"Shhhhhh"
The dragon born from lightning pierced the clouds with the Great Lightning Abyss Devil to accompany it. Her eyes brimming with lightning, causing her to resemble a lightning god more than a petite girl.
Without even a moment's hesitation Great Devil Liu pulled a black saber from the small sac attached to his waist, a popular Spiritual Artifact known commonly as a Cosmos Bag, capable of holding objects a thousand times it size.
The black saber clashed with the lightning dragon, inflating a dozen times larger after each strike. The more the Spiritual Artifact attacked, the more powerful it became.
Great Devil Liu screamed, "I don't know who you are, but what gives you the confidence to attack me?"
Great Lightning Abyss Devil hesitated for a second, but instructed her dragon attack with even greater fervor once she remembered something.
After suffering defeat after every interaction with the saber, the dragon finally used it's full force. Opening it's magnificent jaws, a small ball of lightning ball started to form around its mouth, growing larger and larger after every second. Realizing the urgency of the situation, Great Devil Liu chanted a strange sutra under his breath, causing black lines to start appear throughout his body.
"Boommmm!"
A giant blast obliterated Great Devil Liu's path, turning rivers and mountains to dust. Leaving nothing left in its path.
The Great Lightning Abyss Devil still didn't calm down, since this was too easy. There was no way a legendary figure such as her opponent would die so easily.
Her fears came true as Great Devil Liu appeared from within thin air, slashing forward with a strength that made the air itself bend. The dragon blocked Great Devil Liu's way, but it was of no use as the leftover strength still cut into the Great Lightning Abyss Devil's chest.
Not a weakling herself, the Great Lightning Abyss Devil pulled out her compass once more, reforming her lightning dragon.
Taking deep breaths, both sides remained silent. Although they had only released a single line of words between each other, there was a deep sense of respect between them. The kind of respect that could only be forged through battle by equal rivals Two equally imposing mountains.
Being the one to break the silence Great Devil Liu spoke first, "We might be in a stalemate now, but once I reveal my Nascent Soul you will be easily obliterated."
"You shouldn't be so sure of yourself." Responded the Great Lightning Abyss Devil, a hint of arrogance in her voice.
"Oh, but I am. The only reason why I'm saying this now is as a form of respect for you, run while you still can."
Not one to mince words, the Great Lightning Abyss Devil took the first move. Her body started to break down piece by piece like melting mercury as a purple lightning emerged from her core. In a few moments her body disappeared, leaving behind a sea of purple lightning.
Great Devil Liu nodded, "Impressive Nascent Form. When most reach our realm and forge their Nascent Forms, rarely will they be as unique as yours. So this is where you get your confidence, well done! But it's sadly still not enough."
Taking a large breath, Great Devil Liu also shed his skin. Unlike the Great Lightning Abyss Devil, his skeleton remained. Most skeleton's were as white as a pearl, but Great Devil Liu's skeleton was a mix of jewel gold and ash black. Worthy of a Great Devil, a being of nightmares.
Like many of Great Devil Liu's treasures, his skeletal form quickly grew to the size of a mountain. Dark chains emerged from his bones, each connected to a translucent beings. These translucent beings were the souls of all those he had slaughtered once he reached the Nascent Soul Realm, preventing their souls from reaching the legendary and fable land of reincarnation. If it existed in the first place.
For each being he devoured, Great Devil Liu absorbed their memories and abilities. Thanks to this heaven shocking ability he had been able to devour a few in the same realm and many more in weaker realms, making him nearly invincible in the Nascent Soul Realm.
Without even hesitating, the seal of lightning turned into a giant palm smashing onto the skeleton. At the same time, a being split from it's chain turning into a Golden Mammoth with giant red tusks.
The great ancestor of Thunder Blood Mammoth race, a Nascent Soul Beast that Great Devil Liu had conquered.
The Great Lightning Abyss Devil's Nascent Form was capable of stealing the very essence of life from its opponents, a task practically impossible against the ghost-like monstrosity she was against.
"Reveal yourself," chucked Great Devil Liu. "There is no way someone is foolish enough to attack me alone in the Nascent Soul Realm."
The Nascent Soul Realm was nearly impossible to reach, so for anyone to reach it, especially a loose cultivator, it would require great talent, experience, wisdom and even some luck. This came with an inborn arrogance, but not so much that it would falter ones judgement.
