"I can't say for sure what this thing is—it's almost like it's alive, and extremely strange. For now, I can only exist in this form outside. You know how dangerous the Divine Battlefield is; you'd best be careful with everything." The Demon Lord said.
Evan Chu glanced at the Demon Lord's body and said, "Where's the entrance to Skywind Valley? I'm planning to make a trip there."
There's still one day left before the Black Lotus Seeds mature. Evan hopes to get a clear understanding of Skywind Valley and Thunder Pool from the Demon Lord—after all, the Demon Lord is much stronger than the Fire Dragon King, so he must know these two places far better.
"Skywind Valley? Why would you go there for no reason? That place is a forbidden zone of the Divine Battlefield—going in is basically a death sentence. I really think you shouldn't go." The Demon Lord stared at Evan in shock.
Right now, the Demon Lord's body was just a mass of black mist—a blurry shadow with no visible face. But Evan could tell he was definitely shocked at this moment.
"I need the Wind Spirit Pearl inside. It's dangerous, but I have to go. Just tell me everything you know in detail so I can prepare." Evan said.
Then he picked up the Frostbane Sword from the ground. Looking closely, the sword now seemed almost alive—two archaic characters, 'Frostbane,' were clearly engraved on the blade. Evan focused his mind and injected a trace of Chaos Dragon Force into it, and instantly a dazzling sword light burst forth, the blade buzzing and humming with extraordinary power.
"So this is the Frostbane Sword's true form. No wonder it's a divine weapon—it's on another level. With this sword, my strength should take another leap forward!" Evan said with a smile.
"The Frostbane Sword was once ranked among the top three ancient divine weapons—its power is truly extraordinary. Back then, you became a peerless powerhouse thanks to this sword. Now that its seal is lifted, there might not be anyone in the world who can stand against you!" the Demon Lord said.
"I wouldn't go that far. Anyway, just tell me about Skywind Valley first. Once the Black Lotus Seeds mature, we'll head out. If you think it's too dangerous, you can wait outside the valley—I won't force you to go in." Evan replied.
"You really underestimate me. Right now, I'm a soul-body—physical attacks don't affect me at all. Of course, if you used Soul Rend, you could probably do some serious damage. But honestly, it's you I'm worried about."
"The winds inside Skywind Valley are brutal, split into three types: Groundwind, Skywind, and Obsidian Wind. Of these, Obsidian Wind is the most dangerous—it can attack not just your body, but your soul too. You need to be careful," the Demon Lord warned.
"Aren't you worried about Obsidian Wind? You're a soul-body—it should be even riskier for you!" Evan chuckled, since he'd never heard of these three kinds of wind before.
"As a soul-body, if I run into Obsidian Wind, I can just dive straight into the earth or stone and avoid danger entirely. Actually, Obsidian Wind is just a rare black gale, but it almost never shows up. You could search the whole Skywind Valley and still never see it," the Demon Lord explained.
"So you've actually been inside before? Otherwise, how do you know all this?" Evan asked, thinking that with the Demon Lord's strength back then, entering Skywind Valley shouldn't have been a problem.
"I did go in, but I barely made it out—had to recuperate for half a year before I recovered. That was just my luck, since I only ran into Skywind. If I'd met Obsidian Wind, I probably wouldn't be here talking to you now," the Demon Lord said, still sounding a bit shaken by the memory.
"So what does Skywind actually look like? I know about blue wind, but is Skywind blue too?" Evan asked.
"Blue wind is just the weakest form of Groundwind. True Groundwind is gray, and even a fifth-layer Saint Martial Realm cultivator would be facing certain death if struck by it. As for Skywind, it's even scarier—a wind like blood. I won't go into details; I just hope you never run into it. It's truly terrifying," the Demon Lord said.
Evan could tell the Demon Lord had suffered from Skywind before—the pain must've been intense. It was probably the last thing he wanted to talk about, since it was a major defeat.
"Do you know where in Skywind Valley a Wind Spirit Pearl might show up?" Evan asked.
"I really don't know where you'd find a Wind Spirit Pearl, but I've heard they do exist in Skywind Valley. You'll have to search for one yourself," the Demon Lord replied.
Evan stopped talking. After that fight with the Divine Fire Centipede, his Chaos Dragon Force was almost drained, and the Black Lotus Seeds hadn't matured yet. Now was the perfect time to absorb Stellar Power.
He took out two supreme-grade Starstones and started absorbing them both at once. The Demon Lord was stunned—it was his first time seeing anyone absorb two Starstones simultaneously, and he couldn't help but marvel at Evan's monstrous talent.
By noon the next day, Evan stopped cultivating. His Chaos Dragon Force was about eighty percent restored, and more importantly, the Black Lotus Seeds were finally ripe—he needed to harvest them quickly.
