Chapter 288: Ancient Devil

He looked towards the Evil King's chest.

In the faint, flickering firelight, he saw a corner of the painting scroll between the broken armor pieces. The Evil King had probably removed the external iron plates and tucked the scroll into his chest.

He stood up and took out several Talismans from his sleeve, tossing them into the air.

The Talismans landed on the Evil King's hands and feet, transforming into streaks of golden light that sank into his body.

Then he raised his hand and drew a few strokes in the air, creating another seal Restriction using the Dao of Painting, locking the Evil King's meridians and vital points.

Only then did he walk over to the Evil King, keeping fully on guard while reaching out to touch his chest.

The Evil King scoffed weakly: "...Why bother."

Li Yunxin, without changing his expression, rummaged in his arms and said: "I've seen too many idiots courting death. For example, knocking down an enemy and not delivering the final blow, or even turning their back to talk to them—I'm not that kind of person."

Then his hand paused slightly, and he pulled the scroll out of the Evil King's embrace.

He cautiously stepped back two or three steps and unfolded it, quickly scanning it—confirming that this was indeed the genuine work of the Painting Saint, one of the Eight Treasures Ancient Scrolls.

No one in the world could counterfeit this painting. The frighteningly complex circulation of spiritual energy within it made even Li Yunxin feel a deep shock—the painting seemed to be connected to all things in the world and had become a part of the natural world.

He hadn't expected to acquire the painting so easily. After a moment of silence, he turned to look at the Evil King: "Do you have any last wish?"

The Evil King seemed to be getting weaker and weaker. He lifted his eyelids: "...Do you... still have... any... good intentions?"

Li Yunxin looked at him: "You haven't caused trouble, so I have a decent impression of you right now. Besides—leaving here, I'll probably have to fight my way along the Wei River. So, now is a good opportunity. If you have any unresolved grudges, hated enemies, or the like, you can tell me everything—maybe I'll help you take revenge along the way."

The Evil King chuckled upon hearing his words, then coughed out several mouthfuls of blood. Perhaps it was a final surge of energy; after coughing, he spoke clearly and smoothly: "Ah... you, you... want this King to tell you... what other great demons are nearby?"

"Sigh..." The Evil King sighed, "Speaking of which, you plotted against this King... I should hate you so much that I wish you were pierced by a thousand arrows. But, as luck would have it... there is one I hate even more... more than... hating you... I hate him even more!"

Li Yunxin looked at him: "Then tell me. Maybe you'll be lucky, and he and I will perish together?"

But his joke wasn't funny at all. The Evil King ignored him, merely forced himself to prop up his body, gathered his energy, and continued: "Go south from here, and you'll... leave the Qing Kingdom. The Wei River exits the Qing Kingdom... and reaches the Yu Kingdom. That Yu Kingdom is a narrow strip, and the one occupying a section of the Wei River in the Yu Kingdom, heh, hehe..."

He squinted at Li Yunxin: "Is a... Taoist priest... who calls himself a Sword Sect cultivator, heh... His Daoist name is Yang Jianzi..."

"That Taoist priest... is no ordinary man, hehe..."

He stopped there, staring at Li Yunxin in silence for a while.

Li Yunxin also waited for a while. Unexpectedly, this wait was eternal—the Evil King's sneer caught in his throat, as if his breath was blocked. Or perhaps fragments of shattered internal organs surged into his throat, blocking his windpipe—but he was too weak to raise his hand or move his body.

So he stared obliquely at Li Yunxin, as if wanting him to give him a quick death to avoid this suffering of suffocation.

But Li Yunxin slowly stepped back two paces, moving further away from the Evil King.

He looked calmly at the dying demon king and slightly spread his hands: "I apologize. For others, I would give them a quick death at a time like this. But you are different."

He only said this one sentence and said no more. With his left hand, he tucked the Eight Treasures Ancient Scroll into his sleeve, and with his right hand, he shook it—with a clatter, a dark-green iron chain was shaken out.

The iron chain hung down, swaying slightly—waiting to capture the demon king's soul after his death.

But in reality, Li Yunxin did not want to torture him—he had plenty of things to do and no need to waste time here.

However... this Evil King was, after all, unique. He needed to observe—to observe the entire process of his death.

Because the Evil King seemed to have been "created" by the Painting Saint.

