Forty Millenniums of Cultivation - Chapter 825

Chapter 825: Breaking the Cocoon

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

“Activation of the super space jump array of Ice King, countdown!”

Inside the control center, hundreds of the best starship experts and astronomers all held their breath. The air was so intense that sparks were almost bursting out. Si Koulie, the leader of the Star Fighters’ Alliance, entered a stream of spiritual energy into the activation rune array with a solemn face.

Hum!

For a moment, deep down Ice King, something seemed to have exploded, triggering a minor earthquake. Something unfathomably strong appeared to be erupting from the core of the planet crazily!

“Ten! Nine! Eight!”

The countdown of the last ten seconds began. The entire Flying Star Sector was enshrouded in silence. Everybody held their breath, gritted their teeth, and counted the time in their heart.

Deep below the two enormous ravines, both hundreds of kilometers long, bluish colors were soaring like tides and soon dashed out of the ground. They darted toward the sky like a rising tower!

“Seven! Six! Five!”

The power rune arrays in the rear of the thirteen crystal warships at the bottom of the ‘tower’ were glittering. The bodies of the crystal warships turned transparent. Thousands of runes overlapped and seemed to be rushing out at any point.

“Four! Three! Two!”

There was no atmosphere on Ice King. Naturally, there was no blue sky. The high tower of mystic colors extended to the endless stars toward the edge of the universe.

It was no longer a high tower but a highway and a bridge that connected two worlds!

“One!”

“Zero!”

“Launch!”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The exhaust flames of the thirteen starships were blown dozens of kilometers away along the ravines. The blast of energy was so intense that the frozen ground ten square kilometers nearby was all unfrozen. The ice blocks were vaporized directly before they were heated into liquid, turning into glamorous bluish ice crystals in a hazy mist.

In the middle of the bluish mist, the thirteen starships rushed out like arrows released from a bow on the universal bridge formed by the space jump array. It took them only three seconds to break out of the gravity of Ice King and accelerate to their maximum speed!

Right now, only the large crystal cameras that had been set in the orbit of the planet earlier could capture the shadows of the thirteen starships.

At the end of the universal bridge, the bluish colors spread out into a splendid nebula that was fluctuating mysteriously as if it were alive.

The thirteen starships dived into the nebula unstoppably!

Inside the nebula, electric arcs were shining, and sparks were spluttering. A moment later, the entire nebula abruptly condensed into a blue spot, before it exploded into billions of blue beams that blossomed in various directions like unprecedented fireworks.

When the fireworks died down, the thirteen starships and the universal bridge had vanished, raising a round of exclamations from the audience.

The thirteen starships had run to a new world across the universal bridge!

Their battles in the Flying Star Sector had come to an end for now, but new battles were awaiting them elsewhere!

…

Inside Firefly, Li Yao sat cross-legged and kept his body steady with the restriction of the gravity rune arrays, while he gritted his teeth to endure the side effects of the space jump.

He had entered the four-dimensional universe again and experienced the uncanny phenomena that could never be felt in the three-dimensional universe for a second time.

He ‘saw’ that his body had turned transparent. Not only could he ‘look internally’ and watch his internal organs and every vein and nerve, he could even unfold and stretch out all the veins and nerves with a telepathic thought in order to examine his body structure more carefully.

Even his brain could be unfolded into a plane. His brain cells were like watery grapes hanging inside his brain waiting for him to taste.

Time seemed to be fully at his control in this place, but it all seemed meaningless, too. All of the episodes of his life had been piled up like a heap of cards and could be sorted in any order.

Training. Training. Don’t forget your training!

Li Yao took a deep breath, or rather, he felt that he took a deep breath, and forced himself to enter the training state.

In the four-dimensional universe, he could clearly see that a new organ the size of an egg had grown out on the end of his spine. It was gray and divided into two halves. There were bumps and dents everywhere on the new organ, making it looked like a small cerebrum.

Li Yao knew that it was the second new organ for a Cultivator after the ‘spiritual root’—the ‘second brain’!

The first brain was mainly responsible for the body of flesh and blood, including all the activities of the cells and nerve endings.

The second brain, on the other hand, was solely in charge of manipulating the fickle spiritual energy so that the Cultivators could absorb and utilize the spiritual energy faster and more efficiently.

More precisely speaking, the second brain was a ‘virtualized’ and ‘spiritualized’ brain. It was a transitional organ in the process of transformation from a body of flesh and blood into an entity of pure energy.

Almost a hundred golden spiritual threads as thin as hairs extended out of Li Yao’s second brain and formed a shining golden ball at the center of his stomach.

The golden ball was his core. More precisely speaking, it was a polymer of his subconsciousness and his spiritual energy.

The second brain was the real entity, while the core was the source of energy. They were indispensable to each other.

Li Yao controlled his second brain carefully and extended even more golden threads into the core.

His core started revolving rapidly. The halo surrounding the core grew more brilliant. With slight vibrations, the core was playing pieces of soul-stirring music.

Faster. Faster! The revolution speed of my core can be higher. If it can reach a hundred thousand revolutions per second, maybe I will be able to advance into a new level!

A hundred thousand revolutions per second. I’m going to make it!

Gradually, his core turned into what seemed to be a small bud that was about to blossom during the high-speed revolutions.

Li Yao was fascinated. He controlled his every vein and nerve while he poured all the spiritual energy inside his body into the core.

The core was everything for him now. He completely lost all sense of time. After nobody knew how long, the core slightly moved, and the ‘petals’ around the core all opened.

Li Yao was overjoyed. His soul dived into his body and flew next to the core.

Right then, an abrupt change took place!

His soul shook violently. In a trance, his core suddenly turned from a blossoming bud into a demonic cocoon. After a crack, the cocoon exploded, revealing a bloody shadow that darted out, then wreathed and swallowed his soul!

“Ah!” Li Yao exclaimed. He opened his eyes suddenly, only to find that he was sitting at the center of the training room as before.

There was nothing wrong except for the cold sweat on his forehead.

“Was it another nightmare?” Li Yao mumbled to himself. He raised his head and was dumbfounded.

He found that another person was sitting in front of him, his eyebrows furrowed, deep in thought.

He was on Firefly alone, and he was in the middle of a journey in the four-dimensional universe. There was no way that a second person could get on board.

But the stranger was indeed not a second person, because he was another Li Yao!

“Don’t you find it very odd?”

The stranger sitting in front of him who had an identical appearance to Li Yao raised his eyebrow and said, “What exactly is the uncanny dream that we have been having ever since we knew things? In the dream, we came from a weird place named ‘Earth’. Do you think that there is really such a place named ‘Earth’?”

“What?”

Li Yao’s mind was a mess. He could barely think properly.

Another voice came over from behind him. Li Yao turned around, only to find that another version of himself was calculating something quickly in front of the desk. The third Li Yao calculated while he said solemnly, “In the past, we always believed that maybe some space zone out there in the universe indeed had a planet named ‘Earth’ and that our soul was teleported and reincarnated in the body of an orphan living in the magical equipment graveyard in the suburb of Floating Spear City on the planet of Heaven’s Origin after we were killed in a car accident on the planet named ‘Earth’.

Li Yao could not help but nod. “Exactly.”

“But think about it more carefully now. The theory cannot stand any scrutiny!”

A third voice came over next to Li Yao. A new Li Yao was scratching his hair and declared in pain, “From the uncanny dream we had in the beginning, we could tell that the so-called ‘Earth’ was a barren world that was absolutely devoid of spiritual energy. Those living on Earth were all ordinary people, and their souls were the feeblest ones.

“In our previous life, we were a common car mechanic. Naturally, our soul was not very strong!”

“Here comes the question!” A fifth Li Yao held his arms and leaned against the wall, while he said, deep in thought, “The universe is full of peril. Even the Immortal Cultivators of the Imperium of True Human Beings could only be teleported after they refined their souls into ‘star children’. If so, how could the soul of an ordinary person on Earth be teleported through the sea of stars?

“It is very possible that his soul would be minced apart by the radiations and the ionosphere before it floated out of the atmosphere, not to mention cruising across thousands of Sectors and tens of thousands of space zones!”

A sixth Li Yao suddenly showed up right in front Li Yao. He blinked his eyes and said, “Let’s say that everything before is just a coincidence. But what happened later does not make any sense.

“I am talking about Ou Yezi’s possession.

“Ou Yezi was the leader of the Hundred Smelting Guilt forty thousand years ago and a legendary master of refining. His Cultivation was too high for anybody to reach, and his soul was immensely strong!

“Even though his body was so seriously wounded in the time travel of forty thousand years that he could not avoid a regular high-speed crystal train, his soul could not have been hurt too badly with the protection of his body, could it?

“Then, why did his possession fail?

“In the past, I always thought that it was because I was an earthling reincarnated in this world. My body had been possessed once. Therefore, it could not be possessed again.

“But that theory barely makes any sense. The earthling Li Yao was just an ordinary person whose soul was extremely weak. It should have been more than simple for Ou Yezi to wipe out my soul, shouldn’t it?”

Li Yao was hooked by the questions. He pondered for a long time. Then, all of a sudden, he and the ten or so of himself in the room asked at the same time, “The Vulture Plan?”

Chapter 826: Dark Reflection

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Li Yao suddenly shuttered. Firefly was gone, and he was floating in front of a blue planet in a foreign space zone again.

A frustrated, depressed voice was echoing inside his ears. “We’ve failed. We’ve completely failed!

“It’s too strong and too dark. We cannot destroy it. Can’t!”

Then, Li Yao heard himself roaring, “No. The Vulture Plan has not failed yet. Even if I drift to the end of the universe, I will go on fighting and return one day!”

BAM!

The picture blossomed like broken glass. He found himself back in the cabin of Firefly faced with dozens of himself, who were all deep in thought.

“It seems that the Vulture Plan is indeed very important for us. So important that we could not forget it even though we were reincarnated after a long journey. We even gave ourselves the nickname ‘Vulture’ subconsciously in order to keep us from not forgetting it.”

The dozen Li Yaos merged together one by one. They mumbled, “Does the so-called ‘Earth’ exist in reality? If it does, is it really a regular planet without the slightest spiritual energy?

“I vaguely recall that there are legends of Pangu, Nuwa, and the Primeval Lord of Heaven on Earth, too. There are also dinosaurs, fossils, and prehistoric creatures. But they are vastly different from ours when it comes to details.

“On Earth, dinosaurs were just pure ferocious beasts. They were not intelligent creatures, and they never created a brilliant civilization.

“How is Earth related to the worlds of Cultivators? Was the earthling Li Yao really a common mechanic? How were we banished or escaped from Earth to the Heaven’s Origin Sector?

“Mysterious. It’s really mysterious!

“Do you not want to unveil the Vulture Plan and even return to Earth someday to find out the ultimate truth?”

After every sentence, two Li Yaos would meld into one. When the last questions were posed, there was only one identical self left in front of the real Li Yao.

Li Yao licked his lips and almost nodded on instinct, but a stinging pain suddenly came over from the depths of his soul. He was alarmed and suddenly blurted out, “Who are you exactly?”

The Li Yao in front of him smiled. “You know it. I am you, except that I am the part in your soul regarding the ‘Vulture Plan’ that has been locked and sealed!

“I have no idea why the part was sealed. Perhaps some people did not want us to know the truth?

“All in all, when you were striving for the Nascent Soul Stage just now, you caused a crack on the indestructible seal. That was why so many pieces of your soul leaked out and raised a series of questions for you!

“Now, you’ve found so many inexplicable points. Do you not want to find out the real answer?

“Come on. Let’s join together and break the seal. We will unravel the secrets of the ‘Vulture Plan’ and find out what exactly the so-called ‘Earth’ is.”

The stranger was talking in a bewildering way while he extended his right hand.

Li Yao held his breath, his eyes full of confusion. He could not help but raise his right hand and touch the stranger’s fingertips.

With a casual smile, the stranger mumbled, “Yes. Just like that. After we are completely melded, we will definitely find out the truth of every—Ahhh!”

His last word was disrupted by a miserable scream.

As it turned out, intense electric arcs suddenly burst out from Li Yao’s fingertips and pierced at the stranger. Caught unprepared, the stranger was immediately wreathed in electric arcs!

The stranger shrieked in outrage, “What—what are you doing? Do you not want to find out the truth?”

Li Yao sniffed. The confusion in his eyes was all gone, and they were now as clear as water and as sharp as blades. “Are you planning to fool me with such petty tricks? I don’t believe in your locks and seals!

“Let me think carefully about what you are exactly!”

Li Yao thought quickly. Pictures of the past quickly sild in front of his eyes, and he concentrated all his computational ability on scanning for the anomalies.

So, he found one!

It was during his fierce battle against Yan Xibei who had an ‘apocalyptic body’ on Iron Plateau. The two of them had fought so hard that they were stained with a lot of each other’s blood!

Li Yao’s pupils shrank violently. “You are the Blood Stripe Virus.”

When he said ‘Blood Stripe Virus’, the stranger shrieked even more twistedly than just now. The electric arcs ridded him of his disguise bit by bit, revealing a person identical to Li Yao, except that his face was as crimson as blood, which made him looked like a weird statue covered in a layer of red lacquer.

The Blood Stripe Virus, a mysterious alien species in the universe, boasted terrifying mind control and body transformation techniques. They were the masters of the Titan Warriors and the launchers of the apocalypse of the Flying Star Sector five thousand years ago!

Cold brilliant was spreading out like ripples in Li Yao’s eyes, as he sneered, “So, this explains a lot.

“Decades ago, you snuck into the body of Yan Xibei, the best warrior of Iron Plateau at that time, and bewildered him in secret so that he became one of the four kings of the Temple of Immortals. You then influenced him to refine the apocalyptic body and carry out your plan.

“Eight years ago, during the fierce battle between me and Yan Xibei, you saw that Yan Xibei was on the losing side. Therefore, you hid yourself in one drop of his blood and infected me when the blood touched my body!

“However, at that time, you were still very feeble. Therefore, you simply lurked and accumulated your strength.

“Right. When I was training in Yan Xinjian’s residence below Spider Den, there was a time when I was agitated and having hallucinations. That must have been you testing me because you had recovered part of your strength, wasn’t it?

“However, the result of your test was that my soul was still very solid, and it was not a good time to start swallowing me yet. Therefore, you settled down again.

“In the end, when I clashed with the star child from the Imperium of True Human Beings and my soul was seriously wounded by his self-detonation, you finally got your chance!

“When my soul was shattered and I was cast into a coma, you built the illusions of the Heaven’s Origin Sector deep inside my head, trying to stop my soul from struggling and push me into an eternal sleep. If so, you would have been able to occupy my body, which does not belong to you!

“But at the critical moment, you accidentally triggered the ‘Vulture Plan’, which had been hidden in the deepest part of my soul and woke me up!

“There was nothing you could do, and you feared that an attempted possession might alarm me. Therefore, you changed your methodology and continued influencing me in secret.

“Now that I think of it, the decisions I made recently are so weird!

“I have reached the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage in my twenties, and my combat ability is equivalent to that of the Nascent Soul Stage. My training speed is not slow. Instead, it is too fast!

“As the saying goes, more haste, less speed. My foundations are not steady, and my beliefs are not firm. The priority for me right now should be stabilize myself in my current level instead of making breakthroughs blindly. Is it really necessary for me to train in the four-dimensional universe?

“The war of two Sectors depends on the comprehensive capability. Even if I advance into the Nascent Soul Stage, I’m afraid that I still won’t be the decisive factor of the war at all!

“Besides, even if I wanted to train myself in the four-dimensional universe, I could have established a training room in Sparkle. Why did I have to build a starship for myself?

“Right now, I’ve finally realized that I was bewildered by you when I made those decisions!

“You meant to possess my body when I was trying to make a breakthrough by force in the four-dimensional space, when my soul would be most vulnerable!

“If I were on Sparkle, Professor Mo Xuan and the others would have been monitoring my training status closely. Should anything have gone wrong, they would immediately have broken into the room to rescue me, and they certainly would have discovered the anomalies in me!

“But on Firefly, I am all by myself. If an accident happens to me, I will have absolutely no one to turn to, isn’t it so?”

The bloody Li Yao in the front was gradually melting with mists of blood spreading out like the icy sculptures under the sun.

But his countenance was becoming more and more evil and weird. He smiled and said, “We are indeed smart. We got most things right, but we are afraid that we are wrong about one thing.

“It’s true that we have contracted the Blood Stripe Virus, but the life form of the Blood Stripe Virus is totally different from human beings, or any other creatures. They do not have self-awareness, thinking ability, or a soul!

“Therefore, I am not the Blood Stripe Virus; I am you. More precisely speaking, I am the other side of you.”

Li Yao’s eyelids were bouncing quickly. He could not have been any warier.

The bloody Li Yao opened his hands and smiled wickedly. “Don’t be nervous. When there is brightness, there is darkness. Brightness and darkness are just two sides of the same coin. You have always pretended to be chivalrous, determined, persistent…

“But, do ask yourself, are you really as righteous, resolute, and unwavering as you appear to be?

“When you struggled to survive in the magical equipment graveyard, did you never have the intense want to kill someone?

“Faced with your classmates’ mockery and watching them riding their luxury shuttles, were you not strongly jealous of them?

“While the overwhelming beast tide was coming at you, was there never a moment when you thought to give up everything and run away immediately?

“When Yan Xibei and Xiao Xuance preached their ideology to you, did you never have a second thought and wonder whether or not the path they’d been walking on was the right one?

“When you learned that the apocalypse from the Imperium of True Human Beings was about to hit the Heaven’s Origin Sector, did you never have dark thoughts in your mind and complained to yourself that the Heaven’s Origin Sector was burdened by the Flying Star Sector?

“Was there never a moment when you even thought that it would be best if the apocalypse changed its direction right then and lunged at the Flying Star Sector instead?

“It was the dark thoughts that you once had, your hatred, jealousy, fear, suspicion, wavering, fury, and confusion which gradually brewed, grew, and proliferated, that gave birth to me in the end.

“Who am I? I am just a tiny reflection of your soul in the abyss of darkness.”

Chapter 827: Roaring Bloody Tide

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Li Yao gnashed his teeth in contempt. “I got it. The Blood Stripe Virus is like a key that opened the zone deep inside my brain that stored the negative emotions and the dark thoughts. The devil in my heart was triggered and transformed into a scumbag that is you.”

The bloody Li Yao smiled casually and replied, “What can the devil in your heart do? It is just redundant thoughts during your training. When there are too many irrelevant thoughts, the normal functioning of your brain will be greatly hindered. Not only will your computational ability plummet, your telepathic thoughts will sometimes even overflow, which will cause you to be mentally deranged. Your soul will collapse, and you will turn into a retard!

“How can such a devil be compared to me?

“I’m merely helping you consider things from a different point of view.

“There is no need to be so resistant to the infection of the Blood Stripe Virus. The life form of the Blood Stripe Virus is entirely different from that of human beings. The two parties have no conflict of interest. You may consider their relationship as a symbiotic one, which is ubiquitous in the universe. There is no need to talk about other species. Take human beings for example. Inside the bodies of the human beings, many beneficial germs such as lactobacillus are living.

“Even though you are in the Core Formation Stage, as long as you cannot get rid of the body of flesh and blood, you will have to live in harmony with the lactobacillus. Since you do not reject lactobacillus, why do you loathe Blood Stripe Virus so much?”

“My lactobacillus do not utter sounds in my head to bewilder me every day, nor will they affect my will!” Li Yao said coldly.

“How do you know?” the bloody Li Yao asked. “How do you know that the lactobacillus living in your body are not influencing your brain without you knowing in a mysterious way that you cannot comprehend?

“Moreover, is the resistance you are showing right now actually made by the lactobacillus, who are manipulating your brain because they do not want a new competitor to enter the body?”

Li Yao was suddenly lost for words.

The bloody Li Yao laughed and opened his hands. “Don’t be nervous. It is pure jibber-jabber. See? I’m good at considering problems from the points of view that you ignore. When we are combined, we will be able to analyze problems in a much more comprehensive way. We will understand the essence of training. Our computational ability will be much higher, too!”

Li Yao could not help but take a step back. “No matter how marvelous your speech is, I will not be controlled by the Blood Stripe Virus!”

“What’s bad about merging with me?” The bloody Li Yao opened his arms and said sincerely, “Do you not want to find out the truth of the ‘Vulture Plan’? Do you not want to know why you ended up in the Heaven’s Origin Sector? Do you not want to return to Earth and reveal the secrets behind everything?

“Stop lying to me. I know you do. Ever since you had memories, and ever since you had those bizarre, uncanny Earth dreams, the questions have been baffling you, harassing you, and torturing you!

“I am you. The questions I asked a moment ago were the ones that have popped up in your mind millions of times before. Do you dare say that you do not want to find out the ultimate answers?

“But it is not an easy task to look for the answers!

“If Earth does exist, it is perhaps in a world independent from all the worlds of Cultivators. Going there will not be as simple as returning to the Heaven’s Origin Sector from the Flying Star Sector. If anything, it will be a hundred times more difficult than directly jumping to the Empyrean Terminus Sector, the capital of the Imperium of True Human Beings, from the Heaven’s Origin Sector!

“With your current aptitude, you will not be able to go to Earth and find out the answers in your entire life, even if you live for three hundred years, five hundred years, or even a thousand years!

“Right now, only the Blood Stripe Virus can help us!

“Do you remember Yan Xibei’s ‘apocalyptic body’? Yan Xibei was a low-level qi-trainer who was crippled and heavily wounded, but with the apocalyptic body, he boasted the strength close to the Nascent Soul Stage!

“Right now, you have created an undocumented approach of training by breaking into the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage. Your combat ability is close to that of Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators!

“If you have the strength of the Blood Stripe Virus under your control, you will be able to build your own ‘apocalyptic body’. Just think about it. What a horrifying level it will be! Chances are that the monsters in the Divinity Transformation Stage of the Imperium of True Human Beings will be no match for you!

“Your Cultivation has always been on the road less travelled. It is already so troublesome to form the core. How long do you think it will take for you to generate your Nascent Soul by normal training methods? It is even possible that you will never enter the Nascent Soul Stage in your life!

“Therefore, you might as well walk on the Blood Stripe Virus’ path. You will build an ‘apocalyptic body’ and then condense a unique ‘Bloody Soul’!

“After you build an apocalyptic body and condense a Bloody Soul, not just the threats of the Blood Demon Sector, even the attack of the Imperium of True Human Beings will be nothing in our eyes. By then, we will save the Heaven’s Origin Sector and boast the strength of a higher level that can allow us to barge into the territory of the Imperium of True Human Beings or explore Earth, which is beyond all the Sectors of the Cultivators!

“Isn’t it the best choice right now?”

The bloody Li Yao’s voice was enchanting and gentle.

As his spell went on, his hands grew longer and longer still while they extended to Li Yao’s face. “Come on. Accept the strength of the Blood Stripe Virus. This is the only path…”

Confusion was written all over Li Yao’s face. He seemed to be mired in chaos. It was not until the bloody hands almost touched his face that his eyelids suddenly jumped, and he roared resolutely, “No!

“I will not be fooled!

“Yan Xibei’s lesson is as fresh as yesterday for me right now. You are just trying to spread the Blood Stripe Virus through me so that you can enslave all human beings!

“By then, the human beings will be monsters who know everything about destruction but nothing about construction, just like the ‘Titan Warriors’ once enslaved by you!

“In your dreams! I will never let you occupy my body!”

Li Yao waved his hands hard, raising a storm of spiritual energy, which ripped the bloody person into thousands of small pearls of blood, each of which seemed to be displaying a weird face deep below their surface.

In a series of twisted laughter, the blood pearls vanished into thin air like bubbles in sunlight.

The next moment, a voice that was both familiar and stranger suddenly echoed inside Li Yao’s brain. “But I’ve already occupied your body.”

Li Yao was greatly alarmed. He seemed to have woken from yet another weird dream.

The journey in the four-dimensional universe was about to come to an end. His infinitely unfolded body was gradually returning to the three-dimensional state.

But the left side of his body was twisting weirdly, utterly beyond his control!

His left eye was both like a furious burning coal and a shining spotlight. He did not need a mirror to know that his eyeball must have been dyed the most dazzling red.

The redness was spreading to his internal organs and limbs like a virus. After it controlled the left side of his body in the blink of an eye, it went on to the right side of his body!

“You woke up too late!” The voice deep down his brain seemed to be talked to himself. “Why do you think you recovered so fast from the heavy wounds due to the star child’s self-detonation?

“Of course, it was because I contributed in secret and helped you repair your soul!

“However, while I was repairing your soul, I also ‘stitched’ something special into it.

“After you entered the four-dimensional space, your poured unlimited spiritual energy into your core to increase its rotational speed to the maximum in an attempt to break into the Nascent Soul Stage. It was a major shock for your soul and gave me a great opportunity!

“There is nothing that can stop me from taking over the body now!

“Heaven’s Origin, a planet with a population of tens of billions!

“The entire Iron Plateau only has a population of less than a hundred million, and all the space zones of the Flying Star Sector combined had a population of around ten billion. However, Heaven’s Origin, a single planet, has tens of billions of residents, or rather, tens of billions of hosts that can provide mental power to support me incessantly!”

“Ah!” Li Yao screamed miserably. Bloody strains extended out of his left eyeball toward his right one.

Li Yao was in such pain that he was writhing on the ground and bashing his head hard, but he had completely lost control over his left hand. When his right hand meant to attack his left eyeball, his left even blocked the aggressive attack.

“Stop your futile struggle. You are only increasing your suffering!

“What’s wrong with being a host of the Blood Stripe Virus? The Blood Stripe Virus will not interfere with your wars against the Blood Demon Sector and the Imperium of True Human Beings. Instead, it will only give you a hand!

“After all, the source of strength for the Blood Stripe Virus is the lust for killing of the host. The fiercer your war is, the stronger the Blood Stripe Virus will be!”

Li Yao held his head hard and bellowed, “I will not let it go your way. I would rather die before my body is occupied by the lust for killing!”

With all his strength, Li Yao crashed open the door of the training room heavily into the cockpit.

Since the distance was short and the destination was clear, Firefly had been cruising in its autopilot mode. Manual manipulation was barely necessary.

In several seconds, the space jump would be over, and they would show up in the sky of the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

With any luck, they would even end up in the gravity sphere of the planet of Heaven’s Origin directly!

Bloody tears were flowing out of Li Yao’s eyes as he dragged the left side of his body, which was shivering crazily, and crawled to the control panel.

In a corner of the control panel, locked tight by triple barriers, was a self-destruction rune array!

“You want to die together with me? Too late now!”

The laughter inside Li Yao’s head was louder and louder now. His consciousness was dwindling fast. He felt as if he was mired in a bloody swamp sinking nonstop. Another self-awareness, one that was stronger, gloomier, and crueler, was replacing the old one and taking over his entire brain as it gradually revealed itself.

“Right now, I have controlled 95% of your brain.

“In a few seconds, we will arrive in the Heaven’s Origin Sector and meet our family and friends. Ding Lingdang, Yuan Manqiu, ‘Fiend Blade’ Peng Hai, ‘Solar Eclipse’ Jiang Shaoyang…

“Rest assured. I shall leave none behind.

“Look, we are here. Heaven’s Origin is right in front of us. What a lovely planet!”

The bloody Li Yao laughed crazily. Firefly shook violently, and the chaotic light beam was clear again, manifesting everything that the crystal cameras had captured.

An enormous planet was floating in front of their eyes quietly.

The bloody Li Yao’s laughter came to an abrupt end. Appalling spiritual waves were rushing out for the first time after he revealed himself. “No. This is—”

Almost at the same time, deep inside the control panel of Firefly, a high-frequency soundwave beyond the perception of human ears echoed.

A mental attack targeting the soul burst out like a volcanic eruption and swept the entire cockpit, piercing through Li Yao’s brain completely!

Chapter 828: Battlefield of the Heaven’s Origin Sector!

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

On Heaven’s Origin of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the sky of the Grand Desolate Plateau seemed to be stretched by many invisible giant hands and collapsed weirdly, forming ‘swirls’ that were beyond the three-dimensional time and space.

Twelve streaks of brightness dashed out of the ‘swirls’, as if they had been thrown up by twelve invisible, enormous beasts. They moved toward the boundless desert.

The mainframe crystal processor was quickly analyzing the constituents of the air and the gravity of the planet. It was also estimating the diameter of the planet in order to calculate its mass.

The final results were identical to the data of Heaven’s Origin.

“We’ve made it!”

There was nothing but exclamations on the bridge of Sparkle.

Wu Mayan jumped up in excitement. Lei Dalu and Bai Kaixin hugged each other, thrilled. The spectral Cultivators from the Heaven’s Origin Sector were all crying and unable to control their emotions.

The Grand Desolate Plateau was their destination.

The Heaven’s Origin Sector was highly populated. In the central area of the Star Glory Federation, super metropolises could easily spread to a thousand kilometers away. Considering the instability of the space jump, if the destination had been set near the capital of the Star Glory Federation, should there have been an accident such as the explosion of one of the starships, the burning debris might have been a destructive catastrophe for the cities.

Therefore, the ‘Heaven’s Artillery’, with which the Heaven’s Origin Sector explored the universe, was deployed in the Grand Desolate Plateau, which was vast and least populated. Even if there was an accident, the damage caused to the Heaven’s Origin Sector would be minimized.

Also, Professor Mo Xuan and the other spectral Cultivators were all locals of the Grand Desolate Plateau. They were familiar with the environment there and could make the parameters more accurate when they set them.

“We’re home. We’re finally home!”

Professor Mo Xuan managed to hold back his complicated feelings. His artificial arms were slightly trembling as he activated twenty pieces of probe magical equipment.

In a moment, twenty probe balls carved with floating rune arrays were launched from Sparkle to various direction.

They were contacting the other twelve starships and scanning the terrain to further determine their coordinates.

The picture sent by the probe balls gave them a big surprise.

The Grand Desolate Plateau right now was completely different from their memories.

