Above the Great Dao

A duck quacked loudly, darting swiftly between the frozen people, when suddenly its head slowly burst open, and a blood-dripping flower was blooming on its neck.

A woman screamed in horror, reaching out to grab her face, only to peel off a thin petal from her skin.

In a panic, she frantically plucked at her face, peeling off layer after layer of petals!

"Stop peeling!"

The female scholar hurried over, shouting, "If you continue, you'll die!"

The people in the town fell into unease, some feeling their faces starting to itch, others feeling it at the back of their heads, yet they dared not scratch.

However, the itch quickly grew worse!

"I can't bear it anymore!"

A man shouted, raising his hand to scratch his head, and soon the back of his head turned into layers of thin petals, spreading out.

The more he scratched, the itchier it became, and suddenly he shook his head vigorously, transforming his entire head into swirling petals, slowly blooming.

Each petal dripped blood, vividly bright.

"Ha ha, finally it doesn't itch anymore!" The man said, with the large flower atop his neck, though his voice came from nowhere recognizable.

Yu Daoist despaired.

Then Chen Shi's voice came: "Black Pot, I leave this to you, suppress the demon transformation."

Yu Daoist laughed bitterly: "Impossible, impossible!"

He seemed to be having a breakdown, shouting, "We are doomed, we're all doomed! The Demon Domain has formed, no one can escape! Even if we escape, the outside is also full of demon transformations! All will perish! Perish! We're all going to die!"

Suddenly, Black Pot revealed its true form, transforming into a massive beast as large as mountains, its head and tail longer than Fucheng Town itself, surrounded by blazing demon fire, emitting rolling demon qi, roaring like thunder, deafeningly shaking the earth!

Within Fusheng Town, all demon transformations were suppressed by it, the demon qi within people subsided, and their transforming bodies ceased to change!

However, those whose heads had turned into big flowers did not revert. Only by slaying the demon and eliminating the demon transformation would they return to normal.

Yu Daoist looked up at the gigantic black dog before him, wondering if it was still the same dog from before?

"Woof!" Black Pot barked at Chen Shi.

Chen Shi nodded, saying, "You're right, that demon will definitely come for you, trying to eliminate you. Stone, you come out and help too!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Daoist saw a woman with an odd head-to-body ratio fly out from the small shrine behind Chen Shi, her form growing larger and exuding a powerful aura like a demon god.

"Stone, I entrust this to you and Black Pot," Chen Shi instructed.

"As you command!" Stone Rock Lady bowed.

Yu Daoist stared blankly at Stone Rock Lady, feeling an even stronger sense of oppression from this big-headed woman than from Black Pot!

Chen Shi called him several times before he snapped out of it, seeing that Chen Shi had already gone outside the town, and hurried to follow.

He quickly moved to Chen Shi's side, looked at this young man, and after a moment, mustered the courage to ask, "May I ask, who exactly are you?"

Before Chen Shi could answer, Scholar Zhu lazily said, "He is the Child Scholar who made a name for himself in the world back then, the current top scorer, and also the True King of the West Bull New Continent, Chen Shi. Little Ten, don't forget to bring the West King Jade Seal."

Yu Daoist's mind was in turmoil: "True King? He possesses the West King Jade Seal? But he's just a teenager..."

Chen Shi acknowledged, raising his hand with a slight gesture, and the West King Jade Seal flew out from a wooden cart.

Scholar Zhu flew into the small shrine behind Chen Shi's head, continuing to sit on the divine shrine, saying, "Little Ten, there's something off about this demon transformation. How could so many demon transformations suddenly erupt at once?"

Chen Shi nodded slightly, saying, "I have the same suspicion. So many demon transformations erupting simultaneously is definitely not naturally formed! These demon transformations seem to encircle this mountain peak specifically, as if deliberately targeting it... Teacher, do you know who the Spiritual Official Wang is?"

Scholar Zhu thought for a moment, saying, "According to my Zhu family's records, Wang Lingguan should be a gatekeeper."

"Door God?"

Chen Shi was surprised. From the direction of the demon transformations, fearing the target of these dozens of demons was indeed Wang Lingguan, trying to assimilate or even eliminate him with demon transformations before he awakened!

Is such a grand display necessary to deal with a mere door god?

Chen Shi asked, "Teacher, where did you read about Wang Lingguan?"

Scholar Zhu pondered, "It seems to be in a book recording various spells, called the Fire Train Wang Lingguan True Scripture. But it only has a name, no content. This cultivation technique has been lost."

Chen Shi thought carefully, and there was no such cultivation technique in the True King's Treasure Vault either.

"Who was he guarding?"

"That I don't know,"

Scholar Zhu replied, "But door gods generally don't have high status."

Chen Shi felt even more puzzled. So many demons, if not to deal with Wang Lingguan, then who else?

"Could it be to deal with me?" Scholar Zhu murmured.

Chen Shi followed Yu Daoist up the mountain, gradually reaching a higher elevation.

He looked down from on high, gazing around, seeing vast land, lakes, swamps, between mountains, and enormous flowers came into view.

Those demon flowers were very large, spanning several acres, but the flowers did not bloom, instead, they were in bud form.

The buds seemed to breathe, expanding and contracting.

Suddenly, one of the buds spun open, and a tall figure flew out from the bud, its back connected to long stamens.

The tall figure floated motionless in the air.

"This is the demon seed causing the demon transformation! There are dozens of similar demon seeds!"