Among the Ten Divine Weapons listed on the homepage of the “Manual of Peerless Divine Weapons” within the Six Gates of Samsara, if Meng Qi had the opportunity to choose, the two he would least desire were the “Devil Emperor’s Claw” and the “Infernal Sea Sword.” Weapons connected to the ultimate realms of evil devils and malevolent gods could easily defile one’s essence, subtly corrupting and distorting one’s character and soul, transforming the wielder into a replica of the Devil Emperor or a reincarnation of the Heaven-Slaughtering Daoist. Just contemplating this was enough to send chills down Meng Qi’s spine, prompting him to keep his distance.
Therefore, at this moment, Meng Qi did not feel a surge of excitement or longing; instead, his caution deepened. When it came to divine weapons of such a demonic level, how could there not be some hidden danger?
Passing by the “Evil Emperor,” Meng Qi continued forward, spiraling upward a few times. As expected, he soon encountered rolling mist, the darkness parting to reveal a figure standing with hands behind his back beside the path, gazing down at the hazy expanse below. The figure’s profile was sharp and distinct, with short, thick eyebrows and slightly sunken eyes, his gaze carrying an indescribable tinge of extremism. His attire no longer resembled that of the early ancient period, possessing a touch of refined elegance.
The figure slightly turned his head, revealing a pitch-black demonic scar on his forehead. One of the hands behind his back was grotesquely large and sinister, brimming with bloodshed, slaughter, and decadence. Strange patterns on the claw caused dizziness and disorientation.
“The Devil Emperor’s Claw, ‘Supreme Demon’ Wu Daoming…” With prior examples to reference, Meng Qi easily matched this figure with historical records.
During the Age of Sages, humanity flourished unprecedentedly. With the aid of artifacts, even ordinary people could soar through the skies and traverse the earth. Various philosophies flourished, giving rise to one sage after another. Wherever there was water, the words of the sages could be heard, and education was widespread. Wu Daoming was born in this era. Initially, he studied Confucianism under the Benevolent Sage. Later, he became confused and secretly attended lectures by another Confucian sage, the “Sage of the Mind.”
Afterward, he immersed himself in Buddhism and Daoism but remained unable to resolve his inner doubts, growing increasingly unorthodox and alienated from society.
Just when everyone believed he would eventually go mad, he obtained the “Devil Emperor’s Claw” and became the fifth-generation inheritor. He synthesized his extensive knowledge into a twisted philosophy, destroying his physical body and reforming his vital energy centers. Within a mere sixty years, legends arose that he rivaled the “Evil Emperor” Xie Tianshu, earning the title “Supreme Demon,” reuniting the long-divided demonic sects. His brilliance was unparalleled.
Many sages still alive at the time recorded his deeds, believing that if given a thousand years to grow, the “Supreme Demon” might have matched the former glory of the Emperor Hater, or even possibly revived the might of the Demon King or Demon Lord in the distant future.
Unfortunately, he lived in an inauspicious era, contemporaneous with the Hegemon. Tragically, he became the stepping stone and foil for a legendary figure, leaving behind only a brief epitaph:
“The ‘Hegemon’ defeated the ‘Supreme Demon’ at the Divine Mountain of the Eastern Sea.”
“The sorrow of being born in the same era as a true ‘protagonist,'” Meng Qi mused, adding, “Unfortunately, the Hegemon himself didn’t have a happy ending either.”
By present times, with Meng Qi’s knowledge, he no longer believed in the records of the Hegemon’s demise. Apart from the “Holy Emperor” Qi, who was born at the end of the ancient era and matured in the early middle ages, the Emperor Hater, the Medicine Buddha who existed since ancient times, and the mysterious Demon Buddha, the Hegemon should have been the only self-proclaimed legendary figure of the middle ancient period. According to records, even the Sages of the Age were at most at the peak of the Immortal Sage level.
Even if they lured him with the Xuan Nu and set up a legendary-grade formation, given the vast difference in cultivation between them and the Hegemon, attempting to assassinate him would have been sheer fantasy. Even if the Luo Shu of the Wang family were fully awakened, and the Hegemon’s Blade ranked among the Ten Divine Weapons, it was certainly no weakling. In times of crisis, how could it not unleash its full power?
That battle had been shrouded in suspicion!
Meng Qi sighed, casting a glance at this “Supreme Demon” with a slightly melancholic and radical aura, then continued climbing toward the summit.
“There’s no use. Only by completely destroying and ending this era can everything become pure again,” the Supreme Demon suddenly spoke, his voice filled with resentment and sighing.
Instantly, Meng Qi halted, frowning. To whom was this statement directed?
The third-generation inheritor, the “Emperor Hater,” and the fourth-generation inheritor, the “Evil Emperor,” should have been residual echoes of their former selves before their demise. By this logic, was Wu Daoming’s statement meant for the Hegemon?
Why did it feel like a sense of shared suffering?
