disadvantage was that it was extremely difficult to acquire new divine abilities completely unrelated to their own bloodline through later efforts. They almost entirely had to rely on fortuitous encounters such as bloodline evolution, atavism, or devouring specific heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

To a large extent, their talent ceiling was already determined at birth.

......

A few days ago, in the Demon Realm.

At the core of the Qingming Demon Domain, atop Tianji Peak, where the spiritual energy of the Ten Thousand Demons Mountain Range was at its densest, stood a complex of buildings with a rugged, archaic style that faintly exuded supreme majesty—the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

The main structure of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion was a massive obelisk, a hundred stories high, constructed entirely of giant black stones.

Scattered around it were ten giant pavilions, respectively corresponding to the Ten Great Demon Ancestors of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion. The architectural style of each pavilion matched the bloodline characteristics of the corresponding demon ancestor, presenting a magnificent aura.

The Ninth Pavilion was pure white throughout, with faint silver specks of light flowing across its structure.

On the top floor of the pavilion, inside an extremely quiet cultivation meditation room.

A young man dressed in a loose dark cyan robe, with a handsome, elegant, and even somewhat scholarly face, was sitting cross-legged on a simple and unadorned futon.

He closed his eyes and focused his mind. No violent demonic qi could be seen around him; instead, he was surrounded by profound and mysterious threads of karma and ripples of time. This caused the light around him to appear somewhat distorted and unsteady, as if he were situated in a different flow of time.

He was none other than the eighth seat disciple of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, Bai Zeming. Possessing the Clear Bai Ze bloodline, he inherently knew the past and present, and could glimpse a corner of the future.

Just as he was immersed in his silent cultivation, his mind wandering at the edge of the river of time and karma, his body suddenly jolted violently.

Without any warning, he abruptly opened his eyes. In his originally clear and wise eyes, a thrilling blood-red hue flashed like lightning at this moment.

Great peril! The reflection of blood light, a death tribulation is imminent! Not for myself, but... Senior Sister and the others?! In the Outer Realm?!

Bai Zeming's heart suddenly tightened, and an unprecedented, freezing chill instantly swept over his entire body.

Not good!

Without a shred of hesitation, his figure vanished from the meditation room as if teleporting.

In the next moment, he had already appeared on the second floor of the central high tower.

This was the Heavenly Demon Pavilion's place for emergency discussions and gatherings. In the center of the empty grand hall hung a giant ancient bronze bell, engraved with the pattern of ten thousand roaring demons.

Bai Zeming's expression was grave. Without even taking the time to regulate his chaotic breath, he formed his right hand into a sword gesture and made a light, mid-air slash toward the giant bell!

He did not use brute force; a wave of soul power struck the bell with precision.

Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!

Nine heavy, rapid, and extremely penetrating tolls of the bell rang out like nine claps of thunder, instantly echoing throughout the entire Heavenly Demon Pavilion, though the sound did not carry beyond this mountain.

Before the echoes of the bell faded, powerful demonic qi and streams of light erupted almost simultaneously from the tops of the other nine pavilions, excluding the third.

The first to arrive at the grand hall on the second floor was a dark purple phantom.

The light and shadows solidified, revealing a woman with a graceful figure and peerlessly beautiful features.

She wore a magnificent purple dress, and as the hem swayed, a dark light seemed to float about. Behind her, the phantoms of nine fluffy fox tails, tipped with dark purple flames, swayed gently.

This was the first seat head disciple of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, Tushan Youyao, who possessed the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Nether Fox bloodline.

Closely following her, a fiery red figure sped in.

The newcomer was a tall, red-haired woman wearing a crimson, form-fitting battle armor.

Her striking face bore a wild and rebellious edge, and her eyes were as sharp as blades. Her entire body exuded an undisguised aura of bloodlust and monstrous fighting intent.

The seventh seat disciple, Chi Huang, possessing the Blood Fiend Lord Wolf bloodline.

Immediately after, a figure as black as ink, carrying a cold and damp aura, glided silently into the hall.

That was a pale, effeminate-looking man with indifferent eyes, wearing a black robe adorned with scale patterns.

The fourth seat disciple, Xiang Xuanyin, possessing the Nine-Headed Xiangliu bloodline.

Following him, a giant ape covered entirely in thick golden fur stepped in, standing upright like a human.

Although he was capable of completely taking on human form, he deliberately retained all of his monkey fur.

The fifth seat disciple, Sun Buhuo, whose bloodline was the Chaos Fiend Ape.

Afterward, a gentle-faced man dressed in white gracefully arrived, with the phantoms of nine tiger tails faintly rising and falling behind him.

The second seat disciple, Lu Jiuyi, whose bloodline was the Nine-Tailed Lu Wu.

A black shadow then flashed in. It was a nimble man dressed in black, his eyes glowing with a dark light.

The tenth seat disciple, Ye Canglan, possessing the Howling Moon Heavenly Dog bloodline.

After Ye Canglan arrived, a golden illusory eye suddenly opened in the center of the hall, and an ethereal figure solidified above it.

The ninth seat disciple, Zhu Jiuyin, possessing the Time Candle Dragon bloodline.

Finally, a woman dressed in a water-blue, wide-sleeved immortal dress slowly flew into the hall. Her face was purely and breathtakingly beautiful, yet she carried a deep, languid sleepiness. She was lying on her side upon the back of a giant, crystal-clear spiritual butterfly with a wingspan of several zhang that emitted a mesmerizing blue light.

Her beautiful hair flowed like a waterfall, and her eyes were half-closed, as if she had just awakened from a long, drawn-out dream.

The sixth seat disciple, Lan Caiyou, possessing the Thousand Nether Dream Butterfly bloodline.

At this point, excluding the third seat Luo Qingchen, who was in the Outer Realm, all nine demon ancestors of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion had gathered here.

Tushan Youyao stood at the very front, while the other eight were lined up on both sides.

Everyone's gaze was tightly locked onto Bai Zeming, whose face was pale and whose aura was weak and floating.

No words were needed. The nine tolls of the bell, coupled with Bai Zeming's current state, were enough to explain the severity of the problem.

Regarding the prophetic abilities of Bai Zeming's Clear Bai Ze bloodline, all the demon ancestors present had personally verified them and deeply understood their accuracy, as well as the price paid behind them.

Therefore, no one questioned him; there was only an increasingly deep and heavy solemnity.