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Tenebrous Demon Dragon

Guardian Heavenly Beastlow-level Heavenly God dragonXuanTian Palace

The Tenebrous Demon Dragon is XuanTian Palace's sentient guardian, a low-level Heavenly God dragon whose bloodline and protection underpin the Saint Land's authority. It is a distinct living individual from the ancient Tenebrous Demon Dragon ancestor whose human descendants founded the Palace, and from the dragon transformations used by Dongfang Hanyue. During the campaign against the Terror Sea Dragon, it serves as mount, formation anchor, defender, and frontline combatant, surviving only after accepting extreme injury and help from Zhou Weiqing.

Biography

Guardian beneath XuanTian Palace

The dragon first emerges from the darkness beneath XuanTian Palace during a council about the Terror Sea Dragon threatening the continent's coast. It recalls that a previous member of the species was killed only after being lured onto land and warns that fighting its stronger descendant in the ocean could be disastrous. The dragon nevertheless agrees to the expedition when the Spatial Teleportation Gem offers an escape route, requesting the enemy's Heavenly Core Nucleus so it can heal and perhaps advance to the mid-level Heavenly God Tier. (Chapter 245)

Its attention shifts to Zhou when the young man's fused dragon and tiger bloodlines react to its presence. The dragon recognizes unusual potential, promises to protect Zhou on the expedition, and later encourages a marriage with Hanyue, whose alias Dreamwake conceals her status as Palace Master. Its joking interference reflects both affection for her and a long-term concern for the Palace's bloodline, while its promise to use part of the enemy core to raise Zhou to Heavenly King shows that it sees him as a plausible member of that future. (Chapters 245–249)

The sealed battle above the ocean

The dragon carries XuanTian Palace's elite force to sea, masks the spiritual and energy fluctuations of twelve formation builders, and explains the Tenebrous Demon Sealing Formation to Zhou. Once prepared, the formation suppresses non-Tenebrous attributes, prevents a trapped Heavenly God from escaping unless its human anchors are killed, and channels stored Tenebrous power back into the guardian. Hanyue then joins with the dragon through her eleven-piece Legendary Set, covering its vulnerable reverse scale and combining rider and mount into a single Heavenly God-level combat presence. (Chapters 248–249)

The Terror Sea Dragon remains stronger in its native ocean and wins their first direct clash, but the sealing formation and Hanyue's offensive spear reverse the pressure. A second member of the Terror Sea Dragon species approaches from outside, threatening to break the formation and kill everyone within. The Tenebrous Demon Dragon initially panics, then joins Hanyue in burning core essence after Zhou volunteers to delay the newcomer. That sacrifice costs the already ancient dragon one hundred years of remaining life and absorbs most of the formation anchors' power, but raises its combat strength enough to grievously wound the trapped enemy. (Chapters 249–251)

When the enemy tries to self-detonate its Heavenly Core Nucleus, dragon and rider use Extermination, burning all of their available Heavenly Energy into one decisive spear strike. The technique reduces their power by ninety percent and weakens—but cannot wholly prevent—the explosion. The Tenebrous Demon Dragon folds both wings around Hanyue and takes the center of the blast on its Heavenly God body, leaving itself severely injured while preserving her life. Zhou's intervention against the second dragon is therefore not a direct healing act but the delay that gives them time to finish the trapped foe. (Chapter 251)

Restraint, misunderstanding, and survival

Only days later, the injured dragon responds when Zhou attacks XuanTian Palace under the mistaken belief that Shangguan Bing'er has been captured. It bears Zhou no malice and remembers his help, but uses the Tenebrous Sealing Formation to restrain a seemingly mad attacker. Zhou activates the Spatial Teleportation Gem to summon Hui Yao and Duo Si, whose purer Dragon Emperor bloodlines and far greater strength terrify the weakened guardian. Once Bing'er reveals the misunderstanding, the dragon becomes conciliatory, respectfully explains their location, and offers the visiting dragons hospitality. It remains alive and in XuanTian Palace after the confrontation. (Chapters 255–256)

Appearance and personality

The Tenebrous Demon Dragon is more than forty metres long, with a massive body, enormous wings, a single sturdy horn, pitch-black crystal-like scales, and red eyes resembling huge lanterns. Its mere unrestrained presence oppresses Heavenly Emperors, while natural Darkness and Evil energy gathers around it as Tenebrous Demon Clouds during flight. Beside the much longer, spiked Terror Sea Dragon it appears comparatively conventionally draconic. (Chapters 245, 248–249)