"Well I was waiting for you to play more of your cards, maybe even reveal where you hid the child," said a hidden, yet terrifyingly deep voice.
"Now where would the fun be in that?"
"Heh, you're right," said the voice as he revealed himself. The Great Beast Devouring Devil had joined the festivities.
Opening the hundreds of layers of it's Nascent Forms teeth, the Great Beast Devouring Devil struck. A sort of vacuum emerged from its mouth, a tornado devouring everything in its wake.
Hundreds of chains broke loose from Great Devil Liu's Nascent Form, the translucent figures entering the Great Beast Devouring Devil's stomach as it laughed.
"You think that Core Formation ghosts can hold a candle next to me? This is a mistake you'll sorely regret friend."
Great Devil Liu only continued to stare at the behemoth in front of him, a type of beast that would make some question the existence of a benevolent god. His expression unclear in his skeletal body.
"Those were members of the Gu Tribe."
"And I should care?"
"Otherwise known as the Vermilion Gu Tribe."
The Great Devouring Beast Devil's smile faded like a river of ash, turning to the Great Lightning Abyss Devil for support. This was of no use, since she was facing a fatal threat herself.
Not only were her strikes unable to effect the ancestor of the Thunder Blood Mammoth race, but the ancestor had just revealed one of it's races most powerful Bloodline Arts, End of Light.
With every attack, the sea of Purple Lightning was getting smaller and smaller. End of Light was the ancestor's ability to devour lightning within his blood. The Mammoth's crimson red tusks rushed towards the Purple Lightning, which was trying its best to run away. This was however of no use as the tusks brightened, swallowing the sea of lightning and killing the Great Lightning Abyss Devil in the process.
The Great Beast Devouring Devil tried to flee, but before he could let out a sound he was embellished by a vermilion flame, burning from the inside out.
Taking a breath of fresh air, Great Devil Liu stored the corpse of the hideous beast in front of him. This had not been an easy victory, seeing as his opponents were crème de la crème among beings in the Nascent Soul Realms. Three different chains sprouted from his nascent form, capturing the souls of the mammoth ancestor and the now dead two Great Devils.
'How had they found me,' he beckoned to himself.
Just as he was about to turn away, looking for a place to rest he noticed something at the corner of his vision. A small green snake with two slightly sprouting out, at the corner of the battlefield, not emitting even the smallest amount of Qi from its body. Had it been any other time Great Devil Liu would have ignored the measly beast, but how had it survived the battle that had just occurred?
"So, you're one of them aren't you."
A rusty and ancient voice came from the small great snake, "Correct."
"Do you plan to try your luck?"
"No."
Great Devil Liu snorted, "Pathetic."
The small green snake ignored Great Devil Liu and turned the opposite direction. "My master has informed me of your purpose, please excuse my presence."
Following his respectful statement the small snake withered at a speed beyond the normal eye, confusing Great Devil Liu with his actions.
'What just happened,' thought Great Devil Liu to himself.
Great Devil Liu prepared to battle, his eyes roaming like mosquitoes for an opponent, only for one to not show up.
…
Inside a hidden cave Great Devil Liu sat meditating in the lotus position. Cultivators no longer had a need for sleep, instead cultivating their Qi for a few hours to gather energy. The only ones who continued the mortal practice being strange eccentrics and those who cultivated stranger paths like dreams.
Sleeping near Great Devil Liu was the young baby, the reason for the greed of the many cultivators in the Corpse Dragon Continent.
"Are you at peace?"
Great Devil Liu's eyes split open like the sky during a lightning storm, shocked by the sight in front of him. Due to the spiritual sense he had developed, a being at his level should be impossible to surprise in such a state.
A few steps in front of him sat a withered old man, also in the lotus position.
"Who are you?"
The mysterious old man, the same who slaughtered Gu Jie with a mere stare didn't respond.
"Are you at peace?"
"Damn you!" Great Devil Liu reached for his saber, but once his fingers reached the blade it was of no use. His entire arm withered from its youthful splendor to frail old bones to dust.
"Ahhh!" Even with all his experience he couldn't keep his calm. Nascent Soul Level cultivators could usually easily regenerate their physical body, but for some reason this was not the case this time.
"Are you at peace?"
"Noo….."
The old man remained silent for a few seconds, until his eyes slowly popped open like a morning sun and devilish grin overtook his face.
"Good."