As Chang Yuan walked through the Demon Palace, he soon arrived at a side chamber and stepped straight inside. Everyone followed after him.
Yang Kai glanced around and realized with a start that this side chamber was where Chang Yuan himself lived—and the entrance to the Great Demon God's secret chamber had been hidden here as well.
For countless years, only successive Demon Lords had been worthy of studying and contemplating it. But today, a whole crowd had shown up all at once.
At the corner of the side chamber, Chang Yuan struck out with several streaks of Demon Essence, and an exceedingly concealed doorway suddenly swung open.
Chang Yuan ducked inside without a word. The four Demon Generals surged in after him. Meng Wuya glanced at Yang Kai and whispered a word of caution—be careful—before taking the lead to scout ahead.
Only then did Yang Kai step inside.
Li Rong, Han Fei, and the Earth Demon brought up the rear.
A straight passageway sloped diagonally downward. Though no light entered from outside, it was far from dark. Strange luminous stones dotted both walls, casting a soft glow that wasn't harsh on the eyes.
From up ahead came murmuring voices—the four Demon General apparently discussing something in low tones.
Yang Kai also noticed a great many interesting things. Along the walls of the passageway, elaborate carvings of dragons and phoenixes stretched into the distance. The designs were highly abstract; without a careful look, it was nearly impossible to tell what they actually depicted.
Chang Yuan's voice drifted back from the front: "These carvings record the Great Demon God's most significant deeds and glorious exploits throughout his life. They may have been created by the Great Demon God himself—there's nothing of particular importance to them."
Yang Kai nodded faintly. As he walked along, studying them, suddenly the bizarre patterns before his eyes seemed to come alive. Vivid scenes flickered past in silent narration, recounting the Great Demon God's life.
In one carving, Yang Kai saw the Great Demon God locked in battle with the master of the Nine Heavens Holy Land from that era. The Great Demon God was wounded; the Nine Heavens Holy Land's master was gravely injured, but managed to carry away a single drop of the Demon God's golden blood.
Another scene showed him fighting a husband-and-wife pair who were masters of dual cultivation techniques. A golden dragon and an ice phoenix soared through heaven and earth, yet even together the couple proved no match.
Yet another depicted a pair of burly twin brothers—defeated at the Great Demon God's hands.
Then Yang Kai saw a scene set within an ancient, never-melting glacier. The Great Demon God stood there in silent pride, and beside him, a woman in spotless white robes stood drenched in blood, gazing at him with a look that mingled love and hatred. After a long moment, the Great Demon God turned and departed with effortless ease. The woman sank into sorrow, tears sliding soundlessly down her cheeks.
A thunderous jolt ran through Yang Kai's consciousness. He immediately realized that these carvings held deeper mysteries. If one studied them carefully, there might be some extraordinary gain to be had.
That husband-and-wife pair who practiced dual cultivation—they had to be the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress of the Dragon and Phoenix Palace.
The twin brothers could only be the two Hall Masters of the Twin Pavilion from that age.
And the woman in white within the glacier—if Yang Kai wasn't mistaken—she must have been an ancestor of the Ice Sect!
These three sects had been the most preeminent of their era.
Every single person who had crossed swords with the Great Demon God was among the most powerful cultivators of their time—yet the Great Demon God had never suffered a single defeat. A hundred battles, a hundred victories!
Scene after scene flowed past Yang Kai's eyes like running water, filling him with a strange sensation. It was as though he stood in the Great Demon God's place, gazing coldly down upon the masses of the world below. It was lonely at the top.
The Great Demon God had needed only a few short decades to establish himself as the undisputed greatest beneath heaven for all time—no one able to surpass him. From that point on, he was alone, isolated.
He set forth toward the star field to explore higher mysteries, to uncover more secrets of the martial path.
And then he vanished without a word!
The world believed he had perished accidentally on his journey to the stars.
"Holy Master Yang! Holy Master Yang!" Chang Yuan's voice reached his ears. Yang Kai's entire body jolted, and he snapped back to awareness with a start. Everyone was staring at him with odd expressions, and he realized at once that his mind had involuntarily become immersed in those strange carvings.
"What is it?" Yang Kai asked.
Chang Yuan's expression went blank for a moment, his gaze fixed on Yang Kai's eyes. In those eyes, he saw a profound sense of desolation—as though in the span of a heartbeat, Yang Kai had experienced the passage of countless centuries, lending this otherwise young man an air of weathered age.
Meng Wuya had clearly noticed it too. His brow furrowed involuntarily.
But that feeling of desolation vanished almost as quickly as it had appeared—so fast that Chang Yuan wondered if he'd imagined it. He smiled and said, "We've arrived. The rest is up to Holy Master Yang."
"We're here?" Yang Kai looked ahead and saw that the passage had reached a dead end. A massive wall of stone blocked everyone's way.
Set into the wall was a square, flat-bottomed recess.
Every pair of eyes turned to him with eager anticipation.
Yang Kai understood. With a thought, he summoned the Demon God Scripture.
Instantly, the eyes of Chang Yuan and the four Demon Generals burned with fervor.
"Don't even think about getting any bright ideas. If a fight breaks out in here, none of you will walk away unscathed!" Meng Wuya cackled with a sinister grin.
This space was far too confined. If so many Saints started fighting in here, the only outcome would be mutual destruction.
Chang Yuan laughed awkwardly. "Brother Meng, you're too cautious. I have no intention of seizing anyone's treasures."
"Can't be too sure. That's the Demon God Scripture—how would anyone know what's going through your head?" Meng Wuya snorted coldly and sidled closer to Yang Kai, signaling with his eyes: you make the move, I'll keep an eye on them.
Yang Kai nodded and slowly pressed the Demon God Scripture toward the recess.