The Shadow Demon Daoist Heir bowed low before the Nether Heaven Imperial Son.
It was not just his tone. He had even exchanged his imposing black Daoist robe for the worn but clean hemp clothes of a mortal servant. Calluses marked his hands, years of work beneath the sun had darkened his face to a reddish brown, and not a trace remained of a Daoist heir's cold, sharp-edged bearing.
To any onlooker, he would have looked like an efficient servant from a mortal tavern.
A servant like that could humbly and respectfully beg a nobleman he admired for a little guidance. No one would take it as a challenge to his dignity and fly into a rage.
The Shadow Demon Abyss excels at assassination and infiltration... That much is certainly true.
Jiang Ding silently approved.
"Ah, kaidang..."
The Nether Heaven Imperial Son still looked baffled, as though he understood nothing at all.
That display put everyone a little more at ease.
"Supreme Imperial Son, please instruct me."
The Shadow Demon Daoist Heir bowed deeply once more, then vanished into the void alongside the Shadow Demon Sword Puppet behind him. An invisible domain of shadow spread outward, and everything within a hundred li turned as cold as a prison in an instant.
"Hmph!"
"Lowly human slave, you court death!"
The confusion vanished from the Nether Heaven Imperial Son's face. He, too, spoke in the Ancient Immortal Language, his voice icy.
"Roar!"
He dropped the act and let out a roar that shook the sky and sent it rustling.
Before, he had looked half human and half beast, with horns, a stern face, and black scales. There had even been something noble and regal about him, the bearing of someone born to high status.
Now, as he roared, the Nether Heaven Imperial