Chapter 123: The Ninth Match, Demonic Beast!

Living Abyss Demon?

Forget about the mortals who were nearly driven mad with excitement—even the Transcendents were in an uproar, all stirred and thrilled.

“Hurry, hurry, come quickly to the Hall of Life and Death!”

“The ninth round is about to begin! Just half an hour until the ninth round of the Transcendent Battle of Life and Death! This time it’s an Abyss Demon from the Dark Abyss!”

“Only half an hour left.”

Although most of the Transcendents had already arrived, some were still adventuring, others in secluded cultivation, and some simply too reclusive to bother watching. In short, many Transcendents were still absent. Those already present began rapidly spreading the word, for aside from the few semi-gods and other rare existences at the top, the vast majority of Transcendents had never actually seen a demon in their lives!

Indeed, many Transcendents had never seen a demon even once throughout their entire lifetimes.

Although demons were often mentioned in biographies, legends, and myths, in reality, they were a type of Transcendent being originating from the ‘Dark Abyss.’

The Dark Abyss was loosely connected to countless material realms. Occasionally, fluctuations in space would create a spatial passage, allowing a flood of Abyss Demons to pour through and slaughter their way into the realms! From ancient times until now, such invasions had frequently occurred, though their timing was unpredictable—sometimes ten or eight times within ten thousand years, sometimes not even once across tens of thousands of years!

The lifespan of a typical Transcendent was only eight hundred years, with the longest-lived semi-gods reaching no more than three thousand years.

Thus, it was entirely normal for a Transcendent to never have seen a demon in their lifetime.

…

“It’s truly a shame, I’ve won again,” Old Man Chao Qing nonchalantly stretched out his legs, proudly grabbed a large green fruit, and took a loud bite.

“Hope you don’t break your teeth,” Old Lady Ye muttered.

“Sigh, another one hundred thousand jin of Yuan stones, how delightful,” Chao Qing chewed his fruit while watching Dongbo Xueying’s retreating figure walking barefoot toward a side door in the corner to rest briefly. His aged face broke into an even wider grin. “This young fellow from our Water Source Monastery is truly impressive. So young, yet he’s already begun to fuse the mysteries of water and fire, and even created his own spear techniques! His mastery over the True Meaning of Water and Fire must be no problem at all.”

“Look at how smug you are,” Old Lady Ye scoffed, though she remained calm. After all, she was nearing the end of her lifespan, and had long since become indifferent to Yuan stones.

“For this young Dongbo Xueying, I plan to propose… convening an Elder Council!” Chao Qing suddenly declared.

“Convene the Elder Council?” Old Lady Ye turned to him in surprise.

…

“Brother Xueying, that was an amazing fight! That was incredible! Hahaha!” The group of Transcendents from the Anyang Province were joyfully feasting and celebrating, especially Cheng Lingshu.

Though her name contained the character ‘Shu’ (meaning gentle or virtuous), she was anything but ladylike at this moment, nor did she maintain the composed demeanor of a female mage.

Instead, she was the loudest and most exuberant of them all.

Because she had won her bet! In this Transcendent Battle of Life and Death, she had placed a wager. The usual odds were too low, but the odds for ‘at least seven victories’ were quite high, so she decided to take a chance! The bookmakers who set these odds had gathered extensive information, compiling detailed records of Dongbo Xueying from his childhood to the present, even consulting semi-gods for analysis.

The bookmakers themselves believed Dongbo Xueying’s Ancient Bloodline was nothing special, estimating his chances of winning six matches as low. Old Lady Ye had even bet with Chao Qing that Dongbo Xueying would not win six matches.

As for winning seven? The probability was extremely low!

“Little Sister Lingshu, you must have made quite a profit this time. You owe us all a feast!” Peng Shan teased.

“Oh, just a few hundred jin of Yuan stones, nothing much,” Cheng Lingshu said proudly. “But that’s nothing compared to Brother Xueying—he’s the real winner! The more matches you win in the Transcendent Battle of Life and Death, the contribution points increase exponentially! If we’re going to splurge, it should be on Brother Xueying.”

“The ninth match is about to begin,” Chi Qiubai smiled. “I wonder how reluctant the elders of the Flame Palace must be to offer up a living Abyss Demon.”

