A Monstrous Young Prodigy

Only after tending to the immortal Green Lotus medicine did Luo Yan turn his attention to the Azure Emperor, protecting him from the shadows.

In his first year, the Azure Emperor arrived in territory ruled by the White Tiger Demon Saint. Most of the demon beasts here were uncivilized, slaughtering their own kind, and even their eating and drinking habits remained primitive.

The Azure Emperor frowned slightly at the sight. Though he had only recently assumed human form, he had once roamed the sea of stars as an Immortal Medicine and witnessed how humans lived. The demon beasts on this planet lacked even the most basic propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame. Their civilization was of the crudest sort.

"Where did you come from, little demon? This is King Pan Niu's territory! How dare you show such disrespect? You see King Pan Niu before you, yet you don't even kneel!"

That year, the Azure Emperor encountered a Pan Niu Demon in the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm who called himself a Little Demon King.

The demon known as the Pan Niu Demon King recognized the Azure Emperor's extraordinary nature at first sight. As a fellow demon, he sensed an exceptionally noble bloodline within him.

That day, he appeared willing to befriend the Azure Emperor, but secretly probed his background.

Only after three days, once he confirmed that the Azure Emperor had no backing and had merely assumed human form by chance, did he feel reassured. A rich medicinal fragrance surrounded the Azure Emperor, and every encounter with him brought benefits. The Pan Niu Demon concluded that he was a divine medicine born of heaven and earth that had assumed human form. Eating him would not only provide tremendous nourishment, but also extend his lifespan.

That day, azure light blazed across Pan Niu Mountain.

Having discovered the Pan Niu Demon's intentions, the Azure Emperor, who was in the third stage of the Sea of Bitterness, escaped with grievous wounds from the attack of the Pan Niu Demon at the first level of Dragon Transformation.

An ordinary cultivator would almost certainly have died from injuries that nearly tore his body apart. Yet the Azure Emperor relied on his innate advantages to rise anew from the ashes and recover once more.

From then on, the Pan Niu Demon and the Azure Emperor were sworn enemies.

Determined to devour the Azure Emperor, this "great medicine," the Pan Niu Demon publicly declared that the Azure Emperor had killed demons from Pan Niu Mountain and that they demanded vengeance! Unfortunately for him, the Azure Emperor possessed a peculiar Green Lotus that could shatter all arts and pierce anything, combining offense and defense. It repeatedly left the Pan Niu Demon at a disadvantage. Several times, he nearly captured the Azure Emperor, only for him to escape again.

The Azure Emperor was no easy prey, either. Though he was no match for the Pan Niu Demon or certain demon beasts in the Four Extremes Secret Realm, he could deal with lesser demons in the Sea of Bitterness and demon beasts in the Dao Palace Secret Realm with ease, crushing almost all of them.

And he continued to grow through one battle after another, at a speed that alarmed the Pan Niu Demon.

At their first meeting, he had merely been at the Divine Bridge stage. By their next encounter, he had already reached the Other Shore.

It was not merely his cultivation realm that had risen. His strength had increased most of all!

At first, he could fight Dao Palace demon cultivators to a draw. Later, he could cross cultivation levels to kill greater demons in the Dao Palace Secret Realm. After one or two such encounters, the Pan Niu Demon discovered that the Azure Emperor, who had once been able to do nothing but flee from greater demons in the Four Extremes, could now contend with them. Perhaps it would not be long before he could kill greater demons in the Four Extremes Secret Realm...

Alarmed by this discovery, the Pan Niu Demon intensified his search for the Azure Emperor, hunting him down with an almost exhaustive sweep of the territory.

Naturally, the Azure Emperor gave him no opening. As he fled, he pushed past his limits on the edge between life and death. He had already earned a reputation as a monstrous young prodigy, causing quite a stir throughout the region.

He even drew the attention of certain figures in White Tiger Holy City, who secretly investigated his origins.

In the end, they found nothing. The Azure Emperor seemed like a prodigy who had appeared out of nowhere.

In the third year after the Azure Emperor emerged into the world, the Pan Niu Demon suffered heavy losses. The Azure Emperor had now entered the Dao Palace Secret Realm, but slowed his advancement, constantly honing himself and strengthening his foundations.

