Journey to the West: Starting with the True Lord of the Pure Land

Inside the Spirit Serpent's Palace at Qingchi Lake.

The Azure Scale Demon Lord suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes bloodshot and filled with anxiety and greed.

His divine sense swept across Yunmang Mountain in an instant, sensing the vast spiritual energy needed to break through to the next realm, and his face turned ashen.

"He...he's actually about to reach the Perfection stage! How could it be so fast?"

His voice was hoarse, filled with unbelievable jealousy, and his inner demons burned like poison.

"If we allow him to break through safely, he'll be even harder to control in the future. His essence blood... I must obtain it!"

"Today I will show you who truly rules Qingchi Ridge!"

The Azure Scale Demon Lord took a deep breath, closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, and tried to suppress the evil spirits and chaotic thoughts that were causing trouble in his heart.

After a long while, his breathing became steady.

Feeling that his inner demons had temporarily subsided, he opened his eyes.

However, the blood color was even more intense.

The demon lord, however, was completely unaware, deep in thought.

"Only by possessing pure blood and resolving this obsession can I rid myself of this inner demon and have any hope of forming my core!"

If Xuan Ling were to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment and his strength were to increase significantly, it would be extremely difficult for me to obtain his essence blood.

"We must stop him! He's focused on breaking through the barrier right now, he has no time to spare, this is the perfect opportunity!"

The Azure Scale Demon Lord could no longer restrain himself. With a flicker, he transformed into a streak of azure demonic wind, carrying with him the chilling aura of the lakebed, and hurtled straight towards Yunmang Mountain.

When the evil wind passed by, the lake surface cracked, the mountains and forests bowed their heads, the vegetation withered, and the air was filled with a pungent, rotten smell.

"Xuan Ling, come out here!"

A hoarse, angry roar exploded like thunder.

The Azure Scale Demon Lord appeared in the sky above Yunmang Mountain, unleashing his full Foundation Establishment stage power without reservation, directly targeting the Xuanqing Cave.

He spread his arms, and a burst of azure light erupted from his body. A thick, powerful demonic energy shot up from the top of his head, twisting and expanding rapidly in the air, transforming into a colossal creature over ten zhang long.

It was dozens of feet long from head to tail, and its entire body was covered with dark blue scales the size of a tabletop. Thick black water flowed between the scales, emitting a pungent fishy smell.

The snake's head was held high, its eyes like blood-red lanterns, flashing with ferocious light as it opened and closed its tongue, hissing and causing the surrounding spiritual energy to fluctuate chaotically.

It was the Black Water Green Serpent Dharma Form conjured by the Azure Scale Demon Lord using his innate demonic power.

"Demon Lord, halt!"

Two figures materialized in time, blocking the way in mid-air.

One is the green ape of Songyun Cave holding a rattan cane, and the other is the land deity of Yunmang Mountain where green smoke gathers.

The green ape wiped the fine sweat from his brow, cupped his hands, and said in a deep voice:

"Demon Lord, Brother Xuanling's breakthrough is a joyous occasion for our mountain range. Why are you obstructing him?"

The Earth God also said tremblingly, "Yes, Demon Lord, please reconsider. Fellow Daoist Xuanling is a true cultivator with the Dao, and the Earth Official and Water God are his friends. You must not ruin his path."

"Aozaru?"

The Azure Scale Demon Lord paused, then bypassed the ground, his blood-red snake eyes fixed on the Green Ape, his malevolent aura blazing.

"You dare stop me?"

The green ape glanced at the demon lord's snake eyes, sighed inwardly, took a deep breath, and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Demon Lord, you are wise. Brother Xuanling is at a crucial stage in his breakthrough and cannot be disturbed. If you have matters to discuss, why not wait until he emerges from seclusion?"

"Wait for him to come out of seclusion? Humph!"

The Azure Scale Demon Lord sneered, "Why should I need your interference in my affairs? Get out of my way! Otherwise, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

Before the words were finished, the Black Water Green Serpent Dharma Form let out a deafening roar, its massive body tearing through the void with the force to shatter mountains and stir up seas, and pounced straight down towards the Xuanqing Cave.

"not good!"

The Green Ape and the Earth God's expressions changed drastically, and they both stepped in to stop them.

The ape roared and threw its vine staff, which transformed into a streak of azure light that shot into the sky, growing longer in the wind as it attempted to entangle the snake's body.