Li Yunxin also draws people. So far, he has drawn many people who do not belong to this world. The one on which he poured the most effort and was most successful was the body of San Hua that was recently destroyed. That body belonged to a "Dragon Girl" from another world.

But his creations have a problem—they cannot escape their own limitations.

For example, the Dragon Girl was born as an unusual creature, possessing hard scales. Therefore, her scales could resist impacts and cuts.

But in the other world, this Dragon Girl had many other "skills." For example, she could transform into a giant flame dragon and breathe dragon fire—but those "skills" were not brought into this world by her.

Here, her body was restricted and bound by the rules of this world, existing only as a "body."

Li Yunxin once thought that all characters drawn should be like this.

Until he met the Evil King and the Evil King's "The Seven Sons"—the abilities these characters possessed in the "world" he was familiar with also appeared in this world.

This meant... there was indeed a way. A way to make the bodies and characters he drew stronger, even able to break through the limitations of this world!

But the problem was he didn't know how to do it.

Now, the great demon Evil King, created by the Painting Saint, was dying. Therefore, Li Yunxin needed to carefully observe this process, hoping to gain something he wanted.

Dying of suffocation is a long and painful process.

The Evil King, a Profound Realm demon, surely never imagined his final fate would be like this.

However, what Li Yunxin wanted to see was whether he would have a "soul."

The Dragon Girl body possessed by Lady Sanhua had no soul, only a shell. But this Evil King had his own thoughts and consciousness. Li Yunxin didn't know what was inside his body. Was he like San Hua, possessed by another soul, or... did he have his own soul?

Time passed slowly, the bonfire on the ground gradually died down, and the light became dim. Li Yunxin reached out and vaguely outlined a few strokes in the air. A talisman in the shape of an oil lamp formed in the air, radiating a gentle light.

The Evil King's face turned whiter and whiter in the light, his expression slowly stiffening. Blood foam accumulated at the corner of his mouth, like a crab out of water.

After another fifteen minutes, he suddenly widened his eyes and stopped moving.

Li Yunxin immediately held his breath and concentrated, using his divine power to open his Heavenly Eye, staring intently at his body—

He truly saw a soul!

The soul was exactly in the form of the Evil King. It floated up from the body, appearing somewhat bewildered. It quickly regained consciousness and looked up at Li Yunxin.

How could Li Yunxin let go of the soul of a Profound Realm demon? He shook the iron chain in his hand and wrapped it around the Evil King.

Unexpectedly, the Evil King's soul sneered and said in a sharp, piercing voice: "What can you do to me!"

After saying this, it turned and fled into the ground. And Li Yunxin's iron chain, which should have captured the soul... actually passed straight through his body, as if it were a mortal object!

He was slightly stunned but not very surprised.

Because he was already prepared for an anomaly. If a creation of the Painting Saint died in the same way as an ordinary cultivator or demon, it would be the "unusual" thing!

Now he knew the first thing—

The Evil King had his own soul. But the Dragon Girl he drew did not.

The Evil King's soul could escape into the ground, and Li Yunxin could too—he was originally an Yin Spirit transformed into a Dragon's Son; whatever a soul can do, he can do.

However, he rarely used this divine ability because the feeling was genuinely terrible. The walls, stones, and vegetation you pass through feel as if they are all stuffed into your body—that feeling of being alive yet filled with all sorts of messy things is one of the worst experiences he has ever had.

But at this moment, he couldn't care less—the Evil King was escaping downwards.

Below was the Bottomless Cave that bound the huge, withered skeleton!

Li Yunxin transformed into an Yin Spirit and chased closely behind, and soon reappeared—he was now in the vast, huge space beneath Trapped Sky Mountain.

When he first woke up here, the surroundings were endless darkness and endless silence.

But this time, when he escaped into this place again, he was slightly surprised.

He could see the giant withered skeleton.

It was glowing.

It was as if countless fireflies... no, countless thin, glowing, snake-like things were crawling on the massive skeleton.

Their number was so great that it looked as if... this gigantic skeleton was growing muscles that flowed like water—though it was only a thin film. The eerie blue-green glow surrounding it made it look as if it were forged from steel or bronze—

At this moment, it looked like a king who had slept underground for a thousand, ten thousand years... attempting to break free from his bonds.

Such an unusual sight finally caused Li Yunxin to be briefly stunned.

