Luohu, the Demon Ancestor

"My head hurts a little. What just happened? I only touched the Innate Gourd Vine—how did I end up in a place like this?"

Li Mo muttered to himself as he surveyed his surroundings.

All he could see was darkness stretching in every direction.

A profoundly evil aura came from ahead.

It was so chilling that even Li Mo couldn't stop himself from shivering.

He took a few steps forward. To his astonishment, a black sphere lay ahead, bound by countless chains.

The chains were as thick as his thigh, and a talisman covered them.

The talisman radiated a powerful force of suppression.

Li Mo took a few more steps closer and murmured, "What is this thing? Looks like something's been sealed here."

Sensing his approach, the black sphere bound by the chains seemed to awaken. It struggled frantically to break free.

"Release me! Release me!"

The chains clattered and shook.

Billowing demonic qi poured from the black sphere and spread in every direction like a rising tide.

"Holy crap! You can talk? What are you?"

Li Mo jumped in fright.

"What am I? You're a mere Mystic Immortal, yet you dare speak to this Demon Ancestor like that? Release me at once, or I'll kill you!"

The sphere, now spewing billows of demonic qi, spoke.

"Demon Ancestor? Are you Luohu?" Li Mo cried out in surprise.

He hadn't expected to run into the Demon Ancestor Luohu here!

He could hardly believe it. Wasn't Luohu supposed to have died after fighting Hong Jun and the others?

Still, perhaps Luohu hadn't died after all, but had escaped with severe injuries.

"That's right. It's me! You're a promising lad. Come over and remove the talisman from these chains. Once I break free, I'll take you as my disciple and teach you the demonic arts. Together, we'll conquer the primordial world!" Luohu said excitedly.

"Do you think I'm an idiot? One moment you're threatening to kill me, and the next you want to take me as your disciple. Besides, you're just Luohu. You couldn't even beat Hong Jun and the others. What makes you worthy of being my master?"

"You're ugly and full of yourself! Tch!"

Li Mo sneered.

His words nearly drove Luohu into a fit of rage.

He was the mighty Demon Ancestor! And now a mere Mystic Immortal was humiliating him like this.

It was an utter disgrace. If he ever escaped, he'd crush the brat to death.

But for now, he had to lure the little fool over and get him to remove the seal.

"Come help me remove the talisman, little fellow. I swear I won't touch you. If I do, may I have a child with no asshole!" Luohu said.

"Save that stuff for trying to fool three-year-olds." As he spoke, Li Mo took the Innate Gourd Vine out from his person.

He hadn't had a chance to examine it properly while he was outside.

Once he took out the Innate Gourd Vine, he was astonished to find that it wasn't bare. Seven little gourds, each a different color, grew on it.

Li Mo stared at them in amazement!

"These are exactly the same size as the gourds on the Innate Gourd Vine I saw outside. So the spiritual root I copied was based on the one I touched back then."

"If I copy the Ten Great Spiritual Roots when they're mature, does that mean I can just pick their fruits right away?"

Li Mo pondered.

But as he was mulling it over,

Luohu cried out in alarm, "Boy, what's that in your hand?"

"A spiritual root! Never seen one before?" Li Mo said, lifting the Innate Gourd Vine and giving it a shake.

To his surprise, Luohu's voice turned terrified. "Put it away! Put it away, now!"

"Why should I? The mighty Demon Ancestor is afraid of this thing?" Just as Li Mo finished speaking,

he saw the seven gourds on the Innate Gourd Vine frantically absorbing demonic qi.

That was right—the demonic qi coming from Luohu.

And the more they absorbed, the faster they drew it in.

Li Mo saw a massive vortex appear before the Innate Gourd Vine.

Billowing demonic qi poured from Luohu like a flood, dragged straight out of him.

He let out a scream. "Put it away! Put it away!"

Li Mo was astonished to see the seven gourds growing at an incredible pace.

The scene was much like when he'd seen the Innate Gourd Vine absorb violet qi outside.

He'd thought that the vine could only be nurtured with violet qi.

But now it seemed that demonic qi worked just as well.

He was delighted!

Go on, scream! Scream louder!

The louder you scream, the more excited I get.

My seven little gourd brothers are about to hatch.

I'm going to be a father!

Li Mo was feeling rather pleased with himself.

"Boy! Just you wait. If I ever escape, I'll tear you to pieces, crush your primordial spirit between my teeth, devour your flesh and blood, extinguish your true spirit, and wipe out your three souls and seven spirits!" Luohu cursed as he screamed.

"You? You think you're worthy? You won't get the chance. For now, just help me raise my gourds." Li Mo chuckled, not at all worried by Luohu's threats.

If Luohu escaped now, Hong Jun would be the first to kill him.

But then!

Li Mo's expression changed drastically.

The talisman on the chains had fallen off by itself, drawn away by the seven gourds' frenzied absorption.

He felt a chill run through him, and his blood seemed to turn cold.

This was bad!

Luohu was about to break free!

Who was Luohu? The Demon Ancestor!

He'd once fought head-on against four peak-level Quasi-Saints while at the peak of the Quasi-Saint realm himself. He was a truly ruthless figure.

Even Hong Jun had needed to find allies before he could defeat him.

"Boy! I'm going to tear you apart!"

Luohu couldn't believe his luck. The vortex had pulled the talisman right off the chains.

For the first time in millions of years, Luohu felt such overwhelming excitement.

But something else was even more excited than he was.

It was none other than the gourds!

The seven gourds on the Innate Gourd Vine were greedily sucking the demonic qi from his body.

He tried to escape, but it was as if seven mighty beings were fighting over him.

His broken primordial spirit raced in every direction, on the verge of being torn apart.

Rocks flew through the cave as sand and dust whipped through the air. It was a spectacular sight.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

Luohu could feel his already-damaged primordial spirit being torn to pieces in the struggle.

To keep that from happening, he ducked into the nearest gourd.

At once!

The gourd on the far right turned vicious.

The other six gourds exploded in an instant, scattering fragments everywhere.

"Holy crap! My seven gourd brothers! Damn it, six of them shattered!"

Li Mo's heart ached.

But then the demonic qi from the other six gourds surged out.

The last gourd absorbed it all.

In that instant, it grew into the largest gourd of all.

Demonic qi billowed around it, giving it a dark, muted appearance.

But the power of the black gourd was something Li Mo didn't dare underestimate.

All at once!

Something burst through the gourd's mouth.

Luohu appeared and laughed wildly. "Hahaha! I'm back! I'm back!"

He tried to leave the gourd, only to discover that his primordial spirit couldn't get out.

In an instant, the binding force of the gourd yanked him back inside.