"Puff—!"
The Green Bull Demon Lord staggered out of the void tunnel, opening his mouth to spew out a mass of blazing blood essence. His scarlet eyes burned with fury and murderous intent.
"Damn dogskin plasters…!"
Back then, it was these same saints of the Eastern Region who hunted him to the ends of the earth. Heaven had no path, the ground offered no door—until he was forced to flee into the Yin Ruins. If the Yin Dynasty had not collapsed at that exact moment, he would have died during that pursuit.
So many years had passed.
He had returned—
And yet the ending was the same.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, anger and cold rationality coexisted in his eyes—two contradictory emotions entwined. He clenched his teeth and said grimly, "Blood sacrifices on the scale of Snow Mountain Palace are no longer possible. Even the mortal dynasties are now intertwined with the Six Holy Lands."
By his own strength alone…
Rising again was too difficult.
A sneer crept onto his lips.
Evil and calculating.
This Eastern Region—
He was not the only demon cultivator.
---
Eastern Region.
Jiang Clan.
An ancient aristocratic family, older even than Donglin Sect. In its prime, it had been a transcendent power—not only in the Eastern Region, but even across Zhongzhou.
Now, after generations of decline, it had fallen to the rank of a regional hegemon.
At this moment—
A fierce dispute had erupted in the main hall.
A dispute over the position of eldest son.
"Hmph!"
"You want Jiang Chen to become the next head of the family? I don't agree!" A withered old man shouted. His body glimmered faintly, like the last flame of a dying candle, ready to burn out at any moment.
Jiang Zhenshan looked at the elder with a cold expression. This Fifth Ancestor held extremely high seniority—even he addressed him as uncle—but the man was clearly overstepping.
"Fifth Ancestor," Jiang Zhenshan said icily, "out of respect for your contributions to the clan, I tolerate this. But you cannot slander without evidence. My son Jiang Chen is peerless in talent and brilliance. If he cannot inherit the Jiang Clan, who can?"
"Hehe!"
At that moment, another elder spoke—Jiang Jue's grandfather.
"Clan Head Jiang speaks well. Jiang Chen's brilliance is acknowledged by all," the old man smiled. "But news has already spread that Donglin Sect intends to make Jiang Chen its Holy Son. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our Jiang Clan to bind itself to a Holy Land. Why should we miss it?"
"Besides," he added casually, "my grandson Jiang Jue is not inferior either."
Jiang Zhenshan's gaze turned colder.
That last sentence was clearly the real point.
Several clan elders exchanged looks and nodded subtly. Recently, Jiang Jue's cultivation had surged at an astonishing pace—as if he had swallowed some miracle elixir. He continuously suppressed his peers, his bearing no longer inferior to Jiang Chen's.
Perhaps…
He really could become clan head.
---
Jiang Clan.
Back Mountain Forbidden Ground.
A handsome young man with a cold, aloof temperament stood before the sealed forbidden land, his brows tightly furrowed.
Jiang Jue.
Within this forbidden land lay a demon suppressed by the ancestors of the Jiang Clan—a calamity from the past that had never been fully refined.
"Why are you still hesitating?"
A voice sounded beside him.
If Jiang Chen were present, he would immediately recognize the speaker—
Ye Chen, the so-called Son of Destiny, his old rival.
"I'm hesitating because…" Jiang Jue clenched his fists. "If we do this… it could bring disaster."
"Oh?" Ye Chen sneered. "This is your last chance. Every clan elder is in the main hall debating. Snow Mountain Palace has already been destroyed, and no one has time to watch this place."
"Miss this opportunity, and forget about becoming the Jiang Clan's eldest son forever."
"Don't tell me you still think you can defeat Jiang Chen fairly?"
Jiang Jue's expression wavered.
Fear.
Covetousness.
Both had always coexisted in his heart.
Since childhood, every younger generation of the Jiang Clan had lived beneath Jiang Chen's shadow—Jiang Jue included. He remembered clearly: after painstakingly mastering a divine technique, Jiang Chen would casually learn several more. When he rejoiced at a sudden breakthrough, Jiang Chen had already advanced multiple realms ahead.
That elder brother…
Was impossible to resist.
Yet everything changed after Jiang Chen left.
It was as if fortune itself favored him.
Rapid breakthroughs.
Endless transformations.
Just days ago, Jiang Jue even believed he could challenge Jiang Chen head-on.
But in the battle outside the Yin Ruins, Jiang Chen defeated Ye Chen effortlessly.
Reality struck.
The gap was still vast—far beyond what two or three divine techniques could bridge.
Now—
Standing here, lured by Ye Chen's words, he felt that familiar fear surge back.
"Lift the forbidden seal," Ye Chen whispered coldly.
"One of the elders guarding this place comes from Jiang Chen's lineage. When the disaster breaks out, they'll bear the blame."
"To compensate, Jiang Chen's faction will have no choice but to sacrifice people. A few… or even a dozen will die."
"Once their lineage is weakened to the extreme—your chance arrives."
Jiang Jue hesitated one last time.
"What are you waiting for?" Ye Chen's eyes darkened.
"For Jiang Chen to return?"
"I know he's already on his way."
"Once he arrives, someone will propose that the two of you fight to decide the eldest son."
"When that happens—do you still have hope?"
"Crushed in public, abandoned by your supporters, doomed to live forever under Jiang Chen's shadow!"
"No!"
Jiang Jue's pupils contracted violently.
"I don't want to live under his shadow for the rest of my life!"
His hesitation shattered.
He raised his hand, revealing a black talisman pulsing with demonic energy.
With a fierce roar, he slammed it toward the Jiang Clan's forbidden seal.
Rumble—!
The earth shook violently.
The forbidden land trembled.
In the Jiang Clan's main hall, every elder's expression changed.
"What's happening?!"
"The back mountain—!"
"The forbidden land has been disturbed!"
Jiang Zhenshan's face went pale.
He knew all too well what lay sealed in that place.
The Jiang Clan had survived for countless years by suppressing demons and monstrous evils—
If even one escaped—
The entire Jiang Clan would be plunged into catastrophe.