After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

Huan Yin's soul imprint signal stabilized on the fifth day.

The fading rate of the black veins on the return path was slowed down to an extremely low level.

The bloodthirsty ancestral blood covered her shell and took the blame for the three tentative attempts to erase her name before the decree was issued. The death disguise of the Nine Netherworld Coffin successfully deceived two rounds of review.

The prince slowed his attack rhythm by half a beat, as if he were re-examining the chessboard.

Zhou Ran didn't see this as a good thing.

The emperor's pausing of writing does not signify giving up; he is waiting for the opportune moment.

There are two days left in the seven-day period.

The cold algae from the third to the seventh level of the Nine Nether Well were completely harvested.

Bloodlust scraped out the last batch of high-grade blood crystals from the Blood Sea Ancestral Pool.

Huanyin's soul-stabilizing sand was ground into powder and filled into the bottom layer of the military register.

The three materials gathered in the underground furnace of the Devouring Demon Palace, waiting for the final catalyst.

Zhou Ran stood before the furnace, forcing the Demon Emperor's essence into his palm.

Golden flames spilled from between his fingers and fell into the surging medicinal liquid.

The deep blue of the algae, the crimson of the blood crystal, and the silvery white of the soul-stabilizing sand mingled and churned, causing the entire furnace to tremble incessantly.

Mingcang stayed by the side, recording the changes in the heat, not daring to wipe away the sweat rolling down his forehead.

Qin San squatted outside the corridor, the Primordial Black Blade resting across his lap. The black and gold patterns on the blade flickered, sensing the resonance of the Demon Emperor's essence within the furnace.

He never imagined in his life that he would fight alongside a young man in the Nascent Soul stage.

But Zhou Ran is different.

It's different from splitting mountains, and even more different from swallowing bones.

Those two guys treated their subordinates like disposable materials from beginning to end.

When Zhou Ran was paving the way with his life, he didn't ask anyone to die first.

This is something Qin San is willing to gamble his life on.

The inner wall of the furnace began to crack.

The medicinal liquid condensed, and twelve pills, each the size of a thumbnail, floated to the surface. Their outer shells were as black as ink, while their interiors shimmered with a tri-colored halo.

Mingcang leaned closer to examine it, his hands trembling slightly.

"Domain Heart Pill".

Materials from four regions were mixed and refined, using the Demon Emperor's essence as a catalyst. This stuff wasn't even recorded in legends.

Zhou Ran took twelve pills from the surface of the liquid, the residual heat in his palm making his bones itch.

He glanced at the quality and separated four of them.

"Qin San, Gu Ji, and Ming Cang, one each. Xiao Rou's portion will be crushed and fed to the Gu."

Qin San took the pill, and without saying a word, tilted his head back and swallowed it.

The medicine explodes as soon as it enters the stomach.

The power of crimson blood crystals cleanses the meridians, the power of dark blue algae polishes the primordial spirit, and the silvery-white soul-stabilizing sand solidifies the foundation.

The three forces tore and clashed, but were then reunited as one under the harmonization of the Demon Emperor's essence.

Qin San grunted, and the Taihuang Black Blade automatically unsheathed itself three inches.

Two more branches have appeared on the Emperor-level dark patterns on the blade, climbing from the hilt all the way to the tip.

The bottleneck of the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm was shattered by the medicinal power, and a torrent of magical power surged into the dantian.

Mid-stage Nascent Soul realm. Steady and steady.

The reaction was more severe after Gu Ji took the pill.

The marks left by swallowing bones peeled off in pieces under the impact of the medicine, revealing the true foundation of cultivation.

The metal seam at his shoulder blade creaked and then healed on its own.

He has advanced to the half-level, the peak of the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Ming Cang had the weakest constitution; the Dan power only traveled a third of his meridians before he was in so much pain that he gritted his teeth.

But that one-third is enough.

His perception range doubled, and he could perceive all the fluctuations of the hundreds of thousands of military records in the unified military register.

The commotion was the biggest on Xiaorou's side.

She poured the crushed Domain Heart Pill powder into the Gu box. The golden natal Gu spread its six wings and greedily devoured it.

The patterns on the carapace rapidly expanded, cracked, and reformed.

The seventh membranous wing was extruded from both sides of the dorsal spine, followed by the growth of the eighth wing.

Eight-winged Golden Gu.

Its size has increased by a circle, and the barbs have changed from crimson to dark gold, each one radiating a unique fluctuation that devours fragments of rules.

