Inside the Tianyuan Cauldron.
A majestic, soul-shaking pressure suddenly descended. Zoran's true Demon form stepped through the manifesting dark moon.
Clad in a purple-red Taoist robe, his long hair cascading down, he stood amidst a roiling steam of Demon Chi. The minor demon from before had been knocked unconscious by the sheer shock of his presence. It wasn't that the aquatic demons within the cauldron were forbidden from seeing him, but rather that these underwater tribes had been trapped in the seal for so many years that their appearances had grown... unfortunately grotesque.
Zoran extended a secondary arm and slowly lifted it.
In the original story, this Tianyuan Cauldron would be destroyed, forced open by the combined might of the erupting Demon Orb and the aquatic tribes. It was meant to be a stirring scene, a collective struggle against adversity to break the artifact.
But now, in Zoran's hands, the feat appeared effortless.
Standing suspended in the air, he reached upward. The incredibly heavy cauldron lid, engraved with countless immortal incantations, began to tremble uncontrollably. A massive surge of his Gravity authority rushed upward, joyfully hoisting the lid and forcing it to rise.
The moment his true form manifested, even the refining fires within the cauldron died down, not daring to show defiance.
…
Outside.
Wuliang Xianweng, who had been perched atop the Tianyuan Cauldron, suddenly blinked in confusion. He felt himself slowly floating upward. Looking down, he saw a massive gap opening in the cauldron. The scorching heat of the furnace was gone, replaced by wisps of Demon Chi drifting from the crevice.
He panicked!
With a fierce strike of his staff, it transformed into a towering giant tree, attempting to pin the lid back down with overwhelming weight. But the expected sinking did not occur. The lid continued its relentless ascent with unstoppable momentum.
A mocking voice drifted from within the cauldron: "Fellow Daoist, it has been a while. The furnace temperature has dropped; why haven't you increased the flames?"
"Tso Lan!" Wuliang Xianweng roared.
"Now, now, don't lose your composure," the voice echoed eerily from the depths.
Wuliang Xianweng laughed out of sheer rage. "I need a fellow like you to teach me the poise of an immortal?"
He slammed both palms down, causing the Tianyuan Cauldron to shudder violently. To his despair, nothing changed. The lid rose with immutable force. Wuliang Xianweng staggered back a few steps, staring in terror at the now cavernous opening.
Indeed, he had plotted from the start to use Zoran as a rare alchemical ingredient. But Zoran had not only known this clearly; he had watched the Immortal play his hand without the slightest rush.
There was only one answer. Zoran possessed the confidence and the strength to break through anything, which allowed him to remain calm and indifferent.
Inside the cauldron, the voice drew closer. Wuliang Xianweng felt as if the words were being whispered directly into his ear. He scrambled to his feet, mounting a cloud to flee.
However, his usually peerless speed came to a jarring halt. He slammed into an invisible wall, nearly tumbling from his cloud. That ghostly voice finally sounded from behind him, chilling his soul.
"Fellow Daoist, please stay a moment," Zoran said with a subtle tone.
Wuliang Xianweng turned his head, his eyes trembling. Zoran had emerged from the cauldron, floating in the air and watching him with keen interest.
What kind of creature is this? Wuliang Xianweng marveled inwardly.
The man had not lied; he was not of the "furred, horned, or egg-born" classes of lesser beings. Yet, this form was certainly not human. That celestial aura radiating from him was actually far more potent than it had been in his human guise!
Stay? He was no fool. If he stayed now, he'd likely stay for an eternity.
He threw out his palms, conjuring countless twisted ancient trees as a distraction while he steered his cloud westward. But to the west, there sat another invisible wall. He shook his head and tried to flee in another direction.
North, south, east, west, up, or down, he bumped into the barriers until he was bloodied, a look of despair surfacing on his face.
He couldn't escape. Whether it was a seal or some other power, the area had been completely locked down.
"You old geezer, I'm back!" A childish roar of fury erupted as Nezha, wreathed in demonic flames, burst from the gap in the Tianyuan Cauldron. Ao Bing followed closely behind. Nezha lunged at Wuliang Xianweng like a reverse-flying fire meteor.
Ao Bing instinctively caught sight of Zoran's true form. His whole body shuddered, and he paused to offer a respectful, formal bow before joining the assault on Wuliang Xianweng.
Following them were the aquatic demons, swarming like a black cloud out of the cauldron, trailing behind the red and blue streaks of light.
Zoran, meanwhile, turned his gaze downward. He descended slowly, landing beside Po Kong's head. A scrap of a pale gold Taoist robe still hung from the corner of her mouth.
In truth, the Demon Sorcerers did not particularly enjoy eating humans. For Po Kong, it was usually a choice driven by extreme hunger; only when truly starved would she devour mountains and continents without discrimination. However, at this moment, her returning wisdom led her to a different conclusion. Clearly, refined immortal elixirs were a much purer source of power and far more beneficial to her.
The members of the Demon-Hunting Squad who had charged her earlier had not all ended up in her maw. Since Zoran had sealed this patch of the world, they were forced to fight a desperate battle against the aquatic demons of the East Sea.
Zoran reached out and pushed; the hovering cauldron lid was shoved aside completely, exposing the interior.
"The world is but a furnace, refining all living things..." he murmured.
The weakened Demon-Hunting Squad was no match for the aquatic hoards. Golden figures fell continuously from the sky, tumbling into the Tianyuan Cauldron. Zoran used his gravity powers to hover by the rim.
He was going to refine elixirs. A whole batch of them!
Though this cauldron had an owner and the "right of use" wasn't technically his, Wuliang Xianweng had already prepared the fires and dug his own grave. Zoran simply needed to borrow the setup.
High above, Ao Guang held his great blade, single-handedly chasing down his three royal siblings.
"Brother, stop this! We have learned our lesson!" Ao Run pleaded bitterly.
"Yes, brother, we are all siblings. There is no need to go this far," the other two Dragon Kings begged. They had been heavily injured moments ago and were no match for Ao Guang now.
"Hmph! Why didn't you plead for mercy earlier?" Ao Guang snorted. He then turned his gaze toward the Tianyuan Cauldron below.
The great blade in his hand grew gargantuan. The three Dragon Kings huddled in its shadow, trembling. Ao Guang looked at the cauldron, gritted his teeth, and flipped the blade flat, swatting the three of them away toward the invisible wall.
He spoke in a low voice to the figure sitting by the cauldron: "The faults of my siblings are due to my poor guidance. As their eldest brother, I should not be the one to send them to their graves."
In the end, his heart had softened.
Zoran glanced at him sideways, then gave a slight nod and pointed a finger. The three Dragon Kings were promptly ejected from the sealed space.
"You are one to cherish the bonds of kinship," he remarked airily, withdrawing his gaze.
Ao Guang folded his hands in a grateful salute before charging back into the fray against the Demon-Hunting Squad.
Across the firmament, a rain of golden light fell, plunging straight into the Tianyuan Cauldron.