The Cyan Wolf charged into the dim corridor. Hulü Guang did not look back, hearing the wind behind him. He took two steps up the wall and executed an aerial backflip. The Cyan Wolf pounced over, biting a tentacle lashing at Hulü Guang’s back. With a massive crash, the corridor wall collapsed. Hulü Guang landed steadily, mounted on the Cyan Wolf’s back.
The Cyan Wolf: “…”
Hulü Guang: “…”
“Get off me!” Baoyin’s voice said. “Do you think you can ride your old lady?!”
Hulü Guang flipped off immediately: “Sorry! I won’t ride anymore!”
The Cyan Wolf spat out black water repeatedly with “pthui pthui” sounds. One side of the passage lay in ruins, the severed tentacle’s humanoid end writhing in the mud. The Cyan Wolf turned its head curiously, and suddenly the broken humanoid torso lunged up.
“Get back!” Hulü Guang immediately shielded the Cyan Wolf, sidestepping and shaking out his curved blade. The Heart Lamp’s glow flashed, cleaving the demon person in two.
Baoyin reverted to human form, covered in mud, and said, “Not bad skills.”
Hulü Guang’s expression turned serious: “Where is he? Let’s go.”
The two passed through the damaged passage. Baoyin signaled him to take point and asked, “What was that song you were singing?”
“Rome.” Hulü Guang sheathed his blade and murmured softly, “…from nowhere to go, no end. I shall depart like the wild wind…”
Hulü Guang’s song echoed through the dim ruins, low and resonant, like an ancient god dwelling in the dark relics.
Amid that song, Xiao Kun arrived at the palace’s center. There stood a massive screen wall, grand and imposing. The carvings on the screen had blurred with time. Beneath it lay the largest Giant Water Beast Xiao Kun had ever seen in his life.
He had subdued nearly a hundred kinds of monsters in his lifetime and read of many demon beasts in ancient texts, yet facing this colossal entity towering several dozen feet, he could not identify what it was.
It was pitch black all over, like a fish slathered in mucus, or a massive whale. Its head was indistinguishable, and on either side of its smooth front end, beneath the mucous membrane, what seemed like gills slowly opened and closed as it breathed. Around its body extended thousands upon thousands of tentacles, deeply buried in the muddy ground, stretching into the distance.
That night when Xiao Kun had plunged into Dongting Lake, amid the hazy light, what he had seen in the lake water was precisely this enormous demon beast.
Compared to the beast’s gigantic body, Sa Luan’s form was negligible. He sat on the steps before the giant beast, looking toward Xiao Kun.
“What is this?” Xiao Kun asked puzzledly. “Did you subdue a kun? No, a kun doesn’t look like this. A kun’s eyes are in two rows, not on tentacles.”
Sa Luan’s eyes were shrouded in black fire, clad in black robes like many demon generals. Before he could answer, the giant beast suddenly stirred. Its tail extended, rising into the air. At the end of the slimy, tentacle-like tail connected a bizarre demon person who roared and, under the tail’s swing, charged fiercely at Xiao Kun, clawing down from above!
Xiao Kun retreated half a step sharply, raising his blade to meet it with a diagonal slash, but Sa Luan said, “Don’t be nervous.”
Sa Luan placed his hand on the side of the demon beast, which halted abruptly, staring fixedly at Xiao Kun. Xiao Kun then saw its true face clearly—the humanoid connected to the tail tentacle was male, with extremely long hair and a gaunt, emaciated face reminiscent of ancient relic folk.
It gazed at Xiao Kun with hatred and pain, then suddenly retracted and vanished.
Xiao Kun suddenly thought that if Xiang Xianruo were here, he would surely be very interested in this unprecedented massive demon.
He remained utterly calm throughout, which fueled Sa Luan’s inner rage. Sa Luan had expected him to be shocked by his power, but this man remained utterly indifferent. Despite his own strength reaching such heights, in Xiao Kun’s eyes, it stirred no ripples.
“It has its own name: ‘Gun’,” Sa Luan said coldly. “It has lived for fully five thousand years.”
“Mm.” Xiao Kun replied. “Gun—I know of it. No doubt your King Mu turned it into its current form.”
Sa Luan answered, “Its lifelong wish is to drink water—a giant beast forever parched and unsated.”
“That’s what happens when you don’t study properly.” Xiao Kun’s attention was entirely on Gun, paying Sa Luan no mind whatsoever. He said, “In ancient times, Gun was lord of Chong State. When floods raged, he received Emperor Yao’s order to control the waters but failed to find the right method. His son ‘Yu’ took up his father’s burden, channeling the floods away, and only then did Shenzhou find peace…”
“…After death, Gun could not rest day or night, still bearing his lifetime grudge, devouring clouds and mist everywhere, believing his mission unfinished.” Xiao Kun finally looked at Sa Luan and said, “King Mu exploited it, absorbing the world’s clouds and rain to create prolonged drought, gathering baleful qi through killings to prepare for the Heavenly Demon Reincarnation. Isn’t that right?”
Sa Luan was thoroughly enraged, glaring at Xiao Kun. With one glance, Xiao Kun knew he had guessed the entire sequence correctly.
Sa Luan said sharply, “Since that’s the case, no need to hide it from you.”
Sa Luan raised his hand, and a pitch-black long blade wreathed in demonic qi appeared in his grasp.
“Already making your move?” Xiao Kun said gravely. “Let me see what you learned from King Mu. Where’s the dagger Mr. Ying gave you? No doubt the ancient artifact Jing Ke used to stab him.”
Sa Luan first chuckled “hehehe,” then erupted into a savage laugh. “Far from it, Master. The real show is just beginning. You think Gun was only for creating the great drought?”
Blue light flickered in Xiao Kun’s eyes, peeling away layers of Sa Luan’s inner thoughts.
But Xiao Kun no longer needed to read Sa Luan’s mind—he hid nothing now.
