The Demon's Demand

Ever since Dragon Island had been sealed, neither Ancestral Dragon nor Dragon King had appeared. Now, after endless ages, the ancient legend had been reawakened. Those who came to Dragon Island this time sought no mysteries—they came only for the Ancestral Dragon and the Dragon Kings.

"Granny, we don't have to be afraid this time. At least we can protect ourselves. I'll go get Little Black," said the plump youth with a simple, honest look, and then he dashed toward the village as fast as the wind.

A dragon roar came from the dense forest behind the village. After a short while, the plump youth returned, leading a black juvenile dragon a meter long. The little dragon's scales gleamed with a dark luster, its entire body black and glossy. It had the head of an Ancestral Dragon and a body like a leopard or tiger—though covered entirely in dragon scales, not fur. Unquestionably, this was a Dragon King. Its precise lineage was hard to determine, for a Dragon King differed greatly from the bloodline it inherited.

This village had also found a Dragon King long ago, showing they had prepared well. The Black Dragon King was slightly smaller than the Purple Dragon King, and might well be the second-greatest Dragon King on Dragon Island, giving it a clear advantage in competing for the Ancestral Dragon's throne.

When the Purple Dragon King and the Black Dragon King locked eyes, they immediately let out low, rumbling roars. Their mutual hostility ran deep. This was inevitable—the battles between Dragon Kings were the cruelest of all. When Companion Dragon Kings grew to a certain stage, they would inevitably fight to the death.

The woman in the rainbow mist and the plump youth quickly calmed the two young Dragon Kings, preventing a conflict. Just then, Keke's large, intelligent eyes suddenly went wide. The two Dragon Kings also sensed something, staring toward the forest outside the village, just as Keke did.

With a soft whoosh, Keke darted onto the Purple Dragon King's back. Its tiny paws quickly wiped at the wounds, gathering some dragon blood, then it turned into a streak of white light and dashed into the forest outside the village. The Purple Dragon King roared in fury.

In the dense forest, black mist churned violently. A large swath of trees shattered. Keke fled back as a white streak. At the same time, a pale-faced youth emerged from the forest. His chest and abdomen bore several bloody holes—from the Purple Dragon King's blood, and on his left arm was a small claw mark, clearly Keke's doing. His eyes shot forth a piercing light. He stared at Keke and the two Companion Dragon Kings, then vanished without a sound.

"It's him!" Xiao Chen and the woman in the rainbow mist spoke at the same time.

"It's him, that evil spirit…" the old woman said, her voice agitated. "I've seen records left by our ancestors about the evil spirit. There was a simple sketch of him. It was he who killed countless of our ancestors!"

The evil spirit's return filled them all with great unease. Though it had retreated again, there was no guarantee it would not reappear.

The virulence of Dragon King blood astonished Xiao Chen and the others. It could indeed suppress that terrible demon. They could imagine how powerful the Purple Dragon King and its kind would become when they matured. And Keke's intelligence was breathtaking—it had sensed the demon before the two Dragon Kings and the rest of them.

Keke was vigorously rubbing its paws, annoyed at having to remove the bloodstains from its snow-white fur. Then, ignoring the Purple Dragon King's low growls, it mischievously jumped onto the Black Dragon King's back and waved its tiny claws at the Purple Dragon King. Before the two Dragon Kings could fly into a rage, Xiao Chen quickly snatched Keke back. This little thing was too troublesome.

They returned to the village and took shelter in a different courtyard. Inside, a grape trellis grew lush and green, heavy with clusters of glistening purple grapes like translucent agates.

They gathered around a stone table beneath the grape trellis and began to plan in detail. The demon had to be eliminated, or everyone would be in danger.

Xiao Chen said, "The demon was unexpectedly wounded by Dragon King blood. This is our chance. We must unite everyone on the island against him."

After the ordeal in the City of the Dead, only slightly over a hundred young cultivators remained on Dragon Island—because they had not ventured into the area near the Bone Sea that night. Uniting them all would still be a formidable force.

Dugu Jianmo had also, for once, set aside his pride. He felt the intense threat of death and agreed fully with Xiao Chen's proposal.

The mysterious woman wreathed in rainbow mist nodded. "We can also rally another group of experts."

Xiao Chen and Dugu Jianmo looked at her, puzzled. The old woman beside her smiled. "This young lady is a true expert. But her cultivation seems to fluctuate, making it hard to gauge her real level." She narrowed her eyes. "Besides you young experts, more than thirty old experts at the Spirit-Treasury realm have also entered Dragon Island."

Dugu Jianmo nodded in immediate understanding. According to the original agreement among the various factions, the older generation was not supposed to interfere with events on the island. The Dragon King competition was left entirely to the younger generation, while the elders would wait on the vast sea to provide support. Evidently, these people had infiltrated in secret, not following the rules.

"I will contact those people. I know where they are moving," the old man beside her said.

The old woman added, "Now the most urgent matter is to find the Nine Dragon Kings. When nine Dragon Kings are gathered, they can summon the legendary Divine Ship and finally leave this mysterious and terrifying island."

According to legend, the Divine Ship—built from the bones of an Ancestral Dragon and the wood of the World Tree—had been drifting in the Forbidden Sea for endless ages. Only it could carry the inhabitants of the island out of the Forbidden Sea. This was recorded in the ruins of a dilapidated ancient village discovered by the old woman's ancestors.

The Ancestral Dragon bones needed no explanation—they were clearly the sacred bones of the dragon race. And the World Tree, as Xiao Chen had suspected, was indeed the divine tree that rivaled a mountain range at Keke's original home.