The sky was broken and filled with colorful clouds in the shape of swirls. They were wriggling in the sky like enormous snails.

Venomous mist so thick that it seemed to be solid was floating in the air, slithering weirdly like translucent tentacles.

In the desert far ahead and near, countless behemothic skeletons were lying. Many of their bones were more than a hundred meters long. All of them used to be hideous demon beasts.

The skeletons of the demon beasts were mixed with the debris of the crystal tanks, telling the stories of the gory battles in silence.

A probe ball that had flown hundreds of kilometers away captured an enormous relic that looked like a forsaken city. More than half of the buildings had been buried by the dark red sand. Only the several highest towers had their upper sections exposed on the surface of the ground like broken tombstones.

The probe ball moved up. It could vaguely see that the desert in the north of the Grand Desolate Plateau had all turned red. A boundless red tide seemed to be consuming the entire world.

“How did everything become like this?” Professor Mo Xuan sighed. “It seems that the merging of the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector has accelerated in the years we were away. A few earth-shaking wars must have taken place here. Even the cities of the Grand Desolate Plateau have turned into wastelands!

“Gao Yang, scan the structure of the forsaken city and compare it with the cities in our database. See which city it is exactly, and we will know our precise coordinates. Then, we will send the information to the rest of the twelve starships and the entire Heaven’s Origin Sector!”

Gao Yang, who was one of Professor Mo Xuan’s disciples, nodded, but he did not respond for a long time.

Professor Mo Xuan found it odd. Comparing the features of a city was a simple task. With their current computational ability, it should have been done within a breath.

The forsaken city was unbelievably huge. It must have been one of the core cities of the Grand Desolate Plateau and was unlikely to have been built after they left. Therefore, they must have had the critical features of the city in their database.

“Gao Yang, what’s up?” Professor Mo Xuan asked solemnly.

Gao Yang replied, his voice shaking, “Pro—Professor, the city buried by the sand is… Wild Waves City!”

Wild Waves City was the largest city on the Grand Desolate Plateau. It was also where the Grand Desolate War Institution, one of the nine elite schools of the Star Glory Federation, was located!

Professor Mo Xuan shook so hard that his artificial body almost broke apart.

On the light beam, dozens of crystal warships of the Star Glory Federation were rushing at them. Countless Exos and armed shuttles surrounded them like wild bees.

On the head of those crystal warships, two glittering emblems were painted on the left and the right.

The left side was the Rising Dragon of the Nine Stars, while the right side was a saber and a chainsword crossed on the background of a furiously burning fist, which was the emblem of the Grand Desolate War Institution!

The emblem refreshed Mo Xuan and his companions who were nearly grabbed by desperation, but they could not have been more baffled.

“What happened in the past ten years? Why was Wild Waves City demolished? Since when has the Grand Desolate War Institution bought so many crystal warships?”

As a multipurpose exploration starship, Sparkle was not very large in size. The dozens of crystal warships of the Star Glory Federation were much larger than it and soon arrived.

Trying to hold back his excitement, Professor Mo Xuan commanded, “Send a message to those starships and tell them that Li Yao and Mo Xuan are back!”

However, before their telepathic thoughts were sent over, their mainframe crystal processor had received a telepathic thought from the crystal warships.

The message was very simple. In fact, it had only one word.

“Sparkle?”

…

An hour later, on the bridge of Sparkle, the experts from the Flying Star Sector were all observing the red-haired Cultivator who was addressed as ‘Captain of the First Assault Team of the Grand Desolate Legion’ with great interest.

It was the first Cultivator from the Heaven’s Origin Sector who they had met except for Li Yao and Mo Xuan.

The person had exceptionally long limbs, which were as tensile and forceful as whips. The dark red battle robe of the person had the emblem of the Grand Desolate War Institution painted on the chest. It was emitting sharp killing intent, too.

The most eye-catching part about the person was the hair. Not only was it in a fresh crimson color, it was also burning furiously like flames. Anyone who drew close would feel the scorching airwave. There was no telling how the person kept their head from being burnt.

Such an odd symptom is either the sequela from the mental derangement while practicing an ultimate technique or the result of lethal poison that the person has pushed to the hair. Or maybe it is because of both…

Luo Xingzi watched the person hugging Professor Mo Xuan tightly, deep in thought.

Since the Flying Star Sector was going to fight side by side with the Heaven’s Origin Sector, it was important that they had a general idea of the capability of their comrades.

The local Cultivator of the Heaven’s Origin Sector left a deep impression on Luo Xingzi, who estimated that the person was perhaps in the peak of the Core Formation Stage. But more importantly, the person seemed quite young. Thirty years old, tops. There must have been a lot of fortuitous incidents, too.

Is the Heaven’s Origin Sector a factory that produces young geniuses?

Luo Xingzi was greatly amazed.

Professor Mo Xuan was quite concerned about the Grand Desolate War Institution and his wife, Yuan Manqiu. The red-haired captain told everything that had happened and assured him.

Over the past ten years, vast changes had indeed taken place in the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

After Li Yao and Mo Xuan left, the merging of the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector had further accelerated. Right now, the two worlds were like the two kernels in the same peanut. They were in a ‘half-blended’ state, and they were equivalent to two space zones of the same Sector now.

Besides, countless wormholes had appeared between the two worlds that could be travelled through easily.

To the north of the Grand Desolate War Institution, the ‘Dark Desolate Domain’, which resulted from the collision of the two worlds, had expanded to dozens of times its size ten years ago.

The Dark Desolate Domain, where countless Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures were generated because of the unsteady spiritual energy, had become a gruesome battlefield.

The war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector had upgraded, too. It was no longer restricted to the small-scale harassment and anti-harassment. A few head-on, hard battles had been fought.

Five years ago, the demon race even teleported a whole army directly to Wild Waves City, where the Grand Desolate War Institution was located, through a precise point-to-point space jump.

Although the army was annihilated in the end, Wild Waves City was ruined, too.

“There is not an inch of peaceful land on the vast Grand Desolate Plateau now that can accommodate a quiet campus,” the red-haired captain said. “Therefore, the Grand Desolate War Institution has moved the campus to crystal warships and turned into a nomadic college that recruits all the young people who have lost their homes because of the war on Iron Plateau. We teach, and they grow, in the bloody battles!

“Among the armed forces of the Star Glory Federation, the Grand Desolate War Institution is also known as the ‘Grand Desolate Legion’. We are now one of the four greatest legions of the federation!

“Professor Yuan Manqiu is safe and sound, too. Under her leadership, the Refining Department of the Grand Desolate War Institution has become the second-best academic establishment of refining in the federation, only below the Refining Department of Deep Sea University!”

Hearing that his wife was fine, Professor Mo Xuan was greatly relieved. He said, “Since the Grand Desolate Plateau is now safe, please hurry to search for the remaining crystal warships. It will be terrible if they encounter the assault squads of the demon race!”

The red-haired captain said, “We’ve been searching the five hundred square kilometers nearby in the last hour and eleven starships similar to Sparkle have been found.”

Professor Mo Xuan was dazed. “But we have thirteen starships. One of them is very small and looks like a cocoon. It is piloted by Li Yao alone!”

“What?” The red-haired captain suddenly raised their voice. “Why?”

Professor Mo Xuan was confused. “The fact that twelve starships have been found within five hundred square kilometers proves that it was a successful space jump with precise landing points. Logically, there is no way that Li Yao should have failed.

“Also, it’s been an hour. He should have contacted me long ago.”

“Weird. We cannot reach out to Firefly. It doesn’t seem to have come to the Heaven’s Origin Sector with us at all!”

“Understood!” the red-haired captain said. “We will increase the search range immediately and look for Firefly, which has probably crashed in the thousand square kilometers nearby!”

“Please—Please wait a moment.”

While everybody was worried, Xie Anan moved out of the crowd, with a jade chip in her hands. “Master gave the jade chip to me before we left and asked me to play the message after we jumped to the Heaven’s Origin Sector.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Everybody was baffled.

Professor Mo Xuan took over the jade chip and inserted it into his chest. He then projected a light beam with the crystal camera on his forehead.

Inside the light beam, Li Yao’s image gradually condensed and looked at everyone with a smile.

“Do excuse me for talking to you in such a way.

“First of all, I would like to tell you a piece of bad news. Hahahaha. It’s very likely that I have been infected by the Blood Stripe Virus.”

Chapter 829: The Most Difficult Scheme

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

His words shocked everyone on board!

Gasps were echoing nonstop inside the bridge. The qi-trainers from Iron Plateau all jumped to their feet. But the few Cultivators of the Heaven’s Origin Sector were still confused. The red-haired captain stared at Li Yao on the light beam while asking Professor Mo Xuan, “What is the Blood Stripe Virus?”

Inside the light beam, Li Yao scratch his head and said in a lighthearted tone, “I was mired in a prolonged coma during the battle against the star child when my soul was hurt by his self-detonation.

“In my coma, I had a lot of bizarre nightmares. All the nightmares had one thing in common, which was that they were persuading me to give up and embrace the eternal sleep.

“After I woke up, the memories of the nightmares kept bothering me.

“I believed that I was never a person to give up easily. Besides, the way home was right before my eyes, and I was about to reunite with my family and friends in the Heaven’s Origin Sector. Was there any reason I should stop striving before victory?

“If dreams were a reflection of my subconsciousness, then my subconsciousness must have vastly changed from my normal thinking.

“At that time, I secretly grew suspicious.

“After I woke up, I felt that I was even more unusual. I always daydreamed, and the nightmares were more and more terrible. Every time I struggled to get away from the nightmares, I sensed that my lust for killing was more intense, and I was more cynical and brutal!

“Growing more and more suspicious, I started to observe those around me in secret.

“I thought that, if my soul was invaded or infected by foreign forces, they might jam my senses in a certain way and make it difficult for me to detect their existence.

“But my abnormal behavior would certainly trigger abnormal reactions from those around me.

“Then, as long as I considered those around me as ‘mirrors’, I would be able to deduce my situation.

“As it turned out, I found that Wu Mayan and Xie Anan, my disciples, changed their attitudes to me.

“In the past, they were quite at ease when they were with me. I was more like a training partner than a master to them.

“But now, they were very cautious and in fear.

“One day, I even discovered a very deep mark on Wu Mayan’s neck which seemed to have been left after somebody grabbed the neck hard for a long time.

“During those few days, Wu Mayan had only been training with me and did not fight anybody.

“Besides, if the mark was left by somebody else, he would have certainly told me.

“Since he did not mention anything, it indicated that it was done by me.

“However, I remembered nothing of the matter. It was quite strange.

“There were two possibilities. Firstly, it was done by not me, but another ‘being’, a ‘foreign intruder’, or a ‘second personality’ that was lurking in my body.

“Secondly, it was done by me, but then something wiped out, or at least disguised, the memory.

“Whatever the fact was, I finally ascertained after the incident that my soul had been infected.

“I meditated for a long time and recalled my battle experiences, trying to find out the perpetrator.

“Skeleton Dragon? Yan Xinjian? Xiao Xuance? Star child?

“Those enemies all boasted tremendous soul power, but could they have infiltrated my brain without alarming me and corrupt my soul slowly but surely?

“I did not think that they were as capable.

“Finally. I found the answer.

“The Blood Stripe Virus!

“The Blood Stripe Virus is a mysterious alien foreign species. It is invisible and unpredictable, but it can live inside the brains of living creatures, influence their behavior, and feast upon their killing intent!

“Billions of years ago, the Blood Stripe Virus took the Titan Warriors as their puppets. When the Sector of the Titan Warriors was destroyed, the virus came to the Flying Star Sector through the apocalypse and landed on Iron Plateau, planning to modify Iron Plateau and the Iron Plateau natives over tens of thousands of years and change the latter into their new hosts.

“During their invasion, the essence of the Blood Stripe Virus even invaded Yan Xibei and bewitched him into building the ‘apocalyptic body’ in order to accelerate the Bloody Stripe Virus’ erosion.

“When I fought Yan Xibei, we engaged in close-combat. Blood was spluttering everywhere. Although I was very cautious, it is possible that one drop of blood or two touched my body. Maybe the Blood Stripe Virus was lurking inside the blood and snuck into my body.

“However, the Blood Stripe Virus did not see it coming that my soul was ten times more solid than Yan Xibei’s and that it could not find an entrance at all. Therefore, it kept lurking until it found an opportunity when my soul was blown apart by the star child. During my one-year coma, it infected me with the bloody nightmares and finally successfully got into my soul and my brain!

“If that was the case, there would only be two questions left.

“Firstly, what was the purpose of the Blood Stripe Virus? Secondly, how deeply had I been infected?

“Walking in the virus’ shoes, it is not hard for me to guess its purpose. It wanted to go to the Heaven’s Origin Sector with me.

“Although the Heaven’s Origin Sector is not large, the population is concentrated on one planet. It is like a public square packed with people and perfect for the parasites to spread out.

“Besides, the Heaven’s Origin Sector is at war with the Blood Demon Sector and has to resist the minor apocalypse of the Imperium of True Human Beings later. The Blood Stripe Virus consumes lust for killing as food. Such a world is perfect for its appetite!

“As to how deeply I am infected, and how badly my brain has been corrupted… Those appeared to be questions whose precise answers I can never find.

“I could only make deductions based on the information I know.

“The most important piece of information was that I proposed to build ‘Firefly’ and train alone during the space jump.

“After I found out about the infection of the Blood Stripe Virus and looked at the ‘Firefly’ project in retrospective, I noticed a lot of suspicious points. It was not like a proposal that I would make under normal circumstances at all but like a scheme that the Blood Stripe Virus bewildered me to put forward in order to swallow my soul during the space jump.

“Then, it at least indicated that the Blood Stripe Virus hasn’t taken full control of me yet. There is still a critical step.

“Maybe, it could trigger the fear, fury, hatred, bloodthirst… and all the other negative emotions deep inside my brain and slightly manipulate my behavior when I am at the mercy of those negative emotions.

“It could also eradicate or cover part of my memories and relieve my doubts when I am strongly suspicious in a certain way, similar to hypnotization.

“However, I believe that neither manipulation or coverage can be used unlimitedly.

“The reason is simple. On one hand, the strength of the Blood Stripe Virus was limited. Otherwise, it would not have lurked for so many years.

“On the other hand, and more importantly, if it twisted my will and wiped my memory by force frequently, an entirely different me would definitely be shaped. I, and those around myself, would certainly be skeptical.

“It is the last thing that it would like to see.

“Therefore, there is still a slim chance of winning for me.

“My judgement was that, when my soul was blown apart by the star child’s self-detonation, the Blood Stripe Virus probably pried into most of my memory pieces and knows clearly about my past. It even hid some ‘backdoors’ inside my soul, possibly.

“But I didn’t think that it could know my every movement or thought.

“It’s like a person with ‘dual personality’ who would have two personalities appearing in turn. One of the personalities would not know everything that the other personality knew.

“Since I am not aware of the thoughts of the Blood Stripe Virus, there is no reason why the Blood Stripe should know what is on my mind every second. At least, I hope so.

“I began to consider how to deal with the Blood Stripe Virus.

“At first, I thought about telling everybody of the matter and cope with the Blood Stripe Virus with everybody’s help.

“But I gave up the idea immediately after I thought of it.

“The Blood Stripe Virus is mysterious and fickle. You might not have any solution even if I told you. If anything, you might have been alarmed.

“I was most worried that the Blood Stripe Virus would run away from my body.

“When it is in my body, I can think of something to deal with them. But if it flees into somebody else’s body, or even a snake, insect, rat, or ant, and lurks for another hundred years before it stirs trouble again, nobody will be prepared for them.

“Therefore, I could not ask for anybody’s else. I had to address it myself, and I had to do it in the least eye-catching way without giving myself away.

“The most critical point was that I did not know whether or not the Blood Stripe Virus could see what I saw and heard at all times.

“Without any options, I could only have a try.

“At first, I ran a minor experiment.

“On my training journal, I recorded my anomalies and stated that I was strongly suspicious that my soul had been invaded and that I must have it tested in a certain way.

“When I wrote the article, my mind was very clear, and I was certain that I was not affected by anything.

“It suggested that the Blood Stripe Virus’ interferences were not real-time. They could not learn my every thought immediately. Otherwise, they would not have allowed to write such an article.

“Then, after I wrote the article, it was even less likely that it would manipulate me to delete it, because deleting an article would leave even more traces. When there were too many traces, I would be bound to be suspicious.

“The Blood Stripe Virus could only avoid my test in a certain other way.

“Following that, I started to study the magical equipment on the examination and the attack of souls.

“A year ago, to deal with the ‘reincarnated’ ‘Bai Xinghe’, the Immortal Cultivators produced a lot of magical equipment for mental attacks, but they had already lost the war before most of the devices got to be utilized.

“I borrowed a large batch of them and studied them carefully. In the end, I crafted a tiny piece of magical equipment that could examine the soul. I named the magical equipment ‘Soul Monitor’.

“As long as I put the Soul Monitor on the back of my head, it would automatically scan my brainwaves and my soul waves to examine whether or not my soul was pure and unaffected.

“Of course, I knew that the Soul Monitor had zero effect.

“Since the Blood Stripe Virus had allowed me to produce the Soul Monitor smoothly, the device must have no effect on it at all. It were confident that it could get away from the Soul Monitor’s detection and therefore ease my alert once and for all.

“However, it might not have known my true purpose for building the Soul Monitor.

“I was not meaning to detect the Blood Stripe Virus. I was merely taking a gamble that, when I scanned my brain with the Soul Monitor, the Blood Stripe Virus would enter a certain ‘idle’ state and hide deep inside my brain in case any abnormal waves were detected.

“It meant that I would be granted temporary ‘absolutely safe time’ by the Soul Monitor. I could do whatever I want during the time without worrying that the Blood Stripe Virus might find anything.

“I could use the Soul Monitor for an hour every time, and I could not use it too many times. If I detected nothing after three to five times, I should stop the experiment by logic. Otherwise, the Blood Stripe Virus would suspect that I had other plans.

“Three to five times, an hour every time. Together, that would be three to five hours.

“What could I accomplish in such a short amount of time?”

Chapter 830: Doom of the Blood Stripe Virus (End of Volume II)

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

“The production of Firefly had already begun, and I could not stop it because I could not stay in the Flying Star Sector. However, I could not go to the Heaven’s Origin Sector for real, either.

“Both the Flying Star Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector have billions of human beings. There are my family and friends as well as countless compatriots. It would be a complete tragedy if the Blood Stripe went on a rampage in either Sector.

“Perhaps, I could adjust the coordinates of Firefly and made it jump to a desolate, unpopulated Sector?

“But technically speak, it was difficult to achieve.

“Firefly was designed for the short-distance space jump between two neighboring Sectors. By no means could it jump to millions of lightyears away.

“Besides, the adjustment of such a scale would likely have been found out by the control center and the Blood Stripe Virus.

“I began to think. Was there a place that was devoid of human beings and within my reach as long as I changed one or two parameters in the thousands of coordinate settings?

“Hehe. You must have guessed it.

“Exactly. The Blood Demon Sector!

“The Blood Demon Sector has been preliminarily merged with the Heaven’s Origin Sector. They are like twin worlds. The parameters of the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector in the four-dimensional universe are 99.9% identical and have only a 0.01% difference!

“I made the decision!

“The Blood Stripe Virus meant to completely corrupt my soul and take control over my mind during the space jump. Then, I would tempt it with ‘Firefly’ as the battlefield and start a final battle!

“Even if I failed the final battle, I would not allow them to go to the Heaven’s Origin Sector to enslave my family, friends, and compatriots!

“Therefore, I pretended that I was fooled and joined the production of Firefly actively. I even read a lot of books on the technology of space jumps and learned the methods to reset the navigation system and to manually control the starship.

“Firefly would be piloted by me alone. Should there be a fault, I could only fix it by myself. It was only natural that I learned knowledge on those topics. The Bloody Stripe Virus would not have been suspicious about my behavior.

“During my studies, I grasped the coordinates of the Blood Demon Sector as I planned. I also learned how to activate the emergency maintenance mode and manually adjust the coordinates of the destination.

“In the four hours of precious ‘absolutely safe time’ while I had the Soul Monitor on, I gathered all the mental attack magical equipment that Xiao Xuance had prepared to deal with Bai Xinghe and extracted the most valuable core units. I then built them into a piece of unprecedently powerful magical equipment for mental attacks. The immense spiritual waves released from the device were enough to tear apart the soul of an unparalleled expert!

“To avoid the suspicion of the Blood Stripe Virus, after I refined a ‘soul bomb’ four times, I stopped using the Soul Monitor.

“Everything was peaceful again.

“I pretended that I was relieved and dedicated myself to my training and the production of ‘Firefly’.

“The Blood Stripe Virus stopped messing around with me for a long time, too.

“From the virus’ perspective, now that the host was walking on the ‘right’ path and everything was going on as it had planned, it was indeed unnecessary to ask for more trouble by interfering with or prying into the host’s soul. If the host was suspicious again at the last moment, it would be the victim of its own scheme.

“Or rather, maybe the Blood Stripe Virus was accumulating its strength in secret, too, preparing to possess my body during the space jump!

“Today is the last day before our departure.

“I activated the Soul Monitor and received an hour of ‘absolutely safe time’ during the last examination on Sparkle. Then, I slightly adjusted the parameters of the destination of Sparkle and hid the ‘soul bomb’ inside the control panel before I connected the bomb to the self-destruction rune array.

“Right now, the usage of the self-destruction rune array on Firefly has changed.

“Only after the self-destruction rune array is triggered during the space jump will the starship be shifted to the correct route and return to the Heaven’s Origin Sector with everybody.

“If the self-destruction array is not triggered, Firefly will remain its trajectory toward the Blood Demon Sector and detonate the ‘soul bomb’ when the space jump is about to be completed!

“Do you understand?

“If I haven’t triggered the ‘self-destruction rune array’ before the space jump is over, it is indicative that I have been controlled by the Blood Stripe Virus. It will be the Blood Stripe Virus that occupies my brain and soul. My own soul will perhaps be lurking in the deepest part of my brain, completely overwhelmed by the intruder.

“As a result, when the soul bomb is detonated and the blast sweeps across Firefly and pierces through my brain, it will be the soul of the Blood Stripe Virus that takes the blow!

“Its soul will be the best shield for my soul!

“I will launch the last counterattack when its soul is ripped apart and try to suppress, swallow, and purge the Blood Stripe Virus!

“This is my whole plan, one whose success rate is close to zero, because the entire plan is based on the presumption that the Blood Stripe Virus does not know what I am thinking at all times.

“Maybe its strength far exceeds my imagination, and it has learned everything.

“Therefore, I strongly suggest that, if you find Firefly next to yourselves after you arrive in the Heaven’s Origin Sector, you must impose the strictest quarantine upon me. You must not believe anything that I say, even if I tell you that I’ve successfully suppressed the Blood Stripe Virus. Do not believe anything!

“In such a case, I’m very likely to have been fully controlled by the Blood Stripe Virus like Yan Xibei used to be.

“If you do not find Firefly, don’t be worried. It is a piece of good news that suggests that my plan has succeeded… at least partly.

“I’m already back home; I’m just landing on the other side of it.

“There are too many burdens and concerns in the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Flying Star Sector. I would worry that the Blood Stripe Virus might infect my family, friends, and compatriots all the time.

“It is very likely that the Blood Stripe Virus will do insane things while they are manipulating my body. For example, killing one of my family or friends, as a way to shake my belief.

“When I ask myself if I can be unwavering when one of my close friends is killed by me, I do not have the confidence to say yes.

“The Blood Demon Sector is different.

“I have zero concerns there. I can fight the Blood Stripe Virus however I want without worries. Even if I am blinded by bloodthirst when I am occasionally manipulated by the Blood Stripe Virus, it will not matter because there will be no friends but only foes.

“Alright. I’m running out of time. This is about everything.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you the truth earlier. It is not because I didn’t believe in you, but because the battle had to be fought alone.

“I’m sorry, Wu Mayan and Xie Anan. There were days when my attitude was bad. You must have been frightened.

“In the end… I’m sorry, Ding Lingdang.

“I promised you that I would reunite with you in ten years, but I’m afraid I will be delayed in the Blood Demon Sector for a few years to purge the Blood Stripe Virus. Therefore—”

There was a rigid smile on the corner of Li Yao’s lips when he said sorry.

But deep inside his eyes, a scattered starry brilliance was shining, and two streams of hot tears seemed to be flooding out.

His voice came to an abrupt end, but he turned off the crystal camera before his tears ran out.

The picture was frozen just like that. It gradually turned transparent and dispersed, like the flickering sparks after the brilliant fireworks.

There was nothing but silence on the bridge.

Everybody was stunned by the shocking secret battle.

They had no idea at all that, while they were planning the journey home delightedly, Li Yao was fighting such a weird, perilous battle against an enemy that was more formidable than Skeleton Dragon, Xiao Xuance, and the star child!

“Li Yao…”

Lei Dalu, Bai Kaixin, Luo Xingzi and Professor Mo Xuan were all somewhat lost.

“Master…”

Wu Mayan and Xie Anan both clenched their fists, sobbing.

BOOM!

The upright, furiously burning hair of the captain of the Grand Desolate Legion seemed to have been drenched in oil. It was burning even more devastatingly, and the flames on the outside turned purple!

Dangerous colors were beaming out of the eyes of the red-haired captain, who grumbled, “Li Yao, you son of a b*tch…”

“You—” Wu Mayan was dazed. Then he burst into fury. “Why are you cursing my master?”

The red-haired captain sniffed. The long hair suddenly moved even though there was no wind. A fire snake suddenly darted out toward Wu Mayan.

Caught unprepared, Wu Mayan was tied up by the snake. Hundreds of tiny flames were immediately burning on his body!

Everybody was shocked, especially those from the Flying Star Sector.

Wu Mayan had been training crazily over the past few years. He had advanced into the 95th level of the Refinement Stage and was marching toward the legendary level beyond the 100th level of the Refinement Stage. His combat ability was close to the peak of the Building Foundation Stage, and he was not necessarily scared even if he was faced with a Cultivator at the beginning level of the Core Formation Stage.

The red-haired captain, who was ten years older than him at most, had defeated him in one move, and he could not counterattack at all?

The person was indeed strong!

The red-haired captain dragged Wu Mayan to the front. The long flames slithering around Wu Mayan, hissing, like countless fire snakes.

Wu Mayan was grimacing in pain and kicking crazily, but he could not hit his opponent at all. He could only shout, “My master is a great hero. To keep the Blood Stripe Virus from spreading, he travelled to the Blood Demon Sector alone instead of returning to his long-dreamed home! Why did you curse my master?”

“Why?” The red-haired captain sniffed and said, “I’ve waited for him for ten years, and all I get is a weightless ‘sorry’. Am I now allowed to curse him?”

Wu Mayan was dazed. “Huh?”

The red-haired captained glanced at Wu Mayan up and down and said, “You are loyal enough to your master, but Li Yao seems to be quite a bad teacher. His disciple is so weak; you could not even resist my attack!

“His teaching methods must have been too merciful, mustn’t they? From today on, let your masteress give you a few good lessons!”

“Mas—masteress?”

Wu Mayan could not help but shudder. He had a bad feeling that his future life would only be more difficult.

The red-haired captain was smiling more and more dangerously. “Your body looks healthy enough. After I discipline you for a year and a half, you should be qualified to go to the Blood Demon Sector with me.”

“To the Blood Demon Sector?”

Wu Mayan was even more surprised.

“Exactly.”

The red-haired captain licked her lips and warmed up her fingers slowly. Cracking noises that resembled thunder were echoing from the joints, which gave a chill to everybody who heard them.

“I’ve never been fond of waiting, and I’ve shown him enough respect by waiting for him for ten years. Since he is unwilling to come back, I will simply go to the Blood Demon Sector and drag him back!

“Blood Stripe Virus? You sure are bold to take my man away from me!

“You are seeking your own death!”

(End of Volume II)

(Prelude of Volume III)

…

“Idiot, what do you think ‘demons’ are?”

…

“Don’t be silly. I am a demon, and I always will be.”

…

“The fate of the demon race depends on the battle. The capital of the Star Glory Federation is right ahead of us. Warriors, march toward destruction in order to realize our immortality. The glorious Pantheon of Demons is awaiting us!”

…

“You know nothing. You know f*cking nothing! I’m screwed! I’m hopeless! I—I’m turning into a human being!”

---

Hi, guys. Welcome to the end of Volume II of FMC. Li Yao’s journey in the Flying Star Sector will be concluded here.

Volume II differs from Volume I in that there are more plots and schemes and fewer straightforward level-ups. Also, the Dark Forest Theory has been elaborated in Volume II, which I have to say makes a lot of sense when you think about it carefully. It is one of the important reasons why the two major villains in Volume II, namely Yan Xibei in the former half and Xiao Xuance in the later half, are justified about they are doing in their own way. They are indeed evil, but it is hard to argue that their ideology is purely groundless. In fact, it is their coldness and pessimistic view of the universe that makes the empathy of Li Yao and the other Cultivators more valuable and heartening. I said at the end of Volume I that the theme of the novel is devotion and sacrifice in my opinion. Right now, I stand by my statement ;).

A lot of suspense has been left at the end of Volume II. The adventure Bai Xingjian who is apparently the upgraded version of ‘Boss Bai’, the details of the Vulture Plan, the upcoming head-on clash with the evil superpower named Imperium of True Human Beings, to name a few. All will be further revealed in Volume III.

But Li Yao has more urgent business at hand right now. The war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector is now in the most heated stage. How is he going to settle the conflict? Are human beings really on the righteous side in the strife? What are demons exactly? Your stereotype about demons will be changed in Volume III. Stay tuned. 🙂

Chapter 831: Twelve Ancient Demon Clans

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

The Dry Leaf Village on the Hundred Desolation Mountain of the Blood Demon Sector was the one of the poorest and most barren towns even by the standard of the Blood Demon Sector.

The residents who lived in the undeveloped mountain village had to get up to dig for their food before dawn every day.