Not because of anything else but because... this thing seemed to have been suppressed by the former Painting Saint and guarded by the Evil King.

Now, it seemed to be coming back to life.

Having witnessed the various methods left behind by the Painting Saint in the world, Li Yunxin dared less and less to casually speculate about anything related to that Saint. The other party's power and mystery surpassed his imagination, and even without meeting, he had already been given a more intense shock than by the Divine Dragon.

And what kind of creature could it be that was suppressed here by the Painting Saint?!

Taking advantage of his brief distraction, the Evil King's soul had already flown in front of the skeleton—his figure was originally quite tall. But now, hovering in front of the skeleton's skull, the tall Evil King's soul could only barely fill one eye socket of the skeleton.

The Evil King's soul laughed loudly: "You little brat, what did you think this King was thinking? Huh? Do you know what this is?!"

Li Yunxin hesitated for a moment and gave up the idea of chasing after him.

Many things can be risked. But this one... has too many unknown possibilities. Rushing over now is not "adventuring" but "recklessness." Dying now would be both foolish and unstimulating.

So he stopped far away. First, he looked around and found a retreat path, then said gravely: "What is it?"

The Evil King's soul smiled even more menacingly: "Have you ever heard of—the Ancient Devil?!"

Li Yunxin's heart skipped a beat. But he remained composed: "Is the Evil King's mind also clouded after death? You once told me that a Pangolin burrowed through Trapped Sky Mountain, releasing a Primordial Ancient Demon. You and Old Devil Fulu went through great pains to defeat the Primordial Ancient Demon and suppress it beneath Trapped Sky Mountain—aren't you talking about that Ancient Devil?"

The Evil King burst into laughter again—fifteen minutes ago, he was a dying demon, but fifteen minutes later, he had become an energetic soul. One wonders where his obsession lies. But setting aside any obsession, he seemed more joyful and open-minded than he was in life.

"Hah, that Ancient Devil is not this Ancient Devil!" the Evil King laughed again, "This Ancient Devil is a demon seed conceived between the primordial heaven and earth, a powerhouse that existed before the separation of chaos! Even the Celestial Beings in the heavens fear this demon seed—that's why they shattered it and suppressed it throughout the world! The one behind this King is one of the remnants of that Ancient Devil!"

"You little brat, heh, you had the road to heaven but didn't take it, and you came to the gate of hell! Just wait for this King to possess the remnant body of this Ancient Devil—first, I'll blast you to pieces, then blast that Yazi to pieces, and finally blast what Divine Dragon and Dragon Clan there are to pieces, to resolve the hatred in my heart, wah-yah-yah-yah-yah-yah!"

Li Yunxin felt he knew what the Evil King's soul's obsession was.

But that matter seemed insignificant compared to the information the Evil King revealed.

Was what the Evil King said... true?!

Was the "Ancient Devil" he spoke of one of the "Ancient Devils," the "True Devils," that the White Yama King had mentioned to him?!

Leaving aside how he knew all this, if it was truly genuine—did this mean that there were other similar skeletons being suppressed elsewhere in the world?

But the Evil King was still not satisfied after saying all this. He seemed intent on venting all the resentment of these years—

"Guarding Trapped Sky Mountain?! Humph! It has imprisoned this King for so many years!!"

He flew around in the air agitatedly, like a balloon slowly deflating. His eyes darted around, suddenly staring at Li Yunxin, then looking at the skeleton—as if looking at a treasure.

Then he added: "It's all thanks to you for luring Yazi... hehe! Fighting a great battle with him and destroying the Restriction of Trapped Sky Mountain, even the chain Restriction that bound the skeleton in the Bottomless Cave was ruined—and only then did this King discover that the Ancient Devil's skeleton had come back to life!!"

"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha... The Ancient Devil's skeleton that even the Celestial Beings fear—if this King possesses it, crushing you all will be as easy as turning my hand! Wah-yah-yah-yah... Why didn't I think of this sooner?!"

"Yes," Li Yunxin frowned slightly and looked at him, suddenly speaking, "Why didn't you think of this sooner?"

When he said this, the Evil King's soul was suddenly stunned—it stopped mid-air with a blank stare, looking straight into the void, seemingly thinking about something.

—He was a soul, after all. A residual remnant left after the Spiritual Soul was damaged.

Some memories... were missing.