Proud but not mindlessly aggressive, the dragon balances its duty to XuanTian Palace with practical awareness of danger. It advises caution at sea, knows when a bloodline outranks its own, and tries to talk Zhou into surrender before attacking. Its teasing interest in Hanyue's marriage and slight fear of her anger reveal an informal, familial bond with the Palace Master. It also proves protective in the most literal way, using its own wings and body to shield her from a Heavenly God's self-detonation. (Chapters 245, 249, 251, 255–256)

Abilities and cultivation

Low-level Heavenly God dragon

The guardian is a low-level Heavenly God whose natural power vastly exceeds a group of Heavenly Emperors. It flies at extreme speed while carrying more than a dozen people, exerts bloodline pressure, uses immense spiritual perception, and commands atmospheric energy. Its deep-ocean opponent has a higher cultivation base and superior environmental support, so the dragon cannot win unaided there. After burning essence and taking a core explosion directly, it remains severely injured for days and cannot recover quickly even with its species' durability. (Chapters 245, 248–251, 255–256)

Tenebrous attributes and sealing formation

Darkness and Evil combine naturally around the dragon into Tenebrous Demon Clouds. It can consolidate those clouds into a dragon-shaped maximum-power strike and project a curtain of darkness across roughly a thousand metres. With twelve Heavenly King-or-higher Tenebrous users, prepared crystals, and linked bloodlines, the larger Tenebrous Demon Sealing Formation excludes other attributes and strengthens the dragon. The formation has structural limits: external attacks threaten its human anchors, drawing too much power makes it brittle, and a teleportation user stronger than the controller or a summoning that fills the sealed space can challenge its intended function. (Chapters 248–251, 255–256)

Union with the Palace Master

Hanyue's Tenebrous Demon Dragon Transformation and Legendary Set allow her to connect to the dragon through its horn. Later armor pieces spread over its neck and reverse scale, merge their energy signatures, and complete an eleven-piece mounted configuration. The dragon primarily supplies suppression, defense, and power, while Hanyue and the Tenebrous Dragon Slaying Spear deliver the focused offense. The union greatly improves both combat and protection, but its strongest moves consume core resources rather than providing unlimited power. (Chapters 247–249, 251, 254)

Extermination and vital-essence ignition

Igniting vital essence doubles the dragon's effective battle strength at the cost of one hundred years of life. Extermination then sets alight all remaining Heavenly Energy of both dragon and rider and concentrates it into Hanyue's spear. The attack can force a Terror Sea Dragon into premature self-detonation, but immediately removes ninety percent of their power and leaves them unable to avoid the blast unaided. These are terminal-risk techniques, not repeatable ordinary attacks. (Chapters 250–251)

Relationships

  • Dongfang Hanyue: The dragon treats the Palace Master with doting familiarity and serves as the living half of her ultimate Legendary Set. It protects her reverse-scale link in battle and shields her from the enemy's self-detonation.
  • Zhou Weiqing: It is intrigued by Zhou's bloodline, offers him protection and advancement, and credits him with buying the time needed to survive the dragon battle. Their later clash is a misunderstanding; the dragon attempts restraint rather than revenge.
  • Terror Sea Dragon: The guardian helped XuanTian Palace kill an earlier member of the species and later fights that dragon's elder son. It covets the enemy core for healing and evolution, while the Terror Sea Dragons seek its core and revenge.
  • Hui Yao and Duo Si: Their Dragon Emperor lineage overwhelms the injured guardian's bloodline and makes resistance hopeless. It responds with respect and hospitality once the confrontation is resolved.
  • Shangguan Bing'er: Bing'er emerges to explain that XuanTian Palace has not imprisoned her, preventing the dragon's attempt to contain Zhou from becoming a battle with the summoned dragons.

Items

  • Tenebrous Crystals: XuanTian Palace consumes more than half its stockpile to build the sealing formation. The crystals are carved for a month and linked to the twelve operators' bloodlines; they amplify the dragon but are not its personal property.
  • Spatial Teleportation Gem: The expedition carries the gem as an emergency escape with limited remaining uses and a maximum of ten life forms per activation. The dragon later mistakes Zhou's activation for an attempted escape before realizing it is a summoning.