They deliberated for a long time, but a pressing problem remained: could they safely leave this village? The demon might be lurking nearby.

"Are we going to take the two Dragon Kings with us to rally everyone?" Dugu Jianmo gripped his iron sword hard, his knuckles whitening.

The others fell silent. In truth, they were already facing the threat of death. The demon was unlikely to let them go. It had been severely wounded because of them—an unparalleled humiliation for a demon that had lived for endless ages.

Just then, Keke's large, intelligent eyes went wide again. At the same time, the Purple Dragon King and the Black Dragon King let out low roars. A gust of chill wind blew into the courtyard. Yin energy gathered around the grape trellis.

This time the Purple Dragon King was prepared. Before Keke could dart onto its back, it had already charged out first. The Black Dragon King followed with a low roar. Keke, showing no sense of urgency, jumped onto the grape trellis and watched from above as the two Dragon Kings roared in the street.

The Yin energy dissipated. The demon had retreated again. But everyone in the courtyard still felt a chill in their hearts. It seemed as if death had already taken root in this village.

"This won't do. There'll always be a moment of carelessness. Without the two Dragon Kings beside us, we can't fight that demon at all." The plump youth, who had seemed simple, now expressed his opinion, revealing that he was not nearly as naive as he appeared.

"Trouble. Something's wrong." The old man frowned. "Our people outside are about to return. If they meet the demon, they'll surely fall into its grasp."

They had no choice but to stand up and walk toward the village entrance, to meet the clansmen returning from outside. The village was deserted—no roosters crowed, no dogs barked. A deathly silence hung over everything, as if it were a desolate, abandoned wasteland.

"He's here again!" Xiao Chen said in a low voice. Keke had jumped onto his shoulder and was tugging at his hair with its tiny claws, its large, intelligent eyes fixed on the street ahead.

Once discovered, the demon no longer hid. Black mist churned, and waves of bone-chilling Yin energy surged forward, making everyone feel a piercing cold. The two Dragon Kings roared continuously, unafraid of this baleful aura. If not for the people holding them back, they would have charged forward.

The demon was now less than a hundred meters away. Though the infernal mist blocked the blazing sun's rays, Xiao Chen could still clearly "see"—thanks to his spiritual perception that sensed things before he even saw or heard them.

Within the mist was the pale-faced youth from the Bone Sea, with a distinct birthmark on his left wrist. His eyes were hollow, carrying a sense of ages past. At first glance, it was hard to believe he was a demon who had lived for endless years, but the longer one gazed, the more ghastly and terrible he appeared.

"Give him to me… and I will spare you all." A ghostly voice came from the black mist. Though the tone was young, it held no life at all—like a broken window moaning in a chill wind. With each word, a cold presence seemed to invade their bodies, making cold shivers run down their spines.

The black mist before the demon parted slightly, revealing an arm stretched out, pointing straight at Xiao Chen.

"You mean me?" Xiao Chen felt a chill. Why had this demon set its sights on him?

The mist stirred again. The pale face in the darkness was now fully exposed. The demon slowly shook his head, then shifted his arm slightly.

Keke angrily jumped down from Xiao Chen's shoulder and charged forward without fear, crying out in its baby-like voice as if scolding the demon. It waved its tiny paw, and a brilliant light enveloped the space ahead.

The mist billowed, and the demon vanished without a sound. When prepared, the demon was evidently unfathomably powerful. Keke stomped on the street, waving its paws in fury. It looked both fierce and adorable. Xiao Chen hurried over and picked Keke up. Keke was growing more and more mysterious—he did not want anything to happen to the little beast.

The others were shocked. The demon seemed wary of Keke, but Keke was not a Dragon King. Could its blood or body also restrain evil spirits?

"I can't agree to that. No one can harm Keke." Xiao Chen shouted toward the empty street ahead. He was not only speaking to the demon, but also making his stance clear to those beside him.

The demon reappeared farther down the road, its ghostly voice floating out of the dark mist. "I want the Sacred Tree on its head. Give me that little tree, and from now on, I will never harm another human life."

Everyone's eyes turned to Keke. The treasure tree atop its head was dim, like an ordinary plant, utterly unremarkable. They had all thought it was just something the mischievous little beast had casually picked up and worn on its head. Only now did they realize its great origin—even the demon coveted it.

Xiao Chen was shocked and full of doubt, but without a moment's hesitation, he refused. "Why would we give it to you? And why should we believe you?"

"I can swear an oath. Once I have the Sacred Tree, I will no longer kill anyone on this island. May my body and soul be destroyed if I break my word." The demon's voice came from the black mist.

The old man said in a low voice, "According to the records, the demon's oaths are binding. He made a promise in the past and did not break it." He was clearly afraid of the demon and wanted to compromise.

"You trust the oath of a demon?" Xiao Chen turned and demanded coldly.

The old man and old woman both flushed with shame. They were indeed terrified of the demon, and they could not be sure whether the record about the demon keeping his oaths was true. But their clansmen outside were about to return, and the demon was lurking nearby—a lethal threat to them.

The dark mist parted. The demon looked toward the divine stele at the center of the island and said, "I will not break my oath. Otherwise, I will be punished."

"You are a demon. How can I believe you? Everyone says you should never deal with a demon." Xiao Chen stepped back, hugging Keke. But Keke was restless, struggling to charge forward as if it had no fear of the demon in the mist.

"Sigh… I am not a demon. I am a human." The ghostly voice sounded with a hint of weariness.

Xiao Chen let out a cold snort. "That is not a very funny joke."

"I have spent endless ages in constant transformation, always hoping to return to life. Now I am no longer a corpse. I have a body of flesh and blood. I truly do not wish to kill anymore."