The morning sun had only just shed dazzling redness and glamorous purple colors to the ridge of the Hundred Desolate Mountain when the Dry Leaf Village was simmering with all kinds of sounds.

The insects started scarifying the soil and gathering the honey, the minotaurs were ploughing the land, which was suffering from drought, and the hunting team made of were-tigers and werewolves set off to the depths of the Hundred Desolation Mountain, hoping to try their luck and see if they could run into a few fat preys.

“Brother. Come on. Rise and shine!”

At the east of the Dry Leaf Village, inside a particularly ragged woodhouse, a young girl was shaking a sleep bag weaved from vines.

The girl was small in size. Her eyeballs were gold, and the features of a felid could be found on her face, especially her ears, which were as furry as a cat’s ears.

Her arms were smooth and hairless, no different from those of human beings, but her hands and feet had grown the volar pads and the sharp talons of the felids.

The young girl was wearing very cool clothes. She only covered her breasts and her waist with beast hides. A belt with a lot of bone adornments was hanging from her waist. On the right side of her body was a bone container polished from the hollow leg bone of an enormous demon beast.

She shook for a long time, but there was no response from the sleep bag at all. The cat-eared girl mumbled in dissatisfaction before she took out a sharp bone needle from the container and stabbed into the core of the sleep bag of vines.

Hissing sounds came from the sleep bag. Then, just like quickly dispersing mimosa, the vines all retreated back to the walls of the woodhouse.

A drowsy young man fell out from the sleep bag and sat on the ground in a daze, his only eye blinking in confusion.

The young man who was addressed as ‘brother’ by the cat-eared girl looked vastly different from her. He maintained most of the features of a human being. The only thing different about him was his exceptionally long canine teeth, which protruded out of his lips like coldly shining daggers, and the intense demonic air around him.

The young man seemed to be heavily wounded. His left eye and left arm were tied up by dirty bandages from which the fragrance of medicine could be smelted.

His left arm was obviously much smaller than his right arm. It was dangling freely from his shoulder as if it had completely withered.

The cat-eared girl took out a voluptuous bud from her container. She then pinched the bud and pushed the pollen to her palm, before she blew at the young man. After a ‘pu’ sound, the slightly simulative powder was flying everywhere inside the room.

“Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!”

The young man sneezed heavily. His right eye, which was an amber color, was finally clear again.

The cat-eared girl smiled. “Morning, big brother.”

The young scratched his nose and nodded.

“How is it going? How is it going? Do you feel better today? Can you recall more things than yesterday now?”

The cat-eared girl blinked her big eyes and asked in a hurry, “Do you remember who you are and who I am?”

The young man grinned and said in a coarse and feeble voice, “My name is Lei Qi. I’m a native of the Dry Leaf Village of the Hundred Desolation Mountain, born and raised in this place. I have never left the Hundred Desolation Mountain in all my life. I used to be the best hunter in the village.

“You are my sister Lei Lan. We have a brother named Lei Chuang. The three of us live together.

“Half a month ago, an enormous meteorite hit the Hundred Desolation Mountain, causing a great forest fire. The Dry Leaf Village was soon affected. All the villagers went to the mountain to put out the fire, but I was trapped by the fire and heavily burned, and I unfortunately fell off a cliff.

“When I was found, I was already out of shape. My brain was damaged, too, resulting in the loss of all my memories.

“After I was rescued, I lay in bed for half a month before my body gradually recovered, and I can more or less recall things of the past right now.”

“Excellent!” Lei Lan, the cat-eared girl, was overjoyed. “You’re finally smart again. Not as muddled as a few days ago anymore.

“Come on, brother. Let’s review the knowledge that I’ve taught to you in the last couple of days, including who we are and where we come from. Do—do you remember them?”

The young man tilted his head and thought hard for a moment. Then, he nodded solemnly and replied, “I do. We are demons.”

“We are indeed demons. Then what exactly are demons? I read the Legends of Ancient Demons to you yesterday. Do you remember what it said, brother?” Lei Lan asked, her voice shaking and full of hope.

The young man coughed lightly and said unhurriedly, “According to the Legends of Ancient Demons, the demons are created by the Primeval Lord of Heaven.

“Long, long ago, before the universe was born, we and the creator of the universe were all floating in the endless nothingness.

“He was the primeval spirit of the world, known as the Primeval Lord of Heaven.

“The Primeval Lord of Heaven floated for billions of years in the nothingness. One day, he thought of something and decided that he wanted a change. Then, an immeasurable big bang took place in the endless nothingness. In a moment, the universe was born in the big bang.

“The universe that was born was seething like magma in places and freezing like a glacier in others. The planets collided into each other heavily and ripped each other apart, turning into raging nebulas. The nebulas then swirled and condensed rapidly, turning into uneven planets again.

“The universe was exactly such a pot of hot soup. Chaotic, disordered, and utterly devoid of any pattern.

“The Primeval Lord of Heaven admired pattern, order, and tranquility. He made the most original regulations for the chaotic universe, which were known as the ‘Great Dao’. There were three thousand items of the Great Dao in the beginning, which included the most fundamental laws of nature for the functioning of the universe.

“Triggering the big bang and establishing the three thousand items of Great Dao drained almost all the energy of the Primeval Lord of Heaven, who was about to enter hibernation.

“He was not satisfied with the rough and messy world. Before he fell asleep, he created the Pangu Clan, the first intelligent species in the universe, with the last bit of his spiritual energy. He also entrusted an arduous task to the Pangu Clan, which was to calm the furious and chaotic universe.

“During the long time while the universe was being calmed, since the environment of every world was different, the Pangu Clan evolved as they modified all the planets. They turned into twelve different clans, which were the Twelve Ancient Demon Clans, our ancestors.

“In the scorching planets full of volcanic eruptions and magma, the Pangu Clan evolved into the ‘Zhurong Clan’, which could manipulate fire freely at will and even live inside magma.

“In the planets that were wreathed in oceans, the Pangu Clan evolved into the ‘Gonggong Clan’, which could manipulate the undercurrents and tides and rein the undersea creatures.

“In the desolate planets that had nothing but mountains and rocks, the Pangu Clan evolved into the ‘Houtu Clan’, which was enormous in size and could lurk deep below the ground to absorb the microconstituents inside the rocks.

“In the gaseous planets without continents or oceans, the Pangu Clan evolved into the ‘Tianwu Clan’, which could control the wind, and the ‘Qiangliang Clan’, which could feast upon thunder and lightning.

“In the worlds with few resources and sources of energy, the Pangu Clan evolved into a new clan named the ‘Kuafu Clan’.

“The Kuafu Clan chased after stars throughout their life. They built great rune arrays outside the stars and collected every bit of spiritual energy emitted by the stars, which they would use to build other worlds.

“It was a grueling job. Countless members of the Kuafu Clan were unfortunately burnt to ash when they were swept by the solar prominence and the solar storms while they absorbed the energy of the stars. Some of stars of the Kuafu Clan even failed to resist the high temperature of the stars and lost their momentum, only to be captured by the gravity of the stars and fall to the center of the stars.

“However, the next generation of the Kuafu Clan would still carry on their predecessors’ duty and chase after the stars.

“In their prime years, the Kuafu Clan could even enshroud a star with a great rune array, producing a ‘Kuafu Sphere’, thereby absorbing every drop of spiritual energy from the star.

“Just like that, with the collective endeavors of the Kuafu Clan, the Zhurong Clan, the Gonggong Clan, and all the other ancient demon clans, a great number of Sectors were created, and everything was flourishing!

“The golden years at the beginning of the universe are known as the ‘Primeval Era’.

“However, when there is sunlight, there is shadow; when there is birth, there is death; when there is righteousness, there is evil; when there is order, there is chaos.

“The Primeval Lord of Heaven represented the order, pattern, rules, and the Great Dao of the entire universe. However, the ultimate existences that stood for mess, disorder, and destruction were born during the big bang, too.

“They were ‘Chaos’.

“Life stands for hope, but life gives birth to mess and disorder, too. While the twelve ancient demon clans established the Sectors where billions of creatures developed, the Chaos was slowly expanding in darkness and corrupting the creatures’ hearts, too.

“In the end, the Pangu Clan made of the twelve ancient demon clans had an earthshaking primeval war against the species under the control of Chaos.

“In the primeval war, the skies of countless planets were torn apart, the ground collapsed, and the atmosphere was broken.

“Many planets were even directly absorbed by the stars and turned into insignificant solar storms.

“The primeval war lasted tens of thousands of years. In the end, the Pangu Clan defeated the species controlled by Chaos and sealed Chaos completely.

“However, the primeval war consumed the potentials of the Pangu Clan and drained their vitality. The broken planets could not be restored quickly, either.

“In order to mend all the Sectors that were bordering on destruction, the twelve ancient demon clans combined all their essence and produced a thirteenth ancient demon clan—the Nuwa Clan!

“When the twelve ancient demon clans fell asleep, the Nuwa Clan would carry out the ‘Sky Fixing Plan’ and repair all the Sectors!

“In order to repair the Sectors that had been damaged as quickly as possible, the Nuwa Clan created a brand-new species as their assistants—the human beings!”

Chapter 832: Uncanny Incidents

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

“Human beings were a species that was full of energy and desires. Although they did not boast the powerful techniques that the thirteen ancient demon clans did, their curiosity and ability to reproduce were unlimited.

“More importantly, they could learn things and evolve on their own. Therefore, they could repair the Sectors without being commanded by anyone.

“The Nuwa Clan was very satisfied with the species that was designed to modify the worlds. Therefore, with the strength of the spiral arm of galaxies, they tossed the human beings to all the Sectors that were scattered throughout universe.

“The newborn human beings, as expected, started to learn promptly. They reproduced at a high speed and expanded their species. Meanwhile, they repaired the worlds with the spiritual energy.

“Gradually, all the Sectors were revived again.

“However, maybe because of the natural deficiencies of the human beings, or maybe because Chaos had polluted the first batch of human beings at the very beginning of the ‘Sky Fixing Plan’ with endless lust and desires, human beings grew more and more ambitious and greedy while they repaired the worlds. They were gradually lost and forgot their mission.

“They considered themselves to be masters of the sky and the earth. They changed from repairing the worlds to modifying them and eventually to exploiting them. They went against the Great Dao of living in harmony with nature and exploited every bit of spiritual energy on every planet in the most extreme ways possible.

“Later, when the human beings discovered the secrets of the thirteen ancient demon clans, they took the opportunity when the twelve ancient demon clans were in hibernation and the Nuwa Clan was the weakest to betray their creators ruthlessly. They found most of the ancient demon clans and destroyed them!

“Without the suppression of the thirteen ancient demon clans, the human beings lived an even more lawless life. A reign of darkness that lasted tens of thousands of years thus began!

“Under the cruel reign of the human beings, the forests were burning, the earth was moaning, the sky was never clear, and hydrilla and oil were floating on the oceans all the time.

“Most of the species other than the human beings either ended up being their slaves or were entirely wiped out.

“Forty thousand years ago, human beings were finally a victim of their own greed and ambitions. A destructive civil war broke out.

“The civil war seriously undermined the evil civilization of mankind. It also created the best opportunity for the renaissance of the demon race!

“Overthrow the tyranny of the human beings and restore the Great Dao of the balance of nature in the universe!

“Motivated by such beliefs, the descendants of the ancient demon clans that were scattered everywhere in the sea of stars stood up against human beings. After endless blood and efforts, the human beings were successfully suppressed… for thirty thousand years!

“After thirty thousand years of rest, the worlds that were riddled with holes because of the human beings’ pollution finally regained part of their vitality.

“However, the human beings came back again and established the Star Ocean Imperium, planning to restore their evil reign.

“Thankfully, the Star Ocean Imperium was just a freak that was piled up by the might of a tyrant. When the tyrant died abruptly, it soon collapsed.

“Today, ten thousand years later, the human beings and the demon race are both resting. Neither party can seize control over all the Sectors in the universe.

“Ostensibly speaking, the population, resources of the human beings, and their control over the worlds are much higher than ours, but we must not give up easily!

“Evil can never suppress justice for long, as history has proved. One day, we will overthrow the cruel reign of human beings and set the universe back to the track of balance of nature again!”

The young man finally concluded his long speech. He felt that his mouth was dry, so the cat-eared girl handed over a wood bowl to him. He drank the sweet water, which was mixed with honey, in great satisfaction before he licked his lips and smiled.

“Excellent. Brother, you do remember all of it!” the cat-eared girl Lei Lan exclaimed in joy and jumped up in a high mood with the wood bowl. “I’m going to make something delicious for you. We have fresh fish. It will taste good if I blend them with ear-folding grass!”

The young man bathed himself in the glowing morning sun comfortably. Scarlet brightness covered him like a hazy red mist, making him look somewhat mysterious.

After the cat-eared girl turned around and left, the young man’s right eye immediately turned from amber into a cold, deep black color.

His left eye, which was covered in a bandage, seemed to be emitting redness despite the blockage of the bandage.

“The Primeval Lord of Heaven? The thirteen ancient demon clans? The Sky Fixing Plan?

“Very interesting genesis mythology.

“However, what is more interesting is, why does this family of demons have to ask me to pretend to be this ‘Lei Qi’?”

Li Yao scratched his left temple, which was covered in bandages, softly and mumbled to himself.

It had been half a month since he landed in the Blood Demon Sector.

On Firefly, the formidability of the Blood Stripe Virus and its infiltration on his soul were beyond his expectation.

Even the explosion of the soul bomb failed to destroy the Blood Stripe Virus completely.

Later, Li Yao’s soul and the remaining strength of the Blood Stripe Virus had a soul-stirring fight.

The destination of Firefly was not as good as its companions. Although it reached the Blood Demon Sector safely, it was too close to the planet.

Captured by the tremendous gravity of the planet, Firefly’s power rune arrays lost control, and it was pulled into the atmosphere and crashed into the ground.

The only thing that was lucky for Li Yao was that he crashed at the depths of the Hundred Desolation Mountain, which was far away from the center of politics of the demon race. He did not catch the attention of the strong demons, either.

The immense blast of the crash not only destroyed Firefly completely but also triggered a forest fire.

While Li Yao was slowly recovering in the burning Hundred Desolation Mountain, he found the team of demons who came to put out the fire.

When he saw the team, who all had different appearances, Li Yao thought of something.

Although he had planned to stay in the Blood Demon Sector and not to return to the Heaven’s Origin Sector until he completely purged the Blood Stripe Virus, it was quite a tricky problem for him to survive in the Blood Demon Sector, which was brimming with demons, as a human being.

Before Li Yao left the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the experts of the Blood Demon Sector had been on par with those of the Heaven’s Origin Sector. They were classified into four levels, namely demon soldier, demon general, demon king, and demon emperor. The demon emperor, which was the strongest of all, equaled to the Nascent Soul Stage for the Cultivators.

In terms of combat ability, Li Yao was not scared of any top experts of the Blood Demon Sector.

However, his opponent would not solo him. The most famous strategy of the demon race was their tides of insects and beasts!

Even in the Heaven’s Origin Sector, reports were not few of high-level Cultivators being surrounded by a large batch of low-level demon beasts and eventually dying of exhaustion.

He was now at the heart of the Blood Demon Sector. Should his identity be exposed, without the collective attack of several demon emperors, the rushing beast tides alone were enough to crush him into smithereens.

Therefore, when Li Yao discovered that the demons who came to put out the fire were not exclusively ugly snakes or rats, and that many of them carried distinctive features of human beings, he slightly rectified his plan and burnt his body with the flames on purpose.

With his Cultivation at the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage, he was able to control the speed of his metabolism. The cells all over his body could be replaced at a high frequency.

With enough spiritual energy, it would only take him a few hours for him to replace all the cells on the surface of his body.

The fire burn of such a degree was not a big deal for him at all.

As for the change of the length of his canine teeth and the color of his pupils, it was not too difficult, either.

Li Yao had once accepted the spiritual seed of Yan Ba, a body fundamentalist in the Nascent Soul Stage.

The training approach of the body fundamentalists was to trigger the primordial strength hidden in their bodies and force their cells into a temporary atavistic state so that the strength of the primordial ferocious animals, which were the ancestors of human beings, could be activated.

Many body fundamentalists would grow intense hair or scales while they were at the highest point of their training, and it was not unusual for their body size to triple or for them to grow sharp horns and claws.

After all, human beings evolved from monkeys, and monkeys evolved from all kinds of primordial animals.

Human beings, who called themselves the wisest of all creatures, were just another kind of animal. It was not usual for the features of an animal to be activated again.

Although Li Yao was not a real body fundamentalist, the Blood Stripe Virus was an expert in the refinement of living creatures. After absorbing most of the abilities of the Blood Stripe Virus, it was more than simple for Li Yao to slightly alter the appearance of his hair, iris, fingernails, and teeth.

Li Yao’s original plan was to pretend to be heavily wounded and see if he could sneak into the villages of the demons to gather more intelligence.

If the strangers were malicious, he would attack them first and slay all the demons, save one or two captives for interrogation.

But what happened later was quite beyond his expectations.

After the demons found him ‘seriously wounded’ and ‘out of shape’, they neither went up to him and gave up first aid or attacked him immediately while he seemed feeble.

After a while of whispers, one of the tiger demons who was particularly tall and strong went out and carried him back home, stating that he was ‘Lei Qi’, the pillar of his family and the best hunter in the village.

What was that all about?

Li Yao could not have been more confused.

He could easily tell that, except for his canine teeth, which were slightly sharper, his half golden hair, and his right eye that had gone amber, there were absolutely no similarities between him and the tiger demon. Even a blind person would not have mistaken them for blood brothers.

Over the few days when he faked his coma, the family that brought him back did not show any happiness that a family member had luckily escaped a disaster at all. Instead, they were sighing and living in fear every day.

Sometimes, the tiger demon, Lei Chaung, would fiercely argue with his sister, Lei Lan. It appeared that Lei Chuang was unwilling to bring him back, but the demon simply had to.

An old demon whose legs had withered and looked like both a fox and a legless wolf dropped by the tiger demon’s house with an enormous turtle as his vehicle several times, too, and talked to Lei Chuang in a low voice.

It seemed that accepting Li Yao as their ‘big brother’ concerned the fate of not only the family of the tiger demon but also the entire village. Without the demon named ‘Lei Qi’, dire consequences might happen to the village.

It is getting interesting now. All the fifty or so households of demons in the village know clearly that I am mostly certainly not ‘Lei Qi’, but everyone pretends that they are blind.

Why?

Li Yao pondered in silence.

Other than the identity of ‘Lei Qi’, the village in the Hundred Desolation Mountain was weird, too.

Chapter 833: Master of the Demon Planet

 

Translator: flycrane01 | Editor: Millman97

---

Although Li Yao did not know much about the demon race, he had some basic common knowledge.

Hierarchically speaking, the demons could be classified into four levels, namely saint-blood, silver-blood, bronze-blood, and black-blood.

The saint-blood demons were the royal families in the dynasty of demon beasts that had lasted thirty thousand years. They boasted mysterious and unpredictable strength. It was said that they could even communicate with the gods and trigger the powerful techniques of the ancient demon clan temporarily.

However, in the era of the Star Ocean Imperium, the saint-blood demons had all been slaughtered, if not exterminated, by the Supreme Emperor.

After ten thousand years, the saint-blood demons were rarely seen, if they still existed at all.

The silver-blood demons were the ruling class. Most of the demon kingdoms and demon cities in the Blood Demon Sector were mastered by the silver-blood demons.

On Boneyard, Li Yao had slain ‘Wang Ji’, the prince of the Kingdom of Lion Butchers. He had been a silver-blood demon.

The bronze-blood demons were the warrior class, and the black-blood demons were the peasants, miners, and farmers at the bottom class.

The higher a demon’s social class was, the more human features they would carry when they were born. The demons of lower classes had to train themselves hard in order to grasp the ability of ‘polygraphing’ to make themselves look like human beings.

In the small village deep inside the Hundred Desolation Mountain, the residents could neither be the silver-blood demons with honorable bloodlines or the experts with profound expertise, but Li Yao had discovered the distinctive features of human beings on them.

For some of the villagers, except for the horns on their head, the long tail above their bottom, or the membranes between their fingers, they were almost identical to human beings.

It was also one of the most important reasons why he could hide himself among the villagers with minimal disguise.

Other than that, there was one other thing that was extremely odd.

Besides the hierarchical classes, the demons could also be divided into different parallel clans.

Even in the roughest way and not counting the subcategories, the demons could still be further classified into the Feather Clan, the Sea Clan, the Insect Clan, the Claw Clan, the Horn Clan, and a bunch of other weird communities.

Generally, demons of the same clan would live together.

The tiger demons would live in the same village, and the rabbit demons would live in another one. Their habits were different, and their demand for the environment varied, too. Would it not have been a mess if they were all put together?

The only exceptions were the large cities that had a large population. They were almost the only places where demons of different kinds would live together.

However, in the remote mountain village that had only fifty or so households, more than ten different demons lived together. Maybe the snake demons were the next-door neighbor to the rabbit demons, and the tiger demons were living in harmony with the cow demons. How strange!

‘Chaotic’ was exactly Li Yao’s first impression of the village.

It was not just the village. The households were even more so.

Li Yao discovered that, in many households, the demons of the family had vastly different appearances that not just resulted from their genetic expression. Some of the demons were even displaying features of multiple genera.

Maybe horns that belonged to the bull demons were growing on the head of a tiger demon, and the teeth of the bull demons were as sharp as those of a tiger demon.

Li Yao frowned deeply when he noticed the phenomena. He could not help but wonder how chaotic the relationship of the previous generation of the demons was.

But it was not right!

Ignorant as Li Yao might have been, he knew the basic concept of ‘reproductive isolation’.

Even if a tiger demon and the bull demon could not contain their libido and their certain ‘organs’ boasted certain’ functions’, it was impossible for a child mixed with features of tiger demons and bull demons to be born.

Odd. Really odd!

The so-called demons were refined by human beings forty thousand years ago based on animals. If so, essentially speaking, they should still be animals.

Animals of different genera cannot have children after all!

Alright, the tiger demons and the bull demons are all mammals. Let’s say that the reproductive isolation was broken when they were stimulated by the ‘Demon God Virus’. I’ll believe it for now.

But yesterday in the village, I clearly saw a female snake who had rabbit ears!

It really does not make any sense!

Li Yao scratched his head and doubted the history that he had known since he was a little kid for the first time.

Over the past few days, Lei Lan, the cat-eared girl, in order to help her ‘brother’ ‘regain’ his memories, had read a lot of tales from the Legends of Ancient Demons to him.

The Legends of Ancient Demons was a classical book that was very popular among the demons. Li Yao, for one, had discovered that the old demons in the village quite liked to interpret the Legends of Ancient Demons to the young demons while they enjoyed the sunlight.

In Li Yao’s opinion, the Legends of Ancient Demons was a collection of folklores and the most elementary textbook. It was perhaps compiled by the leadership of the demons for the ethic education of the public.

In the Legends of Ancient Demons, the descriptions about the origins of the demon race and human beings were not surprising.

That was exactly how myths should be written. Everything was all about bluffing and tracing the ancestors back to heroes and gods. The stories could never be too exaggerated, and the clan for which the myths were written always stood for justice and righteousness.

After all, it was not like the demons would acknowledge that they were evil weapons created by human beings, right?

As for the stories of the Primeval Lord of Heaven, the Pangu Clan, and the Nuwa Clan, they were quite understandable, too.

Essentially speaking, the demon race was a parasitic civilization. Before them, human beings had already created a brilliant civilization. During the thirty thousand years when the demon race reigned the sea of stars, it was impossible, and unnecessary, for them to build a set of whole new civilization system from scratch. They simply inherited everything of the civilization of mankind, including the language, culture, social classes, national structure, and everything else.

Modifying the myths of human beings into the demons’ own was only natural for the demon race.

Therefore, the fancy stories on the Legends of Ancient Demons did not shake Li Yao’s belief after all.

But he was truly puzzled by the fact that the same demon was showing the features of multiple kinds of demons.

It was also why he dawdled and had not left the village even though he had completely recovered three days ago.

He was intending to find out the secrets behind the demons.

What exactly were the so-called ‘demons’?

For the ancient Cultivators forty thousand years ago, they called all animals that had trained themselves into the appearances of human beings demons.

But in the modern society forty thousand years later, evolutionism had prevailed. Human beings had acknowledged that they were also animals that had evolved from monkeys.

In other words, human beings were all ‘animals that had trained themselves into the appearances of human beings’.

Therefore, the definition of ‘demons’ had changed, too. All species whose evolution was not natural but boosted manually and by force were known as ‘demons’.

But on second thought, wasn’t the training of Cultivators ‘unnatural and boosted manually and by force’, too?

When the body fundamentalists trained themselves to the highest stage, they would trigger the potential in the deepest part of their cells, and they would show the features of primordial beasts. Those body fundamentalists in the ‘primordial state’ looked less like human beings than many demons!

Maybe there is not an essential difference between human beings and the demon race, is there? Everything is defined later.

Right now, the minor apocalypse of the Imperium of True Human Beings is coming near. The war between the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector must be concluded as quickly as possible.

But the Blood Demon Sector has enormous forces, and the demon race is adept at survival. A total war will not be finished in a couple of years.

Even if the planet of the Blood Demon Sector is burnt to the ground with the joint effort of the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Flying Star Sector and the surface of the planet is occupied, the remaining demons will still hide below the ground and stall most of our forces with prolonged guerrilla warfare and harassing battles!

At that time, a thousand enemies may be killed, but eight hundred of us will die, too. What can we fight the Imperium of True Human Beings with?

What do I do? What can I do to finish the war within a few years?

Maybe, I can switch to a different method.

I now have the strength of the Blood Stripe Virus. I can train myself in brand new ways on the cellular and even genetic level. I can even absorb the essence of the demon beasts and the demons and insert it into my genetic chain. My body will be repaired, and I will be able to produce an unparalleled ‘apocalyptic body’!

If I have such an ability, maybe I will be able to turn into an expert demon by training in the ways of the demon race at a high speed without resorting to the strength of a Cultivator. I might boast certain influence on the planet soon, and I can even become the master of the Blood Demon Sector!

By then, won’t I have the ability to manipulate the course of the war?

Li Yao’s lips curled into a cold smile uncontrollably. He seemed unaware that his withered left arm, which was tied up in bandages, was gradually expanding in size, as if a certain mysterious strength was proliferating inside it!

Suddenly—

Li Yao sniffed. His soul triggered an electric arc and slashed toward the center of his brain like a lightning sword!

Screams echoed deep inside his brain. A small bloody person was cut in half by Li Yao’s soul power and turned into two pools of blood. The two pools of blood slowly melded together into a bloody person again, only this time much smaller.

The bloody person had all the appearances of a human being despite its small size. Its facial organ was particularly vivid and identical to Li Yao. It was grimacing and jumping up and down in pain.

Li Yao’s soul sneered. It’s been only two days, and you are trying to stir trouble and affect me again?

As I said, I will slay you every time you tempt me. I will kill you a hundred times if you tempt me a hundred times. One day, I will execute the bloody devil in my heart!

The small bloody shadow in the deepest part of Li Yao’s brain was Li Yao’s mental devil after melting the Blood Stripe Virus.

After the fierce battle against the Blood Stripe Virus on Firefly half a month ago, although he could not purge the Blood Stripe Virus completely in the end, he was able to drive the virus out of his soul and condense it into such a mental devil that he sealed in his left eye and left arm.

As a result, Li Yao’s left eye and left arm became cages for the mental devil. Li Yao could monitor its status at any time without worries that it might flee and cause trouble to the world.

However, the Blood Stripe Virus was attached to his mental devil, and the mental devil was invisible and unpredictable. It appeared whenever he had negative emotions and could not be removed at all.

In the first couple of days, Li Yao would slay the mental devil whenever he sensed it.

However, it could only cure the symptoms, not the disease. One moment of carelessness, and the mental devil appeared again. When he was uncalm, the more he killed, the more times it would show up.

In the end, he had to acknowledge the existence of the mental devil, however unwilling to, and let it survive temporarily as long as it did not mess around.

---

Chapter 834: Chaotic-Blood Demons

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

The persistent mental devil gave Li Yao a major headache. He swore that he would purge it completely one day.

However, his anger and discontent turned into red streaks and flooded toward the mental devil. They repaired the mental devil’s deformed body like the best tonic.

The mental devil giggled and danced inside Li Yao’s brain. It even smirked to piss him off knowing that Li Yao could do nothing about it.

Li Yao was more than angry. The wretched Blood Stripe Virus was indeed a haunting ghost!

The mental devil declared, its hands on its hips, “Kill me as you will. After all, I don’t have the ability to fight back at all. You can butcher me however you see fit.

“However, don’t blame the Blood Stripe Virus for everything!

“On Firefly, your soul clashed against the Blood Stripe Virus heavily. I believe that you must have found out a lot of secrets of the Blood Stripe Virus. You know that the Blood Stripe Virus does not have self-awareness, any thinking ability, or any kind of moral standard.

“The Blood Stripe Virus does not necessary feed on the lust for killing. All intense emotions are food for the Blood Stripe Virus.

“The Blood Stripe Virus does not only boost the host’s killing intent, either. All emotions are significantly enhanced!

“It’s a pity that, hehehehe, the most intense emotions for most intelligent creatures in the universe are the desire for killing and destruction!

“It was so for the Titan Warriors, Yan Xibei, and the Iron Plateau natives. Now, are you any different?

“So, stop fooling yourself by saying ‘the Blood Stripe Virus tempted you and brought about the mental devil’. You have had the mental devil for a long time. The Blood Stripe Virus only gave it a hand and helped it to reveal itself!

“I did not tempt you just now. The previous thoughts were all your own. I merely brought them out of your subconsciousness so that you could see them more clearly!”

Li Yao hated everything that his mental devil said, but he failed to come up with a response.

