Chapter 237: Encounter at the Demon God Palace

[Magic Spirit Grass: A peculiar herb that grows in the Demon-sealing Land. Originally, it was a vitality-boosting herb that could increase one's elemental power. However, after thousands of years of exposure to the sealing power of the Demon-sealing Array and contamination by dark energy, it has achieved a balance between increasing and suppressing dark energy, possessing a dual effect of enhancing and suppressing dark energy.]

With the grayish-white herb in hand, Su Nan switched to the character Wang Nan, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Taking the Magic Spirit Grass would temporarily suppress dark energy within him but came at the cost of increased dark energy within his body. In the long run, it was a detrimental path.

However, Su Nan had made up his mind the moment he learned that the Magic Spirit Grass could help him break through.

"Tomorrow is the last day of the human race crisis mission. To gain enough contributions in the final task and elevate Wang Nan's status to Xuan-level is imperative."

Over 300 demon power points were available. Although he could also improve Zhang Yang and Lang Thirteen's bloodline, enhancing a bloodline didn't provide as significant an improvement as breaking through to a higher realm.

His gaze turned to Death Prediction, and he began to predict.

[You are aware that your bloodline has been contaminated by dark energy. Attempting to break through to Xuan-level may trigger unknown dangers. Would you like to spend a certain number of prediction attempts to foresee your situation within the last three minutes before your death?]

"Yes!"

Without hesitation, Su Nan immediately began.

As he confirmed his decision, one prediction opportunity was consumed.

"Another one?"

"Could it be another failure?"

Su Nan's heart sank.

The last time he attempted a breakthrough, it also consumed one prediction opportunity. This made him instantly uneasy. After all, if he successfully broke through, he shouldn't die just one or two hours later.

However, as he looked at the predictive information, his eyes brightened.

[You have obtained the Magic Spirit Grass, which can temporarily suppress dark energy. With the assistance of the Magic Spirit Grass, you manage to temporarily suppress the dark energy within your body and attempt to break through to the Xuan level.]

[However, just as you are about to successfully break through, unfortunately, your dark energy leaks out and is detected by a late-stage Xuan-level monster passing by.]

[The monster, relying on its ability to sense dark energy, quickly locates you.]

[Upon sensing your presence, the monster instantly recognizes you as the one who killed another monster in the Heavenly Wolf Valley and obtained the Magic Source Pearl.]

[Realizing that you are in the midst of a breakthrough, the monster launches a surprise attack from behind. At the critical moment of your breakthrough, you are unable to react in time and are successfully ambushed by the monster.]

[You are heavily injured in an instant, and the dark energy originally suppressed in your body is stimulated by the monster's dark energy, erupting uncontrollably. Your bloodline begins to violently clash.]

"You monster! There are monsters in this imperial city!"

"Moreover, it recognized me as the one who killed the monster in the Heavenly Wolf Valley and obtained the Magic Source Pearl!"

Su Nan was surprised. He hadn't expected to encounter other monsters related to the one from the Heavenly Wolf Valley after such a long time.

In an instant, he understood that after he left the Heavenly Wolf Valley, monsters must have investigated and found his aura at the scene.

"Back then, the monster I killed in the Heavenly Wolf Valley had an identity token of the Demon God Palace. It seems this monster is also a member of the Demon God Palace."

Clearly, the failure to break through was due to the interference of the monster. Otherwise, how could it have been so coincidental?

"Interesting, since I've encountered it here, I won't hold back."

Su Nan's eyes revealed a hint of excitement.

With a thought, he released his avatar.

In the prediction, he failed to break through because he was caught off guard by the monster's surprise attack. Now that he knew a monster would appear, he wouldn't be so careless.

But that wasn't all; he also summoned the Grand Princess from the Qiankun Ring.

"I need you to help me capture a monster later!"

"What place is this?" The Grand Princess, dressed in red, with a beautiful appearance, looked around with a puzzled expression.

"This is the imperial city of the Great Yu Dynasty," Su Nan replied. "How's your recovery coming along?"

Previously, he had given all the items to replenish vitality to the Grand Princess. After several days of recovery, her strength should have returned to the mid-level King stage.

"I have indeed recovered to the mid-level King stage, but the suppression of the Heavenly Sky Divine Seal here is too strong. I can still only exert the strength of the early King stage."

"Early King stage? That's enough." Su Nan nodded.

Although the monster possessed dark energy and formidable vitality, it would be powerless against the Grand Princess, who possessed divine soul power.

"Later, a monster at the late-stage Xuan level will pass by here. I need your help to capture it."

