Time flowed on.
Lei Zhan lived a full and busy life on the North Dark Sea, cultivating his understanding of the Dao. He constantly fought great demons steeped in sin to the death, honing his spear technique... His progress was far faster than it would have been through quiet cultivation in the Water Mansion, and his strength grew greater still.
The seasons turned, and before he knew it, more than three years had passed.
The North Dark Sea was dotted with countless islands.
A massive Dragon-Head Warship streaked through the sky like a beam of light, reaching the clouds before an island.
"This must be God Shark Island." Lei Zhan gazed at the enormous island in the distance. With a thought, his vast Divine Sense immediately enveloped the entire island.
Above the island, a layer of sin-black miasma swirled, visible to the naked eye. Beneath Lei Zhan's Divine Sense, a blood-red glow could even be glimpsed faintly within the overwhelming darkness.
"A great demon steeped in immense sin has emerged on God Shark Island. It's even given rise to the blood-red light of sin!" A faint golden light flickered between Lei Zhan's brows. With a single glance, he spotted the blood-red glow above the island.
One had to know that in this world, good deeds brought merit. Evil deeds, too, gave rise to sin.
Those who did good and accrued merit were surrounded by pure energy.
Those who did evil and accrued sin were wrapped in murky energy. And those whose sins were especially great gave rise to a blood-red glow of sin.
The blood-red glow of sin could not be seen without opening the Heavenly Eye. For the past three years, Lei Zhan had meditated daily on the method of contemplating the soul. A little over a month ago, his soul had accumulated to its limit, and naturally, the breakthrough to Divine Sense had followed as surely as water flowing into a channel. His Heavenly Eye had opened.
The demons Lei Zhan had slain in the North Dark Sea had all accrued sin. But most were merely wrapped in murky energy; only a very few had given rise to the blood-red glow of sin.
The North Dark Sea was vast, but among the truly wicked cultivators, those who had given rise to the blood-red glow of sin were generally either extremely powerful or exceptionally skilled at escaping.
Most of those in between had been slain by cultivators seeking to accrue merit, leaving fewer for Lei Zhan.
As Lei Zhan gazed down at the island, his Divine Sense swept across it like a tidal wave without alerting the demons there. In an instant, he had thoroughly surveyed every inch of it.
"Divine Sense is stronger than Divine Will." Lei Zhan smiled faintly. "I've searched every corner of this island twice, and that Water-Splitting White Shark Great Demon didn't react at all. Looks like he hasn't broken through to the Primordial Spirit Daoist level yet."
If the other party could sense his immense Divine Sense sweeping over the island like a tide, then the Water-Splitting White Shark Great Demon had undoubtedly reached the Primordial Spirit level. Since Lei Zhan had yet to break through to the Myriad Phenomena level, he would naturally flee as far as he could.
But since the demon couldn't sense him, he was still only at the Myriad Phenomena level. In that case, Lei Zhan wouldn't be the one in trouble.
"Seven demons at the Myriad Phenomena level?" Under Lei Zhan's Divine Sense, every detail was clear. "One Water-Splitting White Shark Great Demon at the Myriad Phenomena perfection stage, one Red-Maned Lion King already at the middle stage, and five others..."
"So that's why I came up empty twice in a row earlier. These demons had all gathered on God Shark Island."
When Lei Zhan first began slaying demons, there had been no more than one great demon at the Myriad Phenomena level on any given island. Against them, Lei Zhan—who could easily slay late-stage Myriad Phenomena cultivators on the God-Devil Body Refining path—had naturally had an easy time.
But as word spread of Lei Zhan's demon-slaying exploits across the North Dark Sea, the demons weren't about to sit back and wait to die. They began banding together.
And precisely because the battles between Lei Zhan and the demons grew ever more perilous, over the past three years his understanding of the Dao, his spear technique, and even his soul had all advanced tremendously. It was no exaggeration to say he had been reborn.
"Seven demons... Too bad I'm not the same man I was three years ago." Lei Zhan smiled faintly, his eyes brimming with confidence.
Standing atop the Dragon-Head Warship, Lei Zhan suddenly shouted, "White Shark Demon King! Red-Maned Lion King!"
His voice rolled out like thunder, spreading across the entire island.
"Come out and die!"
"Big brother, we've got three more Myriad Phenomena Demon Kings on God Shark Island now. Why should we fear that human brat, Lei Zhan?" A burly man with wild red hair spoke in a muffled voice.
"A little over a month ago, that Lei Zhan went to Dragon-Whale Demon King's lair. Dragon-Whale Demon King and Green Shrimp Demon King joined forces with the others and beat him into a panicked retreat. In the end, he only managed to kill them one by one through sneak attacks..."
"Sneak attacks? Did you see it with your own eyes?" The burly, bald man seated at the head of the hall snorted. "Rumors are the least reliable things in the world. Lei Zhan has extraordinary comprehension. They say he's fully comprehended two Dao, and he cultivates both the Qi Refining Path and God-Devil Body Refining. Though no one knows why he's remained at the Purple Mansion level all this time, his fighting strength is formidable."