“An Abyss Demon, I’ve never even seen one before,” Ziche Gufeng, Hairu Zhen, and others all said eagerly. As Transcendent Mages, they were deeply fascinated by the study of ‘Abyss Demons,’ though they, as Skyfaring-level Transcendent Mages, had no real access to such beings.

…

Almost all the Transcendents were discussing the demon that was about to appear, filled with excitement and anticipation.

“A demon! I’ve only ever seen detailed descriptions of them in books and records.”

“It’s been over eight thousand years since the last demon invasion in our Xia race’s world. I never thought the Flame Palace would actually dare to bring out a live one.”

“Tsk tsk, well, since this newcomer has made it all the way to the ninth match, they have no choice but to bring one out now!”

All were filled with expectation.

Demons were Transcendent beings from the Dark Abyss, a species even more unique than the Ancient Beings. At the same level, demons were far stronger than Ancient Beings!

The Dark Abyss was a force capable of opposing the entire Divine Realm.

For instance, the ‘Order of the Demon God’ worshipped a Demon God from the Dark Abyss. This mighty Demon God, fully aware that the Earth Temple occupied the faith of the Xia race’s world, still dared to come and seize souls and worship, clearly showing no fear of the divine forces behind the Earth Temple! Moreover, the Order of the Demon God also granted Divine-ranked secret techniques and methods to greatly enhance one’s power, which was why many Transcendents were drawn to it.

As a different species of life, their lifespan limits also varied.

Many Transcendent magical beasts had extremely long lifespans, and demons were no different.

Over eight thousand years ago, during the last invasion, some weaker demons had been captured alive and kept in captivity. Transcendent Mages of the Semi-God level had the chance to study them. Some demons died of old age, others perished from the torment of experiments, while some still lived on. Some even bore offspring, and these children would grow up and naturally ascend to Transcendence upon reaching adulthood!

Thus, the Flame Palace kept a small number of Abyss Demons imprisoned for long-term study. However, Transcendent Mages had to use them sparingly, as ordinary Transcendents had no opportunity to even see them.

Only in the ‘Transcendent Battle of Life and Death,’ long ago, had the opponents for the first twelve rounds been predetermined, with the ninth round opponent being a demon!

This had become a tradition!

As the rounds progressed, the Flame Palace would bring forth increasingly rare and valuable opponents.

…

Minute by minute, even the Transcendents felt time dragging. In this half-hour, new Transcendents continued to arrive! Even some Semi-Gods who usually guarded their strongholds sent out a portion of their divine essence to spectate. For the Semi-Gods, since the battle had reached the ninth round, it had become interesting enough to warrant their attention.

Demons were imprisoned within the Flame Palace, so bringing one over was quick enough.

Yet the Flame Palace deliberately allowed a half-hour break before the Battle of Life and Death, no doubt to give more Transcendents a chance to arrive. Of course, those too far away simply couldn’t make it in time.

…

“Hu.” Dongbo Xueying exhaled slowly. As a child, while reading legends and stories, he had often dreamed of roaming the world, slaying demons, and even drinking with gods. Never did he imagine that, twenty years later, he would actually be facing a demon in battle!

“Demon, let me see just how powerful you truly are, to have earned such a fearsome reputation among humanity.” Barefoot and clad in a simple black robe, Dongbo Xueying stepped out of the side door in the corner.

He entered the battlefield.

The battlefield was still as picturesque as ever, spanning several miles with Dongbo Xueying standing alone at its center. Around him, countless mortals erupted into thunderous cheers, their voices crashing like waves across the entire Hall of Life and Death! They cheered for Dongbo Xueying, their excitement boundless, for they were about to witness the legendary demon!

“Boom!”

With a single drumbeat, the voice of the Flame Palace’s representative echoed through the Hall of Life and Death.

“Esteemed spectators, the opponent for the ninth match is a demon hailing from the Dark Abyss.”

The Hall of Life and Death fell into complete silence.

Dongbo Xueying, spear in hand, stood silently, all previous thoughts fading as he focused solely on one thing—kill the demon!

“Whoosh!”

A spatial ripple sounded.

A figure descended from above. In that moment, all mortals and Transcendent experts fixed their gazes upon that descending form. Dongbo Xueying too raised his head, eyes locked on the slowly descending figure.