The mental devil laughed hard in triumph. Shaking its head, it said, “In fact, it is very simple if you want to annihilate me. As the saying goes, a fire can burn wild grass to the ground, but they will rise again in the spring breeze next year. How can you execute me by slashing so straightforwardly? I will be back to life the next time you have negative emotions!

“However, if there are absolutely no negative emotions in your heart, and you become a positive man who walks in brightness all the time, you will be flawless, and I will be purged into a kind of pure and positive mental energy!

“Hehehehe. I’m afraid that you can’t—”

Li Yao had enough of the mental devil’s racket. He raised a storm with his soul and blew it to the deepest part of his brain.

Although it would not be long before the mental devil showed up again, he was at least granted peace for now.

“Hu…”

Li Yao exhaled, somewhat in depression. He had to admit that the mental devil was right.

Alright. Other than the guy’s ill intentions, it is true that I’m very curious about the origin of the demon race and want to find out their secrets.

Besides, in order to deal with the demon race, I have to know the demon race first.

Now that I have snuck into the Blood Demon Sector, although I did not want to, I should at least gather enough intelligence on the demon race so that the odds of success of the Heaven’s Origin Sector can be increased!

Although I have the combat ability of the superlative height of the Core Formation Stage and the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit that is almost immaculate, they both have distinctive features of the Cultivators. If I utilize them in a battle, I will immediately be noticed by the demons!

Therefore, studying the methodology of the demon’s training and moving to the center of the demons are musts for me.

Deep inside his brain, the mental devil crawled out again. “There is this trick that I would like to—”

“Get lost!”

At the consumption of his brainwaves, Li Yao slapped the mental devil away again.

…

After breakfast, Li Yao went to the training field of the village. As ‘Lei Qi’, he was doing rehabilitation exercises every day.

The demons in the Dry Leaf Village had various kinds of residences according to their living habits.

For tiger demons such as Lei Qi, Lei Lan, and Lei Chuang, they were fond of climbing trees. Therefore, they lived in a woodhouse in the dense forest.

The snake demons liked it next to the river where it was darker and damper, while some of the insect demons preferred to live in caves and only left mounds that were riddled with holes on the ground.

At first look, the entire village was a dazzling mess.

“Lei Qi, morning!”

“Lei Qi, going to train yourself again?”

“Lei Qi, you must get well soon. When the young boys are away, the entire village will count on you for our safety!”

All the villagers he met were greeting him with a smile, as if they had truly been friends for decades.

But Li Yao’s eyes were keen enough to see through the deep worries behind the sunny smiles.

To the east of the Dry Leaf Village, through a garden of dense Ghost Teeth Flowers, was the training field of the village.

The Ghost Teeth Flowers were enormous planets around five meters tall with flower discs more than four meters in diameter. They looked like nepenthes magnified countless times. Sharp teeth were growing on the edge of the petals, and the leaves and some of the roots had evolved into tentacles. It was said that they could drag even lions and tigers into the flowers and eat them.

They were one of the most infamous carnivorous plants, but dozens of precious lumps grew on the roots of every Ghost Teeth Flower. Bright golden juice would flow out when the lumps were cut open. The bright golden juice, known as ‘Gold Stamen Liquid’, was a great natural medicine for healing wounds that was very popular among high-level demons.

The Dry Leaf Village was too remote. Farming and hunting could only ensure that they did not starve. It was the garden of the Ghost Teeth Flowers that all the villagers counted on to make their living.

In the appropriate seasons, the Gold Stamen Liquid could be gathered three times a month. 70% of their harvest would be taken as tax, and the remaining 30% would belong to them. They would trade the Gold Stamen Liquid for daily and living necessities in the towns outside the mountain.

However, the Ghost Teeth Flowers were extremely brutal and dangerous. Except for the sharp petals and the tentacles that were full of thorns, they could also release paralyzing gas. Even the toughest demons would not grow them for a living.

Only the demons who had no other options because of the barren land would risk developing the Ghost Teeth Flowers and gathering the liquid deep inside the shrubs.

In the Dry Leaf Village, only the fastest, strongest, and most agile demons were entrusted with the important task of collecting the Gold Stamen Liquid.

Those demons were usually also the mentors for the young demons in the village.

Therefore, the training field was right next to the garden of the Ghost Teeth Flowers so that the mentors could enlighten the young demons while they were tending to the Ghost Teeth Flowers, and the young demons would realize the difficulty of their life.

When Li Yao walked onto the training field, an old, slender demon who had arms resembling the forelegs of a mantis was dashing swiftly among the Ghost Teeth Flowers that had opened their bloody mouths. Before the petals closed, he threw hares at the stamen as the food for the Ghost Teeth Flowers so that they would secrete more Gold Stamen Liquid.

The countless wounds on the mantis demon and his missing left arm, which was just a bare bone bump now, all indicated the risk of the job.

There was not a teacher in the training field right now. Lei Chuang, Lei Qi’s younger brother, was training with more than then young demons.

“He! He! He!”

Lei Chuang was muscular and more than two meters tall. At first glance, one might have thought that a ferocious tiger head had been attached onto a human body. Bright golden hair covered his greasy skin. Illuminated by the morning sun, glamorous bloody mist was rising from his body. Behind him was a splendid tail with golden rings. It was sometimes as straight as spear and sometimes as tensile as a whip that was slapping the air.

After his every punch, not only was the air in front of him torn apart, dazzling electric arcs on his arms also condensed into the shape of tiger claws, which flew to three meters away without dispersing at all, as he snatched down.

After a crack, broken pieces were spluttering from the giant rock full of green moss, and deep claw marks had been left on the rock.

All the young demons nearby applauded for him.

Lei Chuang was apparently quite respected among the young demons of the Dry Leaf Village. As half a mentor, he flicked the forehead of quite a few young demons uncourteously and roared, “Do you see? You must be full of fury and killing intent when you punch. Only such attacks are powerful enough to rip apart the crystal tanks of human beings easily!

“Train yourselves hard just like I did. Train yourselves at the cost of your life!

“The third call of this year is arriving very soon, but not every demon is qualified to go to the battlefield. The identities of the chaotic-blood demons are different from other demons, and the requirements for us will only be more rigorous!

“Only by working a hundred times harder than other demons and becoming much stronger than them can we be qualified to join the army, resist the evil human beings in the battlefield, and defend the glory of the demon race!”

Seeing that Li Yao had showed up in the training field, Lei Chuang thought for a moment and waved his hands, gesturing for the young demons to take a rest. He then picked up a calabash and poured half of the water into his throat, before he wiped his mouth and said, “Don’t complain about the difficulty of your training now. The chaotic-blood demons were not permitted to join the army in the past at all. Right now, we finally have a chance to. Do you deserve yourself and your village if you cannot seize the opportunity by training yourself with your everything?

“Hehe. I can see that many young demons here are still confused. You don’t understand what ‘chaotic-blood demons’ means at all. Then, let me explain it to you clearly!

“Big brother, please sit down and listen. It was you who told me the knowledge, but since you’ve forgotten it now, I can certainly help you review it.”

The twenty or so young demons, some sitting and some crouching, surrounded Lei Chuang in their most comfortable positions.

Lei Chuang narrowed his eyes and gnashed his teeth. “The name of the chaotic-blood demons is a curse that we are born with. It is also the greatest responsibility on our shoulders!”

Chapter 835: Obliteration! Rebirth! Immortality!

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

When he spoke of ‘chaotic-blood demons’, there was a hint of embarrassment in Lei Chuang’s narrowed eyes, which was soon replaced by excitement. Waving his paws, he roared, “The Primeval Lord of Heaven established the three thousand rules of the Great Dao. He prized order and stability. The things that represented the three thousand rules of the Great Dao were classified into diffident levels and duties.

“The demons, according to the different purposes of the Great Dao, are divided into four classes, namely saint-blood, silver-blood, bronze-blood, and black-blood.

“The saint-blood demons are the most honorable and sacred ones. They do not need to care about the daily trivia and need only communicate with the gods. The powerful saint-blood demons can even wield the strength of the ancient demons such as Zhurong, Gonggong, and Kuafu. They can move a mountain, drain an ocean, or even destroy a planet easily!

“The silver-blood demons are in charge of governing all the demons and managing all the worlds as assistants of the saint-blood demons.

“The bronze-blood demons are the most excellent warriors. They do not need to participate in the arduous labor work, and their sole responsibility is to better their combat skills to kill and to protect!

“All labor, basically the farming and the hunting, is taken care of the black-blood demons, who need to think about nothing and just obey their commands dutifully.

“The demons of the four classes have their designated duties. Only by maintaining the order of the Great Dao can the harmonious functioning of the world be ensured. It is a matter of course.

“Other than that, the demon race is also classified into different species such as the Feather Clan, the Sea Clan, the Horn Clan, the Claw Clan, the Insect Clan, and so on. The Feather Clan defends the sky, the Sea Clan is responsible for the water areas, the Claw Clan and the Horn Clan govern the plateaus, the mountains, and the forests, and the Insect Clan manages the soil and the rocks. Billions of creatures have their own arrangements and duties that they need to fulfil.

“This is a perfect world.

“Now that the Great Dao has been settled, it should live on to all eternity and never be changed. The descendants of the saint-blood demons will always be saint-blood demons, and those of the black-blood demons will always be black-blood demons. How could they be mixed together?

“By the same logic, the posterity of the Claw Clan will always be the Claw Clan. I am a tiger demon, and my children and grandchildren will absolutely be tiger demons, too.”

His whiskers shivering violently, Lei Chuang gnashed his teeth. “However, just as the Primeval Lord of Heaven stood for the Great Dao and order, Chaos represented disorder and pandemonium. After the Primeval Lord of Heaven fell asleep, Chaos took the opportunity to confuse the demons with its strength.

“Bewildered by Chaos, many demons who were less determined grew lustful and more ambitious than they should have.

“Some of the members of the Horn Clan and the Claw Clan did unspeakable things, and some black-blood demons even tried to transform their descendants into bronze-blood demons and even silver-blood demons. Therefore, they did whatever they could to hide their bloodline and to steal the life seeds of high-level demons!

“Slowly, many hybrids that carried the features of multiple species were born during the thousands of years of development of the demon race. They are us, the chaotic-blood demons.”

Many young demons lowered their heads in shame. Some of them even cried sadly.

Lei Chuang coughed for a moment and continued. “There are three thousand rules of the Great Dao, but none of them are fit for us. So, we are at the bottom level of the world of the demon race. It is our own fault. Nobody else is to blame.

“However, don’t give up on yourselves yet. Right now, we have the best opportunity ever to wash away the sins and disgrace that we were born with!

“It is the war!

“Before, the lowly chaotic-blood demons who have mixed bloodlines were absolutely not qualified to join the war.

“But do you know what human beings, our enemies in the war, are exactly?

“Human beings are a brand-new species that the Nuwa Clan created by integrating the essence of the twelve ancient demon clans. If we get to the bottom of it, human beings are a kind of chaotic-blood demon, too.”

“Ah!”

It was the first time that many of the young demons had heard such a theory. They could not help but exclaim.

Lei Chuang sneered. “Now you see. Human beings are the traitors among the chaotic-blood demons. Therefore, the Pantheon of Demons specially granted us permission to join the war. We now have the chance to participate in the greatest war in history!

“All that probably sounds dull and boring. So, let’s talk about something more practical.

“Because of the identity of the chaotic-blood demons, not only are we charged with the heaviest taxes, we are also despised everywhere. Many of you have been to the towns outside before, haven’t you? Are you not clear how other demons treat us?

“Now, the chance to change our fate has come!

“The Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector are about to merge. An earthshaking final battle is going to break out soon!

“Therefore, the Pantheon of Demons has issued a call to arms and even bestowed the right to be part of the war upon the chaotic-blood demons.

“As long as you fight valiantly and make contributions to the war, your taxes will be waivered, and your family will no longer starve. We will never struggle to make a living by reaping the Ghost Teeth Flowers anymore!

“If your accomplishments are distinguished enough, it is not unlikely that territory that solely belongs to us in the Heaven’s Origin Sector will be granted to us. If so, we will be able to establish a town whose residents are exclusively chaotic-blood demons. Or, you may be appreciated by a high-level demon who will take you as a servant. Even better—”

Lei Chuang paused for a moment. His eyes full of hope, he went on. “For the chaotic-blood demons who have made the most contributions, the twelve demon emperors of the Pantheon of Demons will work together to cleanse their blood and purge the dirty constituents in their veins so that they will become the purest demons!

“At that time, we will be able to find our place in the three thousand rules of the Great Dao!

“Black-blood or bronze-blood, it is better than chaotic-blood, which absolutely belongs nowhere!”

All the young demons were fascinated by the story. They could not help but sit up or stand straight.

A young demon, who had pure white wings on his back but had a forked tongue, asked hesitantly, “Brother Lei Chuang, hiss, I’m told that human beings are quite strong. Hiss. They’ve defeated two enormous attacks on our side. We seem to have suffered heavy losses in the latest attack.

“After my father returned from the fair in town, he said that the demons in the fair were only half of those who came last year. The young demons of several villages have been entirely wiped out.

“Do you think we can win the war?”

Hearing his words, all the young demons were talking.

“Yes, I’ve heard that, too.”

“My uncle lives in the Broken Leaf Village. He said that twenty soldiers were called in their village but only three returned with their limbs or wings broken. Quite rough!”

“I’m told that the firepower of human beings is much fiercer than ours. When our army pushes forward like a tide, they will be blown out of shape and forced to retreat in less than half a day. Even the awesome silver-blood demons have been bombarded into piles of meat by the crystal warships of human beings.”

“What’s there to be scared of? Listen to me!” Lei Chuang bellowed to quiet all the young demons, before he waved his paws and said, “Of course, human beings are quite tough. Otherwise, they would not have been able to stir trouble again after being suppressed by us for thirty thousand years.

“Honestly speaking, we will not necessarily be the winners of the war. It is very likely that we will fail, die, and be obliterated!

“But failure is not important, death is not scary, and obliteration is certainly not our destination!

“As recorded in the ‘Mutation of Demons’, the demon race will have to be obliterated and reborn three times before we find immortality eventually!

“Zhurong, Gonggong, Kuafu, Nuwa… The fallout of the thirteen ancient demon clans was the first obliteration. Forty thousand years ago, they are reborn as the modern demon race!

“Ten thousand years ago, the Demon Beast Empire collapsed, and human beings restored their reign and established the Star Ocean Imperium. It was the second obliteration of the demon race.

“After ten thousand years of rest, we are reborn again today!

“We are very likely to experience the third obliteration, but it will the last obliteration we go through!

“After the obliteration, we shall be reborn again and embark on the real path of immortality!

“At the end of the path of immortality is the splendid, magnificent Pantheon of Demons, where all demons with a firm belief will be gathered!

“In the Pantheon of Demons, we will recover the perfect form of the thirteen ancient demon clans, or even the Pangu Clan in the very beginning, and destroy human being and Chaos!

“Do you understand now?

“The war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector is the beginning of the last obliteration!

“The outcome of the war is not important.

“We may die, and we may fail. But as long as we try our best to demonstrate the valor and courage of the demon race, we shall be reborn in the glorious Pantheon of Demons with the most perfect body and the most marvelous strength, which will destroy our enemies!

“When all the enemies are destroyed, all the demons will gather in the Pantheon of Demons and claim their rewards while they enjoy the eternal ecstasy. The bravest and most fearless demons will ascend from the identity of demons into existences of a much higher level!”

All the demons held their breath, hooked. After a long while, a young demon with a pig nose asked cautiously, “Brother Lei Chuang, what are the existences of a much higher level exactly?”

Lei Chuang smiled. “Gods. Real, eternal gods!”

All the young demons gasped and jumped to their feet in excitement, waving their hands and talking to each other.

“That explains a lot. No wonder the slogan of the Pantheon of Demons is ‘Obliteration! Rebirth! Immortality!’

“As long as we kill our enemy bravely, we will get fertile land in the Heaven’s Origin Sector and be freed from the identity of chaotic-blood demons if we win the war and make great contributions.

“Even if the war fails and we die, it does not matter because we will be reborn in the glorious Pantheon of Demons!

“Pantheon of Demons, Pantheon of Demons. What does the real Pantheon of Demons look like? Can they have two delicious meals every day in the Pantheon of Demons? Can they enjoy a bowl of the Sweet Root Water every day? I want to go there and look now!”

“Idiot, why are you drinking Sweet Root Water in the Pantheon of Demons? They certainly drink their water with candy directly! But you are too weak and timid to go to the Pantheon of Demons anyway. You will only be entitled to go to the Pantheon of Demons and die a hero’s death after you kill many evil human beings on the battlefield!”

Another young demon was amazed. “You do know a lot of stuff, Brother Lei Chuang. Then do you know what ‘Blade of Chaos’ is? I accidentally overheard my father and my uncle talking about it the other day. They looked worried and said that it was likely that our village would not be called for soldiers because of the Blade of Chaos. Is it true?”

The words ‘Blade of Chaos’ were like a whip that slapped Lei Chuang right on his face. His smile suddenly disappeared.

The simmering vibe suddenly turned weird.

Chapter 836: Blade of Chaos

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Lei Chuang spat hard, and his saliva pierced deep into the earth like a nail.

He replied fiercely, “What about the Blade of Chaos? It doesn’t matter to tell you their story!

“But those traitors of the demon trace and the heretics who believe in Chaos are scumbags that are forbidden from the Pantheon of Demons forever. It will be enough that you stay alert and learn a thing or two about them. Don’t ask around anymore after you leave the training field!”

The young demons looked at each other in bewilderment when they saw Lei Chuang’s gloomy face. Their merriness had entirely disappeared, and it was not until a long time later that they nodded their heads.

Lei Chuang thought for a moment and said, “The saint-blood demons serve the gods, the silver-blood demons govern the earth, the bronze-blood demons fight bloody battles, and the black-blood demons mine and farm. Those are the rules of the Great Dao and the ultimate laws of nature.

“Although the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons are too humble to pick up the more decent jobs, it is all a test of the Great Dao and part of our training. As long as we are content with ourselves and loyal to the Great Dao, we can consider all the suffering and the pain as our training. When we claim our rewards in the Pantheon of Demons in the future, it is equally possible for us to get rid of the lowly bloodlines and realize the brilliant immortality!

“Besides, the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons have been granted the right to fight for the first time ever so that we will be able to accumulate more battle accolades!

“How merciful, how benevolent!

“However, under the enchantment of Chaos, a tiny proportion of black-blood demons and chaotic-blood demons are not satisfied about their class. They claim that ‘the bloodlines of all demons are the same, and every demon is equally noble and humble’!

“Listen to what they are talking about! That’s truly insane and unpardonable!

“When the demons who believe in Chaos gathered, they gradually established an evil organization named ‘Blade of Chaos’ for the propaganda of their theories of equality of demons and break of social classes!

“It is said that they also have secret arts that allow them to change their appearance. They can change from a tiger demon into a snake demon, or from a snake demon into an insect demon. They can even shift from multiple kinds of demons freely at will. It is indeed creepy and evil!

“Over the past thousand years, the Blade of Chaos has been lurking in the darkness, fanning flames and fooling folk. Occasionally, they caused minor problems, too.

“But things cannot go evil’s way all the time. Even when such a cult led a riot with the disobedient believers, it was suppressed by the army of the Pantheon of Demons very soon.

“However, things changed over the past few decades.

“Since the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector were gradually melding, a few large-scale bloody battles have broken out. As a result, a lot of elites were mobilized to the frontlines, and the defense of the Blood Demon Sector was weak. The Blade of Chaos took the opportunity and developed very fast.

“You all know the ‘Battle of Dawn’, don’t you?

“It was the first head-on clash of the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector!

“A great army was summoned in the Blood Demon Sector. The twelve demon emperors, the thirty-six demon kingdoms, and all the elites of our world attacked the Heaven’s Origin Sector. A large batch of black-blood demons and chaotic-blood demons were enlisted, too.

“When the battle was fiercest, we occupied more than half of the Grand Desolate Plateau. The Grand Desolate War Institution, the human beings’ bureau on the Grand Desolate Plateau, was demolished. Our vanguard even reached the edge of the Grand Desolate Plateau. As long as we broke through the ‘Giant Blade Pass’, the last stronghold in our way, we would have been able to enter the most prosperous area of the Star Glory Federation!

“Hehe. Those sordid, timid, and weak human beings were absolutely no match for the warriors of our race despite the aid of their crystal suits and their crystal warships. The best they could do was hide behind their defensive lines, shuddering.

“We were on a winning streak over the one year of bloody battles. Just when our army was about to break the last defensive line of human beings and sweep the prosperous area of mankind, the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons who served as the vanguard could not persist any longer and collapsed!

“Damn. Those fearful cowards!

“As black-blood demons and chaotic-demons, what a great honor it was for them to fight in a war! But those scumbags wavered at the critical moment!

“Not only did they collapse on the frontline, putting the army into an awkward situation, they also mutinied when the high-level demons demanded them to return to their posts. Eventually, our army fell apart and was crushed. Less than thirty percent of the soldiers returned to the Blood Demon Sector.

“After everybody returned to the Blood Demon Sector, naturally, the soldiers who defected at the frontline needed to be tried.

“But those fellows did not stop there. They started a revolt known as the ‘Riot of Bloody Blade’!

“It was half a year ago, but our village is too remote and only got the news last month.

“It was not until the revolt that the silver-blood demons discovered that the evil influence of the Blade of Chaos had infiltrated the army.

“In the past, the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons were scattered in the Blood Demon Sector. No matter how the Blade of Chaos developed, they were still loose sand and could not cause any serious problems.

“However, the war against human beings of the Heaven’s Origin Sector had concentrated the low-level demons in every part of the Blood Demon Sector. The black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons were grouped into the same legion to learn battle formations and combat skills.

“The Blade of Chaos developed crazily in the army and disseminated their evil and dangerous theories everywhere. The low-level demons lost their fighting will and their belief. In the end, unprecedented damage was caused.

“I’m told that, when the ‘Riot of Bloody Blade’ was most severe, even ‘Bone Sand City’, the famous town in the north, was broken by the rebellions of the Blade of Chaos. All the bronze-blood demons in the city were killed, and the honorable, sacred silver-blood demons were savaged, too!”

“What?”

Many young demons exclaimed in shock and disbelief.

Several young demons even spat and stomped on the ground in fury, as if they were trying to step on the insane rebels.

Lei Chuang sneered and said, “No need to fret, everybody. The members of the Blade of Chaos are just mobs, and their victory could not last. When the army arrived, the revolt was extinguished immediately. Several secret bases of the organization were uprooted, too. The leaders high and low have all been captured. Only some stray dogs are still on the run, living in fear all day long.”

The young demon all heaved a long sigh in relief.

“It is certainly not good news for the chaotic-demons who are loyal with firm beliefs,” Lei Chuang said. “Because of those goddamn traitors, it is even more difficult if we want to join the army, and the vetting is become ever more rigorous.

“Therefore, we must train ourselves harder and improve our capability in order to wash away that disgrace we are born with!

“Obliteration! Rebirth! Immortality!”

All the young demons were shouting in frenzy.

Li Yao narrowed his eyes, somehow feeling cold.

…

At night, in a quiet woodhouse, several fireflies were emitting a gentle, red glow like giant lanterns.

Li Yao pondered inside his sleep bag of vines calmly.

“I got it!” Deep inside his brain, his mental devil was sitting cross-legged in the golden, giant tree that was Ou Yezi’s memory pieces. It shouted, “I know the origin of the chaotic-blood demons now!

“The chaotic-blood demons are the mixed-blood of human beings and the demon race!

“Think about it. During the Great Dark Age that lasted thirty thousand years, human beings were not exterminated by the demon race but captured as slaves and servants. They had close contact with the demon race. In the dynasty-shifting wars between different clans of the demon race, human beings even had the opportunity to go to the battlefield!

“Then, is not it normal and reasonable that, during the thirty thousand years, some of the demons mated with human beings and had children?

“Thirty thousand years are enough for the hybrids to reproduce into the chaotic-blood demons today!

“The assumption perfectly explains why the chaotic-blood demons carry so many features of human beings and why their social status is even lower than that of the black-blood demons. It is because they are half-demons. They are half human being and half demon!”

Li Yao frowned. “Nonsense.

“The assumption cannot explain the ‘reproductive isolation’. Besides, the aesthetics of different species are vastly different. Perhaps the most beautiful human girls are just a pile of meat in the eyes of demons. Why would they be interested in them anyway?

“Anyways, in the Great Dark Age, the demons were the rulers, and human beings were the slaves. Even if such relationships did exist, the demons must have taken the initiative.

“Therefore, their posterity after generations should have more features of the demons, and the features of human beings might just be the adornments.

“But as far as I can see, features of human beings prevail in the chaotic-blood demons. For some of them, they look absolutely no different from human beings as long as they keep their mouths shut.

“Therefore, even if there were hybrids of human beings and demons, there were certainly enough to give birth to such a large number of chaotic-blood demons that look so similar to human beings. There must be a deeper reason.”

The mental devil was dazed. It tilted its head and pondered for a long time, mumbling to itself, “On second thought, it is indeed strange.

“Why do you think the monsters in ancient classics and the high-level demons in modern times have to train themselves into the appearances of human beings?

“The build of human beings is not particularly suitable for fighting, nor is it handsome or anything. Are there special benefits after they turn into the appearances of human beings? Or maybe…”

Li Yao scratched his head.

Deep inside his brain, his mental demon was scratching its crimson long hair at the same time, with an equally baffled expression.

Right then, sounds came over from the neighboring woodhouse, which belonged to Lei Lan. She was talking with her brother, Lei Chuang.

Although they kept their voices to a minimum, they could not escape Li Yao’s ears.

“Today, the guy can walk on his own and seems to have remembered a lot of things,” Lei Chuang said. “It seems that his brain was not damaged in the accident. It is quite likely that we can fool them.”

“But I’m still missing our real big brother,” Lei Lan said.

Lei Chuang gnashed his teeth. “Do not mention the name of the traitor. From the moment he joined ‘Blade of Chaos’, he was no longer our big brother!”

Chapter 837: Lei Qi

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

“But—” Lei Lan said.

Lei Chuang interrupted her coldly. “No ‘but’. Do not mention him again from now on. Our big brother is right next to us. He was seriously burnt in the forest fire half month ago. His head was hurt, resulting in the loss of his memories!”

Pausing for a moment, Lei Chuang lowered his voice and almost whispered to his sister, “The mayor went to the town yesterday. A lot of things are going on outside.

“In the north, the army of the Gold Crow Kingdom has settled the Riot of Bloody Blade. The rebels have been battered, but some of them fled all the way to the south.

“The Hundred Desolation Mountain extends to almost ten thousand kilometers away, with forests, swamps, and underground caves everywhere. The terrain is extremely complicated. It is very likely that the survivors of the Blade of Chaos have run to the depths of the Hundred Desolation Mountain.

“Therefore, the villages and towns near the Hundred Desolation Mountain, especially those habituated by the chaotic-blood demons, are all undergoing thorough investigation. Should the villagers be found related to the Blade of Chaos, not only will the qualification to join the army be canceled, the suspects might even be executed instantly!”

“What?” Lei Lan exclaimed in shock.

“Keep your voice down,” Lei Chuang urged. “Naturally, to deal with a cult such as the Blade of Chaos, decisive approaches are necessary to remove them once and for all. It is inevitable that some innocent individuals will be hurt.

“It’s fine that Lei Qi went to join the Blade of Chaos himself, but he is causing great trouble for us, too. Damn!

“Thankfully, we were lucky enough to pick up a chaotic-blood demon who lost his memory in the forest fire. He appeared to be a wildling deep inside the Hundred Desolation Mountain, didn’t he? But it does not matter now.

“All in all, the entire village agrees unanimously that he is Lei Qi.

“Before Lei Qi left the village to join the Blade of Chaos, he was hunting in the forests all the time and barely went to outside world. His acquaintances must be few.

“Investigations for such a small, remote village like ours cannot be very through, either. I assume that a few high-level demons will take a trip here when they issue the call for soldiers from the city.

“Those high-level demons will already feel that the village is stinky enough the moment they set foot in it, and they will only look down their noses at us. How will they know who we are? We are definitely going to fool them!

“As long as we prove that nobody in our village is involved in the Blade of Chaos, there will be no reason to stop us from joining the army!”

After hearing this, Li Yao finally understood his role in the entire incident.

“Sister, sleep early,” Lei Chuang said. “The call should be arriving in a day or two. You must keep your spirits by then and make sure that nothing goes wrong.

“I’ll train for another hour while the moon is red!”

“Ah Chuang, don’t be too hard on yourself,” Lei Lan said.

Lei Chuang smiled. “The chaotic-blood demons are low-born in the first place. How can we break the ceiling without hard work?

“The land of the village is too barren, and the taxes are too heavy. Everybody’s life is difficult. We cannot change our fate by hunting and harvesting. Only by making more contributions on the battlefield can we all live a better life!

“I’m told that, in the Heaven’s Origin Sector, prosperous, fertile farmlands are right behind the Grand Desolate Plateau. Human beings there do not need to work at all. They can sunbathe comfortably while they wait for their magical equipment and machines to plough and reap the crops for them.

“If we have a slice of the fertile land or a small mine in the Heaven’s Origin Sector, we will be able to move the Dry Leaf Village there. We will plant the Ghost Teeth Flowers with the magical equipment of human beings. While we enjoy ourselves in the sunlight, the magical equipment will collect the Gold Stamen Liquid automatically for us. What a fantastic life it will be!”

“Is there such magical equipment in the world?” Lei Lan was amused.

Lei Chuang laughed, too. The sister and brother whispered to each other for a while, only to be interrupted by feeble howls in the east of the village.

Li Yao could tell that the howls were made by one of the two Moon Shadow Wolves that were the guardians of the garden of Ghost Teeth Flowers. But they fell silent again after only a short howl.

Naturally, the Ghost Teeth Flowers were too brutal to need protecting, but the Gold Stamen Liquid that was collected had to be dried in a special bed of the Reed Grass in order to maximize its effect.