"Those Dragon-Whale fellows numbered only four Myriad Phenomena Demon Kings in all, and every last one of them died. Otherwise, why would we fear this human brat?"
"Too bad the demons of the North Sea have always fought among themselves... In the end, even joining forces has proved difficult." A short, stout man in blue armor said bitterly, "If that human brat hadn't forced our hand, I'd be drinking to my heart's content and feasting on human flesh every day. What could be more satisfying?"
"Yaksha Demon King, there's no need to brood. White Shark Demon King is powerful, and since he's managed to gather us together, this is surely only the beginning!" A handsome man in a white robe smiled. "I've heard that several Demon Kings to the east are interested in joining us as well. Once our numbers grow, Lei Zhan will have no choice but to surrender meekly! Who knows, perhaps one day we'll build a great demonic power in the North Dark Sea, just like White Dragon Island!"
"White Dragon Island?" Longing showed in the eyes of the Demon Kings. That was a mighty force of the Demon Race in the North Dark Sea, with an immensely powerful White Dragon Demon Immortal at its head.
"Hahaha!" White Shark Demon King snatched up the bloodwine from the table and gulped it down, then laughed heartily. "They say fox demons are best at beguiling people. White Fox Demon King, you've said exactly what I wanted to hear."
"Hahaha!" All the great demons burst into laughter.
Suddenly—
"White Shark Demon King..."
"Red-Maned Demon King..."
"Come out and die..."
Voice after voice, rumbling like muffled thunder, echoed in the Demon Kings' ears. The Demon Kings who had been laughing so arrogantly moments ago looked as if someone had grabbed them by the throat. Their faces darkened at once.
"Damn it! Speak of Lei Zhan, and the human brat shows up at our doorstep! What rotten luck!" White Shark Demon King's voice turned cold. "Fellow Demon Kings, since the human brat has come to us, we may as well serve him up as a side dish for our wine!"
"Exactly, big brother! I'll dig out that human brat's heart and liver to go with my wine!" The Red-Maned Demon King's eyes brimmed with bloodthirsty killing intent.
Like gathered with like, demons with demons.
The Demon Kings gathered on God Shark Island were naturally no good. Even the least wicked among them were shrouded in the murky energy of sin, and more than a few bore the blood-red glow of sin.
Lei Zhan stood atop the Dragon-Head Warship and waited quietly. Before, when faced with this many Myriad Phenomena great demons at once, he would usually sneak into their lair and quietly slay a few, avoiding the risk of being surrounded and attacked from both sides by too many demons.
But now, Lei Zhan's strength had grown tremendously. He naturally had the confidence to face seven opponents alone.
Lei Zhan's cultivation had not advanced much over these three years, but for that very reason, his understanding of the Dao had progressed even faster. He had now fully comprehended the Way of Blazing Fire.
The Way of North Wind and the newly comprehended Dao of Flowing Water had even reached the Domain Realm of the Dao. He had also grasped the third form of the Red Snow Spear Technique.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
One figure after another flew out from God Shark Island and rose into the sky. In an instant, the entire sky was filled with dense, visible murky energy of sin. Beneath Lei Zhan's Divine Sense, the blood-red glow was even more overwhelming.
"Are you Lei Zhan? The Lei Zhan who's slain hundreds of Myriad Phenomena Demon Kings from our Demon Race in the past three years?" A burly, bald man hovered in the air, facing Lei Zhan across the deck of the Dragon-Head Warship.
Six figures stood beside the burly, bald man, each emanating the aura of a Myriad Phenomena Demon King.
Behind the seven Demon Kings stood a mass of demons, blotting out the sky in a dense, dark wave.
Among them were those who looked human, as well as those who still retained their original forms and had yet to fully transform. But all of them were demons at the Purple Mansion level.
A layer of visible, sin-black light also surrounded these Purple Mansion demons.
"Human brat, you told us to come out and die?" The Red-Maned Demon King, his hair a tangled mass of red, sneered. "You? We have seven Myriad Phenomena Demon Kings here!"
"That's him. I saw this human brat from afar three years ago, when he slew Black-Toothed White Elephant Demon King. He's Lei Zhan!" White Fox Demon King's face twisted viciously. Turning to the Water-Splitting White Shark Great Demon at the head of their group, he said, "White Shark Demon King, drinking wine and eating meat is getting dull. Let's kill this human brat at once and serve him up with our wine!"
"White Fox Demon King is right. All together!" Water-Splitting White Shark Great Demon spoke. Before his words had even faded, black mist swirled around him, and in an instant he transformed into a thousand-zhang white divine shark.
"Kill!" Red-Maned Lion King also transformed into a hundred-zhang red lion wreathed in flames and pounced fiercely at Lei Zhan.
White Fox Demon King, Yaksha Demon King, and the other Demon Kings all transformed into their true forms in an instant.
In an instant, the entire sky above God Shark Island was filled with giant beasts, some a hundred zhang long, others a thousand. At their center stood a handsome human in a black robe, so small he looked like a speck.
"You want to serve me with your wine?" Lei Zhan looked at the enormous Demon Kings, utterly relaxed.
"Just you?"