Now, a faint mist surrounded the Black Lotus, clear and refreshing. Breathing it in made Evan feel invigorated. "What is this vapor? It actually has such an effect?" he muttered to himself.
"I don't know what kind of vapor this is, but it clearly isn't ordinary. What are you planning to do with those Black Lotus Seeds? They're not some healing herb—just look at the poison spreading around here. They're extremely toxic," the Demon Lord warned.
Evan had wanted to say he was going to use them to gather immortal-grade spiritual qi, but because of Luna, he couldn't explain it clearly—and he definitely wasn't about to reveal her existence.
"Lin Feng, the sooner you harvest the Black Lotus Seeds after they mature, the better. This is the best time—don't miss it," Luna urged.
Taking her advice, Evan swung the Frostbane Sword at the Black Lotus stalk. To his shock, the newly unsealed blade—sharper than ever—barely left a shallow mark before bouncing back with a powerful recoil. Even as a top-tier ancient divine weapon, the Frostbane Sword couldn't cut through it, proving just how terrifyingly tough the Black Lotus was.
He glanced at the faint sword scar on the Black Lotus stalk and realized he'd need an even stronger technique to cut it. As long as he got the lotus pod, that would be enough.
With a thought, Evan unleashed Heaven-Cleave powered by all five elements, instantly forming a massive sword of pure sword-qi. With a thunderous boom, the Black Lotus stalk was finally severed. Boulders tumbled down the mountainside, but Evan snatched the Black Lotus and stowed it in his storage ring, then teleported into the air to dodge the falling rocks.
But then he noticed his palm had turned pitch-black, throbbing and swelling painfully.
"This Black Lotus poison is really something. I can't believe it's this toxic—what a pain." Evan grumbled. His defenses were supposed to be top-notch, but just grabbing the Black Lotus had done this much damage. He hadn't expected that at all.
"Frostbane, the Black Lotus's poison is actually the same as Heavenward Spirit Water's. It's incredibly potent—an ordinary person would've died from this by now. You're lucky it's only your palm that's affected," the Demon Lord explained.
Evan quickly channeled wood-element power into his hand, and a cool sensation spread as the pain gradually eased.
After a moment, a blob of black liquid oozed from his skin. That had to be the Black Lotus poison. The wood element's strength was truly remarkable—it could even force out such deadly toxins.
The Demon Lord stared at Evan like he was looking at a monster. "You actually managed to force out the Black Lotus poison instantly? How did you do that?"
"Oh, that's easy. My body's immune to all poisons—Black Lotus poison is nothing to me. Let's go check out Skywind Valley," Evan said, jokingly.
The Demon Lord was half convinced, half skeptical. Since Evan didn't want to explain, he didn't press it. He just laughed, "My flying speed is nothing compared to yours. You'd better carry me—I can give you directions."
After the Demon Lord pointed out the general direction of Skywind Valley, Evan kept teleporting forward. Even with his speed, the trip was tens of thousands of li, and he only arrived at nightfall.
Skywind Valley wasn't a canyon at all—it was a vast desert of yellow sand, scorching heat everywhere. Evan didn't mind the temperature, but every so often, a blade-like gale would sweep up sandstorms, making travel a real challenge.
"It's already dark. You should rest here tonight and go in tomorrow. Skywind Valley is huge—almost as big as the entire Azure Tide Ruins. It'll take time to search for the Wind Spirit Pearl, and you need to restore your Stellar Power first," the Demon Lord advised.
Evan agreed. Cutting the Black Lotus and flying all this way had drained a lot of his Chaos Dragon Force, so he took out some Starstones and started absorbing their power.
The night passed quietly. At dawn, Evan stopped cultivating—his Chaos Dragon Force was fully restored. He gazed at the endless yellow sand and grinned, "Think there are any demon beasts in here?"
He remembered running into Fire Scorpions and Flame Serpents back at Heavenly Dragon Academy—maybe there were similar things here, or even some of the legendary top ten ferocious beasts if luck ran out.
"Of course there are demon beasts. Both fire and wind attribute ones live here, but none of them were very strong when I came through. I didn't run into any Saint Martial Realm beasts, but that was ten thousand years ago—who knows about now?" the Demon Lord replied.
"Doesn't matter—let's just head in and see for ourselves. Since you're a soul-body, why not stay in my storage ring? It's safer that way, and I don't want to waste energy rescuing you later," Evan said.
"That's exactly what I was thinking. If you have any soul medicine, I'd appreciate it even more," the Demon Lord said.
"There should be some in the storage ring. Help yourself," Evan replied.
After picking a direction, Evan soared into the sky and flew off into the distance—another perilous adventure was about to begin...
(End of chapter)