Urban Demon Refining System

"It seems those legends weren't entirely unfounded!" Old Qin said quietly, taking a sip of hot tea.

"Oh? What legend? Grandpa, tell me quickly!" Xiao Yang's eyes lit up when she heard this; she loved hearing stories like this.

"That nine-headed worm was actually a pitiful person. Although he had ancient bloodline and was quite powerful, he was not recognized by the orthodox dragon and phoenix clans at all. Instead, he was regarded as a disgrace. It was only later, with the help of the Bull Demon King, that he was able to climb up to the lineage of the Ten Thousand Saints Dragon King."

"The Ten Thousand Saints Dragon King and the Four Seas Dragon Kings are of the same lineage, but his status is far inferior to the latter, because his true form is merely a dragon of impure blood."

"Hmm." Zhao Baichuan nodded. Although the Jiaolong was also a dragon, it was far inferior to dragon nobles like the Four Seas Dragon King.

"However, this old dragon was a restless fellow. In order to improve his status, he did not hesitate to sell his daughter, Princess Wansheng, attempting to use her beauty to attract the third prince of the West Sea Dragon King..."

"The third prince of the West Sea Dragon King?" Zhao Baichuan's heart stirred. Wasn't that the White Dragon?

"However, Princess Wansheng is no pushover either. On the night of her wedding to the Third Prince, she actually had an affair with other demons!"

“Uh…” Zhao Baichuan was silent. The Wansheng Dragon King’s family was really bizarre. But then he realized, “Then the one who had an affair with Princess Wansheng was the Nine-Headed Insect?”

“That’s right,” Old Qin continued. “After the Third Prince of the West Sea Dragon King discovered that Princess Wansheng was having an affair with the Nine-Headed Insect, he was furious and set fire to the pearl bestowed by the Jade Emperor in the palace, violating the heavenly rules and committing a capital crime. Fortunately, the compassionate Guanyin Bodhisattva of the South Sea intervened and saved him from disaster. He was demoted to Snake Coil Mountain to wait for Tang Sanzang to go to the West to obtain the scriptures.”

"Poor little white dragon!" Xiao Yang finally understood. He never imagined that the hardworking little white dragon in Journey to the West had such a sad experience.

"Indeed, Princess Wansheng's actions were also tainted by karma. Later, during Tang Sanzang's journey to the West to obtain the scriptures, she was killed by Marshal Tianpeng with a rake for stealing the relics with the help of the Nine-Headed Insect. The Nine-Headed Insect also had one of its heads bitten off by Erlang Shen and Sun Wukong, and its whereabouts are unknown."

"Where is he? Then how did he end up inside the sealing stone?" Zhao Baichuan frowned and asked with some doubt.

"Hehe, although the Nine-Headed Insect is not recognized by his own kind, he has a pure ancient bloodline and has long been coveted by many people. However, under the deterrence of his powerful strength, these people do not dare to act rashly. After the Nine-Headed Insect was severely injured by Erlang Shen, they naturally would not let go of this opportunity to kick him while he was down. They followed the injured Nine-Headed Insect all the way and took advantage of his healing time to seize his Dragon Pearl and seal it on Penglai Immortal Island."

"Sealed on Penglai Immortal Island?" Zhao Baichuan was taken aback.

"Before Laozi left Hangu Pass in the west, he established the Shu Mountain lineage, which is the foundation of the Human Sect in the mortal world, in order to deter demons and monsters. Before that, the Kunlun lineage of the Chan Sect already had disciples in the mortal world who slayed demons and monsters and passed on the incense..." Old Qin said in a low voice, recounting this history.

"So this is the origin of the Shu Mountain and Kunlun factions in the game! What does this have to do with the Nine-Headed Insect being sealed in Penglai?" Xiao Yang asked, puzzled.

"After the Great Calamity of the Investiture of the Gods, the Jie Sect suffered a great loss of vitality. In order to preserve its incense offerings, the Tongtian Sect Leader used his supreme magic power to establish the Penglai Immortal Island and used the stone left by the Goddess Nuwa to mend the sky to suppress the fortune. Thus, the human world formed a pattern of three holy lands. The three sects worked together to subdue the demons, which led to the prosperity of the human race for thousands of years."

"So, those people used the power of Penglai to suppress the Nine-Headed Insect on Penglai Immortal Island and seal it inside this sealing stone?"

“That’s right. Each of the three religions has three sacred artifacts. Disciples use replicas of these artifacts to subdue demons and monsters,” Elder Qin paused and continued, “This sealing stone was made by Penglai based on the Nuwa Stone. It is said that the first batch of replicas was personally crafted by the Tongtian Sect Master. It is very powerful, and even great demons who have cultivated for thousands of years cannot break free from it.”

"Was the sealing stone at the beginning of the game forged by the Tongtian Sect Master?" Zhao Baichuan's heart stirred, because both Baihua Xiu and Jiutou Chong were powerful demons in Journey to the West, so it was not surprising that they were sealed in these sealing stones.

"That's right. Penglai has been established for thousands of years, and many powerful monsters have been suppressed within it. However, after Penglai fell apart, these sealing stones disappeared without a trace. It wasn't until decades ago, after that mysterious player appeared, that people discovered this secret."

"So that's how it is..." Zhao Baichuan murmured to himself, his eyes flickering, lost in thought.

"Haha, Xiao Chuan, so don't be discouraged. As long as we find a way to unseal it, that sealing stone still has great potential!" Xiao Yang suddenly patted Zhao Baichuan on the shoulder to encourage him. She thought he was disappointed because of the sealing stone.

"Ah! Teacher Xiao, I'm fine!" Zhao Baichuan was startled. He originally wanted to tell them about Baihuaxiu, but after hearing about the history of the three religions, he suddenly felt that it was better not to say anything, since the blood pact was really strange.

"Haha, what I just said was just hearsay and doesn't count." Old Qin waved his hand. "Just take it as a story and don't dwell on it. But right now, the most important thing is to track down that Ninth Master. I wonder if you two would be willing to help this old man out?"

"Ding! Qin Xuren, the head of the T City Mirror Studio, has issued you a mission: track down the mysterious Ninth Master. Do you accept?" The moment Qin Lao finished speaking, a sinister female voice suddenly rang in Zhao Baichuan's mind.

"Haha! Grandpa, you really trust us!" Xiao Yang said with a smile.

"When the fledglings grow up, they will eventually have to learn to take flight. The future of T City will eventually belong to you young people."

"Alright! I accept!"

"Ding! Xiao Yang, a third-generation disciple of Mount Shu, has sent you a team request. Do you accept?"

Suddenly, another notification sounded.

"Team up?" Zhao Baichuan found it somewhat intriguing.

"Teaming up is a feature in the mythology game. Members in a team can share mission information and automatically locate their teammates on the map," Xiao Yang explained with a smile. "Teaming up can bind members from different factions to the same team to avoid being accidentally injured during missions."

"Alright, I accept!" Zhao Baichuan hesitated for a moment, then clicked "confirm." He was also very interested in the Ninth Master, who was suspected to be the Nine-Headed Insect.

"Ding! Your team has accepted the mission to track down the mysterious Ninth Master. Please check the mission interface for details."

"Ding! Current mission progress updated. According to the intelligence from the Mirror Master, please head to Jade Plate Mountain immediately to investigate Ninth Master's whereabouts!" Two notifications popped up the instant Zhao Baichuan clicked "confirm".