Douluo Dalu - The Story of Sheng Feilong

Song Weihan and the other's looked at each other for a moment before following behind Sheng Feilong and the old lion king. While Sheng Feilong didn't mind the change in the air too much, the old lion king became more wary, raising its aura, though mainly to shield the still sleeping Purple Forest Witch.

The old lion king wasn't too affected by the strange air, but it was different for Song Weihan, She Meixiao and Mu Ye. The three of them frowned and actually needed to use their strength to withstand the strange properties of the desolate wasteland.

Sheng Feilong lead them through the wasteland for a while until the ruined castle came into view. After seeing it, Sheng Feilong began to speak about Gu Yue had told him about the netherworld Putrefaction Demon back then. "...A weapon used by the Gods to destroy the Demons and Devils of the Abyss... Twisted and turned into a Demon itself by the energy it absorbed."

They drew closer to the throne room, entering the castle's perimeter while Sheng Feilong continued to speak. "Bound to the Demon God's throne for all eternity after waging war against Gods and losing; Indestructible, yet incapable of ever living a free life. But, somehow, it became my Spirit Essence."

Song Weihan and She Meixiao already knew the story; She Meixiao had even been with Sheng Feilong when he first heard of these stories, later telling everything to Song Weihan. Both of them frowned as they came closer, their bodies tensing up once they stood in front of the throne room; The aura radiated by the Netherworld Putrefaction Demon was just that terrifying.

Mu Ye hadn't said a word on the whole way. His expression was stiff, yet without much emotion in it; It was hard to tell what he was thinking of all of this, yet his body language showed his tension even better than She Meixiao's and Song Weihan's.

Sheng Feilong stepped into the room, walking up to the front of the throne. The old lion king followed him half-heartedly, but stayed outside the throne room, looking over the remains of the walls as the room itself was too small for its humongous size.

For a while, everyone remained silent, sizing up the Netherworld Putrefaction Demon with hardened expressions. She Meixiao and Song Weihan took note of the chains; The same ones they had seen to bind Sheng Feilong after the Demon took over his body at the Daedalus headquarters.

The Demon sat on its throne, bound by the thick black chains, motionless and with no fire burning in its skull, yet it radiated a stifling pressure that caused Mu Ye's eyes to shake. It's body was riddled with thin cracks, glowing with a faint green light, while the whole in the middle of its torso was pulsing calmly, as if the Demon was sleeping.

"...That's the Netherworld Putrefaction Demon...? And you want to use your bloodline to suppress that... thing?" Mu Ye asked, his brows arched into a deep frown. She Meixiao and Song Weihan were both quite calm seeing the black chains still in place, while Sheng Feilong simply nodded. "Un. It might not seem too much to suppress it, but that's because it's still sealed. And its spirit is still somehow dormant. The problems begin when it wakes up and I don't know when that will be."

Mu Ye took another deep breath, not quite believing his ears. "...That's its dormant state? That thing is terrifying..." He turned to Sheng Feilong, glancing at the old lion king as well. "How do you plan on suppressing it? Even with a stronger bloodline, what will you do? What can you even do?"

The old lion king remained silent, so Sheng Feilong spoke of his thoughts first. "The Netherworld Putrefaction Demon is terrifying, yes, but it's not invincible. At least the one who became my Spirit Essence isn't. First, there's the Chains of Heavens, and I've already proven that increasing my Spirit Power helps keeping it in control. You've noticed the border between the silvery white part and this waste land, right? They used to clash for the whole time, corroding and trying to influence each other and push the other side back. Now, with my Spirit Power strong enough, my spiritual consciousness has evolved to the point where they're in balance."

The old lion king nodded its head at that point, continuing where Sheng Feilong left off. "It certainly is powerful, but so is my brethren's blood; My dear brother has always been strong and Sheng Feilong is not only his descendant, but also obtained his inheritance and, in fact, has already surpassed my dear brother; He has opened his third eye."

"The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's don't just have strong bodies – Their greatest strength, after they open their third eye, is their Spirit Power. As a Spirit attributed Soul Beast, if I were to further strengthen my bloodline, the effects would be immeasurable. Especially considering that there is virtually no upper limit to how strong the third eye's mental capabilities can grow." Sheng Feilong finished the explanation up, looking at Mu Ye with a determined expression.

He paused for a moment to take a breath, then continued with a solemn look in his eyes. "That is why I asked you to come here, Senior Mu. I wanted you too see the state of my spiritual consciousness and the Netherworld Putrefaction Demon for yourself. Word can explain a lot, but seeing it with ones own eyes is still much more effective. What I need, is a technique than can allow my to strengthen my bloodline on a fundamental level without changing its properties."

"I understand that this is a lot to ask for, even if we did help Senior Zhen Hua." He paused for another moment and lightly bowed towards Mu Ye. "The Body Sect is the only place where I could possibly get a technique such as that. This is why, Senior Mu; Please help me."

Mu Ye remained silent for a long while and looked at the Netherworld Putrefaction Demon, then turned to the old lion king, who was looking back at him with a stoic expression. "For now, let's return to the real world... I have to think about this for a while."

Sheng Feilong nodded and glanced at the old lion king, who got back up and departed back towards the silvery white world without waiting any longer. One by one, Mu Ye, She Meixiao and Song Weihan left Sheng Feilong's spiritual consciousness, leaving Sheng Feilong alone as he continued to look at the Netherworld Putrefaction Demon for a short while.

He sighed and shook his head, undecided what to think of the Demon at all; While it did indeed seem to be evil at its core, it had helped him multiple times in his life so far. In fact, he would long since be dead if it wasn't for the Netherworld Putrefaction Demon. He would've never met She Meixiao, either.

Yet, despite all this, Sheng Feilong couldn't help but be wary of it. Other than what Gu Yue said, everything about the Demon remained unknown and it has proven to be a double edged sword more than once by now. 'No, it doesn't matter... As long as I keep it under control – As long as I get strong enough – Nothing of all this will matter... Whether it is evil, a misused weapon of the Gods, or something entirely different... It all won't matter.'

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After Sheng Feilong returned to the real world as well, Mu Ye excused himself for a long while, telling them that he would come to a decision by tomorrow. Utilizing the time, Song Weihan called for Yuanen Yehui to join them as he took Sheng Feilong and her for a bit of extra training.

Having nothing better to do, She Meixiao also helped out with the training. As this was Mu Ye's private training area, they didn't have to worry about and of the Body Sect's disciple's watching them; None of them would step into a restricted area like this without permission, anyways.

As promised, Mu Ye asked for Sheng Feilong, Song Weihan and She Meixiao to meet him the next morning. They didn't go to the training hall this time, but to a private room, where Mu Ye usually invited guests to. He was seated at a table with his arms crossed in front of his chest, another booklet laying in front him.

He offered a seat to Sheng Feilong and the others, then proceeded to speak up as soon as they sat down. "I've been thinking of what technique to give you this whole time. Honestly, after seeing that Netherworld Demon or whatever, I've come to understand how dire the situation is for you. With the criteria you have, I could only think of a single technique within the whole Body Sect to give you."

Sheng Feilong nodded as his gaze unconsciously wandered down to the booklet on the table. Mu Ye noticed this and continued to speak. "However. This technique isn't any normal one. Even among the bloodline techniques of the Body Sect, this one is special; It's the foundation on which all of the Body Sect has been built on – The reason why we were able to once stand at the peak of the world – The Innate Secret Technique."