"A monster?" The Grand Princess frowned slightly, showing some wariness toward monsters, even though she was powerful.

Fortunately, the monster she had to deal with was only at the late-stage Xuan level.

The Grand Princess didn't ask further questions and agreed.

Su Nan looked at the Magic Spirit Grass in his hand once again, his eyes filled with joy.

Even though the prediction earlier ended in failure due to the monster's interference, it proved that the Magic Spirit Grass was useful for his breakthrough.

"Just in case, I'll predict one more time."

His gaze fell on Death Prediction, and he started another prediction.

To his surprise, this time it still only consumed one prediction opportunity.

[You have obtained the Magic Spirit Grass, which can temporarily suppress dark energy. With the assistance of the Magic Spirit Grass, you manage to temporarily suppress the dark energy within your body and attempt to break through to the Xuan level.]

[However, just as you are about to successfully break through, unfortunately, your dark energy leaks out and is detected by a late-stage Xuan-level monster passing by.]

[Fortunately, you were prepared. The moment the monster appeared, you controlled your avatar and

 cooperated with the Grand Princess to subdue it.]

[After successfully breaking through to the Xuan level, you compel the Grand Princess to forcibly read the memories of the monster. This is when you learn that there is a stronghold of the Demon God Palace in this imperial city.]

[Furthermore, you discover that apart from the captured monster, there are four other monsters in the imperial city. Not long ago, this captured monster received a message and is preparing to go to the stronghold for an important matter.]

[You are curious about the matter the monsters are discussing and plan to transform into the appearance of a monster, infiltrate the Demon God Palace's stronghold, and find out.]

[With the aid of Shape-Shifting and False Breath Stones, you transform into a late-stage Xuan-level monster. After a minute, you arrive at the Demon God Palace's stronghold.]

[You find that three other monsters are already present, and aside from them, there is a masked youth with only an initial Ling-level cultivation.]

"Ling-level initial? The masked youth?"

"Could it be the person who bought the Magic Spirit Grass?"

Su Nan instantly thought of a possibility.

Chapter 237: Encounter at the Demon God Palace

[Upon your arrival, several demons glanced at you without saying a word, silently awaiting the arrival of the last demon.]

[Two minutes later, the last demon arrived, and to your astonishment, it was a mid-level King-level demon.]

[As soon as the King-level demon arrived, it immediately noticed that the dark energy on you was much lower than before, sensing your anomaly. The demon immediately attacked you.]

[Before you could use the Celestial Shift, you were already struck by the demon.]

[You died.]

"There's a Demon God Palace stronghold in this imperial city?"

"A mid-level King-level demon? Why are these demons gathering in this imperial city?" Su Nan was both surprised and curious.

Unfortunately, even though Shape-Shifting could disguise his appearance, it couldn't hide his aura. If he disguised himself as a human, it wouldn't be a problem, but if he transformed into a demon, it could be noticed by a King-level demon.

The same applied to when he disguised himself as a demon in his prediction.

Although he had some dark energy in his body, it was far less than that of a real demon.

"If I had a bit more dark energy in my body, could I deceive that King-level demon?" Su Nan's eyes flickered with a thought.

He had various items containing dark energy that he could use to increase the dark energy on his body. However, it wasn't guaranteed to fool the King-level demon.

"For now, I won't think about this. I'll break through first."

Looking at the Magic Spirit Grass in his hand, he no longer hesitated and swallowed it.

As he swallowed the Magic Spirit Grass, he immediately felt a strange power spreading within his body, as if something was being suppressed.

The Magic Spirit Grass was taking effect.

"Now is the time!" Without further thought, he immediately looked at the panel.

[Do you want to spend 160 demon power points to upgrade your character Wang Nan's realm to the Xuan level?]

"Yes."

[Please choose one primary bloodline from the following options, with the other three as secondary.]

[Great Ape Bloodline, Vast Serpent Bloodline, Giant Ant God Bloodline, Golden Bone Bull Bloodline.]

"Giant Ant God Bloodline!"

Although Wang Nan's character hadn't fused with ancient demon bloodlines, it had the Giant Ant God Bloodline enhanced by Bloodline Spirit Fruits.

[You have chosen the Giant Ant God Bloodline as the primary, with Great Ape Bloodline, Vast Serpent Bloodline, and Golden Bone Bull Bloodline as secondary. Confirm your choice?]

[Note: There is a risk of bloodline conflict and loss of control during the advancement. Please choose carefully.]

"Confirm!"