The Earth God then used his magic to stomp his foot and activate the earth's veins, causing a wall of earthen-yellow spiritual light to rise from the ground, attempting to block the snake's head.

However, the gap between the early and middle stages of Foundation Establishment and the peak stage is like an insurmountable chasm.

The cyan giant serpent's avatar merely flicked its tail, causing the cyan rainbow vine staff to lose its luster and fly back. The cyan ape groaned, blood spilling from the corner of its mouth.

The snake's head crashed directly into the earthen yellow light wall, shattering it like glass. The light wall instantly crumbled, and the Earth God's body trembled violently, his aura swaying.

The Azure Scale Demon Lord has accumulated power for a long time, subduing the four caves and harassing the Xuan Guang Sword Pavilion for a century, truly demonstrating his extraordinary strength.

Even with the two working together, they couldn't stop them for even a moment.

The giant serpent, unhindered, continued its charge towards the cave, carrying with it a torrent of black water.

Wherever it passed, it left streaks of dark green poison in the air, corroding the spiritual energy with a hissing sound.

Outside the cave, Black Fat and Shrimp Big led a group of demon soldiers who were terrified by the frightening momentum, but they stood firm and did not retreat.

The three flower fairy maidens were pale-faced as they stared at the overwhelming snake shadow, their eyes filled with despair.

The cave's stone door was tightly shut. Although the fluctuations of spiritual energy within were becoming increasingly intense, it showed no reaction to the overwhelming onslaught from the outside world, as if it were immersed in the crucial moment of breaking through to a higher realm and had no power to care about anything else.

The green ape tried to forcefully draw upon its demonic energy, waving its vine staff to block it, but its meridians were blocked by the cold demonic power, causing its blood and qi to churn and making it difficult to cast spells.

The land deity of Yunmang Mountain turned deathly pale. As a deity, he was most afraid of such malevolent arts, and his body swayed, almost unable to maintain his balance.

The Black Water Green Serpent's Dharma Form was about to crash into the mountainside where the Xuanqing Cave was located—

A sharp, piercing whistling sound, like tearing fabric, suddenly came from the northwest horizon.

A streak of black light pierced through the clouds, arriving faster than expected, and precisely struck the seven-inch mark of the giant blue serpent.

It was a long spear that was entirely black with tassels as black as ink—the Black Tassel Spear!

The gun trembled, emitting a low, dragon-like hum. There was no dazzling light at the tip of the gun, only a sudden burst of overwhelming, mountain-like destructive force.

"puff--"

Like a hot knife cutting through solidified fat, the imposing Blackwater Green Serpent's form was pinned to a vital spot by this spear, unable to even struggle.

It began to shatter inch by inch from the seventh inch mark, turning into countless bluish-black specks of light, which were then crushed into nothingness by the heavy force emanating from the spear.

"snort!"

A deep, thunderous snort rolled in from the horizon.

"Qinglin, why are you making such a fuss here?"

The sound wasn't loud, but it carried an indescribable, powerful force that instantly suppressed the raging demonic winds in the arena.

From the northwest horizon, a dark, ominous wind surged forth, accompanied by the sounds of thunder and lightning.

The demonic wind was extremely fast, reaching the sky above Yunmang Mountain in the blink of an eye before slowly dissipating, revealing a towering figure as imposing as a mountain.

The newcomer was nearly ten feet tall, with dark skin, a bushy beard like a halberd, and a black robe covering a suit of black gold armor. His gaze was like lightning, sweeping across the area below before finally settling on the Azure Scale Demon Lord, his expression filled with undisguised coldness.

It was the Black Wind Mountain God.

"Qinglin, you're so impressive."

The Black Wind Mountain God's voice was booming, but his tone was icy.

"Taking advantage of Fellow Daoist Xuanling's breakthrough, you come to provoke him and injure him. Is this the behavior of the Lord of Qingchi Ridge?"

The Azure Scale Demon Lord's pupils contracted, his heart filled with inexplicable horror.

He never expected that Xuan Ling could actually get the Black Wind Mountain God to come and protect him.

This black bear's cultivation had already reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment. It was also a mountain god, with a revered status and formidable strength, far surpassing that of ordinary demon kings.

Are we really going to let that dragon demon break through to the next realm?