There were too many wild, disobedient beasts in the Hundred Desolation Mountain that would often harass the village. Therefore, two Moon Shadow Wolves were tamed as guardians to resist not the potential thieves but the beasts that could easily sabotage the Gold Stamen Liquid that the villagers collected.

Lei Chuang left the woodhouse. His eyes glittered again like two shining lanterns, with dangerous brightness beaming out.

His nose flapping, Lei Chuang took a deep breath. Suddenly, he rushed to the east of the village on all fours.

Li Yao thought of something. He felt that the howl was unusual, too. Therefore, he simply followed Lei Chuang closely like a weightless shadow.

Hu!

When Lei Chuang rushed to the garden of the Ghost Teeth Flowers, he found a black shadow digging something out of the Reed Grass in the cone-shaped warehouse.

Two Moon Shadow Wolves the size of calves crouched nicely next to the stranger, like two pets that had been fed up, quiet and satisfied.

Lei Chuang burst into fury. He bellowed. The golden hair all over his body suddenly rose up, his body size expanded significantly, and his tail became as straight as a spear.

Shua!

He snatched forward. Electric arcs were spluttering from his claw. The attack was almost the level of a ‘demon soldier’ now. If he were on the frontline, he could have served as one of the squad captains in the beast tide.

However, the demon who was stealing the Gold Stamen Liquid was extremely agile. Just like a giant cat, he dashed back to the forest after only a few leaps.

Lei Chuang sniffed and chased after the thief.

The forest extended into the depths of the Hundred Desolation Mountain. Even during the day when the sun was most enthusiastic, they were still wreathed in faint mist. When the sunlight pierced through the gaps of the branches, it was practically dyed black.

Now that at a hazy night with a bloody moon in the sky, there was nothing but horror inside the forests.

On a giant tree, Lei Chuang glared. Dangerous brightness, as well as a drop of blood, was shining on his paws.

Lei Chuang licked the blood on his paw with his tongue that was full of thorns. His voice was even gloomier than the moonlight that illuminated the forests as he said, “It’s you!”

In front of him, on the branch of another giant tree one meter away, a tall and slender young demon was lurking.

The animalistic features on the young demon were even fewer. Except for the dense, bright golden hair and the mark on his forehead, there were barely any chrematistics of a demon on him.

But the demonic energy emanating from his body was much thicker than Lei Chuang’s. An invisible yet fierce tiger seemed to be crouching right next to him.

Lei Chuang laughed, in the most scornful, hateful, and furious way. “I found it hard to believe when I smelt the familiar scent just now. Lei Qi, you are bold to come back to the village as a traitor!

“What are you doing here? To get every one of us killed?”

Li Yao was not hiding far away from them. His body seemed to have disappeared into thousands of dry leaves all of a sudden, as he listened to their conversation quietly.

Although the two brothers were both the strongest hunters in the forest, the gap between their levels and his was too huge. Even if Li Yao was only half a meter away from them, they would not have been able to find Li Yao with their eyes wide open.

Li Yao curiously observed the real Lei Qi, who was allegedly a member of the Blade of Chaos that was made of the rebel demons.

Lei Qi was wearing a ragged soft armor with dried bloodstains all over the surface. There was also a giant hole deep to the bones on his belly. The skin had been corroded by acid, and his internal organs could clearly be seen.

The brief combat had opened his wounds. He was apparently in pain as he spoke in a deep, coarse voice. “Ah Chuang, don’t stand in my way.

“I have to escort an important item to the center of the Hundred Desolation Mountain. But we were ambushed by the enemy, and many of our warriors were heavily wounded.

“We were in desperate need of a batch of Gold Stamen Liquid to heal their wounds. I would not have returned to the village if I had a second option.

“Just pretend that you did not see me and go back to sleep now. I’ll go away immediately with the Gold Stamen Liquid. Nobody in the village will be burdened by me.”

Lei Chuang’s eyes widened further than those of a bull, and he roared furiously, “Lei Qi, you have indeed been spellbound by Chaos. You’ve lost your mind!

“Do you know that the life of the entire village counts on the batch of Gold Stamen Liquid?

“The call is about to be issued. Other than soldiers, a lot of war assets will be gathered, too. The assets that were demanded this year are seventy percent of the Gold Stamen Liquid we harvested!

“And now, you are stealing half of the remaining thirty percent. How is everybody in the village going to live in the next year?

“No. I won’t allow it!

“The Gold Stamen Liquid was earned by all the villagers with their sweat and blood!

“To nourish those goddamn Ghost Teeth Flowers, we had to go hunting every day before dawn, and the prey we got after all trouble had to be fed to the Ghost Teeth Flowers first instead of ourselves!

“Not just that, we had to fertilize the soil, clear the wild grass, and drive away the bugs for the Ghost Teeth Flowers every day. One moment of carelessness, and our hands or legs might have been bitten off!

“In the harvest season, when we had to reap their lumps right below their bloody mouths, we were passing the test of life and death every day!

“This year alone, four villagers have been crippled by the Ghost Teeth Flowers!

“We’ve gathered a tiny bit of Gold Stamen Liquid after all the trouble, and you are taking it away with a few words? In your dreams!

“Tell you what, Lei Qi. From the moment you joined the Blade of Chaos, you were no longer a demon of the Dry Leaf Village! If you are sensible enough, just get the hell out of here. I will not report the issue to the town.

“However, if you want a drop of Gold Stamen Liquid, you must step over my dead body!”

Tears in his ears, Lei Qi covered the wound on his belly and bellowed, “Of course, I know how dangerous it is to tend to the Ghost Teeth Flowers. It is the only reason I joined the Blade of Chaos. I want to change everything!

“Why are the silver-blood demons qualified to live in splendid cities comfortably and carefreely every day while they ask us to shed our blood and work for them?

“Why do the bronze-blood demons not need to work, and why can they get sufficient resources just by exploiting us brutally, only to exploit even more from our bones after they train themselves to be stronger?”

Chapter 838: Seventy-two Changes

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

“The black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons till the most barren land and work in the most dangerous mines all the time. What we have been eating are the leftovers that they accidentally dropped. We live in fear all through our life, and if we die and rot in mud, we do not even have a tombstone. In the end, our earning is less than one percent of what they get!

“Even though we endure everything, they are still unwilling to let us go. They want us to go to the Heaven’s Origin Sector as cannon fodder to fulfil their ambition!”

“Stop it. That is the Great Dao for us!” Lei Chuang said coldly. “Everything in the world is part of your training. As chaotic-blood demons, all the pain and suffering are tests that the Primeval Lord of Heaven bestowed upon us!

“As long as we hold on to our belief and devote our everything loyally, when the glorious Pantheon of Demons appears, we will be able to get rid of the filthy blood and embark on the path to becoming immortal gods just like the silver-blood demons and the saint-blood demons!”

Lei Qi laughed so hard that his tears were almost dropping. “Ah Chuang, you are so naïve. Do you really believe in the glorious Pantheon of Demons and that the bloodlines of the high-level demons are different from ours?”

Lei Chuang sneered. “Of course, I do because… it was you who told me everything!

“Wasn’t it you who told me a long time ago about the stories of the Primeval Lord of Heaven, the three thousand rules of the Great Dao, the glorious Pantheon of Demons, Obliteration, rebirth, and immortality?

“Wasn’t it you who told me that we must train ourselves crazily so that we can rush to a brilliant obliteration on the battlefield and embrace a magnificent rebirth?

“Wasn’t it you who told me that, faced with the contempt of the silver-blood demons, the exploitation of the bronze-blood demons, and the bullying of the black-blood demons, we must bear in mind that we are walking on the path that the Primeval Lord of Heaven chose for us and that it is our most important training?

“Speak now!

“Wasn’t it you, my brother whom I admired and trusted most, who told me everything?

“Brother! What happened to you exactly? Why did you leave the village half a year ago with an uncanny letter stating that everything was false and you’d joined the Blade of Chaos?

“What did you run into exactly while we were lost in the Hundred Desolation Mountain during the hunting trip because of the heavy fog?

“Have you been enchanted by Chaos and lost your mind? Tell me, brother!”

Lei Qi took a deep breath and smiled, somewhat miserably. “I’m sorry, Ah Chuang. The things that I used to firmly believe in and taught you are all false.

“The saint-blood, silver-blood, bronze-blood, black-blood, and chaotic-blood demons are all the same. Nobody is born to be nobler, or humbler, than anybody else.”

“I don’t buy it!” Lei Chuang gnashed his teeth, anger all over his face. “The Feather Clan flies in the sky, the Claw Clan roars in the forest, the Insect Clan lurks below the ground, and the Sea Clan dominates the ocean!

“The high-level demons look magnificent, graceful, and inviolable, while the chaotic-blood demons carry the features of multiple demon species and could not be uglier!

“The differences are so obvious. How can our bloodlines be the same?”

“I knew that you wouldn’t believe it,” Lei Qi said. “I didn’t believe such an absurd theory in the beginning myself, either, until I saw it with my own eyes.

“Do you know why I left home to join the Blade of Chaos half a year ago?

“During our hunting trip in the Hundred Desolation Mountain, we were parted because of the heavy fog. Then, I discovered a heavily wounded demon below a cliff who was a member of the Blade of Chaos.”

“Then, he enthralled you,” Lei Chuang said coldly.

With an indescribable expression, Lei Qi said, “Maybe, but not in the way that you imagined, but—”

He struggled to stand to his feet on the branch.

Lei Chuang crouched in alert, ready to attack.

Lei Qi smiled and did not move. He simply touched the center of his eyebrow with his hairy fingers.

A weird scent spread out in the forest.

Gua! Gua!

Two bizarre birds soared to the sky with tails as long as whips toward the bloody moon.

Hu…

Lei Qi’s fingers seemed to have pierced deep into his head, because he was shaking and soaked in sweat while his bones emitted cracking noises.

The abrupt changes that happened next greatly surprised both Lei Chuang and Li Yao, who was lurking in darkness.

The few features of a demon in Lei Qi were absorbed into his body. His golden fur fell to the ground, his sharp canine teeth and claws all retreated, his fingers turned long and slim, and his skin could not have looked smoother. Judging from the appearance, he was an out-and-out young human being who was a bit hairy!

Lei Chuang was dazed. “You’ve grasped the ability of ‘polymorphing’ after just half a year?”

The so-called polymorphing was a technique with which the demons could conceal all the features of a demon and turn into human beings.

Many high-level demons could assume the appearance of human beings when they reached a certain level.

It was also a great ability for many demons to sneak into the Heaven’s Origin Sector for intelligence or sabotage purposes.

Therefore, the Star Glory Federation had particularly strict quarantine measures against the human-looking demons. Li Yao had experienced a high-level fully-enclosed medical inspection after the beast tide incident on the train.

Lei Qi seemed to be in his thirties at best. He was not a high-level demon in terms of bloodline, either. However, he had grasped the ability of polymorphing nonetheless, which made Li Yao frown.

Lei Qi managed a smile. Then, his eyes suddenly bulged, and he bellowed. Goosebumps appeared on over his skin and, after a while of terrifying sound of skin being torn apart, bright golden scales quickly grew.

In the center of every golden scale was a green, greasy round spot.

At first glance, Lei Qi had grown countless green eyes all over his body that were glittering in the dim forest with mysterious and enticing colors.

Li Yao and Lei Chuang were both shocked!

“Green Eye Dragon Scale?” Lei Chuang stammered. “That—That is the most distinctive feature of ‘Hundred-Eyed Dragon’, a type of silver-blood demon. Such a feature is unique. Only a Hundred-Eyed Dragon can possibly demonstrate such a pattern. How—how did you—”

Lei Qi seemed to be unable to maintain the new form for long. After a shudder, the golden scales were absorbed by his skin, and he resumed the appearance of a human being again.

The changes just now were apparently very exhausting for him. His face was paler, but he could not have been more excited. He laughed. “Do you see? This is how the member of the Blade of Chaos enthralled me!

“We are blood brothers. Nobody knows it better than you that, although we are chaotic-blood demons, we never had a Hundred-Eyed Dragon as our ancestor.

“We do not have the bloodline of the Hundred-Eyed Dragons, but after a while of training, we can trigger the features of the Hundred-Eyed Dragons. What does that mean?

“It means that the blood of all the demons is the same!

“Hundred-Eyed Dragons, Phantom Wolves, Thunderous Lions… The same blood flows in every demon’s brain, except that it is activated in a different way. Why are some of the demons nobler than the rest?”

“It’s impossible. It’s absolutely impossible!” Lei Chuang was so shocked that he almost bit his own tongue. “I—I was told that the members of the Blade of Chaos know the evil art that could change their appearances freely. Even though you look like a Hundred-Eyed Dragon, your blood is still different. It’s just a camouflage!”

“Believe me, Ah Chuang!” Lei Qi said earnestly. “I’m still incapable right now, and I can only reshape what I look like.

“But many experts in the Blade of Chaos boast the ability of ‘Thirty-six Changes’ or ‘Seventy-two Changes’. They can freely switch between different types of demons, and after they take each form, they will be able to utilize the naturally-endowed arts of the new form of demons!

“Since they are using the naturally-endowed arts of a different species, do you think their blood has changed or not?”

Lei Chuang was dumbfounded, unable to say anything for a long time.

Li Yao felt that thunder was echoing nonstop inside his brain. All his knowledge about the demon race had been blown apart by the few words.

Are you kidding me? Seventy-two Changes? Freely switching between seventy-two different species of demons? What—what kind of skill is this exactly?

It does not make any sense!

Lei Chuang stammered, “Can all the demons change their form freely?”

“Yes, they can.” Lei Qi nodded and said, “As long as you memorize the tricks and practice hard, every demon can change their form freely. A silver-blood can turn into a black-blood, and vice versa. The Feather Clan can turn into the Sea Clan, and the Sea Clan can turn into the Claw Clan.

“However, the chaotic-blood demons are better at the changing than other demons. With preliminary training, we will be able to change into several forms.

“How should I put it? It’s like there is a solid lock in the cells of every demon that fixes us to a certain form, but the ‘locks’ for the chaotic-blood demons are weaker than those of the other demons.

“This is why the high-level demons are scared of us!”

Lei Chuang was dumbfounded. “Scared?”

“Yes,” Lei Qi said coldly, “they are scared of us. The high and mighty silver-blood demons and bronze-blood demons fear the filthy, lowly bastards that are us!

“In the entire Blood Demon Sector, the silver-blood demons take up only five percent of the population, and the bronze-blood demons ten. But the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons take up eighty-five percent!

“In the past, they claimed that they were born nobler than us and that it was a matter of course for them to reign us.

“But if everybody’s blood is the same except that it is displayed in different ways, is there any reason they should stay on the top of us?

“Therefore, they are scared of us, and they have been exploiting and diminishing us however possible!

“Isn’t the war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector a method to weaken and moderate us, too?

“Why do you think they are allowing us to join the war? And why are they deceiving us with the lie of the ‘glorious Pantheon of Demons’?

“Because there are too many low-level demons in the Blood Demon Sector who can potentially threaten their reign. Organizations such as the Blade of Chaos are making them cold to the bones!

“That’s why they are resorting to all possible approaches to fool us into fighting human beings as cannon fodder!

“It will be excellent if we can take over the Heaven’s Origin Sector. But even if we fail to, it does not matter, either. At the very least, the steel sabers of human beings will have eradicated a lot of ‘potential threats’ for them!”

Chapter 839: First Princess of the Gold Crow Kingdom

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

There was no telling whether or not it was because the polymorphing affected his wounds, but Lei Qi was sweating hard, and his bloodshot eyes were filled with bloody tears. He said, his voice shivering, “Although I did not join the ‘Coalition Army of Demons’ to fight human beings in the Heaven’s Origin Sector, many of our brothers in the Blade of Chaos were in the Heaven’s Origin Sector during the goriest ‘Battle of Dawn’!

“Those who luckily escaped told us the details of the Battle of Dawn. You have no idea how the battle was fought!

“Human beings were on the defensive side. They had solid city walls, crystal cannons, and fierce crystal warships. But the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons had to strike their deadly defense line with just our bodies for nothing other than to consume their crystals and ammunitions!

“The bronze-blood demons and the silver-blood demons would not take action until their magical equipment was worn, their crystals drained, and their soldiers tired. At that time, our countless brothers had already collapsed in the ocean of blood!

“During the year of the Battle of Dawn, we seemed to be on a winning streak and swept across the Grand Desolate Plateau, but the bloody victories were actually founded on the corpses of the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons! The legions made of more than ten thousand black-blood demons and chaotic-blood demons could be annihilated within half a day when they were deployed in the frontline with absolutely no survivors!

“Just like that, our army marched forward and reached the Giant Blade Pass at the edge of the Grand Desolate Plateau.

“The Giant Glade Pass is the greatest stronghold for human beings of the Heaven’s Origin Sector. It leans against a mountain and rises high into the clouds, and it covers hundreds of square kilometers, including crystal cannons and hidden fortresses. Countless human experts were guarding the place. How could it be broken into quickly?

“But those high and mighty generals and commanders cared nothing of it. They simply urged the soldiers to march forward. The superintendents were even standing right behind the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons. When the horn was blown, there was no retreating and only going forward. Whoever hesitated would immediately be executed by poisonous arrows and acid from behind.

“After a month of suicidal attacks, the Giant Glade Pass was utterly unharmed, but the desert before the stronghold was dyed red with blood!

“As the gruesome battle went on, neither the ‘glorious Pantheon of Demons’ nor the superintendents worked any more. Also, since we marched too deep into enemy territory, it was difficult to transport food and weapons from our rear. The morale on the frontline could not have been lower.

“Those high-level demons, in order to coerce the low-level demons into selling our lives for them, came up with an insane move, which was to poison the food of the low-level demons!”

Lei Chuang’s eyes bulged, and he exclaimed, “What?”

Lei Qi gnashed his teeth, his face full of pain. “They poisoned our food. We had to have an antidote every three days. Otherwise, our skin would all fester, and we would die a miserable death.

“Only the demons who participated in at least one charge in three days would receive one antidote pill. However, the antidote could only slow the activation of the poison instead of curing it. We would not get the real antidote until the Giant Blade Pass was taken!

“There were many brothers of the Blade of Chaos in the army. They made a lot of friends during the one year of life-and-death battles together and gradually spread the ideas of the Blade of Chaos.

“The poisoned food had crossed our bottom line. That was why our brothers of the Blade of Chaos mutinied, killed the high-level demons, and got the real antidote.”

Lei Chuang was quiet, so Lei Qi continued. “This is the truth of the Battle of Dawn.

“After the remaining soldiers returned to the Blood Demon Sector, the high-level demons were scared that the truth would get out and hunted the members of the Blade of Chaos among the survivors. However, they did not bother to investigate properly, and as long as one soldier of a legion was suspected to be related to the Blade of Chaos, every soldier in the legion would be executed!

“As a result, whenever one real member of the Blade of Chaos was killed, dozens of innocent low-level demons would be slain at the same time.

“That was why we rose up and raised the Riot of Bloody Blade!”

Soaked in sweat, Lei Chuang panted and said, “The Riot of Bloody Blade has been suppressed!”

Lei Qi held his chest high and laughed. “The Riot of Bloody Blade may have failed, but the Blade of Chaos has not been destroyed yet!

“In the Riot of Bloody Blade, many of our brothers were awakened. They clearly recognized that the seemingly magnificent, invincible high-level demons are unbelievably feeble. As long as we stick together and work hard, the ‘lowly’, ‘filthy’ black-blood demons and chaotic-blood demons can occupy their cities and destroy their reign, too!

“Even if the Blade of Chaos is wrecked someday, it will not be the end of our cause. As long as the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons keep being oppressed, we will be awakened sooner or later, and a second or a third ‘Blade of Chaos’ will be born!

“Ah Chuang, I know that you are too stubborn to change your mindset when you already believed in something. I cannot convince you so quickly.

“But I’m not asking you to join the Blade of Chaos right now. I’m merely asking you to get out of the way and go home; pretend that you’ve seen nothing wrong!

“We are currently escorting a very important item that can potentially change the fate of all the black-blood demons and the chaotic-blood demons and even the future of the Blood Demon Sector!

“Many of our brothers have been seriously wounded. They cannot hold on any longer inside the Hundred Desolation Mountain without timely treatment!

“Just let me take a bit of the Gold Stamen Liquid. Just a bit.

“I’m begging you. Please!”

Lei Chuang was silent for a long time.

There was not a sound in the dim forest, except for the rattling noises when the wind passed through the branches, as if countless invisible bugs were gnawing the leaves crazily.

Zeng! Zeng! Zeng! Zeng!

Lei Chuang’s claws, which had been folded, extended out again, emitting dangerous brightness in the starless night.

“No. I cannot let you go.”

Taking a deep breath, Lei Chuang shook his head and said, “Everything is just your side of the story. I do not believe it!

“Your polymorphing might be a certain evil technique of the Blade of Chaos or because you’ve contracted a terrible disease.

“The truth of the Battle of Dawn of yours came from somebody else’s mouth, too.

“Maybe you are not lying to me, but the leadership of the Blade of Chaos who told you the ‘truth’ lied to you. They made you abandon the real Great Dao and embrace the shameless Chaos in such a way.

“I will not be fooled whatever you say. I stand by my words. Big brother, if you want to go, step over my dead body!”

Lei Qi gave no response. The invisible intimidating aura around him became intense again, and dark golden hair that looked like both needles and swords grew out of his smooth skin.

The air between the two brothers was quivering, as if two invisible tigers were roaring silently before a huge clash.

Right then, a deafening shriek echoed in the sky not far away.

Golden streaks of brightness rushed close from the horizon and darted toward the Dry Leaf Village at an amazing speed!

The long shriek was like a sharp piton that shattered Lei Qi’s resolution.

He grunted, with depression all over his face. The intimidating aura around him swiftly disappeared. He dashed to the top of the tree and observed for a moment before he went back and said in a hurry, “The pursuers are here. It is possible that they will take a rest in the village. Go back now!

“Remember, don’t show any weakness and don’t mention anything about me. The pursuers are led by Jin Xinyue, the First Princess. She is cruel and ruthless and has killed countless brothers of ours. If you are incautious, the entire village might be wiped out by her!”

Lei Chuang gasped. “The First Princess Jin Xinyue? I’m told that she is a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons and the youngest demon king of the Blood Demon Sector. She was sent here to capture such an insignificant person as yourself? What are you escorting exactly?”

Lei Qi smiled bitterly but gave no answer.

Li Yao lurked in the darkness and listened to their conversation. He felt that he was getting the gist of what was going on.

The political system of the Blood Demon Sector was different from that of the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

In the Heaven’s Origin Sector, there was only one country named ‘Star Glory Federation’ which adopted the parliamentary system. The three parliaments were the highest authority, and the Speaker was the representative of the supreme power.

In the Blood Demon Sector, since the demons varied in appearance and living habits and there were too many species, it was difficult to integrate all of them into one country.

Therefore, dozens of countries existed in the Blood Demon Sector. There were also countless relatively independent cities and caves.

The social form was somewhat similar to the Flying Star Sector, which was vast and unpopulated.

After thousands of years of battles and conflicts, four demon kingdoms distinguished themselves today and became the greatest forces.

On the land, the most powerful force was the Kingdom of Lion Butchers, which commanded the Claw Clan and the Horn Clan. Wang Ji, whom Li Yao had killed on Boneyard, was a prince of the Kingdom of Lion Butchers.

Underground, the Nether Spring Kingdom was the strongest of all, which governed billions of insects. Although insects did not boast a high combat ability as individuals, they could be really appalling when the number of them was large enough. In the overwhelming beast tides, insects were usually the majority of the constituents.

In the oceans, the greatest country was the Sea Dominator Kingdom. It was the most mysterious of the four, and there was no telling how many experts the country had.

In the sky, the strongest country was the Gold Crow Kingdom, which was mostly made of the Feather Clan that flew high in the sky. They were the fastest of all the four countries and were sort of the ‘rapid-response troops’ of the demon race.

However, although the four demon kingdoms had their own territory, the supreme power of the Blood Demon Sector was not in the hands of the kings. The kings of the demon kingdoms large and small, the leaders of the demon cities, and the masters of the demon caves and mountains were just puppets.

Above the demon kingdoms, there was an organization named the ‘Pantheon of Demons’, which reigned over all the demons as a theocracy.

In the legends of the demon race, the Pangu Clan split into the twelve ancient demon clans including Zhurong, Gonggong, Pangu, and so on. Therefore, the Pantheon of Demons was managed by twelve demon emperors.

Every demon emperor had a certain number of kingdoms and cities under their control, but normally, they would not be involved in the decision-making processes of the kingdoms and merely serve as their reliance.

If they were compared to the political system of human beings, the Pantheon of Demons were the ‘Supreme Parliament’ for the demon race, and the twelve demon emperors would be twelve ‘special representatives’ that could decide all the important affairs of the nation.

Chapter 840: High-Level Demons with Halos

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

The twelve demon emperors represented the interests of different demons. Naturally, there were a lot of internal conflicts both in open and below the table.

In order to maintain a united front, the twelve demon emperors would elect a ‘ Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens 1 ‘, just like the ancient twelve demon clans created by the Nuwa Clan in the legends.

Theoretically speaking, the Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens boasted the capability to communicate with the thirteen ancient demon clans as the spokesperson of the Pantheon of Demons. All important decisions had to be approved of by the Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens before they were announced to the demons.

The Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens was the equivalent to the Speaker of the Star Glory Federation.

However, faced with twelve strong and powerful demon emperors, the Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens was nothing more than a puppet and a rubber stamp. Their real power was absolutely incomparable to the Speaker of the Star Glory Federation.

The Pantheon of Demons established branches in every demon kingdom and demon city. Whenever the royal family and the nobles among the demons gave birth to female descendants, they would often select the smartest and strongest to be sent to the Pantheon of Demons. The children, after a series of cruel and rigorous training, would turn into saintesses that were loyal to the Pantheon of Demons.

Every new Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens would be selected from among the saintesses.

Therefore, in the political system of the demons, the saintesses who could mobilize the strength of the Pantheon of Demons and were deeply connected to many demon kingdoms enjoyed special privileges. They were the sharpest claws and teeth of the Pantheon of Demons. Even the masters of many demon cities and demon caves dared not mess around with the lowest saintesses.

Right now, a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons, and the First Princess of the Gold Crow Kingdom, had come to pursue a bunch of members of the Blade of Chaos in such a remote village in the middle of nowhere?

Were Lei Qi and his companions really carrying an item that could change the future of the Blood Demon Sector?

Seeing that his brother was still suspicious, Lei Qi raised his voice and said sincerely, “Ah Chuang, you must believe me. Do not be fooled by Jin Xinyue’s appearance. The witch is more horrifying than you can possibly imagine!

“Her father, Jin Tuyi, is one of the strongest demon emperors in the Pantheon of Demons. He is known as the fastest demon emperor of the Blood Demon Sector!

“After the brutal failure of the Battle of Dawn, Jin Tuyi became the new commander-in-chief of the coalition army of demons. He is now planning a round of new attacks against the Heaven’s Origin Sector!

“In the meantime, he commanded the suppression of the ‘Riot of Bloody Blade’. Many brothers of the Blade of Chaos were killed miserably by the butcher!

“The man’s hands both reek of the stench of blood. He is not a demon but the craziest devil!

“Jin Xinyue is as horrifying as her father, if not more. Besides, her appearance is more deceptive. You must not believe whatever she says. She is an absolutely merciless, cold-blooded demon!”

The golden streaks of brightness had gradually moved to the middle of the sky. They would arrive at the Dry Leaf Village very soon.

After saying that, Lei Qi looked at his brother with complicated feelings and crawled into the forest.

Lei Chuang did not know what to do for a moment. He hesitated for a moment and simply ran back to his village.

Li Yao returned to the woodhouse one step faster than him. He curled up in his sleep bag and concealed his scent, pretending that he was just a random chaotic-blood demon.

However, he was not confident that he could fool the newcomers at all.

Right now, he had basically come to understand the whole thing.

The residents of the Dry Leaf Village wanted him to pretend to be Lei Qi in order to fool the recruitment officers. They were scared that the recruitment officer would not allow the demons in the village from joining the army after learning that a resident had joined the Blade of Chaos. Chances were that there would be even direr consequences should it be known.

Those who came to enlist soldiers in such remote areas were most likely bottom-level officers in the demon army. Perhaps it would only be one or two bronze-blood demons. So, the odds were quite high that they would be fooled.

However, it was one thing to fool a bottom-level recruitment officer, and it was quite another thing to fool a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons, the princess of the Gold Crow Kingdom.

Li Yao felt a headache because of the dilemma.

He thought of running away, too. However, since the Feather Clan all flew in the sky and were the fastest demons, he might not necessarily get away from the hunt without his crystal suit and Black Wing.

But if he resorted to using his crystal suit and Black Wing, traces of spiritual energy would definitely be left, and it would be even more difficult for him get rid of the pursuers.

I’ll observe Jin Xinyue’s capability first. According to Lei Qi, she is just a demon king, which is equivalent to the Core Formation Stage of Cultivators. Even though she has a few other demon kings as her guards, they are not going to stop me.

However, it will be quite troublesome to kill all of them without leaving any traces.

Years ago, Wang Ji of the Kingdom of Lion Butchers carried a lot of bizarre weapons and magical equipment with him, which gave me quite a headache.

Since Jin Xinyue is a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons and the ‘First Princess’, she must be in a very high position in the Gold Crow Kingdom. Chances are that even the king of the Gold Crow Kingdom has to show her some respect.

Therefore, her gadgets will only be more impressive than Wang Ji’s!

If she notices me and is determined to run away, it is possible that I will not be able to stop her.

Deep inside Li Yao’s brain, his mental devil was expanding in hideous laughter. It summoned tremendous computational ability, concocting sordid, cruel, and shameless battle plans.

Right then, noises erupted outside, followed by a prolonged horn.

It was an emergency summons.

