"Heavenly Ghost brat, I already told you. I've lived for five or six thousand years, and I've sat on the throne for four thousand of them. I'm bound to have one or two things up my sleeve that you can't even imagine. For example, this." Netherworld Ghost Emperor gave a cold, dismissive laugh at his words, then raised a hand into the air. A fruit as black as ink appeared, wreathed in twisting, terrifying clouds of black mist. Without hesitation, he swallowed it in one gulp. Almost at once, Netherworld Ghost Emperor's flagging presence erupted with power. It crashed down from above, nearly forcing Heavenly Ghost Emperor's knees to buckle.
"Demon Fruit?" Heavenly Ghost Emperor cried out in utter shock and terror. "Impossible! There can't be any Demon Fruits left anywhere in the Three Realms and Six Domains!"
This fruit was one of the most renowned Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures of ancient times. Naturally poisonous, it would burn the soul once swallowed, restoring the eater's strength to its peak for a short time. Its side effect, however, was that once the soul burned away completely, the eater would be reduced to ashes. And as more and more were used, the supply of Demon Fruits in the world grew ever scarcer. Then, after an endless and brutal cataclysm brought the ancient era to an end, even the few that remained went extinct in that disaster.
Even in ancient times, this fruit had appeared only on occasion. By the modern era, many people had never even heard of it. Only a handful of highly learned, high-ranking cultivators knew the name Demon Fruit.
"Heavenly Ghost brat, you've hidden your identity for so long that you've come to think of yourself as a real Ghost King. Your knowledge is pitifully shallow." Netherworld Ghost