Three Years

Time passed.

Lei Zhan lived an incredibly fulfilling life above the North Dark Sea, contemplating the Dao and cultivating. By constantly engaging in life-and-death battles with great demons steeped in sin and honing his spear arts, his personal progress was far faster than it would have been through quiet meditation in a Water Mansion, and his strength grew ever more formidable.

As the seasons turned, more than three years passed in the blink of an eye.

The North Dark Sea was home to thousands of islands.

A massive Dragon-Head Warship transformed into a streak of light, cutting across the sky and arriving amidst the clouds and mist near an island.

"This must be God Shark Island." Lei Zhan looked at the massive island in the distance. With a thought, his vast Divine Sense instantly enveloped the entire island.

He saw that the sky above the island was shrouded in a layer of visible black sin. Under Lei Zhan's Divine Sense, one could even faintly discern a patch of scarlet blood-light amidst the billowing black aura.

"To think that a great demon of such immense sin has been born on God Shark Island, enough to manifest a blood-light of sin!" A golden light faintly flickered between Lei Zhan's brows. With a single glance, he had spotted the blood-light of sin above the island.

One had to know that in this world, doing good earned merit, while doing evil likewise generated sin.

Those who did good and possessed merit were surrounded by clear energy.

Those who did evil and possessed sin were plagued by turbid energy. Those with immense sin would manifest a blood-light of sin.

The blood-light of sin was invisible unless one had opened their Heavenly Eye. Over the past three years, Lei Zhan had practiced his soul-visualization techniques daily. A month ago, his soul had reached its limit, and as a matter of course, he had broken through to the level of Divine Sense and opened his Heavenly Eye.

The demon clans Lei Zhan had slain in the North Dark Sea had all been sinful, but most were merely plagued by turbid energy; very few had manifested the blood-light of sin.

Although the North Dark Sea was vast, the truly sinful cultivators who manifested the blood-light of sin were either extremely powerful or exceptionally skilled at escaping.

Most of the middle-tier ones had been slain by cultivators seeking merit, leaving few for Lei Zhan.

Just as Lei Zhan gazed at the island below, his Divine Sense swept across the entire God Shark Island like a tidal wave. He did not alert the demons on the island, and in an instant, every detail inside and out was laid bare before him.

"This Divine Sense is even stronger than spiritual sense." Lei Zhan smiled faintly. "I've scanned the interior and exterior of God Shark Island twice, and that Water-Splitting White Shark Great Demon hasn't reacted at all. It seems he hasn't broken through to the level of a Primordial Spirit Daoist yet."

If the opponent could detect his vast, tidal-like Divine Sense, the Water-Splitting White Shark Great Demon would undoubtedly have reached the Primordial Spirit level. In that case, Lei Zhan, who had yet to break through to the Myriad Phenomena level, would naturally have fled as far as he could.

But since they couldn't detect him, the opponent was still just a Myriad Phenomena-level great demon. In that case, the unlucky one would certainly not be Lei Zhan.

"Seven Myriad Phenomena-level great demons?" Everything was revealed in minute detail within the reach of Lei Zhan's Divine Sense. "One Myriad Phenomena Perfection Water-Splitting White Shark Great Demon, one Myriad Phenomena Mid-stage Red-Maned Lion King, and five others..."

"No wonder I missed my mark twice before; these demons have all fled to God Shark Island."

When Lei Zhan first began slaying demons, an island would have at most one Myriad Phenomena-level great demon. For Lei Zhan, who could easily slay a Myriad Phenomena Late-stage God-Devil Body Refining practitioner, it had been effortless.

However, as time went on and word of Lei Zhan's demon-slaying exploits spread across the North Dark Sea, the demons naturally refused to sit still and wait for death, and they began to band together.

It was precisely because the battles with the demons had become increasingly dangerous that Lei Zhan's comprehension of the Dao, his spear arts, and even his soul had improved tremendously over the past three years, resulting in a transformation that could truly be called a rebirth.

"Seven demons... what a pity that I am no longer the man I was three years ago." Lei Zhan smiled slightly, his eyes filled with boundless confidence.

Standing on the Dragon-Head Warship, Lei Zhan roared, "White Shark Demon King! Red-Maned Lion King!"

His voice rolled out like a thunderclap, completely enveloping the entire God Shark Island.

"Come out and die!"

"Big Brother, now that our God Shark Island has three more Myriad Phenomena Demon Kings, why should we fear that human brat Lei Zhan?" a burly man with messy red hair said in a muffled voice.

"A month ago, that Lei Zhan attacked the Dragon-Whale Demon King's cave dwelling, but he was chased away by the Dragon-Whale Demon King and the Green Shrimp Demon King, only managing to kill them later by resorting to sneak attacks..."

"Sneak attacks? Did you see that with your own eyes?" The burly, bald man sitting at the head of the table snorted. "Rumors are the least trustworthy things. That Lei Zhan has immense aptitude; it is said he has fully comprehended two Daos and cultivates both the Qi Refining Path and God-Devil Body Refining. Though I don't know why he has lingered at the Purple Mansion level, his combat power is formidable."

"The Dragon-Whale and his lot only had four Myriad Phenomena Demon Kings in total, yet they all ended up dead. If not for that, why would we fear this human brat?"