In a moment, the several hundred villagers were all gathered in the center of the village, which was used to air the petals of the Ghost Teeth Flower.

The petals of the Ghost Teeth Flower were extremely tough. After three days of drying, they could be ripped into shreds and sewn into soft, ventilating armor that was most suitable for the hunting in the forest.

The sky of the Dry Leaf Village was wreathed in magnificent golden colors. As it turned out, dozens of giant, golden eagles were hovering at a low altitude. Every eagle was dozens of meters wide when they stretched out their jade, metallic wings. Whenever their wings move slightly, a thousand invisible swirls seemed to appear in midair, which interweaved and covered the entire village like an impenetrable dragnet.

Suppressed by the daunting aura of the golden eagles, not only were all the villagers shuddering in fear, even the animals domesticated by the villagers were crouching on the ground obediently, not having the courage to utter a single sound.

Just now, one of the Moon Shadow Wolves snarled accidentally, only to turn into food for the golden eagles in the blink of an eye. It was now being chewed by one of the golden eagles in cracking noises.

Below the golden eagles, in the center of the empty ground, dozens of high-level, elegant demons in robes made of golden feathers were standing.

Within the crowd, Li Yao observed the high-level demons in secret. They were all beautiful and graceful, and their facial organs and limbs were immaculate. They seemed to be enshrouded in dazzling halos that made all the villagers struggle to keep their eyes open.

Although they were all carrying demon feathers, such as enormous wings and sharp talons, and the pupils of several demons were even two vertical lines, there was not the slight feeling of ‘abnormality’ or ‘disguise’ on them. On the contrary, they gave every impression that they were the most natural and perfect creatures in the world.

Li Yao secretly compared the high-level demons to the low-level demons that he had seen in the beast tides. He found it hard to believe that they were the same species.

No wonder the demons were classified into four different classes. Standing in their shoes, Li Yao would not admit that he was the same as the ugly, weirdly-shaped snakes, insects, rats, and ants at all if he were such a high-level demon with shining gold halos.

The dozens of demons were beautiful and eye-catching enough.

However, when Li Yao’s eyes moved to the demon who was standing in the middle, he suddenly felt that the halos on all the demons nearby were eclipsed.

It was a female demon who was short and wearing soft, pure-white armor. Judging from her young face, she seemed to be a girl less than twenty years old. Her eyes were so clear that one might even catch a glimpse of her soul directly, and her facial expression was as frank and naïve as a newborn baby.

A pair of dark golden wings were growing on her back, and bright golden feathers could occasionally be found on her fair, flawless skin, too, like a perfect garment that outlined her shockingly sexy body figure.

The innocent and sacredness of her face was a huge contrast to her curvaceous body. Together, they brought about a weird enchantment that made others wanted to both worship her as a goddess and savage her on a bed.

Deep inside his brain, the mental devil whistled for the longest time possible.

Li Yao bit the tip of his tongue hard and forced him to wake up. None of the saintesses of the Pantheon of Demons were easy to deal with, as made clear by Lei Qi just now. If the demon was really Jin Xinyue, the princess of the Gold Crow Kingdom, she would be one of the trickiest opponents.

Another demon that was tall and handsome with wings on his back flew back from the garden of the Ghost Teeth Flowers and landed next to the female demon, whispering something to her.

Li Yao sensed that the watery eyes of the demon slightly blinked.

The male demon immediately held his head and asked solemnly, “Who’s in charge here?”

The mayor made his way to the high-level demons, half-rolling and half-crawling on his wheelchair, with his legs shaking and his back sweating hard.

Many high-level demons took a few steps back intuitionally before they covered their mouths and noses with their handkerchiefs. They were clearly unwilling to stand so close to the lowly chaotic-blood demons, nor did they want to breathe air that had been corrupted by them.

The male demon took out a badge from his pocked and shook it slightly. Mystic rays immediately beamed out of the badge and soared into the sky. The brilliance blossomed and dispersed into a complicated pattern of a three-legged giant bird that was about to fly into the sky.

The male demon declared proudly, “We are the ‘Gold Shadow Guardians’. Her Highness here is Princess Xinyue of the Gold Crow Kingdom and the saintess of the Pantheon of Demons!”

The villagers immediately exclaimed in shock. Many of them had never left the Hundred Desolation Mountain in their entire life. They had never had the chance to meet a real-life silver-blood demon, much less such an honorable noble.

The villagers did not know what to do at all. The legs of many of them were shaking hard, as if they could not hold themselves from kneeling down before the saintess of the Pantheon of Demons.

Li Yao looked at Lei Chuang. The youngster was blushing and breathing heavily, fascinated by Jin Xinyue.

Had Lei Qi not given him warning a moment ago, it was very likely that he would be kissing her toes on all fours right now.

---

1. Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens is the goddess of war, sex, and longevity in Chinese mythology.

---

Chapter 841: Twist and Turn

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

The male demon seemed to be rather familiar with the admiration of the low-level demons. He waved his wings, triggering invisible airwaves that surrounded the high-level demons like a barrier and kept the lowly chaotic-blood demons from coming close.

He sniffed and shouted, “We are now pursuing the remnants of the Blade of Chaos. Those believers of Chaos are brutal and dangerous. In order to hide their traces, they have slaughtered all the villages that they have passed through. There was not a living soul left!

“For the sake of your village, you’d better confess honestly. Have you seen any suspicious demons over the past three days? If you keep your discovery to yourself, you will be regarded as an accomplice of the Blade of Chaos, and you shall not be pardoned!”

The mayor’s face was as deathly pale, and he shook his head hard.

The male demon was not expecting a positive reply in the first place. Seeing that all the villagers were intimidated, he changed tack. “Does your village live on the Ghost Teeth Flowers?”

The mayor nodded cautiously.

“Excellent!” The male demon smiled coldly. “The remnants of the Blade of Chaos that we are chasing after have been heavily wounded. They are in desperate need of healing drugs such as the Gold Stamen Liquid. In case the Gold Stamen Liquid in your village is stolen by them, we will now confiscate all the assets in the name of the Gold Shadow Guardians!”

“What!”

At this moment, not only the mayor but also all the villagers started yelling despite the honorable identities of the high-level demons.

The village was poor and the land barren. The livelihood of the villagers all counted on the Gold Stamen Liquid, which was collected from the Ghost Teeth Flowers.

The harvest season had just passed. Although the tax rate of the chaotic-blood demons was even higher than that of the black-blood demons, and seventy percent of the Gold Stamen Liquid had to be submitted, the villagers got to keep the remaining thirty percent after all.

The thirty percent of Gold Stamen Liquid had to be traded for the useful items that the villager could not produce as well as crystals and gear for training, which was the hope for the young demons in the village.

But those ‘Gold Shadow Guardians’ were claiming all the Gold Stamen Liquid now. How was the village going to survive the coming year?

Many chaotic-blood demons had been reveling in the excitement of finally meeting some high-level demons. But now, they felt as if their skulls had been opened and somebody had just poured a bucket of cold water into their heads.

However, the chaotic-blood demons’ reverence for the high-level demons was almost natural. Nobody dared to refuse the demand however outrageous it was.

The mayor’s facial muscles twisted for a long time, and his back was even more hunched than before.

The male demon was apparently used to the reactions of chaotic-blood demons. “Other than the Gold Stamen Liquid that has been collected, there is still some left in the lumps of the Ghost Teeth Flowers. Also, if the lumps are pulverized into powder, it can be used to treat wounds, too.

“In case that the remnants of the Blade of Chaos get access to those things, we are going to destroy the garden of the Ghost Teeth Flowers!”

“What!”

It was a greater shock for everybody on the spot.

When all the Gold Stamen Liquid was claimed, it was going to be a tough year. But as long as they made it through the year, the villagers would be able collect new Gold Stamen Liquid in the harvest season next year.

But if the garden of Ghost Teeth Flowers was destroyed, they would be doomed!

The Ghost Teeth Flowers were extremely dangerous carnivore plants. Even many demon beasts were scared of them. The village had paid a high price to transplant and develop the Ghost Teeth Flowers, at the cost of the lives of more than ten villagers. After five years of sweat and blood, only a small garden had been established.

The garden of Ghost Teeth Flowers was the future and hope of the entire village.

But right now, just because some heavily wounded remnants of the Blade of Chaos were passing by the village, they had to endure such a disaster that was irrelevant to themselves!

“No. You can’t destroy them!”

“The Ghost Teeth Flowers are what we live on!”

“Show some mercy, masters of the Gold Crow Kingdom!”

“Please, saintess!”

The demons in the Dry Leaf Village young and old all kneeled and kowtowed hard until their heads were all bleeding and the blood was all simmering.

The attractive high-level demons, on the other hand, did not care for such drama. The male demon in the lead shrieked, and two golden eagles that were hovering in midair took a turn and suddenly lunged at the garden of the Ghost Teeth Flowers in the east of the village.

Hiu!

The two golden eagles opened their mouths, from which, two narrow, long, red rays spurted out and darted toward the garden.

BOOM!

The two red rays pierced into the garden. The Ghost Teeth Flowers that sensed the waves of energy had only just opened their bloody mouths when two loud explosions echoed deep below the ground. Like two volcanoes had just erupted, a lot of magma spurted out from the ground, and enormous fireballs soared into the sky. Flames thousands of degrees high in temperature soon wreathed the entire garden.

“Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!”

Countless Ghost Teeth Flowers were twisting weirdly in the flames and screaming miserably. Before long, they were only burnt into ashes without any lumps remaining.

“Ahh!”

Many villages collapsed to the ground in grief.

Dozens of healthy, strong demons were gnashing their teeth, their eyes red. Yet, they did not know where they should cast their furious eyes.

The high-level demons were still talking and laughing. They seemed to be complimenting the owner of the two gold eagles, praising that he had trained them well and built the two biochemical beasts with such magnificent appearances.

“Mayor.” The male demon ignored the weird vibe among the villagers and continued demanding from them. “Ask your villagers to help us move the Gold Stamen Liquid. Also, submit the Gold Stamen Liquid that is kept in your households as well as all the other healing drugs. No medicine is to be left to the believers of Chaos!”

Crack! Crack!

Many young villagers, including Lei Chuang, were already on the verge of an outburst. They were biting their teeth so hard that noises were echoing.

Li Yao inwardly frowned. He observed the positions of the high-level demons and calculated the data, coordinates, and direction crazily.

Although he hated to expose his identity, he found it intolerable to watch the villagers be butchered should they get involved in a conflict with the high-level demons.

Besides, if the newcomers decided to wipe out the village, it was not like they would spare him.

The air could not have been tenser.

A battle was going to break out at any moment.

Looking at the golden eagles hovering in the sky and the high-level demons who were chitchatting casually, utterly unthreatened, the mayor slightly sighed and bowed deeply, while he replied obediently, “Understood, masters. We’re going to check all the healing drugs right now.”

The mayor then turned around and roared, “What are you waiting for? Did you not hear what the masters here said? Pack up all the Gold Stamen Liquid and healing drugs and offer them to the masters!”

The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what to do. They did not dare disobey the commands of high-level demons, but they were unwilling to hand over their livelihood just like that, either.

The young demons’ muscles were all bulging, their eyes bloodshot. They were as still as towers.

The mayor gritted his teeth and staggered close with his club. Then he beat the young demons with the stick and yelled, “Why are you not moving? How many heads do you think you can afford to lose if the masters are delayed while they are hunting the Blade of Chaos? Go now!”

Pada!

After the mayor beat them, he fell over due to a loss of balance.

“Mayor!”

The villagers immediately lost their cool. They hurried to help him to his feet.

Those who were timid were already walking to their homes, however reluctantly.

The younger demons who were gnashing their teeth in fury lost their determination, too. Those who had feet stomped on the ground, and those who did not, bashed the earth hard with their tails and squatted, covering their head with their hands.

All the villagers lost their will to resist. They prepared to pack everything up gloomily.

“Wait.”

Right then, Jin Xinyue, the saintess of Pantheon of Demons who had been at the center of the high-level demons, suddenly opened her mouth and stopped the villagers.

Her voice sounded very young, but it was sweet like a refreshing spring, making everybody who heard it feel comfortable from their ears to the heart.

The villagers looked at each other in a daze, confused. They sensed that the saintess was different from other Gold Shadow Guardians.

Jin Xinyue glanced over all the villagers warmly as she smiled and said, “The Gold Stamen Liquid is your livelihood. I did not expect that you would offer all of it willingly without any complaint. It is indicative of your loyalty to the Pantheon of Demons.

“Rest assured. We are not so unreasonable as to take your livelihood away just like that.

“Just now, it was only a minor test to determine your loyalty to the Pantheon of Demons.

“Now that you have proved your faithfulness, as a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons, will I simply let you suffer the losses?”

While talking, Jin Xinyue extended her jade-like hand and snapped something silver into the mayor’s hand, which turned out to be a glamorous silk bag.

The mayor swallowed hard and opened the bag. He gasped so hard that he almost fell over again.

The mystic rays inside the silk bag illuminated his face.

“The ‘Five-Colored Pearl’ inside the bag should be three times more valuable than your garden of Ghost Teeth Flowers. If you sell it in the town, you should be able to get through the difficult times,” Jin Xinyue said casually.

“Three times!”

The desperation and fury of the villagers immediately turned into ecstasy and gratitude.

“Moreover…” Jin Xinyue’s wings slowly stretched out. One of the golden feathers fell softly and flew to the mayor’s pocket as if it were alive. “This feather is my badge. When the tax officer in charge of your village comes here, show him the feather and tell him that Princess Xinyue has decreed that all the taxes of the village will be reduced by half in the next three years!”

“Half taxes?”

Many villagers were already jumping to their feet.

“Lastly…”

Jin Xinyue glanced at the healthy, strong demons in the village with delight in her eyes. She then said crisply, “The new call of soldiers is coming soon. A new war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector is about to commence.

“The war will be the final confrontation between the two Sectors. We will sweep across the Grand Desolate Plateau, break through the Giant Blade Pass, and march all the way to the capital of the Star Glory Federation, conquering all the human beings of the Heaven’s Origin Sector!

“Only the bravest, most loyal soldiers are entitled to join the greatest war in the history of the Blood Demon Sector!

“Logically, one or two soldiers will be conscripted from villages such as yours.

“But just now, your loyalty moved me. I will conscript… fifty soldiers from your village!”

Chapter 842: Deep Inside Hundred Desolation Mountain

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Hearing her words, all the chaotic-blood demons could not help it any longer and yelled in excitement.

The disaster turned out to be a bless in surprise. Not only did they receive a high reward, half of their taxes had been waivered, too. Moreover, fifty villagers would be enlisted to defend the glory of the Blood Demon Sector on the battlefield.

Princess Xinyue was so merciful and benevolent. How could they not be grateful and loyal?

“Saintess, we—we can’t return your favor even if we die—”

The mayor was crying, unable to control his voice.

The infuriated young demons were so embarrassed that they lowered their head, regretting their stupidity and rashness.

Jin Xinyue smiled and said in an even gentler voice, “I don’t want you to die, but I want our enemies, the evil human beings and the sordid believers of Chaos, to be annihilated! Can you do that?”

“Yes. Of course!” the hot-blooded young demons all shouted.

“Long live the saintess!”

“Long live Princess Xinyue!”

“Long live the Pantheon of Demons!”

“Break our enemies, annihilate the evil human beings, and conquer the Heaven’s Origin Sector!”

“Obliteration! Rebirth! Immortality!”

Above the garden of the Ghost Teeth Flowers, the fire was still burning furiously, but the temperature there seemed to be lower than around the villagers.

Jin Xinyue looked at the villagers in a smile. There seemed to be both satisfaction and expectation in her eyes. Every villager who made eye contact with her experienced all kinds of hallucinations. They envisioned themselves fighting valiantly in brilliant suits and soaring into a magnificent palace in the high sky among the clouds where they ate, drank, and enjoyed the ultimate pleasure in the world.

All the demons were yelling in frenzy and shaking as if they were having a seizure. Their enthusiasm tore apart the dark night and echoed in the sky.

Jin Xinyue rolled her eyes and glanced over the villagers. Suddenly, she stopped at Li Yao.

Li Yao frowned and secretly cursed.

Although he was also raising his arms and shouting like all the other villagers, he was short of the wholehearted fervor. Therefore, he appeared much calmer than his companions.

Besides, his left eye and left arm were tied up in bandages, which was quite eye-catching.

“Who is that?” Jin Xinyue asked the mayor very curiously.

But Li Yao sensed the coldness of a viper from the seemingly innocent, beautiful eyes.

Li Yao sneered in his heart. The mental devil in his brain bared its sharp fangs and released a lot of bloody streaks that were spreading among his brain cells.

Jin Xinyue was indeed a terrifying demon. After only several words, all the demons here were willing to die for her.

Li Yao did not believe that the poor story that the villagers had made up could fool her.

With a crooked smile, the mayor told her Li Yao’s ‘identity’.

“Is that so? The best hunter of the village was badly burnt in the forest fire half a month ago and lost his memories?”

Jin Xinyue was smiling even more delightedly. Her eyes were fixated on Li Yao’s left eye and left arm, which were covered in bandages.

She observed the bandages so hard that bright golden bugs seemed to be crawling into Li Yao’s body.

Li Yao sighed. He could not stop someone from killing themself. Now that the saintess was asking to be killed, he could only fulfil her wish.

Jin Xinyue was merely a demon king, and her subordinates mostly seemed to be demon generals. They were not worth mentioning in Li Yao’s eyes.

Although they had ‘biochemical beasts’ that could boost their combat ability like crystal suits, it was not enough to stop Li Yao from killing anyone he wanted to kill!

After being infected by the Blood Stripe Virus, Li Yao was much more resolute in killing. He had made up his mind that, if Jin Xinyue interrogated him, he would slay the saintess from the Pantheon of Demons when he found the appropriate timing and position before he ran away in the riot!

Jin Xinyue had no idea that she was about to die.

She was indeed suspicious of Li Yao.

She officially joined the Pantheon of Demons at the age of seven for the saintess training. Saintesses were the sharpest claws and teeth for the Pantheon of Demons. They were a combination of spies, assassins, saboteurs, agents, and interrogators. The first lesson she ever learned was that those who lost their memories were the most suspicions suspects!

Real life was not some fairy tale. What were all the memory losses about?

The smile on Jin Xinyue’s face remained unchanged. Her hands were kept in the original place, too. However, she shook her feathers and secretly informed the Gold Shadow Guardians behind him.

The Gold Shadow Guardians were the imperial guards of the Gold Crow Kingdom. They were sort of her private bodyguards, well-trained, obedient, and capable. They immediately dispersed without alarming anyone.

The golden eagles in the sky were hovering in smaller and smaller circles, too. Feathers as broad as banana leaves fell slowly between Jin Xinyue and Li Yao.

At that moment, Jin Xinyue still had no idea what a terrible existence she was planning to deal with.

She was wondering who Li Yao really was. He could not be one of the suspects she was chasing after because he had appeared in the village half a month ago. The timing was not right.

Forget it. Even if he is not related to the Blade of Chaos, he must have secrets that he would rather not tell. Let me take him down first!

Jin Xinyue stepped toward Li Yao.

She did not know that death was only 0.5 seconds away from her.

Li Yao’s left eye was burningly hot, and streaks of blood were leaking out of the bandage over it.

Suddenly—

A shriek echoed deep within the Hundred Desolation Mountain. A streak of golden brightness soared into the sky and split into a three-legged bird.

The golden brightness that looked like fireworks made the faces of all Gold Shadow Guardians blanch.

The male demon observed the signal and said earnestly, “Princess, Zuo Shaochong and the rest of them have found the target. They are fighting hard and requesting immediate reinforcements!”

Pondering for a moment, Jin Xinyue looked at Li Yao deeply and waved her hands. “Let’s follow up. We must get the item!”

All the Gold Shadow Guardians soared into the sky. The crazy wind that their wings raised almost blew everybody to the ground. Even Li Yao was shaking in the middle of the wind. He was becoming more and more curious.

What item did the remnants of the Blade of Chaos bring exactly that a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons and the princess of the Gold Crow Kingdom needs?

To retrieve the item, she does not even have the time to investigate me, who has apparently caused her attention.

Is it true that the item can ‘change the future of the Blood Demon Sector’ as Lei Qi said?

Seeing that Jin Xinyue and the dozens of Gold Shadow Guardians had turned into streaks of golden brightness and rushed toward the depths of the Hundred Desolation Mountain, Li Yao made up his mind and dashed into the forest, too, not caring about the surprised villagers.

After half a month of recovery, his wounds had recovered, and he had a basic understanding of the Blood Demon Sector now. There was no need to keep staying here any longer.

Besides, Jin Xinyue had grown suspicious of him. If he lingered in that place, he might have brought unexpected disaster to the Dry Leaf Village.

Li Yao was rather curious about the organization named ‘Blade of Chaos’. He did not know how large the organization was and whether or not it had really been suppressed, but as long as the organization was not entirely dead yet, it could potentially stir trouble behind the high-level demons during the head-on clash between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector. If so, the pressure on the Heaven’s Origin Sector would be more or less relieved.

With that in mind, it was necessary to get in touch with the Blade of Chaos and help them solve the problem at hand.

Besides, Li Yao was rather interested in the secret technique of the Blade of Chaos that allowed its members to freely change into different forms of demons. Such a secret practically overturned all his knowledge about the demon race.

In the Hundred Desolation Mountain, there were nothing but hills, ravines, and swamps. It was impossible to find a road.

Jin Xinyue and the other demons all had wings. They could fly in midair and ignore the roughness of the mountain.

Although Li Yao had flying swords and crystal suits, too, they had to be kept a secret right now. He could not fly into the sky on one of the flying swords blatantly.

Therefore, he could only summon Black Wing in secret and slide just above the trees while making sure that his presence was not exposed. Naturally, he was much slower than Jin Xinyue.

When he approached the battlefield filled the stink of blood and noises of fighting, he was already several hundred kilometers into the Hundred Desolation Mountain. Giant trees almost a thousand meters high were everywhere amid the endless ridges. The crowns of the trees were so overwhelmingly huge that nearly all the sunlight was blocked.

Li Yao stowed away Black Wing quietly. Like a giant boa covered in mud, he slithered without making a sound among the bushes with the strength of his muscles.

In front of him, the trees had almost all collapsed, leaving an empty area.

Hundreds of demons, apparently on two sides, were confronting each other.

One side consisted of the shining, unbelievably elegant members of the Gold Crow Kingdom.

The other side was a mishmash of miscellaneous species. They were all wearing ragged soft armor, and they were exhausted and heavily wounded.

An old demon who had white hear and a giant turtle shell on his back that had grown long, crimson fur panted and yelled, “Jin Xinyue, kill me if you want to, but I will not give it to you!”

He looked like a turtle man who stood on his feet.

Jin Xinyue was shrouded in an entirely different air from when she was in the Dry Leaf Village. Her sweet and beautiful face resembling that of a young girl was brimming with the malicious smile, reminiscent of a cat that had caught a rat. She said unhurriedly, “Ning Zhongze, honestly speaking, although you are one of the four elders of the Blade of Chaos, I’m not very interested in you.

“In my opinion, the Blade of Chaos is just a bunch of nobodies. All the elders and deacons of yours are jesters who have been making a fool of yourselves. You used to be monkeys pretending that you were wearing a crown, and now you are no better than stray dogs.

“It’s not unnegotiable if you want me to let go of you.

“But I’m really curious about one thing. What item have you found that makes ‘Elder Nether Spring’ hunt after you so crazily?

“In fact, in my opinion, with the miserable, devastated situation that the Blade of Chaos is in right now, you will not be able to make the best use of the item whatever effects it has. Why don’t you give it to me? As a reward, I’ll spare your lives. How does that sound?

“You all know that Elder Nether Spring and my father, Jin Tuyi, are the most hostile two among the twelve demon emperors. The two of them have been fighting for the post of the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of demons and are on the verge of an open fight.

“Therefore, I only wish for Elder Nether Spring to die sooner!

“If you really know a big secret about Elder Nether Spring, why don’t you give it to me and let me deal with him? Isn’t that a much better option?”

Chapter 843: Incoming Nether Springs

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Ning Zhongze, one of the four elders of the Blade of Chaos, smiled bitterly and shook his head. “Jin Xinyue, you don’t know the value of the item at all. It can possibly reveal a great secret between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector, or even between the entire demon race and human beings! You and Elder Nether Spring are just jackals of the same lair biting each other. If I give the item to you, it is very likely that you will make a deal with Elder Nether Spring!

“Besides, everybody knows that Jin Xinyue is the most cunning and ruthless one of all the saintesses of the Pantheon of Demons. There is no telling how many brothers of the Blade of Chaos have been killed by your seemingly innocent smiling face!

“Right now, you don’t know where the item is hidden. That’s why you are pretending to negotiate with us. I’m afraid that we will be killed immediately after we bring the item out, won’t we?”

The sweet smile on Jin Xinyue’s face remained unchanged, but the brightness deep inside her eyes was getting colder and colder. The two entirely opposite airs mixed with each other and gave a creepy feeling.

She continued smiling as she said, “No wonder your organization entrusted the item to you. Your tongue is harder than your turtle shell!

“But I wonder, after I shatter your turtle shell and pluck the pieces off your body, will your tongue be as tough as it is right now?”

The trees nearby all began glowing because dozens of eagles had landed on the top of the trees. The scorching heat that they released illuminated the forest as if it were an inferno.

The Gold Shadow Guardians grinned hideously and drew close to the remnants of the Blade of Chaos.

Holding her arms, Jin Xinyue observed with great interest.

Li Yao narrowed his eyes. Bloody strains seemed to be extending into his heart along his veins from the depths his brain. His heart was beating faster and faster, and a weird strength was released.

His withered left arm continued expanding. The thick bandages were not enough to block the unstoppable strength that was spreading out.

Li Yao locked onto the back of Jin Xinyue’s head precisely. There was only a distance of ten meters between them.

Three seconds!

In the intense forest, a fierce battle between the Gold Shadow Guardians and the Blade of Chaos was about to begin, and Li Yao would perform an assault the moment the battle began.

With his terrifying Cultivation right now, when he was determined to kill a demon, even one of the twelve demon emperors of the Blood Demon Sector might not be able to stop him.

Two seconds!

The Gold Shadow Guardians and the Blade of Chaos all stretched out their claws and teeth slowly while they unsheathed their weapons. Weird noises of flesh being torn apart and bones being twisted were echoing inside their bodies, which kept expanding. Their spurs protruded out of their skin, and their hair was lengthened significantly. Their faces were deformed, demonstrating more of the features of ferocious animals. An intense air of killing was flowing around them.

The forest ten square kilometers nearby was caught in dead silence. All the wild animals within the range lurked in their nests, not having the courage to move anywhere.

Further away, the scared birds were fleeing away amid cackles.

“Hooo!”

When the demonic energy of the two parties was released to the maximum and they all turned into walking ferocious beasts, a wolf demon of the Blade of Chaos could not withstand the pressure anymore and lunged at the Gold Shadow Guardian that was closest to him.

“Hu!”

The eagles staying on the top of the trees spurted out crimson rays of light that turned into horrifying lotuses of magma in the crowd of the Blade of Chaos.

Bloody brightness was blinking in Li Yao’s eyes as he squatted. In half a second, he would dash toward Jin Xinyue!

Right then, an abrupt change took place!

Almost ten shadows dashed out of the earth that was covered by leaves near Jin Xinyue. Almost a hundred thin threads that were emitting spooky colors under the illumination of the flames surged out of the shadows. Apparently, they had been coated in deadly poison!

Somebody was lurking in the underground and attempting to assassinate Jin Xinyue!

Jin Xinyue truly deserved her title as a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons and the youngest demon king of the Blood Demon Sector. She sniffed, and her bright gold wings abruptly unfolded. They were both like two broad shields and two swift sabers that turned into dozens of streaks of golden brightness and darted toward the shadows near her.

In the blink of an eye, all the black shadows were chopped into multiple pieces before they even had the chance to scream.

However, Jin Xinyue’s glamorous golden wings were corrupted by the colorful poison, too. With burning sounds, black smoke was popping up, and the feathers were rotting, leaving ugly holes on her wings.

Li Yao secretly cursed and managed to stop himself from lunging out.

Jin Xinyue had escaped the assassination, but her subordinates were not so lucky.

Three to four shadows dashed out of the mud and trees near almost every Gold Shadow Guardian. Caught unprepared, all the Gold Shadow Guardians were heavily wounded!

The giant eagles staying on the top of the trees screamed miserably, too, because countless venomous bugs had been lurking on the trees and were dashing into the feathers of the eagles, biting, gnawing, and releasing lethal poison!

For a moment, a foul stench was blowing inside the forest. Disgusting air could be smelt everywhere.

Li Yao secret clicked his tongue. Even he did not notice that so many demons had been lurking inside the forest. The stealth ability of the demons was even higher than that of Spider’s Thorn on Spider Den!

Is it a trap of the Blade of Chaos?

Li Yao observed carefully and found that those chopped into pieces by Jin Xinyue were demons that half looked like human beings and half insects. They seemed to have been made by transplanting the torsos of human beings onto spiders, scorpions, and centipedes.

The demons were extremely tenacious. Even when they were cut into multiple pieces, they were not necessarily dead. Red blood as well as green, weird liquids flowed out of their wounds, vaporizing into venomous mist the moment they touched air.

Li Yao thought that it was the Blade of Chaos’ trap, but ten or so half-human-half-insect demons lunged at Ning Zhongze after they assaulted the Gold Shadow Guardians.

Two members of the Blade of Chaos stood in their way, only to be ripped into pieces by the new demons with their limbs that were as sharp as blades!

Jin Xinyue seemed to know the identity of the assassins. The bewilderment on her face flashed and was soon replaced by fury. She raised her voice and shouted, “Yuan Hao, what’s the meaning of this? Is the Nether Spring Kingdom declaring a total war on the Gold Crow Kingdom?”