Xiao Rou reached out to touch the back of the Gu worm, and the golden Gu rubbed against her palm, its eight wings vibrating and rippled with pale gold.

"I've tried it."

Xiao Rou looked up at Zhou Ran, her eyes showing both excitement and seriousness.

"It can directly bite and swallow rule fragments below the Tribulation Transcending stage. It can do it on its own without my guidance."

Zhou Ran nodded.

Of the twelve Domain Heart Pills, four were given away. He didn't keep the remaining eight for himself.

He crushed them all into the blade of the Taihuang Black Blade.

The black and gold patterns grew rapidly under the infusion of medicinal power. A fourth, fifth, and sixth pattern appeared one after another in the gaps between the original three patterns.

With each additional cut, the weight of the blade increased, and the veins on Zhou Ran's wrist bulged as he gripped the knife.

The moment the seventh line was formed, the entire knife emitted a humming sound like a dragon's roar.

Peak of the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Zhou Ran's cultivation level resonated with the blade, and his magical power surged to the limit of his meridians.

The Demon Emperor's essence surged deep within his dantian, and a flash of golden light passed through his pupils.

Qin San walked into the main hall carrying his new knife and happened to witness this scene.

The Taihuang Black Blade with its seven patterns gleamed with a dark golden light. The aura emanating from its scabbard no longer resembled that of a weapon, but rather something alive, waiting for its prey.

The military register was closed in the dark granary.

"Your Majesty, everything is ready."

Zhou Ran walked out of the main hall with his sword in hand.

On the star-gazing platform at the highest point of the Devouring Heaven Demon Palace, the armies of the four regions were already lined up and ready to fight.

Hundreds of thousands of military spirits converged in the unified military register, covering the sky and the earth.

The three peak-stage Transcending Tribulation cultivators stood at three different locations below the Star Gazing Platform.

Huan Yin resided in the south, her dark red soul power extending the Formless Illusion Array to a radius of a hundred miles.

Bloodlust resides in the west, and the crimson light of 300,000 soldiers' souls illuminates half the sky.

The Nine Netherworld resides in the north, and deathly energy spreads from beneath her feet, completely sealing off the area around the Nine Netherworld Well.

Zhou Ran stood at the highest point of the observatory. The night wind ruffled his clothes, and the Taihuang Black Blade lay horizontally beside him.

He didn't launch into a long speech.

"Something will fall from the sky the day after tomorrow."

The sound wasn't loud, but it traveled through the unified military register to the eardrums of every soldier in the four regions.

"You all only need to remember one thing."

Zhou Ran held the Taihuang Black Blade upright, its tip pointing skyward. Seven patterns lit up simultaneously, golden light piercing the twilight.

"When it came, I was standing at the very front."

The four-region military formation roared deafeningly.

Hundreds of thousands of military spirits surged simultaneously, their light soaring into the sky, nearly bursting the capacity of the unified military register.

The roaring sound lingered for a long time.

Beneath the roar, in the deepest part of the Nine Nether Well, on the stone wall beside the ninth-level seated corpse, an extremely faint tremor was spreading.

That wasn't a fluctuation of the earth's veins.

thump.

A heartbeat.

Slow and sluggish, like something buried under permafrost that has turned over.

The eight-winged golden gu on Xiao Rou's shoulder raised all its barbs and emitted a sharp hiss towards the Nine Nether Well.

That thing has already begun to take shape at the bottom of the well.

sixth day.

The last night.

The lights of the Devouring Heaven Demon Palace were not extinguished.

The four-region military formation entered a state of high alert, with all available forces deployed to the front lines.

Qin San and Gu Ji took turns patrolling, without stopping for a moment.

Ming Cang sat in front of the military register without moving an inch, his eyes bloodshot.

The heartbeat at the bottom of the Nine Nether Well has not stopped since last night.

The frequency is getting faster and faster, from once every ten breaths at the beginning to once every three breaths now.

The ground of the entire Nine Nether City trembled slightly in rhythm with that.

Zhou Ran sat on the star-gazing platform.

The Taihuang Black Blade was held in front of his knees, its seven lines flickering uncertainly.

He was making his final adjustments to his breathing.

Peak of the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

He is only one step away from the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

But this line is an insurmountable barrier.

The Domain Heart Pill could push him to his limit, but it couldn't break through the bottleneck.

He doesn't think about that line; as long as it's sufficient, that's enough.

Footsteps came from below the steps.

Illusory sound.