Others might not have noticed, but upon hearing the Supreme Demon’s words, Meng Qi detected something unusual in the subtle shift of tone, instinctively recalling Gu Xiaosang’s words: “We are the same kind of person.”
Unlike the previous two generations of the Devil Emperor’s Claw bearers, who were filled with hatred and completely twisted humanity…
Meng Qi exhaled deeply, recalling the life of the “Supreme Demon,” yet he could not discern anything unusual. It was a textbook case of corruption.
If the inheritors of the Devil Emperor’s Claw were also fish, then the standard of fish was terrifying indeed. Before his demise, the Demon King had already been among the most supreme beings in the world, nearly achieving the Dao Fruit, while the Demon Lord was nearly at the level of the ancient Azure Emperor Jin Huang. The Emperor Hater even surpassed legends, whereas only the Evil Emperor and Supreme Demon remained at the Immortal Sage level.
How could anyone have such predecessors as fish?
Meng Qi quickly dismissed this thought, reasoning that the Demon King, Demon Lord, and Emperor Hater were definitely not “fish”!
Could it be only the Supreme Demon?
Pondering this mystery, Meng Qi passed the fifth-generation master of the Devil Emperor’s Claw, “Supreme Demon” Wu Daoming, proceeding cautiously forward. The closer he approached the summit, the greater the danger.
This time, after walking for a while, as Meng Qi neared the summit, he finally “saw” the sixth-generation master of the Devil Emperor’s Claw, the last known master, “Infinite Evil Lord” Yang Tongtian.
He was a middle-aged man with a cold expression, wearing imperial robes and a crown, his right hand clad in the Devil Emperor’s Claw. His gaze was cruel, filled with destruction and bloodlust.
A thousand years after the chaos caused by the Demon Buddha, the world’s living beings were still recovering from the wounds of that era, the natural laws continued to shift, martial cultivation declined, and the modern age could not compare to the golden age. At this time, “Infinite Evil Lord” Yang Tongtian obtained the Devil Emperor’s Claw through an extraordinary encounter, becoming the strongest figure of his age, with the remaining few requiring combined efforts and careful defense to barely resist him.
To break the Zhou Tian Star Formation of the Wang clan of Jiangdong and obscure the Luo Shu, Yang Tongtian explored a certain ancient ruin, seeking a treasure. However, he encountered a powerful figure who had barely survived since ancient times, and they perished together. Since then, the whereabouts of the Devil Emperor’s Claw had been unknown.
These were the accounts passed down by the Wang clan of Jiangdong, with some sects of the Left Path indirectly confirming Yang Tongtian’s demise. However, Meng Qi found it difficult to discern the truth solely from the black-and-white written records.
“If even the ‘Infinite Evil Lord’ has a residual echo, does it mean the Devil Emperor’s Claw once returned here?” Meng Qi speculated, turning this corner, with the summit now just ahead.
When Meng Qi was about seven steps from the summit, he halted. Before him stood a pine tree with jet-black needles at the cliff’s edge, beneath which lay an ancient bronze coffin covered in signs of decay, giving an overwhelming sense of heaviness.
Around him echoed sighing voices:
“Resolve the final doubts, transcend life and death, and depart in meditation.”
The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-generation inheritors had all appeared. The first-generation inheritor’s tomb was destroyed, with the inheritance obtained by Elder Qi. Was this the second-generation inheritor, the progenitor of the demonic path, the peerless “Demon King”? Meng Qi pondered.
Ye Yuqi had completed the path, encountering no other figures except Meng Po. At this moment, she stood before the summit’s entrance, gazing at the black pine tree and the ancient bronze coffin, with no one else around.
The colossal form of the “Emperor of Yama” occupied hundreds of steps at the summit’s entrance, staring at the ancient bronze coffin and murmuring, “The remains of the Demon King?”
Chen Zhao and Liu Zejun had also completed the “Path of Icy Soul Reflection,” each gaining insights. They felt their inner shadows had been revealed and would eventually be purified, leading to a complete and harmonious mind.
“An ancient bronze coffin?” Chen Zhao exclaimed upon seeing the coffin beneath the dark pine tree.
In the Palace of Snow and Ice, there was also such a weathered ancient bronze coffin hidden in its core, occasionally glimpsed but never approached, believed to be the resting place of the Palace’s master, at least an Immortal Sage!
Never would he have imagined encountering an almost identical coffin here!
Furrowing his brow, Chen Zhao felt he was no longer far from uncovering the mystery of the Palace of Snow and Ice.
At this time, Haswula and others were still on the path, continuing together with those they had previously encountered and were not enemies.
As the voices echoed, Meng Qi carefully inspected the surroundings, detecting no enchantments or traps, then steadily stepped onto the summit.
Beneath the jet-black pine tree, the ancient bronze coffin became increasingly distinct, its verdigris-stained surface glaringly evident.
“Where have they all gone?” Meng Qi now wondered about the whereabouts of Ye Yuqi and the others.
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