Weird laughter echoed inside the forest, but nobody replied. Soon, blood-freezing hums filled the clearing, as if countless honeycombs had been broken at the same time and a swarm of bees was rushing out!

Li Yao raised his head only to find dozens of deep purple tornadoes that looked like half-frozen blood sweeping down amid restless humming sounds.

The giant eagles staying on the top of the trees were tortured by the venomous insects and rendered unable to fly. The purple tornadoes crashed into them and consumed them, turning them into enormous purple lumps.

The purple lumps wriggled, struggled, and fluctuated. The giant eagles screamed miserably. The scorching flames they spurted out burnt the trees into ash one after another, but they could not clear the venomous insects, which were attached to them like parasites.

After a few seconds, the purple tornadoes dispersed. The only thing left in the middle were skeletons riddled with holes. They collapsed to the ground with rattling noises.

It was only then that Li Yao realized that the purple tornadoes consisted of mosquitoes larger than dragonflies. The wings of the purple mosquitoes were translucent and multi-colored. Six eyes in a weird pattern could be found on them, too.

Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes?

Li Yao gasped.

Before his spiritual root was awakened, he had once encountered a beast tide outbreak on a train to the Grand Desolate Plateau. The beast tide made of the Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes had almost caused a catastrophe. Seven Cultivators had sacrificed themselves in order to delay their attack. In the end, crystal warships had to be deployed in order to annihilate all the Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes.

Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes were the strengthened version of the Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes. Only after feeding on the bodily fluids of multiple kinds of venomous insects mixed with the blood of dozens of demon beasts could one Ghost Face Purple Mosquito be born out of thousands of Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes.

For Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes, there had to be thousands of them in order to deal sufficient damage.

But one Ghost Face Purple Mosquito was enough to kill a strong demon beast!

Here, so many Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes had been gathered. What a terrifying strength it was!

Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!

After swallowing the giant eagles, the purple brightness around the Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes was even more eye-catching, as if weird purple flames were burning around them. They congregated into purple torrents and flooded toward the Gold Shadow Guardians and the Blade of Chaos.

If the Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes so much as touched them, regardless of whether they were the Gold Shadow Guardians or the Blade of Chaos, only their skeleton would be left.

“Ning Zhongze!”

Jin Xinyue’s face blanched, and she yelled, “Do you see? Elder Neither Spring’s subordinates are going to kill us both!

“If the item is in my hands, maybe it can still be put into use in the future. However, if it falls into the Elder Nether Spring’s control, you will be hopeless!

“Hurry up and give me the item!”

Ning Zhongze’s beard quivered. He failed to come up with anything for a long time, but he could not help but look at a colorful leopard that was standing like a human being.

“So, it is kept by you. Now give it to me!”

Jin Xinyue flapped her wings. Dozens of clusters of dark golden flames immediately darted toward the Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes as if they were alive.

The Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes were surrounded by purple halos, and they were not scared of normal flames. The giant eagles had also been wreathed in fire, but the Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes had not been hurt at all.

However, the dark golden fire that Jin Xinyue fanned out was like a pesticide to the Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes. Those that were hit by the fire were ignited immediately and turned into fireflies.

Jin Xinyue took the opportunity to lunge toward the leopard man. “Give it to me!”

Her wings seemed more agile than her hands. They swept at the leopard man within her wings before the demon was crushed!

Ning Zhongze and the leopard man both screamed.

Jin Xinyue smiled. Her wings brought back a tiny bloody ball that looked like a heart. Her eyes beaming with interest, she mumbled to herself, “Is this what’s making Elder Nether Spring unable to sleep at night?”

“Watch out!” Ning Zhongze furrowed his eyebrow and shouted loudly, “It is very unstable. Don’t break it no matter what!”

Chapter 844: Sharpness of the Foreign Blood

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Hardly had he given his warning when the withered tree behind Jin Xinyue turned into what seemed to be a human being. The dry branches turned into sharp limbs, which pierced toward the middle of Jin Xinyue’s wings!

The demon that looked like dry wood, a beetle, and a human being was covered in multiple layers of gray and brown armor. Except for his arms that were particularly long, almost ten blade limbs had grown out of his ribs and his back. His legs were twisted backwards, but his speed was unbelievably high.

His attack was as quick as a lightning, but Jin Xinyue seemed to have grown eyes on the back of her head. Her golden wings slashed at the knees of the demon, one from left and the other from right, like two fast sabers.

“Yuan Hao, I knew you’d been hiding here!”

The demon named ‘Yuan Hao’ seemed to be caught off guard by Jin Xinyue’s sudden counterattack. He hurriedly aborted his attack and dashed backward.

However, a sharp thorn suddenly protruded out of the ground where Jin Xinyue was standing and pierced through her foot!

Jin Xinyue gasped because of the excruciating pain. She fled back to the forest, but another ten or so sharp thorns spurted out of the ground again and blocked her path of escape like haunting ghosts.

Yuan Hao, who had just retreated, stomped on a giant tree and lunged at her again with the counterforce amid hideous laughter.

The two of them passed each other. Jin Xinyue grunted. Countless feathers fell off from her to the ground slowly like golden scales.

Like a wounded crane, Jin Xinyue stood on a branch on one foot while she eyed the insects crawling out of the earth, her sweet smile entirely gone. She gnashed her teeth. “Yuan Du!”

Jin Xinyue was certainly not as tranquil as she appeared to be.

Yuan Du and Yuan Hao were both princes of the Nether Spring Kingdom. They were also Elder Nether Spring’s most distinguished disciples and both in the level of demon king.

She might have been confident if she had to deal one of them, but her odds of winning were little to none when she was faced with the two of them at the same time.

Besides, the Nether Spring Kingdom was a nation of the underground Insect Clan. In a forest with rough terrain, the Insect Clan boasted natural advantages. The Feathered Clan, including Jin Xinyue, soared in the sky and was known for its speed. They could not make use of their advantages in a forest.

What did the Blade of Chaos steal from Elder Nether Spring exactly? He has sent his two most distinguished disciples to hunt it down after such a long trip even at the cost of the invaluable Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes!

Every Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes was more precious than a regular demon beast. In every battle, it was not uncommon for hundreds of Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes to be killed. Even though Elder Nether Spring was one of the twelve demon emperors, he would not use the Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes randomly.

Jin Xinyue glanced over the entire battlefield. Inside the dim forest, the Gold Shadow Guardians that she had brought with her had mostly been killed by the sudden assault of the Insect Clan, especially those who died of blood loss because of the absorption of the Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes. They were nothing but skeletons and could not have looked more miserable.

Jin Xinyue secretly cursed. She glanced at the sky, too, which was blocked by the dense crowns of trees. She was quite certain that the crowns of the trees must have been packed with deadly venomous bugs. She could even feel that lethal poison was dripping from the tops of the trees slowly.

Yuan Du, prince of the Nether Spring Kingdom who crawled out of the earth just now, was just as ugly as other insect demons. He looked like a tall human being who was wearing bionic armor. Glamorous stripes were spotted on the finely-made shell of the armor, which were emanating splendid colors despite the dimness of the forest.

Two long horns that looked like spears were protruding from his face, which was also covered in the shell. He looked rather handsome by the standard of human beings.

However, a hint of evilness was flowing in his eyes, and his eyeballs were flickering all the time, which made whoever saw him feel that there were bugs crawling all over their heart.

“Yuan Du, Yuan Hao, you two brothers are really outrageous!” Jin Xinyue shouted. “Are you not afraid of a total war between the Gold Crow Kingdom and the Nether Spring Kingdom after this?”

Yuan Du and Yuan Hao looked like each other with a smile. Yuan Du extended his hand to Jin Xinyue and said casually, “Give it to me.”

His voice was dull and thick, mixed with humming noises, as if a cluster of earth was stuffed in his throat.

Jin Xinyue rolled her eyes and giggled. “Yuan Hao, as I recall, weren’t you the one in charge of the pursuit of the item? Why is your big brother here, too? It seems that Elder Nether Spring does not trust you at all. But it makes sense, too. Everybody knows that your brother is the real powerful one in the Nether Spring Kingdom; you are just his lackey! Even in front of Elder Nether Spring, your brother has always been the one that your master likes more. This time, it is still your brother who finished the hunting task and retrieved the ultimate treasure. It seems that his position in the Nether Spring Kingdom and in the eyes of Elder Nether Spring is even more unshakable now, isn’t it?”

Yuan Hao was dazed for a moment. His grin somehow turned rigid.

Yuan Du burst into fury. “Jin Xinyue, what are you talking about?”

Jin Xinyue was smiling even more delightedly. “Fine. Today, I miscalculated and fell into your trap. It does not matter that I must give away the item now, but I will only give it to you, Yuan Hao!”

Before the two princes of the Nether Spring Kingdom responded, Jin Xinyue raised her hand, and a streak of redness rushed toward Yuan Hao.

Yuan Hao intended to pick up the object out of natural instincts, but Yuan Du simply retreated without a comment.

Yuan Hao’s reaction was slower. He tried his best to stop, but there was already no time. After a boom, a dark golden fireball burst out into countless flames in the shape of feathers that pierced through the trunks and the bodies of demons like the sharpest blade, hurting and killing the Blade of Chaos, the demons from the Nether Spring Kingdom, and those from the Gold Crow Kingdom indiscriminately!

It was not the item that they were chasing after at all but a bomb refined out of a demon core!

“If I can’t get the item, nobody is going to get it!”

Jin Xinyue dashed toward the depths of the forest after lighthearted giggles. She turned into a streak of brightness and stretched her wings out to the maximum, felling all the giant trees near her like two sharp sabers, blocking the way of her pursuers as the trees fell to the ground!

“After her!”

Brutality beamed out of the eyes of the two princes of the Nether Spring Kingdom. Yuan Hao blew a whistle made of the empty shell of a cicada. With the weird sound, the dozens of Ghost Face Silver Mosquitoes congregated into furiously burning ghost heads, their uneven surfaces wriggling for a long time. They darted toward Jin Xinyue like lightning!

In a primitive forest with dense trees, a pair of wings dozens of meters long was definitely a burden. The giant trees deep inside the Hundred Desolation Mountain had grown for thousands of years and were more than ten meters in diameter, not to mention that they were as hard as steel.

Sharp as Jin Xinyue’s wings might have been, the brightness on them dimmed significantly after she slashed through hundreds of giant trees.

Jin Xinyue meant to soar into the sky many times, only to be pushed back by the ghost heads made of the Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes. Besides, many insects of the Nether Spring Kingdom were adept at flying, too. If she flew to the sky where there was no cover, it was even more likely that she would be attacked collectively.

Pu!

After shattering the ghost heads made of the Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes for the seventh time, Jin Xinyue finally could not hold it any longer and vomited a mouthful of blood, the aura around her quickly fading.

Yuan Du and Yuan Hao grinned hideously and launched fatal attacks. Thin greenness was dyed to the tips of their blade limbs while a foul smell was spreading out from the stinky wind raised by the blade limbs!

However—

When Yuan Hao’s attack reached the furthest point and his blade limbs were about to pierce through Jin Xinyue’s wings, he suddenly jerked up and crouched weirdly as if he were hit by an invisible streak of lightning!

The five or so blade limbs that he had failed to retract left his body without a sign!

It was not until the blood drew a few thin lines in midair that Jin Xinyue and Yuan Du discovered that many extremely slim threads had been tied among the giant trees near them.

The threads were almost transparent and much thinner than the spider threads, but they were extremely tensile like the sharpest blades.

Thanks to his keen senses, he noticed something wrong the moment he was about to hit the threads and folded his body abruptly. Otherwise, the threads could have cut his upper body and his lower body apart!

However, his dodging movement only extended his life by half a second.

The moment Yuan Hao was about to land on the ground, a streak of redness suddenly rose up and, passing by him, leapt to the crown of a tree.

Yuan Hao’s ugly head soared to the sky with an expression of bewilderment on his face. He did not know what was going on even at his death.

There were many independent neurons on the bodies of the insects. After he lost his head, Yuan Hao’s body did not collapse but cramped crazily as if it were dancing the dance of death.

Deep inside Jin Xinyue’s eyes, the streak of redness gradually froze.

It was the suspicious villager she had met in the Dry Leaf Village!

But right now, the villagers looked entirely different from a moment ago.

The bandages on his left eye and left arm had turned into ash, revealing a demonic eye that was darker than a ruby and more sizzling than magma.

The withered left arm had now been expanded, too. Bloody stripes interweaved into complicated runes that were changing all the time as if they were alive.

Three dark golden rings were worn on the left arm. They seemed to be a certain strong barrier that locked an invincible strength inside the left arm so that he could make use of the strength without losing control of it.

What is this demon?

Jin Xinyue felt her blood freezing. She had not felt so scared when she was faced the two princesses of the Nether Spring Kingdom. But the aura from the mysterious demon for some reason reminded her of her father Jin Tuyi, who was one of the twelve demon emperors and the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of demons!

Who is he?

He killed Yuan Hao in just one attack. Although it was an ambush with a trap, his own capability must be in the high level of the demon king stage, if not the level of demon emperor!

He cannot be with Elder Nether Spring, and he cannot be a remnant of the Blade of Chaos. There is certainly not such an expert in the Blade of Chaos!

Is he a mysterious expert from the Kingdom of Lion Butchers or the Sea Dominator Kingdom?

Unlikely. It was a pure coincidence that I chased after the remnants of the Blade of Chaos to this place, but he arrived in the small village half a month ago!

Chapter 845: Li Yao’s New Ability

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

There was no time for her to think because the unbelievably strong blood-eyed demon had dashed at her in a streak of redness.

For a moment, Jin Xinyue felt that it was not a demon that she was faced with but an overwhelming red tide!

Hiu!

Seeing that his brother’s head had soared to the sky, Yuan Du, prince of the Nether Spring Kingdom, quickly made up his mind. He blew a long whistle, and the ghost heads formed of the Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes all charged at the blood-eyed demon in suicidal attacks.

Yuan Du turned around and shouted at Jin Xinyue, “He is not with us and will not let go of you and me. Let’s work together and take him down first!”

Just as he was talking, the Ghost Face Purple Mosquitoes, which could not stand the burning of the demonic fire, collapsed like a melting candle into mud under the corrosion of the bloody mist surrounding the enemy’s left arm.

“Alright!”

It was quite a shocking scene for Jin Xinyue, who was not naïve enough to think that the stranger was her friend just because he killed a prince of the Nether Spring Kingdom. It was more likely that he was planning to kill both her and Elder Nether Spring’s subordinates so that the secret treasure would be his alone!

Compared to the terrifying blood-eyed demon, Yuan Du was as kind and innocent as a three-year-old. Jin Xinyue bit her lips and had to choose the lesser of the two evils by attacking the critical parts of the new enemy with Yuan Du and the remaining ghost heads!

Shua!

Hundreds of sharp gold feathers tore apart multiple bloody shadows, only to touch not even the armor of the enemy. Jin Xinyue suddenly shook hard, feeling that an immense force pierced through her chest and that her heart seemed to have been plucked out of her body!

What was a hundred times more terrifying than her pain was the intimidating killing intent rippling out in the enemy’s left eye.

The thousands of streaks of killing intent turned the forest into a boundless slaughterhouse within a moment.

Jin Xinyue’s soul immediately reduced to the size of a bean. The will to resist that she had managed to form collapsed.

She even heard gloomy, creepy music of terror playing from various directions.

What kind of monster is this?

After her head was pierced through by the music, Jin Xinyue felt as if her head was about to explode.

As the saintess of the Pantheon of Demons, she had been chitchatting with countless unparalleled ferocious demons. Neither Elder Nether Spring, the real controller of the Nether Spring Kingdom; Elder Blood Robe, the support of the Kingdom of Lion Butchers; or Jin Tuyi, her father and the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of the demons, had ever released such sharp, terrifying and fatal killing intent around her, even though they were the strongest demon emperors of the Blood Demon Sector!

For some reason, she felt like she was a small bug pinned on a chopping block, and the enemy would dissect him easily with just a quick look!

“Pu!”

Jin Xinyue vomited blood crazily. Her body did not seem to belong to her right now, and she could feel that she was flying backwards rapidly by the quickly moving giant trees on her two sides.

She was too scared to lower her head to check her wound, anxious that she would find a hole the size of basin and all her internal organs gone.

A weird thing happened at this moment.

Something cool and comfortable flowed into her body from her left shoulder and spread to her heart, her internal organs, and all of her limbs, giving her brand-new strength in the numbness.

With the help of the new strength, Jin Xinyue bit her tongue hard and freed herself from the suppression of the enemy. She looked around, only to find that Yuan Du, prince of the Nether Spring Kingdom, was also struggling in midair like a kite whose string had been cut off just like herself.

Jin Xinyue narrowed her eyes and flapped her wings, raising a wind that blew Yuan Du to the terrifying blood-eyed demon again!

“Jin Xinyue!”

Yuan Du’s shocked, angry, and desperate screams were echoing in the forest.

Jin Xinyue secretly chuckled. She changed her posture in midair and darted into the depths of the forest.

She did not want to waste a single second and, therefore, did not even dare to look back. She merely sprinted as fast as possible in a random direction while she listened to what was happening behind her.

The forest sounded as lively as a casino. Hums, hisses, screams, and explosions were echoing nonstop, not dying down at all.

Yuan Du’s subordinates!

Jin Xinyue quickly distinguished the sounds. But they do not seem to be at an advantage. No. It is more like a one-sided slaughter!

The conclusion nearly froze Jin Xinyue’s heart.

Elder Nether Spring was one of the most terrifying demon emperors of the Pantheon of Demons. As Elder Nether Spring’s most beloved disciple, Yuan Du was carrying out a secret mission that was to wipe out the blood daughter of another demon emperor. Naturally, it must have been the elites of the Nether Spring Kingdom that had gone with him.

The Gold Shadow Guardians that Jin Xinyue had brought with her were already the top-tier warriors of the Gold Crow Kingdom. Even so, they had been killed by Yuan Du’s subordinates within a breath!

But right now, the mysterious blood-eyed demon was slaying the experts as if they were harmless chicken purely on his own in a forest, which was the Insect Clan’s favorite!

Suddenly, Jin Xinyue’s legs shook hard, and she nearly fell over.

She noticed that the sound of combats had suddenly ended. The forest resumed its dead silence, so quiet that one could hear a mosquito when it was passing by.

Has—has the blood-eyed demon been killed by Yuan Du and his lot, or—

Jin Xinyue’s long golden hair nearly all stood up, and her pupils almost burst out of her eyes because she saw a slender shadow fall from the sky in front of her.

In a trance, the enemy’s left arm seemed to have turned into a bloody dragon that snatched at her skull.

Her every cell seemed to have been corroded by the overwhelming killing intent of the enemy, and she could do nothing except wait to be killed.

Shua!

The bloody dragon brushed past her face and pierced into a giant, green rock behind her. With a crack, the rock broke into the tiniest powder, and the dust covered her head and face.

“Enough!”

Li Yao gripped his left arm with his right hand so hard that his fingers had pressed into his left arm and were almost crunching all the veins and nerves.

He bellowed loudly deep inside his brain. As the lightning was released by his soul, the bloody mental devil, which had expanded greatly, was suppressed again and shrieking in dissatisfaction.

It was the right decision to not go back to the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

My killing intent is too strong, and I hunger for slaughter every once in a while. Thankfully, it was only demons that I killed. Otherwise, my beliefs would certainly have been shaken.

It seems that I still need to get better control of myself, at least the killing intent, in the Blood Demon Sector before I return to the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

Li Yao took a deep breath, dwelling in the ecstasy of killing and unable to free himself. It was almost ten seconds later that he finally calmed his pounding heart. He repeated to himself deep inside his brain, She is a princess of the Gold Crow Kingdom and daughter to Jin Tuyi, a demon emperor, but now, Elder Nether Spring, another demon emperor, is trying to kill her. She can be used to trigger a conflict between the Gold Crow Kingdom and the Nether Spring Kingdom. Therefore, it is more useful to keep her alive than to kill her right now.

Jin Xinyue had no idea that she was wandering on the threshold of hell right now. She only felt the ‘hot spring’ on her left shoulder gradually turn into ‘magma’. Her mouth was dry, her head was dizzy, and she could barely keep her body steady.

Li Yao noticed the anomaly. He looked at her shoulder and was dazed.

The secret treasure, which, according to Ning Zhongze, the elder of the Blade of Chaos, could ‘change the future of the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector’, was stuck to Jin Xinyue’s left shoulder like a dry octopus.

It had a narrow, long crack in the middle from which several veins protruded out into Jin Xinyue’s body.

The veins were fluctuating and injecting fluorescent, green liquids into Jin Xinyue.

It seemed that the secret treasure had accidentally been activated in the violent movements during the fierce battle with Jin Xinyue as the subject.

Jin Xinyue was wearing a weird expression. She seemed to be laughing in a trance. Her golden eyes were infiltrated by a streams of bright green liquid, which was bouncing crazily like two clusters of weird green fire.

Jin Xinyue finally could not hold it any longer. She moaned and collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness.

Li Yao frowned and pondered for a moment. He examined her temperature remotely and discovered that Jin Xinyue’s body temperature was more than eighty degrees and still counting.

Li Yao took out a bone blade and touched the secret treasure attached to Jin Xinyue’s shoulder.

Surprisingly, the secret treasure fell to the ground in multiple pieces like a dry shell.

The shell was empty. All the green liquid had been absorbed by Jin Xinyue.

Jin Xinyue had almost ten wounds large and small on her shoulder, but they were all recovering quickly in greenish colors and soon disappeared.

The secret treasure that the Blade of Chaos, the Gold Crow Kingdom, and Elder Nether Spring are all fighting over seems to be the green liquid that is stored in such a weird way. Now it has all been absorbed by Jin Xinyue, what kind of changes will happen to her?

Li Yao had never been a chivalrous man, but he was more than interested in Ning Zhongze’s declaration that the secret treasure could ‘change the future of the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector’. After considering carefully for a moment, he picked up Jin Xinyue and moved deeper into the forest

…

The Hundred Desolation Mountain spanned over ten thousand kilometers. Waterfalls, valleys, and cliffs were everywhere. At dawn, Li Yao found a natural cave behind a waterfall. After he drove away the snakes, insects, and mice in the cave with his killing intent, he threw Jin Xinyue inside.

Jin Xinyue was caught in a super high fever. Her skin was burningly hot, but green liquid was spreading to her internal organs and her limbs, as if two weird forces were fighting inside her body.

The weird state lasted quite a few hours. Jin Xinyue seemed be to in the most excruciating suffering. She would be screaming in agony one moment and moaning miserably the next. She even rolled on the ground unconsciously until she curled up into the fetal position in the end.

Bright green liquid was gradually secreted from the pores all over her body, which flowed around and formed a thin green membrane that enshrouded her.

Li Yao had quite a lot of healing drugs with him in his Cosmos Rings, but Jin Xinyue’s symptoms were quite uncanny, and the body structures of demons and human beings were different. Even their cells were vastly different. Li Yao did not dare give her random medicine and could only observe carefully and consider.

After waiting for a long time, he decided to activate the Blood Stripe Virus’ ability that he had recently grasped to examine Jin Xinyue’s bloody.

Chapter 846: Humanization

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Li Yao touched Jin Xinyue’s left shoulder with his left index finger. Part of his spiritual energy pierced through her flesh and retrieved a drop of blood from her heart.

The drop of blood rolled on his fingertip like a pearl and was soon absorbed into his body.

Li Yao narrowed his eyes and focused his attention on the drop of blood. He magnified the blood while he observed and analyzed wholeheartedly.

A 3D projection was gradually formed deep inside Li Yao’s brain as his soul and the mental devil studied the picture together.

At first glance, Jin Xinyue’s blood was no different from that of other demons. After being significantly magnified, it looked like a translucent, scarlet ocean that was packed with cells resembling jellyfish.

Most of the cells were erythrocytes and leukocytes, like in human beings.

But some other cells had a fuzzy edge, like a drop of ink on a tissue. There seemed to be halos behind them, and countless flagella extended in various directions from such cells.

Those cells were apparently more active than regular cells. They were dashing and jumping without a pattern. Sometimes, they captured a regular cell with their flagella and soon multiplied into two or even four active cells.

They were the demonized cells that were the result of the infection of the Demon God Virus. Such cells were the greatest difference between the demons and human beings.

The cells of human beings, just like those of any other animal, had a stable membrane outside of them that was in charge of the exchange of energy and materials.

But after being infected by the Demon God Virus, the membrane of normal cells would mutate and turn fuzzy and active. Their aggressiveness and fission ability were both significantly improved, too, and they grew thousands of more flagella, which could help the cells grab more materials.

It was with the help of the unbelievable demonized cells that the demons could practice powerful techniques and compete with the crystal suits and crystal warships of human beings with their bodies of flesh and blood.

When Li Yao just arrived in the Dry Leaf Village, he had secretly collected the blood of a lot of villagers for his study, and he had a preliminary understanding about different kinds of demonized cells now.

Huh. What’s this?

Li Yao inwardly frowned. He found a material in Jin Xinyue’s blood that he had never seen before. They were green particles that were infiltrating the demonized cells at an amazing speed.

Within a moment, Jin Xinyue’s demonized cells shrank in size, and the flagella on the cells fell off. A clear membrane reappeared.

The particles were extremely small. Their diameter was only one ten thousandth of the normal demonized cells, the same width of most viruses.

Is this a brand-new virus?

Li Yao commanded the mental devil to retrieve a normal one of Jin Xinyue’s demonized cells and one that had been infected by the green virus.

The greatest difference between the demonized cells and regular cells, except for the flagella on the membrane, was the form and distribution of mitochondria.

Mitochondria was the unit in charge of the production of energy in a cell. It was known as the power source of cells. The structure and efficiency of the mitochondria decided the capability of an expert.

The mitochondria of Cultivators were usually dozens, if not hundreds, of times larger than those of ordinary people. Their percentage in a cell was much higher, too, which allowed the Cultivators to release the immense energy in the blink of an eye or to absorb the energy in lightning and thunder without getting hurt.

The mitochondria of the demons had their unique features, too. Except for their large size, there were bumps and dents all over them, making them uneven like cerebra.

As a result, the coverage of the mitochondria would be significantly larger than regular mitochondria, and their efficiency to generate energy would be higher, too. It was with the mutated mitochondria that the demons created the unpredictable, mysterious ‘demonic energy’.

According to Li Yao’s observation, inside Jin Xinyue’s first demonized cell, the mitochondria were indeed full of bumps and dents, but the unevenness of the other demonized cell that had been infected by the green virus was gone!

The surface of the mitochondria inside the second cell was smooth, and the membrane was clear without the slightest trace of flagella. After being infected by the green virus, the demonized cells became no different from the cells of human beings!

Right then, the demonized cell that was infected spurted out countless green particles, which penetrated through the membrane easily and spread out.

In the beginning, there was only one green particle, but in a few minutes, there were already hundreds of them.

Soon, as the number of the green particles grew larger and larger, most of Jin Xinyue’s demonized cells had been transformed into regular cells.

Five minutes later, the drop of blood collected from a saintess of the demons was no different from the blood of a human being.

What—what the heck?

Li Yao was dumbfounded. He vaguely felt that he was onto something groundbreaking.

When he looked at Jin Xinyue again, she had finally calmed down after struggling in pain for quite a few hours. However, her long wings had been mostly folded back into her body. Looking from the side, she was just a random human girl!

Li Yao swallowed hard and collected another few drops of her blood for analysis.

This time, all the demonized cells inside her blood were gone; they were just like the regular cells of human beings now!

So, the weird green virus can turn a demon into a human being?

Li Yao felt a headache coming on.

The high-level demons often boasted the ‘polymorphing’ ability, which allowed them to hide their demonic features and pretend to be human beings.

But it was only a change of appearance. A lot of demonized cells were still inside their body.

In the Heaven’s Origin Sector, it was with multiple examinations of the blood, hair, and excrement that human beings identified the spies of the demon race. It almost never failed.

But right now, a demon had turned into a human being from head to toe and from outside to inside right in front of Li Yao’s eyes!

How could he not be shocked?

Li Yao was not sure if the transformation was reversible. Would she turn back into a demon after a while, or would she stay as a human being forever?

Either way, the elder of the Blade of Chaos was quite right. The secret treasure could indeed completely change the future of the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector!

What if countless experts of the Blood Demon Sector snuck into the Heaven’s Origin Sector after turning themselves into human beings in such a way?

Or rather, had they already done it? Did a lot of demons already go to the Heaven’s Origin Sector decades ago, live as human beings, and even rise to power in the federation?

The demon race boasts the polymorphing ability. If their cells are no different from those of human beings, what is the essential difference between human beings and demons?

Who are human beings, and who are demons? What are human beings, and what are demons?

Watching the last feather on Jin Xinyue’s body gradually fade away, Li Yao was deep in thought.

…

Maybe the transformation into a human being was too exhausting for her soul and physical strength, but Jin Xinyue did not wake up until three hours later.

The excruciating pain deep to her bones and the weird feeling of her back leaning the ground immediately reminded her of the bad situation she was in. After she triggered her soul power and summoned her demonic energy, she felt that her body was empty. All her strength seemed to have been sealed, and she could not access any of it.

Jin Xinyue immediately recalled the terrifying eye before she fell into coma.

She shuddered in a chill.

It was the last meaningless movement she allowed herself to make.

As a saintess who had received the harshest training in the Pantheon of Demons from a young age, Jin Xinyue did not waste a single second in useless fear or complaint. She immediately started thinking of ways to escape and reverse the situation.

Since she had not yet been killed, she still had a chance.

Jin Xinyue sat straight and observed her surroundings calmly.

It was a shabby cave with the sounds of rushing torrents outside, indicating that the cave was behind a waterfall.

Dry branches were piled up messily on the ground. More than ten holes had been dug on the wall in which some simple tools were kept.

The tools made Jin Xinyue’s pupils constrict violently. She almost exclaimed loudly.

Fangs of the Purple Jade Phantom Poison Spiders!

Tails of the Purple Cloud Mystic Electric Birds!

The spine of the Desert Wild Wolves!