[Advancement in progress, please wait...]

As 160 demon power points were consumed from the panel, the four demon bloodlines within Su Nan's body started to uncontrollably merge. With previous breakthrough experiences, he was now familiar with the process.

Without the interference of dark energy, the fusion of the four bloodlines proceeded similarly to Lang Thirteen's breakthrough.

However, there was a difference. Lang Thirteen's Star Devouring Demon Bloodline could autonomously absorb the power of stars, while Wang Nan's Giant Ant God Bloodline, although reaching the level of ancient demon bloodlines, didn't have any unique features.

Facing resistance from the other three bloodlines, it was a close battle, with neither side overpowering the other.

In this situation, Su Nan had no choice but to let things take their course.

Fortunately, with the prediction result in mind, he wasn't worried about failing to break through.

On the other side, the Grand Princess, hidden in the shadows and preparing to hunt demons, noticed the changes within Su Nan's body with surprise.

She couldn't understand why Su Nan, who should have reached the Xuan level, had reverted to the Spirit level.

The Grand Princess's eyes flashed as she pondered.

This time, Su Nan's breakthrough took an unusually long time. More than ten minutes passed, and he still hadn't successfully broken through.

At this moment, a turning point occurred within his body. Compared to the other three bloodlines, the Giant Ant God Bloodline's recovery rate far exceeded the others. In a matter of moments, it regained its combat strength and quickly assimilated the other bloodlines.

The three exhausted bloodlines were no match for the Giant Ant God Bloodline and were rapidly consumed.

"It truly deserves to be an ancient demon bloodline. At a crucial moment like this, it's the best!" Su Nan's eyes gleamed with satisfaction as the anxiety he had been feeling finally lifted.

The next steps were simple. The Giant Ant God Bloodline quickly assimilated the other three bloodlines, and within a minute or two, the Golden Bone Bull Bloodline and Vast Serpent Bloodline had merged. Only the Great Ape Bloodline remained.

At this moment, the power of the Magic Spirit Grass's suppression was gradually diminishing, and dark energy began to surge.

"The demon is coming!"

Su Nan's consciousness was alert, waiting for the bloodline fusion to complete while controlling his avatar, preparing to take action.

Soon, hidden in the shadows, his avatar saw a middle-aged man appear in the distance.

He was in his forties, with an ordinary appearance and no distinctive aura. He was the kind of person who would go unnoticed in a crowd.

"This guy doesn't have any dark energy?"

"No wonder he dares to walk around the imperial city so confidently. It seems he has a way to conceal his dark energy," Su Nan speculated.

Ordinary people were not sensitive to dark energy, and they wouldn't detect small amounts of it. However, demons were highly sensitive to dark energy and could detect even the slightest trace.

The middle-aged man was surprised to see Su Nan in the middle of a breakthrough. He initially hesitated, but soon, he sensed something from Su Nan's aura and couldn't help but feel delighted. "To find you here without any effort, it's truly a lucky break! Kid, you actually made it easy for me to locate you!"

The middle-aged man was overjoyed. He had wasted a lot of time searching for the lost Magic Source Pearl, but now, luck was on his side, and he had found Su Nan here.

The middle-aged man sneered, "Well, since you're going to lose control sooner or later, why don't I lend you a hand?"

As he prepared to take action, something unexpected happened.

Before he could make a move, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, as if a sword had pierced through his skull, causing him to lose consciousness instantly.

The middle-aged man's face turned pale with shock. Before he could break free from the mental attack, a figure appeared before him, and a punch landed on his shoulder blade with a loud crack.

His shoulder blade was shattered by the immense force, and then, three more punches followed in quick succession, leaving the middle-aged man unable to resist. His limbs were rendered useless.

"Ah!" The middle-aged man finally regained consciousness, and the excruciating pain from his broken limbs made him scream in agony as he writhed on the ground, trying to stand up.

Seeing his condition, Su Nan, worried about the demon's regenerative abilities, decided to take no chances and promptly severed the middle-aged man's limbs.

The middle-aged man screamed again, and

 as he looked at Su Nan's controlled avatar and the presence of the Grand Princess, he slowly began to understand that he had been ambushed.

However, even in this situation, he didn't fully grasp the severity of the situation. He glared at Su Nan and the Grand Princess with malice. "Who are you people? Daring to attack me, you're all doomed!"

Su Nan paid no attention to the demon and instead focused on the rapidly healing wounds, ready to strike again at any moment.

At the same time, within his main body, the four bloodlines finally completed their fusion!

(End of this chapter)