"It's a pity that the demons of our North Sea have always fought amongst themselves... it's difficult to unite even when we want to," a short, stout man in green armor said with resentment. "If not for this human brat forcing our hands, I would be drinking wine and eating human flesh by the mouthful every day—how delightful that would be!"

"Yaksha Demon King, there is no need for resentment. The White Shark Demon King is powerful; since he has managed to unite us, this is surely just the beginning!" a demonic-looking man in white robes smiled. "I have heard that several demon kings in the east also intend to join us. Once we have more demon kings, Lei Zhan will have no choice but to surrender! Who knows, perhaps in the future, we might even create a great demon power in the North Dark Sea like White Dragon Island!"

"White Dragon Island?" A look of longing appeared in the eyes of the demon kings. That was a major power of the demon clan in the North Dark Sea, and it was even guarded by a White Dragon Demon Immortal of immense strength.

"Hahaha!" The White Shark Demon King grabbed the blood-wine from the table, swallowed it in one gulp, and laughed heartily. "They say fox demons are the best at bewitching hearts; the White Fox Demon King's words truly speak to my heart."

"Hahaha!" All the great demons laughed.

Suddenly.

"White Shark Demon King..."

"Red-Maned Lion King..."

"Come out and die..."

Voices like muffled thunder echoed in the ears of the demon kings. The demon kings, who had been laughing wildly just a moment ago, now looked like chicks whose necks had been pinched, their expressions turning ugly.

"Damn it! We speak of him, and this human brat comes knocking! Bad luck!" The White Shark Demon King's voice was icy. "Fellow Demon Kings, since this human brat has come to our doorstep, he shall serve as the side dish for our banquet!"

"Right, Big Brother! I want to dig out this human brat's heart and liver to go with my wine!" The Red-Maned Lion King with the messy red hair was filled with bloodthirsty killing intent.

Birds of a feather flock together.

The demon kings gathered on God Shark Island were naturally no saints; the worst among them were all plagued by the turbid energy of sin, and many possessed the blood-light of sin.

Lei Zhan stood on the Dragon-Head Warship, waiting quietly. In the past, when encountering so many Myriad Phenomena great demons at once, Lei Zhan would usually infiltrate their lair in secret and quietly slay them one by one to avoid being surrounded by too many enemies.

Yet now, Lei Zhan's strength had increased greatly, naturally giving him the confidence to take on seven opponents alone.

Although Lei Zhan's cultivation level had not grown much over these three years, it was precisely because of this that his comprehension of the Dao had improved even faster; he had now fully mastered the Way of Blazing Fire.

Even the Way of North Wind and his newly comprehended Dao of Flowing Water had reached the level of the Domain Realm of the Dao. He had even grasped the third stance of the Red Snow Spear Technique.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Figures were seen flying out from God Shark Island, arriving high in the sky. Suddenly, the entire expanse above was filled with a thick, visible, and foul aura of sin. Under Lei Zhan's divine sense, the blood-red light appeared monstrous.

"You are that Lei Zhan? The Lei Zhan who has slaughtered hundreds of Myriad Phenomena Demon Kings of our demon race over these past three years?" A burly, bald man stood in the air, looking at Lei Zhan on the deck of the Dragon-Head Warship, facing him from afar.

Standing beside the burly, bald man were six other figures, all radiating the fluctuations of Myriad Phenomena Demon Kings.

Behind these seven demon kings, a massive number of demon figures followed closely, blotting out the sky and covering the earth in a dense, dark mass.

Among these figures were some with human appearances, and others who still maintained their original forms and had not yet fully transformed, but all were demonkind at the Purple Mansion level.

Surrounding these Purple Mansion-level demons was a layer of visible, black, sinful light.

"Human brat, you want us to die?" the Red-Maned Demon King, with his messy red hair, mocked. "Just you? We have seven Myriad Phenomena-level demon kings here!"

"It is him. I saw him from afar three years ago when this human brat slaughtered the Black-Toothed White Elephant Demon King. He is Lei Zhan!" The White Fox Demon King's face was ferocious as he turned to look at the Pishui White Shark Demon King, who led them. "Demon King White Shark, drinking and eating meat is far too dull; let us quickly slaughter this human brat to serve as a side dish for our wine!"

"Everyone, the White Fox Demon King makes sense. Attack together!" the Pishui White Shark Demon King declared. Before his voice had even faded, black mist swirled around his body, and he instantly transformed into a thousand-foot-long white divine shark.

"Kill!" The Red-Maned Lion King also transformed into a hundred-foot-tall red lion wreathed in flames, lunging fiercely toward Lei Zhan.

The White Fox Demon King, the Yaksha Demon King, and every other demon king transformed into their true forms in an instant.

In that moment, the sky above God Shark Island was occupied by giant beasts, some a hundred feet and others a thousand feet in size. In the center of these behemoths stood a handsome human in black robes, who looked like a mere speck of dust.

"Use me as a side dish for your wine?" Lei Zhan looked at the massive demon kings, feeling completely at ease.

"Just you lot?"

This failing author is going to take a shower and will try hard to update another chapter later!

Thanks to Yan Buguowu for the Qidian coin tip.