Jin Xinyue felt like her blood was freezing. They were the only three items that she could recognize among the dozens of tools. But they were all invaluable treasures from the ancient demon beasts more than thirty thousand years ago.

Even though her father was the monarch of the Gold Crow Kingdom and one of the twelve demon emperors, he did not have too many files regarding the ancient demon beasts, either. She had only seen similar illustrations in the ancient classics that her father treasured.

Although she did not know the specific names of the rest of the materials and scraps of ancient magical equipment, she could tell that the vintage feeling of the objects could not have been achieved without withstanding the test of time.

Any of the invaluable treasures would raise a riot in the auctions outside, but the mysterious demon is just stuffing them into the holes on the wall randomly as if they are garbage?

He is so strong, yet he was lurking in a remote mountain village and does not care for the materials of ancient demon beasts and the scraps of ancient magical equipment. Who is he exactly?

Trying to hold back her pain, Jin Xinyue took a deep breath and sorted through all the information she knew.

She was on a mission to hunt the remnants of the Blade of Chaos. The real purpose of the mission was a top secret. There should not have been a third force other than Elder Nether Spring that knew of it.

The mysterious demon was certainly not a member of the Blade of Chaos. Otherwise, he could have taken the item away long before she arrived.

He did not belong to the Blade of Chaos, Elder Nether Spring, or her father’s subordinates, but he had hidden in the mountain village half a month in advance?

Was it possible that she had gotten the whole thing wrong and that the stranger had nothing to do with her mission but ran into her by accident?

Right then, the water sound out of the cave was lowered. A slender shadow entered the cave and moved toward her unhurriedly.

Jin Xinyue’s heart shivered. She was unwilling to face the weird, bloody eye again, but the stranger had stopped right in front of her. She could only struggle to raise her head.

Thankfully, the left eye and the left arm of the stranger were tied up in bandages.

However, the better they were concealed, the creepier Jin Xinyue felt. She could not help but imagine how terrifying and mysterious the bloody eye behind the bandage was!

Inside the narrow cave behind the waterfall, the princess of the Gold Crow Kingdom and the saintess of the Pantheon of Demons shuddered uncontrollably.

Chapter 847: Bone Fire and Elegant Accent

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

Shua!

Li Yao picked up a handful of bluish powder with his right hand. He then curled his index finger and made a weird posture before he opened his hand like a blossoming lotus. A bluish fire suddenly popped up from his palm, making the small cave look like a deep ocean and making him even more mysterious.

“Before the bone fire dies down, give me a few reasons why I shouldn’t kill you,” Li Yao said casually in a rigid tone.

The movement to make the fire and his tone raised surging tides in Jin Xinyue’s heart.

As a princess of the Gold Crow Kingdom and a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons, Jin Xinyue had read a lot of books from a young age. The divine classics of the demon race in the Demon Beast Empire thirty thousand years ago, the notes and books of human beings, and even anecdotes from the era of the ancient Cultivators forty thousand years ago were all familiar to her.

When Li Yao made the fire with the weird technique, she already felt that the movement was both strange and familiar. When Li Yao uttered ‘bone fire’, the pores all over her body constricted violently, and she could not help but shudder.

Making a fire in midair was not difficult for Cultivators and demons with reasonable expertise.

But the spiritual fire or the demonic fire would release very strong waves. They were like fireflies in a dark night, and it was more than easy for the enemies to detect them.

During an adventure or battle, if somebody made a fire in a dark environment, they would be committing suicide by turning themselves into a target for everybody.

By the same logic, normal fire would emanate light and heat incessantly, too. Not just the Cultivators, even a regular animal would be able to sense it.

The so-called ‘bone fire’, on the other hand, was made by igniting the powder of the bones of special beasts.

The constituents inside the bone powder could suppress the waves in the fire and cover up the source of light.

As a result, those within the range of the bone fire could see their surroundings clearly.

But if somebody was three to five meters away from the bone fire, they would not see a burning fire however hard they strained their eyes. They could not even feel the tiniest waves from there.

This was the most amazing part of the bone fire!

However, triggering a bone fire was an ancient secret technique that had been lost forty thousand years ago. The recipe for the bone powder and the gesture and spell to trigger the bone fire had been lost with the passage of time.

Even Jin Xinyue had only read the descriptions of the bone fire in the records of the Demon Beast Empire from more than thirty thousand years ago.

The records also stated that the bone fire technique had been lost thousands of years earlier.

Bone fire! A technique that has been lost for at least thirty thousand years!

Who is he exactly? Why can he perform such an ancient secret art?

Besides, his voice—

The mysterious demon’s accent was as rough as iron, and every word lingered on after it was spoken. It sounded quite vintage.

In the demon race, there was a special name for such an intonation, which was ‘Elegant Accent’.

It was the accent of forty thousand years ago. Ancient Cultivators often talked in such a tone.

When the demon race rose up and established a Demon Beast Empire across the entire universe, the stronger demons naturally adopted the tone, too.

However, after forty thousand years, especially after the collapse of the Demon Beast Empire and the establishment and fallout of the Star Ocean Imperium, the tones of the demon race and human beings both changed a lot. They were vastly different from the ancient Elegant Accent now.

Right now, the Elegant Accent, which was a mimicry of the tone of forty thousand years ago, would only be used during major ceremonies of the royal family in the demon race.

As a member of the royal family, Jin Xinyue had learned the Elegant Accent, too, but she had to admit that the stranger’s accent had a certain unadorned, uncouth feeling to it. His Elegant Accent was not only much more proficient than hers but also far exceeded that of the teacher who had taught her Elegant Accent.

A mysterious and strong demon lurking in a small village!

He seemed to have popped out of nowhere in the weird forest fire half a month ago.

He considered the ancient secret techniques petty tricks, he has left the materials of the demon beasts and the scraps of ancient magical equipment from forty thousand years ago lying around so randomly, and he can speak such standard, authentic ancient Elegant Accent!

Who can he possibly be?

Jin Xinyue thought hard for a moment. Suddenly, she shuddered as if hit by a lightning, because she came up with an impossible answer, and she almost exclaimed.

Could it be—

Li Yao stared at her coldly and quietly. The bone fire that was bouncing weirdly left twisted shadows on his face that looked like his unpredictable killing intent.

The bone fire inside his palm was like a candle in wind. It was flickering and shrank to the size of a bean multiple times, but it shone stubbornly again every time it appeared to be dying down. Jin Xinyue felt her heart pounding, and her head was dizzy.

It’s time for a gamble!

After connecting all the weird behaviors of the stranger together, Jin Xinyue figured out a shocking answer.

She made up her mind and blinked before she shouted quickly, “Senior, please don’t kill me. I’m very useful for you!

“My name is Jin Xinyue. I am the First Princess of the Gold Crow Kingdom, which is the best of the four most powerful kingdoms of the Blood Demon Sector. We govern all the Feather Clan in the world and dominate the sky!

“My father, Jin Tuyi, is one of the twelve demons of the Pantheon of Demons as well as the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of the demon race. Billions of demons listen to his command!

“If you are lenient enough to pardon me for my disrespect, senior, you will be an honorable guest of the Gold Crow Kingdom and receive the help from the entire country!”

Li Yao laughed in contempt. There was no interest in his eyes at all.

Jin Xinyue was even more positive about her assumption, so she probed further. “Senior, do you know that you have made a quite troublesome enemy?

“The insect demon that you killed just now was named Yuan Hao; he was a prince of the Nether Spring Kingdom, another one of the four most powerful kingdom. Elder Nether Spring, his master, is also a top expert of the Blood Demon Sector. He is brutal, sordid, and petty. Now that you have pissed him off, he will certainly not stop asking for your trouble!”

“Okay.” Li Yao nodded. “Are you done yet? You are going to die if you are.”

Jin Xinyue observed the stranger. She could tell that the mysterious demon really did not care about the friendship of a demon emperor and the threat of another demon emperor.

Judging from his easiness, it was even possible that this was not the first time he had slain an important figure such as Yuan Hao.

It was definitely not a threat that he claimed that he was going to kill her; he was merely stating an unimportant fact!

“Senior!”

Jin Xinyue was ninety percent sure about his identity now. In her last try, she raised her voice and said, “I’m a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons, and I’m familiar with the history over the past tens of thousands of years. I also possess countless secret techniques for the training of demons that have been developed in the recent thousands of years!

“There are also many other secret arts that I can find in the library of the Gold Crow Kingdom and the Pantheon of Demons even if I don’t know them myself!

“I assume that you must be familiarizing yourself with ‘modern’ society when you hid in the small village, right?

“But for such a far-flung village, the best they had must have been preliminary body-training techniques. There would have been nothing advanced at all. You were completely wasting your time there, senior!

“Only I can help you fit into ‘modern’ society quickly!”

Jin Xinyue intentionally stressed ‘modern’.

“Huh?”

Li Yao narrowed his eyes. His killing intent, as if tangible, spurted out of his bandages and congregated into an unstoppable tornado that pressed Jin Xinyue to the ground, making her unable to move anymore.

“Are you forcing me to kill you?”

Tears in her eyes, Jin Xinyue replied in a shivering voice, “Spare my life, senior! I really don’t know anything. I’m trying hard to think how I can possibly be of value to you!

“I would be privileged to die in the hands of an unparalleled expert such as yourself, but if I must die, why don’t you wait until I tell you everything that I know? If you kill me then, I will be able to die in peace!”

Li Yao gazed at her for a long time and retracted his killing intent after a snort.

Cold sweat pouring out, Jin Xinyue panted hard and managed to say, “Senior, the world is different today. Human beings have risen again, and the demon race is declining. However, human beings and the demon race have both developed unbelievable methods of training in the past thousands of years that… are possibly different from those that you are familiar with.

“Are you not interested in the methods of training at all?”

Li Yao was silent. The cold bone fire constricted yet again into the size of a needle tip before it shivered and faded out.

In the darkness, Jin Xinyue felt her heart palpitating.

While she was preparing her last words, the stranger did not attack her but said coldly, “Tell me why the three parties were attacking each other. I’m told that the Blood Demon Sector is at war with a world of human beings named the Heaven’s Origin Sector. The demon emperors should know what they are doing in the internal fights. Do they never consider the consequences of their decisions at all?”

Jin Xinyue was slightly relieved, knowing that her life was saved, for now.

She swallowed hard and said, “Senior, it was beyond my expectations, too.

“Since you know about the war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector, senior, have you heard of an organization named ‘Blade of Chaos’?

“Half a year ago, the ‘Battle of Dawn’, a large-scale attack that the Blood Demon Sector carried out against the Heaven’s Origin Sector, failed. A lot of soldiers returned to the Blood Demon Sector.

“The Blade of Chaos took the opportunity to gather the defeated soldiers and rebelled, which was known as ‘Riot of Bloody Blade.

“When the rebellion was at its peak, they occupied ‘Bone Sand City’, a city governed by the Nether Spring Kingdom in the north.

“My father, Jin Tuyi, was the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of the demon race. He was responsible for annihilating the rebels and suppressing the insurrection.

“I was helping my father by hunting the leadership of the Blade of Chaos. But I discovered that Elder Nether Spring’s subordinates were chasing after the Blade of Chaos in secret, too.

“Bone Sand City, which was taken over by the rebels, was the Nether Spring Kingdom’s territory. It was normal that Elder Nether Spring hated the Blade of Chaos’ guts. I didn’t think too much of it in the beginning. But later, I discovered that Elder Nether Spring’s subordinates were not chasing after the Blade of Chaos randomly. Instead, they were focused on one squad of the Blade of Chaos and meant to kill them at any cost.

“Truth be told, my father and Elder Nether Spring are political rivals. They have been attacking each other openly and in secret for decades. Now, for the post of the commander-in-chief of the coalition army, they are almost engaged in an open fight.

“After I discovered the anomaly of Elder Nether Spring, I investigated and found out that Elder Nether Spring had a confidential laboratory in Bone Sand City that was compromised in the Riot of Bloody Blade. Something extremely precious was stolen by the Blade of Chaos.”

Chapter 848: Hereditary Information Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

 

“My purpose was simple. I planned to find the lost item and uncover Elder Nether Spring’s secret so that the Gold Crow Kingdom would be in advantage in the competition with the Nether Spring Kingdom. Or, maybe I could trade the lost item with Elder Nether Spring for political benefits.

“However, Elder Nether Spring valued the item much more than I expected. He risked a war of the two kingdoms and ordered his subordinates to kill me!

“It seems that the elder of the Blade of Chaos was not exaggerating. The item might really change the fate of the Blood Demon Sector!

“Senior, with all due respect, that item is a ticking time bomb.

“If your purpose since the beginning has been the item, then I have nothing to say. You’ve got the item, and you can easily walk away after killing me to keep my mouth shut.

“However, if you are uninvolved in the incident and only retrieved the item by accident, you and I will be on the same side, senior, because Elder Nether Spring will hate us equally.

“Of course, I’m too incapable to be qualified to fight by your side. With your amazing skills, you must be fearless of a demon emperor. However, Elder Nether Spring governs all the Insect Clan in the world. They are best known for their harassment and persistence. If they follow and bother you all the time, it will certainly be a minor nuisance for you, senior.

“If you spare my life, senior, the Gold Crow King will be able to give you a hand and get rid of the nuisance for you. You will be saved a lot of trouble, won’t you?

“Besides, my father is the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of the demon race, and he respects heroes the most. With a great war breaking out soon, you are going to make a huge difference if you go to the Gold Crow Kingdom!”

Jin Xinyue was quite bold. After she calmed herself down, she immediately started trying to manipulate Li Yao.

Li Yao smiled casually and said, “The item has been broken. Some sort of weird green liquid was stored inside it, but it leaked into your body and triggered tremendous changes.

“Do you feel that your body is stranger and your demonic energy is not functioning well? It is not because I imposed barriers on you but because of the effects of the green liquid.”

Jin Xinyue was greatly shocked. She could not help but touch her back, only to find no feathers or wings at all.

She took a deep breath and sensed the demonic energy inside her body. She even tried to stimulate her cells to summon her original appearance, to no avail. Her body was empty, and the strength that she was born with had vanished into thin air!

Deep confusion beamed out of Jin Xinyue’s eyes for the first time. She shivered and asked, “Senior, can I retrieve some devices from my Cosmos Ring to examine my cells?”

Li Yao blinked and asked back, “Cells? What is that?”

Jin Xinyue smiled bitterly. “Cells are the most basic structural and functional units that constitute a living entity. It is a new concept coined some twenty thousand years ago. Demons and human beings are all made of cells.

“But for demons, cells are more important. The study of cells is the foundation of our modern training.”

Li Yao nodded and gestured for Jin Xinyue to do what she had to.

Jin Xinyue calmed herself down. She touched a silver Cosmos Ring that she was wearing on her little finger with her thumb, and she mumbled a series of spells to herself, retrieving five or so pieces of magical equipment.

Li Yao was particularly interested in the dark golden one that had a delicate badge on the pedestal that read ‘Deep Sea’.

It was a piece of magical equipment produced by the Refining Department of Deep Sea University, which was known as the ‘holy land for refiners’ in the Heaven’s Origin Sector!

Jin Xinyue managed to keep her shaking hands stable and opened the cover of the pedestal. She inserted a standard crystal into it and activated the magical equipment.

The seven crystal cameras at the top of the magical equipment immediately started revolving slowly.

“Senior, this magical equipment is named ‘portable microscope’,” Jin Xinyue explained. “It can magnify an object to eight hundred thousand times its normal size. A world of endless mysteries can be observed through it.”

Li Yao raised his eyebrow, pretending that he was very curious but would not like to pursue it further in case it showed his ignorance.

Although Jin Xinyue’s mind was in a mess, she was secretly amused by Li Yao’s countenance. “Microscopes can be divided into two kinds, namely spiritual energy microscopes and biochemical microscopes. Human beings are better at the former while demons are adept at the latter.

“The spiritual energy microscope in my hand was made by the best refiners of the Heaven’s Origin Sector. I’m going to analyze my own blood with it.”

Jin Xinyue carefully picked out two glass slides, which were so thin that they were almost nonexistent. She then pierced her finger and squeezed out a drop of blood, which she dripped in the middle of the two glass slides. In the end, she inserted the glass slides into the slot of the microscope and observed for a long time.

Gradually, her face turned paler and paler until it was whiter than that of a dead person. Her sweat was pouring out, and she fell to the ground like a fish that had been tossed onto land, her eyes unfocused, as if somebody had taken her spine away.

“No wonder Elder Nether Spring wants the item back no matter what!”

Jin Xinyue breathed hard for a long time before she came back to herself. She sucked her finger and laughed more hideously than when one was crying. “He—he is running such horrible experiences and has even made breakthroughs. He—he can transform the demonized cells inside the body of a demon into regular cells!”

“Senior, I… I…”

Jin Xinyue considered for a long time and decided to tell the truth in the end.

Although the stranger did not even know what cells were, it did not mean that he could be fooled easily. Her reactions that bordered on losing control just now were indicative of many things already.

She was dealing with an old monster who could kill a demon king instantly just by moving his finger. Jin Xinyue knew that it would be a disaster if such an old monster caught her lying.

“I finally understand why Elder Nether Spring tried so hard to get back the item and did not even care about potential war.

“It was because that the item he lost was an extremely important drug that can infect demonized cells and turn them into regular ones!

“Or more straightforwardly speaking, the drug can turn demons into human beings!

“I seem to have been infected by the drug and… have turned into a human being!

“With your wisdom, senior, you must know what kind of consequences such a drug can bring. It must be clear to you, too, that you are not going to get away easily now that you have already become involved, whatever your original purpose was!

“The only solution right now, senior, is to go to Gold Crow City with me and ask for my father’s opinion!”

Jin Xinyue talked as if she was being considerate of Li Yao, but Li Yao knew that the demon was merely trying to gain a free bodyguard. She was perhaps also planning to exploit a few secret techniques and ancient treasures out of him.

However, the demon was quite strong-willed. If Li Yao had turned into a demon from a human being suddenly, he did not think that he could be as calm.

“There’s no need to underestimate yourself. You are quite calm, too.”

The mental devil had crawled out at some point and was smiling. “You were infected by the Bloody Stripe Virus, and part of your cells are different from those of the normal human beings. Aren’t you as calm as before, too?

“If we get to the bottom of it, Jin Xinyue is a pure human being right now, and of the two creatures here, you are more of a demon than her!”

Li Yao triggered a lightning bolt with his soul power, but the mental devil snuck to the depths of his brain before it was hit by the lightning, leaving a series of weird laughter.

Gloomy brightness blinked in Li Yao’s eyes as he said solemnly, “You said just now that you had a lot of brand new methods of training for demons in your possession that were developed over the past few thousand years? What have you got? Show me!”

“As you wish, senior.”

Jin Xinyue understood that whether or not she could be kept alive depended on the old monster’s interest in the items that she was about to offer. Pondering for a moment, she scratched her hair and took off a Cosmos Ring that was hidden behind her ear. She then retrieved six jade chips and a mini crystal processor after a shake.

“Senior, these are modern jade chips. Different from the ancient jade chips, they have to be activated with a kind of special magical equipment named ‘crystal processors’. Although the procedures can be annoying, the capacity of these jade chips is hundreds of times higher than that of ancient jade chips. Other than the simple text, images, videos, and sounds can be recorded, too!

“Please take a look, senior. Inside the six jade chips are the marvelous arts that the demon race developed in recent millenniums. They are the essence of the civilization of the demon race. Every discipline is extremely sophisticated and an unparalleled technique!

“And those techniques are merely a tiny proportion of the classics of the training methods for demons. Inside the library of the Gold Crow Kingdom, a lot of techniques that are more mysterious and advanced are waiting for you to study, senior!”

Li Yao’s interest was greatly aroused. With the help of Jin Xinyue, he turned on the crystal processor and inserted the few jade chips. The names of the classics of the demon race were immediately displayed on the light beam.

Advanced Cell Biology!

Applied Microbiology

Virology!

Development of Carnivore Fungi!

Training Methods of Highly Differentiated Adenocarcinoma Cells!

Introduction to Genetics!

“…” Li Yao.

Jin Xinyue introduced the books to Li Yao humbly, but not without pride. “Senior, these are the classics that modern demons major in right now. They might not be as easy and straightforward and the training arts of the ancient demons, but once you get the hang of them and grasp the mysteries of cells and even genes, the techniques that you can perform will be hundreds of times more powerful than ancient techniques!”

“Huh?”

Li Yao grunted in dissatisfaction.

Jin Xinyue immediately lowered her head and pretended that she was nervous. “I was talking too much, senior. With your keen sight, you must be able to see the value of the classics after a quick look!”

Li Yao lowered his eyes and asked unhurriedly, “What are genes?”

“Genes are the amalgamation of the hereditary information contained deep inside our cells. They determine the growth and death of a creature. They are the source of life and everything for a life!” Jin Xinyue explained quickly.

“Hereditary information?” Li Yao raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. Hereditary information.”

Dazzling sparks were shining in Jin Xinyue’s eyes as she said, “The information that the thirteen ancient demon clans from the primeval era, and even the Pangu Clan, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, and the other deities in the universe before them, passed on to us!”

Chapter 849: Cell Infiltration

 

Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97

There was mockery in Li Yao’s eyes as he scoffed, “Are you selling the bullsh*t of the Pantheon of Demons again? How come I never learned of anything named the Pantheon of Demons forty thousand years ago?”

His words cast Jin Xinyue into a daze, too. She secretly stuck her tongue out in her heart and said even more humbly, “Your eyes are keen, and you are indeed insightful, senior. In fact, I don’t believe in the ‘glorious Pantheon of Demons’, either. It is just a form of propaganda.

Li Yao was startled. He did not expect that Jin Xinyue’s head was clear enough to call a spade a spade.

Jin Xinyue opened her hands and said, “I’ve read a lot of history books of the Demon Beast Empire in the royal library of the Gold Crow Kingdom and the collections of the Pantheon of Demons. I also browsed through the human beings’ records of the events of the past. After I compared them, I discovered that, although many narrations were contradictory, the classifications of four levels and theories of the Pantheon of Demons including ‘obliteration, rebirth, and immortality’ were all gradually formulated over the past forty thousand years and not entirely settled until approximately ten thousand years ago. There’s no doubt about that. It’s perfectly normal that you haven’t heard about it before.”

Li Yao could not help but chuckle drily. He then demanded in a high-pitched voice, “So, you are aware that you’ve been lying?”

“It is a white lie,” Jin Xinyue replied calmly. “Demons are different from human beings. The vastest difference for human beings is their skin color or hair color. Strong or weak, they all have one head that is on the top of two shoulders. Their appearance and habits are very similar. Therefore, it is natural for human beings to be united, and ideologies such as equality and democracy work better for them.

“But the difference among the individual demons is too huge. We are scattered throughout the entire world from the high sky to the deep ocean. The high-level demons are even smarter than human beings, but low-level demons possess wisdom equal to that of a child, not to mention that the latter are also driven by their instincts of slaughtering and know nothing but destruction.

“If I may ask, how can the thousands of species of demons, who vary greatly, be united and develop our world stably without a powerful system?

“At the early stage of the Demon Beast Empire, the system of the four classes and theories of the Pantheon of Demons were not perfected yet. At that time, the demons attacked each other all the time, and there was no peace.

“If I may be so bold to ask, you witnessed such a chaotic era in person, didn’t you, senior?”

Li Yao lowered his head and sniffed, but he did not respond.

Jin Xinyue smiled. “Therefore, after the atrocities during the dynasty-changing wars of the Demon Beast Empire, the sages established the system of the four classes creatively, which was also known as ‘Four Pillars’. They gradually perfected the legends of the Pantheon of Demons and enlighten the unwise, low-level demons with the tales to ensure the stability of our civilization.

“Otherwise, the internal strife between the different species of demons would already have been enough to cause the doom of our civilization. How can we expect to fight human beings?

“Let’s be honest here. Of course, the legends that the Pantheon of Demons made up are exaggerated, but the clans such as Zhurong, Kuafu, Gonggong, and Nuwa are real things.

“You may understand them as the super experts, or the powerful sects, in the primeval era. They could also have been glorious species or civilizations. For example, the Zhurong civilization, the Kuafu civilization, and the Gonggong civilization, and so on.

“When the civilizations of the primeval era mixed together, countless brand-new lives flourished. They were our ancestors.

“Demons and human beings are the different branches of the primeval civilizations. However, when it comes to the utilization of spiritual energy, human beings choose to walk down the wrong path.”

“The wrong path?”

Li Yao raised his eyebrow. He was rather curious about how the demons viewed the humans’ methodology of training.

“Yes.”

Jin Xinyue nodded and said, “The training of human beings is entirely focused on energy. They prefer energy to material. To quote their ancient classics, the bodies of human beings are just boats to pass through the sea of suffering. It is just a container that is not worth mentioning at all. Although they can build up their body by inhaling and exhaling the spiritual energy of the universe, the main purpose of such a practice is to absorb and utilize more spiritual energy.

“The bottom line is, human beings consider their bodies as a containers and energy as the ultimate goal. For the experts of human beings, the higher their Cultivation is, the more importance they attach to energy. When they advance into the Core Formation Stage and the Nascent Soul Stage, they even reconstruct some of their body parts, namely the cores and the ‘Nascent Soul’.

“After the ‘Nascent Soul’ is born, the experts of human beings will walk further down the path of pure energy. The Divinity Transformation Stage, the Divinity Branching Stage, and the Void Refining Stage are all for the ultimate purpose of energization. In the end, they will ‘ascend to the heavens’. It means that they will completely get rid of their body and blood and become creatures of pure energy.”

Li Yao nodded, deep in thought. “This is quite a refreshing theory.”

“Thanks for you compliment,” Jin Xinyue said in a hurry. “Over the past forty thousand years, the training theories of both demons and mankind have developed quite fast. The wisdom of countless sages and geniuses during the period is not to be underestimated. I’m just copying the predecessors’ theories and introducing them to you. I believe that your expertise will certainly be much higher than right now after you learn more about the new theories.”

Li Yao laughed. “What’s wrong about the path of pure energy? I’ve met a few Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators before. They were quite strong, and it was a headache to kill them.”

Jin Xinyue shuddered and could not help but observe Li Yao’s face in secret.

As a saintess of the Pantheon of Demons, she had her own secret arts of observation. She could easily tell that the stranger was not lying. It seemed that he had slain more than one Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator!

Jin Xinyue swallowed hard. Her heart, which had just calmed down, was racing again.

She knew for a fact that, after such a long war between the Blood Demon Sector and the Heaven’s Origin Sector, few demon emperors of the Pantheon of Demons had slain experts in the Nascent Soul Stage before.

But the old monster here talked about killing Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators so casually as if they were nothing but harmless hens. What a ferocious demon!

Jin Xinyue calmed herself down and said, “For starters, creatures of pure energy are very unsteady and prone to interference.

“More importantly, a body of flesh and blood is the ultimate essence of the materials in the universe. Life is the greatest mystery in the universe and a boundless treasury!

“Every cell is like a tiny universe and boasts infinite potential. Isn’t it catching at the shadow and losing the substance when you explore the great universe in a hurry but you haven’t figured out the small universe yet?

“Therefore, the demons regard our bodies as the source of our strength. We are more focused on developing the potential of our cells by attacking them with energy. All our techniques are based on that, too!

“With your expertise, you must know a lot of secret training arts. However, if I may be so bold to ask, have you ever thought of the mechanisms of the secret arts, senior?”

Li Yao pondered for a moment and glanced at Jin Xinyue coldly.

Jin Xinyue shivered, but she bit her lips hard and widened her eyes, staring back at Li Yao.

She was very clear that she could not keep retreating and submitting herself during the competition with such an old monster. She had to take the initiative at the crucial moment even though it might be risky.

As she expected, Li Yao lowered his head after a moment and said frankly, “It’s true that I don’t know how many secret arts work even though I can use them adeptly. I only know that training through those methods will make me stronger, but training is always followed by endless combat. Is there any time for me to consider the mechanism of training at all?”

Ecstasy beamed out of Jin Xinyue’s eyes. She knew that she had hooked the old monster.

Now that she had achieved her purpose, she did not dare test him any longer. She said in a hurry, “According to the modern theories of training, the secrets of demons lie in the genes.

“You may find it hard to believe, senior, but if you magnify a cell billions of times, you will be able to clearly see the gene strands deep inside the cells, which are in pairs and in helical forms.

“On those gene strands, the greatest experts and sages, such as Zhurong, Gonggong and Kuafu, left astronomical hereditary information billions of years ago.

“If you think that such an explanation is too obscure, you may consider that the greatest experts in the primeval era wrote all the training methods possible on jade chips named ‘gene strands’. Then they connected all the jade chips and hid them deep inside every cell.

“However, under normal circumstances, all the ‘unparalleled techniques’ are in the state of being sealed and locked. They are known as ‘dormant genes’ and ‘recessive genes’.

“The training mechanism of demons is in fact importing spiritual energy into the body and piercing it deep into the nucleus to trigger the dormant genes, forcing them to shift from recessive to dominant. As a result, they will be able to perceive the unparalleled techniques that the ancient experts bestowed upon us instantly and demonstrate the demeanor of the primeval warriors again!

“Therefore, the entire training system of the modern demons is based on cells and genes.

“For the demon soldiers at the bottom level, they can guide the spiritual energy to blow their membranes consciously and stimulate the activity of the membrane by the vibration of spiritual energy of a certain frequency, facilitating the exchange of materials in and out of the cells and making their bodies stronger.

“For the demon generals, they can train with their cell nucleuses directly and bombard the gene strands with their spiritual energy so that the dormant genes are awakened.

“For the demon emperors, they can even directly analyze parts of their genes and grasp the legacy that the prehistoric experts passed on to us in our genes. Then, they regain that unimaginable primeval power again!

“All theories, studies, and secret arts regarding the cells and genes are known collectively as ‘biochemistry’. Biology is the study of life, and chemistry is the study of changes. All the changes and mysteries of life in the entire universe are explored in biochemistry!”