This left the Pan Niu Demon deeply uneasy. The Azure Emperor was growing too quickly, so quickly that it chilled him to the bone. He now regretted offending such an unparalleled prodigy.

Although the Azure Emperor still had no choice but to flee in panic whenever he faced the Pan Niu Demon, his ability to kill enemies an entire major realm above him had already struck fear into the Pan Niu Demon's heart.

Eventually, the Pan Niu Demon went to White Tiger Holy City and sought out his uncle, a Great Power. He revealed the Azure Emperor's identity, saying that he was very likely a great medicine that had assumed human form. The Green Lotus in his possession was also an exceedingly rare treasure for refining artifacts and had already taken on the rudimentary form of a Saint Weapon.

Upon hearing this, the Pan Niu Demon at the Great Power realm was shaken and declared that he would capture the Azure Emperor alive!

The world's greater demons were almost all connected to the three great holy cities by countless threads. Almost every greater demon hailed from a holy city.

"Brother Wan Qing, the Pan Niu clan is coming at you in full force. This time, they've even dispatched a Great Power! I'm on good terms with a faction in the Flowing Flame Demon Saint's territory. If you're willing, Brother Wan Qing, I can escort you there to seek refuge!

"The Flowing Flame Demon Saint was originally a stalk of flame-flowing grass that attained sainthood. You also assumed human form from a plant, Brother Wan Qing, so I imagine the Flowing Flame Demon Saint would surely shelter you!" said a demon cultivator who was on friendly terms with the Azure Emperor.

Wan Qing was the Azure Emperor's current name. Perhaps the word "Emperor" was too conspicuous, so he had decided to take an alias.

The Azure Emperor said, "There's no need to worry, Brother Peng. If Niu Mang of the Pan Niu clan comes after me, that's one thing. But if their Great Power makes a move against me, someone will stop him!"

Had he been in the Dragon Transformation realm, the Azure Emperor might not have feared a Great Power cultivator. But he was still only in the Dao Palace Secret Realm. Escaping from Niu Mang was already the limit of his abilities. Against a Great Power demon cultivator, he would certainly die!

"Oh? You still have a trump card, Brother Wan Qing?" The demon cultivator was surprised. He had always believed Wan Qing to be a demon cultivator with no backing, and everything he had witnessed supported that belief. Several times, Niu Mang had wounded him so badly that he had hovered on the brink of death, only to drag himself back with his last lingering breath. If he had any backing, surely it would have intervened long ago.

The Azure Emperor seemed unwilling to elaborate. He merely told his friend, who possessed Roc blood, that if the Pan Niu clan truly intended to have the strong bully the weak, someone would stop this Great Power cultivator from White Tiger Holy City.

Seeing the Azure Emperor's confidence, the demon cultivator with Roc blood hesitated to speak.

As a prodigy of the Roc clan, he possessed considerable talent and ranked among the strongest of his generation within the clan. Yet even he could not last ten moves against the Azure Emperor at the same cultivation realm. That alone showed how terrifying the Azure Emperor was.

Such an invincible bearing closely resembled the grace of the Ancient Saints in legend, and even carried a trace or two of the Ancient Emperors in their youth.

In the end, he remained uneasy and said, "Brother Wan Qing, if things truly become untenable, come with me to the Azure Luan Demon Saint's territory. Our Roc clan is one of the foremost clans in Azure Luan Holy City."

The Azure Emperor still shook his head and declined. "Rest assured, Brother Peng. That man is my uncle, as well as my Dao Protector. He will certainly keep me safe."

"Dao Protector!" the Roc demon exclaimed in surprise.

Wan Qing actually had a Dao Protector!

"I remember you saying that you were a spirit medicine that assumed human form, Brother Wan Qing. How do you have a Dao Protector, then? Could you be some faction's hidden prodigy?" The Roc demon felt that, if this were true, it was most likely a faction within the Flowing Flame Demon Saint's territory.

The Azure Emperor said, "I have no backing. It's just that, when I assumed human form years ago, I met a senior. Seeing that I was alone and helpless, he took me in as his junior and willingly became my Dao Protector."

Mentioning Uncle Luo filled the Azure Emperor's heart with warmth.

He had lived with Uncle Luo for many years before assuming human form. Now three years had passed, and he wondered whether Uncle Luo was doing well.